2
“Well, we can begin by reviewing your character status,” Gordon said, his tail now wagging back and forth in excitement.
“Right. Character status…” Sam said. “How exactly would I access that?”
“Simply think the word status, and it should pop right up,” Gordon replied.
Sam shrugged to himself and repeated the word in his mind. As soon as he though the word ‘status,’ a new blue screen flashed before his eyes, this time, with all the relevant information on his character in this new world.
CHARACTER STATUS
Name: Sam
Race: Human
Level: 1
XP: 0/100
Class: None
HP: 60/60 (Regen 0.6 Per Second)
MP: 130/130 (Regen 1.2 Per Second)
STA: 40/40 (Regen 0.4 Per Second)
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 5
Constitution: 6
Agility: 5
Endurance: 4
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 10
Luck: 8
ABILITIES
Mana Shot: Novice LV - 1 (0%)
Mana Burn: Novice LV - 1 (0%)
EQUIPPED ITEMS
Clothing
Wool Shirt
Wool Pants
Leather Boots
Other Items
Knobby Stick
RULE OF THE DAY
Do not kill any bunnies or bunny-like creatures
Sam stared at the rule of the day in stunned amazement.
What the hell kind of rule was that? Don’t kill any bunnies?! Was this some kind of sick joke?
He decided to skip over that for now, and focused instead on more important things, like understanding his character status.
He mentally clicked on the Race tab, wondering if there were indeed other races here.
HUMAN
Humans are one of the most common races in Somerset and have no bonuses to any of their attributes. Humans receive 5 attribute points to distribute per level.
So, he thought to himself, there were other races in Somerset, but humans were among the more common. He closed the Race tab and tried selecting level . Nothing happened. He tried selecting his XP tab, but again, nothing happened. He was about to pitch another fit, when, at last, the next tab opened.
CLASS OPTIONS
Once you reach level 10, you may assign yourself a class. There are only 5 main classes in Somerset, and once chosen, cannot be undone. Once assigned, you will gain bonuses each time you level, based on your chosen class.
Warrior: +1 Strength & Constitution Per Level
Mage: +1 Intelligence & Wisdom Per Level
Archer: +2 Stamina Per Level
Rogue: +2 Agility Per Level
Priest: +1 Intelligence & Charisma Per Level
Each class is divided up in sub-classes, which will become available to you at level 18.
So, there was a distinct advantage to having a class, Sam mused, in addition to the 5 attribute points he’d receive, he would also get 2 additional points based on the class he chose.
He discounted Warrior, Rogue, and Archer , right off the bat. His physical based attributes were crap, meaning that he would be much better off playing either a Mage or Priest. He couldn’t really decide which sounded better at the moment but decided that he would have plenty of time to make a choice before he reached level 10.
He closed the Class tab and moved on to his Attributes.
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: Determines the power of physical based attacks and carrying capacity.
Constitution: Determines your health, and resistance to damage from physical based attacks.
Agility: Determines speed and dexterity.
Endurance: Determines your stamina, as well as stamina regen.
Intelligence: Determines total mana, and power of magic based attacks.
Wisdom: Determines mana regen, and resistance to magic based attacks.
Charisma: Determines social interaction, as well as how attractive you are to others.
Luck: Determines how lucky you are.
Sam wasn’t sure what the average was, but he was fairly confident that his earlier assessment of his physical based attributes was correct.
In a word, they sucked.
He was surprised at his seemingly high Intelligence and Wisdom . He didn’t feel especially smart or wise, but seeing as the attributes had been explained as magic-based, it probably had nothing to do with actual intelligence.
What did surprise him, however, was his Charisma. This attribute seemed pretty straightforward. It would help when it came to dealing with other people. He’d never been the best with people, so he wasn’t really sure where this attribute came from.
So far, it seemed that his attributes matched pretty closely with his life back on Earth, but the high Charisma just didn’t match up.
The only thing he didn’t understand was Luck. What the hell did it actually do? He let out a long sigh and closed the tab, deciding that it was a question for another day. He did want to confirm his earlier thoughts though, so closing his screen for a second, he turned his attention back to the dog.
“When I checked out the class options, I was given the choice to choose any class right?” he asked.
“Correct,” was the dog’s reply.
“Then tell me, why in the hell are my attributes so skewed? It’s like I’m being forced to do what this damn Overlord wants me to!”
“Our illustrious Overlord does not force anyone to do anything-” Gordon began.
“He’s forcing me to play this fucking game!” Sam cut in, “so how is this any different?!”
Gordon glared at him, then pointedly looked away.
“Our illustrious Overlord simply gave you the best tools for survival, and the skills to go along with it. You can, of course, choose to follow a different path.”
Sam gritted his teeth, but after a moment, decided that the dog was probably right. He really wasn’t much of a warrior, so maybe it was a good thing to start off with his attributes set in a certain way.
Going back to his status, he opened his abilities tab next.
ABILITY/SKILL DESCRIPTION
When you level up or perform a certain action, you may be awarded an ability or skill. They are very important, as they will determine how long you stay alive.
Abilities and skills are divided into 7 stages. Leveling them is a good way to increase their power, or unlock additional effects.
Novice: 1-10
Beginner: 11-20
Intermediate: 21-30
Advanced: 31-40
Master: 41-50
Sage: 51-99
Pinnacle: 100
Sam nodded to himself. He could do without the screen outright telling him that he would die, but at least it had done a good job explaining what abilities and skills were, though he had yet to see the latter tab in his status.
He selected his abilities this time, to see what he was working with.
ABILITIES
Mana Shot: Fire a small beam of condensed mana.
Damage: 3-5
Cost: 15 MP
Range: 10 Ft
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 2 Seconds
Mana Burn: Fire a ball of mana hot enough to burn.
Damage: 6-8 (+10% chance to inflict +1-3 Burn Damage)
Cost: 35 MP
Range: 15 Ft
Cast Time: 1 Second
Cooldown: 5 Seconds
“Now that’s more like it!”
Sam pumped his fist, in the air, earning him an odd look from Gordon. He ignored the dog, moving to his last tab, his equipped items.
ITEMS
You will find all types of items while traveling through Somerset. Items are divided up by quality and rarity. The higher quality an item is, the better it will hold up, and the higher the rarity, the more powerful it is likely to be.
Item Quality: Rated from worst to best.
Poor, Bad, Shoddy, Okay, Basic, Good, Sturdy, Enhanced, Reinforced, Unbreakable
Item Rarity: Rated from worst to best.
Common, Uncommon, Rare, Enchanted, Epic, Legendary, Soul-Forged, Divine
Sam let out a sigh when he saw that. He knew that items were a big part of video games, and had been hoping to at least start out with some decent gear, but from what his status told him, his gear was just as crappy as his physical attributes.
EQUIPPED ITEMS
Name: Wool Shirt
Durability: 8/8
Rarity: Common
Quality: Okay
Name: Wool Pants
Durability: 8/8
Rarity: Common
Quality: Okay
Name: Leather Boots
Durability: 6/6
Rarity: Common
Quality: Shoddy
Name: Knobby Stick
Durability: 4/4
Rarity: Common
Quality: Poor
It was just as he’d thought, Sam lamented to himself as he closed his status and examined his clothes. A set of Okay quality clothes, a pair of Shoddy boots, and some crappy stick that would break the first time he used it.
“Hey, where is that stick by the way?” He asked, casting around for the aforementioned item.
“About that…” Gordon said, looking just a little sheepish.
“Oh no, what did you do with my stick?” Sam asked, feeling his heart sink at the thought of losing his only weapon, stick or not.
Gordon bent his head, and a moment later, a half-chewed stick landed on the ground next to him.
“What the hell, dog?” Sam exploded, lifting the stick with a look of horror. “How am I supposed to defend myself now?”
“I have a name,” Gordon huffed, “and do calm down. You do not appear to be a very physical person. I do not miss my guess, that you sir, are more suited to being a caster than a melee fighter.”
“Oh yeah,” Sam said, sheepishly rubbing at the back of his head. “So…” he drummed his hands against his knees, “what do we do now?”
Gordon waved a paw at him, and a screen flashed before his eyes with a light ping.
QUEST AVAILABLE
Gordon’s new stick: Gordon has destroyed his favorite stick. Find him a new one.
Difficulty: Very Easy
Objective: Find a new stick
Reward: 50 XP
QUEST DIFFICULTY
Quest difficulty is automatically generated with each quest, based on the quest recipient’s level.
The difficulty levels, rated from easiest to most difficult, are:
Very Easy, Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, Extreme, Nightmare
Just from reading the difficulty level, you alone can decide if the risk will justify the rewards. Just be aware that the more difficult the quest is, the greater the danger, and the greater the reward will be.
“Huh, guess that answers that question,” Sam said, rising slowly to his feet.
He debated taking the chewed up stick with him, but eventually, decided against it. It would do him no good in a fight, and he was just itching to try out his new abilities.
“So Gordon, where can I find the best sticks?”