Chapter 5

The Difference of Power

“Yes,” Jay said. “I at least want to hear what the request is. Can you tell me more?”

“Good,” Rolan said. “The thing is. We've been having trouble with parts of the sewer system beneath the Magician's Guild. And not the regular problem that one might think of, like clogged pipes. I'm talking about something else. We have had reports from daring Adventurers that have gone into the sewers to kill rats and cockroaches that at times they find weird blotches of a dark liquid sprayed on the floor or walls. And those that have touched this liquid have all been poisoned so badly that more than half died from the poison. We want you to discover the reason for this black poison being in the sewer, and if you can, we want you to get rid of its source. We will give you some equipment and money as payment for your service if you chose to accept.” Ping!

Pending Quest The Poisonous Black Liquid Difficulty: G Investigate the poisonous black liquid in the sewers. Find out what the black liquid is and its origin. When you have found the poisonous black liquid's source, destroy it and report back to Rolan Fairwater of the Magician's Guild. Reward: 5 silver coins 10000 Experience (A Dark Green Shirt)

10000 Experience? Jay thought. That's a lot. I think? View Experience.

Experience (to Level) (% to Next Level)

90 (10) (10.00%)

When had he gotten that Experience? He thought back to when he had seen a screen showing him gaining a Skill and remembered it had said something about earning Experience. That had to be it, but if he had gotten 90% of the first level by getting 90 Experience, how many Levels would he get from 10000 Experience? And what kind of monstrous task did he have to do to complete this Quest? He didn't know, and almost thought it might be best to not accept the Quest. But after a little while of thinking and figuring he came to the conclusion that he could always get some Levels before he tried doing the Quest if it seemed to be too difficult; so, it would be better to take the Quest and postpone its completion than to not take it at all. “That Quest, I will do it.”

“Good to hear,” Rolan said, handing Jay a piece of paper. “Here, take this map of the Magician's Guild grounds. I have marked the twelve entrances to the sewers on it. You can begin your search from any of those, come back to me when you have found out about what the black poisonous liquid is and where it came from. If you destroy whatever is causing the black liquid stains in our sewers I will give you one of my old shirts...” Rolan coughed, “What I mean is a piece of Magically Enhanced Clothing, as an extra reward.”

“How very kind of you,” Jay said, hoping that Rolan wouldn't catch on to his slight sarcasm. “Your shirt will be better than the things I'm wearing now, so I will gladly accept it.”

“Yes, well...” Rolan said, frowning slightly. “It's good that you will do the task for us. Come back to me when you've completed the task. Until then,” Rolan waved his hand, walking away, not looking back.

Maybe I angered him? Jay thought, but didn't care too much.

Yes, he might have been offended by your flippant tone, Claudine said. He did seem a bit upset about something at least.

Thanks for the input, Claudine, Jay thought. If you wouldn't mind, guide me to the nearest sewer entrance on the map.

Yes, Jay, Claudine said, spinning around and floating away from the pavilion.

Enduring Willpower, Jay thought, activating the skill. It was time to find out how difficult the Quest would be. He also wanted to try a trick he had thought of when learning 'Mana Manipulation'.

It only took a couple of minutes to go to and find the square metallic plate covering a hole down into the sewers. Jay pulled at the plate, straining with all his might, but couldn't get the plate to open more than a few centimeters. He looked around, trying to find something to use as a pry bar, and saw a metal rod standing against the wall near the hole. He walked over and looked at the metal rod. Observe.

Lesser Iron Rod (Blunt Weapon) (4100g) Attack: 2-3 Durability: 10 / 16 Attack Speed: -10% An iron rod of dubious strength. Its rusty exterior gives it a look of age. Requires 20 Strength to use.

The iron rod would probably be good enough to use as a pry bar. Jay even thought about taking it and trying to sell it. He would probably get more money from it than he had at the moment. It could be a good idea to take it. He looked around, and seeing no one looking at him he picked up the iron rod.

Alignment has decreased by 1 (potential) point You have taken something that does not belong to you. If someone notices that you have taken the Lesser Iron Rod and takes offense you will lose 1 Alignment. 30 minutes until you are free of suspicion. If you leave the area before someone sees that you have taken the Lesser Iron Rod you will be free of suspicion and not lose any Alignment Points.

That seems ominous, Jay thought. It seemed that stealing things would not benefit him. Well, that was only if he was caught, but it was still something he would have to remember. So many rules, so little time to learn them all. He had thought about stealing things if he ever spent all his money; that thought seemed less profitable now.

Using the pry bar, he slowly lifted the metal plate, shifting it to the side, and opened up the hole to the sewer. A disgusting waft of foul air, smelling of rotten garbage, ammonia and excrement, hit him straight in the nose, almost making him lose his balance. Do I really have to go down there?

Yes, Jay, Claudine helpingly said. If you want to do Rolan this favor you need to go into the sewers.

Ever heard of a rhetorical questions, Claudine? Jay asked. Maybe that was too much to ask for? Claudine seemed to be more of a store of knowledge than an actually intelligent being, so Jay didn't know if he could even hold a truly engaging conversation with his Guiding Spirit, but he had to at least see what Claudine was capable of.

No? Claudine asked. Maybe? You mean to say you asked the question to point out your displeasure more than to actually get an answer? I think I understand. Or do I? She sounded hesitant.

You understand well enough. Good girl, Claudine, it seems you are more intelligent than I thought, Jay thought to Claudine, smiling. It seemed his Guiding Spirit might actually be somewhat sentient. This could be a great help. If he taught Claudine to actively help him with things before he had to ask for them he might just have a great helper in his Guiding Spirit.

Looking around, Jay saw that no one was watching him, so he dropped the Lesser Iron Rod into an empty space in his Inventory. It seemed that he was quite alone in the semi-secluded corner of the Magician's Guild gardens, or at least alone in the sense that the closest person was some people walking on a pathway more than fifty meters away. He had stolen the Iron Rod without complications. It felt great to have such a windfall, he finally had something to sell when he went to buy food the next time.

Feeling like he had taken long enough to get accustomed to the smell and the lingering feeling of doubt about going into such a foul-smelling place, Jay took his last breath of fresh air and climbed down the ladder into the darkness.

Reaching the last rung on the ladder, he jumped down. The light from above covered an area of about a meter to all sides of him and he stood waiting, with his knife in hand. He had enough Strength to wield his short knife now; it made him want to try it out. He saw nothing though, only hearing a scurrying titter in the distance. It was possible that he needed to leave the safety of the light to find something to kill in this sewer. He didn't like that idea. This was only a research-expedition. He just wanted to know how difficult it would be to enter the sewers right now.

He waited for a little while longer, and at the same time as he took a step forward a large rat came running through the only doorway. The rat could almost have been called a small dog, its horrendous yellow teeth was as long as his knife's blade. It seemed this place had more dangers than he had first thought. The rat attacked him.

You have been attacked in the left leg by a Large Rat. You lose 18 Health.

What the?!? Jay thought in panic. He had lost more than 10% on one attack.

You have been attacked in the right leg by a Large Rat. You lose 26 Health.

He attacked with his knife, hitting the rat in its neck.

You have hit the Large Rat in the neck for 3 Health.

You have been critically attacked in the left leg by a Large Rat. You lose 43 Health.

Time to run, Jay thought, jumping up on the ladder and climbing up to a place where the rat could not reach him. It seemed both his attack and defense were lacking, severely. He looked at the rat with Observe.

Large Rat Level 1 (17/20HP) A large rat that lives in the sewers. It carries the plague, but is not very infectious. Potential to inflict Poisoned Wounds is 5% Potential to inflict The Plague is 1%

Hah, Jay thought. This is ridiculous. From the abysmal attempt to kill the rat he could only surmise that he was weaker than a Level 1 Rat; that did not bode well. How was he supposed to search the sewers if the first thing he met almost killed him? He could only come to the conclusion that he couldn't go into the sewers just yet. He needed to Level up some and distribute some Stats into appropriate places.

Before he left, however, he had something else he wanted to try. Bringing out his needle and thread from his Inventory he looked at the needle with Observe and saw that its attack was 0-1, which wasn't good, but helped him in his belief that he could make the needle into a weapon with 'Mana Manipulation'. The needle weighed 2 grams and would not really tax his ability to Regenerate Mana if lifted. He put the thread back into the Inventory and held the needle in his hand, thinking through what he needed to do before he tried it.

Lifting the needle into the air with 'Mana Manipulation' he started spinning it lengthwise around and around, faster and faster; the needle spun at tremendous speeds, almost too fast for him to actually be able to hold on to it. Then he started pushing on the needle from both the tip and the back at the same time, consuming his Mana rapidly because of the building pressure. When he was almost out of Mana he drew a thread of Mana from the front of the needle to the Large Rat's head. The rat had stayed beneath the ladder, looking up at him, which was a good thing. Now he could try out his idea of flinging something thin and sharp with 'Mana Manipulation'. The next moment he released the needle.

An inaudible thump could be felt through the air. Leaving ripples in its wake, the needle flew forth, flashing through the air and hitting the Large Rat in its head. Had Jay not been focused completely on the needle he would not even have been able to see that it flew through the air. It seemed his idea worked.

+68341% Damage because of Attack Speed You have critically hit the Large Rat in the head for 539 Damage Large Rat loses 17 Health and dies You have earned 5 Experience Points

The Large Rat lay dead on the ground, a large hole in its head where the needle had pierced it. His self-made Skill had exceeded his expectations. It was incredible; the damage was beyond great; it was exceptional. The only down-sides with his self-made Skill was that it took almost all his Mana and more than four seconds from start to release. It was not something he could use if he was close to his target or if there was more than one target. But he was still happy, if he could use this skill to attack creatures from afar and hit with enough force to kill it in one hit he would be relatively safe when killing monsters. It was a great success to his experiment.

Looking down at the rat, Jay saw nothing that could be described as useful. He had hoped that the Large Rat would drop something since this was a game, but he couldn't see anything but the rat's corpse. Maybe he could sell the corpse? Observe.

Dead Large Rat (3720g) A dead Large Rat, its head is blown to smithereens. It smells of the sewer's filth. Not even a desperate fur dealer would buy this rat's skin.

Good to know, Jay thought. Maybe he could butcher the rat for meat, but he wasn't that desperate, yet... Claudine, could you guide me to the nearest general store that sells needles and food?

Yes, Jay, Claudine said. Follow me. A place to your specifications is not far from here.

Jay went up the ladder and dropped the metal slate down on the hole. After a couple of steps he felt the air change; it was not something to ignore: how foul the reeking sewers were, in comparison to the fresh and lovely scents of flowering trees in the Magician's Guild gardens.

As he walked out of the Magician's Guild he got a message that the -1 to alignment he had earlier gotten for taking the Lesser Iron Rod had disappeared because he left the area. It felt good to have come out of the sewer-adventure with at least an iron rod to sell for food. It was something at least.

On a bench just outside the Magician's Guild Jay sat down and Meditated for a little while, regaining 25% of his total Mana. After that he followed Claudine down a winding alleyway and onto a large street where he saw a wooden sign, creaking back and forth in the wind; on it was a picture of a bag with coins spilling out. Claudine indicated that this was the General Store and Jay was glad it had not taken too long to get there. His 'Enduring Willpower' had almost eaten up all his Mana.

Sitting down at the front of the store he Meditated for a time, building up his Mana again and after he had 50%, he stood, activating 'Enduring Willpower' again and walking into the store.

Inside the store was shelf upon shelf with things, simple things such as ropes, torches, shovels and wooden staves mostly. It could be that the store manager only had the less valuable things on display out in the store. And Jay didn't really want to look around anyway, so he walked up the store's counter and looked at the gray-haired old man standing behind it. The man was muscular, a scar running from his right ear to the arch of his nose, making him look fierce as any seasoned warrior. Jay was slightly impressed. “Hello. I'm Jay. What's you name?”

“I'm Bluth,” the store-manager said. “What do you want?”

“Well,” Jay said, hesitating. He wanted to get on the good side of this man, he needed to strike a bargain for food. “What would you give for these things?” Jay lay the Lesser Iron Rod and his Beginner's Knife on the table in front of Bluth.

“22 copper for the Lesser Iron Rod and 5 copper for the Knife,” Bluth said, gruffly shaking his head as if the deal wasn't even worth his time.

“But..?” Jay said, hesitating again. He had hoped the Lesser Iron Rod would bring a bit more money. Had he been wrong? “Why only so little? I need food, could you maybe trade some food for the things?”

“I'm not really interested in these things. I'll buy the Iron Rod to sell for scrap metal and I might be able to sell the knife to someone that needs a dinner knife, but I'm not sure of that. What kind of food are you looking for?”

“I need whatever gives the most Stamina for the least amount of money. I'm desperate here. I don't have any money and soon I won't have any food. Please help me?” Jay said, pleading creeping into his voice now. He had not thought that he would get so little for the iron rod, but now that he was here, he had no real choice but to sell it. The iron rod had a requirement of 20 Strength to be used as a weapon, so that was not an option for Jay. It was only valuable as the money he could get for it.“Here,” Bluth said, showing Jay some large hard sheets of bread. “I'll give you five of these for your things. A 3 copper discount. Do we have a deal?”

Observe.

Large Nourishing Traveling Bread (250g) (Expires in: 196 days 17 hours) The hard brown bread made from corn and barley is barely palatable, yet edible. It is a good bread for long travels because of how long it takes to become inedible. Increases Stamina by 40. Increases HP Regeneration by 4HP per minute for 15 minutes.

“Please, let me have six?” Jay asked, hoping he could get a better deal.

“No. I'm not running a charity here,” Bluth said.

“Okay,” Jay said, dejected. “Thank you for the 3 copper discount. I will remember your kindness.”

Bluth hesitated for a moment. “You know what, kid? If you're in such need, why not do a job for me? I need this package delivered to the Herbalist's Guild, but I can't go there right now because I'm tending the store. I was going to deliver it this evening, but if you do it for me I will give you 2 iron coins. How about it?” Ping!

Quest A Delivery to the Herbalist's Guild Difficulty: J Take the package Bluth needs delivered to the Herbalist's Guild and give it to them. Reward: 2 iron coins 100 Experience

“Oh, that sounds good,” Jay said; he was getting the distinct impression that this was more of a charity job than anything, but he couldn't refuse. If he was given 2 iron coins—one iron coin was worth 100 copper coins—he could buy lots of food. It was almost certain to let him actually not care about food for a day or two. “I will gladly deliver your package to the Herbalist's Guild.”

After putting away the bread in his Inventory Jay took the package from Bluth and ran out of the General store. Claudine, show me the way to the Herbalist's Guild.

Sure, Jay. Follow me.

Running after Claudine, Jay spent all his Mana before he reached the Herbalist's Guild, but he ate a Large Hard Brown Bread and meditated by a fountain for an hour, replenishing his Stamina completely and drinking from the fountain before leaving, fully satiated in every way. It finally felt like his food-situation had begun to resolve itself. If he only took the time to meditate right after eating he would get a 400% boost in the amount of Stamina each piece of food gave, it was beyond good, and he was truly grateful for whatever thing had made it possible for him to learn the Skill 'Meditation' after only a half a day's trying.

Not long after he had gotten up again he felt his Strength surge slightly.

Strength has increased by 1. By constant effort, straining you muscles to their limit, you have become stronger.

“Yes!” Jay exclaimed, reaching his hands to the sky, looking up. The sun had moved to the far west and Jay realized that night was closing in. It had truly been a benevolent act from the store-manager Bluth. It seemed Jay was getting paid 2 iron coins for doing something Bluth could have done a few hours later than Jay. He had to remember to thank the man later.

The Herbalist's Guild wasn't as large as the Magician's Guild, but it was large enough to be impressive, in its own way. The soaring metallic network, holding onto large sheets of glass, that made up the Herbalist's Green House Gardens were magnificent in its own way. The buildings seemed to focus the late evening light as if it was concentrating it on the greenery inside all the green-houses. It seemed the Herbalists' grew a lot of their herbs in their own Guild compound.

Jay had wanted to visit this place ever since Claudine told him about it. It was one of the places where he figured he might learn something about making either a potion or a salve to heal injuries. He had very low Health and the encounter with the rat had shown him his life could be ended quickly if he met some creature with a few more levels than him. It was truly ominous. But he needed some way of healing what little Health he had, if he ever needed it, and the Herbalist's Guild was a place where they made tinctures and potions, which made Jay feel it could be a good place to learn something new.

He walked in at the front gate, looking around, hoping he would be greeted like he had been at the Magician's Guild, but there was no one around. Claudine, where do I need to go to deliver this package? It should be some sort of welcoming place for visitors or the like. Please guide me.

Okay, Jay, this way. Claudine said, a smirk flashing on the cloud-thing's feminine facial exterior.

Trying out rhymes now? Jay thought, not really wanting an answer, but curious what, if anything, Claudine would answer.

Yes? Claudine said, reluctantly, or so it seemed to Jay. He was getting better to interpret Claudine's tones and slight facial expressions. Even if Claudine was a sort of cloud-mass more than an actual face, she still had her own reactions and expressions. He was becoming more and more certain that Claudine might be learning from experience.

Well, good for you, experiment all you like. That way you'll learn faster, Jay thought back to Claudine. Now show me the way.

Yes, Jay, Claudine said.

A few minutes later Jay entered a slightly less green-house-like part of the Herbalist's Guild; the house still had lots of windows and plants were growing in small pots close to the windows everywhere he looked. It seemed they really liked their plants here. Jay was curious what he, if anything, could learn from these people. “Hello, anyone here?” he asked in a loud voice.

“Yes, yes,” a voice from some interior room answered in a preoccupied voice. “I'm coming. Wait a moment.”

Jay stood still, waiting for the voice to show its face. Five minutes passed. No one came. Five minutes more passed. Jay was getting impatient. He couldn't very well sit down and meditate, and having stopped his 'Enduring Willpower', he felt like a cripple that had just left his sickbed. His legs almost bent from his own weight and every muscle in his body cried out in pain. “Hello? Where are you?” he almost yelled.

“Yes, yes?” a voice again said from somewhere in the house's interior. “I'll be right there, wait a moment.”

“I've waited for ten minutes already,” Jay said, still in an almost yelling voice. “I'm here to make a delivery. I have a package from Bluth here.”

“Why didn't you say so earlier?” the voice said, coming out from the back, showing that it belonged to a wizened old man in rugged pants and a linen shirt, suspenders holding his pants onto his skinny frame. His non-existent head of hair was a few long wisps of white fluttering strings. The man's face was as wrinkled as a prune, more wrinkles than face almost. He seemed old as dirt, but was spry as a boy as he walked quickly up to Jay. “Give it here, youngster. I don't have time for this. I'm in the middle of planting some seedlings from a very delicate herb.”

“I won't take much of your time,” Jay said, wanting to leave as much as the man wanted to get back to his work. “Just give me a note I can bring back to Bluth, showing that I've delivered the package and we're done here. That is, if you don't have any work that I might do for you. Something easy maybe? I'm in desperate need of work to buy some food.”

“You want to work for me?” the man said, poking Jay in the stomach with a gnarly finger.

You have been attacked in the stomach by ???. You lose 47 Health.

“Ouch,” Jay said, not feigning the pain. “That hurt.”

“Oh,” the man said, seeming perplexed. “I didn't know you were that weak. Sorry about that. I'm Hyren if I didn't say before. I don't think you can do any work I have. You're just too weak.”

Observe, Jay thought, hoping to get some information on the old man. Jay had only been poked in the stomach and almost lost 40% of his health.

Hyren - ??? Level ??? ??? (???/???HP) Herbalist in the Herbalist's Guild. ???

That told me so much. He had not thought he would get any information, but it still rankled that this wizened old man could hurt him so badly by just poking Jay with a finger. It was humiliating. But Jay had no real idea how to fix his situation, not right now at least. “Please, any job will do. I need to get some money together so that I can buy enough food to train my body. As you can see, I am terribly weak, but if I get enough money I will be able to train and get stronger.”

“You may be right,” Hyren said. “If you're truly willing to risk your life to work, I'm not going to stop you. My apprentice went out to search for a mountain herb a few days ago, and I don't have time to go and forage what I need for some simple tinctures. I could give that simple job to you, but it might be too difficult for you. If you really want work, you can help me gather 100 String Herbs. You can find them outside the city gates in the meadows close by. Just remember, with your frail body you will die if you are attacked by anything from the forest. So, be careful to not get too close. I will give you 80 iron coins or something of equivalent value. What do you say, want the job?”

“I will do it,” Jay said, confident that he could somehow manage. “I'll go out tomorrow. Today I have to get back to Bluth and stock up on things for the foraging tomorrow.”

Quest Gather 100 String Herbs for Hyren Difficulty: I Hyren needs some String Herbs for some simple tinctures, but does not have the time to gather them himself. The String Herbs can be found outside the city walls. Reward: 80 iron coins 2000 Experience

“Ah, right,” Hyren said, handing a piece of paper with some scribbles on it to Jay. “Here you go. Show this to Bluth and he will know you've done your job.”

“Thank you,” Jay said. “I will see you tomorrow then, after I've gathered the String Herbs.”

“Yes, well, don't die. Okay?” Hyren said.

Jay didn't feel very good about hearing how he would most likely die while gathering herbs, but he had no choice, he needed the money. He could always just try going outside the city walls and if it became dangerous he could leave. It should be safe enough to use Observe on the creatures outside and then evaluate how difficult it will be to gather the hundred String Herbs. “I'll be back when I have the String Herbs for you. Good bye.”

“Wait a moment,” Hyren said, rustling about in a large wooden box. “Here you go.” He stretched out a pair of worn leather gloves with a hole on one thumb to Jay. “Take these gloves. They will help you gather the herbs.”

“Thank you!” Jay exclaimed. “You are truly a kind man. I will not forget this.” He took the gloves and looked at them. Observe.

Lesser Gathering Gloves (280g) Defense: 1 Durability: 9/15 Slightly worn leather gloves made especially from thin leather to help in gathering herbs and plants in the wild. Increases Dexterity by 2 Increases Gathering Skill by 5% Requires 3 Dexterity to use

It seemed things were turning around for him. A free pair of gloves and another fairly easy-sounding quest. Finally, his situation was turning around. After he was done gathering the 100 String Herbs he would no longer have to care much for food. And if he got a few Levels when he was outside the city he might even be able to go to the sewers after that. Everything was going in the right direction. He put the gloves on; they fit perfectly.

“Thank you again, old man Hyren,” Jay said, leaving the Herbalist's house.

“Yes, yes...” Hyren said, absentmindedly waving his hand as if shooing off some animal.

Jay ran full speed toward Bluth's shop. Life had finally shown its better side. Everything was going great. 'Enduring Willpower' depleted all his Mana. Stumbling on his own feet, he fell on his face.

Fall Damage -8HP You are Stunned

“Damn it!” Jay yelled into the darkening evening sky. It seemed not everything was as good as he had thought.

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