In the town square of a certain city, two players were dueling for a rare bracelet.

Well, it was more like a slugfest. The two players were hitting each other non-stop, paying no attention to their depleting HP. It looked like a stalemate when...

_____________________________________________

CRITICAL HIT!!!

Vital point hit!

The opponent is bleeding!

Damage delivered increased by 100%

_______________________________________________________

YES! I finally hit the neck! It's my win!

"Guh, you lucky motherfucker!" The player staggers.

"Yeah, yeah, they all say that. But it’s your fault for leaving the neck exposed. Get some better armor next time." I rush in for the final poke.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The duel is over!

The winner is player "Jack"!

The reward for winning will automatically get transported to your inventory.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

A big annotation box announcing the winner appears above our head and I get ready to run. According to my experience with such events something bad will happen now.

"Hey, you there! The one who beat me! Wait!"

Yep, here it comes. I take off my heavy armor, put on some leather armor and equip the bracelet.

_______________________________________________

Wind Bracelet

A bracelet blessed by the goddess of the wind, Illyria.

Equipped:

+10% Agility

-25% Fall Damage.

_______________________________________________________________

"You min-maxed motherfucker! How much HP do you have! Aren't you only level 100!? That’s unfair! Give me that bracelet back!"

Fufufu. Such naivety. I may be only Lv.100 but my Hp equals that of Lv.250 players. I admit that it's a cheesy strategy but since I'm so bad at this game I must resort to these underhanded means. Anyways, this bracelet is staying with me.

I start running at top speed. Needless to say, the other player chases me but I quickly lose him.

Hehehe, this bracelet is awesome. Now I can probably move at decent speeds even with my Armor of Thorns on.

That reminds me: It's been a while since I repaired my armor so its durability is getting pretty low. I should get some money and go repair it. I don't know what I'd do without this armor. It's saved my life more than once.

Well, to the adventurer's guild I go! It's the best place to make money for combat-focused classes like me. Hope I don't run into anybody I know though.

Wait. Did I accidentally raise a flag?

"Hey, you there! You're Jack aren't you?" I hear a familiar voice behind me.

Fuck. It's not even funny anymore. Lady Luck why do you hate me so much? I start running without even looking back. The central market shouldn't be too far away. I'll be able to blend with the crowd if I reach it.

"GIVE ME BACK MY ARMOR OF THORNS YOU THIEF!" The guy starts running towards me at full speed.

"Fuck you Ace! This armor's mine! I earned it!" I yell back to him.

"Earned it my ass! You hit me in the back of the head with a wooden board and stole all my stuff! Do you know how embarrassing it was running through the town square in my underwear?! DO YOU?"

"Ha-ha, it's your own fault for not taking precautions against fatigue death you overconfident dick!"

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" His speed increases.

Oh shit, this guy's fast! He's going to catch up to me in no time! Shit, shit, shit what do I do? The market's still a fair distance away! Think Jack, think! ... Ah, of course! The alleyways! He's running so fast I doubt he'll be able to make those tight turns!

I wait for Ace to get closer to me and just as he's about to grab me I turn right into one of the many dark alleyways of Altair city.

Hehe, good luck catching me now! I know this city like the back of my hand! I’ll never get lost!

After running for some time to ensure Ace isn’t chasing me anymore, I start heading towards the adventurer’s guild.

Man, it’s getting difficult to just walk around now. I’m making way too many enemies. I can’t keep going like this forever. Ahh, but this game is so difficult! And restarting the character is off of the table! Getting to level 100 was already insanely hard! God dammit, I’ll never be able to win the bet I made with him this way!

But even if I try, I never seem to get better at the game! I still get hit a lot even if I try my hardest not to! I need to force myself to get better, but I have no idea how to do that! I’m way too far into the min-max build. I’ve basically forced myself into a corner.

No, no matter what, losing to him is out of the question. I’m going to find a path that leads to the top. Even if that path is seemingly impossible, if it can take me to number 1 I’ll go down that path and make it mine.

But for now I should focus on getting some money. The adventurer’s guild should be just across this alleyway.

I enter the guild. As usual, it’s crowded. I go to the bulletin board to look for some nice quests.

Hunting wolves, no. Killing frogs, no. Gathering herbs, no. Investigating the murder of a town girl, no… Wait, what was that? I pick up the strange quest’s flier.

____________________________________________________________________

Quest: The murder of Jeana

The murder of Jeana, a normal towns girl, has unsettled a great many people.

She was found dead in her room in the second floor of the

local bakery with strange carvings on her body.

Look into this bizarre murder and report any findings to the city guard!

Difficulty level: D

Quest Requirements:

Failed if you don’t find any clues within two days.

________________________________________________________________________________

What a strange quest. Investigating a murder huh? What is this doing in the adventurer’s guild bulletin board? Shouldn’t this be a quest in the Guard Guild? And what’s up with that difficulty? D? It’s way too high!

I approach the man behind the counter.

“Excuse me, what’s up with this quest? It’s very strange.” I give him the quest flier.

“Ah, this one. The guards had trouble with this and wanted some backup. I don’t suggest you pick it up though. Countless people turned the place upside-down but found nothing. Even the most stubborn of the guards are ready to give up on this.”

“No, actually I’ll take it.” A weird feeling in my gut told me this quest led to something big. I won’t pass it up.

“Do as you wish, I guess.”

*Ting*

___________________________________

Quest Accepted!

___________________________________________

Well, I only have two days to go about this. I can do it though. The only thing I’m confident in are my observing skills.

I exit the adventurer’s guild and run towards the bakery. This quest’s gone be good. I just feel it.

I arrived to the bakery in a matter of minutes. There was a guard standing watch on the door.

“Excuse me; I’m here to investigate the crime scene.”

“Oh, another one of them adventurers. Heh, what a waste of time. You dumbasses can’t solve crimes if your life depended on it.”

“Wasn’t it the guard guild that asked for our help? If they rely on “dumbasses” so much, the guild must have sunken pretty low, isn’t that right?”

“You mother…” He raised his spear and I put my hand on my sword.

“What is with all that racket out there?” A voice came from inside a bakery. A second later a burly man exited the shop. He was covered in thick full plate armor. An elite knight.

“This man offended the honorable name of the city guards. I cannot let him go!”

The knight turned to me, completely ignoring the guard.

“You. State your business here.”

“I’m here to investigate the murder of Jeana.”

“Ah, is that so? Well, come inside.”

“But, sir! This man…”

The knight interrupted.

“But what? We are not in such a luxurious position as to turn down free help. I heard your little banter before. You should keep your mouth shut Gaston.”

“O…okay” Gaston cowered before the knight’s stern gaze and lowered his eyes.

The knight turned to me.

“What is your name?”

“Jack, my name’s Jack.”

“Nice to meet you, Jack. I’m Oscar. Now, follow me”

Oscar led me through the bakery and up to the second floor. There were some guards here and there but the place was mostly empty. He stood in front of the second door.

“Are you ready? It’s quite the mess inside. We tried to preserve the crime scene as much as we could.”

“Yes, I’m ready.” Gore wouldn’t scare me.

“Haha, not a moment of hesitation! I like that!” He opened the door.

… Okay, that’s pretty gory.

The girl was lying on her bed next to the window overlooking the street, her throat slit and her belly cut open. Weird marks littered her body.

The room was pretty plain. There was a slightly crooked chair in the middle of the room and a desk with a candle on it.

I got closer to the body, half-expecting her to wake up and bite me.

“Sheesh, what a scene.”

“It is indeed quite frightening that someone could do this.”

“What have you found out so far?”

“Well, there are no signs of breaking in. We presume she was killed with a weapon with some sort of curved blade. Also, all her intestines and her heart have been removed. As for the markings on her body, those are brandings. We don’t know what they mean though. It looks like the work of a cult so we have been on high alert. If you find anything, however small, tell me.”

What a massacre! Whoever did this is one fucked up psycho. Setting aside the corpse I start to examine the room with utmost care, careful not to miss anything.

“Hmm.”

“What is it? Did you find anything?”

“There’s sunlight leaking through that roof.”

“That isn’t possible!”

Oscar came to where I was standing and looked at the roof.

After about half a minute of looking at the roof, he nodded.

“Quite the sharp eye you have there. To think you would notice such a minute detail.”

“It’s all about paying attention” I say as I climb the chair and touch the spot where sunlight is leaking out.

I pull it and a part of the roof opens, Just enough for one person to fit in. I poke my head out.

“Well, I think I found out how our murderer got in! And look at this!” I pull a piece of cloth with blood on it from a rusty nail on the hatch. “The guy left a breadcrumb trail with his blood! We can find out where they are hiding! ”

Oscar looked like he’d witnessed a miracle.

“I don’t know why there’s a hatch on a bakery though.

“Well, her mother did mention they bought this house from somebody. Who knows what that might have been doing there? But that’s not important.”

“Boys, we have found something!” He yelled.

Countless footsteps could be heard as all the guards in the building rushed into the room. They all looked at me with eyes full of amazement as I showed them the piece of cloth and the trail of blood that leads to god knows where.

*Ting*

_________________________________________________________________________________

Quest Completed: The Murder Of Jeana

You have found clues regarding the murder of Jeana and reported them.

Jeana was a bright girl, loved by many.

Let her death not be in vain.

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

Fame increased by 100.

___________________________________________________________

Holy shit! 3 levels from one quest! And 100 fame too! This is insane!

Oscar pats my shoulder.

“Jack, you have done a great service to us! You accomplished in such a short amount of time what we and many others couldn’t do. How can we repay you?”

“You plan to exterminate their HQ, right? Take me with you.” If there are more quests like that, I’m willing to do anything. Getting 3 levels for such an easy quest is insane!

“If you want to join this crusade, go ahead. You’re the man that made it possible in the first place.”

*Ting*

______________________________________________________________________

Quest: As You Sow, So Shall You Reap

Locate the HQ of the murderous cult and deliver much needed justice.

Difficulty Level: C

Quest Requirements:

Completed “The Murder Of Jeana” quest.

Do you accept this quest?

Y|N

____________________________________________________________________

“Yeah, I’ll come along.”

___________________________________________________________

Quest Accepted!

_________________________________________________

“We’ll embark at sunset, after we’ve located where the trail of blood leads. We all meet at the city gates. Be prepared. Something tells me it’s not going to be an easy fight. Oh, I almost forgot. Jack.” He throws me a heavy pouch. Inside of it were about 10 Gold Coins. “It’s compensation for the excellent work. Farewell until sunset boys.”

Ah, I’m getting jittery from anticipation. This is gonna be good! I know it!

For now I should go repair my armor. The money Oscar gave me should be more than enough.

The blacksmith should be just around the corner. Yeah, there it is. I enter the shop and sweltering heat immediately hits me in the face.

“Hello? Is there anybody here? I need to fix my armor!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m comin’.”

An old man appears from the backdoor of the shop and walks up to me.

“Hello, Jack. Wanna get dat armor or yer’s fixed?”

“Yeah.” I take the armor out of my inventory and give it to him.

“Well, I’ll be damned, that’s some wear and tear you’ve put on dis armor. Have you bin fightin dragens or somthing?”

Considering how much I get hit, it’s no wonder it became like this.

“Yeah, something like that. I need it fixed by sunset or sooner though.”

“Sunset? What’s gotten you in such a hurry? Oh… coud it be you’re taking part in dat crusade?”

“How… how did you know that?”

“Heh, word spreads quick around dese parts boy! I’ll get ya yer armor fixed!”

“How much does it cost?”

“Oh, doncha worry about dat. Jost make sure you get dem basterds! What dey did to dat lil gerl was horrible!”

“Wow, thanks old man!”

“I’m not dat old ya know!”

“Of course you’re not. I’ll be back by sunset then!” I exit the shop.

Wow, I didn’t expect that freebie. How nice of him! Now, let’s use these 10G to stock up on potions. I have a feeling I’m gonna need them.

--And just like that, sunset arrived at the blink of an eye.

“I got it fixed as best I cud. Go give em hell, boy!”

“That, I will do.”

I take my armor from the old blacksmith’s hands and run to the entrance of the city. With the bracelet on I made it there in a matter of minutes. When near the gates I put my armor and shield on.

____________________________________________________________________________

Items: Armor of Thorns (Full set)

Durability: 295/300

Defense: 185

Set of armor made by a legendary blacksmith of the north.

It has thorn-like engravings on it that boost the user’s healing capabilities.

Although this ability is not as powerful as it was when it was first created

It is boosted when wearing the full set.

Requirements:

Vitality +400

Equipped:

+1250 HP (Full Set)

+100 HP Regeneration/second (Full set)

__________________________________________________________________________

Damn, the old man sure did a fine job repairing my armor on such a limited time.

_________________________________________________________________________

Item: Ancient Shield

Durability: 40/50

Defense: 70

An ancient shield from some forgotten dungeon.

Although its durability is low it has great defending capabilities.

Equipped:

+15% resistance to physical attacks.

_____________________________________________________________

These were all amazing items I had “borrowed” from several players. Although they were none too happy about it, with these items on I become an impenetrable fortress with 7250 HP.

I arrived at the gates to see about 20 footmen and 10 archers. Oscar was shouting something, but stopped when he saw me approach.

“Halt! Who are you?”

Oh, I guess he’s never seen me in my armor before. I raise my visor up to show him my face.

“Oh, Jack? It’s you?! Well, color me surprised! That’s some fine armor you’ve got there! Haha, I mistook you for some elite paladin!”

Yeah, I get that a lot.

“So? Did you find where the trail of blood leads?”

“Yes, it led us across the rooftops and into the forest where it stopped. Some of our scouts found a cave nearby with strange sounds coming out of it. We suspect that that’s our target.”

“When will we get started?”

“You arrived just in time actually. We were about to depart.”

Oscar and the footmen led the group. The archers stayed back.

When we arrived at the cave, it was already dark. Since it was a full moon though, we could see clearly.

“Okay men. Get ready to fight. Remember, these guys are insane; they won’t hesitate to kill so neither should you. Jack, you stay up front with me. You look like you can handle yourself.”

With Oscar leading us we marched into the cave. Some of the men held torches up to illuminate the path. Although it was minute, I could feel that the farther we walked the deeper down the earth we went.

After some time of just walking we saw a light in the distance and some voices.

“Shields up, archers ready their bows. We don’t know what these guys have got up their sleeves.” Oscar commanded the men effortlessly and they obeyed him without a word.

He must have a really high leadership stat. And he seems to care about his men too. What a great leader.

When we arrived near the light, we found what seemed to be 3 men and 2 women staying near a campfire. They all wore masks that covered up most of their face. The first to spot us was the man on the right.

“Intruders!” he yelled.

They all got up and pulled out some weird ceremonial knives. Unfortunately for them, they weren’t quick enough and the footmen killed them with their spears without much hesitation.

“Some of you take the time to search the room.”

I took the knife of one of the cultists and handed it to Oscar. It had a curved blade.

“Guess we found out what weapon killed her.”

“Hmm, I know these weapons. Men! Be extra careful not to get hit! If you get cut by one of these daggers, the wound won’t close!” Oscar yelled out a warning to the troops.

Well, it wouldn’t do much damage to me anyway since my armor can deflect anything.

After we were done searching the room we continued to the corridor on the left side of the room. The walls had some rotten wooden pillars attached that looked like they were going to break anytime. It seems that beyond that last room the cave is manmade.

“Oscar, we should be careful. Those wooden pillars are rotten. I doubt they’ll break from some arrows, but if anybody accidentally hits even one of those pillars, we’re screwed.”

Oscar looked at the pillars for a couple of seconds.

“That observation skill is scary!” he murmured.

“Hm? Did you say something Oscar?”

“Ah, no no. I’ll inform the men immediately.”

After Oscar told the men what I said to him we marched forward. The corridor led to a very large room with a high ceiling. It was full of cultists in it. They were citing some kind of demonic chant while circling an altar with a strange figure on it. As soon as they noticed us they pulled out their knives. Some of them even had long curvy swords. Shit. There are probably more than 30 of them. This is going to be a tough one. These guys are stronger that the others. I raise my shield. I’m gonna need to get in this too.

Before the soldiers had time to react I rush the cultist and take all the agro. Their blades however barely do any damage to me. I poke them with my sword while hiding behind my shield. Poke, poke, poke and they fall like flies. The footmen also joined in but at this point their numbers had dwindled. These guys aren’t as tough as I thought. I’m barely under 90% HP. Some of the cultists tried to run which was troublesome but I was ready for that.

“Archers! Fire!”

*Ting*

__________________________________________________

Leadership stat rose by 1 point.

_________________________________________

The footmen up stood on one knee and the archers released a volley of arrows down on the escaping cultists, killing them all.

Oh, an increase in Leadership. Been a while since that happened.

“That… that was amazing Captain Jack!” yelled one of the soldiers.

“Yeah, you took out all of those cultists on your own!”

Haah, if only you guys knew how weak I really am, I doubt you’d be saying this.

Oscar approached me.

“Marvelous judgment, showering them with arrows when they turned their backs to us. And the men obeyed you immediately. You must have some experience commanding troops.”

“Yeah, I guess I do” I say as I pop the cork of a health potion and drink a bit of it.

“You know Jack, the more I get to know you, the more fit for a knight you seem. You’ve got a good heart and a sharp eye. Say, why don’t you become a knight of Alanus? We could use a man like you.”

“No thank you.” Without even letting the confirmation box pop up I declined. Alanus was the god of sunlight and one of the most revered deities on the whole Tearses continent! Being a knight of his church would yield great benefits, but I didn’t accept it for one simple reason. He also chose to become a knight. I will take my own path to the top, not his! Some may call it stubbornness and I totally agree. But what can I do? It’s one of my defining characteristics. Plus, I’m the most unfit person to be a knight. If you knew how many people I’ve dicked over, you’d probably try to arrest me.

“Oh, well. I suppose it’s up to you. Men, check the room and see if we find something of use!”

I immediately went over to the strange figure. A couple of soldiers did so as well.

On closer inspection, the shape looked kind of human. It was almost like…

“What is this?” a soldier asked.

“It’s an unborn baby.” Yes, that is totally the umbilical cord.

“A… a human baby???” One of the soldiers puked.

“Let’s move out boys. This isn’t something we should stare at.” After a while, we moved again.

This time, the corridor was very long and narrow. We had to walk in a single file. Oscar, recognizing the risk this posed if we were to encounter enemies in the corridor, put me up front because I was the tankiest. Fortunately for us, we encountered no enemies… for the next 5 rooms.

When we reached the sixth room, Oscar told his men to sit down and relax. I went over to talk to him.

“Oscar, what do you think of this?”

“It’s probable that they heard us and retreated to the other rooms so they could regroup and gear up. If that happened, we’re in big trouble. Our force is so limited, that if that happened, our only choice would be to retreat.”

“I forgot to ask but… Oscar, why aren’t there more troops?”

“Well...” he got closer to me “Keep this a secret Jack, but there is talk among the elite knights that the relationships between the Ikarth Kingdom and our kingdom, the Soleris Kingdom, are getting rather tense. The Ikarth Kingdom claims that the Denuvian area was part of the territory of their ancestors and that we unjustly claimed it. We all know that the Ikarth Kingdom is after our ore-rich mines though”

The Denuvian area, named after the city of Denuvia, is an area rich with silver ore on the southern part of the Soleris Kingdom that borders the Ikarth Kingdom. It’s a place where trade flourishes and it’s considered one of the central trade cities of Soleris. Losing it would be a catastrophe.

“And I assume they’re going to use that as a pretext to go to war with us?”

“Exactly. So the King is sending most of his army to Denuvia, to prepare for the war that’ll break out. A large part of the Kingdom’s funds are getting used to expand the army.”

“To think that they can’t even spare a couple of troops. The situation must be critical. But, wait a second. Isn’t there a natural border between Denuvia and the Ikarth Kingdom? How are they planning to pass that mountain range without getting decimated?”

“That remains a mystery. Some of the soldiers reported seeing large birds in the sky at night that looked like dragons. Who knows what this war will bring.”

“Dragons, no. That’s impossible. Those things can’t be controlled. They’re probably lesser small drakes.”

“Jack, you seem knowledgeable on these situations. What do you think of this?”

“There are some very powerful people on the Solaris Kingdom that can turn the tides of battle single-handedly. Those drakes are probably a certain beast master’s doing. She should be able to control them by now.” There were an endless amount of drakes circling the mountains near Suicide Forest. The small lesser drakes are about level 160, but there were bigger, scarier drakes and there were even rumors of dragons being spotted on the area! It was an extremely high level area but the scariest thing was, it couldn’t even compare with the Ashen Forest (A.K.A. Suicide Forest) where the screams of endless gigantic beasts could be heard.

“Do you know those people Jack?”

“Yeah, I guess I do. We were a guild once. I don’t know what they’ve been doing since they relocated to Ikarth though.”

“Ah, you were in a guild. That explains your high leadership stat. Were you the leader?”

“Haha, far from it. I was and still am the weakest out of them. It’s just that I guided them sometimes.” The leadership stat also increases when you lead other players.

“To think that there are such strong people on the Ikarth Kingdom… This war is going to be a hard one.”

“Are you going to be participating, Oscar?” I know I will. Full-scale wars are just awesome.

“I have to as a Knight of Alanus.” There was an almost-unnoticeable sadness in his voice.

“Well, I hope to meet you on the battlefield one day, friend.”

“You can say that that again. Now…” Oscar got up and so did I. It seems it was time for us to depart again.

“Men, get ready to move out!”

We continue to explore the cave. The next 3 rooms were also empty. The men were starting to think we’d have wiped them out but...

When we entered the 4th room, which was separated from the rest by a heavy iron door, those suspicions were thrown out of the window.

It was a large oval room with rotten wooden pillars barely holding it from collapsing. There was only 1 person in the room. The rest were dead. All the cultists were dead, their bodies placed on a massive altar. Behind the altar, there was a dais with an old golden cup on top. The person saw us and smiled from beneath his mask. His robes were different from the others. They were blood red. This guy… is the leader.

“Why, hello there you trespassing rats. I was waiting for you to arrive. What, did you think I didn’t notice you? Coming here and shamelessly stepping on the sacred ground of the Eldritch Lord. I will make you pay!” He starts chanting something. Oh shit, this is seriously bad!

I look back at the soldiers. They were utterly dumbfounded.

“Archers, FIRE!” A quick-witted archer quickly fires his bow towards the man and hits him in the neck. But…

“Hehe, it’s too… late.” The man coughs up blood and falls dead.

Seconds passed. Unnervingly quiet seconds. And then, the corpses on the altar started sinking into the stone. The altar then shifted, the stone becoming disfigured before taking shape. A gargoyle.

“Holy shit this is bad!”

I turn to Oscar and the troops.

“RUN! JUST RUN!” Gargoyles were powerful monsters estimated to be about level 290. The highest level achieved by a player was 278! Oh shit we’re so screwed!!!

The men run back out of the iron doors with Oscar guiding them. But the gargoyle doesn’t just sit still.

As soon as it notices us it launches at us with immeasurable speed. It was clear it was aiming for the soldiers.

Oh fuck, not even half the soldiers have gotten out yet!

“GUYS, STAY BEHIND ME!”

I put my shield up and get between the gargoyle and the soldiers. The gargoyle stops inches from my shield. Then, BOOOM!

The gargoyle pounds on my shield restlessly.

______________________________________________________

Warning!

Shield Durability has reached critical levels.

____________________________________________

Oh fuck, I can’t keep this up. I look back at the soldiers. Everyone except Oscar had escaped. Oh, thank g-

__________________________________________

Your shield has broken.

_______________________________

My shield crumbles into dust. As soon as it does so the gargoyle hits me in the head with all its strength. The sheer force catapults me to the side. I hit the wall with a deafening thud.

_______________________________________

Your helmet has broken.

_______________________________

__________________________________________________

You have taken 1000 damage.

______________________________________

You have suffered a major concussion.

MP reduced by 80%.

Spells will backfire.

HP decreased by 20%

_________________________

The shock of the hit is so high I almost lose consciousness but I force my eyes to stay open. The gargoyle runs at Oscar, who had just finished getting his men out. He turns around and tries to protect himself with his shield, but to no effect. The gargoyle suddenly grew large claws and shoved them right through his shield and armor and straight into his stomach. Blood begins to flow out of Oscar’s mouth. He looks at me with eyes that say he’s sorry, and hits one of the rotten pillars next to the door. The roof collapses upon him and the gargoyle, sealing the iron door in the process. But the rocks begin to rumble and fall. Holy shit, it’s not dead yet!

Without losing time I drink a whole health potion and a regeneration potion. I get up, my concussion making me see doubles. I start hitting all the pillars in the room. I’m dead anyway, so I’m going to take this motherfucking piece of shit gargoyle with me. 15 pillars in the room. Only 10 need to be hit for it to all collapse. I hit the pillars with my sword. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…

*RUMBLE*

Oh shit. I look at the direction of the gargoyle. The stones fall to the side and the gargoyle emerges.

Oh fuck I need to hurry! I hit the 6th pillar. The roof begins to fall off partially. The 7th pillar. At this point rocks are falling everywhere. The gargoyle also spotted me.

8th pillar. The gargoyle rushes me and knocks me towards the dais with the cup.

The gargoyle rushes me again. I try to block with my sword but to no effect. My sword gets shattered. It slashes me across the head.

____________________________________________

You have taken 2500 damage.

You are bleeding.

_________________________

Blood splashes all over the dais and cup. Suddenly, the cup glows and the dais opens up to reveal a seemingly endless pitch black hole. A secret passage.

A rock falls on the gargoyle, immobilizing it for a couple of seconds. But a couple of seconds are all I need. With the broken sword hilt I hit 2 more pillars, smashing them to pieces. The roof begins to rumble. The gargoyle knocks the rock off and runs straight towards me. I jump in the hole with no hesitation. The gargoyle grabs my leg as I fall into the dais but it doesn’t last long. The roof collapses completely. A huge rock falls on the dais, sealing it off. The gargoyle’s hand turns into dust. Finally it is dead…

*Ting*

_____________________________________________________________

Quest Completed: As You Sow, So Shall You Reap

You have exterminated the cult

that followed the teachings of the Eldritch Abomination

Corrazgus. Fortunately, the cult was still small and not widespread,

but the fact that people are ready to follow that man

is unnerving. He must be exterminated.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up

You have leveled up.

____________________________________________________

You have leveled up x7!

You have earned the title “A Very Lucky Man Who, Against All Odds, Wins”

______________________________________________________________________

Haha. Look. I leveled up so much.

*THUD*

____________________________

You have taken 4637 damage.

Warning! Health Critical!!!

______________________________

I hit the ground so hard I almost faint. Pain takes over my body and dulls my senses. I barely manage to gather the power to lift my arm and take a potion out of my pouch. I drink the potion till the last drop and heat spreads through my body as I do.

Haha, seems I didn’t die from that fall huh? Thank you Wind Bracelet.

After a while I try to get up, but I fall down again. Guess I’ll be staying like this for a while.

But god damn, I can’t believe Oscar died. Fuck man, I liked that guy. I don’t really care about monsters or players… but NPC’s don’t respawn. It’s kind of like real death, and it affects the world in many different ways. Ah, if only I was stronger that wouldn’t have happened. If only I was stronger...

I sat there doing nothing for a while. In that dark, quiet cave I was left alone with my thoughts and soon enough, I got lost in them.

I remembered my old friends, my old school. I remembered him, and the bet we made. It was a bet we made not as friends, but as enemies. We used to make bets all the time. It didn’t really matter who won or lost. We did it for fun. Ah, how much fun it was. But, unfortunately, nothing ever lasts forever.

Our friendship had gotten tense since I told him I would be moving away and it completely shattered when I left one night without saying goodbye. I didn’t understand back then but I think I do now. He wasn’t at fault for our friendship crumbling. We both were. Our stubbornness backfired.

Looking at it in retrospect, he seemed hurt when I told him I would move away. It looked as if he’d been betrayed. But he was too stubborn to say this out loud, antagonizing me. And it was my fault. He relied on me so much and I noticed that. But I was too stubborn to notice that he was feeling betrayed and when I did, too stubborn to say “I’m sorry”. And we still are stubborn. This bet is a way to determine who is more at fault, and we both know it. He also said something else when we made this bet: You have no right to come meet me or talk to me unless you win.

So that’s why, I will win this bet, go to wherever he is, get down on my knees and say “Forgive me for not being more tolerant and for not being beside you till the last moment. I am sorry.”

Yes, when I win I will tell him these things. I don’t care how long it takes. That is why, I have to win. No matter what. No matter how.

Suddenly, the cave is flooded with moonlight. I raise my head to see a gap in the cave’s ceiling. A hooded figure looks down from it. I blink once and the figure disappears. Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

I look around the cave. The moonlight shines one spot in particular. It was a glass totem, with a letter next to it. The totem shone brightly as if inviting me to come closer.

I did so on instinct. I still couldn’t walk so I crawled. When near the totem, I grabbed the letter and read it.

*Ting*

______________________________________________________________________________

Item: The Testament of the Legendary Warrior

To whomever reading this, I am Roderick de Azan

and this letter you’re reading is my last testament before I pass away.

The fact that you stumbled upon this letter and that the totem appeared before you

shows that you are fit to inherit our legacy.

You see, we have failed. We might have taken down the Demon King,

but his minions still roam the land, free to do whatever they wish.

I have two requests of you.

Find Arkhalis, and exterminate the 7 demon generals that walk the land.

For this, I give my profession to you.

Fare thee well.

_____________________________________________________________

Heh, haha, hahahahaha. I can’t help but start laughing. Roderick was the warrior that saved the world 150 years ago. Quite a lot of lore was found out him by the players. This is exactly what I need. It’s almost like… destiny.

*Ting*

___________________________________________________________

Legendary Hidden Class!

If you accept it you will be able to use skills exclusive to the class.

However, your current class skills will be deleted.

Do you want to convert now?

Y|N

___________________________________________________

“YES!” As soon as I said that numerous annotation boxes pooped up.

Class Changed to “Glass Warrior”

Vitality locked at 10.

All points invested to Vitality are returned.

All resistances dropped to 0%.

+30 points to all stats EXCEPT Vitality.

+80 extra points to Agility and Strength.

+50% increase to all stats EXCEPT Vitality when under 5% HP.

Overall Speed (Dexterity & Agility) raised by 20%

Investing points into Strength yields greater results.

You can now use all weapons without any penalties.

Dramatically increased damage with all weapons.

You are now also able to learn all weapon mastership skills up to “Master” level.

You can also learn various hidden skills depending on the specific weapon mastery proficiency.

You have learned the “Glass Sword” skill.

You have learned the “Extreme Counter” skill.

You have learned the “Health Burn” skill.

You have gained the “Murderous Spirit” stat.

You have learned the “Reckless Charge” sword technique.

You have learned the “Endless Steps” technique.

You do not meet the requirements to wear the “Armor of Thorns”

Armor unequipped automatically.

Leather Armor found in inventory. Equipped Leather Armor automatically.

*Ting*

__________________________________________________________________________

Quest: Wherefore Art Thou, Arkhalis?

The sword Arkhalis is a mythical sword that was able to kill even gods.

Legend has it that the sword is somewhere deep within the humongous Ashen Forest,

after the hero Roderick de Azan lost it in his ultimate fight with the Demon King.

Find this sword and wield it, as you are her rightful owner.

Difficulty: A++

Quest Requirements:

Glass Warrior profession.

Cancellation is not permitted.

____________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Quest: The Lost and Damned

7 extremely powerful monsters roam the lands.

They used to serve the Demon King as his 7 Generals but when he died they all spread out.

These monsters must be exterminated, for it is your duty.

7/7 Generals left.

Difficulty: S+

Quest Requirements:

Glass Warrior profession.

Cancellation is not permitted.

_____________________________________________________________

I read through all the boxes carefully. So this is what a hidden class is like. It’s an utterly dangerous and reckless class. And it’s totally not suited for me. Haa, what have I done to myself? I’ve fallen in despair but I’m not going to whine about it. I chose this myself and I’m going to live with it. Plus, this’ll force me to get better at the game too. Win-win… kinda.

And I got two basically unbeatable quests too. What’s up with that rank? S+? What is that? I know that to complete a level A quest you approximately need a party of level 450’s or more, but what about S+? Is that a special ranking? Yeah, it must be.

After I read all of them thoroughly I made the boxes disappear. I didn’t notice it but the glass totem is shining even more brilliantly than before. I touch it on instinct.

*Ting*

________________________________________________________

This is a special totem that will increase your strength.

Using it however will shatter the totem.

Effect: +300 Strength Permanently

Do you wish to use it?

Y|N

_____________________________________________________

“Yes, of course.” What a nice bonus. But for now, let’s focus on getting out of this cave. I look at the hole where moonlight is leaking through. Just big enough for one man to fit in. Perfect.

I try to get up but I fall on my ass again. God dammit, I'm going to be here a while.