Chapter Eight – Begging For Meat

The woman sobbed, afraid to move from the spot where she fell.

The hooded figures straightened and waited for Jon to do something.

When he didn't, one of them stretched out his hand, chanted a few words, and lightning began to crackle around it.

It was a beginner’s spell and Jon had seen and received lightning bolts like the one now aimed at him during his experience with war.

The dark figure was either a really high level player, confident enough he could finish Jon off with a beginner's spell or a real beginner foolish enough to disclose his magic. Whoever he was, Jon took out his knife and was chanting the healing spell quickly.

The second figure whispered something and both of them disappeared back into the alley they came from.

With his curiosity satisfied he was ready to leave, and since the men left by their own will he didn't feel compelled to follow them.

The woman stood up shaking and blocked his path.

"Thank you." She said in a weak voice. "Thank you."

There was nothing to be thankful for, and Jon was puzzled at her words.

-'I don't have time for this.'- He tried to move on but the woman motioned to grab his arm to stop him.

He turned suddenly and grabbed her arm in the air.

Maybe she took it as a sign of empathy or caring, because it made her cry even harder but with tears of relief instead of fear.

"I thought I was dead for sure. They would have killed me like the others if not for you."

She moved in to embrace Jon but he managed to stop her.

"Damn those guards! Instead of patrolling the streets they go of to chase dogs in the forest…" She wasn't a young woman and the stress finally got to her and caused her knees to buckle under her. She fell on something squishy and when she looked at what it was she wailed all over again.

The sound of her crying brought up unpleasant memories for him and while her eyes were closed he sneaked away.

"The food! They stepped all over it!" Another wail interrupted her angry yelling. "We'll starve to death!"

She was in the middle of the shopping district and in the middle of the night, there was no one to pay attention to her.

While he was getting what Burka asked for from the kitchen the sound of her voice quieted down.

She was picking things up into a torn sack off the ground.

He could see tears flowing down her face as they reflected the light of the moon. She must have smelled the spices he was carrying because she turned to look at him before the sound of his footsteps reached her.

As he passed by her he dropped two large sacks to the ground.

"It's you, isn't it?" she didn't even look at the sacks.

"You're the one who humiliated Yarel? I was there, your clothes are different but it's you, I can tell."

She got up and dusted herself a little.

"From the whole slums district, thank you," she said with a bow.

"Her sword and shield have been feeding us for the past weeks. My son would have probably lost one of his hands to the guards if not for you help." She paused to swallow down a new wave of tears. "But the money is slowly ending and I had to take more and more risks lately. We struck a deal with a merchant that sells us his leftovers for cheap prices. They are mostly rotten but we make do." She showed him a piece of moldy bread on the ground. "He agreed to do business with us only in these hours so that no customers see him selling to us beggars, and those volchers you saw, have been picking us off one by one."

She approached him and tried to grab hold of his hand but Jon was faster than her.

"Please help us!" She continued undiscouraged. "The guards won't do anything and we have no money to pay a guild."

"We're desperate! Children are afraid to play outside in the day and at night everyone locks himself inside, not that has ever stopped them…"

"If this goes on for longer we will all starve to death! You must help us like you did with that awful woman!"

He pointed at the sacks making her finally notice them. She jumped to them and marveled at their insides. One sack of rice and one of flour lay before her as she began to sob again.

"Thank you…" She said to Jon but he was no longer there.

He left as soon as she turned around, glad to get away from her.

"Finally! I thought you'd never come!" Burka snatched a sack from Jon's hands.

He ran to the meat, which was shining bright red with steam coming out from it.

"Sit down, kiddo. There's nothing you can help with now." Jon was twenty three years old, yet to Dragon whose hair was completely grey he was nothing more than some brat. The wrinkles on his face deepened as he smiled and moved a stool next to a makeshift table.

"Wipe your mouth!" He snapped at Orr.

"Sowwy." He tried to speak but puddles of saliva made it difficult for him. He had to spit to the side before talking again.

"Its been more than a year since I've eaten Burka's cooking. My body can't help it."

-'So he's been playing the game for more than three months…" He lost himself in calculations.

"Snap out of it." Dragon waved his hand before Jon's face.

He focused on his face and tried to figure what happened. A slice of meat was put under his nose and the other three men were ready to pounce on theirs.

-'I'll need to get strong fast. Three months is too long.'- He concluded. –'I want to fight mega-beasts soon…'-

He was late to take a bite so he ended up looking at the three dragon-slayers appreciate their first bite. Each of them paused after it and rolled his yes in delight. Orr looked to his side, probably reading the pop-up window that came out.

"Not bad… not bad at all… you didn't mention he was a magma dragon."

"He was my first of its type, I never thought it would show in the bonuses."

"They are a bit stronger than your typical fire breather, but the fire bonus they give is worth it," Burka stated.

"Hunt down a few magmas and your next fire type will be that much easier." Dragon savored the taste.

His interest was picked. He was never one turn down free food and when it came to meat, Jon's appetite was never ending.

He took a deep breath of the aroma and took a big bite.

It was amazing!

He didn't even bother looking at the system massage that jumped before him. He ripped piece after piece, devouring it all with hardly a breath taken.

It was all gone too soon. He stared in disbelief at his empty plate.

His eyes jumped from plate to plate looking for more.

"Don't worry, kid. It happens to everyone their first time." Dragon tried to get his attention in vain.

"Jon, look at me." He snapped his fingers and when that didn't work he struck the crate they were eating on with his hand.

"The taste can be addictive, but don't do something stupid, you hear me?"

"I've seen people go crazy after trying high quality dragon meat. In some cases they go up to a dragon and try to eat it alive…"

-'I don't need a dragon! I'll just kill them and take it all to myself!'-

"Don't!" Burka commanded as if he read his thoughts. "I'd hate to hurt you."

"Eat it slowly this time." He gave a bit of his slice to Jon, and continued eating patiently.

It was the hardest thing he did since he started playing but he forced himself to chew slowly.

When he was done the empty plate put tears in his eyes. He wanted more. He needed more!

-I have to kill it alone! More meat for me!'-

He knew he had to get stronger and it was time to make good on Gorge's offer to help.

-'Time to take this game seriously.'-

He turned his attention to the messages the system notified him about.

You have finished eating dragon meat.

HP increases by 1000

Mp increases by 1000

All stats increase by 100

Temporarily Fire Immunity

Effect lasts for 10 hours.

Alchemy Levels Up

You have consumed the meat of Grilmir the magma dragon.

The magic infused meat has given you the following bonuses permanently:

Vitality 50

Strength 50

Dexterity 50

Intelligence 50

Fire resistance 2%

"I see you’ve finally paid attention to the bonuses that come with the taste."

"Don't start thinking you can hunt dragon for the rest of your life though," Orr said. "At most there are three dragon kills a year. Most of the time it's killing monsters to level up and looking for better gear. The rest of the time we practice ways to fight the damn thing."

"Ferocious beasts," Dragon sighed. "Did I tell you about the time I saw one decimate an entire army?"

"Yes!" Burka snapped. "If you want to tell stories, tell him what happens after the meat is pealed off." He pointed at Jon.

"Not much to say about that really…"he turned to Jon enthusiastically nonetheless.

It was a long story with many personal stories mixed with in.

The main point of it was though, that to kill a dragon it is not enough to take away the meat of his bones, you need to spread and hide the bones as well.

Long ago, the bones were left in the place a dragon was killed and years later the dragon would come back as a bone dragon, a furious, raging, mad and vengeful skeletal dragon bent on destroying and killing. Even though it lacks strength and magic power without his flesh, it is a scary sight and can easily turn entire citadels into rubble.

Apparently some of the bones of the one they finished eating will be used for weapon and goods craft here in the citadel.

It was at this point that Orr, drunk as he was, took out a huge bone from out of his inventory and offered it to Jon.

"Take it!" He insisted. "I was planning of having it turned into a new mullet, but the dragon turned out to be weaker the dragon whose bones my current weapon had been made out of."

He than started crying and yelling at the night sky how unfair the world was.

It was morning already and the stories were still coming. Burka was the one who put an end to them in the end. He spoke out how it was time to sleep as he needed to start preparing for tomorrow later in the evening.

"For how much are you selling the meat?" Orr asked Dragon.

"Well, an average strength one like him… between fifteen hundred gold to two thousand depending on the size of the meal, I guess."

"Whoa! So what my cut?"

"The usual twenty percent."

"With a piece of that size we can easily make half a million gold. You'll be able to upgrade your equipment again." They both smiled and embraced, saying their farewells and leaving in different direction.

Jon was left alone with nothing to do until evening.

Still possessed by his earlier frame of mind he asked himself what he could do to get stronger. Killing the same monster over and over didn't appeal to him; he knew that would bore him too fast.

He concluded that he just didn't know enough about the game to make that decision and after looking at the real world clock he decided not to wake up Gorge and simply headed to the mages’ guild.

He had the option of changing his class into a mage, and the idea of fighting a dragon with magic appealed to him.

He found an instructor and was offered a choice between mage and cleric classes thanks to his heal spell.

Class Change Notice

You have been offered to switch to Longbow Man from an Assassin.

Skills gained by becoming an assassin will be deleted, unless you have reached level two or higher in them.

You have changed your profession to a Mage.

The mage is the most versatile class in the game and is suited best for patient and creative people. By controlling and channeling arcane power with his mind the mage can do things most people don’t even dream of.

From controlling the elements to materializing matter out of thin air, the power of the mage is only limited by his ingenuity and dedication.

+150 Mp

+20 Wisdom

The mage can change to a stronger class when he reaches level 30. To initiate the class change quest you will need to visit an instructor specific to your class who will offer you class options after looking at your skills and spells.

Magic Capacity Passive Skill Acquired

This skill lowers the backlash of misfiring spells and reduces the damage taken when casting spells that require higher magic mastery than you have.

Magic capacity also guards from the damage taken when casting spells that need more Mp than you currently have.

Control Magic Passive Skill Acquired

A passive skill that heightens your control over the spells you cast. Good magic control can prevent area of effect spells (AoE) from hitting your allies while buff and de-buff spells can be applied on many targets at once.

Even the most basic of magic can be used in a variety of ways when you have enough control over it.

Meditation Skill Acquired

By maintaining correct breathing and mental focus for long periods the mage can force his body to become more compatible with the arcane powers.

During this state of awareness the mage's mana points return at an accelerated rate.

One of the many side effects of this passive state is increased mana.

Level 1: +5 Mp every level up.

Jon read the skill descriptions and decided on his next move.

Up the stairs he went and into the guilds library he entered. Just like last time, near every table groups of players were gathered. The bookkeeper was collecting finished books that were left around the library.

"Ice magic."

"Oh, hello again." He was in a cheery attitude again. "How is the healing magic? Do you like it? Was it useful?" He put down the books he was holding but one.

"Do you want to try this one? I was told it is a must read for clerics!"

It was easier to just take the book and stop him from talking.

"Ice magic?"

"Sit down; I'll bring it to you." He went to the bookshelves. "Beginner level right?"

Jon nodded.

He picked an empty chair near a window and read the book title, "Healing Spells for Army Use", it said. He skimmed through it and deemed it useful. He needed to level up his three new skills as fast as he could and the last spell of the book was perfect for that.

"Healing Rain", needed an intermediate level magic mastery and fifteen hundred Mp. It was an area of effect spell that summons arcane rain that heals everything it touches.

-'Stat Window'- He wanted to be sure.

Stat Window

Avatar: Jon Type: Chaotic

Level: 14 Class: Mage

Title: Leader of the Pack

+10 Charisma

Taming animals is 20% easier and faster.

Life: 1030 (+1640) Fame: -82 Mana: 625 (+1500)

Strength: 98 (+100) Dexterity: 94 (+100) Vitality: 61 (+100)

Wisdom: 38 (+100) Intelligence: 67 (+100) Focus: 12 (+100)

Leadership: 0 (+100) Perception: 3 (+100) Luck: 0 (+100)

Offence: 9 Defense: 10

Resistance to Magic:

Cold: 5%

Fire: 2%

Holy: 1%

Affinity to Elements:

Holy: 1%

With the temporary bonus from the dragon meat he had more than enough Mp and casting the spell would train all three of his new passive skills.

A few drops of Scholar's Brew were enough to finish the book quickly. The bookkeeper put a pile of books next to him but Jon ignored them for the time being.

You Have Completed the Book: "Healing Spells for Army Use"

Wisdom Rises by 1 (+1 Wis)

He made a mental note to reread the book in the future but at the moment he asked the Npc for a book that soon lay open before him. A few more drops of the brew and that book was done with as well.

You Have Completed the Book: "Limiting Area Spells"

Wisdom Rises By 1 (+1 Wis)

Done with that, he read the spell. It was long and hard.

Even though there was a chapter dedicated specifically to the correct pronunciation of the words reading the spell in full was difficult. It took forty three minutes to read it all, but the moment he was done his Mp began to drop.

With magic mastery of only level four, fifteen hundred mana points were not enough to cast the spell, and soon all of his Mp was gone and his Hp began to disappear as well.

He was thankful to the dragon meat or else he would have surely been dead. His whole body sucked into powering up the spell.

Shining clouds began to gather under the ceiling. Thunder cracked inside the room and all the eyes in the library shot up.

With the second thunder came the rain. Drops of golden light fell to the floor and were absorbed into the wood. Both people and books were soon covered in bright golden light.

Nothing got wet. As soon as a rain drop fell on something it evaporated into golden mist which soon hung low and became a golden fog that hid the floor from sight.

The sight was captivating and hypnotizing.

The golden light moved as if alive, twisting and swirling around the players’ legs. Those with good imagination looked at it and saw faces looking back at them. Jon could see them too and it was these faces that almost killed him.

The spell sucked away all of his Mp to activate and with no Mp left it began to eat away at his Hp to sustain itself. Since the spell was something he activated by himself the system didn't give him any warning, and if it wasn't for his instincts telling him something was not right the spell would have sucked all his life away.

-'Thank you,'- they saved him again and he was grateful.

He made a mental note, to always glance at his Hp bar when using a new spell or experimenting with an old one.

Breaking off the spell the rain stopped and with a quite, almost cat like hiss, the clouds and mist disappeared.

The library was left sparkling even in the absence of the golden light. As there was nothing to heal the rain cleaned instead. A surprising result but true nonetheless.

Everyone and everything looked new. People felt like they ad just come out of the shower, clothes and books were cleaned of stains and dust, while everything wooden inside the library was rejuvenated. Cracked floor boards were mended and desks that used to have burn marks or broken legs grew back to their original state.

"Healing Rain" Spell Learnt

An area of effect spell that conjures rain clouds out of thin air.

The clouds then condense holy power into liquid form that drops to the ground as rain.

Anyone touched by the drops will have its Hp restored.

While each drop by itself has very little healing power, sustaining the clouds for even a small period of time can heal hundreds of targets completely.

Level 1: AoE size – 15m radius.

Restore rate: 1Hp per drop.

Magic Capacity Levels Up

Magic Mastery Levels Up

Level 5 effects: Can cast beginner level spells.

Casting speed increased by 10%

Intelligence Rises by 1 (+1 Int)

He was a bit disappointed that the magic control skill didn't rise as well but he would deal with it later.

With his Mp bar completely empty he checked the meditation skill and read about what it required him to do. Surprised at how simple it was he breathed in, slowly, through his nose and breathed out even slower through his mouth. He looked at his Mp bar and saw it begin to fill up quickly.

It took a couple of minutes but his Mp was restored completely.

Looking at the skill he saw it was at 83%.

-'Good. Now what will I do about the third skill.'- Control Magic was at 0%.

He summoned his trusty ball of magic. He missed it. The bluish light was a familiar sight now and gave off a comforting feeling.

Weaving it through his fingers and around his hand like he was used to he looked at the skill and saw its experience rising.

One percent, two percent, three percent, it was too slow.

Jon decided to try something he didn't understand why he hadn’t tried earlier.

Concentrating on the floating ball he focused and summoned another ball, and when both balls looked stable he summoned another one, and another one.

He began spinning them around his torso, adding more balls whenever he was convinced the others looked stable and felt secure.

Blue light danced around him, dim in the bright sunlight, but strong enough to color him light blue.

The seventh ball was the limit, when he added it the others began to shake violently and spun out of control, disappearing into dust.

Focus Rises by 1(+1 Foc)

He started slower the second time.

First he began meditating. While doing the breathing exercise he slowly brought out the balls.

Again the seventh ball was his downfall, however this time he maintained all seven for longer.

Meditation Skill Levels Up

Level 2: +10 Mp every level up.

Affect while active: 2Mp every second.

It was time to get back to the kitchen.

He left the guild building with two small spheres of light spinning behind him.

The kitchen was a hectic mess. Everyone was running around and yelling. No one even noticed Jon enter.

He put on an apron and jumped into the fray, blue light spinning over his head.

Control Magic Skill levels Up

It was the dead of the night when Dragon screamed for Jon to come to him.

The effects of the dragon meat were long gone and they were all tired from the evening preparation.

"Do you know her?" Dragon said in a deep tone.

"Jon looked at the woman and recognized her from the other night.

"…" he nodded.

"I see…" Dragon seemed to be busy thinking. "Then you better take care of this before the guests start arriving!" He stormed out of the room and left the two alone.

The woman dropped to her knees.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I didn't know where else to go!"

Jon felt annoyed at the sound of her crying voice.

"The guards wouldn't listen and adventurers refused to help without a reward!" Her voice broke at the end of the sentence. "Please! When I saw the sign over the front door I remembered the bags you gave me and I knew I would find you here. You are my last chance!" She pleaded.

"Please save my daughter!" She wailed.

"They broke inside our house and forced their way to her room. We tried to fight but it was useless. My son was bruised and bleeding but he's followed them, I beg you, please help us…"

She was in her night gown, and in the candle light of the room Jon understood that the dark stains on it were blood. Her face was starting to swell up and her weight favored the left side, in an attempt to lessen the pain of the right.

He knew she was desperate and that Dragon was right. She wouldn't leave any time soon and letting the customers see her in the morning would be a big problem. They were all highborn or wealthy, and seeing a begger outside the restaurant would surely spoil the taste of the dragon meat for them.

"I don't have anything to give you in return but I'll do anything you want in return. Save her! You're the only left for me to ask…"

The words he chanted were ignored by her. Either she didn't hear it over the sound of her own sobbing.

Family Matters Quest Accepted

A woman from the citadel slums has come begging you for help.

She claims her daughter was taken against her will and you are the only one who can save her.

Follow the woman to the building her son identified and bring the daughter back to the mother's arms.

Difficulty: D

Reward: None.

He touched her shoulder and the golden light spread around her body. It engulfed her completely and as it disappeared an expression of relief appeared on her face.

"Thank you," she managed to say before the healing spell finished. Her consciousness escaped her grasp and she began falling to the floor, only to be caught by Jon.

"Here, drink this." Dragon stood over her and offered a glass of water.

It didn't take long for her to regain her consciousness and the moment she did she jumped up. Standing up too fast made her world spin around and make the room go dark. Dragon helped to steady her.

"Jon, told me what happened…" he helped her to a chair, "It's hard to get details from him but I got the gist of it."

"…"

"Can you walk? You need to show him where to go."

"My son is outside…" she said in a weak voice, "Novick..."

Dragon looked Jon in the eyes and motioned him to leave.

"Don't worry Ms. everything will be alright." He lifted the glass of water to her mouth again.

The boy was pacing back and forth outside while the brute eyed him with annoyance.

"His with you?" he said to Jon when he saw him.

Jon ignored him like usual, but the boy turned at the sound of the words and ran up to him.

"Let's run."

Blood flowed out of the boy's nose and his cheek was swollen. He was young, around nine or ten and very skinny. Jon touched him with a glowing palm and the blood flow stopped.

The boy didn't even notice he was healed; he simply turned around and ran off, stopping only to make sure Jon was following.

Soon the light from the market was lost in the maze of alleys and the darkness took over. The boy was breathing heavily but he refused to slow down.

"There it is!" he pointed at one of the many doors on the street they were. There was nothing distinguishable about it but the kid seemed certain.

He was looking around all the time, searching for the hooded figures. They were almost at the door when I opened and light spilled out to the street.

Jon grabbed the kid by his collar, shut his mouth with the other hand and hid in a small space between two houses.

"Are you sure?" Even without the silence that comes during early hours of the morning, Jon was close enough to hear the conversation.

"I'd love to show you my work. You are men who can appreciate my art."

"We need to go, there are other clients waiting."

"Too bad. I enjoy showing this to people." He sighed, "The expressions they make are just…"

"Sorry sir, but I rather not lose my dinner. We really need to go. I hope you will make use of our services in the future, goodbye and have a good time."

"What about you? I saw how you stared. Don't you want to see me work?"

The second hooded figure must have shaken its head in denial because the conversation was over and the men left.

"A shame…" the door closed and the darkness engulfed the street once again.

They walked past them silently and the boy began to trash violently when he saw them. He would have surely ran out and got himself killed.

Jon refused to take the risk of being noticed as well, so he moved his arm to the child's neck and squeezed hard, waiting for the small body to stop struggling.