The fire was low, just embers really, but they provided sufficient light for Kalamedra’s onyx eyes to see like it was daytime. He was leaning against a log, deep in the forest, at least a couple miles from the road. He had found a spring and decided to camp here for a while as he tailored his new armor. Using his new pliers and the spare rings and wedges he had repaired the maille hauberk, but he had also taken out rows vertically and horizontally so that it more tightly fitted his torso.

The more rings, the more weight, the slower he would be. The hauberk now came down slightly past his belt, so that when he was standing with his hands above his head it did not expose his belly. The sleeves now only extended past the bottoms of his shoulders and he expanded the armpits with spare rings so that he had a greater range of motion. It was a fairly decent piece of ironmongery at some point, even if the bandits had let it get ravaged over time, but it was clearly made as a standardized design, and not customized like it was now.

Who knew that a past that contained experience in Historical Reenactment would pay dividends in a video game? Not the first time I have had to repair some wedge-riveted maille. I guess I am mostly impressed that it is so accurate, and that the game spent the time to make itself so deep as to allow customization of the fit of armor. I guess we are having to live in these skins tho, although stuff like clothing seems to resize. The more I play, the more obvious it is that K.O.R.A.L. has multiple levels. You can play it as a game, using the game features and standardization, or you can really become part of the world and have a much more in-depth experience. I have a feeling a few years down the road that is what is going to separate the people who succeed here from the ones just following in their wake.

System Notification New Skill: Armor Crafting Discovered Skill Increase: Armor Crafting is now Beginner 5 (+5) Skill Increase: Appraise is now Beginner 3 (+2) Kalamedra’s Maille Hauberk What started as a basic munitions-grade hauberk from the workshops of Dar’shon has been customized to fit the physique of Kalamedra. This provides more movement and less weight to hinder him in combat. All bonuses only apply when worn by Kalamedra. Defense: 6 Bonus Properties: Reduced Penalty to Hide/Sneak, Reduced Speed Penalty Weight: 12 lbs.

Grinning, he pulled his new maille hauberk over his dun linen shirt and toed his belt over it. With the belt taking some of the weight, and it’s reduced size it felt like a slightly weighty coat. He jumped up and down a few times to test the fit, and then turned a cartwheel into a forward flip. He could feel that the slight weight added was not even a minor hindrance to his high Dexterity.

He put the tools and supplies away in his spatial ring, including the bits he cut out of the hauberk in case he needed them for repairs. He pushed the lacquered scabbard back through his belt and kicked pile of dirt over onto his coals to kill the fire. Setting out in the night through the forest, he continued to head east.

Sometime after midnight he started to notice a glow in the distance, as if there was a large source of light ahead. As he kept walking in that direction he could see that it was a large campfire, on the edge of being a bonfire. He could hear people laughing and eating, snatches of songs and ribald jokes. He moved forward, darting from shadow to shadow to maintain his cover until he got within about 30 feet of the fire and could take a good look.

It was a large band of robbers and thieves, about 20 of them. You could tell that because they didn’t give a shit about their gear. They stole it from others and could not be assed to keep it up or clean it. Perfectly good armor and weapons were left to rust and fall apart. They were sitting around a large fire either on hewn tree trunks, or leaning back against their saddles. It was a mix of men and women, all looking pretty rough and grizzled, and they were definitely enjoying some ill-gotten gains. A picket-line of horses stood on the far side of camp.

The first surprising thing that Kalamedra noticed was that they had no one on guard duty. Everyone was facing the fire and was assured to have no night vision. It was enough to keep even a dwarf or elf from seeing anything in the night. The next thing was that the ones who were asleep, or dead drunk, were just lying on the grass outside the ring of light cast by the fire. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.

And here we have the wild banditi of the Koral forest. These vicious creatures are known for their savagery against those weaker than themselves, but flee in terror when confronted with the unknown. They are known to be valued for their value as xp by the roaming adventurers of this land. Also, they sometimes have good shit.

Chuckling quietly at his own joke, he summoned the os-so-sharp dagger that he had acquired from Laf’aera from his spatial ring, the weight feeling like sweet, sweet murder in his hand. He moved carefully up on the nearest dozing bandit to himself, about 10 feet closer to the fire than his current hiding spot.

System Notification Skill Increase: Hide is now Novice 1 (+1) Skill Increase: Sneak is now Novice 1 (+1)

His target was a elven lady of adult years, sweet-looking at first until he noticed the blood left carelessly on her face and armor. He could feel her aura and realized that she was a Dark Elf. With a last pounce forward, he slammed his left hand down over her mouth, his right hand driving the dagger straight in through her right temple. He felt her body jerk and shudder, but quickly her struggling ceased. He cut the woman’s coinpurse free and dumped it into his ring.

System Notification Skill Increase: Dagger is now Beginner 4 (+1) XP Increase: You gained 200 XP

He froze for a moment to see if his attack had been noticed but everyone was continuing with their carousing. He carefully moved to his left, to where a scruffy human, looking about 18 years-old, was sleeping on his side. He was clutching an empty wine skin like it was his teddy bear. As he stabbed the bandit through the temple, a slight sound made it past his muffling hand and the young man’s booted foot kicked against the ground a few times as he spasmed in death. Not taking any chances, Kalamedra grabbed the man’s coins and stepped from the man’s shadow into a shadow under a tree about 20 feet farther from the fire and waited to see if anyone was being wary or perceptive at all.

System Notification XP Increase: You gained 200 XP

No one has noticed at all. These guys are just too confident in their own strength to be worried about a lone enemy sneaking around their camp, offing them one by one. Well, death is the price of stupidity. These guys are going to get me my next level, and if it turns into an all out brawl, I can retreat into the shadows.

Three more lightning strikes and he was back in the treeline, catching his breath and letting his stamina pool recover. He carefully wiped the blade of the dagger off with a wad of grass. He dumped their coin purses into the storage ring, letting it autosort their coins.

System Notification XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP Level Increase: You have reached Level 2! You gain 5hp, 2mp and 1 Boost!

He carefully reviewed the layout now, having reduced the foes from 19 down to 14. He had eliminated the ones who were sleeping, the rest were still having a good old party round the fire. If he wanted to take the whole group out he was going to have to figure out a way to take out some more individuals first.

As one huge brute got up from the fire, throwing a half-filled drinking horn down on the ground, and headed into the woods to answer nature’s call, Kalamedra realized how he could do that. He quickly moved in the treeline, circling the encampment to get a quarter way around to where the man had entered the woods he started to consider his plan. He found the man, taking a leak while leaning against a tree and saw that the first problem he would have to overcome was height. The bandit was at least 2 feet taller than him, and quite burly so that really limited his strike zone.

Putting the dagger back in the ring, he leaped into a shadow on a branch of the tree the bandit was leaning against. He pulled the leather things from his ring and wrapped them around each hand. Taking a deep breath, he jumped down towards the bandit, looping the cords around the bandit’s neck. When his weight hit, the bandit jerked back hard, but kept himself upright by holding on to the tree. The brute started to claw at the leather cords that were digging into his neck, as Kalamedra turned so that he was back to back with the bandit, making the cords even tighter. He pushed his boots against the backs of the bandit’s muscular thighs, increasing the strangling pressure.

The bandit started to stagger around, trying to pull the cords away but Kalamedra kept up the pressure. After a few moments the huge bandit sagged to the ground and Kalamedra quickly got his dagger out and slit the man’s throat, the blood spilling out in the pale moonlight like so much spilled wine.

System Notification Ability Increase: Your Strength is now 12 (+1) XP Increase: You gained 200 XP

Not pausing to loot his fallen foe, besides cutting off his coin pouch and dumping the money in his ring, Kalamedra returned to observing the bandits. After perhaps 10 minutes, he saw a man and a woman who had been making out as they drank get up and head off into the treeline, carrying a horse blanket. He didn’t change positions as they were going to enter about 10 feet from his current hiding spot, he just lowered himself into the shadow even more.

The couple walked past, fondling each other drunkenly and they spread the blanket on the ground in a break in the treeline. The man was on top of the woman, and they were kissing wildly, tearing at each other’s clothes. Kalamedra stepped into the man’s shadow, pulled his sword from its scabbard and quickly plunged it through the man’s back and down through the woman’s chest as well. He really put as much strength as he could into it, aiming it to try and pierce both hearts, but at least get the lungs.

System Notification Skill Increase: Strategic Anatomy is now Beginner 3 (+2)

With a heave, he pulled the blade from their bodies and quickly hacked at the back of the man’s neck, and his head leaped off and rolled into the bushes. Kalamedra quickly kneeled down on the woman’s face, silencing any sounds she might get out and pulled the blade along her throat quickly, feeling it’s sharp edge grinding on the vertebrae.

System Notification XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP

He quickly took their coins as well, feeling pretty good about what he must have gathered so far from all his generous donators. He stepped into a shadow up in the heavy foliage of a nearby tree, waiting for someone to come looking for either the big brute, or the amorous duo. He had whittled the bandits down by 8 so far, but the game would surely change once someone noticed people missing, or tried to rouse one of the sleepers.

Leaning back against the trunk, he tried to cat-nap while he waited for anyone to come nearby. From the sound volume decreasing over time, it seemed like most of the bandits were seeking their blankets, or just passing out where they sat. Three more times through the next few hours drunken bandits came into the edge of the woods seeking to answer nature’s call. They all seemed headed towards the area the brute was laying, so he assumed that was their normal pissing area. Each time, he quickly stepped into their shadow and dispatched them, taking their coins for his growing collection.

System Notification XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP

In the depths of night, when only the crickets could be heard, he left the safety of the trees and stealthily moved up on the remains of the fire, and the fools asleep around it. With malice aforethought, he moved through the crowd stabbing them through the temple, or eye or any other spot that could bring instant death. Seven of them passed with nary a problem.

System Notification XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP XP Increase: You gained 200 XP

He stopped for a moment before the boss. He could tell it was the boss because he had the fanciest armor and weapon, and his stolen clothes had once been finely made as well. He was a tall elf, with a bandolier of daggers across his chest, and sleeping on his side curled around a loaf of bread and a wineskin. Kalamedra leaned over him, stabbing down towards his temple when the elf rolled over and stabbed Kalamedra in the stomach, driving a chisel dagger through the maille shirt. The silence of the night was rent by Kalamedra’s scream of pain, and the TING TING TING of rings shooting off his armor.

System Notification You have taken 6 (12) damage!

Kalamedra quickly rolled backwards, putting some distance between himself and his foe. “That really fucking hurts, ya know!”

“Nothing more than you deserve for killing my crew. You have so much blood on your hands the smell gave you away as you got near me, you motherless dog.” The elf was scrambling to his own feet, and quickly filled his other hand with another dagger. Kalamedra could tell this one would be no easy meat.

He looked down at his left hand, now covered in his own life’s fluid and grimaced. He drew his sword from it’s black-lacquered scabbard with a determination as he faced his first real stand-up fight.

If I run now, I’ll always be running from now on. I don’t want to throw this life away, but if I am too cautious I will always be weak. If I can’t have some balls in a digital world, I should just log out and go to a euthanasia center. Fuck that shit!

“No one makes me bleed my own blood!”

As he dashed towards the elf, who was obviously preparing himself to parry the blow with his daggers, he stopped one step short and kicked up a pile of ash into the elf’s eyes. The elf sputtered a little and did a dodge and roll back as the black blade hacked through the space where he had previously been standing.

“You some kind of do-gooder? Out to rid the wilderness of all us free-folk? You think you’re better than us, murderer?”

“You make me laugh. I’m simply a more evolved predator than you, and the reason I am hunting you is that no one will miss your bandit asses.”

Kalamedra and the elf danced around, changing positioning and exchanging a few sword and dagger flurries without getting through each other’s defenses. Kalamedra tried to move the fight around so that the beginning rays of the rising sun were behind himself. With a battle yell and a charge, he ran towards the elf recklessly. The bandit started back pedaling, increasing the space between them. Kalamedra ran across a shadow cast by a stack of pilfered goods and used it to leap into the elf’s shadow, behind him. Bracing his long, black blade he let the elf ran his own bady onto the chisel tip, piercing his kidney and coming out through his stomach.

The elf screamed as Kalamedra started sawing at his guts. Viscera spraying everywhere. Kalamedra finally pulled the sword out through the bottom edge of the elf’s ribcage and kicked him hard in the back of the left knee, forcing the bandit to go down to the ground. With a savage swing more reminiscent of a baseball game than a swordfight, Kalamedra cleaved off the elf’s head, mostly. It was still attached by a few muscles and some skin in the front of the neck, but was completely detached from the spine.

System Notification XP Increase: You gained 500 XP Level Increase: You have reached Level 3! You gain 5hp, 2mp and 1 Boost!

Grounding his sword tip in the dirt, Kalamedra breathed hard and heavy, trying to catch his breath. After a moment he sat down on the ground, leaning back against the elf’s rapidly cooling corpse.

Winners don’t lose! And I am going to be the one who wins. I have to. But god fucking damn does this hurt! Better check my status.

Kalamedra LEVEL 3 XP 200/4000 PLAYED 145:24 hrs AGE 12 RACE Shadow Elf LOG IN 14:20 03/19/43 SEX Male FAME/INFAMY 0 ALIGNMENT 0 * * * * * * * * HEALTH 14/25 MANA 116 STAMINA 64 STR 12 DEX 20 CON 8 INT 20 ESS 20 CHA 8 LCK 20 * * * * * * * * GOLD 179 SILVER 89 COPPER 126 BOOSTS 3 BELIEF 1 * * * * * * * * LANGUAGE Common GUILD None CITIZENSHIP None FAITH the Void LIEGE None PKILL 0 TITLES Dark Elf, Lord Void's Disciple