Walking back out into the courtyard I raised my hand to shade my eyes from the bright sunlight as I looked around. There were a few guards practicing against the training dummies but the courtyard was now mostly abandoned with most of the guards out on patrol or resting in the barracks but I could see Jameson and Tylie deep in conversation off to the side, so I decided to head over to thank them for the part they played in me becoming a ranger.

As I approached the pair turned towards me and smiled.

“Congratulations!” They said together before rising to their feet.

“Thanks,” I replied with a nod. “How are you guys doing after what happened at the inn?”

“Well we both got out of there safely thanks to you,” Jameson replied and Tylie nodded in agreement.

“By the way we should give your share of what we took from the outsiders that we defeated, they came back from the dead a few minutes before you did and were caught and disarmed by the guards. As such their gear is considered forfeit,” Tylie explained. “Follow us.”

“You really don’t have to,” I said raising my hands to wave off the offer. I really wasn’t keen on taking the other players’ gear even though these particular players probably deserved just that. “I’ve already gotten all the reward I need, give it to the innkeeper and Milly.”

“While I’m sure they’d appreciate that and we’re willing to give them some of what we took, there are some things that would simply be of no use to them and we want you to pick at least a couple of things for yourself,” Jameson said quickly. “Please this is something that we all agreed on.”

Looking at the determined look in their eyes I felt my conviction wavering and sighed. I honestly didn’t like the idea of taking anything that had been looted from the players. PVP was a cutthroat world and anyone who took something from another player after defeating them had to be aware that there would be someone else who would want to do the same to them, I mean they certainly deserved to have their stuff taken for what they had done to Milly and what they were planning to do to Tylie and I guess I did earn the right to take some of the loot.

“Alright fine,” I said giving in to the peer pressure, it wasn’t like the players would’ve had anything that someone would want enough to try and kill me anyway. “Where did you put the stuff?”

“In the armoury,” Jameson replied as he rose to his feet forcing me to crane my neck to look him in the eye much to his amusement. “Follow me.”

I helped Tylie to her fight and followed Jameson to the same building where I had received my naginata from Harmon, inside there was a table with a few items on it that Jameson stopped in front of.

“You can pick two items from here, for some reason some of the items that they had disappeared when we tried to take them so there’s not much to choose from,” Jameson said apologetically.

“That’s fine,” I replied. “I didn’t even want anything remember. I’m not going to complain about a lack of selection.”

There really wasn’t much on the table, a few potions, a pair of gloves, a couple of badly torn rabbit skins, a pair of sandals like the ones that I had bought from the old lady in the marketplace and one single Soul Core. The Soul Core was of course the first thing that caught my eye, it wasn’t like the ones that I had already seen which had all been perfect spheres of clear crystal with a faint glow in the middle. No, this one was a cracked thing that looked like dirt had somehow gotten mixed into the crystal making it look like a cheap knockoff in comparison.

“That’s just a cheap Support Soul Core that increases HP by 20,” Jameson said shaking his head. “They only cost a couple of silvers.”

“I’ll take the Soul Core and some of the potions,” I decided turning to look at Jameson and Tylie who were giving me strange looks. “If that’s alright?”

“I mean I guess it’s fine,” Jameson admitted scratching his head in exasperation. “But did you even look at anything else, those are some of the worst items here, the only things that would be worse are the rabbit skins.”

“Among outsiders the things that we get for defeating our enemies is usually divided by need,” I explained with a shrug. “At the moment the potions and the Soul Core will probably give me the most benefit right now, I needed to get more potions anyway before I go hunting and even a few extra HP will keep me alive. Really don’t want to die again any time soon.”

“Ah, well that’s fair,” Jameson admitted cringing at the idea as he did so. “But did you even look at the gloves?”

I raised an eyebrow and turned back to look at the gloves on the table, they were simple things made of cracked and torn leather. I really didn’t see anything to suggest that they were a better option than what I had already chosen, but I decided to check anyway. Besides I didn’t even know if I could wear the things at the same time as my spellglove.

Damaged Leather Gloves

Item Tier (Rarity): Crude (Common)

Required Level:1

Physical Defence: 2

Magical Defence:1

Core Slots:

1 Support Core Slot

This old pair of gloves has seen better days but can still protect your hands for the time being.

As expected, the gloves were nothing special and I probably would be better off waiting and buying something better later and taking the healing potions instead.

“No, I think I’m good,” I replied shaking my head. “I need the potions more than I need something that I would just sell tomorrow. Besides, would I even be able to wear them while I have my spellglove equipped?”

“Huh?” Jameson grunted looking at me in confusion. “Your spellglove can fit over the top of gloves, didn’t you know that?”

“Uh, no,” I replied somewhat shamefacedly, I had actually forgotten to ask Katy that when I had chosen it.

“Why do you need the potions?” Tylie asked suddenly providing a happy distraction from my previous embarrassment. “Are you going to go hunting Terror Chicks again?”

“Uh, no actually I’m planning on going and hunting rabbits first to get some experience,” I replied frowning at her. “Why?”

“Well if that’s what you’re doing you won’t need the potions,” Tylie said firmly. “You’re skilled enough that you should be able to fight at least three rabbits at a time by yourself and walk away with only minor injuries and even if you weren’t there are other outsiders there who are looking to find someone to work with, this is especially the case if you work with someone who can use healing magic.”

I hesitated at Tylie’s words torn between her idea and my own psychological issues. While I could deal with people inside of games it still made me pretty uncomfortable. I could only deal with NPC’s because I knew that they weren’t real people who could hurt me in real life, of course it was at this point that I realised that this excuse didn’t work as well in Soul Core Online where the differences between NPC’s and real people were paper thin.

“She’s right you know,” Katy said making me jerk in surprise before replying.

“Jeez, Katy you almost gave me a heart attack,” I replied ignoring the strange looks that Jameson and Tylie were giving me.

“Sorry but I thought I needed to say something,” she apologised quickly.

“It’s fine, you’re both right,” I admitted. “I wasn’t really thinking about that until now, but I should at least give the players a chance. They can’t all be like the ones who attacked Milly and Tylie.”

“Right! So why don’t you take the gloves like they want you to?” Katy chirped.

With a sigh I turned towards Jameson and Tylie who were still watching me with confused expressions on their faces.

“You know what?” I said. “If it’s alright with you guys, I’ll take the gloves instead of the potions.”

That’s fine,” Jameson replied with a nod. “I take it you were talking to your spirit guide?”

“Yeah,” I answered recalling that was the term that the locals used to refer to a players AI companion. “She recommended the same thing that Tylie did.”

Taking the gloves and Soul Core from the table I immediately slotted the Core into my new gloves before removing my spellglove and slipping them on. The worn leather was surprisingly comfortable once the gloves had conformed to my size and once, I reequipped my spellglove which fit surprisingly well over the leather gloves I decided to check my Status since quite a bit had changed since the last time, I had checked it.

Name: Zeke

Level: 1

Next Level: 55%

Health: 145/145

Combat Regen: 1 per sec

Spirit: 125/125

Combat Regen: 1.5 per sec

Strength:1

Dexterity:2

Agility:1

Costitution:2

Intelligence:2

Charisma:2

Physical Defence:5

Magical Defence:4

Physical Damage:

1 Handed 6-9

2 Handed 8-12

Magic Power:3

With the bonuses from becoming a ranger and my new Soul Core I had increased my HP by almost half what it had been, which made taking the Soul Core completely worthwhile for me. It might have been a cheap item as far as Tylie and Jameson were concerned but then worth was dependant on the individual. As guards they would have access to far better items than anything that I had, probably including my naginata.

Seeing the amount of experience, I had to get before I would reach the next level was also rather irritating. Losing a third of my experience might not have been that big of a deal normally but I had already lost a lot of levelling time over the past couple of days.

“Thanks, you two,” I said tearing my eyes away from the blue screen floating in front of me, it was easy to forget sometimes that I didn’t really have any proper equipment and seeing the increase to my defence from the gloves really emphasised that.

“No problem,” Jameson replied. “You’ve earned it. I’d hate to think what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.”

“Yeah,” Tylie said nodding in agreement. “Remember to go and see Milly’s dad at the inn when you have time as well.”

“Right,” I replied giving her an awkward smile. I still found the way that the locals were treating to me be weird. Yes, NPC’s often treated you like a hero in other games, but it had always felt hollow which got sort of off putting after a while but in Soul Core Online everything that the NPC’s said or did felt real making me feel decidedly self-conscious.

“Not used to this sort of thing?” Jameson asked as I fidgeted slightly.

“Not really.”

“Well you’re a ranger now, so you’ll have to get used to it kid,” the massive man chuckled. “Alright off with you, you’ve got some rabbits to slay.”

Gratefully I left my two new acquaintances inside as I exited the building and brought up my map to find where I was headed next. Luckily the gate where I could receive the quest wasn’t too far from the barracks and I soon found myself face to face with a tall woman in plate mail who I quickly realised I had seen earlier today at the ceremony.

“Well, well,” she said. “If it isn’t young Zeke, what can I help you with?”

“Just the rabbit hunting quest please,” I replied feeling a little awkward that she knew my name when I didn’t know hers.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself, did I?” she said giving me a smile. “My apologies I’m Sergeant Catherine Heller. Now you wanted the rabbit hunting quest, didn’t you?”

“Yes, please Sergeant Heller,” I replied smiling back at her.

“Call me Catherine,” she said with a light laugh. “Now let’s see here’s the information on the quest.”

As she said this a familiar blue screen opened up in front of me.

New Quest!

Furry Bandits

(Common Ranked Quest)

Recently there has been a massive growth in the number of Voracious Rabbits in the Ponson area and they have been attacking travellers due to a lack of food. As such the Ponson guards have posted a bounty in the hopes of decreasing their numbers.

Success Conditions

Kill 10 Voracious Rabbits and return to Sergeant Heller with one of their front paws as proof.

Rewards

150 Experience. 2 Silver coins.

My eyebrows raised as I read the details of the quest, as far as quests in games went it was pretty standard much like the one, I had received for the Terror Chicks and like most of the quests that I had received so far it was also a chain quest.

“Thanks Catherine,” I said as I turned away. “I’ll see you later.”

Outside the town gates I was greeted with a rather strange sight, while there were a few groups of players fighting out in the fields there were even more just sitting around with disgruntled expressions on their faces and a closer look at the nearby fields told me why.

There were a large number of overgrown rabbits with sharp looking teeth scattered around the road and in the fields on either side, the few people fighting them looked like they were struggling to deal with them as groups of three or more of the giant rodents attacked them, deliver powerful leaping kicks and tackles before tearing the flesh from their victims bodies with the sharp teeth that I had noticed earlier.

Some of the people who I was assuming were at the very least mostly players, it was possible that some of them were locals, but I personally doubted it were doing better than others but most of them seemed to have pretty average skills.

Of course, it wasn’t just the rabbits that were fighting in groups and I saw a couple of pretty well thought out groups that were kicking some serious furry butt out there with most of the other people watching them with envious expressions on their faces.

Quickly I identified my target, one of the smaller rabbits that was grazing nearby which turned out to be a Level 1 Voracious Rabbit. Calling my naginata out of my Inventory I approached the rabbit in an attempt to get an accurate read on how powerful these things actually were, I cursed under my breath as I accidentally stepped on a twig causing the rabbit to suddenly turn and leap at me.

Quickly I activated my Ward, barely managing to catch the surprisingly heavy creature on the translucent blue shield of energy and stumbled backwards as it bounced off the translucent energy barrier.

Already I could see that my Ward was starting to fade and with a screech the rabbit charged at me again, this time aiming to take me out at the legs, quickly I swung my naginata at its head making it come to a halt. With a smirk I reversed the blade and activated my Slash Skill stepping into the attack as I did so.

The rabbit screeched again as the vicious attack nearly ripped one of its legs off sending blood spraying across the grass. Hearing this, two more rabbits turned to look warily my way and I knew that they were close enough that if they decided to attack me before I finished off the rabbit that had collapsed at my feet then things were going to get quite a bit more interesting.

Quickly I changed my grip on my naginata and stabbed down twice finishing the Voracious Rabbit at my feet off, noting that unlike the Terror Birds and players that I had killed this enemy only gave me one Soul Point before preparing myself to fight the next two rabbits.

Sure enough the rabbits charged me as soon as they noticed that I had killed the one that I had been fighting and this time I had the time to deflect the one that leapt at me to the side instead of taking the attack head on, my Ward still broke but I managed to avoid taking damage. I was quickly learning that my Ward was more for this sort of defence instead of simply weathering blows which a more traditional shield might be able to protect me from much better. On the other hand, not lugging a lump of metal or wood around on one of my arms allowed me to be much more agile and control my own attacks better and when I finally got a Soul Core that would allow me to use magic things would become even more interesting.

As the rabbit I had knocked to the side flew past the other charged at my legs and I easily stepped aside my naginata snaking out and ripping through its side as it passed causing it to lose its balance and stumble.

I smirked as I looked at my two new opponents, a quick check told me that they were both Level 1 Voracious Rabbits just like the one that I had just killed. Compared to the Terror Chicks that I had fought these monsters were far weaker, with much less variety to their attacks making them far easier to fight. I could kind of understand why other people were having difficulties with them but after fighting the Terror Chicks which could use their serpentine necks to launch attacks from almost every angle and mix things up by lashing out with their vicious talons a simple charging attack was far easier to deal with.

I didn’t even bother reactivating my Ward when it came off cooldown simply using the length of my naginata to slowly bleed them dry while I dodged their increasingly clumsy attacks, by the time I had finished them off I felt like I was definitely starting to understand my new weapon better, I still wasn’t as good with it as I was with my spear but at the moment the increased damage that my naginata dealt was making up for that.

As I looted the three corpses, I noted that I had received one portion of rabbit meat, two tattered rabbit skins and two rabbit’s feet. The last of these was mildly irritating as they were the item that I had to hand in to Catherine to complete the quest but then a smile crossed my face as I noticed a small glowing circle blinking at me in the corner of my vision and I remembered that I had only needed two more Soul Points to Level Up my spellglove Soul Core and I made my way back to the other people ignoring the surprised looks that I was receiving and sitting down to have a look at the Level Up bonuses that I could choose from.

Congratulations your Basic Spellglove Core has reached Level 2!

Please pick an upgrade from the choices provided.

Barrier: Creates a stationary shield that absorbs a base of 30 damage +30% of Magic Power. Cost: 40 Spirit. Duration 30 seconds Cooldown: 2 minutes.

Increase Intelligence by 1.

Soul Points: 1/20

So, it looked like I could choose from a Skill that I could use to protect myself or someone else from more powerful attacks than my Ward could take, or I could increase my Intelligence. My gut reaction was to increase my Intelligence, mostly because my fighting style was based around mobility, so a stationary defensive Skill wasn’t actually that useful to me right now. If I had party members that might be different, but I didn’t.

As I was considering my options the sunlight was blocked suddenly and I looked up to find a tiny blonde girl staring down at me with massive blue eyes and an extremely nervous look on her face.

“Excuse me,” she squeaked her face turning red as she met my gaze. “Could I join your party please?”