A few hours later, the boys had slayed a few more Giant Slugs, and even a couple Goblin Welps.

All three friends had unlocked the Unarmed Combat skill.

However, they were low on health points, and needed to retreat back into the castle. Gary could see his red health bar in the top left corner of his vision. If he focused on it, he could see the exact numbers, 12/100. Underneath the red bar was a blue bar, which he assumed were his magic points.

During the combat, all three of them had grown to level 2 Strength. The first level only took 50 exp points, but to grow to the next took a whole 172! It looked like each level was exponentially harder to grow, which wasn’t a surprise to Gary, as most games worked as such.

The boys retreated back into the safety of the castle walls, and took a moment to breath and regain Stamina. Because Gary had the highest Endurance level, his Stamina refilled the fastest.

Soon, the three boys were exploring the city in awe. There was so much to see, an alchemy shop, a bow store, weapon stands, even a grand arena. Outside the arena, a sign read, Opening in a few weeks! Prepare your 5v5 or 3v3 team for great prizes in the Lomberg Arena!

Gary couldn’t help but feel excited as he read the sign. “Hey guys!” he said. “We can make a 3v3 team! Perfect!”

Cedric read the sign and pumped his fist happily. “Sweet! Looks great. We just first need to learn how to fight, right?”

“Bro, we already know how to fight,” Dom chips in happily.

“Haha, not well enough,” said Gary.

“Yeah, we’d get whipped if we tried now,” admitted Cedric.

The boys continued exploring the city, while they waited for their health to slowly regenerate. ForeverQuest had a fairly slow health regen, with 1% of the total health regained every minute while out of combat. In combat, health did not regenerate.

Instead of fighting, the boys browsed the wares of local stores. Herbs hung in racks outside of the Alchemy store. A quick visit inside rewarded Gary with the pungent odor of zesty herbs, but also with an impressive selection of potions. During combat, Gary had earned 1 Silver and 12 Copper, which was enough to buy two [Beginner Health Potion]s, they sold for 50 Copper each. However, Gary decided to see if he could afford a weapon before splurging some potions.

The boys next visited a weapon store. The merchant in charge of the store looked incredibly strong, his forearms thick, presumably trained from years of blacksmithing. There was a wide variety of weaponry, from Warhammers to giant battleaxes. Additional, armour crafted from leather, iron, steel, and additional metals Gary couldn't recognize plastered the shop walls. However, Gary suspected that this gear was only for early to mid levels, it didn’t look like advanced gear--not to his eye, anyway.

Fortunately, a [Bronze Dagger] sold for 1 Silver. That was affordable!

Gary focused on the dagger and received the following notification,

Bronze Dagger: Strength Req 2, Dex Req 4

Damage Bonus + 2

Type: Sword

Weight: Light

Speed: Fast

Damage calculated: 0.4 X Strength, 0.5 X Dex

Before buying the dagger however, they had to check out the more expensive gear first, naturally.

Dom struggled to pick up a [Ruby War-axe]. The axe was crafted from glowing gemstones, wicked chunks of ruby forming an elegant weapon.

“Woah, dude. I can’t budge this thing,” he said as his skinny arms strained to move the weapon.

He suddenly stopped. “What’s that Alice? I need 45 strength to use this weapon? Lame.” Dom suddenly became disinterested. “Whatever. I’m going to be a mage anyway.”

A mage? Gary thought. I wonder how magic even works in ForeverQuest. I haven’t seen it used yet. Of course, I can see our mana bar, so it’s has to be available.

Cedric must have been thinking similar thoughts, because he said, “I’ll agree with you, that’s probably the best call. However, I haven’t heard anything about magic.”

Brittney started talking, “Magic is a rare occurrence in ForeverQuest. It is possible to do, but you must discover the ability within yourself.”

This surprised Gary. “Really?” Gary asked. “That seems pretty vague. Are you sure that there are no trainers to teach us magic?”

“Of course I’m sure,” said Brittney. “I’m an AI. I know these things.”

Dom scowled. “According to Alice, Magic is really hard to learn! I suppose I’ll just have to start with this dagger,” he said with a huff.

“Don’t worry, Dom. Maybe because your Intelligence is so high, it will be easier for you!” Cedric suggested.

“Intelligence,” Brittany said. “Increases the damage of magical abilities. It does not make magic easier to learn, however.”

“Uhh, my AI says you're wrong, Cedric,” Gary admits.

“Really?” Cedric says with a high eyebrow. “That’s strange. We’ll figure it out though, we always do.”

They purchased the daggers from a bulky merchant before heading out of the door.

“Man, I’m going to mega-suck at this game if I never learn magic!” Dom groans. “Intelligence is my best stat!”

“Oh, cheer up Dom,” said Gary. “You’ll learn magic, I just know it!”

“Yeah,” Cedric agreed. “It might take awhile, but we’ll figure it out! We always do, right?”

Dom weaved past a few playing children. “Yeah, you’re right!” He twirls his new dagger confidently. “I’ll be slingin’ spells is no time!”

“You got that right!” said Gary. Out of the crowd, Gary spotted red hair that had to belong to Tommy. He thought about speaking up, but decided against it. It wasn’t that big of a deal, there were many players in the game, and Tommy was just one of them.

Gary’s stomach rumbled. “You know what guys? I’m kind of hungry. You want to logout to have lunch?”

“Sure,” Dom and Cedric said in unison.

Gary logged out. It was always on odd sensation to hop from a fantasy universe back to the normal world. Dom was shaking his head like a dog.

The three boys moved upstairs. Mrs. Swamps had gone to work, she worked as a computer programmer at a big consulting firm and usually worked weekends. Gary was used to his mom being gone, she had always worked a lot.

Dom started making grilled cheese sandwiches for everybody, while Cedric fired up the coffee machine. Dom and Cedric drank coffee every now and then, especially while gaming, but Gary didn’t like the taste much. To him, coffee tasted like dirt.

While the sandwiches were cooking, the boys could talk of nothing but the game.

“Dude, the map is soooo big,” Dom groaned as he looked at his phone. “Check it out!” Dom showed his phone to Gary, who gasped. Gary had never seen a game map so huge. There were countless mountain ranges, thousands upon thousands of dungeons, massive lakes, hundreds of miles of shoreline. It literally looked like the map of the world, but even bigger! Dom’s eyes glinted with enthusiasm. “Most bodacious….”

After a few minutes of looking around the map, Gary asked, “Where even is Lomberg? I can’t see it!”

Dom looked back down at his phone. “Dunno. I can’t find it either! So weird that we are just one tiny spec on this massive planet.”

“Found us!” Cedric cried. “We are near the center.” Cedric showed the location to both Dom and Gary.

Gary looked a little dot marked “Lomberg” on the map. They were close to a thick forest labeled as Terrid Woods, as well as a few dungeons and caves. If they went straight north for awhile, they would run into a mountain range called Grizzly Mountains.

The boys studied the map until a burning smell reached Gary’s nose. “Uhh, guys, I think the grilled cheese are done.”

Dom shot up like a rocket. “Aww, most uncool! I burnt the sandwiches!”

The sandwiches still tasted fine, and none of the boys were especially picky, so they slammed down the food. Cedric and Dom drained the coffee, before running back downstairs to play ForeverQuest.

The boys logged into the game to find that their characters had full health. “Great!” cried Gary. “Got all my health back!”

The three friends walked around for awhile, then suddenly a man in a black cloak ran up to them. “Young adventurers! May you lend me your ear?”

Just from the way the guy talked, Gary assumed he was an NPC.

“Yeah, sure,” said Gary. “Go right ahead.”

“My family treasure, a magic orb, has been stolen by an Earth Zombie. The thing fled to Terrid Wood. Would you retrieve it for me?”

You have been offered the Quest: Retrieve the Zorin Family Orb. Difficulty: Very Easy

Rewards: 300 exp in skill of choice, 5 silver

The boys looked at each other, Dom with a wicked smile, before they said, “We accept!” in unison. They would never turn down a quest, especially if they were close to the recommended level.

“Thank you, kind sirs,” said the man. “I wish you luck on your quest!”

Gary received a prompt, Quest Accepted: Retrieve the Zorin Family Orb.

“Are you guys ready to go to Terrid Woods?” Gary asked.

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Cedric said as he unsheathed his dagger.

The journey took them nearly half an hour. On the way, they past many players, some were gathering herbs, others mining rocks, some just wandering around aimlessly with their friends and chatting.

Mining…. All this excitement with combat, and Gary had hardly even had time to think about trade skills. Sure, it never hurt to powerlevel combat, but when he had some spare time, Gary would make sure to level at least one tradeskill.

The first sight of the forest sent chills shooting down Gary’s spine. There was nothing particularly inviting about the clustered trees and rough terrain of Terrid Woods. Spider webs clung to thin branches like cotton candy, and Gary could see hairy spiders the size of mice crawling along the leaves.

“Yo guys,” said Dom. “Are we going the right way?”

Cedric’s brow furrowed. “Uhh, yeah. Think so.”

Gary’s stomach hurt, but he didn’t say anything. “Should we go in?”

Dom slipped into the woods like a wraith and yelled, “Come on dudes! That orb isn’t saving itself!”

Cedric charged after Dom, also disappearing into the woods. “Dom, get back here!”

They eventually found each other, but it took a few moments of wandering around in the thick brush.

Within the cluster of the trees, Gary was having a hard time seeing anything. He was worried that they would get ambushed by some high level monster. Even the chattering of a small bluebird was enough to set him on edge.

Gary weaved his way past a thick oak, and then was suddenly face to face with a level 26 White Wolf.

The wolf pounced on him, knocking him to the ground. Gary struggled to shove the wolf off, but it looked as if his Strength level was inadequate. Frantically, Gary stabbed the wolf with his dagger, but the blow inflicted little damage, only 1.4.

The beast struck twice with powerful claws before it was sent sprawling off of Gary. Gary saw a red 14.3 and 15.7 flash across his screen.

Gary looked up to see Cedric, who had thrown the wolf off with a mighty shove.

Dom arrived to the scene, a bit late, but with a usual flip of the hair and a thundering, “Woooooaaaaahhh!”

Soon, Gary was on his feet and brandishing his dagger, although the blade felt a bit awkward in his trembling hands.

It was 3 v 1. Gary’s health was at around 70%, while the wolf was nearly full hp.

Cedric charged first. He met the wolf with a quick slice of his dagger, catching it off guard. There was a flash, and a number 2.4 appeared in red.

The wolf counterattacked with a bite, but Dom was already behind it. Instead of lashing out with his dagger, Dom delivered a sharp kick to the side of the wolf, sending it hurling at Gary.

Gary, prepared this time, stabbed the wolf in the side. The attack was aimed perfectly, and on impact, the three boys saw flashing Critical Strike text above the wolf, along with a purple 5.2.

The wolf howled in agony, and Cedric finished it off with a flurry of strikes. All that remained was a pile of coins and a ragged pelt.

Strength exp gained: 6

Dexterity exp gained: 12

Loot: 14 Bronze coins, Wolf Pelt

Gary thought he probably gained the Dexterity experience because he was using a dagger.

The boys split the loot, and then they suddenly heard a nasty moan behind them. Whirling around, they found themselves face to face with a small swarm of [Earth Zombies]. There must have been at least six of them, all ranging from level 27-35.

“Run!” Dom yelled as he started sprinting out of the forest.

Cedric and Gary needed no further help, they barrelled out of the forest behind Dom. Gary could hear heavy footfalls thudding behind them, but he did his best to ignore them and focus on running.

Suddenly, Cedric started walking.

Gary whirled around. “Cedric!” he screamed. “What are you doing?”

Cedric was gasping in air heavily, his breaths ragged. “I’m…. I’m out of Stamina!”

“Shoot!” yelled Gary. Dom had heard the commotion and stopped as well. The zombies were now swarming in on Cedric.

“Uhh, what do we do?” said Dom, his face chalk-white. “This is not cool.”

Cedric looked at us with a brave smile. “We can’t beat them. Just let me die. I read that there is a 12 hour lockout after a death, but it will be alright.” Cedric turned around and drew his dagger. He won’t have the Stamina to run for a long period of time, but he will have enough to use his dagger.

Dom took off running, but Gary grabbed him by the back of the collar.

“Dom, where are you going? We’re in this together. Get back here and help Cedric fight!” Gary said with a sudden vigor.

Dom scowled, but he turned around. “Oh, alright. Let’s rock these clowns!”

Gary and Dom walk back to Cedric, a determined look on each of their faces as the zombies swarmed in like rabid dogs.

Soon, an all out melee was raging. Dom grinned wickedly as he cut up a zombie. A mangled arm sliced open Gary’s cheek, and he was met by a surprisingly realistic sting of pain and a flashing red 8.2. The pain was drastically less than real life, but it still hurt.

Cedric was down a great job at fending off the beasts, but it wasn’t enough. Dom was the first to go down, overwhelmed by the swarming beasts. “Not cool….” moaned Dom as he was reduced into pixels.

With a powerful blow, Cedric struck one zombie in the temple, and the creature disintegrated. That’s one down.

Gary took a step back, but twisted his ankle on a fallen stick. “Gah! Shoot!” Pain shot up his ankle as he fell onto his back with a thump. Gary yelled, and then he was suddenly overtaken by a flailing pair of zombies. He gritted his teeth as he did his best to fend off the undead with his dagger. Red flashed in his monitor as he was finished off by zombie bite to the neck.

Everything faded to black, and a prompt shot up on the screen.

You have died!

You will be locked out for 12:00 hours.

You gained combat experience: + 12 Strength exp, + 24 Dexterity exp. Congratulations, you grew to level 2 Dexterity!

Gary sighed as he took off his headset.