《Herald Online》 1.0 Dave smiled at the login screen of Herald online. For the most part, it was a dream job, being a full time game master for the worlds most popular game. Sure, he had to sift through dozens of "bug" reports in the standard week, but most of them could be handled with the quick feedback responses the AI had developed after analyzing trends of questions and answers. He more handled the unique issues, that needed a human touch to be fully resolved. In exchange for that one tiny errand, he was paid to play his favorite game, and could use his coveted position to his own benefit. A fact he was looking forward today in particular, since one of his high school sweethearts had apparently found out about his position and reached out to play together.
GM assistance required: Priority Level Max
A frown crossed Dave''s face, as his virtual date was momentarily delayed. He knew better than to try skip the assistance request however, and with a groan opened the help ticket.
Username: Cross
Region: Tutorial
Details: I can''t log out. The button isn''t there and none of the verbal commands are working.
Dave''s eyebrow twitched as he considered the words he had just read, before he decided that his date was more important than the ramblings of a single troll. Marking the assistance request as a prank and resolving it, he turned his attention back to his character wardrobe. His mother had always said he cut an impressive figure in black.
I frowned as my support ticket was marked resolved. Opening the menu again, I pushed on the still blank button where logout should be. "Close. Exit. End session. Logout. Return to Login screen. Quit game. Turn off. QQQ. Home." Nothing. I could feel my panic rising again, the feeling having momentarily subsided when I realized I could place a support ticket to get help. Opening the support menu again, I attempt to place a new ticket, once again with Urgent priority, only to be met with an AI generated message saying that my issue has been marked as resolved and cleared. I checked the menu for a logout button. I cycled through every variation of quit that I could think of. I didn''t get logged out and return to the real world. A passing npc slowed down enough to speak to me briefly. "You alright there, Cross?" his voice was rough yet warm, and for a moment I felt like I wanted to cry, having a friend, an artificial one, but a friend none the less. "I''m just having trying to decide on my next course of action. Don''t mind me." I respond, more cheerfully than I felt. It was pointless trying to talk to the npcs about the system or the AI. That was made clear to us in the character creation screens. The AI drilled it home that it automatically filters certain words to make sense to the npcs, and as such, even if you did somehow manage to explain the system and its menu''s to them, they would rationalize it as some form of magic that all of the summoned heroes had access to. But I had a job interview in 15 minutes, and had just spent the past hour trying to leave the world of Herald Online. My last resort had failed, and as I watched the farmer npc walk away from me and towards town, I noticed for the first time how dry my throat was, my thirst suddenly catching up to me. Weird. Players could eat and drink in Herald, but they didn''t need to to survive, unless they had chosen the hardcore options for it. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. I hadn''t, so as I saw the thirst icon appear on my status bar, I felt a second moment of panic, as a fear began to form in my mind, followed by momentary relief. What if I had accidentally activated hardcore, which meant I could only logout in certain locations? I turned and took off towards the nearby start village at a run, opening my menu the moment I arrived within its village square. The logout button was still missing. The verbal commands didn''t work. A passing player asked me how I managed to say logout without being logged out by the system. I sent another, quickly ignored service ticket, and deciding that I didn''t want to breakdown and cry in the middle of the tutorial village, I walked towards the nearby forest, hiding my teary eyes and sniffles as best I could.
The goblin watched the lone human whimper pathetically to itself. Even from a distance, it was clear to see that the human was scared and easy prey. Normally too scared to attack a single wanderer while alone, the goblin was slowly working up its courage to ambush the crying human. Creeping closer to its prey, the goblin licked its lips as it imagined the way its spear would penetrate the humans chest, the spray of warm blood accompanied by a tortured scream. It must have gotten a little too lost in its soon to be victory, as it let a soft gurgling laugh out, silenced quickly, but loud enough to have caught the humans attention. Snarling to itself as it leapt towards the human, spear extended, it had a moment of doubt as the sniveling human reacted faster than it should have, leaping away from the sudden attack and drawing its own shortsword in a single fluid movement. But the same fear and doubt that was apparent from the way the human had whimpered and cried was present in its eyes as it stood its ground in front of the goblin. Letting a guttural scream out, the goblin lunged at the human, its spear stabbing into its side.
The sudden rustle of leaves was the only warning I had before the flash of movement reached me. Instinctively I threw my hands up to protect myself, realizing my mistake a moment later as a flash of pain lanced through my body. The goblin sneered victoriously into my face, its spear lodged into my side. I felt my knees buckle as the pain hit me like a hammer, and as I subconsciously reached out to steady myself, I found myself instead grabbing the shoulder of the goblin. It snarled at me, as it attempted to pull its spear free and attack me again, only for me to desperately snatch at the haft, not wanting the goblin to pull what was probably plugging the wound out and leaving me to bleed to death. Taking a deep breath to steady myself and move despite the pain, I let go of the goblins shoulder, my hand instead closing around its throat. As the goblin suddenly realized what I was trying to do, it struggled harder to pull the spear free, prompting violent waves of pain to course through my body. As I glared into its eyes my hand tightening more and more, I could feel it let go of its spear, trying instead to pull my hand free, and then trying to scratch my face to let it go. Luckily it wasn''t tall enough to reach my eyes, instead scratching at my chest and shoulders. As I watched the life drain from its eyes, I was vaguely aware of a system popup in the background. A final spasm from the goblin before I dropped it, and I could feel my own strength fading quickly. Dropping to the ground, I could taste blood in my mouth, and as I tried to read the system notification, my world went dark. 1.1 Waking with a jolt, I quickly added pounding headache to my list of injuries, as I managed to smack my head into the unsuspecting head of someone leaning over me. As we both groaned in pain, I felt someone grab my shoulders and hold me down, a calm voice accompanying it. "Easy, you''re safe now. Just relax." Shaking my head slightly, I noticed for the first time that I was in a rather spartan room, with a nearby woman rubbing her forehead while a large, burly man held me down by the shoulders. Deciding that these were friends, as I was still alive, I wondered for a moment how I had got here, before accepting that I had been saved, if not by these two, then someone who had brought me to these two strangers. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to headbutt you, I was panicked in case the goblin was still alive." I offered quietly, and feeling the mans grip on me relax, released a breath I hadn''t realized I was holding. Pushing myself into a sitting position, I gingerly felt at my chest, only to notice the lack of pain from it. Turning to look at my hosts, I noticed suddenly how while the man was calmly watching me, the woman seemed nervous. "Uh, thank you for the help, and I promise to payback your generosity. I''m a little strapped for cash at the moment, but I can work... Why are you looking at me like that?" As I had spoken the man had seemingly grown more interested in me, and even the lady had stopped being nervous, instead both were looking at me like I was an alien. After a few long moments of silence the lady eventually broke the silence. "Are you a summoned hero? You speak like them, but I don''t sense any mana from you, nor do you seem to have any of their usual skills." Her voice was soft, and after a moment, the weight of her words impacted on me. I was in a game. I couldn''t log out, and had been attacked by a goblin, which had almost killed me. Instantly trying to open my menu, I felt a wave of panic rise as I couldn''t even open the menu screen like I had been able to. Trying all the different phrases, motions and commands I could think of, I suddenly felt the floor drop out from beneath me as my legs went weak. The game mechanics, system, menu, all of it was gone. "I''ve never seen this before, a summoned hero without the benevolence of the gods." The man had spoken this time, his calm voice an anchor for me. Taking a deep breath, I nodded at them, my throat suddenly dry. Standing up again, leaning on the bed, I steadied myself. It probably wouldn''t help to speak about it like it was a video game to them, and even if I didn''t have access to any of the commands of the system, didn''t mean that it wasn''t still censoring information from the npcs of the world. "I don''t quite understand it myself, but I am, or was, a summoned hero. Now, I''m probably weaker than most of the natives of this world." My voice was steadier than I had thought it would be, and as I spoke, I found myself calming down enough that I wasn''t in risk of collapsing again. "I thank you again for the help you have given me, and would like to make an effort to pay you back." I wasn''t sure how I would manage that second part, but perhaps they would give me a quest or something that would help me orient myself in this world while I try to figure out what the hell was going on. The man looked at the lady. The lady looked at the man. They both looked at me. They looked at the door. A tiny, almost imperceptible nod was preformed by the lady. The man sighed, and looked at me. "Lets call us helping you even. You''re in the village of Tozha, which is where the Summoned usually perform their basic training before deciding on a class. You might not be like the rest of them, but that doesn''t mean you can''t learn like they do. Just... don''t pick anything that requires magic. I''d go to the training grounds if I were you. Yarrick can be hard to impress, but you might get lucky and he might teach you enough that the next goblin you meet doesn''t kill you on sight." Without further warning, the two strangers spun and left the room, leaving me nearly no time to react. "Hey, wait a second." I followed them out of the room, but both had vanished from sight. I hadn''t even learnt their names. Frowning at the sudden change in attitude they had had, I decided that the best course of action from here on out, was not acting like a player who wasn''t a player anymore. It wasn''t exactly received with open smiles and warmth. Stepping back inside the room, I retrieved the shortsword on the mantle, my weapon that I had failed to use previously. Muttering softly, I berated myself for only checking the commands to leave the game like I had, and traced an S in the air, my character page appearing moments later.
Cross Eagleforde
Strength 10
Agility 10
Endurance 10
Willpower 10
Intelligence 10
Magic
Skills
Active Passive
At least I still had access to this. But why was my character name Cross Eagleforde all of a sudden. Cross was right, but I had never given myself a second name. My stats were wrong too. I had minmaxed a bit in my character creation, intending to be a support class, but now they were all back at the baseline for the average humans in the game. Further, Magic wasn''t even at zero, it was just devoid a value, probably meaning I couldn''t raise it at all. My skills were blank, but that one I had expected, seeing as no one starts with skills in Herald. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Letting out a sigh, I began trudging through the village, my destination the training grounds, in hopes of somehow convincing Yarrick to teach me how to fight. A few players were present in the village, the fact that I could see their nameplates giving them away. As I was considering approaching them and asking for help in contacting a GM, an elf nearby suddenly approached me. Her nameplate was clearly visible, so it was a player, but she also had a guild tag, so she was more likely to be a recruiter than a beginner. "Hello there. I don''t think I''ve seen you in the village square before." Her voice was friendly and warm, and for a moment I didn''t realize that she had spoken to me. Freezing up, I barely had time to wonder why she had spoken to me like I was an npc before she continued. "I''m, sorry if its too direct, but I have been spending quite a lot of time in Tozha, and since I''ve never seen you before, I was just curious if you are a wanderer or merchant of sorts." Fuck. She thought I was an npc. Which meant I didn''t have a nameplate, and which meant I couldn''t ask for help without them thinking I was a buggy npc. What if I could be deleted now? "Ah, no. I''m just a farm hand looking to change their lot in life. I''ve come here from my home to ask Instructor Yarrick to teach me how to use a sword." It wasn''t the best excuse, but it was believable, if I did say so myself. It was a standard trope in fantasy novels after all, a farmboy becomes an adventurer to escape a life of dullness and dirt. She paused, looking me up and down, and for a moment I was wondering if I wasn''t dusty enough to pull it off. Then, she traced an S into the air, and while I couldn''t see her character screen, I knew she was looking at something on it. A moment later, she smiled prettily at me, and spoke again. "Here, I''ll walk you to the training grounds. I talk to Yarrick quite a lot, and I''m sure he''ll do me a favor to help you learn." She didn''t wait for me to answer, turning and slowly walking in the direction I had been going anyway. Had she checked her character screen to see if she had received a quest from that short exchange we had had? Had I somehow given her a quest, or had she done this because she was confused that she didn''t get a quest and was wondering if she needed to trigger something else for it. Falling in behind her, I felt grateful for the fact that since she thought I was an npc, she wasn''t trying to make small talk to fill the silence.
Diana frowned to herself, chewing lightly on her bottom lip. The npc she had just spoken to seemed too clean to be a farmboy, but that was expected if he was trying to impress Yarrick. Further, he already had a sword, which could be assumed to be a family possession passed on to him. But what was really grinding her was the way it was the first time she had ever seen, or heard, of npcs trying to change their lot in life. She knew that Herald was dynamically updated, so that it was possible this was the result of a recent addition to the game, but she also knew that Herald had hidden quests of varying ranks, and it was entirely possible this strange npc was a key to one of them. Stealing a glance back at the npc, she noted that once again, the realism in Herald was mindblowing. If it wasn''t for the fact that players had nameplates and npcs didn''t she wouldn''t be able to tell them apart. Right now, the npc was following her silently, and matching her speed nicely. She considered using the Inspect skill on him, but knew that some npcs were able to tell if you had used it on them, and often took offense to it. Turning her attention forward again, she brought up a clan chat, and decided to ask the rest of them if they had any advice.
From the way she had just given me the side-eye, I knew that something was wrong. Probably not, about to be stabbed wrong, but wrong enough that she wasn''t helping me out of the kindness of her heart. Not that it helped to worry about it. I needed her to convince Yarrick to train me, and since I wasn''t sure if the system was still treating me like a player, I was sure that meant I would need to put in hard work to even learn the basics. But then again, Yarrick was an instructor, and could potentially teach me a skill, which would make hard work worth the effort. Silently doing the logout motion again, I wasn''t surprised when nothing changed. Rounding a turn in the village, we found ourselves standing outside the training grounds. There were a lot more players here than elsewhere in the village, probably because the current meta of the game relied heavily on the easier to learn martial classes than the magical classes. A few players had looked at me with interest, but after feeling a shiver run down my spine, looked away, almost with pity on their faces. It seemed the female elf was the only one who found me truly special. At least I knew what it felt like to be Inspected by players now. Yarrick was watching the field, occasionally making a remark based on something a player would do while training. I knew that most of these players would leave the area the moment they finished the basic training quest, eager to go an experience the world in full instead. The elf marched directly to Yarrick, and after greeting him warmly, turned and waved me over. Fuck. Why does everyone keep putting me on the spot. As I got close, she began speaking again. "Instructor Yarrick, I found this farmboy wondering the village, and after speaking to them, found out they wanted to come and be trained by you." The way she spoke made me wonder if she was an extrovert in real life, a thought that was lost as a shiver ran down my spine again. Someone else had just inspected me, and before I could stop myself, I glanced around the yard to see if I could spot who it was. A player that had just entered the training yard was looking at me intently, and with surprise I noticed that he had the same clan tag as the elf. Yarrick looked me up and down, his slate grey eyes making me uneasy. "Ever killed before?" His voice was gruff, and while the question surprised me, it wasn''t the worst thing he could have asked me. "Just once sir, a goblin that tried to ambush me." Again, I marveled at how calm my voice was, and almost pulled my character sheet up to see if I had some passive skill that helped me bluff. Luckily, I didn''t, as Diana, the elf, raised an eyebrow at me and Yarrick spoke again. "I was honestly expecting you to say no. Well, perhaps you have some potential then, and if you''ve been ambushed by a goblin while working before, I''d feel guilty if I could help change the outcome of the next ambush but don''t." He nodded at Diana, and pointed at a corner of the training yard. "I''ll get one of the apprentices to teach him in that corner. The Summoned Heroes unfortunately are more important to train than some farmer with dreams of glory." 1.2 Taking a deep breath, I saw Diana, the elf who had lead me to the training grounds watching me out the corner of my eye. Just my luck that they were sticking around to see if I would generate some kind of quest for them. The fact that they hadn''t received any rewards, notifications or achievements clearly didn''t do anything to ward them off, probably leading her to believe there was still something coming for "completing" my hidden quest. Turning my attention back to the drills I had been running through for the past hour, I suppressed a smile at the thought that unlike me, players had to log off to sleep eventually, so all I had to do was to endure it until they left. Not that this was a total waste of my time. Already I noticed the improvement in my form with the sword, and after I had completed fifty of the basic drills that Yarrick had the other people in the grounds doing, I had received a quest notification.
Quest Log
1. Overhead Slash: 50/500 2. Horizontal Slash: 50/500 3. Diagonal Slash: 50/500 4. Low Thrust: 50/500 Reward: Basic Swordsmanship Skill (Evolve)
While it wasn''t uncommon for repeat activities to give skills to players, especially ones intended to develop a skill, Evolving skills were incredibly rare, and testing had revealed that they existed almost primarily as a drop from end game dungeons only. To be able to get one from doing Yarricks training was unheard of, and quite possibly the lifeline I needed. As I ran through the drill again, I noticed yet another one of Diana''s guildmates enter the training ground, nodding at her briefly before they spoke to one of the assistants Yarrick had. Just another quest hand in then. At least they hadn''t planned for when they had to logoff, and were giving me an opportunity to slip away when that happened. A nearby player gave a shout of happiness, drawing my attention away from Diana and the issues she posed for a moment. As other players crowded around the one who had made a noise, he raised his axe into the air, where it glowed red for a moment, before swinging it down, the force of its passage creating enough wind to ruffle the clothes of nearby people. Powerstrike. One of the rarer skills you could get from a training ground. As the players clamored to find out what he had done to get the skill, I focused on continuing through my drills. An overhead downward slash. A horizontal cut. A diagonal cut that sweeps from upper right to bottom left. A upwards thrust that moves my sword back to a position to easily restart the drill. A soft cough nearby grabs my attention, and I find Yarrick standing next to me. Lowering my sword, I turn to face my mentor. "Your form has much improved since you arrived here. Glad you know how to listen." His words are gruff, but I can hear a hint of acknowledgement beneath the tone. He was genuinely surpised. "Its because I have a good teacher." I say, hoping to prop his ego up enough for him to offer me more help. "No, its because you have actual potential. Keep at it and you''ll see. Sundown in two hours, I''ll buy you a drink after the grounds close." A smile creases his otherwise weathered face, and for a moment I''m reminded of my uncle. Nodding at Yarrick, I readied my sword again, moving through the drill yet again.
Diana frowned as she watched the npc mindlessly go through the drills Yarick had instructed them to. No quest notifications had appeared, no rewards had been granted. Instead for the past few hours she had watched an npc receive basic training. At least she could claim she was still doing her guild duties, as she was technically scouting the rookies here at the training ground. She smiled as she thought of the luck of picking up someone who had earned the Powerstrike skill before seeing any combat. That would be a nice accomplishment under her belt if she ever wanted to promote. She had gotten excited for a moment when Yarrick had approached her npc, but after a short conversation, he had simply gone back to doing drills. Looking up at the slowly darkening sky, she couldn''t help but wonder if she had wasted the day chasing nothing. It would be night time soon, both here and in the real world, since they operated on the same timescale, and she would have to logoff and sleep eventually. She had considered requesting the guild to help her monitor the npc, but had decided against it, especially if it was going to turn out to be a time sink with little return. After all, she knew where to find him now, and would be able to easily find an npc in the small village that Tozha was. Watching as the npc began yet another set of drills, she saw a message notification popped up, this one originating from outside of Herald Online. Her mother, letting her know that dinner would be ready in a few minutes. Glancing once more at the npc doing his endless drills, she hit the button to log out and return to the real world.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Seeing Diana log out, I instantly felt a wave of relief rush through my body. It wasn''t that I was particularly worried about being abused by players here in the tutorial town, but more that I needed to quickly figure out my bearings, and being watched all day long wasn''t going to help me. At least I had managed to finish my drills, and throughout the day I had slowly checked out the extent to which I was no longer able to access the system. The menu was gone, along with the inventory and other menu tabs, leaving me with access to only my status page and the quest log. I hadn''t realized it back when I had woke up, but the HUD and other elements meant for ease of use were also missing. It was enough to make me understand that I wasn''t anything special in this world anymore, but the fact I kept my status page and quest log was hope enough for me to understand that I could still take advantage of the system. And the fact I had earned a skill was reassuring, even though it wasn''t as powerful as I had first expected it to be. Leaving the training yard with a brief greeting to Yarrick, I made pulled open the skill explanation as I moved towards the edge of town.
Basic Swordsmanship (Evolve)
Boosts your ability to use one handed swords of various types. Can be evolved to Beginner Swordsmanship through practice. Current boost: 7.5%
I had mixed feelings about this. In theory, anyone who was equally skilled with a sword to me, would lose in a direct one on one situation, as I would have a slight edge, but the wording of the skill was vague enough that I wasn''t sure what it boosted specifically. I was assuming speed, technique and strength, but without testing it out, I wouldn''t know. Running through a few extra drills hadn''t told me anything, as I hadn''t seen a noticeable increase in speed after earning the skill, Having reached the edge of town, I nodded at the nearby gate guard, who merely nodded back at me. His job was to prevent suspicious people from entering, not people from inside the town from leaving when they wanted to. Checking my equipment, a basic shortsword, and not much else, I rolled my shoulders while I mentally hyped myself. The plan was to quickly glide into the forest nearby, fight a goblin or other low level mob, and see if the sword was worth using further. I wasn''t trying to win a war or take on a gang of them by myself, so I would be looking for just a single isolated goblin before returning to the town before the night got too late. Then I''d head to one of the taverns, grab some food and rest, and leave the town in the morning, hopefully before Diana logged back in and came looking for me. Failing that, I''d find something else to do in town.
About an hour had passed since I had set out for the forest, and I was beginning to regret my decision to go hunting at night. While I hadn''t run into anything that was directly dangerous to me yet, I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach as I stalked around, looking for an unsuspecting victim. Coming up to a small clearing, I could see the flickering light of a campfire, and as I watched the camp, I wondered for a moment if it was a group of players busy enjoying a camping trip. Feeling a strange chill run down my spine as I watched the camp, I suddenly became aware of the sound of movement near me, and gripping the hilt of my shortsword tightly, I prepared to draw it, only for four or five goblins to slip out of the underbrush near me and into the clearing, heading towards the campfire. However, they were staying low and quiet, and as I realized the people at the camp were about to be ambushed, I felt a rush of adrenaline fill my body. Drawing my shortsword in a smooth movement, I rushed up behind the closest goblin as quietly as I could, appreciating for the first time the need of all game designers ever to make their "fantasy" armor dark. Mostly hidden under the cloak of night, I drew close enough that I knew I could stab the goblin without effort, and as I plunged my sword towards its neck, I shouted, hoping to warn the camp members. "Ambush!" It felt stupid to just scream the one word, but I couldn''t think of anything else to say, nor did I have time to, as my sword punched into the unsuspecting goblin. Desperately pulling the blade free from the suddenly limp corpse, I could hear the camp reacting to my warning, as they rushed around, yelling among themselves before bursting into the clearing. The goblins on the other hand, reacted much faster, with three of the survivors dashing towards the camp, shrill cries and yells filling the air, as the closest goblin leapt at me instead, its hatchet swinging viciously and wildly towards me. I managed to step away from the first two swings, my footwork carrying me out of immediate danger, but my lack of experience in actual combat betrayed me, as the goblin lunged for me yet again, its axe aimed directly for my head. My arm moved, out of reflex but guided by desperation, and I felt the shock of the blow ring through my body as my sword intercepted the haft of the axe. Unfortunately, unlike in the movies, the goblins weapon was not rendered useless immediately, and as it snarled at me, I felt a surge of panic rise in my heart. My sword moved seemingly on its on, as some small muscle memory from the days training took over, and as I launched a horizontal slash at the goblin, it dodged away, only for my follow up downswing to slice clean into the side of its neck and chest. A sudden spray of blood from its mouth caught me in the chest, before the goblin slumped over, dead. Hearing a rush of footsteps approaching me, I pulled my sword free and into a ready stance, only to see the concerned faces of a duo of players instead. 1.3 I looked at the two players, who likewise, were openly gazing back at me. A shiver ran down my spine, quickly followed by another. Curious as to if it would work, I tried to inspect them back, and when nothing happened, I couldn''t help but feel stupid. So far I had lost access to functions and features of the system, why had I expected to retain the ability to see peoples information. The two players, still looking at whatever was brought up when they inspected me, were polar opposites of each other. A towering half-giant, wielding a greatsword that was roughly the size of a small tree, and a dark elf that was slightly shorter than me, carrying a bow. As they flicked a glance at each other, I realized that I still had my sword drawn, and quickly sheathing it, I saw them both relax slightly. I doubted I was any type of threat to the duo, but they had maybe thought that since I was still in combat, that there were still enemies nearby. I frowned at the thought that I would have to be careful of my body language in front of players as well. "Sorah, you take the npc to the camp and see if they''re injured. I''ll quickly check the area." The dark elf had spoken first. I could see her name was Elif, but I didn''t want to call her by it before hearing it. Sorah, the towering half-giant, merely nodded in response before clamping a hand on my shoulder, and steering me into their camp. As he takes a seat in front of the fire, I can feel a shiver run down my spine again, as he shoots me a glance out the corner of his eye, before his eyes start to scan the resulting system prompt. "You hurt?" His voice was appropriately gruff, and I couldn''t help but wonder if he was as large in real life as he was in the game. Taking a seat off to the side from him, I smiled as I nodded. "I''m not hurt, managed to catch those goblins by surprise, so they didn''t have a chance to hurt me before you and your friend took them out." "Saw you killed two of them yourself. Good work." I hadn''t expected him to be as friendly as he was, most people barely spoke to npcs except for quests and to find out rumors. Then again, it was awkward to just sit in silence with strangers. As I opened my mouth to respond to his previous comment, I was hit by a thought like a lightning bolt. The game didn''t censor them when they spoke to me. They called me npc and back at the training yard, I had heard players speaking about quests and storylines, as well as balance and pvp. I could probably just ask one of them for help. I wanted to hit myself for being so dense. "Hey, Sorah. This is going to sound crazy, but I need your help." I gathered my thoughts as I spoke. I couldn''t just lead into being trapped in the game and slowly losing access to the system. I needed to approach this as if it wasn''t absolutely impossible. Seeing his attention switch from whatever system screen he was looking at to me, I continued. "Can you contact an admin or moderator? I''m having trouble logging out, I think the game has a bug with my menus." That wasn''t too crazy right? He would understand right away that I was just having a very rare issue with the software and log a ticket for me.
"Hey, Sorah. I''m sorry to impose on you and your companion, but I need your help." Sorah had been surprised to hear the npc initiate conversation. Not because it was rare, but because he had been looking at the npcs info screen, and nothing seemed to indicate that he was a quest-giver. Turning his head to look at the npc, he was caught even more off guard when the npc seemed to take that action as a reason to continue with its dialogue. "I want to travel to the next town over, but the surroundings seem to be too dangerous for me to travel there alone. Would you and your companion be able to help me?"
Quest log: Escort Cross Eagleforde
Main Condition: 1. Escort Cross Eagleforde from Tozha Outskirts to Airedale Optional Conditions: 1. Reach Airedale without being seen by other Summoned Heroes 2. Ensure Cross Eagleforde enters Airedale Rewards: 1. 20 Gold 2. Rare Skill if both optional conditions are completed
"What the fuck." Sorha muttered under his breath as he read the quest log popup. Realizing Cross was staring at him, he quickly answered. "Yes, we''ll take the quest. I''ll call Elif back so we can leave at once." Sorha spoke quickly, sending a message to Elif, as well as a quest invitation.
"Yes, we''ll take the quest. I''ll call Elif back so we can leave at once." Sorha practically vomitted the words out, his hands opening a menu at the same time. Wait, quest? I had asked him to call for a moderator. Unless, I was being censored by the system so that I couldn''t tell them I was an npc? As I opened my mouth to try clarify the situation, I instead let out a bark of surprise as Elif ran up to Sorah. "What the fuck, is that for real?" She said, her words running over themselves as she struggled to steady her breathing. Sorah nodded, and pointed at me. "He legit asked me if I could help him, and before I could respond, gave us that quest. A rare skill if we complete both optional objectives. I''ve already checked the forums, no one has ever posted anything about an npc with this name before." Sorah was speaking calmly, but I could tell from the way he kept glancing around that he was excited. "Of course not. If he can hand out a rare skill just for an escort mission, what else can he do? Maybe its even a repeatable quest. There might be players on their way here to find him now." Elif was openly excited, her words coming out at high speed. Wait, I had given them a quest that would reward them with a rare skill on completion? While their attention wasn''t on me, I opened my quest log.
Quest Log Quest Giver
Greeted by an option to open either my quest log or a new tab I''d never seen before, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Silently selecting the Quest Giver option, I grimaced as the tab expanded. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Quest Giver Log
Escort to Airedale Stages: 3 1. Travel to Airedale Optional 2. Avoid Summoned Heroes Optional 3. Gain Access to Airedale Rewards: 20 Gold Optional Reward: Rare Skill Rare Skill Options: Beserker, Unyielding Defense, Evasion, Endurance
Quest Giver Reward: 1. Arrival in Airedale 2. Letter of Introduction to Airedale Adventurer Guild
Not only had I accidently given a quest while I was trying to ask for help, I also had to pick which of the rare skills they would be given if they managed to complete both optional objectives. While I was kind of alright with the quest overall, it wasn''t any thing I actually desired. All I knew is that from now on, I''d have to be more careful when speaking to players, so as to prevent random quests from being given out. I could experiment with giving out quests that I actually wanted later, for now, I was mostly just upset that I couldn''t even ask other people for help without the system interfering. I was also curious about the fact that I would be given rewards for my quests being completed, especially since one of the rewards would be a letter that I definitely did not currently have on my person. Seeing that Sorah and Elif had mostly finished packing up their camp, I rose to my feet as well, prompting a look of surprise to be shared between the two. Right. I wasn''t acting like a typical npc. Well, since I couldn''t even tell them I was just a trapped player, I wouldn''t constrain myself to acting like a standard reactive npc. If I was going to be cast as an npc, I would be the worlds most futuristic and humanlike npc until I could figure out a way to leave the game again.
Diana logged back in, her frustration from yet another dinner with her parents apparent on her face. Realizing that she was in the training yard, she quickly scanned the faces here, noticing that her npc was missing. Not too surprising, as they did have life cycles and would often do random things in between their main roles. Deciding to go ask Yarrick where Cross had gone, she entered left the training yard and jogged over to the tavern that the training instructors liked the most. Yarrick was at the table near the fireplace like usual, telling a story to the various npcs and players who had gathered around his table. "Yes, exactly. It was a bright day, full of life and hope that marked the birth of the Empire. Back then of course, we no one knew that an Empire was about to be born, and it would take a couple of decades before it started to be called an Empire too. But it was on the fields of Airedale, just a short distance to the west that the great Aurelion dynasty laid their foundations." Diana smiled. She hadn''t heard this story before, but there was no harm in listening to one of Yarricks tales. At the very least, they provided some of the worlds history and lore to players who had no intentions of going to the library and reading it. "Back then, the Aurelions were just a noble family, with strong ties in this region. Of course nowadays they are the royal imperial family, and found exclusively in the capital regions. But back then, one thousand years ago, they began their rise to power here, with the backing of their most tightly knit ally. The Aurelions started a rebellion against a corrupt kingdom, the Ulhest, and after dozens of fierce battles, managed to corner them on the plains outside of Airedale. The Aurelions knew that the Ulhests had allies in Airedale, which back then was a powerful fortress city. So they had asked their closest ally to attack Airedale first, closing that avenue of escape and pinning the Ulhests in-between a closed off fortress and the approaching coalition army." Diana frowned at that. If the coalition army took too long to arrive, the Ulhests would have broken the siege of Airedale and removed a close ally of the Aurelions. Curious to hear the rest of the story, she pushed through the small crowd of listeners and beckoned for Yarrick to continue, as she paid for a round of drinks for the table. "Thank you, my throat was getting dry. Where was I. Ah yes. So the Ulhests ran to Airedale, finding their fortress already undersiege. Aware that the coalition army was mere hours away, the Ulhests gave the order to attack the besiegers, hoping to crush through them and regain the fortress. However, this was what the Aurelions had expected, and as the Ulhests charged at the besiegers, they ran straight into a trap. As the Ulhests lead the charge towards what should have been a simple siege camp, banners unfurled and men that had been lying in wait rose up into a spear wall. Horns sounded and the piercing cry of a commander rang out from the siege camp." Pausing to take a sip of his drink, Yarrick allowed the silence to build some tension as the listeners waited for him to continue. Deciding that everyone had been patient long enough, he spoke again. "The Aurelions were strategic geniuses, and eventually would solidify themselves as an Empire unlike any other. So they sent their most trusted ally, to fight a battle that would be fought on two fronts while waiting for reinforcements to arrive. As the Ulhests attempted to break the siege camp from one side, the guardians of Airedale sortied out the gates and attempted to attack them from the fortress. Any other force would have buckled under the pressure, but not the ones handpicked by the future Emperor. Lucas Eagleforde and his brothers commanded the battle, their skill with the blade and their tactics being enough to hold back both of the attacking forces long enough for the Aurelions to arrive with the rest of the coalition, and the Ulhests, suddenly pinned between the unbreakable wall that was the Eagleforde defense and the arrival of the Aurelions cavalry charge, were defeated completely." Diana frowned. The name Eagleforde kept running through her mind, like she had heard it somewhere before. She knew the Aurelions name well enough, as they were highly important in Herald Online, but she could swear that she had never heard of this battle, nor of the Eaglefordes before. Turning her attention back to Yarrick she found his eyes already locked on her, a smile playing on his lips. "Thanks again for the drink. Now, I should really be heading off to bed, its going to be a long day tomorrow I fear." Yarricks gruff voice was steady, and as he pushed himself to his feet and left the tavern, Diana realized where she knew the word Eagleforde from all of a sudden. The npc. The npcs name was Cross Eagleforde. She had spoken to a figure from a family of legend. 1.4 "What do you mean there is a guild asking if anyone has seen him?" I overheard Elif say to Sorha. Frowning, I turned just in time to see Sorha duck behind a tree. Copying the actions, I heard a few voices distantly calling out to each other as dim torchlight broke through the trees. "I mean, I just saw a post on the forums by that recruiter in Tozha. They''re looking for him." Sorha whispered back to Elif. Her ears twitched and she drew an arrow from her quiver, her gaze penetrating the foliage around us. Seeing Sorha moving again, I followed suite, trying to stay near him. I also didn''t know why a guild would be looking for me, but if I had to guess, I would say that Diane had finally realized I wasn''t in town anymore. "This is unfairly difficult. To complete the quest perfectly we need to avoid all player detection? You know how many people are hunting in the forest for xp?" Elif muttered. I had to agree with her on that, but she was forgetting that at night time, a lot of people logged off or moved away from wilderness areas due to lack of visibility and more dangerous nocturnal enemies. My hand brushed the hilt of my sword, and seeing the miniscule movement, Sorha grabbed me and pushed me between him and a tree, his eyes scanning the area for a few moments before he released me. "We need to move fast. We can worry about why they''re hunting him later. Just think about the odds of finding a rare skill and how if we pull this off you can enter the rankings." Sorha reasoned with her. I still wanted to draw my sword so I''d be ready in case of an ambush, but Sorha seemed to think that was a bad idea so far. He pointed at a nearby tree, and then at the roaming torchlight, to which Elif responded by scaling the tree quickly. Vanishing into the leaves of the tree in the dark, I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized what they were doing. Sorha pulled me by the arm as he continued forward at a light jog, moving surprisingly quietly for such a big guy. Following closely behind him, I sensed rather than heard the tightening of the bowstring, and the soft snap which accompanied its full draw. By the time we rounded the tree blocking the light, the seeker was already dead, an arrow through his throat and his torch lying uselessly on the floor. Elif moved above us as we ran, leaping from tree to tree, her bow singing occasionally.
Diane frowned as she examined the scene. One of the guilds scouts who had run ahead in hopes of finding the npc in the forest before he got to far away, was lying dead, an arrow through his throat. That told her two things. There were players hunting her scouts, and the scouts didn''t even know they were being hunted. The arrowhead was metal, and well made, so it couldn''t be an orc or a goblin in this zone, and since the scout had died before he could raise any type of alarm, he had been entirely unaware of the attack. A notification from another guildmember caught her attention, as another scout was find dead. "Who did we piss off that they''re interfering with our business?" She asked the trees, when no answer was given, she frowned again. There was a pattern in which scouts were being killed. The ones in the direction of Airedale. Whatever was going on here was moving in the direction of the next town, and even if it had nothing to do with the Eagleforde npc, she wanted revenge for her guildmates. Sending out a rally command, she started out towards Airedale, intent on arriving at its gates before the player killers could.
Sorha frowned as he watched the gates to Airedale from his position in the underbrush near the road. The guild that was looking for the npc had realized they were heading towards Airedale, and some of its members in the town had already blockaded the entrance, demanding all players who wanted to enter to reveal their list of most recent kills. It was a flawed plan, but good enough to prevent Elif from entering the town through the main ways, as it would reveal her as the assassin of the scouts in the woods, and if they saw the npc, they would fail one of their optional objectives. Of course, seeing as the other objective was to get Eagleforde into the town, they couldn''t stay put for too much longer before the quest expired. "I see a way in." I said softly. Sorha jerked his head towards me out of surprise, clearly not having expected me to talk or offer a solution. I scratched out a rough diagram on the floor, and as Elif dropped down from the tree to join us, I began to explain my thoughts. "If you can cause enough of a distraction here, pulling their attention away from that dip in the wall on the left, I can use the cover to scale the wall and get into the town. They don''t know what I look like or that I''ll be inside, so they won''t be looking for me. Then you and Elif just need to disengage, and meet up with me after losing them in the forest again. Right now they are after you for revenge, so they won''t expect you to double back to the town if you fail to break through the first time." Sorha blinked, then looked at Elif. Elif blinked, then looked at Sorha. After a moment they both nodded, and looking at me, I could see the curiosity on their faces. "Where do we meet?" Elif asked. Before I could propose a location, Sorha spoke first. "The Church of Order. The priests there are obligated to provide sanctuary to travelers in need, and arriving so late at night will qualify." I nodded. Sorha stood up, brushing the leaves and dirt on his body off as he strode into the light around Airedales gate. Elif scampered up a nearby tree, and a moment later I heard the draw of her bow. Gliding away from the the gate, I moved through the dark in the forest until I was roughly inline with the dip in the wall that I had noticed. Sorha must have decided he had waited long enough, as I suddenly heard a shout, followed by a scream of pain from the gate. Glad that I wasn''t near enough to see the battle, I sprinted from my cover to the wall, and quickly climbing the unguarded portion, I swung myself up to the top of the wall. Here and there I could see guards casually patrolling and going about their business. If one of them saw me, they would raise a different time of manhunt from what the players had, as I was now entering the town without passing through the inspection of the gate guards. Dropping off the wall and into the town below, I wandered around the streets a bit while I waited for the alarm to be raised. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Quest Completed: Arrival in Airedale
Rewards: 1. Arrival in Airedale 2. Adventuring guild letter of Introduction
I frowned at the notification box, and walked directly into a person as they rounded the corner unexpectedly. A lean, athletic man, my heart skipped a beat as I thought I had been found, but quickly calmed as he brushed himself off and offered me a hand to stand. "Sorry, I should have paid more attention to where I was going." He said, as I realized he was an npc. Taking his offered hand, I allowed myself to be pulled back to my feet. "No no, I was lost in thought myself. I''ve managed to get myself lost you see. I''m trying to get to the Church of Order. I need a place to stay." As I spoke the mans a smile broke out on the mans face. "I can lead you there, I''m actually one my way there myself. Always wanted to be knight, and I figured that a knight of the Church wouldn''t be a bad idea. Help people and make a name for yourself, am I right?" He spoke eagerly, and I saw his eyes run over my sword. "A good cause is always a good idea." I responded as I waved for him to lead the way, and following along. "Indeed. And you? Why are you heading to the Church?" He asked, curiosity finally overtaking him. "I need a place to stay before I head off to the Adventurers guild. I''m in need of money, and so I plan to work as a commissioned adventurer for a time." I admitted, watching as the npc suddenly turned to face me once more. "Then could we trade favors?" He asked excitedly. "I''ll give you this letter of introduction I got from helping a merchant on the road if you agree to be my sparring partner in the test that the Church will give me to see if I''m worth taking in." Seeing the concern on my face, he quickly continued. "Don''t worry, the letter was for helping with packing and unloading carriages, and serves as proof that the holder is reliable and not a vagrant. And the spar is to just to establish that applicants have their basics down. All we''d need to do is a few basic drills against each other while a Senior Knight watches to see if I have talent or not." "That sounds like a deal to me." I answered, smiling. So that was how the system was giving me rewards. It couldn''t just give me an item, so it was manipulating events and npcs to do the job. "Right, then lets hurry." He said as he starts walking quicker down the road. "I''m Felix by the way. Felix Aurelion." "A pleasure. Cross Eagleforde."
Diane growled with irritation as she watched Sorha suddenly flee into the forest. After having started a fight with the guild members she had put at the gate to prevent them from hiding in Airedale, Sorha and Elif were now fleeing back in the direction of Tozha. Both of them were better than average in terms of player skill, and Diane could feel her frustration building as she ran after them. She was more than a match for either of them in one on one combat, but they worked as a team, and pushed her into a stalemate. Her guildsmates were eager for revenge as well, now that they had targets, and as they rushed into the woods, she couldn''t help but wonder why the two mercenaries had decided to hunt her scouts seemingly for fun.
Elif moved nimbly from tree to tree while Sorha crashed through the undergrowth below. They had already shaken their pursuers from sight, and were now laying a false trail before lying low. They would head to Airedale the next evening once the heat dies down a bit, where with any luck, the npc would be waiting for them still. Not that it mattered. The moment he had cleared the wall, they had both received a notification that they hadn''t had a chance to read yet. Pausing to catch their breath, they smiled at each other as they opened the notification at the same time.
Quest Completed: Escort to Airedale
Rewards: 1. 20 gold 2. Rare skill
Skill selection: 1. Beserker: Sustained Skill. Decrease Defense Values by 50% to Increase Attack power and speed by 50% 2. Unyielding defense: Sustained Skill. Decrease Attack power by 50% to Increase Defense Values by 50% 3. Evasion: Active Skill. Dodge all incoming damage for 2 seconds 4. Endurance: Increase Stamina Regeneration by 50% of Health Regeneration
"These are..." "Yeah." "When is the next ranking evaluation?" "End of month. You going to partake?" "Obviously. Duo with me?" "Anytime."