The Crimson Quest: A LitRPG Adventure Read online

  Chapter six

  In an instant, a world appeared around me. Wow. It was so real. Looking at my arms, I couldn't help but notice how skinny they were. Wait a minute. Was this a problem? I didn't remember making my character so skinny. When I created myself I was thin, but not that thin. I seemed to come out of my grave. How could anyone have been afraid of me with those toothpick arms?

  To make matters worse, I wore brown shorts and a tight white shirt. It was a very basic outfit that they started me with. I probably still had an eight-pack, didn't I? I pulled up my shirt and took a look. Oh man! All I could see were ribs. The weird thing was that I still had a little pop belly. It wasn't a healthy look for sure. I pulled my shirt down and tried to forget what I had just seen. What about my inventory? At first I didn't know how to open my inventory. But then he appeared in front of me. Damn, it was empty!

  So I had nothing at all? Awesome. I guess they're really forcing players to be left with nothing. It was cool, but I knew I had my work cut out for me. I was ready to get stronger and earn some money. But how would I make money? I really didn't know much about how the game was set up. But I think that was part of the appeal of the game. Suddenly an alert popped up in front of me:

  BladeDust Online System Alert:

  Note to user: you have 30 days to earn 35 gold coins. Please set aside 35 gold coins and prepare for payment. Payment will be cashed at the end of the 30 day period.

  OK cool. 30 days seemed like a long time to me. I would worry about that as the date approached. I examined the area around me. Where were the other players? I was standing on a narrow dirt road surrounded by green grass. In the distance I could see a fire burning . There were little huts around the fire. Was it a village? I started to walk but I stopped. Where was Johnny? I took a deep breath. He was probably still creating his character. I wanted to wait, but I didn't know how long it was going to take him.

  Honestly, I was too excited to wait. I hit the earth under my feet and watched the dust rise in the air around me. It was so amazing. It was all so real. I just couldn't believe it. What was I going to do first? I did not know. How would I have? It was a whole new world and I was just born. I hit my legs just to make sure they were working the way they did in real life. After that I threw a few punches in the air. Oh yeah, that was gonna be fun. I headed out on the path and quickly realized something. My feet were bare. My eyes rolled down and caught sight of my bony feet. Where were my shoes? I didn't even have shoes? What? Was it for real? Didn't they even start me with shoes? I guess it was really a tough game. I took another step and felt pain in my foot. Wow. It hurt like in real life. It was great, but a little scary. If I could feel pain, how would I feel to be badly hurt?

  My next steps were slow as I carefully tried to avoid the sharp stones. As I approached the village, I heard a high-pitched squeak. what was that? My eyes circled around, searching for the source of the noise. Underneath me was a vicious little rat. His eyes were full of fury and he looked too anxious for a rat. The expression on his face was very unpleasant as he hissed at me. Should I kill this rodent? Was killing the world's ugliest rat my first challenge in the game? The rat moved closer and looked like it wanted to nibble my foot. He was hungry, but he was stupid to choose me as his potential meal.

  I didn't have a gun. Yet I still felt confident that I could kill the rat. I needed a gun, but where was I to get one? Then I saw him. A small rock was on the ground. Yes, that will be good enough. I backed up and lifted the rock into the air. "You lived a short-lived little rat," I shouted, crushing it with the stone. There was a grinding sound as the rat revealed it was large male teeth. I thought he was about to die, but he went on living. How did this rodent survive my attack?

  "Die," I cried, hitting him again. Still, the rat didn't seem bothered. He was a tough little bastard. My best instincts took over as I turned to flee the scene. But was I really going to run away from a rat? Was that how I was going to start this game? No, it couldn't be.

  With determination, I turned and stared straight into his piercing little eyes. Then, without warning, he jumped on my arm. There was a sharp pain as his teeth sank into my loved ones. Shaking my arm, I wanted him to leave me. "Let go of me," I shouted over and over. Suddenly I noticed my health bar flashing:

  Walker Williamson - Level 1

  Hp 8/10

  -2 damage received!

  Damn, the rat had reduced my health to 8/10. I guess it wasn't too bad. With a quick movement, I threw the rat against the hard ground. He rolled onto his side and began to shake. In a strange way, I almost felt sorry for him. But, there was no time for sympathy. A small area of blood covered my arm and I noticed two small holes in my teeth. Shit! What if this rodent might have infected me with the rabies virus? I wasn't sure if he carried the disease for sure, but it seemed very possible given the crazy look in his eyes. No sane rat would behave like him. This I knew for sure. And for that he would die. Walking towards him, I nodded. "Awesome," I muttered with both hands around the rock. "But not impressive enough," I yelled, throwing the stone at him.

  There was a long cry and his body didn't move . It was official, I was a rat killer. I took a deep breath and enjoyed my victory. Dude, that rat was tough. Much harder than any rat I had encountered in the real world. With a flash, a text appeared in front of me:

  Congratulations!

  First murder! You killed a country rat!

  A country rat? This label sounded way too peaceful for him. In an instant, the rat's body was gone and was replaced by something. Yes! It was booty. I reached out and grabbed what he had left behind me.

  Real rat fur

  Lunge: upper body

  Level 1

  Value: 0.2 gold

  Weight: 0.25 lbs

  Real rat fur? Did people make faux rat fur or something like that? I didn't know, but it seemed a little strange to consider that someone was actually doing this. Was that rat of some value? Gold serait- he converted into dollars in the real world? I didn't know, but eventually I would find out. On the way to the village, I continued to fear that I had been exposed to the rabies virus. The possibility that I would turn into a crazy person bothered me. Then I started to wonder how close I was to reaching level 2. I opened up my inventory and saw a little XP bar at the bottom. Nice, it was already at 16/100. I guess level 2 arrived pretty quickly. I was wondering if leveling would slow down with each new level? I've played games like this and I suspected that that was how things worked here.

  As I got closer to the village, I realized I had to be careful. I didn't know anything about these people or what they were doing. A tall, thin man stood at the entrance to the village. I was excited. My first encounter with another character. He held a hand in the air. "What brings you?" he asked in a flat voice.

  "I'm new," I replied with a smile. "I just created my first character."

  The man brushed his solid white hair before itching on his shoulder. Looking at his shoulder, I couldn't help but wonder why he had taken his shirt off. He seemed to be suffering from a fairly severe sunburn. Honestly, he had to be really proud of his skinny body to want to show it off so badly. "How long have you been playing?" I asked.

  “Since the day of liberation,” he replied. "I've been hanging out here ever since."

  "How do you like it?"

  The man laughed. He spat on the ground and approached me. "What are you really doing to her ?" He asked with a strange look on his face.

  "What do you mean? I just told you. I'm brand new to this game."

  His head was pacing back and forth as if he didn't believe me. “Cut the shit,” he shouted. “I know why you are here. We all know why you are here.

  To a few other people, crossed arms emerged from behind the man. “We all know,” a woman shouted.

  “You are here to take it all. Admit it. You were the one nosing around here at night. Is not it?

  I did not answer. I was surprised and didn't know how to answer. “Come here,” the man cried.
r />   My lips curved. "Why?" I asked in a slow voice.

  "Raise both arms in the air," the man asked.

  I knew it was a game, but it all felt so real. My best instincts made me obey his instructions. The rat bite had hurt enough, and I wasn't ready for more pain. Both hands went up in the air as I started to panic. "What do you want? I have nothing in my inventory."

  The man moved closer until he was right in front of me. His hands patted my body. He was looking for something, but what? "I didn't get it. Well, just rat fur.

  His dark eyes stared at mine. "Now I believe you," he said as he walked away. “I'm sorry I had to check you out. We just had some issues with players disguising themselves as novices here. They come here acting like they've just arrived in the gaming world. ”

  "But why would they do that?"

  “They say you want shoes. But, they are not there for the shoes.

  "What do they want then?"

  He looked back and forth before answering. “I shouldn't even tell you. If you come back here and look for it, I'll have your head. Understand?"

  My head? Was he serious? Maybe I didn't want him to tell me. Yes, I didn't. "It's okay," I replied, taking a step back. "I prefer to keep my head."

  The man gave me a blank stare. Then he burst out laughing. "What the hell? You're really new, aren't you?

  M head has bounced up and down as I continued on back foot. If I was struggling to kill a rat, I knew I was way too malnourished to kill this man. Honestly, I didn't like the way he spoke to me. I'll make him pay for that in the future. But for now, I would be the lesser man. In the end, I would be the bigger man. Yes, that was it. I would come back and give it a shot. Well, that's what I thought to myself anyway. My footsteps kept moving further and further away from the man. Suddenly I heard a familiar voice. "Where am I?" yelled the voice behind me.

  Johnny? Was it really his voice? I turned around urgently. "Is that you?" I asked, examining its construction.

  “It’s true,” he replied. "The new improved self has arrived ."

  I smiled. He looked very different. He was taller, a bit more muscular, and had black hair slicked to the side. But, he was wearing the same basic outfit as me. I had never been so happy to see him in my life. “Beautiful construction! You don't know how happy I am to see you.

  "I can't believe how real this is," Johnny replied with too much excitement.

  “I know. Isn't that great? I never expected it to be this amazing.

  Johnny walked over to me. “I think you might be starving. Don't you need to eat something?

  Eat something? Maybe Johnny was right. Was I on the verge of death? I certainly didn't want to end up dead in a ditch somewhere. “Yes, we should eat. Besides. How did you name yourself?

  He was eager to respond. "Johnny the first."

  I raised an eyebrow. "It sucks a little, isn't it?" My name is Walker Williamson.

  “Someone took Johnny. So I wanted to beat this guy. Now, I'm officially the first Johnny.

  “It makes sense,” I replied.

  Johnny changed the subject. "Where is the restaurant the next?"

  "Who is he?" asked the tall man behind me.

  "Who are you?" Johnny asked pointing at him.

  I put both hands up. “He's my friend and we're late for something. Nice to meet you and good luck with everything. "

  I quickly grabbed Johnny's arm and started heading in the opposite direction. When we got far enough away, I told Johnny how weird this guy was. “He patted me and said he was looking for something.

  "What was he looking for?"

  “I don't know,” I replied. “Oh, and that evil little rat attacked me. You should have seen it. I picked up a rock and sent it straight to Heaven.

  "If he was mean, do you really think he went to heaven?"

  I shrug my shoulders. "I hope. I'm sure his life is bad here already. Looks like he would be rewarded or something for having had such a terrible life.

  As we went further and further on the dirt road, I couldn't help but wonder where we were going. It was almost like I was born a long time ago . I felt more alive than in years. "Where is this road going to take us?" Johnny asked.

  “For a new life. Where we want to go. "

  In the distance, there was a faint thud. "What is that?" I asked with one arm in front of Johnny.

  "I think it's your stomach growling," he replied.

  "No," I whispered. "Listen."

  The thud was getting louder and louder until I saw something coming from the end of the road. “There,” I shouted. "It's coming this way!"

  "Is it a dragon?" Johnny asked with a crack in his voice.

  "I think so. What do we do? Why doesn't this game have a tutorial or something? I don't know what to do.

  "We have to fight it," Johnny said, stepping back.

  "With what? A rat almost bit my arm earlier.

  " Did he ? Did that rat bite you ? You never told me he bit you. Does it hurt?"

  “Yes,” I replied. “It actually hurt a lot. I mean, only for a few seconds. Kind of like being shocked or something.

  "I don't like to be shocked," Johnny replied with a good fear in his voice. “It happened to me once when I was plugging something in by my tub. And I didn't like it.

  I looked in all directions trying to draw an escape plan . But, the ground was very flat. Nothing but green, flat grass with a long dirt road in the middle. "Why would they want to throw us here?" Of all places? Why here? "

  The dragon continued to run on the dirt road towards us. Why wasn't he flying? The moment passed as he got closer and closer. Then I saw something. “Look over it. What is that?"

  “I think he's a guy,” Johnny replied. “But he all looks weird.

  Johnny was right. He was a guy, and he looked weird. The ground began to shake as the beast got closer and closer. Dust flew through the air as the dragon suddenly came to a stop about twenty feet in front of us. "Do you need a ride?" the man who was riding him asked.

  I looked at Johnny. He shrugged his shoulders. "Yes," I replied with a smile. "That would be great."

  We walked slowly towards the dragon. It wasn't huge for a dragon, but it wasn't small either. He was about ten feet tall and had some muscle. But it wasn't like the classic type of dragon you would see in some fantasy movies. Her skin was white and she looked quite nice on her face. For a dragon, it seemed very happy. I had to admit it was refreshing to see such a happy dragon . It really was. "Thanks for that," I said, nodding to the man.

  Man is descended from his dragon. I was surprised. He was so small. To be fair, it looked a bit like a chicken nugget. He didn't have much length in his arms or legs. Maybe that was why he was riding his dragon? I raised a hand in the air. "Your dragon is awesome."

  Johnny walked over. “This is going to be fun. I can't believe we're about to ride a dragon.

  I approached the dragon. "Can I stroke it?"

  "Of course," the man's rep lied .

  The dragon's eyes widened as my hand moved towards them. Then the man slapped my hand. "There is a small supplement."

  A small fee? Did he run his own private petting zoo? My forehead creased. "Are you serious? This is our first day."

  "So you have nothing?" the man asked.

  "Nah. We don't have anything here or in real life," Johnny replied.

  The little man let out a sigh that seemed too big to come from him. “Fine. Came here and ran into some worthless newbies? I can't believe my luck.

  Worthless beginners? Of course it was. We were beginners. But still, I didn't like the tone of his voice. This little man who looked like chicken nuggets was starting to push his luck. He was lucky that I was brand new. Otherwise, I would not stay here and accept such verbal abuse. Both my hands went up in the air. "So, are you still going to lead us?"

  He itched his nose. “Why were you begotten here?”

  I shrug my shoulders. "Beat me."

  The man turned around as I examined him. Her wardrobe
was a little weird. A white dress with brown slippers. Her hair was also weird. He was blond, but had a strange appearance. It almost looked like someone had spray painted cotton candy and stuck it on their head. “Nice haircut,” I say.

  "Sorry?" he asked without turning around.

  "Nothing. I just think you have great hair.

  The man cleared his throat. "Yes. I like him."