-----

Chapter 10: Wanted

It was a few hours before dawn in Azalon.

With 1 hour being 3 inside the game, 8 hours in Real Life equaled 1 whole day in Azalon.

That together with the reality that inside your Capsule the body is motionless and your eyes closed, made it possible to easily pull all-nighters without too many problems.

Ouroboros, the company who created Azalon warned everyone that extensive negligence of sleep could pose a serious issue for mental health but many ignored those words.

All NPCs went to sleep at their respective homes at night, only players could really be seen out on the streets during the hours of the dark.

The reason behind it was simple, for them it might be night but you could still trade, hunt or explore at night.

Some players might relax in a bar for a few hours or an inn and then log out but those were rare, most simply didn’t care if it was night or day.

It was during such a night that every player in Azalon that was logged in got the same system message.

Makoto is officially the first player to find and obtain a unique class.

Congratulations, and to many more who follow his example!

Immediately heated discussions were held between players.

No one had ever heard of this 'Makoto' but getting a unique class was something to be recognized for.

"Hey Drake, isn't that..."

"Yes I know who it is, shut up!"

Drake shouted.

This was turning out to be an awful day.

First we get completely annihilated by Makoto, then Melody decides to just up and leave the party and now the exact same shithead that cost me a level gets a unique class?

"Bullshit!"

Completely furious he rammed his fist into the face of a smiling statue.

"You wait Makoto, or whatever your real name is, I will hunt you down and set you back to level 1, I swear!"

Dawnwind could only watch his friend unleash a flurry of punches against the innocent statue.

Shaking his head he turned to look at the moon hanging high above them.

How he wished to just be up there, free from all this nonsense and able to enjoy the game how he wanted to.

But alas, he was still Drake's best friend.

.....

Makoto felt a sudden shiver down his spine, as if someone had talked about or looked at him.

Checking all around him he made sure that he wasn’t followed and continued to sort through his inventory.

A lot of loot had accumulated since he left from Talis to visit the Crystal Cave again.

While putting the scales and bones he got from the Lizards aside, he discovered a red shell he had nearly forgotten about.

Unsure if the information changed or not, Makoto examined this strange thing he had randomly found on the beach some time ago again.

Odd Shell:The faint word 'Damarius' is etched into the outside of this object...Requirements:Level 10

Finding Damarius: (Quest)Investigate the name 'Damarius' in the city of Talis.

What secrets could this red Shell possibly connect to?Rewards:UnknownPenalty:NoneRequirements:Level 10

The Quest popped up without any warning just as he finished reading the description of the Odd Shell.

"So I guess this was a Quest Item all along?"

With a raised eyebrow he looked at the Shell again only to put it back in his Inventory.

"Well that is one more reason to quickly return."

With hastened steps Makoto practically ran back to the city.

It took him a while simply because of the sheer distance and the vegetation that lay in his way.

He really would give a lot for a mount instead of having to travel by foot all the time but that was something for the future.

He had definitely seen mounts in Talis, the only question was when a player was allowed to own one, maybe later he would find his answers online.

After passing the last few trees that led out of the forest he immediately found himself in a familiar field with wolfs that bolted after feeling his presence.

"Its good to be back again!"

Makoto said with a grin and headed into Talis.

.....

It was midday currently and players were on the main street, trading, chatting and generally just enjoying a good time.

Many players who had been logged in during the night told their friends about the system message they all got.

It sure was the hottest topic at the moment and everyone wondered where this mysterious player was and how he got a unique class.

A sudden shout went through the crowd.

"Look that's him! The guy who got the unique class, Makoto!"

Surprised about this sudden outburst many heads turned.

A player with an average build, black eyes and hair, donned nearly completely in Equipment, leaving only his head empty was walking in the middle of the street.

Currently just getting 1 or 2 pieces of Armor was considered lucky, as drops for it were sparse and cost half a fortune in every shop.

Above the players head, clearly visible for everybody to see was a system window.

Name:MakotoClass:Crimson WarriorTitles:Slayer of All, Dark Crusader, First of a Kind

Just seeing the information on that system message stunned every player.

"No way..."

"Are you serious, 3 titles? I don’t even know anyone having just 1!"

"Slayer of All, Dark Crusader, what the hell is with those names, its like he is a boss Monster!"

"Crimson Warrior Class! Look at that, if that’s not unique what else is?"

Many players whispered something along those lines and formed two rows on each side of Makoto.

Everyone wanted to have a glimpse at this truly strange and outrageous window above his head.

Makoto was naturally unaware that a system message had been sent to every player currently ingame when he got his class, neither did he know that his Ring was displaying his name, titles and his class.

Simply put, it was two unfortunate events happening at the same time, confusing him a great deal.

How do they know my Class an Titles? What the hell is going on here!?

The number of players around him increased more and more, after only having entered the city for a few minutes a horde of players was walking alongside him, bombarding him with questions and all of them wanting them answered at the same time.

Having been a loner all his life, never bringing attention to himself, the current situation truly terrified him.

Without waiting another minute Makoto started running, not expecting that, many players were left standing in the dust until they also ran after him.

"Come on everybody, if we corner him he might answer us a few questions! Get him!"

"What the hell is up with his speed, I'm a Rogue and even with my high Agility I nearly can't keep up!"

"Don’t lose sight of him!"

For some reason, the moment Makoto started running every player following him formed a mental bond with the others and their only purpose was to corner him and get some answers.

This one realization frightened Makoto to the point were he further increased his speed.

Leaving even the fastest runners with extremely high Agility behind.

.....

Panting heavily Makoto stopped.

His legs were about to give out beneath him and with his last bit of strength he decided to lean against a shop window.

"Just what the hell was that..."

Still breathing quite fast he put his head against the window and waited for his pulse and heart to calm down, again mesmerized by how much this game could simulate.

Countless questions swirled around in his mind but he didn’t know the answer to any of them.

Sighing deeply he was about to walk into a deeper part of the city when he noticed something odd in his reflection.

"What the..."

There was a box above his head and it moved together with it.

When he looked up he saw nothing but in the shop window he could clearly see a box similar to his status screen, just a lot smaller.

After a few minutes he was able to decipher most of it and knew what it was.

"So that's it...but how? Why do I suddenly have this box above my head. It wasn't like that before so..."

Sudden realization washed over him like a bucket of cold water and he looked at the Ring on his index-finger.

"Your true nature will be revealed, so that’s what it was.

God damnit that explains it.

If they saw that then naturally they would start asking questions.

90% of the players probably don’t even have one Title and just a basic class... now it makes sense."

The box thankfully disappeared the moment he took off his Ring.

"Alright, guess I will only wear this thing when I'm alone or fighting."

Letting out another sigh, Makoto decided to wear one of the Cultists cloaks that was lying around in his inventory.

It didn't have any stats whatsoever and was just a plain black cloak but it hid his face and Armor well enough so he didn't have to be worried about getting discovered again an time soon.

I mean in the end they would be looking for a guy with a system window floating above his head right?

.....

First order of business was to sell his loot to Dio.

The Merchant was not happy at all seeing him again but after a quick chat, Makoto was able to sell everything for 2 Silver and 50 Copper, his current overall balance was nearly 10 Silver, a big difference from when he started playing 2 days ago.

"There is also something else Dio, have you heard of the name Damarius?"

"Yeah sure I have, we used to be good friends until he got hired on a big and fancy Merchant ship, why you asking about that old coot anyways? Don’t tell me you lent him Money because if you did you squandered it, that guy is always broke I tell ya."

"No, no it was nothing like that, I just think I found something that used to belong to him, do you know where I could maybe find him?"

"Well I myself don’t know what he has been up to in the recent years but Betty over there running the food-stall keeps in touch with the man, she might be able to help ya.

And now bugger off, every time I see you I fear for my lifesavings so piss off and leech off of someone else!"

Thanking the grumpy Dio, Makoto crossed the street to get to the food stand that the merchant had pointed to.

"Excuse me, Betty is it? I am looking for a man named Damarius, I was told you know him quite well, do you know where I can find him?"

Betty was one of those people that have this 'homely' look and mannerism around them.

It made talking to her a lot easier and comfortable as she always seemed to have a smile on her face.

"Oh my, what did he do this time? Did he ask you for money maybe?"

"Haha, that is the second time that someone asked me that same question, no nothing of the sort, its just that I think I found something that belongs to him, or at least used to. Do you know where he might be?"

Makoto quite liked Betty if he was honest with himself.

She seemed like a generally good person, which was rare these days and a quick look with a system window confirmed that she was indeed an NPC, making it a lot more likely that she really was this kind of person.

"He arrived with one of the Merchant ships down at the docks this morning if I'm right, you might still be able to find him there, just ask around and I'm sure you will find him trying to gamble away his life savings again."

Laughing at the last part Betty waved him goodbye and turned around to greet a customer.

.....

It took Makoto only 10 Minutes to find Damarius, he was sprawled on the street leading to the docks and apparently dead drunk.

That’s what Makoto at least gathered, judging from the 5 or so rum bottles all over the floor next to him.

With a few gentle and then a few less gentle nudges, Makoto tried to wake Damarius.

"Ugghhh... leave me alone..."

"Excuse me Mister Damarius, Hello?

I think I have something that belongs to you, could you look here for just a second?"

"I said leave me alone kid!"

Clearly annoyed the middle aged man tried turning around again and to fall back asleep but Makoto was not willing to give up just yet.

"Plase just look at it for a moment and tell me if you recognize the shell or not."

"I told you boy, leave me alone or I swear I wi-"

Suddenly wide awake the man turned around with eyes big like wagon wheels.

"What did you say?"

Smiling, Makoto pulled the thing out of his inventory and held it up.

"I said, do you recognize this Shell?"

Damarius looked at the Shell for a few seconds until suddenly his eyes started to water.

"Yes of course I do, that’s the Shell my mother gave me when I was 10 years old. It was a birthday present to me, said I am just like it, a hard shell protecting a soft inside..."

Reaching towards it Makoto handed the item over without hesitation and watched Damarius grasp and hold it tight, this time his tears flowed without anything holding them back but a smile oddly enough was on his face.

It was an expression torn between happiness and sadness.

"Thank you stranger, for searching for me and giving me back this shell that I thought lost. You must know it’s the only thing that I have left of her now.

Truly, you have my thanks."

The man bowed deeply before him and Makoto wasn't sure what to do exactly in a situation like this so he just decided to nod.

Quest complete!

Sadly enough there was no reward to be seen but at the moment it didn't matter to Makoto.

Even he could feel his eyes get a little wet after seeing Damarius' react like that, with a shrug he was about to bid his farewell when Makoto was stopped again.

"You know what, here take this. It’s not much but because I'm currently broke it is all I can offer.

If you give this letter to the Innkeeper at Shivercliff, a village far north of here, you should be compensated fairly."

"Alright, thank you very much."

Makoto said and left the happy Damarius.

After that incident with the other players he decided that his new goal was to reach Shivercliff.

He wanted to lay low for now so traveling to a remote Village seemed like the best idea and was actually a rare streak of luck.

Makoto shortly later left Talis, still wrapped in his dark cloak, heading north.

After about half an hour of walking he checked the time and was about to log out to go to bed when a sudden system message stopped him.

A surviving Cultist of the Ritual in the woods has returned, bringing news of a man with black eyes and hair interrupting the Ritual and killing many devoted followers.

A Bounty of 500 Gold has been set on your head and the Blood Moon Church has sworn to take revenge against you.

Relationship with the Blood Moon Church has turned sour.

You are now wanted, bounty hunters or other players can now kill you and if they accepted the request, your body will stay behind and it is impossible to revive until either your body has been handed over for the reward or 24 hours have passed, whichever happens sooner.

"Perfect. So pretty much this means I'm hunted by players even more now and on top of that NPC bounty hunters will be after me too.

Just fucking perfect..."

While having a feeling akin to God himself spitting in his face, Makoto decided to log out and sleep over it, hopefully tomorrow had something better in store for him...

-----

Back to Main Page

Chapter of today!

Hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions, just comment and i will try to answer them. :D

Cya tomorrow folks!

PS: It's so boiling hot hereeeeee [th_107_.gif]

PSS: One week aniversary :D First week of releasing Azalon chapters has passed, yayyyyyy :GG: