[Would you like to accept the invitation to join the Hero's party?]
[Know this! Joining the party of the Hero will link your fate with his, and you will be rewarded for serving the Light Faction in such a way.]
Eliza almost instantly accepted the invite before she read the words in her menu. This guy was the hero the game had told everyone about? Her luck must be out of this world to have found him and actually joined his party.
The game told everyone they would be rewarded if they helped the hero on their quest, and the prospect of those rewards excited her. Her moment of hesitation passed, and she accepted the invite.
[Congratulations! You have joined the Hero Alexander Khelton's party.]
[DING]
[Realm-wide Announcement! The Hero has accepted his first party member, only four spots remain.]
[Congratulations! You have gathered the first member of your party. Find four more adventurers that you trust, and begin the search for the Sword of Archons.]
Alex was distinctly aware of a new display at the top left of his vision. His own name was at the top of a list, followed by the recently added elf woman. Four empty slots were underneath her name.
Even though he hadn't accessed the game through the full dive system, it still seemed like he could enjoy all the privileges that the players did. He also found his health and mana pool, represented by their respective red and blue colors, on the bottom right of his vision.
He had a smug smile as he watched the elf before him, expecting her to freak out about being in his party. Unfortunately the only response he got was a raised eyebrow, and an appreciative glance from Eliza.
She wasn't like those players in the square who would go ballistic about meeting the hero, and she definitely wasn't going to give Alex the satisfaction of knowing she was freaking out internally about possibly getting even more treasures.
"Not that it bothers me too much, but you don't even have gear or a weapon do you?" Her words broke the silence as the pair stood in the middle of the street. Alex was wearing the beginner clothing set that every player loaded into the starting village with, he hadn't even considered looking into getting equipment, assuming that Charles was gonna take care of everything.
"Uhhh."
As soon as that response left his mouth Eliza grabbed him by the hands and dragged him off in the direction of some equipment stores. Alex could swear he heard something that wasn't all too kind being said about noob players, and why they should kick rocks.
What the pair of young adventurers wasn't expecting was the perks that came from being a hero. Most of the stores they went into were owned or run by people that Alex had interacted with earlier. A majority of them recognized him, and were grateful that he promised to save them.
As such, they provided him with the basic essentials that he would need to survive outside the city. The more powerful gear was still available, but they weren't willing to part with their most expensive pieces of gear for free, and Alex was as broke as could be. Eliza offered to pay for one piece of good gear for him, but Alex didn't want to be in debt to a party member so early on in his adventure.
In the end, their shopping spree was a resounding success. Alex stepped out of Balik's Broadswords and Booze decked out in surprisingly good gear for his current level. It would by no means last, or be gear that he could use in the long run, but it would at least keep him alive while he was adventuring and fighting. He opened up his character screen and checked out the equipment tab.
[Equipment]
[Adventurers Leather Chestpiece]
Rank: F
Tier: Iron
Armour Rating: 10
[Adventurers Leather Bracers]
Rank: F
Tier: Iron
Armour Rating: 6
[Adventurers Leather Leggings]
Rank: F
Tier: Iron
Armour Rating: 8
[Adventurers Leather Boots]
Rank: F
Tier: Iron
Armour Rating: 5
[Adventurers Bronze Longsword]
Rank: F
Tier: Bronze
Melee Damage: +5 (Damage is calculated based on users technique and Strength stat)
[Adventurers Gear set equipped: +3 to Dexterity, +5 to overall Armour Rating]
With his new gear equipped, Alex looked like a proper adventurer. He still had no idea what class options were available to him, or what route he would go down, but this basic gear would be all he needed to start his journey. He swapped back to his main page to check out the slight boosts that his gear provided him.
Name: Alexander Khelton/Alex Khelton
Age: 20
Level: 1
Class: Unassigned
Race: [F] Human
Alignment: [Earth] Forces of Light
Titles: Lesser than Trash
Available skill points: 0
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 18
Charisma: 15
Endurance: 15
Vitality: 15
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 14
Luck: 18
Health Point Total: 160
Mana: 160
Armour Rating: 34 (Armour Rating determines how much damage is mitigated by physical attacks)
The boosts weren't monumental in any way, but every hero had to start somewhere didn't they? Just having gear that would help him stay alive was a major boon. He was about to close the menu when a blinking notification on his quests tab grabbed his attention. A flashing '2' meant that he had two quests needing his attention
[Quests]
[Active Quests, 0]
[Dynamic Quests, 2]
[Hero of Vorcast 1/5: You have been recognized as a Hero of the Forces of Light by a noble lord, Charles Lefay, and he has asked you for aid. The realm of Vorcast is in great danger of becoming conquered by Jaskiar's evil forces. Form a party of adventurers and begin your hunt for the Sword of Archons.]
[Unlocking Your Potential 1/???: You have started your journey in the realms, but now you must grow your power and become stronger. Reach level 5. [Rewards: Realm Map, Realm Bounties and 300 Realm Coins]
[Hidden Quest Unlocked: A hidden quest is a unique quest that is available only to you, and can only be unlocked by meeting special conditions.]
[Wrath of the Hero: You have suffered. You have endured. Prove them wrong.]
These two new quests were surprising, but welcome additions. It seemed as if the system wasn't content to just leave him on his own, and was getting directly involved in making sure he got stronger. Even if he was just a puppet on some cosmic beings' strings, getting stronger was his goal too. He was just fine playing along to a higher entity's tune, so long as it benefitted him as well.
The more surprising one was the hidden quest. He wondered just what triggered it, and what it meant by 'prove them wrong.' It was definitely a quest tailored specifically to him though. Seeing that quest almost made all the pain he went through his entire life worth it.
Almost. He would give anything to hear his mom's voice one more time. Her death was the catalyst for everything he had gone through, and he would trade the world just so she could be alive.
Earth, Valdenci Territory, District 5
"Sir, we've located the Khelton girl, but Kieth is nowhere to be seen." Anton Valdenci cursed loudly as the first report came through the phone. Two days had passed since he sent his enforcers to District 14 to find his missing debt collector. Two days of utter silence had nearly driven him mad, but finally someone was reporting in. The news was less than desirable.
He didn't need this on his plate right now. The Valdenci's annual leader summit was coming up soon, and any hiccups on his record would reflect badly. This issue needed to resolve itself quickly. When he spoke, it was through clenched teeth, "Bring that girl in, I don't care what you have to do to make it happen. She knows what happened to Kieth, and even the sturdiest of wills can be made to break."
Vorcast, Hollowed Moot Inn
"Come on Rich, that old man was talking out of his ass, ain't no way that the noob human with no gear was actually the Hero." A group of five adventurers were resting up at the Hollowed Moot Inn, discussing the events that transpired in the square.
Rich, the paladin of the group, set down his tankard of ale and pointed a gauntleted finger at their rogue, "Don't be dense Benji, it was clear the NPC held some respect for that noob human. And besides, something in my gut tells me that even if this Alex character isn't the Hero, he's working closely with someone who is."
Benji's gnome avatar stabbed the tip of his dagger into the table, a snarl escaping his lips, "Don't give me that bull, just because you're a paladin doesn't mean you have to get so into character. This whole thing is probably just some big sham to get us to waste our time."
The waitress serving their drinks quietly dropped off the next round and kept moving on, hoping to not draw the attention of the rowdy adventurers.
"Benji's right Rich, that guy in the square looked like a lost puppy. We're better off just giving up trying to join the party." Chloe sat up from her cross-legged position, crimson eyes flashing with wild magic.
As the party's sorcerer she held a majority of the magical power and artifacts, and ended up making a majority of their decisions, even if Rich was technically the leader.
"Plus, Wren says some NPCs told her about an incursion of elite enemies that needs to be stopped before they cripple a supply line." The dryad that represented Chloe's character inspected her nails, as if it was already a done deal and their path had been decided.
Rich could do nothing but shake his head. These were his friends, and though they might disagree sometimes, he would never split them up because of a stupid argument. "Alright, fine. I just don't think we should be so quick to give up on this hero thing."
As the party finished their drinks and disembarked from the inn, a shadowy figure emerged from a hidden alcove with a devilish grin. Commander Ignus would be pleased to know the newest hero was nothing but a bug waiting to be crushed…
Vorcast, Farseer's Tower
"Lord Tir, the Hero won't be an issue. He showed some backbone, but just like his predecessors, he is weak. He can't even use the Amulet of Heroes properly, which means the others' powers are weakening. Victory will be ours in due time. I will send the signal when the time is right. Glory to our savior, God-King Jaskiar."
The cloaked figure ended the transmission and sent the messaging beacon on its predetermined path, back to its creator.
None of those fools in the Cabal would be able to detect it and intercept it, and even if they did, it would be too late. Things had been set in motion that were years in the making. Everything was going according to plan.
Vorcast, Elturiel Square
Alex sneezed for what seemed like the thousandth time today, must be something in the air, he thought. After getting his basic equipment, Eliza and Alex ended their shopping spree in one of the city's biggest squares.
A fifteen foot tall statue of an elf wearing flowing robes, and wielding a massive staff pointed towards the sky, had been built in honor of the once great mage it represented. Even hundreds of years after its original construction, it shone with a luster like it had been built just the day before.
"They say his name was Eluturiel, one of the greatest wizards of a bygone era." Eliza caught Alex staring at the impressively big statue, his eyes wide with awe. "Apparently he was so powerful that he served the gods themselves, and learned spells under their tutelage."
Her own knowledge on the subject was somewhat spotty. She had only learned about his story from Farseer Wenlin when she went to ask him about the Seedlings, and even that was a story based mostly on rumor and myth.
Alex wondered if that was to be his legacy. If he would be remembered as some awesome and powerful being who served the gods. Would he have a statue built in his memory?
He shook his head from his own musings, knowing that he was a long way away from achieving such a legacy. Though he had to admit that this world amazed him. It made sense, given that it was another realm in the universe and not actually a game; but it still boggled his mind how diverse and rich the history of this place was.
If given the time, he made up his mind to explore and uncover as much of this realm as he could. It was only right that he knew as much as possible about the realm he was going to save. It would be a win-win situation, the more he knew, the better equipped he would be to save it.
Just as he was about to suggest going to search for Charles to come up with a plan of action, a shadow fell over him.
"You. Human. You're the Hero aren't you?"