End online volume 4, p.1
End Online: Volume 4, page 1
part #4 of End Online Series
End Online
Volume 4
Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to characters, names, locations or incidents are purely coincidental.
Copyright © D. Wolfin 2014
First Edition
Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 978-0-9942421-4-3
By making the purchase of this book you have been granted non-exclusive, non-transferable, right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced in any way without the explicit permission of the author.
Table Of Contents
Chapter 20 – Reunited
Chapter 21 – Dalbe, Kingdom of Summer
Chapter 22 – No Caller ID
Chapter 22.5 – Three Hours of Joy
Chapter 23 – Swordbreak
Chapter 24 – Gladiator of the Colosseum!
Chapter 25 – Ambush
Chapter 26 – Royal Summer Tournament
Chapter 27 – Fragment of Something Greater
A Few Words from the Author
I would like to thank you all for purchasing my book. I think this is a great opportunity to speak with you all so there are a few things I would like to say.
It is a great pleasure to be able to write End Online. It is an even greater pleasure to have you all read it and provide your feedback. To the reader who recommended a couple of pages outlining the main points of good literature and captivating the readers – thank you, having that reference will definitely help improve my writing in the future! I read all your comments so keep voices your opinions, they are all heard!
Some people seem concerned about the accumulative cost of the book. I find myself to be a reasonable person, so I have some information on the future of this book for you. I am planning on publishing a total of approximately twelve volumes of End online. The final cost of that, I will leave you all to work out as it is different per currency. The accumulative length of the novels will also be around ¾ of the Harry Potter series.
I also have a few new editors joining the team, who have taken a lot of their own time to polish the story. I would like to personally thank them for all of their efforts. The editing of the past chapters is happening. It is a very slow process, but progress is still happening.
Thank you for taking the time to read these few words of mine. Feel free to turn the page and start reading Volume 4 of End Online!
Chapter 20 – Reunited
-Lost-
The wedding ceremony and reception carries on throughout the night, only ending at first light. Without logging off or sleeping in the game, I start to feel fatigue weighing me down. I decide to ignore it and just get some rest later.
Under the rising sun, all the elves emerge from the bramble houses and begin their daily routine. Countless elves are gently chanting to some of the damaged houses with voices that seem to interact with nature itself. As they place their hands on the natural structures, the walls come alive and regenerate any damage sustained due to lack of supervision. The entire city begins to repair itself before my eyes. With all the elves’ melodic voices in the background fueling the change, even I can’t help but feel my heartbeat climb.
The walls on a few of the houses split and dilate open, turning into shops for all sorts of equipment and items. There are no lamps, torches, or any other forms of lighting along the streets at all. As I witnessed last night, the city is graced by condensed moonlight, showering everything in a silvery night that sparkled off any dust in the air.
Bringing my attention away from all the reconstructions and developments in the city, I head off towards the Eltreant castle. Everyone in my party follows behind me silently, staring wide-eyed at all the elves and the peaceful atmosphere surrounding us.
We walk straight along the main road to arrive at the castle as soon as possible. With the large stone keep in front of us, we enter without hesitation.
There aren’t a lot of elves in the castle. Whether it is a result of memories from being enslaved here or something else, the corridors are nearly deserted. The only counterpoint to the mood inside is the echo of birds chirping from outside. The interior is also well lit now. Since reclaiming the city, the elves had hung fist-sized, yellow-white stones from the walls, creating a soft light similar to the sun.
We arrive at one of the innermost rooms and knock on the gold leaf inlaid door. It slowly opens and reveals a large antechamber. This isn’t the throne room where three elven elders reside to govern the city, but the residence of the newlyweds, Hon’ar and Shai’en.
“Hon’ar,” I say politely to the elf as he fully opens the door. “We have come to say our goodbyes. We will be leaving this morning.”
Hon’ar looks a little surprised at us leaving so early, but a hint of understanding shows on his face.
“Yes, I am sure you have plenty to do elsewhere. I… no, the entire elven race is grateful for what you have done for us. We have finally reclaimed our homes!”
He bows at a 45 degree angle from the hips, showing his utmost gratitude to me.
“Oh, I had almost forgotten!” He calls out before we have a chance to turn around and leave. “I had these passed down from the elders. We are not ready to lower our barrier and allow others to enter the village just yet, but we would still like to gift this to each of you.”
He holds up four string necklaces, each with a single reversed aquamarine tear drop on them.
Necklace of the Elves
A necklace given to elves upon their coming of age ceremony. It allows the wielder and any fellow party members to be unaffected by elven illusion magic and also grants a resistance against negative mental effects and illusions.
Requirements:
Level 10
Armour Type: Accessory(Necklace)
Durability: 25/25
Weight: 0.4 lbs
Abilities:
- Immune to elven misdirection magic.
- 4% resistance to negative mental conditions.
- 4% resistance to illusion magic.
- Cannot be stolen and will not drop upon death.
A necklace appears in not just my inventory, but everyone else’s too.
‘Hmm, it’s only rare,’ I think to myself as I look at the orange border around the item.
“Wait, did you say you are not going to let others in yet? Does that mean you plan to?” I ask in surprise.
“Yes. There was a big meeting between the elders and the leaders of each community. We came to the conclusion that this whole incident stemmed from the enmity between elves and humans. We feel that this is the best way to bring our races closer together. We will even allow some to become elves and join the city.”
At these words, Mason’s eyebrows shoot up in shock.
“Does that mean I can become an elf? Are there any benefits in changing race?” He raises his voice as he is overcome with enthusiasm.
“Of course,” Hon’ar responds with a smile. “Elves level at a higher rate, almost twice as fast as you humans. We also have certain skills that only Elves can learn, such as ‘Elvish Archery’, which adds a high bonus damage and accuracy to our arrows. Do you have a compact soul gem on you for the process?”
“Ah. Sorry, I don’t. Can we do it without one?”
“Unfortunately not. It isn’t that I don’t want to help you, but can’t. A compact soul gem holds a piece of your essence within itself and is then placed within our city keep. Not only will you then revive here in Eltreant, but the magic of our race will envelop your soul fragment and cause you to be reborn as an Elf. Any old compact soul gems are also turned to dust upon the formation of a new one. As you can understand, this whole process is simply impossible without a compact soul gem.”
The glee on Mason’s face fades as he comes to understand that right now, becoming an elf is impossible. He truly would be great as an elf, considering his speciality with a bow.
“Thank you Hon’ar,” I return the earlier bow he gave me with one of my own.
At that, our party leaves the elf behind as we make our way outside of the castle.
Before leaving Eltreant, we do a little exploring of the city. Much to my surprise, there are, in fact, elven blacksmiths which can repair all of our equipment. Unfortunately though, the stores haven’t been restocked and we can not purchase any health potions, herbs, or arrows.
Outside of the city, I lead the party south, back towards Grenton. The once mist-obscured forest has since lost its deathly aura, and natural sunlight has begun to break through the canopy of the forest. The small patches of illuminated ground show signs of fresh foliage, sprouts of what will eventually become small bushes and a myriad of spring flowers.
“I can understand why the elves are said to create some of the most visually appealing structures and architecture. It isn’t so much their great artisan skills, but the ability to affect mother nature. In terms of beauty, nothing compares to that.” I think out loud.
Half a week passes as we quickly cover the distance to Grenton, arriving just outside of the eastern side of Eldenweiss Forest.
“I wonder if that illusion magic still takes hold now that the elves have left?” Mason asks while raising one eyebrow in the direction of the forest.
“How could we tell? It wouldn’t affect us anyway, now that we have these necklaces,” I chuckle while responding.
“Not if we don’t equip them.”
I am shocked into silence over
‘If only my intimidating aura could be turned off like that.’ A resounding sigh echoes in my mind as I think about the inconvenient skill.
While Mason and I are considering the options of testing whether the forest is still under the influence of the elven magic, Matrix nudges the two of us.
As we turn our attention to him, he nods toward a small group of players fifty meters to our right. We see them conversing with each other while constantly looking over at us. Unfortunately, we are too far away to be able to hear what they are saying.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Mason whispers to me.
“Agreed,” I say back.
“Why… are they… looking at us?” Fen chimes in from behind.
“I don’t know,but how about we go over and find out?” I don’t wait for a response as I start walking towards the group of players, the rest of the party in tow.
We barely even pass a quarter of the distance before they turn around and start running off.
“Fen,” I gently call out.
The wolf girl already understands my intent, suddenly moving at breakneck speed next to me as we rush towards the fleeing players at our top speeds. I move slightly faster than Fen, who can only keep up with my afterimage.
The fleeing party’s eyes widen in surprise as Fen flashes in front of them while I seemingly appear out of mid air.
“Excuse me, can I please ask you a few questions?” I put on a smile while asking, before realizing they can’t see it under the shroud of my hood.
Only showing a moment of hesitation. The players immediately take the initiative to attack Fen and I. A player from the back instantly casts a flame spell that causes three fireballs to arc towards each of us from a different direction while the party leader leaps through the air at us with his axe held high.
The leader’s axe emits a pale yellow light as it glides through the air to land on the ground between Fen and I. What seemed like a light swing suddenly crashes down with the force of a mountain, not only knocking the two of us back several meters, but also doing considerable damage from the rock shards flying through the air as shrapnel.
‘So strong!’ I think to myself after seeing his attack.
They have incredibly poor teamwork. The attack from the leader causes the mage’s attack to miss without us even having to move an inch.
“If you won’t talk and simply attack us for no reason, then don’t blame me for what happens next!” I say loud enough for their whole party to hear.
Almost like a silent signal is sent up, my whole party jumps into action.
I create false mirages of myself as I instantly close the distance to the leader and start swinging my shortsword at the player’s vitals to score critical hits. Fen seems to be in an excitable mood, staying by my side and using two daggers of ice to hack and slash with no rhythm or technique.
From behind, Mason start firing off arrows with his new ‘legendary’ rarity bow. I am already aware of the increased range of the bows, but the speed of the arrows themselves also appear to be considerably faster than normal.
Matrix casts a few minor spells, but nothing compared to what I know he is capable of.
The party who provoked us never had a chance, barely lasting moments before there is but a single player left alive. The last player is a middle-aged man of scrawny build in leather armor with a dagger tucked into his belt. He is slowly backing away while constantly sending glances behind him, almost as if he expects one of us to appear from behind him.
“P-please wait,” the shady looking player cries out with his arms stretched out to halt us.
“I don’t want to die. It will take me too long to recover the lost stats,” he explains while I continue to advance.
I can kill him without suffering any repercussions at the moment. After all, one of the members of his party attacked us first so we can retaliate against every member of that party without falling into the player-killer status. A true group of PK’ers would know this, and wouldn’t form a party together for this very reason.
“So why did you attack us then?” I ask curiously.
“We were afraid you would attack us, so we took the initiative in hopes of winning. We planned to hide until the player-killer status faded away.”
“I don’t see why you think we were going to attack you,” I furrow my brows.
“Aren’t you the ruthless player killer from the forest outside of Grenton? There are plenty of rumours about the player with the white fur cloak and hidden face.”
My head turns slightly dizzy and I take a step back in shock at his words. Since when have I become such a notorious figure?
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I respond once I regained my thoughts. “And I have never heard of any such rumours.”
“Me either.” Mason sighs.
“They started recently. Apparently there were some witnesses saying that a figure in a white fur cloak with player-killer status ran out of the forest here right after it caught fire. Most people even say that you started it.”
Under my hood, my face pales even further. I can imagine the crime in the game that such destruction must entail. My character may be locked up in a cell and not able to play. If that were to happen, I’d be lucky to only have my character locked up for a month minimum!
“Alright, you can go now,” I nervously say.
Without hesitation, the shady character quickly rushes off into the forest behind us.
“Let’s hurry up and see what the situation in Grenton is,” Mason speaks for the party as we start walking in the direction of the city, sticking close to Eldenweiss Forest.
We come within range of the city and there are a few people eyeing our party off to the side. I can also see some form of checkpoint at the city gates; the guards are checking every player who enters and exits the city.
“… You should stay here. Just in case,” Mason murmurs to me.
“… Agreed,” I say while Fen automatically moves closer to me, indicating she will stay as well. Quietly, I head off into the outskirts of Eldenweiss Forest.
***************************************************
***************************************************
-Mason-
I am extremely nervous about entering Grenton. If anyone recognizes me as one of Lost’s group-members, rumors of me being an accomplice to the forest fire could start.
Matrix and I eventually arrive at Grenton’s gates, where a small crowd of players is waiting to be screened by the guards before entering.
I glance over towards where Lost and Fen are hiding in the forest, hoping that they remain hidden for the time being at least.
“Next!” An NPC guard calls out.
Realizing Matrix and I are up next, we hurry over to the man.
“You, have you seen a man wearing a white fur cloak with his face hidden? There have been reports of him being sighted in the nearby hills.” He says while looming over the two of us in an intimidating way.
“S-sorry,” I stammer out. “I haven’t seen anyone who looks like that.”
“Are you sure? Don’t lie to me now!”
“Y-yes, I am sure. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help to you.”
“Fine,” the guard sighs, dropping his overbearing demeanor. “If you do see or hear something, make sure you notify the nearest patrol in the city. This man is our prime suspect for causing the fire in the neighboring forest and also starting a smaller fire in the city which claimed six entire buildings.”
With a wave of his hand, the guard passes us through and we enter Grenton without any more issues.
With the city gates behind us, we head straight for the nearest general store. I don’t pay much attention to which store I lead my brother to beyond making sure it isn’t one I have visited previously.
“Excuse me, I would like these items,” I say to an enormous man that may be half bear. I lay an assortment of health and mana potions on the counter in front of me, and prepare to pay for the items.
