System Launch Page 6

  It was a class that focused on burst damage and battlefield manipulation. Taking down a target in his initial strike then disappearing. Even in sustained combat the class focused on surviving and keeping the opponent off balance until one of his high damage Skills was ready again. Traps, poisons, and other tricks and maneuvers were also part of the Rogue skillset.

  That in mind, Ben considered improving his combat tempo.

  Double Tap offered one option, but it was only available every 20 seconds. If Ben could find another skill with similar timing he’d be able to switch between the two attacks and cut the time he had to survive between high damage attacks down to 10 seconds. Not the best Ben had ever achieved, but he had to start somewhere.

  Ben stopped in his tracks, then backed up two Skill Books. He was pretty sure that - yes.

  Skill Book: Trick Shot (Rank: Common, Level N/A, Grade N/A) - Teaches the skill Trick Shot with a Maximum Rank of Common.

  According to the display it was a Rogue skill with high damage and a 20 second cool down. It also cost 1 silver, 20 copper to buy. Ben cursed under his breath and cancelled the transaction. He had no clue how difficult skill books would be to find. Better to hold off until he had an idea. He’d have the coin to buy the book later, which was more than most players could say right now. Given a little time, he’d know whether or not that 1 silver, 20 copper was a waste or a steal.

  Right now, it was a gamble. One he had no reason to take.

  The Pride of Rubina quest seemed straight forward enough and promised to pay both in and out of game. Better to conserve resources until he knew he’d need to spend them.

  That done, Ben left the shop. And came to a dead halt when he saw a familiar player handle on the other side of the square, heading into the town hall. Acting quickly, Ben used the game’s inbuilt camera system to grab a photo. Then sent it to the Open Contract Adventures chat.

  Last Falcon: So... I’ve got Novaburst in Azure Bloom Town. Anyone else got notables?

  Merciless: Shit, he’s in town with us?

  Vigilant Flame: Great. I ran into Starlit Valor earlier. Confirmed it’s him, too. Sending photos and contact data.

  Ben cursed as he saw the picture. He’d even recreated his character avatar again.

  Ben couldn’t help his reaction. It wasn’t born from anger but surprise and frustration. He had all the respect in the world for Starlit Valor. After all the man taught Ben the fundamentals of VR gaming.

  But Starlit Valor and Novaburster were both well known as Branch Leaders for their respective Guilds. VRMMOs classified player groups, or Organizations, into two types. Those that focused on independence and mobility, like Merchant Caravans, Adventure Groups, and Artisan Ateliers. And those that focused on infrastructure and capability, like Trading Firms, Combat Guilds, and Artisan Foundries. These distinctions were far from arbitrary, and many of the in-game systems and mechanics handled the two groups differently.

  In that context his Adventuring Group was the equivalent of a Merchant Caravan. The key difference between a caravan and an adventure group was the type of player. Combat Guilds and Adventure Groups acted as in-game paramilitary forces.

  The difference between a Guild and an Adventure Group was the difference between a conventional force and a guerilla force. Previously a guerilla force had suited Ben’s purposes with its flexibility. Ben knew he’d need conventional forces for his plans in Seeds of Lysium.

  Novaburster and Starlit Valor presented two big obstacles to developing that conventional force. Both would have significant infrastructural support both in and out of game. Two major Branch Guilds competing for recruits in town would cut into the recruit pool for Open Contract Adventuring successor Guild. Players would have to choose whose try-outs to attend, or whose offer to accept. As it stood, Ben knew they’d accept offers from Honor of the Reckless or Nova Corps. over an offer from his Adventuring Group.

  He shook his head. Nothing for it but to deal with it. He sent Starlit Valor a friend request and sent a message to the Adventure Group chat.

  Last Falcon: Anyone got data on how we register an Org?

  Smiling Sun: Need access to a city. So level 10, minimum.

  Last Falcon: Keep eyes peeled. More notables pop up and we’ll look at a Sherman Special. Better than trying to compete directly.

  Ben considered pulling his group mates into this quest, but decided against it. Right now they needed information about the game and setting.

  That done, Ben decided it was time he got on with this quest. Pulling up the map he’d been sent on the Adventure Group chat, Ben pulled up the quest log. It didn’t take long to figure out where he was supposed to go.

  There, northwest of Azure Bloom Town, was a zone labeled ‘Fog Goblin Grove’. Ben saw that all 30 members of Open Contract Adventuring were scattered around the grove. There was a trio of interconnected lakes north of the village, and southeast of the Fog Goblin Grove. The map tagged the area as Triple Lake Hill.

  According to the information Culvins had given Ben, the Pride of Rubina ran aground somewhere among those lakes. All he had to do was follow the river that ran through town and he’d reach Triple Lake Hill. A quick check with the guard at the gate told him which direction along the river would take him towards the area map in question.

  Chapter Nine

  December 29th, 2103, Seeds of Lysium, Between Azure Bloom and Triple Lake Hill

  Five real time minutes became fifteen in game minutes. Either way that was how long it took Ben to encounter his first Elemental.

  Ben engaged his Stealth skill and froze as soon as he heard it. An earth-shattering crack. He watched a ridge of hard packed earth and stone tear open.

  A quick glance confirmed that Stealth had taken. That assured, Ben settled in to observe what happened next. He had a feeling this would become a mundane sight, but for now it was brand new. He needed to get a handle on what it was.

  The crack in the ground disgorged a long, slithering tube of some sort. Ben looked closer. The tube seemed to be held together by grass and roots and filled with rock and dirt.

  As he considered the thing, Ben realized that Discerning Eye was lit up. Curious, he tried the skill.

  A gauge appeared and ticked off a second. Ben checked and, sure enough, saw he’d paid an MP to maintain Stealth.

  Then a window appeared in his field of vision, hovering offset from the creature. Worm, he amended.

  Name: Soil Worm

  Type: Earth Elemental

  Rank: Common

  Grade: Low

  Level: 1

  HP:35/35

  MP: 20/20

  Ben considered how to approach this target. Sneak Attack, the stealth version of his basic Attack, was always an option. But Double Tap had its own Ambush version he hadn’t tried out yet. Double Strike didn’t sound overly impressive on paper. On paper it just gave him a second Double Tap after his initial ambush.

  But paper didn’t always match up to reality. Drawing the Flashing Blade, Ben crept closer to the Soil Worm. Carefully picking his steps and watching its reactions, he burned up an extra 2 MP in his ten second approach.

  The worm had tried to ambush Ben. His quick use of Stealth had left it without a target. He wouldn’t give it one now by stepping on a twig.

  Carefully picking his way around the offending scraps of wood, Ben came within range. A second to brace himself for the battle to come, then Ben triggered Double Strike.

  The initial two hits shaved away a 5 and 6 HP respectively. Ben struck again with his second Double Tap. It shaved away another dozen HP. Ben pushed hard against the ground, jumping back from the Soil Worm.

  It was as well he did so. The elemental beast writhed, slamming its tail through the space where Ben had been. He darted forward, striking again at the side of the worm. It shuddered under the blow, 8 hp falling away. The side facing B
en grew jagged protrusions. Instincts screaming, Ben threw himself to the side.

  A trio of jagged rocks tore through the space where Ben had stood. One tore through the side of his arm and Ben hissed out a curse. 12 HP in one shot.

  Cursing, Ben retook his feet in time to dodge away from the Soil Worm. It’s body slammed into the ground where he’d fallen and coiled up, preparing to spring at him again.

  Ben struck before it could do so, shaving off the last 4 points of health the creature had. A window snapped into view above the fallen Soil Worm.

  First Kill, Reward Enhanced.

  Ben examined at the inventory below those words. Two pieces of something called Elemental Gravel, and a pill jar. Taking the jar, Ben used Discerning Eye.

  Least Health Restorative Uses: 1/1. Description: Restores 20 HP when used.

  Ben felt a bit of glee come over him. It was a Least Health Restoration Pill. The most basic of health restoratives, it was exactly such pills that Ben had passed up on back in town. That he was getting one from an elemental was telling. First kill or not, this told Ben that health restoratives were available in the wild. It was useful future information. It also told Ben that saving his money earlier was the right move.

  Ben put the pill jar into his inventory, then glanced at the in-game time. Plenty of VRMMOs made night time a more dangerous time for travelling and adventuring. There would come a point where Ben could profit from that, but now wasn’t it.

  The perceptive dilation system meant that one hour in game felt like three hours out of game. Due to that, it was barely 9PM. Night wouldn’t hit in-game until 10pm, then again at 4am. The mandatory 12 hours real-world would kick in at 8am. The in game night cycle would repeat 4pm and 10am while he handled real world affairs and business and tended to the business of running Open Contract Workshop. He’d log back in at 8pm and begin the cycle again.

  Satisfied that he had plenty of time before nightfall, Ben transferred the Elemental Gravel into his bag. Then he continued his search for the Pride of Rubina.

  Chapter Ten

  December 29th Seeds of Lysium: Triple Lake Hill.

  An hour’s walking brought Ben to Triple Lake Hill, confirmed by the system information panel that read Overworld - Triple Lake Hill Zone. He’d encountered a half-dozen more Soil Worms. Now that he knew what tricks the things could pull they weren’t half as challenging. After the second one he’d figured out what their ambush sites looked like and shared the information with his Adventure Group. The quads, he knew, would ask if they wanted information.

  Then it became even easier and the combination of Stealth and Double Strike left a trail of corpses. Each one had contributed at least 2 units of Elemental Gravel to Ben’s cause. More importantly, 2 had contributed Least Health Restoration Pills.

  “Focus.” Ben snarled under his breath. He was in unexplored territory and pursuing a quest. Carelessness and impatience were fantastic ways to die and be sent back to town. He couldn’t afford that kind of wasted time right now. He took a moment to center himself and ran through his senses.

  Ben could see the sun glinting off the water. Saw, too, the moving and shifting ripples that told Ben something was in the water. Saw tree branches dancing in the breeze. Saw a pair of canoes pulled ashore about ten meters to the left. Saw a squat gray figure examining one of those canoes. A Fog Goblin he supposed. Ben could hear the wind across the lake. Could hear the occasional clatter and bang from whatever the Fog Goblin was doing as well as it’s cursing. Could hear the lap of the water against the shore. Ben could feel the weight of the sword against his back, the ground beneath his feet, and the wind against his skin. Could smell the water and decaying water plants. Could taste his excitement for the quest to come.

  Ben took a moment to re-examine his statistics before heading to scout the lake shore. He hadn’t done so while dealing with the Soil Worms.

  Name: Last Falcon

  Class: Rogue

  Rank: Common

  Grade: Low

  Level: 0

  Progress to Next Level: 19%

  HP:50/50

  MP:10/10

  Primary Attributes:

  Power: 11 (+1)

  Endurance: 10

  Agility: 11 (+1)

  Magic: 10

  Secondary Attribute Modifiers:

  Damage: +2

  Ben turned his attention to the nearby Fog Goblin and canoes. He could see other canoes around the lake’s edge even from here. No doubt the other canoes would have guards. Might as well start with this one - no, these two Ben corrected himself as he spotted a second Fog Goblin. This one was hidden in the brush, and was no more attentive to its surroundings than the Fog Goblin working on the canoe.

  Ben targeted the nearer Fog Goblin and activated Discerning Eye. It produced a gauge.

  One that started counting off 5 seconds. Freezing, Ben watched as his MP dropped down below half. He pulled back, stopping only when his MP bottomed out and Stealth broke naturally. Then he took the time to consider his newly gathered information

  Name: Dregs Scrapper

  Type: Fog Goblin

  Rank: Common

  Grade: Lowest

  Level: 1

  HP: 29/29

  MP: 30/30

  Low health pool and high magic pool. A level higher than him, and apparently lower grade than him? Ben was surprised.

  He’d ignored the Grade of Low mostly because he didn’t know what it meant. But this Fog Goblin was, supposedly, even lower grade than he was. He decided he’d check the forums for information about that as soon as he had downtime. At the current rate, Ben suspected he’d have to find a safe place to bunker down for the night before turning in this quest. He could investigate then.

  He watched as his MP climbed back up to full, then reengaged Stealth. Ben closed on the Dregs Scrapper. If he was right, then this guy would go down before his buddy even had a chance to realize Ben was here.

  If he was wrong, this was going to get ugly.

  As it turned out, Ben was both.

  Engaging Double Strike, Ben slashed out with his sword, the system taking control of his arm for a moment to strike with the blade. The first strike shaved off 11 health. Ben started to curse when the system drew his arm back across the Fog Goblin.

  23 HP.

  The Fog Goblin flew backwards from the force of his Critical Hit. Ben saw its buddy look up and bark in alarm. Then, to Ben’s confusion, the Fog Goblin ran away from Ben. A moment later Ben realized what was happening. He ran

  The explosion from the landmines tore both canoes and both Fog Goblins apart. Ben cursed at the loss of two ears and the associated bounties. Both had yielded 3 percent experience to Ben’s next level, which was something he supposed. He’d also learned the most important detail of dealing with Fog Goblins. One he sent to the Open Contract Adventures chat.

  Last Falcon: Fog Goblins like booby traps. And explosives. Just an FYI.

  Merciless: Get boomed boss?

  Last Falcon: No but close.

  He sent the video, and then returned to his exploration. He’d briefly examined the streaming and recording settings. For now had the streaming system off, the recording system activating when he entered combat. After his second Soil Worm he decided that having the recordings would be worthwhile.

  There were others in the group who were dedicated streamers. Smiling Sun and Merciless were two of the group’s stand-out examples in that regard. Ben had other priorities. But Ben knew that the Open Contract viewership would get a kick out of that scene. From the schedule Ben had, Merciless’ stream was running right now. He’d show the clip at some point when he had downtime.

  The second camp went much more smoothly. Except that one canoe had a hole in the bottom, and the other was situated on a landmine. Rather than risk it, Ben collected the Fog Goblin ears he neede
d and moved on. It was as Ben was clearing his third Fog Goblin canoe camp that a new group chat lit up.

  Or rather, one that had lain idle until now. Grinning like a loon, Ben popped open the chat.

  Dancing Wind: Damn that tutorial takes forever.

  Last Falcon: Maybe for you youngsters. Welcome to the Deeper Wood, David.

  Dancing Wind: Yuck it up Ben. Anything I should know?’’

  Ben passed along a few nuggets, emphasizing the rewards the system gave out for being first to do something. Then, after sending David a friend request, Ben returned to his explorations.

  David was good. Better than most gamers by a good margin. To be honest, all the quads were. They all had the same basic idea Ben had regarding the Pepedians. Still, it was only a matter of time until the initial wave of players cleared the tutorial entirely. His remaining time advantage was rapidly decaying. Examining the canoes, Ben grunted in satisfaction.

  No holes, no traps. It even had a usable paddle.

  Ben started to push the canoe into the water. Then a whistling noise caught his attention and Ben ducked. A half-meter long wooden dart wobbled in the sand next to Ben. Spinning Ben saw the figure of another Fog Goblin. It didn’t look like a Dregs Scrapper. Ben didn’t wait to scan the enemy.

  He engaged Flashing Blade Aura as he rushed towards the enemy. It loaded up another dart on what looked like a fancy wooden sling. Ben vaguely remembered seeing the design in Mesoamerican history, but couldn’t recall the name.

  What he knew was that it could be damned deadly. Predicting the dart’s trajectory, he ducked under the flying wooden stake.

  Then the Fog Goblin was in range of his Flashing Blade Aura. He attacked, and a crescent wave 5 meters long reached out and cut the Fog Goblin nearly in half. The creature screeched and stumbled, splashing in the water. Blood seeped out into the lake as the creature moaned.