Chapter Twelve - Taboo

The sun was high in the sky making the shadows creep closer to their casters.

One would expect that high in the mountains it would be hotter than in the plateau, with it being closer to the sun and all, but the reality was different.

It was pleasant during the day but in the morning water buckets and puddles were covered with a fresh layer of ice.

Black smoke was rising from a high mountain valley surrounded by all sides with dangerous mountain tops as sharp as needles. So sharp that even in the fiercest of winters, Iggeld had never seen snow land on them. They were always bare, sticking out like fangs pointed at the sky.

Smoke originated from the only visible opening in a tight ring of stone that surrounded the valley. It rose straight up until it passed a high wall next to it. At that point a ferocious wind struck it and dispersed it, turning it into a cover of grey that covered the valley.

The inhabitants of the place didn't notice it from the ground but dragon riders, returning to their homes after long flights told their families about a dark cloud that seemed to hover over the roofs.

But no one complained.

The smoke was rising from heated tar, used to fill gaps in the stone wall, the wall they had been building in a joint effort to ensure a comfortable life for their families. It was probably the only wall in existence that wasn't built to protect from an enemy or from wild beasts. The reason the wall was being built thick enough for four people to walk comfortably next to each other at the top was so that it would extend as high into the sky as possible. The higher it was the more wind it stopped- an annoying wind that sneaked under your clothes, freezing you to the bone and at the same time pushing you to the ground and making you stumble and fall. This never ending wind, more like a hurricane than wind, was the reason people used to call the place "Wind Valley".

When the wall was half way up, the wind became almost non-existent, and only on the far side of the valley, where the dragon lairs were deep inside a stone mountain wall, could the wind still be felt. Now that the wall towered high over their heads, more and more people began to refer to the valley as "Iggeld's Valley".

Work on the wall progressed fast. There was no need to carry stone from afar. Stone smiths, brought from Dragon Town carved stone from the mountains around them and a bundle of workers worked with pleasure.

Good food and great pay kept their enthusiasm high.

"It'll be finished soon." Said Ratsha to the man next to him. One could tell he was no ordinary man from afar. Tall, muscular and with a straight confident posture, even without a sword at his hip the man was without doubt a great warrior.

"What?" Iggeld wasn't paying attention. His eyes were looking at where the dragons, the love of his life and the only reason he crawled out of his bed in the morning, were at.

Like Ratsha, he too was nothing but ordinary. The hardships he went through forced him to become strong or perish. Like his dragon, who grew up to be the strongest tamed dragon alive, he too matured into a powerful man. He was the only one who still considered himself a dragon farmer, others started to respect him as the founder and leader of their small settlement. But Ratsha also knew that if you put a sword in his hands instead of a brush for cleaning dragon scales, Iggeld could cut through a dozen men with ease.

"What is with you today?" Ratsha tapped Iggeld on the back. Iggeld hardly budged, although Ratsha could break a table in half with such a tap.

"Nothing… I'm just a bit nervous."

"Not about that kid? I swear to the gods, Iggeld! A rabbit could tear you to pieces with that nature of yours. Be firm! The same way you are with that winged toad of yours. If you don't want an outsider raising one of your precious lizards just say so, there is no one here who will dispute your word."

"I don't know… he has the right qualities for the part. He's patient, kind, calm and most importantly hard working."

"Then what's the problem?"

"You know very well what it is! He's an outsider! Who knows where he came from? What if he takes a dragon back with him to whatever land he came from? Huh?"

"You surprise me. Usually you're too trusting for your own good. You'll give a man the shirt of your back if he says he needs it and you'll add your pants and shoes just in case. But when the matter concerns oversized lizards you become an overprotective parent…"

Ratsha was almost twice the age of his friend, and although Iggeld had grown taller that him and also just a bit wider in the shoulders, he understood Iggeld was hoping for advice that Ratsha didn't know to give.

"Listen," Ratsha said after a deep sigh, "I saw the boy, even talked with him on several occasions and he left a good impression. Don't worry about the outsider part. You've seen yourself how many of them there are lately. Every time Chernish flies us to one of the big cities there are always hundreds of them everywhere. I don't know how this one got so far but he clearly has a passion for dragons. You and the rest of the breeders have worked him to death the last month. If he hasn't left after that I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"You're right, we both see how many outsiders have come lately. There seems to be more and more of them with each passing day. What scares me about them is that all of them seem to focus on fighting and getting stronger. What if his dragon grows up to become some bloodthirsty beast like many of their wild brothers?"

"So that's the root of your worries? Look at Chernish! He'll tear a man to shreds if you command him but will come crawling to you with his tail between his legs begging for forgiveness if he accidentally breaks something."

"But…"

"And I for one think that a battle dragon would be a good addition to the valley. Your pup is good and all but during a few times the three of us fought together, he looked like he was playing rather than fighting. I'd love to see a dragon trained for war. Wouldn't that be a fearsome sight?"

"I'll show him! There will be no battle dragons under my watch! If he tries something like that he'll see what happens when my dragon starts to battle!" Iggeld was waving his hands around almost hitting himself with anger.

"Ahah! Did you notice there? You already decided. So when are you telling the brat?"

"You…" he showed Ratsha his fist, "I told him I'd decide by the end of the week. Might as well get it finished now." He began walking towards the large caves on the other side of the valley, where the dragons slept and the dragon keepers worked around the clock. Ratsha stayed behind and helped carry stones up the wall, taking by himself the load of three men.

In the silence of the night, with no market sounds or street noises, every footstep echoed through the stone corridors. The weak chatter from the library floor was gone on the fourth floor and now that he stepped onto the fifth floor Jon could hear his heart beating in his chest.

It was a slow and steady heartbeat. His breath came out in a measured pace, breathing in through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. The night was cold and the heat from the day had already left the stone building so his breath came out as small white clouds. Other than a small icon at the side of his peripheral vision everything else was dark. The icon indicated the meditation state was active. Jon found it perfect for trying to keep hidden and silent. It kept him calm and concentrated.

He moved slowly, relying on the wall beside him as everything else was pitch black. The only window, at the end of the corridor, hardly let any moonlight through. Only a small place near it was lit with a pale glow.

Jon remembered the layout of the floor as all of the dormitory floors were built in the same way. He reached a wooden door and opened it slowly, making sure to lift it up a little so the hinges didn't make a sound. His sneak skill silenced the action even more without him knowing about it.

The sounds of breathing filled the room and a weak smell of feet hung in the air. He waited to see if anyone would wake but the three of them didn't stir. The room was brighter than the corridor but not because of the large window. Jars, flasks and different glowing objects were scattered around the room, making the room seem larger than it was from the weird way the shadows in it fell.

Jon was glad to find out players, especially mage trainees, sleep inside the game instead of sleeping in real life. A player could play for three game days nonstop without sleep before he logged out to sleep, however most beginners practiced another method. They would sleep inside the game like the rest of the Npcs. Eight hours of sleep counted as two hours of sleep in real life. As each real day was four days of game time that meant four times of two hour sleep outside the game. In total eight hours of sleep a day, more than enough to keep the body going. Food and feces were taken care of by the capsule, allowing a person to play for up to a week at a time without ever logging out and stepping out of the capsule. Electric stimulation made sure to keep the muscles from deteriorating, which resulted in a large number of beginners playing the first month in the game time without ever leaving Royal Road.

The reason for this phenomenon was more common amongst mages was the "Well Rested" bonus. It was explained in the "Fundamentals of Magic" book all mages had to read to get the magic mastery skill. If a player slept inside the game, once he woke, in addition to his stamina, Hp and Mp being fully restored, he would also get an increased chance of spells and skills working properly. A bonus to the Mp and Hp regeneration was also added for the next twelve hours.

Jon wasn't about to miss this chance, so when he entered the room his knife was already drawn. There were three two-floor beds in the room, and each of them had a player sleeping in the lower bunk. Slowly he walked to the closest bed, careful not to step on the clutter that covered the floor.

The player was sleeping on his back. One of his hands fell of the bed and his legs were spread wide apart under the covers. It was a young boy around eight.

The game didn't have an age limit, but a young one such as him was a rare sight and would usually be accompanied by one of his parents.

Jon ignored the boy and passed to the next bed.

The man slept soundly. Just like the boy he too was on his back, his hand lay on his stomach and he was breathing through a wide open mouth. A two or three days worth of beard wasn't enough to mask the resemblance he had with the small boy.

-'I guess this is the father…'- He thought to himself as he stood over him and positioned the tip of the knife to the man's eyeball.

-'Silent Strike!'-

The blade slid through the eye socket and reached the brain with a weak downward push. A liquid spilled from the hole, dark, darker than anything in the room. It slid down the man's cheeks but didn't make it to the bedcover; the body disappeared before it could.

You have killed a player!

Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame)

A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 6 hours.

Jon didn't check to see if any loot was left under the blanket, he just froze, listening for sounds and looking into the darkness for unusual movement. Satisfied that everything was alright he stepped over to the next bed and slipped the knife behind the ear of the teenager sleeping on his side in it.

You have killed a player!

Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame)

A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 12 hours.

Before leaving the room he passed next to the young boy's bed and covered the child's feet with a blanket.

-'Eighteen to go…'-

Jon continued to sneak into one room after another, leaving the rooms he passed with messy but empty beds. His palm was sticky and wet but he didn't bother to wipe it, not until he was done.

You have killed a player!

Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame)

A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 84 hours.

Sneak Mastery Levels Up

He rejoiced when he read the skill level up massage.

As he decided to play the game seriously, becoming stronger appealed to him and seeing the system notices that informed him of it was something he started lusting for. He didn't have a certain path he wanted to concentrate on, yet, so he tried to use as much skills and do as many things as he could simultaneously in hopes of seeing that small white massage appear before his eyes.

Jon moved slowly and carefully but since rooms were close together and each had at least three players, after half an hour he was standing over his last kill, a beautiful woman that slept in her mage robes.

Even though he hardly moved, he was hot and sweating heavily. Sneaking required him to use all of his muscles to control his steps and the soles of his feet were about to cramp. He wiped the sweat from his brows, careful not to wake her. He had already killed two players in this room but besides the woman there were two more. Although she was the last one, he didn't bother with any ceremonies. The knife slipped in and out of her the same way it did with the other twenty. Fast, steady and without hesitation.

You have killed a player!

Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame)

A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 126 hours.

Silent Strike Levels Up

Level 4: Deal 15% more damage.

Chance of a critical hit increases by 40%.

Critical damage increased by 5%.

Cost: 45 Mp

You Have Become "Dark"

For acquiring negative 500 fame your type has been changed to dark.

Quest lines, events and areas that were inaccessible to you before are now open.

"Hell's Kitchen" tavern has been marked on your map.

Daily Password: Mimaks

"Blood" Class Acquired

+500 Hp

You have become a "Blood Mage"

There are many ways to earn this title but the easiest is gaining negative fame.

Those who have earned themselves the blood title as their class can choose to use Hp instead of Mp for skills and spells.

While using your own life to power up class skills is frowned upon there are even holy knights who use this method. However for a mage to use life force to cast spells is considered a taboo. The law forbids it in all but the most distant places. One of the unofficial roles of the mages' guild is to hunt down users of blood magic.

Blood magic is treated as a gateway to magic much more sinister and foul, and for a magic practitioner who deals with forces, many of which are beyond his control, it is very easy to go down the path of evil.

Blood Magic Mastery Acquired

This skill governs your control over magic cast with vitality instead of magic.

Blood magic is stronger than simple magic but using it comes with many risks.

Higher mastery will reduce the pain that comes with the use of one's health. It will also increase the power of your blood magic and help you with controlling your spells.

Level 1: Blood magic is 20% more powerful.

Drain Life Skill Acquired

Just like a mage can increase his mana flow and learn how to gather mana from his surroundings, the blood mage can collect life force from living beings.

As long as the blood mage has living things around him he can toy with the aspect of immortality. Taking the life force of others into himself, the blood mage will be healed from even the most grave of injuries and illnesses.

Level 1: Heal 1 Hp for every 50Hp drained.

Drain 25 Hp a second.

If there was anyone awake in the room he would have seen Jon's eyes sparkle from excitement.

While the skills were to his liking what he was most pleased with was the five hundred points bonus to his health. It was half of his current Hp points and it was a permanent bonus.

A warm feeling spread through his body as he re-read the system messages. It was a good feeling, almost intoxicating. Jon realized that if he weren't careful he could get addicted to it. He wanted to wallow in it longer but a scraping sound from the window brought him back to the dark room he was in and made him crouch behind the bed, listening and searching. The meditation icon disappeared while he hid there silently.

After a few minutes of silence the icon returned and Jon was standing next to another player's bed.

Done with what he came to do Jon was in no hurry to leave. He decided to try out his newly acquired skills.

Cutting his forearm, the same way he did when he trained his heal skill, he felt a fresh wave of adrenaline spread through his body together with an accompanying pain. His heart became a few beats faster but not enough to cancel the meditation state.

-'Drain Life!'-

He waited but nothing happened. There were no tentacles of life energy entering him, there was no magic light and his Hp was down forty points and it wasn't returning.

He tried again but this time either nothing happened.

-'Hmm…'-

It hit him after a moment. The skill needed a target and Jon didn't designate one.

-'It probably works by touch.'- He touched the shoulder of a player he was standing next to. Gently, careful not to wake him up, he put the tip his index finger to the bare skin of the sleeping player. Waiting a moment to see if he would stir he held the knife an inch from the boy's throat, just in case he had to silence him fast.

-'Drain Life!'-

A faint red glow appeared on his finger and seemed to move up his hand, creeping slowly under his sleeve. The veins and arteries on the player's shoulder, next to where Jon's finger was touching, became visible as a weak orange glow lit them from underneath the skin.

His Hp bar returned to full in less then two seconds but Jon didn't even notice. He was looking intensely at the visible veins. He could see them tremor slightly as blood moved through them. A feeling of freshness spread through his body. The muscles that were threatening to cramp a few seconds ago felt rested and relaxed and he no longer sweated.

-'Useful.'- Was all that passed through his mind in the few seconds he stood over the player.

The player neither wake nor even move a hand. If he were awake at that moment he would've seen his screen flashing red, warning him that his health was critical.

Jon waited too long to cancel the skill. He was killing the player and it didn't seem like he was about to stop. As the seventh second passed the red glow changed suddenly into a bright white light. It no longer moved up his hand but simply shone at the tip of his finger. Surprised, Jon canceled the skill but the light didn't disappear.

The player's body turned grey and disappeared, which meant that he was dead.

All of his Hp was drained by Jon and only a small bright ball of light was left in his place. It floated from side to side over Jon's spread palm. Moving in small circles around itself, the light it gave off was much stronger than one would expect from something as small as a sand grain.

Soul Trap Skill Learned

A dangerous consequence of using the "Drain Life" skill without care is this evil result.

When the player uses this skill with full Hp the drained life force doesn't have anywhere to go so it just lingers around the player.

If such a user continues to drain the target's life until the target dies, the lingering life force that doesn't know where to go will keep the soul of the dead target behind so that it has a place to stay. The soul of the dead player can then be used by the player for powering up his own skills and spells.

The soul can be placed in an appropriate container for future use. There are many such containers but precious gemstones are the most common, with a higher grade of gem stone being able to hold more than one soul.

When the soul is used for such an action it will be consumed and will no longer be part of the circle of life, never able to reincarnate.

Warning: Excessive soul trapping can anger the gods for messing with the circle of life.

Level 1: Can trap souls of level five and lower.

Jon's lips parted in a smile that kept growing until it turned into a grin.

-'With this skill I can cast almost any magic I want! I can become invincible!'- A deep chuckle escaped from his throat.

He looked around himself but there was no chance of finding a gem stone in the messy room. Refusing to let the soul go he tried to push it into the red gem stuck in the middle of his forehead.

The gemstone is already full.

-'Damn!'-

Left with no other choice he dropped his hand, letting go of the small grain of soul in it. The source of the bright light began to slowly rise until it passed through the stone ceiling and left the room in complete darkness.

Weird floating shapes covered Jon's vision. Blinded from the strong light his eyes were no longer used to the darkness and he couldn't see his hand even if he put it in front of his face. He dropped to the floor, laying still and holding his breath. There was another player sleeping in the room and the light could've woken him up. Until his eyes got used to the night again he was helpless. He lay motionless, listening to the steady breathing coming from behind him to the left. Jon was in a risky situation but the smile on his face still hung there, showing two rows of white teeth and two fangs larger and sharper than most people had. Jon was secretly proud of his large fangs. He considered himself a big meat eater and he always enjoyed ripping large chunks of meat with his fangs.

Slowly his eyes got used to the dark room and he began to differentiate shapes. He waited a while longer and when the moonlight from the window was enough for him to see where he was stepping he left the room as silently as he had entered it.

His first desire from when he just started playing was fulfilled and although he was satisfied he was still hungry for more. As he went down the stairs this bothered him, he thought he'd be happier once he gained control over the alluring purple magic. He didn't notice the crowd and almost collided with a wall of people that was blocking the main hall on the first floor.

Jon listened to them, circling to the building exit.

"I hope it works."

"Well… thirds time the charm, as they say."

"I never saw someone fly before. I hope he succeeds!"

"How much wisdom does the equipment give?"

"Shh! He's starting."

Jon was taller then most of the crowd and by standing on his toes he could see a mage in the center. He was wearing a glowing robe and hood. The fingers that held a weirdly shaped book each had a large ring. Three necklaces surrounded his neck, one of which dropped to the level of his naval. Six earrings were visible on his left ear.

The player was chanting slowly as he read from the book. A weak hum came from two other mages that stood on his sides with their arms pointing at him.

Jon didn't stay to see if it would work. All he wanted was to get as far away as possible from the mages' building before someone happened to discover what had happened during the night. A mage trying to absorb a high level spell was the least of his interest.

Unlike most spells that only had to be read and understood to be used, very high level spells were a gamble to learn. First you had to find a spell book, which was rare and very pricy. Once you put your hands on such a book just like a normal spell book all you had to do was to read it. However, unlike those books, a high level spell book would teach you only one spell and learning that spell wouldn't always succeed. If you didn't manage to learn it the first time you wouldn't get another chance. The magic would escape from the book pages and you would be left with an empty book.

The wisdom stat affected your chance of learning the spell and for that reason mage guilds kept wisdom gear that it would rent to mages trying to learn a high level spell.

It was all written in the first book all mages read, "Fundamentals of Magic", and Jon wasn't interested in seeing that in person.

He stepped out into the cold night air with slight relief. He regretted that his impatience got the better of him now that the killing was done with. He still had plans that required him to be in the citadel for them to be completed.

But now that the deed was done guards would chase him ad try to capture him if they was him. He can sneak around them but most Npcs would refuse to trade or even talk to him. Still, Jon has decided to let go of the past and intended to do the same for this as well. What was done is now gone so he looked at the compass in his menu, checked what direction was north and began walking to the gate.

It was morning but the sun has yet to come up. Npcs were already out and about on the street. Windows and doors were opened wide to change the stale air of the room with fresh morning air. Women made the majority of the crowd, on their way to try and be the first customers of the just opening shops and stalls.

There were hardly any players around. They could easily be differentiated by the way they talk ed and what they wore. They were probably still hunting while the night time exp bonus was active.

Jon could feel stares on himself as he walked. Once or twice he even caught people whispering and pointing at him.

-'So it's like this…'- His negative fame was attracting attention and if he didn't do something about it feared the guards would be called to arrest him. He looked around himself and stepped into a side alley just as two guards turned round the corner to the main street Jon had left.

Jon hurried his steps. He wanted to get to the gate before the sun rose.

Like always there were two guards standing at the sides of the gate. A whole platoon, twelve soldiers, were stationed at the gate at any given moment.

During the day there were four guards on active duty, two looking outside at incoming people and two looking inside to protect the peace of the citadel. At night however, there weren't many people who would leave the safety of the citadel so only two guards were stationed, the rest were sleeping in a small building next to the wall.

There was no way of leaving the citadel but the gate. Jon didn't feel like climbing over the high walls and unfortunately he wouldn't learn how to fly anytime soon. He didn't want to be pursued by the guards so he did what he got pretty good at doing ever since he entered the game.

He began to sneak up to the gate, chanting spells silently, making them ready for when he strikes.

The torches at the gate were still burning when he arrived. The sun wasn't up but it was beginning to show its presence over the far reaches of the forest.

-'Swift! Back Wind!'- He had to sneak but he was in a hurry for time. Any moment now two more guards could come.

His right palm was a faint blue color and his left, the one holding the knife, made small crackling sounds weaker than the burning torches, from electricity that ran along the blade.

He decided to try out the "Chilling Grasp" and "Static Hand" skills to ensure a kill. If he got unlucky and one of the guards was a captain he would be in a problem.

Jon summoned a magic ball of mana. His control magic passive skill paid off and the blue ball of light didn't even shake.

He moved the orb outside the gate and moved it around to taunt the guards. They took the bait and moved closer to check what it was.

"Ever seen somtin like that?"

"Nah… You?"

"Not sure…"

Both of them stood under the orb looking up at its blinding light. Jon was only a few steps from them, moving as silent as a spider.

When he was behind the left guard he moved the blue orb quickly to the right. His plan worked and their stares followed. The right guard didn't see his friend being killed next to him.

Jon stepped up to the left guard placing his right hand over the man's mouth and freezing his face to prevent any sounds.

-'Silent strike!'- His left hand cut his throat confidently in one swift motion, sending a shock of electricity that stunned as well as damaged.

"I remembered! I saw somtin like this at the magic vendor. He was selling those things as toys for kids. You could choose from a bunch of colors."

"You should get one for your kid." He rubbed his eyes as he said that, trying to clear floating lights from his vision. Jon waited for the hand to come down so he had room to grab and slice his throat the same way he did with the other.

Jon's level may only be fifteen but his stats and skill were already far higher. The bonus from the dragon meat was like leveling forty levels. Add to that the "Silent Strike" skill of level four, a level usually seen by level seventy rogues, and a combination of magic spells to go with his attacks Jon had become a formidable opponent.

Also working for him were his proficiency in different martial arts and the experience of many combat situations. The poor guards didn't stand a chance even if they fought him fair and square.

Jon left the bodies for the other guards to find.

He did search them first, hoping to find a ring or a necklace with an embedded gemstone but they had nothing of the sort. The equipment appealed to Jon, as it was high quality armor and weapons but he decided not to take them as they all had the Rozenheim emblem on them. After he finished the quest and got the fame to walk around the citadel freely again, using any of these gear would bring up too many questions. And carrying the heavy armor in his inventory would overburden him.

Walking along the citadel wall he heard sounds of fighting and saw, in the weak early morning sun, players running around hunting animals. He took out his bow and equipped a quiver of arrows. Taking his time, he slowly headed north, sending arrows flying every few steps. He had no intention of killing the players, he was simply having fun training his skills and getting stronger.

And he was planning to get stronger fast, no matter what it took.