Blood and Cupcakes Read online

  Breathtaking… this is the best thing EVER… She held out a hand and let the sunlight play over it, examining the shadows. They render so fast. The details are perfect down to the “pores of my skin.” She thought in her mother’s voice.

  She pressed her fingers against her wrist and felt the pulse that lay beneath the skin. She held her hand in front of her face and felt her moist breath on her fingertips. This is insane. Attactus just broke the VR-net.

  VR birds flew in the sky. Cicadas and insects buzzed in the distance. She took a deep breath and started out into the meadow. The grass tickled her slippers under the billowing fabric of her dress. She could smell the grass as she strode forward.

  She spun 180 degrees and “checked her six,” as her brother taught her to do. She’d done it so often that it was second nature. Also, because Mo would sneak behind me in first person shooter arenas every chance he got. As she looked, all she saw was her wake in the knee-high grass. They even broke blades of grass. The computing power must be off the charts. How many AIs do they have working on this thing?

  She activated her map. The village waypoint glowed blue off in a distant sea of black. She toggled the map into seeker mode and clapped her hands in happiness.

  Wheeeee…. Instead of being read from the top down the blue waypoint showed on the horizon to her left. Again, she turned left to check her six and the blue triangle of the waypoint turned into a tall, thin arrow pointing right on the right side of her view. …Ooooh… she continued her circle and suddenly the arrow jumped to the left side of her sight pointing to her left. As the waypoint came into view again the arrow disappeared. Okay let's make tracks.

  She finished walking across the meadow and stepped into the forest. The sunlight dappled the floor through a canopy of green. The wind rustled the leaves and the dappling of light moved perfectly. Birds chirped and fluttered through the branches. Her footsteps crunched on the leaf litter, her nose filled with the smell of the woods. She was entranced by the realism of it all when something hit her leg…

  Bitten

  Minus -1hp

  HP 9/10

  “Aaaahhhhhhh… Flarfingstuff!!!” she looked down and around and saw nothing. The hit came again.

  Bitten

  Minus -1hp

  HP 8/10

  She hopped back, and there, under her dress was a creature that looked like a large, ugly cross between a frog and a cockroach. It had the body of a frog with a cockroach’s wings and antenna. It opened its mouth while flexing its wings and hissed at her… and it had teeth. Razor sharp teeth and two grasping mandibles extending out of its jaw.

  “Ewwww… Narsty!!!!”

  Groak

  Level: 1

  HP: 5/5

  She hotkeyed her hammer into existence, the weight instantly pulling her off balance. I'm gonna have to practice with this thing. She pulled the hammer above her head and dropped it on the groak. Another notification popped up, partially blinding her.

  Groak

  Minus -3HP

  HP: 2/5

  The thing scuttled towards her as she tried to remove the notification. Stumbling backwards, she raised her hammer clumsily and swung it downward. The groak jumped at the last second. She missed her target with a thud. The impact against the ground trembled her arms. Happiness almost dropped to the forest floor. The groak was closing in, so she booted it in the face. Another notification popped up blinding her again.

  Groak

  Minus -1

  HP: 1/5

  She swiped the notification away and saw the groak trying to right itself. It half rolled to its side. She kicked it again yelling, “Happy now????”

  DING!!!

  Enemy defeated

  Groak

  Level: 1

  XP: +10

  90XP till next level

  I have to get rid of these notifications during a fight. It’s gonna get me killed. She hovered over the creature and a menu popped up. All the items that the creature dropped were listed.

  Groak

  Level:1

  Groak skinTake?

  Groak wingsTake?

  Groak Meat Take?

  2 silverTake?

  Take all Y/N?

  She hurriedly pressed the “Take all” button and pulled up her settings. Ah, here it is: set notifications to minimize while in battle, check.

  Happy with the outcome of the battle, she looked at her status bars. Her HP was at 8/10 and her stamina was at less than one third and still dropping. What is happening? Am I poisoned? She tried to take a few steps and she started feeling heavy all over. Her head started to ache and a faint feeling of nausea roiled in her belly. Fatigue settled into her arms, and her stamina bar kept dropping. When her stamina reached 1, she was too exasperated thinking about losing the XP when she died from poisoning. She propped Happiness on the ground preparing herself for her inescapable first death. As she did, her stamina stopped plummeting and very slowly began to creep upwards.

  Blink… The realization hit her.

  “Duh…” she said to no one. Chano just told me about this. She picked up her hammer and her stamina started to drop precipitously.

  “Okay, back in the bag you go.” She unequipped Happiness. Now let's do something about those health points. She pulled up her inventory and selected the groak meat.

  Groak meat

  Restores 5HP over 30 seconds

  She happily removed the meat from her bag and started to eat it. She wasn’t ready for the flavor. It tasted exactly how you think a frog crossed with a roach should taste. Like mud mixed with some rotting leaves and a hint of swamp casserole vomit as seasoning. She fought down the urge to spit it out. She gagged a few times but managed to muscle through the whole piece.

  New passive Ability

  Survivalist

  Ah… Groak meat taste horrible, but it beats being dead. You have shown that you are determined to survive no matter the taste.

  +5% to constitution.

  She pulled up her character sheet.

  Name:

  Pretty Princess Cuddle Fluff

  Title(s):

  High Empress of the Pie Mountains

  Race: Princess

  Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

  Level: 1XP: 10/100

  HP: 10Regen: 0.02 per sec.

  Strength: 5Max lift:35 lbs.

  Mana: 5Mana pool 150

  Regen:0.26MP per sec.

  Stamina: 5

  Depletion rate at max effort:

  3.41SP per sec.

  Regen: 0.22SP per min.

  Attributes

  Constitution:1 +5%

  Endurance:1

  Intelligence: 1

  Agility: 1

  Perception:1 +7%

  Presence: 1

  Abilities

  Awareness level: 2 (+7% to Perception)

  Survivalist level: 1 (+5% to Constitution)

  I gotta sort this stamina thing out.

  The depletion rate at max effort had dropped, and her stamina regen rate had risen by a hair as well. She remembered Chano’s warning about keeping her eye on her stamina bar. She was definitely planning to buff that up. Her abilities, though, were a godsend. She needed to level these up and quickly.

  As her stamina refilled, she located the waypoint and moved determinedly towards the village. After about 10 minutes, her stamina bar had reached its last quarter, and she stopped to let it refill. She examined everything around in their most minute details, from tree stumps, to flowers and insects. Three hours and seven groaks later, she saw the edge of the training village.

  She steamed forward, happy to be able to get out of the woods. Something bucked violently under her foot as she waded through the tall grass. She almost did a half split as she was knocked on her rump. A long snake arose and turned in her direction. It was about the size of an Amazonian python, with two stubby clawed appendages that grasped at the air in front of it. It hissed and looked at her hungrily.

  Clawed Grassnakk

/>   Level 2

  HP 10/10

  She had drawn the creature’s aggression when she’d stepped on it. Just my luck. I draw aggro right when I can see the village. I'm gonna die right here before I get that XP Chano promised me.

  She rolled back and onto her feet, equipped Happiness, and took a defensive stance. The grassnakk lowered its head preparing to strike, its claws wriggling. She swung Happiness and clocked the thing as hard as she could.

  Clawed Grassnakk (Stunned)

  Minus -3hp

  HP 7/10

  What a lucky shot. She jumped towards the grassnakk as it lay twitching on the ground. She hit it in the head, and then, as she raised her hammer again, she felt the fatigue running through her arms. She was going to have to fight smart. She quickly dismissed the hammer and began to kick it instead. She got in two swift strikes. Her stamina was getting dangerously low. She had about half a minute before her stamina was fully depleted. The snake shook off the stun, turning in her direction. Down to 2HP, it looked angry. Its tail whipped out and caught her leg. She stumbled, losing 4HP to the attack. The snake whipped her again and she lost another 4HP, sprawling her out on the ground and bringing her down to 2HP.

  Am I really going to die like this?

  The snake coiled to strike. She tried to get to her feet, but only managed to roll into a sitting position. The snake slithered closer. She willed Happiness into her hands for an all or nothing attack. She conjured it above her head, bringing it forward at the same moment the snake lunged forward, mouth open, baring its fangs. Her strike was late and the grassnakk got inside of her trajectory. Amazingly, the handle speared directly into its open mouth and down its throat. It gagged and wriggled wildly from the blow, falling dead.

  Well, I'll be. She dismissed Happiness and tried to regain her breath. Her notifications icon was blinking. She opened it.

  DING!!!

  Enemy Defeated

  Clawed Grassnakk

  Level:2

  XP 20

  DING!!!

  Level Up!!!

  Pretty Princess Cuddle Fluff

  Level: 2

  125XP till next level

  DING!!!!

  New Active Ability

  Achilles Heel Level: 1

  You like to find the soft parts of your enemies and strike viciously. I wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley.

  5% chance you will land a critical strike

  +5% to agility

  Cost10MP

  Duration: 3 minutes

  DING!!!!

  You have gained your first level and proven yourself a worthy citizen of Majesta. You have retroactively been given 2 stat points and 4 attribute points for level 1. For reaching level 2, you have gained 2 more stat points and 4 more attribute points

  DING!!!!

  You have 4 unassigned stat points and 8 unassigned attribute points. These stat and attributes points must be assigned before leaving the confines of the training village.

  WOW….!!! That was intense, and I got another skill from it. Booyah!!!... So amazing. I have to find out how I'm going to use those unassigned points. Guess I'll just hold onto them for now. She walked over to the grassnakk and saw the loot menu pop up.

  Clawed Grassnakk

  Level:2

  Grassnakk skinTake?

  Grassnakk claws Take?

  Grassnakk fangsTake?

  Grassnakk Meat X3 Take?

  10 silverTake?

  Take all Y/N?

  She took all of the loot and walked as fast as she could to the barrier around the village, looking carefully before stepping this time. She made it to the magical barrier that she supposed kept all of the creatures out of village, and stepped through. It tingled and made her the hair on her neck rise. She sighed in relief at finally being safe.

  DING!!!

  Quest completed: Survive

  You have reached the village without dying or losing levels.

  Reward 100XP

  25XP until next level

  She smiled at the quest completion. Pulling out one of her grassnakk meats, she read its ID, and began to chew.

  Clawed Grassnakk Meat

  Restores 9HP over 30 secs

  “Mmmff… tastes like chicken.” It revived her HP to a full 10 …10? I get a level but I'm still at 10HP??? How the hell does this leveling system work? I need to get information on the stat and attribute points, like now.

  She looked around and saw quite a few players running around the small village. There were three Quonset huts to the west. She knew because the sun was setting right behind them, and not because her map said so. She did double check to be certain, and she was right. So that meant she was on the north side of the village facing south.

  Straight ahead was an open field. It was well worn and maintained. To her left there was what could only be described as an apartment building. It had that feeling. It was five stories tall, blocky and square, but it felt like a residence, at least architecturally. And you could almost feel the energy of people inside. Behind those things the village spread out, including some buildings she would have to explore later. But for now, she caught sight of a message board. Might as well get the lay of the land. She discovered the board was a map of Majesta.

  Map of Majesta

  Would you like to download this map?

  Y/N?

  ...Of course…

  She saw her green marker on the map, somewhere in the southwest of the central dominance of Majesta. As she looked, information seemed to flow into her mind about the differences of each territory. There were six other territories radiating out from the central dominance. Techros, N’Tha’A, Crelton, Lamdark, Neldor, and Mountün. The terrain was extremely diverse, from the old growth forests of Neldor to the rocky barren hills of Crelton. There were hidden keeps in Mountün for sure, and sprawling technological cities in Techros. It seemed like, no matter your avatar’s strengths, you could find some way to strengthen and test them. The game designers had made room for everything and everyone.

  She combined her maps with the one from the message board, and zoomed in on her marker. The training village bloomed into view. It had a tail stretching off to the north that was extremely detailed, but everything around it was muted and lacked any information. She assumed it was the path she had traveled to make it here. Studying the fully detailed map of the training village, she decided she needed to find information on character progression and made her way to the information booth in the village center.

  She walked past people carrying large rocks on their shoulders, sweating under the intense strain. She couldn’t tell if they were players or NPCs. She saw people jumping from rooftop to rooftop. She saw them pounding on training dummies with all types of weapons. In the distance, she could see the flash of magic castings and almost hear the reverberating booms off of the thick rock targets. This was unlike any training village she had ever seen.

  The village center was a wide-open plaza packed with vendor’s stalls selling things like amulets of strength and unknown alchemical ingredients. Ringing the outside of the stands were stores with wooden signs that proclaimed their wares. One sign was of a sword and shield—an armory of course. Another sported a stretched hide—leather workers. She could hear the ringing of the smithy and see its smoke on the far side of the square. An empty archway of what looked to be gold and silver with large runes etched into every inch of its surface was centrally placed to draw attention to it. Just to the left was a bored looking man in a booth. He wore his brown hair in a loose ponytail at his nape and had a bushy walrus mustache above his lip. A banner hung over his stand with the word “Information.” She walked up.

  “Hello good sir, I am in need of…”

  “...Information???” he cut her off. “How did I know? Well, I just happen to be in the business of knowing things,” he responded a bit too gruffly.

  She was tempted to forget her mother's lessons on manners and lay into him a little, but she didn’t see any good coming fro
m it. “Ah, it seems that I'm in the right place then. My name is Fluff,” she extended her hand in greeting.

  The man looked at her as if puzzled. “Goodness, little sister, I apologize fer my rudeness, but some of these paladins are so rude and brash. Treating me as if were less than a speck of dust. T’were beginning to think about a career change.” He took her hand and shook it heartily. “Let’s start over. My name is Jensen, knowledge broker extraordinaire. Now what can I do for ye?”

  “I need information,” she said with a smile. He nodded pleasantly back at her. “Can you just give me a basic rundown of how things work here? I just arrived minutes ago and I'm a bit overwhelmed.”

  “Sure I can. 1 silver.”

  Trade

  Jensen the Information Broker would like to trade you information for silver.

  Minus -1 silver

  Do you accept the trade?

  Y/N?

  “Is it a silver for every question?” she asked before she accepting.

  “Aye that it is, but that one is a freebie.”

  “Well, Jensen,” she thought, slyly dismissing the trade notification, “how about we make a deal for all of the questions I'm going to ask you?”

  “Ooooh, a thrifty AND intelligent beauty. What do ye have in mind?”

  “Let's say I buy your time for half an hour and we talk freely during that time. You don’t seem like you have many customers, and it seems like you're about to close. Maybe we could go get something to refresh ourselves while we talk. My treat of course.”