14 Chapter 13: Introspection

We searched the corpse of the golem. I had Gillow smash open the large chest rock to see if there was anything inside. There was an emerald about half the size of my fist, uncut. "By the Eight!" Yalow exclaimed.

"Indeed, we will sell it in Balkor unless there is a better suggestion." No one said anything. "Alright then, lets push on." Unfortunately there was still a large boulder blocking the path. It took all four of us to roll off to the side just enough to allow the cart to pass. "Gillow can rest up on the wagon. Ulther you take the rear, Yalow up front with me." Everyone sorted themselves out and we set off.

Things were quiet the rest of the day and the following two days. I spent most of the time assessing my team's skills. Yalow was a good shot, but had difficulty at longer ranges. Gillow, while strong had trouble adjusting quickly when we sparred off. Ulther was having difficulty sitting still. I ended up having him sit in my lap next to the campfire one night to help him relax.

It was hard to tell what was going on in his head or code as it were. I had ruined his old life, but I had given him adventure and attention. The constant physical contact helped reinforce this. I was riding with him up on the wagon thinking about what to ask. "Ulther, I was hoping you would answer a couple of my questions."

"Hmm, what do you want to know?"

"I want you to tell me how you feel about me, traveling, anything you think is important."

"I…I…I don't know." He mumbled out. I put my arm around him.

"Listen, don't think about it just talk. You will feel a lot better."

"Um well. I am annoyed about what you did to my family." Annoyed, not angry that is good. "On the other hand I can kind of understand. You let those people go when they wanted to leave. It makes me wonder if I could, or should ask."

"If you are truly unhappy, you can leave my side any time. Yes, I won't lie to you. I need your help, but it is more important you choose to stay with me."

"Yeah, I am kind of getting used to all of this."

"Indeed, especially the woman?" Ulther blushed. "When we get to Balkor, I will set you up in a pleasure house. I think you would enjoy it."

"Um, yeah." I rubbed his head and he leaned into me. "I am afraid we will all die. I know you will come back, but I won't."

"True, but that is why we have to make the most of the time we have now. Your life on the farm, would want to go back? Could you go back after all of this?"

"No, I…I can't put back the grain on the stalk if that makes any sense."

"Indeed it does. If it does come down to it save yourself, before saving me. Don't object, listen. I can come back you cannot. If I perish, become strong and I shall find you."

"You won't die, you kill everyone who stands in your way."

"That is recklessness. I have come close to dying many times. While I do kill many people, that source of my strength is in running away. I never fight a battle I can't win."

"I really like this."

"I love you to. Love is not a weakness by the way, some may say that. I argue that it makes one strong. I love my life. I love you."

"I love you too."

We sat there on the wagon enjoying each other's company. Ulther had grown on me. He was dependable and loyal. I estimated I could repeat the same actions a thousand times and still not have a better result. I rubbed his shoulder with one hand while he leaned against me. There were hard times ahead and it wouldn't get any easier.

After the initial chaos the players were finally integrating with the NPCs if the online forums were anything to go by. I wasn't public enemy number one, but I was close. Some guy had gagged a bunch of players and had raped both men and women repeatedly. He then proceeded to torture them for as long as possible while raping them in hopes of breaking their minds. He was still on the loose, somewhere called Multhenn.

From what I knew that was far to the north of here and already huge groups of players were scouring the land for him. Thankfully the hate was about simmering level for me and boiling for him. While I was viewed as a demon, my videos also helped insulate me with a large following. No massive witch hunts yet, but I knew that players were out there searching for me.

I had to carefully edit my videos to lay as many false trails as possible while still keeping the content. Every time I returned to my atrium my worry increased and the pressure not to make a single mistake was weighing down on me. If I died I would probably lose half my viewers and then I would have to start looking for a job with no college degree and not much

else on my resume.

I had been tempted to stay in Breckley to try and finish off the quests for the bonus stat points, but that was just asking to be caught. Being a terrorist slash villain slash celebrity, I had to be very careful in my movements. I had gotten over confident which had allowed those Order of the Phoenix people to find me.

That guild was already way too freaking big. Thankfully I had a fan on the inside on their inner circle passing me information. They had pushed to have a big presence in Breckley to help the region and get in with the NPCs. Thankfully their efforts in the Wild Lands were falling short. They tended to recruit the weaker players who wanted to be part of a large group rather than fighters who paved the way. Sure they had some fighters, but that wasn't their focus as a guild either. It was about networking and creating a stable environment in response to the NPC hate.

Guilds like the Red Dawn, Troll Masters, and Sparkly Rainbow Unicorn Princesses (SRUP) were far more dangerous. Having a core group of highly skilled members they were already pulling in followers to act as satellite groups. There were hundreds of rumors flying around, from shadow magic, to necromancy. All of it unconfirmed and second hand, but the fact that these groups kept coming up again and again in online chat meant they were strong.

Unfortunately none of them were broadcasters. I was probably the highest ranked 'evil' player who was broadcasting. No one else wanted to take the risk of being tracked or revealing secrets. Fame is a fickle mistress. The only thing the public loves more than an awesome villain, is an awesome villain getting beaten. That was why there was already a couple of broadcasters hunting me down.

So far the couple of videos I had watched hadn't shown any real skill, but there was traction. In a month or two there would be a swarm of players out for me just for the fame rather than my evil deeds. That was the motivation for getting out of Breckley and someplace I could gear up. From there it would be a long journey in the wilderness to level up and then a return.

NOTIFICATION

All players have been ranked based on levels and skills. You will be informed if you are in the top 10000, top 1000, or the top 50.

***TOP 1000***

That was the reason for all the introspection. I had dropped. Despite not dying, and being awesome my overall ranking had gone down. My biggest guess was the lack of leveling. I had plateaued while other players were probably massacring high level monsters to level up at insane rates. I wish I had gotten an exact number instead of a vague top one thousand statement. I was probably in the top 100, but there was no way to know for sure.

A loud caw cut through my thoughts. I looked up and saw three birds circling above us. "Yalow, get your bow ready. Ulther get me a bow. Gillow, protect the horses." Everyone raced to complete their tasks. Ulther strung up a bow from the stash we had in the wagon and passed it to me along with a quiver. The birds continued to caw and circle.

"Yalow, stay close to the back of the wagon, Gillow the front. We keep moving, stay alert." We began to advance along the rocky road, one eye above us as the birds continued to circle above us. "Anyone know what they are?" Silence, stupid uneducated NPCs. If I was a lord I would make all my citizens memorize the bestiary backwards and forwards and learn how to read.

"Something ahead." Gillow said. I looked down the road and saw a golem. There was no room to turn the wagon around with cliffs on one side, and heavy brush and rocks on the other. Ulther didn't have enough MP for another chant just a couple days after the last one, which was frustrating. Also the birds continued to circle. I passed the bow and quiver to Ulther.

"Ulther and Yalow, watch the birds and our rear. Gillow, I need your help with the golem." He gave me a short nod and unslung his war hammer. I hoped into the back of the wagon and pulled out two of our spare swords. I then went ahead with Gillow to face the golem.

I was in a big believer in doing what had worked once. As we approached the golem stood about ten feet tall and had a lighter color. Different gender or race maybe? Did the quartz rock golems keep the shale golems out of their parties? Did monsters even have parties? Why was I even asking these stupid questions, focus.

"I am going to rush it. Stay back for now." Gillow nodded. I raced forward. I stopped right as the golem began its swing. Unfortunately it quick enough to slide forward slightly. The rock fist grazed my chest before it hit the ground. Despite being a graze I felt my breath knocked out of and stumbled back losing the chance to race up the golem's arm. My health had dropped by about two thousand also.

Gillow rushed in and slammed his war hammer down on the golem's arm. It cracked but held together. I moved back and recovered my breath. That thing hit like a rock, well to be fair it was mostly rock. It swung at Gillow who barely managed to dive out of the way in time. I darted in towards the golem. It took a swipe at me but I was circling it. The boulder next to it was the right height and from what I had seen the far side was less steep.

The golem turned back to Gillow who was strafing around the thing. I reached the top of the boulder and noticed the birds had dropped much lower, but were staying just out of arrow range. I had to trust Ulther and Yalow. I gripped the two swords in my hand and drew my arms back. "Rock thing, over here!" I shouted. Gillow moved away and the golem turned towards me. I threw both swords and reached down to draw out the ones on my hip.

One sword struck a black orb and it cracked. The golem slammed an arm onto the boulder's edge a foot in front of me. The entire boulder shattered and I was forced to leap off to the side. I had to cast one of my weapons away since I didn't want to stab myself. I rolled over my shoulder and stood up. Turning around I saw Gillow strike one of its legs and retreat.

"Kenji!" I heard Ulther shout. I dropped to one knee and swung behind myself blindly. I felt my blade impact something. I twisted around and saw one of the birds impaled on my sword. It was a dark grey with a red crest. It was about a foot long and eagle shaped if I had to compare it to a bird I knew. It had vicious looking claws and a curved beak. They were probably to rip flesh out of its prey.

I slid the corpse off my sword and turned back to the golem. Gillow was sweating and was starting to slow down. I raced in once again. This time I was ready for the golem to slide forward and managed to leap up on its arm and race forward. Thankfully the sheer shock of such an attack carried over to this golem as well. "Power slash." I yelled out and drove my blade straight into the black gem.

Interesting thing to note, power slash did not require a slashing motion, only an attack with a cutting weapon. The Fey Blade drove through the gem and into the rock behind it and then out the back of the golem's head. It shook once and then collapsed. I was thrown off and tumbled across the ground. When I finally stopped I let out a moan and noticed another thousand HP had been shaved off. Gillow helped me up and I looked around. I saw a second bird dead near the wagon and no sign of the third. The golem was dust. "That was ugg." I said.

"Yeah." Gillow agreed.

"Help me to the wagon. We are taking a long break everyone." I collapsed against a wheel and sat there. Ulther brought me some food and water. Gillow went to get the gem out of the golem and Yalow began retrieving all our spent weapons. I thought about helping, but that last tumble had been a bit much.

Soon were all sitting on or against the wagon, resting. "Got a small sapphire." Gillow handed me the uncut gem. I pocketed it. "Good job everyone. Remind me never to get hit by a golem again. What happened with the birds?"

"They kept getting lower and lower. Yalow took a shot, but they were quick. Then one went for you with your back turned. Yalow shot another one as it came in at the horses and the last one flew off." I rubbed Ulther's hair.

"Thanks for the warning." After a bit we got up and continued onwards. Gillow and Yalow rode in the back of the wagon while Ulther and I sat up front. Horsey Three and Four were still going strong despite all the monsters coming after us. Hopefully we were through the worst of it.

***

"Thank the Eight those mountains are behind us!" Yalow shouted out as we saw a forest laid out below us. It had taken ten more days of constant attacks. I didn't know how that caravan had gotten through, but it was golem and birds the entire way. Just yesterday we got two golems at once. That had been a long battle and all of us were at the end of our rope.

"I think we all agree with that."

"We should celebrate when we get to Balkor. How much further is it?"

"It looks like seven days through that forest until we reach a large lake and then about three more days to reach Balkor."

"First thing, a bath. Then some good food and then a brothel."

"Yeah, after all those gems we definitely aren't going to be hurting for money."

"I bet the forest is worse than the mountains."

"Don't curse us. You don't say things like that aloud it is bad luck."

"Sorry?" I let out a small sigh at Yalow.

"Alright, lets rest up for the rest of today. We can start heading through the forest tomorrow. Keep your eyes peeled for a decent campsite." We found a place near the base of the mountain with a small waterfall. I checked behind it, but no hidden treasure or passages.

We set up camp and it was nice to have a fire again. I looked over my status. I had gained six new levels. The golems and birds were high level monsters and so the experience gains had been a welcome reward. Honestly though, I did not want to have to keep fighting them. It was like dancing next to pits full of spikes. One mistake and that was it. There was no way for anyone to survive a direct golem hit unless they had some crazy stats.

STATUS

Name Kenji Shadowen

Level 57

Constitution 61

Strength 51.5

Dexterity 58.85

Endurance 52.5

Wisdom 5.2

Intelligence 5.45

Charisma 0

Luck 0

Fate 571.65

Looking at my fate it made me wonder if the monsters were somehow drawn to people with a higher fate stat. It would explain the number of attacks in addition to how the caravan was able to pass through appearing unmolested. Yeah, I was monster bait. I also wondered if people would be drawn in also. That was a scary thought.

I looked through my skills. Power slash was up to level three and did four times the damage now. A few others went up like leadership and tactics, but no other active skills besides power slash. It was just too useful against the golems, and it used SP instead of MP.

I had also gained a constitution focus for an extra twenty five percent HP after raising my base Constitution up to fifty. I then resolved to dump the rest of my points into Dexterity for now, or at least until it was one hundred. It was frustrating that my teammates couldn't see their stats. The good news was that Ulther had finally memorized all twenty four chants.

Using observe, his max MP was around three hundred and a single chant used up one hundred MP. That was insane, but good to know. I had him meditating and staring at people whenever he could. He still hadn't unlocked observe, but I hadn't given up hope yet. At least his strongest stat was wisdom and not luck.

Thankfully the nights in the mountains had been peaceful. The golems and birds only came out during the day and there were no signs of anything at night. We set up our guard watch and I debated what to do once we reached Balkor and beyond. I did want to hunt down monsters, but that wouldn't be easy. Also the couple of reports I had found online and stated that the Wild Lands were a mix of barbarian hordes and warlord ruled cities. The biggest challenge would be making it through the city undetected.

The following day we set off leaving the mountains behind. Thankfully the road was clear for the most part and travel continued uninterrupted. Yalow was riding in the cart today, while Ulther took the front with me. I rotated everyone so that no one got complacent. Also it was nice change to ride up in the cart compared to walking. Everyone kept their eyes peeled for movement or anything abnormal.

I looked up quite often as well and that was how I spotted a large cluster of vines hanging over the road. "Hold up everyone. Those vines don't seem natural. Stay alert and be ready for poison based attacks." Everyone quickly followed me by tying cloths around their nose and mouth. While it wouldn't help in most cases, at least they would be more alert to that type of attack.

I slowly advanced underneath the vines, both swords held at the ready. I had enough MP, so I decided to blow some. "Observe."

Forest Creeper

LvL: 83

Strongest Stat: Dexterity

HP: 4291

MP: 106

SP: 12841

Apparently I was as smart as an actual vine based on the MP. What really was important to note was that I had been looking at one of the vines off to the side and the description had appeared above that specific vine. That meant that each of these seven vines was a different monster. They would be quick, insanely quick. Grab a person and probably disable them somehow. My bet would be on contact poison of some kind.

"Stay back and watch our flanks. Don't let them touch you, they are fast. Also get a fire going." No one commented on my sudden knowledge. I looked up at the monster vines hanging twelve feet off the ground. I put away one sword and picked up a rock. Taking careful aim I struck one of the vines. It twitched and then it flew towards me.

I kept my blade upright in front of me and spun at just the right moment to intercept the vine. The tip was cut off and the vine quickly jerked back. It was about three inches across with leaves running the entire length. From the portion I had just cut, purple fluid leaked out and dripped onto the road. Definitely poison, and judging by the sheen on the leaves the vine excretes it for sure.

The vine whipped around, knocking all the ones nearby. They all twitched. I drew my second blade. A quick glance showed me that my team was still gathering wood. They would need another minute, I should have had them start on a fire first thing. This time three vines darted in while a forth moved to encircle me.

My max speed burned about fifteen SP per second. With 1417.09 SP I had about a hundred seconds before I would be completely exhausted for the rest of the day. The reason that mattered was because I was probably the only one from our group who could fight the vines head on. I spun and slashed out, cutting two vines.

The third grazed my hand and I felt an intense burning sensation. Pain poison, to knock things out or incapacitate them with, just great. I was able to ignore thanks to my resistance training and cut the vine. The vine that had been encircling me began to pull together in an attempted to snare me. I slammed both swords into the ground with the blades facing the vine. I then pushed myself up into a handstand letting the vine slice itself in two places. I landed back on my feet and freed my swords.

The rest of the vines were spreading out in an arc in front of me. I could smell the smoke from behind and I knew they had gotten the fire going. I was really wishing I had a canteen of Ent sap, that would be incredibly useful just about now. Three vines moved in again. I was able to cut two but the third managed to wrap itself up and around my left arm. I hacked the vine off, but the separated portion still clung to me.

I began to feel a burning sensation through my clothes. The poison was probably going through them. I used the sword in my right hand to slice just above my arm, cutting it free of the vine. This had the side effect of getting purple vine juice on my arm and that was when I really started to feel it. Ignore. Do not pay attention to the pain. Pain is the mind killer, I shall not feel.

I retreated back towards our fire and the vines continued to stretch out in pursuit. Ulther quickly poured a canteen of water over my arm and looked at me. "Hold off on a chant for now, the water is helping. If the others are hit they will need healing more than I will." Ulther gave me a nod. I looked over and saw Yalow wrapping the tips of his arrow in cloth, setting it on fire, and then shooting at the vines.

On the third shot he managed to pierce one and it quickly pulled back. I stepped up and Gillow followed right behind me with one of the spare swords. His choice if he was brave enough. Four vines closed in this time. I cut two, Gillow cut a third, and the last one wrapped around his ankle. He let out a scream and collapsed by the time I had cut off the vine. Ulther was already rushing up and pouring water on the wound.

I turned back to the vines as three more closed in. I figured the smaller attack groups of three and four were what they could manage without interfering with each other. Any more and they might collide and wrap around their fellow monster vines. Yalow got one of them and I managed to get the other two. I was starting to want more than two swords, but that would just look silly and be incredibly difficult to maneuver around with. Also there weren't any good options for holding a third blade.

By the time the vines stopped attacking, my clothes had a purple sheen and I could barely focus anymore. I made it back next to the fire and collapsed. Ulther was already next to me chanting away. The pain decreased but I hurt too much to care. I lay there for a two minutes and nothing was getting better. Pulling myself up, I looked around. The road was filled with cut up vines and purple vine goo. "Grab my swords, turn the wagon around. We will camp back at the waterfall. No way we can make it through another attack." Yalow was already picking up the arrows and discarded weapons while Ulther turned the cart around.

I sat in the back next to an unconscious Gillow. We reached the pool and water fall by nightfall. I stripped out of all my clothes and went into the water downstream a bit. Twenty minutes later I was feeling much better. Ulther was washing out my clothes while Yalow was filling canteens up to wash off Gillow's foot. The poison had also dropped by HP by half, which was impressive.

I opened my screen and saw I had killed ten of the vines. I dumped all six points from my two levels into Dexterity. "We are going to rest up tomorrow, and try to again the following day."

"Kenji, I saved this." Ulther pulled out a satchel filled with vines.

"Good job, we will start working on building up a resistance tomorrow."

***

Ramponator: Killing monsters is boring, everyone else is doing that, kill NPCs