Real Life RPG (3 page)

              “It’s my ability” I began. “It helps out my party members by giving you more speed, strength, magic and defense”.

              “Well I like that ability” the small warrior said as he walked on. “Your first hit of the beast was great; your next couple though were not as strong”.

              “It’s my weapon, it takes away half-life every time I swing but the target must be stationary as it is hard to wield this heavy weapon”.

              “Well I think with you here we should go try the dungeon I was strengthening up to face” Gage said as he heard another noise and spun in its direction. Another wolf pup came out and was dispatched like the first. Gage smiled and was in good spirits as he again took all of the loot. The dungeon wasn’t that far away and we got there quickly after fighting three more wolf puppies, Gage’s health was down a tenth but he didn’t seem to care. The dungeon was just a cave with many other players milling about outside, these were all level 6 and above. A couple of teams tried to pick a fight but could not as only after 5 levels could you battle another player.  I walked into the cave and was instantly assaulted by a bat.

              This fight was harder as the bat was way more mobile and I could not strike it if I wanted to as my weapon was heavy. My spells were easy to land as they were area effect spells and the bat could not help but to fly into the mist and the rain. Gage though fought as tough as could be expected and eventually beat the bat before taking all of the loot. Maybe he plans on letting me scavenge other corpses further in I thought as I could see other parties fighting not too far from the entrance of this beginning dungeon. We pressed further inside where we battled and killed even more bats before walking down a set of stairs. After we killed the last bat a pop up happened in my window informing me I had leveled up and had skill points to spend, unfortunately my idiotic Team Player Skill also leveled up with me. I only received 4 skill points, I decided to save them since I couldn’t really protect myself anyway, maybe they would come in handy later.

              I watched Gage take all the loot again as we went deeper into the cave, I needed to find a way to protect myself better but hanging around with Gage definitely wasn’t it. Hanging with me though was doing a lot for his character as he took less damage than he normally would have and was hitting far harder. Although he was just a level 4 with the boost I was giving him he was fighting like he was at least a level 10. All of the enemies in this dungeon were level 6 so far, which would level me up quickly. I think once I reached level 6 or 7 I would abandon my greedy friend. Ahead of us as we walked through the cave system I could see a humanoid figure shambling over towards us, I scanned it and could see it was a decaying Zombie, Level 10. Gage gleefully laughed as he dashed in and scored a hit on the slow zombie, and danced away before the zombie could counter. I cast Corroding Mist and Decaying Rain on the zombie who all but ignored me as Gage got off two or three more hits. The zombie roared and went after Gage and actually grabbed a hold of the small warrior as I walked over and struck the zombie with my weapon. The zombie crumpled to the ground as Gage finished it off. Another screen flashed in my face saying I leveled up again but I ignored this one as I noticed Gage had a blank look on his face. Gage was obviously looking over his stats and must have leveled up. I bent down to search the zombie as Gage shoved me aside and rifled through the goodie bag left behind himself and once again took all of the treasure.

              “Fool your ability makes this cave easier than it ever has been before” the short warrior said as he led the way. “I could barely fight my way here but with you in my party I just killed an enemy 6 levels higher and only lost half of my life points. I have leveled up to five and I am 67% through until I reach level 6. I have heard other players talk about how hard this zombie was to fight so many of them gave up and planned on coming back when they reached level 10. Ahead of us there should be the dungeon boss, he is rumored to be a level 12 Armored Zombie. Let’s at least give it a try, if we die we can just heal up and come back later”.

              I said nothing as Gage took out a red potion and drank it before he continued on. I followed behind him as the caved started looking more refined, almost like a stone corridor instead of a cave. We rounded a corner and could see a well-lit room of sorts with no door and a big red chest in the center. Unfortunately there was also a zombie that totally did not look as decayed as the one we fought previously. This guy looked recently dead and had on shabby armor and carried a rusty sword. As soon as we walked into the room the zombie attacked as I back into a corner. Gage met the zombie and tried to strike at the unarmored bits but it would have made no difference. In this game any enemies that are armored will still get the bonus even if an un armored area is struck. The zombie brushed off the blow and knocked Gage across the room where he slammed hard into a wall. I could see canaries floating in a circle around his head which signaled he was dazed. I cast Corroding rain, it only took off a small amount of health but it would be ultra-effective on the zombie’s armor. I watched as the zombie’s armor started to fall away and brought brought my weapon up to strike him just as he reached Gage. He struck Gage before I delivered my strike, sending the smallish warrior across the room again where he struggled to get up. The zombie now saw me as a threat as it turned in my direction. I struck it again with my weapon just as it hit me. My world went black as I felt myself flying before I impacted a wall hard. I had lost 98% of my life and could barely make out anything as it looked like I was seeing through a pair of really dark sunglasses. I could see the zombie kind of, as it’s armor completely fell off. It had 20% of its life remaining and was also barely moving as a small figure jumped on its back and brought his sword down on the neck. Suddenly my vision brightened as two notifications popped up informing me that I had leveled up twice from the fight, and luckily got the extra health that detailed. Every odd level up I was granted attribute points which I once again ignored. I was at about 9% life points so I wouldn’t be fighting anymore but at least I wouldn’t be dead. I went to search the armored zombie as Gage once again moved me out of the way and rifled through the belongings. I made my way over to the big red chest as fast as I could move which wasn’t much since I was injured. Just as I lifted the lid Gage was there in an instant and shoved me on the ground and took it all. I could see him smiling at whatever loot he received and decided it was time for me to end our party. At the end of every dungeon once the final boss is beaten a portal opens up that allows you to teleport to the beginning of the dungeon or to the nearest city. I looked around and saw the blue flame that signaled the portal and unchecked the box which said party. I walked over to the portal as Gage walked up to me angry.

              “Where the hell are you going Fool, we have many more places to visit” Gage said as I walked past him.

              “Enjoy your loot Gage” I said as I entered the portal. I decided he would most likely follow me and thought I would be going into the city, instead I appeared at the beginning of the small dungeon where there were still players milling about trying to kill wolves. I sat down as a team of three were all working on a level three wolf puppy. The group consisted of two warriors and a mage that looked to be a healer. They were all the same level as the wolf puppy and looked to have little or no skills. The mage had a healing spell and the warriors knew a lunging attack but that was it. The two warriors surrounded the wolf puppy and slashed at t with their swords. The puppy tried to put up a good fight but in the end the three worked well together. I could see they lost minimal health but the mana of the mage had to be running low from the healing he did. I got up and hobbled over.

              The three ignored me, they couldn’t be attacked by another player until they reached level 5 so did not see me as a threat. I waited until they acknowledged me.

              “What in the hell do you want?” one of the warriors said as the group turned my way. I was shocked at their appearance, they all looked alike. The warriors were obviously twins; the mage looked to be a younger brother.

              “I can get you through this dungeon” I said trying to put on my best smile. “We could leave right now if you want, although I do require a small reward”.

              “You look like you are about to die and you are only one level above us” the mage spoke as he walked closer.

              “Well how about this, let me join your party and we will get in three battles” I began as I started scheming in my head. “If you find my company enjoyable then we can talk about my payment. If you do not like my company then you can kick me out of your party. Either way you wouldn’t lose anything”.

              The twins glanced at each other, whatever they passed between their eyes I could only guess at as a screen popped up asking me to join the party. I accepted as the group turned around as went looking for another puppy. Another wolf puppy was spawned as the group parted to let me fight it.

              “Hey I am a support character gentlemen!” I screamed as I backed up from the wolf pup. The warriors shook their heads and went into their normal stance and struck at the pup. The pup lost half of its life in the first strike, a critical hit. When the pup went to strike back the warrior’s armor blocked the brunt of it. The other warrior maneuvered itself around the back of the pup and struck, which killed it instantly. The brothers looked among themselves but said nothing as they gathered the reward and went looking for another fight. This also ended quickly with a dead wolf pup and almost no life points lost. Another glance was given as the group forged ahead , this time we were beset by two wolf pups, both level four. The brothers first looked like they were going to flee but instead turned around to meet the enemy. The I backed the first warrior while the other brothers squared off against the other pup. The pup I was facing charged as the warrior brought his shield up taking the blow. When the pup backed up he swung and took away a tenth of the pups life points. The pup charged again and got a hit on the warrior, dropping his life points by less than 5%. I saw the pup was aggroed by the warrior and crept around it where I dealt a blow, leaving the pup at less than half. The pup turned towards me as the warrior scored a critical hit, dropping the pup to less than 30% health. The pup turned back around as I hit it hard again and then began to retreat. The warrior finished it of easily enough then went to help out his brother. The ending saw the last pup fall while the warrior I was with had 90% of his health while the other warrior was at 30% but smiling widely as I could tell they leveled up. The trio finished leveling up their stats and went further into the brush and away from the dungeon looking for another fight. After what had happened with Gage I was not going to be a fool again and left their party. The trio looked at each other and shrugged as they came upon a level 5 wolf pup. I watched as they dodged in and got into their usual formation. The pup attacked first, his attacked knocked the first warrior on his ass as the pup continued on and attacked the mage. The other warrior caught up to the fight and stabbed at the wolf pup and took away a tenth of its health. The pup returned the blow which took away about 40% of the warrior’s life. At the end the pup fell, but all three companions were at less than ten percent health with one looking to be at or near 3% or less. I laughed to myself and began walking back towards the dungeon. I sat there for a while, just happy I goth the experience from the three kills. I could still see players roaming about fighting various wolf pups and decided to let them have their fun. Resting would slowly cause me to recover life points at a rate of 5% per hour. If I could find a safe place to sleep for eight hours in game I would be fully restored. I rested according to the in game time of about 30 minutes when Gage came crashing through the forest. He made eye contact with me and dashed my way. He was a level six now, that I could see but I was still at level four, meaning he couldn’t attack me if he wanted. As he drew near I could see the earlier trio I was working with come along the same trail Gage did, apparently they had died and had to respawn back in town.