Chapter 54 – Stirring the Anthill

“This is seriously not what I needed right now.” I sigh as I walk back home. I don’t really want to be ‘that guy’ who starts whining about things, but when it comes to my family, I reserve the right to bitch a little bit. Sure, I love them and all, but having them trespassing on my online sanctuary is just as exhaustive on my psyche as it was to help my late grandmother with computer problems. One can only explain oh-so-many-ways about where she can find the ‘send’ button on her email before you consider going postal.

I rub the bridge of my nose while I try to come up with some sort of solution to this. There is always a workaround to things and it shouldn’t put too much of a strain on me. In fact, I bet there is some way for me to use them to my advantage. They can probably obtain information that I can not, and I see no reason not to use them as a distraction if I ever find myself in a sticky situation. Do I even know how they might react to finding out my online profession? I’m sure Allison wouldn’t care, but my dad might. And if I can’t tell dad about it, then I’m certain Allison would tell him just to spite me, and that could turn out real awkward, real fast. I’d rather postpone that particular conversation indefinitely.

Anyway, that’s a challenge for another day. It will probably take the pair a couple of days to get their things together and log in, and then it probably takes them a few nights just to get their bearings and figure out how the game works. They will probably pester me like crazy, but luckily for me, I can always fake being offline and say I have things to take care of in real life. They might buy that lie for a few days. Should I feel bad about blowing them off? … Nah.

I considered lying when my sister asked which city I started out in. It would have been super easy to tell them I play in the city of Demorys on the northern side of the continent, but the lie wouldn’t hold up for long. Sure, I would gain a couple more days of freedom until they figured out I’m somewhere else, but the two would probably just reroll their characters and follow me to the correct city. And let me tell you this: It seriously isn’t worth it to piss off Allison like that. That girl can be mean. Physically so.

Siblings, am I right?

I shake the thoughts of casually deceiving my family aside. I’m not sure if I should be worried about how easy it is for me to lie to everyone around me these days. Even my family. Is this a new thing or have I always been like this? I don’t think I used to be like this. Thinking about it is starting to give me a headache though, so I quickly fish the phone out of my pocket and hit up a few web pages to distract myself with. After a few seconds of scrolling, I huff in surprise when I notice they just launched a major update to Ascendence Unlimited.

Patch Notes - Version 1.68

Dear Players.

Due to a massive decline in players opting to play as a Villain, as well as the path not living up to our vision of what it should be, we are introducing some major changes to the game’s core mechanics. The changes are aimed towards increasing the benefits for Villains and Adventurers alike to actively engage in combat with one another.

Change #1 - Villains will now gain twice the amount of experience for killing an Adventurer equivalent to the same amount of experience they would gain from killing an NPC of similar levels. Maximum experience gained is capped at one level per kill.

Change #2 - Players killing a Villain will gain all the experience the Villain loses upon death divided among all the Players involved in the kill. The total amount of experience gained is reduced by 10% per level of difference between the Villain and the highest participating Player’s level if the Villain is of a lower level.

Change #3 - Adventurers and Craftsmen will now lose one level every time they die after reaching level ten.

Change #4 - Adventurers may instead of losing a level opt to drop the most valuable item in their inventory. If there is no level appropriate items of at least Rare quality, they will lose a level instead.

Change #5 - The experience may only be gained once per kill on an Adventurer every sixteen hours to prevent abuse. Adventurers and Craftsmen will not lose an extra level during this time period if they are killed by the same Villain. Villains are exempt from this change.

We hope these changes will not inconvenience you, and we further urge you to stay strong, adventurers!

Kind Regards

Kyle R. Bennett

Lead developer of Ascendence Unlimited

My eyes gloss over as I quickly read through the patch notes, followed by a closer, and much more scrutinizing readthrough. When I read through it for the third time, my jaw finally drops. It’s a PvP patch! Oh, HELL YES!

My smile threatens to split my face in two as I make fist-pumps in the air. This patch is going to make things a whole lot more interesting for me! PvP patches, or also known as Player versus Player patches, are designed to incentivize combat between players. In reality, this makes it very lucrative for me to start killing other players instead of the mindless monsters beneath the city. Sure, this will alert other players to my presence, but it was always only a matter of time until my existence would become known anyway. This only slightly moves the schedule ahead. I don’t mind the tradeoff for these benefits though.

This could also be helpful in other ways. Currently, only one in a thousand players have an active Villain account, which means there are virtually none of us around. It’s become so bad, most regular players will probably walk around without ever encountering one of us. With this patch though, heaps and mounds of new players will flock to the path of a Villain, and it will only make it that much easier for me to hide a select few assassinations in the massive bloodbath that will take place in the streets in the coming months. Hide a murder during a genocide and all that.

Should I be worried? Probably. In the end though, I think this will totally be worth it. At least now that I have sufficient power to escape the majority of the player mass and stay hidden if it comes down to it. It’s not like I will do nothing but hunt players all day long though. I still need to farm the sewers for weapons as well as perform all my jobs to gain new items and crafting reagents. It’s only a drop in the pond, but it’s a much-cherished drop nonetheless.

Chuckling lowly to myself in anticipation, my eyes are drawn to the comment section of the patch note. My grin spreads even wider when I read the complete outrage of the gaming population. People are furious that they can now lose levels if they die. In my opinion, they were already getting off pretty lightly, and risking to lose only one level isn’t really the end of the world for regular players. The change is huge, and it will definitely change most people’s approach to the game for a long time going forward. This change probably won’t even matter too much to higher level players as they can opt to drop a valuable item which their party can just pick up for them afterwards anyway. It does, however, make things infinitely more interesting for us Villains. If I could kill some inattentive high-level player who has a legendary grade item, I’d be set for a long time. Oh, man. That would really stir up the anthill.

This could potentially be my main source of gaining experience going forwards. I already know the sewers won’t last me forever, and now that Greg and Kevin probably ratted me out, I needed to find some new hunting grounds anyway. This patch is beyond convenient, even though it isn’t nearly as safe as grinding along underground. With my recent skill acquisitions and the enormous size of this city, however, I’m more confident in my ability to hide and move around unseen. It doesn’t hurt that I have a perfectly safe hideout to chill in if things get too rough.

I’m starting to really look forward to this bloodbath.

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The dim lightings of my private quarters cause me to blink twice as my conscience is transferred back into my avatar. I take a deep breath, allowing the musky air to filter through my digital nose.

I think these past few hours I spent with my family is the longest period I’ve stayed outside of the game since I started playing. For the first time in a long time though, I can finally release some of the tension I’ve built up in my system for a while and truly relax. Things are going really well for me so far and I’m eager to get back to business.

I jump to my feet and perform a few light stretches. It still feels a little odd playing as a character that’s a head shorter than my real self, but it was surprisingly easy to get accustomed to my new anatomy. Life as a halfling is rough, but at least I’m not as visually displeasing like half the standard fantasy races out there. I wish I could exchange some of this fat for a few well-toned abs and another dozen centimeters though, but beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. I may not look like a stereotypical Villain as one would expect me to, but that isn’t much of an issue. I’d rather not draw any unwanted attention, and who knows? Maybe it’s more embarrassing to be killed by someone who looks like a chubby twelve-year-old kid rather than a two-meter tall orc on steroids.

Well, it works for me, and that’s all that matters in the end. I chose to play as a halfling for the same reason I decided to play as a Thief Lord. To maximize my efficiency and performance. The devil is in the detail, and I can’t hope to become the best player out there if I don’t play the game by the numbers. Halflings give a decent boost to my class’s core stats, and I like to believe I’m smart enough to build the strongest possible character in this game. My future depends on it after all.

Speaking of my dreams, it’s been a while since I checked up on my progress over this last week. I bring up my status page, opting to leave out several of the less interesting options on the list.

Status:

Name: Rynorn Stabberton - Class: Thief Lord (Trap Maker)

Race: Halfling - Level: 11

Health: 170 - Mana: 540

Experience: 200/2100 - Renown: N/A

Attributes:

Strength: 5(5-10%) - Endurance: 17(5+12) - Agility: 10(5+6-10%)

Dexterity: 37(5+6+35/75%) - Perception: 5 - Intelligence: 54(5+62/75%)

Wisdom: 6(5+1) - Charisma: 65(28+31+10%) - Luck: 35(24+8+10%)

Unassigned attribute points: 0.

Equipment: (+)

Traits: (+)

Thief Lord basic abilities: (+)

Class Skills: (+)

General Combat skills: (+)

General Social skills: (+)

Lesser Magic schools: (+)

Profession: (+)

Unassigned Skill Points: 0.

My character has come along nicely, if I may say so myself. It’s virtually unheard of to be able to reach level eleven in this game after only a week, but it’s not impossible. I may have had a good portion of luck on my way to where I am, but I’d like to give most of the credit to my own hard work. My stats are coming along splendidly, and it can only go upwards from here.

My first order of business should therefore be to try and get myself some new equipment. While the gear I’m currently wearing is by no means weak, I have to admit that I have already outgrown them by quite a wide margin. While I still wouldn’t go as far as calling my equipment bad, I have to admit I could do leagues better at my level. Getting an upgrade is paramount to my success as the power of my skills will only weaken without proper equipment.

A Thief Lord is essentially a minion-based support class, and all my skills and abilities are tailored towards buffing and supporting my own underlings. I can buff them in pretty much every conceivable way, and I’ve done my utmost to further enhance their chances of success by discarding my personal offensive capabilities in favor of more utility. Besides being a supporting class, I’m also a magician specialized in Illusion magic as well as a Trap Maker. These two utility-focused skill paths are the gems of my grand strategy, and I’m mighty proud of what I have accomplished so far with these sets of skills. I can’t even start to count how many times these skills have saved my life, more so than any amount of martial arts ever could. I’m a commander, not a warrior. My skills should reflect that.

I lightly shake my head to gather my thoughts. I may just have gained a small respite in my quest for the top, but I’m not quite out of the woods yet. There are still loads of things I have to do, and I can’t do them while sitting couped up in my hideout all day.

Today’s Saturday, so I’m expecting there to be a lot more players online than usual. This shouldn’t cause too much of a problem, as this means most players will team up with their friends and go on long adventures deep into the wild. Who would want to stick around in this boring little city on a Saturday morning? I sure as hell wouldn’t.

My main goals for the immediate future is to further solidify my position and keep gaining experience. I’m not sure how dangerous the sewers are at the moment, but I should probably lay low for a while until the heat dies down. Perhaps this is a good time for me to head out and into the forest to pick up my leftover stash of items from the days I played as a Necromancer?

No. As tempting that would be, I don’t think I can waste the time or manpower to take on that task yet. Hopefully, the stash isn’t getting pillaged any time soon, and there aren’t really any items in the stash that I’m in desperate need of. I would love to have the additional funds and skill books, but so far, I can manage without. My immediate concern should, therefore, probably be to perform a few jobs to hopefully collect some gear or ingredients. My Poisoner is starting to run low on reagents, and I’ve already out leveled most of the poisons she can make now anyway.

With my mind made up, I head out of my office to see if any of my Agents have returned. The main hall of my hideout is looking quite lively, with my underlings partying as only an NPC could. Mugs of ale and roasted chicken legs flow abundant, and only their raucous cheers can trump the deliciousness of their food. I spot Cobra sitting at the main table, playing a round of cards with my two Cutthroats.

I’m about to make my way over when an unexpected message pops into my inbox.

[Gregorious Ironguard writes: Hey, Rynorn. I have a proposition for you. Can we meet?]

Ah, fuck. They know...