~‌ ‌1.11 ‌-‌ That’s a Spicy Rabbit ‌~‌

Kyle McCoy’s Apartment

Monday, June 16th

Flea opened his eyes and checked the clock on his nightstand; 4:22 in the afternoon.

What the hell? How long have I been in the game?

“Bob, how long has It been since my last logout?”

[A little under twenty-four hours, Kyle]

“How is that possible? I never had the urge to log out and go to the bathroom or get something to eat?”

[The nanites in your body can take care of most needs for some time. Sleeping within the game helps your mind stay alert, and it appears your body couldn’t tell the difference. I wouldn’t spend more than forty-eight hours delving in the future as I don’t know how your body’s needs will cope.]

Kyle’s body waited until that moment to let him know how strong of an urge he needed to use the bathroom. After taking care of his body’s needs, he left his apartment and headed to the cafe. He wanted some of Terica’s home-cooked food and to see how they handled the influx of new players wanting to play Fantasy.

Arriving at the Nexus Cafe, Kyle made his way to the counter to order food and found Shaun’s mother, Terica, tending the kitchen.

“What would you like today, Kyle?” she asked.

“Any chance you have any of your Jambalaya on the menu today?”

“Aways hun. Let me get it ready for you, shouldn’t be a minute, dear.”

Kyle paid for his food and ate in silence, watching the people come and go from the cafe. Finished with his food, he wandered around the cafe and found Shaun behind the pod counter. Kyle walked around the counter and sat next to the skinny teen.

“How are things?”

“Pretty good, got a date this weekend. It’s with one of our non-No-Life regulars. She’s the shy one who just goes to their assigned pod and then leaves. Finally started talking to her about Fantasy, and she opened up like a flood gate. She convinced me to sign up for the Game Pass. Tonight after my shift, I’ll register my account and buy the Game Pass online and start playing. I want to see what all this hype is about, and maybe play with her if things work out.”

“Really now? Well, I wish you luck Shaun. Speaking of Fantasy, if they have some type of friend system within the game, you can find me under the name Flea. I’m on Noto Island in the Cerulean Sea. They’re going to spawn you on a random island from my understanding.”

“What? I heard all the pod users were spawned together on one of the main continents, and none of the chippers are on it.”

“Wait, are you sure? When did this news get released?”

“The gaming cult Lethality announced it. The guild had over eight-hundred members join Fantasy the first week to start their in-game guild. The six-hundred and twenty-seven members who owned or rented capsules were only allowed to create human avatars. They were also all spawned within The Federation of Kings’ continent. There are many mixed reports, but some players have said that each of the kingdoms in The Federation has offered quests of ascension. Players could choose to change races and leave The Federation. Account rewards have been hinted as well for those who complete their ascension.”

“I wonder if they are separating the pod users from the ‘chippers’ as you call players like me? Maybe the game works differently for each. I’m also curious about what happens when a pod player gets their chip? Any of the news sites say anything about that?”

“Nothing so far. The game has only been live for a week now, and a lot of people are keeping things mum, or they just aren’t bothering to log out and report what they’ve found. What level are you, by the way?

“Pretty high, I think.”

“Oh? What are you like 30 or something already? You were a fast grinder on Realms.”

“HA, I’m level 3 now.”

“That's it? What the hell, man! How much experience do you need to level up?

Flea explained how leveling in Fantasy was accomplished.

“So I recommend you learn how to be damn good with your bow quickly if you’re going to go with a hunter type again. Also, learn the skills for skinning and butchering and do nothing but farm the first couple days man, I mean it.”

“Thanks for explaining. I’ll be starting tonight, I think. I’m going to have to catch up with her if we start playing together.”

“By the way, Shaun. Have you heard from Iron or Elen since they left Realms?”

“No, I haven't. I got an email from Sinn3r asking if I had any info on them a few days ago. I was never really close to the leaders. I just played with you and Pinky mostly. Speaking of Pinky, I bet you broke her heart, quitting Realms.”

“Damn, I was hoping to be able to play with them again. I doubt Pink is anything but heartbroken. I gave her my entire pet collection in Realms.”

“I have no doubt she loved the gesture, man. But I was leaning towards something else.”

“Nothing there, Shaun. We’re just good friends who both lost our parents, and helped one another cope with our loss by playing the game together. She’s like an older sister to me, and I’m positive she feels the same way.”

“Whatever you say, man.”

Kyle hung out with Shaun and shot the shit for another hour. After leaving the cafe, he headed back to his apartment and logged in.

The Drunken Ogre

2nd Voidday of The Full Moon

“Bob, what time is it?”

[It’s currently 2:00 in the morning on Noto Island.]

“Thanks, Bob.”

“I guess it's time to follow my own advice and power level,” Flea said to himself out loud.

“Bob, please set an alarm for an hour and a half before the day’s end bells, thank you.”

[Alarm set for 4:30 in the evening Noto Island time.]

Flea left The Drunken Ogre, heading towards the fields north of town. He planned to farm the damn horned bastards till his body got tired. A hundred and twenty-five rabbits and almost eight hours later, he made his way back to the North Gate to rest. Flea collected firewood from around the wall area, sat right outside the gate, and pulled out his Cook's Camping Set. Creating a small campfire, he proceeded to burn the first thirty-seven pieces of rabbit meat and threw them away, before a fantastic aroma filled the air around him.

Congratulations!

You have created

[Spiced Rabbit]

[Spiced Rabbit]

2% Health Regen p/m

“Woah! Why is this the first item I've seen any kind of stats Bob?”

[Items crafted by you will inform you about any special effects. It’s up to the crafter to explain any special effects or abilities of an item to whom you wish to sell the item. Without the Analysis Skill, no one else would see the hidden effects of an item. You will rarely see anything outside consumables, such as food and potions, that have special effects. Most weapons and armor are what they are and will rarely have any unusual effects after crafting them.]

“So what's the difference between weapons then? Does a steel sword not do more damage than an iron sword?”

[It depends on the user, but typically a steel sword is easier to maintain and will last longer than an iron sword. The steel sword will not break at a critical time, where the iron sword might during a fight.]

Contemplating everything he had just learned, he proceeded to finish roasting the rest of his rabbit meat. After finishing, Flea cleaned up the area around the campfire. Feeling rested, the Gnome went into the forest to find Hollyhock and hunt for more quills. It took him less than two hours to stock up on forty-three Hollyhock and twenty-two quills, enough for his next two turn-ins. The six terrorbears he killed gave him each a terrorbear hide and heart. Flea also found two cores that were slightly larger than his dull cores and had a murky appearance to them. Putting them into his magic bag, he found their name to be Clouded Core.

His magic bag was getting almost full, so Flea decided to head back to town to turn in his quests and sell everything to clean out his bags. Making his rounds to sell and get his quest chits, he went to Krem, Sveny, and Silverfang. Finished selling, the Gnome went over to the Adventurers’ Guild to turn in his eight chits. Nuelelth, taking his chits, soon came back and told him he only needed two more Copper chits to be promoted to Copper III.

“Hey Nueleth, do you know who would be interested in buying cooked rabbit? I have a little over a hundred of them.”

“Spiced or herb-crusted?”

“Spiced. What’s the herb-crusted good for?”

“Herb-crusted regens stamina. The rogue types love that one over at The Bloody Boar. The guards at the barracks will buy your spiced rabbit.”

“Thanks, Nueleth!”

Leaving The Guild, his next stop was The Brazen Boar. He left a message for Hyrozan with the barkeep, letting the Goblin know he would be mining for the next few hours in the first mine closest to town until 4:30 in the evening if he wanted to join him. After leaving the inn, Flea made a quick trip to the fountain in the town’s square to refill his two canteens.

His next stop was the guard’s barracks. Upon entering he was directed towards the quartermaster, who snatched up the ninety-five-spiced rabbit’s Flea was willing to sell for six copper each. The Elf told him they would buy every piece he could cook up, as they were beneficial during weapons training.

After stopping to pick up a torch at the shed, Flea walked the thirty minutes to the first mine, stopping just inside the entrance. Fastening the Magic Lamp to his belt, he took out the torch and firestarter from his magic bag. Lighting the torch, Flea wedged it into the stone wall to show someone was inside and hopefully letting Khorwin know he was here. Picking up one of the new pickaxes on the ground, he headed down the shaft. It wasn’t long till he found his first small iron vein, netting him forty-three iron ore. Walking further into the cave, he heard the ghastly shrinking again.

Oh, balls.

He took out and ate one of his Spiced Rabbit, hoping it would stave off the health drain, and then continued walking deeper into the mine.

One small iron and small silver vein later, the shriek came again with forceful air pressure from behind Flea, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. Whipping around, Flea caught movement out of the corner of his right eye. Dashing towards the movement and running deeper into the cave, he found himself in a cavern with seven shaft entrances.

“Oh, come on. I don't have all day to walk these shafts, dammit. I know someone or something is down here. Talk!, Fight!, or Kill Me! Dammit!” The scared Gnome shouted.

Then he heard it clear as day. The one thing that put him on edge and destroyed his nerves of steel. Something so sinister, it made the ghastly shrieking seem almost like a happy event. He heard giggling coming from everywhere around him. His blood ran cold, and he swore he felt a pure dreadful presence closing in around him. He immediately placed his daggers in his bag. The warmth he felt a moment later trickling down from his throat to his chest was the only warning that something had happened before he collapsed dead.

You have Died!

You may resurrect in 02:59:56.

Running into the house, Flea could see nothing on the screen. The cave was now in pure darkness without his Magic Lamp illuminating the shaft.

“I’ll bet you those were damn Dryads, Bob. They must be trying to protect The Tower’s basement entrance with some type of magic or illusions.”

[From what the guard said, and the fact your throat was slit in the same manner as Khorwin’s, I would not say the odds are in my favor on such a bet.]

“Will I have enough time to turn in the ore when my lockout is over?”

[You will have a little over twenty-three minutes to turn the ore in once you spawn in the square.]

“Please wake me up a few minutes before the lockout is over, Bob. I’m going to take a nap upstairs.”

Logging back in, Flea ran to The Family Jewels and sold his nine silver ore, completing his quest. With minutes to spare, he had made it to Grom’s to turn in his twenty iron ore for his chit and sold the rest of his iron. Back at the Adventurers' Guild, Nuelelth took the two chits and his Copper tags into the back, returning minutes later.

“Congratulations Flea. Here are your Copper III tags. You can now partake in the matriarch terrorbear quest.”

“That reminds me, where can I find Lieutenant Brunick this time of day?”

“He should be at the town’s barracks this time of day. The two-story building close to the north gate.”

Flea grabbed the matriarch quest off the board and checked his journal.

Quest Journal

Mayor Fredrick requests the aid of a couple adventurers to escort Noto’s exports to the harbor on the 2nd Fireday of each cycle. You have registered to take part in this month’s escort duty. Lieutenant Brunick requires the aid of adventurers to find the culprit who dragged a matriarch terrorbear to the town. There are currently no leads.

He had to be at the North Gate tomorrow at 14:00 in the morning for the escort quest. Flea decided to head down to the fields, farm rabbits for the rest of the night and level up before tomorrow’s escort quest.

With his new Spiced Rabbit, Flea was able to farm nonstop for the rest of the night. After filling a second stack of hundred rabbit hides, he quit farming and headed for the inn to level up. He had 219 dull cores and two clouded cores to use tonight. He was hoping to jump a couple of levels tonight.

Absorbed 219 Dull Cores

+ 702 Energy

Absorbed 2 Clouded Cores

+ 15 Energy

Clouded cores double the energy gain over dull cores, but terrorbears take a lot longer to kill than rabbits, and I’m not sure If I’ll survive if I pulled two at once. After the escort quest tomorrow, I should find out if I can take on a second terrorbear.

Flea now had 738 energy to spend. The first thing he did was level Dexterity to 10, costing him 306 energy. He noticed he couldn't level it past 10; the button and cost information vanished off the status screen. Constitution 6 cost 110 points of energy. Strength 6 cost 180. Intelligence and Wisdom 4 together cost 85 points. Everything totaled 708 points and doubled his level from 3 to 6. Confirming his selection, Flea passed out.

Flea

Lv. 6

20.72

Gnome

Earth

0.29

Copper III

66 Energy

6

Strength

➕ [84]

6

Constitution

➕ [70]

10

Dexterity

4

Intelligence

➕ [45]

4

Wisdom

➕ [50]

22

Magic Bag 🛈

➕ [75]

Congratulations!!

You have reached Levels 4 - 6.

Flea woke up the next morning to a prompt for reaching level 6. Flea felt incredible, as If he was a superhero. He doubted their bodies would feel as good as he did right then. The sensations he felt through the Delve Neurolink was astonishing. Leaving the inn, the Gnome went to sell everything in his bags and get ready for the escort quest later in the day.

After visiting all the shops, clearing his bag out, Flea now had 46 silver and 549 copper. He stopped by Blink’s to fill his canteens on the way to the Adventurers’ Guild. Flea had to wait in a line to speak with one of the receptionists for the first time since he had started. When he got up to Fenix and handed him his copper chit, he was told they would no longer count towards his rank upgrade. Airthiel had not mentioned that during her explanation. Fenix informed him he could still take the quests and do them, but it would do nothing to elevate his standing within the guild. From now on, Tin ranked quest chits were the only thing that would raise his rank and division.

Leaving the Guild, Flea headed over to Sveny’s to upgrade his armor, then off to the north gate for the escort quest.