System Launch Read online

  “Not surprising, but frustrating.” Ben muttered as he read the data. This, of course, not only increased the value of any alchemic concoctions his people could make and sell, but also increased the value of Artisan tools.

  Ben looked over at the chat icon to see that it was flashing in a way that said he had multiple chats that had updated. No surprise, he’d been clearing the Rubina for nearly two hours of in-game time.

  Opening up the chats, Ben saw that one was his siblings, the other was the Open Contract Adventure Group. Ben didn’t even have to think about the choice, pulling open the chat from his siblings first.

  RockOut - What is UP my BICHES!

  RockOut - *bitches

  Jazzyhands - LOL

  Dancing Wind - Seth, that sucked.

  RoclOut - Hey Davy

  RockOut - Leah are you playing a lifelong prank on Rebecca?

  Jazzyhands - Not unless Leah’s playing invasion of the body snatchers.

  Ben snorted at the byplay and sent Seth a friend request. No need to jump in.

  Pulling up the Open Contract Adventure Group’s chat, Ben confirmed that nothing was amiss before sending a notice that the team should hoard any and all Artisan Tools they came across. The boost they provided to success rates could easily become the deciding factor between success or failure for their Guild’s merchant endeavors.

  That done, Ben turned his attention to the gloves and dagger. Discerning Eye showed that the dagger was unimpressive in its stats. Ben was about to consign it to storage or sale when he recalled something from his equipment screen.

  Pulling it up, Ben ran down the gear he could have equipped at a time. Helmet, torso, legs, boots, gloves for base gear. Shoulders, one ring per hand, a belt and an amulet for accessories. And as a Rogue, Ben saw, he could equip a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.

  Glancing down at his side and the short blade he’d all but forgotten since completing the Tutorial, Ben suppressed the urge to smack his own head. He’d done this entire thing with only one weapon, and he was carrying two.

  With a self-deprecating smile, Ben replaced the dagger he had equipped with the one he’d just found. While not inspiring, the new one added a point to Ben’s agility while the previous did not. That single difference was enough to Ben.

  Moving on to the gloves, Ben saw that they were more interesting. While he wasn’t confident in his ability to identify equipment ranks on visual examination, he was willing to bet these weren’t common gloves. He was right.

  Name: Rough Sewn Leather Fingerless Gloves

  Item Class: Equipment

  Item Type: Gloves, Leather

  Class Restriction: Rogue, Berserker

  Rank: Uncommon

  Level: 0

  Grade: Low

  Upgrade Requirements: Unknown

  Stats:

  + 2 to Toughness

  + 2 to Defense

  Ben grinned at the obvious upgrade and immediately replaced his previous gloves with these. That done, Ben set out to scout the ship for other odds and ends. He found nothing of note, and settled in to wait and plan.

  Chapter Fifteen

  December 29th, 2103, Seeds of Lysium: Outside Azure Bloom Town

  Ben pulled the Fog Goblin canoe he’d commandeered onto the riverbank. A short five minute walk would take him to the front gates. From there it was Culvins, then the Quartermaster, then the local shops to offload some gear and pull in some quick coin. Perhaps Ben could even get an idea about using the Elemental Gravel he’d collected.

  Three minutes into his walk, Ben’s instincts screamed. Listening, he jumped back. A wooden club slammed into the ground. It didn’t do anything to the ground, but Ben knew he wouldn’t be as lucky. He tried to activate his Stealth skill. It failed once, then twice.

  Finally, as Ben slipped into the brush, the skill activated. Glancing at his MP gauge, Ben winced. Each attempt had cost a point of MP even if it hadn’t succeeded. He’d just lost 10 seconds of Stealth, and in the clearing in front of Ben was a familiar person.

  Doctor Delirium. He had a colorful bird with a hooked beak flying around his head as he shouldered the club. The taller man spun around looking for Ben. His gaze scanned over Ben. It didn’t even drained a point of Ben’s MP. He’s turning too quickly, Ben realized. Not really paying attention to what he’s seeing.

  The bird flying around Delirium’s head was new. Ben wasn’t sure whether it was simply a visual effect or if Delirium had somehow acquired a companion within the few hours the game had been live.

  If so, Ben conceded, it was damned lucky. Probably about as lucky as him acquiring his sword this early in the game. Something else to ask the devs about.

  “Fuckin coward! Pick a fight in a store but you run in the field?”

  “Picked a fight? Mate you sold your manners to buy some medicine.” Ben called out from behind his cover. No sooner had he finished speaking then he was moving. Ben wasn’t sure how good Delirium was. He’d been good enough to clear the tutorial ahead of the crowd. Ben was willing to assume Delirium knew what he was doing.

  Ben was right to do so. The club slammed into the tree that had been Ben’s hiding spot. It cracked off some bark but little else to the tree. It certainly put Delirium too close for both of them to be comfortable. Ben decided it should discomfort Doctor Delirium. He slipped around under Stealth, and lashed out with Double Strike.

  Ben watched as 10 and 13 HP shaved off of Delirium. Roaring in pain, the Berserker swung back with his club, intent on smashing Ben across the clearing with the backswing.

  Ducking so low he was practically crawling, Ben lunged up again. Activating Double Strike, Ben attempted to strike with both sword and dagger rather than just the sword. To his surprise the system took the input, directing the sword low and the dagger high.

  Delirium leaned back from the dagger to his face and caught the sword in the gut. Ben saw 24 HP fall off of Delirium’s health bar. It began to flash red, an ominous indicator that Ben was sure meant this was just about over. He wouldn’t give Doctor Delirium the chance to attack again.

  Ben used Attack and struck with his dagger, aiming down at Delirium’s shoulder. With the sword still in place, Delirium could do little but stare hatefully at Ben.

  Then what Ben could only describe as a force field snapped into place and shoved him backwards. Stumbling, Ben scrambled to try and get his defenses up.

  He needn’t have bothered. Delirium fled. Interestingly, Ben noted, the man’s bird companion was now resting on his shoulder. If Ben was any judge, it looked tired.

  “Saved by the bird!” He called after the Berserker. He noted that Delirium wasn’t running towards the town’s entrance, and decided to let him go. While he could probably hunt down and kill the asshole now, it wouldn’t change anything. Delirium would come back or he wouldn’t. Ben would just have to wait and see.

  Sheathing his weapons, Ben continued to the entrance of Azure Bloom Town without further interruption. Instead the next interruption came right as Ben entered Azure Bloom Town.

  There at the front entrance he found two groups in a stare down. One was considerably smaller, and Ben felt a swell of pity for the group. They’d been forced out of town by the larger force. Perhaps they’d offended the other group and started a skirmish that they couldn’t win. Perhaps they were simply trying to preserve advantages they’d won from predation and theft. The answer, Ben knew, could mean a great deal for his own decisions regarding Azure Bloom Town. It was already proving too densely packed with high profile players for Ben’s taste.

  Then Ben saw a blood-red name above one member of the smaller group. Depraved Entity.

  Hoping against hope it wasn’t the same person, Ben drew closer to the confrontation

  “Dragonfly Division is not welcome in Azure Bloom Town.” The person at the head of the large
r group said with authority. Ben looked, but saw that it wasn’t a player name that he recognized. Either an up and comer, the person with the most balls in the group, or someone too new to VRMMOs to know Dragonfly Division’s reputation.

  Depraved Entity was the one who answered. His voice, and the words he spoke, convinced Ben that it was the same player. “Dragonfly Division will hunt where we please. You can’t deny us our tasty morsels.”

  It was true in a sense. Ben, like most VRMMO players, had plenty of experience with player killers. Dragonfly Division were a known player-killer Guild, and were known as some of the best. They were also quite willing to accept contracts. Ben wasn’t too proud to admit that he’d issued a few of those contracts over the years. And that he’d been the target of just as many. Fortunately Dragonfly Division didn’t carry contracts over from other VRMMOs. Depraved Entity had been after Ben no more than a month ago in another game.

  “Nevertheless, leave now. You’re disrupting players who just want to level up.”

  “Entity, Azure Bloom’s not a good place to try and start shit.” Ben spoke up before the Dragonfly Division players could begin to lose their tempers. There were too many variables to risk that kind of fight. Not the least of them being the very real chance Ben would be caught up in the crossfire.

  Depraved Entity twitched, as though startled. Then he made a slow and grand turn on his heel. Only to stop dead when he saw Ben.

  “Last Falcon. You sonofabitch.”

  “Depraved Entity. You motherfucker.”

  Entity snorted. The two stared at each other for a long moment, unmoving. The crowd at the town entrance shuffled but didn’t speak.

  Finally, Entity broke their silent faceoff. “Why’s it a bad spot?”

  “Me, Starlit Valor, Novaburster. That’s just within the past couple hours. Who knows who else’s gonna spawn here.”

  Depraved Entity considered the list of names with care. Then shot Ben a calculating look. “You’re here by yourself though.”

  “I’ve got members of Open Contract in town. The others are probably the same by now.”

  Depraved Entity’s frown deepened at that statement. Ben could see him calculating. Finally he nodded stiffly, and his group moved out and away from Azure Bloom town.

  Ben headed to the entrance. The crowd parted, its leader swallowed up by the masses. Ben didn’t say it, but he was certain this was just beginning. Dragonfly Division might have backed down, but they would neither forget nor forgive this. Especially not Depraved Entity.

  Wasting no more time, Ben made his way to Master Culvins’ shop. Once there, the clerk motioned Ben straight on through to the back. It was there that Ben found Culvins, nose buried into notes.

  “Master Culvins?” Ben spoke softly and watched as the Master Alchemist looked up. For a moment his expression was dangerously fierce. Then it relaxed upon seeing Ben. However, the eyes following him remained fierce. “Ah, traveler. You’ve returned. Is there a problem?”

  Wordlessly, Ben withdrew the Grandmaster Alchemist’s Lab Notes from his bag and placed them before Culvins.

  The Master Alchemist blinked for a moment. Two. Then he lunged to his feet, practically rolling himself over as he scrambled to reach the notes. Then just before touching them, he froze. Took a long, deep breath. Another. A third. Only then did Culvins allow himself to grasp the Lab Notes. Reverently he picked them up, tucking them close to his chest like a beloved child. A window popped up into Ben’s line of sight.

  Quest: Pride of Rubina - Completed!

  “Last Falcon... These aren’t quite what I had in mind. Rather, they’re far more than I could have anticipated. Please, take those in addition to the Artisan Skill Book we agreed upon.” Culvins didn’t put the notes down. Rather, he gestured to a tray that sat on a table halfway across the room. Ben moved over and, after confirming with Culvins that he had the right table, used Discerning Eye on the contents.

  Name: Craftsman’s Toolkit

  Item Class: Tool

  Item Type: Alchemist’s Toolkit

  Artisan Restriction: Alchemists

  Rank: Valuable

  Grade: Medium

  Ability: Craftsmanship - Improve Success Rate by 8%. Improve Potency by 8%.

  Ben looked up at Culvins. “Are you sure?”

  Culvins chuckled. “Oh yes, I’m sure.”

  With that Culvins put down the Valuable Artisan Skill Book they’d initially agreed upon and pushed it towards Ben. “Should you need assistance come speak with me. I’ll see what I can do. Now excuse me, I’ve much to do.”

  Ben nodded. Picking up the Artisan Skill Book, Ben used it. Then, once he was satisfied the change had been logged by the system, he collected the Craftsman’s Toolkit and left. His previous investigations on the forum had told him that the system would automatically equip the first non-standard Artisanship tools he got. After that, he’d have to manually change tools.

  Even as Ben moved towards the Quartermaster, he received notification of activity in his group chats. Specifically, the one with the quads. Curious, Ben pulled it up. And then laughed.

  BloodAndThunder - What the hell do you mean I’m last!

  Jazzyhands - Sorry sis!

  Dancing Wind - Seriously, so slow...

  RockOut - Don’t worry, you made it.

  BloodAndThunder - plus I can spell bitches without needing a spell checker.

  RockOut - Fuck you.

  Jazzyhands - Look! He can spell that one.

  Ben let his siblings chatter as he walked to the Quartermaster. Once acknowledged, Ben turned over all the ears he’d collected during his quest.

  The Quartermaster took them without remark. That is, until Ben handed over the one with the gold loop in it. The Quartermaster stopped, and looked at the ear. Then peered at Ben.

  “What kind?”

  Ben frowned, “What?”

  The Quartermaster snorted. “You killed an elite. What kind?”

  Still confused, Ben answered anyways. “A Novitiate.”

  The quartermaster glanced at the ring again, and Ben understood. It was a test, or a verification of some sort. Ben wasn’t sure which. Then the Quartermaster spoke, triggering a quest window at the same time.

  Quest: Scourge to All Goblinkind - Kill Fog Goblins.

  “Have an assignment. You’ll do for it. You in or out?”