End Online: Volume 4

Copyright

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to
characters, names, locations or incidents are purely coincidental.

Copyright © D. Wolfin 2014

First Edition

Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN:
978-0-9942421-4-3

By making the purchase of this book you have been granted
non-exclusive, non-transferable, right to access and read the text of this
ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted,
down-loaded, decompiled reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced in any
way without the explicit permission of the author.

Table Of Contents

Chapter 20 – Reunited
.
7

Chapter
21 – Dalbe, Kingdom of Summer
.
35

Chapter
22 – No Caller ID
..
61

Chapter
22.5 – Three Hours of Joy
.
91

Chapter
23 – Swordbreak
.
102

Chapter
24 – Gladiator of the Colosseum!
.
128

Chapter
25 – Ambush
.
154

Chapter
26 – Royal Summer Tournament
.
183

Chapter
27 – Fragment of Something Greater
.
208

A Few Words from the Author

I would like to thank you all
for purchasing my book. I think this is a great opportunity to speak with you all
so there are a few things I would like to say.

It is a great pleasure to be
able to write End Online. It is an even greater pleasure to have you all read
it and provide your feedback. To the reader who recommended a couple of pages
outlining the main points of good literature and captivating the readers –
thank you, having that reference will definitely help improve my writing in the
future! I read all your comments so keep voices your opinions, they are all
heard!

Some people seem concerned
about the accumulative cost of the book. I find myself to be a reasonable
person, so I have some information on the future of this book for you. I am
planning on publishing a total of approximately twelve volumes of End online.
The final cost of that, I will leave you all to work out as it is different per
currency. The accumulative length of the novels will also be around ¾ of the
Harry Potter series.

I also have a few new editors
joining the team, who have taken a lot of their own time to polish the story. I
would like to personally thank them for all of their efforts. The editing of
the past chapters is happening. It is a very slow process, but progress is
still happening.

Thank you for taking the time
to read these few words of mine. Feel free to turn the page and start reading Volume
4 of End Online!

-Lost-

The wedding ceremony and
reception carries on throughout the night, only ending at first light. Without
logging off or sleeping in the game, I start to feel fatigue weighing me down.
I decide to ignore it and just get some rest later.

Under the rising sun, all
the elves emerge from the bramble houses and begin their daily routine.
Countless elves are gently chanting to some of the damaged houses with voices that
seem to interact with nature itself. As they place their hands on the natural
structures, the walls come alive and regenerate any damage sustained due to
lack of supervision. The entire city begins to repair itself before my eyes.
With all the elves’ melodic voices in the background fueling the change, even I
can’t help but feel my heartbeat climb.

The walls on a few of the
houses split and dilate open, turning into shops for all sorts of equipment and
items. There are no lamps, torches, or any other forms of lighting along the
streets at all. As I witnessed last night, the city is graced by condensed
moonlight, showering everything in a silvery night that sparkled off any dust
in the air.

Bringing my attention away
from all the reconstructions and developments in the city, I head off towards
the Eltreant castle. Everyone in my party follows behind me silently, staring
wide-eyed at all the elves and the peaceful atmosphere surrounding us.

We walk straight along the
main road to arrive at the castle as soon as possible. With the large stone
keep in front of us, we enter without hesitation.

There aren’t a lot of
elves in the castle. Whether it is a result of memories from being enslaved
here or something else, the corridors are nearly deserted. The only counterpoint
to the mood inside is the echo of birds chirping from outside. The interior is
also well lit now. Since reclaiming the city, the elves had hung fist-sized,
yellow-white stones from the walls, creating a soft light similar to the sun.

We arrive at one of the
innermost rooms and knock on the gold leaf inlaid door. It slowly opens and
reveals a large antechamber. This isn’t the throne room where three elven
elders reside to govern the city, but the residence of the newlyweds, Hon’ar
and Shai’en.

“Hon’ar,” I say politely
to the elf as he fully opens the door. “We have come to say our goodbyes. We
will be leaving this morning.”

Hon’ar looks a little
surprised at us leaving so early, but a hint of understanding shows on his
face.

“Yes, I am sure you have
plenty to do elsewhere. I… no, the entire elven race is grateful for what you
have done for us. We have finally reclaimed our homes!”

He bows at a 45 degree
angle from the hips, showing his utmost gratitude to me.

“Oh, I had almost
forgotten!” He calls out before we have a chance to turn around and leave. “I
had these passed down from the elders. We are not ready to lower our barrier
and allow others to enter the village just yet, but we would still like to gift
this to each of you.”

He holds up four string
necklaces, each with a single reversed aquamarine tear drop on them.

A necklace appears in not
just my inventory, but everyone else’s too.

‘Hmm, it’s only
rare,’ 
I think to myself as I
look at the orange border around the item.

“Wait, did you say you are
not going to let others in 
yet
? Does that mean you plan to?” I ask
in surprise.

“Yes. There was a big
meeting between the elders and the leaders of each community. We came to the
conclusion that this whole incident stemmed from the enmity between elves and
humans. We feel that this is the best way to bring our races closer together.
We will even allow some to become elves and join the city.”

At these words, Mason’s
eyebrows shoot up in shock.

“Does that mean I can
become an elf? Are there any benefits in changing race?” He raises his voice as
he is overcome with enthusiasm.

“Of course,” Hon’ar
responds with a smile. “Elves level at a higher rate, almost twice as fast as
you humans. We also have certain skills that only Elves can learn, such as ‘Elvish
Archery’, which adds a high bonus damage and accuracy to our arrows. Do you
have a compact soul gem on you for the process?”

“Ah. Sorry, I don’t. Can
we do it without one?”

“Unfortunately not. It
isn’t that I don’t want to help you, but can’t. A compact soul gem holds a
piece of your essence within itself and is then placed within our city keep.
Not only will you then revive here in Eltreant, but the magic of our race will
envelop your soul fragment and cause you to be reborn as an Elf. Any old compact
soul gems are also turned to dust upon the formation of a new one. As you can
understand, this whole process is simply impossible without a compact soul
gem.”

The glee on Mason’s face
fades as he comes to understand that right now, becoming an elf is impossible.
He truly would be great as an elf, considering his speciality with a bow.

“Thank you Hon’ar,” I
return the earlier bow he gave me with one of my own.

At that, our party leaves
the elf behind as we make our way outside of the castle.

Before leaving Eltreant,
we do a little exploring of the city. Much to my surprise, there are, in fact,
elven blacksmiths which can repair all of our equipment. Unfortunately though,
the stores haven’t been restocked and we can not purchase any health potions,
herbs, or arrows.

Outside of the city, I
lead the party south, back towards Grenton. The once mist-obscured forest has
since lost its deathly aura, and natural sunlight has begun to break through
the canopy of the forest. The small patches of illuminated ground show signs of
fresh foliage, sprouts of what will eventually become small bushes and a myriad
of spring flowers.

“I can understand why the
elves are said to create some of the most visually appealing structures and
architecture. It isn’t so much their great artisan skills, but the ability to
affect mother nature. In terms of beauty, nothing compares to that.” I think
out loud.

Half a week passes as we
quickly cover the distance to Grenton, arriving just outside of the eastern
side of Eldenweiss Forest.

“I wonder if that illusion
magic still takes hold now that the elves have left?” Mason asks while raising
one eyebrow in the direction of the forest.

“How could we tell? It
wouldn’t affect us anyway, now that we have these necklaces,” I chuckle while
responding.

“Not if we don’t equip
them.”

I am shocked into silence
over how simple it is. I simply didn’t think it through at all, so the fact
that not wearing the necklace would negate its abilities didn’t occur to me.

‘If only my
intimidating aura could be turned off like that.’ 
A resounding sigh echoes in my mind as I think about the
inconvenient skill.

While Mason and I are
considering the options of testing whether the forest is still under the
influence of the elven magic, Matrix nudges the two of us.

As we turn our attention
to him, he nods toward a small group of players fifty meters to our right. We
see them conversing with each other while constantly looking over at us.
Unfortunately, we are too far away to be able to hear what they are saying.

“Something doesn’t feel
right,” Mason whispers to me.

“Agreed,” I say back.

“Why… are they… looking at
us?” Fen chimes in from behind.

“I don’t know,but how
about we go over and find out?” I don’t wait for a response as I start walking
towards the group of players, the rest of the party in tow.

We barely even pass a
quarter of the distance before they turn around and start running off.

“Fen,” I gently call out.

The wolf girl already
understands my intent, suddenly moving at breakneck speed next to me as we rush
towards the fleeing players at our top speeds. I move slightly faster than Fen,
who can only keep up with my afterimage.

The fleeing party’s eyes
widen in surprise as Fen flashes in front of them while I seemingly appear out
of mid air.

“Excuse me, can I please
ask you a few questions?” I put on a smile while asking, before realizing they
can’t see it under the shroud of my hood.

Only showing a moment of
hesitation. The players immediately take the initiative to attack Fen and I. A
player from the back instantly casts a flame spell that causes three fireballs
to arc towards each of us from a different direction while the party leader
leaps through the air at us with his axe held high.

The leader’s axe emits a
pale yellow light as it glides through the air to land on the ground between
Fen and I. What seemed like a light swing suddenly crashes down with the force
of a mountain, not only knocking the two of us back several meters, but also
doing considerable damage from the rock shards flying through the air as
shrapnel.

‘So strong!’ 
I think to myself after seeing his attack.

They have incredibly poor
teamwork. The attack from the leader causes the mage’s attack to miss without
us even having to move an inch.

“If you won’t talk and
simply attack us for no reason, then don’t blame me for what happens next!” I
say loud enough for their whole party to hear.

Almost like a silent
signal is sent up, my whole party jumps into action.

I create false mirages of
myself as I instantly close the distance to the leader and start swinging my
shortsword at the player’s vitals to score critical hits. Fen seems to be in an
excitable mood, staying by my side and using two daggers of ice to hack and
slash with no rhythm or technique.

From behind, Mason start
firing off arrows with his new ‘legendary’ rarity bow. I am already aware of
the increased range of the bows, but the speed of the arrows themselves also
appear to be considerably faster than normal.

Matrix casts a few minor
spells, but nothing compared to what I know he is capable of.

The party who provoked us
never had a chance, barely lasting moments before there is but a single player
left alive. The last player is a middle-aged man of scrawny build in leather
armor with a dagger tucked into his belt. He is slowly backing away while constantly
sending glances behind him, almost as if he expects one of us to appear from
behind him.

“P-please wait,” the shady
looking player cries out with his arms stretched out to halt us.

“I don’t want to die. It
will take me too long to recover the lost stats,” he explains while I continue
to advance.

I can kill him without
suffering any repercussions at the moment. After all, one of the members of his
party attacked us first so we can retaliate against every member of that party
without falling into the player-killer status. A true group of PK’ers would
know this, and wouldn’t form a party together for this very reason.

“So why did you attack us
then?” I ask curiously.

“We were afraid you would
attack us, so we took the initiative in hopes of winning. We planned to hide
until the player-killer status faded away.”

“I don’t see why you think
we were going to attack you,” I furrow my brows.

“Aren’t you the ruthless
player killer from the forest outside of Grenton? There are plenty of rumours
about the player with the white fur cloak and hidden face.”

My head turns slightly
dizzy and I take a step back in shock at his words. Since when have I become
such a notorious figure?

“I don’t know what you are
talking about,” I respond once I regained my thoughts. “And I have never heard
of any such rumours.”

“Me either.” Mason sighs.

“They started recently.
Apparently there were some witnesses saying that a figure in a white fur cloak
with player-killer status ran out of the forest here right after it caught
fire. Most people even say that you started it.”

Under my hood, my face
pales even further. I can imagine the crime in the game that such destruction
must entail. My character may be locked up in a cell and not able to play. If
that were to happen, I’d be lucky to only have my character locked up for a
month minimum!

“Alright, you can go now,”
I nervously say.