Roth smiled as he triumphantly arrived at the familiar landscape of the Green Woods. His nervous system had been put through the wringer over the last eight hours of running here, but he had made it to the woods on his first try. There was a lot more traffic on the roads leading to Greensburg, which made it easier for him to travel safely. Whenever a scary mob was ahead, Roth followed after higher-level players who cleared it as an afterthought on their way to the city. It would take a few ho...
2023-05-10 13:24:55 +0000 UTC
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As soon as Mel exited the cave, her eyes widened. How were so many people here already? The arrival of high-level players around her was causing a commotion among all the beginners. They were all entranced by the shiny effects of their high-end equipment.
She could see ColdHand from the Hydra guild and BlueFire from the Ogre guild. The cat was out of the bag. She knew that rushing in here like this would draw some attention from beginners, but she forgot to consider the guild part...
2023-05-08 09:58:52 +0000 UTC
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Distortion Field!
Around Wilson, a translucent screen of energy formed, slowing the spear that was coming for him enough so that he could dodge it.
"Nice one, Xana." They were deep into beaver territory, and they were surrounded. As a halberdier, Wilson did a lot of damage but was slower than other warrior advancements. He could let out more damage unimpeded when Xana watched his back.
Halberd Whirlwind!
Around Wilson, a series of beav...
2023-05-08 09:00:23 +0000 UTC
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The first step in Roth's plan was to study market prices. He opened up an app that allowed him to take notes. He had already made a list of everything he had to sell this time around:
20x [Miniaturize Potion]
100x [Fox Ginseng]
20x [Badger Great Claw]
20x [Crow Feather Tiara]
20x [Crow Feather Earring]
20x [Crow Feather Necklace]
5x [Power Truffle]
Now he had to find out how the auct...
2023-05-08 08:59:51 +0000 UTC
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The trip from the beginner zone to a city was not easy. Instead of going on foot, beginners preferred to wait until they reached level 10 when they were offered a free teleport to a city of their choosing. This was a one-time offer. After that, players had to pay their weight in gold to teleport. Only the wealthiest players in the game even dared to do so, though. Had teleporting not been so expensive, merchant professions would have abused it and blinked from place to place while raking in p...
2023-05-08 08:59:09 +0000 UTC
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Roth was ecstatic. One more title! The upgraded version of bilingual.
Title: Polyglot (uncommon)
Title description: You have worked hard and are now fluent in six languages. You have become a bridge between peoples. Your intellect expands by learning different ways to express yourself.
Title effects:
- Grants +2 wisdom;
- Grants +2 intelligence;
- It's easier ...
2023-05-08 08:57:44 +0000 UTC
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After the many painful rescues of his swine friends, Roth had reached a point where, although he couldn't help himself from trying to stop any battle he saw, he could often make a clean break after interrupting one. Not being attacked on all sides helped, and the truth was that Roth had excellent gaming instincts. Now that he was more in command of his faculties, he would sometimes sidestep or dodge some of the damage sent his way to avoid feeling the pain and damage to his avatar. Rescues we...
2023-05-06 08:26:55 +0000 UTC
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Working the dough, Mrs. Bessie rechecked the clock. She had to hurry if she wanted to finish dinner in time. Her old hands kneaded and folded the dough. She was making bread for the week. Some of it they would eat fresh in the next couple of days, and the rest would go into the freezer. Every penny counted. It was slightly cheaper to bake bread than get it at the supermarket, with inflation being as high as it was these days. Her arthritis screamed protests at her abuse of the old knuckles an...
2023-05-04 12:53:36 +0000 UTC
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Roth's shouting became louder and louder as he drew closer. “Stoooop! Stoooooop!”
“Oh no! It’s the crazy guy everyone keeps talking about in the forums!”
“It’s just one guy. What can he do?”
Healing Ray!
A [Healing Ray] bathed the elite in light, and a sliver of his hp recovered. Seeing that he was being helped, the elite faced its savior. Then the most unexpected thing happened.
“Brother! Oh, brother! Look at what these vicious...
2023-05-03 14:34:55 +0000 UTC
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Gary rechecked the forums. It was a compulsion, an addiction. He spent much of the day here. There was no news of any berserker players causing ripples. There were some new riddles, but he wasn't in the mood for them. After such a long time without adequately taking care of his character, he couldn't afford to slack off in his leveling anymore. There were goals and quotas; if he failed those, Loki would notice and figure out something was wrong.
It was the last thing he felt like doing ...
2023-05-02 15:18:17 +0000 UTC
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Roth had already traveled the entire length of the Raven's Nest several times. After careful analysis, he found the only location that matched the answers to the riddles. He was so glad that GrandpaBill110 was so good at riddles and an active member of the forums. He had replied to the riddles almost instantly.
"After a devastating fire, which trees remain in the forest more than any other type?
Ash tree
What tree may be made of stone?
Lime tree
2023-05-02 15:06:35 +0000 UTC
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In Roth's opinion, the main reason for AVR to be so successful and popular was not the fantastic graphics, the fictional worlds, or the many adventures it offered. The crucial ingredient behind the industry's success was that it was possible to play a game while sleeping. That had been the most remarkable breakthrough in the industry.
Before, players would have to log out to get some rest. One had to choose between attending school and working or getting sufficient time in the game to m...
2023-05-02 14:53:29 +0000 UTC
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Charlie had been a field medic in the army. He served under Sargent Jazzinald and even saved his life several times. He had hesitated to join his old army mates in AstroTerra, but he had to admit he was having fun.
Unlike the other veterans, Charlie had no family. While others frequently logged out to meet for coffee with their children or to babysit their grandkids, Charlie would stay in AstroTerra playing alone.
He had decided to use his downtime to do a quest he'd read about in...
2023-05-02 14:38:26 +0000 UTC
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“Mr. Chairman! I’m glad to have caught you between meetings.” The owner of Nexus Co. made no effort to disguise his disgust at having to talk to Loki again.
“Anything for one of our cherished stockholders.”
“I was wondering if you had time to review my proposition, Mr. Chairman.”
“Yes, I have.”
“And…”
“I’m afraid we must refuse, Mr. Loki.”
“I don’t see why? Wouldn’t it be in everyone’s best interest if you acce...
2023-05-02 10:03:40 +0000 UTC
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Roth jumped from branch to branch, feeling blades of accelerated air graze his skin. Looking back, he saw thirty ravens furiously chasing after him. Seeing that the ones in the back were starting to veer off, Roth again drew their aggro.
Taunting Shot!
Roth managed to secure the aggro of the ravens at the back and even managed to get the attention of a couple more. Had it not been for the boosts that he had when out of combat and for the fact that skills that deal...
2023-05-01 15:33:22 +0000 UTC
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Badgers had no dungeons to speak of. What they did have was a field boss. Field bosses roamed hunting fields, unlike their dungeon counterparts, making their exact location a constant unknown. They were highly coveted for their rare drops and equipment, mainly by guilds.
The developers had gone out of their way to make every field boss in a game juicy targets to be fought for. When one ran a dungeon, they were out of sight of competitors, but field bosses were different.
Two or th...
2023-04-28 16:01:16 +0000 UTC
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Badgers in AstroTerra were as giant as bears. After the Rain of Fire, they mutated and developed telekinetic abilities. Compared to foxes and mice, who only used physical attacks such as biting and scratching, they also used abilities. When attacked, badgers sent psionic blasts that pushed players away and interrupted them if they were channeling a skill.
The upside was that badgers didn't deal much damage with these special attacks. Furthermore, getting them alone or in pairs was easie...
2023-04-28 15:48:14 +0000 UTC
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New Chapters on Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri.
Arc 1: The Green Woods -------- (Only on Amazon)
Arc 2: Hilsford -------- (Only on Amazon
2023-04-27 14:09:25 +0000 UTC
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Whereas the throne room of the Rat Cave screamed glory and majesty, the chambers he was entering spoke a very different story of femininity and comfort. There were cushions and draperies in shades of pink, purple, and violet. Unlike the dark chambers outside, torches on the wall allowed one to experience respite from the moist darkness. A beautiful fox in a dress was sitting on a desk close to a shelf filled with books. Seeing her, he understood why the adjective 'foxy' was synonymous with 'b...
2023-04-26 18:21:32 +0000 UTC
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This time, Roth decided to tell the story of a mobster he had known back in jail. He had been one of the rulers of the biggest mafia family in Europe. He had three children. One had a knack for business, the other was a talented fighter, and the last had street smarts. The don hadn't known who to leave in charge of the family and had done a test with surprising results. While working together in the workshop, he once shared the story with Roth, and he figured it would make a good fox story.
2023-04-25 10:44:42 +0000 UTC
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After two more rescues, in which Roth earned the gratitude of dozens of foxes and the eternal hatred of dozens of players, he got the notification he had been hoping for.
You are now friends with all foxes.
You have gained a new title: [Friend of Foxes].
Title: Friend of Foxes (common)
Title description: Your strong personality and shrewdness have earned the respect of the foxes.
Title ef...
2023-04-25 08:19:29 +0000 UTC
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Roth drew out the objectives for the following days of gaming. He had two quests to complete. There was the [Ratan Trade] quest, which required him to travel to a human city. He doubted he could get the items' worth from selling them in a beginner village. He had to make his way to an auction house. Those only existed outside of the beginner area. Auction houses were where the real money was.
What got Roth thinking was that since this specific quest made him the broker for the Ratan fac...
2023-04-24 16:30:21 +0000 UTC
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At the mention of the word 'betrayal,' Loki's eyes hardened. There was nothing that Loki hated more than others doing to him what he was so good at doing to others. He tolerated no rivalry. He had no mercy for backstabbers.
"What do you mean?" asked Loki through clenched teeth.
"Sir, this whole thing with the Slayer has raised suspicions with me."
"Go on," said Loki while quickly drumming his fingers on the desk. The echoes of the drumming resounded in the gigantic space.
2023-04-24 16:29:00 +0000 UTC
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Loki had once again summoned the IronIre squad. Every time he had to meet this monster, Gary couldn't stop his knee from trembling or his teeth from clattering. He kept a bottle of powerful anxiety medication hidden in their gaming room so that he could go through these encounters. This time it was worse. He wanted to go to the bathroom and vomit. Gary tried his best not to show how scared he was, though. His life depended on him keeping his cool. The squad had spent the last few days searchi...
2023-04-24 16:28:06 +0000 UTC
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What? Had he gained a stat just from appreciating art? This was awesome! Roth rubbed his hands in anticipation. What a windfall. He had learned two new ways of gaining free stats. The first one was by giving intelligent and polite answers to NPCs. That could potentially unlock charisma. The other one was by appreciating art. That could earn him extra intelligence.
He looked at the timer. He only had five minutes left on the clock before the potion effect expired. He didn't want to disco...
2023-04-24 16:11:42 +0000 UTC
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A shrunk Roth followed his guide into the inconspicuous, hidden entrance behind the stone throne of the boss's room. The protrusions in the rock and the shadows hid it well. It led into a tunnel carved into the rock.
After walking for roughly one minute, the pathway opened into a glorious golden room. Thousands of glow mushrooms illuminated the giant space from a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Luxurious scarlet tapestries with woven golden thread covered the wall...
2023-04-24 16:07:18 +0000 UTC
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Brownie kept towing Roth along as they crossed many different Ratan turfs. Roth got tired of just waving and greeting mice and decided to freshen things up a bit, trying to find new ways of increasing his reputation with his tiny friends. He had noticed that Brownie had been smart enough to laugh at him when he met Oscar. It was incredible that such a low-level mob had been smart enough to laugh at him because he thought he'd magically learned Oscar's language. As Roth's thoughts went back to...
2023-04-24 16:04:49 +0000 UTC
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Become a broker? Roth stopped. He wasn't expecting to be offered a profession out of the blue. Oscar regarded him patiently.
"Can you give me a few moments to decide?" he tried.
"Of course! Deciding to become a broker is no small matter. I will let you gather your thoughts."
While the offer to become a broker hung in front of him, he decided to quickly search about professions on the forums.
He first searched for 'broker' and got no hits. He then looked for 'Oscar' and...
2023-04-24 15:57:49 +0000 UTC
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As the afternoon went on, Roth became progressively fluent in Ratan. At first, he could only make out some loose words, but he then started to figure out whole simple sentences and began being able to say some simple things. Of course, he wasn't actually learning how to speak to animals. This was just a game. The game's AI must have mimicked the language-learning process and transferred it into the game. Roth was having fun. He found out that mice were humble, simple creatures. They were adve...
2023-04-24 15:56:20 +0000 UTC
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It had been three days, and no one in the squad had found clues about Roth. Gary kept his eyes on the forums for signs of anyone violent or crazy going on rampages in the Green Country area. He couldn't find anything. No news. He then saw a post that he found slightly amusing.
Crazy Activist in the Green Country Beginner Zone
#news #alert #greencountry #beginnerzone
Poster: WeAreWes12
Post: Be careful, everyone. Th...
2023-04-24 15:54:14 +0000 UTC
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