Quest for Camlan_A LitRPG Adventure Page 5

  Reward: +30 XP

  Wonderful. I dismiss the dialog box without reading any more about the lore. There will be time for all that after the Challenge.

  I pull up my inventory to see what I am starting with in Camlan Realm.

  Inventory:

  Small Dagger

  That’s it? No gold. Nothing to restore health? Just a dagger? What do my stats look like?

  Name: SirAsh3r

  Level: 10

  Strength: 10

  Intelligence: 10

  Dexterity: 10

  Stamina: 10

  Magic: 10

  Skills: None

  Abilities: None

  Professions: None

  Well, look at that. We get Magic in this expansion. That’s a fun addition. I can already feel my hands itching to try out some attack spells. Visions of fireballs distract me from where I am going. I trip over a log and fall flat on my face. Damn. This is no way to level up quickly, ending up on the ground every few minutes.

  I hop to my feet and brush the dirt off, but note that the log I tripped over offers more information. Willing the game to examine the log, I get another message:

  Name: Medium Chestnut Log

  Description: Trees and branches can be used for Woodcraft and created into useful objects like clubs, paddles, rafts, buildings and more.

  Would you like to attempt Woodcraft?

  I walk around to the other side of the log, checking out the size. I look up again at the lake and can still spot several of the players running along the shore. I will have to spend some time here, leveling up in Woodcraft, but it will save me time overall if I can cross the lake directly instead of running around it.

  I accept ‘Attempt Woodcraft’ and immediately get a new message.

  You have elected to attempt Woodcraft.

  Quest offered: Get Your Stuff Together

  Description: Collect ten Small Branches

  Reward: +120 XP

  Yes, of course, I accept. Once I’ve told the game this, the required branches emit a very faint glow, scattered at intervals along the shore area. I run to go gather them all. Each branch I grab is about the size of my forearm, both in length and girth. And each Small Branch gets immediately stowed in my pack as soon as I touch it.

  I run from glowing branch to glowing branch to collect all ten. Number eight rests close to a grove of trees. As I approach, a small ferret-like creature darts out from behind a nearby tree and comes at me.

  Attacked already? I just got here.

  Chapter 9

  I check my backpack as the weird rodent reaches me. A light nip on my ankles tells me it means business.

  [-12 HP]

  I hurry to open my inventory and equip the Small Dagger so I can slash at the fuzzy warrior. Two quick swipes do him in.

  [+20 XP]

  Attention: You have unlocked Active Skill: Slashing Level 1

  Description: You are adding to your arsenal of attack. Slashing is the most effective hand-to-hand combat option.

  Reward: +40 XP

  Awesome. The dialog box fades away as a second ferret-thing darts toward me. Then a third. I am forced to fight off seven of these creatures before the wave stops.

  [+25 XP]

  [+19 XP]

  [+21 XP]

  I don’t wait around to see how fast they respawn. I stash the eighth Small Branch in my pack and run on to collect numbers nine and ten. The final branch is sitting almost in the water itself, so I’m right on the sand when I get the message.

  Quest completed: Get Your Stuff Together

  Description: You have collected all the Small Branches you need.

  Reward: +120 XP

  Congratulations! You have reached Level 11!

  You have one attribute point to distribute.

  As the game’s message floats in front of my eyes I feel a wave of intense pleasure radiate from my core. I have to shake my head and blink a couple times to reorient myself in the game. Damn, if leveling up feels that awesome, I want to do it over and over.

  Quest offered: Use What You’ve Got

  Description: Use the Small Branches you have collected and fashion them into the weapons you need

  Requirements: Small Branch, dagger weapon

  Reward: +150 XP

  Yep, good. New quest. Let’s keep moving. Why else did I just run around collecting the things? I’ll worry about my attribute point in a little bit. Because right now, I need to figure out exactly how to do this. This apparently isn’t going to be like other MMORPGs where I just pay a trainer to drop the info into my character. Camlan Realm actually takes some brains.

  I love it.

  The quest description specifies that I need the dagger so I reequip myself with it and pull out one of the branches. Dagger in one hand, wood in the other. Now what? I move to connect the two. I figure the first step, if this were the real world, would be to cut off the smaller little twigs and nubs to smooth down the surface.

  As soon as I complete the gesture once, the branch in my left hand transforms into a cleanly carved, wooden club. Oh thank god for game short cuts. If I had had to actually carve every one of these I’d never get to do anything else.

  Attention: You have unlocked Passive Ability: Initiative Level 1

  Description: You’re smart enough to figure things out without needing a babysitter

  Reward: +40 XP, +1 Intelligence; access to additional hidden quests and skills

  Whoa. That’s new. At least for me. I’m sure all the other players have played outside of Toterra City. What else have I missed? What kind of advantage do they have over me?

  I continue my work transforming the ten Small Branches into ten Clubs.

  Quest Completed: Use What You’ve Got

  Description: You have learned how to fashion Branches into Clubs, turning a basic resource into a weapon.

  Reward: +150 XP

  Without any clear message or direction on what to do with them, I stow all ten Clubs in my pack. I suppose I can always sell them or use them if I need to.

  Attention: You have unlocked Woodcraft Level 1

  Description: Your skill is increasing and you are now able to do more than just wave raw materials around

  Reward: +40 XP, +1% affinity to Earth element

  Fantastic. I wonder if this is enough Woodcraft to do something with that giant log. As I jog over to the fallen tree, I check the lake’s shore in the distance. There are still players running. They’re tiny to my eyes and the only way I can identify them is through movement. The lake must be even larger than it looks.

  At the log, the game message still bars me from doing anything useful with it, but I am offered another quest.

  Quest Discovered: Tools of the Trade

  Description: Sure, wood floats, but aimlessly unless you have a way to direct it. Find a Large Branch and carve it into a paddle that can be used with a raft or boat.

  Reward: +80 XP

  “Heck yes,” I say out loud as my eyes scan the landscape for the telltale glow of a Large Branch that I need for this quest. There it is. The glow shows up better against the backdrop of the grove. That same grove where the ferret-creatures tried to take me out at the knees. I could run out of their territory, but I’m determined to complete this quest and I need these branches to do so. Slashing through the wave of woodland mini-monsters is slightly easier this time now that I’m one level higher.

  [+25 XP]

  I get a short moment of respite before they respawn to take up the Large Branch and figure out how to fashion it into something useful. Try the same method again, I wonder?

  The Large Branch is more or less the length of one of my legs and significantly wider than the Small Branches. It’s much more difficult to get a good grasp on. After a moment or two of struggling, dropping it, bracing it against my body to adjust the grip and being grateful no other player is nearby to witness my clumsiness, I finally get it.

  Large Branch in one hand, Small Dagger in the other and
I repeat the same gesture that had worked for me before. This time, though, the game actually asks me what I want to do.

  You are trying to craft this wood. What would you like to create?

  — Club

  — Staff

  — Paddle

  Oh, interesting. I suppose if I ever need a staff or larger club I can always make one. I choose Paddle and the next second I am holding a perfectly constructed wooden paddle, eight inches wide and well-balanced.

  Quest Completed: Tools of the Trade

  Description: You have crafted a wooden paddle, used for propelling boats and rafts across water in your preferred direction

  Reward: Paddle, +80 XP

  Attention: You have unlocked Woodcraft Level 2

  Description: Your repertoire is growing. You are able to create the basics of what you need with the resources around you.

  Reward: +70 XP, +1% Affinity to Earth element,

  I try the fallen tree again, Paddle in hand, and I’m rewarded with a new quest.

  Quest Discovered: What Else Floats?

  Description: You can’t quite count on your Woodcraft skills to make anything fancy, but if nothing else this Medium Chestnut Log will float. Push it into the water and sit on top of it for an approximation of a raft.

  Requirements: Initiative Level 1, Woodcraft Level 2

  Reward: +100 XP

  Alright, here we go. This log is heavy but not impossible. Fortunately the water is both nearby and on a downward slope from me. One big heaving push and the weight and gravity works in my favor. Once at the water, I have to push the log a bit farther out, so it’s free from the bottom. My shoes and pants up to my knees are wet, but it’s not like I’ve been really looking for a proper set of swim trunks and flip flops. It takes some careful balance, but I hoist myself onto the floating log, then straddle it with on leg on each side. Using my newly crafted paddle, I have to take a minute to teach myself how to maneuver, but soon I am pointed in the right direction and making my way to the opposite shore.

  Quest Completed: What Else Floats?

  Description: You made it! You’re in the water.

  Reward: +100 XP

  Quest Discovered: Explore Lake Galavant

  Description: Cross the lake without ending up in its watery depths

  Reward: +100 XP

  The first five minutes or so of paddling are exhilarating. It’s a gorgeous day in Camlan and I am traveling across water under my own power. I feel accomplished and even proud of myself. Hell, I even unlocked the Initiative skill.

  After five minutes, though, my mind wanders. I still have a really long way to go and the paddling movement has become automatic now. Since I have the time, I check out more of the stat sheets, achievements and other information I will need in Camlan.

  But, wait. There’s an extra tab on the menu bar that I’m not used to seeing when I play in Toterra City. Pulling it up, the header jumps at me: “Camlan Challenge Leaders”

  Jargonaut heads the list at Level 13 already, but he’s followed closely behind by the other ten of us at Levels 11 and 12. So, I guess the good news is I can check the leaderboard at any time to see how I’m doing in the Challenge. The bad news is everyone else can as well.

  I paddle faster, focused. With the increased speed I have begun disturbing some of the creatures in the lake. Dark teal eels with sharp teeth nip at me, trying to get at my flesh or stop my progression by biting at my floating log.

  I halt my paddling for a moment—I have enough momentum to at least continue floating slowly in the correct direction—and arm myself with one of the ten Clubs I have stowed.

  [+30 XP]

  [+28 XP]

  [+37 XP]

  A quick knock to the head and the eels fall away.

  Attention: You have unlocked Active Skill: Clubbing

  Description: It’s not pretty. It’s not graceful, but sometimes brute force is required

  Reward: +70 XP

  Level up! You have reached Level 12!

  You have two attribute points to distribute.

  That’s right! How could I forget? With the eel attacks subsiding, I reequip my Paddle and start across the lake again. This time I’m able to pull up my stat sheet and character details without getting distracted.

  Name: SirAsh3r

  Level: 12

  Strength: 12

  Intelligence: 13

  Dexterity: 12

  Stamina: 12

  Magic: 12

  Skills: Woodcraft 2, Slash 1, Club 1

  Abilities: Initiative 1

  Professions:

  Affinities: 2% Earth

  That affinity row is new; the rest seems about right. Now that I have a couple stat points to distribute I need to figure out what kind of player I want to be. Do I want to tank? Heal? Just stay well-rounded and keep my options open? Specialize? These are all the choices that I hate making. It’s all fun. I feel like whatever I go with will be fun. But then I remember who I am playing against and what I am here to do.

  Jargonaut will almost certainly bulk up and throw most of his points into Strength. I don’t want to compete against that. I may not have to beat him directly, but I do need to outperform him.

  I add one point to Intelligence and one to Magic. Little by little.

  Once I save my changes and close the dialog box, I realize I am close enough to the shore to see what waits for me.

  My stomach drops.

  Chapter 10

  The opposite shore is still far enough away that if I had not been paying attention I would assume my log and I are headed toward a bunch of boulders. But then the boulders move. Giant, gray, hideous creatures are camped at the mouth of the river that empties into Lake Galavant.

  I quit paddling, so I don’t move any faster, and check to see if the game will let me examine from this distance.

  River Troll: Level 25

  Description: Dumb as rocks and resembling them as well, River Trolls are territorial. They solve disputes with their fists. Often found near large rivers.

  Level 25? And I think I see three of them. There is no way I can even hope to escape that encounter with my life. And then I’d lose everything and go right back to the beginning, Level 10. No way.

  I resume paddling, but adjust course. The trolls are on one side of the mouth of the river, but dense forest creeps up to the lake on each side. All I need to do is point myself towards the woods and hope I reach the shore far enough out of their line of sight to escape their notice.

  My heart is hammering.

  As I reach the shore I try to paddle less often and more quietly.

  So far so good. The trolls do not appear to have noticed me at all. Once I am close enough, I let myself fall off of the log in to the knee-high water and wade to shore. I stow the paddle and log in my inventory. Maybe I can level up in Woodcraft and make it into a proper raft later.

  Quest Completed: Explore Lake Galavant

  Achievement Unlocked: First Explorer of Lake Galavant

  You are the first brave soul to have crossed Lake Galavant.

  Reward: + 100 Fame, +1% Affinity Water Element, +100 XP

  Yes! This! This is why millions of players practically killed themselves for two days looking for the Platinum Keys. For Achievements like this. Ok, I may still be at the back of the pack as far as leveling up, but maybe I’m the first with any Fame points.

  Attention: You have unlocked Active Skill: Paddling

  Description: With the right tools, you can travel across water.

  Reward: +40 XP

  Better and better. I glance to my right—the River Trolls are about two hundred yards away and haven’t noticed me. This forest is plenty dense enough to hide me from their view if I want to go through it and around them, but what more dangerous monsters might be hiding within?

  The shore between the forest and the water is narrow and it only takes a few steps toward the trees before I’m given more information.

  Attention: You have discovered
Foyle Forest

  Description: This forest lining the northern side of Lake Galavant is rumored to be haunted. No one who has entered has ever come out the same.

  Well, that sounds spooky until I realize that any player leveling up within the forest will obviously not be the same when they come out. The truth is, there may be monsters or magic or some other dangers within Foyle Forest, but as my alternatives are River Trolls or significant backtracking, my choice seems pretty clear.

  I take a deep breath and start toward the narrow path leading into the forest. I only wish I had better defenses than a small dagger and a bunch of clubs.

  Quest Discovered: Explore Foyle Forest

  Description: The path through the forest is dark and uncertain. Follow it all the way to the end to gain true knowledge.

  Reward: +90 XP

  Yes and yes. Since I have already decided I don’t have a choice but to go through Foyle Forest, it’s nice that I’ll be rewarded for it.

  At the edge of the forest I hesitate and listen. The woods are unnaturally quiet. It’s as if some fearsome predator has quieted all the smaller animals. Or eaten them. I hear no rustle of twigs or chirping of birds. It almost feels like the forest is not living.

  What could be waiting for me in those dark depths? I arm myself with the dagger and begin slowly walking down the narrow path. Shrubs, flowering plants and ground cover creep up almost to my feet. The narrow, dirt path indicating where I should be walking is barely more than six or eight inches across. At some points the ivy has even crossed the path and I’m forced to step over it, praying that nothing within grabs at me.

  The atmosphere as I get deeper into the forest remains quiet, as though the game itself has been paused. I’m tempted to turn the play-by-play back on, to distract myself and feel more connected to other people. I will myself to relax, to get used to the lack of noise, to tell myself it’s perfectly normal. But it’s no use. The forest is unnerving.

  I hear a faint rustle behind and above me and I freeze. I don’t dare even turn to look at what could have made that sound. I hear it again, closer. And then another rustle, more to my right. There is more than one of whatever creature is nearby.

  Maybe they’re friendly. Like a bluebird or something. Not every animal in this game is going to want to attack me. I hope. I take a few more steps forward, and the rustling noises increase. Whatever out there is surrounding me. I start to hurry down the path. Maybe this thing has a set territory and I can avoid it by moving away fast enough.