Fantasy Siva {{The Legend Of The Destroyer}}

[TKhan]

Update 7b
How could I forget, I’m not in my best condition to propose such thing. What a fool I am!

He scolded himself over and over, regretting the fact that he was trapped within his idea. But then he heard the man spoke. “But there is one thing I want from you.”

At that, Rex raised his head and saw the same cold and sinister smile.

“What?”

“Your brother.”

Now it came to the point where there really is no backing down. He had misjudged Augustus’s personality. It was a mistake to think that he would play fair. He is an underground character. He can always come out a clean man on every crime he commits. Resources, information, contacts, money, power, he had it all in his disposal. To try and trick him into playing your hand would require not only the same things he had but with wiser, more daring and clever moves and words.

He will never play your card, he has his own game and Rex had just stepped inside this domain.

“To save your brother’s life, you need the money. But I can’t just give it to you without compensation. So in order for you to really do what is required of you, I will have to hold something dear from you. In this case, I will hold your brother’s life. In return of me saving your brother, he will belong to me and in order for you to buy him back…” This time Augustus pointed a finger at him. “Bring me five H-class secrets.”

“H-Class?! And five of them?!” Rex couldn’t believe his eyes. He was not ignorant of the rankings and classes in Terroa.

Secrets or in other words the special quests, items, weapons, characters, pets, places, mission, information, job, builds, skills, materials, organizations, creatures, monsters, designs, even MODs, and Historical Information was all classified as the game’s important secrets. According to their difficulty, they are divided into classes and ranks. +

Anything that has something to do with fighting, either it’s a mission, a quest or the enemy itself, it has rankings on their own. The lowest is E-rank while the highest recorded is S-rank.

But on everything else, grade (quality) is classified from Class-5, the lowest, and Class-1 the most extinct.

But there are letter classes as well that was considered legends and special rare cases. Like for example, the legend of Excalibur. It was an H-class rarity item that was just recently exposed as almost impossible to get.

A certain group of adventurers had discovered a book from a mission they went through and there, they read of a location where one of the Terrans’ legendary weapons, the Excalibur, was hidden to protect it from the greedy Terrans of ancient times. But when they discovered the place, these adventurers immediately gave up.

Usually, high ranking monsters do not group together but in Terroa, there are some special cases when an alien is present amongst the group of monsters. These aliens can control them and improve their stats versus the humans.

Sometimes, for every 100 monsters, there are 10 aliens associated with them. These aliens then act like their leader and organize them into unique battle formations against the humans. In a hunting team, once they encounter such rare feat, they could either decide to flee or fight on. But usually they always flee since once you die in the game, you are gone. That is to show just how much dangerous aliens are.

But then there are rare circumstances that humans win over these groups and their rewards are always handsome.
With these facts, Augustus, asking for five H-class rarity secrets was a real shock to Rex. It was impossible to do with a group comprised of noobs, most especially if Augustus wants him to get it alone. Rex was in a tight spot his composure had long since been gone. In front of him, he only saw darkness.

“I can’t accept no for an answer so I will give you a discount. Inside Terroa, a full day here lasts three times there. And so, in three months’ time, that’s nine months inside the game, I want to have my first H-class secret. This would serve as a test for you so the discount would be from either three B-class secrets, two A-class ones, or one H or S-class secrets. Fair enough?”

Rex was in silence. What kind of discount is that? Even finding B-class ones are as hard as finding a gold needle in a sea full of needles.

He was looking at his fists on his lap now. Rex was sweating and he felt that his pulse was so high the air conditioning felt like a sauna bath. But for Augustus, this was the expected scenario.

Are you prepared kid?

He waited for Rex to compose his bearing. It was the feat he was looking for in a man if he wants to earn his respect. And for Augustus Laniary, once a person earned his respect, he would handle that person as a friend and give him the necessary treatment that he deserved.

At that point, Rex clenched his fists and slowly raised his head. And even with the masks on, Rex Kingsley’s eyes pierced through him like a sharp blade.

Resolve.

This is what it was. This heavy feeling was the weight of his resolve. It was this one trait of real men when backed into a corner that they become the most dangerous sword in the world. It was people like Rex that Augustus wanted to meet. And so his smile and his happiness couldn’t be more colorful than this. +

“Save my brother.” Rex’s voice came solid yet still layered with the pain of his still healing wound. “I will comply to your demands. I will bring you your secrets but in turn, make sure that you keep your word.”

 

[TKhan]

Update 7c
Augustus knew that if there were more words after the last one, those would be in the form of threat. But still, it was one trait of this kid that he liked. He knew where to stop his tongue and knew where it should be placed. +

And so, he waved a hand towards Rude and he picked up a bag with three packages inside.

“I knew you would be the right person for this job so I went ahead and bought you gifts. Consider it my investment for our partnership.”

Rex took it and guessed what was inside. Then he stood up, telling Augustus, “We’ve done what we came here for. Bring me back to the hospital.”

“No can do.” Augustus lent an open palm on the other body guard. “I want to tell you that as part of the deal, you will have to live outside the hospital.”

“What?! Where to…exactly?”

“In an apartment…” He smiled. “…owned by me.”

***

“Who is that man behind Augustus?”

“I will find out, madam.”

When their curtain closed, Rafa Millet waved a hand on Augustus’s balcony. Her bright blue gown shined in the dim light of the place and her mask and the outline of her lustful body gave the impression of a very powerful miss.

The man on her right side bowed and stepped back, vanishing on the dark corner of the balcony room.

She stared down on the crowd and then turned her gaze back to the only balcony with a closed curtain. Her face hidden in her feminine mask bade a smile and the man on her left side leaned closer.

“Tasha.”

“Yes madam?”

“Make sure that you give me the latest news inside the game. I get the feeling that he‘s cooking something hot again.”

“Yes madam.”

Right that instant, the man who went out earlier came back and he was holding a holographic panel on his right hand.

“So?”

“His name is Rex, Madam, and for some mysterious reason, his ID is tagged with TOP-1 Security Tag from the database. Aside from his name, I‘m afraid we cannot dig in more information about him.”

Hearing the words made Rafa sit on the couch with a deep thought. She crossed her arm and the pipe on her left hand let a smoke that was both a scent and a unique attraction. Her cleavage formed a nice curve and she put the pipe on the table up front.

“Rex…hmmm…and he‘s a TOP-1 Security Tag? Uhmm…what a very nice toy he got there. I can‘t help but want him to myself. Ooohhh…”

Her moans echoed throughout the balcony but the two guards behind her remained stiff and stern.

The sound even reached the balconies on their sides and the people there can’t help but imagine just what kind of imagination she was having at this time. After all, reputations are also one of their identities inside this big organization. Hers is as obvious as the way she dressed. +

***

Loni did not mind the sight she was seeing and only glanced slightly on the swaying blue dressed woman on their balcony’s left side.
The curve build of the stadium hall made it possible that all of the people in the balcony levels can see each other, and even hear them, if their voices are too loud. There were about 50 meters between Rafa and their balcony but from this distance, her moans came as temptation to the men on both sides of her space.

Rafa’s reputation added charms to her. The lustful beauty and brains of the West was as daring and bold as what the rumors say.

“It is your first time meeting her, right?” Said the old man in front of her.

“Granfather, is this organization really like this?”

“It never gets old.” The old man chuckled. “The one she followed also has the same attitude as her on her prime and I get the feeling that it‘s becoming a tradition in this family.”

“I do not consider them as such. Why do you keep on saying that?”

Not minding her reaction, Loni’s grandfather just continued to stare at the crowd and the talks going on in the jobs they gave out.

At that moment, a holographic panel emerged on Loni’s front and the sound of it popping up made the old man lean back.

“Something happened?”

“Some people tried to hack into the database.”

“Ah…” The old man’s face turned to a sweet smile and he chuckled again. “Curiosity. Same as always.”

“Should I punish them?”

“Tsk. Leave them be. They‘re not worth your time. But, feed my curiosity, how many attempts and who was it that hacked the database?”

“Well…” Loni’s reaction somehow distorted the moment she read about the content of the report. “This is odd. Everyone in the balcony all searched for the same person.”

“Hmm?” The old man raised a brow.

“They all tried to learn the identity of that injured man in Augustus’s balcony.”

“Ahahahahaha…” The old man’s laugh was as big as a hyena. “I knew this would happen. That guy, he really knows how to start a forest fire.”

Loni couldn’t get what he was talking about but she knew that her grandfather was talking about Augustus Laniary, the man who does what he wants and plays with everything as if it was a game.

This organization is filled with these kinds of shady people. She learned of their greed and their not so good attitudes just recently and so couldn‘t help but to feel the way she is feeling right now. Irritated. These people are all playing the game that Augustus had set up. +

Augustus Laniary, rumors of his dark activities and businesses were spread wide throughout the world.

They were invited in this country to witness the play that he had set up. A daring and very dangerous play, if Loni had to describe it. It’s an utterly cold hearted set up and she don‘t like it. Using money as the catch to create a chaos inside a peaceful world. Just what would he gain from this, she doesn’t know.

I don’t understand.

And yet, she can’t fully get angry at him.

Because she herself was a player of this world that Augustus was trying to stir. She knew that with the players’ current attitude, moving forward in the game is going to be as hard and as long as her age. By that time, a more easier to play game and more gentler system will be created.

But with this plan, by using the greed and the inner competition between these people, the life inside the game would improve by a few notch. Places that no one else braved, missions that people avoided, weapons that no one had ever seen before, ideas and inventions in a whole new level and scale, all sorts of possibilities are in the verge of opening up with this plan.

There are millions of players in Terroa and honestly speaking, if his plan’s purpose is to stir imagination and chaos in the conservative game play of Terroa’s users, then from the very core of her heart, she knew it would succeed.

It would add life to the game.

But then, deep inside her consciousness, hidden was the thought of going against the flow of this game.

She thought, “I have to save these people.”

“Hm?” The old man leaned back to her. “Did you say something?”

“It was nothing, grandfather.”

“Hmm…” The old man rubbed his chin and kept on looking at the crowd.

At that, Loni glanced over the closed curtains of the balcony on their right side. Then she checked the info of the man the others had tried to know. After she had pressed the picture of the person to see his profile, a warning sound came into her vision.

“What the…?!”

“Ahahahaha…you lose, Loni.”

“Grandfather!”

“Only I can give the permission to let them know of his identity. Not even you, my dear child, have the right yet. But I will give you a hint. Based on my knowledge, if that man enters that world, then for sure, the volcano will erupt. No doubt about it.”

Riddles. Her grandfather had a knack of giving her riddles. Ever since she was young, the mysterious man who supported her from the shadows of society had been giving her these kinds of tests. Every time her mother is in need, without any sort of warning, a letter would always come to her, addressed for her mother and always accompanied by riddles.

And even now…

“Who is he? Why Terroa? Why here?” +

“Ahahaha…Loni, to find the answer you just have to log on inside the game. Ahahaha…”

Loni could only stare at Rex’s face as she felt defeat crawling up her sleeves. Only the name and his masked face was available. And aside from Augustus, nobody else know of who he was.

 

[TKhan]

Update 8

Time is Running

The road back was quiet. No words came from Rex since his benefactor did not bother to come with him on his way back. In the limousine, there was only him, the driver, and the holographic TV stuck on a channel that showed only news about current events.

He stretched out his hand and a panel popped out on the tip of his finger. His hands moved, skipping channel after channel after finally, he saw the channel he was looking for.

It was a channel solely dedicated to Terroa.

In actuality, there are almost five to eight channels like this one but if other channels that solely dedicates itself on other game titles were to be included, the numbers of channels that talks about the VRMMORPG genre would easily reach 30.

That said, he chose this channel not because it was the most popular one amongst the list of channels for Terroa, but it was actually because this one is directly under the same company that developed the game.

His parents often watched here, monitoring the few developments of the players. They were proud of their work, but the feelings never reached Rex…until now.

In the screen, a player was being interviewed by a male host and beside him was his partner, Kathleen Brew. The player boldly revealed his face and name, for there was no sense on hiding it from everyone else.

Rex knew why.

He’s one of the pioneers.

The interview was about the incoming war of two guilds. He belonged to the aggressive TGG and basing on the smile on his lips he thinks he belonged to the circle of the strong.

He was called Gats by the anchors and Rex watched and studied him. It was a habit he inherited since he is a person who never once trusted anyone else aside from the people he grew up knowing. His reason for such is because it may come to a point where he might meet the man and become his competition.

The man, with his face and shoulder the only shown part in the TV, explained why they are attacking the other guild and from there, even Rex sympathized with him.

But when the interview was about to reach a point to the climax, the speaker from the driver’s seat made a sound and his attention was snatched by the voice.

“Master Kingsley, we‘re here.”

Rex looked outside and saw that they were inside a private subdivision. Rows of monotoned colored gates lined 4 to 6 meters apart. Some of the houses are taller than the rest, with colorful gates different from the unit beside them. In short, this is a townhouse subdivision and they stopped in front of one unit.

Onlookers and curious residents gathered not too far from them and Rex got off in a slow pace.

He can hear the sounds of whispers in the people gathered around them and all the while, he carried the package that was given to him with difficulty. Then he turned towards the driver and asked:

“Are these people also part of your group?”

“No.” The driver got off and helped him. They entered the house. Rex saw that aside from basic living equipments, a TV, and a phone unit, there was nothing else inside the townhouse unit.

At least there was a fridge…

“Up here.” The driver spoke.

Rex followed the man upstairs and confirmed that the house was prepared specifically for a single person.

A boring looking bed, a side table, a lampshade, a balcony, a dresser, a cabinet on the left side, and the all important e-plug for specific electronic gadgets, the only room upstairs is a simple living quarters designed for a single person. Even the bathroom, as he glanced over it just a few steps before the door to the room, was big enough to be considered a bedroom. +

He remembered the refrigerator below and wished that there was food. If he was going to be doing his job here in this house, living alone, then food is one of the most important things that must never be forgotten.

As soon as he entered the room, the driver spoke in a low solid tone again.

“Food stock is not a problem. You are expected to stay in this house for as long as the deal is active. Aside from your personal hygiene, the house itself is maintained by another person so you don‘t have anything to worry about but the job itself. Do you have questions?”

“Can I go back to the hospital?”

At that question, Rex saw the stern killer expression on the driver’s face. “No. From the moment you agreed to the conditions of the job, you are immediately under our care. The only time you can leave this house is when you have completed the deal‘s conditions. But do not worry, we already arranged your personal doctors.”

“Wait! What about my brother? My medication?”

“It‘s already being taken care of.”

At that moment, the driver gave Rex an old model hand held phone. On its screen was an active call and so he put the unit to his ear.

“Hello?”

[Rex? Rex is that you?]

“Doctor Faust! What’s happening?”

[I don‘t know. I suddenly got a call from the top and they said that your brother is going to be transferred to a different hospital. Then military men came and tried to take him. They have signed papers and they said they’re only following their orders. What‘s going on? Where the hell are you right now?]

Rex brought down the phone and glared at the driver, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist. “Where are you taking my brother?”

At that moment, a large hologram panel appeared on the driver’s right shoulder and Augustus‘s masked face was smiling there. It was a feat of the latest video-phone technology. The phone unit downstairs is a unit capable of such thing, meaning, once a call is received, if the house is equipped with the link package, the whole house is instantly converted into a large phone.

“Don‘t worry Mister Kingsley, your brother is in the hands of the best military doctors in my contact list.”

“Military?!”

“Yes. You can rest assured that he is going to get the best medical attention he can. In the meantime, you can start working.”

Rex controlled his temper and he spoke with as much restraint as he can.

“Where are you taking him?”

Augustus’s image paused before he opened his mouth. “Fort Magsaysay.”

“That‘s…”

“Mister Kingsley, I think you are forgetting what we have talked about just a few hours ago.” Even though it was just a synthetic rendering of the real person’s voice, the tone and diction was enough to put Rex silent. “I’m a person of my word, Mister Kingsley. In the business world, once you break your promise, your enterprise is the one who will suffer the rift. So when I say that he’ll be safe, he‘ll be safe. And so as I had done my part in our deal, I think it‘s time now that you do yours.”

Augustus had made his move. Rex had been given everything else that he needs. The generosity of the advanced payment and a private working place was all too expensive enough for him.

This job was not as he thinks it is. Whatever was his plans that he had showed Rex, there was still something else hidden beneath it.

Rex’s intuition told him so.

“Three months, Mister Kingsley. Starting today, 92 days will be counted. Graham here will be the one that will answer to all your other questions.”

At that, Augustus’s image vanished.

Graham, the driver, took out the package and spoke, “Mister Kingsley, I will set up the machine and leave immediately after that. You will have to prepare your own food but don’t worry about supplies. The caretaker is scheduled to visit everyday at 6 A.M. to cleanup. She will clean your room, do your laundry and leave as soon as she is done. You can also use the vid-link in anyways you want, even calling the police is alright. In this place, you are just a person who had an accident and are spending your rehabilitation playing games. We are not liable to anything else you will do but I suggest that you do not tell anyone about your real identity.” +

“Why?”

“Because it‘s for your own good.”

Rex implanted all the things he heard on his mind and dedicated a certain amount of his memory logs to the rules and conditions that was given to him.

In short, in this place, he is a nobody. He can’t leave -won’t leave. While he did thought of calling for the police, it was a pointless idea. This was his doing. What good is calling the police on a trouble that he brought to himself?

But then, Fort Magsaysay?

It was a place that he can’t visit in a whim. Starting today, he would be spending his time entirely in this house. This is his workplace. For the next three months, his brother’s life is in his hands.

He would have to work for his brother’s freedom.

The price for Baron’s cure wasn’t his life, but his brother’s own. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that he is going out of this mess unscathed. One way or the other, he knew that at some point, he will definitely change.

This price, it was a price higher than his own. But even so, though his plan had failed miserably, his initial goal was still achieved. Now, all he had to work on is taking his brother back to his care.

“Can I see him?”

Graham considered the thought. He looked at Rex’s expression and only saw a defeated man asking for redemption. A sweat flowed in his temple and this did not escape Rex’s sight. He looked at him straight in the eyes then he checked the phone that he gave him earlier.

“No. I‘m sorry. Even if I say once a week, I‘d be lying to you so it would be better for you to know.” +

“Dammit.” Rex clenched his fists.

Baron is young. He thought frustratingly.

At three years old, he can be swayed into becoming another person’s son. Or maybe forget about him, or brainwash him into becoming a slave. These thoughts was destroying his composure.

He shook his head and went downstairs.

After he prepared his dinner, a simple rice meal with bacon and egg, he checked for the robotic support on his leg and adjusted it.

“The battery is still good for the next two weeks.”

After eating, he surveyed the house. Two bathrooms on both floors, a balcony, and then a garage turned into a small lawn with a small garden.

His assessment, it was a bachelor’s house. +

Though tempted to check outside, he did not dare to do so. He just stayed in the mini lawn and sat down on the bench there. The orchids, the plants, the grass, the stone steps and the few flowers on the side all added up a soothing atmosphere.

He failed to bring any personal things from the hospital. Even the maintenance kit for the robotic legs he’d been wearing.

All of a sudden, his contact on the outside world had been cut. If he was to get out of this deal, he’d have to give them what they want. And Augustus wants five H-class secrets. According to his memory, that is going to be either an item, an equipment material, a weapon, a very useful pet, an armor set, or a MOD that belonged to either Legendary or Unique class.

But in three months’ time…

Rex couldn’t think clearly. His mind was in shock of the things that had happened. No matter how much he spend himself thinking of the things that should have happened, there is no turning back the hands of time.

…I had done my part in our deal, I think it‘s time now that you do yours.

As he recalled Augustus’s words, he also recalled that night when he carried Baron on his shoulders and actually felt his baby brother’s embrace. As he sat down on the wooden bench with one hand still covered in the white dirty cast, his able hand was covering his eyes.

He was ashamed of anyone seeing the tears he was shedding. But still, the fact remained, there’s only him and baron left now.

Because no matter how much strength he exerts as he brave all these things, the fact that he was away from the only family he had left was enough to put him to tears. A real man may be the wall that the people around him can lean on, but at times when he was alone, he himself also needed a shoulder to cry on.

His sobs were silent but the moans, at first, was too painful to suppress. Still, when he had cried enough, he stood up and went inside. And there, he met Graham. +

The driver gave him a piece of paper and Rex took a second to read what was in there.

“A web address?” He asked in honest curiosity.

“I am not as hard as you think I am. I, too, have a brother just like you.” Then he walked towards the door and leaned his head sideward, “You never got anything from me. I am just a delivery man.” And he was gone.

As he heard the almost silent hum of the e-engine of the limousine becoming further and further, Rex finally felt the reality of his situation.

He was alone now. He took a few seconds standing in the sala, though there were only the sofa, the TV, and the dining table with two chairs in there. And then the fridge gave a hum that woke Rex’s thoughts. He went upstairs into the room and saw that everything else was already set up.

The Neurolink Device’s CPU, the wireless head set, the first edition information manual about RPG: Terroa, and a note on top of it, were all in the bed.

He held the manual first and then the note.

[Angel Café, City of Loire. It‘s somewhere in the Kingdom of Thrall, in the continent of Espada. Once there, look for Dante. And one more thing, work alone. Don’t ask why. -Ag.]

“Ag…Augustus.”

He crumbled the note and took the other paper he had received earlier. The web address. Somehow, it gave Rex a sense of foreboding conflict. Graham gave it to him on his own volition and so he knew that this is something of a help, in a stern and secret way.

Immediately, he went downstairs and registered his voice in the vid-phone’s data base. Then, he went back upstairs picking up the manual.

“Browser.” He spoke in thin air and a holographic panel emerged in front of him. “Activate manual sync overriding sequence. Set manual input control to active. Set all communications link to manual control…”

For every word he said, a change in the settings in the panel happened. Then, he made a hand gesture with his right hand like a square and a holographic keyboard materialized right on his fingertips. It was the manual synchronization overriding sequence protocol. And as soon as he accessed it, he smiled to see the expected things to see.

In the phone system, there were lines and control settings that was not usually there in a typical vid-phone package. What more, what he saw there were tracking programs with four layers of firewalls set to function as a hidden program.

In short, it was there to monitor his phone calls and his internet activities.

Using his able hand, his speed in manually changing the controls and removing unwanted bugs and programs in the system were in the expert level, enough to make a computer course student envious.

With every press of enter, a green light blinked on the hologram panel. He tested the connection and redid another scan, detected a few bugs, and corrected it. He deleted five other programs more that has nothing to do with the vid-phone settings and even connecting to the internet has been set with four programs designed to do the same things as the other phone trackers. +

“And you said it was okay to call the police?”

After a few minutes, he wiped the formed sweat in his head and rechecked if he had missed anything. And when he saw that it was finally alright, he moved on to the second phase of cleaning.

Standing up, he looked around in the room and with sharp keen senses paired with intuition and instinct, did a thorough check on corners and dark areas.

“Bingo.”

In one of the buttons on the cabinet’s button design, a single button detached itself and a hidden camera was stuck in there. A wireless type, the latest model. He checked again on other places, door locks, ceiling, vase, screws, in the glasses, the dresser, his bed, the CR, and even the small details in the lighting systems, inside his room alone, he gathered 11 hidden cameras.

“Privacy is not an option huh…”

He went downstairs and did the same inspection. He never cared if Graham would come back and beat him up but he hated the fact that he was alone in the house yet everybody else was watching him.

26 hidden cameras, 15 mini microphones, and 10 bugspies, all in all, were found all around the house.

But he left one that he couldn’t get into no matter how much he tried. It’s because he didn’t have tools to remove it inside the Hologram TV modulator. Although it was obviously there, it was as if he put it there as a test as to what he would do with it. And so as a reply to that man’s test, he left it alone.

When he had finally finished, it was already night.

As a last activity before he went upstairs, he pressed his thumb on the vid-phone hand held unit and went upstairs just like that.

In there, he sat down on his bed.

“Browser.” He called out and moved his hand to dial a contact number. After awhile, a ringing sound was heard and a man’s voice answered panting.

[Hello?]

“Doctor Faust.”

[Rex! What in the heavens is happening…where are you?!]

“I don‘t know myself. Where is Baron?”

[They took him! They said they were taking him to Fort Magsaysay! Just what kind of mess did you put yourself into?] +

He did not answer immediately. Instead, Rex put his back on the bed and felt exhaustion hugging him from his back to his neck.

“I made a deal with the devil.”

[I knew this would happen! I warned you! But more importantly, why did they take him?!]

“I failed to consider the fact that I am nothing to him even if I‘m in my best condition…I…” Rex could not stop the sobs coming out. And even though he had cried earlier, at this moment, talking to the only man he could trust made the loneliness and the loss unbearable.

[It‘s…I don‘t know what happened but those people said that they are the ones who will take care of him from now on. Did you…get your goal?]

“Yes…and…and the price…Baron was the price.”

A pause that came from the other line took the next six seconds. And after the calm of the storm, when Rex had finally calmed, Doctor Faust’s voice spoke.

[Everything has a price, Rex. I don‘t know what had happened but I know that even if it sounded absurd or in an impossible manner, when Augustus gave his word for his safety, he will keep it. And so, whatever deal you had struck with him, you had no choice but to buy the part where you bargained.]

“I know. I know…”

[So…you‘re not coming back…?]

“They forbade me. Plus, I‘m checking in with other doctors for my rehab.”

[Then I‘ll do my part. Technically, I‘m your legal guardian and I also happen to know someone in the high ladder in the Military. I‘ll be staying with Baron until you can see him again.]

“They said it was once a week but I doubt it.”

[You should.]

Rex stared outside the window. In a tropical country such as the Philippines, when the days hit beyond May, rain and storms tend to enter the country. It can bring in lots of solemnity, paired with the fact that activities outdoor is limited.

Right now, it was raining.

“I got a job along with Baron‘s cure.”

[A job? What kind? Is it dangerous?]

“It will be. And death is just the beginning of the problems.”

[You seem to imply that I can‘t know of it. Where are you right now?]

“Doctor, no, Uncle Faust…starting today, everything about my activities will be hidden from you. If I tell you of the deal, they will know it since you are going to be staying with him. So to avoid compromises, I‘ll be on this alone. Please understand.”

[Alright. I understand. And also, it seems that this number is secured. You‘re using an unknown number.] +

“I made it that way.”

[Then you do what you have to do. I will try my best to keep Baron company.]

“I‘ll call you again.”

And he cut the line. As soon as he did, an MMS popped up on the browser panel and he opened it. What he saw as the opening were two words. “Good work.”

He scrolled down and a video was attached. He did a swipe and played it on another window. It was Ag.

[Simply genius. You‘re really worth the investment Mister Kingsley. But time is ticking. You may be a kid but I underestimated you. Leaving the TV‘s camera…I never imagined…anyways, tic tock tic tock…]

After watching it, Rex deleted the file.

He stared at the head set that is the sole equipment in connecting in that world.

A dream like universe, using the human’s senses to create an alternate reality, everything inside that world is real. Senses, emotions, people…in the blink of an eye you’re on Earth and at the next, you’re in Terroa where all you see are data from a computer directly manifested inside the brain as the reality.

He was going inside that world not to play and enjoy the game but to work on a job.

Augustus was right.

“Time is running.”

He already knew what was inside the manual. He’d read it many times before during the time of its first release. And so, putting it in the shelf above the bed’s head side, he put on the head set; a mask similar to the one he wore in the underground dome, only, it has an overhead elastic lock that keeps it in place.

After he had fixed it in a comfortable manner, he did a last glance inside the room and laid down on the bed.

He closed his eyes and breathed. In his vision, was a digital clock, the (100%) battery life, the e-plug status, and the ROM Drive connection that says [Connected].

All is well. The only thing left to do was to enter that world. And so, he wasted no more time and closed his eyes after inhaling deep. As he let it out in a single blow, he spoke the words that caught the whole world in a trans. 4

“Game Start.”

 

[TKhan]

Update 9


Updating Position

The warning lights blinked red and yellow inside the control center and that made everyone not only tensed but also panicky. It was the sign of hacking procedure, a signal that something was trying to enter the main game server of Terroa. +

"What's happening?! What's going on?"

Chief Operations Officer Carl Hanes shouted from his office on the third floor of the computer filled room.

"Someone is trying to hack inside the system!" A lab personnel shouted.

"He's so freaking fast!"

"I can't track him!"

"He's using multiple attack patterns, this is freaking insane! He's like a robot!"

The computer maintenance personnel was typing in their panels as fast and as precise as they could. Twenty high grade computer geniuses hired from all over the world couldn't do a thing on the person hacking the main server of Terroa.

At that, Carl moved his own hands and a panel emerged right in front of him.

He typed at the same pace as the technicians, entered codes and commands, then finally, in their main panel right at the front of their office, the system map had displayed itself. In there, clearly shown in blue lines, is the normal operating system of Terroa. Surrounding it, was the green colored liquid flowing nonstop towards the center of the map.

"This is..." Carl couldn't believe his eyes. "This is not hacking. It's an update."

"Boss..." Carl turned around and saw his assistant in his office holding a hand held phone. "It's President Ethan. He wants to talk to you."

Everyone inside the room froze as they saw what was happening inside the server. It was not a hacking, though the red lights are still blinking. What was seen in the monitor was the live actual status of the game's main server, the AI [Janus], that regulated the functions and status of Planet Terroa 24/7 live.

And in there, with multiple command lines coming out one after another, the system map was slowly being dyed in green. In short, the whole game itself was in the process of being updated live.

Usually, it would be done in maintenance but right now, the system itself is being updated live, with the users still online.

God knows just what was happening inside.

"Hello?" Carl summoned a hologram panel in front of him and he spoke in a harsh, trembling tone.

[Carl. What's the meaning of this?]

"Excuse me sir?"

[Why am I receiving this report of a hacking?]

"No sir...I mean, this is not a hacking."

[Then what is it? Why is the system module showing me this red blinking light?]

"Well, it's because the system is having an update."

[Update?! What are you talking about? I never got any request or any kind of paper in my desk regarding an update!]

"That's what I was talking about sir."

[Explain.]

"Well, just a few moments ago, we thought we were being attacked by a hacker but it turns out that it was a false alarm. The system itself was being updated and Janus did not so much as attempted to defend itself."

[Meaning, the update came from within us.]

"Yes sir."

[Find it.]
"H-Huh?" +

[Find the culprit! Find whoever installed that update and know details of the update itself! I want everything regarding this incident a secret from the public! It will ruin my business plans!]

"R-Right away sir!"

[Oh, and one more thing.] Carl's body stiffened as the President's angry finger was pointed directly at him. [Delete that update.]

"Will do."

***

President Ethan pressed a holographic button and the video call ended. Then he stood from his desk and took a glance outside his high rise office in the 60th floor of the Panorama Building.

The property solely owned by the Panorama Gaming Corporation stood a total of 62 floors and the floor his office was located at had half of it dedicated as his private room and his office respectively.

Its extravagant design and luxurious outlook was a sign of his meticulous touches. Nathaniel Brooks won his position with sincere dedication to glory alone.

As he ended the call, he took a glance on one of the corners of his office. There, a certain shelf was filled with things, trophies, as souvenirs from every game that the company created. Things such as small figurine of an elf with her bow, an Orc figure with his axe, and also a small souvenir from when Terroa was still on its early developmental stage: a sword.

It measured .6 meter long, ten centimeters wide, had a plain metallic hilt with no gems and artistic designs except for the single golden tip that came as part of the blade. In its shelf, it was named "The Providence" and a history about its importance in the game was written in the plaque below it.

"Is this your doing?" He hissed as he clenched his fist. Then he turned his gaze down below the streets of Seoul. Though he was a British-Indian businessman, he had been naturalized in Korea for half a year now.

And at some certain point, he held in his hands a piece of paper. And in it, a note was written that has the name of a certain man.

Augustus Laniary.

***

—Please Select Race

As the question was prompted, Rex checked the list of avatar race. There are six, in total, and all of them had their own unique traits that were advantageous on every unique field. And from them, only one race is the ones who came from Earth.

Rex read the information one by one on the races.

The Maven: Terrans who descended from the bloodline of royal ethnicity; had immense intellectual knowledge and possessed weak physical prowess. Grants additional 15% stat bonus to Intelligence and 5% to Manna.

The Tekz: Terrans who descended from a lineage of the wise men of the dessert. They had superior Dexterity compared to other race and they are adept in their hands as they are the sons and daughters of the original Crafters of the ancient Terran race. A player is granted additional 10% stat bonus on Dexterity and Strength.

The Atlas: The brave Terran race. They are the sons and daughters of the brave warriors of the city of Atlantis, the descendants of the God of War, Aries. Grants additional 10% stat bonus to Strength and additional 5% to both Agility and Stamina.

The Apollo: The children of the handsome and gorgeous noble clans of the west, believers of beauty and prosperity, and the race that signify fertility. They grant 10% bonus stat points to Vitality and Charm.

The Gonn: The race that originated from the Pirates of the Dead Sea. They conquered every land on their wake and brought forth the idealism of power. Grants additional 15% stat points to Strength and 5% to Vitality.

The Naturals: The humans who came from Planet Earth. When the world collapsed from the invasion of the Lagram Alliance, they are the few that survived and searched the cosmos for a new living frontier. Grants additional 5% to Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charm.

Reading the information, Rex's first choice came to be the humans. But then, at a snap of a moment when he was about to press the button to choose, he thought of the pre arranged plan he had in his head.

No. This is not the right choice. I have to revise.

Humans are the most balanced type. In this game, a player is not tied into one combat style alone, unlike the previous games in the past, once a player started to play a game, he was required to choose a closed box fighting style. Meaning, once you choose a swordsman, you are forever a swordsman. But in Terroa, since there is no actual level and everything else regarding the user's survival in the game depended on his natural skills and athleticism, fighting styles may actually differ. +

For example, a user from the Maven Race are those whose automatically skilled in magic. But, he can still use a sword. In this game, 50% of the players came from this kind of build. They are those conservative players who cares more about their life than actually enjoying the CQC of a Virtual Reality experience.

But you can't blame them. A first time player buying the Neurolink Device, the gaming console, has a 75% discount on buying his game account. But once a player dies, if he/she wants to reenter the game, not only that player would have to start from scratch, he/she would have to also buy the account for 5,000 credits. The monetary exchange on every country determines how much it'd actually cost but in the Philippines, it was easier to tell just how much expensive it really is.

5,000 credits is equal to 10,000 pesos.

For a typical user, a P10,000 worth in game account is a month's wages from working hard. Labor in his country was as hard as anywhere in the globe and that amount of money is actually a heavy price on any gamer's wallet.

So when he thought that being a balanced type is all but a safe bet, Rex pulled his finger away. Instead, he selected the Apollo Race.

—You've chosen the Apollo race. Upon starting in your selected city, you will be given 10% additional stat bonus on Vitality and Charm.

—Please Select your name. 1

"Siva."

—Is [Siva] alright?

"Yes."

—Confirmed.

—Would you like to change your appearance?

"No."

—Confirmed.

—Please select starting city.

Rex paused when he thought of the city he had to start his career. There are five continents in Terroa and each had numerous kingdoms, countries, territories, camps, and even tribal villages.

On each continent, a total of around 8% to 10% are in the known pages of the public. Meaning, there are still around 90% on each continent that's still unknown by the massive number of players.

This could be blamed to the conservative playing style of the users because of the immense penalty when you die. For this reason, adventurers and even down to the most common of hunting groups have a total of 10 and up members on them. A soloist is someone who plays solo during the game and they are the kinds that is not only rare but is also not practical.

Still, to create a name a name as a soloist is a huge temptation among players and they're slowly becoming a trend. But to Rex, if he was to consider where he had to start his career, not only he was ordered to play alone throughout his gaming time, he was also to go to the eastern continent of Espada, also alone.

And so, building his character and surrounding himself with allies was not a good option, but also not a thought to be discarded.

Upon considering his options carefully, by looking at the map and the already available starting cities, he selected a place somewhere in the South Territory, in the continent of Zenturo.

"Aarun."

—You've selected the Walled City of Aarun. +

—Is this alright?

"Yes."

—Confirmed.

—Would you like to view the tutorial?

"No."

—Welcome to Planet Salvation...

"Wait...what?"

As the female monotoned robotic voice vanished, in the white filled environment where the only color was him, his vision began to be filled with a bluish light and he opened his in the middle of a lively city.

Central Plaza, Walled City of Aarun.

Behind him was a fountain with fishes and benches, perfect for rest after a tiring expedition.

"Excuse me..."

Siva turned around and saw an Atlas a full hand tall than his height. He had a claymore strapped on his waist and his armor looked like something that directly came from a monster's head. But unlike any swordsman that could be see normally on every game, this Atlas is a Mage. A Sword Mage, to be exact.

"I'm sorry." He apologized and gave way.

"Don't just stand there, noob. The central square is not a place for getting dazed."

As the man spoke, he moved passed Siva and Siva saw a bunch of beautiful female players looking at him while laughing amongst their group.

NPCs, Siva thought.

Although there are no distinct difference between an NPC and an actual user, basing on their actions alone, one can recognize a player from an AI.

But then, when Siva saw their armors, his notion immediately changed.

In Terroa, there actually are no differencing an NPC from a player. Both looked like and act the same. Even if it was an NPC selling cakes or items, or even an NPC that hunts monsters and aliens, they actually act and speak like real players so differentiating them from one another would at least require you to get close to them.

An NPC tend to have actions and reactions that's the same every now and then. They also have mannerisms that repeats itself from time to time along with their constant speech and action patterns.

So these women, laughing amongst their group, he had no choice but to totally ignore them since if he had reacted the wrong way, he might get subjected to the prejudice of other players.

Being a noob sure is a downing thing.

Looking around, he saw shops, merchant stands, and players with colorful swords and armors, robes and a few technologically advanced bows, walking around the central plaza. Then, from not afar, other new players like him were coming in with a blue light one by one with no exact place in the central square. It was just an act of luck that he materialized near the fountain.

As he walked, he ended up to a certain street lined with weapon and armor shops and guild offices.

It was the war district.

He entered the Sword Master Guild and there, all the patrons in a line towards the counter looked at him. All of them had armors and swords, and some are even the Mages that wore ornamented weapons, Rune Blades, that they carried with them. He was the only person who doesn't have anything in there.

"Hey noob." Called a Gonn from the left corner. "I think you're in the wrong place. This is the Sword Master Guild, not the training arena."

 

[TKhan]

Update 10

Different Than Expected

“Huh?” Siva’s brows curled in honest confusion.

At that, the Gonn with a large Buster Weapon at his back courteously put a hand on his right shoulder and pointed at the door. In there, written was, “I don‘t want to talk to any noob.” in bold letters. And below that was the name [Master Blader].

With flustered face, a slightly exaggerated feat of the Apollo Race, he scratched his head and left the office.

Since then, he never attempted to enter any Guild Offices ever again. These Guilds are different from the Player Guilds. A Guild made by players doesn’t have an office and these guilds that’s located in a city’s inner premises, especially in the war district, are Guilds that cater on either improving skills, or, anything that has to do with a quest given out according to the player’s style of fighting, or, in rare cases, give pointers about some new weapon designs or specs.

In short, the offices located in the War District are the ones operated by NPCs that not only give out quests and missions but also support a player’s improvement.

As per observation, Aarun was a city that was still in its early stages of development.

The lord here, or the Mayor, was a human and so the city’s main feature is to cater to players with interests in technology. The reason why he was in this city.

Here in Terroa, there’s no blacksmith job. Actually, there are no player jobs even from the start. So when a player chose to become a distance fighter, like archers or mages, they still have the option to become a melee fighter, depending on the situation and their preferred sets of personal skills.

It was this feat that attracted players from all around the world. There was the freedom of adventure and the game’s 90% reality allows everyone the versatility of being a uni-wide adventurer.

As Siva dragged his feet, he finally found the place he was most looking forward to go. The library.

In here, he only had one goal. Of course to read. But what he wanted to read only exists in the library inside the game.

Terroa’s [Book of Legends] or in other words, this world’s history.

Anyone can enter the library. It was a building that has five floors with each floor having a set of books, in the olden paper page style, dealing with categorized sets of knowledge.

In the first floor, there was the large collection of books about the creatures and ecosystem of Terroa. In the second floor, the books there tackles subjects on what was known about monsters, dragons, and aliens’ technology and their style of terrorizing.

Then on the third floor, it was a place for the general knowledge. Styles of fighting; melee, archery, and the most famous books that mages dig, are all in there.

Mostly, people in this floor are mages. But from here and there, archers can also be seen. But for every fifty readers that visit’s the library, there is the rare sight of a swordsman sitting somewhere and reading silently. It is because in this world where dying has a high price to pay, melee fighters are rarely seen. Actually, they are treated as a rarity.

First reason is that only few users are actually brave enough to experience a full swing attack of a monster. Second is that because the texture, the feel, the stare, the scream, everything about the monsters in Terroa is real to the human senses. Some players even run with their tales on their legs the first time they see a monster up close. Some were even so scared that they stopped playing the game from fright. That’s why the sight of a person holding a large sword or any kind of sword at that, are a rare sight at all.
Monsters’ attacks are 30% to 40% less painful. But monster sizes defies that with logic. E-rank monsters are on the size of an elementary kid, but they gather in numbers so they are still a threat to all players.

D-rank monsters are as big as an adult human. They also wander around the forests in groups.

C-ranked ones are almost three to five meters high. With luck, seeing them alone is a feat but normally, they always go out in pairs.

But when it comes to B-ranked monsters and up, in a hunter’s diary, when you see one you have the choice of running away. It’s because the smallest B-rank monster in recorded history is as big as a fire truck. A, S, and H ranked monsters are rarely seen monsters, though there are cases that a five meters high creature was recorded as an A-ranked monster. It’s name is the Zaber.

But then, there are Dragons.

In short, they are creatures on their own league. Out in the fields, when you see one, all you can do is pray.

So, when a melee fighter is present in a hunting group, expect that he is as athletic and as agile as a cat or if not, he’d just be a liability in that party. For that reason, pure swordsmen are rarely seen. Yes they are very strong. Yes, they are feared warriors. And yes, they are people given the highest respect in this world.

But logically, since monster attacks really hurt, if a monster five meters high hit you with an attack from a full swing from either part of its body, the 40% less painful feat was automatically ignored.

That’s why pure melee fighters are treated as super stars but, rarely a part of a hunting group. They may be famous and respected players, but they are endlessly a subject to prejudice.

The standard of a group for recruiting a melee fighter is based on the armor and the sword he wore.

And that’s the reason why conservative playing style were invented. The only reason left why Terroa is famous despite all these is because RPG: Terroa has the biggest alternate world that’s still to be explored. For this, tourist companies are employing strong players to explore areas they can promote as tourist destinations. And it was also for this reason that users, not players, are pouring in inside the game.

The monopoly of places, money involved, and the real actual beauty of the places are just few reasons for users to go visit the game world of Terroa.

There are a lot of new reasons being discovered why Terroa is slowly becoming the standard of VR gaming. Game developers are slowly adapting Panorama Corp’s strategy of boldness to promote their game but none are actually as safe and as wise as how the planning of the RPG: Terroa went.

For one, just the AI, Janus, that regulated, managed, and controlled the world of Terroa 24/7, alone, already had 32TB of processing memory solely dedicated to it.

There was also the 512TB dedicated to all the AI’s living inside the game.

Who knows just how much data it really needed for this world’s environment too. The weather, all of the monsters, the aliens, the details of the landscape, the storyline and the history, everything else was regulated and maintained by separate AI’s, all under Janus’s main command. And all of them had separate ROMs and RAMs and processing cores that not only numbers to the triple digits, but also to the latest modern computing technologies.

Other companies are not so bold as to invest to only a game with little resources. At least, if they had to go and invest to create another VRMMORPG to go against Terroa, they at least have to have the same technology used, the Neurolink Device.

For that, it was understandable that there are only few competitions in the VRMMMORPG genre. And with Terroa’s puzzlingly very secure Neurolink Device, competitions easily died out.

All of this was being processed on Siva’s mind as he made his way towards the fourth floor. He saw all those players looking at him with dead pan eyes, seemingly in deep concentration on the book they were reading. +

Novels rarely exist inside the game, but they, like all these books, are also reading materials and that’s what he was trying to look for in the fourth floor.

It was a floor that deals with “Rare Books” and in this floor, a tight security protocol was being imposed. A player would have to register his name in the door guarded by a group of NPCs wearing SWAT-like uniforms but wielded weapons that you can only see in sci-fi books and novels. These people are no joke, as he had guessed, basing only on how they look, they all are very strong guards. That alone explained how all these books are protected from thieves. They may be books in a game, but in this world, they are treasures.

As he finished his registration, he went to a thumb printing area where the beautiful NPC woman there had asked her, “What book are you going to read?”

“Anything.”

But the NPC shook her head. “I‘m sorry sir, but you cannot enter this room if you don‘t have any book in mind that you want to read.”

At that, Siva looked behind him and saw the other players that waited in line for him to finish.

With sweat forming in his temples, his mind worked quickly and he stopped on the thought to guess out that one certain book he had once read in the net.

“Clemente‘s Demise.” He told her.

“Alright.” The NPC replied. “Enjoy reading.”

After she said those words, Siva entered the room to see no shelves of books but lots of cubicles and long tables one after another. The book he did not want to read was in the right table, just before he entered the room. He took it and went towards the right side.

At the end of the room, there was a stairs leading towards the fifth floor.

The fifth floor wasn’t as much of a space. It was just a 30 by 30 meters wide room that was filled by the same SWAT armored soldiers that hid their glares on their masks.

And in the middle of that boring room, he saw it, the only book that housed the fifth floor.

The Book of Legends.

Holding the novel Clemente’s Demise, in his hand, he stepped towards the open book. This is just a copy of the real Book of Legends, open for the public to see and read. Siva stared at it and held his breath on its immense size.

Nine meters high, eight meters wide, the large book that housed the recorded 25 cycles of the world of Terroa was an immense book with lots and lots of knowledge. And then, the moment he stepped close to its tray, a pop up holographic window appeared on his vision.

[Please choose the part you want to search]

Yes, it was understandable, with its immense size, reading it one by one, page by page, would take a whole lifetime. So to make it easy, a search program was then implemented so readers could see right on the topic that he wanted to read.

“Search…” He paused as to realize one fact. He did not prepare himself to this. No. Actually, he has no idea what he was going to search. And so in the spring of the moment, he looked at the book in his hand. “Search for Clemente.”

On that moment, another window appeared in his vision and there, 300 search results appeared with the name “Clemente” as the topic of each article.

This, still, is a lot of numbers.

He recalled why he chose this novel to say to that NPC woman. In the net, Clemente’s Demise became a topic for treasure hunters. A rumor spread out that a hidden map was inside the novel and so lots and lots of enthusiasts poured their time on reading, analyzing, and even recording passages on the book to try to get a few clues as to that treasure map. But, none of them succeed their goal. And then it turns out that that rumor started from a group of women who was trying to say how much they liked the book.

And so, from that moment on, the people who had wasted their precious time trashed the idea and the rumor was then solved. +

In short, Clemente’s Demise was just a pure novel in itself, nothing more.

And Siva thought, if he had to read all these info about Clemente, he would end up just like those fools who wasted their time on such rumor. But then again, he hasn’t prepared to anything to get his personal goal.

He had to at least start at something while he was here and this here is a good start to get familiar with the world of Terroa. And for that reason, anchoring on one topic is also a good start. He would search more and more on information about unsolved mysteries and even the rumor about Clemente’s treasure map.

“Define Search: Clemente‘s personal life.”

TING!

After a sound effect, the 300 search results came to a sudden drop of eight articles.

[The Founding: Clemente‘s Sacrifice to save Terroa]

802,499 reads

[The Founding: Clemente‘s Rule of the NBI]

128,794 reads

[The Founding: Rumors of Clemente‘s betrayal]

96,885 reads

[The Founding: Clemente‘s Love]

1,388,202 reads

[The Founding: The search for Immortality, one of the false accusations towards Clemente‘s great rule]

592,731 reads

[The Founding: The founding of Tiara]

1,733,119 reads

[The Founding: Rumored people involved with him]

244 reads

[The Founding: The Dragon of Sara]

2,641,560 reads

So in short, Clemente was a hero. And like any other hero, he also did not escape the rumors regarding his time of ruling. It was natural, Siva thought, the famous are always a subject for those kinds of rumors.

“So Clemente had lived during The Founding.”

Turning his back towards the giant book, he settled himself to a quiet cubicle in one of the walls of the fourth floor. He started reading the book that he had been holding for a while and he himself saw that he was reading a genuine original novel. Actually, it can be considered as an artifact. It was hand written and so the markings of the author was still visible on every page.

Although it was said, he wondered just who inside the Panorama Corporation wrote this story.

But like any other questions he had, this question also had no answer as the real planet earth author of such novel was not told. But there is still a clue for the in-game author. In the old, worn out book, only two names were spoken in the first pages: first is Clemente, the second is Christofer Eclaire.

 

[TKhan]

Update 11

Clemente’s Demise

9Clemente was the ruler of the NBI, the force that maintained and defended the people against the vicious monsters that roams the land. 29Before the time of the great war that started the founding of the great empires and kingdoms, he ruled over the Northern Lands with the undying faith of its few people.

1-2-14-15-21Never doubting his ability, said to have been a gift from the Ancient Terrans, he vanquished the monsters swift and easy. 20He dominated them, inspiring the followers that made up the core of the first organization created to be the protector of the land.

11The NBI was their wall, the people’s arm against the ravaging threat monsters.

8But then came the rumors that sprouted on his back. The mindless drones. They distributed the false news that jested his rule. 2His very kind heart, quipped.

11-16Rumors of his greed for power, his endless pursuit for immortality, his experiments on monster descents, his said forced taking of a woman with matchless beauty… 4rumors of sorts even sprouted about his struggle with one certain village.

1-11-14None of it has ever been proven true and so came his life’s end, with the tears and fears of the people he left…

As Siva read through the preface, his mind worked of a few circumstances that there might be some grounds about the rumors of a treasure map. But then, the reviews were right, there is no treasure map in the novel Clemente‘s Demise.

The novel talked about the life history and finally the death of Clemente Celestine, the greatest leader of NBI.

Its only purpose was to kill monsters, protect its people, and until its disbandment in the 300th year since its foundation, it never once deviated on its only goal.

Records in the Book of Legends about its long reign as the protector of the people before the founding of the Empire of Tiara, now the North Dominion, occupying most of the Northern Continent, was present on every paper. In the North, the name Clemente Celestine was the symbol of power that even the current emperor, Seth Guidonia Celestine XXXIX, had always bragged.

At this, as Siva pushed on in his curiosity about this person’s history, he landed on a conclusion that this Clemente Celestine was a clean man with a lot of very bad rumors.

As he was reading the article about Clemente; [The rumored people involved with him], Siva had noted a few names that was said to have been involved about his rumors.

Stan, the Founder of the NBI. He vanished during a mission along with his 12 closest subordinates and was believed to have died. But rumors of his ghost returning came and it affected Clemente’s reign and his health.

Vista, a man shrouded in mystery. Though this man was identified as a farmer and commoner from some far off village, his real connection to Clemente is unknown.

Monet, the rumored woman with a matchless beauty.

She was said to be the reason why the great leader of the NBI had rumored to pursue immortality. None of it was ever proven and all these people, including Monet, do not have any part in the making of the History of Terroa as it is now. In short, these people are just some product of the fables fabricated by old people from the stories they once heard from their ancestors.

As he had been reading and investigating all these time, Siva did not realize that he had piled on books, data windows, and reading materials one after another, stacked side by side on his table.

Of course, there are no crafting jobs in Terroa, but it doesn’t mean that players are limited to that.

Weapons and equipments are made through the NPC shops selling pre-made, or offers customization services to the players. These shops have CAD Design, forging, assembly line, and the embedding center. Everything that has to do with creating an equipment was available to the NPC shops. And though players doesn’t have the jobs capable of such feats, there are still those already existing designs that other users want. For a price, they can buy these said products and it saves them the time and effort to actually gather their own materials.

As Siva thought of this, he continued to watch and actually praise the business minded people who thought of such scheme. It was an honest business, yet, there is still the chance that some might abuse its demand.

Siva then dragged his eyes towards a set of players also grouped near the fountain.

“I‘m a Sword Mage! Let‘s Party.”

“Hunter here! Looking for party members!”

“I‘m a pure Ranger, please let‘s party!”

Players looking for teammates were shouting their agenda. It was a noisy crowd and he watched it with a set of marveling eyes. For him, this sight is something of a thought binder. In this game, it was understandable that you cannot hunt alone, considering that you are a conservative player. But with all these players gathered here to attract partners, Siva could only look at them with envious eyes.

Because even if Augustus doesn’t have his eyes on him when he’s inside the game, Siva himself knew that he cannot trust anyone inside else.

His sole purpose for entering this game was to get the H-class secrets. If he had partners on getting one, for sure, envy and greed would always be present and a fight for the ownership of the secret can‘t be avoided. He can’t risk it. Or rather, he’s too afraid now to trust.

Steeling his resolve, Siva stood up and started to make his pace. Later on, he found himself in front of the city’s entrance gates and from here, players just like in those in the square were also gathered.

Opening his stat window, he saw the unused 100 points that he had been given upon entering the game.

Basic stats are strength, agility, charm, intelligence, manna, stamina, dexterity, and vitality. It was showed in an octagonal rendering with the stats that is a counter to one another facing each other.

And at that, he thought of the right build to go on with his avatar.

Even though there are no actual jobs in Terroa, the players are still obliged to build their avatars the right way. Players who planned to become swordsmen at the start of their careers tend to build their characters over STR and AGI. Mages, the most common jobs, tend to distribute their stat points mostly to INT and MNA. An archer then distributes their stats mostly to DEX, VIT, or AGI, depending on the type of archer they wanted to be.

There are no actual division between archers but the difference on their builds sometimes determines the type of playing style they are using. And this helps to be able to find a good hunting party to join.

But then there are those seemingly useless stats like CHR, STA, and the one on the center of the octagonal circle, the SPIRIT stat.

Only few are aware of this fact but the SPR stat are also a stat that can be given stat points.

And by this, since Siva wasn’t going to be either one of the already available classes of players, he thought of a nice way to be able to play a different game style. And for this reason, he chose to be someone from the Apollo Race.

He gave all 100 stat points to SPR.

Then, from that moment, his stat window changed.

Strength became Power, Agility to Speed, Stamina to Endurance, Dexterity turned to Constitution, Charm went to Charisma, Manna to Energy, Intelligence had became Wisdom, and Vitality became Durability. Siva himself was surprised.

“It really worked…”

As he read the change on his status window, the numbers in there did not change. Actually, there are no more visible changes except for their names becoming somewhat their advanced form.

For every user, each stat was given a base number of 100 points at the start of their game, except for the SPR stat which is 0. Adding all the Race’s bonus attributes, that then is considered the normal status. And starting from there, build and focus begins to take place, allowing the so called “class” as to what the player wanted himself to be inside the game. +

Considering that, there has never been a 100% user in every stat. It is because, as been said before, Terroa is a world where death has a high price. And mistakes in building an avatar’s stats wasn’t cheap.

And considering that in itself, there has never any user who put all of his free 100 points to the SPR stat.

But for Siva, there was a simple yet profound reason for his action. His job was to find secrets, and his avatar itself is going to be one of the products he had to present as a secret itself.

His plans for the future is not yet set on stone and so this will be a strong foundation to whatever would come his way. As for reason, in many games, actually, almost every game, swordsmen, archers, and healers are the most selected classes by the players. It is because these classes have all been tested and tried and so their secrets, no matter what game, whether it’s VRMMO or the old MMORPG on the Dream Rift Console, have been proven. It is just up to the players to vary his/her preferential sets of skills, especially in Terroa since the users have the freedom to do so.

Depending on the player’s build and discretion, the swordsmen, the archers, and even the healers, can be equipt with any sets of skills. There are even cases that a healer can deal extreme damage by wielding a bow.

That said, something of a hidden class, just like what he was trying to do here, is not a proven game style. He knew, there are others like him who had risked adding a few notches to improve their normal human mode just to explore hidden chances. But as it was said, the risk is just too great, they can’t afford it if they die.

So the last remaining choice is through what was in Siva’s mind right now. If these people were to actually survive this world with just their normal stats, with no improvements, not adding up anything except for their race’s default bonus, they would have to rely heavily on trial and error. But for Siva, there was something else.

There was another reason why he was bold enough to put 100% of his bonus stats on the SPR stat.

From the moment he had taken in the change, he raised his head and stretched his hand. He was just a few centimeters away from the very edge of the city’s gates. For one, he was checking if his settings worked.

When he felt no invisible force field stopping him, he took a full step outside the gates and headed straight for the woods, 600 meters away.

 

[TKhan]

Update Post

 

[TKhan]

Update 12

I Am…

Loni was stomping the ground with frustration. She was having a bad day. As she and her group headed for the Walled City of Aarun, in this forest path, her party members were looking at her wearing smiles.

“Stop it, Loni. It can‘t be helped.” Said his party’s leader, Thorn, a Sword Mage. “No one knew that it‘d turn out that way.”

“In any case,” Henna, a female ranger, butted in. “we still got a few useful loot. It‘s still not a wasted effort.”

Loni dragged her eyes on her teammates. “I just hate it when we put so much effort and the target escapes!”

“You‘re not the only one.” Said Fuma, a pure Mage.

This group of four, very few for a hunting party, are composed of people who’s been playing the game since its first release. Loni was the newest addition to their party but with her talent in archery, sword, and magic, it did not take long before her party members accepted her. It could also be blamed with her beautiful features.

Loni entered this game with the sole purpose of just looking for inspiration. She was a writer in real life. In her works, compassion, wisdom, friendship, and love can be seen. But she herself does not have all of those qualities. In truth, she could be considered a secretive and cold hearted person. It could be said that with the way she grew up alone, she developed a barrier that can reject anyone’s effort to get close to her.

Maybe, the only person to ever succeed on breaching that barrier was her grandfather who had a personality she had never encountered before.

Ever since she played Terroa, she had learned how to talk to people. She enjoyed these three’s company and she slowly learned how to talk to them naturally. But in real life, her inner sense to put up the defense towards the people still overpowers her desire to have a bond.

In short, this here, right now, is what she’d call her life and these people are what she could call her friends.

Also, the Loni with them was the real her.

“Aaaahh…Thorn, why did we even took that B-rank mission? If it was just to kill it, it would have been easy but to catch it…”

“I told you Loni, that mission was just a tool for us to get into that A-rank quest.”

Then Henna put an arm over her shoulders. “Loni, you little thing, stop sulking and cheer up. We will be in the city soon, if we sell these stuff, we can still get a lot of money.”

“And then we can buy our own house!” Fuma cried out joyfully. He was a Maven. And to emphasize the fact that he was a Mage, he even chose to wore an eye glass accessory that adds 2% manna regeneration. But in fact, it was just to copy a protagonist of that one book that became a famous movie.

Loni could only pout and to let go of her frustration, she shot an arrow towards a random direction inside the forest. The arrow landed somewhere far off and a loud roar followed its sound.

Stop!” Thorn spread his arm. +

“What was that?!” Henna stopped and they followed.

“Don‘t tell me you actually hit something?”

“Stop kidding.” Loni nudged Fuma’s arm. “It‘s not possible. It‘s just a random…”

And then a second roar followed by an explosive sound echoed in the surroundings and the four of them exchanged looks. Nodding to each other, they sneaked up on the direction of the sounds and saw a hunter fighting with a D-class monster, on his own.

“You‘ve got to be kidding me!” Loni shouted and she gritted her teeth. “Is he serious?!” +

Henna shook her arm, saying, “We got to save him!”

Fuma, readying his runes, nodded at her suggestion but Thorn stopped them before they even launched the thought they all agreed.

“Wait. Let‘s just watch him.” He said.

“But he‘s just a beginner!”

“I can see that Henna. But look.”

On his words, they all watched how he fought. The man already took down one D-ranked monster but he himself was badly injured. He was using no weapon and that’s what made Loni and others wonder how he defeated the fallen one.

D-ranked monster: Grinder.

These beasts have magical scales attributed to Land element. They are a tough opponent even for a hunting group since magic don’t usually affect them that much.

That was one of the game system’s feats.

Monsters have immunity to magic but weak to any physical attacks. Aliens are weak to magic but they have superior and almost impenetrable shields and body armors.

And so thinking about this, they concluded the fact that the man somehow defeated the fallen one by using some sort of physical attacks.

But then, at that moment, Loni gasped as she saw the blood on the man’s fists.

“Thorn!”

“I can‘t believe it!”

“Is he for real?!”

“This is definitely something unique.”

The four of them let out expressions of surprises. Usually, Grinders go in packs but there are also times a few of them would tend to move away from the group and so ends up lost and targets for hunting parties.

He crouched to dodge the monster’s claw. Grinders are monsters that looked like oversized rats without the annoying tail. They have powerful hind legs, their front legs are made to dig the ground, and their fangs are all too sharp you would think they’re shark jaws crawling on the ground.

Aside from their physical appearances, their attack patterns are almost the same. But, that didn’t mean they don’t learn. +

Actually, the reason why he was in a bloody state and are almost in the edge of his rope was the fact that the monsters have learned how to deal with him.

He doesn’t have a weapon except for his fists. It was exploited by the monsters and so they teamed up on him. That would explain why the monster’s movements seemed to be calculated as reaction to the man’s effort to dodge.

Loni thought of this and he readied her bow. She was a mage but she prefers a bow more than a sword.

Watching the man, he knew he would be dead any minute now if his concentration were to deter. A silence came to them as they watched him fight.

He jumped and dodged, then grabbed the monster’s arm and used his knee to dislocate its tiny joint. Since it was an arm used for digging, the end part was just a sharp three clawed hand connected to jointed arm. And from the elbow to that hand, a good 15cm length bone was the subject of his attack.

The man directly attacked where that bone and the muscled limb connects and it snapped with a sound that can put anyone’s stomach to hurl.

One proof of its effectiveness was henna’s reaction.

A loud painful roar echoed as the monsters held his broken arm with the other. The man then dived towards the creature, holding a sharp stone he picked up from out of nowhere.

“RAAAAAA….”

The man’s scream bellowed on and he hit the pain driven monster on its left temple. Blood flowed out on its head and it fell down on the ground with a loud thud.

The monster’s body shook, its eyes looking up, and the four people hiding somewhere high couldn’t believe what they just saw. The man wasn’t contented, to make sure that the monster was dead, he picked up a big rock from the side and smashed the head multiple times.

“Brutal.”

Loni and the others all agreed to Fuma’s response to his actions and they al felt a sense of shaking from the inner parts of their body.

Who knows where the shaking came from, they never felt this kind of feeling before.

Not even when they are facing strong monsters.

The man kicked the monster’s head then he went to the other whose already fallen from before.

There, he checked if it was also dead and when he was sure enough, he looked around wearing bloodshot eyes as if looking for more.

Loni’s first reaction was to hide and the three others all did the same. +

But her, she was looking at the man’s eyes. Not only any emotion were absent, his eyes spoke something else that she can’t help but to stare at his face. Desperation, cruelty, justice, love, passion, choice, no…what is it? A sense of wariness broke in her chest. She can’t seem to pick the right word to explain how she interpreted the look in his eyes.

As the man walked towards the darker side of the forest, the four of them were surprised yet again to see him dragging two more dead monster bodies.

“Four?!” This time, the loud reaction came as a party voice chat over their communicator. Fuma’s voice was as loud as it was in real time and they had to lower down the volume just to be able to listen clearly to the other’s voices.

“A whole pack.” Henna corrected.

Loni faced her and then dragged her eyes towards the direction where she was looking. Since she was a pure archer, her choice of skills were set to enhancing her sniping skills.

At the start of a user’s career, he is given a 100 points stat bonus that he can use whatever and wherever he wants. And then, after a player had used all of it, he is also given an initial skill that he can choose from a large list depending on where he had put those 100 stat points.

For example, if a player decided to become a Mage since the very beginning of his career, he can distribute those points to MNA and INT. That would increase the damage of his magic and also increases his maximum MNA points. And he can choose what kind of magic he can use as a starting ability.

For swordsmen, that would be a skill or an ability that can improve his maneuverability or damage output. In some cases, there are those kind of swordsmen that choose a skill that improves defenses, relying on their skills for inventing weapons to deal damage instead.

For archers, that would be sight enhancement or accuracy improvement skills. But there are also hybrid players like Sword Mages or Elves that was a slang for those that chose a stat allocation which uses magic and archery together.

And so to where Henna was staring at, towards the darker side of the forest, Loni could only imagine what kind of scene she was seeing as she felt the trembling on her body.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

“Thorn…” Henna called out to him.

“What?”

“Let‘s get out of here.”

“Why?” Fuma asked.

“Henna, what‘s wrong? What can you see?”

Thorn got anxious. Henna, though usually a kind and passionate girl, never once backed down when facing a monster. Right now, contrary to her usual brave face, she was displaying a rare sight where her body was shaking due to some unknown feeling.

—No.

Loni finally realized. “Thorn, let‘s get out of here.”

“What‘s wrong with you two?” This time, Thorn’s expression told irritation.

“I‘m scared. I‘m scared of him.”

On Henna’s words, Fuma started to sneak out of his position away from the edge they were watching.

The four of them could only look back to the man’s direction before they actually went their way towards the city.

And when they were finally made their distance, Loni asked the shaking Henna with anxious eyes.

“What did you see?”

“Slaughter.” Henna answered and tears fell on her eyes. “He‘s too strong. He‘s like a monster himself.”

At those words, Thorn narrowed his eyes and looked back towards the direction of the forest. “Is there really such kind of person?”

“He not part of the masked organization, right?”

On Fuma’s words, Loni pursed her lips. She hugged Henna and continued with their pace. But still, at the back of her mind, she can’t put those pair of eyes away even if she tried. For some reason, she felt some kind of familiarity with those pair of eyes.

No.

What she sensed familiar was the life in those eyes. +

She knew she had felt the same kind of air before, somewhere close, somewhere recent.

“Ah!”

At that moment, Henna looked at her as she paused to let out that short reaction.

“Loni?”

Loni looked at her and shook her head. “Sorry. I just remembered something.”

“I‘m sorry I got scared earlier.”

“No it‘s alright.” She hugged her tightly. “I kind of remembered someone who had the same air like that guy earlier.”

“Oh! Who was it, Loni?” Henna’s face lighted up. Somehow, Loni speaking of someone cheered her up.

“Naa…” Loni shook her head and the three are now looking at her with anxious stares. “I don‘t even know the guy. I just know his name.”

“What‘s his name? You never know, we might meet him one day.” On Thorn’s question, Loni felt uneasy.

But they still urged on and the silence and the pause made a sweat drop from her temple.

Loni finally said with wariness. “His name is Rex.”

***

In Terroa, HP bars doesn‘t exist. It was determined by percentage, with numbers on the player’s vision. A death of a player is determined by his will and actual bodily and mental state. There are even times that even if the HP percentage had reached 0%, the players were still saved from dying in the game.

That is because death in the game, as it was explained, is determined by the mental state of the player. If he accepts death by reaching 0% of HP, then he really dies but if he strongly desires that he won’t die in the game, then the 0% HP is ignored and Janus recognize that brain wave as the will. But reaching 0% HP doesn’t mean large consequences. In exchange for not dying, the player must endure extreme pain.

If he loses an arm or any part of his body, he can still fight on if he chooses to. After all, it can still be healed by a 2nd tier Healing Magic called Regenerate. Or, in the city, for a price, on the Medical Center somewhere near every entrance gate.

A person can wield a sword, but not every sword, since it depends on the person’s strength. Going back to the stat points allocation, a normal user has a default amount of 100 points on every stat. And from there, the clothes, equipment, weapons, all the gears on his body are subject to weight management in units called we. 4

So in short, if a user from the Maven Race were to wield a 50 weight points Buster Weapon, he will have to sacrifice wearing upper body clothes. So for him to still be able to become a good Mage and use that large weapon, he would either have to choose to be a Gonn or an Atlas, or actually spend some of the free 100 points allocation to power up his strength. But then again, that would only make him an average Mage who can wield a giant sword.

This is how the system works. From this kind of system, the players will vary and the difference between them would drop to 800:1000, 800 people every 1000 users are players with different styles and builds.
In this case, Siva belonged to the other bracket. +

Unique Build.

100% of all his stat points were allocated in the SPR stat. In his search for the answer to his question of what kind of difference does it make, he landed on a place where his wits were tested to its limit.

No weapons, no equipments, only his experience in fighting other people and his confidence that he can at least dodge majority of any kind of attack. It was a huge mistake. Because he failed to consider that monsters in the game can also learn and adapt to his movements, he was pushed into a corner where he had no choice but to fight for his life.

At first, he panicked.

He was still unaware of the difference on the ranking of the monsters and how difficult they actually were. He only knows how to fight and that’s what he used against them.

He defeated the first two that grouped over him, then the next one became a challenge, the fourth became a bit hard, and when he came to the fifth and sixth ones who attacked at the same time, he started to receive a few damage.

The seventh to ninth monster had him cornered and he was already feeling fatigue hugging his body. His vision started to get blurry and the pain in his temple is making him loose concentration every other second.

As the attack came from the tenth after defeating the last three with great difficulty, he had no choice but to change his mental state.

He admitted his mistake and clenched his fist harder.

He started to use whatever he can from the things in his immediate surroundings, mushrooms, rocks, bushes, and even his own blood flowing from the wound on his left shoulder, he used it all. He blinded a monster and used his own hands to pluck its eyes. He used a rock on one monster’s mouth to prevent it from closing in as he pulled of its tongue and tonsil, killing it slowly from severe pain and loss of blood.

And then, from out of nowhere, just when a monster was going to attack him from behind, an arrow hit its foot that made it miss Siva’s head.

Siva used the opening to use his earlier victim’s claw to stab the attacker in the throat and actually slit it as he also plucked out its eyes that made him bath in blood. In all aspects of a fight, Siva’s literally lacked elegance.

He never knew where it came from but that one arrow saved his life. From then on, he learned. In his two last enemies, the wariness they had of Siva became so great they started to back away. But Siva did not let them. His mind had been poisoned. All he thought was to kill them.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill….

He craved the deaths of the enemies in front of him.

A sense of satisfaction he had never felt before had surged on his chest and he felt anger, rage, no! Wrath! It was wrath that hugged his aching chest. Though it was not seen by the secret spectators that watched him, his eyes were filled with the tears of his regrets. His mind were filled with the painful memories of seeing his beloved parents dead on that car.

While he dodged the first one’s attacks like a zombie swaying his drunk body, Siva saw that monster as the man who put him to this bind.

Augustus.

He felt a surge of emotion, hate, and he momentarily forgot the excruciating pain of his mortal wounds.

Never knowing where it came from, he used the one arrow to stab the monster’s throat in exchange for a stab on his left flank. The monster died and he glared for the next one.

“RAAAAA…”

They met, the monster died.

His heart was crying for the memory that pushed him for that one last attack. It was the most painful memory he had ever remembered. It made him lose himself to the bloodbath. Actually, every part of this fight made him remember all those. At some point, it became his outlet to finally release all the accumulated hate and pain that he had.

But the most painful part that made him lose his self awareness was the sight, and the thought, of his brother in that hospital bed without so much assurance that he would wake up.

The thought of not hearing him yawn when he’s all sleepy, the smile he always had when he’s telling him his fight stories, the lively Baron who loves piggy back ride when going home from playing…these all made him angry that he was weak and powerless to help his little brother.

And at the moment he realized that he had killed all of his enemies, a sense of emptiness occurred.

He looked around to search for more enemies but he only saw nothing and it frustrated him. He walked on the deeper part of the forest, he gathered all of the monsters he defeated. It reached a total count of 18 and it made him angry that despite this numbers, he still felt hungry. He was hungry for violence.

And from the moment he woke up from a whole night inside Terroa, 16 hours had already passed and a total of 97 dead monsters gathered in one place.

It was so long he felt hungry and tired.

But the emptiness was still there, lingering, crawling on his skin like a large insect. It would seem that he had somehow got attached to that world in a different way than the other users.

He felt that something had changed in him.

But he nudged the thought off and stood up. He felt his leg with the metallic robot ache. He need exercise.

It was half passed afternoon. After he prepared food, he sat down on the sala and opened the holo TV. He put the channel on the news about Terroa, the 24/7 version of the TV Segment Terroa Day Today.

In there, the host was talking about the news about the war that was about to erupt between the Sylphiadora Guild and Titan Goliath Guild.

Then there were also news about current quests, the happenings on a Guild War currently taking place far off in the lands in the North Continent, a controversial video of a hunting mission, talks about rumors of some organizations, newest designs of weapons and armors, and there are many more that the show talked about.

An hour had passed, he finally felt sleepy.

But before he went upstairs, he locked everything, the doors, the windows, and even fortified the firewall he had set up on the vid-phone package.

Finally, when he was already satisfied, he opened up the browser and went to the web address he received from Graham. In there, a smile drew on his lips as he saw what the site was offering.

“I see.”

He closed the browser and went upstairs. In his mind is only the thoughts of his next actions. Terroa is a big world with peace loving people. And from an angle outside that box, a thought entered his mind.

I am The Destroyer.

 

[TKhan]

Update 13

Rumors and Legends

Hunters in the Forest of Kali were baffled, all of the monsters that was usually roaming the area near and deep inside the forest were gone.

As they went in deeper, towards the direction of the road path, they saw a man with a cart full of monsters they were missing. The cart were made up of old tools, cut directly from the trees using nothing that resembled modern touch of technology.

The wheels were large, irregular shaped, and looked really sturdy. The cart itself were made up of filed tiles and woods cut down by monster tools. The man was in the front, hitting an E-ranked monster, a Mastodon, that pulled the cart like a slave. From the looks of the poor monster, with bloodied back and painful moans, it’s enough to put anyone into hating the man who rode him wearing a mask that hid his face.

Still, the heavy air surrounding that man was enough to put the other hunters’ words on hold.

Naturally, they could have attacked him since he was only wearing beginner clothes and doesn’t seem to have weapons. But what made them swallow the thought was the sight of the brutally murdered monsters on the cart.

Thankfully, Terroa had a rule that dead monsters would only start to rot after three days and they will respawn after the fourth day of its death. The cart and the monsters on it wasn’t decaying so there was no sort of any smell coming from there.

So basing only on the sight of how these monsters died, the thought of their deaths if the attacked the man who killed them was enough to put them on hold.

“He killed all of this?”

“It‘s been a day since the monsters disappeared.”

“Look at that broken face. That monster…urgh…”

“Over there! He plucked out its eye.”

“That‘s just gross.”

“Worst than using a sword. It‘s a murder.”

“Is he going to sell them all off?”

“Those are a lot of D and E-ranked resources. He can get a lot of materials from them.”

Siva ignored all of the murmurs and whispers he was getting. Even the attention that he received when he got into the city’s vicinity. The SWAT guards guarding the gates did not even bother to check what he had brought, not even a question were asked as they too felt that it may lead to a sin.

Luckily, the Trade Center is just on the first corner after entering the city.

After the cart had been emptied of its luggage, the masked man went directly towards the NPC Assembly Shops in the Market Place. There, he only bade a slight glance to the crowd he gathered and entered the shop.

By the twist of luck, inside this certain establishment is the rule that only customers can enter. And so Siva glanced at them and hoped that his plan would come to a good start.

After a few hours, as the curious people who waited for the masked man to exit the shop thin out, Siva got passed them and stared at them with curiosity.

So the mask actually worked?

As he thought of that, he continued to pass through them wearing a gray colored cloak over a white long sleeve polo with an intricate design on the left sleeve. A black slacks for the bottom and boots for his feet. All of these materials came from the monsters he had hunted.
He could have fashioned armors and sharp weapons but with his unique fighting style and his chosen initial skill, clothes that emphasize the freedom of movements though offers little protection is what he preferred.

Siva’s aim now is to hunt more, become stronger, and gather enough Intel on the target he chose. The first month will be spent like this, and he wouldn’t stop until he get his goal. These are his thoughts when he passed them. The cloak was just a regularly sold item that can offer little protection from cold and rain.

His silver colored polo was made from powdered Grinder teeth, fashioned to become tiny silk braids, and eventually the shirt he wore.

The bottom are made from compressed layers of the bones of his victims and the blood of the E-ranked wild monster, Taco, a bird-like mob that flies in groups, that actually had the ability to soften up the bone layers into becoming the black shiny slacks he wore.

His boots are the product of technology.

It was made from a material from the dissolved brain and bones of a rare D-ranked monster he luckily saw in the middle of his hunt. That monster was different from all the others he had hunted and he spent one long hour fighting off just one of the three. But as soon as he defeated it, the last one escaped leaving the wounded second to become his victim.

He never knew until he had talked with the Trade Center’s keeper that it was a rare monster and actually was in the boundary of C-rank and D-rank.

Siva remembered how he suffered a few broken ribs and a black eye when he defeated it. The boots, yes, is a marvel of technology that he himself was curious to test in the field so he hurried his pace towards the city’s exit. But then, as he turned to the corner, he bumped to a player and they both landed on their behind.

“Sorry!” He shouted and immediately went towards the other person. “Are you alright?”

“I‘m alright. Sorry, I didn‘t see you. I was on my way to the NPC Shops and was in a hurry.”

“I‘m also on my way out of the city and so I did not anticipate that I would bump into someone in a corner. If you are alright, I‘ll be on my way then.”

“Yeah. Sorry, again.”

As Siva turned and apologized, the girl, an Archer, bowed. Behind her, her companions were rushing to help her clean up and one of her companion, another archer, went to follow the man with a stare.

“What‘s wrong Loni?” Asked Henna who cleaned her clothes, especially on the back side. “Do you know him?”

Loni shook her head. “No. But I kind of felt like I‘ve seen him somewhere before.”

“Come on!” Shouted Fuma who was already far up front! “They said it was the Weapon Shops!”

The four of them went on and Siva could only sigh as he saw that the person he bumped into was alright while hiding in the corner leading straight towards the city gate.

Siva went towards the Eastern Gate, near a forest he learned housing C-ranked monsters.

His eyes were flaming with desire, hunger, and some kind of light that made E-ranked monsters cower away. He did not bother looking at them anymore, unless they attacked him first. But when they did, Siva felt the same feeling again of wanting to crush them with his hands.

Weight management, when he’s fighting, he can’t wear his weapon at the same time as his cloak.

The cloak weighed a total of 34 weight units (we), the boots are 29we, his inventory 10we, and his slacks are 23we that almost reached the 100 weight limit. And if he uses his new weapon, he would have to sacrifice his cloak which hid his equipment.

In the East Gate, the Oz Forest, his C and E-ranked victims live under a banner of unified peace. Their food are the people who wander in their forest not prepared on how dangerous they are and they actually get strong whenever they defeat them.

But when they faced Siva, with his burning zeal and his angry fist, the weaker monsters cower away as if told by a master. But Siva never let them escape. Not one. Nothing. In his vocabulary, the term “No Mercy” had just been created. And when this zeal becomes a smile on his lips, all cowering monsters are enchanted into coming after him.

That is his initial ability.

He crushed, he punched, he kicked, he smashed, and he literally murdered the monsters using any means he had in his immediate surroundings.

Rocks, sticks, plants, even the small rodents, he used them all as weapons and bait.

His fights weren’t the ones seen in a classical movie where the hero slashed his weapon in a cool manner. No. His fights looked more like a brawl between an ox and a man trying to strangle it to death.

The only big difference is just C-ranked monsters don’t look like the animals you can see in an animal encyclopedia. With their large tusks made to skewer anything to death, fangs that’s big enough to measure an arm, eyes that can spurt off some form of acid, and some of them literally can make tornado with just a flap of its wing or a single roar, they were enough to put any conservative hunter to his most coward state.

But Siva braved it all bare handed.

He had a roar of his own.

And whenever he did that, the monsters would either get serious or they would get slaughtered.

Siva’s fights all looked like that. His weapon is an arm equipment that he can summon anytime with just a voice command or just his thought.

Human Technology, as per told in Terroa’s storyline, had reached the point where the Neurolink Device was literally a device implanted in the brain to directly give the user direct control over his equipment. Using the so called Nano Weapons Technology to create weapons in any form, Siva designed his own weapon to be efficient enough to be of use with his own style.

Fist fights.

His weapon, he called Cassius Clay, he only calls in times when fights are actually going to happen. The one reason he had is because it weights a whopping 38we that maximizes his weight management limit.

He had spent a total of two hours just trying to small it down to that weight. Reducing its size reduces total weight. It also reduces its maximum attack power but in terms of practicality, it serves no purpose if you actually had a powerful weapon but you can’t use it because you are moving slower than normal because of overweight.

For that reason, he lowered it down to this exact size just a few centimeters bigger than his hand. It offers comfort in his knuckles, plus, it is durable enough to last a total of 10 fights before maintenance is needed.

With all things regarding efficiency and proficiency in combat, Siva had settled on his current equipment. After all, it was all his materials could only provide.

Right now, he was fighting a C-ranked monster that he saw lurking in the forest alone.

It was a large bird monster that walks and fly. It has a large beak for picking its enemy but whenever it is in an agitated state, it can let out a scream loud enough to put anyone in disarray.

Siva was struggling to shut it up using vines that he had pulled out from somewhere.

He tied its mouth three times and was now in the process of tying up a lock on the back of its head. There are three others more like that in the vicinity but having him hugging one of their companions made the three large birds called Cleopa to think twice before they start to attack Siva.

When he finished, he jumped off and made distance between him and them.

He prepared himself for his next attack.

Three had been shut up and one more to go. Siva could have punched them all but one of the things that made it difficult was that these monsters are all bright bastards despite the understanding of them being birds.

“You guys are pain in the ass…”

SQUAWK!

The last one screeched loudly as it tried to scratch the three’s mouth bindings. Siva rushed and prepared the vine rope while he clenched his fist to do one of his counter attack.

When the last open mouthed monster saw him, it did a turn and covered its face with its sturdy wings.

But Siva had learned the mistake of attacking it. Just a few hours earlier, he tried to punch his way through that thick feathered limb but ended up wounded instead because it has this ability to stiffen up into blades when hit on impact.

Luckily, he bought a basic healing gem and so fatal injuries were averted in exchange of Z1000 worth item.

But that doesn’t mean that his fight was over. He had been successful on immobilizing their wings by hitting it underneath so they couldn’t fly even if they wanted to. Also, these monsters can’t run that fast and he can catch them when they try. But he himself is in a tight spot. This is a four versus one fight. Normally, hunting teams would fight C-ranked monsters in groups and ensure that everyone is going to be safe after the fight, but he is defying that logic by fighting them all alone.

It never was easy.

E-ranked monsters, though they are relatively weak, once they got you surrounded, you are a goner. A few beginners had already been through the mistake of taking it lightly and found themselves regretting that.

D-rank monsters are the same. They had abilities that can put a player in a bind of not careful and Siva dealt them with utmost care.

C-ranked monsters are different. Though they are creatures who gather and wander the forest in smaller groups, they are still capable of annihilating a whole group of hunters if they wanted to. Siva knew, if he stay like this, he would belong to the numbers that miserably failed to defend their life.

I can’t afford to commit that mistake!

Steeling his resolve, Siva rushed in and dived. The three monsters that had their mouths shut off all stood in his way and covered their faces with their wings.

“You can‘t fool me twice!”

He shouted and punched the air. An impact of wind, one meter away from the nearest monster, broke its defensive stance and the wings flipped up, broken, with its painful roar.

Siva jumped and kicked its chin, doing a somersault and a punch that drove the creature down to its knee. A weakness on these monsters are their chests. Though it looked like they are bulgy, once you got through their superior defense, everything about them is open and vulnerable to a devastating attack.

He did that again and finished the second one. It fell on the ground, shaking, with its tongue protruding out its mouth and eyes looking up.

Finally when the monsters are just the two last one, the last open mouthed monster let out a roar that was different from the usual. At this, Siva felt a tingle on his nape that spread throughout his body. It was some sort of chill that tells you that there are more troubles coming your way.

The one with a bandaged mouth tried to escape but Siva threw a rock towards its head that made it turn in anger and a blazing stare.

“That‘s right. No turning back prideful bastard!”

He murmured and wore a sinister smile. In his eyes, what these two looked like were fried chickens, moving and trying to get away from his plate. Now that he think about it, he haven’t eaten anything like that for the past week since he started Terroa. This made his eyes burn more with his eagerness to put these two on the list of his next murdered victims.

“Hahahahaha…”

With the swelling feeling in his chest, a laugh escape his mouth as he straightened his pose, slowly, casually walking towards the two birds who also felt the effect of the activation of his unique skill.

 

[TKhan]

Update 14

Making Legends 101

Watching from far away, Loni and the others can’t believe their eyes. They were just leisurely hunting weaker monsters than their current ranks but they didn’t expect to come across the same person that killed all of those monsters from the Forest of Kali.

But then, the monster he was fighting against made a roaring sound different from before. It made Thorn who was usually composed anxious that he ordered for them to retreat from the place.

They all agreed, except Loni.

“What are you doing?!” Asked Fuma frantically. “A whole pack of bird monsters are going to come! We have to get out of here!”

“But…I want to watch him.”

“Is this for your book again?” Asked Henna with an understanding set of eyes. “If you stay here, you will die.”

“Loni,” Called Thorn with a worried expression. “I can‘t leave you here. Let‘s go. Please, come with us.”

Loni stood up from her position and leaned back to see the man who bumped into Henna earlier walking casually towards the birds.

He suddenly laughed and the four of them were put into silence by the act. And right that instant, Loni was the first to voice out what had just happened.

“I can‘t move.”

“Me too.”

“It was only for a moment but…”

“Him.” Thorn broke his party’s puzzlement with a finger pointed at Siva. “I think he just did that.”

“Impossible!” Shouted Fuma. “It‘s a monster skill. A player having a monster skill?! It’s insane!”

“I think its possible.” Henna’s voice echoed in the midst of their panic. “My Hawkeye is a rare skill. I put 50% of my free stat points to DEX and it changed into a stat called Constitution. After that, I got access to rare skill list.”

“But him, being able to freeze us, it‘s just…”

“I think what Henna said is right.” Thorn spoke with a hand on his bearded chin. “I got an idea. Loni, if you want to watch him, we can all do. But…”

“Thorn, no!” Fuma interrupted. “You don‘t mean to invite him over do you?”

Horn looked at him with a serious glare. That act made the usually noisy Mage silent and he knew that arguing with Thorn would only lead up to a quarrel.

Besides, you can’t argue with a superior officer of a guild, even though it was still in the process of creation.

“I agree with Fuma.” Loni replied. “We can‘t risk him going with us. We have our plans. And from what I think is right, that man is part of the Masked Group.”

After she said that, they heard a roar that snatched up their attention. When they finally saw what happened on the other side of their location, the look of worry had bade a line on Loni’s face.

“And you were saying?” Henna teased Loni but she just look at their leader with a stern expression.

“Thorn. I still don’t like the idea of him joining us in our goal. But…can we help him get out here, at least?”

“Heh. Loni. You‘re always the same.” Thorn is now wearing the same smile as Henna. “You may show your fangs but deep inside you‘re still a lamb.”

“I just don‘t want to see someone die. I‘ve seen it many times. I don‘t want to see it again.”

***

Siva never expected that his instincts were right. A whole flock of large bird monsters came with their big ol’ momma. The mother monster. And its size wasn’t the size he knew he could defeat. In just a first glance, it was something that easily reached 10 meters high. +

“S-ranked monster, perhaps…?”

The smile he had after he killed the last two mobs had sunk to the bowl. Now, he was facing their revenge and it looked dire. He was surrounded.

Then, from out of nowhere, four people appeared and joined him. They were protecting him from behind while the other one who looked familiar took out some herbal medicines and applied it swiftly on his wounds.

“You?!”

“Yes me.” Henna smiled. “We‘ll explain later. Right now, we fight together.”

Then from behind Siva, a Mage with large spectacles were glaring at the big momma bird monster, wearing his robe and even brought out a wand.

“Hahaha…we meet again!”

“My name is Thorn.” Said the Mage holding a Rune Blade. “We came here to help you escape and also to settle a score with that big monster.”

“I don‘t need you.” Siva replied coldly. “I can escape on my own. I could have. Until you showed up. Now I feel responsible if I leave you all here and escape.”

Thorn looked at Loni with a chuckle. “Well, for one, I never thought you had an attitude.”

“Here they come.”

As the Archer who tended on his wounds spoke up, Siva steeled his bearing. He smelled the weird scents oozing off from the bandage and he felt better now than when he was enduring the pain of his injuries.

The big monster screamed and Siva plugged off his ears to minimize the damage but then the Mage with a wand waved his hand and the wand’s end created a big barrier. That barrier protected them from the attack and it actually became a visible bluish liquid that deflected off the magical shield.

“I see. You’re a Support Mage.”

“I am, thank you.” The Mage replied and he waved his wand again. At that, a strange set of words came out his mouth followed by a strange aura that went off like smoke out of their bodies.

“Alright.” Thorn spoke up. “Fuma, you focus on our recovery. Henna, you take out their eyes. And Loni, you use magical arrows and cause some damage on their defenses. And Mister Slayer…”

“Slayer?” Siva curled his brows. “If you want to call me a name, then call me The Destroyer. Aside from that, I will not accept any other title.”

“Very well. Have it your way. Kill as many as you like but give us the big mother.”

“Guys, they‘re here!” Fuma shouted.

“Deal.” Siva replied and he pulled out a small silver box from his inventory and put it on his knuckles “Fix.”

The small silver box melted into tiny particles and it merged with his leg and arm weapon. The durability went back to 100% and for the next 10 fights more, he could fight without worrying anything else.

And at that, the monsters and them started the brawl.

Henna released his arrows and it hit the monster’s eyes with precision. The big monster roared painfully and she stomped the ground trying to shake off the small implanted arrow.

Loni’s arrows dealt magical damage. When it hit the monster’s scaled body, it exploded and made a red line of wound.

Those two focused their attacks on the big monster while Thorn focused on defending Fuma.

And upon seeing that they already had their own set of fighting style, Siva fixed his Cassius Clay and began his assault. His focus were the small fries. But even the small C-ranked monsters are no easy picks so he had to be careful and aware of his surroundings while actually dealing the greatest damage he could inflict.

Air Shot is a technological technique that he can use once every 20 seconds on each limb. Its science revolve around air compressors releasing its compressed air within a sensed speculated distance.

Once the user had designated its target on his mind, its relative distance is remembered by the weapon and it will release the air only when the laser designator are certain on the distance of the fist to the point of impact.

And at that, he released a punch that shattered the defense of a shielded bird monster.

The wing flew up and Siva stepped in to finish the monster. But there are more than one and all of them are balled in their iron defenses. And so what he did is to threw in rocks at their heads and all of them released their defenses, giving opening time to attack.

He did that for the next five monsters, it was very effective to the point that it was funny.

“These birds hate rocks?” Siva murmured and smiles as he threw more rocks towards their direction.

For every rock he threw, one monster fell down from his attack, and until he knocked half of their numbers, that’s where he noticed that the other side is having a hard time.

When he faced up front, the bird monsters were in their assault towards his direction. He met them all with a smile. He tested his theory, throwing rocks at them as he dodged their beaks and their claws.

The Cleopas all roared angrily and their movements became rigid and straight forward, easy to read, with a lot of openings for counter attacks.

And so he continued on and on, he even reverted to his old ways of a painful punishment of punching their eyes, hugging them and pulling their tongues, stabbing their throats with sticks and stones, and even a new art at which he smashed their brains off their heads.

When he was finished, a smile would always be seen on his blood filled face.

The sight was enough to scare off the smaller birds and he enjoyed it when easy pickings are there, being frozen and all.

Siva began to laugh and it overpowered the monsters and even the players there with him. His laughter was a sign of something else, an omen that put everything in his immediate surroundings frozen in a momentary laps of time.

“It‘s here again.” Loni murmured and she looked at his direction to see his earlier silver polo became red from all the blood of the monsters he killed.

“What a sight.” Fuma commented behind her. “It‘s like I‘m looking at a slaughter house, only without the systematic procedures.”

And although he had been alone, with his pace and his style, the C-ranked monsters and their numbers are diminishing one by one. In a steady pace, the man who called himself The Destroyer exchanged from using his fist to using his feet every ten monsters he killed.

And it all happened in just a few minutes.

No one but Thorn had watched it happen as he was also facing his direction while protecting Fuma with his sword and the magic he wielded with it.

“I can‘t believe there are people like him.”

Suddenly, Thorn noticed that no monsters have been coming after their healer for the past few minutes. It’s because when he looked around them, dead monsters were piled one after another like small mounds of land.

And he did it alone?!

He couldn’t believe his eyes. He looked around more and the proof was evident. Earlier, he spent much effort just to defend from three attackers simultaneously but now, he could only watch from how he killed the last one with just his bare hands.

How he killed it was even something to remember in a far away place. Even for Thorn who already can hunt down A-ranked monsters with his team mates, dealing with C-ranked monsters, alone, and in these numbers, is something that was actually never heard of. He could only look at him with astonishment.

At the moment he killed the last C-ranked monster, Siva stood up while holding its head. He stared at its dead eyes and then turned towards his surroundings.

His temple was aching, his vision was blurry, his body screaming for rest, his throat dry, and his injuries were telling him to stop the chase for more violence. He had no qualms for his body in this state, he was used to this kind of pain. How many times had he ever put his life in the line for his family? Putting those in line with this kind of pain now, it wouldn’t even be in par.

The reason he never played Terroa was this scene in itself. Why would he put himself in more hurt than the one he was already going through to fight all of those bastards who died because of their weakness?

But now, if he had said those words to himself now, he would have to answer straight to his face.

I’m doing this for Baron…for family.

And so he felt anger swell in his chest once more and he crushed the monster’s head with an Air Shot attack in point black range.

The blood splattered all over him and his clothes.

In the surrounding area, he looked around and saw the piles of dead monsters scattered everywhere.

He then saw Thorn looking at him wide eyed. After that, he pointed his sight on the big monster. He then recalled the deal. So, he started to pile up his trophies on a certain place somewhere far away from them.

Swaying his body on every step, he looked like a real zombie pulling his food and piling them for use later.

“Help us!” Screamed Thorn and he started to focus his attention on the fight on the big mother’s side.

Siva only glanced at them, and then turned back to piling up his dead bodies. He then saw a few monsters approaching the area, attracted to something invisible in which he actually felt glad it happened.

Not wasting anymore time, he initiated the attack and slaughtered them the same way as he killed all the bird monsters.

And when he had finally killed all of them, the big mother monster was also defeated.

Seeing him piling up all the bodies, Thorn went to him with blood all over his light armor clothing.

“I asked you for help!” He yelled angrily.

Siva only looked at him with blank eyes and a face with no expression then turned towards the activity he’d been doing earlier. At that, Thorn was about to yell at him again but was pulled by Loni who shook her head.

“It‘s no use.” She told him. “He‘s unconscious.”

At her words, Thorn could only look at Siva with a pair of nursing eyes. “How could that be possible?”

His question made the rest of the team look at Loni and waited for answers. While watching the man who‘s like a zombie, doing the same thing over and over, Loni told them that it was an effect of extreme concentration.

“It’s a state of human consciousness that acts like a computer, programming the body to do one thing and one thing alone. After programming the body, the mind concentrates on bodily functions, rejecting any kind of third party input that tries to put a stimulus to change the body’s assigned course.”

“What happens to him now?” Henna asked uneasily.

Loni stared at Siva who was now hauling new kinds of dead monsters into his pile of stash.

“He‘ll only stop when the program finished its task or if his projected body reaches the limit of his fatigue.”

And after saying that, the things actually happened.

Siva stopped and dropped like dead, face first on the ground.

Loni and Henna ran towards him first and wiped his face off of the blood and dirt. Then they applied first aid on his wounds and Fuma even helped by applying magic on whatever wound looked grave. Unfortunately for him, Siva’s level of injuries had reached the limit that his manna couldn’t keep up. And that itself was also a kind of surprise to him. So instead of his wounds that was impossibly too many too severe, he focused to ease him off of his fatigue.

“Just who is he…?”

As Loni asked the question, she stared at his face that seemed to attract not only him but also Henna. For an unknown reason, his face seemed to be brighter, a bit more…pleasing to their girly eyes. Sure the Apollo are people with extraordinary charm but him, he has this something that could attract them.

Then, Thorn stood up and looked at the piles of dead monsters that he had gathered and to the ones he has yet to gather in his pile.

“He killed all of this. Alone….”

“Weren‘t you helping him?” Asked Fuma who bid to begin his meditation to gather manna.

“Yes but…” Thorn pointed at the direction where he came from. “That’s my share of kills.”

From that direction, there were more than 10 dead birds with red and orange feathered scales in there but here, the numbers from the piles alone could easily reach triple that number, or even more, adding up the blue skinned monsters that the man was in the middle of his delivery.

What’s his goal?

Loni wondered why he would be willing to risk his life this way? Sure this is just a game, but the pain and the hurt in this world is still bothersome to the point that it could become nightmarish. Some noobs at the very beginning even stopped playing the game when they experienced how real the pain is.

But this man in front of her, even if we say that he was rushing to gather money in the shortest time that could be possible, still, doesn’t every human at least have a limit to how much pain they can endure?

“This is too much.” Henna stole the words she was about to say. “He‘s pushing himself too much…”

“What do you think his goal is?” Asked Fuma.

“Money?” Thorn shrugged and Henna added.

“Fame perhaps?”

“No.” Loni butted in as she continued to wipe the dirt and blood on Siva’s face. “It‘s too shallow to be in this kind of state. To be able to reach the point where he could lose consciousness during the battle, there