End Online: Volume 1 (20 page)

A fistful of snow flew
at my face from the goblin. Not expecting such a tactic, it hit me in the eyes
before I could react, the goblin taking the full advantage of me being
momentarily blinded swung its machete into my thigh.

I can feel the strength
draining out of me as my health drops to seventy percent, such a heavy blow for
such a small creature completely astonished me. It is no wonder I was
slaughtered before by these little things surrounding me!

I start to get the
feeling that these aren’t particularly the weakest creatures in the game. But
no matter if it is just one then I can handle it. Wiping the snow from my eyes
I retreat backwards to avoid the goblin’s next swing, before running in a
circle to flank it.

It turns itself to
follow my movements but I circle faster than it can turn. Once I feel like I am
safe enough I close the gap at high speed to slash the goblin across the back
of the neck, striking fast enough to cut its tough skin like a hot knife
through butter.

I don’t stop moving,
continuing my momentum through the attack and opening some distance in
returning to circling the goblin. I repeat this technique of striking from the
blind spots and in two strikes the goblin keels over and dies, and I receive a
massive fourteen percent experience towards my next level!

From the loot menu it
dropped thirty copper coins, a rusty machete, and a piece of rotten meat that
it had in its pocket.

Fortunately when death
comes, while you may drop all the coin pouches you have, you gain another one when
you respawn.

I take the money but
everything else is absolute rubbish, even the weapon. Clicking discard on the
items left in the menu I admire how much strength it was to deal that kind of
damage to me, the damage output of the weapon was so poor I would have a
better chance of killing monsters by giving them tetanus.

Behind me Fen is
sprawled out on her stomach expressing her boredom at me.

“Sorry Fen, but you got
to have your fun before! Anyway let’s go collect this loot that you have left
lying around everywhere and go back to the city, I won’t get lost this time.”

If anyone else were to
enter this small gap in the hills they would most likely be shocked, all around
me up to the tops of the hills are little black loot boxes littered all over.
Fen follows me as I approach the nearest one.

Normally only the
person who deals the death strike can see the loot box but being a
companion I can see and loot Fen’s kills. Not that she could do much with
those giant
paws,
I was simply relieved that the loot
boxes didn’t appear two and a half meters in the air at her head height.

Well, loot menu’s
become universally accessible after a certain period of time anyway.

‘Time to get my money’s worth out of this wolf!’ 
Oh the joy of being the
only person who can gather such a large amount of loot!

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

 
-Verde-

After that night came
to pass where the intruder broke in and murdered my character, I logged to a cold
sweat breaking out on my face, traces of the pain seemed to reside in my chest.

‘That was NOT natural! What the hell was
that?!’ 
I screamed in my head remembering the pain. Not only did someone
break into an area where it was supposed to be completely private and secure,
but launched a death dealing attack which somehow managed to induce severe
pain, something that is supposed to be impossible.

Unfortunately for them,
this will not scare me off! That person clearly has something to do with the
hooded person I stole the cheap weapons from. If I can follow him in secret I
can probably find out exactly who that person was!

Anyway, for now, let me
sleep, I feel my heart beating faster than a frightened rabbit and I need rest.

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

The next morning I went
straight back to virtual reality. Some people would be going to school, others
off to work, but I don’t fall in either of those categories.

I never even went to
school as a matter of fact, I received private tutoring on various subjects but
my father didn’t want to risk me hanging out with anyone from a ‘lower society’
so he home schooled me. Unfortunately that means I never received a high school
pass as he only taught me what he deemed necessary for my future and nothing
else.

I have always been
given everything I
want,
I can have just about
anything. Yet I have never had any real friends and I have never
been permitting to go outside by myself. I had to beg my father to buy me
a VL and he only agreed in the end when I promised to take over his business in
the future.

He also forbade me from
playing any online games, only the offline ones and I could not fall behind on
my studies in business that he hired a tutor on the spot for. Father also used
his connections and got me a second generation VL, a model that came onto
the market back when virtual reality was still new to combat the decline of
public opinion.

There was not much
difference,
mainly the personal locker was 30 meters wide
and long instead of the standard 10 meters. There were also a few other
differences but I never understood what they were, some performance stuff if I
remember. But the main value of this model is that it isn’t produced any more
and there are only a few of them circulating.

My locker is decorated
like a forest tree house, the type where there are no walls or ceilings, just
various platforms among the canopy of the trees with bridges connecting between
them. I chose this because I love the fresh air and the freedom I feel up here,
almost like I could fly away.

The biggest platform
at one end has my console embedded in the tree which I use to log on to
End Online, luckily my father believes me to be the perfect girl and could
 never possibly lie to him or break a promise.

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

I log in to the church,
I was lucky that I didn’t drop any items upon death. I don’t know how I would
have ever gotten them back. But I am currently broke, and my infamy is at 320
so the bank would not let me have an account with them, meaning no savings. If
only I didn’t get caught stealing so much when I was still new.

“My Lady!
For some reason there is some
strange force field of wind up north that I can’t get past!” 
Sir Laurence talks to
me over a private channel reserved for registered friends.

I can never get used to
someone talking in my head, the same as when I speak over private chat. Always
paranoid people will think I’m crazy speaking to myself, even if I know that to
everyone else my mouth won’t even be moving.

“Sir Laurence, what may
I ask is your current level?”

“It’s level forty seven right
now, why is that
related?”

I could not help but
sigh at this person, he acts all righteous in front of others, especially
woman, yet he has absolutely no clue.

“Sir Laurence… That is the edge of the Kingdom
of Glace, which you may not pass until you become level fifty…”

“Oh, of course I knew that, I was just testing
if you did too!”

That is
his other personal trait people who spend too much time around him
discover, he is never wrong
. No matter how obvious it is that he doesn’t
know something he will pretend that he does.

“Okay Mr Know-it-all
..
Tell me, are you still there?”

“No, that was a few days ago. I am currently
walking into Iceridge.”

“Is that so? Well come
to the church, I will be waiting!”

“Roger, on my way right now to sweep you off
your feet!”

“Please don’t…”

Not too long after Sir
Laurence is briskly walking towards me through the crowded street, he makes way
for women yet will barge right through any
male,
I
don’t think he understands how repulsive that is to a female.

“My lady, your knight
has arrived.” The way he speaks that way with such a straight face never ceases
to amaze me. However, right now it is time to make some money.

“Took
you long enough!”
Standing up, I brush past him as I snatch all the money he had
in his coin bag, I may have stopped stealing his money before but I am
completely broke right now and somebody has to be the victim.

Wow, twenty seven solid
gold coins, someone has been doing rather well for themselves!

Meanwhile Sir Laurence
pretends not to notice my crime, but his hand gently caresses his coin bag,
assessing the damage.

All of a sudden I hear
screams coming from beyond the central courtyard. At the east gate to be
precise.

Racing over with Sir
Laurence behind me to see what the commotion was I witnessed a hooded figure
walking into town with a humongous white wolf that could only just fit through
the gate!

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

-Lost-

Goblins are the worst!
They have absolutely terrible loot!

I filled my inventory
up with terrible weapons and armour, even my money bag filled up, yet none
of it had any value. The goods would probably sell for 5 gold at most, and that
was about 450lbs of rusted weapons and armour with holes in them. The money
pouch had to be the best though, goblins only drop copper coins and now I had a
full bag of 999 of them. Literally ten silver coins worth!

The only saving grace I
received is that a few goblins dropped some jewellery that should be worth a
decent amount of money, but they were not exactly high quality.

I entered the eastern
gate of Iceridge grumbling, Fen at my side strutting right through the main
gates as if nothing could hurt her. There should not be any problems with Fen
being here, she is technically recognized by the system as my companion after
all.

All of a sudden there
is a scream from a souvenir shop as some female worker witnesses Fen, then not
just her door and windows but most of the doors and windows instantly shut, the
sounds of locks and bolts slamming into place.

Some users saw Fen and
panicked, crying out it was a raid on the city. Those words were a
bit extreme don’t you think?

I also see Prince
Charming approaching with a hooded figure. The other person may be wearing
a hood but I enhance my vision with ‘Hunter’s Eyes’ and get a closer look. My
hunch was correct, it is the indescribable beauty I crossed paths with in the
bazaar.

A few players started
to bear their weapons, and Fen extended her claws ready to start attacking, but
the city guards intervened first by getting in my way.

“Adventurer!
What do you think you
are doing leading such a dangerous creature inside the town walls? It is
disturbing the peace!”

“What are you talking
about? Fen is my companion!”

“Sorry, but that
creature is far too dangerous to be within the city walls. Please remove
it or we will forcibly remove it.”

The guards
place hands on their sword hilts, ready to draw the weapons at a moment’s
notice and subdue. I honestly am a little concerned for them however. Do
they think they could stop a rampaging Fen?

Either way this is more
hassle than I need, they may be strong but Fen was nearly untouchable with her
speed and reflexes, and annihilating the city guards in front of
her would possibly have some serious repercussions. Then a memory of some
research about Iceridge I did a few nights ago comes back and I get an idea.