Rules-Free VRMMO Life: Book 1 - Tutorial Page 5

  Parrying, on the other hand, uses a weapon to deflect an attack, reducing the damage you suffer, or causing it to miss altogether. Some weapons are better suited to parrying than others (a scimitar parries better than a greataxe). Ranged weapons must be specially constructed to be useful in either blocking or parrying.

  It is possible to learn defensive skills which will increase your chances of dodging, blocking, or parrying an attack.

  Armor also plays a role in defense. Heavier armor imposes a penalty to DEX, however, so one must find the balance of armor and mobility that works best for them.

  System assist can be turned on for defense, however, using System assist does slightly raise the rate of critical hits you receive. In Player vs. Player confrontations, a player using System Assist against a player not using the assist will be at a severe disadvantage.

  I cleared the screen, and ducked to the side, barely missing the wolf’s claws as it flew over my head. 30 DEX might not be much, but it was more than a typical level 1 would have. Still, I didn’t want to get cocky. Rushing in was stupid, at least until I had a better feel for this new world, and the wolf’s attacks.

  “Observe.”

  The world stopped again, and two windows popped up.

  Young Forest Wolf

  Level 5

  HP: ??? / ???

  You have used Observe for the first time on an enemy combatant!

  Observe is both a passive and active skill. Passive use allows one to notice details in the surrounding area, such as a wolf preparing to ambush you in the bushes. Active use gives you more information about the creature. At Beginner Level 1, you can see the HP bar of the observed creature, as well as their level. The amount of information you can get increases with time, and your familiarity with the type of creature being observed.

  Time sped up again as I closed the windows, and readied myself for the attack. The wolf circled right, and I kept my blades facing it, so I was ready when the wolf leapt again. Stepping to the side, I slashed out with both my blades. In that brief moment, I saw that my katana, Munsuraisa, gleamed like moonlight as it slashed through the wolf’s front right leg, severing it, and Taiyo no Tsubasa, my wakizashi, actually burst into flames as I drew it along the wolf’s gut.

  Critical Hit! You have done 26 damage to Young Forest Wolf!

  Crippling hit! -25% move speed.

  You have done 8 damage to Young Forest Wolf!

  You have done 3 Fire Damage to Young Forest Wolf!

  A total of 37 damage? Not bad for first time out. The increased stats definitely helped. Adding on the critical as well meant that he had chopped the wolf’s health bar by almost a third.

  Wimpering, the wolf tried to limp away, realizing it was in a bad state. The days of ‘dumb’ bots controlling the mobs that would attack mindlessly until destroyed were gone. There were some monsters that were like that, slimes and zombies and the like, but most living creatures tended to reassess their life choices when they lose a limb. Unfortunately for wolfy, I wasn’t in the mood to let prey escape.

  Now, how do I cast a spell?

  Tutorial-chan to the rescue!

  Casting spells in Age of Anarchy Online is simple and fun! Just think on the spell you want to cast, and you will be prompted with the range, targets, and so on. Spells with physical manifestations, like your Dark Tentacles spell can be controlled by your thoughts alone, though using words or gestures as a focus can increase the power and effect of the spell (an Earth Hand spell works better if you make the accompanying gestures with your real hand). Some items, like grimoires or a wizard’s staff, can help increase the power and accuracy of your spells as well.

  OK then! As time speeds back up again, I think of my Dark Tentacles spell, and cause two black tentacles to rise up near the wolf, with a sweep, one tentacle knocks the wolf’s legs out from under it, while the second slams down on the creature’s back.

  You have done 4 damage to Young Forest Wolf!

  Achievement: Subtle Casting

  You have successfully cast a spell without words or gestures. Spells cast without gestures or words to focus them gain +5% cast speed.

  Bonus! You are the first person to successfully unlock the Subtle Casting Achievement!

  Reduce MP costs for subtle cast spells by 10%

  Ooh, so I did a bit of damage, and got an achievement! Nice! Well, let’s keep this up! I direct the tentacles to keep the wolf from standing, knocking its legs out from under it whenever it tries to get up, and hitting it again as I approach. With it in a horrible position to resist, I make a single slice with my katana, cutting off the creature’s head.

  Critical Hit! Fatal Hit! You have done 345 damage to Young Forest Wolf!

  You have Killed Young Forest Wolf!

  You gain 1250 XP (Reduced to 1000)!

  You have Leveled up! You are now Level 2!

  You have 5 points to spend!

  For decapitating a foe above your level, you gain a new title!

  The Executioner

  +20% Experience from foes killed by decapitation.

  So, hit locations and criticals could add up to really high levels of damage, it seemed. I threw my points into DEX, since being able to dodge attacks was important. From what I’d seen, HP and MP only regenerated at a rate of 1% of the base stat per minute. So in encounters with multiple enemies, or with repeated fights, not being hit was a good thing, especially since I didn’t have any healing magic yet.

  I didn’t have a proper knife (one of the things I was going to have to invest in, once I got to someplace civilized), but I did what I could to skin and prepare the wolf’s body with my wakizashi. The result was… less than stellar, but I had a mangled piece of fur that I could probably turn into the lining of some boots, but not much else. There was also the matter of wolf meat, and I found a bone that I may be able to turn into a knife with a little work.

  Now, I just had to find someplace safe to rest, or make camp. As I followed the river, I spotted what looked to be an abandoned cabin. I checked, but couldn’t find any traps on the door, and it was unlocked, so I went inside.

  Chapter 8 – The Cabin

  Once inside the cabin, I find that it might not have been as abandoned as I originally thought. The place was neat, and clean. Not the ‘stripped to the bones and left empty’ clean, but the ‘someone’s dusted in the last couple days’ clean. Judging by the size of the cabin, I’d say one, maybe two people lived here. There were only two rooms that I could see: a bedroom and a common room that included a small kitchen area and a living area with a fireplace. The dry wood stacked by the fireplace was another sign that someone lived here.

  In fact, there was a fire in the fireplace, and a cauldron boiling over it. Whoever lived here, they hadn’t been gone very long. There wasn’t any obvious signs of a struggle, so they either were subdued quietly, or went willingly. But where were they?

  New Quest: Investigate the Cabin

  The abandoned cabin in the woods appears not to be abandoned after all. But where have the occupants gone?

  Rank

  F

  Success

  Find out what happened to the cabin occupants.

  Failure

  Give up or die.

  Rewards

  Experience

  Unknown

  Unknown

  Will you accept the quest?

  Yes/No

  As I selected ‘yes’, I smiled. My first quest! And a mystery right off the bat! With questions to be answered, I set about gathering clues. Starting in the main room, I noticed a lot of herbs in jars on some shelves. Identifying them did… nothing, except telling me a list of names, and that they were commonly used as ingredients in cooking, alchemy, and medical treatment (poultices and such things). So, we’re looking at an herbalist, perhaps, or at least someone who lives far enough from civilization that they make their own potions and poultices.

  If there was a settlement nearby, this could be the local healer’s cabin. Better acces
s to herbs, and privacy for treatments that would be embarrassing (or worse) if people saw it. But I didn’t have enough to go on to say that there was a settlement anywhere nearby for sure. Probably was, but I’d need to find a map to know where. Most of the other things I found in the main area were pretty mundane. The kinds of things you’d expect someone living on their own to have. Food, supplies, and so on.

  When I entered the bedroom, however, I found something interesting. And by interesting, I mean horrifying. A large iron cage stood in one corner near the bed. The cage was currently open, but I could see hints of old bloodstains on the floor. Looking around the rest of the room revealed restraints on the bed, and on one wall. Clearly, more was going on here than a simple herbalist enjoying the quiet.

  A faint shimmer caught my eye. I didn’t see anything obviously making it, so I figured it was a system assist for the Observe skill. I did get a message a bit back saying that it had gone up to Beginner 2, thanks to checking things out. Looking closer, I found what looked to be a hidden trap door. The plot thickens!

  Before rushing into the unknown, I figured I should take a moment and read the two books I’d been given at the start. The quest didn’t have a timer on it, so I figured I wasn’t on the clock, or at least, not on a short clock. I didn’t know if they would help, but having more knowledge certainly couldn’t HURT!

  The Dolcett Cookbook was everything I thought it would be, and not. The book was basically like the ‘skill books’ of other games. Reading it basically downloaded several recipes and proper cooking techniques to my mind. Suddenly, I knew several things I could do with those herbs in the other room. So that’s how crafting skills worked. You could purchase recipes, and learn how to make a dish. I figured you could also experiment, but that would give a good rate of failure (and possibly death, if you poisoned yourself accidentally). I would have to find a trainer once I got in the real game to get recipes for my other crafting skills (and ‘normal’ cooking recipes too, I guess). But now I knew 34 ways to prepare fresh longpig.

  The Black Bible was a grimoire. Unlike skill books, grimoires didn’t disappear after you read them. I still got a few new spells, but there were spells in the Bible that were too advanced for me, and some that looked to require reading them from the Bible while you cast them. There were even a couple rituals I could try, when I had time and materials. But I did get several spells.

  Dark Magic

  Nether Shield (Level 1, 0%)

  Summon the energy of darkness to protect you from harm. The shield prevents 100 damage, and then breaks. Provides no defense against nondamaging attacks (such as snares, or charms).

  Cost: 50 MP

  Shadow Essence (Level 1, 0%)

  By taking shadow essence into yourself, you can heal faster. Triple HP regeneration while in areas of darkness or shadow. MP regeneration becomes 0.

  Cost: 0 MP

  Charm Magic

  Demonic Drive (Level 1, 0%)

  As one might expect of a dark grimoire, this spell gives one unlimited stamina in the pursuit of carnal acts. This does not force one to commit such acts, merely allowing the target to continue. May be cast on yourself or another.

  Cost: 1 MP/Minute

  Selfish Lover (Level 1, 0%)

  A truly nasty curse when combined with other Charm spells, this spell prevents the subject from climaxing. They still feel pleasure, and those feelings will not fade until they achieve release. The spell lasts until released. The resulting release is equal to the intensity of all the ‘missed’ climaxes the victim might have had. Warning: this spell may have lingering adverse mental effects on targets.

  Cost: 200 MP

  I quickly cast Nether Shield, and was pleased to see a dark aura shimmer into existence around me, and then fade from view. While not as good as a healing spell (I had a suspicion the only really good healing spells were going to be in the Light category), between Nether Shield and Shadow Essence, I could at least count on being able to heal up from any fight I survived fairly quickly. That would be a key factor in solo play. I would have to carefully manage my MP, though.

  As for the Charm spells, well, they were still not very useful in combat, and the more I started thinking about it, my… moment of weakness during chargen would mean that there was a real risk of my damaging any ‘normal’ person if I engaged in ‘carnal acts’ with them. Still, if the chance arose, Demonic Drive and Selfish Lover would be a nasty combo. I was beginning to think that the AI in charge of this system watched as much porn as I did.

  Prepared as I opened the trap door, and walked down a set of stairs to a basement. What I saw was completely beyond my belief. We definitely had more than your standard forest healer going on here! The room had been converted into a dark shrine of some kind. There was even a stone altar with dried bloodstains upon it!

  Looking around the room, I found a map of the area, finally unlocking the ‘minimap’ function. I also found a series of notes describing some sort of summoning ritual. From the notes, the person who lived here was a Terror cultist! Eldritch horrors bent on destroying the world, and yet some idiots would still try and help them. Give me the guys who just wanted to rule the world over them any day!

  Quest Update: Find the Priestess

  A Terror cultist is planning to summon a Terror! Find the ruin spoken of in the notes, and stop the summoning before it is too late!

  Rank

  F

  Success

  Stop the summoning ritual.

  Failure

  The Summoning succeeds.

  Time Remaining: 24 Hours

  Rewards

  Experience

  Unknown

  Unknown

  Consequences

  The Terror tortures and kills you in horrible ways.

  So, save the world time, huh? I was starting to like this game!

  Before I left the hut, I shamelessly looted everything I could. Why? Because I had 24 hours, in game, to do the quest, and from the map it looked like a three hour hike to the ruin. So I searched the altar and the hut, and found recipe books for my crafting skills, a lot of herbs and other ingredients, basic kits for tailoring, leatherworking, alchemy, and enchanting, a skinning knife, a couple kitchen knives, pans, a huge pot, and a couple spits one could roast a boar on, as well as a guide to herbs that increased my Herbalist skill to Beginner 2, some coin, several gems, and some cultist-approved gear.

  Sacrificial Dagger

  Type

  Dagger

  Rank

  Uncommon

  Damage

  1-6

  Damage Type

  Piercing

  This wave-bladed dagger is wholly evil and tainted by the blood of the innocent. Deals no damage to Evil creatures. Deals double damage to Good creatures. If used in a sacrifice of a sentient creature, the user may gain points in the victim’s highest stat. Success chance and amount of points gained depends on victim’s level.

  Warning: Using this dagger may cause your alignment to shift.

  Midnight Cloak

  Type

  Cloak

  Rank

  Uncommon

  This cloak is infused with the powers of darkness. While this provides some measure of a defensive bonus, the primary benefit is the ability to hide the wearer’s face in shadow whenever the hood is pulled up, regardless of lighting. Negates glare penalties.

  +5 Defense

  Mystery Man: Hide the user’s face, name, alignment, and level whenever hood is drawn up.

  Take no penalties due to glare or bright lights.

  The dagger was fairly awesome, if I did say so myself. The chance to gain permanent stat boosts by sacrificing victims was pretty sweet. That would set me straight on the ‘dark side’ path, though. For now, I didn’t need to worry about such things. I slipped the Sacrificial Knife into my boot, and pulled the cloak about my shoulders.

  “Time to go save the world!”

  (Later)

  After the fifth monster attack
in the last hour, I was starting to get pissed. Sure, I was level 4 already, but damn, how many wolves, bunnies, and carnivorous plants was I going to run into, just walking down a frigging path? Fortunately, my Sword Mastery went up to Beginner 8.

  Sword Mastery

  Beginner, Level 8 (21%)

  Add .8% to attack and damage with swords.

  So it wasn’t all bad. The increased damage with my swords would certainly help. Of course, I’d probably be level 7 or 8 by now if it wasn’t for the swords sucking up my XP. Trying to decapitate enemies on purpose is really difficult during combat. Especially when you have multiple wolves to worry about.