Waking up in the game was surreal for Jean. From her time talking to Soron she’d known it would seem real, but not this real. She was in a barn, sitting in a pile of hay that was scratching her arms. The classic barn smells of manure, leather and sweat assaulted her olfactory system, triggering long forgotten memories.
Getting up, Jean looked down at herself. She was dressed in a simple grey wool shift, the basic dress of the middle ages, that was almost as scratchy as the hay. She’d have to upgrade that sooner than later. She also had a small pouch. She knew this was her bag of holding, as David had explained, another of the benefits of having a deluxe account. Looking around, she saw a flashing light in the corner of her vision. She remembered from her research that she just needed to focus on the light to bring up her display screen. A block of text filled her vision.
Welcome Hero,
You are now a citizen of New Realm. A truly immersive multiplayer world, where the only limits are your imagination and determination. New Realm can be a place to safely live out your dreams in one of our many cities or a dangerous source of adventure as you accept quests and travel to the far corners of the globe. The plane is roughly three times the size of earth, so there is no shortage of places to explore, beasts to slay and dungeons to be conquered.
As a deep immersion pod user, you’ll be pleased to know that the combination of our unique haptic suits and medi-pods have shown to not only give players a long-term option for game play, but also to improve their physical condition. Our patented nutrient supply provides the optimum nutrient levels and caloric intake to maintain and improve your body while allowing you to enjoy all the sensations and fulfillment of eating and sleeping in the game.
For any questions, please check out our New Realm Forums. You will be shown your inventory along with a map of your current location. Just think ‘map’ or ‘inventory’ to view them. Time to become the hero you’ve always dreamed of….
Jean wiped the text away. Other than the information about her map or inventory there was nothing of interest. She already knew all the information about the pods and their supposed benefits. What she needed to do was get herself oriented to the game and start leveling up. David, who was far more experienced in this department, had told her it was simple. If she started in the woods, look for things to kill. If she started in a village then she needed to talk to the NPCs, or Non-player characters. Considering how realistic Soron had been, she expected the NPCs to be lifelike as well.
Walking out of the barn, she examined her surroundings. There were multiple buildings and people walking around. Village it is, she thought as she started walking down the street. She approached a man who looked like he might be a warrior or a village guard on patrol.
“Excuse me, sir.” Jean said to the guard with a smile.
The guard turned and looked at her. “Ah, you must be one of the new adventurers. Did you just arrive in Cotton Ridge?”
“Yes. I did.”
“Well, in that case welcome to our fair and humble village. How may I help you?”
“I was wondering about quests?”
“Of course. You adventurers sure do love questing. Right now, we have a rabbit infestation.”
You have been offered a new quest! Collect rabbit pelts. Bring 10 pelts to any city guard for a reward.
Jean nodded. There were worse things to hunt than rabbits. And if she got to keep the meat, she would gain food to go with whatever experience she received for completing the request. But first, she’d need a weapon. She was about to ask the guard when she remembered that she needed to check her inventory. Soron said he’d provided something she’d find useful. It wasn’t like real life where she’d just carry her gear in a backpack. Using the simple command that David had taught her, she focused her mind on her inventory to find out what she had in her small bag of holding.
A screen popped up and she could see that she had 20 silver coins and a pair of weapons. Jean smiled as she studied the knife and hatchet. They were both high utility weapons, and tools that she was very familiar with. She read the description of both weapons.
Common quality gladius throwing knife. A small, well-balanced multi-purpose knife. +3 dmg
Common quality axe gang hatchet. For chopping down enemies or trees, user’s preference. +4 dmg
Jean smirked at the description of the hatchet. There wasn’t anything special about an axe gang hatchet. It was a basic hand axe with a straight handle, but it had become a traditional movie prop of kung fu movies. Unlike a double-bladed axe or a tomahawk which, in Jean’s opinion, looked more like deadly weapons, the axe gang hatchet looked like something you’d keep next to your woodpile at the family cabin. However, in the right hands, the hatchet was no less dangerous than its more deadly-looking cousins.
Satisfied with Soron’s choices of weapons for her, Jean turned her attention back to the village guard. “Where might I find these rabbits?”
“They’re everywhere around the village,” the guard said. “But there seems to be more of them in the forest to the north. You might want to stick to the fields to begin. It would be less dangerous.”
“Thank you. What is your name young man?”
“Alfred, ma’am.”
Jean smiled at Alfred. “Thank you for your time Alfred. I shall return with rabbit pelts soon enough.”
As Jean started walking towards the edge of the village, Alfred called out. “Make sure you’re back in the village before dark. It isn’t safe out there for a new adventurer.”
Jean nodded her appreciation at the warning and then continued on her way. The land around the village had a feel that reminded her of home. Wide open farmer’s fields, tall, thick forests of evergreens and even taller mountains in the distance.
As soon as she was away from the village, Jean headed north. While she appreciated the warning Alfred had given her, Jean didn’t have time for safe. She needed to get stronger now. That meant taking risks. She understood pain and virtual death were risks but playing it safe wasn’t going to get her closer to little Sarah any faster. Besides, she was just hunting rabbits, what was the danger in that?
But before she started hunting, Jean needed to practice with her new weapons. It had been years since she’d thrown a knife or axe and she needed to have a better understanding of how training worked in the game.
Focusing on the two weapons, Jean was able to pull them out of her inventory. It was strange the way the small pouch opened. She knew the first thing she pulled out of it would be the two weapons. Confirming the magical nature of the bag, the weapons were both too large to have fit into such a small pouch.
The weapons felt heavy. Even though she supposedly had above average strength due to her special racial attributes, Jean found that the weapons had a solid heft to them. Both were heavier than what she’d ever thrown before, but that also meant they’d do more damage.
Taking a few practice swings with the axe, Jean thought about her previous weapons experience. Being the owner of a security firm came with certain perks, including private training in hand-to-hand combat, small weapons and handguns. Being a lawyer who dealt with the underworld meant knowing how to handle herself. While her movements weren’t fluid, she remembered all her training, and her muscles remembered as well.
Switching the axe to her left hand, Jean aimed at the tree and threw the knife. It smacked into the tree and bounced off it. She frowned as she walked forward and picked it up. She walked back to her previous position and threw the knife again. This time the knife flew a little straighter and with more velocity. The blade stuck into the tree, but it was a foot higher and a little to the right of the knothole she’d been aiming for.
Determined to get it right, Jean spent the next hour throwing just the knife. When she was starting to consistently hit the knothole, she started stepping back further to make the throws more difficult. She was throwing from 20 meters back when she got a notification.
Congrats you’ve learned a new skill: Knife throwing. 10% increased damage when throwing knives.
Satisfied with the results, Jean repeated the process, this time throwing the axe. It took her longer to get the skill with the axe as she was more comfortable with knives, but eventually the notification popped up.
Congrats you’ve learned a new skill: Axe throwing. 10% increased damage when throwing axes.
Congrats, you’ve learned a new skill: Blade throwing. 10% increased damage when throwing any bladed weapon.
Interesting, Jean thought. By doing the repeated training with both weapons it gave her a bonus when throwing any bladed weapon. Something that might come in handy in the future.
Satisfied with her new skills, Jean decided it was time to hunt. She started moving further into the woods in search of the rabbits.
When Jean finally found a rabbit, it wasn’t the way she anticipated. She saw a thick shrub shaking and she went to investigate. As she got close to the shrub, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle.
Looking down she saw that a rabbit was biting her, and the little bastard had sharp teeth.
Rabbit bites you. -4 health
Rabbit bites you. -4 health
Jean swore as two more rabbits popped out of the bushes and attacked. Had the fluffy little fuckers just ambushed her?
Realizing she was in trouble if she didn’t start defending herself. Jean used the axe and slashed the one trying to chew her ankle off while she stabbed at the other two with her knife. Information popped in her vision letting her know she’d damaged the rabbit.
Slash. +5 dmg to rabbit.
Ignoring the information, Jean slashed repeatedly with the axe, while waving the knife in front of her to keep the other two rabbits at bay. When the rabbit on her ankle finally died and released its grip on her, Jean deftly switched the axe to her left hand and threw her knife into the chest of one of the other two bunnies as it leapt towards her. The blade stuck deep into the little beast’s chest. She then dove to the right as the last rabbit sailed through the air, tiny claws scratching where her face had recently been.
Before the rabbit could turn to attack again, Jean nailed it with the axe.
Congrats Hero! You have defeated 3 rabbits. 24 exp gained.
Jean took a deep breath. Who would’ve thought that rabbits could be so vicious? Whoever made this game had a warped sense of humor. After getting her breath back, Jean pulled her knife free and proceeded to skin the rabbits. It was actually easier than in real life, so the game must’ve been assisting her. Jean smirked at the thought. Probably not many gamers out there who’ve plucked a chicken or skinned a rabbit in real life. For sure there would be a few hunters, but they would be the kind who were hunting deer or big game, maybe some pheasant and duck hunters in the crowd as well, but rabbits? She suspected she was in the vast minority when it came to that. Although if people knew how tasty the little buggers were when cooked right that would change.
Considering all the reports about how good the food tasted in this world, Jean was looking forward to tasting her catch, but she’d need some spices and a proper pan before she thought about that.
After cleaning the rabbits and putting the carcasses and pelts in her storage, Jean inspected her leg. There was a nasty welt and puncture marks where the bunny had bitten her. But the pain was now minimal. Deciding the wound probably didn’t need any special attention, Jean turned her attention to the one thing that was really bothering her. Her interface.
Being bombarded with information in the middle of a fight wasn’t useful in Jean’s mind. She didn’t need to know how much damage her hits were doing. If a creature was still trying to kill her, she needed to keep hitting it, not keep track of how much damage was being done. When the creature stopped breathing, she was done, simple. It had worked for mankind for eons. She pulled up her display and searched until she found the settings for fight data. She changed it to the lowest level possible and closed it.
“OK, time to find some more rabbits,” Jean said to herself as she continued further into the forest, vowing not to get ambushed a second time.