Chapter 033

------------------------------------------

‘ ‘ for thoughts.

“ “ for speech.

* * for actions.

Please point out any mistakes/inconsistencies you find and feel free to comment on anything regarding this FF.

If you enjoy reading this FF, please Rate & Review!

Warning: May contain mature content (18+) of an adult nature. Read at your own risk.

Just to be safe:

Asunder Online (and all its chapters) by fidelc123 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Google Drive Link

Credits to Mecani for the PR!

------------------------------------------

It was almost 8 pm and Jacob was waiting for his escort to arrive. He was nervous; as this was the first time he was paying directly for sexual services. Soon, the doorbell rang and he answered it and saw a woman of Hispanic descent. She had black hair in a stylish boy cut and dark brown, almost black eyes. She stood around 170 cm (5 feet 8 inch).

She was dressed in what appeared to be a crisp light-grey business suit with a skirt ending above her knees displaying her delicious legs. From what Jacob could make out, she had curves in all the right places and her bust size was somewhere between B and C. She was observing Jacob, and had a mild look of pleasant surprise.

Escort: “So you must be Jacob. Wanna invite me in handsome?”

Jacob: “Sure, Come in.”

Jacob let the escort in, and asked her to make herself comfortable, while he went to prepare some drinks. She removed her suit and the black top she was wearing further accentuated her figure. Jacob returned with a couple of glasses of scotch on the rocks, which he usually kept for special occasions. He was annoyed to see her sit on the only chair in his apartment, the one which he used whenever he used his desktop. He dragged a side table with an ashtray on it and kept the prepared drinks, while he sat on his bed.

Jacob: “So you know my name, but I don’t know yours…”

Escort: *Charming smile* “You can call me Cindy, or whatever you like.”

Jacob: “Cindy is good enough. So how should we proceed…”

Cindy: *sultry look in her eyes while she pouted* “How do you want to proceed? Should I be the naughty schoolgirl being punished, or the dominating teacher punishing you? Tonight I can be whatever you want.”

Jacob: “Let us have a few drinks and a smoke first, we can proceed from there…”

-*-*-

Jacob woke up early next morning, to find that Cindy had already left. It had been quite a while since he had slept in a bed instead of his Capsule, and it was truly refreshing. He recalled last night’s events. Surprisingly, he had spent more time talking with Cindy on a variety of topics from the advent of Virtual Reality to the politics of Religion.

It was the most stimulating conversation he had in years. Surprisingly, Cindy could keep up with his ranting and keep him turned on. The sex was almost an afterthought, though it was great as she was a professional after all. However, he felt the whole experience to be hollow, and there was not much intimacy. Nevertheless, it was a great stress reliever and he had enjoyed the experience.

He got ready for his morning parkour circuit and left his house. After his daily exercise he took a quick shower and went to prepare his breakfast. He chopped a small onion, a few cloves of garlic and some jalapeños. He then sautéed half a cup of ground beef and added the onions, garlic and jalapeños when the fat came out of the meat. He added some salt and pepper and sautéed all of it together.

He broke the eggs into a bowl and added some of the ground beef mixture. He thoroughly beat the eggs with the filling and added some oregano and salt. He then poured the mixture into the frying pan, using some rice barn oil to cook the omelet thoroughly. He reheated some leftover mashed potatoes and mixed it with the remaining beef, and ate it with his omelet for a delicious and filling breakfast.

After enjoying his breakfast, he logged into Asunder Online and regained control of his avatar Jack in the dorm of the library of Rotang City. Almost four days had passed in game, and it was currently night in game. He quickly navigated to the tailor’s guild and collected his Bear Skin boots by paying the balance of 2 gold coins. He quickly inspected his new equipment.

Bear Skin bootsType:Armor (Light)Durability:120 / 120Rarity:UncommonGrade:EThis is a custom made pair of boots made from the pelt of a bear cub. It grants the wearer some resistance against the cold.

Restrictions: Lv60 and 75 VIT

Bonus on Equip: +5% Ice Resistance, +15 Physical Defense

The boots were better than what he wore, but he felt that it wasn’t worth the 4 gold coins he had spent on it, in addition to the material. However, even if it had comparatively high requirements for a piece of light armor, it granted elemental resistance to ice, while unenchanted! Jack quickly enchanted it with vitality and equipped his new boots.

He then navigated to the inn where his half-elf companion Bob was staying. He found his companion with some sort of soup with chunks of meat, bread and a mug of beer in the corner. He sat down opposite to him and waited for Bob to chew and swallow his current mouthful of meal.

Jack: “I thought you didn’t want to be intoxicated…and yet I find you here with Beer.”

Bob: “This much isn’t enough for me to be intoxicated, at least not at the speed at which I am drinking. Besides, the food tastes a bit bland here, and I am just washing it down with some beer.”

Jack: “Finish your meal then. Meanwhile, I will have some beer myself.”

He then gestured to a waitress and ordered another mug of beer. As he drank the beer, he felt that it tasted like piss. Still he drank a couple more mugs and had a nice buzz by the time his follower finished his meal. After settling the bill and tipping the waitress, they left the inn and were on the way to one of the exits of Rotang City.

Jack: “So we now have to go to the prison and free the prisoner. Last time I went there, it was full of giant spiders. If they are still there, both of us along with Charlie can manage them…I think.”

Bob: “We will see when we reach there. How far is it anyway?”

Jack: “Well it takes around seven hours on horseback if you follow the dirt path. However, through the woods, I can manage it in a little less than six hours. There aren’t any threats in the woods, but the terrain is rather unfavorable. Think you can keep up?”

Bob: *snorts* “I lived in the woods most of my life. I think I can manage to run a few hours through one.”

Jack: “Well in that case, we will take the shortcut through the woods.”

He then checked the map once, confirmed the route and beckoned his follower to follow him. He then started running through the woods towards the cave infested by the giant arachnids. Initially his companion had no problem keeping up with him. But after a couple of hours when the terrain became more and more unfavorable, he had to take breaks prematurely for his companion to regenerate his stamina. During one such break, Jack inquired his companion about the frequent breaks.

Jack: *smug look* “You are a warrior AND higher leveled than me. It is pretty pathetic for you to run out of stamina before me, a low leveled caster. Guess in all your time in the woods, you didn’t work out much and got lazy.”

Bob: *irritated* “You are from the Brahman Sangha and not just a caster… so don’t bullshit me. For all I know you have some strange exotic skill helping you conserve Stamina. Besides, I am wearing heavier armor than you. ”

Jack: *smug* “Yes, I know that I am amazing. You don’t need to make excuses for your shortcomings.”

Jack: *notices a flicker in Bob’s purple black aura* “I am joking alright? No need to get angry. How about I teach you my skill? We have to travel for quite a few hours now.”

Bob: “And how do plan to do that? I don’t think you have the materials to write a skill book, Even if you have the expertise.”

Jack: “Well, I don’t think I have the expertise either. I am still a beginner in this skill, Free Running, But I can teach you all the basics.”

Bob: “Then it will be quite a while before I manage to learn Free Running.”

Jack: “It took me almost six hours of constant utilization in this terrain to learn Free Running, even though I know all the principles and utilized them for quite some while in battles.”

Bob: *excitement* “I still have the return journey to learn this skill. So let’s begin, shall we?”

Jack: “Sure. Now first you have to unequip your weapon. It will cause too much imbalance in the initial stages. And your Bark armor is flexible enough to be workable, I suppose. However, for best results I would suggest sticking with clothing. Now watch carefully, I will demonstrate the basics…”

Jack then coached his follower through the basic building blocks of parkour. The first move he taught Bob was Quadrupedal Movement or how to effectively move low to the ground on all four limbs. While it seemed simple enough, for a beginner in parkour it was a challenge to master the skills of weight transfer and co-ordination to utilize Quadrupedal movement effectively.

After that, he demonstrated how to stand and squat correctly on two limbs. He then further explained how to use these postures to make a gentle, quiet landing while falling, vaulting etc. He then demonstrated various techniques related to falling from handstands and directional rolls to cartwheels and full turns.

He then explained balancing and stated that after the previous techniques had been mastered, it was time for balancing. One of the best ways to improve balance was to walk on difficult or narrow paths. As each individual’s body and center of gravity is different, not to mention equipment, they had to master balance on their own by experimentation, and there was no fixed regime of training.

Jack then demonstrated a few techniques of the basics like jumping, vaulting, wall running, brachiating (moving like a monkey from branch to branch), climbing, flipping and spinning. By the time he had coached Bob in the first few basics and demonstrated rest of the basics, a few hours had passed.

Jack: “Now don’t worry about the later stuff, it may seem fancy now but you will get to it eventually. Once you are proficient in Quadrupedal movement, Falling and Balance, I will demonstrate rest of the basics in depth. Once you master all the basics without your two handed weapon, it will be time to repeat everything with a weapon equipped.”

Bob: “Those were all just the basics? It will take me at least a few weeks of diligent practice to master all those techniques. And most of them are unusable in any kind of heavy armor. No wonder you prefer unarmed fighting and light armor, I can see how using these with magic in battles can be effective. How the hell did you manage to learn the skill the six hours?”

Jack: “Yes, that is one of the reasons. I had already practiced and moved beyond the basics for years in my world. I didn’t learn it from scratch here in six hours, if that is what you mean.”

Jack: “In one of the countries in my world, there are still a few genuine sword masters left. They are last of the Old Guard, so to speak, and teach their art of kendo as more of a sport now. One of the most profound things I heard from them was unless a sword feels like the extension of the arm, natural and fluid, not even the basics are mastered.”

Jack: *chuckle* “Forget swords and other weapons. Most of us, including me, have not mastered the use of our own body to that degree. Anyways, even if you don’t manage to learn Free Running, mastering those basics will help you in combat significantly.”

Bob: “Yes, I suppose. All of us can’t be unarmed monkeys jumping from enemy to enemy. Anyways, I am tired and need a nap of few hours. I better be refreshed and in optimum condition before we tackle the prison.”

Jack: *fake anger* “The unarmed monkey has potent magic! Don’t forget that. Yeah, take your nap I keep forgetting you need to sleep regularly. You do sleep a lot less than I expected though. I might as well practice the basics of my monkey movements in the meanwhile.”

Bob: *bitterly* “Hate sustains me Jack; it seeps into every aspect of my being. Every day, I feel a little less refreshed after sleeping. And each time I wake up, my dreams make me a little wearier. If things progress at this rate, in a few years I won’t get any solace from sleep.”

With a bittersweet expression of longing, Bob climbed a nearby tree, curled in a fetal position in a cluster of branches and closed his eyes.

--------------------------------

My hiatus is not over yet, and I will occasionally post chapters. I will resume it at a regular pace from mid to late July.

I had my surgery this weekend, and it was a success! There are no post-op complications. But between the pain of surgical trauma and the prescribed painkillers, I feel a bit woozy and not in much of a mood to write.

Big Thanks to everyone for well wishes!

I also have put up a poll for a new NCP companion. Please vote in it. It is still a long way before I introduce another companion, but would like two know which archetype readers prefer.

-----------------------------------