Rules-Free VRMMO Life

Foreward

This is not the story of a hero. It is not the story of a vigilante. It is not the story of an anti-hero. This is the story of a villain.

The trend in LitRPG stories is for the main character to be a Hero, or at least a good guy, trying to make his way in the digital world. This mirrors, to some extent, the way most video games are played, where you’re locked into the ‘heroic’ role.

My gaming experience comes more from Dungeons and Dragons than from MMORPGs. And yes, in most D&D campaigns, you are heroes, who go around, find bad people and monsters, kill them, and take their stuff. Not necessarily in that order. You do this for righteous reasons, or maybe because you’re being paid.

But there is a tradition in Pen and Paper RPGs that every long-established group comes across eventually. Maybe your last campaign ended (either in victory or defeat). Perhaps the current DM is letting someone else in the big chair, so he can play for a while. Could be that one of the group is going to be absent for a while, and you don’t want to move the main story along without them. Or sometimes the DM and Players are simply bored with the same old routine.

Whatever the reason, eventually you decide to shake things up, and try something new. You might pick up a new system, switching from D&D to Champions for a while. You might decide to do a new campaign setting, moving from the Forgotten Realms to Ravenloft. Or maybe you decided to each create a character, and then the DM tells you to switch sheets with another player.

But sometimes you get to play in that rarest of things, the Evil Campaign.

For those readers who are more World of Warcraft than Dungeons and Dragons, allow me to explain. The Evil Campaign is when the party is made up of evil characters. Often, these characters are utter stereotypes and caricatures of evil. This is where you get the tropes of an Orc Barbarian who slaughters everyone, the Necromancer who kicks puppies and raises orphans as undead slaves, the Rogue who constantly steals everything that isn’t nailed down (and some things that are), and the dark Cleric who smites the good people with unholy might.

The reason, of course, is because it is a reaction to the ‘freedom’ to do whatever you like, after being constrained by ‘goodness’ for too long. Anyone who has dearly wished that they could just smack the hell out of one of their annoying coworkers, but hold back because ‘it isn’t right’ or ‘you will be fired’ knows what I mean. The release to do anything they wish, without consequence, tends to make people go a bit crazy.

Eventually, you get sick of ‘Evil for Evil’s Sake’, and either tone the characters down a little, or allow the campaign to end and go back to being heroes. In Mark Millar’s Wanted, they call it hitting the wall. Wesley assaults a police station, kills the cops, and is about to rape a female officer, but stops, because it is pointless. The same happens in Evil Campaigns. You reach a point where you realize you’re in a rut. Different rut from the Hero rut, but still a rut.

Most Evil Campaigns end there, with the players happy for having gotten it out of their system, and the DM happy to go back to more ‘traditional’ campaigns. But every so often, the Evil Campaign continues, and you get to see the caricatures evolve into actual characters. And those can be some of the most interesting campaigns of all.

This story is dedicated to the Evil Campaign, in all its horror, and all its glory.

Prologue – Age of Anarchy Online

The year is 2076. Technology has advanced to the point where virtual reality has become fact, rather than science fiction. Gone are the days of clunky controllers or goggles, that only gave a crude facsimile of reality. Artifacts of yesteryear are the huge pods that forced users to lie immobile in order to work. Those primitive aids couldn’t compare to the abilities of the Chip.

The original implanted computers were designed for the military. Give a soldier the ability to process data faster, identify threats, run facial recognition, use a tactical network to triangulate the source of a sniper’s shot? The benefits were obvious. However, they were simply computers placed in a soldier’s skull, linked to their gear by short range radio communications. The real breakthrough didn’t come until 2025, when neuroscientists were first able to have an implant interface and be controlled directly with the human brain.

By 2035, all children were ‘Chipped’ at birth. The younger a user started with the chip, the more neural connections formed, and using the chip became as natural to them as breathing. The effects of this were profound, increasing learning speed and memory retention. Even older people showed benefits the longer they used the chip. As with any technology, familiarity increased proficiency, but the pliable minds of children took that to a whole new level.

In 2050, World of Destiny became the first VRMMORPG designed exclusively for use with the Chip. Two weeks later, another company based in China came out with the first pornographic Chip game, but people barely batted an eye, and wondered what took them so long. Anyways, WoD was a major hit, boasting a previously unheard of 88% realism rate.

One of the major finds during this time was that there was a major ‘bleedthrough’ effect when using VR with the Chip. While the phenomenon had been seen to some extent in the Pods of yesteryear, with the Chip, it became pronounced. Bleedthrough referred to when traits learned in the real world would manifest in the virtual environment, and vice versa. Of course, this included things like skills and knowledge, but the effect of some titles and achievements, especially those dealing with mental or social abilities, could be seen as well. People who had social achievements in games gained confidence in the real world, and people who had suffered hardships in real life found that their gaming suffered as well.

However, even with 88% realism, the makers of WoD tried to keep their game world as ‘safe’ as possible. Many actions that would be illegal in real life were punishable with a system ban in game. Though many decried this ‘easy mode’, none of the so-called ‘hardcore’ games were able to get any traction against World of Destiny.

In 2072, Icestorm, the makers of World of Destiny announced that they were developing a new VRMMORPG, which they were calling Age of Anarchy Online. Set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, AAO proudly boasted a 110% ‘Better Than Life’ realism rate. Because of the high realism, and the long time demand for something more ‘hardcore’ from their audience, Icestorm announced that there would be no system rules in AAO. So long as you weren’t hacking the system or exploiting bugs, the company wouldn’t stop you, whatever you did. When asked about ‘virtual crimes’ in such a setting during an interview, Icestorm’s CEO simply smiled, and said, “Just because there aren’t system laws, doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences. If you’re in a city, and you break a law of the city, the guards will attempt to arrest you. If you kill the guards, the city will post a bounty on your character. If you are caught, then you will go on trial. If you are convicted, you’ll be sent to jail.”

“With AAO, we’re giving the players a chance to do literally anything they can imagine. But don’t be surprised if you take your imagination too far, and the NPCs, or other players, get imaginative on you. For this reason, AAO is going to be restricted to users who are over 18.”

Now, in 2076, AAO is finally ready for launch.

Book I – Tutorial

Chapter 1 – Heroes

The time had come. All the preparations had been made, the plans set, the orders given. The horns of war sounded over the frozen tundra. Dwarves from the underground city of Steelforge readied their mighty war machines. Elves from the woodland city of Sharnassa prepared their bows as the druids prepared their magics. In the skies above, the Gnomes of Gnomedeep prepared their flying machines to do battle. From the human lands, strong men in gleaming armor marched at the front, while mages gathered behind, readying their magical onslaught. From across the world, the armies of the free races had gathered, and with them the heroes of those lands.

King Darius Flynn, leader of the Free Alliance, stood at the head of the army, and called out, using magic to enhance his voice. “TOO LONG HAVE WE SUFFERED UNDER THE THREAT OF THE LEGIONS OF THE UNDEAD! TOO LONG HAS THIS CURSED ARMY OF THE DAMNED BEEN ALLOWED TO RUN RAMPANT OVER THE WORLD! TOO LONG HAS THE NECROMANCER QUEEN, MIRIS, BEEN ALLOWED TO DARKEN OUR SKIES WITH HER THREATS OF WAR!”

The human king drew his sword, Doomblade, known as the Call of the World for its legendary powers. Raising it high in the morning sun, he cried, “THIS DAY, WE FIGHT! ALL THE FREE PEOPLES OF THE ALLIANCE HAVE GATHERED HERE, TO END THE TYRANNY OF MIRIS AND BREAK THE ARMY OF THE DAMNED FOREVER! FIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILIES! FIGHT FOR YOUR FUTURE! FIGHT, AND FEAR NO EVIL! FOR KAZEROTH!” The army cheered. Swords clashed on shields. Spears were raised. Beast companions howled. Turning his back to the army now, King Flynn pointed the sword at the legions of the dead that approached them, and said, “CHARGE! AND TEAR DOWN THE WALLS OF FROSTCROWN!”

And thus, upon the icy fields in the blasted lands of Frostcrown, the heart of the Necromancer Queen’s domain, the armies of the free peoples of the world did battle with the Necromancer’s Army of the Damned. But in the end, they were merely a distraction, to draw out the armies from the citadel. Spies working for the Free Alliance had found a secret way into the Citadel, and it was decided that a small band of heroes, elites amongst the elites, would raid the citadel, and attempt to end the Necromancer Queen while the armies were occupied.

Known throughout the free world, the heroes of the Lords of Light were gathered at the entrance to the secret passage that would lead them deep into Frostcrown. Their leader, Torgan, smiled as he looked over the raid group. They were the strongest of the guild, thirty-two level 100 characters, each clad in the best epic gear they could gain through hard-won battles. The Paladin nodded to them, and said, “All right. The war’s begun. We’re the first group to attempt this raid, so keep your heads in the game, and don’t get distracted by the shinies. I’m looking at you, Bercilac! If I catch your DPS slacking because you get distracted by the loot, I’m going to plant my foot up your ass, both here, and IRL!” That got a good laugh from the raid, and broke the tension.

“Fine, fine! Just don’t go flirting with the boss this time!” The gnome Rogue, Bercilac’s comeback got another round of laughs, so Torgan let it go.

“That only happened once! While I was under the Charmed effect! And she was a fucking succubus!”

Raunaeril, their best Ranger, spoke up, “Now, now. He’s just jealous that you were the one to win King Flynn’s favor. If Bercy had won, we wouldn’t be standing here, about to go fight an immortal lich queen. He’d be sitting comfortably in Windguard Castle, warming himself in the king’s bed!” The rather flamboyant (but straight) Bercilac muttered curses while the rest of the raid laughed. Torgan simply smiled. He loved fighting with these guys.

“All right. Enough of that. Let’s get this raid on the road! Rogues in front. Keep stealthed, and look for traps. Signal when you meet enemies, and wait for the Vanguards to draw agro before attacking. Healers and Mages stay behind the vanguards. Keep watch on your mana, don’t let it get too low. You need a break to regen, you call out. Rangers, in the back. Your wilderness skills won’t be as good here, but you’re tougher than the mages, so if anything comes at us from behind, you can survive long enough for help to get to you. Everyone got it?” They nodded. “All right then. Lords of Light, let’s burn this mother down!”

(Later)

The battle had gone on for, literally, twenty minutes. The elites of the Lords of Light, the top guild in World of Destiny, were battered, and in some cases broken, strewn about the throne room at the top of Frostcrown Citadel. They had gotten the Necromancer Queen, Miris, down to 30% health when she unleashed a devastating auto-hit AOE attack, putting the raid in dire straits. Their mana depleted, their health bars near empty, the pain they felt, even with the 50% reduction, was too much to be believed. But Torgan gritted his teeth, and smiled up at Miris as she advanced towards him to make the killing blow.

“[RADIANCE OF THE ALMIGHTY!]” With a yell, he activated the precious skill with a twenty-four-hour cooldown. At once, the entire raid glowed with a golden light. Wounds disappeared, mana and health bars rose to full, and the raid got a ten-second buff to attacks against Undead. This skill which completely healed a Raid Group, was what Paladins got when they reached Level 100, and finished a certain quest chain. Once per day kept it balanced, but this ability had the potential to overturn a battlefield, as Torgan just showed.

Rising once again, the Lords of Light yelled, and activated their most expensive skills once again. Blows rained down upon Miris, causing hit stuns and other debuffs, which set her up for other attacks. One long merciless chain, taking full advantage of the 10s buff Torgan had given them. And, in the end, Torgan’s sword, [Requiem, Saber of Truth] was the one that struck down the Necromancer Queen. Everyone’s eyes went wide as they saw the same message pop up.

SYSTEM NOTICE

Miris, Necromancer Queen of the Army of the Damned has fallen in battle!

A Raid Group led by Torgan has conquered Frostcrown Citadel!

All hail the victorious heroes!

Several other messages popped up after that.

Achievement: Frostcrown Citadel

+100 Fame

Title: Queenslayer

WORLD FIRST!

For being the first Raid Group to conquer Frostcrown Citadel, your names will be

sung by the bards!

+1000 Fame

Title: Crownbreaker

Queenslayer

The mighty Necromancer Queen has fallen before you. Let the undead fear your wrath!

+10% attack vs. Undead

+10% magic attack vs. Undead

Crownbreaker

Some follow, but you lead the way, throwing yourself into the heat of battle against

the Necromancer Queen and the Army of the Damned.

When equipped:

All damage from the Necromancer Queen’s forces reduced 20%

Torgan looked at the members of the Lords of Light, and said, “All right, you lot. There’s plenty I want to say, so if you’re done gawking at titles and all the loot, use your Homestones, and meet up at the guild hall. I already PMed Cookie, and she says there’s a feast waiting on us.” Cookie was only level 80, but was the only player to have maxed out the Cooking skill in game. If she was cooking, Torgan knew that there would be full attendance to hear what he had to say.

(Later)

In the guild hall they had built together using the treasure they had won conquering dungeons, Torgan sat at the head table, looking on as the two hundred members of the Lords of Light gathered. Before the meal began, Torgan rose, and held up his goblet of wine. “My friends! Today the Lords of Light have done what none others have done before! Once again, we led the way, as the top guild in World of Destiny! The thirty-two of us in the raid party may be the ones who have our names on the leaderboards, but know that we couldn’t do it without all of you. Take Lexichan, who, with her Spymaster class, was the one that found the secret passage we used to infiltrate the citadel. Without her, we would have had to fight alongside the army in a bitter struggle, and who knows what state we’d be in when facing the boss? And all of our crafters, you kept our gear maintained, made the potions and consumables that kept us in top form, and provided those rare enchants that boosted our DPS and healing. And for all of you who were lower levels, your efforts brought in the crafting materials our crafters needed! This was not a victory for us thirty-two, but for the Lords of Light as a whole!”

Torgan paused, allowing the players to cheer, and then said, “And I am proud that I could stand with you, in this achievement. But I have one announcement before you start eating up all Cookie’s hard work. For me, this is the end.” There was a stunned silence, but Torgan raised his hand just as people began speaking, to cut off any outbursts. “For those of you living under a rock, Age of Anarchy Online opens tomorrow. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has it on pre-order! For those of you that haven’t read the infodump on the website, Icestorm is letting players of WoD [Reincarnate] into AAO. You still start at level 1, but the better character with the more elite gear you [Reincarnate] from, the more points you get for customization and starting bonuses! But that means your WoD character is gone for good.”

He paused, and then said, “So, for this last feast together, I say we eat and drink until we burst! And for those of you going to AAO, I’ll see you in the next world!”

Chapter 2 – Character Creation, Part 1

Announcer: Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Voices: Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Torgan!

Announcer: Yes, it's Torgan, strange visitor from Kazeroth, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Torgan, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Mike Greene, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way.

Or not. No, Mike Green was, in reality, your average University graduate, 26 years of age. Well, not entirely average. His deceased parents had been fairly wealthy, enough that, if he managed his money well, he wouldn’t have to work a day in his life. Of course, he still worked, but his ‘work’ was really only taking in the advertising money when he posted streams of his gaming experiences. As a paid streamer, he was always under pressure to provide the latest and greatest, but since it was something he’d be doing anyways, there wasn’t any problem.

So Mike Green was easily able to afford the monthly rent on his two bed, two bath apartment, food, utilities, gym membership, and a couple nights out a week. It wasn’t the lap of luxury, but he had enough that he was comfortable, and that was enough for him, especially since he had spent most of his time the last four years in the virtual world of WoD. Due to the time dilation of the game world, at 26 he had the mental age of someone closer to forty.

Right now, Mike had just come back from the gym he worked out at daily. It wasn’t a complicated or particularly intense regimen, but something he did to keep the disconnect between his mind and his real world body from being too large. If you’re able to leap twenty feet into the air to tackle a dragon in a game, but in the real world you’re a total slob whose waist is quickly trying to equal your height, then you’ve got real problems. People always bitch and moan about ‘body shaming’, but you don’t see them volunteering to be the people in Walmart that look like Jabba’s twin sister. Mike worked out, but only to the point where he was ‘gym fit’, having some muscle tone, without going to the extremes like body builders.

In ‘Real Life’, Mike was 26, single, unemployed, and basically coasting from day to day. In the game, however, he was Torgan, a beacon of light and truth and all that bull. At least, that’s the role he played in game, as leader of the top light-side guild. Honestly, it wasn’t all bad. The Lords of Light had great people, and he enjoyed playing with them all. But having to pretend to be a goody-two-shoes all the time was really annoying. It is the same reason why most people relate more to Batman than Superman. So, even if he didn’t need to [Reincarnate] Torgan into AAO for the bonuses, he probably wouldn’t have stayed with WoD too much longer. He’d lived that life for almost sixteen years, in game, and he felt a change was definitely in order.

Walking into the master bedroom of the apartment, Mike got things set up for gaming. Of course, when dealing with VR, that meant different things to different people. For Mike, it meant turning on the specially designed bed so that the gel-filled mattress of his ‘gaming couch’ would warm up while he took a shower, and setting the air conditioner to a comfortable level. The Chip allowed for AR feeds, which is what most people used in their daily lives, but going full VR meant that you were rag dolling in the real world.

Six years ago, a certain furniture company decided to capitalize on this market, and started selling what they called ‘gaming couches’. The size of a couch, they sported a gel-filled mattress that was warm, and supported the body perfectly, allowing users to relax in comfort. Using advances in nanotech, they even included a massaging function, reducing the risk of cramps, blood clots, muscle atrophy, and other hazards of a sedentary lifestyle. It could even function as a normal couch, if you turned the various functions off, and tossed the cushions back on.

Mike’s room was fairly bare. He had a couple pictures on the wall, a double bed for when he actually slept in the real world, a dresser for clothes, a mirror, and a writing desk. There really wasn’t a need for anything else, in his opinion. Stripping off his clothes, Mike went for a quick shower before he got ready for his new adventure. While in the shower, he did what any healthy, single man would do if they could access the internet in the shower: he looked up some of his favorite porn, and relieved some tension.

His ’cleansing ritual’ done, Mike dried off, used the toilet, and changed into a comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt. While the full VR experience largely cut off the mind from the body, that didn’t mean they were unconnected, or that the body’s functions didn’t go on as normal. This is one of the reasons Mike was diligent in making sure he took care of his body. If, say, one drank a bunch of water, and then didn’t go to the bathroom before gaming, you could expect one of two things. Either your game would get cut short, sometimes at the worst possible moment, or you would wake up to an embarrassing situation, and a lengthy cleanup.

Laying down on the couch, Mike took a breath, and slipped into the full virtual experience. There was a moment’s blackness, as there always was, and then he found himself in his ‘virtual room’. The rough equivalent of someone’s ‘home page’ on the internet browsers of yesteryear, users each had their own virtual rooms, which could be customized to fit their needs and personality. Mike’s virtual room was a shrine to gaming, and to the various places he enjoyed visiting on the net. There were digital posters on the walls, showcasing some of Torgan’s ‘greatest hits’. If one concentrated on them, the images would start moving to show the streams they captured. There were also bookshelves, holding all his important files. For now, though, he simply sat on the throne he’d made himself, based off something from an old book series where a lot of people died while trying to become king of a country and fighting off snow-zombies, or some such, and brought up his console.

“Start Age of Anarchy Online.”

As the game loaded for the first time, Mike was treated to a brief history of the world. Most players would be bored, and ignore this as the normal time-wasting as a game loaded. Most players were idiots. In a virtual world like AAO, this could be vital lore that would give him a boost when it came to dealing with NPCs, or at least keep him from making a fool of himself.

The world of AAO was, apparently, one of cycles. Magic rose and fell in fairly regular intervals (though those intervals were measured in thousands of years). When magic ebbed, creatures like elves and dragons disappeared from the world, leaving only Humans. But when magic rose to a certain point, it became a rich fantasy setting, with elves, dwarves, dragons, and more. But there was a danger that came with the rising Mana levels. When there was enough mana in the world, gateways would open between this world, and the world of terrible creatures. These ‘Terrors’ were far worse than any mere monster. They apparently killed for sport, and fed on the fear and negative emotions of thinking beings.

AAO was set on the tail end of the ‘Scourge’ as it was called, the time of peak mana, where the gateways were open. People had only survived, it seemed by living in protected enclaves, usually underground, that could be warded against the Terrors. Not all the protections held, unfortunately, and more than one enclave had been breached, and overrun. Now, a mere one hundred years after the end of the Scourge, civilization, such as it was, had come some ways towards rebuilding itself. But while gateways couldn’t be opened to the world of the Terrors, that didn’t stop the ones that were already here from causing trouble.

When the loredump was over, Mike found himself in a white room, a fairly standard character creation setup. A window popped up in front of him:

Welcome to Age of Anarchy Online!

Attention: A World of Destiny character has been detected on your account. You can

Reincarnate the character ‘Torgan’ into the world of AAO. Doing so will give you

Increased benefits at character creation, but will permanently delete ‘Torgan’ from

World of Destiny. Benefits scale with the level, achievements, titles, and equipment

possessed by the Reincarnated character.

Do you wish to Reincarnate ‘Torgan’?

Y/N

“Yes.”

Calculating…

You have 25,000 bonus points to spend at character creation.

Please choose your gender:

Male

Female

Hermaphrodite

Other

Note: Some Race and Class choices may be unavailable based on gender chosen.

“Huh.”

Chapter 3 – Character Creation, Part 2

(Mike POV)

If I were being honest, the gender question was a fairly tough one. Sure, I don’t have identity issues, but there was something to be said for taking a change of pace and being something completely different from your real world self. When you’re living in a fantasy world with levels and stats, gender is just one more difference, right? For a long moment, I considered choosing the Herm option. I’d never played a futa character before, after all. But in the end, I decided that, for this character, I’d at least go with what I knew. At least then, there wouldn’t be any awkward surprises if the ‘realism’ included trips to the bathroom.

“Male.”

Chosen Gender: Male

Confirm: Yes/No

“Yes.”

Please choose your race.

Now we were getting down to the fun stuff! Even in these days, developers like to hand out goodies to people who pre-order the game. Usually, this is something like exclusive gear, or unique skins, or so on. Sometimes, those things are just timed exclusives. With AAO, however, the pre-order bonus was unlocking all playable races at start. Other users would have the ‘basic’ races, like Humans and Elves, to choose from, but people like me that pre-ordered had the whole range, even some monsters were available as races!

From what little I’d heard, the ‘extra’ races could be unlocked if players finished certain quests or explored certain areas. That kind of thing, while not common, was certainly not unheard of in MMOs. It was an incentive to the players to go out and explore the world, instead of mindlessly smiting goblins. Especially since goblins were one of the potentially playable races.

The one thing I noticed off the bat was that the mysterious ‘Terrors’ were definitely NOT on the playable races list. In fact, it went so far as to say, in nice bold words, NO WAY, NO HOW. NOT HAPPENING. AND IF YOU ASK ABOUT IT, YOU’LL GET TO SPEND A WEEK AS A SLIME IN THE BEGINNER TRAINING GROUNDS! I’m almost certain they were joking, but I really didn’t want to press my luck.

There were literally almost two hundred playable races, though most were variants of a ‘base’ race, including things like Snow Goblins, an arctic variant of goblins, but also things like Elementals. I noticed that some of the possibilities had already been removed, due to being a male. Guess there was no such thing as a male Nymph in this world.

Looking through the options took a lot of time, but I was eventually able to narrow things down to four choices: Dark Elf, Incubus, Half-Celestial Elf, and, of course, Human. I decided to look through their info in detail, starting with the Humans.

Race: Human

One of the most common races in the world. While they have no real strengths as far as magic or weaponry is concerned, they also have no real weaknesses. They are the most adaptable of the free races, but lack the racial magics or specialized classes that some races gain.

Racial Traits:

+10% Speed in learning new skills (skills level at normal rate)

+10% Fame/Infamy gains

Pure vanilla. The bonus to learning new skills was decent, since skills were far more important than levels in most cases. The Fame/Infamy thing was a double-edged sword. Your positive rep grew faster, but your negative rep did as well. Really, the main point of Humans was that they had no weaknesses.

Race: Dark Elf (Drow)

The Drow separated from other elves after a bitter war thousands of years ago. Living almost exclusively underground, they adapted to their magically charged environment. Drow society is a matriarchal one, and they are usually Evil in alignment.

Racial Traits:

+30% Magic Resistance

+1 INT, DEX, and CHA per level

Proficiency in Drow Weapons

Shadow Magic learned

Darkvision

-5% STR and CON

Sunlight Blindness (Heavy glare penalties in sunlight)

Surface elves start as Hostile to you

Drow seemed like a powerful choice, but there were some glaring weaknesses. First, who knew how powerful Shadow Magic really was? And having the surface elves start as hostiles could be a big problem unless you found a way to raise your rep. But the kicker was the Sunlight thing. Only being able to hunt at night or underground was definitely going to be a kick in the teeth. I was sure there was some way to suppress that weakness in game, but it would hurt for a while.

Race: Incubus

A race descended from demons, Incubi are natural charmers. However, they also have a tendency to be weak against others using those same charms. Known for their love of all things beautiful, as well as their incredible fertility, Incubi can be found almost anywhere.

Racial Traits:

+20 CHA

+2 CHA per Level

Pheromones

Charming Gaze

-50% resistance to Charm effects from Females

Increased Fertility (May damage relationships with NPCs)

-5 WIS

I’ll admit, this was a vanity thing on my part. What guy didn’t dream of being a sex god (or demon, in this case)? It would also make for a very different play style than my rather up-tight Paladin Torgan in WoD. Don’t get me wrong, I loved playing him, but new world, new experiences, right? The Pheromones and Charming Gaze both seemed to be effects that helped make people friendly to you. The massive hit to charm resistance and the WIS penalty on top of that was a real pain, though. And (May damage relationships with NPCs) was clearly code for ‘getting someone’s wife pregnant will cause them to try and murder you’.

Race: Half-Celestial Elf

Born from the union of an elf and a celestial spirit. Possesses some abilities of both their parents. While not the most powerful pairing, they have some unique abilities.

Racial Traits:

Counts as Elf for all purposes (racial weapon proficiency, class restrictions, etc.)

Counts as Celestial for all purposes (racial weapon proficiency, class restrictions, etc.)

Natural Flight

+30% to Light Magic

+30% to Holy Magic

+1 DEX and CHA per level

-5% CON

All Evil races start as Enemy

Evil Players gain no Infamy for killing Celestials

Honestly, the thing that attracted me to this was the wings. Three-dimensional movement was a real boon, especially in the early game, when most people (and monsters) were stuck on the ground. Enemy status meant you were kill on sight outside of certain events, unless you did something to raise your rep. The real kicker, though, was that last line, which was basically begging Evil PKers to go after you.

Looking over my choices, I considered, and then picked…

Chapter 4 – Character Creation, Part 3

Damn, this was hard. So many good choices, but in the end, it really narrowed down to one of two. Humans were vanilla, but I was feeling like rocky road. Drow would cause major problems for me unless I could grind my rep somehow. So that left the half-celestial elf or the incubus. Both had their good points, but still, I was wanting a change from Torgan. An incubus would certainly be a change.

Chosen Race: Incubus

Confirm: Y/N

“Yes.”

Race Selected.

Please adjust appearance.

Ah, the fun of customizing your appearance. Other games sometimes do things differently, but at least in AAO, since the Chip was connected to our brains, players started with their mental self-image, adjusted for their chosen race. Mental self-image is how people see themselves, and doesn’t always line up with reality, like the skinny girls who keep worrying about being fat, or people that think their voice sounds like Clark Gable, but they really, really don’t.

Anyways, so Incubus. Basically humanoid, about six feet tall. I used my own face, because that would cause less trouble when looking in virtual mirrors. Let’s see, skin color… I didn’t want to go too outlandish, so I chose a reddish hue that was within the average for the race, but didn’t look like I copied a fire truck or anything. A pair of short black horns poked up through my hair on top of my head. Speaking of hair, I set it to black, and set the length to about my waist. Not the most practical, but it would look awesome in the right conditions. Hmm. Add 20% muscle, reduce fat to 15%. I see I’ve got hoof feet, that’ll take some getting used to. Eyes to gold. Yeah, that’ll do. Just one more thing…

Appearance accepted.

Yeah, I admit it. I ‘enhanced’ myself a bit, especially my friend. And any guy who says he wouldn’t consider doing the same is LYING! Sure, being 20” long and 3” wide is childish and immature of me. But what the hell? You’re going to go, go all the way, or don’t bother starting.

Next, you must select your primary role. This is not a class, which must be trained or unlocked in game, but a general classification. Your primary role will give you stat bonuses at each level to stats important to that role. You will also gain starter equipment and proficiencies based on the role selected.

Available roles are: Warrior, Mage, Thief, Healer, Face

Hoh. So you can pick any class you like, but you can start setting the tone in chargen, and they’ll give you boosts throughout the game? That sounds interesting. I have an idea what each of the roles does, but best to hear the official description before rushing into things. I’d hate to have to redo character creation because of a stupid choice.

“Display role information.”

Role: Warrior

Whether raging barbarians wielding massive battleaxes, or stalwart fighters protecting their allies with sword and shield in hand, or monks who can match the feats of other warriors with merely their bare hands and feet, or a skilled duelist that can take on any foe, when it comes to battle you will always find warriors in the areas where the fighting is thickest. Warriors know best that while it is the words of men that may shape a nation, it is the deeds of the warriors that uphold it.

+5 STR, +5 CON

+2 Stat points per level to distribute between STR and CON

Proficient with all Simple and Martial Weapons and Shields

Proficient with Light, Medium, and Heavy Armor

Well, that was just as I expected. Decent boost to STR and CON at start, and then you got consistent bonuses at each level to help boost your desired play style. Actually a fairly elegant system, if you think about it. Depending on how you spent your stat increases, you could adjust things quite a lot. Not to mention that when you finally found a class, you’d get more boosts.

Role: Mage

Ancient wizards in their towers, pouring over tomes of forgotten lore. Brash sorcerers wielding fire and lightning to strike down their foes. Wise summoners who call upon the spirits to do their bidding in battle. Cunning warlocks cursing their foes with debilitating attacks. All have the qualities of a mage.  Though they typically are lacking in defense, few disagree that a trained mage can devastate a battlefield if they set their mind to it.

+5 INT, +5 WIS, +5 CHA

+3 Stat points to distribute between INT, WIS, and CHA at each level

+5% Magic Resistance

+5% Magic Attack

Proficient with Staff, Dagger

Not proficient with Armor

This seemed like a trade-off. Sure, you got better magic resistance and attack, but the limited weapons and no armor would be a real problem early on. Hopefully finding a class would allow you to gain some more bonuses, like defensive spells, or the ability to wear certain kinds of armor. Still, the benefits were obvious for anyone who wanted to be a spellslinger, especially if you could look ahead to the mid or late game.

Role: Thief

Cunning rogues disabling traps in the dungeon. Stealthy assassins eliminating targets with precision. The pickpocket who stole your wallet while you were reading this message. The archer that has you in his sights. All of them have this role in common. While not the strongest when it comes to a fair fight, these types rarely stoop to fighting fair. Fair fights are for Warriors, not thieves. But in an ‘unfair’ fight, they can be critical to a party’s success.

+10 DEX

+2 DEX each level

+5% Dodge rate

+5% Crit Rate

Proficient with Simple weapons

Proficient with Light Armor

A risky choice, basically focused on DEX. The goal of a thief was to hit hard, fast, and then get the hell out of the way, letting the warrior take the hits. I could see a lot of potential builds, once you picked up classes. But was it right for me? It had been so long since I’d been anything other than a tank that I was rusty on the ‘stick and move’ bit. I’d have to do some serious training if I went this route.

Role: Healer

Anyone who tells you that healers are useless on the battlefield is an idiot, or a liar. In either case, they’re probably going to be dead soon, so ignore them. Whether it is a gentle healer looking after the children, or the hardened battle cleric, or the wild druid living in the forest, a healer can cure illness, heal wounds, and even revive the dead at higher levels. Masters of holy magic, healers must have a patron god or goddess.

+20 WIS

+2 WIS each level

+10% on all Healing spells

Proficient with Simple Weapons

Proficient with Light and Medium Armor

Must choose a patron diety (will provide additional bonuses, but also come with restrictions)

Healers. Necessary in any balanced party, but not something I enjoyed doing. Even Torgan was a hybrid between Healer and Warrior, as a Paladin. I would have to put a lot of work in to get a Healer to the point where they could effectively work solo. Yes, I usually liked to have a team, because party play made a lot of things easier, and you needed a party to even attempt some quests, but I was a big believer that you should do your best to be able to at least survive solo play. Sometimes the rest of your party would be wiped out, or offline. Sometimes you’d be between groups, or doing a tough solo quest. Relying totally on the presence of a party was like relying solely on a specific piece of gear. Without it, you’re hosed.

Role: Face

The spymaster who knows all the secrets in the kingdom. The con artist who can sell ice to Eskimos. The dashing rogue who sweeps ladies off their feet. The master diplomat who can settle a blood feud between two houses with a conversation. The inquisitor torturing prisoners for information. They all count as a ‘face’. While they are not always the leader of a party, they are the public face of the party, the one sent to do negotiations or discover secrets.

+20 CHA

+2 CHA per level

+5% to all social interactions

+5% to all Fame/Infamy gains

Proficient with Simple weapons

Not Proficient with Armor

Now that was interesting. It wasn’t a role one typically thought about in terms of MMORPGs, but common with the old ‘tabletop’ games like Dungeons & Dragons or Shadowrun. Someone to talk his way into and out of any trouble he might find. A con artist and playboy would be a different choice from my normal play style, but the lack of combat ability left me worried. Sure, there were plenty of ways to advance in the game besides going out and hitting things, but I still wanted to be able to hold my own in combat.

All the options were decent, especially since I could go grab a class later, which would help things out. Hybrids would probably be unlockable somewhere in the game, too. But now I had to pick something, to proceed with chargen.

Chapter 5 – Character Creation, Part 4

Well, I’m already an Incubus, might as well go full bore and do Face build, as well. I could pick up other abilities as I go along. But playing to my race’s strengths will help me in the early game. I hope.

Chosen Role: Face

Confirm: Y/N?

“Yes.”

Qualities

In Age of Anarchy Online, Qualities are traits which represent certain aspects of a character. There are both positive and negative Qualities. You may pick 1-4 positive qualities, but must also have an equal number of negative qualities. These qualities are personalized for you based upon the browser history on your Chip. Details on the qualities are only given after final selections have been made, and cannot be changed afterwards.

That was… OK, that was just disturbing, but also pretty cool. Or it would have been, if I had remembered to clear my browser history. Still, the idea of having personalized traits depending on what you browsed for with your Chip was something I hadn’t heard of in a game before.

“Positive Qualities.”

Positive Qualities (Choose up to 4):

Anime Asura

Black Bible of Kitami Reika

Give Peace a Chance

How to Serve Woman

Infinite Blade Works

Midnight Gymnastics

Subs or Dubs?

Nightwalker

The Gamer

Hold My Beer

Damn. Without anything but the names to go by, this would be a tough choice. I already decided to go ahead and grab four, despite needing to get four negatives as well if I did so. I wasn’t setting out to become the elite warrior this time. So I could afford to experiment a little, and see what this game had to offer. I took a breath, and said, “I choose Black Bible, How to Serve Woman, Infinite Blade Works, and Subs or Dubs.”

Accepted.

Black Bible of Kitami Reika – You possess a cursed spellbook that once belonged to a demon. Dark Magic and Charm Magic start at Basic Level 5. Dark Magic and Charm Magic +50% while holding the Bible. Learn spells from the Black Bible 20% faster.

How to Serve Woman – You gain the legendary Dolcett Cookbook. Cooking Skill starts at Intermediate Level 1. Exotic weapon proficiency (Spit). Gain no infamy for player deaths if part of meal preparations. Cooking skills improve 10% faster when using humanoid ingredients.

Infinite Blade Works – Proficient with all Swords. Dual-Wielding unlocked. Sword Mastery skill starts at Beginner Level 5. Sword skills improve 5% faster.

Subs or Dubs? – Universal Translator: All languages learned.

Skills in AAO have several tiers, each tier having ten levels. The tiers are Beginner, Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Godly. So getting two skills into Basic and one into Intermediate levels is pretty awesome. Sure, Cooking isn’t going to be useful on the battlefield, but still, being able to enjoy a hot meal is always welcome. The sword skill, however, will definitely help cover for my otherwise weak combat ability. And knowing all languages in the game at start meant I could talk with anyone, which seemed like a good thing if I was going for a social-focus on this character.

But Dolcett Cookbook? It can’t possibly mean THAT, right? And the ‘Black Bible’? The other two? I really should have cleared out my browser before starting AAO!

With a sigh, I shake my head, and say, “Negative Qualities.”

Negative Qualities (Choose 4):

All in the Family

Are You Gonna Eat That?

Crystal’s Curse

Kidnapping Quarterly

Nope-Magnet

Strange Attraction

Sucker for a Pretty Face

The Usual Suspects

Tsundere/Yandere

Why Would You Post Something Like That?

Oh. Well fuck me running! If this was based on my browser history like the other, there were a few of these that I was just going to stay way the hell away from.

“Fine. I choose… Usual Suspects, Strange Attraction, Sucker for a Pretty Face, and Why Would You Post Something Like That?”

Accepted.

Strange Attraction – Something about you causes monsters to be drawn to you. Monster encounters in the wild happen 20% more often.

Sucker for a Pretty Face – -50% Charm resistance against female creatures with a Charisma equal to or greater than your own.

The Usual Suspects – If a crime is committed and you are anywhere nearby, you become a suspect. You and police interrogation rooms are going to be very good friends. (Note: Disguise skill may negate effects.)

Why Would You Post Something Like That? – Your actions are more likely to shock people. However, they forget about your deeds over time. This is very much a double-edged sword. Double all Infamy gains. Double Bounties on you. Manhunts and Bounties return to normal twice as fast.

Well, that could have been a lot worse. More monster encounters means more loot, but I’ll have to watch out for swarms, and high-encounter areas are pretty much a no-go unless I’ve got a group. Pretty Face is going to hurt. Any enchantress out there with a CHA higher than mine is pretty much going to make me her toy, unless I can find some way to boost that resistance. Combined with the Incubus penalty, you’re looking at -100%. For those of you who are bad at math, try 1 - 1 = 0.

The other two could be problematic as well. I’ll need to get the Disguise skill quickly, or I’ll be getting hauled in whenever I’m in town, looks like. And that last one means if I step out of line, I’ll quickly get to the higher ranks of public enemy-dom. But at least they’ll stop looking for me in half the time.

Choose a Name:

Hmm. A name. What to call myself? I don’t want to go stereotypical demon or anything. For one, that’d be boring. “Puck.”

Name Already Taken

I cursed, and went through several other names, before settling on one the system would accept, that wasn’t in use.

Name Accepted.

Name set as Zayn Darkmore.

Status screen unlocked. Say ‘Status’ to view.

You may now spend Upgrade Points.

You have 30000 points left to spend.

“Status.”

Name

Zayn Darkmore

Class

None

Level

1

Sub-Class

None

Experience

0/100

Profession

None

HP

100/100

MP

100/100

Fame

0

Infamy

0

0 PP

0 GP

0 SP

20 CP

Attributes

STR

10

INT

10

DEX

10

WIS

5

CON

10

CHA

52

???

???

???

???

Points Remaining: 0

Resistances

Pierce

Bludgeoning

Slashing

Fire

Ice

Water

Lightning

Wind

Earth

Light

Dark

Charm

-50% Charm Resistance vs. Females (-100% if CHA equal or lower than foe)

Proficiencies

Simple Weapons

Exotic Weapon (Spit)

Swords

Qualities

Black Bible of Kitami Reika

How to Serve Woman

Infinite Blade Works

Subs or Dubs?

Strange Attraction

Sucker for a Pretty Face

The Usual Suspects

Why Would You Post Something Like That?

Skills

Pheromones - Beginner 1 (0%)

Charming Gaze - Beginner 1 (0%)

Dark Magic - Basic 5 (0%)

Charm Magic - Basic 5 (0%)

Cooking - Intermediate 1 (0%)

Sword Mastery - Beginner 5 (0%)

Perks

Upgrade Points Remaining: 30000

“Abilities Information.”

Strength (STR) – Used to determine how heavy a load you can lift. Affects damage with Melee weapons. Affects Knockback.

Constitution (CON) – Gain 10 HP per point of CON. Affects resistance to physical effects (poisons, etc.)

Dexterity (DEX) – Affects accuracy with all weapon attacks. Affects physical defense, and mobility.

Intelligence (INT) – Gain 10 MP per point of INT. Affects speed of learning new skills. Affects Magic attack and power for Arcane Magic.

Wisdom (WIS) – Affects Mental Defense. Affects Magic Attack and power for Divine Magic.

Charisma (CHA) – Affects Social skills. Affects attractiveness. Affects Magic Defense.

“Upgrade Points Information.”

Upgrade points can be spent on Ability scores, skills, or Perks.

Ability Scores can be bought at a cost of 1 per point increase until the ability reaches 20, and then it costs 2 points per increase, 3 points per increase at 30, and so on.

Skills and Perks cost a varying amount based on their type and level.

Unused points may be converted into game currency at the rate of 1 SP per point.

1 PP = 10 GP = 100 SP = 1000 CP

You have 30000 points left to spend.

I’m not even going to try and list out all the Perks and Skills. Just too damn many of them. Fortunately, I have a ton of points to spend, thanks to Torgan. Even if I’m going full ‘Face’, I want to be able to survive, no, THRIVE in this world. So that means I need to get a ‘survival kit’ together.

What do you need for a survival kit? Skills are the first thing. I got that started with the swords and cooking. The magic will help some, too. But I need other skills as well. I need to be able to navigate, and gather materials, and crafting would be helpful, too. Oh, sure, I may never get past Basic in them, but if you find yourself alone in the middle of the wilderness, those are useful skills to have.

Talents are another key thing. I don’t want to be a jack-of-all-trades, but being a Face alone is suicide. So I need a secondary role. Maybe not to the extent of hybrid classes, but at least being able to defend myself if need be. For instance, only a very stupid mage doesn’t plan for how to attack his enemies if he runs out of MP. In the old days before VR and the Chip, you could just spam attacks, but that won’t always fly when you’re living the game.

Same time, I want to reinforce my specialty. A Face is the guy who can talk his way into and out of trouble. So roll with that. Diplomacy and other such skills are a given. But you also need to be able to read people, and gather information on the sly, or you won’t be prepared.

The list of perks and skills is pretty much endless, and there’s a whole range of costs attached to them. I notice fairly quickly that combat-focused skills and perks are at least double, if not triple, the cost of ‘social’ or ‘crafting’ ones. Fortunately, I have six times the normal amount of points to spend thanks to Torgan.

Cutting to the chase, I get these perks:

Able Learner

Learn new skills 20% faster

1000 points

Silver-Tongued Devil

+20% to all social interactions

500 points

Artisan Soul

All Crafting skills increase at +10% rate.

Quality of works increases.

2000 points

Mercantile

Sell items to vendors for +10%.

Buy items from vendors for -10%.

500 points

Strength Focus

+2 STR per Level

1000 Points

Dexterity Focus

+2 DEX per Level

1000 Points

Constitution Focus

+2 CON per Level

1000 Points

Intelligence Focus

+2 INT per Level

1000 Points

Wisdom Focus

+2 WIS per Level

1000 Points

Charisma Focus

+2 CHA per Level

1000 Points

Lucky!

+20 Luck, Luck stat unlocked

2000 Points

Luck Focus

+2 Luck per Level

500 Points

Soulforged Weapon

Design a custom weapon. It is soulbound to you, cannot be destroyed, and increases in power as you level up.

2500 Points

I actually took that last one twice, so I could dual-wield weapons of my choosing. That brought my points remaining to 12500. Luck, it turned out, was just like you thing it would be. Higher luck raised your chances of drawing good cards when gambling, or getting crits in combat, or getting fortunate encounters socially. Now, since I’d given myself a good baseline on Perks, I figured I could move on to skills.

Survival Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Skinning Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Mining Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Herbalist Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Alchemy Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Leatherworking Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Blacksmithing Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Tailoring Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Enchanting Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Architect Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Seduction Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Negotiation Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Gambling Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Disguise Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Lying Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

200 Points

Sneak Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

500 Points

Move Silently Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

500 Points

Identify Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

500 Points

Poisoner Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

500 Points

Observe Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

500 Points

Sleight of Hand Skill

Beginner 1 (0%)

500 Points

Bow Proficiency

Proficient with Bows

500 Points

Bow Mastery

Beginner 1 (0%)

1000 Points

That brought my points down to 5000, but gave me a kick-ass skills package. Sure, I could pick up most of those skills in game, but that would require a LOT of time and energy to ‘discover’ the skill, or money to ‘buy’ it from a book. Thanks once again to Torgan, I had a helluvalot more options than a normal player.

I decided that the last 5000 points I’d devote solely to stats. That would help cement my ability in the world. So, with that in mind, I added 18 STR, 18 CON, 18 DEX, 18 INT, 23 WIS, 96 CHA, and 8 Luck. At this point, I was feeling a little sick with how OP it was getting, so I went back and boosted Seduction to Beginner 10, Gambling and Lying to Beginner 5, and Identify to Beginner 2, which brought my total points left to 9. I decided to turn those into cash, because a bit of extra coin went a long way to helping get things like supplies that I’d need to start fending for myself.

That done, I signaled that I was finished.

Congratulations on finishing Character Creation!

Would you like to view the tutorial?

Y/N

“Yes!”

Chapter 6 – Tutorial, Part 1

There was a flash of light, and then I found myself in a forest. Looking up, I could tell that it was early in the day.

Welcome to the Tutorial Zone!

While here, you will be given helpful hints periodically. Due to this being the tutorial zone, there is no penalty for death.

Oh, well that sounds good. Time to take stock of my situation. Let’s start with gear. ‘Identify’ says that I’m wearing Noble’s Shirt, Noble’s Pants, Simple Belt, and Noble’s Cap. It gives me a whopping +0 to Defense, and doesn’t appear to have any use other than making me look like something other than a peasant.

Two weapons are in my bag. They look like daggers, but when I touch one, another window pops up.

This is a Soulforged Weapon. As it has been newly bound to you, you may customize its appearance and traits. These traits cannot be changed except when the weapon levels up. Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus, and other traits will increase as you level up. New traits may be added every 10 levels.

Well, since I’m able to make these things how I like, and I got a pair of them, I’m going to be awesome, and make myself a Daisho. Might not be a samurai, but the katana and wakizashi pair would be awesome to have. After a lot of work, I finally got my blades to look how I wanted them. Even better, the system recognized that I was making them into a matched pair, and gave me a set bonus!

Munsuraisa (Moon Slicer)

Type

Sword (Katana)

Rank

Unique – Soulforged

Damage

4-12

Damage Type

Slashing

Part of the Heavenly Swordsman’s Daisho. This Soulforged weapon grows in power as you level up, however, you suffer a 10% reduction in XP gained.

+10 Attack, +5 Wisdom

20% Chance to ignore Armor on hit.

Heavenly Swordsman’s Daisho: When equipped with Taiyo no Tsubasa, +5 STR, +5 DEX

Taiyo no Tsubasa (Sun Blade)

Type

Sword (Wakizashi)

Rank

Unique – Soulforged

Damage

2-8

Damage Type

Slashing

Part of the Heavenly Swordsman’s Daisho. This Soulforged weapon grows in power as you level up, however, you suffer a 10% reduction in XP gained.

+10 Attack, +5 Charisma

1-6 Fire Damage on hit.

Heavenly Swordsman’s Daisho: When equipped with Munsuraisa, +5 CON, +5 INT

Very nice for a beginner’s weapon, but not completely overpowered for something you’d find under level 10. And it would grow along with me in time. Sure, I was taking a 20% reduction in XP because of the two weapons, but that was fine.

Looking at the rest of my gear, I saw:

Beginner's Rations x10

Waterskin

Black Bible of Kitami Reika

Dolcett Cookbook

Well, at least I wasn’t going to starve in the short term. I hadn’t checked on those two racial skills yet, so I looked them up.

Pheromones (Active/Sustained)

Beginner 1 (0%)

The Incubus is capable of producing pheromones on command. These pheromones make the Incubus

more attractive in the eyes of others, and their words carry more weight. The pheromones cover an area

5' in radius around the Incubus, and increase social interaction skills by 1%, increasing to 2% if the

person would be attracted to the Incubus. Radius and effect increase with level. This skill requires 50

MP, which cannot be regained while the skill is sustained.

Charming Gaze (Active)

Beginner 1 (0%)

Those who meet the Incubus’s gaze often find themselves falling to his charms. Can inflict Charmed status on enemies. Duration of Charmed status rises with level. Current duration: 10 Minutes. Restriction: Only works on humanoid females. This restriction may change at higher levels.

Cost: 50 MP

So, with my other bonuses, if I used Pheromones, I got a 26-27% boost to my social skills. And Charming Gaze could help swing a fight my way. While not all that powerful on their own, I suspected that if I ground them up to higher levels they could be very powerful. To start, I went ahead and activated Pheromones. My MP dropped to 300 and stayed there. With the bonuses I got from my old character, I could probably just leave this on all the time.

Next, I needed to see what spells I had.

Dark Magic

Darkbolt (Level 1, 0%)

A bolt of magical darkness that can damage enemies at range. Damage and range increase with level.

Damage: 1-10. Range: 20 Feet

Cost: 10 MP

Dark Tentacles (Level 1, 0%)

Conjure Tentacles made out of pure darkness that move according to your bidding. Number and strength of tentacles increases with level.

Number: 2. Strength: Lift 20 lbs. Range: 50 feet.

Cost: 50 MP, 1 MP per second

Armor of Darkness (Level 1, 0%)

Sustained spell. Infuses clothing with shadow essence, adding +10 to Defense. Defense bonus increases with level.

Cost: 50 MP, which cannot be recovered until dispelled.

Charm Magic

Euphoria (Level 1, 0%)

Drives the target mad with feelings of intense physical pleasure. May incapacitate enemies. Range increases with level. Cost decreases with level.

Range: 10 Feet

Cost: 10 MP/Second

Cloud Mind (Level 1, 0%)

Confuse a target, giving all actions a +50% chance of failure. Duration and Range increase with level.

Duration: 10 seconds. Range: 30 Feet.

Cost: 20 MP

Seduction (Level 1, 0%)

Not on the level of a true ‘Charmed’ effect, however this spell makes the target incredibly attracted to the user. This makes social interaction skills with the target 10% more effective. Effect and Duration increase with level

Duration: 1 minute. Range: 20 Feet

Cost: 10 MP

Running down the list, it looked like Charm magic was largely useless in combat, if one looked only at damage and such things. However, Cloud Mind would do nicely as a distraction. The other spells would serve me well in social situations. I also had that ‘Black Bible’, which probably was a grimoire of some sort, since I could apparently learn spells from it.

Now, this was the tutorial zone, so I had best find out where to go. There wasn’t a path, but it looked like I was on a small hill, and I could see a stream in the distance. That’s as good a place to start. As I walked, I scanned the nearby area, identifying things, and looking for herbs. Might as well start grinding skills.

I was just getting started, when I heard a low growling behind me. Turning around, I found a helpful blue box hovering over a shape in the bushes.

Young Forest Wolf

Level 5

“Well, crap.”

Chapter 7 – Tutorial, Part 2

Cursing my luck, jump back from the bushes and draw my swords. How in the hell is a level 5 Wolf supposed to be in a tutorial area for level 1 players? Sure, I’ve got better stats and weapons than a normal player, but damn!

And then time froze, and a screen popped up in front of me.

This is Tutorial-chan! You have encountered your first random encounter! Normally, you would be facing a horned rabbit or a slime, but your luck and traits have attracted the attention of a hungry wolf!

Good for you!

Physical combat in Age of Anarchy Online is straightforward. You swing your weapons naturally, and try to hit your opponent. There are several factors that go into this, however.

First, weapon proficiency. You are proficient with: Simple Weapons, Swords, Bows, Spits. If you try to use weapons that you aren’t proficient with, not only do you not gain any attack bonuses the weapon may give, you actually take a penalty to your attack and defense while the nonproficient weapon is equipped. This is also true for armor and shields!

If you are proficient with the weapon, then you do not receive penalties, and you gain any attack or stat bonuses the weapon may have. However, proficiency is different from skill.

Weapon Skills (or Masteries) add a small percentage to your attacks based on the skill level, and may also increase damage as you gain levels. If you are playing with system assist, weapon skill will also help improve accuracy, but will lower your chance of critical hits.

System assist is an option that can be turned on in your Options menu. This system will guide your attacks, substituting the character’s average skill for the player’s skill. This is recommended for beginners and casual players. However, experienced players may wish to leave system assist off, as you can increase your critical rate by aiming for vital points on an enemy. Rip out an enemy’s throat, and even higher level foes will soon expire.

Along with System Assist, another function of the game is Pain Level. Default pain settings in Age of Anarchy Online is 100%, meaning that the pain you feel if this wolf bites you will be just the same as if a wolf bit you in real life. You can lower pain levels in the Options menu. Be advised that lowering the pain settings will also lower critical rates and damage.

When I cleared the screen, time went back to normal again, just in time for me to see the wolf come charging out of the bushes, and leaping at me! Oh joy! And then time froze again. I was less surprised this time. It was a simple mechanic for teaching people about the system, but it worked.

Tutorial-chan here again! Congratulations, you are being attacked!

If you want to avoid getting killed, there are several options you have available to you.

Dodging involves moving out of the way of the attack, and depends heavily on your DEX, though some skills may make dodging easier. Attacks don’t hurt if you don’t get hit.

You may also try to block or parry an attack. Blocking an attack reduces its effectiveness by the rate of your attack, and depends on your STR. Some attacks may be unblockable. The type of weapon or shield you block with may increase or decrease the effects (blocking with a dagger is less effective than with a tower shield).

Parrying, on the other hand, uses a weapon to deflect an attack, reducing the damage you suffer, or causing it to miss altogether. Some weapons are better suited to parrying than others (a scimitar parries better than a greataxe). Ranged weapons must be specially constructed to be useful in either blocking or parrying.

It is possible to learn defensive skills which will increase your chances of dodging, blocking, or parrying an attack.

Armor also plays a role in defense. Heavier armor imposes a penalty to DEX, however, so one must find the balance of armor and mobility that works best for them.

System assist can be turned on for defense, however, using System assist does slightly raise the rate of critical hits you receive. In Player vs. Player confrontations, a player using System Assist against a player not using the assist will be at a severe disadvantage.

I cleared the screen, and ducked to the side, barely missing the wolf’s claws as it flew over my head. 30 DEX might not be much, but it was more than a typical level 1 would have. Still, I didn’t want to get cocky. Rushing in was stupid, at least until I had a better feel for this new world, and the wolf’s attacks.

“Observe.”

The world stopped again, and two windows popped up.

Young Forest Wolf

Level 5

HP: ??? / ???

You have used Observe for the first time on an enemy combatant!

Observe is both a passive and active skill. Passive use allows one to notice details in the surrounding area, such as a wolf preparing to ambush you in the bushes. Active use gives you more information about the creature. At Beginner Level 1, you can see the HP bar of the observed creature, as well as their level. The amount of information you can get increases with time, and your familiarity with the type of creature being observed.

Time sped up again as I closed the windows, and readied myself for the attack. The wolf circled right, and I kept my blades facing it, so I was ready when the wolf leapt again. Stepping to the side, I slashed out with both my blades. In that brief moment, I saw that my katana, Munsuraisa, gleamed like moonlight as it slashed through the wolf’s front right leg, severing it, and Taiyo no Tsubasa, my wakizashi, actually burst into flames as I drew it along the wolf’s gut.

Critical Hit! You have done 26 damage to Young Forest Wolf!

Crippling hit! -25% move speed.

You have done 8 damage to Young Forest Wolf!

You have done 3 Fire Damage to Young Forest Wolf!

A total of 37 damage? Not bad for first time out. The increased stats definitely helped. Adding on the critical as well meant that he had chopped the wolf’s health bar by almost a third.

Wimpering, the wolf tried to limp away, realizing it was in a bad state. The days of ‘dumb’ bots controlling the mobs that would attack mindlessly until destroyed were gone. There were some monsters that were like that, slimes and zombies and the like, but most living creatures tended to reassess their life choices when they lose a limb. Unfortunately for wolfy, I wasn’t in the mood to let prey escape.

Now, how do I cast a spell?

Tutorial-chan to the rescue!

Casting spells in Age of Anarchy Online is simple and fun! Just think on the spell you want to cast, and you will be prompted with the range, targets, and so on. Spells with physical manifestations, like your Dark Tentacles spell can be controlled by your thoughts alone, though using words or gestures as a focus can increase the power and effect of the spell (an Earth Hand spell works better if you make the accompanying gestures with your real hand). Some items, like grimoires or a wizard’s staff, can help increase the power and accuracy of your spells as well.

OK then! As time speeds back up again, I think of my Dark Tentacles spell, and cause two black tentacles to rise up near the wolf, with a sweep, one tentacle knocks the wolf’s legs out from under it, while the second slams down on the creature’s back.

You have done 4 damage to Young Forest Wolf!

Achievement: Subtle Casting

You have successfully cast a spell without words or gestures. Spells cast without gestures or words to focus them gain +5% cast speed.

Bonus! You are the first person to successfully unlock the Subtle Casting Achievement!

Reduce MP costs for subtle cast spells by 10%

Ooh, so I did a bit of damage, and got an achievement! Nice! Well, let’s keep this up! I direct the tentacles to keep the wolf from standing, knocking its legs out from under it whenever it tries to get up, and hitting it again as I approach. With it in a horrible position to resist, I make a single slice with my katana, cutting off the creature’s head.

Critical Hit! Fatal Hit! You have done 345 damage to Young Forest Wolf!

You have Killed Young Forest Wolf!

You gain 1250 XP (Reduced to 1000)!

You have Leveled up! You are now Level 2!

You have 5 points to spend!

For decapitating a foe above your level, you gain a new title!

The Executioner

+20% Experience from foes killed by decapitation.

So, hit locations and criticals could add up to really high levels of damage, it seemed. I threw my points into DEX, since being able to dodge attacks was important. From what I’d seen, HP and MP only regenerated at a rate of 1% of the base stat per minute. So in encounters with multiple enemies, or with repeated fights, not being hit was a good thing, especially since I didn’t have any healing magic yet.

I didn’t have a proper knife (one of the things I was going to have to invest in, once I got to someplace civilized), but I did what I could to skin and prepare the wolf’s body with my wakizashi. The result was… less than stellar, but I had a mangled piece of fur that I could probably turn into the lining of some boots, but not much else. There was also the matter of wolf meat, and I found a bone that I may be able to turn into a knife with a little work.

Now, I just had to find someplace safe to rest, or make camp. As I followed the river, I spotted what looked to be an abandoned cabin. I checked, but couldn’t find any traps on the door, and it was unlocked, so I went inside.

Chapter 8 – The Cabin

Once inside the cabin, I find that it might not have been as abandoned as I originally thought. The place was neat, and clean. Not the ‘stripped to the bones and left empty’ clean, but the ‘someone’s dusted in the last couple days’ clean. Judging by the size of the cabin, I’d say one, maybe two people lived here. There were only two rooms that I could see: a bedroom and a common room that included a small kitchen area and a living area with a fireplace. The dry wood stacked by the fireplace was another sign that someone lived here.

In fact, there was a fire in the fireplace, and a cauldron boiling over it. Whoever lived here, they hadn’t been gone very long. There wasn’t any obvious signs of a struggle, so they either were subdued quietly, or went willingly. But where were they?

New Quest: Investigate the Cabin

The abandoned cabin in the woods appears not to be abandoned after all. But where have the occupants gone?

Rank

F

Success

Find out what happened to the cabin occupants.

Failure

Give up or die.

Rewards

Experience

Unknown

Unknown

Will you accept the quest?

Yes/No

As I selected ‘yes’, I smiled. My first quest! And a mystery right off the bat! With questions to be answered, I set about gathering clues. Starting in the main room, I noticed a lot of herbs in jars on some shelves. Identifying them did… nothing, except telling me a list of names, and that they were commonly used as ingredients in cooking, alchemy, and medical treatment (poultices and such things). So, we’re looking at an herbalist, perhaps, or at least someone who lives far enough from civilization that they make their own potions and poultices.

If there was a settlement nearby, this could be the local healer’s cabin. Better access to herbs, and privacy for treatments that would be embarrassing (or worse) if people saw it. But I didn’t have enough to go on to say that there was a settlement anywhere nearby for sure. Probably was, but I’d need to find a map to know where. Most of the other things I found in the main area were pretty mundane. The kinds of things you’d expect someone living on their own to have. Food, supplies, and so on.

When I entered the bedroom, however, I found something interesting. And by interesting, I mean horrifying. A large iron cage stood in one corner near the bed. The cage was currently open, but I could see hints of old bloodstains on the floor. Looking around the rest of the room revealed restraints on the bed, and on one wall. Clearly, more was going on here than a simple herbalist enjoying the quiet.

A faint shimmer caught my eye. I didn’t see anything obviously making it, so I figured it was a system assist for the Observe skill. I did get a message a bit back saying that it had gone up to Beginner 2, thanks to checking things out. Looking closer, I found what looked to be a hidden trap door. The plot thickens!

Before rushing into the unknown, I figured I should take a moment and read the two books I’d been given at the start. The quest didn’t have a timer on it, so I figured I wasn’t on the clock, or at least, not on a short clock. I didn’t know if they would help, but having more knowledge certainly couldn’t HURT!

The Dolcett Cookbook was everything I thought it would be, and not. The book was basically like the ‘skill books’ of other games. Reading it basically downloaded several recipes and proper cooking techniques to my mind. Suddenly, I knew several things I could do with those herbs in the other room. So that’s how crafting skills worked. You could purchase recipes, and learn how to make a dish. I figured you could also experiment, but that would give a good rate of failure (and possibly death, if you poisoned yourself accidentally). I would have to find a trainer once I got in the real game to get recipes for my other crafting skills (and ‘normal’ cooking recipes too, I guess). But now I knew 34 ways to prepare fresh longpig.

The Black Bible was a grimoire. Unlike skill books, grimoires didn’t disappear after you read them. I still got a few new spells, but there were spells in the Bible that were too advanced for me, and some that looked to require reading them from the Bible while you cast them. There were even a couple rituals I could try, when I had time and materials. But I did get several spells.

Dark Magic

Nether Shield (Level 1, 0%)

Summon the energy of darkness to protect you from harm. The shield prevents 100 damage, and then breaks. Provides no defense against nondamaging attacks (such as snares, or charms).

Cost: 50 MP

Shadow Essence (Level 1, 0%)

By taking shadow essence into yourself, you can heal faster. Triple HP regeneration while in areas of darkness or shadow. MP regeneration becomes 0.

Cost: 0 MP

Charm Magic

Demonic Drive (Level 1, 0%)

As one might expect of a dark grimoire, this spell gives one unlimited stamina in the pursuit of carnal acts. This does not force one to commit such acts, merely allowing the target to continue. May be cast on yourself or another.

Cost: 1 MP/Minute

Selfish Lover (Level 1, 0%)

A truly nasty curse when combined with other Charm spells, this spell prevents the subject from climaxing. They still feel pleasure, and those feelings will not fade until they achieve release. The spell lasts until released. The resulting release is equal to the intensity of all the ‘missed’ climaxes the victim might have had. Warning: this spell may have lingering adverse mental effects on targets.

Cost: 200 MP

I quickly cast Nether Shield, and was pleased to see a dark aura shimmer into existence around me, and then fade from view. While not as good as a healing spell (I had a suspicion the only really good healing spells were going to be in the Light category), between Nether Shield and Shadow Essence, I could at least count on being able to heal up from any fight I survived fairly quickly. That would be a key factor in solo play. I would have to carefully manage my MP, though.

As for the Charm spells, well, they were still not very useful in combat, and the more I started thinking about it, my… moment of weakness during chargen would mean that there was a real risk of my damaging any ‘normal’ person if I engaged in ‘carnal acts’ with them. Still, if the chance arose, Demonic Drive and Selfish Lover would be a nasty combo. I was beginning to think that the AI in charge of this system watched as much porn as I did.

Prepared as I opened the trap door, and walked down a set of stairs to a basement. What I saw was completely beyond my belief. We definitely had more than your standard forest healer going on here! The room had been converted into a dark shrine of some kind. There was even a stone altar with dried bloodstains upon it!

Looking around the room, I found a map of the area, finally unlocking the ‘minimap’ function. I also found a series of notes describing some sort of summoning ritual. From the notes, the person who lived here was a Terror cultist! Eldritch horrors bent on destroying the world, and yet some idiots would still try and help them. Give me the guys who just wanted to rule the world over them any day!

Quest Update: Find the Priestess

A Terror cultist is planning to summon a Terror! Find the ruin spoken of in the notes, and stop the summoning before it is too late!

Rank

F

Success

Stop the summoning ritual.

Failure

The Summoning succeeds.

Time Remaining: 24 Hours

Rewards

Experience

Unknown

Unknown

Consequences

The Terror tortures and kills you in horrible ways.

So, save the world time, huh? I was starting to like this game!

Before I left the hut, I shamelessly looted everything I could. Why? Because I had 24 hours, in game, to do the quest, and from the map it looked like a three hour hike to the ruin. So I searched the altar and the hut, and found recipe books for my crafting skills, a lot of herbs and other ingredients, basic kits for tailoring, leatherworking, alchemy, and enchanting, a skinning knife, a couple kitchen knives, pans, a huge pot, and a couple spits one could roast a boar on, as well as a guide to herbs that increased my Herbalist skill to Beginner 2, some coin, several gems, and some cultist-approved gear.

Sacrificial Dagger

Type

Dagger

Rank

Uncommon

Damage

1-6

Damage Type

Piercing

This wave-bladed dagger is wholly evil and tainted by the blood of the innocent. Deals no damage to Evil creatures. Deals double damage to Good creatures. If used in a sacrifice of a sentient creature, the user may gain points in the victim’s highest stat. Success chance and amount of points gained depends on victim’s level.

Warning: Using this dagger may cause your alignment to shift.

Midnight Cloak

Type

Cloak

Rank

Uncommon

This cloak is infused with the powers of darkness. While this provides some measure of a defensive bonus, the primary benefit is the ability to hide the wearer’s face in shadow whenever the hood is pulled up, regardless of lighting. Negates glare penalties.

+5 Defense

Mystery Man: Hide the user’s face, name, alignment, and level whenever hood is drawn up.

Take no penalties due to glare or bright lights.

The dagger was fairly awesome, if I did say so myself. The chance to gain permanent stat boosts by sacrificing victims was pretty sweet. That would set me straight on the ‘dark side’ path, though. For now, I didn’t need to worry about such things. I slipped the Sacrificial Knife into my boot, and pulled the cloak about my shoulders.

“Time to go save the world!”

(Later)

After the fifth monster attack in the last hour, I was starting to get pissed. Sure, I was level 4 already, but damn, how many wolves, bunnies, and carnivorous plants was I going to run into, just walking down a frigging path? Fortunately, my Sword Mastery went up to Beginner 8.

Sword Mastery

Beginner, Level 8 (21%)

Add .8% to attack and damage with swords.

So it wasn’t all bad. The increased damage with my swords would certainly help. Of course, I’d probably be level 7 or 8 by now if it wasn’t for the swords sucking up my XP. Trying to decapitate enemies on purpose is really difficult during combat. Especially when you have multiple wolves to worry about.

Still, now I had the ruins in sight. It looked like an old keep of some kind. Checking the quest timer, I saw that I had used five of my twenty-four hours getting here. Looting the hut, killing monsters, and the like had been good for my XP and skill levels, but I wanted to find a safe place to rest for a bit before making with the killing. Maybe I’d also be able to use my crafting skills to boost my chances somehow.

Chapter 9 – The Ruin

Looking at the ruin, I felt that it was some kind of temple. Looked like something you’d see on the Acropolis in Athens. Columns and engravings and the like. But the forest had reclaimed this temple, and what had at one time clearly been well kept grounds was now choked with undergrowth. By the size of the trees growing here, it had been at least a hundred years since it was abandoned, probably more.

Oh, and it seems someone had been busy in the nearby crypt, because I can count at least fifty skeletons in between me and the door. I’ll have to get through this horde if I’m going to do anything to stop the ritual. Now, some people would charge in, shouting to the gods of light, and generally lay some paladin-level whoopass down on the skeletons. These people tend to die a lot.

Since I’m solo right now, and I don’t have any instant heals, I’ve gotta be smart. Searching around, I pick up a bunch of stones, and put them in my inventory. While characters in AAO can carry bags and the like, and those store things nicely, we also have a 10x10 Inventory screen. You can ‘stack’ items in the Inventory as long as they’re the same, up to a stack of ninety-nine. Between looting the hut, gathering herbs, skinning animals, and the like, I had nineteen slots filled, so the 20th got to have ‘Stone x24’ tossed in it. The system is pretty cool. Your ‘inventory’ is weightless, but limited to that 10x10 grid, and you have to summon the items out. Items placed in a bag or on your body have weight, but can be grabbed much more easily, which is why my weapons weren’t in my inventory.

I activated ‘Sneak’ and ‘Move Silently’, and crept forward, a stone in hand. Finding a nice tree to hide behind, I picked a target near the edge of the horde, and threw the stone. I was hoping to hit the skeleton, maybe draw one or two off so I could deal with them in small groups. Standard pull strategy.

Apparently, my really high STR, DEX, and Luck combined to make the stone actually do damage! Sure, it was only five points, but the problem was I missed my target, and hit one further in the crowd. The skeletons all turned to me at once, as I saw a screen pop up.

A skill has been created through successful action: Throwing

Level: Beginner 1 (0%)

Thrown weapons are .01% more accurate, and do .01% more damage. As this skill progresses, more objects can be used as thrown weapons.

Oh, goody. I made a throwing skill, but I also pulled a good fifteen skeletons towards me! A quick Observe told me more fun news. The skeletons were all level 7. Not out of my league individually, but together, this would SUCK! Especially since I was willing to bet they were resistant to slashing attacks. Still, nothing for it. I drew my swords, and assumed a stance.

“You want to dance? Let’s dance.”

(Later)

I’d like to say that there was an epic battle of one against a hundred, and that there was a badass soundtrack as I went off like an anime hero on the skeletons. That would be giving me FAR too much credit.

Honestly, what saved me was that Level 7 skeletons are stupid as hell. Fighting them was all a matter of keeping mobile. As I suspected, skeletons were resistant to slashing attacks, and weak against bludgeoning. I drained my MP completely, but between Darkbolt, Dark Tentacles, and throwing those stones (before later just punching and kicking the things), I somehow managed to get rid of all the damned things. My swords were badass, but against this kind of enemy, I needed a staff or something. Maybe nunchucks?

When the final skeleton fell, I was pleased to see that Dark Magic had risen to Basic 6, increasing the power of my Dark spells by 30%. Throwing was up to Beginner 2, and I had gotten Unarmed Combat Mastery, which was already halfway to levelling up. Speaking of Leveling up, I got a big boost, and jumped to Level 6. I figured I’d check my stats when I finished looting. I’d need to rest, anyway, and recover MP.

More coins, some ruined weapons and armor that weren’t worth space in my inventory, and a whole crapload of ‘Undead Bone’. Apparently it was used in Alchemy. I did find a rather bitchin’ gold ring on one of the skeleton’s hands, though.

Ring of the Wyrmwood

Type

Ring

Rank

Rare

Before the Scourge, the elves of the Wyrmwood were one of the most powerful empires on the continent. Rings such as this were given to nobles who had won favor with the Queen of the Wyrmwood. They were often enchanted in some way, though each ring is different.

+5 INT

No quest alert, so I didn’t have enough info to go checking on this ring’s former owner. Still, stat boosts are always welcome! For now, I decided to save my stat points, and get a nice reserve going. The passive boosts from my traits were doing well for my already overinflated stats for now. When I found a class, I could boost the stats I needed.

Checking my spells, I saw that both Darkbolt and Dark Tentacles had leveled up, as well.

Dark Magic

Darkbolt (Level 2, 4%)

A bolt of magical darkness that can damage enemies at range. Damage and range increase with level.

Damage: 5-25. Range: 30 Feet

Cost: 10 MP

Dark Tentacles (Level 2, 10%)

Conjure Tentacles made out of pure darkness that move according to your bidding. Number and strength of tentacles increases with level.

Number: 3. Strength: Lift 100 lbs. Range: 50 feet.

Cost: 50 MP, 1 MP per second

Little bit of improvement in direct offense, and the tentacles were a lot more useful now. That’ll make not dying easier, especially if there are more skeletons to deal with. Still, I’ve sat around enough. HP and MP recovered, loot sorted. But since it doesn’t look like the skeletons are going to spawn again out here, I might as well take a bit of time to prepare myself.

Another hour later, and I’ve actually made some progress. Thanks to my traits, my crafting skills improve faster, and the quality is better. So with my Alchemy, and the herbs I stole from the hut, I was able to make a dozen Healing Potions and a half dozen Mana Potions. I also used my Leatherworking skill to good effect. I couldn’t wear armor, but all the wolves I’d run into had given me enough leather (especially now that I had a proper knife) to allow me to make some simple add-ons. They didn’t count as armor, so I could wear them.

I also started enchanting things. Turns out you can’t enchant Soulforged weapons, so no enchants on my main weapons, but I put basic enchants on all my other gear.

Ring of the Wyrmwood

Type

Ring

Rank

Rare

Before the Scourge, the elves of the Wyrmwood were one of the most powerful empires on the continent. Rings such as this were given to nobles who had won favor with the Queen of the Wyrmwood. They were often enchanted in some way, though each ring is different.

+5 INT

Enchanted: +1 MP Regeneration/Minute

Wolf Leather Gloves

Type

Gloves

Rank

Common

A basic pair of gloves, made by every beginning leatherworker in the world at some point. Still, they provide some protection from the elements, as well as helping the wearer fend off enemy attacks.

Durability: 10/10

+2 Defense

Enchanted: +5 DEX

Wolf Leather Bracers

Type

Bracers

Rank

Common

A basic pair of bracers, made by every beginning leatherworker in the world at some point. Still, they provide some protection from the elements, as well as helping the wearer fend off enemy attacks.

Durability: 10/10

+5 Defense

Enchanted: +5 CON

Belt of the Novice Hunter

Type

Belt

Rank

Common

A basic leather belt, made by every beginning leatherworker in the world at some point, decorated with wolf teeth.

Durability: 10/10

Enchanted: +5 STR

Wolf-lined Boots

Type

Boots

Rank

Common

A basic pair of leather boots, made by every leatherworker in the world at some point. Good craftsmanship gives it slightly better durability.

Durability 15/15

+2 Defense

Enchanted: +20% Speed

Greaves of the Hunter

Type

Greaves

Rank

Uncommon

A superior version of the basic greaves every leatherworker first starts making. The craftsmanship gives increased durability and protection.

Durability 15/15

+6 Defense

Enchanted: +10 Attack

Fascinating Codpiece

Type

Special

Rank

Uncommon

A custom piece made by an Incubus leatherworker, this codpiece provides protection from attacks, and is imbued with a small charm effect.

Durability 10/10

+25% Stun resistance to attacks made against crotch

Hypnotic - Low level Charm effect draws people’s gaze, causing them to stare at codpiece. May cause ‘Dazed’ or ‘Fascinated’ conditions (10% chance) if foe is Level +5 or lower.

Enchanted: +5 CHA

Sacrificial Dagger

Type

Dagger

Rank

Uncommon

Damage

1-6

Damage Type

Piercing

This wave-bladed dagger is wholly evil and tainted by the blood of the innocent. Deals no damage to Evil creatures. Deals double damage to Good creatures. If used in a sacrifice of a sentient creature, the user may gain points in the victim’s highest stat. Success chance and amount of points gained depends on victim’s level.

Durability 10/10

Warning: Using this dagger may cause your alignment to shift.

Enchanted: +2 Dark damage

Midnight Cloak

Type

Cloak

Rank

Uncommon

This cloak is infused with the powers of darkness. While this provides some measure of a defensive bonus, the primary benefit is the ability to hide the wearer’s face in shadow whenever the hood is pulled up, regardless of lighting. Negates glare penalties.

Durability 10/10

+5 Defense

Mystery Man: Hide the user’s face, name, alignment, and level whenever hood is drawn up.

Take no penalties due to glare or bright lights.

Enchanted: +10% to Sneak skill

Healing Spit

Type

Exotic Weapon

Rank

Common

Damage

5-10

Damage Type

Piercing

A spit, typically used for roasting a boar or other large animal over a fire. While it can be used as a weapon, like a spear, it is not designed for such, and may incur penalties, even with the appropriate proficiency.

Durability 15/15

Enchanted: When victim successfully spitted, automatically heals victim for 1-10 HP each second, while draining 1 MP each second.

Now, I had a little over sixteen hours to go until boom time. But waiting until the last minute to deal with cosmic-level bad guys is generally a bad thing, so I gathered my new gear, and went into the ruined temple.

(Later)

Four hours of bloody fighting, and I’ve managed to cut my way through GODDAMN GIANT SPIDERS! These developers were not playing around with the tutorial! OK, I suspected someone had set the thing to adjust the difficulty based on whoever was going through it, but still! I had leveled up again, bringing me to Level 7. Sword Mastery just got to Beginner 10. A little more, and I’d crack Basic.

Only good thing about the damn spiders is that I got some of their blood. Giant Spider Blood is only good for two things, with my skills: antidotes and poisons. So I got a dozen antidotes, and another dozen vials of Spider Poison. Not sure what I’ll do with it yet, but I’ll think of something.

For now, though, I’ve been doing hard fighting for over twelve hours. I still have twelve to go before doomsday. I’m in a safe zone in this ‘dungeon’, so I’ll set an alarm and catch a four-hour nap. Can’t save the world falling asleep on my feet.

Chapter 10 – First Conquest

Ah, that was refreshing. Nice to know that the alarm function works as it is supposed to. Anyways, no one has tried to murder me in my sleep, which is always a bonus. Guess the safe room I made was really safe. Now, I have eight hours to stop the end of the world. Let’s party.

First floor of the ruin is clear. I’m figuring that since there’s no second floor, and we’re talking about unspeakable evil rituals, going down is the best bet, and I just found stairs going down. I activate Sneak and Move Silently, because I’d rather like to avoid getting swarmed by whatever is down here.

My caution comes in handy, as I discover a set of three cultists. I know they’re cultists because Observe told me so. Because it had leveled up a bit, and I was higher level than these guys, I got numbers for their HP and MP!

Terror Cultist

Level 5

HP: 100/100

MP: 200/200

All three were the same. None of them looked like they were in charge, so this was probably a patrol of some kind. Still, three on one in my first fight against creatures that can actually think, and call in reinforcements? I’ll need to weaken or disable them somehow. Fortunately, I had a few ways to do that.

Sneaking up behind the cultists, I had my blades ready, and slashed out at the guy on the left first. My blades crossed eachother passing through the man’s neck, causing his head to actually spin in the air for a moment before it fell to the ground, the body following shortly after.

Sneak Attack! Critical Hit! Fatal Hit! 1604 damage dealt to Terror Cultist!

Sneak Attack! Critical Hit! Fatal Hit! 1250 damage dealt to Terror Cultist!

6 Fire Damage dealt to Terror Cultist!

You have killed a Terror Cultist! You gain 200 XP!

That’s what I thought. Sneak attacks, criticals, and fatal hits did massive damage to enemies, meaning they’d do massive damage to me, too. But the XP was really low. Apparently, the XP you get depends on your level compared to your victim’s level. Killing creatures above my level gave me oodles of XP, but these cultists were slightly below my level, so I was only getting normal amounts.

Of course, I didn’t sit there daydreaming after killing the first cultist. I used my dark tentacles to deal with the woman. I’d want to ask her some questions later. Two tentacles grabbed her wrists, pulling them out to the side so she couldn’t try anything, while the third stuck itself in her mouth when she tried to scream. That just left me and the second guy.

30 damage to Terror Cultist!

20 damage to Terror Cultist!

5 Fire damage to Terror Cultist!

Parry! You take 5 damage (reduced from 15) from Terror Cultist!

34 damage to Terror Cultist!

Bleeding Effect dealt to Terror Cultist!

You take 20 damage from Terror Cultist!

Disarmed!

Critical Hit! Fatal Hit! 40 damage to Terror Cultist!

You have killed Terror Cultist! You gain 160 XP!

This one was actually ready for me, so I had a bit of a fight on my hands. But two swords versus a dagger leaves little doubt about the winner. Wasn’t able to get the bonus for a decapitation this time, but I considered it lucky, since the bastard had managed to score a couple hits, and even made me drop my wakizashi by slashing my hand. If he was any better skilled, or had more HP, I’d have been in real trouble.

Looking at the female cultist, I could tell that she was a human. Well, no time like the present to test out some new abilities, right? First, I use the Charming Gaze, my racial ability. The girl’s expression changes from hate to something much friendlier, so I dismiss the tentacles. Before I do, I cast Selfish Lover on her, as well. She falls to the ground, which puts her at eye level with my codpiece. The design causes her to stare.

Stepping towards her, I reached out with one hand and tilted her face up to look me in the eye. “What is your name, little cultist?”

The girl flushes, pulling her eyes away from my codpiece, and says, “Della Smith.”

“And Della, tell me, how many of you are here?”

“I-I can’t betray the Mistress!”

I chuckled, and began using my skills. “You’re not betraying them. Just tell me how many there are, and I’ll give you a good, hard fucking you’ll never forget.” Between the various effects layered on (and including the Charm effect), she was like putty in my hands.

As I pressed her against the wall, she told me everything I wanted to know. Between my 184 CHA, Seduction at Beginner 10, the bonuses from my abilities, and the Charmed effect, she simply couldn’t help herself. It seemed there were a total of twenty cultists, as well as a Priestess. They were going to sacrifice a pair of elves in order to summon their Terror overlord. Honestly, a pretty cliché plot, but hey, it is just the tutorial.

Before long, words became kisses, and soon the cultist was stripped naked. She got afraid when she saw my ‘weapon’, but I didn’t give her much choice in the matter. Pinning her with her back against the wall, I lifted one leg up over my shoulder, and thrust into her. She screamed, but I kept going. This wasn’t gentle lovemaking, but a hard, brutal fuck. And I was enjoying the hell out of it.

(Later)

The fun thing about Selfish Lover is that you can set it off right when you want. Since I only let the poor thing cum after an hour’s ‘play’, during which I also used Demonic Drive on myself, well, that may have broken her mind for a little while. While she was out of it, I decided to check out the loot from the three cultists. Three more sacrificial daggers, three sets of robes, three sets of leather armor, some clothes, and some coin. Oh, and a collar with a key. I identified it.

Slave Collar (Basic)

Type

Collar

Rank

Common

Used by slavers the world over. A master places a drop of blood on an unset collar, linking it to himself. When placed on another being, the collar compels obedience to the master. The slave must obey all the master’s commands, and may not harm the master. Basic slave collars can be removed by anyone with the key.

Oh ho! Quickly, I prick my finger with my skinning knife, and put a drop of blood on the gem of the slave collar.

Master set as Zayn Darkmore

Excellent! Walking over to the still dazed Della, I slipped the collar around her neck, and locked it.

Slave acquired!

Della Smith

Human Female Level 5

As the master, you may view the slave’s status.

Profession Unlocked!

For successfully taking a slave, you have unlocked the [Slave Trainer] profession.

Slave Trainer

While anyone can own a slave and call themselves a master, it takes a special type of master to be a Trainer. Taking an often, but not always, unwilling slave and bending them to your will, teaching them the skills they will need to serve you or a future master better, this is not something most masters have the patience for. Those who do, however, can find work wherever the slave trade exists. (Hint: pretty much everywhere, even if it is more than slightly illegal in ‘nice’ places.)

Do you wish to take Slave Trainer as your profession?

Yes/No

Sure, why not? Could be fun, and I seemed to be going with the right build for it. “Yes.”

Profession changed to Slave Trainer!

Gain Intimidation Skill!

Gain Proficiency: Exotic Weapon (Whips)!

Gain Whip Mastery Skill!

Gain Training Skill!

Gain Blacksmith Recipe: Collar

Gain Enchantment Recipe: Enslavement

See a profession trainer for more details.

Well, I didn’t expect the profession to give me anything overpowered. If I had to categorize it, I’d put it under the ‘romance’ professions. Not that being a trainer is all that romantic (though it could be, for some), but it generally wouldn’t be one of the kinds of professions you’d see top tier core gamers having, since it wouldn’t directly affect their ability to clear dungeons. However, since I’m on my own, and probably will be for a while, this has plenty of potential, especially since it seems I can now make slave collars, or will be able to, once I get someplace civilized.

“Status, Della.”

Name

Della Smith

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Level

5

Race

Human

Class

None

Sub-class

None

Experience

11000/15000

Profession

None

HP

50/100

MP

200/200

HP Regen

1.0 / Min

MP Regen

2.0 / Min

Fame

0

Infamy

0

0 PP

0 GP

0 SP

60 CP

Attributes

STR

15

INT

20

DEX

15

WIS

50

CON

10

CHA

15

Luck

5

Attack

+0

Defense

+10

???

Points Remaining: 0

Titles

Slave

Resistances

Piercing

+10%

Bludgeoning

+10%

Slashing

+10%

Fire

Ice

Water

Lightning

Wind

Earth

Light

Dark

Charm

Enslaved to Zayn Darkmore – Compelled to follow all commands.

Diety

Loviatar

Proficiencies

Simple Weapons

Light and Medium Armor

Skills

Dagger Mastery - Beginner 3 (0%)

Herbalist - Beginner 3 (2%)

Sneak - Beginner 2 (10%)

Move Silently - Beginner 2 (10%)

Identify - Beginner 2 (18%)

Poisoner - Beginner 4 (0%)

Observe - Beginner 2 (75%)

Throwing - Beginner 2 (0%)

Divine Magic - Beginner 3 (0%)

Perks

Hmm. Looks like I actually did damage to her with that rough play. Good WIS for someone who isn’t me, though. And a diety chosen. Then there’s Divine magic! Could it be? “Spells, Della.”

Spell List

Divine Magic

Light (Level 2, 4%)

A beacon in the darkest places. Touched object glows like a torch. Duration and radius increases with level.

Duration: 1 hour. Radius: 20 feet

Cost: 10 MP

Piercing Light (Level 1, 0%)

A focused ray of light that scorches everything in its path. Damage and range increase with level.

Damage: 5-25. Range: 30 feet

Cost: 20 MP

Healing Hands (Level 2, 2%)

With a touch, you can heal the wounds of living creatures. Has no effect on constructs. Harms the undead. Healing (or damage) increases with level.

Healing: 50 points.

Cost: 20 MP

Blessing of Loviatar (Level 1, 25%)

Inflicting exquisite pain and suffering upon your enemies is your duty to the goddess. But take care to not kill them too quickly. For the duration, every attack (or even your very touch) deals an extra 1-6 Holy damage, and heals the victim for 1-3 damage. Duration, damage, and healing increase with level.

Duration: 1 minute

Cost: 50 MP

HEALER, GET! WOOT!

Hmm, might want to check out this ‘Loviatar’, and the rest of the pantheon.

“Pantheon Information.”

Pantheon of Farenna

Note: Most deities in Farenna accept worshippers of all alignments. To gain a patron deity, speak to a priest in one of their temples. One need not have a patron to pray for a deity’s favor, however, a patron is more likely to listen to a worshipper in good standing than to one who follows another.

There are many dieties in Farenna. These are the most common ones, however.

Auril – Goddess of Winter and Cold

Demeter – Goddess of Spring, Farmers, and Life

Eomere Windfather – God of Elves, Forests, and Hunters

Faheld – God of Martyrdom and Mercy

Gatta Glittergloom – Goddess of Gnomes, Jewlers, and Merchants

Infernus – God of Summer and Fire

Loviatar – Goddess of Inflicting Pain, Suffering, and Revenge

Moradin – God of Dwarves and Blacksmiths

Mystra – Goddess of Magic and Mages

Necron – God of Death

Poseidon – God of the Sea

Sharess – Goddess of Passion and Love

Tempus – God of War and Barbarians

Yavenna – Goddess of Fall and Music

By this time, poor Della was starting to come around. “Good, you’re awake. Get dressed, and arm yourself. We’ve got some hunting to do.”

“Wh-what? What did you do to me?” She blinked, suddenly unsure as her body began moving without her mind giving the orders.

“Oh, your buddy with the missing head liked collecting interesting toys. That slave collar around your neck was in his pocket. So I’m your master now. Anyways, heal yourself up, and let’s get going. We have a ritual to stop.”

Chapter 11 – Before the Altar

Not having a choice (in anything, any more), Della reluctantly joined my party, and we began with the killing. Honestly, she was a little more cooperative when I promised her that she could watch me take the Priestess. That whole giving suffering thing is her gig, after all.

The cultists we encountered were, for the most part, insane, not all that evil. Della was one of the exceptions to the ‘batshit crazy’ rule, but then, she’d been on the run from some officials who took a dim view of her activities. You try and start a torture brothel next door to a temple of a god that values chastity, and everyone loses their minds!

Anyways, she had to move, and fell into this cult as a way to get out of town quickly. Once in, hard to get out. Especially since, by that point, they were already well out into the woods, to meet up with the Priestess at her cabin. And seeing the collar around her neck, she pretty much figured that Ambrose (the guy I relieved of his head) was going to try and get it on her at some point during their patrol today. Lucky for me, I got there first.

Steadily killing cultists was a lot easier now that I was in a party, and had a healer at my back. Easy enough that I managed to find time to use those Sacrificial Daggers. I enchanted Della’s, and a second one for myself, both doing bonus Dark damage. We quickly found out that it counted as a ‘sacrifice’ if the enemy was either bound or helpless upon an altar, or if the killing blow came when you did some kind of coup de grace, like slitting their throat or stabbing them in the heart while calling out to a deity. I picked Sharess, for reasons.

Anyways, that’s how I gained the Dagger Mastery skill, another level, and stat boosts in WIS and STR. Della got to level 7, and got some stats in CON. Oh yeah, more loot, and some trash items that I’d sell later, once we got to civilized lands. I saved my stats from levelling, but had her put hers in INT and CON. She needed more HP and MP.

We still had about five hours left until Bad Things(tm) happened. A bit of rest for water and some roasted wolf meat, and we pressed on, down to the third level of the mini-dungeon. This would be where we’d find the altar, the prisoners, and the Priestess. Oh, and the last five cultists.

Somewhere along the way (probably starting with me taking a slave and then sacrificing a bunch of people with the dagger of EVUL!) my alignment had changed to Chaotic Neutral. From my understanding of the alignment system, that was pretty fair. I was behaving pretty depraved (chaotic) and not exactly caring about the killing, but doing it to save the world (neutralish). Worked for now.

Opening the door to the main altar room, we saw the two elves, stripped naked and chained to two columns near the altar. Five cultists were standing in the middle of the room, and the Priestess was by a stone altar. As we entered, they all turned to look at us. During the shock I took a moment to Observe them.

Alex Damocles

Human Male

Level 6 Fighter

500/500 HP. 100/100 MP.

Severa Rex

Human Female

Level 6 Rogue

300/300 HP. 100/100 MP.

Dred Trevils

Human Male

Level 7 Mage

100/100 HP. 500/500 MP.

Luther Cross

Human Male

Level 4 Cleric

200/200 HP. 400/400 MP.

Ashen Willow

Human Hermaphrodite

Level 5 Barbarian

600/600 HP. 50/50 MP.

Jayde Roseburg

Human Female

Level 10 Priestess

1000/1000 HP. 1000/1000 MP.

Oh great. A party of named mobs. And a Level 10 behind them! Fortunately, I was fairly OP, and the party was lower than my level. Looking at Della, I said, “Hang back, focus on defense, and be ready to heal yourself if needed.” These guys would probably be evil, which meant that her dagger wouldn’t do anything to them. Smart way for the guys at the top to be sure that none of the underlings got ideas of advancement. Meanwhile, I nicely poured poison on my blades, and saw that they would inflict Giant Spider Poison on the enemy for 1 min.

The priestess recovered before any of her cronies, and yelled out, “SLAY THE INTRUDERS!”

The party reacted just like you might expect. The rogue went into stealth. The fighter drew his sword and shield. The barbarian roared, and wanted to charge with hir greataxe. And the Mage and Cleric hung back, chanting. Oh, we’ll be having none of that, thank you.

Running forward, I drew my blades, getting in range of the Mage just as the Barbarian tried to split my head with hir axe. I rolled out of the way, and gave hir a slash on the back of hir leg for an ‘attention getter’.

You deal 34 damage to Ashen Willow!

Poisoned! Giant Spider Poison: Lose 1 HP/Second. 60 Seconds remaining.

Bleed imposed! Lose 1 HP/Second.

And then I was past. I caught the mage with a Cloud Mind just in time to disrupt his spell. Unfortunately, the Cleric got a group buff off. I’d have to take the casters out quickly. I had evidently surprised this party, since I was much stronger and faster than I ought to be. Just as I scored two Fatal Hits on the mage (he really had no armor on, like myself, and seemed to be a pure offense type), bringing the bastard down to zero, I felt a pinch on my side, and saw the Rogue there, looking surprised. Well, she ought to, since my Nether Shield broke, allowing only five points of damage through from his sneak attack. She had no such luck against the dark tentacles that sprung up, and lifted her off the ground by her hands and feet, with the third tentacle repeatedly slapping her on the behind.

And then the fighter and barbarian were on me. Too bad for them, I was pretty light on my feet, with a 60 DEX, and danced around the Cleric, putting him between me and the Barbarian’s axe. The Barbarian looked outraged as shi took three-fourths of the Cleric’s HP in a single vicious attack, burying the axe in his collarbone, down to his ribcage. Shi looked even more pissed when my katana relieved the cleric of his head, and the rest of his HP.

Now it was a two on one, but I was breathing heavily. This had not been an easy fight. Dancing out of the way of the Fighter’s longsword, I cast Nether Shield on myself again. It was a useful ability. Dark magic had almost no direct offensive power, but it was pretty damn good at keeping you alive, if you had other skills to attack with.

Honestly, at this point the Fighter was my biggest threat. He was a balanced sword and shield fighter with what looked like a chain shirt under his doublet, and could go from offense to defense in a second. Very tough to beat without overwhelming force. The Barbarian, on the other hand, was just swinging around a big weapon with overwhelming strength. If it hit, it would hurt like hell, but it was meaningless if it didn’t hit.

I kept maneuvering, keeping the Barbarian between me and the Fighter, wearing hir down. Attacking the hamstrings, wrists, arms, and so on allowed me to slowly cripple the Barbarian, to the point where shi collapsed to the ground, just barely alive, but unable to lift hir weapon or move. Probably had a couple minutes before shi would be a problem again.

Not that shi had a couple minutes. The Fighter frowned as I coldly executed his comrade with a blow to hir neck. Now it was just us two. He thought he had gotten my measure, and began attacking. I would love to say that my twin blade style overpowered his orthodox sword-and-shield style, but that would be a lie. I threw Euphoria on him, which disrupted his stance enough for me to slip my katana past his guard, spilling his intestines onto the ground as Munsuraisa’s special ability activated, and it ignored his armor. Falling to his knees, his sword falling to his side, the fighter looked up at me with hate in his eyes as I relieved him, too, of his head.

The Priestess didn’t seem to be getting in on this yet, which was fortunate. Turning to look at the hapless (and screaming) Rogue, I chuckled, and pulled out a piece of ‘junk’ loot from my inventory. A simple copper chain necklace. Worth a few coins at the market. I checked the Enslavement enchantment earlier. Didn’t have to have to be a collar to carry the enchantment, so I slapped it on the necklace.

Necklace of Servitude

Type

Necklace

Rank

Uncommon

A basic copper chain necklace, the likes of which beginner crafters often make. This necklace has been enchanted with the Enslavement curse, and acts similarly to a slave collar. The necklace may not be removed except by the master, or in the case of the slave’s death.

With a wicked grin, I put some blood from the wound the rogue had given me on it, and then reached up to the rogue who was now struggling MUCH harder against the tentacles, and slipped it on her neck.

Slave acquired!

Severa Rex

Human Female

Level 5 Rogue

As the master, you may view the slave’s status.

“Heh. That worked nicely.” I released her from the tentacles, and she got up, rubbing her ass which was apparently tender from her spanking.

“So, what now, Master?” She said the word with such venom! If the enchantment didn’t forbid it, no doubt she’d be trying to kill me now.

I smiled wickedly at the newest addition to my harem. Yes, not even out of tutorial, and I’m making myself a harem! Who needs a PC party, when you can enslave pretty NPCs? Who cares that it might be frowned on some places? I’m not a paladin here! “Don’t worry, Severa. I’ll take good care of your ass later on, and keep doing it until you learn some respect. Ask Della there about what you have to look forward to. In the meantime, we ought to do something about this Priestess.”

“Oh, you intend to ‘do something’ about me, hmm? You do know that I am a Priestess of Mystra, yes? My magic is far too powerful for the likes of you to comprehend!”

I paused from looting the corpses of the fallen named mobs, and chuckled. “Oh, I can see fighting you would be fun, but I have something else in mind, Jayde Roseburg. We still have, what, four hours until your ritual is ready, right? What do you say to a bit of a wager? You and me, no weapons. There’s a room back the way we came where we can have some privacy. I will have you screaming and begging me for release in half that time.”

“Quite sure of yourself, aren’t you, incubus? And what would the wager be, if I was so inclined?”

“Oh, that’s simple. If you win, I’ll join you in this ritual, and help you summon your dark master. If I win, you’ll join us for dinner, as the main course.” Zayn grinned wolfishly, and said, “Without your bodyguards, taking down all three of us would be… troublesome, even for you. You might succeed in defeating us, but you may end up too wounded or weakened to perform the ritual. With a simple wager, you have your best chance of success.” He paused, and then said, “Unless you are unsure of your skills?”

Chapter 12 – The Priestess and the Princesses

The Priestess had some levels on me, and was the boss of this tutorial, but I had cheat skills and stats. That, and the fact that I was right that a fight against my team would lead to her being in critical condition even if she won, left her dancing in the palm of my hand. Honestly, I was starting to love this new character even more than Torgan. There was a rush from situations like this that you didn’t get from simply smiting evil.

As we adjourned to the private room, I told my slaves to start a fire going and to set up for a roast, getting a smirk from the Priestess. She was quite confident in her ability to resist, no doubt thinking I was overconfident due to my Incubus nature.

Once inside the room, I pulled the priestess towards me using my enhanced strength, holding her close against my body, and kissed her upon the lips. While she sputtered in shock, I silently placed Selfish Lover on her. Oh, sure, a priestess would probably notice the trick if I used it normally, but she was a little flustered, and missed it.

One hand reached up, holding her firmly by the throat, though not choking her, while the other began undressing her. All the while, I kept eye contact with the woman, watching every reaction as a finger flicked a now exposed nipple, or lightly brushed between her thighs, or played with her tight rear. Might not be polite to say, but there were some VERY realistic VR porn games out there, and I’d played enough of them that I had picked up a few tricks. Not as much in RL, though, but I’ve never had any complaints.

I didn’t even undress, didn’t even pull out my cock. I just kept touching, teasing, rubbing, kissing, maybe a bit of biting, and fingering, continuing the foreplay and getting her hotter and hotter. Of course, she couldn’t climax, because I hadn’t released the spell. So the pleasure continued to build and build. No, it is not fair. Fair is for chumps. I like winning. Especially when winning looks like this.

Finally, after a little more than an hour of my pleasurable tortures, Jayde broke down, and screamed, “OH GODS DAMN IT! JUST LET ME CUM!” She was near delirious by this point, and panting heavily.

I released her throat, and said, “On your knees, and beg for release.”

Shakily, she fell to her knees, and looked up at me, and begged, “Please! I beg you, fuck me, ravish me! Just let me cum already!”

Smirking down at her, I said, “I win.” And then I made her watch as I stripped off my clothes. She gasped as she saw my size, but at this point, she was too far gone to think about anything but getting off.

Grabbing her hair, I pulled her up, and bent her over a table, spreading her legs. When I thrust in, she was wet and ready all right, but that didn’t stop a shriek of pain, as I made sure to bottom out in her. Gripping her by her shapely hips, I continued the assault, caring only about my pleasure. And I enjoyed myself immensely.

But even as I finished in her, I didn’t let the woman cum. I left her there, worn out and gasping, but still excited, as I pulled the enchanted spit out of my inventory. Carefully, I lined it up, and with an ease born of my high cooking skill, I forced the spit through the Priestess’s body, and when it emerged from her mouth, I released Selfish Lover, causing her to have the most intense orgasm of her life.

I didn’t bother watching to see her status, as the impaling spit dealt a low level of damage over time to her, while the spit used her mana to heal her. Instead, I inserted a second rod into her rear to stabilize her on the pole, and then tied her hands and feet to the spit, while making sure to pull her hair back and secure it.

From my inventory, I pulled seasonings from the Priestess’s own cabin, and began rubbing her with oils, and doing what I could to make her meat taste good. Whoever programmed the Dolcett Cookbook knew their stuff, which made me wonder certain things about their RL. In a game was one thing, RL was another.

When the seasoning was done, I dressed and called my slaves over, and they carried the former priestess (now meat) out to the fire, while I went to see about the two elves. Along the way, I checked my windows.

You have defeated an entire adventuring party!

6500 XP gained!

For defeating the Black Hand adventuring party single-handedly, you gain 210 Fame (raised from 200)!

You are now level 9!

You have 35 points remaining.

Seduction has improved to Basic 1.

New subskill unlocked: Combat Seduction.

Combat Seduction – A truly shameless person can try and seduce his foes even in the midst of combat, leading to… interesting results. Just don’t get caught thinking with the wrong ‘sword’!

I checked the quest, but it was still ongoing, though I noticed that the countdown had stopped. Probably had something to do with taking the Priestess out of play, but not killing her outright. Not yet, anyways. Might need to talk with the elves first, too.

Reaching the nearest elf, I smiled at her, and gently removed her gag, though I didn’t unchain her yet. Best wait until I was sure she hadn’t been driven mad, or was a cultist herself. Or that she wouldn’t freak out from the sight of the Priestess turning over the coals. In Elvish, I said, “Hello there, my pretty, and who might you be?”

Of course, I used Observe on both her and the other elf, to see what it brought up. When you’re starting a new game, information is power, and even if they lie, that tells me something.

Aravae Liarora

Female Elf

Level 6 Priestess

Title: Princess of Wyrmwood

Esyae Liarora

Female Elf

Level 6 Ranger

Title: Princess of Wyrmwood

So, princesses? And probably sisters. Interesting. Didn’t expect to meet elvish princesses so early in the game. Looking at the elf in front of me, I waited to hear what she would say.

Gathering herself as best she could when she was naked and bound to a column as a sacrifice. “I am Aravae Liarora, Princess of the Wyrmwood and Priestess of Sharess. My sister Esyae Liarora, Princess of Wyrmwood and Huntress of the Windfather is over there. You are not with the cultists, I take it? How did you come to find us here?”

I smiled as she went for the truth. “I am… a Traveler.” I had to think for a second to remember the term they used for Players in this world. It had the desired effect, though, as Aravae’s eyes lit up, and she nodded for me to continue. “I just came to this world, and found myself in the woods. After several battles with the creatures of the wild, I found a cabin in the woods. What I found there I believe you already know. I received a quest, telling me to investigate the temple, and stop the ritual, if I could.”

“And that required spitting the Priestess alive? I can see she is squirming quite a bit over the heat.”

“Oh, no. That choice was mine. But I thought it fitting that someone who wished to bring Terrors into the world suffer before she died.”

“And the reason my sister and I are still bound?”

“Didn’t know if you were under someone’s control, or whether you might react badly to the… circumstances. Also, you’re both incredibly beautiful. But you said you were a Priestess of Sharess, yes? If I untie you and your sister, and bring you something to wear, I wonder if you might share some insights into the goddess? I have only the basic information on the major dieties of this world, and would love to learn more.”

Aravae smirked. “An incubus wishes to learn more about the goddess of love and passion? Why am I not surprised? And what form of ‘insight’ would you like?”

I grinned, and reached one hand forward to place it on her waist, picking the maiden up so I could unhook the chains from where they were attached to the column. “I think we could both enjoy some ‘insights’, don’t you?”

“And my sister?”

“She can watch, or join in, if she likes.”

“And those two women by the fire?”

“My slaves, both recently caught. One has been promised a reminder of her place, and I wish both of them to see that I can be kind, as well as cruel.”

“And will you escort my sister and I back to the Wyrmwood?”

“I am a Traveler. I have no need or desire to stay at this ruined temple forever. A journey to a kingdom of elves, escorting their princesses home safely, doesn’t sound too bad to me.”

As we spoke, I carried her over to where her sister was chained, and soon had a naked elf maiden in either arm. Moving to an area away from the altar, I threw down a few cultist robes and cloaks as makeshift bedding, and we proceeded to share several ‘insights’.

(Later)

After our ‘conversation’, Aravae initiated me as a follower of Sharess. The Priest class opened up, but I held off on choosing a class, for now. Better to wait until we were in civilization, and I had more options to choose from. I did, however, get a couple bonuses for having a patron diety.

Patron Diety: Sharess

Gain Charm Resistance +10%

Charm Magic

Fruitful Passion (Level 1, 0%)

Convey the blessings of the Goddess upon the target. The target will produce a child with the next creature they lie with, no matter what kind of being they might be, so long as it is before the next new moon.

Cost: 400 MP

Sheltered Passion (Level 1, 0%)

The blessings of the Goddess protect the target. No matter how many times they lie with another, or with whom, until the full moon rises, they shall not produce a child.

Cost: 400 MP

Oh sure, these were worth exactly nothing in a fight, except maybe the Charm resistance, which gave me a whopping -40% resistance against females trying to charm me (or -90% if they were prettier than me), but the choice of whether or not to impregnate people, or even to just place Fruitful Passion on someone who was trying for a child, could go a long way to keeping angry fathers and husbands from looking for me with torches and pitchforks.

Looking over to the Priestess, I was somewhat amused to see that she was still alive. The spit had dealt heavy damage to her when I shoved it through, since it was considered a ‘Fatal Hit’ and a crit, and the bleed it caused was doing more damage over time, along with the fire, but her MP had fueled the spit’s enchantment enough to keep her barely alive, even as her meat was cooked to perfection.

The elf maidens were a little discomfited to be eating human flesh, but eventually I convinced them. My slaves did what I told them to, naturally, even though they didn’t seem to like it too much. But everyone agreed that the meat tasted wonderful. Somewhere along the way, the Priestess finally expired, and I received several notifications.

Quest Complete: Find the Priestess

A Terror cultist is planning to summon a Terror! Find the ruin spoken of in the notes, and stop the summoning before it is too late!

You found the Priestess, and foiled her evil plot by roasting her alive and eating her!

Success

Stop the summoning ritual.

Bonus! You saved the Elf Princesses!

Failure

The Summoning Succeeds.

Rewards

Experience

Reputation with Wyrmwood becomes Friendly.

+420 Fame (increased from 400)

Sacred Bow of the Wyrmwood

Mana Arrows

Sacred Bow of the Wyrmwood

Type

Bow

Rank

Rare

Damage

45-80

Damage Type

Piercing

This bow was made from the branch of a sacred tree in the Wyrmwood. Rarely seen outside the Wyrmwood, and almost never in the hands of nonelves, this bow has powerful magics woven into it. Deals triple damage to evil creatures.

Requires Level 15 or Race (Elf).

Requires Bow Mastery Basic 1.

Mana Arrow (Max)

You may substitute your mana for arrows to shoot from your bow. 1 MP for each arrow created in this way. These act as normal arrows in most respects, but are magical, and may hit incorporeal foes.

Wonderful. A bow I couldn’t use yet, even if it was awesome. But once I actually found a bow, Mana Arrow would be pretty darn useful, I think.

You have reached Level 10!

You have 40 points remaining!

Your Soulforged Weapons have advanced to a new level. Select abilities.

Slave Trainer Level 10

New abilities available! See a trainer to unlock!

One more reason to get to town, it seemed. Anyways, I decided to check out how I could improve my blades. Eventually, I decided to add some themely awesomeness to my weapons. Both were developing in different ways, to deal with different threats.

Munsuraisa (Moon Slicer)

Type

Sword (Katana)

Rank

Unique – Soulforged

Damage

15-30

Damage Type

Slashing

Part of the Heavenly Swordsman’s Daisho. This Soulforged weapon grows in power as you level up, however, you suffer a 10% reduction in XP gained.

+10 Attack, +5 Wisdom

20% Chance to ignore Armor on hit.

Crescent Moon Slash – Unleashes a wave of magic from the blade, damaging all creatures within 20’ in a cone in front of the wielder. Costs 20 HP.

Heavenly Swordsman’s Daisho: When equipped with Taiyo no Tsubasa, +5 STR, +5 DEX

Taiyo no Tsubasa (Sun Blade)

Type

Sword (Wakizashi)

Rank

Unique – Soulforged

Damage

10-20

Damage Type

Slashing

Part of the Heavenly Swordsman’s Daisho. This Soulforged weapon grows in power as you level up, however, you suffer a 10% reduction in XP gained.

+10 Attack, +5 Charisma

4-10 Fire Damage on hit.

Deals double damage to Undead.

Heavenly Swordsman’s Daisho: When equipped with Munsuraisa, +5 CON, +5 INT

After our meal, I had the slaves clean up, while the princesses and I looked for their gear. When they were dressed, I showed them the Wyrmwood ring and bow, and described how I got them. The ring was from their house, though an ancient design from before the Scourge. They wanted me to keep it, since I HAD won favor with their house, what with the whole saving them from being sacrificed thing.

As for the bow, I traded it to Esyae. She could use it, and I still had a long way to go before I could even equip it, since I had no bow to train my bow skills. She gave me her bow in return.

House Liarora Bow

Type

Bow

Rank

Uncommon

Damage

20-30

Damage Type

Piercing

A well-made bow, emblazoned with the mark of House Liarora of the Wyrmwood Kingdom. While not rare, using this bow shows that the wielder has the favor of House Liarora.

+20 Attack

Enchanted: Stealthy – Firing this bow does not break Sneak or Move Silently.

When we set off to leave the temple, another screen popped up.

Congratulations on finishing the Tutorial! As you have selected an alternate completion route, your journey will continue in the nearby city of Fathon.

For your unconventional means of dealing with a dungeon boss, you have gained a title!

The Sexecutioner

There is no act too depraved for you to consider.

+210 Infamy (raised from 100)

Gain no infamy from enemies killed during intimate encounters.

For persuading the Princesses of Wyrmwood to engage in a cannibal feast with you, you have gained a title!

Corrupter

You are able to twist even the most virtuous of souls to the darker paths.

+10% to social interaction.

+210 Infamy (raised from 100)