I access my NCI and check my list of available cantrip spells through my Spell Slot Inventory: Infestation, Fire Bolt, Booming Blade, and Primal Savagery. Most of them will come handy in the challenge to come. I'm not sure if Ambrosia plans to use her Charm or Dominate skill to bewitch them, but for peace of mind I cast my first spell: Primal Savagery. I'm not sure if she'll be able to charm nine people at once. Anyway, she can easily have them for supper.
Primal Savagery is a transmutation cantrip that causes my teeth and fingernails to sharpen. It's an effective spell for melee attacks. Especially for me since I have Vampire Ancestry, this spell instead of causing a maximum damage of 10 Hitpoints, it can add up 50% more, causing a maximum damage of 15 Hitpoints.
The effects of the spell take place immediately and I can sense my fangs inside my mouth sharpening and extending. My fingernails resemble that of a creature rather than that of a human. For the time being, my opponents haven't noticed the effects of Primal Savagery on my body. Just looking at me from far away, the effects would be subtle, but up close I am deadlier than ever. I feel an intense pressure in my hands as my nails grow into sharp claws and even my jaw tightens as my teeth become sharper. Best not to bite my tongue or talk too much right now.
I'm tempted to use Mage Armor and increase my defense, but that spell or any other spell I decide to cast right now will reveal my intentions. Avoiding a needless fight is always the best course of action, although I'm sure my sexy vampiress has a mind of her own and will act unpredictably. On the other hand, nothing has gone as I expected so far in the Real-World Game.
Once more something unforeseen happens. A petite, silver-haired girl appears out of nowhere, her Threat Level is no more than 5, and her HP is 25. She wears a short wizard robe, making it clear what her class is.
"I'll save you," she shouts and I see that she's already casting her first spell: Burning Hands.
"Kill him but leave the wenches alive. Let's have some fun!" The mob leader barks and his stumps do as he commands.
Damn! Fuck the random factor of this game. Hell unleashes, with three of the mobs attacking the hot wizard apprentice while the rest attack us. My first thought is to help her, but who's going to help me? I am the weakest of the three.
Back at the battle at hand, I see the mob leader becoming the first victim to Ambrosia's sheer power. With lightning speed she flies towards him and slices his throat in a bloody flash. Deep red material paints the stone road and Ambrosia is sprayed with the man's blood. Ecstatic, she continues slicing him, her movements resembling that of a master chef rather than a butcher. Each movement sharp, precise, exacting.
For some reason, the rest of the four mobs think I'm the strongest and I'm forced to retreat, but I'm trapped in a cul-de-sac now and my opponents try to overwhelm me. Unconsciously I make the decision to cast Fire Bolt instead of Mage Armor, and my choice proves to be the correct one. The Fire Bolt flies and hits the first Level-2 mob on his left hand.
Level-2 mob received a 5-Point Hit and has been crippled! My NCI informs me.
I dismiss the notification immediately. At times, I think my NCI proves more of a hassle, due to the exhaustive amount of details it provides.
Well, the thing is my attack caused the other three to freeze in terror, seeing their comrade writhing in pain. This gives me the opportunity I want to attack head-on, bloodlust filling my body, demanding immediate release like a volcano ready to explode. Mimicking my sexy mentor's moves, I slice the first mob's throat, achieving a Critical Hit of 15 points! Blood sprays my face and the faces of his fellow mobs.
This game is unbelievable. Almost exhilarating! I've never experienced such intensity in my virtual world. Life is so fragile here and the slightest event can change everything in an instant. Despite the fact I'm weak, Primal Savagery buffed me in a way that made my body-avatar a proper tank. I wish I'd used it earlier.
Lost in my brief triumph, my glory is short-lived as the mobs recollect their composure and attack me with their daggers. Reflexively, I dodge the attacks of the first two, but the third cuts my left forearm, barely though. He'll be the next one to pay for that insolence. I'm a mighty vampire sorcerer and all mortals will learn to fear me. At least, that's what I want to think, however, the three mobs kick my ass, having circled me now and making it impossible for me to parry all attacks, quickly decreasing my HP down to 80%.
I want to scream for help, but my vampire friend is lost, engulfed in a bloody frenzy, still draining the mob leader dry. Ambrosia's character is irrational when sated. Now that her vampire lust kicked in, she's lost in her obsession for blood. Like a feral animal she grabs another mob and bites his neck, ripping away his flesh and throwing him to the ground. The mob leader, barely alive, gets back to his senses and pulls out a large dagger, threatening her from a few feet away. He's already heavily wounded, and it's only a matter of minutes before he dies. Ambrosia is toying with him and the others. A part of me wants to watch, to study her attacks, her precision. Compared to her, I might as well be throwing my arms in random directions. Still, I can't be distracted.
"You'll pay for what you did!" I roar focusing back on my prey. The words coming out of my throat resemble more of a creature of the night, rather than human language. My heart pounds hard, ready to explode and I feel the adrenaline rush taking control, heightening my Primal Savagery to a new maximum.
I attack again, jumping on the nearest mob and drop him hard to the ground. My fangs meet soft flesh and his throat makes a satisfying squish as the tips of my fangs sink deep enough, making my victim scream. My NCI notifies me of another 15-Point Critical Hit. This isn't enough to kill the mob, but the blood loss and the shock render him unconscious. The other two mobs attack me desperately with their blades and stab me in the back, tearing my muscles and nerves. Fortunately, the stabs aren't deep enough to cause severe wounds or blood loss. I cry from agonizing pain, but I get up and sink my claws on soft and pudgy flesh, forcing them to back down. Both stare at each other momentarily, sweaty and dismayed. They might be able to defeat me if they attack, but I'm sure I will claim the life of one of them. It's a risk they aren't willing to take and decide to fall back, leaving their comrade unconscious and dying. I spit out a piece of flesh ensnared in my teeth as they run. The damage to my body is already starting to heal on its own. My wounds are numb and I feel no pain.
"Phew! I should be more appreciative when people ignore me next time," I rumble to myself. Then I hear a scream from the direction of the petite wizard girl.
"Help, save me!" She pleads. The three mobs have torn open her robe and are trying to have their way with her.
A pop-up window with an Optional Quest appears before me: A maiden in distress: Save the young wizard from the three mobs.
Well, my HP bar has seen better days and I can't explain how useful a Save and Load option would be for the Real-World Game. The times I would Save before an incident, make a mock battle to see how things unravel, and then Load again were countless. For me this process was like second nature, although many Players like my friend Smeme considered this kind of play through as cheating, orboring... This game is different though and I have to abide by its rules... for now.I cast Mage Armor, and a protective magical field surrounds me. I feel my skin hardening, making it as tough as leather armor. Good, now time for the next spell in line: Infestation. It’s a conjuration cantrip spell that causes a cloud of parasitic insects to attack the target I wish. Admittedly, Infestation is a weak spell compared to others, only causing up to 6 Hit Points of poison damage, yet I can force my victims to move in the direction I want.My prey, a level-3 bald thug, is the unlu
I do as I'm commanded; her reassuring look puts me at partial ease. It’s certainly a plus to have someone senior in a new world who knows more, yet I am not entirely relieved. Who can trust a Vampire after all? Although not immediately as I'd expected, the Potion of Lesser Heal takes effect and a feeling of warmth engulfs me, healing my wounds and replenishing my HP Bar back to 80%. It would have taken some time for my passive regeneration to heal me this fast.Wow, having magic potions and items like these can really make a difference in a battle. We should buy some first thing in the morning."Well?" Zoe snaps her fingers, drawing my attention back to her."Well, what?" I gasp."Will you join us? The quest? You're level-headed and certainly we could use someone like you," her chest rises and falls with a rapid breath, drawing my attention to her hand-sized breasts."I would love
After the gathering, we split into several teams and begin our descent into the tunnels from different areas of town. The goal is to find the source of the infestation and remedy it, but first, we have been given a medial task to prove our worth. That way, they’ll decide if we are capable enough to take harder quests. From the tunnels, we are meant to gather underneath the Inn and meet in a great chamber. From there we will be given our official orders. One of the guild mistresses hands us a rough map that shows us the path we are meant to take. The path leads us back toward the Hey Kitty tavern. Ambrosia calls the whole thing a waste of time but I enjoy the chance for a trial run.Myself, Ambrosia, and three others venture down into the tunnels near one of the open canals. Inside, we light our torches and begin scouting the area. It feels like it will be a long night with nothing of any interest. The sewers smell, you guessed it, disgusting. We stay away from the water
As we head down the tunnel, I wonder if Ambrosia's offer is still on the table. Thinking of the pleasure I was offered a couple of moments ago, I fail to notice that we have already reached the chamber below the Commander’s Inn. There are a bunch of adventurers here. It feels like we are right back where we started, only far fewer of us. We climb up the stone staircase that leads to the main hall of the guild. There, we hear a ruckus taking place near the center of the main hall. This piques our interest and we decide to head there.While I do so, I ask myself what was the reason for this medial quest. Maybe to see who's capable enough to venture deeper into the tunnels, I guess. Yet, thining our forces doesn't make sense, no matter how useless some adventurers are. Well, as this optional quest progresses, I'll find out eventually.As reach the epicenter of turmoil, we see the leader of our previous party, Alexander, bullying and trying to hit a blonde girl that
I select yes.A newparty member has joined your party, my NCI informs me.Now, I can see her stats, level, and HP. She's about the same level as me and has the same HP, but as a wizard, she has a bigger Spell Inventory than me.After finishing with introductions we are gathered to the main hall where the leader of the expedition gives us a detailed briefing. The leader, to my surprise, isn't an Emissary or any other type of Player, but an NPC with an artificer class. This must be some kind of rare class for this world as I haven't seen anyone else so far. On the other hand, I haven't been long enough in the real world and it's the first time that I visit such an enormous city, so I might be wrong.The artificer demands the leaders of each party to come near him."Go!" Ambrosia orders me.I'm surprised at her reaction. Does she actually want me to be the leader or is this some kind of mocking of my previous actions?
"The zombies are already dead," Elektra tells me. "You have to slice them in pieces or incinerate them if you are to take them out for good."She turns andpowers up, then casts a Fire Bolt that incinerates the body of the zombie. The stench is unbearable, like burning rotten meat. If I didn't have Vampire Ancestry, I would probably vomit at the smell, the way several others around me already are.Alexander's team is doing great so far, each having killed at least two zombies, as they penetrate deeper into the dungeon in a bloody frenzy. I know I can do better. I have to if I want to give that son of a bitch a lesson.Ambrosia and I decide to charge out into the darkness, Elektra right behind us. My team and other adventurers attack the zombie mob en masse, my sword slashing rotten flesh again and again, leaving dismembered bodies behind us in a bloody trail. The place soon becomes a perfect pandemonium of death and I fail to notice a lurching zombie from t
It pisses me off having to work with Alexander. Besides Zoe, most of his team are low-level wizards who act like they have been born blessed. Half of them couldn't cast a Fire Bolt to save their lives. All in all, their Threat Levels are between 3 and 4 while the toughest oftheir group who looks like a tank masquerading as a wizard, has a Threat Level 5. I am pretty sure he too can't cast a Fire Bolt, given he is carrying around a cursed battle axe and a large wooden shield. I have to give a few of them credit though. Underneath their wizard robes, I notice a few of them have been holding what looks like powder bombs. Alchemic in origin, but I have the feeling they could do some heavy damage against the horde."Take this," Zoe insists, handing one of the bombs over to me."Won't this bring down the tunnels?" I say slightly worrying what ten, twenty, maybe even one hundred minor explosions would do to the old tunnels. It was bad enough the wizards were slinging Fi
Going deeper into the tunnels, we find stronger undead, zombies and skeletons mainly with ranging Threat Levels between 3 and 5. This battle I can tell is going to be fierce. Elektra shoots one Fire Bolt after the other, leading more zombies and skeletons to their permanent deaths. To my surprise, Alexander and his team cast Firebals and use the bombs, blasting away several zombies like it's nothing, and decrease the undead horde’s HP considerably, making them easy prey for my sword and my vampire aide.The undead horde is hard to destroy or even penetrate with our current arsenal. More and more undead approach me, but I keep my composure and Ambrosia does the same. We have to keep the line intact, otherwise, everything will be lost. I strengthen my grip on my sword and when the zombie-shufflers charge me, I swing it fast, hitting several of them. When I have the opportunity, I blast them away using Fire Bolt. Ambrosia on the other hand jumps left and right and wreaks h