End Online: Volume 2 (19 page)

Like a declaration of
war, I march onwards

***************************************************
***************************************************

-Grael-

I flew over from a
continent further East in the ocean. It was just simply far too boring over
there. There was nobody that could challenge him, even the mightiest of the
dragons feared my power.

In the search of new
excitement, I had flown over here and settled down in the mountain range on the
coast. Using my might I cleaved the top off of a mountain and dug my way
into it, creating myself a new lair.

As for the tunnels they
were incredibly simple, all I had to do was transform into a human and dig them
out.

I don’t think much
about being able to transform into a human, I have met plenty of others that
could do it. The monkey that did the martial arts was considerably difficult to
fight against, but the strongest had to be that man.

I was lucky to have
been left with my life, he could freely transform from a six meter tall white
wolf into a middle aged man about thirty five years old, the same as
me. He had white hair, extending down his back in a rugged mess.

The most frightening
thing about him was his speed. At the beginning of the battle I had tried to
breathe hellfire at him, but before I could even let out a whisper of
fire, he had appeared behind me in the blink of an eye. He launched ice attack
from every direction, completely trapping me in my position.

His ice gave off a
faint blue aura, like the aurora in the northern skies. I felt the chill simply
looking at it, and my hellfire which was supposed to burn for six days and six
nights was completely extinguished by it.

I ended up fleeing for
my life. Fortunately, he did not give pursuit.

There was one thing I
have learnt about the creatures like me, the ones that can transform into
humans. We are all incredibly more powerful than the rest of our species.

The foolish
monsters in the area immediately saw me as the ruler of this land. They
even went and raided the nearest village, bringing me human women, men, and
children. As soon as I found out what they were doing I immediately flew over,
blowing hellfire all over the town to show those pitiful monsters how little I
cared for humans.

I don’t know what they
did with the humans, but I couldn’t particularly care to be honest. All I
wanted was for them to stop bringing me woman with torn clothes and men on
their knees.

All of a sudden, I
sense a presence has entered my den. It is probably just some pitiful monster
that has wandered into the wrong location, I will just ignore it.

The presence continue
to get closer, until it arrives in the grotto I am currently resting in.

‘Congratulations, now
that you have seen me. Feel fear, run with your tail between your legs.’

Strangely though, the
creatures walked around to the front of me. With one eye open, I see a party of
four humans. Well, three humans to be exact. The fourth person appeared to be
human, but my sixth sense told me she was in fact not.

‘What is she? Is she a
creature that can transform, like me? I don’t know what it is, but she carries
a very familiar feeling.’

My attention left her,
focusing on the hooded figure she was next to. This person seemed strong, and I
felt excitement welling up inside of me just to fight him. I wanted to fight
him so much that I completely forgot about the others, I even let them escape
into one of the tunnels.

As the man went to run,
I brought my tail down to test him.

Surprisingly, he
somehow managed to instantly move a few meters and avoid my tail.
Unfortunately, all he had was speed and the concussion the blow sent through
the air blew him away like a leaf on a windy day.

He would have flown
about fifty meters, where he lay slumped against a wall. I had gotten a little
excited in the attack and actually put some of my killing intent into it.

Considerably bored, I took
my time to see what his next move would be.

The coward ran into the
tunnel!

I had considered just
letting him go, but then I recalled exactly which tunnel it was he had entered,
I felt a rage overcoming me.

‘That tunnel is the one
with all my treasure inside!’

Letting out a roar, I
bellow my rage while building up the hellfire in my stomach. A streak of white
hair and a red dress flashed past, but it does not matter how many are in the
tunnel, they shall all be incinerated if they think they can get to my
treasure.

Lowering my head to the
ground, I emit all the flames from my stomach into the tunnel. Unfortunately
for the two in the tunnel, there is no escape.

With the deed done, I
decide I will head out and get some food. I am a little hungry and a little too
worked up to go back to sleep.

I’m not too worried
about the treasure, I had already melted the coins together so I could carry
them here over the ocean as solid lumps of gold. The rest of the goods could be
replaced easily enough, I didn’t even have that big of a collection yet anyway.

***************************************************

Returning from my hunt
with a full stomach, I go to inspect the treasure room for what damage I
caused.

I turn into my human
form, naked as a newborn. Fortunately I had collected some clothes in the past
for this. A dragon must maintain his dignity after all. I wear tight cloth
pants and a simple pull on shirt. The clothes weren’t designed for me so they
are a little small, but they fit just fine.

Next, I pull on my black
leather overcoat. It is a large coat, it even reaches all the way
down to my knees. My glossy black hair slightly curls as it falls onto my
shoulders, which contrasts excellently against my violet pupils.

Walking down the tunnel
I exert my magic to control the flames, before extinguishing them from
existence.

Inside, everything is
melted, broken, or turned to dust. I feel a little irritated about it, but I
did cause it myself.

Rummaging through the
ruins, I look for one item in particular. It is an item that my fire would not
even be capable of warming up, let along breaking it.

I can’t seem to find
it! I even transform my hands into draconic claws and dig through the lumps of
metals in case it hardened around the object.

Vaguely I can smell
something in the room. I didn’t notice because I could smell it the entire way
down the corridor, but it is the scent of a human.

“So you survived… But
you dare steal from me!? And you take the ‘Draconic Ember Essence’ I
created!? Do not think you can escape from me human, I will find you, and I
will make you experience hell!”

I hear the echoes of my
shout. Despite being impressed at his survival, I am incredibly infuriated
by the theft. But I have confidence in finding him. I have his scent now
so following his tracks should not be too difficult.

He is going to feel my
wrath a hundred fold.

Laughing like all the
evil in the world combined, I start following his scent from the cave. I am
going to have to do this in human form else I will probably not be able to pick
him out amongst all the other minuscule humans.

***************************************************
***************************************************

-Lost-

I feel a shiver run up
my spine, almost as if somebody is talking about me. Well, given my infamy,
they are probably constantly talking about me anyway.

“I am incredibly
grateful for your help. Someone else may have beaten you to saving the
villagers but your efforts are still greatly appreciated.”

I am back outside the
burnt down inn with my ear against the door. The town is full of NPC’s now, all
of which give me strange looks at the sight of me eavesdropping.

I wonder who it was
that rescued them though. When we left the mountain range, all the players were
still fighting the kobolds and ogres. Perhaps someone had the idea to go around
them and rescue the prisoners, just like I did.

“It is fine. I am only
shamed that the dragon managed to flee.”

Naturally the uncle is
speaking with Prince Charming, the guy who selfishly accepted his request.

“The citizens are safe,
so I am simply relieved. I can’t give you any rewards, but I would like to give
you this.”

I hear some rustling
behind the door and the prince asking what is it.

“It is a letter of
recommendation. My brother runs an inn in Grenton and is always looking for
helpers with odd jobs. It isn’t much but he doesn’t usually ask much of many
people.”

“Thank you sir. It is
my honour to receive this letter.”

I sincerely doubt he
means it. But at least we got something in the end.

I still can’t figure
out what this orb is, but hopefully I will figure it out eventually. I don’t
know exactly what it is, but it looks valuable.

Just like that, we
started our journey towards Grenton.

- Lost-

Verde,
Prince Charming, Fen and I left Leaz with the new letter of introduction.
Although, it ended up in my hands after the prince simply discarded it.

"I
have no need for a measly letter of introduction to an innkeeper."

Those
were his words, but it will definitely be useful later on, so I made sure to
pick it up and store it in my inventory.

A little
out of town, we stop inside a small clearing in a forest, the evening sun
completely shaded by the foliage. Calling a break, we agree to log out and meet
here again in an hour, after dinner.

When I
return to my virtual locker, Fen is already there. Somehow, she is able to
connect to and return from End Online considerably faster than I can. I almost
wonder how she does it.

Leaving
virtual reality I place my VL down on the bed next to me. I hope Fen doesn't
get too bored in there when I am gone, but she seems to have been fine so far.

‘Speaking
of which, what does she do when I’m gone?’

Apparently,
while the VL is not connected to a power source and is not in use, the internal
battery will last up to 10 years. Truly such an advanced device, but that kind
of battery life is required for the VL to be used for 12 hours without
the power being plugged in.

The
energy required for the device to be able to intercept signals leaving the
brain is clearly no small amount.

Getting
onto my wheelchair, I rolled myself into the kitchen. The time is around seven
in the afternoon, and with the skies are storming, the house is filled
with a grey failing light.

The
kitchen all of a sudden turns quiet. Eerily quiet. Even the normal rattling of
the refrigerator stops

Rain
comes pelting down upon the roof and winds howl outside the windows. There are
a lot of people who find themselves nervous in such weather, but I feel peace
at the sound. Outside the house is almost like the raging inferno I am feeling
inside my chest, reflecting my feelings of wanting to do better.

I switch
on the light switch in the kitchen, except the room remains dark. Flipping the
switch a few more times, I realize the power has gone out.

With a
slight sigh, I wonder if the others in the game will wait for me, or continue
on without me.

Opening
one of the lower cupboards I remove two cans of ready-made beef stew.
Fortunately, I have a gas oven and a lighter to light the flame, so no
electricity is required. Pouring the two cans of soup into a pot, I also use a
frying pan to lightly grill some bread into toast.

Dinner is
incredibly simple. Reheat the stew, and pour it on the cooked toast. This is
about the best I eat outside of End. I have nothing to gain from cooking any
large or fancy meals here anyway.

It may be
simple food, but it is incredibly tasty. I find that most people don't realize
it, but, quite often the simple things are the things that taste the best.

With
dinner out of the way, next on my agenda is having a bath to wash off all the
sweat I have built up over the past day. I would much rather be back in virtual
reality, but I do still care for personal hygiene.

Relaxing
in the warm water, I allow my mind to wander. I think about everything I have
done until now in the game, and how I can improve on it. One of the most
important things will have to be raising my level, and then get better
equipment.

Since I
found myself in this condition, I have greatly improved how well I can move
around. Easily sliding into and climbing out of the bath are just some of
the many things I can do with ease.

With
nothing else to do for the night, I go to sleep much earlier than I
normally would have. With no electricity, I cannot connect to the internet
after all.

***************************************************

As I open
my eyes, the rain is still coming down outside the widows. At least, the
power appears to be back on.

Before
logging back onto virtual reality, I decide to do a little research on my
computer. Naturally, the best place to do this is the End Online Forums, or
simply called the End Forums.

Having a
look at what is most popular. The videos of the top ten players appear to be
sky rocketing in popularity. In first place is Gladox, the strongest player in
the game. His most recent video garnering a view count of just over two hundred
million. There are hundreds of thousands of comments as well.

I decide
to open the most recent video. Perhaps he will give hints on the best
methods of getting stronger.

Gladox is
a massive person a little over two meters tall. He is even bigger than that
Prince Charming. Wearing a silver heavy armour set that shines with a red hue,
I only wonder what kind of materials and stats it has. The armour covers him
from head to toe, so complete he would just look like a glorious suit of armour
if he didn't move.

Wielded
in both of his hands is an enormous sword. The blade itself is red like blood,
two hand spans thick and almost as long as he was tall. He is exploring some
dungeon with tendrils of ice growing over walls of cracked brown stone blocks.
The path he is in is about five meters wide, with the ceiling just as high.

The whole
atmosphere seems to be in a frozen environment, but not quite like the Kingdom
of Glace's weather. It is more like it is an atmosphere limited to the dungeon
itself.

Four
limbed monsters wreathed in shadow come swarming at him along the walls.
Raising his massive sword behind himself, He lunges forth.

He looks
incredibly slow in my eyes, but maybe that is just me. He is wearing a
monstrous set of heavy armour after all.

His next
movements completely captivate my eyes. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, small
embers trail the path of the blade as he cuts into three of the shadow
creatures. From the red line tracing the hit, flames burst out and engulf the
monsters.

In a single minute,
twenty of these creatures have turned to ashes. Gladox's health remains over
ninety percent as he uses the weight of the sword to continue its momentum
between attacks. From a diagonal slash to a low horizontal swing after a spin,
it is almost as if it is one long chain attack.

He has
complete control over the weapon. Though, I am most surprised as how he uses
the environment, bouncing his blade off a stone wall or floor to reverse the
momentum and continue his flowing attacks. It seems like impossible manoeuvres
that you must have perfect timing to pull off.

He also
appears to be able to use his sword as a shield, defending against attacks that
way.

Gladox is
completely different from me, a pure strength build. He does not have a whit of
speed, but he compensates by not stopping his attacks.

The video
was uploaded two weeks ago and comments are still flowing in.

The
argument really sprung into life after that. One comment after another, and
each more insulting than the last.

I decide
it is not worth reading and simply leave the page altogether. There are other
top players who are almost as popular, but I have never even heard of them.

This
entire forum is run by Idea Imagine, the creators of End Online. Therefore,
every registered player can log on to their very own profile with the same
login as they use for the game.

Logging
in as Lost, the first thing I do is run a search on the strange stone I
acquired. I use phrases such as 'Red Glowing Orb', 'Type of Flame Stones', even
a broad search on all gems discovered. I could not find a single piece of
information about it.

Lastly, I
decide I will check on my auctioned goods, they should only have forty eight
hours left anyway.

First is
the 'Old Bronyx Plate Armour'. It has thirty people following the auction at a
maximum bid of $178. My chest feels a little heavy, but I refuse to feel
depressed about it. It is still better than nothing.

With the
apple sales slowing down, to about half of what they are, I am going to need to
and earn even more. PeachStar has sent a few payments through to my online
wallet from the sales. Although it appears she eats about half of her share
herself.

I open up
the page for the auction on the 'Meridium Boots of Haste' and my jaw drops. The
current bid is $1,360. With two days to go, that could easily become $1,500 or
more.

A hundred
and seventy followers, with nearly seventy comments about the item and asking
about the seller. A lot of people want to know who this 'Lost' is, his level,
and his skills.

I sit and
silently stare at the page for nearly half an hour. Inside, my head however is
not calm. There is a great big victory speech playing out in my mind as I
imagine talking to everyone about what a success I have been. I also picture
the proud looks on my two little sisters as they move back in with me.

'No,
stop! I need to not get ahead of myself. I may have on lucky burst but I may
never sell anything again.'

Killing
my own mood, I return to reality and focus.

‘Time to
return to End Online, get stronger, and acquire more items that will sell
well.’

***************************************************
***************************************************

-Grael-

I left my
den in the search for the thief who took my 'Draconic Ember Essence'. Of
course, I ensured to cave in the entrance into my treasure room, just in case
any more thieves come.

This
human probably doesn't know, but I have an incredibly acute sense of smell. I
can follow his scent over the ocean if I must, as long as the scent is no more
than a few days old.

He
appears to have spent a small amount of time in this nearby town I burnt mostly
to the ground, before leaving north west. I can tell from the smell I am not
far behind him, maybe by only a day.

I do not
rush. A majestic creature such as me should never be in a hurry to go anywhere.
As long as I don't start falling behind the target, I will continue to casually
stroll after it.

I reach a
point in a nearby forest where the scent simply disappears. Confused at
first, I search the area suspecting he may have discovered he was being
followed.

All
around me are ten meter tell trees growing like thin pillars. I wouldn’t call
it hard to a dense forest, but the trees do prevent the eyes from seeing too
far. The bark on the trees is a light grey colour, with leaves of fresh green
and yellow littering the canopy.

Covering
the ground is grass just tickling the ankles. Also, plenty of small bushes and
fallen leaves litter the area, leaving plenty of places for a human to hide.

Reaching
the conclusion that he must of teleported or some such method, I inwardly laugh
to myself.

'Fu hah
hah ha... If you think teleporting will prevent me from chasing you down, you had
better think again!'

I find a
small distortion in the space where his scent vanishes. Using my hands, I stick
them into the vortex and start to pry it open. Forcing the portal open, I go to
follow him through it.

Except, I
couldn't seem to pass through . It is odd, I can hold it open easy enough. I
simply just can't travel through it to the other side.

Roaring
in rage, I withdraw my hands and storm around kicking down trees to vent my
frustration.

I hear
two voices break out of the trees where I just was. Creeping back I see the
woman with a hood over her head and a tall blond man in shining armour.

"We
need to wait," The voice belonged to the woman, "He should be back
before we know it."

"My
lady. We cannot simply wait out here until he gets back. If he missed the
appointed time, there is no helping it. Just forget him."

"No!
I came out here with him, leaving him behind would just be pointless!"