End Online: Volume 5 (5 page)

“I know exactly where I am and where I am going. I will have to
turn down your offer.”

The man gives me a toothy grin full of malice, “No, no, I must
insist on ‘elping. Though, there be a small fee for our directions.”

Just as he finishes speaking, another ten people appear from
concealed areas around us. Every last one of these other players have the
player killer marks on their bodies, giving away their intent. Matrix glances
around at them incredulously, while the rest of us only frown.

“I think it would be best for all of us to forget about this and
move on,” I speak to the enemy party leader with no particular haste. If
anything, I am more pleased that he hasn’t recognized me.

“I don’ think that’ll be possible.” The bandit leader draws his
sword, which looks like it has seen better days. “Now, hand over your gold ‘n
I’ll point you toward the nearest town.”

When he sees our reluctance to do so, he raises one hand and
calls out. “Men, they do not value their lives. Kill ’em!”

All the bandits draw their swords, axes, or bows. The only
person who doesn’t is the leader, probably because he is the only one without a
player killer status. The bandits move to attack , but we strike before they
even get the chance.

Arrows, throwing knives, flaming sword waves and ice spears
pierce through all the enemies. The battle is completely one-sided and almost
considered a slaughter. The bandit leader, this whole time, cannot help but
stare with his mouth agape at the massacre. In mere minutes, the only enemy
left is the bandit leader.

Fen turns toward the man staring at us dumbstruck, preparing the
next volley of ice spears.

“Fen, No! You can’t attack him!” I call out at the wolf girl,
attempting in vain to stop her.

Fen snorts lightly before sending all the ice spears through the
bandit leader. Several more spears erupt from the ground and the accumulative
damage quickly kills him. Along with his death, a large red skull appears on my
back to let everyone know of my new player killer status. There is nothing I
can do about it for now, so I can only bear with it and move on carefully.

Three more times we are attacked by groups of other players that
more than double our party size. Fortunately for us, Dalbe has a low average
player level. Fen plays a large role in crowd control while Mason launches
arrows to take down any fleeing players. Sir Laurence is similar to an
impenetrable shield in front of Verde, and coincidentally Fen, while I dart
around the battlefield, attacking where I can.

I also manage to finally work out the trigger for my weapon
ability that allows me to glide. All I am required to do is extend my arms with
the daggers outstretched like a pair of wings.

Thanks to my extreme agility and speed, I am able to take off at
a speed at which most people would be frightened senseless. I lose a small
amount of speed while gliding, and it isn’t true flight so I slowly descend.
After the eighteen seconds are up, gravity returns and I suddenly start to
plummet toward the ground.

As we travel, the days blend together and the player population
in the surrounding areas slowly decreases. A week in real life passes before we
see the ocean and the town of Trope on the horizon.

It is late in the afternoon when we reach the top of a large
hill and come into view of Trope. The town is built mostly of wood, and each
house is raised three feet off the ground by wooden stilts. I can only assume
this is to protect the town during high tides or floods.

Behind the town, the sun creates a rippling streak of gold with
its reflection across the endless ocean. Several large docks are also built off
to one side in the ocean, housing hundreds of boats along the sides of the
algae-covered board walks. Each and every one of these ships belongs to a
different player.

“We’re here!” Mason calls out, not the only one excited to see
the ocean. “Now all that remains is to find ourselves a ship to take us there!”

The closer we get to the town, the busier I realize it is. From
a distance, it appears like there is only the occasional player going back and
forth, with little foot traffic leading in or out of the town. But this is due
to the majority of the people moving in and out by boat.

My feet sink half an inch into the moist dirt underneath me with
each step, a squelching sound following shortly after.

We walk toward the center of town and find a large inn called
‘The Ocean Maiden’. The building appears to have seen better days with the
paint faded and flaking, but at least the structure is in good repair.

I walk into the inn to the sounds of a rowdy cheering and each
player shouting to be heard over the last. In the center of the inn is a female
player or NPC, I am unsure which, dancing on the stage to an upbeat, merry
tune. I stop to stare for a while, my eyes instinctively glancing at her lower
half each time one of her legs sweep around and expose a milky white calf.

Fen sees what I am looking at and pinches the back of my arm,
sending a jolt of pain through my arm and expressing her displeasure.

Averting my gaze from the entertainment, I order a drink for Fen
and I while the rest of the party gather theirs. The availability of seats is
completely different from the capital, with approximately thirty percent of
them available. In Swordbreak, we would often have to find a spot to stand
while scouting for the first available table.

With our drinks, we all look toward each other skeptically.

“It’s great that we are here now,” Verde points out. “But how
exactly are we going to recruit a captain and their ship?”

“I… I’m not entirely sure about that. It is not something I have
really done before,” I prop my chin onto one hand with my elbow planted firmly
on the table. “Mason, this was your idea; how is hiring a ship usually done?”

Mason stands up slightly, glancing around the room briefly
before bringing himself to his full height and calling out, “Looking for a
captain to take six people to the rumored island in the south! Join us for a
grand adventure! Private message Mason if you’re interested”

“Now, all we have to do is wait a moment,” Mason grins like he
has accomplished a great feat.

While waiting for someone to send a message, we sit in silence
with the occasional comment. With each passing minute, our hopes of someone
volunteering themselves diminish. Eventually, Mason stands up again and calls
out the recruitment message. This time, however, it sparks an immediate
response.

“Hey, if ya’ wants to shout out ya’ spam, do it elsewhere!”

“We heard you the first time! Don’t disturb our night so take it
elsewhere!”

“Who the hell wants to brave those seas!? If you want to sink a
boat that badly, make one of your own!”

I am momentarily stunned at the angry shouts from around the
room, and my face flushes red in embarrassment. Even the dancer on the stage
has halted her performance and is looking down at the party in displeasure.

As I silently mull over our options, the atmosphere of the room
slowly returns. The music picks up and everyone goes back to happily shouting
over one another, trying to get the dancer to look their way and send a flirty
kiss or provocative hip movement.

We stay the night at the inn, and head down to the docks the
next morning.

I can smell and taste the fresh sea spray in the air, hear our
boots causing the planks in the docks to creak underneath. There are a lot of
players moving out from the pier to return to their ships, some carrying heavy
loads of cargo up onto their boats in order to sell elsewhere.

“Looking for someone to take us to the rumored Isle to the
south! Message Lost.” I shout out, following what Mason did last night.

A few sailors turn to look at us, but soon turn back and carry
on with their business as if it has nothing to do with them. Seeing that
sending a broad message isn’t very effective, I lead the party toward a random
boat along the docks.

The captain of that boat, the ‘Judiciary’, comes running off the
ship and toward us before we even reach it. He is a young man of a small
stature. He isn’t wearing any armor, but instead some kind of fashionable three
button coat over formal wear.

“It’s you! It’s you! You’re Lost, aren’t you? My god, I never
thought I would get to meet someone as famous as you out here!!” The player
bounces on his toes as he looks us over.

“Y-yes, that’s me,” I can’t help but feel nervous in front of
such an energetic person.

“Wow, just wow! Oh, I know your name, but you don’t know mine!
My name is HectorRevival! You got that? It’s HectorRevival!”

“Umm, HectorRevival, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“No, no, I should be saying that! The pleasure is mine! Lost,
Lost, how exactly can I help you? I heard someone shout about commissioning a
crew for a journey?”

“That’s right. We are hoping to sail to the island that is
rumored to exist south of here. Is that something you could help with?”

HectorRevival’s face sinks and his previous enthusiasm
disappears. He pinches the skin between his eyebrows, fighting some internal
conflict.

“You know,” he speaks much slower, “no one in this entire dock
has actually seen that island. If there is anyone, they aren’t saying anything
about it. It is nothing but an empty rumor, and there aren’t many people
willing to risk the dangers of finding out.”

“What do you mean? What danger?”

“Once you leave the coastal waters, sea monsters start
appearing. They aren’t overly frequent, but they are all incredibly
destructive.”

“Can you not fight them?”

“Easily, we all have weapons on board our ships, some more so
than others. But these ships are either bought with an enormous sum of gold, or
built with endless hours and resources. A single encounter with a sea monster
is guaranteed to at least damage the ship. After running into four or five, the
damage accumulates. You run the risk of sinking, and have to make extensive
repairs even if you survive.”

I can’t help but feel depressed, “And no one wants to risk
that…”

“No, they don’t. Unfortunately, I don’t either. If there is
anything else, I am more than happy to help you, but I can’t do that.”

“It’s fine, think nothing of it.”

HectorRevival shuffles off back to his ship, his earlier mood
completely gone. I see him bring out a hammer and some wood, kneeling down to
do some work on the deck of his ship.

We walk around the docks asking several other people if they are
willing to sail south. No one is remotely interested in discussing a price, let
alone taking the journey.

I lead the party back toward the inn as the sun begins to set.

“Well, that was a waste of time,” Mason complains with a sigh.
“I thought we would have more luck than that.”

Sir Laurence harrumphs, “Cowards, the lot of them.”

“I feel like breaking their little boats.” Even Verde is in a
bad mood.

“Everyone, calm down. I’m sure we will find someone soon. How about
we go back to the inn? We can work something out there.” No one agrees with me,
but they don’t have any better ideas either.

I lead us all back to ‘The Ocean Maiden’ where the common room
is already half full. The lady who was singing last night is no longer there,
instead being replaced with a male and female couple. They are singing a
popular duet song from the top music charts so I can tell that they are
definitely players.

“There are a lot of strange players out here,” I think aloud
while looking at the couple singing on the stage.

“There are a lot of different players in the game,” Mason
chuckles. “We have spent most of our time in the main cities, which is full of
the more mainstream players.”

“What’s a mainstream player?” Sir Laurence questions before
giving a quick wave to call over a bar girl to order drinks.

“The mainstream players are those who focus on upgrading
weapons, armor, skills, and aim at constantly becoming stronger. They don’t
focus on skills that don’t directly affect battle.”

“So what about non-mainstream players? Ah, I will have an ale as
well!” I say to Mason and the barmaid in turn. I gain two points of infamy from
talking to the bar girl directly thanks to my intimidating aura, but I have
accumulated enough fame that a few points of infamy won’t hurt.

“A pint of ale for me! Non-mainstream players are often somewhat
capable of combat, but spend most of their attention on secondary skills.
Things such as painting, carpentry, construction, sculpting, smithing, wood
craft, and many others. I personally have ‘Wood Crafting’, ‘Stone Crafting’,
and ‘Fletching’ which allows me to make high quality arrows from the most
mundane of items that I can find anywhere.”

“Three skills just to craft arrows? That’s a bit much, isn’t
it?” Verde asks with a wry expression.

“At first, but once they all get above skill level 20 they will
‘Skill Up’ and merge into the new skill ‘Arrow Craft’. There are innumerable
ways that secondary skills can ‘Skill Up’ and merge together, and players are
constantly looking for new combinations. Some even contribute to new class
skills.”