First, he would need to join one of the groups heading down with the expedition, then find something down there that was worth the attention of one of the heralds, and finally – survive.
Which would be rather hard as he had countless number of bounties out on his head and he was currently in the bounty hunter capital of the continent. Or at least in one of them…
Practically, this meant that if anybody recognized him in any way, he would be dogpiled by eager players faster than he could say ‘You’ve made a mistake!’. Thus, he would need to tread carefully.
His Chameleon mask would be in full use, naturally. Thankfully, not many people had seen him on videos with his desert getup so that would stay. However, Moonlight, his sword – despite looking pretty basic – was pretty recognizable due to people combing through videos where he appeared with a fine-toothed comb. He would need to get some temporary replacement for the duration of the expedition.
Entering the nearest shop selling weapons, he spent half an hour choosing a simple long sword that was the same shape and form as his Moonlight and then buying a dozen of it just in case it broke. Then he affixed the sword to his belt, hiding poor Moonlight in his inventory.
‘Though, it’s pretty much time to upgrade my main weapon…’ he mused as the sword vanished into the depths of his inventory. It was so long ago he got the weapon that there had been much stronger weapons that appeared even in the auction house, but he got used to it so changing it or even upgrading it never really entered his mind.
‘Maybe I’ll get lucky and get a new one during this event…’ he mused as he left the shop and the scowling shopkeeper.
As for his magic, he wasn’t really worried. As with everything else, as soon as he became popular on the internet (or rather infamous) copycats began popping up like mushroom after rain. As it was proven to be a strong build, a lot of people tried to ape him and ‘dominate the competition’. Unfortunately for them, videos didn’t show the fundamental skills and abilities that Sam used to defeat his enemies.
This, in turn, led to people once again calling him a cheat, a hacker, and everything in between and outside of that. Though Sam was heartened to see that most people called those who tried this scrubs and told them quite plainly to ‘git gud noob’.
Still, that phenomenon would allow him to blend in. At most, some would call him an idiot or copycat and he could live with that if he didn’t have to fight a city worth of people.
Sadly, Lucky would have to stay in his shadow as his loyal companion was much more popular than he ever was.
“You really have to do this?” Lucy asked while massaging her brow.
Sam shrugged. “Can’t help it. I need to deliver it and I need reputation to deliver it. The easiest is to join the expedition.”
“Do you really need to go alone? Why not have the others join you?”
“I told you already. I can blend in. With all of us together, we would be recognized in five seconds flat.”
“Are you sure?” Lucy asked worriedly, petting her raven that was perched on her shoulder.
Sam nodded. “Just a quick in and out. Then I can continue with the scouting,” he reassured her with a smile. Even though he knew that with how strongly the game system was railroading him, the expedition would be anything but a cakewalk. “And not to change the subject, but how about I change the subject? How is the situation with the kingdom?”
Lucy sighed but seemingly accepted the subject change. Though Sam expected that she would continue this talk outside of the game.
“I’ve talked to Lord Silvercrest and, according to him, the government is taking this very seriously,” she replied with forced cheer.
“Ignore it until it’s not profitable?” Sam asked with a small groan.
“Pretty much…”
He let out a sigh, and after a few seconds, spoke up. “Please put together the documentation I sent you about the blood-crazed monsters and send it over to Lord Silvercrest.” He had compiled a small document about the crazed bloodbeests that he had ‘fought’ and knew that Lucy would be able to pretty it up.
“Do you think that would help?” Lucy asked as she began to search for something on her desk.
He shrugged again. “At least it will allow us to say ‘We told you so!’ after everything finishes.”
“More than nothing, I suppose…” came the reply from his friend. “Anything else?”
“Nothing on my side. Anything from yours?”
Lucy looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. “Everything is going forward just as we expected. A few incursions from some of the guilds that hadn’t gotten the memo yet but Dan and the girls dealt with them quite easily.” She smirked. “You raised a truly scary group of players…”
Sam bowed his head with a smile.
“Then… I think we should start with Project Descent.”
Lucy perked up when she heard that. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Send my team with Clarissa in the lead. She is the most diplomatic.”
Lucy just snorted. Dan wasn’t really a man of many words, and leaving Isabella or Katie to do anything diplomatic was just asking for trouble… or something strange to happen.
“Do you think they will help?”
Sam nodded. “My research shows that the Church of the First Drop was founded by a blood mage who didn’t like the brutality of the magic.” The library at Nowhere was really a godsend for covering his future knowledge.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Alright. It’s worth a chance… and if it doesn’t work out, we can just go with the good old-fashioned genocide plan…” Lucy replied cheerfully. The raven on her shoulder also let out a caw that sounded close to laughter.
Sam approached the gathering clad in his desert getup and wearing the face of a blond man with a sharp jawline and a scar going over his left eye. The eyes were brilliant blue, and he chose the most anime-esque blond hair. Hopefully, it would show him as a poser, wanting to look cool and make people avoid him. Though, he expected that somebody would try to ‘bully’ him…
Just as he arrived at a crowd of people just standing there and talking with each other, he noticed a commotion. Looking between people, he saw a group of players dressed in pretty high-level gear (though slightly mismatched) while the crowd instantly began to buzz with excitement.
“Look he is there!” one of them spoke up in a hushed voice in excitement that despite sounding like a whisper, carried and caught Sam’s attention. They pointed at one of the people in the procession. To Sam, he looked like every damn mercenary. Rugged with spikes everywhere and scowling like he was always smelling something foul.
“Ahh, they are from the Dreadflame Syndicate, right? I heard they defeated the Blackthorn Marauders last week!” another person whisper-yelled.
Sam just stood there and mouthed the incredibly edgy names. ‘Are they for real?’
“Yes! Marcus leads the Emberwolves team in the Syndicate! I heard he managed to reach level 100 and get a perfect mana core!”
“Wow! A perfect one? I heard it’s almost impossible!” came from a third person. “I’ve read dozens of guides, but none of them mention how to get a perfect one…”
Another scoffed. “Of course not. Those bastards keep everything to themselves! The only reason we even have basic mana control is because some generous soul leaked it from one of the big guilds…”
Now that was something that caught Sam’s attention. Carefully, he reached out with his mana toward the procession of mercenaries as they headed toward the building that housed the office where one could sign up for the expedition and took a look at their mana.
As the surrounding people gossiped, he had to force down his laughter.
‘That leaky thing? They call that perfect?’ he mused as he observed the supposed ‘perfect core’. He would barely call it round-shaped and was covered in cracks that leaked blood-like mana like nothing else. Curiously, he panned over his senses – none of his targets noticing – and saw that there were a few more leaky and misformed cores with various attributes. Some were elemental, fire burning sporadically, water dripping like from a badly adjusted faucet, and so on, but none of them stood out to Sam. Sure, they were stronger than the average mook, but he didn’t see any trouble with facing them.
His attention was then caught by another snippet of conversation.
“…yes, I heard it was from Chrysalis.”
“Really? They give something to non-officers?”
“According to my friend, everybody who has been part of the guild for at least three months got the manual…”
“No wonder it leaked,” chuckled the other person.
Sam just smirked. Originally, Lucy was pretty much against giving the ‘peons’ access to the mana control manuals, but Sam wanted to elevate the strength of their guild and he knew that there would be an enormous leak from one of the research guilds – he didn’t even try to time it, just that it would be sometime after the first person reached level 100 – that would give access to most of the basic mana control exercises, skills and knowledge for the regular players.
So why not get ahead of it?
After convincing Lucy of the soundness of the plan, they had Tim sell the manual to a few interested parties, posing as one of the players, as they were handing it out to garner some interest, then the plan was to post it on the forum for everybody to see.
Then Sam would, subtly, of course, change the manuals they have given to their own guild members to contain his own superior information.
All players would be equal, but his guild members would be just a tad bit more equal…
He turned around and began weaving through the crowd, but as he departed, he could still hear the people he was standing near discussing the issue.
“How much did you pay for that manual?”
“Too much…”
“And did it help?”
“Well…I maybe understood half of it, so yes?”
“That’s doesn’t sound convincing, you know…”
As the last sounds were swallowed by the roar of the crowd, he couldn’t help but smirk. Even if people had access to the manual, either the generic ones or his, it would still depend on their talent what they could achieve with it.
It took him a while to fight through the crowd, before reaching the building where the registration happened for the expedition. There were multiple lines with signs giving directions and stone-faced Sun Warriors standing everywhere ensuring the peace.
Quickly finding the line for solos he approached the end and began to practice the ancient art of standing in line.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take long before he was standing in front of a bored and exhausted official.
“Name?”
“Samuel,” he told the man with a beaming smile, giving him a thumbs up and a wink.
‘Might as well play up the fool persona…’
The official just scoffed silently and wrote it down. “Speciality?”
“Wind and Cleaning magic, of course! No dirt shall touch my magnificent body!” he declared boldly while inwardly cringing.
“Oh, cleaning?”
“Yes!”
The official scrutinized him for a moment before nodding and writing down a few more things. Then he reached into a drawer and retrieved a small coin with a sun symbol in the middle and a string of numbers and some other characters on it. Sam felt a brief burst of magic before the tired official held it out for him.
“Take this and go over to the red door,” came the curt instruction, dismissing Sam. “Next!”
Sam bowed his head a little and under a lot of people’s gazes, mostly those who had heard him, headed for the red door.
Beyond the door was a corridor that led him to a courtyard filled with all sorts of crafters, support personnel, and several stacks of supplies being organized, checked over, and otherwise handled.
In the middle, a portly official with a bulging belly and rosy cheeks was sitting on an elevated chair that allowed him to see the entirety of the courtyard and writing on stacks of documents that were on a small foldable desk before him while several assistants ran around taking papers from him or adding to the pile.
Sam walked up to him and waited until he was noticed. Took a few minutes, but the official, or rather the quartermaster, looked up from whatever he was writing and Sam bowed slightly. He held out the coin he was given and it flew instantly from his hand into the quartermaster’s hand.
“Specialization?” No greeting just a terse question.
“Wind and Cleaning,” Sam answered, repeating himself.
The official thought for a moment, then pointed to the side where one of the assistants was bringing over a barrel full of something. Whatever it was, it smelled something fiercely.
“Clean that!” came the curt order.
Sam just nodded and sent a burst of cleaning mana at the offending barrel. Within seconds, the smell vanished, and the barrel looked like it was freshly varnished.
“Good. You’re hired. Expedition launches within a week. You’ll get your assignment then,” he told Sam, then threw the coin back at him. “That’s your identification. Don’t lose it, you won’t get a new one.”
Sam caught it and nodded again. “Thank you, sir.”
Not wanting to waste any more of the quartermaster’s time as there were already half a dozen assistants waiting in the wing for a word, he turned around and began heading for the exit.
He was sitting in a private room of a tavern when he finally had enough privacy to check his new quest. As soon as he left the office, there were several people following him with dubious intent. Took him a while to get rid of them.
[New quest acquired!]
[Friendlessly into the depths!]
[You have signed up for an expedition into the depths under the city of Sunspot. Your goal is to gather enough merit to merit a meeting with the Herald of your choice so that you can deliver a letter. Show up on time, and perform your assigned job perfectly. And try to survive the chaotic mercenaries around you! Good luck!]
[First Task: Show up on time!]
[Time limit: One week]
[Penalty: Unable to join the expedition]
[Reward: Receiving an assignment and the second task]
Sam made sure he understood everything, then began the process to prepare for logging out. There were things to arrange and calls to be made.
Owed bonus chapters: Three (3)
Titles:
[Apprentice: You are an apprentice learning under a master. Increased experience point gain in the key skill of the apprenticeship.]
Magical Items:
[Ring of Minor Health Regeneration: A small ring, made from subpar materials, with a low-quality magical gem. As long as the gem holds mana, it aids with health regeneration. Can hold 100 Mana Points, and regenerates 10 Health Points for every point of mana consumed. Current Mana: 100/100.]
[High-quality Troll Leather Armor: Created by a journeyman crafter employed by your own company. They worked extra hard to make sure to return your goodwill. Excellent quality, given the materials and the crafter. Enchanted to decrease the sound it makes during movement, as well as has increased durability. Thanks to the substance it was impregnated with the troll leather it lacks its customary weakness to fire.]
*Not actually bottomless.]
[Ring of the Shadow Fang: Made from shadow metal and accented with white moon-silver, this ring allows the wearer to summon a dagger made from shadow. The strength of the dagger depends on the wearer’s shadow mana control. The distance the dagger can move from the wearer depends on the mana control of the individual.]
Quests:
Active quests:
[Just walk in there!]
[Prove yourself!]
[Peaceful land, peaceful mind]
[Deli-Very!]
[Friendlessly into the depths!]
Finished quests:
[Monster Parade!]
[Topping the tree!]
[Reap what you sow!]
[Seaside opportunity]
[Another seaside opportunity]
[The booty of mystery!]
[Demonic demonstration!]
[The Test of the Survivor!]
[To the city you go!]
[Eternal Vigilance!]
[Returning Champion]
[Volatile Valley]
[Ride forward to be not killed in nasty ways!]
[Location, location, location!]
[Call to action!]
Skills:
Mana Skills:
[Mana Body: Level 7/100 (21%) (Passive) Your mana permeates your body, enhancing and improving it. The better your control of your mana is, and the more mana you have, the bigger the effect is. For every 100 Mana Points, it grants you 1 Base Health gain. For every skill level, it increases the Health Regeneration by 0,1.]
[Mana Shield: Level 99 (99%) Using mana, you can form a simple shell around yourself, which decreases the damage you take. Damage decrease depends on the amount of mana invested. For every unit of Mana invested in the spell, the shield will protect you from 9,9 (physical) damage.]
[A/N: Currently: WIS: 55 / MAG: 50 = 1,1 --> +2,1 Mana Regeneration per skill level]
[Mana Flux: Level 10/10 (MAX%) (Passive) The resonance between your skills is enough that if you cast more than one spell or use more than one skill at the same time, then they may induce each other. This induction allows your mana to gain a unique property. This property allows your spells to slip through magical shielding. Effectiveness depends on the strength differences between you and the target. Your spells gain 1% True Damage per skill level.
[A/N: Currently: WIS: 55 / MAG: 50 = 1,1 --> +3,1 Mana Regeneration per skill level]
Neutral Mage skills:
[Mana Unraveling: Level 14/25 (19%) (Active) You can spot even the smallest imperfection in the weave of the mana. If your control is better than the one who wove the spell, then you can attack those imperfections and unravel the spell or magic in front of you.]
[Spell Matrix: Level 40/100 (4%) (Passive) You mastered layering spells as very few have before. You can layer ( or connect any other way) together as many spells as you can. The cost of this action is increased by 5% (cumulative) for every two layers or spells.]
[Solid Spell Foundation: Level 5/5 (MAX%) (Passive) Your foundation is solid and unshakeable. The stability of layered spells is increased.]
[Mana Construct: Level 84/100 (22%) (Active/Passive) You can create mana constructs over your weapons. These constructs cannot be separated from your weapon. You have total control over their shape and size. For every level in the skill, the mana cost is decreased by 1% and the damage inflicted by the skill is increased by 1%]
[Simplicity: Level 5/5 (MAX%) (Passive) The simpler your creations, the less mana it costs.]
[Infusion: Level 5/5 (MAX%) (Passive) Infusing different mana types into your mana constructs becomes easier.]
[Complexity: Level 1/5 (11%) (Passive) The complexity of your creations doesn’t detract from it. Usually, mana cost would rise when the complexity of your creation increases. For every level of this skill this increase in mana cost becomes less and less.]
Elemental Mage Skills:
Wind Mage skills:
[Wind Blade III: Level 9/10 (99%) (Active) A spell that allows you to launch a blade of wind. The cutting power and speed of the blade are increased. You have greater control over its movement after creation. Allows you to slightly control its path after launching the wind blade.]
[Wind Blade Storm: Level 6/10 (7%) (Active) A spell that unleashes a storm of wind blades around you. The damage of the released Wind Blades depends on the Wind Blade spell and your mastery over it.]
[Wind Bullet III: Level 9/10 (99%) A spell that allows you to launch a bullet made of concentrated wind. You have excellent control over the projectile’s speed, size, and path.]
[Wind Explosion: Level 3/10 (21%) A spell that allows you to create a singular bullet of wind mana, and then fire it, which will, upon impact, detonate. The strength of the detonation depends on the amount of wind mana channeled into the bullet and your mastery over the Wind Bullet spell!]
[Wind Movement: 39/100 (19%) (Active) You can use your mastery over wind to move in any direction you wish. Your movement speed is increased significantly. This speed boost is increased by 1% for each skill level.]
[Wind Edge III: Level 9/10 (99%) (Passive) A spell that allows you to enhance the edge of any bladed weapon you wield with the wind. Thanks to the spell, the speed of your strikes will greatly increase. The power and reach of the blade will be greatly increased further.]
[Wind Affinity: Level 61/100 (17%) (Passive) You have a good affinity for the wind. Beings born of the wind will be more favorable to you. The cost of the Wind-type spells and skills is reduced and their power is increased by 0,5% for each skill level.]
- Wind Flurry
- Wind Bullet Barrage
- Healing Wind
- Wind Jump
- Wind Drill
- Wind Blade I-III
- Wind Blade Storm
- Wind Bullet I-III
- Wind Explosion
- Wind Movement
- Wind Edge I-III!
Utility skills:
Companion skills:
Shadow skills:
(Shadow Cloak triggers this benefit.)]
[Shadow Affinity: Level 30/100 (14%) (Passive) You have a good affinity with the shadows. Beings born of the shadows will be more favorable to you. The cost of the Shadow-type spells and skills is reduced and their power is increased by 0,5% for each skill level.]
Physical skills:
[Basic Armor Mastery: Level 91/100 (6%) (Passive) You learned the basics of wearing armor. Decreases the Stamina consumption slightly while wearing any kind of armor.]
[Clean Armor: Level MAX (MAX%) (Passive) Your mana got used to a certain spell, so the waste mana radiating from you will, over time, permeate and clean your armor.]
[Resistant Armor: Level 5/5 (MAX%) (Passive) Thanks to your practice, you can fully utilize everything that your armor provides, granting you increased resistance against the environment. Grants 2% increased environmental resistance per skill level. Environmental resistance protects against environmental effects only.]
[Durable Armor: Level 0/5 (0%) (Passive) You learned how to roll with the punches. This includes knowing when your armor can take a hit and when it can’t. Increased durability for any armor you wear from incoming damage from non-environmental sources.]
[Epic Breathing Technique: Level 9/10 (99%) (Passive) You breathe, and the world breathes with you. You move along your own rhythm. Decreases stamina consumption even more during any activity and further increases stamina regeneration when not in a fight. Gain +2 Stamina Regeneration for every skill level.]
[Tranquil Heart: Level 11/100 (54%) (Passive) Your heart beats to the same rhythm as your body. It’s efficient and harmonious. You have an even easier time resisting mind-altering effects and a portion of of those effects are reflected back to the source. The portion is 1% per skill level. You also radiate an aura of tranquility that confers the resistance portion of the skill to your allies near you.]
[Flow: Level 77/100 (9%) (Passive) Thanks to being a natural sensor, you can read the flow of the mana. Increases your stability and the bonuses any movement or martial art skill provides by 1% per level in the skill.]
[Focused Flow: Level 5/5 (MAX%) (Passive) When focusing on any enemy beyond what is normal, your ability to read their flow becomes clearer and more precise.]
[Controlled Flow: Level 5/5 (MAX%) (Passive) Your read of the flow is more controlled, allowing you to see the flow much better. Increases the flow visibility by 20% for every skill level.]
[Immersed Flow: Level 0/5 (0%) (Passive) When you start reading the flow a counter starts. After every ten seconds, the effect of the Flow skill increases by 1% for each skill level. Maximum 600 seconds.]
Parry: Level 24/100 (13%) (Passive) Decreases the stamina consumption of defensive weapon movements. It allows you to more efficiently and accurately parry incoming attacks. Decreases the damage of the blocked attack by 0,5% for each skill level at the moment of blocking.]
[Cleansed Body: Level MAX (MAX%) (Passive) Your body has been cleansed of impurities, giving you a more charming aura. NPCs and players will treat you slightly differently depending on their tastes. Gives a flat increase of +3 to STR, AGI, END. You can upgrade this skill by further cleansing your body.]
Resistance skills:
General skills:
[Dwarven Language: Level 5/10 (1%) (Passive) You managed to learn the basics of the Dwarven language.]
[Elven Language: Level 7/10 (8%) (Passive) You managed to learn the basics of the Elven language.]
[Dark Elven Language: Level 5/10 (1%) (Passive) You managed to learn the basics of the Dark Elven language.]
[Sarkan Language: Level 3/10 (42%) (Passive) You managed to learn the basics of the Sarkan language.]
Crafting skills:
Pet skills:
[Strong Jaw: Level Max (Passive) The jaw of the wolf is strengthened.]
[Lucky Aura: Level Max (Passive) Those who are in the same party as the wolf receive a buff to their luck. It depends on their luck how big the increase is.]
[Animalistic Mana Control: Level Max (Passive) The wolf controls the mana inside him based on animalistic instinct.]
[Animalistic Shadow Control: Level Max (Passive) The wolf controls the shadows around him just as easily as it breathes.]
[Shadow Spirit Body: Level Max (Passive) The body of the wolf is part shadows and part spirit, which makes it much more malleable.]
[Shadow Strike: Level Max (Active/Passive) All attacks started from the shadows receive bonus damage, and the wolf can clad itself in shadows, making its entire body into a weapon, while striking at an enemy increasing its range of attack.]
[Shadow Jump: Level 20/20 (MAX%) (Active) The wolf gains the capability to dive into your shadow and emerge from a different shadow. Range: 200 meters. Cooldown: 30 seconds.]
[Shadow Dash: Level 20/20 (MAX%) (Active/Passive) Wherever the wolf steps, he can leave small pools of shadows that the wolf can use to jump into. When diving into the shadows, the wolf can travel at an even greater distance with his speed increased by 2% for each skill level.]
[Shadow Claws: Level 20/20 (MAX%) (Active/Passive) Your companion’s claws are infused with the shadows. There is a low chance to leave behind shadow mana with each attack of their claws. Alternatively, they can actively increase this infusion of shadow mana and strike at their enemies with giant shadow claws.]
[Shadow Bite: Level 20/20 (MAX%) (Active) Your companion enhances their bite with shadow mana, increasing the area and strength of the bite.]
[Shadow Steed: Level 21/50 (3%) (Passive) Your companion has learned how to run while being ridden. Stamina consumption is decreased when being ridden and can carry bigger loads.]
[Shadow Bleed: Level 41/50 (8%) (Passive) Your companion’s claw has been enhanced by a chaotic shadow field which rends the area where the claws strike, causing extra bleeding.]
[Weakening Strike: Level 15/50 (21%) (Passive) Every strike of your companion's claw weakens the enemy's armor. The maximum stack of the effects is 3+1 per 5 skill level.]
[Shadow Heal: Level 21/50 (37%) (Active) Your companion can absorb the shadows hiding them to heal itself.]
[Runic Weapon: Level Max (Passive) The wolf’s claws and teeth are clad in runes that grant him a certain amount of ability to pierce through the impenetrable. Grants a 13% chance to do True Damage with the claws and teeth.]
[Runic Strike: Level 20/20 (Active) Lucky gains the ability to channel mana into the runes of his claws and teeth to enhance the damage theydo. The damage type depends on the type of mana he channels into it. Current natures are available to use: no attribute, shadow, or spirit.]