End Online: Volume 5 Read online

  End Online

  Volume 5

  Copyright

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to characters, names, locations or incidents are purely coincidental.

  Copyright © D. Wolfin 2016

  First Edition

  Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 978-0-9942421-5-0

  By making the purchase of this book you have been granted non-exclusive, non-transferable, right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced in any way without the explicit permission of the author.

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter 28 – Three Months

  Chapter 29 – Escape from Swordbreak!

  Chapter 30 – Voyage on the High Seas (Part 1)

  Chapter 31 – Voyage on the High Seas (Part 2)

  Chapter 31.5: Sunken Rock, Mermaid’s Lair

  Chapter 32 – Poison and Sand

  Chapter 33: Sphinx

  Chapter 34: Battle for Supremacy Commence

  Chapter 35: Assault, Grenton

  A Few Words from the Author

  I would like to thank you all for purchasing my book. I would like to continue using this one page to share a few words with you.

  This book was supposed to be released a few weeks ago, but Christmas and New Year’s holidays inevitably delayed editing. On the note of predicting times, I expect Volume 6 to be ready by April/May at the latest.

  During the course of writing this volume, I have begun my career as a full time editor. This was only possible with the support every reader has given me and words cannot express my gratitude.

  I moved to my own place, a single bedroom unit, at the end of 2015 which took up a lot of my time. Now that I am comfortably settled in, I am enjoying it greatly. I was once asked, “What’s the best thing about living alone?” I answered, “The freedom of choice.”

  Finally, I have also begun working working on my second novel thanks to the extra spare time I now have. I hope for Volume 1 of this novel to be available to you all before Volume 6 of End Online.

  Thank you for taking the time to read these few words of mine. Feel free to turn the page and start reading Volume 5 of End Online!

  Chapter 28 – Three Months

  -Mikhail-

  Standing in front of the Church of Swordbreak and looking down on the city, I’m forced to shield my eyes from a warm breeze carrying traces of dust that sting my eyes. I can’t prevent the dust from getting under my beginner’s armor, but it is only slightly uncomfortable. You know, like sandpaper against the skin.

  I have no words to express my anger and frustration. Some AI has erased my administrator rights and forced me into a player’s position. To make matters worse, my boss Henry has demanded that I start playing the game like anyone else. His idea is to follow Lost’s group and that strange AI with them.

  All I can do is swallow my rage and bide my time. For now, I will just have to start levelling my character.

  I walk as fast as I can down into the city, which, thanks to having a character with beginner’s stats, is not very fast. Using the two gold coins I have in my possession, I purchase the lowest quality iron sword and shield. The market in Swordbreak may be completely broken, but the lowest quality items are still affordable to new players.

  Equipped with my first weapon and shield, I leave the city and walk into the surrounding fields. As soon as I exit through the city gates, a window appears in front of me. It asks me to select any of the six beginner skills.

  ‘Good, it appears my name being auto-assigned and this troublesome skill are the only deviations, otherwise I am a standard new character,’ I think to myself with a sigh.

  I select five combat and one support skill that should help me most in the future: ‘High Speed’, ‘Sword Proficiency’, ‘Shield Proficiency’, ‘Heavy Armor Proficiency’, ‘Heavy Body’, and ‘Cooking’. The skill set is straight out of the book for someone who is focused on being able to defend themselves and deal damage at the same time. The proficiencies will also skill up and combine when they reach level thirty.

  The most unique skill is ‘Heavy Body’, which is not very popular according to our company’s statistics. The skill gives a small strength bonus when swinging a sword or defending with a shield. The bonus is much more evident at higher levels. Most people don’t choose it because it also comes with a heavy movement penalty, but ‘High Speed’ is perfect for balancing out the ‘Heavy Body’ skill’s negative aspect. They will both also skill up and combine when they reach level 35.

  After equipping all of my new skills, I head out into the fields. Seeing the large number of players outside the city makes me frown. There are so many players that there is simply no room to comfortably hunt any weak enemies.

  Deciding to try elsewhere, I travel south to the next field which is a dusty, barren area. The monsters here are scrawny-looking Kobolds around level 20. I’m actually very skilled in martial arts, so I am confident that I can fight these enemies. Of course, there are still lots of players hunting here, but the area is much less densely packed than the previous one.

  The sun begins to hang low in the sky as I pick off the kobolds one at a time, using my fast reflexes to dodge their attacks while counter-attacking at every opportunity. My low level and weak equipment shows in the minimal damage I deal with each attack, but even the wind can break a rock given enough time. Besides, each kill nets me huge experience and I begin leveling quickly. Predictably, my skills also rise at a matching pace.

  However, I’m still not capable of travelling too far away from Swordbreak. If I run into an area with strong monsters, I will be instantly killed. Thankfully, I can still track Verity/Verde in the game thanks to her father monitoring her while she is in the game. According to the last report, they are still a week away from the capital.

  Night falls in the game as I continue hunting the Kobolds. There are enough players nearby with torches that I don’t need to concern myself with holding one as I would much rather keep my shield.

  I discover a sacred art for my sword proficiency called ‘Long Thrust’. Drawing my sword back causes it to glow orange, then I thrust toward the Kobold in front of me while retreating. The orange glow forms a type of sword aura around the blade of my weapon. As I thrust it forward, this aura shoots forward and pierces into the Kobold two meters away. It is not an overly powerful sacred art, but it is good for attacking while staying out of range of a counter attack.

  By the time the sun rises again, I am level 22. My familiarity with the Kobolds and their tactics has been almost mastered, my stats have risen, and I should be harder to kill. The problem is that my ‘False Aura of Confidence’ skill has risen alongside all of my other skills. This skill weakens my defense and attack, making fights with the Kobolds even more dangerous than ever.

  False Aura of Confidence (SLvl 6, 24%) –Passive

  You naturally exude an Aura of Confidence that passively raises the attack and defence of all party members. Unfortunately, this is a false aura, which passively lowers your own attack and defence.

  SLvl 6:

  ~ 7.5% increase to all party members attack and defence.

  ~ 15% reduction in personal attack and defence.

  ~ This ability is Soul Bound, and cannot be unequipped.

  For every level of ‘False Aura of confidence, the party benefit has increased by half a percent, while the detriment to myself increased by one percent.

  During the next seven days, I start moving between hunting grounds and aggressively level up. I only manage to reach level 43 and still don’t have the qualifications to leave the kingdom, but to get to this level in seven days is an a
ccomplishment few can boast.

  The only downside is that my skills are somewhat lacking for my level, only averaging between 20 and 25 for each stat.

  Due to ‘False Aura of Confidence’, enemies my own level are becoming harder and harder to fight against solo. I return to Swordbreak and enter the large player-run market where people often group together to form hunting parties. Above the sounds of players bartering with each other to try and purchase items at a reasonable price, the shouts of players looking for party members carries across.

  “Looking for one more person to join our party! Magic specialist around level 80 preferred! Message FurongPond to join!”

  “Party of three! Two defense specialists and one attack specialist around level 50! Looking for up to three more people to hunt in the ‘Forgotten Grotto’ dungeon! Message JusticeGear!”

  “Level 74 dual sword attacker looking for a party! Deals a high amount of damage and knows a little healing magic! Message KirkResolve!”

  All kinds of shouts for different parties looking for more players and vice versa echo across the crowd. I respond to three invites and the positions in first two are already filled by the time I message, but the third is still available.

  “Hello, Moonkite, my name is Mikhail the Stalwart. I am interested in joining your party.” I try to sound humble, but end up speaking abruptly and coming across rather obnoxious.

  “Hi, Mikhail, what is your specialty?” Moonkites’ female voice relays back in a private message.

  “I am an all round melee fighter with some skills in aiding the party.”

  “Sorry, but we are looking for a defence specialist. Someone to protect the party.”

  “I can do that! I can also increase your defense!”

  “Hmmm, let me talk it over with the other team members.”

  I stand in the middle of the moving crowd, biting my bottom lip not in nervousness at Moonkite’s reply, but in embarrassment of practically begging a player to become a part of their party. I instantly regret it and wish I could take it back.

  “Hi, Mikhail, because of this sacred art of yours that can increase our defense, we are happy to let you into the party on a trial basis. Come to the ‘Blue Swallow Inn’ so we can see you.” Moonkite’s sweet voice enters my mind again suddenly, startling me.

  “I will meet you there shortly,” As an employee of the company, how could I not know where this inn is? I know every main location in the game.

  My knowledge of the game proves to be lacking slightly, as it takes me twice as long to get to the inn as it should have.

  The ‘Blue Swallow Inn’ is a dusty place, with all the furniture seemingly made from sandstone, even the chairs. I find Moonkite and her party sitting in the center of the common area, casually chatting amongst themselves.

  Moonkite is a tall female player with brass colored skin. She is equipped with a full set of Lorestone armor; a type of medium armor, and single two handed sword on her back identifies her as the main front line damage dealer.

  Another man is equipped similarly but has a smaller one-handed sword and a shield. The final two members are both male and appear to be a magician and a priest, but it is difficult to tell what their skills are by just glancing at their equipment.

  “A pleasure to meet you all,” I nod my head in greeting.

  “You must be Mikhail the Stalwart! So this is what you look like. I must say though, it is a strange name you picked. Was there any reason for it?” The mage asks me curiously.

  “It was something akin to a recommendation,” I try to laugh it off without grinding my teeth together in anger.

  “Well, sit down and join us!” The man next to Moonkite, also dressed in medium armor, booms out in a mammoth-like voice. “We will be heading out within the hour, so enjoy the pleasantries as we get to know each other!”

  I mingle with the group and we slowly get to know each other’s personalities and traits. The mage, Lockon, is a player with endless curiosity, always trying new techniques and spells. JohnSmite, the melee character with the abnormally loud voice, is actually a rather nice person despite not being one to think before acting. The priest, SomaHealer, is also the tactician of the group. He plans all of the team’s raids and battle strategies.

  All the team members have specific roles that help the group as a whole except for Moonkite, the party leader. I find myself curious about why everyone follows her and if there is something about her I’m missing. As far as I can tell, all these men follow Moonkite from some form of infatuation.

  Half an hour after I join the party, we all head out from Swordbreak toward a remote dungeon south of the city. The dungeon, called ‘Graveyard of the Damned’, is located deep within a gloomy, humid forest. I see a few other players around, but not many. Compared to the rest of Swordbreak, this place seems almost barren.

  We walk into the graveyard dungeon. There is no change to the dimly lit woods around us, but tombstones and other grave markers show through the dead leaves and sticks on the ground in no particular pattern.

  The snapping of twigs underfoot alerts us to a group of enemies approaching from our right. I am one of the first to glance toward the group of skeletons approaching. These skeletons are called ‘Warrior Remnants’, and have the fighting skills to back that up. Their bones are a dusty grey color, and are not only overly bulky but almost seem to gleam underneath a layer of dust.

  “This is it! Time for you to show us how useful you are!” JohnSmite bellows out with a hearty laugh.

  I don’t need to actually do anything, the effect of ‘False Aura of Confidence’ is a passive effect to not just me but all team members. I still nod my head and move to engage the ‘Warrior Remnants’.

  The first skeleton suddenly dashes toward me when it reaches ten meters from me. It has no weapons and simply sends a punch at me. I raise my shield to defend against the attack, and feel a force similar to being hit by a giant hammer. My feet slide back two meters and I even lose ten percent of my health. The strength of this skeleton is completely beyond expectation.

  “Hah, you had best be careful, these ‘Warrior Remnants’ are not to be messed around with,” JohnSmite chuckles while brandishing his oversized two-handed sword and moving to attack the incoming enemies.

  Moonkite also moves forward to the front line, holding her sword behind her hip and ready to swing.

  JohnSmite attacks first, his sword creating a silver half moon and it cuts across three ‘Warrior Remnants’, leaving chips in their hip bones and knocking them back two meters.

  “This isn’t bad! The boost is quite nice Mikhail!” He calls out, pleased with his bonus damage.

  After taking care of the group of skeletons, I follow the rest of the party into a small mausoleum which leads down to another dungeon underground. The dungeon is simply a labyrinth of caves, so our whole party to ends up lost within the hour. Nobody seems to mind it though, taking too much delight in the bonuses my skill is giving them.

  Three days in real life pass before we emerge from the underground tomb. The biggest difference between now and when we entered would be the fact that now I am leading the party. Or to be more accurate, the party is following me.

  During the few days in the dungeon, a few other players learned about my skill and the benefits it gave to everyone in my party. Many wished to join our party just for the benefits, but Moonkite rejected them all. After knowledge of my skill spread like wildfire, there were even a few parties that directly attacked us, trying to eliminate the rest of the party other than me.

  Trying to make sure I stayed with them, Moonkite and the others automatically assigned me to be the leader, and even started helping me raise my level as fast as possible. Thanks to all their hard efforts, I have now reached level 89, slightly higher than the average of the party. The only downside to raising my level so fast is that my stats are considerably poor, with my highest one only being 43.

  My ‘False Aura of Confidence’ skill also raised to just above leve
l 10 while in the dungeon. Once I reached level 10 in the skill, it also started giving a five percent increase to movement speed, which caused everyone to become even more elated.

  As I walk out of the dungeon with the rest of the party only two steps behind me, several other parties from around join the group. Each new group to join us gets a strange look at first, but nobody raises any concerns.

  Two days after leaving the dungeon, the company informs me that Lost has arrived in Swordbreak. I immediately try to leave and spy on him, but am stopped by a large male player called FierceTiger.

  “Guildmaster, you cannot possibly just leave like that. You have matters that require your attention.”

  Yes, over the past two days, the following of people heralding my skill to support their parties has escalated. Wildly. A few guilds even got together and merged to become the guild called ‘Hero’s Vanguard’. They then appointed me to be the guild leader and locked me away in this massive mansion to keep an eye on me.

  As a guild master, I seem to have absolutely no power. The pre-existing guild masters formed a circle of elders; they hold all the power in the guild while I am handed menial tasks and get detained in here.

  It should be technically impossible to detain a player like this, but they do such an incredible job at it I can only cluck my tongue in response.

  I humbly return back into the room, but as soon as FierceTiger’s attention is diverted, I slip out the window unseen.

  ***************************************************

  ***************************************************

  -Verde-

  The party disbands with Lost’s news of going to get his high school equivalency. At least we all share our real life contact details so we can stay in touch. I am lacking most of my memories, yet when it comes time for the party to disband, I feel a piercing pain in my chest.