"Great," she whispered and sighed. "Maybe this realm is too much like real life."
Asha turned to leave, but something he said registered. "Why did you call me an 'Immortal' instead of a player?"
The farmer shrugged. "The mobs here think all players are immortal, since we come back after death. Mobs just die."
"Are Immortals revered?"
"Ha! The opposite. So be careful. It's only a crime to kill an Immortal if he or she is a citizen of the town," Jarl said. "Fortunately, I'm one of the Founding Fathers of Oxenbluff, so I'm a citizen and protected from random violence. You'll be fair game, though."
"Can mobs in this realm determine if we are Immortals the same way we see who is a player?"
"No, they don't see any of the gaming stuff like us," he said. "It's not a game to them. Hell, it's not really a game anymore for us Immortals. This is our new reality, baby."
Asha nodded, looking all around. That realm was indistinguishable from real life. She felt alive. And from Jarl's proposition and following comments, they could do anything in VR that they could do in RL.
"Not necessarily a good thing," she whispered. Then to the farmer. "Thank you, Jarl. You've been very informative. Good-bye."
She studied the town as she approached. The town of Oxenbluff was difficult to see behind high stone walls. Asha did see wooden palisades and a stone tower in the middle of the town, at its highest point. Other than that, all she could see were the thatch roofs of buildings. Outside the town walls was another problem.
Shantytowns in real life and in the Game are never good places. The one outside Oxenbluff's curtain wall looked particularly dangerous. The dark smoke cloud above the shantytown was thicker than what was above the city.
She slowed to a walk upon passing into the shantytown. Every race represented in the Game was there. Minotaur, goblin, and human street urchins co-mingled as they wove through the street crowd, laughing and shouting as they ran with their barking dogs. Adults of every race swatted and cursed at them. Asha spotted a street vendor selling sausages wrapped in flatbread, making her stomach rumble.
"I'll kill you!" a minotaur bellowed. "You honorless swine!"
The eight foot tall brown and white furred minotaur was squared off with another one. The second minotaur was a mottled gray, with especially wide horns decorated with silver bands. Both of them wore loincloths, with long swords at their hips. But they started out throwing fists.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Asha turned to see a pair of human men in black tunics. They had scary eyes, and then she realized they were looking at her. Before the danger registered, one of them hit her with a right cross to the jaw.
"Uggh!"
Black and white flashed behind her eyes, and pain ripped through her head, and down her neck. Asha felt her body go limp, and then two sets of hands seized her. They dragged her away and into a dark place. The elfmaid was shoved against a rough wall and their hands were everywhere.
"Bitch ain't got no coin," one said.
"Damn," the other said. "Check her out. She's just a level 11. I bet this is her first day here."
"Well that sucks," the other said.
Asha's wits returned, while her head throbbed. She concentrated on the man to her right.
Pawl. Human barbarian warrior (Lvl 23). -7 Dark. PK: 22.
"Please. I just got here. I have nothing to take."
The other mugger grabbed a fistful of her hair. "Wanna bet, elf? Slavers will pay a pretty penny for your sweet round butt."
She checked him out.
Uthor. Human soldier (Lvl 20). -13 Dark. PK: 29.
"Oh my, you're both minions of evil," she said. They grinned cruelly at her. She gave them a single nod, and then grabbed the hilt of Uthor's short sword. "I kill Dark minions!"
Pawl screamed something in a language she didn't understand, but sounded Slavic. The short sword came out with a scary Zzziiipp. Asha flicked her wrist, sending the keen-edged blade across Pawl's throat. As he stumbled away, clutching his throat, Uthor turned and ran. The sorceress took off after him, and caught him just before he reached the street.
Congratulations! You've learned the Battle Skill of Swordsmanship! Slay your enemies! Conquer the world!
"Ah, bitch," he growled after she thrust the sword through his back, piercing a lung. "My respawn site is just outside town, so I'll be looking for your ass soon enou…"
Asha stared down at him a long moment. It hadn't occurred to her that he could return to town that fast. She glanced at Pawl's body, and he was starting to fade away. And then she had another terrible thought.
"Oh my god, I have two PKs now."
Uthor faded away and she noticed he dropped something: A dark red leather coin purse, the sword's scabbard, and a long belt knife. When she checked where Pawl died, she found another knife and a cloth coin purse.
She pushed Pawl's purse into the one she took from Uthor, buckled the sword belt around her waist, and sheathed the sword. The elfmaid attached one knife at the small of her back, half-hidden by her long hair, and the other opposite the sword. The coin purse hung off the belt next to the buckle.
"Before I leave, I better see what the damage is," Asha whispered, and pulled up her stats. And then opened up Skills and Possessions.
Current status
:
Name:
Asha
Race:
High Elf (Desert Tribes)
Class:
Sorceress (Novice)
Leveclass="underline"
11 (29% to next level)
Alignment:
Neutral
Health:
96/100
Strength:
8/10
Endurance:
9/10
Agility:
10
Mana:
100
Skills:
(Click to View/Hide)
Battle skills:
Swordsmanship (Lvl 1)
Possessions:
(Click to View/Hide)
Weapons:
Short sword.
Dwarven long knife.
Ork belt knife, single-edge.
Armor:
N/A
Money/shekels:
0 gold, 1 silver, 13 copper shekels
Wardrobe:
Spawn tunic (Cotton)
Elven Sorceress dress (Silk).
Purple. Two piece (Halter and slit skirt).
Player Kills:
2
Deaths:
1
She grimaced. "I'm saddled with two PKs, but gained a few coins and some average quality weapons. At least I didn't go Dark." Then she regarded the last line. "Why is it showing that I've died once?"
Asha worried more about the PKs, since too many of them might push her toward the Darkness. In the previous realm, five PKs earned a player one point toward the Dark. So she needed to earn some Light points, and fast.
"I have a bad feeling this realm is going to force me to do a lot more killing," she muttered as she returned to the street. A few mobs did double-takes, as if they were surprised it was her to emerge, not the two muggers. At least two of the mobs gave her wary looks when they noticed the sword that now rode her left hip.