《Hit The Road, Jack!》 Hit The Road Jack! : Get OFF! - [Common baby, don''t do this to me !] - GET OUT ! The door slammed on my face again, but it seems like it''s for real this time. Damn. Well, can''t say i didn''t saw that comming. Let me present myself. Jack Hooligan, 34 years old, former high school student and current NEET. That''s right. I have managed to get it. I have managed to suck up to people until i reached the age of 34! Not that it was an easy life. Oh no sir, it wasn''t, it wasn''t at all! Ever since i was 18 i have been perfecting my sucking-up techniques to an astonishing level up to this moment. I managed to get my mother to pay my bills until i was 33, but i guess i just didn''t had it in me to REALY suck it up out of the other woman on my life.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Well, what can i say. My sister has a baby to take care off, and my lover is struggling to pay the bills herself - while i remained in my pajamas all day long, whatching TV or playing on the PC. So, now i have to do it. I have to fend for my self on the real world. I look ahead and see the scene of the busy street in front of me. It''s 7 PM now, so people are going back to their confortable and cozy homes... - [HEEEY, ELICIA!!! HEEEY!] - WHAT ?! I forgot my clothes. Can i have some food too ? Please ? - GET OUT! WOAH, that almost hit me! Damn woman. Can''t you put me out of the house without almost killing me in the process? Let''s see.... Yeah. It''s all here. My clothes and so on. Suddenly, something hits me in the head. Ouch. What... oh, a can of soup and some wonderbread. And.... hey, is this money?! Niiice. - Don''t you say i haven''t been good to you. Now get lost. And don''t you ever come near my home again until you find a job, okay?! Oh baby, i knew it! You still like me! Even if the home isn''t yours, but rented.... But that would be impossible. Simply impossible. It''s the same as saying "don''t come back until you walk at least ten feet!" to a cripple. Well, i still like you baby. Hope you live a nice life. Let''s go. Hit The Road Jack! : Hit The Prefectures’ Shelter I knew it. Elicia gave me enough money so I could pay for a single day at a cheap downtown hotel, but I just lazed around for about a week until the owner got the cops to get me out of there. The prefectures homeless shelter is where I am now. - Hey, Jack! Oh shit, here she comes. This is Amanda, the shelters Social Agent. Shes in command around here and tries to socially rehabilitate everyone. Gotta hide. Gotta go fast! - Jack?! Pheww. Somehow, I managed to do it. Marvel at my wondrous hiding techniques! You cant ask something of someone if you dont know where they are, haha! Even though, hiding under the bed may have been a very bad idea, you know. My face is touching something smelly, and Im pretty sure there are things here I dont want to know what are. Oh god, please dont let it be the famous homeless cheese, please dont let it be thatUnauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. - Jack? Shit woman, get out of here, would you?! Please?! She let off a sigh and finally went out of the dorm. Or so I thought. - Jack? What are you doing there?! Aahh running from you, of course. Amanda was standing at the door, checking at a mattresses smell. I guess its user (the famous smelly Kelly) left it in a very poor condition again. Her face is awful right now. Well, one good thing about Amanda is that she doesnt seems to feel contempt for anyone. I guess you cant live surrounded by half-crazed homeless people all day long if you dont have either a big heart or a secret agenda - Well, anyway, you need a bath and a new set of clothes. You are lucky for having that bag of yours, because these ones definitely need to be incinerated immediately. After that, get to my office. I have just the right job for you. Thats it. What I feared the most. A job proposal. I have escaped quite a few of them already, but I cant run forever. Everyday the Social Agents urge us to go on at least a couple of job interviews, and if we dont well, the prefecture isnt paying for us to laze around. I want my mothers milk bread it was such a good bread **** - So, pretty good, isnt it? I cant believe it. I seriously cant. This. I want this! My head is spinning around. Seriously. I think i [- OUCH!] - Jack! Are you okay? [- Sorry, yeah, just does that even exist ? For real?!] - Well its not considered properly a job, but at least it will give you a place to sleep and food to eat. And that wont be coming from the tax payers money, I get it. [- So, how do I get there?] - First we need to send them the papers, and only them will you be evaluated for the position. But I think you have good chances of being accepted. Sure. Even if these people want the bottom of rock bottom of society, they dont want any menaces on their building. Not having a criminal record and having finished high school surely are good factors for that. And age too! Youngsters are too na?ve and impulsive. No one likes this kind of people. At least no one in business that is. He. I guess I will be getting myself a good new life from now on. Hit The Road, Jack!: Hit The Job! Squeam Headquartes, X country, XY month of the XXY year. In a moonlit office, a shadowy figure watched the city in the distance. His round face and plump body wobbled a bit as he looked through the glass window, staring at the lights beyond. - Mr. Shabe Newell, the personal applications have arrived. A woman in a pale pink employee suit entered the office. The suit consisted of a knee-high skirt and a finely-cut blazer. Her beautiful legs were covered with the finest of silk thigh high socks. Her tempting buttocks were hidden beyond a veil of high quality fiber, while the beautiful breasts form could be faintly seen under the white shirt she used. The exquisite neck and lips formed a mature, resolute face, but the roundish glasses and the innocent expression gave the woman the feel of a timid, quiet person. - Good - said Shabe Newell in a deep, coarse voice. - Sh- should I let them at your table, sir? - Yes. Come and let them right here. Shabe put his finger on a place on top of his irish-cedar table while looking the woman in the eye. - Y- yes sir. As she approached him, his hand light extended at her waist line, touching her on the back. - S.. sir - Leave those papers there and come with me tonight. - I I cant sir, my husband - That trash of a man isnt worth of you. Shabes hand lightly touched the womans hair, and she blushed as her whole body tensed up. Shabes expression soured a bit. - I guess what Im doing could be said to be employee harassment, couldnt it? The woman was surprised, her eyes opening wide. - S. sir, i.. - Its okay. He faced the window again. - My body isnt of anyones liking, and as much as that trash of a man isnt worth of you, I wont be forceful like him either. The woman in pink looked downwards, staring at the carpet. - If you want it, just say it. I will give you enough money to live the rest of your life somewhere else, and wont trouble you anymore. The woman felt intense surprise once again, for the second time in that night. - Sir, I! I never! - I can also transfer you to another office. You could be anywhere you want in the world. I obviously will keep your salary the same as it is Shabe was suddenly grabbed from behind. The womans arms werent large enough to embrace his whole body, but this time it was Shabe who felt surprise instead. - Sir no Shabe - Yes?This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. - I dont mind. I dont care what you do to me. I want it. But i - You cant take the lead to do that. The woman softened her embrace. - Yes, thats why - Shush. Gabe turned towards her, embracing her waist and approaching his body to hers. - Then. Shall I help myself to your lips ? **** Morning of the following day. - So, these are the profiles of those interested in the job. - Yes sir. The window allowed for the warm sunlight to illuminate Shabe Newells office. There, a man and a woman would talk to each other while only half-dressed. There was enough clothing so both would be composed, but not formal at all. Those were Shabe and his secretary, Samanta. - I remember saying that I wanted everyone with a criminal record taken out of the picture. Why are there people with records here? - Im sorry sir. Is just that the requirements for the job were too high, so not enough people could be hired on this city alone. Shabe was the kind of guy who loved to do what he did. His work was a masterpiece made to separate gamers from their money, but also made with passion, love and hardwork to guarantee that said gamers would always receive what they paid for - if not even more. As for Samanta, she was a fantastic secretary, one of the best in the world. And now, not only that, she also looked more like a mature and seasoned woman, brimming with the sensuality only those who have gone beyond certain stages of life. Her disheveled hair was a perfect frame for the beautiful lips and now passionate, satisfied eyes. - I see - Said Shable. Squeam was about to launch a new tipe of MMORPG. One which would include never-before-seen technology and unique features. Such progress would mark a huge leap not only in gaming, but also in entertainment as a whole. - Well, I guess we should just give them non-speaking minor roles then. What about the ones without a criminal record? The job Jack was applying to was unique, and a feature of said game. However, the requirements were quite strict. First, the person couldnt have a criminal record. None at all. Then, the one applying for the job had to accept to live on Squeam Headquartes, were they would receive minimum wage minus food and lodging expenses. Which meant they would barely have any pocket money at the end of the month. Then, they would also have to spend most of their day available for work, not to mention that they could be awaken at any time of the night to work more. Their mobility would be reduced, and they would have to leave all belongings outside of the building once entering the workplace. They also had to accept a curfew of over 20 hours a day, accept to have their personal life tracked, including all communications with the outside, and then sign a very strict contract which would mostly make them slaves of the company. Of course, the individual couldnt have any serious mental illness or terminal disease as well. Being crippled was fine, though. Such harsh working conditions wouldnt be accepted anywhere in the country, but this job was a special one. It wouldnt require any laws to operate. Of course, these conditions drove most of the possible applicants far away from the job, and only those with very clear profiles ended up being accepted. Those would be NEETS, who didnt care for the outside world, those who desperately wanted a job, no matter the cost, and those who were running away from the outside world - be for whichever reason it may be. From these three profiles, most of the last one couldnt really make it past the criminal record checking, so they made part of a very small selection of applicants. In summary, there were the NEETS, the Job Hunters and the Runners. Besides a few Weirdos as well. For each and every one of these profiles, a certain occupation was most appropriate inside of Shabes new project. The NEETS, obviously, would be given the most reclusive roles, while Job Hunters would be given the most active ones. Runners, by their time, would be given special jobs which didnt require much in terms of player interaction. And then the Weirdos were just there to fill in the vacancies in the project. - Now, all we need is someone for THAT, I guess. - We have gone through all files multiple times sir. I dont think anyone is quite qualified for that position. - No one, uh Every single one of those appliance papers were as valuable as gold. The personnel there were the cream de la cream of modern corporate slavery material after all. - Then, this one. - Jack, no last name given. Are you sure sir? This one is suspect. We couldnt find anything about him from the last 16 years. The last record of him being alive at all was his graduation album from high school Shable smiled a bit. Maybe it was because of the relaxed atmosphere of the room. Maybe it was because his mind was filled with pure satisfaction and pleasure from the last night - the fact is, all work done so far had been done under the pink lens in the eyes of a man who satisfied his lover, as much as she satisfied him. - Thats exactly why his history is so believable. Besides, he almost begged the psychologist to be accepted in the Project, didnt he? And his motive is because I want to be a NEET for the rest of my life. Hahah. - If you think so, sir. - Yeah, I do. Give him that role. If things go bad, then they dont know they will be on Early Alpha still, so we just need to find a substitute. That day marked the first time Jack got accepted at a job. Hit The Road Jack! : Hit the Headquarters! Im excited! Im excited as hell! [ - MOM, I GOT IT!] - What whos speaking [ - ITS ME MOM, ITS JACK!] - Oh. What do you want son? [ - I GOT IT MOM! I GOT A JOB!] She hung up. Did she think it was a prank call or something? [- Mom, why did you] - I dont know who you are, but if you think you will screw me, DREAM ON! She hung up again. Dont mater. I have to tell her! I have to tell Elicia! [- BABE, I GOT IT!] - What Jack? Where are you ? Your mom didnt receive your monthly call for cash, so shes beginning to feel worried.. [- NO, ELICIA, I GOT IT! I GOT A JOB!] She hung up as well. Hell woman, if you didnt think I could do it why did you expelled me from home?! Your home, that is. *** In the end, mother and Elicia only believed me when I almost rubbed the work contract over their faces. Then, they became ecstatic and mother started to hyperventilate. Things turned up to the better, no matter what. So, here I am. Day 1 at the job. Must I say, this is one heck of a building Squeam Headquarters was the largest entertainment industrial complex in the whole world. With a massive city-sized headquarters in its native city, Z city, its tax revenue alone was responsible for over 30% of the countrys income from taxes. In fact, no entertainment business in the world went untouched by the Squeam corporation. From independent movies to paintings and games, all had at least a couple of Squeam tentacles messing around. So, it wasnt surprising that Jack found himself humbled in front of the 200 store building standing in the center of the thousand square kilometers small city that the compound represented. - Wow. Elicia, by his side, was quite surprised as well. - I didnt thought they stocked rooms so high. Sasha, his mother, couldnt lose the sign of her son going to work at the first time. Rather, she was there mostly to make sure he wouldnt run away. [- Well, of I go. By mom, by babe.] - By honey. - Until later Jack. Dont you dare to come back before your first week is done, okay ? Aaaah why do I have this feeling that mother doesnt care about this as much she should? But Elicia is still my beloved babe in the end. Not only did she accepted to get back again, she even called her job saying she was sick, just so she can be here as well.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. [- Babe, if they give me some extra free time I will come and visit you, how about it?] - Use all of your time to work hon. Whaaa but - Seriously now. I wont have you back on my house until you can pay rent. The contract did specify I could get a raise in the future if I worked well, but this may take ages! Aaah. Its no use. Lets go. **** - Welcome, you all. After getting in the city and asking around a bit I figured that I and the other new employees would be living and working in a huge storehouse right next to that huge skyscraper. This is our first time here, so this huge guy in a loose suit must be this places CEO. At least people said he always welcome the first batch of employees in new projects like this. Specially if they are going to be heavily underpaid. I guess its a form of incentive or something? - My name is Shabe Newell. I am the CEO and founder of Squeam and also your new boss. And I mean it! The New World Project is directly under my supervision, so you guys will be seeing a lot of me! Whoa, what? We will be working under the Big Guy himself? Shabe is a legend in our times. He has been considered the richest and the mightiest human in existence, and some magazines even considered him the sexiest. I remember when people thought that console gaming was still something worth speaking about. And then Shabe came through, and nothing was ever the same again. hes pretty fat though. - This day is the first of the new age of humanity! The first towards the better thing to happen to human race since god masturbated to its own reflex on the water and jizzed something which resembled itself! well, Shabe IS more famous than Jesus, so I guess some leniency is allowed. Not that I believe in god but, to talk like that about a project, is it really - But let me elaborate a bit. Samanta, if you may. A middle-aged woman entered the stage. She wore a formal attire and was quite pretty. Well, not that I care. I do prefer Elicia. - Yes sir. The woman called Samanta sat on a notebook near the big screen behind Shabe, and then began to type something there. The screen lit up, and I felt a tinge of a dark emotion in my heart. May it be understood. It wasnt a piece of white cloth with images being projected at it. It was a cinema-like pc screen. It was huge. Guess some people just have too much money for their own good. - Now gentlemen, THIS is Project New World. A login screen lit up, and someone started to log in the game. However, it wasnt the Samanta woman, since she was quietly sitting by the side. It was someone which, for our surprise, was dressed like an MMO monster. A ratman to be more precise. It started going around and picking wooden sticks, and then crafted a little house. Nothing impressive. Shabe took a mic. - Say Joe, how are things going on there? - Everything is fine Boss! I will get over this village making soon! It seemed like a normal player chat. Then, Shabe turned to us. - Nothing too much, right? Yeah. - Just like any other MMORPG except, this one has a small feature. And that is the fact that THIS - Shabe pointed to the screen - Isnt a game. Uh? - Ladies and gentlemen, let me present you your new working station! HOOOLY SHIIIIT IS THAT A FUCKING CORPSE?! No, no, he wouldnt have killed someone and stuck it on a giant glass tube, right? There were at least a couple hundred people on that room, but no one breathed for a few seconds. In front of them, to the side of Shabe, stood a chair with a glass tube in it. Then, inside the tube, rested someones body. The weird part though, is that this person was submersed on a weird green-ish liquid, while small wire-like things connected all through its body and breathing that weird liquid all the time! Shouldnt humans breathe only air? There were medical sensors connected to it as well, so we could see that it was alive, but - This is the next step humanity will take. This is the Another World Project. Im confused. - Well, now, to explain this thing. Another World Project began once we decided to put more into our Virtual Reality projects. It isnt rare for people to use all-immersive VR tech on our days, but it surely is very expensive. Yeah, sure it fucking is! An immersion VR ball is basically a huge rubber-like ball inside a gyroscope. The thing has sensors and wires all around, and it can mimic tact by touching the players body with its internal substance. But it costs a huge clusterfuck of money! - However, what could we do to go beyond that? To get to next stage? Neural implants are a big no, since they are too risky. Well, neurostimulation tech was the answer, but What if we went one step further? Neurostimulation does he means those weird lights, sounds and wires one puts on their heads so they feel things? A friend of mine used it to mimic drugs. It was called NeuroDrug or something. Its pretty expensive as well, though. Besides, it almost fried his brain after a while - So, we went deeper. We went beyond the brain. And the result, gentlemen, is that we found the Mind. Aaah what a boring thing - You see, the Mind isnt the brain. Its something else, and. Shabe looks very excited, but Im just bored Is there something good on youtube? Maybe on Instagram - So, thats the gist of it. Any questions? Ah, the explanation is over. Finally. - Yes, sir. You said the players will be connecting from a simpler mechanism, so why do we need to use these workstations? - Well, the players wont have access to all functionalities you will have, so... Hey, why is Elicia liking that Yrene girls posts? Didnt they had a fight on the other day well, I guess they made up somehow - So, thats it folks. I hope you all have a nice time, and if you ever find yourselves in a pickle, just look for one of our Game Mods. They are aware of anything you need to know. Righ, right, you are paying us to play a game, right? Arhh I wanna sleep. Oh, hes going away. - Now, as I call your name, please go towards the right door. If I dont call it, please wait a bit, since I have something important to talk to some of you in private. I havent been called. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit the Jackpot! - Jack, no last name given. Is it you? Hahah. Yeah, its me! But, what now? Everyone else received weird stuff as jobs! I thought we were going to be playing the game, like, I dont know, as testers or something? But this is the real deal, isnt it? Haha Everyone else was, like you will be the guild master, you will be the demon lord, you will be the seraphim. Are we the NPCs ?!! And everyone here is a high-grading NPC as well Could it be that i hit the jackpot on my first try ?! - Well, Jack is it we didnt meant to give this kind of job to someone with a curriculum like yours but for some reasons, we did. Even if, thinking about it, you may be actually good at it, given your instincts and so on. What is it? Are you going to make me a King ? Or a reclusive noble? Anything that lets me just laze around all day would be great!The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. - You will be the Dragon King. eh? I mean, nice, dragons but Dont they have to hunt for food? And build their own homes? And hoard treasure and stuff?! ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME WORK ?! No please, no give me a job as a corrupt noble or something, please I might cry like this, you know - I see you are quite surprised, but we came to the conclusion that this would be the best job for you. Since the Dragon King is a Max Level Party Quest MOB, you will have minimum work to do. You just need to find yourself a Den, hunt sometimes to eat and lay low. [ - Wait. A moment please.] I raised my hand. - Yes ? [- Can can I have some kind of entertainment or something like that? I mean, if Im going to be alone on my house all day, I might get bored and...] - Oh, dont worry, you will have plenty of entertainment. [ - Really?!] - Of course. Another World is a place were your mind is placed on an artificial body after all. You will have all the sensations and senses of a Dragon King, and that includes the urge to plunder treasure. While logged in Another World you will surely feel an unstoppable desire to get as much gold, gems and so on as possible. Shouldnt this provide you with enough entertainment for years? Ha. I might cry for real this time, you know - So, now that this is explained, please remember what Shabe said about the NPCs do and donts. I cannot reinforce how extremely important it is for you to follow the whole list. [- The whole list you say?] - Obviously. Now, the time of introduction has ended, so if you might.. The Samanta woman showed me a door to my left, so I just went there. I guess I can talk to other people later, so they will tell me what are those NPCs do and donts Yeah, it will be easy. I just need to find someone else whos also an NPC like me! Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit the Game! Our rooms are nice! Look at this! High celling, a fluffy bed, a PC for browsing the net, a big TV for seeing stuff, a microwave, a minibar full of stuff, a small pantry and a private bathroom. I wont have much time to eat and enjoy stuff, but this is nice! Also, this room is all mine! There is a gym and stuff outside, and also, we are allowed to browse much of the facility, even some place with water and trees. But I dont care. This room here? Love it. Of course, the only depressing part is. The big, round-ish, goo-filled tube right next to my bed. Urgh. My first day of work begins 4 hours from now. They said the moment I enter the tube my body will start to relax and the next thing I see will be through my avatars eyes. Also, it seems the only reason we will have any 4-hour breaks at all is because the fluid needs to be changed. Sure enough, theres a pipe down the glass tube leading to somewhere inside the wall. Aaaah. I have only a few hours to laze around maybe I should take a bath Oh, right, my anime! *** 4:35 PM, Squeam Headquarters, Shabe Newells office. Shabe looked through the window. A small red light began to flash on his desk, and a small bip followed suit.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. - It started The fat man rotated on his heels and turned on the computer screen in front of him. After pressing a button on the touchscreen, his entire office got illuminated by the light of different rooms, while the window at his back blackened to block the sun. Shabe watched every room carefully, noticing how all his new employees got the warning and began opening their workstations lids. Right in front of him, a screen showed the game world in detail. Then, as soon as an employee entered the machine and logged on the game, the screen would show his game avatar instead of his room. - Mr. Jack, please wake up and get into position. Except for one. Shabe opened the communication line to Jacks room and spoke directly to him. The man was rolled up in his bed, laying naked side by side to a bag of doritos, some cigarettes and hard liquor. Shabe couldnt be too picky with his employees this time. Most of them came from the streets or ghettos. People desperate enough to sell 20 hours of their daily lives and become corporate slaves. Even if their master was complacent. [- Ah, sorry! I will be there right now boss!] The man called Jack woke up in a hurry. - He doesnt seem to be drunk so why is he having a hard time with the workstation? Game mod, to Dragon Kings room, please. Soon, a man dressed on an office workers attire moved from his desk at the developing room and went to Jacks room. Shabe took some time to look around the other screens, a big smile showing on his face. Everywhere the surprised faces of his employees could be seen. They looked at everything, amazed and amused. That was to be expected, after all. This was Another World Project. They could feel the grass, taste the air, smell their own bodily odor, see high-fantasy like structures and hear sounds never before heard by human ears. Those new bodies werent just for show. The employees werent in a regular VR experience, limited to how human brains worked! No. Their game avatars were like flesh and blood whole new bodies, with brains, nerves and other things which no human could even phantom experience. Until now, that is. Shabe reclined on his chair, happily appreciating the looks on the many faces around him. Jack, the Dragon King, seemed to finally have logged in, but that didnt matter that much. No matter how undertone and plain his reactions were in face of everyone elses, Shabe was more than amused. He pressed a button on his table. - It seems to be a success. - That is great, sir. - Samantas voice came from the small speaker in front of that button. - Care to join me for a drink? The Squeam boss office didnt have a minibar. It was mostly unfurnished besides his desk, fluffy carped and many screens. But the entire floor was exclusively his, so there were plenty of places he could take Samanta to. Raising from the million-dollars chair he owned, Shabe put his blazer on his shoulders and walked out of the Office. Who could guess that a man like him, always wearing loose clothing and a big smile, was the kind to believe on wearing suits even when alone in the office? But he was. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit the Goblin! - Hahahahaha! The goblin leader laughed while hitting his subordinate. At first all five of them had just spawned at a weird jungle-like place, and that was nice as it was. How did it feel to be a goblin? Well, not much different from being a hobbo on meth. The little things bodies had an unnaturally fast metabolism, high blood pressure and small brains. They werent capable of speech and were a cold-blooded species, so the would become more active the hotter the place they lived on - like the tropical volcanic island they were currently living in. A human mind being implanted on such a brain would receive a massive dose of energy and feel almost as if it lived on a perpetual roller-coaster, but without the fear. It was like being an adrenaline addict all the time, for all the wrong reasons. - SHIIIIIIIIIIAT! Come on suckers! Or so the goblin leader tried to say, but he just couldnt. His throat was only capable of producing a single kind of sound: A high-pitched hiiiiiiiii. Of course, the other goblins under his command obeyed nonetheless. Being a goblin leader meant being almost twice as strong and powerful as a regular goblin. On a tropical volcanic island, by its time, it also meant being the most depraved, aggressive and insane type of goblin - a Crazed Maniac one could say. - Come, come, come! (HIiiii! Hiiii! Hiiii!) The goblin leader ran and jumped through the forest, sometimes hitting a bug or a tree, just for the fun of it. The insane, mentally-obtuse rush kept on for almost five hours, but then, as it would happen to all and any kind of body, be it a goblin or not, it stopped. Instead, the Binge followed suit. The leader was hungry. His subordinates were starving. Even his body showed signs of starvation. Five hours for a goblin. That may as well be four days for a human. Without water, without food. It was almost a miracle that they were still alive - the human mind inside the leaders brain just now realizing that his body had hit its limit. Suddenly, one of its subordinates feel.Stolen novel; please report. Its body started to emit a foul odor as its insides started to swell. Even in death, a goblin would go sour long before a human - after all, its fast-metabolism body would start consuming itself pretty fast, on a last attempt of the cells to survive - even if the brain had long since died. - Food. The goblin leader had no doubts. Had it been a human on its regular body, and it would probably be extremely disgusted by the idea of eating a goblin of all things. Not that it considered that as cannibalism - it was very well aware that it inhabited Another World, a game world made by squeam. So, it wasnt that much of a problem to eat another one of its own race. Instead, it was just gross to eat a goblin. Their thick skins were like green, putrid-smelling hide. Their flesh was unnaturally red, and the fat had a weird yellow color, almost to the point of being brown. Their blood was green-ish, showing that those mutated freaks werent completely reptile, but rather a mutated child of some kind of reptile-insectoid with mammal birthing. And its insides? They smelt awful. It was like falling face-first to a dead dogs 3-day-old carcass on the street. None of that mattered. Even with the heightened sense of smell goblin, it still had a very impaired sense of taste - as well as a heavily impaired sense of vision. Goblins were cave dwellers which usually came out only to hunt and bathe on the sun. They would eat anything - from worms to angel meat. Not that they could digest it - some kinds of food were too much for such a lowly lifeform to feast on. But they would try, nonetheless. So, their hearing and smelling would be heightened, but vision and taste would be heavily impaired. If a goblin could see 30m ahead, that would already be a big thing. - GET OUT! (HIIII!). The goblin leader shoved one of his underlings away and began furiously chewing on the old underlings'' dead corpse. The other goblins, however, couldnt just stand to the side. Their state was far worse than the leader. Their hunger was ten times more. Their despair was enough for them to do something a weaker goblin wouldnt dare to do in front of a leader. Long before the leader could perceive anything, entertained as it was with its meal, a big rock hit his head, while a pointy stick crawled its path inside his swollen belly. - HIIIIIIIII! One of the things which minds could feel on Another World was the inevitable - pain. The game devs did their best to avoid transmitting too much pain to the human minds inside the artificial bodies, but their research field was a very frontier-like one. Also, goblins had virtually no pain-nerves on their bodies, so they didn''t tone it down so much from the x10 scale of intensity. The amount of pain the goblin leader felt from being pierced was no less than the one of being stabbed on the gut. As the leader fell, its former minions began feasting on both the ex-leader and the companions corpses. One interesting thing however, was how two of them were enveloped by a faint, almost indiscernible, yellow shower of little lights. Those were none other than the devs A.I. exp mana points. It was impossible to grow in this world by simply killing others. The common exp system didnt apply for flesh and bone artificial bodies. But an information-energy-complex, -or fairy dust as the devs called it - did. So, through the influence of the devs exp-energy system, the goblins absorbed a certain amount of fairy dust from the environment around them. As their bodies swell a bit, two goblins spawned right next to them.The process was, at the same time, wondrous and common - a huge amount of fairy dust gathered in humanoid forms and condensed to form their bodies. Both were regular goblins, and both were furious. The ex-leader jumped straight into action, hitting and biting its older subordinates. But in a four (soon five, as the newcomer realized what happened) - versus - one match, there was no way for a simple goblin to win. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Dragon King, But It is Too Awesome! Hell was that?! I just returned from my first 20 hours inside Another World. Getting out of the glass tube with green-goo all over my body should startle me, but I couldnt even say a thing about it! I just hit my bed. I can barely remember what happened. [- Aaaaah, shiiit] MY HEAD HURTS! I have to stop it! I cant remember! It was just too weird! A Dragon, a Dragon King not to say the least, has many more senses, and in a much more heightened state, than a regular human.Stolen novel; please report. Jacks mind adapted unusually fast to such body, but coming back to ones regular, mediocre human body afterwards was [- Aaah] Refreshing. - Attention all employees. [- Wont get out of this bed. Not today, haha]. As the staff-speak system started to broadcast, Jack just laid in his bed in a leisurely manner. His emotions were impacted beyond the point of return now. If he forced himself anymore he might even develop some kind of mental disease. It was too much of an emotional trauma to experience what it meant to be a top-level existence, and depressive thoughts would be bound to arise if he wasnt so relieved and happy to return to his reliable old body. Everything was simply new. Too new. Once people began to turn older, their minds would just accommodate and start to refuse anything new. Everything is news for a child or a young man, but for those on their thirties like Jack? He had defined what was reality, possibility, feeling and sensing a long ago. Some people go crazy when they eat shrooms or take on LSD. Jack came close to that, so it was no surprise when he started to sleep soundly on his bed, zero fucks given to the broadcasting. - All employees are to go to the Conference Room in order to share their experiences in the game. Repeating. All employees Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit the Consequences! Shabe evaluated the data in front of him. Over 90% of the high-end NPC pilots had fainted right after returning from the game. The mediocre ones, like those posted as city guards or forest rangers, returned with strong impressions of the game, while the bellow-average ones, such as goblins, returned confused and weirdly philosophical. Jack was amongst the first batch of players, but he was just another number. - Its wildly out of expectative, sir. Samanta said to Shabe, clear concern in her voice. - I didnt think there would be such a huge difference in the end. Shabe was talking about a certain type of engineer. His VR-Testing engineers. Such a career only really launched out recently, but it was highly sought after by the craziest of people - the LSD Hippies, the Ayahuasca Wannabees, the Shroom Hunters And the reason was simple - research psychedelia. As the VR technologies began to reach the brain and mess with neural pathways, it created the possibility of experiencing psychedelia on a totally different level from common drugs. Not to mention VR-Drug research.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. So, as the Another World project went on, the first testers for all kinds of bodies and species were bound to be such kind of people which not only enjoyed being out-of-their-minds, but actually craved for more of the thing. - Are you sure they were given the smaller intensity experience? Shabe asked his secretary with a concerned look in his face. Even if they didnt have the ability to tone up or down the entirety of playing-experience on Another World, they did have the ability to increase or decrease it around ten-fold. - We normalized the experience, so they received the ten-fold-reduced intensity experience sir, but it seems like the sheer content of the experience was - Too much for them to handle - Said Shabe, cutting of in front of Samanta. - Yes. Shabe tossed his papers on top of his table. This was out of expectancy. Wildly out. The VR-Researchers were hardened veterans in the field of psychedelic experiences, but for the normal person to be so impacted by it how much would they have to expend on psychologists for this people? Even the bottom-line NPCs had extremely strong experiences, and even if their experience had been indeed increased in intensity by two or three fold for the sake of experimenting, this shouldnt be to the point where one of them groaned in pain and protected his stomach when another one was describing the sensation of stabbing him from behind. This was almost at the level of PTSD-inducing experiences, and they only had a two-fold increased experience from the medium-intensity baseline. - Bring the medium-intensity experience down at least five fold, and make the ten-fold-reduced experience to be mandatory for all players. Also, bring me Jack Hudderson. Jack Hudderson isnt our dear Jack. He is the chief of the VR-Experience research team. Maybe the geekest, nerdiest, hippiest engineer in the world. maybe of all history as well. - We need to re-scale all of this from the basics. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit The VR-Drug Guys! Marcus was a small-time criminal - there was no crime of his to pay for anymore, as he had gone through his sentence already, but jail changes a man. And now, he felt as if the world was collapsing around him. He had never been stabbed. After all, the worst he ever did was to beat up a store clerk and run for it. And it wasnt a bad beat-up either - he just punched the guy a couple times. That is, he also took the money he had, but The fact is, he never had been stabbed before. Or stabbed anyone. What to say about killing others with his own hands and teeth, spilling their blood around as if it was a fountain. Another World was too much for him. The times werent as puritan as ours. VR tech had been around for a long time, so gruesome and gore-filled VR games were the norm on the 18+ category, not the opposite. Still, from going from merely seeing gore to seeing, sensing, tasting, hearing and smelling it was too much of an impact. Besides, being on that meth-like body for so long had given him some cravings as well. He wasnt clueless about light drugs, such as alcohol, weed and the eventual street-stuff no one knew exactly what was. But he had always kept himself away from the heavy stuff. He knew it would break him. So, now, as he was again inside his human body, all he could sense was a sense of being dense. He was slow. His body was slow, his mind was slow. There was no rush. No sense of being much smarter than he usually was. Of course, all of this was an illusion. Anyone who could see his actions and mental skill before and after login on Another World would see how much faster his mind was on his body, and how much saner as well. Still, as even he knew that, he now craved something. He craved that sensation. That perpetual rush. Anyone on his situation would. He was a homeless small thief. His life was as bland, disgraceful and tasteless as it could be. His memories of the past it would be better not to comment on that. No friends, no money, no street cred, not even a ceiling above his head so he can sleep without fearing the rain. That rush was too good. He needed more of the stuff. He simply did. And he wasnt the only one. Amongst the 500-ish new employees, around 40% of them had been located to rather usual occupations and experiences. They would be government officials NPCs, guild leaders and so on.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Even if some of them felt a little shaken on their bases as they experienced the world as elves or fairies, that wasnt that much. At most, it would be like sniffing glue or puffing weed for the first time. But the other 60%.... well, Marcus was amongst them, even if his case was a bit on the extreme edge of things. Being in a non-human body was already an experience which could rock someones world, what to say about those poor guys who were even worse than him? Seraphim, Dragon King, Demon Lord, Demi-God those guys had experienced things too complex and intense for their brains to deal with, even if the intensity of the experience had been reduced as much as possible. So, Marcus was paying attention to what the purple-jacket man in front of him was saying. His name was dr.Hudderson - engineer, psychologist, and virtual drug dependence and independence researcher. - So, as I was saying, this is the situation with you guys for now. As I said before, anti-addiction research using VR has been at a stand-still for a few decades now, as we couldnt make much progress beyond neurostimulation. But with Another World tech, we can give another step beyond. So, here I am, offering this opportunity for you all. Even if it seems bad, I can assure you, as someone who has personally tested not only all of the jobs and bodies you guys had been on, but also on their maximum intensity, that I can ride you of all this damage they caused to you. I can give you guys your sense of freedom back, and make it so you wont have any addiction at all. - Damn you all - Marcus could only swallow his anger as he lowly groaned. Testing the product on guys like this one - wasnt this the same as given money to a millionaire? They should be in jail, not giving them compensation! But something inside him would make him swallow all anger. It was the crave. More of the stuff. And for free? Something inside him wanted to laugh. Laugh a lot. - Squeam will obviously pay for all of this. Also, for those who decide to stay with us, your salaries will be increase thirty-fold for those with light symptoms, sixty for those with moderate symptoms, and increased a hundred-and-fifty-fold for those with sever symptoms. Technically speaking Squeam hardly could be sued for what they did. There was no law about making your mind travel to another world, and that was what they claimed to be doing - not experimenting on them. In a sense, if they tried to sue Squeam, them the company would try its best to explore every nook and cranny on the legislation, appealing to ridiculous claims such as this - that they werent really giving them a job, but, rather, offering to pay them to explore virtual places with their minds. Another World Project didnt even need to be stored on any servers on earth. It wasnt, technically, part of the internet. It was its own separate mental space, something totally new and which legislation didnt have any basis to judge. It may seem like pushing things too far with these kinds of excuses, but Samanta - the woman-secretary in front of them, which was also who said Squeam would pay for everything - made it very clear before dr.Hudderson began explaining what happened to them. They didnt have many options. They could accept a mental damage compensation from Squeam and get out with around a couple million dollars each, become very well-paid guinea pigs for the company, or try their luck with an almost vain attempt at suing such a huge company. However, the salaries they were offering to them were a much better option than any of the other two - as going out of the project would give them only from a year to a few years of salary, and suing would take ten or twenty years to bear fruit - if it did so someday. - Hello guys. The next one to come to stage was Shabe Newell himself. At least the boss had the dignity to show up in person. Booing and heavy shouts of anger soon ensued. Shabe took it on with a downcast expression, his face visibly heavy. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit The Apology! Squeam Headquarters, xxx day of the xxx month of the xxx year. Shabe Newells office. 3 days before the meeting with the employees. Shabe had prepared himself in advance. The damage incurred to the new employees mental health was huge. Even bigger than the first reports suggested. After two weeks of therapy and psychological evaluation from the VR-Drugs team, dr.Hudderson had a pretty bad expression on his face. - 68% of the employees have developed some degree of trauma and/or addiction with the game, while 37% of them have developed considerable addiction and/or traumas and have been given regular doses of VR-drugs in order to calm down. Some had to be sent back inside the game. 3% need intense VR-Relaxing therapy in order to not enter psychotic crisis states, 5% need anti-seizure physical medication and around 15% need physical relaxing medication in order to remain functional. Also.. As Hudderson spoke, Shabes face became increasingly ugly. Still, it wasnt from anger. It was from sadness. The reason for such a disastrous first try had been explained ever since the beginning. As soon as dr.Hudderson became aware of how the current employees had been selected for the job, his surprise was immense and he shout in anger, even in front of his boss: - HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?! Shabe had forgotten something. Something huge. He had forgot to take into account that homeless people were especially susceptive to drugs of all kinds. As people who usually would run away from their problems - to the point of living on the streets - their mental health wasnt that much to begin with, what to say after being exposed to such experiences as Another World Project. - Shabe said nothing, but his face betrayed his feelings. He wanted to apologize. He wanted to say that he was sorry about everything that happened. He wanted to turn back time and undo what had been done. But he couldnt. - So, what can we do about it? How can we undo that? Shabe cut of Hudderson speech as he had just begun to describe the patients mental diseases in order of importance, something totally unnecessary - Shabe wasnt a psychologist or psychiatrist, and Hudderson knew it. He just felt wronged. Too wronged. His life-work had been used in such an irresponsible manner. Even if the man in front of him was absolutely powerful and capable, he had dared to do such a thing - if it wasnt for the fact that these peoples bigger chance of coming back on their feet depended on both him and Shabe, he would have quit the job already. Hudderson sighed. - We cant force them to do anything. Thats the first step. If we try to force them into therapy, them that will only have the opposite effect, as they will struggle against it and worsen their already-bad state. So, you need to provide a good reason for them to stay.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Shabe already had some plans in mind, and he and Samanta had discussed this previously. They didnt need to go too far to avoid a PR-incident as Squeam was a forbidden topic amongst most news media on the world - as it would be, being the majoritarian owner of most of them and a big one in all but a very small and few. Even district newspapers had Squeams fingers on them, so that wasnt a problem. The problem was, truthfully, a heavy conscience. Shabe wasnt a vicious businessman. Had he been vicious, cunning and deceived quite a lot of people in the past? Sure. Thats how one builds an empire. Then, theres a big difference between deceiving corporate owners, other businessman and the stock market or deceive those who were already at the rock-bottom of society, or even those who merely wanted to have enough to live and build a family of their own. These Newell would forever watch over and protect like a godfather. - So, if they accept going through treatment, we will need to solve each of their needs separately. Some of them already have a history in drug abuse, so it will be difficult to reach the core of the problem, as conventional treatment just creates neurosis on top of the disorder which makes them crave drugs. For those I suggest starting with psychedelic micro-dosing Hudderson talked and talked and talked for hours without end. Some people needed to be taken away from Another World and them be reintroduced to it little by little, as others needed immersion-shock therapy to go beyond a mental bottleneck that appeared during the first gaming session. It would cost Squeam millions to do so. But at least it seemed possible to do something about it. *** Squeam auditorium, 3 days later. As Marcus silently cursed Squeam for giving him VR-addiction, Shabe rose to the stage and took the mic from dr.Hudderson. He was dressed as usual, in his casual clothes and without any make-up of any sorts. - Hello guys The angry shouting, glares and stares would make anyone else afraid, but Shabe didnt care. He knew he was protected by the latest tech possible, and, besides, he was willing to take on all of their rage and anger. These people couldnt be considered to be normal anymore. The Another World experience had been too much for them, and that may have had less about how intense it was, and more about who they were. - We screwed up. Im sorry. His apology was heartfelt and sincere. It didnt take long. Only around 15 minutes. But, still, it at least calmed the crowd a bit. *** A few hours later, as dr.Hudderson prepared his paperwork for the upcoming task, his hands fell on a certain patient profile. - Just Jack, huh. Our good old Jack had decided to stay put. Rather, neither his mother or his girlfriend would accept him back. Well, this is a good thing honey. Now you can have free therapy. Maybe you will get over all of that panic attack when someone tells me to work thing - Jacks mother. Thats right. Besides, you seem well. I think it didnt affect you so much. - Jacks girlfriend. Even if his right eye was twitching all the time, and even if he sometimes stopped and stared at nothing, in front of him his relatives had given him such answers. Of course, they were also some of the first ones in line for mr.Shabes speech to the families of those affected by Another World Project, and part of the calm and cold faction - the scariest of all, since they had given Shabe a hard-pressed Harm and Damage Compromise Contract. In the end, they squeezed Squeam so hard that even Hudderson himself thought that maybe they were pushing things a little bit too far. Aftel all, it WAS an accident - and it wouldnt have been so bad if the employees themselves werent such a lost cause in the first place. - Even though you are quite the special case, arent you? At first dr.Hudderson thought that living as a Dragon King for twenty hours had destroyed most of Jacks personalities and goals in life, such as how to maintain himself and his self-sustain. But after his family reports on him the man seemed to have suffered almost no long-term effects for being on the machine - even if some of the short-term ones where a very intense post-trauma depression and he had to be added to the severe symptoms list. Seeming as his mother said he sometimes would stare at a wall for hours, and as his girlfriend reported he doing this all the time when he smoked some ~special~ things, at most the experience had aggravated something inside him, not truly changed anything. - So there is hope for this project after all Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit the Job Again! Squeam headquarters, Jacks room, 3 years later. Haha! Another day of happiness! Yeah. Not a problem if both my mother and wife wont let me go home! Not even to see my newborn daughter and play with her! Hahah! Lets login and start working this dragon avatar of mine! Yeah. Its not like I want to be around Elicia in the game or anything, hehehe! Another World had successfully been launched a year after the first employee-failure-experience. That first experience had given Squeam a big headache, but also a lot of data on what could happen to people who were exposed to Another World without preparation beforehand. This time, most high MOBs and inhuman existences had been erased from the game entirely, and extensive tests and research had been done with volunteers for working with them on future game patches - which would include them. The truth is, the game remained quite addictive, but much less than before - so it was restricted for those above legal age, just like wine, cigarettes and liquor would. It was no thing for children, so the game Devs became even more devilish on their work and added a lot of 18+ things in the game. Things like the Red Light District were a reality now - and quite a few husbands and wives had seen their relationships destroyed by beautiful elven and beastmen sex workers, be tem A.I. or well, anyone can do what they want with their avatars, right? And for those former high-level and bottom-level employees?This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Well, some kept on it because they still craved the stuff, while others are in the midst of treatment. The thing is, those who finished treatment but still decided to keep working have been paid up accordingly. Jack stretched his back, feeling the joy of having a much better PC and gamestation in front of him. He even had the latest generation pc add-on and game Another World, of course. Since he had been on the Severe Symptoms list, he was already kind of a millionaire, and since his main avatar, the Dragon King, didnt have anything to do, he would be exempted of almost all of his 20-hours-slavery-contract with Squeam - he had to logon around 2 or 3 hours a day, laze around his Den, accumulate some more treasure and then he would login on his regular avatar. Well, time to work [- Bye babe!] - Dont come back until later, and check in for your daily inspecton, okay? Elicia was now also an employee for Squeam, as the boss still wanted Another Worlds NPCs to be controlled by people - but she was one of the few which had been given permission to be a dungeon master dragoness. Most people couldnt be exposed to high-class jobs and races due to the danger of addiction, so all players had a level cap determined by the Squeam psychology team. That meant some people would remain as lvl1 humans forever, while a few others could even become dragons or goblins without much problem. Of course, with continuous use, people would become resistant to the effects of the game and levels could be gained normally to a certain degree. That was kind of a bummer to some players with low levels of addiction tolerance, which would be restricted to boring classes or to remain at a low level indefinitely, but at least no one had become too severely addicted to the game anymore. Even if some people expended all of their earnings and possessions in the game, to the point of end up living on a single-room with a shared toilet, that wasnt too different from being an alcoholic, so it was all fine and all. Anyhow, Squeam sought after high-addiction resistant people as a hungry wolf soughs delicious prey. If they accepted to work as NPCs, then they would be given amazing salaries, as well as an amazingly reduced worktime. They would pretty much become special-events NPCs, which needed to be online only 4 or 6 hours a day. It was the perfect job for someone like Elicia, who was an ~almost single~ mother of one. As for Jack [- Ah, common babe, dont do that to me] Ever since Elicia became a game boss, she had put on a check-in schedule for him. As soon as she logged in the game, he was supposed to go on and meet her in her dungeon to prove that he was indeed working. - Come to the regular place or you will be banned from home for the next two weeks as well. Her smile was a bit terrifying. *sigh* [ - Ok] Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Messing Around! System Message: A fresh one is coming for you Elicia. Be sure to put on a good shown! Elicia had just logged on the game, and already the system popped up a message for her. *sigh* - Some people just dont get it, do they? Elicia was a good, hard-working lady. Well, she had to be, having such a bad husband as she did. Jack was a prodigal son who would frequently have her give him money when he was unemployed. Not that he asked for it - it was just that a certain immovable force almost forced her hand at all times. Maybe it was his dog eyes? Or was it the resolution to go days without food if someone didnt buy some for him? She just didnt had it in her to torture someone she liked. Neither did Jacks mother, so, it was quite difficult for both of them to toss him out. Still, things worked out in the end. - Woah, hes progressing quite fast Elicias dungeon was a mid-level one, while she herself was a high-level boss. Still, she was just a single-player ultimate boss, so many people would come to her dungeon when she was on. Typically, that would be from 6pm to 12am. On other hours, the dungeon would just remain closed. - Wait, he went pass the minotaur just like that?! She had full dungeon-related administration skills, so she had placed quite a bit of mischievous things in there. The minotaur was the third floss mid-boss, and quite a buffy one. It had a huge health bar, so no single player would go and directly kill it in one hit. They would need to be incredibly high-leveled to be able to do that, and from high-damage class as well!The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. - This A certain feeling welled up her chest at that moment. Even though Joe from the Mod team had just become her friend, both of them would be reprimanded if the so called invader made it past the fifth floor. She activated the dungeon-speaker function and shouted. - STOP RIGHT THERE! JACK! *** The mod team had a very strict policy regarding the game. Admins are Gods. Customers are Saints. Employees are friends. Cheaters are the enemy. And Compromise Contract Employees shouldnt be talked about. All praise Shaben! So, Joe could only give a grim smile when his screen flashed with the unauthorized employee deployment alert. It was him again. Sincerely speaking, Joe was a nice guy. Just your typical, average nice guy, though. He wouldnt harm anyone and had his friends in his heart. Maybe that was also why he despised Jack. - Good for nothing bastard, why the hell are you here now?! Elicias dungeon was one of the many he had the pleasure of watching over. The highest-leveled one as well. So, he surely made sure to befriend the almost single mother of one, and even became good friends with her. Good friends and a little interested in something more. A shame she just liked that bastard Jack too much. It wasnt easy for a man to like a woman who had a child already, but, what the heck, he just did. Still, he wouldnt move too close to her. His hearth was a little black when thinking about her and her husband, but he just knew how much she liked the useless prick. One day, he hoped, she would give him a chance and dump that useless boyfriend. Until that day came well, he just needed to go on with life and if he happened to find someone else he liked, then that was destiny. He entered the System Communication panel and changed a bit the contents of the regular System Alert Message which would be displayed to dungeon master Elicia, as soon as someone entered her dungeon. - Hopefully this will be enough for her to pay attention to the dungeon management screen. He was friends with Elicia, but, truthfully, they didnt know each other that well. So, he wasnt sure if she would keep the dungeon management screen opened all times or just laze around, digging in her den for gold and gems. Nothing was most pleasurable for a dragon species than looking for gems and precious metals, so most of the dragon-like employees would spend most of their time fulfilling that desire. It was better than watching TV, at least. - STOP RIGHT THERE, JACK! - Hahahaha. Joe laughed. This wouldnt take too long but would be a good show as it lasted. - Oyh, Joe, is this Dragon King Trashing?! - EVERYONE! Dragon King trashing on Joes channel! This kind of thing was almost a daily occurrence already, so most of the Mod team got themselves ready to watch the show. It was wonderful for the underpaid tech geeks to see an overpaid taboo being trashed live. Someone even fetched popcorn and many started to boil water to ceremonially drink the now called Dragon Kings tea(rs). Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit The Wife’s Trashing! - I CANT BELIEVE YOU DID THIS AGAIN! HOW MANY TIMES HAS IT BEEN ALREADY?! I TOLD YOU TO USE THE BACK DOOR, DIDNT I ?! [- Pff.haha..] Jack did his best to hold his laughter in, but the dirty joke in his head wouldnt allow him to. Elicias forehead seemed like it was going to burst open. - Is that so Dragon indeed had a way of telepathically communicating, so, she instinctively knew what he was thinking already. - You better keep your eyes shut this time, else I will tear them down ! Elicia said, while simultaneously hitting jack in the eyes with both fists. They sunk into his eyes and burst them a little. They might have both been dragons, But Jack was incomparably higher-grading than her. He was a Game-Changing Ultimate Mob, after all. So, her entire body would fit in between his eyebrows. The best she could do to give him some damage was to punch him in the eyes directly. [- Aaaauuuch! Babe! That hurt!] - It better has! Now get out! I dont have anymore gems for you, besides, Im in the middle of work! [- But I dont have any in my cave and the mountain is almost hollowed by now At least let me dig some on your place! They will re-spawn anyway!] - I already said, GET OUT! Else, I will ask your mother to cut down on your hug limit! Jack was wide-eyed and shocked after hearing that. After getting a job and a lot of money, he had been felling very lonely lately, so he had asked his mother for a few hugs each time. The problem is, once he hugged her and sat on the couch, he wouldnt get up for two days straight, even if all he was fed was bread and water... So she limited his hugging visits to twice a month. - Also, NO OPENING YOUR EYES!The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. This time she used her claws. *** [- He, shes fine as ever. Ive seen something good today, yep!] Jack and Elicia were married in-game too. Even if in-game dragons had unlimited marriage slots, unless they married a higher-leveled one (that is, if you were the weak one in a dragon relationship, your partner could have as many wives as it wanted, while you could only have him), he himself decided to keep her as his only companion. Except for a squirrel he married once for fun. Still, to think it would absorb his Dragon King mana and overtime grown into a half-dragon squirrel-woman Elicia couldnt ever know she existed. Never! Much less that the previous squirrel was the first wife Anyway, as part of his 18+ bonus pack, Jack could turn on husband view whenever he saw Elicia. This would allow him to see her 18+ form, as long as she kept the option as Wife allowance option on. This was what he asked of her in exchange for the promise of going to her dungeon everyday at the moment he logged in to work. He wouldnt be able to logoff for the entirety of his workday after logging in, so this would assure her that he was working properly. His husband allowance was always on as well. He had pride in his Dragon King avatars manliness after all. But, again, he also tended to crash at her place at all times, and laze around digging for gems. His own den had been dug up pretty bad, after all, and he was growing tired of the volcanic island his base was located at. The game devs had answered his message asking for a new mountain with an enigmatic do it yourself followed by a small-devil emoticon. [- Do they intend to use me as a gaming wildcard to change the terrain or something?] A drop of water appeared at Jacks head. He indeed could do it if he cultivated for a bit, but wouldnt that take forever?! [- Guess I will just find an A.I. dungeon then] And so, the legend of the Dungeon Buster Dragon King kept on going strong... *** At the same time, in Elicias Dungeon. - Im very sorry for the inconvenience. Please resume your gaming. I will respawn the floor in a moment, so, please, dont worry! A small adventuring party had been resting at the Dungeon Resting Area, and some of the members had even brought out some dry meat to watch the show together. Why does it seems like I know that avatar - thought Elicia - Is he a dungeon regular or something? - Its fine, dont worry, we saw the sign upfront so As I thought, this is disaster dungeon indeed to see Disaster Jack in person being eye-stabbed, I feel like justice has been served! - Thought the level 10 half-orc adventurer, after seeing his dream of a lifetime becoming true once more. Unknowingly to Jack, his frequent visits to Elicias dungeon (to the point where she had posted a sign upfront where one could read Dragon King Danger, please keep away from 6pm to 6:15pm) had created a new kind of attraction in Another World Project - people who felt justice was served after seeing their Dungeon-Clearing menace, Jack the Dragon King, being punished for its crimes. - Indeed, I saw something great today - Thought the level 10 adventurer who had a particularly bad luck with Jack. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit Get Serious Already, Jack! Jack had been lazing around for three years already. At first, the game devs thought they would need to restrain some of his actions, since the game wouldnt progress to the point were a dragon king would be defeatabable by players so soon. Still, Jack was even more of a NEET than they initially thought. For almost a year all he did was to stay back at his den at Dragon King Island, digging the mountain for gold and gems. Then, as they greatly slowed his mountains gem and gold spawning rate, they expected for him to finally add some fun to the game - the Demon King had been able to survive the game addiction as well and amassed huge forces in order to start once of the Player-Patchs the Game Planning Department expected to come soon: Draconic Wars! The idea would be for the Demon King to invade the regions under Jacks influence and them begin an in-game war. The devs didnt want to have to plan things up - one could claim land and build things in the game, and the human, elven and so on kingdoms had been at war for a long time now. But if the game didnt have any big fantasy elements, such as an epic Ultimate-MOB-Party battle, then things would remain petty forever. Of course, they also didnt want to force Jack into it, but - As I thought, its useless - Davin, the head of the Devs team, had to sigh, dejected.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. - Hows the dragon king plot fairing, Davin? - A cold, metallic voice could be heard from his desk. He had the tech to listen to the other party as clearly as crystal, but he just liked the metallic sound of old speakers. - Bad. He hasnt moved at all, Boss. This was none else but Sussana, Shabe Newells secretary and second-in-comand of the Another World Project. - Deal with it. Check with Rodin if things are good, and, if they are, go on. - Sure thing. Davin sighed again, more dejected than ever. - Say, Boss, are you sure about this? I mean, its a big change. - If Rodin agrees, then its time. Besides, Squeam has beta-tested it already, and the responses where pretty good. Go on with it. - sure. Davin didnt want it. He didnt want for Another World to become a pay-to-win game, even if one had to pay not Squeam, but, rather, other players. - As it is, its inevitable that big shots will be only those with a golden spoon in their mouths, uh Even though Squeam officialy didnt allow for offline purchases between players, like selling gold for cash, in reality everyone knew it happened and the company had a few fingers in it too. Gold Rush World, the main site for buying and selling ingame itens, indeed, belonged to a subsidiary of a subsidiary of Squeam. A portion of all sales would end up in Shabens pockets, so it was a good thing for it to happen. But it was bad to game balancing, so it was officially banned. - Hi, Trevor. Connect me with Rodin if you may. - Sure. Trevor was Rodins secretary, and also second-in-charge of the Marketing and Statistics division of Another World Project. He would deal with most matters, but this was a discussion of Head-of-Department level, so he obediently stood aside. - Davin? Whats up? - The boss ordered it, Robin. Lets go full pay-to-win mode, so, get me the specifics, would yah? - I said it already, it isnt pay-to-win, and it isnt full! It will even increase the realism of the game ! Davin rolled his eyes. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit “Jack, the Walking Menace”! Theres a nice place ahead! Jack flew on the skies, the land beneath his feet full of little houses and tows. This is Another World. Beneath him were adventurers, NPCs, monsters, a bustling life and environment! And, of course, Dungeons! Dungeons. Places full of treasures, traps and so on! They came in all forms. There were the typical caves, magical forests and even cities. There were good-natured dungeons, neutral dungeons and evil dungeons. Maze dungeons, castle dungeons, linear dungeons, MOB-swarming All had some sort of attraction for all kinds of players. Be it treasure, gold, gems, magical crystals, skill orbs, jades or books... The thing is, they had something to be worth challenging.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Of course, things like skill-giving dungeons were extremely rare and had kingdoms competing for them at all times. The NPCs assigned to such places were usually A.I., since they used to be super-high-level. So far, most of them hadnt been conquered, and the number of skill books, jades or orbs obtained could be counted on ones fingers from both hands. Nonetheless, players werent dumb, so the many guilds, kingdoms and empires would always be fighting over such grounds and defending them in the hopes of, later off in the game, being able to explore and fully utilize them. Well, none of those interested our friend Jack. For him, the closer ones were the best ones! Of course, dragons loved treasure of all kinds, but gold and jewels were the cream de la cream for all of them - even if not the most precious of items. Now, the dungeons that gave such low-level items as gems and gold were the weakest ones, usually directed at low level players who had to exchange them to NPCs to get potions and so on. Of course, our dear Jack [ - OOOOHHH YEEEEAH!] Was currently madly digging the ground in front of a cave half of his size. Since that beginner dungeon was too small for him to enter, he just decided to dig near the entrance, all the way to the dungeons Main Chamber and Treasure Vault. - NOOOOOOOO! JAAAAAAAAAACK! And that was the scream of a certain very unlucky Half-Orc player as the dungeon ceiling collapsed on his head. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit the ‘Government Is Trying to Overtake Things’ ! *Attention all players, a new game mode will be implemented soon. All NPC employees will be moved to this new game mode. Servers are up for taking. Good luck. * Squeam had plenty of connection routes to its mental space, and it was an almost infinite space in the first place (requiring only programming), so it wouldnt ever re-write the game with patches. Rather, it would simply move the game to a new place inside this space, while letting the old world behind. This way, the old world would be left behind, all game avatars and etc as well. The old world, by its time, could then be purchased from Squeam, piece by piece or whole. These old worlds were already a main sensation amongst youthful, prodigal sons, since they would become rightful owners and could do whatever they wanted there - like re-building the world from zero or something like that. Also, since the game would have been sold, Squeam wouldnt be in control of it at all, or responsible for what happened there. It would charge a heavy monthly fee for the usage of its mind-travelling devices and dedicated connection, so, most of the cases, people wouldnt buy the world whole, but rather pieces of it - creating bizarre places were in one side you had a futuristic city and in the other a bustling jungle. There were more than a few of these worlds already, as Squeam had launched 30 new versions of the game so far, but few remained in their original owners hands. Once someone was seen doing criminal things on these worlds, and that happened a lot, especially with low-scale drug and vr-drug dealers, as long as the law dictated so, Squeam would cut the connection from the responsible owner and, usually, re-claim the world for itself based on Contract Policies.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Sometimes, however, the Law dictated that the perpetrators possessions should be given to the government, specially if they didnt had enough money on hand, so the world would be given to the government. Many governments had small worlds for themselves already, without even the need to pay for them upfront. They just needed to wait until a small criminal syndicate brought one and then seize it for themselves. Of course, that didnt mean that these governments knew how to use these little worlds. The problem with governments is how slowly they move and adapt to the times. Up until now, some kept trying to sue Squeam or charge taxes upon its products, like pay 10 million for every minute of people being logged in this thing of yours!, but they just failed miserably all the while. Not only was it difficult going against Squeams lawyer team, cutting of Squeam from a country was naught impossible. Not only that, since it was quite addictive, once the governments around the world took notice of Another World Project, hundreds of thousands or even millions of its citizens where already hooked on it. Trying to cut it out by force would bring not only a sharp decline in popularity, but even civil unrest - just like the prohibition in the 1920s. Squeam had the world in a leash. So, as the governments seized small worlds to themselves, the price of one in the market kept increasing every time. Of course, not all worlds where used to illegal things, and some even had become separate games owned by Startup projects and the like (the fact that the Squeam Startup Sponsoring subsidiary was a main investor would always be a clause under the confidentiality contract, though). Also, even inside the official Another World Itself, there would be some illegal things going on, like a guy hiring his Neuroset to teens, people meeting to make deals or things like this. Some game devs had been allocated to search for this people amongst the A.I. filter list, and even special adventuring squads, the detective squads had even been formed in order to catch real world criminals inside Squeams main game. Some had Interpol people on them, while others where just common people who liked to play detective and, once a while, make a profit out of it. Regardless, what this meant was that Another World Project was, basically, a reinvention of the internet as it was in the 1990s. A no-mans land, but now under strict control and vigilance of a private corporation, rather than the U.S. army. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit the Server Update! *Attention all players, a new game mode will be implemented soon. All NPC employees will be moved to this new game mode. Servers are up for taking. Good luck and sorry for the inconvenience. * [- Eyah, did you hear that, babe?] Jack used his husband-wife telepathic phone (Bonus Marriage Pack, $450 on pre-order) to contact Elicia while, at the same time, wallowing in the (now destroyed) dungeons gold-and-jewels filled collapsed treasure vault. - Yes, I did. Now, could you please not talk with your mouth full? Dragons liked gold on all ways. They would rub it on their bodies, wallow in it, chew it, swallow, fall face-first in a huge gold mountain [- Ah, common, youre digging too!] - At least Im not a pig! Elicia, indeed, had been excavating her den for gold and jewels. However, her calm and lady-like (as much as digging a hole with ones claws could be lady-like) behavior was totally different from her husbands [ - Hey, what about the patch notes then? Want to read them together while we grab something to eat?] - Seems nice. Jack and Rose? [ - Sure! See yah!] Another World wasnt great just because of its NPCs. Both Jack and Elisa had regular gaming avatars which they would play as sometimes. It was a must in this new Another World era, were instead of going to a happy hour after work, people would go home, login on the game and go to a in-game tavern or bar Poor bar and restaurant owners in the real world had been having a really though time recently. Anyway, as new game patches changed a lot of things in the game, players would routinely get together to read it while enjoying the real world a bit. *** Squeam private cafeteria #5, The Jack and the Rose, private-owned building.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Jack and Elicia came to their regular eating place together. This was a small cafeteria which they gave to a friend as a present. As for why they would come all the way here instead of eating in the employees cafeteria Well, lets just say that most employees had a though time seeing Jacks face after some of his Wandering and Pillaging. [- Say babe, can I go and see little Johanna later?] As the new game patch would turn all working stations unusable for 24hours, the employees would have a day off. - No. [- Common, babe!] - I said no. A punishment wouldnt be a punishment if I let you do as you please. Elicia would come to work at Squeam Headquarters every day, and then return home afterwards. That would be a huge cost for a regular employee, but she was a dragoness dungeon master. She had privileges and those were more than enough to pay for an Squeam-Automatic-Aero-Car (something like a cableway without cables) to get her to and from work. It wasnt cheap, but it wasnt too expensive either. Just right for her. [-.] Jack felt crestfallen. - Auch. Youre in trouble. [- Whatya mean?] - Look. *** Another World Game Patch number 31: Robin Hood The worlds mana is diminishing! Gaya can no longer feed its sons and daughters with infinite plenitude! Due to Squeams policy of infinite-gold mining, the game items have become a little bit too pricey for those who hit lower-mid and mid-levels. Thats why, for now on, materials shall no longer be infinitely mined! All of the gold mines and A.I. controlled dungeons in the game will have their natural gold re-spawn rates reduced to zero, meaning they will become one-time-only consumables! Dungeon masters will have to work for their gold and jewels, but dungeons will retain the abilities of level 100 alchemists - as long as they absorb enough mana, creating and transforming items will be possible! Be warned that this is also true for Magical Forests and Haunted Castles - if you overhunt the monsters there, it will be a while before the forest produces more. Unnaceptabable, you say? Then, how about becoming a Dungeon Master yourself?!*** Thats right. The current A.I. controlled dungeons will be available for the taking!** Work hard and become a vicious villain, a ruthless merchant or a great benefactor!* As for those players who unlocked the Alchemist Skill Tree and have their eyes set on the ability to turn metals into gold, be warned that Gaya shall no longer make your wonders easier on the mind, body and spirit! Gold Transmutation will require not only more materials, but also a higher level to be performed. Alchemists must reach proficiency level 50 before being able to unlock this skill and the other ones which follow, such as Mana Crystal generation. The All Creation skill remains set at level 100 - work hard and maybe you will be able to get there! All players with the Alchemist Skill Tree shall receive one Skill-Tree-Reset jade as compensation for the changes made in this patch. [] ***Dugeon Owning dependent on the person having the psychological backing needed to run an in-game dungeon without the risk of serious addiction. ** Minimum base level 5. * Dungeons can be stolen and claimed by invading players and guilds. Be sure to protect your lair! *** - There, there. A certain Dragon King sobbed pitifully while being consoled by his wife. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit the U.N.! - Sir, Joe Dew and Kin Katare here. Joe Dew was the chief-in-arms (director) of the Squeam Lawyer Team. Kin Katagary, however, was a bit of a special guy. He wasnt on Squeams employee list, and the departments under his management werent as well. As Sussana announced they presence, Shabe quit going through the documents and logs in his hands and had them enter his office. - Have them come in. Soon, a man in a loose suit and one with a perfect military pose were in front of Shabe. Joe was the its all cool kind of guy, with a relaxed attitude and atmosphere. His eyes, however, hid the same cool, amorph and charismatic aura of an apparently amiable, but terribly poisonous, snake. He was the kind of man who would make you trust him unconditionally time and time again, no mater how many times he stabbed you in the back and even flaunted about it in front of you. As for Kin Katagary his military pose and stark-black eyes seemed stiff and rigid, but the chinese face seemed to hide much more than simple military power. - For the two of you to come together like this what happened? - Dlccy made his move. The U.N. is starting to vote the C1 resolution, and we cannot stop them for long. Dlccy was a torn on Squeams feet.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Previously a man under Katagary, he was now the Special Envoy of Squeam to the U.N... One that no one wanted in such position, as he had been a traitor for a long time already. - How are our chances? Shabe needed info. The C1 resolution could not come into being, no matter what! - Slim, sir. We cannot win the way things are right now. The Palestine influence has decreased, and the Middle East Conflict has taken a turn to the worst. They seem to be overtaken since Chinese influence spread through the area. This has changed the E.U. and the U.S.s politics from strongly backing them to retreating and focusing on internal affairs. Pressure is increasing on all sides, since Latin America has begun its Third Dictatorial Wave. We cannot hold applying pressure for too long - as things have been changing at a faster rate than we can adapt and influence. Squeam had a lot of political influence. Not only due to its economic background and power, but also due to generous donations to political parties. However, they lacked the basis of pollical power - orphanages. Only recently had Squeam began its orphan-adoption-and-talent-nurturing project. They lacked people raised and educated by themselves, people who would then become leaders and forever be loyal to them - loyalty through lifelong gratitude indebtment. These things the local governments around the world, humanitarian institutions and older corporations had in a much wider scale. One may find a talented and earning individual by building free hospitals, universities and colleges. By providing education, health and jobs to people. But one will not find true loyalty on such grounds - as people would be first loyal to their families, and the old families would rather be loyal to their country and benefactors, and not Squeam. Only by becoming a foster family to hundreds of thousands could a corporation have truly unshakeable foundations. And that, Squeam lacked. - Sussana, bring me Carlos. Shabe pressed the button on his desk, a deep frown on his face. Carlos was the Squeam PR Department Manager. A common and low-profile occupation. Except that, as most things in Squeam, such occupation was much more than the eyes could see. Hit The Road, Jack!: Hit Take Back Your Mountain, Jack! - Go on honey, enter the tube [- But Babe! Wait, babe, dont, my leg is..] - Its fine, it will just be a little sore after. Elicia was currently closing the lid on Jacks workstation. A very reluctant Jack was inside, his left leg in an uncomfortable position. Lets go back in time a little. [*sob* *sob*] - There, there honey, it isnt that bad - Ahm excuse me? Is everything rite Elly? - Said a middle-aged man with glasses. This was Tobias, an old friend of Elicia and a close but not quite friend of Jack. They had gone through a bunch of things together, since first Tobi was one of those who helped Jack indirectly (through Elicia) in order to pay for his living and depression medication as well - and them Jack and Elicia were the ones to help Tobi with his marriage and, later, divorce. He had lost a lot of things, so they gave this small cafeteria for him in order to help him re-start his life from zero. - Oh, its fine Tobi. Hes just a bit depressed over his dungeon, thats all. - Ol Jack had a dungeon? I never knew!Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. - Well, if you can call that mountain of him a Dungeon, then yes. But he never really took care of it, so most of the place have been overrun by other races already. Theres even a bunch of Crazed Maniacs all around. - Crazed Maniacs? Shouldnt them be lead by that meth-guy from the NPC program? Marcus had become a small-time internet celebrity after releasing his Goblin Emperor Vlog Diary. Even though he couldnt tell others about his experiences with Squeam and the first Another World Project first trial, many had identified him as one of the infamous addicted employees of squeam. His vlog was pretty good and solid, though. He had developed quite a fanbase with his motto of Kill, kill, eat and kill more! and his small Goblin Empire as well. Many in-game guilds had already challenged his empire and failed to raid them totally. - They are. And you know how the Big Guy loves them. Another World Project was directed at adults. But that didnt mean videos and vlogs about it couldnt be created and shared online. Some had become quite a sensation, with teens and children of all ages following the storylines of epic battles and timelessly heroes fighting the odds in hostile environment. Shabe loved how the Crazed Maniacs had become a big sensation. Every year thousands of players would start playing Another World Project as half-orcs in order to join the Goblin Empire, which wouldnt accept players unless they were half-orcs (the goblin character isnt available to players). - So, his mountain is good as gone, then. - Yes. It will certainly become a part of the Goblin Empire. [ - But my treasure is there!] Jack whined a bit. Losing his entire treasure was a heavy blow. - You can take it back, cant you? - Tobi still ignored how deeply-rooted was Jacks reluctance to work. - I mean, it should take you just a few rounds. Youre the Dragon King after all! - Oh, it wouldnt be easy. That dungeon was the Dragon Kings Lair, and he had been dumping huge amounts of mana there every day. Its bound for Marcus to summon at least a few hundred Boss Area level enemies for him to defeat, so he wont be able to just dig his way to the Dungeon Core area Jack sobbed harder. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit the Dragon King Lair Raid and Take Over! Marcus sat on his gaming chair with a smile still frozen in his mouth. Then, as soon as the red light went off, he sighed in relief. - Ah man, I hate that shit His personality had never been easy-going in the first place, so putting up a front as a vlogger and gamer wasnt easy for him. However, he intended to do something big in the future. He wanted to buy an Another World server and ditch Squeam once and for all. He had been an employee for a long time now, and even if the pay was good, he hadnt been able to get out of his goblin addiction. If something, it had become a little worst after he started forcing himself to write plots and strategies in order to gain audience. As soon as he brought his Server and started his marketing campaign he would surely retire. It would be him, a damn green goblin avatar, a world built on the Goblin Savagery motto he created, and living with his Stock Market earnings from thereof. Just a liiittle more.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He opened the private video chat option and connected to his other four companions. Ever since that first time they played together, he had cemented his position as leader. They were now the Four Kings Under the One Emperor. - Lets review the plan, shall we? It was the last meeting before releasing the Anti-Dragon-King Strategy Guide to the Empires Army. *** Everyone was frenetic. As soon as the servers came back up, the Goblin Empire lit up with innumerable characters spawning all around. None of them took the easy route out. The thing about VR-Addiction was that, since the mind could release all the stress in the game and the body didnt suffer any chemical intoxication, the players tended to develop an opposite personality when offline, while their personality in-game would be drug-related as expected. - HIIIIIIIIIIIIII !!! TAKE IIIT! A magically-empowered Goblin-like Cry signaled the beginning of the raid. As for his voice, Marcus had evolved from a Goblin to a Goblin Leader, then Goblin Lord, Goblin King and, finally, Orc King. He had purposefully postponed his Racial Evolution in order to create a loyal Sect around his Goblin Empire, but since there was no higher post in the Goblin Evolution Tree than Goblin King, he ended up as an Orc King. And Orcs could speak - as for the High-Pitched cry, it was his own doing. Soon, swarms of Goblins, Orcs, Half-Orcs, Ogres and Volcanic Vultures flew at max speed to the Dragon King Mountain. The objective, one and only one - to find the Dungeon Core and offer it to the Orc King, whose name was Goblin Emperor ! Hit The Road, Jack!: Hit the Dragon Kings’ Lair Raid and Take Over, part 2! Jack logged in a little bit later than the other employees, since he just fell on his bed and ate dochitos lifelessly for half an hour. It wasnt until Elicia barged in and drove him inside the tube that he finally saw himself in the well-known Dragon King Volcanic Island. Except, as soon as he re-spawned, hundreds of oil bombs bombarded his whole body. I knew this would happen! Shit! The oil bombs wouldnt amount to much in order to hinder or stop him given his dragon senses, but those were magically-enhanced oil bombs. Whats more, there were even proficiency-level 80 enchantments on some of those! His sight was the first thing he lose, as soon as he entered the game - and then, the magical fire launched on top of the enchanted oil took care of both his sense of smell and heat perception. He could only taste oily smoke on his mouth as well. His Mana Perception would have been fine, but the level 70 magical formation runes under him lit up immediately, jamming his magical means of perception. Of course, a Dragon King had many more and much more sophisticated senses than that. His Divine Intent alone was impossible to be hindered by the current generation items and players, except maybe for a few like the Game Mods and the Demon King. Still, Jack just didnt have it in him to endure the awful tastes, smells and confusion around him! He never cared to battle or develop his Skill Trees and level up (besides what he got when killing this and that while digging), so things like a Mages [Mental Fortitude] and a Warriors [Blind Fighting] skills were foreign for him. If it wasnt for his incredibly sturdy Dragon King body, he wouldnt even know how he died in the first place. But one shouldnt underestimate a dragons desire for his gold! [- ENOUGH!] With a mighty roar, jack unfolded his wings and took to the skies. Swarms of Volcanic Vultures tried to puncture his eyes, but even a dragoness could barely hurt them, what to say about simple, plain creatures such as those?! The binding runes tried their best to stop him, but they broke, just like that. Jack had reddened eyes and a fire-dripping body, like a demonic apparition from hell. That was, of course, one of the bonuses Marcus expected from his actions - making that worthless of a Dragon King a scary and mighty enemy in order to have a good show wasnt something easy at all! Jack breathed in and unleashed a terrible white fire-like light from his mouth. Most dragons breathed elemental fire according to their race, like burning water for blue dragons or lava breath for earth dragons, but as a Dragon King, Jacks breath had all elements in it. It was normally impossible to defend against such a thing, but one shouldnt underestimate the might of the Goblin Empire!Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Hundreds of advanced-level mages made use of their level 80 or 90 defensive spells, while level 70 defensive formations lit up one after the other. Mercenaries, Guilds and Kingdoms all across Another World were amongst the military ranks - some had joined in for the fun, others because goods and loot were promised. While some just wanted to bury alive this damn Dragon King. Jacks breath shattered the defensive formations and protective barriers all at once, even when the mages and formation masters had expended all of their mana to maintain them. Then, it was the time of warriors, paladins, knights, holy knights, griffin mounted warriors and dragon riders to take the role of defending. As the breath descended, hundreds of defensive abilities were activated, but they also fell, one by one. In a single moment, hundreds of top-level defensive classes died. And then the fire consumed the Empires ranks. The game didnt have the concept of ignoring defense, except with the use of some skills and only when the absolute and skill level difference was too big, so Jacks attack had indeed been greatly nerfed by the heroic sacrifice of players and NPCs, but his breath attack was just that powerful! Thousand of NPCs and hundreds of mid and low-level players were instantaneously consumed, but that didnt matter - the high-mid level and high-level players soon began their own counter-attack, while the advanced healing classes such as popes, Great Shamans, Witch Doctors and Bishops began resurrecting the dead. Not only that, the Empire had distributed a huge number of premium items all across the battlefield, so hundreds of killed high-mid and high-level players came back to life immediately, while others recovered all of their mana and the formations on the ground began shinning again - recovered as if they had never been broken in the first place. [ - HEY! THATS CHEATING!... Im out of here.] Jack, of course, wasnt interested in battle. Rather, he just wanted to secure his treasure! Everything else could wait until he did that! Of course, since his Spatial Magic skill tree was only at level 10, he couldnt carry all of it at once, but he would figure something out once he found his treasure vault. Maybe collapse the main tunnel and wait until the hype dies? - Jack thought. - BIND HIM! The Goblin Emperor shouted at the top of his lungs and dozens of binding formations, as well as meat shields, that is, valiant knights and paladins riding their impressive aerial mounts, tried to block, bind or even body-block the Dragon King. The game could have given this Overpowered MOB a lot of power, but the binding formations, the body slams of dragons, griffons and other such big creatures, the binding magic and sorceries, as well as all kinds of restriction skills managed to stop its efforts for a little bit. In fact, Jack fell to the ground were, in a few moments, large hordes of NPCs and players swarmed all over his body, attempting to bind and hurt him. A certain half-orc passionately hit his right leg while screaming: - THIS IS FOR MY MOTHER! AND THIS IS FOR MY FATHER! AND THIS IS FOR MY SISTER! Lets ignore the fact that by mother he meant mothers blessing cape, for father he meant fathers protection armor and by sister sisters affection shield - all items he had grinded through lots of effort and lost when a certain dragon kept collapsing dungeons on his head [- Release me Come on guys, just Get out. GET OUT, COME ON, GET OUT!] Jack struggled and, with every movement, dozens would be sent flying. Not only that, his hide was so thick that even being hit by high-level spells and skills, nothing more than a few dents were made on his scales. It wouldnt be until much later, when extremely high-level players managed to Max-Level their main level, that someone would have it in then to cause some meaningful injuries on him. Swinging his legs and paws as if he was a trapped fish, Jack managed to finally free himself. However, it was too late already. A little bit before being tossing Jack to the ground, the Goblin Emperor had already ripped a teleportation scroll and taken control of the Mountain Dungeon Core. Even he couldnt expect the things he would find there. Summon Demon [King Guardian Dragon] - The Dragon King Jack has lived many years on these mountains, and his divinity awoke a demon in deep slumber underground. With your powers and by exhausting the mana in the dungeon, it is possible to summon the Demon [King Guardian Dragon] to fight off a mighty intruder on your stead. Warning: Summoning the Demon King Guardian Dragon will upset the Balance of The World! Marcus couldnt help but grim from one ear to another as he looked at the Dragon-King shaped demon in front of him. This thing. This thing was exactly what he wanted. Of course, in the Devs room, Joe grinned as well. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit Carlos! Joe and Kin already expected this much. The three of them (Joe Dew, Kin Katagary and Carlos Marcio) could be said to be the Lion Backbone of Squeam. Of course, Squeam wasnt a human being, but, rather, a company other teams formed the Tech (Human) Backbone and the Ox Backbone. Politics, Science and Finance. As long as Squeam wasnt into religion and, therefore, couldnt be said to have an Eagle Backbone, but it still had some dealings in this matter, specially with some secret societies. Thirty minutes later, Carlos arrived in front of Shabe. His clothes were a mix of saharan desert camouflage and covet-ops gear. Didnt one know better, they would though Carlos was the one in charge of Squeams behind-the-scenes moves, and not Kin. And that was good. - You brought sand into my office. - Shabe wasnt pleased. He was extremely aggravated. During the thirty minutes he, Joe and Kin waited for Carlos to come, the situation had worsened. A lot. - Im sorry boss. Samanta briefed me on the way. Is it time?If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Shabe calmed himself a bit. Once the four of them had been reunited and decided to start their plan, the future of Squeam would change forever. - How much can you change things now, without depending on it? - Shabe sat on his chair again, his fingers crossing through the touchpad in his table. Carlos breathed in - Not much, sir. I have just finished meeting with Donning and Sutra. They dont have good news for us. - Dlccy ? - Shabe asked. - Yes. He made contact with some of our cooperatives. Around forty of them. However, the worst part is that he managed to convince around thirty. - Is there really no other option now? Shabe looked at his table, dejected. The other three man had complicated and dejected looks on their faces as well. Doing this at this point in time would put all of Squeams cards in the table, revealing their trump cards in its entirety. At least as much of them as Kin, Joe and Carlos were aware of. - We can still try to coax our allied base. They might be able to do something about it. Joe proposed, in a hopeless tone. - Not can be done. - Carlos immediately denied - our people have ben brought with money so far - we cant have them change things this fast. Shabes phone rang. - Whats it, Samanta? - Sir, Resolution C1 has been decided to be voted in 24 hours. - Thank you. Shabe rose from his chair. - Theres no point in muzzling over it anymore. You guys can start it. Be sure to conceal as much as you can. - Yes sir! All three man left Shabes office. As for the big man himself, well, his looks were lost in the horizon. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit ‘GET OUT !’, Again! - OUT! I SAID IT ALREADY, OUT! [ - Babe, please!] - First it was a few days, but it has been a month already! GET OUT! Go get yourself your own dungeon! A familiar scenery was taking place inside Elicias Dungeon. It was the same scenery one could see a few years back, on the streets of the real world [- Babe, it isnt fair! Please!] - IT ISNT FAIR?! WIFE KICK! Jack got kicked out of Elicias dungeon at once. How come a Dragon King got thrown out of a simple single-player boss room? Well, Wife Kick (or Husband Kick) was a special skill from the Marriage Pack, aimed at making a husband and wife pair with great disparity in power balanced, soSupport creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. - BABE! OPEN THE DOOR, PLEASE! Ever since Dungeons became one-use only items, Jack wouldnt dare to recklessly destroy one of them like he used to do in the past. So, the only thing he could do was suck up to Elicia and hope she would let him dig valuables all the while. She had a profitable dungeon, and his Dragon King aura would pour mana incessantly, so, she allowed him to crash by for around a month before his temper made her angry again. *sigh* Jack couldnt do a thing. If he were to confront her, then she may stop him from seeing his baby daughter. Also, he was indeed on the wrong [- Aaah, thats so troublesome!] Jack said, while roaming the worlds continent. For a Dragon King like him, finding a dungeon which was of his taste wasnt an easy feat. Of course, he could try to reclaim his old one again, but, what was the point? All of his treasure had been looted already, and the dungeon there probably had most of its mana exhausted. Which meant he couldnt mine a single gold piece from the ground there, no matter how much he dug the mountain. [ - Ugh] Jacks stomach would always hurt a bit when thinking about that day. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit what really happened! Marcus grinned while thinking of summoning the Demon [King Guardian Dragon]. It was everything he wanted - and epic summoning which would end this damn Live Stream once and for all. However, he didnt do it. The show must go on, after all, and he needed to cement both his position of power as well as his empires position in the world. It wasnt just about defeating Jack - it was about making sure he would never be able to put his feet in the island again! Only that way could both his empire and his newly-acquired loot be safeguarded. He wouldnt underestimate the King of Dragons, after all. To dev Joes displeasure, he scrolled through the summoning list and devices, and then selected a few of the most basic ones. Enemy Warding, Enemy Teleportation, Enemy Marking, Cursing, Weakening, Absolute Overpowering and Enemy Abjuration. Thats right. He wanted to make the dungeon - and the whole island - a place Jack, the Dragon King, couldnt put his feet on, ever again! Enemy Warding would find Jacks position on the map. Enemy Teleportation and Enemy Abjuration would complement each other, making it so Jack would be not only banished from the island, but also that, no matter where in the island he was, he would be then teleported to the Abjuration Trap range. Of course, Weakening and Absolute Overpowering were needed to make it so Jack could even be abjured by the dungeon. His level might be low, but his nature as a Dragon King was so OP, no regular abjuration or teleportation spells would work against him. In fact, wasnt it for Absolute Overpowering, a skill only the Highest-Level dungeons had, it wouldnt be possible even to ward him!Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Absolute Overpowerings effect was to disregard ones nature and level by making it so that the whole of the dungeon might was centered around the being, sucking up his mana until he was dry, and making it so every move of him would feed the dungeon with energy. It could be said to be a sure-kill move aimed exactly at OP beings like Jack - the Demon King castle, for instance, had the same spell on it. It was meant to be a plot changing device and also a last-line-of-defense for these ultra-high-level MOBs - insurance that they would never lose their lairs. Well, it was under Marcuss hands now. And the Cursing spell well, it was a pretty little funny one, which allowed for the Dungeon Master to curse an enemy invader with a certain set of spells to be forever ingrained on their bodies And, like that, Jack the Dragon King was severely nerfed by his own dungeon - while also being expelled from his own Island. The nerfing itself was actually welcomed - Jack always hated the excess of information his body gave him, and he was still high-leveled enough to face an entire army twice the size of the one which faced him. But the looting of his treasure vault almost drove him into insanity form anger - his rage plummeted the whole island for 20 hours straight, as Jack tried to forcefully enter his old lair once again - that is, until it was time to change the chambers fluid Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Creating an Island! [- Sigh..] In the end, Jack could only settle for the sea. All highest-level dungeons already had powerful people controlling them, and the Goblin Emperors strategy guide on how to take down a guy like him had became common place already. Except for the fact that it would be almost impossible for the average player to become the Dungeon Master of such a dungeon, everyone was well aware of how to deal with Jack menaces. As for smaller-leveled dungeons [- ONLY THAT?!] Any amount of gold produced on dungeons bellow the highest level just couldnt satiate him. Even when he saturated them with huge amounts of mana, their exchange ratio was kind of crappy. Also, why was there a half-orc dungeon master cursing him? It must be because he crashed through the ceiling and made him lost some exp. [ - Dont worry, I wont take this dungeon for myself. Its too cramped in here.] Jack said, taking flight. Under his feet, the little orc whimpered *sob sob* -mother, father, sister and now brother as well- So, the only option for Jack would be the one he wanted to make happen the least. And that is because [ - Aaah, its a buttload of work after all] Jack was sweating profusely while holding back his anxiety. His dragon aura was at the maximum output he could produce, while his mouth was kept hung open. As he used his breath attack on the sea, something bizarre happened - the multitude of elements in it started to not only evaporate the water, but to create bizarre effects as well. The fact was that Jack had perfect control of which dragon breath he intended to use - the ultimate attacks White Breath of Light and Black Breath of Dark were different combinations of his elemental attacks, while the literally game-breaking Void Breath was the combination of both. Of course, he couldnt carelessly use the Void Breath - and not only due to the weakening curse on his body, but it was actually a move on the Admins side. This thing could erase even game code and transform parts of the game on literally a Void full of Energy, so it had been disabled until some later pach kicked in.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Now, Jack was using not the White or Dark breaths, but actually a combination of different breaths at different angles - like a cone. At the outermost part of the cone, a great ice breath froze the sea. Then, the fire breath coming from the middle transformed the frozen water in vapor, which would then be blown away by the wind breath. As the fire breath reached the bottom of the sea, some three hundred meters below the sea level, it would then be replaced by the lava breath, which would then start melting the outer layer of the ice cone. As the lava breath filled the ice cone, Jack then would change his position in the air, allowing for the ice cone to grow in radius, therefore opening space for the lava breath to create a bigger pillar of burning lava. Eventually, after finishing to create four inter-connected big pillars of lava with a big lake in the center, Jack stopped this kind of breath attack and begun to evaporate the seawater in the middle of the four rock pillars. Since the pillars were interconnected but not fully merged, he only evaporated around 30m of seawater, and, then, started to pour in fresh water with his water breath attack. The fashion was similar to the one he used to create the pillars - ice on the outer edge of the cone, wind in the middle, and now, water on the center. The water which came from his mouth, however, wasnt regular water. Imbued with lots of magic, the boiling water came together with a huge amount of little bubbles mana - which would normally ignite in contact with skin in a fashion were not even by jumping in the water you would be able to stop the fire - in fact, it would become even stronger, just like a napalm bomb. The small mana bubbles, however, didnt hit skin, but the seawater below. As Jack filled the crater with his water breath, the little mana bubbles ignited in contact with the salt, sand and other impurities in the water, effectively burning them at a madly great speed. Normally, much of this fused and boiling material would just boil and be released on the surface - however, with the pressure of Jacks breath coming from above, the material had to scape to the sides of the island. Soon, huge deposits of crystalline elements began to form at the outer edges of the pillars and walls that connected them. There were many compounds there, and some were bound to be poisonous. Hundreds of thousands of fish had already been burnt to a crisp by Jack, but now, another hundreds of fish and sea monsters began to float at the edges of the island [ - There, this is enough for today.] Jack had finished his initial plan - by creating a mix of wind and ice on the outer edges of his cone breath attack, with boiling water in the middle, he managed to create a fresh-water lake in the middle of his new island. [ - Woah woah!] Then, he descended on it. For his surprise, the island immediately began to sway left to right. [- Damn] His pillars of rock had made the island heavy, but that wasnt enough to keep it on the bottom of the sea. It had become a frail boat in the middle of the ocean. What was left to do? Well, Jack had to reinforce the overall structure, as well as harden the intersections between his pillars of rock - making them stronger. Even if he wanted to rest, there was still work to do Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit The State of Affairs With a Certain Dev Named Joe ! Joe had been demoted. Ever since he inserted that OP NPC on the game, the Demon Dragon King, his job hung by a tread. Initially he thought that Marcus would use the NPC to defeat Jack - NPC faces against ultimate MOB, both kill each other, end of story - until later, when the Admins would call him and ask about the Change the Balance of the World thing. At the time, with the popularity of Marcuss channel, he would be needed as the one who created the NPCs code - even if it was just to explain it to his replacement, it would still be worth it - there were rivals of Squeam popping all over the world recently, and as long as his NPC was a huge hit, he could find a better job. However, the Goblin Emperor didnt do that. Instead, he kept the big NPC stored for later, and his whole plan was a fiasco. Now, his job was to simply keep tabs on Jack - since you showed so much interest on him, why dont you see what he does every day and write reports about it?. Not only did he had to watch over what the bitter husband of the target of his affection did, he also had to write reports on it and also had his pay cut in half - since Jack only worked half-time, then he as well became a part-timer.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The day couldnt get any worse - except that things can always get worse. To his displeasure, Jack began to build an island for himself. The Admins wanted to have him do that for a long time already - since that would change many things in the world - but he never did. - Damn stupid mongrel Joe watched as Jack created way more havoc than he needed to. Why use water breath when he could just kill some monsters and put points on his Water Magic skill tree - and then use that to create water? He even had a 10x exp gathering effect due to his racial traits! Why use his lava breath so recklessly? If he dove downwards and reached the bottom of the sea, he could then melt the rock and pour the lava on top of that, assuring that his island would remain stable! Joes head hurt. Jacks inability and clumsiness made him question himself again - why is a girl like Elicia attracted by a guy like this idiot? Then, after a few gruesome hours, Jack finished what he expected to do. After adding four more lava pillars and reinforcing the overall structure of his island, he then flew around getting boulders and rocks of various sizes - which he used to try and put some weight on the whole reinforced structure. Since his lava breath had been cooled by iced water, it was mostly pumice, with only the center of each pillar being made of hard rock. So, Jack had to painstakingly carry boulders and drop them on top of his island to weight the whole structure down, making it finally touch the seabed and become stable - or, at least stable enough to withstand a calm sea. The good point of all of this, however, was that he eventually brought quite an amount of vegetation, fungi and other such things with him. This way, his island slowly began to be colonized by small lifeforms. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit Here’s Your Prize - It’s More Work! In the end, it took Jack way over a few hours to create his own small island. Indeed, it took him unnecessary four days and three nights to do so. [ - phew!] Jack had slept quite little these days. Not getting any gold for four days was quite a hustle. His mind was used to at least roll on his gold pile for a quarter of an hour or so. - You done honey? Elicia had logged on her second account - her player one. In front of Jack was a small elf, around 1,50cm tall, with red hair and purple eyes. [ - Yeah, just finished adding the last piece of foundation] After finishing his first islet, Jack had a bad feeling. Indeed, as soon as he logged off and expended some leisure time, his island was ravaged by storms, strong winds and tornadoes. Those obviously werent capable of toppling it over, but it drifted quite far away from its original place - and inside a piece of main level 80 land. One must be aware the main level 80 meant that the player had reached at least 800 levels on his occupation levels - such as 80 levels in pyromancer, 80 levels on mage, 80 levels on swordmaster and so on Another World had no fixed limits to main levels, but the devs had only developed skill levels up to level 100 - and reaching anything above level 30 was extremely difficult, as skill levels were obtained by using the skill over and over again, and not by obtaining exp - which was used to evolve monsters or buy improvements on ones stats and special powers (up to a limit defined by the players main level).This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. So, people able to reach a main level of 80 were very, very few. Indeed, in the whole world only three people had such a level, and they were the epic-ranked shut-ins who lived solely for the game - indeed, all three of them had special neurosets with tech which was even better than the one Squeam employees had, just so they could change the fluid on their chambers faster. It wasnt but the norm to see one of them expend 20 hours in the game, logoff for 4 hours as the fluid was changed, and them login again. Of course, nothing is perpetually infinite. Eventually the devs would run out of ideas about how to improve the skill levels and main-level max-leveled players would appear, but that would be in the far future As for Jack He was constantly bombarded by dozens of level 80 mobs, in a barrage of destruction that rivaled, if not surpassed, the one he experienced on the Goblin Empire. Due to some luck of his, a mysterious storm got his island away from that zone a few hours later, but Jack had learnt his lesson - the Adms werent happy about his sloppy work, so all he could do was to ask help from Elicia - which promptly gave him the idea to melt the seabed to allow for his island to be fixated on the bottom of the sea. Then, after that, she helped him re-model the land in order to be able to receive a max-level dungeon from the admins - and that meant building something at least as impressive as his original island, since his original plan of making a mountain and digging a cave wasnt worth of even a lowest-leveled one. It took them four days, but it was done in the end. - Now, all you have to do is to learn a bit of nature magic and then, as soon as the forest and swamp have grown a bit, youll be able to convince the people upstairs, so At that moment, Elicia felt a gush of wind behind her. [- I cant do it! I cant endure this anymore!] A tear-eyed dragon king flew away at top speed. His destination was, of course, impossible to know. - Why, you Elicia facepalmed herself. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Things are Going South Fast! Dlccy danced on the streets. He was the carefee and tricky kind. A true madman who liked to do the improbable - like dancing amidst the pedestrian traffic. Some people thought he was a street performed and wanted to toss some coins for him - except there wasnt a hat, can or anything to put the money in. - How weird An old man shrugged his shoulders and walked by. He kind of liked how the kid danced to an illusory sixtys song. Those early-disco moves where so classical! But Dlccy was also one of the meanest people in this earth - his desire was one and one only - to make others plans to go down as hard as he could! He had begun his path early on - making it so his parents would have mortgage problems, his neighbors to lost their carefully cared for roses and so on. As a teen, he had already bankrupted a couple of dinners and a street stall. He didnt care who it was, but if that person wanted to make it big in life and stacked everything they got on something, he would gladly destroy it!If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. So, when he graduated from college and got selected to work on Squeam, he couldnt be happier. Of course, that was a huge challenge for him - and it wasnt until he had made enormous contributions on the PR department that he was chosen as the U.N. representative of Squeam, got to work under Katagary and managed to put his plan on motion. Right now, resolution C1 had been voted and approved. Squeam managed to stall for time for about three months, by using the means they had at their disposal - first it was by trying to bribe people not to attend to the conference, then by financing revolts on less-politically stable countries and, finally, by force of arms. Of course, obstructing the legal systems of both the countries around the world as well as the U.N. was also something they tried to do, but people had been prepared. Dlccy had told them about everything after all. About Joe Dew, Kim Katagary and Carlos Marcio. About Squeams big conspiracy and the means they would use to do so. Of course, he didnt do it openly. If he just went to some diplomat and told about how Squeam planned on take the power in their country for themselves, they would laugh at him and ask Shabe if his employee was mad. No. He had planted some clues here and there, acted suspiciously and eventually aroused the suspicion on some intelligence agencies. From there on, it was a bit of a landslide. He accepted huge bribes and disclosed things little by little, making it so resolution C1 was put into practice to be voted on the U.N. Indeed, in the end it was Shabe, with Squeam, who united the world, but not as he expected! Haha! And Dlccy kept dancing on the streets, until a bullet sprained his brains on the sidewalk. Shabe could be a bit of a vengeful person when he was aggravated to the limit. And even if he wasnt, Kin certainly was. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Leveling Up! [- HAHA! Gotim babe!] - I cant believe how much energy you have to do things when you are just playing for fun... Elicia and Jack had been adventuring together. On their private accounts, that is. The small elf Elicia and the burly swordsman Jack made quite a nice team together. Of course, they used fake names in order not to be even remotely connected to the famous Jack, The Walking Menace. They would probably be spawn-killed all the time if someone discovered who he was [- Now, should I take {highly improved shield bash} and {thunder-swift sword} or {greater harm} and {lowly improved fire sword} ? Or should I take all of them?] At that precise moment, Jack was choosing which skills he would choose for his newly-acquired levels. As a level 76 swordsman and a level 30 swordmage which could advance to level 77 and 31 at any moment, Jack could easily pick both skills, but the problem was...If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. - Why are you asking me? Shouldnt you just forget about this swordmage thing? If you keep that class at level 30 you should be able to get a new one, like qigong master that would be great for boosting your stats Jacks second account had a max main level of 20. That meant he could, at most, get 200 skill levels. Since he was already a level 76 swordsman and a level 30 swordmage, that meant he had only 94 skill levels remaining. That may seem like a lot, but it wasnt particularly much on Another World. In fact, Jacks main level cap was about one third of Elicias, and her herself was already a level 86 mage plus level 34 swordmage [- Tsc] - Is it about Jhonny? Recently an advanced-level player had been hitting on Elicia. Since he was a Swordsman/Swordmage specialist, Jacks heart had been itching somewhere [- All four it is, then!] - JACK! [ - What?!] - Unbelievable! Do you really intend on maxing up those two classes? That would mean youre a glass cannon! Are you thinking about deleting your account later and make a new one?! [-] - I cant believe you. And so, Jack happily expended 8 hours farming mobs in order to get enough skill levels to increase his swordmage class. His Dragon King account skill levels remained at the single-digits, though. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit Run For Your Lives! Things suddenly turned for the worse. Around the world, hundreds of governments (most of them, to be fair) demanded Squeam to handle the control codes of Another World, as well as the other Servers. All the telecommunication and IT facilities on those countries, owned by Squeam or not, were taken by force of arms. The Squeam employees had been taken hostage, and the Squeam property was seized. Another World was to be split-up amongst the worlds countries. At least, that was what resolution C1 was all about. Just like the Qing dynasty of china was no match for the power of the western countries in the past, the actual Squeam had no way to maintain the power over their little New World. Indeed, Another World was too precious for the worlds governments to let things go like Shabe wanted to. The past three years where ones in which the world thought Another World was just another game. That it couldnt be anything more than that - and addictive game. But now Dlccy had given then a new look on things. Squeam had been concealing some data about Another World. Katagarys division was the one responsible for looking up into it, and Dlccy had been the one responsible to leak it to outsiders. What exactly happened when one logged into Another World? The neurosets had tech in then that prevented complicated image recognition software to be used while they were active, so the neural activity wasnt recorded. The neurosets couldnt be easily reverse-engineered either. Much of the tech in then was exclusive to Squeam, including materials like new chemical compounds, metallic alloys and so on. Major governments had put some priority on reverse-engineering the sets, of course, but they were made with the idea of blocking the possibility of doing so in the first place. Designed, indeed, by the best in the world in doing so. So, when Dlccy briefed the world about what happened - that the person entered a vegetative state and their brain activity mostly stopped during the use of the neuroset, at first, they didnt believe it.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. But then, with the use of some really inhuman means, that was confirmed later on. If ones brain was shut-down during the use of the neuroset, what exactly was happening? Squeam said in plain letters to all - Another World would make your mind travel to a mental dimension! But men of science obviously didnt believe in that. Most people in Squeam, indeed, didnt do it. They thought the brain was being thoughtlessly stimulated by the neuroset, and that created the illusion people experienced. Indeed, by saying in plain letters that the neuroset would take your mind away from your body, Squeam had been successful on directing the world research and reverse-engineering teams towards another, totally different, direction. When one used the neuroset, their minds where transferred to a mental dimension. There, with the used of Squeam tech, the energy on that dimension would be then transformed on things. Mental things which, for the mind inhabiting the mental-energy avatars in that world, were totally real. It was, indeed, a whole new world. Not a game, but a reality on itself - a mental reality! Once ones mind returned to their bodies, the brain would be overwhelmed by information, and new synapses would be then created. In fact, even new neurons would be created by the process. And this was why one needed the goo-chamber to stay on for long periods of time, and also why the use of the neuroset was restricted to a few hours a day. Ones brain could literally be stressed to death by using that. Then, the most important point in all of that Once one died in the real world, what would happen to their avatar? Kin Katagary didnt use human subjects to this kind of test at first. He begun with animals, and only a long after would he use willing human subjects. The result was that their avatars kept on living on. Under the control of the Squeam code, they could be changed on other races, transformed on new things and so on. Their minds would be trapped inside Another World, and that was a great relief to these test subjects - as they were people with strong neurodegenerative diseases and the server used by Katagary was real-world like. At that moment, Shabe looked at the huge city under his feet. This city was the Squeam Headquarters, and beyond the city walls, a military encirclement had taken form. The governments on earth were in a state of dismay when they found out about the truth - not in a single one of the physical servers on their countries there were any clues about how to access Another World. In fact, as soon as the Squeam facilities began to be stormed in masse, many of the objects inside imploded, destroying all evidence. Samanta hugged Shabe from behind, as the military outside kept on announcing that Shabe should surrender and accept being taken in custody. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit What The Hell is Happening Here?! *Attention all players, server instability recognized. Latin America players will be offline for an unknown amount of time* *Attention all players, server instability recognized. Brazilian players will be offline for an unknown amount of time * *Attention all players, server instability recognized. U.S. players will be offline for an unknown amount of time * *Attention all players.* [- Maaan, what?!] Jack saw a huge log in front of him. He had been lazing around on his new island, enjoying the max-level dungeon the Admins had given him. As a bonus, a huge bounty had been posted on his head by the gods, so there were already armies upon armies of players preparing to wage war on his new lair. Despite the difference in power, the Goblin Empire had given the example, after all.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Still, Jack preferred to just ignore it. If I dont see it, then it doesnt exist! was his motto for the day. [- Have something weird happened?] It was S-day - the day when the U.N. approved the C1 resolution, unleashing chaos upon Squeam. Jack logged off right after - he wasnt a fool, after all, and the situation was really weird. If something happens, I just need to work my minimum hours later - JACK! HONEY! JAACK [- ELCIA?!] Jack hurriedly opened his rooms door, only to see his wife running on his direction. - ARE YOU OKAY? Are you youre okay, oh, thank god [-Wha] Jack has suddenly hugged. - Come. We have to go! We have to go now! [- Wait a moment Babe! Whats happening!] - No time to explain, come! At that moment, Joe the Dev and Marcus the Goblin Emperor were waiting at the corridor. - Come fast, you two! - Joe hurried them, while Marcus finished packing his stuff - his neuroset included - in a bag. - Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit - Marcus cursed on a low tone. [- Wai what] Jack tried to ask what was happening, but the corridor was full of people already. There was Orloss, the Demon King. Ahead one could see Druid (Deffindor Ignacio, but he just liked his nickname), the guild master. In the end, Jack just let himself be dragged away by the crowd. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Shabes’ Decision. - Its over. - Shabe said, a tinge of regret on his voice. - Had I known things would end up this way, I may not even had begun on the first place. Samanta hugged him strongly. - Its fine. Let me go. Shabes voice was full of resolve. - Will will you give yourself over? As for Samanta she had some hopes left. The one thing she didnt want was for Shabe to choose the other option. - Look at them. I have no real other option left. You know what will happen if they get me. Shabes eyes were full of concern, whilst the military prepared to explode the outer city walls. - We had good times together. He wouldnt make her follow him. That would be too much. - Your back is so largeThis tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Samanta said, in a final moment of hesitance. Then, silence issued for painful five minutes. Five minutes of awkwardness in which the military outside threatened Shabe yet again. Five minutes in which Shabe forgot about it and let himself enjoy, and only enjoy, the arms of his loved one. - I will go with you. And so, she decided. Shabe said nothing. Truth be told, she had no other option either. People on the higher echelons of Squeam would definitely be hold and interrogated. Torture and pain, maybe for years to come. Could someone chose that instead of a life of freedom? Maybe only those like Katagary, Dew and Marcio. Those three had found important matters to take care off weeks ago. Their names and faces had probably been changed already. - Then, stay aside for a moment. Samanta accepted, waiting a little anxiously as Shabe went to his desk. His burly arms moved the heavy table to the side, while exposing a small compartment. Inside one could see a single lever. Shabe pushed it. At that moment, the windows in the entire last floor of Squeams Headquarters Central Tower closed and became pitch-black while a sound of glass being shattered issued. Heavy steel frames dropped from above the glass windows, which seemingly were fifteen centimeters thick. In reality, the glass in those windows was only five centimeters thick, while the ten centimeters gap between the actual glass and a fake glass sheet on the inside of the building was meant to hold the thick tungsten alloy metal frames that now covered the whole floor. The military soon noticed the changes, and the field commander begun contacting his superiors. Shabe had only a few minutes left. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit ‘Holy Shitfucker!’ Jack and Elicia were running at the streets. Joe and Marcus followed with them for some reason. - Turn left now! That reason being that Joe liked Elicia, while Marcus happened to be a good friend of his. He liked Marcuss live streams quite a bit, indeed. As a dev, Joe knew some places and passages other employees werent aware off. After all, the Devs would act as the IT rescue team sometimes, and to do that they had to know their way past the servers and the optics backbone. Soon, the small team found their way to the backside of the Another World Employees building. At the same time, a huge explosion shook the entire city. At the gates, tanks blasted the walls and wave after wave of soldiers went in. Ironically, most of them were novices who had been extensively trained on Another World - Reality Simulation servers. Of course, things werent so simple. The Reality Simulation servers were settled on the Squeam Headquarters and neighboring cities, but, of course, the true layout of the city was nothing like the simulations.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. In fact, many of the soldiers, even though having directions given by satellite mapping, got easily confused and ended up in unsuspecting alleys, were unsuspecting employees soon took to arms and begun fighting back. Had Elicia known of that, and she would probably have had chosen to stay put at the employees lounge, waiting for rescue. But she didnt. Joe kept guiding the group, and soon they arrived at a small garage. There, he opened the door by inputting a password, and a few transport cars and motorcycles revealed themselves to be ready to use. [- Wow man, whatts this?] Joe weared a deprecating grin on his face while answering Jack. He hated this mans every single word. - This is one of the transportation vehicle deposits. I was in charge of programming it, so I know a few backdoors. Before being allowed to work on Another World, one had to have been through a lot of channels inside Squeam. Jack, however, still felt a bit lost. [- But why are we] Another huge blast. [- I dont care ! Leeets go!] Joe entered an easy to rob pickup truck while Marcus hotwired it. They may have access to the cars, but they didnt have the keys! As for Jack and Elicia, since the car was an old type one, with only two front seats, both found themselves a place in the open rear. [- Babe] Jack was concerned. Something huge must have happened. With a tight hug, he calmed Elicia - who finally let some of her emotions surface and hugged him back, her head on his chest. Hit The Road, Jack!: Hit the Big Screen! Major Wilson contacted Colonel James back at the battle station. The situation had turned an unexpected way. - Sir, yes sir! ENTER BATTLE FORMATIONS! WE ARE GOING IN! Major Wilson took reins of the situation as his junior officers took preparations. The battle had begun at least. The army didnt expect for Shabe to surrender so easily. The countries of the world knew of his hidden military aces. Of course, they couldnt just bomb the whole place either. Not everyone in the city were forces of defense. The alloy frames covering Shabes office, however, where a clear statement of his unwillingness to submit. Not even their mole knew what the secret behind Another World Project was, so they had to capture him alive, no matter the cost! The cannon fire filled the air as the tanks blasted open holes on the walls surrounding the city and began to proudly enter the perimeter. Still, things turned for the worst thereafter. Anti-tank mines and buried bombs exploded, sending the corpses of numerous soldiers into the air. Gunfire exploded from all directions.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. No one expected such fierce resistance. They knew there were some military preparations, but the line of fire was extremely strong. Shabes men had not only assault rifles and machineguns. No. They had battlesuits, exoskeleton reinforcement, RPGs, grenades, anti-tank and anti-air artillery. It was like fighting a whole country, and not a measly city. - RETREAT! REGROUP! ARTILLERY FIRE AT MY SIGNAL! The walls had been unguarded, and that was a trick. The satellite images showed no signs of hostile reactions. All the now-found-to-be soldiers seemed like normal civilians, cowering in fear and waiting for rescue. They werent. - Damn monsters. The Major cursed, while ordering his subordinates. - FIRE! Explosive shells and grenades were being used, while land-to-land missiles begun to be fired. The civilian causalities would be great, but the Major had received definitive orders. He must arrest Shabe, no matter the cost! Smoke and fire. Screams of pain and disgrace. The Majors ground forces opened a path of invasion, arresting and bounding everyone they found. Once the assault team submitted a group of people, they were immediately ordered to strip naked and get out of the city. Such gruesomeness and lack of dignity paid off. Dozens of undercover Shabe agents were arrested on the spot, the tech on their hands handed to the Major. Things were progressing quite smoothly, the invasion being a lot more careful this time. Anti-tank mines? Just go over with heavy drones and trigger them at once! Hidden bombs? Crush them under the tanks. Exoskeletons? They didnt make one to be immune to bullets. Just a little faster and stronger, that was all. Even a .50-wielding human monster would turn into dust after being bombarded by a tanks .50. No mercy. And then Shabes face appeared on the Tower, as if a giant had suddenly being summoned on this world. But not only there. - CEASE FIRE! The Major needed to listen to what that men would say. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit “I’M DOWN!”. Jacks head was on full swing. First, Elicia recuing him. Then, the explosions. And now this. Jacks phone ringed with a videocall calling. The IT and Telecommunications companies under Shabe may have been seized, but that didnt mean Squeams satellites had been as well! One of the objectives of this military incursion was to find the decrypting key to take control of them. Now, not only Jack - Elicia, Marcus and Joe where all receiving the same videocall. The sounds of battle ceased for a few moments, and Jack, absentmindedly, accepted the call. Shabes face appeared on his phone, as well as on the phones of people all over the world. It was the Squeams private netword, or VPN, put into action. - My friends. And also, my enemies. Today is a great, but also sorrowful day.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Marcus kept on driving, but Jacks phone wasnt needed at all. They could hear everything Shabe said - after all, the speaker system for the whole city had been activated. Not only that, since it was captioned content, even without Shabes voice it would be possible to understand what was being said. - All I wanted was to share Another World with this world. In time, great things would happen, and society would turn to the best. Shabe stopped for a few moments. - All repressed impulses, all escapism needs, all would be provided by me, on a safe and sound environment. And no one else would need to be hurt due to others selfness. His voice was smooth and tender, almost as if he wasnt being made hostage, but, instead, taking a sip of tea. At the same time, his speech was being transcripted and sent to all phones and social accounts Squeam had access to. Even some viruses started to work under Samantas command, inserting data on multiple places at once. It would be neigh impossible to delete all of this, unless someone was to throw the world back into the dark ages! - RETURN FIRE, BRING THAT BUILDING DOWN, DO IT NOW! Away from there, Major Wilson had received severe orders, and the air artillery begun to take flight, while land-to-air missiles were sent to Shabes office. - At the time you all see this, I wont be in this world anymore. I will be gone, and my consciousness will inhabit Another World forever! Jacks mouth dropped a little, but the huge explosion right next to his group soon took away his ability to hear anything. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Shabes’ Speech! Back at Sasha, Jacks mother place, the old woman watched her phone screen with bathed breath. The television wasnt working, so she had been trying to find his sons location through many home-made video-transmitting aerial drones which were like an amateur television brought forth by the power of the internet. Such big event would obviously take in the attention of the whole world, so many streamers had shown in the air, the whole world watching the Squeam Headquarters Invasion - most of that through VPN channels, such as the Squeam VPN or the World Pirate Party VPN satellite. A word about the World Pirate Party - being advocates of piracy and royalty-freeness they had it bad in the last few years, so the downfall of Squeam wasnt but joy on their eyes. Still, now, her phone had but Shabes fat face in it. - At the time you all see this, I wont be in this world anymore. I will be gone, and my consciousness will inhabit Another World forever!If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Sashas face became pale. Forever? What?! - After today, I shall inhabit this mortal plane no more! In both mind and soul, I shall live on Another World! Come with me if you want to! Remove the safety wires of your neuroset and plug it on any physical phone line or Another-World accessible VPN, and you will be there instantly! Shabe seemed elated for a few moments, but then turned serious after a bit. - Unfortunately, this will not work for those who have no account set on Another World. As soon as my Tower is brought down, all User Interface will disappear. Your minds will be with me but, without a vessel, your memories will probably be lost. Shabe closed his eyes, and the camera zoomed out to show him inside a gigantic pool-like goo tube, one two hundred times bigger than the one used by regular employees. This tube filled most of Squeams Tower last floor, and it was all meant for Shabe, and for him alone. It held the secret to Another World, as well as the User Interface. All carefully designed by that little man. - I will say goodbye now, my friends and my enemies. May we never see each others mortal coil again! Shabe submersed at the goo pool, his eyes rolling back and his body slowly floating upwards. Under the eyes of the crowd, a mechanical arm rose from the depts of such tube and mercilessly stabbed Shabe on the head. Next, the transmission was cut off. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit ‘We Need to Go Back!’. Joe opened his eyes with much difficulty. He was on the ground, most of the right side of his body burnt. His army was the color of charcoal, and he felt nothing from it. Instead, it was the immense pain on his neck and face that almost made him faint again. The big explosion earlier was powerful enough to knock down all members of the group. The pickup truck had lost control and hit a building on the sidewalk. Its engine, however, was still on and, even though it was blowing out white smoke, it seemed like there was still some life in it. Joe slapped Marcus on the face. His friend was further away from the explosion, so he suffered a lot less than him. As Marcus woke up, he saw Joe looking at him, his face in despair. - Shit. Marcus straightened his back and hit the reverse. The truck came out of the wall, the engine a thread away from blow. [- H hel p] A muffled voice came from the back. Neither Joe or Marcus could hear it. Their ears wouldnt be able to hear anymore.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. However, Joe remembered a special someone on the back of the truck. Looking behind, his eyes fell upon Jack and Elicia. Jacks entire left arm, as well as most of his neck and head and some of his back, had been burnt like charcoal. His arms bones and cranium could be clearly seen. Elicia, on the other hand, had her head preserved due to Jacks arm and chest, but the left side of her body had been burned so bad one could see her ribs and some of her entrails were popping under the thin layer of muscle which remained. They were still alive, but barely. At that precise moment, Shabes last words appeared on the few intact screens around the group. - At the time you all see this, I wont be in this world anymore. I will be gone, and my consciousness will inhabit Another World forever! Joe forcefully made Marcus look at the words. He understood but didnt mind. Turning the first gear, he begun to travel on the direction of the south gate once more. Joes mind went blank with rage. Gripping and pulling, he took the steering wheel and almost made them crush again. Marcus stopped the truck and left it behind. He wouldnt fight a dying man over a car. Even if he was cunning and disgraceful, he wasnt so low. There were others around! Joe climbed on the drivers seat, the pain obscuring his vision. Another explosion sent shards of glass and metal all around them. Joe didnt even feel when a sharp pain assaulted his ribs. None of the three on the car did. Only Marcus, a few meters ahead, kneeled on the ground, a sharp piece of glass going through his left lung, right above his heart. He didnt know how bad that injury was, but it surely was pretty bad. He felt his lungs fill with blood and knew that he would suffocate long before reaching the gate. That was a fatal wound, and the disloyal man could only run as fast as his short breath allowed him - climbing on the back of the truck, side-by-side with a burnt Jack and a dying Elicia. Joe had been focusing his willpower to be able to drive at all. Marcus thanked god for his luck. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit The Colonels’ Decision and Samantas’ Goodbyes. Colonel James didnt bother listening to Shabes speech. As soon as he realized Squeams VPN was transmitting something, and quickly scrolled through the contents, his orders were to bring down the tower. To hell with Another World! He couldnt allow for the Towers backbone optic fiber to transmit a single other patch of downloadable content! Even if it was at the cost of loosing the Another World tech, he could NOT allow for such info to reach the hands of the masses! How many people would choose to abandon their lives on earth, just because there was a maniac telling them to kill themselves? Shabe was the charismatic ruler of the masses. If he kept his business still for a few more decades, he would be able to die in piece, loved and respected by all. But his fat body was charging a heavy price, so he launched Another World prematurely. His fame and popularity were at an all-time high. His game being a true other world would certainly drag people in like a siphon! Colonel James soon received confirmation of the orders he had just given. His superiors, and his superiors superiors, all agreed with him. Whats the use of getting a golden egg, if the hen is killed in the process? Another World was almost useless for those who lived on earth. Even if it could be used as means of diversion and business, it wouldnt get people a gun to shot someone else and then take his land. And then, if there were no corporate slaves to work that land, what would the landowner do? Work it with his own hands? He better kill himself and go to that world of magic and swords instead!If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Two worlds like this. To try and take one, the other had to be gambled on. Governments relied on gambling safe. The wouldnt do such a wild thing as gambling all to, maybe, gain nothing in return. Of course, on the righteous minds of such rulers, what they decided to do was to preserve the people from the menace of an suicide-inducing game. *** Samanta finished sending the last message his lover had left to the world. With it, many manuals and tech information teaching people how to remove the safety wires from the neurosets, and even how to build a essentials only version of it. Rising from her table, she quickly immersed herself on the goo-tube nearby. Once someone killed himself while using the neuroset, it wouldnt be usable by others anymore. Shabes would be forever useless now. As soon as she gave the command to close the tubes lid, she also set the bombs on the floor to go out. 10 seconds would be enough for her conscience to be transferred to Another World. Looking one last time to her beheaded lover, her eyes full of tears and confidence, she slipped into Another World - while the tower around her was ignited in powerful flames. In the end, the towers last floor closing off wouldnt be able to stop the military to bombard and bring it down. The rest of the tower had a simple reinforced steel frame, after all. But it could, and did, hold the power of the many tons of explosives inside the building. A big supply of oxygen filled the entire of the towers last floor, while exhaustion valves appeared on the terrace. Bombs began to fire, one after the other, redirecting and reinforcing the explosions power. The valves set off only when the pressure was so high it threatened to burst open the tungsten alloy shielding of the floor. A big column of poisonous smoke ventilated from the topmost floor, while air exhausting vents from the underground blew it high up. The whole tower cracked and sizzled under the power of the explosion, driving the building a few centimeters into the ground. As for the reinforced steel floors next to the top most one, around eight of them caved in, not destroying the building only because the top floor itself compressed and laid on top of these, now partialy melted, floors. The whole structure and steel frame bended and bounced. As for the last floor, the heat had been so much it managed to melt the sides of some of the tungsten valves. Nothing, not even a shred of metal, remained inside what used to be Shabes office. If not for such amazing engineering the building managed to hold itself even after virtually collapsing, no one would be able to recognize it anymore. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Plug Us In! Marcus held tightly on the trucks tailgates. His own wounds were already quite exhilarating, but he avoided looking ahead as much as he could. Jack and Elicia were right in front of him, after all. Then, as the pickup stopped next to the employees building, he dragged himself out of the trucks rear. He was a cowardly bastard. But he wasnt inhuman. Doing the best he could, Marcus dragged the semi-conscious Jack and the unconscious Elicia. Soon Joe was next to him, and while he helped by putting Jacks good arm around his neck and walking him to the employees building, Joe cared for Elicia. Of course, were not for the fact that the huge glass shard was embedded on his chest, Marcus would have been the one to hold Elicia, but what may have been isnt what is. *** Jacks conscience flashed in colors of pain. He could barely remember his own name, but he could understand that something bad was happening. He walked wobbly through a lounge, while someone supported him from the side. Why cant I see what is happening Jacks head was severely burned, and his neck as well. Only his right eye was working, and he wasnt able to turn his good eye towards his savior. Still, he could see Elicia, and that was enough for him. The known corridors flashed around him. Everything seemed so fast, and, at the same time, so slow. People seemed to pass by them. No one helped. Why? Then, a weird vibration hit his feet. Everything quaked and shook. He fell to the ground, and the person helping him didnt do it anymore. Elicia Jack looked for her, while almost giving up. He could feel the ground cracking and quaking. Something big was coming.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Elicia was on the ground. There was someone right at her side, but that person was down as well. His head accelerated. His heart begun to pump blood. He could feel some strength coming to his flesh. He crawled and then he managed to get up somehow. He approached Elicia. She was hurt. There was someone at her side as well. He didnt really saw or felt it. At the time he realized someone else was by his side, the gentle lady had already kneeled and helped raising the guy in front of him. He couldnt care about her. He reached to Elicia, and tried to get her. My arm He couldnt see it. His head was tilted to the side. Was he a freak? An abomination? He surely looked like one. Jack grabbed Elicia by the armpit, his whole body barely being able to try and lift her. He couldnt do it, so he resorted to crawling. Another shock. The gentle lady was back. But she was hurt. She was bleeding from the waist. She begun to pull Elicia by the arm. Jack did the same. The corridors were dark. Sparks flew here and there. Jack didnt understand what was happening. Still, his brain remembered some of it. Was it because his subconscious mind knew what was to be done? Or was it because he could see injured people entering their workstations? Somewhere inside of him, he just remembered that he needed to go to work. Or Elicia would be mad at him. Elicia Elicia was hurt. Jack kept pulling. The gentle lady fell to the side, leaving a mark of blood on a certain door. Her mouth was moving, but Jack couldnt hear. She rose from the ground, her face pale as a ghost. Still, a determined look on her face. She kept pulling Elicia, side by side with Jack. After what seemed like eternity, they reached her workstation. Jack didnt knew what he needed to do. He saw Elicia being put inside the tube, her body sinking on the goo. The gentle lady to the side was gasping for breath, holding on the wall with all she had. Jack tumbled backwards, his consciousness almost failing him. The gentle lady hit his back strongly, a subtle jolt of electricity running through his brain and waking him up. Demon king Meridith? The pale woman in front of him was Her Highness herself. The kind and carrying Meridith, Demon King of Another World. Jacks mind was turbulent, but Shabes fat face appeared on his mind. He understood now. And so, he walked to the corridor, Demon King Meridith at his side. She looked to the right, and he knew her workstation was that way. Then, she looked at him. She was dreadly pale. Her shirt dyed a pure and crimson shade of red. She was hesitant. Jack pushed her to the right, his mouth saying something, but he was unable to hear it. Was it [Go]? Meridiths face showed a look of comprehension and relief. She walked away as fast as she could, falling to the ground a couple of times. She was alone in her endeavor, she was alone in helping herself. Jack, as well, soon found himself alone. There was no one in the corridors. Dust covered everything and the emergency lights were on. He tripped and wobbled his way to his room, just to find Marcus passed out in front of it. It seems he had tried to enter, but Jacks door was locked as always. Jack could barely move. If he tried to slap Marcus on the face, he would fall on the ground. So, he kicked him instead. Marcus woke up, whilst Jack dialed his password on the door. Then, as Marcus tried to pull on his feet, Jack simply half-fell to the side, avoiding the cowards hand. Jack looked at his bed, sleepiness creeping in with each stare. Luckly, his workstation was opened - so all he needed to do was to throw himself in it. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit The Fallen! Marcus tried something shameful again. He smiled creeply at his own shamelessness while trying to put himself on his feet. Had Jack fallen to his trap, and he would surely had taken that dead mans spot. It wasnt out of greed, though. It was just that his own workstation was further down the corridor. Once the first explosion near the building went off, he gave up on his role as hero. He just ran as fast and as stable as he could. But then came the second explosion, and he fell to the ground, the glass shard embedding itself even deeper on his lung. He began crazily vomiting blood and became desperate. Could someone blame him for trying to take a shortcut? He tried to prop himself up. He had to go a long distance to reach his own room.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Help please, someone. I have to get there I have to get there As he dragged himself on, vomiting and almost passing out every time, he then felt another explosion. Except this one was bigger than all others. He felt to the ground again, but, this time, prepared for the worst. Holding himself on all fours, he managed to keep his consciousness. Marcus crawled through the rubble. A big chunk of the ceiling had fallen on the corridor itself. Still, as a door closes, a window opens. His own room, which before required for him to travel through the whole U shaped thing to reach, could now be accessed in an almost straight line. Had his head been a little less numbed, and he would be surely thanking the military for what they did. Then, as his heavy steps reached the fated door, he saw someone laying in front of it. The irony didnt escape his eyes. Was it fate or something? Marcus kicked the person, just like Jack kicked him. However, his feet just caved in the persons chest, revealing the truth that there wasnt any more life to be saved there. Marcus became terrified, pressing his doors keypad as hard as he could. A few moments later, a despicable Goblin Emperor made his way to his own goo chamber, finally safe. Or what could be said to be the closest thing possible to safe. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Goodbye! Forever, or Not! Jack looked to the bright sky above his head. Tears streamed down his face. The in-game chat, the streaming chat, the Internet Browser. All outside-world apps and mods he could use. All opened, but losing contact with the outside world, one at a time. Except it didnt happen with the use of the User Interface this time. Jack did it with his willpower and desire. As a dragon, and, above all, as the Dragon King, the old User Interface could be used by the use of magic, as long as he allowed his mind to look for the small streams of code. He could feel Shabes Will lurking in the whole world. Every piece of Code, every Information Package had some of the old Squeam Owner. And through this Will, when connecting it with his own, Jack could convey old User Interface Commands to become active again. He wasnt the only one. Those with high magical skills, those with blessed races from birth. All had this kind of skill, and many were now trying desperately to keep contact with their loved ones.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. *** Elicia watched, with bathed breath, as the connection with her mother-in-law and daughter was cut. She could take it no more and cried copiously. Another World was quickly becoming populated by hundreds upon hundreds of real-world escapees. And the real world, of course, wouldnt allow for such. One by one, all outside-world communication devices were cut out by the outside world. - I will find a way, dont worry! Her mother-in-laws words pierced her hearth once more. What was the chance? The chance that those like them would be allowed to see those they loved again? *** Marcus woke side-by-side with his in-game NPC harem. The NPCs now frightened him. Had them weird life in their eyes? Or was it because he was dead? He didnt want to believe it. Not that he was dead. He ran and, shouting desperately, hid on his Treasure Trove. He didnt know what to do anymore. *** Demon King Meredith exchanged words with her lover once more. Promises of love but, also, understanding. 5 years - she said - If we cant see each-other in five years, you can go on. Misery, departure and loneliness. Poor of those who, after dying, lived still. End of Book 1. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit Mind Training! [- Get out. Out. Get out] Jack slowly groaned to Elicia. He was on all fours, his back tense and his Dragon King aura on full display. He seemed ready to pounce and rip her to shreds at any time. As for Elicia, she was also on all fours, but she was doing her best to maintain composure. - Fiiine Except she barely could. After all, behind Jack stood a huge mountain of gold, and nothing but thoughts of quite strong hatred and greed stemmed from looking at the huge giant blocking her way to it. Dragons love gold. They love it above everything else. And even if Jack and Elicia were previously able to maintain their reason, things were different now. There was no more intensity-reduction mechanisms and interface available, unless both of them remembered to keep their access to Shabes Will (and therefore Game Interface) at all times. And this was one of those times in which they didnt. Elicia slowly backed, soon entering the main hall. Still, Jack followed her. They kept that tense atmosphere all the way to the Dragon King Lair Dungeon first floor, were Jack finally managed to clam down from his impulses. Using his own will to connect to the Will of the World, Jack released his mind from the powerful grip of the Dragon Kings brain. Soon Elicia followed suit, as her own instincts calmed down - thanks to Jacks aura retreating. Jack and Elicia looked at each other, their own emotions and pain clear on their faces.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. [- Im sorry babe] - No, its fine, you couldnt control yourself... In the end, a bitter feeling arose on their chests as they looked for a way to sit peacefully. Jack and Elicia now lived together for a few weeks at a time, and then went to sleep separately from time to time. The truth was just that they were amongst the unfortunate ones, even if they had quite some luck. Controlling a Dragon body (or a Dragon Kings!) was a difficult thing - what more to say with Jacks utter lack of Mind Magic related skills. Indeed, he had been doing his best to master some of those, but no matter how fast he leveled up, how could he control his own dragon greed so easily? Elicia had the same problem, even if her own greed was easier to defect. If it wasnt, she was sure to have attacked him on sight of that big pile of gold, regardless of how big the level disparity between a simple Dragoness and a Dragon King was! [- Can I heal you babe?] - Please do, Im almost out of mana already Jacks training consisted on finding high-level areas where he could use his spells and self-control techniques. Mind Magic, Qigong and Neigong Training, polishing his Martial Arts to try and get skills like Warriors Heart and so on. Unfortunately, he kept being quite lazy, so he would slack off from time to time. As for Elicia, she did the same thing, but while using Jacks dungeon for training. As for today it was just an unfortunate event. [- There babe, all patched up]. - Thanks honey now, if you allow me Well, as much as a certain Dragon King falling asleep on top of his Treasure being called unfortunate could be. - WIFE CURSING KICK! WIFE BLINDING EYE-POKING! WIFE KICK! What happened next was a barrage of pent-up anger and sadness being released upon a certain (very unlucky) dragon king. - Please dont do it again Afterwards, Jack hugged a tear-eyed Elicia, his consciousness heavy. And, in the end, he managed to endure a 66 hours long training session, until he finally got his Nature Magic level 30, unlocking the Body Transformation skill tree. Now, once he reached at least level 30 on it, he would be able to change himself to human form, and then train human-like techniques. Things like a swordsmans Steady Steel Resolve and Oneness With the Sword techniques would show good effects on cleansing his mind and relieving him from his greed. Working to avoid hurting your loved ones was the minimum proof of love someone would expect, after all. And even poor ol Jack knew it. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit DoTry, The Wanderer! Some people came to Another World because they needed to. Others came to run away from reality. While some came because it was better to give up on everything than to live on their own bodies. Raphael was one of these people who could only enjoy life inside Another World. His whole pension would be used to customize his character, and his existence as a whole served only one single purpose: To explore and enjoy the many sceneries of the game. His body in the real world had been mangled by a tiger. Not that he was a famous explorer or anything - he was just another enthusiast who expended too much time near danger. One fateful day, his luck ran out and he was attacked - resulting in nasty injuries which made him almost totally crippled. Once Shabes notice appeared on his screen, he had no doubts. He immediately destroyed the safety wires on his neuroset, wrote a goodbye to his few family members, and went online forever. There, he kept traveling. The only problem, however, was the fact that, for a single human explorer, it was quite difficult to walk all around Another World. It was a dangerous world, after all, and no one was sure about what would happen if their avatars died.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Would they be gone? Raphael had his share of reckless exploring back in the day. So, he did what he thought was the best - used a teleport scroll and returned to the closest human city present. The problem is, there didnt seem to be a single player in that city. As he walked on the empty small city, he became more and more nervous. The NPCs. They kept working like before. Shouldnt this be impossible? The User Interface was no more. On another note, they had meat and bone bodies like his avatar. They had brains, and even though their A.I. was the simple, not-self-evolving kind, their lifeless eyes were extremely unsettling. Raphaels experience wasnt something new. All through Another World, players experienced the same problems. The NPCs were like meat dolls without souls now. The outside world was cut off from them. Raphael decided to migrate. He would go insane living alone on that borderline city of some weird empire or whatever. Putting his feet on the road, every single chance encounter was a high-risk low-reward one. His premium items were more than enough for himself, and loot and exp werent his priority. The journey was excruciating. It took him two days of trekking to get to the nearby city, and then, after buying a horse from an NPC, another full day to get to the Furuk Empires capital. All the while, he saw no one - not a single player. Only the terrifying meat dolls on their mechanical roles. Usually, he would have loved the experience. Unlike most players, who had mounts with them all the time or could fly thanks to this or that, he prioritized stamina and his five senses. This way he could take the most out of Another World, but that was now coming to bite him in the neck. Then, finally, Astoria, the empires capital. - Is there anyone here? Please let there be Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Dragon Kings’ Village! [- Oy, gimme some of those pommice, would ya?] - The price is 50 mana per kilo. Payment up first. [- Wha] It wasnt a surprise for Jacks island to have become a kind of paradise after the whole Another World incident. People valued their own lives, and those who enjoyed the thrill of murder or adventure were soon dealed with by either Another Worlds monsters or high-level people. One must remember that a persons max main level was limited by a psychological evaluation made by Squeam. Psychopaths or people with serious mental illness wouldnt be able to play the game in the first place and, if they by chance came to find someones neuroset and forcefully enter the world as it was now, well there were plenty of high-level individuals which would deal with them with ease. That said, there were still dungeons, monsters and mobs in this world. Indeed, some high-level special-event like mobs would appear from time to time, so only under the wings of someone strong could the low and middle-level players find some safety. [- Hey, do you know who you are talking to?! You live on my land without paying rent, come on and gimme some!] So, of course Jack would get some people asking to live on his island. Indeed, as a Dungeon Master it was quite easy to relocate some stuff and settle the monster spawn rate to a low one. Of course, as a dragon, his lair was still not to be trifled with. His rules were clear for all to see. Do. Not. Enter. My. Dungeon.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. His instincts were the ones of someone who would protect its own treasury above anything, after all. Still, the little village at the foot of his mountain seemed to be thriving just nicely. Of course, this didnt mean Jack could do whatever he wanted. - The hell you talking about?! Didnt you put up a mandatory 200 mana per player main level a day tax for us to pay?! I have been pouring mana in the ground every single day all this time! Do you know how big is my mana bar? I just have so much to give! The half-dwarf at the street stall selling pommice said to Jack, his face unhindered. Who was to fear him? Ol Jack the Dragon King? Pfff. He may be 600 meters high and 1000 meters long, with a wingspan of almost 2 kilometers, but no one cared. What if his huge head was so wide it covered a chunk of the pier? As long as you dont have any gold in you, he is as harmless as a kitten! - Thats right! Pay up! - A certain Half-Orc joined the chorus, demanding that Jack gave up some of his mana. [- Why you.] - As for our dear Jack, how could he endure this kind of thing? He was the owner of the village! The lord of the dungeon! Most of this mana would end up becoming his dungeons food in the end, in exchange for some daily necessities, so whats with the fuss? Of course, he could just create some pommice on his dungeon, but that would mean creating less gold! He already had taken all of the gold on peoples pockets the moment they entered the village, so obviously they wouldnt have any! - No mana, no deal. - The half-dwarf was unshakeable on his decision. [- Fine] - still, an evil smile appeared on Jacks eyes. [- Then I think I will be going. TELEKINESYS!] As Jack activated the first branch of the Psion skill tree, a big chunk of pommice flew from the street stall and into his hands. - JACK! [- Hahaha. Keep todays mana! I will take this on as your taxes for this day!] The pommice piece was at least a couple meters wide, but all the poor dwarf could do was to fist the ground in indignation. - DAMN BASTARD ! [- Humpf]. As he left, Jack blew the sea a little with his tail. A wave over the size of four men came and washed over the pier. - My sea urchins! - My sea cape! - My monster coral stones! - My mermaid underpants! - My shrimp! Cries of indignation came from the whole pier, but the loudest and pitifullest of all would be from a certain guy who cried copiously on the ground. - MY ''BROTHERS CROWN OF COMPASSION''! Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Forming a Team! Yrwin was the current Emperor of the Furuk Empire. He had "ascended" to the throne on the times of the game, and now worried as to what could he do. He was tied to the empire. The game was excruciatingly realistic, so there were NPC factions and nobility which would periodically engage on stratagems to kill him. As much as he hated the lifeless eyes of the guarding NPCs'', he needed them. But not only them. He would periodically receive Quests from the system, and it seemed like this hadn''t changed. - Your Majesty, a dragon is attacking the land! His holiness the pope requests help from the military! On Another World, "pope" was a role many could attain, and it basically meant a bishop-class player who was able to make deals with kingdoms in order to rule religion on them. The Pope in Furuk Empire was an NPC from a faction which was always opposing Yrwin. - What do I do... Was this the game still, he would bravely lead a cavalry unit and slay the dragon himself. However, the stakes were too high this time. What would he do? Risk being eaten alive? Not a chance! But, still, he had to answer somehow. Otherwise, his position would weaken and he would be soon assassinated. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. - Tell the army to prepare five platoons and one general. Send them to rescue the Pope. Then, spread a notice on the whole of the empire: The Furuk Empire requests for brave heroes who can slay the dragon! However, there''s a condition! Yrwin could use this chance. He couldn''t carelessly send messages all through the Empire, as this would bring problems to him - if he took the initiative to do so, the NPC nobles would craw to his side in no time, asking how they could help him and activating all kinds of Kingdom Quests. So, he hadn''t been looking for other players. Now was the perfect chance. - The ones who answer my call must be have the ''Player'' skill tree and come to the Royal Palace to meet with me, King Yrwin the Player, beforehand! Yrwin did what he could. Now, all he could do was count on luck. If he got enough players with him, could he run away with them? As for the messenger NPC in front of him, his face showed surprise and shock. Did the emperor just called himself a "player" ? Like a playboy ? - I hear and obey, Your Majesty! The NPC went out of the palace hall, and Yrwin resumed his work. Soon a Reputation Quest would be triggered with the poor emperor at the center of it. ''I hope i can escape in time''.... Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit ! … (part 1) ack had been laying on his lair, his back against a huge chair made of sandalwood. Where did it come from? From the extorting mana taxes he imposed on his subjects, of course! As for his couple-meters-wide piece of pomice? He was using the tip of his claws to slowly grind it on the ground. Elicia, by his side, observed the action with a bit of a phew. She looked weary, as one would be after expending days and more days grinding small pebbles on the ground. Why? Because that was one of the means through which she could increase many of her skill trees, by stimulating concentration, focus, stamina, resilience A tedious, boring and spirit-grinding task like grinding rocks in the ground for days without end while also paying close attention to what she was doing - this would increase mastery of the so-called elementary skills associated with many, many skill trees. Basically, elementary skills such as concentration were determinant in things like the ability of a mage to progress in stage and learn the mages'' passive skill "Mental Fortitude" or the Psion skill "Unwavering Mind". Players would usually grind these skills while out in the wild, facing monsters, becoming able to live with dangerous situations and multitask their own mental skills. Many corporations in the real world used to send their employees on "mind training" sessions inside Another World. There they would develop multitasking and stress-managing real skills, and before receiving the games'' skills like "Mental Fortitude" their minds would have been trained already. As for Jack and Elicia they were both dragons to begin with, so it wasn''t easy to find opponents to face against. Even if Jack used his Dugeon to summon strong monster for Elicia to fight, he wouldn''t dare to summon a monster which was strong enough for him to have to train hard. And as for Elicia, she wouldn''t lose precious time and focus with that as well. What was a "skill"? Another World was a place were peoples'' minds were placed inside artificial "flesh" bodies, which had their own brains, nervous system and so on. The impulses Jack and Elicia felt, as well as the adrenalin rushes and fear, or lose of concentration one would face while in battle, were all related to the brain. If ones'' brain was wired in such a way that they would be greatly overwhelmed with emotion in a life-and-death situation, then they would lose concentration. If their brains were wired in such a way that their desire and pleasure with gold was so great that they would go against their loved ones for it, then they would do it. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Skills were little "magical helps" the world system would give to people. Once a certain task had been done a certain number of times, depending on the persons'' race and so on, their artificial brains would have been re-wired on a certain manner. Once that happened, the systems'' "fairy dust" would manifest and help to make that wiring the most effective as possible. One could say a skill was the world "rewriting" ones'' brain in accordance to ones'' ability to rewire it in the first place. So, stupid and repetitive tasks like grinding rocks on the ground while paying attention to that actually meant that, once that was repeated enough times, the magic in the air would rewire Elicia and Jacks'' brain in the best possible way once they progressed on the skill trees - that is, once they used their concentration powers to recite or mentally launch magic, or to brand swords, and so on. Days of grinding would be perfectly optimized to mean days of sword-swinging, magic-reciting, meditation and so on - with certain limits, of course. The most basic skills wouldn''t amount to much, as while the most advanced ones would near perfect brain wiring. Still, that wiring would only mean a certain number of days of concentration, focus or so on, and the number of days was determined by the value of the elementary skills. If someone had an elementary skill of concentration at level 5, which meant 5.000 hours of regular concentration (concentration under stress and hyperfocus accounts for extra hours each minute), that would mean getting the "Mental Fortitude" skill would translate into a brain wired as if the person had gone through 5000 hours of reciting and concentrating to cast elementary magic spells. Of course, since this was a level 20 skill, that would be a half-assed wiring. Then, if that person got the "Warriors'' Heart" skill, that would mean receiving, as well, 5.000 hours of concentration on sword training. As for level 35 skills such as "Fire Storm Caster" and "Vertical Swing Battler", one would get 5000 hours of in-battle wiring, as if one had been 5000 hours battling with the Fire Storm spell and vertical swings. Also, a slightly more efficient all-round concentration wiring would be gained. So, in the end, for Jack and Elicia who both needed to master a great number of low-level concentration and self-restraint skills in order to be able to restrain their urges as soon as possible, raising the elementary skills in a fast and efficient way was a must - as doing so would increase the efficiency of all those skills. Grinding stones on the floor it was, then. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit - Do You Even Want to Come Back at All?! Elicia grinded stones for over five hundred hours straight already. She would take small breaks to heal with a basic healing spell, go to the toiled or to eat something, but she had been grinding 20/7 for the past 25 days. She didnt know exactly why. She was feeling unbearable weariness and stress. She was feeling unbearable sadness and depression from hurting herself constantly with her own paws and fingers. She had to cast heal on herself or her fingers would become sore. If it was the real world, then she would definitely had developed tendinitis. Was this an efficient grinding method? Kind of. She would doze off and enter a half-sleeping state while grinding. She would also become extremely disperse sometimes. Others, she would feel as if she was a torturer, torturing herself. She would cry and whelp, asking herself why she was doing it. Why did she keep going on like that?If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As for Jack he was there. Sometimes. Sometimes he would just plainly sleep or go play outside. He would go on multiple pauses and take long gold baths. He would even find time to masturbate. He had a 10x increased exp effect active all times, so he only needed a couple hours to catch up with her. The rest of the day, he would go on playing outside or whatever. And she would keep grinding. It would be good for her to stop and grind less every day. She knew that she wasnt performing at her best. Her mind was exerting a small effect over her brain, since it was overloaded most of the time - even a dragon needed breaks from time to time. At such weariness states, she would receive penalties on her skill improvement. Ten hours of regular work would become the same as five of work in an exhausted state. Then those would be further reduced. Until she was making barely any improvement at all. Why?.. - She asked herself. Why - She muttered. Then, tears would come out of her eyes from time to time as well. Usually when Jack wasnt there. If he was, he would stop her from working and cast things like a recovery spell on her, or a mind clearing spell which would make she regain her sanity. She could do it herself, but she wouldnt do it. She just kept going on. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit ! … (part 2) [- Hey babe, did you finish for today?!] Jack had stopped his couple-hours-rock-playing for the day. At his side, Elicia kept grinding her stones on a perfectly circular motion. As for him, his pomice had become little to nothing at the time, and he had drawn numerous things on the ground - things like a tree, a small house, some words anything which would maintain him entertained. [- Babe?] It was as if Elicia couldnt hear him. [- Should I cast Mind Clearing on you? Babe?] Jack had ridiculously high stats - even without leveling his main level that much. With a main level of 10 (on his Dragon King account) he had stats even max-level players wouldnt have. So, his Mind Clearing spell was quite effective. Even better than some higher-leveled ones. - No its fine Jack frowned. Elicias voice was low and extremely depressed. His humongous size was something which avoided him being able to see her clearly, but his many senses allowed him to notice a lonely tear slipping from her eyes. She stopped for a moment and rubbed her cheeks, getting rid of the tear. For some reason, Jack started to feel his eyes hot as well. - Aint you going out? Its time for you to play. You can do it I wont stop you from playing Jack felt as if his chest was being compressed. Something weighting hundreds of tons settled on his mind. He felt terribly sore all over. It was as if his own heart was trying to break free from his chest.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. - Honey HON! JACK! Whats happening?!! Jack had started to hyperventilate. Constant and multicolored glows alternated on his body as his large tears flooded the cave a bit. It was as if something was trying to enter his head. But he didnt want to. He didnt want to accept it. [- Ah ahhck. I] His mouth seemed full of saliva. His tongue seemed as if it was thrice the size. He drooled a bit, and it was a desperate and awful drool. His eyes started to frown deeply and he reached for his head with his paws. - JACK! JACK! LOOK AT ME! JACK! HEAL! GREATER HEAL! No, no thats shit Elicia was confused, weared out, desperate. Jacks body was totally tense, his huge eyes injected and the little lucidity he still had clinging as best as it could to reason. A few more moments and a full panic attack would ensue. - GREATER MIND CLEARANCE! MIND CLEARING! GREAT LUCIDITY! HEART SETTLING! WARRIOR TEMPERING! CONCENTRATION! CALMNESS! SLEEP! Elicia casted spell after spell. Once she remembered the first one, all others came naturally. As for Jack, offensive spells had little effect on him, but, with exception of the sleep spell, all others were support-type spells and helped him greatly. [ - Ahh ahhh..] Elicia flew to Jacks nose, hugging the space between his eyebrows. Never before had she been as frustrated on the size difference between the two as now. - There. There hon. Jacks tears still followed suit, but his many mind fortifying skills helped greatly. Finally, he managed to regain reason for a bit. Elicia looked concerned at him, while Jack, as gently as he could, caressed her back with his claws. Then, with immense sadness in his heart, he looked at her. - What happened? Why did you become sad all of a sudden? The curiosity and innocence in her eyes were fake, and Jack could see it. He knew she had understood it already. And she would see it soon. [- Babe we are. We] - Shhhshhh I know, I know. She stopped him on his tracks for a bit, leaning against his body and slowly beginning to cry as well. Jack never regretted something as much as he regretted not being able to hug his wife tightly. On his heart, sadness. On his mind, the awareness that he had done so much less than he could have. Even if he couldnt turn human, turning on a smaller form He was overcomed with emotion, but, this time, he was at least aware of what was happening. He was dead. They were dead. And days and months inside Another World may have numbed them enough to forget about it, but that was the truth and the ultimate truth. They were dead already. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit Carlos! Again?! Sometimes, people hide in plain sight. This wasnt Carlos style, however. Indeed, his style was the one of a diplomat. And like all diplomats, Carlos wouldnt miss the chance of knowing what was happening in such an important place as Another World. His former boss? He didnt care much about Shabe as he cared about being able to conduct transactions and use Another World to make his life easier. He, of course, didnt kiss the world goodbye. He was just one of hundreds of thousands of people who got to hide a few neurosets from the government persecutions and apprehensions which followed Shabes death. In the future, neurosets might become scarce and few. However, right now, crime sindicates, intelligence agencies, army and mafia all around the world were using it like crazy. By killing themselves? Of course not. They had people with avatars close to them, so why wouldnt they use these to connect to Another World and conduct transactions while they still can? The main concern, of course, was how to come back to ones body when they wanted to logout. After all, without the User Interface, there was no logout screen. Then again, some special people could access the remnants of that system. These special people with high-level characters, most of them magic users of the many races, became known as neuromancer priests. The Chosen Children of Shabe. And Carlos, now, was on a neuromancer priest head-hunting. Neuromancers were rare, very rare, people. Usually, ones with an intelligence stat above 300 or special circumstances. That would mean people with at least a main level of 30, and only if they invested every single exp point in intelligence. Thus, most neuromancers were actually people with a main level of 60 or 80, and who had balanced stats - the magic-oriented players who used to be a part of a small in-game elite.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Carlos wanted these people. The services they could provide were good stuff, after all. And the information on who they were and were lived was worth the price of a pile of neurosets in platinum. So, as he approached the Furuk Empires capital city, Astoria, nothing made him happier than finding a good Kings Quest posted on plain sight for all to see. He needed people, and now the good Emperor of Furuk would do that to him free-of-charge? Thank you very much and return anytime! *** - YOU! Raphael was noted as soon as he entered the city. A player? - A hopeful thought ran across his mind. However, soon his hopes were shattered. In front of him, inside a luxurious carriage, a fat man using a cape and many rings pointed his fingers at him. A NPC noble. Urgh. NPC nobles were the kind of thing which would be fun for some people, but which Raphael hated. Specially since he permanently entered the game. These obnoxious meat robots could move the towns militia around and would be bossy all the time. - What can I help you with, your excellency? Luckily, their A.I. was as bad as the rest. As long as one treated them with some degree of deference, no matter if it was a knight or a duke, all would understand you had been properly educated and would feel it was enough. At that moment, the fat man threw a piece of rope in Raphaels direction. - Tie yourself to my carriage and follow me obediently. Raphael had a yellow, crooked smile on his face. What though luck. He was stopped in his tracks by the stupid and arrogant kind of NPC noble. If this was still the game, then all he would need to do would be to access the user interface and reject the sub-quest which would clearly have appeared by now. - Reject. Quest reject. Quit. Cancel. - Raphael tried a little bit of everything in a low voice, just in case. Should I run? - If he used a teleportation scroll or some other item, then he would be able to escape the fat noble in front of him. However. he would also trigger an offended noble quest, which would have a bunch of different ramifications and so on. So bothersome - Stop there, scoundrel! I, Commander MaxFarts of the Republic of Farcry command thee! As Raphael was almost tying himself to the carriage, just to see what would happen and if it would be a simple quest, a voice came from behind him. If that isnt a player, then Im not a male anymore!. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Sadness! Jack looked at the ceiling, his feelings in turmoil. He would remember all the times he could have gotten a real job, and then he and Elicia wouldnt had been on this kind of situation. He would remember all the times he could have worked hard, and with the money he got he could have made something like setting his own server or something. He would remember how he had been living all playful and full of joy. And he would remember his young daughters little face. He would be constantly crying. As for Elicia she now lightly slept while on top of him. The little dragoness sleeping on his belly was a rather cute sign to behold, but all that Jack could feel while looking at her was pain. Remorse, pain and doubt. Had he actually destroyed her life? Didnt he destroy both her and their daughters lives? Jack always knew he had a problem. But he had been living through it with self-deception and denial. If I really try - he would think - then I can forget all of this and live just fine. Now, he was sure that wasnt true anymore. Even after that, even after all this he still wanted to sleep on a soft bed, roll on gold and enjoy his life fully. A self-deprecating smile appeared on his face. I dont really want to work The only thing he could accept after realizing his own death was to work hard to make the best out of his life. He had hurt Elicia so much. Not counting all the times on the 10+ years they knew each other and he leeched out of her, now of all times He wasnt even making an effort to compensate and become someone better. Someone who could work on equal footing as her. What if a situation was to appear where he had to run and work hard to seize a chance to go back home? He really didnt want to, but he wanted for Elicia to have this kind of opportunity. He wanted to atone for his sins. If he would have to remain trapped inside Another World for god knows how many years, passing through god knows how much suffering, and knowing fully that she would probably find someone else and remarry, then [- Pff greater mind clearance]. The sad thoughts and martyrdom fantasies vanished from his mind. Elicia woke up, yawed and stretched her back. Like a kitten - a funny thought crossed his mind at that moment, and he grinned a bit. - What is it? - She asked on a happy and playful tone. - What happened? What is going on your head? - And then, after looking deep on his eyes, she asked with some concern.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Jack could only look to the side, not daring to meet her eyes. The motherly feeling on her words, the genuine concern, was too much for him to take head on. She started to rub his belly in a comforting manner. Jack looked at her, and her eyes seemed to say go on, Im here for you. A crooked and stiff smile, full of gilt and shame, appeared on his face. [- Just thinking that Im useless and that I did something awful to you. That I dont deserve you and you would be better with someone else, or if I was dead deader.] Elicia sighed and took flight to a small crevice on Jacks cave. - Stand up. Jack was a bit confused, even if they had gone through this process thousands of times before. Be it when he failed getting a job, or money, Elicias reaction would be like that, always welcoming, composed, feminine and strong at the same time. But wasnt this time different? This time things were much more intense. - Come on, stand up, come, come! - Elicia waved her hands at him, and Jack then proceeded to sit on his hind legs. He and Elicia stood at the same size like that - her at the crevice, he sitting on his hind legs. [- Uhm.] He was feeling a little uplifted already. Elicia looked at him and composed herself. Jack could see the very faint glow of the Qi Gong related skill, Composing Breath, taking form and sipping into her body. Her eyes became extremely lucid. - I thought about abandoning you. Jack grinned a bit. [- Again?] - For real this time. Like a couple others, indeed, but this time as well, I was very close to leaving you. Elicia had abandoned him in the past, once or twice. She would break up their relationship if he did something really, really stupid. So he knew she was serious. Jack listened, his head low, but a small smile still on his face. - And never coming back again. Going to that goblin island or something. Jacks smile froze a bit. His feelings made a turn inside his throat and he felt nauseous and dizzy. Suddenly things became so real [ - I aah] - Mind Clearing. - Elicia casted a spell on him, and he stopped being so badly affected. - Do you know why I didnt go on? Jack timidly looked at her eyes and waited a bit for the answer. She didnt answer. It wasnt a rhetoric question. [- I.. can think of a few reasons.] - Like? Jack felt out of breath again. [ - I.. I ah I dont know, maybe you want revenge or something.] Jack knew his answer was stupid the moment it came out of his mind. He had certain feelings, certain hints that she wouldnt leave. But he couldnt pull himself to say why. - Come on, say it. Elicia, however, knew best than to hear his anxious excuses. Jack closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He focused his mind and stopped his thoughts for a moment. He didnt need a spell for that. He knew how from his old life. [- I dont want you to go away. Thats why I had a hint you would stay. Because I dont want you to go, so I dont want to think about it. I just] - Its okay. Elicia stopped him and looked at the ceiling. She wasnt using spells anymore either. - The reason I didnt go away is because I understood that, it wasnt you doing things to me. She had a resolute look on her face. Jack was puzzled for a moment and feeling apologetic, almost like a wife-leeching seducer. Wasnt he one in the end? - I mean, it was. It was totally your fault for a lot of things. It was your fault that we couldnt enjoy Christina more, and your fault that we couldnt enjoy our lives outside more. As Jack listened to Elicia, the face of his young daughter appeared on his mind. He felt his eyes becoming hot. - However. Jack looked at his wifes resolute eyes. - You werent the one who made me join Squeam. I went to work there on my career and for us, not for you. I was the one who decided to go there, and I was the one who lived there with you. Unless you knew something about the invasion beforehand, then it wasnt you who killed us. Did you? [- Did I..?] - Did you know something about the invasion? About Shabe and the explosions? [-No.] And, indeed, Jack didnt. - Then, it wasnt you. It was us, and it was me. Thats why I didnt leave you. Jack cried a bit, and Elicia had teary eyes as well. - Besides, if I left, then who would hug me while we sleep when we get back to our human forms ? - Elicia said, smiling. [- You could always look for that guy from I.T., Joe or something!] - Pffffffff. As if! - Elicia motioned her hand away, and Jack felt playful. [- Aw, common, dont tell me you dont like that pointy face and short hair.] It was the opposite of Elicias liking in men. Both laughed and played a bit afterwards, before sleeping the sleep of the innocent. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Damned Side Quests! - Stop there, scoundrel! I, Commander MaxFarts of the Republic of Farcry, command thee! Urgh, so shameful MaxFarts. Republic of Farcry. Such nice parodies, right? After all, not everyone I mean, anyone, played Another World seriously - except for a very small minority. Most hardcore role-players would migrate to high-immersion private servers and deal with it the hardcore way : By putting all of their money on their own personas and forgetting about the real world. Still, now Max had to use his in-game parody name to do something about the other player being harassed in front of him. - Tsc. Commander of Farcry, so what?! I, Duke Wellington, shall not submit to any foreign powers while on my own territory! By the power of the Imperial Edict, submit! The black-hearted piggy duke waved his hand, and the space around Maxs avatar seemed to tremble a bit. That was because, all around him, dust particles fell to the ground and the air became exceptionally heavy. But, as for Max himself, he suffered no changes. - How is this possible?! The piggy duke had an expression of restrained anger on his face, as Max simply waved and dispelled the power around him. - A diplomat?!!, Damnit!! - As the Special Envoy and Diplomat of Farcry, by the order of his Majesty Yrwin, Emperor of Furuk Empire, I hereby sentence Duke Wellington to home imprisonment for five days! May he reflect on his actions and on the many perils of almost causing war between our countries! - Tsc! You will pay for this! - The fat dukes body was immediately covered with a black fog-like substance, and then this substance turned into black cuffs on his hands, neck, torso and feet. - Once your diplomatic grace period is over, dont even think of leaving this town alive!If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The duke had no other option if not to be dragged home, as his feet moved without his consent. The diplomatic grace period was a given to anyone who was on diplomatic mission towards another country, and the home imprisonment was the heaviest punishment one could infringe upon someone of a Dukes caliber. - Ah, thank you. Thank you very much. - Youre welcome. Human Explorer, eh? You sure are a rare fellow with a class such as this. Why didnt you become a hunter or druid instead? - MaxFarts was an half-dwelf-half-human (meaning his pseudo-parents in the game were a dwelf, that is, the child of an elf and a dwarf, and a human), so he was quite a rare spectacle by himself, with his weird race. Still, Explorer was an even rarer class. - I just like exploring, I guess? - Raphael had a cramped smile. If his class was something like Druid or Hunter, then the NPC noble probably wouldnt have had picked a fight with him. The druid and hunter guilds were pretty strong on Furuk, after all, and turning one of them on a slave would be quite hefty even for an emperor - what to say about a noble. - He. I guess only guys like us would still be on this game after everything Max had quite the story himself, so he didnt pry further on Raphaels reasons. By his answer, it was quite clear that he didnt do it merely for fun. - Say, what was that all about? - Raphael motioned with his hands, and Max started to follow him in order to walk away from the city entrance. The last thing they needed was to start a no lollygagging side quest for obstructing the flow on the streets. - Ah, I guess its about the emperors proclamation? The NPC nobles are going crazy after people with the player skill tree even if it doesnt exist. That damn Yrwin, is he doing this on purpose or something?! There wasnt something as a player skill tree in the game, but the NPCs A.I. could still look for any players with player in their status screen and try to present it as someone with the player skill tree. - Was there something like this?! To think I would find an Emperor still remaining on this world. I thought people who played Emperors would be quite rich in real life Premium items were a must in highly-competitive PVP. Being an Emperor was such a scene, so, most in-game player nobility was, indeed, part of the real world nobility of rich people as well. - Money cant buy everything, you know?... Max sighed, as both walked through the streets and to the palace. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Squirrel Wife! [- Shh shh.. calm down, calm down! - Jack sneaked into a dim-lit room and stood in front of a heavy door at one of the dead ends of his dungeons lower-layers labyrinth.] *chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp! * From the other side of the door, high-pitched chirping noises could be heard. The source? A certain half-dragon squirrel woman [- For Christs sake, calm down woman!] *chirp chirp* The high-pitched noises then gained a dark undertone to them. Jacks first wife, Yolanda, was inside the door. Jack didnt treat her bad, after all. But he couldnt be careless. How would he explain to Elicia if she was to discover that he had married a squirrel-woman and even before marrying her?This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. It may be an NPC, but it was still reason for her to look deadly at his eyes and demand equal rights, wasnt it?! - Hon?! Are you here somewhere?! [-Shit, shit, shit!] Speaking of the devil, Elicia happened to be looking for her husband at that time. Why was Jack there, you ask? Oh, that would be because his first wife had been using the Premium Marriage Pack functionalities quite often recently, sending him erotic SPAM from time to time. Damn mating season! Damn A.I.! Why can NPC wives use the Premium Marriage Pack functions in the first place?! [- Lower mind clearance! High Spirit Soothing! Calming Heart!] As Jack casted spells, Elicia approached swiftly. - Hon, is that you?! [- Sleep!] And, just as she was almost catching him underhanded, Jack finished his business. [- Oh, hi babe! Didnt see you there!] - Didnt see me? - Elicia furrowed her eyebrows a bit. - What is beyond that door? Isnt it too small for you to fit inside? [- This, eeerh its, aan an NPC!] If Jack could sweat, he surely would be doing so! - NPC? And one you had to put to sleep? Why? Jacks forelegs trembled slightly. [ - Well its, just] Elicia sat on her own hind legs and stared at him. - Say it. Shit Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit the Imperial Party! Yrwin sat on his throne while wearing a regal robe and keeping a domineering pose befitting an emperor. In front of him, eight groups of people were gathered. Two were lead by NPC nobles, while the other six were formed by free-roaming players of all kinds. - I welcome thee, players, to my Imperial Room. You may be at ease. All other personnel except for the Royal Guard, dismiss! -Damn bastard, has he gone crazy? - A certain nobleman NPC mubled lowly at the Emperors words, since they meant the players slaved under him would be free to speak about what he did. Also, he wouldnt even be able to defend himself. Yrwin wouldnt usually do such a thing, since it would greatly weaken his position and sow enmity on nobility, but now he could do it quite freely. As for the Royal Guard, there wasnt much of a treat. The game A.I., being very simple, would allow for players to say literally anything to the emperor, as long as he permitted. Small nuances like the difference in saying your mom is a fat rat and your majesty honor us were too much for the regular, non-hardcore, Another World main server. Soon, all nobles and other NPCs, except for the five royal guards, left the room. Holly hell, what was that?! - Still, the players didnt immediately burst into a commotion. Those who had come by themselves knew the procedures, and those who had been enslaved just accepted it and came with few troubles. Most of them could spot an NPC from afar, after all. -Im very sorry for all that mess. I couldnt do it in any other way and hope you all can forgive me. - Yrwin raised from his throne and sat on the stairs leading to it, so he wouldnt be too above the other players. They were thirty in total. The ones brought in by the nobles numbered five, and two of them were very unpleased. As for the rest, most were quite thankful for his actions. - As you guys can see, Im a player too. Its just that I needed a way to get out of the kingdom, and figured some of you guys would want to do so as well. I suppose everyone would be interested in forming a party? If you arent, then I can give you some national treasures and hope you all fare well. We should help each other as players, after all. - I want to go. I cant stand buying a single meal from the A.I. people on the city anymore. - MaxFarts said, looking a bit grossed out. - Indeed, these NPCs are so creepy now - A beautiful but weirdly young-looking half-elf adventurer spoke. - But why should we get out of the kingdom? Didnt you call us here to create a guild or something? I thought we would live around here. Youre the King, after all. - No,no,no, being nobility is nightmare - Yrwin brushed off the fairy-race adventurers remark with his right hand - There are constant attempts at assassination, and managing nobility used to be fun, but now, it is a hustle. Not to mention my NPC wife, kids and so on *sigh* Most of the other players could sympathize with Yrwin, so the sighing sounds in the room were quite remarkable. Having to face an NPC child after coming to Another World it was creepy, to say the least. - So, what should we do? We cant simply go away and try to live at a border town or things like that. There are constant monster attacks, and without players side-questing, soon all small villages and so on will be swarmed with monsters. I dont want to risk being killed on a monster attack. - A bulking warrior with multiple scars said. - We cant get into dungeons as well. Even if we conquer one of them, forgive me, but I dont trust you guys yet. - A thief-looking half-orc said.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. - Not only that, dungeons have dungeon-destruction quests happening in them from time to time, not to mention mana circulation quests or dungeon core instability quests if we go there, there will be bandit attacks, monster waves, collapsing ceilings and so on for us to worry about. Its not much different from going to live at a border town. - Complemented a heavy-geared adventurer, clearly a dungeon-dweller. Soon, the whole room was full of people talking, and Yrwin had to raise his voice. - Calm down, calm down! Listen! Since it was the Emperor speaking inside his own Imperial Hall, his plea for calmness would automatically launch a level 30 Heart Settling spell and calm people down. - Heres what I propose! Of course, Yrwin wouldnt abuse his authority. It was bound to be someone higher-leveled than he amongst everyone present, and he was able to ambush and kill the previous emperor a few times, even in front of the Royal Guard. They were there mostly for showing and to prevent even more assassination quests and side-quests from progressing further. So, he wouldnt impose his view or try to treat the group as his servants. He would take the leading position as the one who gathered everyone, nothing more. - We should form a party and head to either the Dragon King or the Demon King dungeons! They seem to have come to this world as well, or so has my Imperial Intelligence Agents reported. Employee-dungeons dont suffer from regular quests like core instability ones, and there certainly wont be any monster attacks which manage to threaten people close to their territory. -UUuhm - most people in the room immersed themselves in thought for a bit, even if.. - I refuse. I wont be going to Calamity Jacks dungeon! That guy is an asshole! - Said the muscular warrior. - The Demon King is a nice game employee, but to get there we will have to go through a Level 40 dungeon forest and a level 30 dungeon swamp. Not to mention the demon NPCs are hostile to the Light Races as per default and I doubt we can get through without being on bad waters. - a hobbit player added. - She had amassed forces as well, in order to prepare for the Draconic Wars game patch, it would be disastrous to be spotted by a patrolling NPC squad. - The beautiful half-elf remembered. - I think the Demon King would be the best person for us to go to as well, but it isnt feasible- Yrwin sighed again. - That leaves us with just Calamity Jack - No way! Theres a third option as well! - A half-orc player said. - Oh, which would that be? - We can go to the Goblin Empire! The Goblin Emperor is logged in, and he ordered for a total NPC extermination, or so a friend of mine has messaged me! - The Goblin Empire aficionados surely were a bloody bunch. A few of the weaker-stomached players present felt a small urge to puke after listening to the half-orc. Bloody NPC genocide - it seems like the Goblin King hadnt changed his ways at all. - I refuse. - Yrwin said. - That guy is just too intense for me. Besides, I have a sea armada here. The level 10 water dungeons and level 20 coral reef dungeon leading to Calamity Jacks island are an easy deal for me to go through. - Tsc. - The half-orc player clicked his tongue. He was counting exactly on that sea armada to get to the Goblin Empire. He was just a level 15 warrior, so he obviously wouldnt be able to go through the water dungeons in the way. At least not by himself. - I refuse. I will be going to the Demon King castle, and thats it. Level 40 forest dungeons are tough, but I can do it! - I will be heading to the Goblin Empire. Could you give me a ship or something? - I want to go to Jacks island. I dont have that many items anyway, and a friend of mine messaged me saying things are o.k. there, even if he requires for people to give all of their gold to him and pay a mana tax The players started to discuss amongst themselves, and soon three different parties were formed. The Demon King party was the most numerous, with fifteen people willing to go through the danger. They had a few low-level players with them, but most were middle and even high-leveled. A five-people party would read to the Goblin Empire, while the Calamity Jack Fools Party (unanimously agreed name) counted with ten people. As for Yrwin, he presented everyone with treasures and NPCs. His own Fools Party would leave with most of the sea armada, while big chunks of the army would scout the Demon King Party until the Demon Territory outskirts. As for the Goblin Empire Party, Yrwin gave them a dozen ships or something, so they should be able to reach their destination. - So, lets leave at once. - Yrwin said, well-aware that, not even three days after leaving the capital, a bloody civil war would start and his former empire would be in turmoil. As a least treat to his fellow players, he then gave other quest to be publicized on the whole empire. The : The Emperor says: Those who have the Player Skill Tree and accept this quest must Leave the Empire at Once Since War is Coming. Rewards are five gold coins at the border towns. Obs: Dragon King, Demon King and Goblin Emperor are logged in. Hit the Road, Jack: Hit Wanting To Do Something! [-aaaah damnit maaan!] Jack rolled restlessly on his treasure vault. - What is it hon? As for Elicia, she enjoyed herself by melting some of the raw gold around and then chewing on the rubbery liquid she would get afterwards. Jacks punishment for his fooling around had been to share his treasure with Elicia. Now what was his was also hers, but what was hers wasnt his! Jack felt like crying every time he looked at how his wife appreciated his gold piles. Thankfully, allowing her access to his vault was more of a proof of love than something like greed overcoming sadness. After all, managing to repress his instincts to such level was only thanks to his determination to grind enough levels to overcome his difficulties. He had even managed to train for three hours a day, instead of just two, and so, advanced enough to be able to let her have some fun with his blink - as long as the treasure never left the vault, of course. [- I want to do a thing!] Elicia raised her brows. - So do it? [- But I dont want to!] - *sigh* Dont do it then Jack kept rolling on his bed for a bit, and then started to stare at the ceiling.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. [- I wanted to get a bunch of people together and chat about player magic with them! And I want them to pay me!] - Well, find a suitable theme then. Something like Shabes Will? Jack and Elicia could access the old User Interface through their own powers and positions in the world - however, that wasnt all. With a little deeper concentration and focus, it would become possible to, little by little, enter higher stages of command over the world. It was like getting Moderation, Administration or even Deep Code permissions. That was called Shabes Will. Jack was fascinated with that, since this kind of thing became stronger the more one progressed on the knowledge and absorption of the code itself. As long as someone upped their levels and stats to a high enough degree, they would be able to start seeing, and then influencing, the Code. It seemed to have something to do with the amount of Fairy Dust which was in contact with ones mind, so, it was no surprise for those highly-magical, top-level existences like he and Elicia to be able to do so on instinct - even if both of them, and Jack himself, had some trouble dealing with the code. None were programmers, after all. [- Maybe. Do you think we would have anyone whos interested? Im no programmer after all at best I could teach them little tricks or something? Like how to access ones configuration setup?] - That would CERTAINLY bring in a lot of people. You should do it. Through the configuration menu, people could do a lot of things - like changing their graphics preferences. It would seem weird, but they were former players, after all. Changing the HUDs or the Graphics Brightness was a major headache for those who had barely enough levels to access the User Interface - and a huge source of headaches for those who couldnt do it at all. - By the way, how about charging for changing peoples configurations yourself hon? Or maybe for allocating their stats for them? You could make a lot of mana with that. [- Meeeeh.] Jack rested his chin on his paws, and then began rolling on the gold again. Elicia felt like that her liver was particularly sensitive to Jacks laziness these days, as it hurt a little. Must be because of the whole Squirrel thing. - Then again, molten gold powder was one of the best drinks to help alleviate a dragons anger, so she just took a good gulp and released a small phew sound afterwards. As for Jacks lessons on Shabes Will, he decided to implement them later that day. And then, later that week after that. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Adventuring! - what a beautiful sky! - indeed. People had begun setting camp under an amazingly dark night sky. Even if the light of the moon couldnt be seen at all, the stars and galaxies formed an breath-taking spectacle. The players in the Calamity Jack Fools Party had plenty of premium items which could make travelling through land and sea easier. In fact, if they were resolute in reaching Dragon King Island (the 2o), they would probably be able to do so in a few minutes, tops. However, since none of them could access the player interface, even if they had some serious money on their Squeam account, which most didnt, they wouldnt risk using such items. Premium stuff was already valuable before the game had become as it was, what to say about now that they probably wouldnt be able to buy any of them in the future. It had become priceless. So, the group decided against using premium teleporting scrolls and the such and was traveling while camping. That is, at least SOME premium stuff was priceless. - . Really? The cute bunny set? Why are you using this? - Raphael asked Lilian, the young half-elf, which was now dressed on a whole children-friendly bunny attire. Why would people put children-friendly bunny stuff on an 18+ game? Because there were people who liked cute things, of course! - Didnt you know? Wearing the cute bunny set will automatically add a chocolates basket on your inventory! I have brought thousands of them back in the day! Raphael could only sigh while eating dinner. The party had been traveling for three days already, and it would take at least another day to reach the empires fleet port at the National Marine Base of the Furuk Empire. Yrwin could have built a portal directly from the capital to the base, but that wouldnt be good - after all, what would he do if someone seized the base and then proceeded to invade the capital directly through the portal?The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Main strategic bases and so on wouldnt be connected through portals, so they had traveled on dragonback for two days, transferred at a shrine portal on the outskirts of the Five Mountains Finger Defensive Formation, and then proceeded to ride on dragonback for another full day. So, the party had plenty of time to get acquainted. And then people started to form groups amongst themselves, given their common interests. One of these groups was composed of Max, Raphael, Lillian and Yrwin. Their common interests? Well, maybe one could say it was nostalgia. - I do understand trying to look younger, but why are you going to such lengths to do so? - That was Max, the half-dwelf-half-human. - Tsc. Cant you shut up for a minute? At least Im not the one who records its own jokes on a sheepskin notepad. - You Raphael was nostalgic about his life as an explorer. Maxs true passion had always being comedy, which he had to give up in order to raise a family. Yrwin liked to remember his time in politics. And Lillian well, everyone is nostalgic about their youth, right? The only thing is, she was a bit over the top. - Ah, shouldnt we drop this subject and appreciate the sky a bit? Look, at that constellation there should be a sun with an alien NPC race on one of its planets, you know - SHUT UP! Youre not allowed to speak another world until you have reflected on your errors! Stupid bookworm, no wonder you havent won a single position above the County level! Nothing could make Lillian get out of character as a little girl, until Yrwin started talking about his views in old-time politics and the decisions taken by people at the imperial era. Then, the daughter of an old family of army officials finally surfaced, and she turned from a little girl to a little hag almost instantaneously. It was a three hours lecture about how things really were in the past, including reports on the wars in which her family had fought. As for Yrwin, he could only smile crookedly over the young half-elfs remark. He wasnt even a chinese politician to begin with! And his career at politics was just as a political advisor! He only talked about it because someone brought up the subject of old time chinese politics! Seriously. For an old lady well past her 90s to play as a young child, wasnt this a bit too much? Raphael looked at the bunch next to him and felt like laughing a bit. He was camping out in the wild with a mixed group of interesting people, listening to their little fights and jokes, appreciating the campfire and eating good food. A smile appeared on his face and he allowed his body to spread on the grass, taking in a mouthful of air and stretching himself. He thought he wouldnt have such pleasure ever again, and, still, there he was. Happiness is a fleeting and fussy thing. He may as well enjoy its company while its still around. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Keeping Tabs on the Real World. [- Say, Babe] - Whats it Hon? Its been a few months now. Six, to be more exact. Me and Elicia have been living on our dungeons all this time and doing all that we could in order to contact the real world. It was painful to think that we may never return again, but, that said I want to at least be able to talk to my mother. Im sure Elicia want to talk to others as well. As for our avatars we obviously dont want to have them used by anyone, so I hope I never see the link on the Friends List to be active [ - Shouldnt we try to do something about the User Interface thing? So, we can stop checking on it all the time] Eeh whats wrong? Whyre you looking at me like this ? Hey, hey, the gold pot will ah, its broken. All those precious coins, scattered on the ground like this, it makes me want to cry. Its awful to eat dirty gold coins, you know? Plus, I dont want to have to clean then its bothersomeUnauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. - I you have you [- What] - No, nothing, its just its good to see that you have been improving so much. I mean, not only unlocking the Human Transformation skill, you have also gained enough lucidity to think of something good I just hope it isnt because you want to use the Human Transformation skill and go to sleep We havent slept a single day since we logged in, you know? I just havent felt the need at all. Weird, right? Plus, whats that about turning human to sleep? Im talking about the User Interface thing. It is tiresome to access Shabes Will all the time and stuff. But now that you have said it if I get a human form, then I should be able to sleep, right? I mean, my brain would be reformed in order to mimic human brains, even if in a smaller scale. I guess I would be able to sleep then? That seems so good - So, what have you thought about? How do you want to have it so we can keep an eye out for the stream and chat? Uuuhm arent your eyes gleaming a bit too much babe? Besides, why do I feel like you have an answer with you? In this case [- Say, babe, can you do it for m] - WIFE KICK! Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Port Town Valkyrie! - We are almost there. We should be able to see the port as soon as we cross this mountain range. The mountains had been becoming smaller as the group headed to the sea, so, by the time they were almost there, Yrwin let all know about their positions. - What the hell As for what he saw next, he couldnt exactly understand it. It seemed like his imperial fleet was bombing the town. - Shit, is this a Main Quest? The Civil War must have started as soon as you left the capital! We should dive into the fleet and make ourselves known! - Max suggested. - Thats what I had in mind. - Raphael took a fancy sword from his hip, and then pointed it upwards. From the tip of the sword, a ray of light shot to the sky whilst an oppressive imperial aura drowned all in a fifteen kilometers radius. However, what happened next shocked everyone. Not only the military armada, but the towns mage towers also begun shooting at them! Rays of powerful siege and anti-siege magic and artillery bombed the skies, killing five dragons in a fell swoop.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Cries of pain issued as the NPC dragons, the dragon knights and also the players on top of those dragons dropped in the skies. Everyone was stunned. It took Yrwin around five seconds to regain a sense of reality, but, by then, two of the players had been hit by artillery shells, while one of them had managed to cast a fly spell, one was free-falling and the other one to use a scroll. Two people just died. One other was in its way to death. - SHIT, DIVE! - Raphael and Lilian were both on the group of people who could not react in time, but both Max and a Human Warrior player ordered the dragon knights to dive down while also activating defensive scrolls and skills. Still, it was of no use. Right as Maxs hand was a few millimeters from the shocked free-falling player, he saw him being bitten to death by the Human Warrior players dragon. Max was shocked silly, as both the Human Warrior and his dragon knight were tossed in the sky by the dragon and then eaten whole. - TELEPORT! - At that time, Lillian made a move, teleporting herself, Yrwin and Raphael away from the dragons and into the ground. As for Max, his eyes became bloodshot as he activated the Warriors Rage skill from the Berserker skill tree. With a powerful swing of a double handed axe, he then cut the head of the incoming dragon, as well as the ones of the dragon knight and dragon which were previously carrying him. Despite his rage, he could clearly see the eery, weird glow on his dragon knights NPC eyes. - What the hell is this Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Human Transformation! [- Say babe, shouldnt we make it louder?] We are doing the real world screen recorder and alarm thing that Elicia first thought of a couple months ago. The idea is to use a few thousand Mana Gathering Arrays to gather mana and Ultimate Mana Crystal to store it. Then, we just need to access Shabes Will by ourselves and make a connection with a Reflective Clairvoyance Crystal Screen made with Dungeon Alchemy. Once that is done, we link the Clairvoyance Screen and the User Interface together, so the screen actually spies on the User Interface. Easier said than done, though. A huge chunk of my dungeons mana is consumed to empower this thing. Still, it is worth it. Elicia even managed to put in an alarm function by adding a smaller alarm spell which is connected to the flow of mana. So, if the flow chances to show the activation of either the chat or stream options, or even both, we will be alerted.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I guess Elicias dungeon mana has been used almost exclusively to do that...? No wonder she likes my treasure vault so much but then couldnt she take another dungeon or something? My precious gold - Its not only you who likes to be lazy sometimes, you know? Besides Hon, there are plenty of NPC dragons acting wild and a lot of dungeons have been taken already. I wont risk fighting then just because of this. [- Eh, NPC dragons?.. shouldnt their dungeons be filled with gold then babe?] - Interested? Elicia has a smile on her face. I thought she would like to give me this kind of news, but then again [ - You know, if you want to, we can make some enchanted gear and then it will be easier for you to] Argh. The look. Please dont look at me like that, babe. It hurts! Aaah guess I will have to accept it and finally try the Human Transformation spell. Sleeping always fix these kinds of worries for me. Besides, I havent slept in so long, its been piling up! - Well, who knows. Maybe in the future. Eh? [- Really babe? I will prepare it then!] - IF and WHEN your skills have given you enough mental health and fortitude to come with me, that is. should I begin learning summoning skills or something? If I couple then with Clairvoyance Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Zombie NPCs! - SHIT! SHIIIIIT! Anyone had their own ways to deal with grief. Max held his own head while cursing, Yrwin tried to breathe but only managed to hyperventilate, and Lillian breathed deeply while sitting in the ground. They almost died! As for Raphael, he still hadnt recovered from the initial shock. - Wha what was that?! - Yrwin muttered. - THE HELL I KNOW! FUCK! - As for Max, his mind was obviously still under the effects of Warriors Rage. - You you two, stop that! Calmness! - One of the most needed skills for an explorer was the ability to remain calm, as well as to calm others around them. So, Raphael casted the Calmness spell on his friends. - We we need to think this through. However, no one could quite understand what was going on. Even Main Quests shouldnt come like that. One needed to be at least warned about impeding danger like that. Wouldnt this game be awful if things were any other way? It wasnt a Hardcore server, why hadnt there been any kind of warning? The group was at a loss. - One thing is certain. - Lillian spoke - We need to get out of here. Its bound to be monsters nearby. Besides, the towns mages can see us here. We need shelter. The young elf didnt seem that carefree anymore. Her words caused her companions to silently agree. So, the four of them parted. *** Four days later, in a humid cave eight kilometers northwest of Valkyrie.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. - Again. They just dont give up, do they? - Max cleaned his axes blood, while also tossing the severed head at his feet on the pit dug ten meters ahead. His dexterity was quite good, so one could almost hear a score! when he got the head on the pit. - Its unsettling. They just dont give up. Besides, it seems like they can track us down, no matter what. - They must have an expert mage casting clairvoyance on us. Theres no way we can escape. Raphael, now with a bow and arrow in his hands, and Lillian, which was about to cast a fireball, added. - I guess we can only go and face them head-on, right Your Majesty? - Max gave a crooked smile. - As if I could order any of you. - Yrwin answered in a serious tone. His position as dethroned king would allow for him to form a rebel party against the usurpers of his kingdom, and so provide some buffs to his party members. Since no one had respawned after the attack the other day, the Calamity Jack Fools Party members were more than glad to be recruited under his banner. - Common, relax a bit. We need to do it from time to time. Its all we need to do now. - Max replied, his voice a bit faded. How would the four of them be, had they not had a bunch of skills to deal with mental distress? Probably way worse. Not that they were in good shape either. Raphael had a gloomy expression. Lillian seemed like a war vet. He himself had adopted a persona even more extreme and cool than his previous one. As for Yrwin he was the worst. As soon as the group find itself out of the forest, he immediately used a Premium Mass Teleport scroll. However, not only didnt it work, the scroll was lost as well. Time after time, all of the party members tried again and again to use their premium items - and even regular items - to no avail. The only possible explanation was that they were in battle. Items that allowed one to flee from battle werent implemented in the game, so they had a big problem on their hands. - Seriously. Just what is this guys range?! - Yrwin grinded his teeth. They had been fleeing from the city as fast as possible, all the way to the cave they were in. None of them had enough skill on the Dimensional Magic skill tree to be able to cast unhindered teleport, so they could only try to run on foot. The problem lied in what happened all around them. Not only would the regular NPC monsters attack from time to time, weird variants would appear as well. There would be monsters which didnt follow the A.I. pattern movements, and also some who would try to use ambush tactics even at Safe Zones. Each and every battle was tiresome, and a few moments of peace could not be achieved at any time. In fact, none of them had slept well in those four days. Even while taking turns in which one would sleep and the other three guard against the enemy. Their bodies were almost collapsing. Even Max, with the highest constitution amongst them, was beginning to show signs of exhaustion. - We have to get out of here. - Sure, but how? Do you have a trump card or something? - Max replied to Yrwins question, as the former emperor looked at his own feet. - I might just have. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit ‘Please don’t disturb’! *snore* *snore* Jack was sleeping. He had been for over seventy hours already. - Damnit As for Elicia, she had been trying to wake him up, to no avail. Lets return a few days in the past. *** [- Babe, Im off to take a nap, aye?] - Uhm? Sure It was at that moment. When realization struck Elicia, she couldnt do anything about it anymore. In-game characters would have their brains cleared of any cloudiness after logging off. Not mattering what was written about their sleeping habits, like elves entering a state of trance or dwarves sleeping like logs, to the point of it being possible for someone to cut one of their legs off and not disturbing them in the slightest, it didnt matter. Once one logged off, their avatars would disappear and, at the time they came back to the game, these same avatars would be brought back to life with totally refreshed brains. Having to sleep in-game would be way to boring, after all. So, everyone would sleep at least once a day, that is, when the fluid on the chambers they were using was exchanged.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. But now, well *** Elicia sighed helplessly. Dragons were a race which had a very strongly built biological clock. They would wake up, eat, play around, mate, and then sleep for a long time. That was the basic description of the dragon race, and their brains would be wired as such. So, it didnt really mater what she did, Elicia just couldnt wake him up. Jack was done for good. And the worst part was As a dragon increases in age and strength, its periods of sleeping and awakening become larger So, given his status, Jack might even sleep on for years without end. What to say years both had been awoken for months already, not even the smallest sign of tiredness on their eyes. What if he slept on and on for centuries? Of course, since he was in human form, those cycles would be altered. The very fact of him being able to nap was such a thing. Dragons usually dont nap. They sleep, or not. However, the only form to wake a sleeping dragon, well - Im sorry, little one. But I cannot have this brick head sleep forever. Greater Compulsion. Go and rob some gold from your husbands pockets. Elicia patted the shoulders of Jacks first wife, the squirrel-woman, and sent her in a one-way trip to Jacks treasure vault. Dragons could be awoken if someone were to mess with their valuables, the problem was *ROOOAAAARRRRRRR!* They would do so while immersed on a furious rage, it would be impossible to control them without a level 100 mind-pacifying spell. Of course, that was for regular dragons, not dragon kings. - I need to grind more - The dragoness thought to herself, fully aware that she may have to resort to getting a level 100 mind-related skill in order to resist the fury of being suddenly awoken by thieves and philanderers. After all, losing ones conscientiousness and entering a murderous rampage wasnt a good thing at all. - Maybe with Cycle of Endless Reincarnation *SQUEEEEEEEE!* So, as Elicia thought about the Ultimate skill on the Daoist Priest skill tree as a viable option to reach the enlightenment needed to resist her draconic urges, a pitiful scream sounded. - May you rest in pieces, I mean, peace. - Said Jacks now First Wife, as she prayed for her now deceased fellow harem member. Hit The Road, Jack! : Hit Giving Up ! - I might just have - Yrwin looked at his own feet, while in distress over the possibility. - What is it? - As for Max, his interest was picked. Yrwin inhaled deeply, and then let out a mouthful of bad breath. - The regular dethronement main quests have a need to bring the old monarchs head back to the capital, and then take the crown away from him, be him dead or alive The in-game description said so, but, since there was no permadeath (or such livid gore) in the regular game servers, that wouldnt usually happen. Of course, this was in the old game world, were the user interface was still active. - Give up, give up. That wont work. - Lillian answered in her customary little girl pose, while licking a lollipop. - You - Max, obviously, wasnt happy with how unserious she was being. But Yrwin then intervened. He had reasons to, after all. - How come? As long as the NPCs still follow the quest line, then - They wont. - This time, Raphael was the one who intervened - I have never seen monsters act like that. These variants were just too weird, besides - he furrowed his brows - did you guys notice they always come in groups of three? Until the moment, all the times they had been attacked were by groups of three variant monsters. Except for that, the rest was just like the game.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. - So, we cant trust the NPCs will follow the quest line, then? - Exactly. Yrwin and Lillian crossed looks. - Besides, youre only a county-level politician, you dont have what is needed to pull this off. - OH, FUCK OFF! Yrwin was a little bit over the top to take this kind of joke halfheartedly, so he had no way out of It without snapping a bit. - Can YOU do something better?! Do YOU have any better plans?! Lillian looked a bit annoyed as well. - You shouldnt shout at me. Stop it. - OH, III SHOULDNT SHOUT AT YOU, YOUR MAJESTY? WHY DONT YOU GO LICK THE EMPRESS BUTT THEN AND PRETEND NOTHING IS HAPPENING, OH GREAT FIRST DAUGHT - I SAID STOP IT! THAT IS ENOUGH! Lillians body was covered in multilayered auras of many colors. On her hand, a bomb-like ultra-premium item, the Holly Hand Grenade, was ready to be released. Such bomb would automatically deal huge level-dependent increasing damage to anyone over level 10 in a five-kilometers radius. It was a special event play-item, but now it was probably one of the most fearsome ones in the entire world, give its power to give more damage to higher leveled players. However, all the auras around her body were auras of self-control and self-protection. Yrwin finally noticed he had gone overboard and stopped escalating the conflict. Still, that didnt mean he was satisfied. Or the others in the group. - Did you seriously just produce a Holly Hand Grenade over such a meaningless thing? - Max looked at Lillian with a face full of contempt. - Tsc. It wouldnt kill any of you. - With how weakened it would leave us, it may as well be better if it did. - Raphael commented. - We cant stay like this anymore. We have to get out of here and reach the island, otherwise - Otherwise we will end up killing each other instead! - Yrwin complemented. A very awkward atmosphere permeated the whole group for a few moments, that is, until Max seemed suddenly enlightened. - Say, that grenade how many more do you have with you? Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Human Form! [- Ooouch what just happened] Jack felt confused and weird all over. His head was foggy and he took a long while to recover. Then, as he looked at his bloodied hands on top of his gold pile, his face went blank. [- What. What did I. ELICIA! BABE!] - Calm down, calm down, Im right behind you! [- Oh, thank god] Jack breathed in relief. He never thought he would feel such despair ever again. It was the same as when they had been ambushed by the explosion. No it was worse. He felt but-first on the ground, calming himself with spells and thanking all that was of holy for not having killed his wife. - There, there. It was just the squirrel-thing. Dont worry. [- Ah, Roberta?! Poor thing] Elicia felt like hitting him in a fit of rage. So, he indeed named it just a thing he did to fool around my ass no, no, recompose yourself Elicia, its fine the NPC log showed that their wedding wasnt consumed, so it must be true must be true, still A little murderous glint flashed on her eyes. [ - Say Babe, what happened?] - WellThis novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. *** [ - Then I I cant even sleep?! Whats the use of transforming into a human then?!] Jack wailed a bit, as expected. Still, Elicia wasnt particularly interested. Thats because she had a bad premonition. - Actually hon, it may be better if you did [- Aaah what?!] Jack stopped his crocodile tears from showing, and looked at his wife, quite wary. - Say, our racial description says we will keep sleeping for most of the time. It should be something like a 1:1 ratio for a weak, young dragon, and a 10:1 ratio to an ancient dragon so, I can only wonder what would it be to you Jack understood it. [- Then, Christina] - We need to be able to be awake when they get in touch with us, dont you think Hon? Maybe it was a foolish hope. Something they could never achieve in their lifetimes. Or, better saying, on their daughters lifetime But they would still work for it. [- No doubt Babe. I guess we need to build sleep-resisting skills then] Elicias face became adorned with an adorable and sincere smile. It was good seeing Jack compromise about something. It seemed like he really cared. [- So, how do we do it?] Elicia grinned. - Well, we need to start with a race that sleeps only a little bit, but often how about, goblins? Jack felt a huge urge to bend over and puke. Goblins were the antithesis of his lifestyle. I dont want to be a paranoid meth-head! I rather be a slugging morphine-vet instead! Of course, he couldnt say those words out loud. Goblins had very fast metabolisms and very short life cycles. They would do everything in an amazingly fast-paced rate, including sleeping. A regular goblin would live a human day in around a single hour and a few minutes, sleeping, eating and shitting included. Of course, they were very brutal as well, but compared to how brutal and violent a dragon was with people messing with their treasure, obviously it couldnt compare. Jack and Elicia had been awoken for six months. That in goblin-time should amount to 180 hours, or around eight days. Even if Jacks sleeping rates were something like 100:1 and he failed on getting enough sleep-resistance skills, they should be able to awaken him up in five to six years on the latest. - Uuuhm thinking again Hon, lets find something else. Lets grind some more druid and nature magic levels first. Jack beamed with hope. Anything but a goblin. Had he known Elicia was looking for an even higher-metabolism rate organism for him to transform into, his joy wouldnt have been as long-lived as the few dozen hours of work he had to put in to grind more transformation skills. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit ‘Despicable!’ - Say, that grenade how many more do you have with you? Max asked Lillian, who had just put her grenade back in her inventory. - Uhm? Around five thousand, why?? There was a moment of silence as the cold wind licked everyone faces. Five thousand?! Really?! Just how much chocolate did you eat?!!! - was roughly what Max, Yrwin and Raphael were thinking. - Dont look at me that way. Im still growing up! Besides, young half-elves can choose any one elf racial skill they want, and I choose heightened taste! It tastes so good! - Wait, shouldnt your taste buds have become insensible after eating so many sweets? Also, shouldnt you haven gotten fat? - I wont go fat! I can take care of myself! Besides, I just need the connoisseur skill from the taster skill tree to be able to keep them clean. Every bite is as if it were the very first ones! Delicious! The taster skill was that on the chef skill tree? But then, the chef skill tree was a derivative of the cooking base skill tree, soo Just how many levels did she waste on this?! Yrwin was beginning to feel his liver hurting a bit. - We have gone stray from the topic. What do you want the grenades for? - He reminded the group, which was happily chatting about the best grinding forms for getting the calorie burner skill - which would allow one to burn the fat on their bodies, and then their HP after that, in order to power up. - So, if you keep eating sweets, you can get a permanent buff oh, right, sorry. Do you know about the easter failure event? - What about it? - Yrwin would, obviously, know about it. Something went wrong during the first easter event, and a huge bug gave the admins a lot of trouble. In the end everyone received compensations - even the ones who hadnt been directly affected, like him.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. - Well, it turns out that if you detonate holly grenades in order to count from 10 to 1 and then detonate ten thousand of them at once, you can bug the game and disable the scaling damage. Everyone will suffer the same damage as if they were a level 100 player - Wait, that is what happened back then? Who would be stupid enough to make a countdown using grenades and then detonate ten thousand of them at once?! - Yrwin was baffled. A single cute bunny set didnt cost much. Around half a dollar in squeam money. But 10.000 of them that was five grand! Just who would expend that much on that?! - It was the Republics foundation, so Nevermind - Yrwin gave up. Were all players from the FarCry republic a bunch of crazy people? - Anyway. We need ten thousand and fifty-five holly hand grenades, and we can level the whole city. At least I think this bug wasnt corrected the easter event had been over already. - Unfortunately, Lillian only has about five thousand, we are still five thousand and fifty-five short - Yrwin sighed. It was another lost chance. - Actually I have around a hundred - Raphael said so - its nice to have a bit of chocolate to eat after your meals, you know Yrwin could barely believe. - I have around two thousand left from that day the king actually wanted to make a re-scaled version of the foundation fireworks this year, so I gathered it from people all around The team leader could only imagine the weird party in front of him, all of them wearing the cute bunny set and joyously jumping around - A shame we cant just produce another three thousand then. - I can give some sets to you guys, but you have to give the chocolates back to me! The cute bunny set would replace all of their current gear and equipment with a cute bunny outfit and a carrot-shaped rod. It would be as sturdy as their armor and the rod would give the same damage as their equipped weapons. Ranged classes such as arches would receive carrot-shaped arrows and a cute bunny bow. For Lillian to produce three thousand Holly Hand Grenades she would need to wear 3000 suits, and, with a 5 minutes cooldown between one and the other, that would take almost two weeks to be done. But if the five of them were to do it, then the time needed would be reduced to a little bit under three days. Five little bunnies on a cave. There are corpses all around and a pit full of heads. IS THIS BRITTAIN OR SOMETHING?! - Yrwin screamed inside his head, but still took his portion of the Cute Bunny suits. Thankfully they had an auto-equip function, so he would be able to sleep with them. Not so thankfully, he had to activate that function by chanting Bunny bunny transform, make me cuuuute!. A manly tear left his eyes in disapproval of his actions. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Grinding Grass! Transformation skills existed in many sub-trees which were part of larger ones. For instance, the Druid skill tree was a sub-tree within the Nature Magic skill tree which, by its own right, was a sub-tree within the Magic skill tree - which was a Main Skill Tree, meaning it feed off the Elementary Skills and nothing else - and could also be obtained from main level 0, having no other requirements. That meant a Druid was a Nature Magician, which was a kind of Mage. A compound mage instead of a pure mage, which was a player who trained only the basic mage tree, without training in Nature Magic and so on. On the old days, when players still had main level caps, that meant a lot. A druid had to progress through the magic skill tree until it reached the Nature Magic skill. That skill was available at level 5 of the magic skill tree. Then, once the player reached such level and unlocked the Nature Magic skill tree, it would have to progress in it until he reached level 24, unlocking the Druid skill, which, after taken, would unlock the druid skill tree. For non-human druids, the Human Transformation skill was the first one on the tree, but that meant a player had to have expended 30 skill levels (meaning 3 main levels) only to get there. That, of course, excluding other skills it may unlock and other sub-trees. So, as much as one could say you can become a druid at level 30 Nature Magic, in truth a druid was, at least, someone with a single level on the Druid skill tree, 24 levels in Nature Magic and 5 levels on the Magic main tree. The only thing is, the User Interface would usually group everything together, meaning someone with one level in druid would be called a level 30 druid, instead of a level 1 druid/ level 24 nature magician/ level 5 mage. Of course, that didnt mean it was easy for someone to gain levels as druid. Usually sub-trees like that needed interference of other sub-trees for one to progress. For instance, as much as Nature Magic was independent of the Magic skill tree, the Druid tree still required for a mage to use Nature Magic in order to progress - that is, it wouldnt be enough for a Druid to just keep transforming into human (or beast) in order to progress. They would have to gain more levels as Nature Magicians as well. That double-difficulty level-increasing nature of the code prevented many cheat-like classes to become game-breaking, but also meant the ones who wanted to explore them would need to grind to the depths of hell.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. [ - Common babe, at least let them grow!] At a certain Dragon King Island (number 2), on a scorched patch of land, a small verdant hill could be seen. Its flowers and plants seemed inoffensive, but anyone who dared to think so would be in a world of pain. The grass had small poisonous and urticarial hairs which would burst once someone touched them, gluing to their skin, eyes and mouth. Inconspicuous thorns would raise from the superficial roots of many of the plants, almost as if they were spike pits, penetrating deep into ones flesh dared they step on them. Plants with a strong anesthetic pollen would constantly release numbing powder, making it so the poor prey had wounds all over before it could notice that it had been hurt - and so on and on. The worst part, however, would be to see that some things lived there. Animalesque aberrations, like a half-worm-half-bloodsucker thing which hanged from a bush as if it was a fruit. Or a cute and helpless little rabbit, trapped under the thorny vines in the ground - except the little rabbit had sharp claws full of spores which would act as seeds inside of ones body, exploding it from the inside and serving as a means of reproduction. That is, until a dragoness breathed fire on top of all those and destroyed them. - You will get more levels if the soil is gone and you have to start from the beginning, so dont cry over it. [*sigh*] Dragon King Calamity Jack then spread his human-form palms and started to release a series of enchantments and spells. Ground molding, soil forming and soil nourishment would turn the scorched earth on soil again. Then, natures blessing would materialize food on the ground. Decay would make it rot. Natures Wrath (1) would summon worms, crickets and other insects to eat the rotting food. Then, Hunger would make them overeat and Procreate would make them multiply. After a little while, the ground would have a lot of fertile soil, and all Jack had to do was to cast a number of plant-growing, animal-summoning and animal-deforming spells. It was no wonder one had to raise levels in Nature Magic in order to gain levels as a Druid. Animal-deforming spells were a thing of the Nature Magic skill-tree and meant someone would be able to turn regular beasts into monsters, and vice-versa. Only after getting enough levels as a Nature Magician as a human (or beast) would the Druid be then allowed to progress in transforming himself further, like in other beasts and so on. The Devs would have said something like a druid must learn from the basics, no one can learn how to become a beast without knowing deeply both about the beast and its on body as well. However, even if the brain wiring was indeed closely-related, this was Another World. They could just have it done without worrying about these kinds of things. In the end, it was just a way to nerf an excessively-powerful sub-class. - Comme on hon, you still have to do it another five hundred times! If you take too long, we wont end until night comes! [- Sniif..] Jack held his tears in and sucked it up. He still remembered the awfulness of cleaning his gold pile from the remains of his first wife. Still wouldnt it be too weird if he didnt shed at least a few tears now and then? Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Serves You Right! Yrwin ran at max speed. Behind him, Max carried Lillian on his back and Raphael glided on the Tree branches like an elf from a Peter Jacksons movie. Further behind, a chimaera, a huge fire-breathing snake and a four-headed lion were closing in. Suddenly, the chimaera spat a ball of gooey, sticky and smelling fluid, which then splashed all over the nearest tree. Max managed to avoid it, but his clothes began to smell so bad he wanted to burn them. - Shit, If I could stop for just a bit - Give up on it! We would just get more of them! - Raphael remembered his friend from the tree tops. - Are you sure they wont come in higher numbers? If this dont work - Max had quite the suspicion about Raphaels deductions. They just seemed to be a clear case of logic jump. - Im sure! - As for Raphael, if there was something he trusted way more than his brain, it would be his intuition. He had almost never ignored it, and every time he did so, he would regret it. Bitterly. For instance, the day he decided to leave his gun at the car instead of bringing it with him, since it would be just a little walk to stretch the legs. Interestingly, after coming to Another World, his actions had actually opened the way for a few very interesting skills to pop up here and there - like danger sensing and precognition (1). It seemed Shabe valued these kinds of intuitions as well, since he codded them in the game. - Enemy monsters ahead! Five monstrous aberrations, seems like mutated hyenas! They dont seem to be variants! Turn to my right! - Yrwin alerted the group, while scanning the surroundings. A few detection skills were something very valuable to almost all players, Emperors specially - since those could very well stop and assassination attempt.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. - Roger that. Avoid the spider on the big tree. Its highly poisonous! - Raphael followed suit with his own expertise - as an Explorer, he had a vast amount of knowledge about flora and fauna alike - so, his role was to scan the area Yrwin had deemed free of monsters while looking for natures own traps - such as quicksand, holes filled with leaves, poisonous insects and plants, and so on. - Hey, stop swinging so much! I cant eat like this! - At Maxes shoulder, Lillian enjoyed the spoils of a lot of cute bunnies appearing during the night. - Then stop it! Do you want to bite your own tongue or something?! If you want to kill yourself then do it without getting me involved! - Buu! - As Max complained, Lillian showed her tongue to him in a typically childish act. - Damn loli hag act more your age, would you?! The four proceeded through the forest, avoiding dangers as they proceeded, until the moment they found a clearance. At the horizon, the port city Valkyrie could be seen. - We are here! Max, engage! - With pleasure! As Yrwin commanded, the group turned their backs to the city and waited. Half a minute later, the four-headed lion and the chimaeras goat head almost materialized in front of them. Neither moved a single muscle, however, as the illusory projections passed by without harming them. - And here YOU ARE! *HIIISSSSSS!* As Max hit the ground with his axe, a loud hissing sound could be heard. A few moments later, a breath of fire came in his direction, scorching his left hand and arm. - URGH! - Heal fire burns - Lillian soon casted the magic with the lollipop in her hands. Since she used a common item as a medium for her spell, however, its potency was smaller than it should have been - and some burns remained on Maxs arms. At the same time, an arrow came from behind, as Raphael locked into the Chimaera behind the fire-breathing serpent. The four-headed lion, then, pounced at Max, this time for real. However, it didnt have the chance to hit him. Behind its mane, the lion was surprised to feel the weight of a humanoid. Yrwin then finished him without a second thought. - Hahah! Now thats a fight! - Max rejoiced, as he cut the serpents head off, at the same time blocking the chimaeras advance with the same swing used to behead the enemy. However, with its two friends defeated, the Chimaera also didnt live long. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Hummingbird! Jack needed to become a Level 34 Druid, meaning he had to grind 4 levels as a Nature Magician while being on Human Form. Of course, if one was to look up to it, that meant he would become a Druid 5/ Nature Magician 28 / Mage 5, with a total Level count of 38. If he had any Level Caps on him, that would be a nightmare - as he would have a lot less main levels than other people who choose to train only as Nature Magicians. The situation would become even worst if he were to choose the Monster Druid sub-sub-tree, which became available as at Druid level 50, that is, Druid 11 / Nature Magician 34 / Mage 5 - something he would need to do in order to unlock the Goblin Transformation. The reason he didnt need to become a goblin at all? Well, because Elicia had found something better! It seems like one of the highest-metabolism beings on Another World wasnt a monster, but rather a bird. Hummingbirds. They had a metabolism 10x faster than a human, so a single day as a hummingbird would be the same as 10 days as a human. Way better than a goblin, and they could get it a lot faster as well! So, let the hummingbirdzation begin! Or, at least, let Jack [- I cant take it! I cant take it babe! I cant!!] - Shhh, shhh, its fine, its fine, heres what - why dont you drink a little bit of these here? [- I i. *snooore*] - WAKE UP! [ -OUCH! BABE!] - Dont you ouch! me! Who will I send to steal your stuff the next time you fall asleep? Another skeleton?! [- Well, thats not that bad of an idea they do spawn naturally after all..] - Really what about if you sense the residual magic on them and come to me, eh? Do you really want that? [- Im sorry. Its just that] - I know. Youre tired. Just do it a little bit more, okay? Then you can have some dragon coffee. [- Fine, fine] Dragon coffee. A regular five-ton gallon of coffe, but with a few gold coins inside. It tasted delish. Of course, Jack and Elicia were currently training their Druid magic. Only a few dozen repetitions and Jack would finally get there - and, this time, faster than Elicia. They had decided to do so in order to guarantee that they had precise data.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. A dragons metabolism was something difficult to measure. Dragons, after all, didnt work like humans - they didnt need to eat and didnt absorb nutrition from eating, even if it was possible, pleasurable and common for them to eat. In fact, the extreme conditions inside of a dragons stomach would destroy any kind of food that came in. Fire dragons had magical fire on their stomachs, while green dragons had magical acid. Those kinds of stuff. So, how could one measure the metabolism of a dragon? They needed to sleep, they liked to eat, they liked to mate and they liked to play around. But that was all. They didnt even have a long lifespan. They were immortal unless killed! How to deal with it? A clue was that both hers and Jacks metabolism had increased once they assumed human form. Jack took a long nap, and she herself wanted to sleep a few hours after transforming. In dragon form, she had felt no desire to sleep even after being awake for six months. However, in human form, she wanted to sleep around twelve hours after transforming - just as if she had been overtiming until dawn. So, six months as a dragon translated roughly to 12 human hours in her case. So, one day as a human would count as a year as a dragon in terms of metabolism. With the difference that she wouldnt feel sleepy until the last minute of those hours, and then feel extremely tired right after they were due. Then came the question of her activity time. If she was to be awake for a year, then how long would se be asleep for? As an Ancient Dragon, she would have an sleep/activity ratio of 10:1, in the minimum - probably more, since she was a Red Dragon. So, as a human, she should stay 1 day awake, and then 10 days sleeping. But could she really trust that idea? How much would the fact of she being a Red Dragon - the most powerful species of dragons - weight on this matter? She had to test it to see. It would be too dangerous to let Jack handle these kind of things, since both her and him knew he might have gotten a little better - but not much. What if he started to doze off and sleep while she was sleeping? He could just try and return to his dragon form, but how long would it take for him to sleep once he had done so? It may be a lot worse! Instead, she decided to have him take on the humming bird test first. Humming birds needed to eat every half-hour and had a heartbeat ten times higher than the human one. One could infer that they had a metabolism which was 10x the one of humans - except that they only slept for eight hours a day straight, instead of sleeping some little every two hours. That meant it would be the same as a human who was able to stay awake for an entire week and then sleep for three days and be ready to go again, except transformation didnt work like that - a human turned hummingbird would need to sleep every one and a half hours or so, for a little bit under an hour. Still, it was the opposite of a dragon! Lots of activity time, and little need to sleep! A 1:2 sleep/activity ratio, just like a human, but 10x faster! If turning into a human would make it so her activity time decreased by a whole 360 times and thinking that it should mean that her sleeping time would reduce as well, then becoming a hummingbird, which lived ten times faster than a human, should mean her sleeping time would be reduced over three thousand times in total! Of course, for then to know exactly how much she would need to sleep after that, Jack would need to, first, get really sleepy - instead of just bored. - So, have you gotten some sleep resistance levels already hon? Resistance skills were part of the Resistances Skill Tree, and also had numerous intersections with other trees. For instance, Mental Fatigue (1) would intersect with the Mage tree as Mental Fortitude, but also with the Warrior tree as Warriors Heart. Of course, the way to get resistance levels was to go through pain and suffering. So, as long as Jack felt very tired and resisted with his own willpower, he would then receive the possibility to purchase the Sleep Resistance skill on his Resistances Tree, and then would unlock the possibility of getting some nice sleep resistance skills from other trees as well. [-] - Keep working hard then! Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Port Town Valkyrie (2)! The Fools Party looked at Port Town Valkyrie. Their faces filled with crestfallen expressions. The reason was because there were no more boats and marines at the port. On another words, the NPC armada was gone - it was either sunk by the towns defenses or fled. It was a good thing in the sense of the four of them not needing to deal with the armada as well, but bad news in the sense that they were probably facing a way stronger town defense army than they initially thought. - It seems the Town won. - Max stated after a while. - Yeah. Lets end this at once. - Yrwin took his Mass Weaponized Defense scroll from within his Item Box. Since ones Item Box had to be created with Spatial Magic, his wasnt particularly big - so, he would store only important stuff inside. With this, he had already opened his Item Box four times since the start of their adventure. Once when they reached the forest, to take out a premium teleport scroll. Again a few days later. The day before today to take in his share of Cute Bunny sets. And now at this moment, as he reached for his part of the Scroll set the party would use. Lillian proceeded to produce a Mass Fly scroll, Max took a Mass Guided and Perfect Shot scroll and Raphael produced a Mass Coordinate Shooting one. The idea was for the four of them to level the city up, then immediately run away for Dragon Kings Island. - Release scroll. - Yrwin gave the command, and the four of them became enveloped by a reddish and aggressive sphere of light. Anything shot at them would be destroyed and then the defense would automatically counter-attack. Also, since it was a Premium Item, they could feed mana crystals to the barrier in order to reduce the mana consumption. Not only able to use a spell way over their own levels, but also to feed it with other items in order to make it last longer.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Premium players had it easy, alright. - Release scroll, nyan! - Lillian said so, and the four of them began to float a little bit above the ground. Since she was the one to activate it, she would also be the one to control their flight patterns. Both an offensive as a support spell. Unless the enemy had means of flying for itself, they would be at the hands of the scroll user. - For gods sake, are you a cat now? Release scroll. - As Max used his own scroll, the group received each a single Guided Perfect Shot - which would make it so not only could they lock-on their targets, their projectiles would also become ridiculously sturdy until they reached their target. Indeed, the projectile defense was over 9000! Of course, this was a purely offensive scroll, and one of the most expensive ones as well - since it fused two high-level skills. Then, Raphael silently activated his scroll as well. With an Explorer skill like silent casting, he could do it without relying on his own voice. As the group finished buffing up, the four of them ascended to the skies. - Weird. Shouldnt they be monitoring us? - Max said as he saw the towns lack of response to their approximation. - I think it is strange as well. Raphael, can you see something? - Yrwin asked. - Yeah. I think I can see the towns artillery towers. They seem to be powered down! The town wasnt attacking them. It didnt seem ware of them as well. Just as if they werent a treat at all. Since they hadnt shown Yrwins authority as previous Ruler of the Furuk Empire, then that may have been expected. However, shouldnt they had been monitored? Everyday, several times a day, they would try and cast regular town teleport scrolls in order to get to towns outside of Furuk, like Maxs Town, Syndicate III. Still, none worked - that is to say, they were under watch. If not by the town, then who? - It could be that theres a single NPC locking on us, and he isnt a part of the towns government anymore. Something like a coup dtat. - *sigh*. Thats why I dont get into game politics. Even the NPCs have this kind of behavior. Yrwin interjected and Raphael complained. - But what if it isnt a NPC but, rather a player? Are you guys sure there arent any players in the city? - Max asked, worried. He didnt had any skills for locating players. - Im sure. Theres no one in range of my Fellow Searching. - None in range of my supporters rally as well. Raphael answered, followed suit by Yrwin. Both had skills for locating players in large environments, like tows and dungeons - an Explorer needed to be able to locate civilization while a dethroned ruler needed to seek for aid as quickly as possible. - Fine. Locking-on. Ouuuf! - Max took a huge bundle of Holly Hand Grenades from his Item Box, around three thousand. That was the maximum amount his strength would allow him to carry, even if the Holy Hand Grenade was a premium item with almost zero weight. As he taking the grenades out of his Item Box as the signal, Raphael, Lillian and Yrwin also took their share of Grenades out. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Sleep Analysis! Elicia had a gloomy look at her face. She was, currently, on human form. Jack had managed to get the hummingbird transformation skill and, unsurprisingly, decided to try and go to sleep as soon as she allowed him to. As a human, one year of dragon activity time would become twenty fours hours of human activity. Then, if a human was to become a hummingbird, twenty-four hours of human activity should translate to around two hours and thirty minutes of activity. So, for every year of activity a dragon would usually go through, a hummingbird-transformed dragon should be awake for a total of two and a half hours. Now, for every regular day of human activity, a human would need to sleep for around eight hours. If they had stayed up all night, then, maybe ten or twelve hours. That meant that, as a hummingbird, they would need to sleep for a little more than an hour. So, for a dragon, if they turned into hummingbirds, every year of being usually awake should translate to a little over two hours being active, while every year of being asleep should translate to a little over one hour of sleeping.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [- Are you sure Babe?] - Yeah. [- Five months.] - Over three thousand. [- Thats a lot] - Yeah. Jack had been sleeping for a couple days before awakening, and then expended a whole day awoken. That meant that, in his original dragon form, he would be awoken for ten years or something. That was a huge activity time. Ten times greater than Elicias. But, after that, he slept for five months straight. That was the same as 3600 dragon-years of sleeping! Elicia only slept for a day, so, she had something like an 1:50 radio, awoken for 1 year, sleeping for 50. So, if she were to turn human, around two months. But Jack had a 10:3600! Awoken for 10 years, sleeping for over three thousand! Even if he turned human, he would still be awoken for ten measly days - and then needing to sleep for ten years to compensate! [- Well, at least it isnt too much! I guess I can just take naps here and there, and things will go alright!] Jack laid on his soft sofa, while also operating the dungeon to get some tea and biscuits. As for Elicia, she had already facepalmed herself. - You from today onwards, I forbid you from ever taking dragon form again! No, I forbid you to take human form as well! Either live as a Goblin or give up and go live like a bird! Jacks mouth became a fountain of tea while his knees touched the ground and his hands hugged his wifes legs. [- BABE, PLEASE!] Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Port Town Valkyrie (3)! Grenades fell from the sky, unopposed. The towns NPC settings were to only counter-attack after being attacked. So, until the explosion itself happened, no one would retaliate. - For the Glory of Sir Arthur! Yrwin steeled his heart and finally gave the detonation command. The world shook. The aggressive barrier protecting the Fools Party shone brightly, shooting numerous rounds of red arrows towards the explosion itself. First, an explosion countdown begun. At the first five bombs, even some restraining spells and detecting spells began to be launched at them. However, after the tenth explosion, the main dish showed itself to Another World once more... terribly blinding brightness lit up the skies, making it so it seemed night had come. The head vitrified the surrounding five kilometers, destroying vegetation, animals and countless NPCs. The protective barrier shielding the Fools Party from the explosion quickly dimmed in brightness, becoming a pale gray at the end. The cloud of dust rose many hundreds of meters in the air, taking over twenty minutes to dissipate. Twenty excruciating minutes in which even Raphael felt like drowning himself. They had activated premium Mass Teleport Scrolls as well as regular Town Teleport Scrolls.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. They had done it the moment the explosion happened. And nothing worked. The frustration was so much, all of them felt the urge to cough a mouthful of blood. Even little Lillian, the little hag, stopped eating her sweets and had bloodshot eyes. Still, all of them had to remain silent. The glitch worked. It was almost certain that it did. Anyone and anything with a main level under 100 should have been destroyed completely. Even someone with a Main Level 100 should be gravely injured, most probably passed out, unless they had a maxed out Resistance skill tree. What could have gone wrong?! All of them wanted to shout that, but they couldnt. They still being in combat meant they probably needed to kill someone. Some high-level NPC or, most likely, a clairvoyance monitoring screen. If they were too noisy, then even if the level 100 NPC was gravely injured, they would probably be killed the next moment. And if the thing they needed to destroy was a Screen, then they needed to wait. What is it? God bless it be a clairvoyance screen - Raphael anxiously asked himself as his companions did mostly the same as well. The dust finally began to settle. There was no town no more. A huge crater was being filled with seawater, its borders vitrified and reflecting the sunlight with dazingly rainbow colors. Beyond the crater, a huge wasteland were only glass and sand could be seen. A level 100 damage blast. Comparable to a meteor falling or a volcano exploding after a long time of semi-hibernation. The seas around would most probably produce tsunamis and the resulting earthquake should have been felt even at the fort. Soon there would be scouts send to see what happened, and everything would become complicated. - SHIIIIT! WHERE IS IT, WHERE IS IT?!!! - Max roared in fury. His Enemy Detection skill showed no one. No NPC, no Player. There wasnt a level 100 NPC there. And surely there wasnt any clairvoyance screen. They remained under watch, nonetheless. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit GOLD! *Ka-ching!* A certain lay-down hummingbirds eyes shone with two dollar signs each. New people! Jack was currently running from work. As the Islands master he was, technically, something like royalty. Of course, at first no one had realized that. The truth is, since everyone was so used at Another World being just a game, many who had decided to come regardless of the price hadnt really accepted the fact that they had committed suicide. Then, as people begun to slowly accept this, Jack and Elicia had already been training and grinding for most of the days, all day long. Even as the city started to turn into chaos due to peoples despair at realizing what had really happened, both of them didnt do much. They didnt really care - after all, those people were free-loaders in the first place. Of course, some people felt wronged since they had to pay tax and all, but Jack was the Dungeon Master, not to mention the Dragon King. Also, this time his dungeons mana was being constantly consumed - mostly to his and his wifes amusement, but also to deal with problems like the eventual storm or high-level monster attack. An Ancient Red Dragon and the Dragon King. Even if they took the Dungeon Core for themselves, what could a few hundred players do? Back at the Goblin Kingdom, didnt Jack kill thousands with a single attack? And then, even after his dungeon was taken, didnt that trick only worked because he hadnt levels in classes which could dispel curses? Even if they successfully took the dungeon for themselves, they wouldnt be able to hold it for long - so there were no thoughts of rebellion amongst the players. That said, they needed someone to act as a mediator between themselves. Even if they were only a few hundred and could, technically, decide all kinds of laws as in an ancient greek democracy, someone had to deal with paperwork, housing problems, solve disputes amongst players, these kinds of things.Stolen novel; please report. So, they formed a government. The setting was there, and, even though in name they were just guests at Dragon King Island (2), it had become a situation where Jack was a lazy puppet-King and Elicia was his Queen, de facto Ruler and Prime Minister. So, he was running from work. Looking for fun things to do, like taking a nap at a tree on top of the main square or taking a nap on top of a small cliff near the pier. He could even take a nap at the mast of one of the unmanned ships. All people would see was a small hummingbird. Indeed, it was wonderful to be able to nap anytime he wanted! This way, he could dilute his five-month sleep cycle into many two or three-day sleeping naps, just like someone can wake up at night, go at the bathroom and then go back to sleep. It was at one of these moments that he smelt it. Gold. A new batch of players, the scent of a gold purse which wasnt his. Jack woke up immediately, and the drowsiness he had been feeling for the last two months was gone like that. *ding!* He even got Sleep Resistance (3) - Elicia would be glad to know. With this he would be able to reduce his sleeping time needs a little bit more. Something around 15%. The objective, of course, was to reach Sleep Resistance (20), which would completely deny any need to sleep - even if not in the best of conditions. Such hard work! But as long as there was new gold to be taken, he would gladly summon all of his Willpower in order not to sleep. He had made a decision. As soon as the Player carrying the pouch came to the pier, he would then transform into his human form and take it. His dragon form was a forbidden topic until he reached Sleep Resistance (20), Drowsiness Resistance (20), Sleep Immunity (20) and Drowsiness Immunity(20). Taking in consideration that Sleep Resistance was a sub-tree which appeared at level 20 of the main Resistance Tree, that meant he would need to get his main Resistance Tree to level 100 before getting that. Yep. He better get used to be a hummingbird. Better than a goblin. Still, the man carrying the gold pouch gave it to a Sailor NPC. *sigh* Jack sighed while thinking how exactly he would steal that without raising his chances of starting an NPC rebellion. He didnt want to have to go back to the dungeon in order to have that sailor give it to him. It was too much work. *ding* His stealth pursuit skill rose a little bit again. His conscience became a little heavy and he promised himself (for the tenth time already) he wouldnt keep on using his hummingbird form to peep on peoples affairs and eat their food. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Dragon Kings’ Island! Yrwin took his broken staff and finally managed to climb on shore. They were safe. After such gruesome travelling, they were finally safe. Over a year of going from one place to another. The sea, the villages, anywhere on Furuk, even the desolated deserts and forests. All while being persecuted and chase around. Even the Civil War quest had wearied off its time limit, and still, groups of cavalries, assassination squads and even an entire platoon of soldiers were sent to deal with them. First, the number of irregularities around them grew, as not only three, but then five, ten, and even fifteen irregularities began to show all around. It took them a long time to understand that the only way to stop the weird phenomena was to capture and imprison the abnormal NPCs which came their way. Only then did the irregularities became smaller in number. At the time, even the other players they found on their way either ran away or bring trouble with them as well. It was as if something was clinging to them, and once it found an NPC, be it friendly or an enemy, it would then hop inside of it and that NPC would then immediately become abnormal. Of course, they had tried to infect non-aggressive NPCs as well. For a time, it seemed to work. However, regardless of that, once they entered some city, the numbers of abnormalities increased and then kept increasing until someone recognized them and told the guards or something. If they were facing against five abnormalities on the open, they would have at least fifty to deal with after going to a city for a couple days. The only way was to isolate themselves on the forests and either kill or capture any NPCs they found. It was as if they were committing NPC genocide all around. Yrwin sighed after finally getting on the pier. It wasnt easy to do so when he lacked an arm. With his good hand, he then helped Max, Raphael and Lillian to get there as well. The ship was then finally released from its burdens and sank on the sea. It was a bit sad to see the commotion while some NPCs drowned, while others jumped from the ship and immediately came to Yrwin with a report saying that the vessel had sunk and they had been lucky to survive. Yrwin waved his hands and, with a few regal words and gold sacks, said the NPCs should find a way to go home. There might be some NPC boats left on this island. If so, then once they found the others they will probably go to the sea as a group.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. It was a tactic they had used plenty of times. The NPCs would trade gold amongst themselves, and the gold pouches Yrwin gave them had a small nasty mind-controlling item on them. Anyone with a main level of 20 or lower would be compelled to enter a boat and sail as far as they could. Still, there were far more NPCs in the town than him or any other members of the Calamity Jacks Fools Party could have imagined. - It seems like no one has been killed. The NPC establishments are still in service - Max said, a small amount of fear on his face. - To think they wouldnt have made any NPC cleansing at all are they fools or what? - Lillian munched on a piece of chocolate, not so happy, but surely relieved after finally reaching the Island. - Maybe it hasnt happened here there doesnt seem to be any signs of NPC revolting - Yrwin was a bit hopeful. - That would be impossible! They were everywhere we went, and this place is full of refugees; how could they not be here?! - As for Max, he remained cautious. - Oy, oy, the four of you there! Are you guys new here or something?! Suddenly, a small street vendor called to them. - Ah, yes. Thank you for noticing. - Raphael, obviously, was the first one to notice. - Is this Dragon King Island? Please tell me it is - You folks have gone through bad times, I see. - The vendor, a dwarven fisherman, spoke to then. - What was it? Sea monsters? A kraken or something? I have a few orders for kraken meat, so if you could tell me where it is - Kraken? I wish! Do you even know what is happening outside? The whole world is in chaos over there! Lillian answered in a bit of a furious state. - Oyh, Sullivan! Three kilos of Abcean Longfin. Make it quick and make it fresh! - Intervened a feline player. - Calm down, calm down. - Yrwin intervened - we just had a really bad encounter with a bunch of NPC zombies. We managed to mind-control those under level 10, but the others mangled us pretty bad. - Oh, you mean the weird NPCs that seem to come alive or something? - The dwarf fisherman said, while packing a few fishes for the feline customer, which happily proceeded to pay by inserting mana on the mana crystal in front of him. - Yes. They, precisely. We have been having a terrible time with them. - Yrwin explained. - Smart my ass. Bunch of bastards. - As for Max, he obviously disagreed. - Ooh, I know, I hope you guys have brought some with you as well! Im in need of a new maid, and the regular NPCs are a hassle - The feline player said, while retrieving its fish and putting his hand on the mana-gathering crystal on the dwarfs stand. - Ay. Those guys are very useful you know? As Sullivans words sunk on the Fools Parties ears, they felt their legs growing soft. First, they felt shocked. Then, they began to laugh while crying. The NPCs which gave them so much problem were peaceful servants on this island?! What about all they had been gone through? All the lost limbs, almost dying many times, all the violence and humiliation?! Their minds were on the verge of collapse. *sigh* - Call that Admittance Girl over, would you? - The dwarven fisherman had seen a few guys like those in the past. So, he didnt even try to bring them a single word of consolation. Instead, he asked for the player in front of him to go and fetch someone which would be able to help them. The longer one took to reach Dragon Kings Island (2), the longer they would have been fighting for their own survival in the world outside. If he were to say things like its fine, it will be all o.k. once you get a few NPCs infected then they would probably only become more frustrated and come up with excuses like we did it already! or I dont believe you! Prove it!. People had a hard time getting new NPCs since the Lord. Of the island would work for only a single day so many months, so they would rather avoid people having mental breakdowns and starting an NPC killing spree. So, a couple real-world psychologists which had come to Another World had volunteered to take care of the newly admitted. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Bad Mood - Well, maybe I would have more motivation if I had another boyfriend, then. Elicias cruel words resonated on Jacks head. He knew she wasnt doing that on purpose. Or, better saying she was doing that with the sole purpose of hurting him. It was a weird thing, to be hurt by someone so close to you, and, still, just back up silently. Still, he knew it was for the best. She would understand soon enough what she did, and then apologize. In the meantime, he could just find a place to do something, or anything, it didnt really matter. It was amazing how accurate she was when she wanted to hurt someone. All it took was for her to fell really down and depressed, and that berserker side of her would appear. It was a torn on his heart. He loved Elicia, he truly did, and he could understand her. He himself had done things to her as well, things like being an asshole with her or fell seriously aggravated if she had a dream in which someone as much as appeared seductive. He had days when he would be a bitch all day long, not even looking at her and keeping a face of distaste and contempt when around her. So, a little bit of hurt from now and then should be only fair, right? Still, he was that kind of person. It didnt matter if it was wrong or fair, he just couldnt get over it easily. [- Aaah.] In human form, he then seated at one of the terraces of his dungeon. Dragon Kings Island (2), was modeled by him and Elicia together. It had a variety of biomes and NPCs but, the most important thing, undoubtedly, was the main mountain. It was a towering 4000-meter-high mountain composed of many layers of metal alloys and, at the outermost part, knife-point sharp volcanic rock. It would usually be impossible to have a 4000-meter-high mountain made almost entirely of an alloy, but this was Another World. All it took was for Jack and Elicia dig the ground, then pile up some rocks to make a hollow mold, bless the rocks with the fire resistance (temporary) spell, put a large amount of ores in there, and then use a few Dragon-King level breath attacks to melt all the ores. The rocks would make a soft center which cold later be excavated, whilst the molten alloy outside could be cleansed of impurities, if it was necessary to do so, by using the gravity increase magic. Once all impurities were on top of the whole thing, a good blast of ice and wind combined breath would clean the alloy underneath. Of course, the ice-cold breath attack would shatter some of the alloy, but that really didnt matter in terms of a whole mountain. After all, it was made by repeating the aforementioned process time and then time again, each with cheaper and cheaper ores - in the end, Jack just couldnt afford to make a whole mountain out of the strongest and most expensive Mithril-Adamantite alloy plated with a Stellar-Christal and Orichalcum cover. Even if Elicias dungeon mana-to-ore conversion rate was made to weirdly tilt heavily on the side of the ore production. It seemed as if some Admins were quite happy with Jacks choice, but not to the point of plainly giving him the finished mountain. Some were probably watching his struggles to pile up the ores and rocks while eating popcorn and drinking the famous Dragon King Tea(rs). Most of the mountain was made of iron in the end, and the outermost layer was made of common rocks like quartzite, slate and assorted kinds of gravel. Those were heated up to the point of melting, and then quickly frozen solid by water and ice breaths. The sharpness of the extremely rough and pointy surface of the mountain made it look like a needle mountain from hell.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. At one of the huge terraces close to the mountain top, appreciating the sea-side view and hurting his ankles a little, as he swung his legs up and forth at the edge of the terrace. In truth, Jacks dragon king form wouldnt be able to fit in this terrace. Even a regular Ancient Red Dragon like Elicia would feel it to be quite difficult, as she would feel the ceiling to be too close to her head. In the whole of the mountains architecture, it was most of a ventilation hole than a sightseeing spot, just like the other few which existed nearing the mountain top. But it was a huge terrace in human terms, nonetheless. *sigh* [- I wonder] Jack conjured a small flame on his hand, and then changed the spell to conjure a small familiar instead. The fire salamander was a rather cute elemental, with its big, round black eyes looking full of curiosity at the world around. Just like a puppy or a newborn baby. Recently, the intelligence and presence of these small NPCs had been becoming stronger and stronger. In fact, Jack could faintly see a players User Interface behind the salamander, were him to open his Heavenly Gaze and see it by looking at the Interface Code level of Shabens Will. Yep. People had nominated the ability to access levels deeper than ones own User Interface as Heavenly Gaze. Were they forgetting that they were in a game or something? Or were they? After all, this tiny NPC walking around the terrace had life and a mind of its own. It was the result of either someone who entered the game without an Avatar or someone who died at it. In a certain sense, knowing that gave Jack a little bit of comfort. That meant no one would disappear, even if they died. On another, it meant that people would be stuck inside Another World, even after death. A morbid thought, but one that Jack was quite in the mood to contemplate. Indeed, it was because of this question that he and Elicia had such a bad exchanging or words earlier. It happened that an inconsolable group of players came to the Dungeon to ask Elicia about what the NPCs were and what was happening, and she finally decided to give it a look. She had been way too busy to go on investigating weird NPC behavior, while Jack just well, to put it simply, he used to fell watching TV to be a hustle, because it gave him too many emotions to fell. In the end, the discovery made both her and the party to become slack-jawed, while Jack felt quite guilty about killing his dear squirrel wife. What followed were a couple weeks of deep moral hangover, followed by the realization that the squirrel wife he had was just an NPC in the end. It had received a players mind on its brain, so it would be able to grow and show new behavior, but it was still hard-wired as a weird NPC. If she hadnt had time to grow its own personality, it wasnt such a big loss, right? She could just find other NPC brain to attach itself on, right? In the end, Elicia tried to remain composed and help him remain calm and composed as well. However, keeping a positive outlook on life and trying to cheer someone up for two weeks had its tool on her, so, in the end, just as Jack got out of his moral existentialism crisis, she then fell on one herself. Jack sighed once again and got up. [ - I can do it.] He took a few big breaths and transformed back to his hummingbird form. Human forms were the best to deal with strong emotions, but he was running out of metaphorical juice already. He would have to sleep deeply very soon. The least he could do before doing so was to get near his wife and take a few hits from her. As long as he was able to remain at least a little bit positive and remember all she said was something she, indeed, thought, but not the entirety of her feelings for him, he would be able to recover from it. Didnt he hate her a little bit as well? Didnt he pondered how would it be to get with other girls or ditch her a few times as well? None of them were serious, and while he was depressive he would think and say a lot of bullshit. Then, after thinking deeper about what he said and receiving Elicias forgiveness, he wouldnt fall on that pit again. Things were simple like that. As long as he managed to endure the pain and be comprehensive, she would actually fell grateful and eventually would come to accept him deeper on her own heart. Taking these hits was the way to remain married! Steeling himself, he prepared to dive deeper on the mountain, but, at the last moment, looked at the young fire salamander on the terrace. The small thing looked at him with its moist eyes, as if asking curiously hey, are we going to do something fun?. He gave a small hummingbird smile. [Permanence] The elemental salamander then became a permanent existence, detached from him except from the bond of master and pet. It soon found itself a crevice on the walls were to hide from the cold, precisely near one of the still hot-to-the-touch internal layers of the mountain. This way, a hummingbird planted the seed of compassion on a crevice of the needle-mountain of hell. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit an Unrefusable Offer! Demon King Orloss. Or, how many knew her, Meredith. In truth, her avatar had no gender. Another Worlds Demon King was supposed to be the genderless beauty type, just like the angels themselves. Indeed, Another World had a backstory in which the Demon King was the ruler of the non-humanoid species which had unspeakable desires, such as for each others flesh or for the death of others. Characters with such impulses were designed as villains and dangerous, self-and-other-harming creatures. Demon King Orloss was supposed to be their master and unshakable ruler, cast aside from the heavens because it tried to devour the gods in order to become one of them. Meredith. Her true personality and character were the one of a gentle and carrying woman. In fact, one could say she was like that because she was just too innocent and pure. Indeed, it was true that people could become gentle and carrying even after seeing the cruelty of the world - there were plenty of people like that. If there werent, how to explain those who put themselves in danger truly for the sake of others? In fact, for them to become capable of feeling happiness again, many seniors in suffering corp. had to get happiness by taking care of someone or something - be it a daughter, a husband or even a goldfish. Seeing life grow, flourish and mature without the need to resort to violence or die in pain was soothing for the heart. But there were those who didnt go through pain and suffering, which couldnt truly understand cruelty and were prone to become cruel themselves. Sometimes they were the product of someone who had survived pain and committed a big error, shielding their children from the world, creating someone who was just too ignorant for its own well-being. Meredith was this kind of person. Someone who was carrying because, truly, didnt want to leave home. Someone who liked to help others because it was the only thing it knew how to do in order to avoid getting insane in the real world. Of course, she was innocent - the kind of fake innocent person, who were on the verge of breaking - but not stupid. Coming to Another World, her levels of denial increased several folds, but she still had power and ways to avoid being bothered. So, as not to have to deal with NPCs trying to start Quests, she just wiped out all she could find and imprisoned those deemed as immortals. Since this was the Demon Kings castle, the dungeons and cells were specially tormenting - immortal NPCs wouldnt be simply imprisoned. They would be kept on lava lakes, cut up and stored in small stone cells, drowned on tanks with magical acid and so on. Still, a branch doesnt fall far from the tree. As players came seeking her help, Meredith established safe routes to reach her kingdom, as well as a player village. For a kind off long time, she was like a mother and a father for these players - giving them items, helping them in all ways, managing them like a gentle Queen with a golden hearth. Shielding them from the world. But, as they came in with talks of the heavenly gaze and how NPCs were being possessed by the minds (some even called them the spirits) of the dead and never-born, she denied it.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Indeed, from there on, she became more and more reclusive. Her dungeons became a forbidden place for her, and the wails of those player minds stuck on the immortal NPCs flesh and bones were left for deaf ears to listen. It was then that a certain man approached her. He called himself Timoty at first, but his knowledge about the outside world seemed to be too believable to be the knowledge of someone who was stuck inside the game just like them. New players popped up eventually, and the information they brought from the outside always coincided with what Timoty would casually say once in a while. However, the greatest proof of his connection to the outside was that, once every few hours, his avatar would disappear. Meredith didnt discover it immediately, but bit by bit. In fact, Carlos had been on this Timoty avatar for a while, and his neuromancer priests list was way bigger than it was in the beginning. Being one himself, he could easily spot those who had the ability to make others exit the system, and Demon King village soon became the place anyone who had a way into Another World, but not a way out, would head to. In fact, little by little, even those who had committed suicide to come to Another World begun to notice something odd about Demon King Village, but that was only over a year after Carlos took the Dungeon Master hole. At that time, Meredith was already in the palm of his hands. - Its almost in time. Just a little more, and you will be able to return to earth. - Are you sure? - Yes. We have found a suitable host already. A young lady, no memories of her past. - Then, what do we need to do?! You have everything you needed already, right? Merediths eyes were bloodshot. Her angel-like face was distorted and her hands twitching uncontrollably. Carlos had promised a new chance for her. A chance to return to earth! - We can begin today. You just need to be ready. I will need for you to get rid of all of your mana. The Code. It was powerful, but not almighty. Another World was made to be a great experience as a game, but Shabe expected for it to become something akin to a new world since the beginning. Were there ways for someone to change the Code? Delete characters or things like that? Or even permaban players? Yes. But ones level of access to do so would need to be gigantic. Not to mention, even if ones character was destroyed, their minds would still remain in Another World. Someone on the level of Jack or Meredith herself could access such levels, but it would be impossible for someone on Carlos level to do so. Besides, the Automated Repair functions of the Core Code, which no one, even Admins could access, pervaded everything. It would seek to repair any parts of the Code that were damaged, and this could lead to unpredictable and chaotic pieces of code being rewritten all around and all the time. In order to keep the Automated Repair from interfering with Deep Code manipulations one had to be able to suppress it, usually by denying access to the part of the code that was being manipulated. Dealing with the Code as a player was something weird. One could see it, and mess with it. But one wouldnt have the regular administrative or moderation credentials unless they managed to change their own code in order to do so. So, they had to suppress the Automated Repair function with their own minds, by focusing on it and deleting all treads that came from there. The deeper into the code one went to, faster would the analysis be completed, and faster would the Automated Repair function both begin and end repairing the code by deleting the previous changes and pasting the original code over. To get to the level where he could actually change a characters avatar from someone to someone else would require Administration powers, and Carlos had no way to achieve that level yet. Indeed, what he wanted to do was something totally different. He had a neuroset plugged into a comatose girl back on earth and had managed to found her in midst of the hundreds of non-avatar-connected headsets. It wasnt truly difficult, since her mind was totally stagnant and, henceforth, didnt move from the Tutorial Field at all. What he wanted to do next was to create a bridge between Merediths mind and the avatar-less girls mind. And then, swap both. In the process he would need to change just a few lines of command, but that would require for her to be exhausted of fairy dust, on her weakest state. Indeed, the best thing would be for her to not even have a body anymore - as long as the amount of fairy dust on her body diminished, her mind would become unprotected and the connection between it and the body would weaken. At that moment, the Swap would be possible. - Okay. Lets go then. I will just pour everything on the dungeon and keep doing so, okay? - Thats perfect. Carloss smile was evil beyond measure. He didnt even bother hiding the second intentions behind his plan. He didnt need to. Meredith was so entranced on the possibility of returning to earth, she wouldnt understand it, no matter how many clues were plastered on her face. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Grandma! (Extra Chapter) - Grandma, Grandma, Grandpa, Im back! - Welcome sweetie! Go take out your uniform and wash your hands. And dont you forget about taking off your shoes! Ten years had passed on a flash. Jacks mother, Sasha, now divided an apartment with Elicias parents - Donavan and Amelia. Her own finances, as well as Jacks and Elicias, had all been confiscated by the government under the guise of investigating either if they were fellows in crime with Shabe or not. It was absurd, but the government needed both as much resources as possible and to eradicate any sources of future resistance. All employees of squeam, as well as their entire family two generations up and two generations down, had been deprived of all their assets and possessions. Technically it wasnt taken from them, but, rather, frozen in the banks while the investigation was on course. However, there were no news on the case and the families had no lawyers to defend them. Sasha had done the best she could to defend their case in court, but even with the best of her efforts she barely missed the audiences deadlines three times. All kinds of bureaucratic problems had been put on their way, and a law which allowed the government to borrow money from the squeam employees frozen assets had been passed on congress. The situation was dire, and the family had to work hard to even buy bread. Many times Sasha thought of giving up on the legal process and just find some kind of work, but Donavan and Amelia refused vehemently. Both had found jobs, but none of them paid well. Squeam was too big, and in its downfall, all the world economies fell as well. The initial infrastructure damage only was enough to consume a first-world country monetary resources, while the following damage due to all the chaos once all telecommunications and other essential services were cut had eaten more than half of the worlds collective riches.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. On the few months of the aftermath, Sasha, Donavan, Amelia and Christina were all taken in custody of the army as their houses were thoroughly searched and scrutinized. They had been interrogated and Sashas, Donavans and Amelias neurosets had been confiscated. In a certain way, even if they lived in poverty now, it was a good thing they had been taken in custody back in the day. They werent treated too badly, and everyone had their neurosets confiscated by the government anyway. Everyone who didnt kill themselves immediately or managed to hid it, of course. In some cases, people had even been tortured in order to reveal were did they hid their neurosets, but these kinds of tactics couldnt be used to the masses - in the end, governmental propaganda was the main reason why people gave up on their neurosets - the suicide-inducing drug. The fact is, the Jack and Elicias family managed to remain within the safe boundaries of a military headquarters for months, while the world outside was chaos and confusion. They managed to avoid rebellions and conflicts, gangs and militia, hunger, disease and thirst. In the end, they returned to society in the exact moment when all kinds of professionals for all kinds of professions were needed. The world needed to recover from the damage, and only through work, force of arms and anti-enemy propaganda could the governments control the masses. Workers rights were revoked in the whole world, and private property was a joke, since the government gave production quotas to everyone who, in name, owned them. If you had a canned food factory, you better produce on 120% of your production potential, else it would be taken from you. If you had a three-bedroom house, you better have at least three adults living in it, or someone would be assigned to live with you. It was a sad sign to see destroyed and abandoned houses next to packed-full tenements. However, it was easier to control people if they lived in small spaces. Besides, every demolished house or ownerless products which were left behind because they couldnt be packed on small rooms could be used. Even the terrains of the demolished houses would be used for small-scale planting, so no one could say they didnt have something to work on. It was on one of these small-scale plating zones that Amelia worked on, while Donavan worked on a food-processing factory west of their apartment. Sasha, of course, was on charge of learning as much about law as possible. She had to do it by herself, and without access to the internet - of course. Things were difficult at the beginning, but the family gradually adjusted itself to the new lifestyle, as well as the world around them. Christina, obviously, thought all of that was but normal. All her life she had liven under these chaotic worlds rules. - Another serving, please! As Sasha observed her granddaughter, a stiff smile and a flame of rebellion could be seen on her face and eyes. Elicias and Jacks spare neurosets had been hidden, and only she knew were. Someday, her granddaughter would be able to meet her parents. She didnt know how, but she could feel it on her soul. As long as these items remained hidden, she was confident something good would happen. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit 30 Years Later (1) People get used to things eventually. Generations change, people forget - even the bigger things. Thirty years after the Great Prohibition, also called the Great World Purge, everything had returned to a state similar to before the internet phenomenon on the nineties. The net itself was largely restricted and the entertainment industry had also been mostly destroyed. Any kind of virtual entertainment, even the simplest DOS game, was totally and completely banned worldwide. Freedom of speech was a very controversial topic which the new generations were fighting strongly for, while social media and internet chatting were but a dream. Even emailing services were imposed a two-hours delay between sending and receiving, while also prohibited from creating emailing groups. Faxes were weirdly popular on great corporations and cellphones were used almost exclusively for making calls. On the bright side, SPAM mailing had decreased quite a bit. In a certain sense, it was almost as if people were returning to the late eighties in terms of technology, but without console gaming. It was no surprise for glam rock to be on an all-time high again. Space exploration was a hot topic for all kinds of geeks, and comic books were a good source of entertainment for the youth. Videogames were a banished notion, while RPG games could only be played with imagination, nothing else. GPS services were considerably better than in the eighties, since the tech was there, only not the availability of it to the masses, but nothing was perfect. Squeam satellites had been thoroughly brought down and many of its high-tech industries and corporations had either been incorporated by the government or outright destroyed. Still, remnant tech could be found here and there. The governments around the world obviously still made very good use of the internet and cybernetics potentials, so it was needed for people to be educated to create and develop technology for it. This obviously meant that, occasionally, people who had been educated and knew how to build and operate informatic networks, programs and services would turn to the black market in order to make a profit. VR Drugs were the most common type of product sold, but other things could be found as well - things like programs to access the military network, web chatting, dark web forums and so on. Just like how drugs were a big taboo back before the legalization trend became a worldwide thing, all types of informatic dealings so became taboo on the earth of that year. Christina walked resolute steps towards home. She, as a daughter of two former Squeam Soldiers, had to constantly prove herself - so, even though she had a natural gift for informatics, in the end she chose to graduate as a mathematics major and went to become a math teacher. It didnt really matter that her parents werent Squeam Soldiers but, rather, regular squeam workers, unaware of what was happening and powerless to do anything about it. It didnt matter that they had died back in the attack, without having done a single thing wrong. It didnt matter how her own family suffered for years without end while trying to make ends meet only to receive a pitiful compensation in the end - even though her parents inheritance had been proved to be free of the sin of being the stipend of a terror soldier, the government still denied to pay it properly. Her grandmother had sued again and again, and every time the amount the government owned her family increased again and again - without meaning, since they would receive one or two twentieths of the amount and then have no money given to them for some stupid reason. She was a Squeam Soldiers child and her inheritance money was treated as something she had gained by relying on the blood of others. There were plenty of civil servants willing to make a scapegoat out of her and her entire family. Even on this country where she lived her whole life and which was built upon the former Squeam headquarters.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Her clothes were of good quality, but not superb. Her shoes had a healthy color to them, indicating that they werent ones she has had to use for too long. She lived a good lower-middle-class lifestyle. Still, a calm fury roared inside her chest, while her outward appearance and actions were cowardly and submissive. Her shoulders dropped, her head staring down. She was like a perpetually defeated captive, as innocent and sinless as she were. The streets she walked through were busy ones near downtown. She couldnt afford to live on the suburbs, so a rented place in a not-so-good neighborhood where she could live with her husband and grandmother was enough. As she strolled through the bars and pubs, different kinds of music could be heard, including some heavy-metal like ones. This kind of songs lifted her spirits and quenched her thirst a little bit. Daring to look a little bit upwards, she finally arrived at an old, five-stories high, three apartments long building. The decoration on the front was old and moldy, whilst the rusted iron metal bars protecting the inner glass doors said a lot. It was a good thing she managed to get home before noon. *** - Im home! Christina entered the two-bedrooms one-bathroom apartment and dispiritedly said. - Finally! Im starving! Go and make lunch already! - Didnt you eat? Ive left some noodles in the fridge. You just needed to heat them on the microwave! Of course, house appliances were still quite developed, even if, without informatic and advanced electronics materials (many which had become military-use restricted), most of it had stagnated on time. For instance, no microprocessors on ones fridge or television meant they wouldnt be connected their cellphones. - As if I would eat that shit! It smelled like your grandmas piss! - Sorry. I will make something for you to eat. What do you want? Christina couldnt but drop her head lower and start talking a little faster, while hopping for her husbands anger to settle. Im lucky to have him - Was what, amongst other excuses, she always said to herself. It wasnt easy to find someone to date with her identity, after all. Of course, she could try to look for others who were also sons and daughters of Squeam Soldiers but, most of the times, it just wasnt worth it. It wasnt like places like the Squeam Memorial and Pride Foundation would be good for meeting sane people, and going around asking about peoples past was a bit too difficult in order to start a good relationship with someone. Online dating services didnt exist at all, as the internet was restricted, and blind dating and this kind of things made her want to hang herself. Better alone than surrounded by Neo-Squeamers was one of her mottos. Not to mention it was a governmental policy to separate the many Squeam Families from each other in order to avoid unnecessary associations. Hell knew where she would find someone which could relate to her problems. - Forget about it. Come over and give me a bl**j*b. Christinas hands began to shake as she heard her husbands command. She felt grossed out. - Common, dont be like that. I just came home. Dont you want to eat something? I can make some meatballs or something. There are ribs in the fridge! A man dressed in a white t-shirt while pantless, with his hairy half-hard thing tangling to the wind, came from one of the bedrooms. - Shit, are you on PMS or what? - I ah Christina looked at his red face and immediately knew he was on it again. That was why he didnt want to get close to the microwave - his shitty headset could become useless with just a little bit of exposure, and he would use that thing the whole day long. - Tell you what, why dont you get that useless grandma of yours to get some shit done, eh? When was the last time you got something out of the big man? Just that shitty salary of yours cant even buy me a steak delivery. Christina held her purse with greater strength. She then concentrated on remembering the good times with him. They would go around and see places, do things. He used to work back then, and he would help around the house as well. Even her grandma used to like him. - Even if I get something done, Douglas. At that time, an old and coarse voice came from the other bedroom on the house. - It wont be your time to get a sniff out of it. An old wheelchairs cracking noise could be heard, as Sasha approached the door and looked at Christinas husband with her big, round, veiny and menacing eyes. - Tsc. Damn hag. Im going out! Christinas husband took a pair of pants from the sofa and went towards the door. He would surely return later, smelling like cheap liquor and whore perfume. Jacks daughter couldnt help but feel quite wronged by her grandmother. Douglas now would look for another woman to do the job because of her getting on the way. Maybe the real person wronging her was her husband, but she would never admit it. - Christina - Did you eat already grandma? - No. Your husband wouldnt let me. The raging flame inside Christinas heart diminished and went to a certain place deeper inside of her. It seemed to have become colder, as she again looked at her grandmother with calm eyes. - Okay. Come then, lets heat the food up. I will also make some meatballs. The ribs on the fridge need to be cooked this week at the most. Sasha knew her granddaughter wouldnt listen to her. She couldnt help but by slowly steer her wheelchair all the way to the front door. As soon as the locks loud and typical noise could be heard, angry sobbing came from the kitchen, with the sounds of the cutlass becoming increasingly louder and louder. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Jack, Father of Three! [- Oy! Dont you go too far! Come come back here!] Jack Hooligan. Dragon King and Supreme Ruler of Dragon King Island (2). Elicias Hooligan. Jack Hooligans wife and mother of his three children. Prime Minister and de facto ruler of Dragon King Island (2). That was the life they were living. Going back home had stayed in the past. Both Jack and Elicia had been inside Another World for half of their lives already, and the external world didnt mean much anymore - except, maybe, for the child they had left behind. As happy as they were, a small shadow was casted on their hearts. What could have happened to her? Communications with their families were null, and there was no expectative of that happening so soon. Hundreds had already given up hope totally. And as for Jack and Elicia after five years of mourning they decided to start another family. It was, really, an easy decision. After looking through, anyone with a high enough level would be able to understand that the things taking on the NPCs bodies were nothing but wandering minds. Those poor things would latch themselves to an NPC brain and slowly work on it. Small personality traits would develop and the mind itself would weakly bond with the brain - then receiving, little by little, information - and then doing whatever they wanted to do. The only problem, however, was that those minds couldnt imprint on the NPCs brains in their entirety. Unlike how the User Interface would create a new body from scratch, replicating them a brain capable of strongly bonding with the mind and being imprinted with the original owners brain structure, the NPCs had their own simple A.I. brains and such imprinting would end up giving them a bad case of liquid brain. So, the minds had to connect weakly at first, and then, in the span of a long time, increasingly change the brain they were connected to - except such brain would give the mind itself a new array of life experiences, so, in the end, neither the mind neither the original brain would be the same. It was mostly reincarnation, since ones memories from their previous life would be sealed away until their brains developed enough to allow for them to retrieve them from their minds - something most could only accomplish by leveling up a series of mental resistance and fortitude skills which would saturate their brains with pixie dust - thus allowing for it to support the burden of an entire lifetime of memories being imprinted on it. Knowing that, many players had decided to start families themselves. Of course, they didnt want soulless-eyed NPCs, but someone with a mind - or, how many came to put it, a soul. Amongst them, Jack and Elicia did the same. [- You little rascal, come here! Got you!]If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. - No daddy! [- Getting away from me, are you? Let me teach you a lesson!] Jack began to rub his sons belly while tickling him. - No dad, hahahah! Stoop! Hahahah! - Hon., get the kids ready and lets eat! It was a little weird to think about getting a stranger as a child, and many were against that idea in the first place. But with a town full of possessed NPC children behaving exactly like real-world children, with both their annoyance and their cuteness, that awkwardness vanished after a few years. Didnt some people believe in reincarnation back on earth? How would that be different? They knew for sure they were receiving someone who once was a player as a child, but so also believed those people. [ - Going!] Jack took the little wyrmling under his draconic arm and playfully went inside. The little one folded its wings and let itself be carried by its father, Jacks arm holding his bodys length and his arms and legs retracted, as if he was a small statue on the hands of someone over ten times his size. Just like a small newborn baby in the hands of a human. Elicia smiled while a smaller wyrmling, around half the size of the one in Jacks arms, crawled to the oriental-style table in the middle of the room. It was a very large table - almost twenty meters long - but it was to be expected, since both Jack and Elicia were keeping the forms of Adult Red Dragons while next to their children. Thirty years were a long time, and almost all of their skill trees had been fully completed already - except for those who were especially difficult for them to manage, like Drowsiness Immunity. Once they reached Sleep Immunity, dragons were pretty much immune to drowsiness already - so it wasnt easy for this skill to increase. It so happened for them to think that, since their children had been born as Red Dragon Wyrmlings, then the best would be for the both of them would be to assume forms that resembled they little ones. Also, since a dragon wyrmling was a creature with a natural high intelligence, their A.I. programing was quite elaborate - meaning their children had remained as children for a quite long time already. They had begun developing their own personality traits, of course, and were nothing like regular wyrmlings. However, they didnt have their previous lives memories. - Very well, everyone eat! [- Thats right! Gobble up!] Jack helped himself to a large skewed whole cow which glittered with gold powder, while Elicia fancied a roasted bull with apples, gold and jewels stuffing. Dragons could be said to be the ultimate omnivores, as they could eat all kinds of substances - organic or not. But their taste buds would, obviously, fancy the taste of gold the most. The two children begun sniffing the food near them, and then started to happily eat it as well. The oldest, Sandro, was 20 years old. Whilst the youngest, Pietro, was five. There was Sandra as well, but the little one was still in the egg - safely sleeping while being kept warm by a small lava bed inside her fathers treasury. Even though way older than a regular human child would be, that didnt mean they had developed the personalities one would expect of an adult. The changes on a childs personality to achieve adulthood are mostly comprised of changes on ones brain and body. With an aging speed much slower than that of humans, obviously those two were still children. Elicia looked warmly at her two little radishes. [- Ah!] That is, until Jack seemed to remember something. At that moment, as if triggered by a hidden perception-related skill, Elicias smile seemed a bit scary. - What is it hon? [ - Ah nothing much babe, its just] - Its just? [- Ahem. I might... just might have forgotten to do a thing] - And that was [ - Eeeh everything?!] *sigh* Jack smiled crookedly, while Elicia let out a little bit of bad breath. - Just activate the Islands barrier and send some mana overseas then. Its just a couple Krakens, a small rebellion on the northern NPC colony and the old Demon King hogwash. They probably didnt cause too much damage. [ - Ah, thats right, thats right..] Jack munched on a piece of whale jerky. - However! Jacks mastication speed slowed. - Others shouldnt be harmed because of your laziness, so why dont you repay their loses with a bit of fresh Sea King meat, Forgotten Starsea Metal and Undersea Titan Tusks? Also, you should go to the deep sea and get it yourself - that will show some sincerity, you know? [ - BABE!] Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit 30 Years Later (2)! - THAT. CHEATING. PIECE. OF. SHIT! SHIT! Sasha stood by the door while Christina destroyed the frozen ribs with the Cutlass on her hands. Meatballs were the only thing which would remain after that, indeed. - Cut the onions, please. It took around fifteen minutes for Christina to calm down. Cleaning her face with the back of her shirt, she asked her grandmother for help. Half an hour of silence issued between them. - What do I do - Christina spoke in a low tone. Sasha, however, didnt answer. She had done this countless times before. Her granddaughter just wanted to vent her anger. - A bl*j*b right after coming home? Is he an idiot?! Who would do that?! - After putting the final touches to the tomato sauce, Christina dropped heavily on the kitchen chair. Besides her, Sasha rolled meatballs. - Is this just an excuse? Or what? Did he just want to make me say no? Is this what he wants? Sasha just looked at her daughter with sympathy. The last time she tried to talk to her while she was like that, Christina just stopped venting her anger and went silent. So, for the moment, she would just keep her ideas for herself.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. - Am I just that bad of a wife? Sasha could barely contain her frustration. A bad wife? A bad wife?! She paid for that useless mans food, drinks, home, clothes and even whores - if one was to count the money he regularly stole from her! Sasha herself had paid for her sons uselessness for over thirty years, and still carried much guilt about making him work for his money - somewhere inside her head was the certainty that, if she didnt make him work, then he wouldnt have gone to Squeam in the first place. Still, Jack never did what this man was doing to her granddaughter. Silence issued again. Then, for the next hour or so, all the two of them did was to boil meatballs. *** Late at night. - OYE! CHRISTINA! OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THIS F*CK*NG DOOR, RIGHT NOW! - Shit. Christina raised her head. She was using a weird equipment on her head - a mix of a headphone with an ECG machine. She had been reverse-engineering an old program in hopes of finding a way to increase her firewalls security. The makeshift headset she was using was clearly low-quality but was sure leagues above her husbands. She hurriedly hid the headset, while also combing her hair to pretend to have been sleeping. - CHRISTINA! OPEN UP! - IM GOING! With hasted steps, she made it to the door. - Finally! For Christs sake! Her husband smelled like cigars and alcohol. As Christina looked at his clothes, not a sign of messing with other woman could be seen. She knew this was just for this night, but she felt a small relief inside. - Shit. Get out, I will take a bath. Common, get out of the way! He pushed her aside, unsteady steps. - Ouch! - He put more force on his arms than needed, and she ended up hitting the wall. He didnt apologize. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Jack, Man of the House! One may think Jack Hooligans working issues would be solved once he reached a certain threshold on his mental resistances and skills. And indeed, he was more than capable of working now. The only problem is that he just didnt want to! Jack would even feel good while working, but, most of the time, he just enjoyed being free most of the time. [- Babe, Im back!] - Welcome back hon! - Daddy! As he teleported to his dungeons inner quarters, his two sons came to greet him, its eyes full of expectancy. Of course, they stopped a little bit before jumping on him, since he wasnt on his Ancient Red Dragon form - but on his human one. [- Hey you two!] Of course, the first thing he did after seeing his children was to transform. Then, the two jumped on his chest and they frolicked around for a bit. - How did it go? - Elicia came from the treasury while in human form. She had been working on Dragon Kings Island (2)s internal affairs. In these 30 years, the Island had actually grown quite a bit, and Jacks and Elicias position as rulers had become more and more a matter of fact. Of course, most of the people from the Player generation saw each other as peers, people in the same level of existence, but ranks and social classes were bound to be formed once people began living on Another World for real. For instance, there where those who possessed Private Property on Dragon Kings Island, and also those who didnt - not because of lack of space, but because, even as Jack provided everyone with some living space, many people had sold their houses or fields in exchange for things - like huge mana loans in order to try and start a business or just pay for gaming debts.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. So, social disparity began to appear. Or course, as Jacks dungeon was a whole island - and one in which building structures was almost devoid of costs (only mana was necessary), some social care places had been built - like communal houses. And as mana would recharge eventually for everyone, those places would charge only a minimum fee in exchange of lodging. So, extreme poverty would be avoided. Still, it was a sight to behold as some wealthy people needed hundreds of High Class Mana Crystals in order to store all of their mana wealth, while others could barely buy food with the mana they naturally produced every day. In this kind of environment, people like Jack who had unbelievably large mana pools and mana regeneration were amongst the top minority, and Jack himself didnt stop himself from getting more mana from his subjects through dungeon-exchange bonuses. One may think that, in this kind of environment, mana would eventually become something so widespread inflation would ensue. However, items in Another World werent eternal. They had durability values, would get damaged with use, and so on. One-use only items, as the name implies, would be useful only once, and food and drinks would usually be better brought from people who had farms and breweries. Had it been not for Patch 31, then things may have developed in a different direction, but Another World had been programmed to be fair in terms of economics. Such being the case, Jack and Elicia counted not only as the Rulers of the Island, due to the dungeon being theirs, but also as the pinnacle when it came to wealthy people. Indeed, Jacks treasury had become so large he decided to enlarge it multiple times already, and it now had a recreation area where he and Elicia could dig for treasures (an excellent game for dragons and wyrmlings), multiple raw gold chambers, a gold lava-powered foundry to preserve ready-to-go molten gold, amongst other items. Had him the nerve to turn all of that into mana, and probably no one in the world would have as much as him - not even people at the Demon Kingdom. That is not to mention that most people would require his help to level up in this world filled with dangers - had it not been for his Training Dungeon were players could safely slay monsters for the exp, and they would forever be hindered by their low Main Levels - unable to increase the amount of skills they could purchase, no matter how much they trained and used the abilities they already possessed. As time flew by, the number of favors people owned both of them increased greatly, as well as the amount of respect they, thus, received. That is not to mention the case of the NPCs which gained souls - those would slowly lose some of the NPC mannerisms, but as dungeon-spawn themselves, it wasnt long before some of the reincarnated kept referring to Jack as master. In the end, what that meant was that, obviously, Estate-Related matters would be grandly affected by him. [- The same as always. They couldnt come to a conclusion and asked me if I would concede again.] - And? Jack looked at his children. [- I refused.] Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit 30 Years Later (3)! - ENOUGH! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! - Christina had been married for six years. Before that, she and her husband had dated for a couple months only. - CALM DOWN WOMAN, WHAT THE F*CK! - SHUT UUUP! - With a cutlass in hand and smashing things towards him, Christina vented the frustration long held on her heart. - ANOTHER ONE! AGAIN, WITH ANOTHER WHORE, WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?! - SHIT, STOP YELLING! IVE DONE NOTHING! YOURE CRAZY! - Ha. Hahhahahaha. Hahaha. *BOOM* *BOOM* Christina cried while sending another glass at him. - AM I CRAZY? AM I THE CRAZY ONE? THEN WHY THE F*CK DID YOU HAVE THESE ON YOUR PANTS?!!! Laying on top of the table, a, now, badly mauled womans lingerie. - YOU DONT EVEN TRY TO HIDE IT ANYMORE! NO!... YOU HAVENT TRIED! EVER! ARE YOU TRYING TO RUB IT ON MY FACE?! - SO WHAT IF I AM?! Christina was speechless. - Tell you what, I ask, she blows me. Thats all, okay?! You dont want to do it, fine, she will. And she will let me do whatever the f*ck I want! He always had some desires she didnt want to comply with. - And you know what? She asked for me to do it, so I did it. I wouldve taken a photo if I could!This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. - YOU! How how could you Understanding slowly made its way inside Christinas brain. It wasnt that he had a slip and forgot his lovers lingerie on his pockets. Its that she wanted for her to see them. She was getting turned on with that! Christina looked at the table, dazzled. She couldnt say a thing anymore. As for her husband, he realized something was wrong, that he had gone overboard, but couldnt muster the courage to admit his wrongdoings. Instead - Its all your fault! You frigid b*tch! The anger on Christinas heart subsided. Again, that cold, burning feeling lightly went down her throat, being stored somewhere inside her. - Im going out. She walked resolute steps and smashed the poor door against the frame on her way out. *** Downtown. 2 a.m. - More, please. Christina had a cup of liquor in her hands. - Say, why is a fine girl like you drinking scotch of all things? Could I pay for a more suitable drink for someone like you? Another one. It was the third guy trying to hit on her this night. At first she had entertained the idea of getting it back on her husband. Take a random guy and do it with him. She might even carry a little bit of him back home, just to see how her trash of a husband would react to that. - Not interested. The man was your typical Neo-Squeamer - Long hair, even longer neckbeard, a fat and greasy face and a fedora on his head. One of the reasons Christina hated living so close to downtown - the Squeam Memorial and Pride Foundation was just a few kilometers away. - Mllady. - The man touched the tip of his hat - Think again, right? I can see youre lonely, I can be a nice company for you this night! One had to be warry of Neo-Squeamers. Their habit of seeing themselves as always right was awful, and the way their fragile pride was built made it so extreme reactions would come from small offenses. Christina had expended a good two hours on the first one who had come to try and hit on her, and another thirty minutes on the second. It was unreasonable. It was foolish. But she just couldnt take it anymore. - Mllady your sister, lardtard! Get out ! - YOU DAMN B*TCH, WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?! - LARDTARD! A BIG PIECE OF R*T*RD*D LARD, THATS WHAT I CALLED YOU! The water had been spilled. Christina knew it. Still, it didnt matter. She was pissed. She was out of her mind. She was almost letting it all go. The neckbeard guy next to her couldnt but tremble in rage. They were in a public space, after all. - I will get you! B*tch! He turned and left. - Another one, please. Make it double. - You shouldnt have done that, miss. - A rather greasy-looking bartended said to her. - No shit. - She downed another dose. Hit the Road, Jack! : The Matter with the Goblin Kingdom. - Please reconsider, Jack. Its only one more time, and you can avoid a lot of trouble between our Kingdoms. Jack raised an eyebrow. The half-orc in front of him was an envoy from the Goblin Kingdom. Another one. It wasnt a secret that Emperor Marcus was dying of old age. He already did, at least three times. Orc-born had a much shorter life expectancy than regular humans, and he hadnt been able to grind much ever since he arrived on Another World - he wasnt an overwhelming being such as Jack, so he obviously had to conduct a much stricter and realistic rule in order to remain an Emperor. Training wasnt an easy thing to do. The thing is, this time he had screwed up. Screwed up bad. The Demon Kingdom was known as the Portal to Earth. Initially, people called it the Portal to Reality or things like that, but, in truth, it was just a place were the powerful could conduct business. Around five years after the closing of Another World, Demon King Orloss (Meredith) seemed to enter a severe coma. No one knew why. In her place, a player named Timoty appeared, promising a chance for people to talk to the loved ones they left behind. Not only that, this man also had a decent level of access to Shabes Will, so he could do a thing which become known as Soul Transfer - basically, to ensure someones soul would be transferred to a new body of their liking. To players such as elves and undead, this was a treat if not useless. However, for players such as orcs or half-orcs, which had a life expectancy of 10 and 35 years respectively, it was a heavens send service. Timotys skills were the real deal, and the neuromancers he had under him as well. Indeed, the capital of the Demon Kingdom, Demon King Village, soon became the place were both those desperate for contact to the outside world, as well as those who had the skill to make that happen, meet. It was quite a market, but it was also a shady one. Suspicious people with suspicious attitudes would come and go every day, and a shocking number of player assassinations happened there. Be them real-world people who defied the law to meet inside Another World, be them innocent bystanders or even neuromancers - compared to the rest of the world, Demon King Village was a meatgrinder. And also, another place were politics were conducted on a much more realistic level. With so many powerful people around and Timoty himself not being the Demon King - at most just a very powerful Dungeon Master - it was almost impossible for something else to happen. In Dragon King Island (2), Jack was an absolute existence. Even If those near-max-level payers were to try and attack him, a group of over 20 of them had little chance of succeeding - that not to mention if Jack was to use his Dungeon Master powers.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. In the end, the relationship between the Goblin Empire and the Demon Kingdom was bound to get sour at some point, as conflict of interest between the influent players in each Kingdom become more and more frequent. And that was the reason why this envoy was now talking to Jack. They wished for him to gather high-level people and help them to transfer the soul not only of their leader - Marcus - as well as the souls of many other half-orcs which were nearing the end of their lifespan. And since this was a time in which many half-orcs desperately needed a soul transfer, they were willing to allow their Orc King Goblin Emperor to finally reincarnate into a human NPCs body - something he always wanted but was always stopped from doing. [- No deal. I still remember the last time, you know? If you guys want to come and gang up upon me, just do it already. It doesnt seem to matter if I do you a favor or not]. In the past, Marcus tried to secretly contact Jack in order to change bodies. Tricking his own influential players as well as Timoty, he sneaked into Dragon King Island (2) and was almost successful on his attempt. The only problem was, the moment Jack started to access the Administrator Panel and help him, a small note popped up in front of Timoty - which then ordered for the Demon Kingdoms armies to be railed outside of Dragon Kings Island (2). Soon the Goblin Empires own troops were there as well, and Jack had to undo what he initially did, so to avoid problems. This was the first time things got serious between Jack and the other two of the Three World Powers - and also the first time he felt that living on Another World may actually be quite dangerous. - Please, Jack. That time people got pissed off because you were using a bomb to kill a cockroach. This time we just want a Soul Transfer. The half-orc envoy forced a smile, and begged again. [- You guys actually think doing that is easier than changing the guys Avatar with the Administrator Panel?! Soul Transfer is ass-kicking difficult! It goes against Shabes Programming!] Soul Transfer worked through forcefully accessing Another Worlds deep code and changing a certains mind address in regard to its body. So, it meant going against the Auto-Repair Software, which people began calling Shabes Programming. Instead, accessing the Admin. Panel and changing ones Avatar nature and age was natural and easy - except Timoty couldnt do it even if he wanted, since he entered Another World using a regular neuroset, and not an employee-only one. Only those who had accessed Another World through special employee-only neurosets could access things like the Administrator Panel. There was a theory that, deep into the hard-programmed code, where no one could access, one could change that as well. But not even employees who were former moderators could do so. - Please, please reconsider! We need it to keep living! Its an easy job, no one will be against it! [ - If you guys establish a good Training Grounds and use a Wandering Neuromancer all of that can be solved without needing me. The fact that you have come all the way here proves that a certain someone will be against it. I dont want trouble, and even if you bring it to my door, I rather have trouble with you folks than have it with Timoty! Now get out!] The half-orc clenched his fists and turned his back against Jack. The councils chamber where silent at the moment, but loud talking issued as soon as the Goblin Envoy passed through the doors. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit 30 Years Later (4)! - Are you going to bring me another one or what? Christina had drunk eight doses already. Her speech was a little bit sluggish, and she could feel a little dizziness. - Thats enough for you. She looked angrily at the bartender, but all she saw was worry. It seemed like he wanted for her to be o.k. - What do you know? Her voice was soft and low, but, still, clear. - That man you called lardtard. He isnt someone you should have offended. You need to go home before the bar closes. Christina looked at the bartender with tired eyes. She didnt want to go back home. All she wanted was to take her phone, say to grandma to get on a cab, and then go somewhere else. Change cities or something. And then, never look back. - Im serious. - Yeah, I know you are. Everyone is. - Christina took her purse - How much? The bartender looked at her worryingly. - Keep the money and I will call a cab for you. - No need, I live close. Just a few blocks. - Miss, please listen to me. That wasnt a good person. And you cant do much about him. - Pff. Right, right. - She shuffled on her purse. - I never can, right. For a moment, she considered ignoring all of the bartender advices. Just go home, or even better, go to another bar.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But she had drank a good chunk of her bitterness away already, so she had some of her reason back. *sigh* - She exhaled a mouthful of bad breath and dropped her shoulders. - Fine, call me a cab please. The bartenders face relaxed and he finally felt at ease. - Sure. *** - Just go on straight and then turn left on the fifth road, please. - Sure thing madam. The cab driver was a young man on his twenties. No signs of neckbeard, thankfully. The car started and left the bar, slowly progressing towards Christinas home. Going back home. Christina looked through the car windows, melancholy written all over her face. The citys lights shone on her, and the night sky didnt have a single star - that is, they should be somewhere over there, but the street lights wouldnt let someone see them. SCREEETCH! - Out, out, out! - Get out of the car! - Get that b*tch! Get her! Everything turned chaotic. A chaos of fat and neckbeards issued, while the cab got surrounded. The doors and windows were closed, but the burly hands hitting on the windows were quite frightening. Christina was scared. PASH! Her window was broken, the door opened by force and her hair was pulled out. A known face came into view. - Wait till we get the driver out, Max! - Like hell I will wait! You f*cktards have lost it already! We only have a couple minutes! Hello little missy. Missed me?! The fat neo-squeamer looked at her, grabbing her hair with his hand. - We dont have much time, so I guess I will go right down to business. The man smacked her lips against his while pressing himself against her. - Comme on, comme on, open that mouth of yours. Youre not going home without some taste, haha! - Release me! A hand gropped her shirt, looking for her breast. It was rude and aggressive. It hurt her. The mans lips then moved to her neck, sucking and biting. He rubbed herself all over her, groping and slipping his hand here and there. - Now for the main course, let me see how you feel inside, Hahahha - AYE?! The mans hand drove down her pubis, seeking for something unspeakable. At that moment, someones cry could be heard, and, with a silent *thud*, that person fell to the ground. - Shit, he has a shock gun! - Run! - You bastards! Miss, are you alright?! The young driver said, while holding to his taser. - Yeah. Yeah, I am. Its okay, I am. The man on the cab helped her rise and get back to her seat. The cuts and bruises on her body were numerous, but all superficial. - Get me home. - Are you sure miss? We should file a complaint at the station - Just get me home. Please. - Sure. Hit the Road, Jack! : Dragon King’s Island(2)’s Governmental Council - The hell, Jack! Do you know how much we need the Goblin Empires cooperation?! They are the main producers of Orc Weaponry; We dont have enough Smiths with the skill to produce Orchimite on our own, do you intend to arm our whole beast-slaying corps by yourself?! - We dont need a thing from the Demon Kingdom! We have plenty of neuromancers ourselves, but we cant do against the Orcs! - Are you just trying to get out of work?! - For fucks sake, I have worked years to get on ambassators Fagner good side, and you destroyed that in a few minutes! Jack was seated at the center of a semi-circular table which faced the Main Halls Door. This was a room located deeply within the Dragon King Palace, which neighbored the Dragon King Supreme Court and the Dragon King Congress. The people sitting around Jack were the ministers, ambassadors and so on which ruled the daily affairs of his Kingdom. Truth be said, Jack didnt care. They didnt care much for his position as well and would talk to him as if they were equals. However [- Shut up all of you! If you want your weapons so much, go on and take a NPC kingdom for yourselves! Do I look like someone who will go against Timoty so you can sleep with more NPC whores?!] Jack released a little bit of his Draconic Aura, and everyone present in the council had to submit. A few of them were close to be Max-Level players, however, as higher as one climbed the power ladder in Another World, the more difficult it became to do so. There just werent that many highest-level NPCs to beat out in the wild anymore, since natural dungeons had to accumulate mana in order to spawn them, and those needed Parties to defeat as well. In the whole of Another World, only five people had hit max-level besides Jack and Elicia themselves. And those either became kingdoms of small NPC nations or worked for Timoty - another reason why Jack didnt want to oppose him.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. It was way easier to oppose the Goblin Kingdom. As much as they had cursed him in the past, now they couldnt do the same anymore - after all, he had Curse Resistance at level 100, and was also a level 100 Semi-God (an advanced divine class which came after Pope/Bishop, Prophet, and God-Chosen). Even a level 100 curse could be dispelled after using his Divine Cleansing skill. The only reasons why Jack didnt dare to invade the place and take back his first dungeon were: 1 - It would be a lot of work to manage still another dungeon. 2 - Timoty might want to start a cold war due to there being only two World Superpowers if he did so. And that was a hastle. 3 - He couldnt care less for a penny-less dungeon. - Was that really necessary? - A seemingly young half-elf named Lillian asked Jack while taking a piece of cake from her Inventory and eating it. This was the same young hag who travelled with Raphael and Yrwin in the past. With the passage of the years, even her young-girl cosplaying habits became a little tiresome - so she chose to act normally. Now, she oversaw the Reality Culture and Memory Preservation Ministry - a ministry which focused on preserving the memory of how things were on earth, something players started to think was important once many of them started to feel homesick. - Yeah. Ive almost soiled my pants. - As for Yrwin, he had become interested in politics once more, and was currently the Minister of External Affairs. [- Whatever. You guys wanted for me to come over and deal with this, I did that. Now dont bother me anymore. And if they really send an army or whatever, just tell Elicia.] Jack rose from his chair and flew out through the councils open ceiling, going through the small barrier which prevented from the outside weather to infiltrate and heading home. - Hes unreasonable as always. - Yrwin said. - Yes. But what do we do now? Im pretty sure they will send someone over to do some damage - Raphael, which had become the man in charge of the Geography and Cartography Ministry, asked. When you cant win in a direct confrontation, then at least do as much damage as possible - the Goblin Kingdom was made of a number of violence addicts in the first place, so when it became cornered, sabotage, arson and terrorism were the norm. They may cause little damage and bother Jack in the minimum, but people would be afraid of fanatics nonetheless. For many of the ministers, dealing with an organized army like Timotys would probably be way better than dealing with terrorist attacks. - What a pain in the *ss. - Max, the old Envoy from the Republic of FarCry said. - What the hell are you doing here anyway, you arent even a member of the government! - Lillian snapped. - What, I was curious! Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit 30 Years Later (5)! - This ride is for free maam. If you ever need me, you can call me on this number. The cab guy was a good guy. Not the best, of course. But he at least treated her as a human being. Christina opened the door to her house. The glass pieces were scattered on the floor, and the house was quiet. I should clean those tomorrow Christina couldnt think much right now. The things that happened were too intense. It was too much for a single night. She closed and locked the door, took a bottle from the drawer, gulped a large amount of hard liquor and then laid down on the sofa. It took her only a few seconds to fall on a deep and dreamless sleep. It was later that night. Around dawn. Christina felt herself being carried and woke naked on her bed. For a moment, she felt relieved. She was extremely drunk and could barely see what was happening to her. At least he is taking care of me. - Is what she initially thought. At least that. However, right at the next moment, she felt her breasts being groped and sucked.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. - No dont - Comme on Christina! Didnt you say you didnt want me to stop seeing Fernanda? I have needs, so why dont you let me do it just a bit? Why now of all times?! Christina couldnt but feel a deep sadness, as if the world had collapsed on her. - You had a good time tonight. I saw your neck you know. Silent tears filled her eyes at first, but now they would stream down continuously. - We are even now, so why dont you let me have some as well? Im your husband, am I not? Are you going to stop seeing this Fernanda? - Was one of the things Christina thought at the moment but didnt had the strength to ask. - Its fine, you dont have to say anything. I will put it in, okay? If you want for me to stop, just say it. Christina felt like her lips weighted many tons. Her whole body did so. A huge wave of depression assaulted her, and, not matter how much she wanted to take him away and command him to stop, all she could do was to cry. *** She didnt go to work that morning. She slept all day long instead. It wasnt until it was noon that she managed to wake up with a towel on her forehead. - Grandma. Christina looked to the woman at her side. Sitting on her wheelchair, she had a look of apprehension on her face. - I contracted a girl to come and clean the house. She has done it already. I also called your boss and said you had a high fever. You can rest. - I will be fired if I dont go to work - Doesnt matter. I will pay for everything while you recover. Sasha took the towel on her forehead and dipped it into water. - Okay. Christina rested her head against the pillows. The money from her parents was supposed to go to her, but, from the many resources the government owned her and her parents, that was the most difficult of all to get. Instead, other were easier, such as the money her grandmother received as reparation from Squeam way better in the day. She would never say how much she had, but it shouldnt be too much - otherwise, why would she still be living with her? Christina drank a little bit of water and rested for the rest of the day. Her husband was nowhere to be seen. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Dragon King Colony! [- I dont know what to do] - Its fine hon, you made the right choice. Elicia wouldnt interfere on Jacks matters as long as they didnt influence her own. The thing with the Goblin Empire was one of these. She was in charge of managing the internal affairs of the island and sending resources to the colony - so the imminent attack on the colony werent something she had to deal with. [- Still] Elicia walked to his side and rested her head on his shoulders. Both were on Red Dragon form, so putting her hands on his shoulders would be difficult. - Its fine. We have to make difficult decisions sometimes. The colony people may feel wronged, but Timoty would have rolled over then as well. If they cant deal even with the Goblin Empire folks, which chance did they have? [ - Maybe Timoty would ask for reparations only?... Besides, the Goblin Empire people where all crazy folks to begin with. I dont doubt for them to be brutal beyond limits.] Ones true inclinations cannot stay hidden for long. Its true that, in Another World, the number of psychopaths and sociopaths was way lower than earth - and that most people, in the beginning, valued human life. However, after discovering that reincarnation was a fact, and not a theory, such notions as the importance of life gradually disappeared for many - specially for the folks on the Goblin Empire, which liked violence from the beginning. The problem was - as much as human life wasnt in so much peril, the human mind was! Boundless violence would always bring lots of problems for people, including traumas and neurosis. Some people would even become incapable of progressing in levels due to their brains being wired in weird ways after trauma. Trying to progress in certain skills would bring a lot of pain to them, or even insanity, and the only chance they had was by increasing their mental resistance skills - which werent easy to increase in the first place. - Things arent simple like that hon. He would want to kill Marcus and everyone else. [ - Then shouldnt I just let them go and be done with it?] - That wouldnt happen hon. [*sigh*] Jack knew that wouldnt happen as well. As soon as he finished changing peoples avatars ages and race, it was sure for the Goblin Empire folks to ask for sanctuary as political refugees and refuse to go. Then, if he forced them out of the island, the Goblin Empire army would attack nonetheless. War seemed unavoidable. Jacks expression turned sour. [- What should I do, then?] Elicia raised her head and sighed as well. - Whatever you want. [- Shouldnt I help them?] - If you want to. [- Helping would mean being trapped in that weird interests net. I dont want to become another one lured into these power games.] Dragon King Colony was on the verge of war. Since Dragon Kings Island (2) was a bad place to attack, the Goblin Empire decided to try and persuade Jack into taking action by attacking that place. - Where you the one who settled the colony? [- No] - Do you have a duty to protect them? [- yeah.] - Why? [-. I dont know.]The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. - Then, [- I just feel like that is something I should do.] - Jack interrupted Elicia - [- Like it is my duty as King or something. Noblesse Oblige, this kind of things. Besides, what will the Empire people do to the folks over there? We know some of them, and I dont want for them to suffer. I dont think they deserve to suffer because of a stupid m*th*rf*ck*r who is trying to make me do something! I just f*ck*ng hate these kinds of people the most! The hell is he thinking?! Im not his lackey, and I shouldnt be the colony peoples lackey as well!] Elicia remained silent. She didnt need to do much now, since her objective was to have Jack venting his feelings and thoughts in order to understand them. If he stopped midway, then she would try and help him alleviate his inner conflict a bit more. [- If only the people at the Colony werent such a bunch of idiots as well! They could have fled. They still can! They just need to use the teleport formations on the city, and they will be here in a jiff! Why the hell do I need to protect people who are only being stubborn?!] Jack made a slight pause on his speech. However, Elicia said nothing. She knew his traits - he didnt need help just yet. [- Stubborn orcs, stubborn settlers, stubborn government, I hate them all! Why cant they just live in peace and let me be?! Shit!] - Then dont help them. You have no obligation to them. [- Yeah. But I still feel guilty. Somehow, they only exist there because I allowed. In here as well. And I do understand their point. The people here feel that this island is their home. They dont think it is mine and Im letting them freeload. They think since we have lived here for 30 years already, this land is ours!. Just like the people at the colony. I used to think the same thing back on moms house] Elicia smiled faintly. Indeed, Jack had such mentality! However, hadnt his mother tossed him out? She herself had tossed him in the streets as well. [- Well, she didnt endure it for long anyway] Jacks tone became milder. Ones skills could make them resistant, strong and so on. But wouldnt change their basic personalities. Squeam didnt dare to mess with the areas in the brain in charge of ones basic personality, values and morals. Of course, with the brain being changed a lot, these areas ended up changing quite a bit as well. For example, Jack didnt feel such difficulty to act and work anymore. He liked being lazy but wouldnt get to the point of being a depressive NEET or ending up at the prefecture shelter. Unless he wanted to, of course. In the end, he still needed to vent his frustrations the old way. [ - Maybe Im just overthinking this whole thing. I can understand the Goblin Empires people side as well - they are desperate because, even if they reincarnate, they wont have the ways to reclaim their old memories so soon. But thats their own fault! Why should I pay for them not being able to give up on their greed?!] Elicia listened attentively, despite Jacks ups and downs. As soon as he seemed to be finished, he then began venting another frustration cluster. [ - I get it! I totally get it! They cant endure being forced to do certain things, so they ended up in a power struggle and this f*ck*d them all up! Besides, if they just allowed Marcus to do whatever, they would be equally f*ck*d up! That guy is just like that - hes a damn coward who will do whatever he wants and try to profit at every situation, even at the expense of others! He tried to take my goo chamber for himself, for gods sake! I might not even be here if he had succeeded! I hate that damn b*st*rd!] - Hon, hon. Calm down. Focus. Its not the time to get derailed. Elicia interfered. Jack hadnt gotten closure in his previous venting. If he where to change his mental block to another one right now, then he wouldnt solve either. Even if he had a great resistance to anxiety, that didnt mean he wouldnt end up being bothered by this in the future. Indeed, a small piece of his unconscious mind would probably be living in that small frustration mental hell for a long time. *fuuu* Jack sighed. [- Yeah. In the end, its all because of attachment. Im getting upset because people are suffering because they were too attached to their stuff and ended there. I want to help, but Im not all powerful. I cant just make them all submit. Marcus once got to defeat me, and that was thirty years ago. I dont think he would start something like this without being prepared, and he surely have his fill of max-level people at his side. If I want to keep living a simple life, then I need to detach myself from the anxiety of seeing others suffering.] Closure. Highly buddhist closure, of course, but, still, a little bit of closure. Even if a certain frustration remained. - So, what will you do? [ - Im going to make sure no one stays in the colony because they dont have a choice, and then I will be done with it. Whatever happens, Im not going to interfere. Its unfortunate, and it is something that bothers me, that they created this hell for themselves. But Im not the one with the all-powerful McGuffin which will stop suffering in the world.] Jack looked at the ceiling. [- In the end, they will have to deal with it themselves. Im fortunate for never being on their shoes, and that is all!] - Nice. Now, finish doing your stuff and come with me. We need to make sure the kids grind properly! [- Ugh!] Jack had almost been successful on getting out of grinding babysitting time, but all of his rambling was useless. Work waited for him. With a crestfallen expression, he then opened his player interface and sent regular teleportation scrolls to a list of people - the colonys players, soul-possessing NPCs included. This should guarantee that no one stayed because they didnt have a choice - or at least that they could flee once things got too ugly to bear and they decided to leave the stubborn ones behind. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit 30 Years Later (6)! Christina learned to endure it. Her husband wouldnt return home with perfume-smelling clothes, weird bruises on his neck or with someone elses lingerie. She wouldnt say no. For some time, she believed in it. And she allowed him to do whatever he wanted to her. Somehow, she didnt feel like it was her anymore. It was as if, anytime something like that happened, someone else was the one doing it, not her. She laid there, and the bed creaked. She would then get up at the morning and go to work. Get back at night, endure it again. She used to like doing it. She used to feel thrilled and also that it was fun. Now she felt nothing but sore and empty. A few weird things started to happen to her body. She started to have multiple yeast infections and small cuts there. However, ointments and lubricants would do the trick, so she learned not to care. - Christina, you need to expel this man from this house. Sasha saw her granddaughters figure becoming thinner and pale. She looked constantly sick and sad. The number of beauty creams around the house increased a lot, and Christina started to use make-up even when she was alone at home.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. - Why grandma? She would say with a distant voice, without caring about her words. It seemed as if no one could reach her. As if there was a sound proof barrier between Christina and the rest of the world. The situation got worse and worse, little by little. Little by little, it seemed as if Christina was dissipating in the air - as if she was made of sand. Sasha decided to do something. She took a lipstick, covered her lips in red, and gently kissed a remote corner of one of Christinas husbands clothes. Still, Christina seemed not to notice it. Sasha became bolder, fussed over his phone and found evidence that he was still going out with other woman. Christina looked at her with lifeless eyes. That is great grandma. Sashas heart shook. *** It was the first of May. Christina got up from her bed and heard some yelling. - YOU ARE KILLING HER! - SHUT UP, OLD HAG! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! SHE ISNT EATING WELL BECAUSE YOU ARENT BUYING US ENOUGH FOOD! - YOU MONSTER! DONT YOU EVEN HAVE EYES?! CAN YOU EVEN THINK WITH THE HEAD ON TOP OF YOUR SHOULDERS INSTEAD OF THE ONE DOWN THERE?! - F*CK YOU! Christina walked through the room with unsteady steps. Sashas eyes widened while looking at her. Bony hands. Lifeless eyes. Cracked lips. Skin pale beyond sign. And thinness which could make one despair just by looking at it. - LOOK AT HER! LOOK AT WHAT YOURE DOING WITH HER! The man in the room looked to the other side and sat on the sofa. - Nonsense. Christina. - What? - Go make us breakfast. - Okay. Sasha couldnt take it anymore. Raising her hand, she grabbed her granddaughters arm. - Dont you dare obey this man! Christinas eyes looked dully at her. - Why? On the trees outside, bees buzzed, birds chirped, and the sun shone. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Please Reconsider! The Dragon Gorge battle was a massacre. A few hundreds settlers died that day, and their souls (minds) were successfully confiscated by the Goblin Empire. On the Empires side, less than five could be counted with the dead. The Empire didnt even have had to show any of their ace cards. The fact that the gorge remained a gorge and not flat terrain was proof that no really powerful skills were used. Later, they would make a list of who got caught and ask for ransom. However, Orc King Goblin Emperor Marcus wasnt happy. To his understanding, Jack Hooligan was a soft-hearted person. A really butter-heart. He even helped him at one point in time, and that was taking in account that he tried to steal his goo tank back then. Had he been successful, and Jack wouldnt be alive today. Still, a little bit of crocodile tears and heart-shaking pleas of mercy seemed to be enough to make him open an exception. He not showing up once his colony got attacked was unexpected. - Tsc. Start plan B. We need to take him out of the dungeon. It would be impossible to deal with Jack while he remained inside his dungeon. Even if Marcus were to use his ultimate ace, the Demon Dragon King, it would be useless. Angering Jack till the point he couldnt resist but attack was, therefore, what he hopped for. *** [- I dont want to know.] - Jack, thats unacceptable. Do you even know what this people have been through?! The least you could do is read the battle report! Yrwin tried to persuade Jack through the Communication Crystal Screen which connected the dungeon to the Council. [- I said I dont want to know. It would make me want to get involved, and I wont! I have said it hundreds of times - they wont enter the island, but that is everything, and it isnt because Im King as you guys like to pretend, but because I like some of the people who live here!] - Jack, please. We need your support. Without you, how can we settle with what happened? They destroyed our homes, they took our peoples souls! Your peoples souls! You have to do something! - This time, an old half-human-half-tiefling tried to persuade him. She was the Mayor and Governor of the Dragon King Colony. [- I said no. Dont call me again because of this.] Jack turned the crystals spell off, cancelling the communication. Soon, however, the crystal lit up again. - Jack, please - Yrwin tried again. [- NO!] With a sweep of his hand, Jack destroyed the crystal - closing all means of communication with his dungeon. Usually communication spells would be able to get to him, but his dungeon had been reinforced with all kinds of spells, barriers and protections - all at level 100. Nothing could affect It, unless someone was to try and use deep code changing - and even that would be difficult, since Jack had used the highest administration credentials possible (the General Administrator ones) to lock every single aspect of the place - as well as reinforced the deep code in the place with a little trick were multiple keys to start the Auto-Repair program had been inserted on the code all around the island. If one tried to access the deep code, then the Auto-Repair program would be fired at the exact same time their minds touched it.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. It would be extremely difficult to do anything against his will while he was there. He might not have been a programmer back on earth, but he was a Max-Level player with extremely high basic stats. Thats not to mention he and Elicia were still grinding main levels to this day - in order to increase their basic stats, even if no new Skills could be gained. One had to remember that Another World had a very complex leveling system, so designed in order to allow ones real-life brain to adapt to the changes ones mind would force it to go through. Skills could be gained by repeating certain actions. Resisting external or internal interference and keeping ones concentration while casting spells for a cumulative amount of three hours, for instance, could give someone the Mental Fortitude skill. However, that was only if someone had their Mental Resistance skill three in a high enough level. That is, for example, one had to have Mental Resistance at level 5 to be able to unlock the Mental Fortitude skill at Mage level 20. Then, there were also Elementary Skills, which determined how well could you use your skill. For instance, the Concentration Elementary Skill would determine how many thousand of hours would your brain be wired to receive once you gained a certain skill like Mental Fortitude. An Elementary Skill at level 5 would make the Mental Fortitude skill be wired on ones brain as if they had expended 5000 hours concentrating while casting spells. To get this skill at level 5, one had to expend 5000 in-game hours concentrating at doing something plain and boring - or 1000 minutes (16 hours) in high hyper-focused battles to the death (each minute in hyper-focus counted as 5 hours). No one would use hyper-focus to train Elementary Skills in Another World anymore, though, since battles to the death and other such situations where the only where one could achieve a hyper-focus state, that is, until reaching the Level 100 psion skill Hyperfocus. Then, all of that would be useless without enough Main Levels. The Main Levels gave someone skill points - which could then be allocated to unlock skills. So, even if someone had three hours of cummulative spell-casting concentration, they wouldnt be able to unlock the Mental Fortitude skill if they didnt have enough Skill Points to do it. Every Main Level gave someone 10 skill points, and every skill, except for those at levels 90-100, cost 1 point. For those at levels 90-100, they would cost 10 points at level 90 and 10 more points from there on, so at level 91 it would be 20 points, at level 92 it would be 30, and so on until 100 points at level 100. Main Levels could be obtained only by getting Exp - which was obtained by slaying monsters (be them with a soul or soulless) and absorbing the Fairy Dust in them. Then, last and not least, there were also Stats - a player would get 10 points to expend on their stats (such as Intelligence) for every Main Level, and such stats would increase ones basic capabilities, like damage, armor and so on. That said, this meant that, for instance, for someone to use the Mental Fortitude skill to ward off an incoming mental attack which intended to disrupt their thoughts, one would have to have at least 3 main levels, 5 skill points allocated on the Mental Resistance tree, 20 on the Mage tree in the right skills in order to progress until Mental Fortitude, and 1 on the correspondent Elementary Skill - that is, Concentration. Then, that as well didnt mean the mage would be able to do it with a 100% success rate or even totally, because the Mental Fortitude skill gained bonuses with their Intelligence Stat, which meant the person had to have a number of bonuses applied to their Mental Fortitude skill (by their Intelligence stat) which countered the bonuses the opposite party had on their attacking skill. So, even if they had all Skills one could possibly have, Jack and Elicia kept on grinding levels by killing monster wave after monster wave inside Jacks dungeon. This way, they could guarantee to have really high basic stats, allowing for them to use their skills to the maximum. That is not to mention that, the higher ones basic stats, the higher the concentration of Fairy Dust making the connection between their brains and minds, and so the depth and strength they had to access and change the Game Code - it had become clear to all in the world that fairy dust had something to do with the very basis on which Another World was constructed, and seemingly formed the Hardware on top of which the Software (the Code) was built. Getting a lot of fairy dust around your mind meant getting a lot of power over the Code. And that was gained by slaying monsters. This was something hard-coded into the deepest recesses of the Code, so one could only slay and slay and slay all day long. Jacks dungeon, therefore, was night impenetrable on all senses - be by the Code or by Brute Force. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit 30 Years Later (7)! One day, she just couldnt get up anymore. Christina felt weak all over. It was as if her body didnt have any energy. Her husband expended more and more time out. Her grandmother didnt have the strength to look after her. - Tsc. You didnt even take a bath today? - You smell. - Shit, you actually pissed on the bed? Nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists - at first, her husband did not allow for any of those to enter the house. Then, once Christina couldnt go to the bathroom by herself anymore, he gave up. He will go back to that woman now - As sad as it seemed, this was the thought which lingered on Christinas mind most of the time. - Im not enough for him anymore. - He wont come back. Her eyes were foggy most of the time. Depression medication helped at first, but it didnt go as planned. First, her grandmother had a team of health professionals at her disposal. Nutrition specialists. Acupuncturists. Nurses, doctors, physiotherapists. However, little by little, the numbers reduced. Christina didnt know what was happening outside anymore. She lived inside herself, amidst thoughts about cheating and uselessness. A broken doll without life. - Your Honour, my granddaughter is in too frail of a state to be able to attend to the audience. Please reconsider.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Sasha said, while holding on the phone. - I see. I understand. Thank you, your honor. *creek, creek* Sasha stood at her granddaughters side. She couldnt afford what she could before. She also couldnt take loans anymore. Her lips were tense while she cleaned Christinas forehead. *** Superior Court of Justice Case number Xxxxx-xx, Sasha Hooligan against Yyyy YYYyyy Sasha caressed her granddaughters hair. - I shall now read the verdict. A man on official attire held a piece of paper on his hands. He had a look of contempt, and at every chance he could, he would steal a glance at Sasha and her granddaughter. - On the case of Sasha Hooligan versus Yyyy, namely the husband of her granddaughter Christina Hooligan, having read all the relevant papers and heard all relevant information, I so decided: - On the accusation of abandonment by part of Yyyy, seeing that the person had filled the divorce papers while the spouse was still conscious and in her right mind and better judgment, I hereby deny the motion. Sashas hands powerlessly gripped her wheelchair. In her right mind?! He appeared one day when she couldnt even stand anymore with a bundle of papers and told her sign here for me. She didnt read them, she wasnt even aware that he was asking for a divorce! - On the case of Sasha Hooligan versus Johnson and Smith Health Insurance and Co., on the allegation of breach of contract in providing healthcare services, seen that Sasha Hooligan lied about her association with the Squeam Memorial and Pride Foundation, I hereby deny the motion. Neither Sasha or her daughter had any bonds with the foundation, except for some members who, after looking at her photo, said that she and their boss had a thing going on. Sasha was furious. Why would they do that? Why would the foundation even be consulted in the first place? - And on the case of Sasha Hooligan versus Fernanda Yyyy, for obscene behavior and mental harassment, seeing that it wasnt proved that the tape provided as evidence had been produced by her and Yyyyy, I hereby deny the motion. A few days after Sasha started suing Yyyy, a DVD tape reached her house. The contents were basically a few minutes of intimacy between Christinas ex-husband and Fernanda. She hid the tape from Christina. - Now, for the compensations and losses. - On the case of Sasha Hooligan versus Yyyy, I hereby condemn Sasha Hooligan to pay reparations. On the case of Sasha Hooligan versus Johnson and Smith Health Insurance and Co., I hereby condemn Sasha Hooligan to pay reparations. And on the case of Sasha Hooligan versus Fernanda Yyyy, I hereby condemn Sasha Hooligan to pay reparations. - Also, mr. Yyyy, congratulations on your wedding. Dismissed! A flash of light went pass Christinas eyes at that moment. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Terrorist Attack! Jacks dungeon had 256 levels. He and Elicia had been working on them for over thirty years, after all, as a way to kill time when they were too bored and couldnt grind main levels. Besides, it was easier to grind when the monster waves were hundreds of thousands strong, so they made larger and bigger levels all the way to the point where the dungeon itself was strongly imbedded on the sea bed below the island. Anywhere in the Island, had people the idea of digging over fifteen meters underground, and they would find either the eighth or tenth floor of Jacks dungeon. Then, going downwards, the dungeon itself would take the entirety of the islands supporting pillars. Had someone been looking, and they would have noticed that the previously mostly empty and floating pillars had now become intertwined with strong rock which allowed for five (from the fifteenth to the eighteenth) undersea levels to exist on the dungeon. Many small openings on the fifteenth floor allowed for plankton, sea water, small fish and debris to enter the dungeon, and smaller ones on the eighteenth allowed for these to flow out. Inside, many monsters and big fish could be found - some spawned by the dungeon, but the majority having flown in by the undersea currents and finding a suitable environment to fatten up - the very thing which ended up trapping them inside. Obviously, the eighteenth floor did not open to the nineteenth. There was no opening, and to get there one would have to blast open the earth - something all levels had in common, from there on. This was also one of the reasons why Jack and Elicia entered and left the dungeon exclusively through teleportation. And also, why people from the Island only had access to the tenth floor. All other floors beyond this one were made either as a way to kill time, or as treasure vaults for Jack and Elicia to store their wealth. Of course, those made to kill time were quite simple, usually made of stone or, rarely, molten iron, while those that worked as treasure vaults had the same degree of protection than the previous treasure vault from the mountain - being made of many extremely hard materials and neigh impermeable. Some of the Island dwellers found it weird when they saw the islands pillars thickening, but most just thought that Jack and Elicia were interested on keeping the island firm and stable. The existence of the over two hundred floors under the sea bed where a secret to all, except Jack, Elicia, and, to some level, their children - which lived either on the treasure vault and housing floors, or in the mountain ones - where they could enjoy sunlight, the scent of fresh grass and the sea breeze. As a consequence of expanding their dungeon so deep underground, Jack and Elicia obviously ended up finding underground magma chambers. The hot lava itself could do nothing against them, and dragons were magical creatures in the first place - even if they got trapped inside the small volcano they now lived in - they didnt need to breathe at all, so, all they had to do was to dig their way to freedom.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. However, pressure was indeed a problem. Beyond a certain threshold, it could crush even the mightiest of dragons, Jack Hooligan. This was one of the reasons they decided, therefore, not to expand their dungeon deeper - only wider. If one was to look at the form of Jack and Elicias dungeon, then they would see something which greatly resembled a dreidel - a small island at the top, a few small, vertical floors, and then a huge body followed by some also small floors. The only difference would be that this dreidel had its first half imbedded on the sea bed, while its lower half was inside a lava chamber, occupying most of it and allowing only for a few-meters-wide flow of lava to circumvent it - so, its corners touched the inner walls of the chamber while its tip was firmly stuck on the ground bellow it. At their wider, Jack and Elicias dungeon touched the coast of the Furuk Empire, where indeed they had made a small chimney were to vent some of the pressure from the lava chamber their dungeon squeezed hard. It was quite weird for the present emperor of Furuk Empire, Orlando the Magnanimous, when a raging volcano suddenly popped at his door five years ago, lava oozing from it like a geyser, its vertical stream reaching so high it touched the clouds - but afterwards it became a lazy volcano which oozed lava without exploding, so he eventually got over it. At this very moment, hundreds of people made their way into Jacks dungeons first floor. Jack, as the Dungeon Master, suddenly noticed their entrance - and became wary. - Whats up hon? [- Im checking on it. Weird.] - What? [- People from the Kingdom. Hundreds of them.] Elicia showed a worried face as well. - Is something happening at the surface? Jack opened the Master screen to look at the Island. Differently from the Mana Crystal Screen, this one was a Dungeon Spell, and consumed the dungeons mana instead of directly consuming Jacks. Soon, the screen tripled to show two views: One was the aerial view of the island. The second was a terrestrial 360o view showing the islands surroundings, in order to scout for enemy movement. As the last one, it showed the people at the first floor. Jack and Elicia frowned at the same time. There were no enemies outside, but a huge crater could be seen on the center of Dragon Kings City, the first and most populous city in the whole of Dragon Kings Island (2). It was larger than one made by a level 100 regular attack by a large margin. It had been made by at least a few dozens of them. The dungeons ninth flors external surface could be clearly seen at the bottom. And that wasnt all. The first layer of the dungeon showed signs of having resisted multiple earthquakes, as well as large scale magical attacks. The islands supporting pillars also had signs of having been hit with tsunami and earthquake large scale level 100 attacks, and the floors adjacent to the lava chamber had signs of being hit from the inside - meaning the combined might of thousands upon thousands of the rare level 10 control lava spells had been used to try and force a volcano to appear. The goblin empire had launched its first retaliation. Around five thousand lives were lost. Jack looked at Elicia, and she nodded her head. He teleported and appeared at the craters center. Then, he concentrated. His mind immediately touched the surrounding code. There were traces of deep code meddling, as well as an astonishing lack of souls (minds) all around. This kind of thing would need at least a few max-level players and neuromancers to achieve. Thirty years of peace and neutrality, were he never looked for trouble. Still, trouble found him on its own. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Freedom! - Grandma, is it true? Am I really divorced? Is he really with another woman now? Christina said, in a soft voice. Laying in the bed at their house, she could now barely breathe. However, her conscientiousness seemed to have returned. Sasha looked at her granddaughter, an apologetic look on her face. If she knew it would be so easy for her granddaughter to wake, then she would have done it way sooner. - Yes. - Sasha said, pressing her lips against one another. - Yes, he is. Christina inhaled a big amount of air through her nose, and then exhaled afterwards. - He was trash, wasnt he? Sasha softly rubbed her hair. - Yes. Yes, he was. - Grandma. - Yes? - Are there only two types of man in this world? Those who think with their penises and those who think with something else? Sasha gave a small smile. - Your grandfather he was a very good husband. He took care of me for many years, and he was the true definition of the head of a household. I depended on him for everything, but he wouldnt be an example all the times.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. - I see. - But you dont need to worry too much about that. That man is gone, and you are back. Just heal and soon enough you will be back on your feet. - Thanks. - Youre welcome, dear. *** Time passed by. Christina slowly recovered to the point where she could finally start to work. However, something changed on her. First, she made a tatoo. Then, she painted her hair and brought a leather jacket. Heavy music could be heard from her apartment every day, and she made friends which were more than enough for her not to fear any Neo-Squeamer. She started self-defense lessons. She learned how to wield a knife and managed to get a permit for a stunt baton. Her permit for holding an actual iron-and-lead gun was denied due to her background, but she didnt care. She finally freed herself. Sasha was happy for her granddaughter. But she was getting older as well. One day, she felt pain on her chest. She screamed, but her screams where low and couldnt wake Christina up. She begun breaking stuff around her room. Throwing what she could at the ground. Her granddaughter woke up and ran to her room. - Grandma? Grandma!! Sasha laid on the ground, her looks extremely pale, her eyes red, her lips blue like berries. - Shit, shit, shit! - Christina took her phone and started to dial the emergency numbers. Still, her grandma hit her hand and threw the phone on the ground. Christina was dumbfounded for a moment. Then, Sasha pointed to a corner of the room. - What here?! - Di dig dig! Christina hesitated. Any person on its normal state of mind would have ignored the dying woman and called an ambulance. But she she had just freed herself. Amidst her new, though attitude, a small child inside her chest began to bloom and explore the world. Her heart had softened up. So, she took the closest thing which seemed capable of breaking the floor and dug. And then she was left speechless. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit “Freeloaders, even if you pay taxes”! Jack and Elicia didnt show themselves in person. Instead, they appeared only in holographic projections. Both had been called upon by the people on their dungeon, time and then time again. All of the Islands residents went to the dungeon as soon as they could. The surface wasnt safe, but, after seeing that nothing happened to Dragon Kings mountain and that the dungeons floors walls were untouched, they then proceeded to flood the place. Another World wasnt so populated in the first place, since not many people have had the guts to kill themselves in order to go live there. Still, Dragon Kings Island (2) counted with at least fifteen thousand-ish players living in its main city as well as the lands around. Now, one third of that population had died. The surrounding ten thousand, understandably, where both enraged and fearful. It had been thirty years, but not everyone had Max-Leveled their skills. In fact, most just max-leveled what they liked to do. Training like a crazy man and actively looking for a dungeon to develop in order to create huge monster waves which could barely increase their Main Levels by 1 or 2 was just stupid on their minds. People like Jack and Elicia who could produce such monster waves with hundreds of thousands of grinding-optimized monsters in a regular basis were fewer than few. Most regular players, even after Max-Leveling, would need a decade to produce a single one of these waves, while Jack and Elicia could produce one every five months or so. That is not to mention Jacks ridiculous 10x EXP increase bonus. Even people who had brought thousands of 2x or 5x EXP increase bonus at the Squeam days had either sold or used them long ago. Those who hoarded such items were fewer than few. If they knew Jack had a natural 10x EXP bonus on top of having started the game with stats higher than an average Max-Level player, they may as well puke blood and die. So, it wasnt a surprise for so many to have died when a bunch of Level 100 attacks hit Dragon Kings City. What WAS a surprise to them, was for Jacks dungeon to not have been damaged in the least. A little bit after everyone had evacuated, people begun to discuss amongst themselves. Jack had made a dungeon which could sustain that level of damage on its own. However, the entire Island counted as being inside his Dungeons space. If he wanted, he could have made the buildings and the very stones under them as sturdy as these dungeon walls.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Instead, he did it to his dungeon only. People felt wronged. They had to pay taxes. They had to give him every single piece of gold they had on them after arriving on the island, and, if they went out of the island and came back with any on them, then they had to give it to him as well. Hadnt they been paying him for protection? Wasnt this the deal? To them, it seemed like Jack was breaking the deal they had - he would offer protection and they would pay. Just like royalty and servants. However, that was not how Jack saw it. His idea of why people paid taxes was pretty simple - they were living on his island, they may as well pay rent. He never sold protection. He would turn the monster spawning rates on the surface to zero, build grinding spots for them, and that would be it. Also, the gold thing, in his mind, was due to people paying an entrance fee which would serve as payment for living on the houses he had spawned himself with his Dungeon Master powers. Miscommunication, one could argue. However, the attentive would notice things werent so simple. Jack indeed acted like that and left things clear on the first place. However, he would also kill overly strong monsters and help people who happened to be in dire situations, and also inside his territory. He had the last saying on the governmental council, difficult matters which involved the interests of many would be sent to Elicia to solve, and his and his wifes words were law on the island. If, for instance, someone of high power wronged someone else, the weaker part could ask him for help - and most of the times he or Elicia (the last way more than him) would then judge the person. His actions werent properly the ones of a landlord, who is roughly on the same level as the people who rent form him, but more on the level of, indeed, a protector noble. So, it didnt matter if he saw all of those as favors people asked him - these kinds of things were the norm, not the exception, and now his angry subjects wanted an answer as to why did he let this happen. Yrwin, Lillian and Raphael did their best to gather peoples opinions and listen to their requests. They knew Jack wouldnt talk to this much of people, and he would probably be unreasonable - he had a good heart, but hated to feel pressured, and they knew that. He was the kind of guy which would give you a house on his terrain and charge some rent but wouldnt increase it just because you were making more money. Indeed, he would even help you become richer and, if you ever wanted to leave, then he would wave you goodbye and sincerely hope you had luck, no strings attached - but which would kick you in the face if you complained about how the terrain was smelly because the previous owner liked to keep pets. If you dont like it, then find somewhere else to go! Im not going to clean someone elses shit, I dont want to, theres something good on TV!. This kind of thing. In the end, the worst outcome would be if people decided to rebel. Jack hadnt shown any great proves of might, so people may as well think things like I want to blast a Godly Maximized Higher Fireball to his face!. Of course, both Jack and Elicia knew that. And they knew the people on the dungeon were angry as well. Some had even sneaked to the lower floors, entering the forbidden zones. They forgave them, since they wouldnt be able to go further than a few floors down, but that still bothered them. Two days later, once everyone had calmed a little bit, they then appeared in front of the City Council. [- Im not going to go to war.] Yrwin smiled wirily. With a single sentence, Jack had already gained the antipathy of everyone. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Enter Another World! Christina stood at her grandmothers room. The old woman laid on the ground, barely breathing. On Christinas hands, a strong and stout hunting knife her old grandma kept close to her bed - a memory of your grandfather, would she say and would Christina believe, even if it was a lie. The floor boards next to Christina had been dug with the knife. They were old, wood-type boards, and had been glued to the floor, differently from the other boards - which were nailed. Inside the small hole beneath the boards, wrapped in plastic and covered in wood glue, two shinny headsets could be seen. Those were Jacks and Elicias spare neurosets. Christina took the neuroset, dumbfounded. Then, as Sasha hit the ground with her hand, she finally woke up to reality and went next to her. The girl put the neuroset on her grandmothers head and caressed her face. Sasha smiled, and, as soon as Christina plugged the neuroset on the telephone socket, left reality to Another World. *** Christina had arrangements to make. Her grandmother had clearly died, and her thoughts and emotions had yet to settle.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Thats an opportunity - would be what her reason would say, had it a mouth to speak which wasnt connected to her emotions. While still in a certain amount of denial, she rose to her feet and hurried outside of the house. She went to a department store and brought glue, a telephone, a music headset and a few other things. After getting home, she then took the other headset in the hole, put it to the side, and carefully began to assemble a simple home-made headset for drug use. She made it not overly simple nor overly complex. Using some parts from her own headset, she then wrapped that up, put it on the hole, and covered everything with a little bit of wood glue. She couldnt make it so secure as her grandmas storage, since it would be weird for such a common drug-use headset to be so heavily hidden, but it still needed to look like a buried treasure. Then, she took the neuroset on her grandmothers head and marked it with a red pen, whilst the other one she left unmarked. Neurosets would become useless if someone used them to enter Another World forever - that was a truth, but also a lie. The headsets would indeed become useless for this process, since a few core components would burn, but it could still be dismantled into amazing parts which would allow someone to do amazing stuff. Wasnt it for the fact that no one had managed to reproduce a full-functioning neuroset (even by mimicking every piece on every place), then it would also make a great material for creating new ones. Those two neurosets were a treasure, even if only one of them could get someone into Another World. She had to hide them well before breaking down from the emotional downpour which would eventually come, and way before the investigation which would follow. The death of a Squeam Soldier or its relatives was always thoroughly investigated. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Council Negotiations [- Im not going to war] The crowd was at boiling point previously already. After Jack said these words, everyone kept their cool solely based on I wont be the first one to do something. - Jack, we just suffered an attack! Do you know how many people died?! This isnt on a personal level anymore! - Yrwin said, hopping to blow out some steam and voice everyones opinions. A good number of his old friends were amongst the dead. Had it not been for the fact that death, due to the certainty of reincarnation, was more of a provoked amnesia than losing someone forever, he would certainly be way more pissed about it. [- You guys can go and do as you want. I wont stop you. But dont bring problems back home. If you go, stay there!] - YOU BASTARD! - WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! - LAZY IMBECILE! - JACK! - It seemed that, for a certain half-orc, his name had become the worst thing he could call someone of. Jack snorted. [- SHUT UP!] The Dragon King tried to silence everyone, but his aura wouldnt reach them this time - not with so many spells, incantations and magic-resistant alloys and walls between them. In fact, even if those werent present, being so distant from them and on his Red Dragon form, Jacks aura wouldnt do much of an effect anyway. All kinds of things begun to be flown at the holographic projection. From pineaples to weapons and spells, as soon as the first person begun doing it, everyone else did the same. - GET HIM! GET THIS COWARD! - Someone incited, and the scene became a messier one indeed.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Roughly two thousand amongst those present started to push others out of their way, hoping to get to the last chamber and blow their own steam. Yrwin, Raphael and Lillian said nothing. They knew it was impossible to stop the human wave, so all they did was to step aside and help those who fell to the ground before they were stomped to death. [- Tsc.] - Thats enough, all of you. You heard him. None of us is going. - Elicia said, while motioning with her claws. Soon, bright lights enveloped those who were either with their weapons in hand or throwing things - even cucumbers- at them. The mass-selection option was activated, and Elicia choose all hostile. Soon, they found themselves out of the dungeon by a large margin, being then dropped into the sea. - This is our home. It isnt yours. And we wont go around looking for trouble because some delinquent blasted our door with a Molotov. The people at the Goblin Empire will die soon anyway. There is no reason for us to make things worse. Elicia rationalized, to the discontentment of the remaining six thousand still on the dungeon. [- Also, anyone who doesnt agree is welcome to get out of the island for good.] - Wait, Jack, just a moment, please! The holographic projection waved for a moment, and then stabilized. Yrwin tried to negotiate again. [- I wont go to war, thats final.] - Thats okay. We got it. - So? - Elicia asked with interest. In the end, she was the one who administrated the Islands affairs for years now. She didnt want to leave people to their own demise. - Can we at least stay in the dungeon? - Yrwin was fairly certain that this would be allowed. They were Jacks subjects in a sense and, even if they werent, at least they were human people in the past, people from the same reality! - Thats a given. - Elicia answered, while Jack seemed uninterested. - You guys can take up to the tenth floor. We will deactivate the monster respawn on them and allow you to use up to the thirteenth to train. Is that enough? There was a visible lowering in the crowds tension. Their anger still subsided, but at least some of the fear was gone. - Then, how will we manage housing, basic living conditions, security? [- And taxes!] The crowd reached the boiling point again. - Honey. [ -Eh?] - Can you turn over for a moment? [- Sure, what is i.] - WIFE KICK! It felt good watching the old Dragon King flying a few meters in the air. - We will deal with this later, for now, just get people acquainted and find the places you would want to live on. Now if you all excuse me, I have to talk to my husband for a bit. It seems like his head stopped working for a few moments, so I will help him get better. Yrwin had a wry smile on his face. Bread and circus. Thats what people need, alright! Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Souls for All! Christina had stayed behind, in the real world. As for Sasha, she woke up in a cave. An old and moldy cave, burrowed deeply on some dungeon far away. Her body was the one of a bulky swordsman. Jacks spare avatar. The change in gender was somewhat annoying, but she had no time to worry about that. Instead, she had to find a way out of that cave. The last time she entered Another World was when it was still a game. Now, things seemed different. - Status Screen. Nothing. - Private Message. Nothing. - Inventory A small black hole appeared at her side. At the same time, the knowledge about its contents filled her head. - What are those things - Sasha looked at the many game items - such as swords and shields, talismans and scrolls, provisions and so on - and felt her head hurt a bit. She didnt used to play Another World for its game features. What she used to do was to meet old friends and stroll around - that is, when and if she logged in. She wasnt much of an Another World advocate. However, even a total novice would know what a sword and shield were. Sasha equipped herself and prepared to head out. However, at that moment, she heard something. - Jack Jack Hooligan I have been waiting you A disembodied voice said. It seemed as if it came from the walls themselves. - Whos there? Many feelings assaulted Sasha at that moment. Joy for hearing a human. Immense solitude. Anger at having waited for a long time.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. It was as if she was feeling those by herself. As if those feelings were hers own. - No. You are his mother? - The voice said, a little amused. Sasha said nothing. Her eyes showed suspicion. Did this person read her mind or something? - Yes. Yes, I did. *** Marcus woke in the middle of the night. His room was located on the deeper parts of his dungeon at the Goblin Empire. The Dungeon Core shined brightly at his side, while the magical alarm rang. He was inside a Secure Chamber, no one around him. All communication with the outside happened due to his dungeon cores powers. - Whos it? An old and coarse voice left his mouth. Marcus could barely recognize it as his own, but, still, it was what reality insisted on saying him - he was old. Orcs usually lived for a maximum of ten years or so. But that was when they were extremely healthy. A ten-years-old orc would, roughly, be the same as a hundred-years-old human. If Marcus could still answer to the magical alarm from the inside of his chambers, then that was mostly thanks to the many elixirs and life-extending potions he could produce thanks to the dungeons alchemy skill. In fact, had it been not for the utter lack of mana, he would have taken out an Immortality Elixir already. Yes, lack of mana. As much as he extorted people around him in order to gather as much as possible, Marcus couldnt expend it all. He had to make ends meet. Not only would the Four Kings of his empire exert lots of pressure on top of him, the many Nobles under them where an even bigger pain on his ass. At least his Four Kings were orcs as well - from ten to ten years, a change in body was needed. The difference was, they got human ones over twenty years ago. It wasnt an easy process, as their minds had to get used to the slower metabolism and general workings of a human body, but it was doable. - Guerrilla SOT reporting, Your Majesty. Marcus frowned a bit. The fact that his Guerrilla team didnt bring a giant dragon head with them meant all of his efforts were for nothing. Unless Jack was defeated, his main objective would be lost. He couldnt have all the mana he wanted to? Then, the second-best option was to eliminate those who could have it! As long as Jack was dead, the rest of the world would be an easier place to thread onto. - How was the harvest? - Two thousand souls have been secured, sir! Marcus knew that would be a lot less than the actual number. It was sure for the nobles to have snatched a large portion for themselves. What was worse, he had to share the loot with them as well, meaning he would get an even smaller portion! - Good. Send five hundred to the Farm. You can share the rest. - Roger that. Marcus caressed his Dungeon Core. - Only a bit more just a bit more The core shined menacingly, its brightness increasing a little bit as Marcus poured inside every single drop of mana he had. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Intruding Upon Shabe’s Will! Jack sat on his hindlegs and practiced. Through the use of an immense amount of skills like Mana Overflow and Four Heavenly Beasts QiGong, his mana capacity could be increased four thousand times. The world around him twisted and twirled. Rocks turned into dust, and this dust turned into fairy dust. The skies and ocean above were sucked bellow, as if a mystical door had been opened. Jack was at the extremity of the world. Further as he could be from either the Goblin Empire and the Demon Kingdom, in a region collectively known as the Thousand Small Kingdoms. It was unfortunate for the young rulers of those kingdoms for Jack to be doing that kind of thing near their home turfs - as severe changes in climate and terrain were bound to happen - but it was a need. [- Uurgh. Consolidate.] Jack muttered, while accessing the General Administration Panel. It was the highest credential possible. Or at least the highest anyone had ever accessed in Another World. Jack wasnt a programmer and, specially, he wasnt one of the people who had programmed Another World to be as it was. He didnt know the intricacies of the business. But he did know that, the higher in the chain of command one was, the higher another would have to climb to undo what they had done. It would require for the deep code meddling to be much more complex, involving hacking into higher permissions with brute force of mind. His max mana, his max health, his race, his stats, his skills and skill retention, his fairy dust absorption rate and his system permissions. Jack had reinforced everything as much as possible, in order to avoid external influence. He may be lazy, but not a fool. His thirty years of grinding and his joy of having a family to take care of. His brain had developed the needed endurance, and his personality had changed a tad enough for him to do at least what was important. So, all the status and so on from the people around him had been locked in place in the default position. He would have maxed everything out if it was possible, but it wasnt. Even the General Administrator could, at best, temporally decrease ones skills and statuses by a certain amount, change their race, add or remove game elements and other small changes. Back at the Squeam Headquarters, on maintenance days, Shabe himself would unlock features such as adding or removing skills and skill trees, massively increasing or decreasing players statuses and so on. That said, one could be sure that Jack had, possibly, the best protection possible - even against neuromancers. However, being late is better than being sorry. Trouble had come from him, and Marcus probably wouldnt settle until he had what he wanted. Jack felt that he needed to go deeper. Or at least try to. And to do so, he needed to cheat a little. The Consolidate command changed ones statuses and skills to a frozen state. This way, Jack could remain on his highest mana state - as well as his state with the maximum number of skills and buffs possible. However, that was for everything. His exp points, as well as his skill mastery levels and his Health would not budge, even if he grinded a lot or if his body suffered damage. That, however, was a danger in itself - since his regeneration skills wouldnt trigger and his body would keep getting damaged until death. Infinite mana, but with the dangers of a broken gameplay. This kind of command wasnt meant to be used to play, in the first place. It was supposed to be used for testing and to write bug reports. Jack concentrated. His mind-brain connection was as strong as it would get without centuries and centuries of Main Level grinding. He concentrated and looked beyond the General Administrator panel. It was like looking above while using VR googles. However, it brought a huge pressure upon him. Deep Code meddling could be done by forcefully inserting ones conscientiousness into the Deep Code and changing it. However, with an Employee Account, like Jacks, he could rightfully access the moderation and administration permissions and find a way to change the world without being considered a bug. The auto-repair system wouldnt try to undo what he did, as long as it was something the in-game employee panel he had accessed permitted.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Now, his objective was to go higher. Administrators, Moderators, NPC Employees. All were of the same batch in the company hierarchy - people with access to the limited employee interface besides the user interface. Mods were in charge of overseeing gameplay and employee NPCs, as well as player and bug reports. Admins were in charge of receiving the filtered bug and player reports from the Mods and acting accordingly. If it was a bug, then they had to analyze the player logs and try to reproduce it, usually by spawning a temporary employee account with the needed specifics and then proceeding to assign a Mod to get his own neuroset and try to reproduce the bug. No one knew exactly why the admins couldnt just change the skill values on other accounts, instead of having to spawn temporary account. However, they did have a certain power over player accounts - they could change their race, age, equipped items and possessed items or temporally decrease their statuses by a maximum of 30, and their skills by a maximum of 10 each skill. The changes in race and age were something people would receive the benefit of asking for once their monthly automated psychological evaluation asserted that they could do so. Many people wanted to play with non-human races but couldnt due to addiction issues. So, this existed in order for the Admins to be able to deal with the matter. As for the changes in equipped and possessed items, as well as the decrease in statuses and skills, those were meant to be part of a punishment and reward system. Players who had been reported to the mods and indeed deserved punishment could be punished by losing stats, items or skills. As for those who should receive rewards, those would come in the form of items. Then came the mods and admins permissions to change terrain, spawn NPCs and monsters and so on. As long as they werent special items or too large pieces of terrain, mods and admins were free to do so, being able to change the environment to their will. Indeed, it was a must, since the level and game design were on the hands of the admins, after all. Still, the most fearsome permission an Admin could have would be, of course, the one to ask for a player to be banned - either temporally or permanently - from the servers. The request would then be processed by a higher-permission A.I. and the player could then be banned. It was rare, as only blatant cheating would be recognized and lead to banishment, but for those in Another World who wanted to play gods as neuromancers, it was something to look for. Mending and patching the deep code would leave scars which would become part of the game logs, and that could lead to someone simply loosing everything. No one knew exactly what happened to those banished from the game, as only fewer than few had been so long - and all of those cases had happened at the Demon Kingdom. But it shouldnt be something good. However, was there something beyond the General Admin permissions? Obviously, there was. The very existence of higher permissions during maintenance sessions, as well as the player-ban A.I., were proof of such. Jack began to see something. It seemed like raw code. Something like a DOS prompt. There WAS something beyond the General Administrator Interface! However, at that moment, something shook. Jack felt as if he was being observed by a titan. As if the sun had created eyes and decided to pry into the depths of his existence. Everything seemed to be analyzing him. The rocks, the air, the clouds. It was as if god itself had merged with space and time to judge him. Jack stopped looking above. The feeling disappeared, but the fear remained. He hadnt felt any kind of fear in years - his fear resistance skills were maxed out. Still, this time, it was a fear that came from the mind, and not from the brain. It was a logical, cold and totally mental fear - one that surpassed mere reflex reactions from the brain. As if it was a thought, a thought of fear, and not a bodily reaction. Jack smiled a bit, as he felt that he had messed with something he shouldnt have. It was as if he could see the world looking at him - not as intensely as before, and not intentionally, but, still, he could feel how the world itself seemed to have a consciousness. [- Is this. Shabes Consciousness? No Samantha!] Jack looked above again, and that feeling returned. [- Boss Samantha?] The feeling intensified. He felt as if he was useless. As if he was nothing. Did that mean he was right? Jack swallowed his saliva. He had to try. [- Boss Samantha, can you give me higher permissions?] A feeling of amusement permeated the air, and a clear notion of being denied infiltrated his body. It hurt in many levels, as free of malice as it was. The world itself denied him. Due to a thought, his whole being had been denied in consequence. His mental resistance skills were needed. Dearly needed. This time, his brain had been damaged, he was sure of it. [- Thank you, sorry for the trouble! Dissolve!] - The Dragon King hurriedly said, while deactivating the Consolidate command with its counterpart, the Dissolve command. His Mental Resistance and Auto-Healing skills kicked in, and Jacks brain begun auto-repairing itself. At the same time, he lightly touched his face. His eyes, mouth, ears, nose. All were bloodied and broken, as if his skin had been thoroughly dried and his flesh expanded many times, ripping itself apart. Not only that, his internal organs had plenty of tears and bruises, and many of his bones had been reduced to fine powder. [- Shieet. That was phew Couple Telephone] - Couple Telephone. A special item from the Premium Marriage Pack. It created a direct connection between those married. The most interesting thing was its retro design - an old 60s beige telephone. Jack dialed the numbers on the telephone wheel and connected to Elicia. [- Hey, Babe. Remember how we didnt knew what happened to the big boss?] Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Joe, You’re Rocking It! - You can read my thoughts? - Sasha asked to the darkness around her. - Yes - The voice answered. Sasha felt as if a small cyclone had formed on her mind. That was unexpected. A sensation of invasiveness permeated her whole being, as well as a sensation of being insecure and vulnerable. However, she soon steeled herself. What about it? If that person wanted to do something to her, then she would do him back three times! - Brave so different from your son The voice filled the room. Sasha didnt bother talking. As long as she thought, the voice would hear, so she let her half-formed doubts and impressions to the being to formulate by itself. - Yes, I see. Indeed, I can understand you better this way Sasha Hooligan Impressions and feelings traversed Sashas mind. She wanted to know something about this weird shadow, as well as her son. Who was it? Why was It looking for him? - My name is Jonson Anhur. I used to know him. And his wife I was in charge of supervising her dungeon. - Oh, its you. - Sasha blurted out unconsciously, while thinking That stupid casanova who kept playing dumb while trying to hit on Elicia. Joe wished he hadnt listened to that.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. - Yes. - Then, what are you doing here? - Sasha seized the initiative per reflex. It wasnt common for someone to have others reading their minds. If not for her being wary of Joe before, she wouldnt even have remained silent in the first place. - I cannot leave. - Is that so? - Sasha felt some pity for the guy. Had he been alone for thirty years? At the same time, her question was answered before she could formulate it. - I didnt had an account associated with my neuroset I hibernated The cave lit a little bit. - Then, why were you waiting for him? - Sasha wasnt sure what this mans mind had been attached to, but if he had been sleeping, then that was one last thing to worry about. Someone staying alone for thirty years would surely have gone mad already. - I need him to break me *** Marcus lifted his bony hand. - More wait more - He grasped for air. However, he soon couldnt stop himself from doing it. He pushed his hands against the dungeon core and materialized a small bottle with a green liquid inside. He then hurriedly drank it, as if his life depended on it. In fact, his life would become feebler while drinking it, but his brain certainly needed that. A strong rush suddenly took him, and the teethless orc began laughing and snoring. He got up from his small bed and ran around his private quarters. He summoned a few goblin NPCs and destroyed them. He had his fun. Then, as the rush was over, he sat on his old bed again, his eyes blood-red and his mouth fuming a little. As he looked at the dungeons mana count, he couldnt help it but open the dungeon communication channels and scream at his subordinates. - WHERE ARE THE NEW SOULS?! SEND THEM TO THE FARM, NOW! His debauchery with the green liquid was a needed ritual for him. His addiction resistance was very low, and his old body couldnt give him the same rush as in the past. He needed something to quench his thirst. In fact, he waited two or something hours after the new batch of souls arrived, before getting his stuff. It was the second of the day, but as long as his farm produced enough mana, he could do it guilty-free. However, the new souls hadnt been allocated to the farm yet. As a result, a little bit of his mana savings were lost. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Samantha! If one of your friends entered the game, the small friends window would begin flashing. If you were in the game, then that meant you would be able to see it clearly. However, Jack wasnt on the game right now - that is to say, he wasnt looking at his players U.I. So, his mother logging in was something he simply didnt see. Not only that, since he returned to his nest, it would be impossible for him to receive any messages about that. [ - Babe, Im back!] - Thats good! Come and tell me the news already! Jack, having returned to his Red Dragon form, was quickly greeted by his wife. The children didnt come, as they were currently resting. Wyrmlings had an activity-sleep ratio just like grown dragons - except theirs was much shorter. Jack had a sleeping ratio of 1:3600. Elicia had one of 1:50. However, they were exceptions. Elicia counted as an Ancient Red Dragon, while Jack was a Dragon King. Most dragons became more powerful with age, and their sleep-activity ratio increased as well. However, one needed to be aware of what that meant. Elicia, being an Ancient Dragon, should have something like a 10:1 ratio - meaning to sleep 10 years and remain awake for one. However, she as an ancient Red Dragon, so the sleeping period was five times greater than that. As for a young dragon, that should be something like 1:1, that is, one year active for every year of sleep. However, their children were even younger than that. They were Wyrmlings. Dragons could be classified according to their ages. At the egg, they would be hatchlings. Then, after being newly born, they would be wyrmlings. Then young, juvenile, teenie, teen, adult, mature, old, venerable, ancient, legendary and demigod. In a certain sense, Jack could be considered a demigod dragon of the Dragon King race. So, as young dragons had a 1:1 sleep-activity ratio, it was only expected for wyrmlings to have even smaller ones. However, things didnt work quite like that. Wyrmlings had a 0.12:0.12 ratio. So, while young dragons would sleep for a year then remain awake for another year, wyrmlings would sleep for a month and then be awake for another month. However, since they were Red Dragon Wyrmlings, they remained sleeping for five months, instead. In a sense, that was a good thing, since regular Wyrmlings would have become young dragons a long time ago - usually, five years were enough. As Red Dragons, however, the time needed would be five times greater, so, even their eldest, Sandro, which was 20 this year, was only a Wyrmling still. Jack and Elicia had little time to play with their children - twice a year, basically - however, they had been doing so for the past twenty years - quite a fulfilling life. Besides, most of the time they would sleep while their children slept as well, so, it wasnt much of a pain. Indeed, it was their plan to remain doing so while the children grew. They didnt want for them to retrieve their memories so soon, so, making they gain resistances through grinding was something completely avoided. This way, they would be able to enjoy their children for a longer time. As young red dragons, which sleept five years for every awaken year, then, juveniles, which slept ten years, teenies, which slept fifteen, teens, which slept twenty, adults, sleeping twenty-five, mature, thirty at that point, well, then it would be almost sure that the children would have regained their previous lives memories. Still, since they would take around twenty-five years to become young Red Dragons, and then seventy-five to go from young to juvenile if one was to make the math, Jack and Elicia would enjoy their childrens warm for not so long of a time, and they would probably move out of their dungeon in a thousand years or so!The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Regardless, this was something for the future. [- Well, I made a little mess at the Thousand Kingdoms, but I got results] - Samantha is in this world? What about Shabe? [- About that] *** Elicia remained pensative. - She was the air, the water everything? Are you sure hon? [- Yeah, pretty much.] This was a big headache. That made her a goddess if nothing else. An omniscient, omnipotent being which controlled the whole world. Not that Samantha was a bad person, but could they trust her? What did she think about the state the world was in? What about the whole Demon Kingdom and Goblin Empire thing? All their preparations, all the power they had accumulated, all of that would be for naught if their own bodies and mana revolted and attacked them! Indeed, it might be even more dangerous than having nothing! They could only reincarnate or maybe not even that. Could she have control over the minds of those who entered Another World as well? The fairy dust could connect peoples minds with Another World, it seemed to be something like the fundamental particles of the world. Could she do something to peoples minds if she wanted to? Anxiety filled the room. [- So, what do we do?] - Jack said, while leaning against the wall as well. He had been building such a powerful defense, an impregnable fortress, all for the sake of avoiding letting his children and wife be threatened by external influences. Thirty years of sheltering them, all for the sake of living a comfortable life, of never losing the ones he loved again... And now, all of that might have been for nothing. Had he not [Abnormal Emotional State Resistance] and he might have had a fit of anger there and then. - I guess there is nothing we can do. - Samantha sighed, shoulders dropping in the act - is there something higher than what you can access which we can use to avoid being under her? Jack looked at the General Administration Panel. The last time he used his Player U.I. was a long time ago, so he didnt even bother looking at it. [ - There seems to be nothing babe. At last] - Not without leaving the Main Server. [- Yeah.] Another World had a number of servers. The Main One, where they lived, was also the most complex and well-administrated of them. However, there were others. Every time a new Game Patch was added, the Main World would be moved to somewhere else and the old world would be divided into smaller worlds, up for grabbing by the first one which wanted it. Those people would become rightful owners of those small worlds, and, indeed, some of those people had managed to enter Another World and remain there. In a sense, they were like Samantha, capable of merging with the world itself, high and mighty beings which had control over the whole of the fairy dust in there and mold it to their will by writing programs from scratch. Everyone with access to the General Administration Panel could check the state of the old Alternate Squeam Servers and administrate them - however, to the moment, only five of the thirty servers were active, and only seven small pieces of them had someone in charge of them. They had been nicknamed the small worlds or even the perilous worlds, due to the fact that, being of free of the Deep Code Autocorrecting tool, any neuromancer with a minimum amount of skill would be able to remodel the world as they saw fit. They needed only to mess with the connection between the worlds owners mind and their world, and then they would have the whole thing for themselves while the brainless mind would then become inactive - something like a slave to their liking. To the moment, no one knew that Jack could access and administrate these worlds, since he hadnt told them. It would be a big problem if he did - the people at the Demon Kingdom wished nothing more than to connect these worlds to the Main ServerP, and many neuromancers had been consumed to bits under the Deep Code Autocorrecting tool in order to try and reprogram parts of the main servers space to become Teleportation Pads which connected to them, instead of connecting to places inside the Main Server. That not to mention that, by doing so, they would become eligible to be banned! Small-World accessing was a complex topic, and owning one of them was something most people, even if they had the power to do so, would avoid at all costs - since the Deep Code Autocorrection tool wasnt present, those who altered the code to become lords of these worlds would have to defend them by themselves. It was a battle of programming might, in which being the owner did not protect you from getting your mind separated from your brain and trapped as an eternal slave to someone else. The ultimate hacking game! Now, if people were to discover that Jack could not only move people to those worlds by himself, but also administrate them, being able to punish people who used them in the wrong ways according to the Squeam Rules of Conduct and also appoint people to rule those without owners Jack looked at the direction where his highest-level treasury was - which was also where his children slept. He was no master programmer/ white-hat hacker, and didnt want to pay to see if he could overcome a bunch of level 100 neuromancers with extremely high programming skills meddling with the Deep Code with no regards to whether they would be banned or not. Some things should be always kept in secrecy. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Things Aren’t Looking Good! The Goblin Empire got some news. A few spies on the Thousand Small Kingdoms reported Jacks unusual behavior but, at the time the Goblin Empire and Demon Kingdom sent their assault troops, all that happened was for both sides to clash. However, the Kingdoms assault troops were comprised of mostly neuromancers, while the Empires were comprised of max-leveled players. The former had no way to defend against the complex scripts used by the first, so, even though the Empire began with a heavy charge and managed to kill a couple dozen of their troops, the Kingdom laughed in the end - as over two thousand max-leveled Empire troops got killed - while their souls got trapped and brought back to the Kingdom. Still, it wasnt a great achievement. Every single of those dozen neuromancers was worth a whole platoon of max leveled players, so, in the end, it was somewhat of a pyrrhic victory. Unknowingly, Jack had destroyed both the Kingdoms as the Empires assault troops, bringing the shadows of war to a stalemate - the Kingdom wouldnt attack the Empire without their Assault troops, as, even if they managed to breach the Empires protections, they would still need to invade the dungeon and deal with the players inside. The assault team was the one to do the duty, and breaching the fortress without conquering it was a waste of resources. As for the Empire, it wouldnt be able to launch any kind of attacks so soon - its Assault forces were involved in preparing for guerrilla warfare, so, now, the Kingdom would be able to rebuild its troops without fear of being pressured. However, getting new neuromancers was a bit easier than training players to get to Max Level. Not only could Carlos train a bunch of people to become programming monkeys in no time, he also had access to the Real World and a good number of neurosets as well. Training would take a couple years or something, while getting new blood inside could be done almost immediately! As for the Goblin Empire it would take at least a decade to train new people! Of course, the Demon Kingdom had a huge advantage in this case - they could just take the souls of their lost comrades and put them on new bodies, NPC bodies spawned at Carlos dungeon. While Marcus had lost his subordinates souls, and the hard-earned skill and experience of each one of them had was irreplaceable!This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Even if he expended his hard-earned mana on strong NPCs and killed some of his loyal followers near them, in hopes of their minds taking the NPC bodies, it would take a long time for them to adapt to the NPCs skills and optimize their performances! Not to mention, Max Level NPCs were so costly he would end up broke! In his throne room, Carlos smiled while looking at the frozen body of the late Demon King Orloss, whose mind used to be the one of Meredith, the pure and sheltered girl. Victory was in his grasp. The only real question was the price he was willing to pay in order to get it. *** - Im back. - Welcome back. An old man took his neuroset off. Carlos had aged well. His body was still vigorous and he had little white hair. In front of him, a young man prepared some tea, which he heartily drank. - How are the negotiations with the Armenian guys? - They seem to be interested in the deal, but the pictures they sent seem to have been meddled with. We reconstructed the original to our best, but the results were inconclusive. Carlos walked slowly and took a towel while heading to the bath. - Call it off them, and contact Kim. I want to know what is happening. Kim Katagary. Thirty years ago, Carlos worked with him. Now, as both found each other, they had started a business relationship. Kim would give him info on who could have neurosets for selling, while he would intermediate his dealings with contacts while using his Another World influence and power. Generally speaking, it was a very profitable business association between former co-workers. - Also, what about Jacks daughter? - Her grandmother died and she is being held for questioning as we speak, sir. Should we send someone over? Carlos stopped in his tracks, while a huge smile surfaced on his face. - What a heavens-sent do send someone to do something about it. *** - How do I contact him? - I do not know - Why cant I teleport? - You need to destroy me to teleport Sasha was trapped inside Marcus. The old programmer had been, in a certain sense, fortunate. His mind wandered and found a NPC body to enter on. However, that was the body of the Living Fortress - a Late Game NPC which was, basically, a living dungeon which had no masters or core. Unless it was killed, Marcus was bound to be immovable for all eternity - or at least for a long time, since the Living Dungeon was located deeply inside the earth and hadnt been discovered so soon. In fact, had he not been stalking Jack and Elicias secondary avatars, he probably wouldnt have had entered this dungeon in the first place. Jacks puny level 40 avatar obviously couldnt defeat him, and Marcus wouldnt let Sasha go as well. He wanted to be rescued, but he had no guarantees. He might have helped both Jack and Elicia back in the day, but he also abandoned them once things got too ugly. All he needed was for someone to destroy him. It should be enough to have Sasha on a lock-down for a while, right? Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Distress Call! Jack and Elicia expended some time talking about the options they had. Moving to a Small World was out of the picture. They had no confidence on their programming skills - so, the Small Worlds were actually the worst place they could try to go to. Samantha may be a wild card they had to be wary of, but she hadnt done anything of importance until that moment, so it may be better to stay under her. As for the war with the Goblin Empire, both had decided that staying out of it was still the better option. In the end, nothing had really changed - except that Jack had been able to add more mana to his dungeon than the usual. So, both decided on a simple plan. Jack would turn into a hummingbird and sleep as he so much enjoyed. As for Elicia, she would operate the dungeon core and deal with the matters with the people relocation. *** Dreamer was one very peculiar class on Another World. It revolved around sleeping and accessing the game world while doing so, as well as creating small worlds of ones on based on their dreams. These worlds were temporary, but one could say they were basically Small Worlds themselves - only on much smaller scale and still subjected to most of the Main Server rules.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. It wasnt easy to be a dreamer, since it was a high-end class one could only obtain after maxing a lot of skill trees, but it was, nonetheless, extremely powerful. As they slept, the players could basically create a new avatar while also connected to their original avatar. This new avatar would have the form of a small sphere of light, but could assume any other form. Then, inside this new avatar, the dreamer had access to a separate space where it could create the rules based on a certain number of easy-to-understand commands and templates. It was almost as if it was a Small World, but it was still part of the Main Server and couldnt be freely programmed. One had to program this small world according to pre-made templates, like gravity manipulations, terrain changing and so on. The amount of changes and the strength of the Dream Avatar largely depended on the users skill level, which were the ones of Dream Acolyte, Dream Master, Dream Lord, Dream King or Dream Emperor. Above everything, the most powerful capability of a Dream God was to suck peoples avatars inside its own small world, subjecting them to all kinds of environment and so on. Jack wouldnt use this kind of power frequently and, had not being for the influence of Another World on his brain, he certainly would have preferred to just sleep instead. However, he activated the skill as soon as he slept. This way he could keep some vigilance. How surprised was he, so, once Yrwin appeared on his screen: - Master, the Demon Kingdom claims to have your daughter. They want for you to go there personally! Soon, the powerful Dragon King couldnt do but force himself to wake. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’! Marcus had kept tabs on Jack for a long time. As someone who intended to use him for his ascension, alternative methods of motivating the laziest company employee where needed, after all. It was on a friday night, three weeks before the Robin Hood game patch launched. He stalked Jack and Elicia all the way to The Jack and the Rose, planning on getting something good to motivate his co-worker on playing along his small internet show. He intended on having a war with Jack for a while already, since he seemed to be a nice opponent and also the one who would give him the lesser amount of trouble. Not to mention his Goblin Empire was located just at Dragon Kings Island (1), so, it was only natural for him to try and conquer it. The Robin Hood game patch only made things easier for him. That day he came to known Jacks and Elicias player avatars names, and had, since then, kept them on his list of players to search for. After coming to Another World in a definitive manner, then, all of that became even more important for him. He was aggressive and a little mad, but also meticulous and cunning on his doings. Searching for Jacks and Elicias secondary avatars was one of the many searches he did from time to time, a couple of them having given him good results already. *** The walls shook. Sasha had tried her best in order to convince Joe to let her go. For a whole month, all she could do was to talk to him, trying her best to convince him to let her go.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. But now, the walls were shaking. - Its coming youll be free soon Sasha had hope in her eyes as she noticed how everything around seemed to be crumbling little by little. *** Jack Hudderson. Psychanalyst. Psychologist. Psychiatrist. Engineer. VR-Drugs aficionado. His whole career had been built around VR-Drug research, especially on the field of addiction. However, it all had been thrown into the dump once Shabe killed himself. His lifes pursuit, the conscious, entertaining and therapeutic uses of VR-Drugs, was destroyed. For a decade he did nothing but wasted his own life. Until Carlos found him. Then, he decided that, if the worlds governments wouldnt have his research put to good use, then he would do it by himself. Clandestine research. Clandestine mental health. Clandestine neuroset creation and use. His belief was on a world were VR-Drugs could be used to cure mental illness, and Carlos would help him achieve that - by getting funds, personnel and also patients. The only problem, however, was the cost. - Jack Hooligan, ah yes, I remember him - Hudderson evaluated the information Carlos had given him. He would be called from time to time, in order to help Carlos deal with possibly uncooperative individuals he might find. On another words, he was a specialist on threatening people. This was his dirty job. But, as much as guilt haunted him every time he did so, each satisfied smile from a patient which had recovered its life from his treatment and research was a bless. Every e-mail, every dark web forum post, every counter-culture and resistance movement which had his fingers on it - those were the lights which kept his conscience clear. All he had to do was to remember the faces of those he helped. - If Im not mistaken, he had a rather peculiar personality. The best way would indeed be to use his daughter as a trading opportunity, but that would become easier if he could find a way to walk out of the situation later - Dr. Hudderson started his consultancy. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Negotiations! [- Babe, Im off] - Be careful over there. Elicia gave her husband a hug. It would be possible for her to go instead, or for both of them to go. But she didnt have the same level of access to the games programming as him, and there were the children. [ - Here] - Thanks. With a dim glow, the dungeon became hers. If anything happened, at least she could protect the children. Jack turned to his human form. Elicia followed suit, and both shared a few moments of intimacy. It was difficult to show human emotion while being a dragon. Even hugging someone would be a tad difficult. - Go now. Jack smiled. [ - Kicking me from home again?] - Jacks tone was playful as he tried to crack a last-minute joke. - What, no, Id never - Elicias face showed her confusion. [- Hahaha. Just joking babe. Ill be back for you. And for the kids.] - I know. *** Jack appeared at the first floor. Not many people had seen his human form before, so he walked unhindered amongst the wood and stone houses. Most of them were big and beautiful, and there were even green lawns and a small forest with big treehouses for those who liked nature. The most impressive fact, however, was that none of those were made by Elicia. In fact, those were all temporary tenement built by the villagers themselves - as former players and people who had grinded for thirty years, they had more than enough power and resources to re-built their town from scratch thirty times.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. What they didnt had, however, was the power to make the buildings as sturdy and powerful as Jacks dungeon. That was something the Council was discussing with Elicia, and something for the future as well. - Sir, may I help you somehow? Sir? The attendant at the entrance tried to stop Jack, but he just walked into the Councils Chambers. Deterrent and binding spells were activated to trap him, but his stats alone were enough to undo them. - Who are you?! At the Inner Chamber, having been warned by the spells and arrays activation, the Council members readied their weapons and offensive apparatus. Jack looked through the livid faces, and simply waited. It was but a few moments later that someone reacted. - Jack?! - Yrwin blurted out. *** Jack kept his human form while standing amongst two hundred other people. A mass teleportation formation was then activated, and the group disappeared from sight. *** Demon Kingdoms Ambassadorial Outpost City - Meredith. One should be wary of what it meant to be a powerful empire like the Demon Kingdom. It meant being the center of attention and taking all the precautions needed to counter all kinds of plots and attempts at power take-overs by others. It meant to rule, and a ruling kingdom wouldnt let strangers and outsiders enter its borders, even if they came from foreign countries! If you want to visit someone, then knock on their front door, dont just go entering their backyard! There were no excuses. All top-level existences in the game had more than enough power and resources to take a detour and go to the front door if they wanted to talk. And such front door was the city of Meredith - so named in name of the previous Demon Kings real-world name. Meredith was an Ambassadorial Outpost, the one meant for those who had no diplomacy relations to the Demon Kingdom - or those at odds with it, such as the Goblin Empire. Other parties, such as those which had tighter ties with the Demon Kingdom, could then visit the Capital, Demon Kingdom Village, directly. At the pearly, marble-and-gold adorned gates of the city of Meredith, a huge party appeared. A couple of alarms sounded, and soldiers - both NPC and player ones - went to the walls. No further hostilities, however, happened. This was an Ambassadorial Outpost, after all, and such a place had not only been built to be disposable, but also to welcome guests - even if they came armed to the teeth. - Who comes there?! It was the second time in the day Jack had to answer to that question. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit We’ve Got Grandma! Joe felt as his walls were breached and broken. He didnt resist, as what he felt wasnt pain, but great relief. He had been trapped in that place for thirty years. Thirty long years. Even if he had been sleeping for most of the time, it was still a long time nonetheless. The people coming from the outside were mostly orcs and half-orcs. - Marcus? Joe was a bit confused. The old colleague had managed to get in, that he could understand, but why was he still playing house with his Kingdom? He remembered listening to him saying things like I just want to retire and god, how long until Ive made enough to drop this show already?!. Why would he remain being a King if he disliked that so much? Doesnt matter. I can ask him later. - That was what he had decided. For thirty years he had slept in a cave in the middle of nowhere. Not even a single player had managed to get to him, what wasnt that much of a surprise - there were only so many players in the game, and it was a huge game. What benefit was there for people to go to the middle of nowhere if only to search for a late-game NPC to mess with? The original living fortress had no core, no magic properties and no master. Even if it were to be possessed, it would only be as useful as a regular mid-level dungeon. Once defeated, it would produce a certain Quest Item which was needed to unlock the Angelic Demon race. However, there was no need, and no desire, to do so at the moment - even because, the Angelic Demon race wasnt currently habilitated, or even properly designed. Just like many other races programmed to be implemented in future game patches, the Angelic Demon race was one of those that had an entry on the games Deep Code but didnt wasnt properly designed, and those kinds of races wouldnt be playable - in fact, not even NPCs of these races would be found around. Was it really worthy the trouble to look for it? He had been left abandoned. But now, he could finally rejoice as his many layers of absurdly sturdy walls crumbled one after the other.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. *** - Lets go back to the start, shall we? The policewoman in front of her seemed reliable and happy on the outside, its well-proportioned and trained body somewhat resembling the one of a female judo competitor. It was a body that exuded a dont mess with me feeling, coupled with a friendly attitude. Christina felt specially assured in the first hours of interrogation, due to that. However, now, such body weighted on her brain, as the pressure of hours upon hours of being asked the same questions over and over again sipped into her brain. She knew people would try to frame her in all possible ways - news about neo-squeamers killing people were honey in the eyes of most people - the police included, as their station would have a bargain chip to get more founds. We got a neo-squeamer murderer near us. We need more founds, so that wont repeat itself! - Is what most would say. And, for a while, it would indeed work. After all, nothing better for city councilors and other small-scale politicians than to feed on this kind of opportunity. It wasnt like they would frame her. Christina knew it. But they would probe and snitch at every single minimum thing they could find. The hidden neuroset on her grandmothers room was one of them, of course. - You said you didnt knew about the hidden neuroset on your grandmothers room, right? - Yes, that is right. - Then, did you say you knew about the small glue and wood splinters on the ground? That they used to appear when you cleaned her room? - No. - So, you wouldnt find any wood splinters when you cleaned your grandmothers room? Not even when you were scrubbing the floor? Christina felt her eyes getting heavy. Scrubbing the floor? She never scrubbed a floor in her life, what was the point?! - No, I didnt use to clean my grandmothers room, she cleaned it by herself. - Now, thats thats a thing I cant understand right there. This again - Christina couldnt but roll her eyes once the policewoman started with the whole how could your grandmother clean her own room if she was on a wheelchair all the time?! thing. She had a pair of hands and an adapted broom for the daily needs and money to hire someone to clean it when she wanted to! She had never asked Christina to clean her room before! - Now, thats so weird, why wouldnt a grandmother ask her granddaughter for help sometimes are you sure you arent forgetting about something? And the thing went on and on. *** Sasha had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling. Her intuition was telling her that things wouldnt end up well for her, but there was nothing she could do, except wait and watch. Five days later, a small ray of light entered the celling above her head. The Living Fortress had finally been completely destroyed, and her saviors faces could be seen. The green, greedy and aggressive faces with savage grinds would cause anyone to notice that they werent brave knights in shiny armor. Not at all. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Messenger! The city of Meredith. The gates were open, but Jack and his makeshift army waited outside the walls. The scenery was green, surrounded in forests, while the city walls themselves were made of gold-inscribed marble. The prowess of Another Worlds dungeons were indeed amazing! Soon, a man dressed with only a tongue come by. He wasnt a barbarian or anything like that. Indeed, he wasnt even from a high-end class. He was a simple level 5 human male. Skinny and pale, shivering a bit because of the cold. A proof of friendship - someone who wasnt bearing arms. [- And you are?] - Jacks attitude had been dry and hispid. He didnt enjoy being blackmailed, what to say once someone made his long-lost daughter hostage! - Welcome to our Demon Kingdom, Your Majesty! I am Sebas, servant of His Majesty, Demon King Timothy! Jack scoffed a bit. Did that mean they wanted for him to enter the city? To go straight to the capital? He wasnt a fool. The capital was simply the place with the higher amount of neuromancers per square meter in the whole of Another World. They asked for him to come. This much would have to suffice - otherwise, it would be a blatant treat to him. [- And?]This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. - His Majesty wonders if Your Majesty would want to enter the city and meet him on the Guests Palace? - Your Majesty is free to refuse, of course! - The low-level human was quick to add. [- Then, I refuse. If possible, have him meet me here] Jacks tone became milder after the offer. If Timoty was willing to meet him outside of the city, no matter how many arrays and hidden traps there were in the vicinity - those were all too low level. - Of course! His Majesty only asks for Your Majesty to stay alone. This way both may talk freely, without the need for bodyguards. [- Ah, sure, no problem. Guys, wait for me over there, okay?] Jack wasnt difficult to please. After feeling a little graced by Timotys goodwill, his attitude made a complete turn. His tone was still a bit dry, but he wasnt fuming with rage anymore. As his people went away, the messenger made his way back to the city as well. Jack produced a small stool and sat. Now, all he needed to do was to wait. Wait until Timoty came to him. His wait, however, wasnt long. At sundown, a figure walked from the city gates. Behind him one could see a small entourage of people dressed in all kinds of fashion. However, just like Jacks bodyguards, those also stayed at a certain distance. Carlos, in his Timoty avatar, made his way to were Jack stayed. He was an old man now, and, as much as Another World enticed him, he didnt intend to live there, as an immortal or something, for the rest of his days. In fact, dying peacefully was one of his wishes for quite a time already. So, why bother with powerplay against someone who clearly wanted to stay out of the picture? Of course, Dr.Hudderson was of great help, and he would do what he needed for things to go his way. Still, as far as he had been counselled, things may go so well he might not even need to do a thing! Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit At The Police Station! - No, I. aaah - Common Christina. Tell me the truth. If you admit it, then I will be able to talk with the judge, and we may get you a smaller sentence. I know you did it. I just dont know why. Christina had been interrogated for over twenty hours already. A confession was in the making. She couldnt think clearly anymore. She was on the verge of tears, and indeed had cried a number of times already. - Common, no need to cry. We just need for you to say why you did it. Was it because of the thing in the floor? What drugs are you on? I just need you to tell me that. All she wanted was for that to end. - You seem like the kind of girl who would like a kick. Is it Goblinmania? Common Christina, it has been almost a day already, I want to go home as well! Christina didnt intend to give up. She felt like passing out at any moment, but what about it? Compared to being stuck at a bed thinking about how your husband was fucking another woman because you didnt let him stick it on you as he wanted was way worse.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She would endure. She would just endure. Knock. Knock Knock. The policewoman went to the door. On the other side, a man in a black suit practically shoved a bunch of papers on her face. - My name is Thomas Deweney and this woman is my client. Release her immediately! Joe Dew took quite a blow after the whole war with Squeam thing. He was, after all, the one in charge of dealing with the governments around the world. He couldnt but find a quiet place and retire. Dealing with anyone in the world of Law would be impossible after being the one in charge of something like the Squeam lawyer team! That is, maybe not impossible - but certainly not worth the risk, as a single media outburst and he would be over. Still, like a father, like a son. His son followed after his steps on Law and, after a few calls, he managed to get Carlos to hire him. A change in name, a few deals here and there, and the perfect-just-to-the-right-amount little child from a couple of loving parents was juridically established. So, here he was. Not the top brass under Carlos, and definitely not one of the best in the world, but making his way to the top, one step at a time. As for Christina, as she relaxed on the interrogation chair, her whole body became numb and she passed out. She could finally rest a bit, and wouldnt wait a single extra minute to do so. After all, she thought she knew the man in front of her. He had been her familys lawyer for many years! Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit What?! Timoty made his way to Jack, who started to get up from his seat. - No, no. No Need to get up. I shall sit myself instead. Jack listened to him, but didnt care. With as much rage as he was feeling, staying sit when he told him to do so was but an offense! Somewhere in his mind something about reverse psychology passed through as a thought, but he quickly rationalized that with an what if he knew I would think of that?. In the end, being sincere was still the best strategy! - Oh, fine then. Good evening Jack. And welcome to my Demon Kingdom! A little bit of rage bubbled on Jacks throat. He felt an immense desire to punch Timoty in the face right at that moment. [- Where is she?] - She is fine, we helped getting her out of prison and left her at home. Jack was stunned. His imagination had created a whole scenario for what was happening. His daughter would have been held hostage by Timotys men, blinded and bind on some half-lit warehouse. They would threaten him with torturing her, and he would be forced to become their pawn! Worst even - some of the men would have lowly desires and Never would have he imagined that Timoty would instead have taken her out of prison!This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. What was happening? His mind was in disarray! As for Timoty, that is, Carlos he was smiling on his mind, while on the game his avatar remained expressionless. Of course, taking Christina out of prison was a bit too much to believe, but they had indeed taken her out of the police station - and she was more than happy for that! On the real world, Dr.Hudderson showed a wry smile as well. Wouldnt Carlos have done something earlier if he wanted to? Christinas whereabouts were clear for anyone to see, given they searched a bit. In fact, she hadnt even changed her surname. Anyone with a phone book could find her under the Hooligan surname! In a sense, Jack was truly fortunate for Carlos to have been the one managing the entrance and exit of people from Another World for all these years. Had other, less scrupulous organizations, found about Jacks position in that world and managed to lay roots in there, and he might be on a though situation indeed! - Dont worry, we are helping her on other ways as well. She has been very different after her husband left her and her grandmother passed away. My condolences, by the way. Jacks mind took another blow. His mother had passed away? Christina had been married, and her husband left her?! To this moment, he didnt know if his mother was still alive or not. What about Elicias? It was a fact that, somewhere deep on his mind, he expected for his mother to die at a certain point. He and Elicia were aware that these kinds of things would happen to people from the outside world. But now he had news. Concrete news. A deep desire for knowing what was happening outside of Another World was suddenly ignited on him, and, for a moment, he indeed danced on Carlos palm. Fortunately for him, his many mental resistances were able to affect even this kind of non-standard psychological attack - one that wasnt from a skill, but used some of the neural pathways a mind attack skill would. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. On the real world, dr.Hudderson excused himself and left the room. No one stopped him, for that was not needed - Jack was already on the state of mind he had accorded to help Carlos achieve with him. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Dark Underpits of Hell Sasha was readily taken hostage. In fact, there was no way for her to resist. Not with five max-level players present. On one side, she was treated better than expected. On the other hand, she was still gagged, blinded and tied up. The worst part, however, came once they took the blindfold out. War and flames. Blood and gore. The Goblin Empire could be summed up with those four words. From the air, Sasha could see the multiple fighting arenas and shady, green-and-maroon slums. Fires burned openly in the streets, and orc people could be seen walking hurriedly from one side to the other. Further ahead, made of casted iron, a big wall separated the common folk from the upper echelons of power. There, imposing houses with pointy and aggressive architecture housed private fighting arenas and open-air punishment poles. Further ahead still, a great mountain seemingly touched the skies. Its massive doors, over a kilometer in height, were made of unknown metal with intricate and beautiful carvings - completely dissonant with the rest of the city, except for the fact that, once one entered them, palaces and skyscrapers had been erected on a disorderly and seemingly chaotic manner. Some hanged from the walls, other elevated from the ground until reaching the ceiling, while some were a mix of both - started from the ground, leaned on the walls, and then rose. Between the buildings, a number of bridges and roads could be seen, and people walked in then. There were no clear signs of degradation, violence and blood, but everyone in the place walked while protecting their own backs. Have so many people come to Another World?! - Sasha thought, her mind in disarray. From what she knew, the number of people who committed suicide in order to ditch reality and come to live in Another World permanently shouldnt be above fifteen million, even in the worst-case scenario. Had every single one of them come to live in the Goblin Empire?This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The truth is that many of those people, indeed, had ended up living in the Goblin Empire - be because they liked the trill or, most likely, by having their minds stolen in wars and raids. In fact, every since they discovered how neuromancy worked, the people from the Goblin Empire had been taking every single soul they could and forcefully inserting it on their Empire, as citizens. Over the course of three decades and through countless skirmishes and small wars, almost eight million souls ended going through this small island - while the remaining three or four million remained scattered through the continent. Of course, those wars didnt happen against other player-controlled kingdoms. Had this happened, and Carlos would have surely intervened. Rather, they happened through constant and unending NPC massacre through Another World. For every thousand NPCs killed, be it beasts, demons, humanoids or whatever, maybe one or two player souls would then be found amongst them. Just like happened with Yrwin, Raphael, Max and Lillian when they first arrived into Another World, most of the players went through bad times while trying to reach somewhere safe - and almost all of them died in the process, being reborn as memory-deprived NPCs. It was only through constant war, bloodshed and massacre that those peoples souls could be harvested. Carlos, by his time, would trade with Marcus using these souls as currency. In fact, most neuromancers from the Demon Kingdom wouldnt use mana as their currency, but souls! As the Orcs and Half-Orcs of the Goblin Empire desperately needed expert neuromancers in order to change their bodies from time to time, and the Empires own neuromancers were forbidden to do so - in order not to become targets of banishment in case of war -, the only option was to pay the Demon Kingdom for the service. This way, the Kingdom managed to take around two thirds of all souls that the Goblin Kingdom managed to gather, meaning that, from the eight million souls they gathered, only around three million remained in the Empire. The rest had become property of the Demon Kingdom. Still, three million people, plus the NPCs they had as slaves - all living in a small island, no more than a couple hundred square kilometers wide. Had it not been for the fact that Jack had hollowed the entire Dragon Kings Island mountain while lazily looking for gold and gems, and there wouldnt be enough space for even the players to live on, what to say about their NPCs. In fact, even on the Mountain, the populational density was above twice the one of Beijing, while on slums outside it peaked at thirty times as much. As Sashas transportation - a mid-sized green dragon - went deeper and higher inside the mountain, all she could think was that she definitely didnt want to live in that kind of place. Ever. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Let’s Negotiate! [- Ah ah, yeah, I am! Thank you for helping with Christina!] Jacks mental defenses were down. That is, not his skills or brain defenses. His defenses in relation to who Timoty was and how to deal with him. That previously cold and dangerous Demon King now seemed like a nice guy who had given him numerous precious gifts, free of charge. He even helped his daughter in the real world! - Thats good! I would like to talk to you for a bit, would you listen to me? [- Sure. Here, lets sit.] Jack produced a simple table with two chairs. - Thank you. Let me help in some way as well. As Timoty seated, he produced a tea set on top of the table. The atmosphere became pleasant. - Thats better. [- Yeah, thanks.] - Jack seated on his chair, facing Timoty. However, at that moment, that mans face changed. New information reached him through telepathy, and he had to change his approach. It would benefit him, but he had to show a worried expression, else Jack may interpret him wrong. - Jack did you have a spare account to Another World? Have you been checking it? [- My old account?] - Jack immediately looked to his Player Interface. His eyes opened wide.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. - I see you havent I have just been informed of something. [- Who who is using it?] - Im not sure, since I dont know what happened to your old neuroset, but I have some people on the Goblin Empire, and it seems like Jacks Inbox flashed a bit, and he listened to the common sound of a message. A video message. *** Marcus old and ugly face could be seen on the screen. His eyes were bloodshot and his lips cracked. His skin was barely clinging to his bones, and his ears and nose were disproportionate to the rest of his face. - Hey Jack. - Marcus smiled grotesquely. - Guess what. The old Orc pushed a young mans black hair upwards. Its face was one Jack knew well. His old avatar. - This pall here was stuck on a cave in the middle of nowhere. Now, I dont know who is in here Marcus shook the persons head. - BUT I CAN FIND IT IF I WANT TO! His saliva exploded all over the place, and Marcus didnt care to wipe it off. - So! Why dont you come over, eh? And bring me your Dungeons crystal with you. I dont have much time, so be quick with it! *** Timoty waited until Jack stopped seeing the message. [- How did you know about that? Are you working with him?] Timoty sighed. - I have people on the inside. Dungal and Tito, more specifically. But they just told me about that now. Dungal and Tito were two of the Four Kings Under One Emperor. Jack looked at him, his face showing distrust, but not as much as before. [- Where is my daughter?] It was as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on his shoulders. - Here, you can see her live. Timoty gave something to Jack. It was an IP number. Computers and the internet in general had been mostly banned from the Real World, but some people - like Carlos - had his means. Jack connected to the small camera the number was connected to. In front of him, a young woman was sleeping on the couch, next to a television. Jack, however, had no way to be sure that the girl in there was, indeed, his daughter. The only thing he could look for was the resemblance she had with Elicia. This realization brought some tears to his eyes. [- Fine. Can you help me, then? I suppose you want to get rid of Marcus, right?] - It would be my pleasure! Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit the Big Gamble! - Wont you come and congratulate us, boss? - We cant let he be alone with you, Your Majesty, not in your present situation! Marcus fumed as he heard the words coming from the mouths of two of his four kings. They had been waiting for a long time in order to get him out of his hole. He looked at his dungeon core. If he was killed, then it was all for grabs. He could do a thing or two, but if he failed, then Marcus had never been much of a gambler. He hated shooting in the dark the most. What are the odds?, What can I do to ensure I can win?, Is it worth it?, those were the kind of thoughts that flooded his mind most of the time. Still, sometimes, and this was one of them, one needed to gamble. With a heavy heart, he then placed his hands on his Dungeon Core. He made no sounds. Saying out loud what one was doing wouldnt be of any help for him at the moment. However, he still activated a spell. A dungeon spell called Immortal Soul. As long as he remained as the dungeons master, his soul would be connected to it and his body would be but a vessel for his will.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. It was a regular dungeon skill, so no ban could be issued by doing so. The only problem, though, was that, if his body was killed, then the dungeon would immediately reform it right beside its core - at the cost of a lot of MP. As the big rock in front of his cave lift up, the four kings entered his chambers with a tied-up hostage being held by two of them. They frowned as their noses went numb. The half-lit room smelled like it hadnt been washed up in years. Garbage could be seen at the corners, and a rotting stench came from Marcus himself. The Emperor wasnt in his best condition. In fact, his loose skin and yellow teeth made the Kings think on methamphetamine addicts from the real world. Not a pretty sign to see. Still, it was not the time to strike. Not yet. - Give me him. Give me! The far-reaching, scheming emperor hastily took the prisoner on his hands. Forcing him on his knees, Marcus started the videocast option. A few threatening words later, and he tossed Sasha on the ground. - Prepare for battle. We take that damn dragon out today! Fighting against Jack was madness. All of the Kings knew it. Not only to mention that they had to go to great lengths in order to deal almost no damage to him the last time, only lasting because the Dragon King had to logout after a bit - giving them just enough time to finish emptying his treasure trove - he now was also a Max Level player. Now that they had no easy means to do it and treasure wasnt his focus - in fact, had it not been for his treasure, Jack wouldnt even mind giving this hollowed mountain to then in the first place - wouldnt they suffer? No matter. Their blades were ready. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit A Quick Battle! [- Babe, Im home!] - Eh? Already? Elicia was taken by surprise. Less than a day had passed by ever since Jack had left for his meeting with Timoty. Leaving the pile of stacked documents in her working desk, she took her original form and came to see him. - Im glad youre safe hon! Ah!... Someone accompanied him. His old avatar, and there seemed to be someone inside of it. -Im glad to see you, Elicia. It has been a long time. - Sasha said, while looking at her with kind eyes. The dragon empress was a bit confused. She, as well, didnt use to look at her player U.I. Therefore, she didnt had a reason to expect for Jacks old avatar to return. [- This] - Jack put his hand behind his head. How would he explain to her that his mother had returned, while her own parents hadnt? ***Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Dragon King Island (1) - A few hours sooner. [- So, all you need is for us to invade first, right?] - That is right. Just create some mayhem and breach their defenses. We will take care of the rest. Carlos was jubilant. In just a few moments, he had gained the most adequate ally possible. Differently from most people, he did know how OP Jack truly was. Max Stats from birth, 10x EXP gain, a bunch of special racial talents, skills and resistances. If not for the fact that Jack himself didnt want to do a thing in the world but enjoy his gold, and this would have been the worst possible NPC in the game. - Lets go folks! - Raphael said, while holding high his treasured sword - the World Eater. - Do you really need to make this kind of show? Youre not even going to use it, why hold it high like that? - Tsc, what do you know, little hag? Swords are a mans passion! Thirty years had made these two into nice frienemies - always bickering with each other, never coming to any real treat. As for Jack, he breathed in deeply while looking at his former island. The place seemed way worse than when he first lived there. He now had a decision to make - or, rather, he had already made it. Steeling his heart, reasoning that all the dead would reincarnate and live better lives, he started to gather mana around himself. The old dungeon had once put a curse on him, but that was easily removed after he reached a certain level of power. It was now time to end this dungeon, once and for all. As his dragon breath descended, no more could the 200 newly-appointed Administrators behind him keep him hidden. Like that, the dungeon force field collapsed and lives were lost. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Treason! - WHAT WAS THAT?! - Marcus had had to entertain his guests for a while after receiving his new hostage. At the moment, the Four Kings were still inside his private quarters, discussing trivial matters with him. Then, the cave shook. The Goblin Emperor ran to his Dungeon Core as fast as possible. - HE CAME! THE IDIOT! THE BASTARD! - Marcus fumed from his mouth as he saw millions of lives being clamed in a single moment. Jacks breath attack had covered the whole of the island, plus a few kilometers into the sea. All of those outside of the mountain had been instantaneously killed, and the sea water was boiling. Millions of NPCs, and a few hundreds of thousands of players lives as well, all lost! He rowed with all his feeble power, while also realizing the greatness of his mistake. The old Dragon King was way more powerful than he was before, and seemed to be enraged this time. - No matter, no matter, no matter! - Marcus repeated while continuously searching the Dungeon Cores screen. Finally, he then reached the one thing he wanted. Demon King Guardian Dragon. A demon as strong as Jack himself!Stolen story; please report. This was his hidden ace, the most destructive and powerful card he could play! And also the reason why he so desperately hoarded mana. By summoning this unexpected creature, Marcus should be able to at least heavily injure Jack. Then, it would be a matter of making him bleed until death. What if he was absurdly strong? He had millions of players at his disposal, and now of all times they surely wouldnt mind listening to his orders! The mana he had so painfully stacked over the years was barely enough to summon this creature, but he could already taste the sweetness of Jacks own dungeons mana. Once he killed the main boss, then only Elicia and a few thousands would need to be taken care of. His bony, shaking finger pressed the command button, and an spectral form started to take shape outside. It was bigger than Jack even, with almost two kilometers of size. Its color was black, and its skin had been patched with enormous pieces of dragon scales. - Hahaha. HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! - Marcus laughed maniacally. His victory was certain, or at least so he thought. A few moments before completely materializing, the faulty last-hour creation of a certain moderator nicknamed Joe stopped moving and froze in the spot. [ - Undo.] A special NPC included in the game by a game moderator at the last minute. It''s summoning formula was simple, and the employee authority used to add it to the game was the weaker one possible. In front of Jack, the General Administrator, it was the same as nothing. And so, the mighty Demon King Guardian Dragon turned in a puff of smoke. As Marcus looked at his screen, denial written all over it, his limbs stuck in place, two of the Kings behind him died at the same moment. They had plenty of bugs purposefully installed at their avatars, so a simple evocation the Auto-Correct Tool was enough to undo their whole beings into nothingness. They died without uttering a sound, while Marcus himself only realized what happened after seeing his own lifeless body falling to the side. The battle had been won before it even started. Sn W would be proud. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Life in The City! Jack walked the streets in a white suit. At his right, buildings of all kinds aligned in a row. And at his left, his wife Elicia, dressed in an elegant night dress. Labyrinth Citys life bustled with excitement and sensational attractions. Merman prepared all kinds of sea foods at the lakeside, cat-people jumped and danced around, and the strong roars of a lion-men heated up the military parade. Soon, fireworks illuminated the area. - Mommy! Mommy! Pietro hit me! - No, I didnt! Liar! The little wyrmling Sandra ran to her parents while in her human form, while Pietro, the middle brother, tried to find a way to avoid being punished. Sandra had been around for only a little time - speaking in dragon years time, of course. She had been born around ten years after the war against the Goblin Empire, so, she was the youngest - fifteen years younger than her middle brother, Pietro. - Calm down you two. We arent children anymore, behave! At that moment, a young lad apparently no more than 15 made his debut. He wore a set of pants which resembled jeans and a loose white shirt on top. Had it not been for the gold watch in his wrist and the few golden rings in his fingers, and people would think he was a player eccentrically working on the docks or something. Sandro, being the older of the three, didnt had much to do besides watching his brother and sister and making sure they behave. A total of 110 years had passed since the war. Sandro, being 130 this year, was already a fresh Teenie, while Pietro, at 115, was still a Juvenile Red Dragon. As for Sandra, being a little over 100 years old, well, she could be considered a Juvenile as well. Truth be said, none of the three could be considered to be completely out of the children classification. Still, the Great Years in which a dragon jumped the bridge to another level were very important, as they would receive a big boost in strength, intelligence, and all other aspects.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Jack and Elicia smiled complacently. - Mom! Say something, please! - Sandro said, while looking at both his brother and sister. - [ Ah, dont worry son, its all fine, its all fine! I will see what to do with your brother once we get back home, okay?] - mom, please? Jack looked at the skies, wondering why his children had no respect for him. *** - Ladies and gentlemen! - At an elevated platform over the lake, the figure of a middle-aged man could be seen. His smile was alluring while he looked at the people under him. - At this date, a hundred and ten years ago, we, proud members of Labyrinth City, were properly rewarded by Her Majesty Queen Elicia with the benefit of being perpetual owners of the first 18 levels of this Dragon Kings Dungeon! Cheers and applause rang all around, while Jack scratched his head. Wait wasnt I that gave them the titles and stuff? - I know, I know! Ever since that day, our town has prospered monumentally, no Empire or Kingdom ever daring to lay their eyes on us! Isnt that because I got Carlos to sign a Mutual Protection Pact with me ? - And that is why, on this eleventh Labyrinth Independence Day, we celebrate to our hearts content! Let the Labyrinth Independence Day begin! Yrwins speech ended in a small blaze of glory, soon overshadowed by the loud chit-chat of the crowd. Jack sighed at this moment, a small gust of wind coming out of his mouth and blowing some of the leaves out of the ground. - Whats the matter hon ? - Elicia asked, while wiping Sandras mouth with a piece of cloth. - [ Ah, every decade I feel like people have forgotten me more and more.] - Well, if you want to, then I can let you set todays business. You just need to take the Dungeon back, how about it? - Elicia said with a somewhat stiff smile on her face. - [ Ah haha, I just remembered! Today is the day the sell those Dragon King Skewers isnt it? Ill be right back!] It was Elicia who sighed this time. Her husband could be a lot of things, but a hardworking man surely wasnt one of them. Indeed, on these past 110 years, the only time he did something other than feasting, digging for gold and strolling around the city was at the 100-years-celebration party, when Yrwin asked them to be part of a parade around the 18 floors. And even then, he only laid back on his chair! All of the work of managing the Dungeon had been on Elicias back for a hundred years already. - Lets go. Momma has to go meet Uncle Yrwin. - Okay! - Sandra was the first to answer, while Pietro followed suit. - Sandro, are you coming? - The little man looked at his fathers running direction and a glint of contempt could be seen - Sure, right now. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit ‘And There Was an Old Woman…’ Sasha walked resolute through the dirty roads. Her eyes were like those of a fierce beast, and her desires those of a simpleton, wishing for nothing more than food, drink and a roof. It was a dangerous combination, since such a person would ignore everyone and everything in its path. Nobility ? Gold? Luxury? Lustful flesh, ready to be enjoyed ? Its favor could not be brought, and it could not be reasoned with. - Make way! Lord Becket is passing through! Make way! - Said a strong-looking half-elf. Contrary to the delicate appearance typical to those of this race, this warrior carried a big mace on his belt and showcased strong muscles. Behind him, a carriage with the Imperial Seal could be seen, probably holding someone of importance inside. - Get out of the road, all of you! All the way, I dont want to see even a single one of you rats near His Lordship! Had the warrior kept his mouth shut and his arms close to himself, and Sasha, used to traveling on the sides of the road, wouldnt have even been seen. Instead, in a hurried desire to show value, his hand violently smacked her shoulder. It is a weird sign, what happens when an ant tries to push a walking elephant. The first thing is that the said ants hand and forearm make a weird sound while smacking backwards. Its not like they necessarily have been crushed or anything. Its like when someone stumble their pinky on the furniture. Usually said person will at most stop for a bit and curse in pain. However, if the angle is wrong, then the pinky might break. Now, lets look at what was happening when our long-eared ant smacked Sasha on the shoulder. She was walking at normal speed, with her back straight and eyes focused on the horizon.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The ant was in front of her, and made a full motion from his left to his right side, intending to shove her far away from the streets. Everything happened so fast. The mans wrist was pressed strongly against Sashas shoulder while she simply stepped forward. All of his bodyweight being hold by these small bones and tendons. Then, the angle changed so slightly - not enough for him to slip by, but also not enough for him to lean on Sasha. Well, if only he wasnt around a head taller than her. If only he didnt choose to put so much strength into that. It was like trying to drill a hole in a wall with a punch, and then the wall moving ahead a tiny little bit. His elbow couldnt adapt in time, so his shoulder loudly popped. Indeed, with the circling motion he did in order to hit her with full force, that wasnt a surprise. A crackling noise ensued, and the elfs muffled scream came right after. Sasha didnt mind it. As for the elf, there were too many freaks in this world. Being a native and not a player, he knew about it very well. - Damnit, out of the way! With a painful expression on his face, the ant ignored the elephant and kept shouting to the other ants around him. As for Sasha, she didnt feel a thing at all. The passing wind and the elfs broken shoulder - from her point of view, both had around the same amount of impact. *** - Bed and food, please. - Sasha put a few coins in the table as the Inns owner came to take her orders. - Right up. - The innkeeper answered, while taking the cash and storing it on his pouch. A few moments later, a young lad with silken hair approached, a tray of food in his hands and a look of curiosity in his eyes. - Herere your orders miss. - Thank you. Unfazed by the young boys stare right next to her, Sasha slowly ate her meal. - Say, miss Sasha couldnt bother to look up. - Are you an adventurer? Or maybe a player? The boys eyes gleamed with hope. - Yes. Sasha ignored him, while finishing her meal and drinking the low-alcohol beer in front of her. - Then, can you tell me how to become one?! - You already are. - E eh? The boys head tilted to the side a bit, but his hesitation ended once he realized the meaning of her words. - Oh, you mean a players soul? The people at the Temple say the same, but I dont remember my past lives, so - That may be for the best. - Re really The boys gleaming eyes lost their brilliance, a little bit every time Sasha gave him one of her answers. - Then, can you tell me how to become an adventurer?! - In a final bolt of courage, the boy said. - Just kill things until you die. - Sasha got up from her chair, heading for her room right after. The boy, by his time, couldnt do a thing about that. Downtrodden, he marched back into the kitchen. - Robinson, what did I tell you?! Dont go around bothering people like her! Its not our place to do so! - The innkeeper lectured his son, but it was clear that he didnt really meant it. In the end, he himself also wanted nothing more than to gain a players favor. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit the Lair! Jack threw himself at a gold powder hill. Being in his Red Dragon form, his body barely felt comfortable at such bed. [- Say babe, what about the kids?] - What do you mean? As he reclined and enjoyed the soothing feeling of having his scales covered and lightly sanded by the fine powder. [- Didnt Sandro give me a weird look back then? I think he might be facing some issues.] Jack might be lazy, but he was a maxed-level player nonetheless. - It should be because his memories are too close. [- Doesnt he intend to slow down the process a little bit?] - it doesnt seem like it. Elicia stared at her nails while polishing and sharpening them at a big adamantite slab. [ - Babe.] - Jack said, while getting up from his pile and coming closer to Elicia. - What is it? [- This whole thing] - He gently touched her right wing with his own, to which Elicia answered with a perplexed look. - Seriously?! [ - What?] - Its been over a hundred years, and youre still not used to the idea of the kids growing their own wings and leaving the house? They were players like us in the past, Jack! We cant have them ignorant of their own past forever, just to enjoy them a bit more! Jacks eyes became complacent. - And dont give me that look. Im fine with that. We had a good time raising them, but thats it. Everyone has to go someday. Also, it would be awful to let them ignorant of their own past. Everyone who reincarnates should have this kind of opportunity its a shame that they dont. [ - ] Jack remained expressionless for a bit. However, his eyes betrayed his thoughts. Seeing that, Elicia couldnt but sigh. - Come on, say it. [ - They dont have to go, you know? We have everything we need right here! Plus, the world outside isnt even so good.] Elicia sighed again. - You need more experiences. It isnt easy to read a dragons expression, but both had had enough time to learn how to. In the end, even big red lizards had facial muscles and body language that could be learned. - Youve been inside this place for too long. Youre not changing, not going forward. Youre sticking to the past too hard, you know? [- Yeah] - Comme on, dont make that face. You know what Im saying is true. When was the last time you expended time outside? Talked to someone who wasnt us? [ - I dont know maybe a decade or something.] - See? You need to change airs a bit. How about roaming outside for a bit? A couple months at the South Beach Dukedom could make you feel good. Maybe even start new friendships.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. [ - I dont feel like it.] - Hon, what are you running from? Jack stopped on his tracks a bit, and then sat on his gold bed. [ - That thing with Amanda. I dont like it.] Elicia looked at him with compassion in his eyes. - You know those kinds of things are inevitable. Plus, we have been together for a hundred years. Dont you want to meet new people? [- If I go out with someone, then Ill have to let you do it as well. I dont want to.] - Still. - Elicia closed on him and sat at his side - Youve fallen in love more than once in this century, and I have also as well. [ - Yeah, I know] - Jacks expression was sour, jealousy written all over his face. - And you did nothing about it. - Elicia turned to her human form, and then hold one of his front claws. [ - As I hope you havent.] - Jack looked downwards, towards his lover, friend, companion, partner and wife. - I didnt. Because I decided not to. - Elicia sat on his side, soon to be followed by Jack, now on his human form as well. [ - I asked because I cant have it. I cant stand the idea of you seeing other guys, what more to say sleeping with them]. - That, and other things as well. - Elicia reminisced. Her first time falling in love with two people at the same time actually happened when she met Jack, many years ago. At the time, she was dating another guy, and just happened to fall in love with him. A lot happened, but in the end, she ditched her previous boyfriend and choose to stay with her now husband. Then, a few years after coming to Another World, she fell in love with another guy. At the time, he was higher-leveled than them, and she and this guy talked through messaging every time the grinding process became unbearable and the abnormal status piled up to a degree in which it was better to stop, take a break, and then resume grinding. They never went further than that, and Jack was aware of what was happening. He was sad, and angry, and a lot of other things. But he couldnt blame her. She was faithful, she was still a great friend, lover, partner she just happened to have feelings for someone else, someone who didnt care about she being with Jack and also didnt care about she never meeting him personally. It was almost as if both were in love with each others minds and personalities, not their whole beings. The worst part, however, was that many good grinding techniques and ideas came from him himself. Jack also used them, and, at a certain level, they owned him one. Jack couldnt take it. He couldnt endure it. He almost decided to drop everything and spend the rest of his days alone. And then he himself fell in love with someone else as well. The girl felt something for him, and he felt something for her. They talked a few times, but as soon as he noticed what was going on, he fled the scene and never again went beyond saying hi to her. All the time, Elicia shared her feelings with him, and he shared his with her. Little by little, he started to accept that, in a relationship, theres not such a thing as true love can only happen between two people. However, he still didnt want to go further than accepting that those feelings could exist, and that she may still love him, even after starting to have feelings for other people. They didnt have to, right? No much later, Elicia and the guy stopped chatting so much. It had died for both of them, but she and Jack were still going at it. There was a thing between both, and that was renewal. They would renew their relationship from time to time, and it was thanks to that that Jack created the guts to become a father. His three kids had been born in common accord. They shared the Premium Marriage Pack. Elicia wouldnt become pregnant or be able to have relationships out of the pack unless both agreed to. Their children were born, the world saw chaos with the Goblin Wars, a hundred years passed in a flash. They were still together, but they were also still vulnerable to feeling more than apathy in front of other beings. Vulnerable to love. [- What do you mean?] - I like you a lot, and you would feel pain if I were to do this kind of thing. So, I dont. [- Thanks] - Youre welcome. - Elicia then rose from the gold pile - however Jack waited for the answer. - If you keep running from things, they will only become worst with time, you know? Jack looked to the ceiling. He knew it too well. The first girl was still alive and lived on the third floor of the dungeon. She was a small temptation, a small voice in his head constantly asking what if. The same with a couple others, and with this last one as well. As time went by, the temptation rose, and his mind had less and less space to shove this whole matter down the drain. [- Yeah] - Im going to grab something to eat. Want to come with me? - She asked, while walking towards the rooms massive door. [- Sure. Lets go.] Husband and Wife. More than lovers, friends or partners. Those are the ones who build love by learning how to feel good and well by being besides each other, living together and doing things together as well. Passion may pass. Lust will fade with time. Excitement turns into routine. Still, to learn to desire without lusting, to fell attracted without being passionate, to enjoy everything as if it was the first time. This is what marriage is about. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit A Desperate Attempt! Robinson stood right in front of the door to Sashas room. He had resolved himself. His hands trembled, but, as soon as he was about to knock, the old womans voice could be heard. - Dont do it. Im not interested. His cheeks turned red, and his eyes swollen with tears. He wasnt a woman, the adventurer inside the room wasnt a man. Still, he had decided he would do anything in order to achieve it. In order to achieve player status, the so-sought immortality. Of course, no player would be truly immortal. However, as long as someone reclaimed their past lives memories, then they would have a great chance of finding immortality. In fact, reclaiming ones past lives memories was the first step to be recognized as an official adventurer. Ever since the time of the Goblin War, very few of those who werent adventurers at the time managed to do climb into the rankings and achieve that by themselves. After all, the Demon Kingdom had rewarded its players with souls for generations. Souls which were used for all kinds of purposes - which meant they soon became spread through the NPC population and then degenerated further into pseudo-players, that is, people who were born from NPCs but had souls. People like that still came into existence every single day. Their lives would be doomed to be solitary and hard, as most real players would, at most, take one of them as servant. Who would want to groom a pseudo-player into a proper one? They had enough problems raising their own ranks already! For this reason, Robinson decided to give his all. If Sasha wanted his soul, then he would give her his soul. If she wanted his body, then he would give her his body. If she wanted his mind then he would give her his mind. His attire was simple and his body smelled of fresh soap. Who knows? Even something like selling himself wasnt too much. As long as he managed to get her help, even if it was just with a magic item or something, then that would be enough. However, his offer had been denied even before he could do it. For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to be a woman, and for Sasha to be a man. It would be so much easier!, or so he thought. His feeling was, indeed, of being totally inadequate. A woman craving a boys body. It happened in the past, but it was definitely something rare. Way more difficult than a grown man craving a girls. Still, he did it. Or, at least, he tried to do it. He was denied even before trying. Looking at his feet, Robinson found himself shaken. He found himself to be silly, stupid, ridiculous even.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Still, it was all he had to offer. And being all he had to offer, he decided nonetheless to try and go on with it. Even after being refused. Even if it was humiliating and silly. His hand raised a bit in the air, and he knocked in the door. *** - Ive said - Sasha told him, door still closed - that Im not interested. No matter what you want to give me, just go away and let me sleep. Then, he knocked again. This time he got no answer, except for silence and indifference. Then, he knocked again. And again. And again, again. And so on, for an entire night. At dawn, his father appeared at the corridor, his eyes red with bags under them. - Thats enough son. She wont do it. - The innkeeper held his sons hand, gently hugging him afterwards. - Shhshh its fine now its fine. Shame. Embarrassment. Robinson cried and cried, his face buried on his fathers chest. As for Sasha, she left as soon as Robinson knocked in the door, her head covered on the old mantle, her steps as unmerciful as always. Behind, she left nothing. Not even a note or single word of advice. These kinds of situations were all too common for her - besides, what she said was indeed true. As long as someone with a soul were to kill a lot of other beings, the exp they gained would in turn open space for them to grind skills and get stat points. Allocating stat points was a tricky thing, since they would need a Neuromancer to help them with it, but those could be found for hire at every major metropolis. The price was exorbitant, but what in life wasnt? Besides, as long as the player wasnt stupid, they would surely apply their first 30 levels into Intelligence in order to become able to at least access the character menu. At that point, they would be able to both work for others charging an exorbitant price, and keep on grinding. Surely, 30 levels werent easy to grind. Not at all. In Another World, at the time of the Great World Purge, getting 30 levels would make one a medium or even high-leveled player. But that was both in a death-with-no-consequences environment as well as a Im playing two hours a day and thats a lot environment. On another words, if one was brave enough to face danger in search of fortune, it was possible to become a neuromancer in 50 years or something - getting 10 levels in the first year, and slowly grinding the next 20 over the course of five decades. After all, it wasnt easy getting levels without increasing ones Stats, and even when they had enough money to pay for a neuromancer, they would still need to invest it all into intelligence. Sure, some, for one reason or another, would just give up on becoming one. Those people usually had their own agendas, and choose, for one reason or another, not to pursue immortality, fame and fortune. Most did. Or at least, most of those who had the guts to face life-and-death situations every day. As many levels a regular adventurer apprentice grinded, a single goblin arrow could easily end his miserable life. After all, not having access to the Character Menu meant it was impossible to unlock skills, increase stats, unlock elementary skills, or any other action which could be used to increase ones own strength. 50 years of work, and thats if they didnt die. Most of this time, the apprentice adventurer would have to live of menial work which gave little to no exp, while also trying to save money for the future. It was no wonder most people decided to abandon the dream of pursuing immortality. Unless they had a teacher, of course. Being under the belt of a true, full-fledged Adventurer would mean the chance of getting to level 30 in less than a year, in some cases! They just had to contribute a little bit on all big kills, and they would rocketeer all they way to the moon! For some, it was worthwhile to give up on everything and try to curry favor. For most, indeed, as the life as a regular person was too mild for the tastes. However, that didnt make the experiences of those with resolve to drop everything less painful - especially after being rejected. Offering your all, getting nothing in return. The innkeeper knew the feeling very well, and now his son had experienced it by himself. Only one of those deep sufferings of life, which no one has the courage to talk about. Those who steam from things so silly and small, so ridiculous, but hurt so much. Sasha walked on the streets and found herself a new place to sleep. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Are You My Son? Jack wobbled a bit on his way to the Grinding Hall. His dungeon had many levels, and his family lived in the last ones. Recently, his sons and daughter had asked him and Elicia for some private space, so they got their own levels to manage as well. Indeed, Sandro even had a small Dark Elf village on his domain. Elicia and Jack were against it at first, but after seeing how the small ones lived in the middle of a beast-filled wilderness, they allowed for it. However, most of the dungeon was still inhabited by beasts only. Beasts which would constantly reproduce, spawn and re-spawn. Then, after a long while, once the dungeon was filled to the brim with the most powerful species, Jack and Elicia would send them all downwards, redirecting the Beast Horde to the Grinding Chamber - basically, a humongous cavern with nothing except a vast expanse of barren land. There they would grind for Exp points in order to increase their Main Levels and get more Stats. At first, six months were enough for a good monster wave to form. Then, the dungeon expanded to the point where it touched the land. At that time, the time needed for Jack and Elicia to grind a few levels decreased a lot. However, that was then. Both Jack and Elicia got pretty bored of expanding their dungeon eventually, and it became more of a necessity for grinding than something fun. These days they would expand the dungeon by copy-pasting a few templates, and then be done with it. The only exciting moments would be when they found a new dungeon on their way. When two dungeons meet each other, a Dungeon Battle would happen - the Dungeon Cores would try to stablish dominance upon each other by depleting the others mana, and the winner would become the new Central Core - while the loser would become a Subordinate Core. Of course, there had never been any real possibility for the Ultimate-Ranked Dragon Kings Dungeon (second) to lose to any dungeons except, maybe, the Demon Kingdoms one. Since Jack and Elicia had deemed invading the Demon Kingdom a bad choice, they obviously avoided expanding in that direction. However, new dungeons, specially the wild ones, were always fun to explore. Jack and Elicia would take the kids and stroll around killing Wild Beasts and looking at the Dungeon Layout. Sometimes they would even copy one of the dungeons sections - if it looked nice to reproduce later on. Of course, some were bound to be on the hands of either players or intelligent beasts - animals, magical beasts or even NPCs which had received souls but hadnt had contact with civilization. On these cases, Jack and Elicia would negotiate with them, and either let them be or incorporate their dungeons to them, while making them Subordinate Dungeon Masters. At the moment, from the 5.547 Wild Dungeons taken by Jack and Elicia, only 5 had decided to remain independent from the beginning until now, and all of those were ruled by level 60+ players of the first generation. The 10.000 mana/month reward for subordination was more than enough for everyone else to submit, so, even those five only did so because they were either wary of subordinating themselves to someone else, or just plainly didnt care and wanted to play with their dungeon without worrying about subordination and whatnot. So, without them even noticing, Jack and Elicia had taken over more than half of Another Worlds underground. Still, that wasnt enough. A hundred years of grinding made it so they had to pack this humongous dungeon to the brink before summoning all (or most) of the creatures back to the Grinding Hall, and them killing them on a full five-days uninterrupted massacre. One might imagine how large such cave was, and how much Jack and Elicia had to grind, seeing that Jacks breath, a hundred years in the past, had been enough to destroy a whole island already. In total, ten years of accumulation would roughly generate one Main Level for both Jack and Elicia. Enough to increase their stats by an extremely small margin, but, still, enough as a way to kill time a bit. That said, Jack and Elicia werent directing themselves to the Grinding Hall in order to grind for themselves. The next Monster Wave would need five years to be ready, so, both wouldnt have the chance to let out some steam. Instead, it was time for something way scarier to happen: Their child would reclaim its Past Life memories. *** Jack didnt bat an eye while looking at the scorched ground in front of him. Instead, he looked at his dear son. Sandro. The small boy had grown into a respectable young man, but one wouldnt be able to judge by looking at his dragon form. Only after a while could someone understand how to judge a dragon according to its body and age. Still, Jack was nervous. The truth was, neither him or Elicia knew what Sandros past life was like. They obviously didnt kill anyone to grab their souls, but they did buy the boys soul from a Wandering Neuromancer.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. At the time, Jack had casted all kinds of Lie Detection spells on the Neuromancer, while also taking a sneak peak at its memories. Surely, he wasnt a Soul Slaver, and surely, he had bumped at Sandros soul while in the wild. It was a fairly common profession back on the first years of Another World: Since great NPC massacres hadnt happened yet, and since many players had died to wild beasts and had their souls trapped in them, people with high skill and the desire to make some money would hunt these beasts, kill them as humanely as possible, and them retrieve the souls. They would also take in wandering souls which were either floating around or about to enter an NPC settlement. Then, they would sell these souls for people who wanted to have kids but didnt want to count on luck to have a soul finding their children and reincarnating on them. Jack paid the man with a lot of gold, jewelry and a few mana crystals. One could just imagine how painful it was for him to give his gold away, and how much he and Elicia wanted to have kids. Still, what now? Once Sandro reclaimed his past lifes memories, would those overwrite his own? Would he still remain Jack and Elicias dear son? Or would his past life overwrite everything, leaving them with a complete stranger which only thought as its time being their dear son as a fleeting dream? Such situations had happened before in the past. Many parents would rush their childrens growth in order to make them powerful enough to have a voice in society, and then end up with a stranger living in the house. Of course, the more powerful the body and the longer the time the person lived with their parents, smaller would be the chance for such a thing to happen. For instance, if someone remembered a past life in which they were blind, while on this life they had perfect senses, obviously their memories of that past life would be weaker than the ones of the present life - such was the situation for those who belonged to common races such as humans and reincarnated on powerful races, such as elves. Also, those who lived many years with their parents would have a bigger amount of memories from living with them than they had about their previous life. So, if someone lived as a human for 18 years and then died and reincarnated as an elfs child, living as it for 50 years, obviously the human part of their memories would be immensely overshadowed by those 50 years coupled with superior senses! However, one could say that having a greater amount of levels and skills would also count as a factor, since ones senses and brain would be sharpened by acquiring skills to the point where, amongst high-level players, race simply didnt matter. Unless, of course, we were talking about such huge differences as between a goblin and a dragon. Only at level 100 would a goblin have as much senses and power as a dragon. Regardless. All of those were uncertainties. Surely the worst-case scenario wouldnt happen. Jack and Elicia had their children as Red Dragons, and Sandro was a Red Dragon as well. Not only that, but a Red Dragon with half of a Dragon King''s Bloodline, as one could see by the extra horns on his head and tail, as well as his size - double that of a Red Dragon of the same age. It would be almost impossible for him to have had sensorial experiences which overruled those this body of his offered. Also, they lived for 100 years already. Sure, most of this time was expended sleeping, but if one was to count, they had lived a good amount of years. On their Wyrmiling years, Sandro stood awake for a total of 4 years. Since most humans sleep for a third of their day, that was the equivalent to 6 human years! Then, on his Young years, he was awake for a total of 9 years - 12 in human terms. At that time, he was 100 years old already, and had lived the equivalent of 18 human years. Now, being 130, he had been awoken through 2 other years, for a total of 20~something human years. As for staying awake by grinding Sleep Resistance skills, Jack and Elicia had allowed him to do so ever since he was 75 - that is, 16 in human terms. That, however, proved to be a challenge. A dragons desire to sleep becomes increasingly strong with age. Had it not been for the fact that Jack and Elicia had managed to overcome such desire while being a Demigod and Ancient dragon respectively, and they may had cursed themselves for making things difficult for their own children. Still, if he had started earlier, he might very well gain too much Mental Resistance, and, in that case, he would almost surely remember his past lives earlier than necessary. Of course, Sandros experiences and time awoken might be the same as the ones of a 21-years-old human, but his mind wasnt. For better or worse, his body and brain were wired differently. He had the hormones and brain of a teenie - that is, of a 10-years-old boy. In a certain sense, it was like being a responsible driver, with a couple years of experience in driving, but having to drive a car that might get overly powerful or underperform at any unexpected moment. At certain times, he would act excessively emotional, and at others, excessively pseudo-rational, in those fits of limited sight so common at such an age. His desires were also starting to appear and in 100 years or so he would probably be looking for a female. Thus, some of the doubts Jack had about the whole process. A 21-years-old with the body of a 10-years-old, with all the emotional disturbances and so on it contained. As much as he had had so many mentally-powerful years of existence, wouldnt he look for safety and guidance on his past lifes memories? Worst, what if what he found in them were memories of troubled teenager years? - Are you ready, sweetie? - Elicia said, while gently patting her sons head. - Yyeah. - The anxious Sandro answered. [- Are you sure thats what you want?] - Jack asked, a little bit of hope in his words. Maybe the kid would back up a bit? However, his question only made Sandros eyes more resolute. - Yeah! I I will do it! Jack sighed and sat straight right next to his son. His claw touched his back, and one could see a glimpse of gratitude on the boys eyes. - Okay. Lets start them. - Elicia said, while operating the dungeons control screen. Soon, a summoning circle appeared in front of them. - Good luck big bro! Come back to us, okay?! - Said Sandra, the little sister. - Yeah, dont go getting all crazy! Mom wouldnt like that! - Said Pietro. A few seconds later, the summoning circles light dimmed. Inside, a humanoid being with lax purple skin, an anemone where its neck should be and a squids head on top, fixed to the neck by pulsating dark flesh. The things anemone tentacles twisted while it evaluated those in front of him. A few of those had eyes on them, while the others spread all around, some bigger than him. Its squid head opened upwards on a 180o angle to show its beak. The two squid tentacles amidst the anemone tentacles moved menacingly. Sandro trembled in fear while Pietro gagged and Sandra put her wings in front of her head, lightly terrified. Pietro, looking at the state of things, couldnt but only lightly spread his wings around Sandra, in a partially-successful attempt to make her feel better. - Go on now darling. It might hurt a bit at first, but youll get all the Resistances you need very soon. Do you have the anesthetic potion with you? - Uhm! - Sandro looked at the bottle at his hands. It was a strong anesthetic, as it had to be to work on a dragon. Doing his best to control his fear, he downed the potion in a single gulp. [- Its fine. Me and your mother have done this plenty of times before. If anything, those tentacles even give a good massage!] - Jack joked, to what Elicia looked at him with cold eyes. [- E.. ehe] - The mighty Dragon King looked away. - Ok Ill go now! - Sandro said, while forcing his tense muscles to get closer to the creature. - Go on, go on. Mommy will be here all the time, if you want to give up, just say it! [- Yep. Just say it and youll be back.] - Thathanks mom. Thanks dad. The young dragon approached the tentacles. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit a Tragic, But Short, Previous Life. Sandro Hooligan. Teenie Dragon. 130 years old. Village Chief. Main Level 45. Skills (450) - unavailable. *** Jack Hooligan Unavailable. *** Elicia Hooligan Soul-Bound Master Unavailable. *** Pietro Hooligan Juvenile Dragon 115 years old Main Level 15 Skills (150) - unavailable. *** Sandra Hooligan Juvenile Dragon 100 years old Main Level 6 Skills (60) - Unavailable - Skill Trees: Mage 5 (25)* Nature Magician 24 (1) Druid 1 (Skill Advancement Available at Level 40) Meele Fighter 5 (25)* Pugilist 3 (Skill Advancement Available at Level 5) Play Fighting 7 (Skill Advancement Available at Level 24) Monster Form Fighting 5 (10) Bite Mastery 4 (do not fill the requirements for Advancement) Tail Mastery 4 (do not fill the requirements for Advancement) Claw Mastery 2 (do not fill the requirements for Advancement) Horn Mastery - Unavailable in the current form - (0) Sting Mastery - Unavailable in the current form - (0) If one were to become a Mind Flyer, that is, the inhuman monstrosity which now stood in front of Jack, Elicia, Sandro, Pietro e Sandra, then they would receive this kind of information, right after looking at them. It was an in-born Appraisal special skill and, as much as it was basic, it was still very useful. Of course, it wouldnt be able to detect anything much above its own level. Mind Flyer. It was, literally, a piece of paper with an Advanced Mimicry skill. If you killed it, it would then become a commemorative flyer with a picture of the place where you killed it and the finishing blow as well. It was a rather popular useless item on the game, as the Mind Flyer would assume the scariest possible form in front of its target according to their deepest fears, and so render them unable to react.Stolen novel; please report. It was a level 3 monster, extremely weak and unable to hurt a fly - unless it managed to scare it. As for how it feed, it was by sucking mana and even Fairy Dust out of their targets. As long as the target didnt have enough resistances, the Mind Flyer would be able to literally suck the EXP out of them. It was a terribly destructive monster if it was used in great amounts, even while being weak. As for its main purpose - well, it was used either as a form of dungeon defense in enormous swarms (which was considered a very dirt trick in the game days, do mind you), or for the one it was being used right now - as a disposable mental resistance grinding station. Mental Strain Resistance. Fear Resistance. Mana Drain Resistance. EXP Drain Resistance. Those were the four main resistances one would gain by letting the Mind Flyer gnaw at them for a while. The price, of course, would be to lose at least five to six levels - something Sandro could afford at the moment, however. *** It took around four days for Sandro to manage to get enough Mental Resistances to trigger his Past Lives memories. Of course, the Mind Flyer was only the first part of the grinding marathon. After grinding Fear Resistance and Mental Strain Resistance, other forms of resistance, such as Mental Fortitude, were needed. At the end of the day, Sandros memories were easy to unlock. With only 60 or so Skill levels expended on Mental Resistances, coupled with 200 or so on other trees in order to unlock some of the Resistances (like Mental Fortitude, which required Mage 20 to unlock), it could be said to be an easy time out. It would be harder to remember memories of a deeply traumatic past life. No one was certain why, but it was something confirmed by all of those who tried to do it. Remembering past lives wasnt something the Code controlled. It wasnt a skill or something programmed in the game. It simply happened to those with enough Mental Resistances, and no one was much sure why. Most believed it had something to do with the Minds of those who were part of the game, and that wouldnt be all empty air - after all, their minds would connect to their brains through skills and specially through mental skills. In order to get those, one would need to grind Mental Resistances, so, perhaps, it was that one needed enough mental skills, and not specifically mental resistances. But one thing walked side-by-side with the other, so it was impossible to know for sure. That said, what to mention about Sandros previous lives? His name was Maicon Ferreira. Maybe the most impacting moment happened when he was five years old and his father gave him a very rough beating. From there on, his life was as boring as it could be. Maybe because of that, he eventually became an Another World addict, and expended every single moment on it. No friends, no family, no lover. No job or colleagues, even, since he was a free-lancer, his main jobs happening inside Another World themselves, such as guiding corporation people through grinding sessions and designing personalized art for users with money and desire for style - as his brand advertised. Once the Squeam Servers begun going down, it was a matter of time until he was hooked up on every single news media, compulsively looking for a way to do it. To return to the game. That was why he decided to kill himself and enter the game once and for all. His main character was outside of the Main World, in a small piece of a Private Server he owned, so he did his best to select the Main World as his destination - which resulted in being reincarnated as a beast known as Main Tank Tiger. It was a huge beast with a high level of danger, but it was taken down easily nonetheless, since its first real enemy in a long while was none other than the neuromancer who sold his soul to Jack and Elicia. During the process of reincarnating and also the one after being killed, no memories remained - as his soul wasnt an item but, rather, the Code coordinates and Link to his Mind - which were then ingrained into the Hatchling baby dragon. From there on, everything he lived was many times more exciting and colorful. His many supernatural senses, such as electromagnetic sensing and enhanced sense of smell, gave him an astonishing amount of information his previous life didnt had. It was roughly the same as being deaf, mute and blind - and even having only one arm - and then reincarnating on a healthy body. Of course, being depressed and addicted enough to kill himself, his past self wasnt something easy to deal with. No kind of suicide is easy to deal with. However, not only were his past two lives extremely limited in terms of sensory perception of the world - that is, compared to a dragon -, he also had a number of Mental Resistances which countered all of the negative feelings he experienced back then. His fear and loneliness. His addiction and misery. His boredom at life and his contempt with everything except his own sadness. All of that was countered immediately, right after being remembered. On the external world, what could be seen was surprisingly little. Sandros face went blank for a moment, and then he returned to his normal state of being. A few strands of his past self, however, remained. For instance, the feeling that his father was a hassle. He had that idea ever since he was young. His mother provided for the house, gave him and his siblings all kinds of education, and even she treated his father with a certain degree of irritation. In his past life, Sandro had lived a situation which resembled this one - except that he despised both his parents, and not his father only. The contempt he had for his mother was mostly overwritten by his current memories. But the one for his father only grew. Jack was strong, powerful, and even a menace to the whole world if he wanted to. Still, he wouldnt do a thing all day long. His favorite activity was to sleep, and the most varied thing in his life was his diet - ranging from gold-dust-covered Ice Cream to Gold-Stuffed Barbecued Chicken. He didnt have ambition. He didnt have the desire to change and grow. He was a sore on his eyes and at some points, remembered who he himself was as well. What ambitions did he have? What did he want to accomplish in life? Jack was his constant reminder - a person whose very existence meant looking at what he disliked on himself. He looked away. Anger was one of those Mental States which he had little resistance against, but he did have some. A smile appeared on his face as he looked at everyone in front of him, even his father. What if he was angry at him? What if he was bitter? Just shove it down for now. Ignore that, and look at your father, at this person who lived at your side for your whole life, and who, for better or worse, has that thing everyone who hold us as a baby has. That gratitude we ingrain on our hearts and which slowly turns into unconditional love. The eyes of his parents and siblings lit up with relief at that moment, and soon he was buried in hugs and fraternal love. Sandra and Pietro were crying, Jack held his tears and Elicia was calm, but relieved. That small worm of hatred and contempt in Sandro''s chest, however, wriggled around a little more before finally calming down for the time being. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit The Problem With Mother! Sasha left the Main Hall of Demon King Castle. In front of her, mummies sold cursed objects and vampires traded human blood. That was the Demon Kingdom, and laws had become increasingly problematic over the years. Ever since Carlos decided to Quit the game, the countrys administration had been in the hands of a few council members. Of course, such council members were mostly old players, but one had to be aware of what it meant to live 100 years. Unlike Jack and Elicia, who were used to sleeping all the time and had created a perfect-and-peaceful-looking small totalitarian society under them, the Demon Kingdom had been living through strife and intrigue ever since its foundation. Had it not been the fresh memory of how Jack destroyed millions in an instant, and this war-and-intrigue-plagued country would surely have plotted against the small draconic utopia. With time, even the softer of hearts would begin being corrupted and stained with the burden of the world around them. These players had had many delusions. Most had been betrayed multiple times, their weaknesses used against them without mercy. The establishment of the slavery system and the usage of the disparity in power between races to stop the weak from growing and boosting the growth of the strong was a given. Sasha, by its time, wasnt properly an ambassador - but something close, no doubt. Since her son was Dragon King Jack, it was a given that she would be treated as so - not to mention she was a powerful being on her own right, being one of the few Max Level players which the world now hosted. The reason for such, well, not only wars had taken their tool on the world, the very fact of Max Level players being in the limelight and neuromancers existing was enough to put a huge burden on their very existences. A single Max Level player would be able to establish its own small Kingdom over the Hundred Kingdoms area, but it would never be able to find peace. With time, many had decided to go into the hermit lifestyle, and no one ever listened about them again. In the end, a hundred years also meant the contact with the outside world was almost lost in its entirety as well. Mafia, dangerous people, all kinds of personages from the dark underworld of politics and lawless those people usually didnt want to die. Not at all. And, sometimes, losing power over an enemy taking over was even worse than death.Stolen story; please report. Thirty years were enough for most neurosets left in the world to be either destroyed so others wouldnt take them as spoils of war, or plainly used as means of avoiding death in the real world. Now, only a few organizations, armies and intelligence agencies truly used them - and to the dismay of most of them, with less and less influence over Another World, since the players here had lost almost all emotional connection to those in the Real World. Sasha left the streets of the city of Meredith. Walking slowly at first, teleporting after a while, going stealth and using a number of skills, soon she had shaken most of those following her. The ones who managed to keep on her track were people she was more than familiarized with. - You folks can come closer now. Lets talk a bit - Sashas tone was surprisingly light while carrying a hint of happiness. - Ah, finally. I thought you were going to go straight home this time - A middle-aged elf said, while leaving the shadows of the nearby trees. - Dont even joke around. Do you know how much time we would have to expend pretending to follow her if she did? - At the same time, an armadillo-looking animal dug his way up. - As if that mattered. You take your job too seriously, you know? - The middle-aged elf retorted. - Thats true. Those old folks can come and do it themselves if they want to really track Sasha down. Heya, my dear. How do you do? - A half-orc cowgirl appeared from thin air as the elementary invisibility spell she used was dispelled. Her mount - a bird which would remind one of a young chick - chirped happily. - Danielle. Still using that ch*c*b* imitation, I see. - Sasha retorted, as to which Danielle rolled her eyes. The party was quite lively as more and more max-level and semi-max-level players gathered around Sasha. They had been tailing her for a while now. At least a few years. And any new additions to the group would then be initiated on the small brotherhoods ways of forget about your mission and lets enjoy time together ways or gain a free reincarnation ticket. In truth, a handful of those old timers were probably the only ones Sasha truly trusted in this world. Many decades of friendship with people who were as old as her and had similar life experiences were one of the few reliefs she had in life. *** -So, have you decided on it? - Danielle was the first to ask, after most of the others were a certain distance away and only the closest friends walked side-by-side with Sasha. Sasha sighed - Not yet. I dont know how to tell Jack. - She seemed a bit defeated at this moment. - Isnt your relationship really weird? I thought you hated his guts. - Said the armadillo, which now happily carried everyone on his back. - I did - Sasha caressed the armadillos back - But I think Ive finally understood Christina''s decision now so, I think I can forgive him. - Thats some progress youve made, eh?! Congratulations! - Dick, the middle-aged elf, replied - I myself should follow suit after you go. This world just doesnt give me the kicks anymore. - Dick, you too? - Danielle seemed at a loss - Am I the only one whos not tired of living?! - Im not too! - The armadillo answered. - Thats because you keep walking around on your armadillo form! Also, youre what, on your fiftieth son? - Fiftieth-sevent! And hes hellishly cute as well, Haha! - The armadillo laughed, however, after this short exchange, everyone remained speechless for a while. Silence issued, and Sasha sighed once more. At their current speed, it would take them five years to reach Dragon Island (2). And she was fine with it. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Marital Problems! [ - Oy, Babe, lets eat!] - Jack happily wiggled his tail around while preparing some food. - Im not hungry! - Elicia answered from the Dungeon Cores area. [- Are you sure?! Ive made your favorite! Ive made everyones favorite! Theres roasted dragon meat with spices, kraken sushi, and Ive made some golden sweet dreams as well!] One might find strange for a dragon to eat other dragons but, as long as it was a NPC, whats the problem? Jack and Elicia used to be humans, after all. And roasted dragon meat just so happened to be Pietro and Sandros favorite dish - Sigh hon - Elicia came from the Dungeon Core, helplessness written all over her face - Whyre you cooking? We had a meal tree days ago. Dont you get tired of eating all the time? After so much time, even a dragons favorite - gold - would become a boring snack. It was still tasty, sure, but even the best feeling in the world, if constantly repeated, will become dull - after all, ones brain will get slowly used to the foods flavor and it would them start to ignore the taste. - Golden Sweet Dreams! - A small thunderous voice could be heard, while heavy steps made their way into the kitchen - I want! I want! Sandra was the first to arrive, soon followed by Pietro. [- Hehe] - Sigh - Elicia rolled her eyes again. - Dont eat too much you two. Also, Pietro, take some of the roasted dragon to your brother, ok? Hes staying in his room, but I do know he wants some. - Okay mom! *** Dragons didnt really care about day and night. They did care about the time to sleep because of their inborn instincts, but once they were awake, they would become active 24/7. As for Sandro, Pietro and Sandra, their sleeping time had been adjusted with some help. On one side, Sandro was training his Sleep Resistance. On the other, Pietro and Sandra surely did enjoy a little bit more of sleeping time. [- I hope mother comes back before its time for the children to go to sleep.] - That would be good. - Elicia answered, unfazed. As for Jack, a small, uncomfortable feeling welled inside of him. [- Whats the matter babe?] - Nothing - Elicia answered in a tired voice - its just that Anticipation could be felt in the air as Elicias shoulders tensed a bit and she lightly held her breath. - Ah, forget about it The uncomfortable feeling became stronger. As for Elicia, she seemed defeated. [- Common babe, whats up?] - Jack answered, this time standing at her side, his eyes as honest as possible as he unconsciously tried not to betray the real reason why he asked - because he was feeling bad about her atitude. It wasnt comfortable to speak to someone who wants to know whats wrong with your feelings just because theyre feeling bad about it. Elicia felt as if Jack wanted her to stop feeling bothered about the issue, and that bothered her. Still, that couldnt be said to be the first time this happened. It wasnt easy for her, since she had always been the active side of the relationship. Still, it might be a chance to solve things. She took in a big breath and choose her words carefully. - Why did you cook that meal earlier? - Such event had happened two months ago. However, for beings used to sleep long periods of time and to do the same things over and over again, that amount of time didnt really matter. As one repeats the same routine, thirty years or thirty days eventually becomes the same. After all, no changes on that meant every event was just a re-hearsay of the previous. Such a psychic trap was one the System didnt protect against, at least not unless one activated some very specific skills - which Jack and Elicia kept off, since they had the unsettling effect of making things progress too fast. As one would be constantly present in the present moment, living every experience as the first, it would become unbearably clear when one couldnt leave their routine, as well as all the mistakes they committed on a day-to-day basis. That said, these two months had been unproductive. With the skill on, most of the times they just wouldnt have the time to live new things - or the motivation to look for them if they were stuck on a vicious cycle - and, therefore, any kind of discussion and reflection upon the thing in question would be as unproductive as these two months. Still, what to do? Elicia bit her lips. Jack wouldnt go out and live new things, so the things they hadnt solved between them would remain unsolved, since he wouldnt change who he was and what he was learning on his daily basis. Also, being present in the present moment and doing things as if it was the first time also wasnt helping - they had accumulated a long list of small grudges along the years, and even after forgiveness, something that bothered the other would keep bothering - even after being forgiven.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Was it worth it, then? To even talk about this subject? It would just repeat the same thing, over and over again. Go in circles. That she was tired of that. She wanted to order him go live something new, and then we talk about this once we can do something about it!. But that, as well, would be useless. Jack was passive. One could call him a couch potato, unreliable or even a dimwit on some aspects - as intelligent as he was. The thing is, as long as he lived the same way all days of his life, he just wouldnt become able to see what he currently couldnt see, or do better what he could eventualy do better. Of course, she could take on herself to accept and love him the way he was, with all of his imperfections - but how many times hadnt she done just that? She had taken onto her to love him as he was so many times - to forget about the things he did that annoyed her, to try and become a better person, a more loving and carrying person. Sometimes, she was just tired. Tired of doing that. And she needed something like that, someone to do that to her. Not always, but at least some times? [- I dont know babe I mean yeah] - Jack stopped and stared at the void. He knew he didnt know why he did that. He wasnt hungry. - Does it have something to do with Sandros transformation? [- Ehhh.. no. I think not.] - Jack had been bothered about how his son was with him lately. It wasnt as if he had changed too much but, time to time, he would see that judgmental eyes on him. Shouldnt a child love its father regardless? Isnt that what filial piety was all about? Well, no one in his family ever had any ties with Confucianism, but, still, it gave him something of a bad feeling. [- I mean, maybe I dont like how hes looking at me. But that wasnt the main reason, I think.] - Then, how about you go and talk to him? [- Yeah maybe] Elicia looked at Jack with the tired eyes she always had on these situations. However, the passive-aggressiveness she had started to cultivate soon vanished. It was useless to get angry now. At least that much she knew. Now, if she wanted to help him, then thats what she would do. What if it was tiring? She could stop just now, and things would go on. But Jacks main reason for doing what he had done hadnt been answered. Should se continue? Or not? Would she have enough patience and strength? maybe. It was worth a shot. - So, that wasnt the main reason. What was it, then? [- Eh I dont know babe. I dont know.] - Okay, let me rephrase. How did you feel while you were cooking? Jack stopped for a moment to look at what he had done. Thinking about that moment, the perception of how messed up where his emotions at the moment came to him. [- Yeah, I was in a bad mood that day. So I decided to cook] - And what did that cooking do to you? [- It felt good... Yeah, it did] - Jack said, while relaxing some of his muscles, the bad feeling inside of him relaxing and going away as well. He knew that, as soon as he noticed what he did that bothered Elicia, then he would be able to judge if that was fair for him to change or something she had to change on herself. [- I mean, it was as if I was letting that whole thing behind yeah] Jack felt a little downtrodden at that moment. Only by that much he could already see the problem. And it was him, acting like a freak and avoiding seeing reality in front of him. - And what were you trying to escape from? - Elicia, herself, found some relief after getting on this level of the conversation. She would be able to start some self-reflection on Jack and, at least, once he started to self-reflect, he would probably be able to notice what he had been doing that was unhealthy and crazy - for both him and everyone else as well. It wasnt nice having someone running away from life by doing things which affected you and those next to you. Running away from the facts was infectious, it was like a disease. Once it started to spread, one would become more and more trapped inside their own imagination and unable to talk to others or even be real about themselves. At least that much all of them, except for little Sandra, maybe, had already understood. [- I just dont like this whole thing I dont want to go out, I dont want to live new things. What if what if I cant control myself and then, bam, next thing we see is me getting home and saying babe, it happened, I was just talking to some girl and then it happened. I dont want that.] The bottom of the question. That was why Jack ran away from new experiences in his life, and also why he started to get delusional once Sandro decided to regain his memories. [- I mean, I I dont know what to do. How can I deal with this?! I cant I cant endure the idea of you going out with other men, but if that happen to me, then I would need to let you do it as well] - And why would you? - Elicia knew that she would have a hard time forgiving Jack if he ever cheated on her. She had been faithful for over 100 years, never going beyond infatuation with other men. If he suddenly came home and said that he had lost control and fucked another woman well, she would be furious at him. However, they had had that conversation already. Jacks problem wasnt with that. He would beat himself up over justice instead of doing that undercover. She was fairly certain of that. [- I I dont know. I think, it would be fair. I dont like unfair things.] - Then, what if I let you live it for a little? Without getting a men for myself? We could try it with other girl, or I could let you go and live something out of our relationship as well - That was something she had said to him multiple times as well. The first time they actually went to bed, she was in-between dating and not dating a guy. Then she asked if both wanted to try a mnage, they tried it, and it went wrong. Her previous boyfriend got a trauma for life, Jack almost became a psycho for a while after, and in the end, she decided never to try that again - unless she was more than certain that things would go well or at least not terribly wrong again. One of the ways of doing so would be to let Jack go and start an affair. A consented affair, so to say. It was something she wasnt sure if she would be able to go through with, but, at least, it would be a shot at something new [- No. I cant do it.] - Okay hon. Here, lets stop at this today. Its good that you saw that. [- Yeah sorry.] - Its okay. Jack felt a little defeated. In truth, he had had some breakthroughs in this whole free love thing. A little while ago, just under fifteen days, he had decided that he would assume that he indeed wanted to have an affair with other girls. He would assume that he wanted to fuck other girls. That he even wanted to do some things he himself thought as real jack-ass stuff to do. Would he do it? Hopefully not. Still, if he didnt accept that he wanted to, how could he deal with it? Except that he didnt know how to talk about it to Elicia. Things were repeating themselves, and he could see how tired she was getting of this same topic being brought up over and over again. He usually felt relief on these small sessions of confession, but it should be frustrating for her. In the end, he sighed and looked away. He would have to talk to her about it, eventually. But maybe he should think about it himself first. Just maybe. Who knows... Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Sandro’s Denial! - Command Center, hit me with the news. - Roger that sire. Our battle at the northern front has been delayed due to excessive heat, whilst the southwest campaign has been delayed due to an unexpected flood on the Main Tunnel. However, we were successful on our eastern front and the orcs of Ta village have been successfully subjugated. - Good. Keep me informed of everything. Sandro turned off his communication menu. The Dark Elves under him had, for most part, achieved consciousness - that is, souls - but still couldnt be considered a proper civilization. His time-killing game, henceforth, was mostly to train and try to capacitate them into a proper civilization. It normally wasnt easy living in Another World but, for dragons like Sandro, it could be said to be too easy. Not to mention the fact that his father was that Jack and his mother that Elicia, he never had to go through any kind of hardship in his life. Thats not to say that, by knowing of the objective existence of a reincarnation cycle in the world, his own view of life was that of it being useless - unless you were super powerful, in which case it would be a huge waste to lose it. Think about it - He would argue, when lucid - If youre weak, then you have nothing to lose by dying. At most youll be sad because you had a good family - but then again, youll have another one once youre reborn. But if you have huge stats, then wont grinding them back be difficult as hell?. Of course, he wasnt sadistic or cruel. Just didnt value lives which didnt take a long time of effort and pain to build. Maybe, if he was older, then he would also learn to value things which are just as difficult to find and build as getting a lot of levels, like true love and a loving family, or ones own expression of their essence through artistic means. But he wasnt. So, he treasured his strong subordinates, and used the weaker ones as cannon fodder. His father, obviously, didnt know about it. - Big bro, big bro, dad made us roasted dragon! - Come on in! - Sandro answered, while keeping his contempt at bay. A dragon-cooking father. So, what? Useless. That wouldnt kill orcs. - Are you done with the Hyena People?! - Pietro asked, while launching himself at his brother. - Cut it! No hugs allowed! How do a dragon hug? Usually, by crossing their necks - just like cats. Anything else would be either too awkward or impossible to do, as a human-like hug was just too unbalanced to be done. Of course, Sandro himself was on that age where he didnt wish for even that to happen. - So, did you do it?! - Pietro kept on it, while also producing a roasted green-dragon tail from his magic pouch. - Urgh, green dragon. Dad knows I hate to have to peel the skin! Why didnt he peel it? - Dont be ungrateful, son. - Said a gentle but commanding voice. - Okaaay, sorry ma - Sandro rolled his eyes while answering to his mother. - Now, eat it up and start telling me what were you doing these days - Elicia entered the room while looking all around. It was a messy room. That is to say, it was a quite big cave, at least a couple hundred meters wide and another 300 long, full of gold, coins, jewelry and magic trinkets. There were also a few big pieces of pumice, a piece of white marble which could be used as a screen for dungeon-related holographic projections and a small library full of story books. One good thing about being born a high-grade NPC on Another World - one would be born already knowing how to read. Of course, that was a given only for those with certain high-end bloodlines, like the draconic and angelic ones, but it surely made it way easier for Jack and Elicia back in the day. - Well, we couldnt take the Hyena People down due to a flood, and it seems like the fourth tunnel has experienced some kind of magma leakage or something? Did you and dad start expanding again? Expanding the dungeon could have a number of consequences - for instance, once could end spewing lava everywhere, or creating a huge earthquake. If done properly, the chances of that happening were minimal. However, Jack and Elicia rarely cared about properly expanding the dungeon these days.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Of course, they wouldnt do it were there was a big risk of hurting people - like near towns or other places like that - but they didnt care nearly as much when it was about expanding into the wilderness. - Not that Im aware of. And since your father well, I guess no, we didnt expand these days. - Elicia answered, without needing to repeat herself about her husbands lack of motivation to live and do things. - Well we did conquer the seventh Orckish village. Now all thats left is their capital. - What about player losses? - About five or six. Its almost sure that they have been reincarnated in the village already. - Good. It seems like youre making progress. - Elicia said, while nodding approvingly. - Thanks ma. - As for Sandro, he couldnt be happier. His mother was, in fact, one of the few people he valued and respected. *** - Now, remember to keep your brothers war games a secret from daddy - Elicia whispered to her youngest son. - He will stop your brother if you dont, so be quiet about it, okay? - Okay! - Answered the little one. Elicia looked ahead. Jack was currently sleeping, of that she was sure. As for her she could only sigh. A hundred years. A hundred years, and he was still the same. While she Could she think of herself as the same person? As someone even related to that Elicia she knew at the day? Sure, she could blame dying in the Real World, or the lack of relationship renewals - she had indeed been faithful all this time - for how she turned, but would that be true? In a sense, the reason why she turned the way she turned was simply that she had to interact with people. She had to talk to others, to order them to do things, to negotiate, to strategize. As her husband chose to sleep, she chose to run an Empire. And while running an Empire, one must come to terms with oneself. Life? It was precious, sure. All kinds of life were precious. But it was also made solely of living. What was the use of being like her husband - sleeping eternally? Was he really alive? Or was he just dead, dead like She decided to stop thinking about it. It was still too fresh on her mind. Even while maintaining herself awake way more than her husband, she slept, after all, while her kids slept. It would be way too painful to change so much they couldnt recognize her anymore once they woke up. Instead, she took on her human form and sat in front of the dungeon crystal. While looking through the images in it, her mind begun wandering. - Another move on the part of the Kingdom, eh - Elicia muttered to herself while seeing a dungeon near the borders of the Demon Kingdom being conquered and destroyed right after. Even though Jack and Elicia never intended to get even close to the Kingdoms territory, that didnt mean the Kingdom didnt intend to get closer to them. Land was land, after all, and for some reason, it seemed like they never had enough. As for Jack and Elicias underground dungeon network, anyone with a couple advanced Analysis skills would be able to know that most of the land was theirs already. The question was - would they try and attack the dungeons first, ask for a negotiation on national borders, or go for an all-out attack? Regardless of the outcome, everything was happening at a snails pace. Most probably, it would come a day when her children would be the ones dealing with this, not her. After all, she didnt intend to let Sandro, Pietro and Sandra idle for their entire lives. They could go and make a kingdom for themselves at the Hundred Kingdoms Area, but what would be the use? Would there even BE a Hundred Kingdoms Area a hundred years from now? Two hundred? A thousand? If one was to extrapolate the rate at which players achieved greatness versus the rate at which they died to one another, one would be able to see that there were only four possibilities. The first was that those players who got enough power were increasing in number, but getting as inconspicuous as possible, avoiding infighting. In this case, the high-level player population would be increasing. The second was that these players were choosing to remain in the player society, killing and plotting against one another, as well as those living as hermits. In this case, the high-level player population would be diminishing. As for the third, it was that the numbers balanced out. Just as a certain number of players got to high levels, an equal number would die due to a series of reasons. Now, looking at things from a resource perspective, it would be clear that, if any of those options were the ones happening right now, it would be great. Hermit-players, or small-high-level player communities posed almost no treat to Dragon King Island (2). What is more, since they wouldnt have the resources needed to start an all-out war and conquer one another, they would probably just spread around the world and create a bunch of small autocracies. Elicias children would be safe in this kind of world. They would be able to have their own kingdoms and, as long as they didnt go way too overboard, no one would ever pose that big of a treat. But the problem was the fourth possibility. And that was that, not only was the number of high-level players increasing, they were also been kept at bay and tightly leashed on by a nobility-vassal system. If that was what the Kingdom was doing, that is, actively increasing the number of players on their ranks and keeping them in check by a number of means, then they would need to expand ever more, that is, as much as they wished to have more things - be them mana, NPCs or simply land by itself. Fifteen million. The number of players who left reality to live in Another World should be close to that number. If they kept each other at check, then there was nothing to worry. But what if they didnt? Could Jack, could her children, could her even, counter a 15-million-players attack? No, even fewer. Five million. Five million high-level players, not like those in Goblin Island back in the day, which were crumbling into dust themselves. The worst-case scenario would be one where all of those players reached high levels while sharing the worlds land and NPCs between them. In this case, they would be dead fish in the water. A billion enemies, most of them NPCs, but, still. Could they survive that? Could the world itself survive that? That was why, for Elicia, it was important that her children learnt how to deal with wars, power games and gambles. In a certain sense, it was important that they all knew about it in order to avoid being trampled by it. For no other reason, except for survival, they had to keep their potential enemies from gathering enough power to submit others in a pyramid scheme. And the best way to do so was, of course, by deflecting people to their side - specially to anarchy, as keeping tabs on them would end up in simply another escalation to war. Many small kingdoms, all being under their mercy. Loose enough that they would keep each other in check, tight enough that they wouldnt go crazy and start a successful conquer-and-submit campaign. That was the best-case-scenario for the Hooligan family. Only with that much could they keep being active in the world while also sleeping for as much as a dragon needs to. Of course, that was only if they wanted to keep being active. If they decided to be like Jack and do nothing all day long, then sealing themselves up and disappearing from the world was also a possibility! Elicia sighed. In the end, she and her husband had one big difference - she wanted to live. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Grandma is Back! Congratulations! A Dungeon has been assigned to you! Dungeon Name: Dragon Kings Dungeon (2). [- Eeeh BABE! WHAT HAPPENED?!] Jack had a bad premonition as his Dungeon got back into his hands. It was supposed to stay with Elicia kind of forever. At least he didnt intend on dealing with it. It was too much of a hustle. - SORRY, PRESSED THE WRONG BUTTON! - Elicias answer came as loud as thunder. Why did she choose to yell instead of using the messaging function? Probably because that was what Jack had decided to do. In the end, it isnt usual for someone to yell at someone else which is in the kitchen. Yelling would bring a sense of familiarity for those used to it. [- OKAY! GONNA SEND IT BACK TO YOU, OKAY?] - Jacks premonition got worse. His trembling finger approached the player screen, and he lightly touched the change Dungeon Master button. Nothing happened. [- Eeh what?] He pressed it again. [- Wait, waitit cant be] As Jack scrolled through the panel, his view stopped at his Friends List. Elicia wasnt there. Of course, they were still married and well. However, ones Friends List didnt necessarily include ones children and wife. It was weird, thinking that one wouldnt be a friend while being someones son, daughter or wife, but it was just an instant messaging list after all [- WAIT!] Jack looked at his friends list in a daze. There was no one there! He used to have tons of friends, Elicia and the kids included! That could only mean thatThe author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. [- Shit!] Jack slowly creeped his way back to his favorite gold pile. With his stats and skills, it would be impossible for someone to listen to him getting down from it. - JACK! Still, one couldnt change someone elses understanding of their behavior. A figure stood by the door. It seemed young and energetic, differently from how it had been in the past five years. [- Ah hi, mom!] *** Sasha. Half-elf. Jacks mother. Also, someone who hadnt been around in the past fifteen years, as she went around the world doing a multitude of tasks at a snails pace. Only she would be able to plot something like this. Jack, after all, had plenty of friends on his list, even if most of them had been silent for years! He was even part of a couple of chat groups, and posted stuff from time to time. Of course he would have friends! However, what bothered him was [- Eeeh was this necessary, mom?] Did his mother actually think he would dare be giving the dungeon to anyone else but she herself and Elicia? Wasnt this underestimating his brain a little bit too much? - Of course, it was! You have been sleeping so much you dont even know which month we are in, and you want for me to believe that you care about your wife and children?! Jack almost spat a mouthful of blood. That hurt! [- Wha of course I do!] - Thats right grandma! Papa likes us! - Sandra answered, a little bit angry. - I am sure he does, pumpkin. I just dont think he would care if he had to go live in a dumpster or prefecture shelter somewhere else! After all, thats exactly what he did a hundred or something years ago! How cruel! - Jack felt like his liver had been smashed by a rock. Did she need to bring his dark history? - Ah, okay! Sandras happy compliance was the deathblow. Jack felt his souls leaving his body, never to return again. The six of them were currently on Red Dragon form, while seated around a big metal table full of food. Sashas Avatar original form may be that of a bulky male swordsman, as it was Jacks spare Avatar, but she would rather walk around on female form, usually as a Half-Elf. It suited her nature more, since she had been born and raised as a female. As for the current Sasha which towered as tall as Elicia and looked even more ancient? She had obviously transformed in order to be together with her family in the kids original forms. She liked to look at them as they really were, as these forms would show their true bodies and ages - not like a human form which could be changed as one pleased. Take Sandra, for instance. She liked to appear with big, round eyes, with long eyelashes, almost unnatural for a human being. It was as if she was wearing make-up. But then, as one looked at her real form, it was the one of a small dragon, fit for her mentality and age. Plus, her eyes even looked a tiny bit lacking in eyelash matter. Not that dragon eyes had eyelashes, but one could compare them to a dragons secondary eyelid, the one which existed under the heavily-protected-by-scales one. Regardless. This was a festive situation, especially for the kids - as they hadnt seen Sasha for most of their last two awoken-periods. It just happened that she had been out for the last fifteen years, and before that she had to deal with a situation right after getting home - so they hadnt seen her in the last two of the years they had spend awoken, which were the roughly the same as not seeing your grandma for a whole two and a half years. It was kind of heartbreaking for small children used to have a grandma with them. - Now, now, I have to admit that you have improved your cooking skills, Jack. Your slowly-roasted whole cow with spices has indeed become way better than before. [- Ah, thanks !] Jacks answer was somewhat stiff. He was glad that his mother was enjoying the gold-infused spices he had invented, but she hadnt talked to him like that in years. Ever since Hit the Road, Jack: Hit That Day. Christina walked through the cobblestone streets with gusto. Today was a great day. The sun was bright in the sky, the breeze soft on her face. - Mother! Here! - Grandma, grandma! A woman with three kids hanging out of her signaled for Christina, and she happily went in their direction. A man was next to the said woman, a young man with good eyes. She felt fulfilled as her white hair was gently rubbed out of her forehead. - Thank you - she said to the man behind her. He was as old as her himself, but still could walk. The man simply smiled while pushing her wheelchair. It was a nice day, indeed. *** - Miss Christina - a young lady in a loose dress welcomed her in the modern greek styled house - this way, please. Her husband left her chair and sat obediently on a chair. She was then brought in front of a computer screen. Computers. How long had it been since no one in the regular world used one of those? Even those in the underground circles rarely used those old pieces of equipment. Of course, the world hadnt halted its advance due to the Great World Purge. In time, the political situation calmed down and a certain level of access to electronic technology was allowed to the public once more. However, it had to reinvent itself. The internet as a whole had been extremely limited, and all content was carefully scrutinized by A.I. software. The freedom once sought and achieved by the people of the time was but gone with the wind. Still, the world reinvents itself. No more internet, no more ways of direct digital communication except by the old telephones and cellphones with no access to the internet? No problem. People could now get in touch by simply thinking. A whole new world had opened itself once Squeam proved the human mind was greater than the human body. That, and, of course, fifty years of improvements and safety measures in order to avoid the Purge to happen again. The computers screen lit. Christina looked at it with eyes which, for once, seemed to have lost a little bit of their brightness. The neuroset near her emitted a green light. However, she didnt put it on.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. She hadnt, in those fifty years. Nor she wanted to do it now. - Christina! - A known voice soon made itself present. - Hello, mother - she answered, her voice frail. *** - No - Sasha answered, bewildered at the news she was receiving. An old woman looked at them through a huge crystal screen located deep inside Jacks dungeon - You cant. I wont accept this! How can you even say that?! Tears started to roll on her face. - Its my decision, grandma. I wont change it. - YOULL KILL YOURSELF?! THATS YOUR DECISION?! - Sasha yelled at the old woman in the screen. - No - Christina thought of all of the loved ones she had near her. Her husband, whom had lived so long side-by-side with her. Her daughter, her son. Her grandchildren! She only had one headset. The one which used to belong to her mother. And she decided not to use it. Never. - I have decided to live, grandma. Live with my children and grandchildren. Until the day I die. Christina looked vibrant at that moment. Her health had been deteriorating ever faster but, with each passing day, she seemed livelier and more lucid. - JACK! DO SOMETHING! - Sasha said to her son. Jack, however, simply looked at his daughter through the screen and lightly smiling. - JACK! - Sasha grabbed him, his human form, by the collar. Elicia looked at him expectantly. The children had already left the room, off to play. Jack looked directly on his mothers eyes. - She may have better things to do than staying here with us, mom - Jack could see a light on his daughters eyes. Something which had been dying before. Something beautiful, which was now back, brighter than ever. - BETTER THINGS?! - Sasha backed away from her son, incredulity on her face. - Honey - Elicia said - you couldnt you It was interesting how things were. At that moment, this lazy bastard was the one in charge. His wife, obviously, could just batter him and order him around like always. But she knew it was useless. What could her ask of him? That he ordered the people on the Real World to arrest their daughter? For them to force the neuroset on her head and then kill her? The words died on her throat. She was split. One part of her wanted to bid farewell to their daughter. The other wanted to keep her close at all costs. - You can go. I give you my blessings. - Jack said - I hope you live a good life, Christina. - Thank you, father. - CHRISTINA, DONT YOU DARE! The computer screen turned black, and a man in a black suit left the shadows. - You heard him. Now, please take me out. - With pleasure, mam - the man wouldnt let her leave, hadnt Jack given the order. Sure, Carlos had been dead for a while and he himself had never met the guy. However, the man on the other side of the screen was a VIP which lived inside Another World. Even if his importance had faded away with time, he was still important enough. *** Christina breathed the fresh air with pleasure. - You seem better. - Enric, her husband, said. - I am - she answered. So, have you taken care of your business in there? Will you have to go back next year? - No. Not anymore. - Christina looked to the blue skies with a smile on her face. She didnt expect for her father to accept so promptly. A few times she had been unable to show up in time for their annual reunion, and people in black suits looked for her right after. Of course, they never harmed her in any way. But she had grown weary of that place. Of Another World, this virtual reality thing. She liked her grandma, of course. But was the thing in there really her deceased grandmother? Were those really her parents? And even if they were, did she want to keep them in her life any further? It was highly uncommon for someone to have living parents at her age. Did she really want to keep a long-distance relationship with those relatives she hadnt met even once? Her memory had been faulting her those days. Her body wouldnt be around for long. The doctors gave her three years, at maximum. She didnt want to expend those years inside a virtual world. She didnt want to expend those years with people whom she only met once a year. Even if they were blood of her blood. She wanted to live freely and to be able to die once death came for her, instead of hurrying things up only so she could keep on living in a strange world with strange people who thought highly of her for some reason. She could close her eyes and enjoy every single moment alive. No need for immortality. This was enough for her. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit Dinner! Aaaah. Awkward - Jack thought, as the family merrily ate and drank. - Jack, pass me the salad please [- Ah, sure mom] Why is she being so nice? - Jack felt that, if he was in a japanese webnovel, a giant sweat drop would appear at his temples right now. His mother had been extremely aggravated ever since that day. It was to expect, since she was the one closest to Christina, but Jack could understand it very well. He had never seen his daughter grow, but seeing how his own children were growing nice and fun, he would surely choose to stay with them instead of going back to his mothers house, had the need arrived. Maybe he was a bad son. Or maybe being a father stirred his heart more than being a son. Between taking care of your mothers emotional health or your childrens, who should you choose? Hey, arent sons supposed to leave their parents houses and form families of their own? Some just bring their bride home, but Jack wasnt an easterner. He was born in the West, and it was natural for him to leave his parents house and focus on raising his own family instead. Ah, forget it. At least she seems to be in a good mood. Jack looked at his plate and noticed his own salad seemed to have been missing. He gave a side-eye look at his younger son, Pietro. The little rascal had an emerald leaf on his mouth right now! Do you know how difficult it is to grow emerald trees? These leaves are for the whole family! Still, all he did was to sigh a bit and then grab a piece of meatloaf. The seasoning was just right. Sandros contemptuous look didnt escape his perception, but, so what? He would eventually solve that by himself, right?This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Besides, if he was to talk to him, things would only get worse probably. Contempt would hardly be solved with the person you have contempt with coming to have a heart-to-heart talk to you. Prideful children need someone they respect to teach them things - is what Jack thought. The dinner went on until late at night. Obviously, it wasnt he or Elicia doing taking care of the whole thing. A small Elemental Butler and a few Elemental Maids and Chefs had been summoned to make this dinner. Jack supervised everything and defined the recipes, but the small crew was the one to assemble it together. The water elementals dealt with the beverages, the wind elementals created the ambiance and the fire elementals cooked. The earth elementals would in turn take care of the tableware. Noting too fancy, however, except for the feast being a long one with many steps like the entree, the salad, the side dish, the fish dish, the main dish, the desert, then coffee, liquor and tea with biscuits. A long course, but could it be called a proper high-class dinner when everyone ate and drink on big stone mugs and plates? When the dishes were served all together and everyone ate what they want at the same time, sometimes eating some salad and then eating fish, only to go to the side dish? The short and cute gnome maids had a crooked smile on their faces. If you want a family dinner, then why ordering a full feast?! - Is what was going through most of their heads. Jack liked the variety. It made him feel prosperous. *** Silence. The kids had been taken out to play. Elicia, Sasha and Jack were currently seated on a human-sized room, a few meters in diameter. It had a few comfortable armchairs and ashtrays, as well as bottles of cognac whisky and other hard liquors here and there. The main attraction, however, were the cigars and cigarillos in the left wall. It was a smoking room. Not that these three had the habit of smoking. It was quite ironic for Red Dragons to smoke, as nicotine and tobacco couldnt even make them sniff. Even high-grade stuff like 10.000 years diamond tobacco could only make them slightly relaxed, what to say about the common tobacco on the walls. They enjoyed the room, however, as it was customary to smoke after a big feast. Besides, they have things to talk between them. Sasha had been very clear on this - she wanted to talk about things. Jack puffed his cigarillo with a little bit of joy in seeing how the smoke bended in the air. At the same time, his mother puffed a big cloud out of her double corona cigar. werent things inverted here? Wait, before anything, shouldnt it be only men who went to the smoke room after a feast?! The women were supposed to go somewhere else! Ah, doesnt matter - Such impressions went through Jacks mind. - Son - Sasha said, whilst Jack was lost in his thoughts. Ah! - his mind napped into attention, as he looked at his mother, surprised. Did she just call him son? How many years had it been ever since? - Ill go on a trip. Want to come with me? Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit The Last Travel Sasha looked at her son. Jack. The useless Jack. Even without depression or the such, he was still lazy. But she could get it. A hundred years living freely had taught her one thing - what moves is the Soul, not the person! [ - A trip?] She looked at her sons mind. It was dazzling. So many little strings! Would he be able to die, even if he wanted to? One might not be aware, no, her son surely wasnt aware of that. But the world itself was alive. Another World was alive! She remembered clearly when Jack told her about his experiments with Shabes secretary what was her name again? No matter. She was still in the world. She WAS the world. Every single rock, every single particle of light was her. And if she was the world, what had happened to her boss? Once she had to kill a beast. A mighty beast. The mind in contact with it had cultivated the things body to its utmost limit. It was a high-level player, no, a Max-Level player and beyond. Its mind had a brilliance like the sun. Totally enclosed and firmly held by Another Worlds Fairy Dust. Or mana. Rather, was Fairy Dust the same as mana? In a certain level yes, but in others, no, it wasnt. Fairy Dust was a thing that connected peoples Minds and their bodies. It was something different from everything else. That beasts mind was full of it. All around, in all corners, all one could see was Fairy Dust. And she killed the beasts body. However, what happened next surprised her. People werent supposed to remain alive after being killed on Another World. Not ever since the game turned real life for them. Still, the beast respawn. Its mind had lost many strings of light, that was certain - as one could see by its body and skills, which had become way less prominent. But it was still there. Trapped. Respawning. It was one of the reasons why she desired to die. Not simply die and be reincarnated, her new brain losing all but the minimal connection to her Mind.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. No. She wanted to die for real. To escape. Escape that prison she had finally sawn as it was. But how? The beasts Mind its soul, still remained with her to this day. At every opportunity, she would then create barriers around it and study. At first, the things soul tried to reconnect. To reincarnate. But then, it stopped doing so. With time, it became still like water, and started to avoid Another Worlds threads of light. So far, it had stopped struggling. It would not reincarnate again, even after being enticed by the presence of a suitable vessel. Would it free itself? Could it leave Another World? Could she? Her soul was old. Very old. A hundred years being alive inside Another World - all days, every day. But those were only half of the years she had lived. She had also lived a very long life on the real world. Didnt she do enough already? No something deeper was happening. Somehow, her Mind would still look for things to do. But, at the same time, it looked for something else. Something she herself didnt know what was. She could reincarnate, of course. Her Mind would surely find interests in the world and keep living its life. But then, there was a risk the risk of her remembering. Of, someday, she again become smart enough to remember her past lives. She didnt wish to return anymore. This was a given. So, if she managed to leave Another World, then She looked up again. How many thousands of deaths would her son need to truly die? Was that even possible? If the beasts soul looked like a sun, then Jacks looked like the entire galaxy condensed in a great Supernova. Elicia was far behind, but not much. Still, she didnt wish to tell them. Whats more, she didnt even wish to reprimand her son for being a lazy good-for-nothing. Because she could see it. See how her sons Mind, his soul just didnt care. Ah, her soul wanted to do things. The beasts soul, as well, wanted to do things. Elicias, then she carved for adventure. It was such a shame such an active soul was trapped inside a dungeon, looking after the kids and nothing else. No. Jack didnt want to do anything besides sleep because his Soul didnt find anything interesting. Nothing at all. Ones Soul is what drives then. Ones libido? Was that the world Freud used? Regardless, ones curiosity would be a better term. Ones desire to experience things. So, in order to make her son move, what she needed was to entice him - to make his Soul interested, not his personality. She needed to move his Spirit, not his ego! - Yes. To the confines of the world! - She said, her voice carefully toned. Jack looked to the other side. Hes feeling pressured - Sasha noticed, and a smile appeared on her face. - You never went on a trip with me, right? Not in this world. So, how about that? We can go on dragon form, and get away from this stuffy place. No to mention, youll be able to sleep on new places. How long has it been since youve slept out of your bed? The trick was to tick the interest. Jacks Mind was curious. It was teeming with curiosity. Even more than Elicias. She would see a glimpse of this curiosity here and there. But it was also, somehow scared? It was closed on itself. So, a familiar experience. Something it could relate to. Being isolated on its own world, with family around and allowed to sleep. Wasnt this good enough? His Mind lightly rippled. It worked. Hit the Road, Jack!: Hit The Beach! - Dad! Time to wake up! [- Aaaaahhhhwwwwwwn!] - Jack yawned. He had slept well. The bright sun on his back, the sea washing his scales, the mushroom-men hitting his entire body with their mushroom caps it was like receiving a massage while at the beach! His entire body felt invigorated! not that he ever felt fatigue, not with his stats but, regardless! Jack looked at his cute daughter. How many years had it been now? Ten? Twenty? No, more Ah, no matter. It was nice seeing her. He had been asleep most of the time ever since his mother took him on this trip of hers, so the time the kids spent sleeping itself wasnt of his concern. Truly, it was only a few years on his view. And, for some reason, that wasnt too much. - Get up, get up! Mom is waiting for us! - Sandra said, while posturing with her claws lightly bend inwards - the draconic equivalent of crossing your arms. The little girl had become a teen? Already? [- Okay, ok, Im going! Also, be ] The young dragon hit a mushroom cap, toppling the small thing. It didnt even have had a chance to react. These things are even weaker than I thought! - Such a thought went through Jacks head, as he prepared to rise from the sand. The place they were now was called Mushroom Kingdom. It wasnt part of any Kingdom or Empire, truly, but that was how the devs had named this region. It was a long strait connecting two big nearby salt-water lakes, laded on both sides by high cliffs over two kilometers tall. At the cliffs bottom, by its time, lived the race called Mushroom people. They were usually harmless when found in nature, but their Level 250 bodies and skills packed quite a punch for those who wanted to intrude on their little villages.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. As for Jack well, he didnt have to worry about it. Not to mention his natural constitution, his level was way above 250 and his stats were ridiculous. [- Aaah what a pain] - He said, while propelling his body upwards. However, it seemed that, as more he pushed, the farther from ground level he got. He tried pushing with a lot of strength this time, but that only meant him being submerged into the straits muddy waters. *** - What took you so long? - Elicia said, while using a rug to clean Pietros face - keep still son, its almost over! - Mooom! Common! - Shh! [- Ah, I got stuck.] - And that explosion was - Elicia looked at him. [- He.] His wife sighed, determined not to look at the old Mushroom Peoples Kingdom. Jack was sure to have made a mess there. In total, this trip was completely worth it, except for *System Message: One of your tributary dungeons has been destroyed* Urgh, again?! - Jack closed the System pop-up, a little bit annoyed. How many hundreds of times had that happened so far? Not that he cared. All of the dungeons which had been destroyed were located in the mainland, so, why care? It had been fun conquering them and expanding his own, but that was just that. Also, he had already collapsed all main entrances five hundred kilometers from the Demon Kingdoms borders, so yeah, that should do it. - Do you know where is your mother? - Elicia said, while releasing her boy. The kids had been growing up. Still, Jack didnt notice it. It was a sleeping trip, after all, and he wanted, more than anything, to do that: Sleep. Maybe if he was back home, he would have paid more attention to that. Maybe, just maybe, he would have realized that over a hundred years had passed already. His middle and youngest children had already reached their teenie years. As for the oldest, he had grind enough sleep resistance to stay awake. This should say enough about his capabilities. The most saddening fact, however, remained how he didnt know even the minimum about the conditions his family had been living on. He really let himself go all out, and slept with no concerns at all. [- Mom? Isnt she with you guys?] - Jack answered, however, his doubt didnt last long. - Im here! - Said Sasha, while hovering in the skies. Her tone was mild and young. It was as if she had gained many years of life. *** Parties where supposed to happen in every special occasion. Well, Jack waking up and they moving around could be considered as such. At the beginning, he and Elicia were overly concerned about the childrens safety. They would be always vigilant, however nothing happened, and then nothing kept happening. They just didnt need to worry, so, they left the worry behind them. Regardless, a small feast was in order. The elemental butlers, with their methodic precision, could only roll their eyes at the sight of year another family meal that was arranged on a formal-dinner fashion. Still, this time, differently from the others, something bothered Jack. He felt a strange sadness in the air. A disconnection to the moment, as if he was seeing a movie. Who are these people ? - was one of the thoughts in his mind. The thought that made him realize the fact that, indeed, he didnt know any of them anymore. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit It’s time. Sasha observed her son for a long time. Ever since they first went out of his cave, she had been doing so. Jack, her son was too clingy. Lazy, clingy and powerful. How could she leave this world with a son like that taking care of her grandchildren? Oh, for sure he wouldnt be a bad influence. But he would wail and beg, influence and go out of his way to keep them jailed in his dungeon. There are many ways through which one can arrest other, without ever needing to use violence. For instance, had Jack known what his eldest son was doing in his little dark elf village, and he would surely have intervened. Under the premise of being dangerous, of being unneeded, he would either decimate the opponents or send them away. It was his form of protecting his family, and it was also a good thing if his family was comprised of regular human beings, the children being small ones and not hundreds of years old. She had gone easy on him. She first talked to Elicia, and both shared the same sentiment: Her son was keeping them away from life. From living. All day long stuck on that dungeon, no way of leaving. How did it feel to have lived over 20 years and only going out with your parents supervision? Oh, for sure, the children didnt had much emotional intelligence at the time, but they had enough to deal with small problems themselves. Freedom. Limited, sure, as even she wouldnt let the children roam the world without minimal supervision. But freedom, nonetheless. A butterfly will die if kept in a jar for too long. And right now, Jacks dungeon was a big, impregnable, steel-clad jar. And so, she acted. First, by putting her idiotic son out of worry. Then, by giving her grandchildren and daughter-in-law room to breathe. She wouldnt accept infidelity, of course, but if Elicia couldnt meet new people and renew her feelings, soon she would be just like her - ready to die. Oh, yes. She hadnt given up on that. She had done what she was teaching those around her multiple times already. Renewing. Reliving. Forgetting about the past and living in the present. There was even a skill which would allow her to live in the present moment, every second being a whole new experience, unlike all others! This was the secret for eternal life, no doubt. After all, even after reaching an immortal body, one still had a mortal mind. It was needed to make the mind immortal, by making It immune to the fatigue accumulated through living the long years. The only reason she was determined to die well, even she wasnt sure. It was an impulse coming from her Mind, not her body or brain. An impulse many of the older generation would get from time to time.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Was it to forgot who they were? To live being re-born? Or just because things like these were common occurrence? Even Elicia was starting to show the signs of the Soul Departure, as the old-timers called it. An instinctive desire of the Soul to leave the world. Sasha lightly smiled, like a mother who had found acceptance of her childrens destiny. She knew now. After many years of experimentation with the beasts soul she had with her, she finally discovered why Souls desired to Depart. It was weird at first, since she would keep trying to prod on the beasts Soul to no avail, until, one day, it found complete quiet. It froze, as if time and space didnt exist. The storage item she used to keep the soul shattered, its existence itself being rendered useless. And then it split. That big soul split on many smaller ones. Seven, to be more precise. Seven souls, seven rays of light. This was the Desire of the souls which desired to Depart. They wished to become many. To stop being a single one. At that moment, peace settled inside of her, and she was truly able to enjoy life. All that remained for her to do, well Was to deal with her sons attachment to herself, as well as to those around him. As a last act of farewell and goodbye, she should at least free them from those foolish worries about keeping sterile relationships. They should build what they desired to build, and if they desired destruction, then they should destroy. It wasnt about fulfilling the senses, but the Mind. To it, all experiences, be them faith or atheism, love or hate, pain or pleasure were only food. Food so it could grow and multiply. Was it really alright? To not care about the pain of others? Not to strive to build a wonderful utopia, where all lived in perpetual realization and enlightenment? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the perfect utopia was this useless and cruel world itself. What was the point of being enlightened, if this enlightenment only worked in heaven? You want to build heaven? Then build heaven! You want for everyone to live in it? Then go and submit all to it, convert them, captivate their hearts and minds! This too shall pass and become nothing. For the very force that drives one forward is none other than a species of hunger - hunger for new experiences, for new beginnings, for death and rebirth. This was samsara, this was the truth of this world - we are never satisfied, and the desire to do good to others is only another form of food. She was ready to accept this, and she was ready for the future. Could she go beyond this cycle? What for? Going beyond this what exactly could go beyond this? Not her Mind, which like an ameba ate, grew and reproduced. Something else? She didnt know of that. She may have hundreds of thousands of built-up hours of meditation, and still it wouldnt help in anything. Because the Mind would only live the search for liberation once it became interested in it. And hers wasnt. A regular beings brain would look for it in an instinctive manner. I will feel pain in the future, so I shall attain liberation in order to run for it. This was the basic thought. But this thought itself was a form of having experiences. Thinking was a way of experiencing. It was foolish to look for liberation in order to escape pain, as accepting pain and quit running was the first step in looking for liberation! Maybe, just maybe this liberation had something to do with what she saw once - a Mind breaking down in many others, smaller minds. It was perfectly still at that moment. Even Time and Space ceased to exist. Even Another World itself, around that big Mind, seemed to have halted. Maybe liberation came with death - the death of the Mind. Afterall, would ones Minds children still be that Mind? Or could they be new existences? Could the Thing Beyond the Mind, if it even existed, be the one taking all of those smaller minds, or would it be free of the Mind and the new ones were new beings entirely? Regardless, it indeed was samsara - as one accepted and valued all experiences around them, be positive, negative or neutral, and learned with them, their Minds would grow faster. If they didnt, them their Minds would grow very slowly. Her sons Mind, as bright and dazzling as it was with Fairy Dust, was so small he wouldnt have this chance so soon. Not that it mattered. It was time for something else to happen. For her to break this cycle of passivity and stagnation. It was time to break up her sons marriage and take her grandchildren from him as well. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Death of a Marriage - Son, press the Divorce button on your Marriage Screen. [- Wha..?] Jack had had the weirdest meal of his life. First, the foods didnt have any gold in them, wait, no that was only uncommon ever since he came to Another World. They were common foods, but something unusual struck him - there were his favorite foods on the table, or at least his favorites before he came to Another World, but also a lot of other foods he didnt knew of. His eldest son, Sandro, looked extremely happy at eating a kind of armored lizard-thing? His second son ate a weird mollusk shaped like a face. And his daughter liked a vegetable? The weirdest things, however, had to do with his wifes and mothers dishes. Elicia ate with sad eyes a meal comprised of the roasted kraken she liked so much but also a bunch of other foods. As for his mother she ate a ghost. Not like a ghost-like plate. A literal ghost. A NPC with ethereal flesh, and no taste at all. Then, each of them drank different drinks, and now the table was clean with the exception of some kinds of tea and biscuits. It was a formal meal, but it didnt contain a single grain of gold in it. They were dragons! Where was the gold?! And now - I said, divorce your wife. Jacks confusion crystalized in time. Instead, a bad attitude took even him by surprise. [- Like fuck I am. Hell you talking about?!] Silence issued. Jack himself felt his heart palpitating. Why did he answer like that? No, why did this person in front of him even thought about that?This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. What was that really his family? A blinding golden light fell from the heavens. It carried the chantings of buddha and arhats. It was the Level 100 counter-magic spell, Breaker of Heavenly Delusion. Still, nothing happened. It wasnt an illusion. Even multiple level 100 illusions would be unable to fool him. His stats should guarantee that. Unless, somehow thousands of years had passed? Maybe that was what happened. Someone took his family and cast a sleeping spell on him. Hundreds of thousands of max-level players should be able to do it. He looked at the Players Screen clock, and then on his Player Log. Nothing. Jack looked ahead. His mother was in silence, his wife as well. The children were surprised and uncomfortable. Sandro had an expression which showed a slight hint of pleasure, whilst his contempt for his father seemed to have been shaken. Pietro seemed to be sad. And Sandra well, she seemed tired and frustrated. Saying these kinds of things in front of the children. Wait, no maybe Ive got it wrong? Shit, was this a joke or something? - Jack thought, while relaxing and blaming himself. The position of useless son was so comfortable for him. As long as he could blame himself and shove it to the side as him being irresponsible, all would be good. He was the irresponsible parent, so, it was only expected of him, right? He didnt have to worry about it, he was allowed to be like that. - Your wife is in love with another man. She has been faithful to you for hundreds of years now, but you have been faithful to your sleep instead. Marriage was made to last 50, at most 80 years. Release her. She has the right to love other people. A small tinge of regret assaulted Jacks senses. Oh, so its about that - was the kind of thing going through his head. - Elicia did say something about it, many years ago. Well, no problem, right? I mean [- I.. I dont think I can endure it well, but I will try! I.] - Jack got out of breath. Something was boiling inside of him. However, his mental resistance skills immediately got into action and released the bad feelings in a mouthful of bad breath [ - You can go out with other guys. I wont stop you from doing it, if you want to sleep with them] - He finally said, his throat constricting. - I dont want it anymore. - Elicia said [ - What?] - His voice was low and tin. - I dont want to be with you anymore, Jack. His mother was there. His children as well. [ - Why?! Ive already said you can see other guys!] - Because I dont want to be your spouse anymore! Nor your girlfriend, nor your fiance! Im tired of being with you just that. Jack couldnt answer. [- Babe, please what ] - He was confused. His skills would activate from time to time, but somehow his hand seemed to move on its own accord and deactivate them. Did he want to stay confused? - There. Thats it. Done. *Your spouse has divorced you!* Jack froze in time, the pop-up window in front of him making it so his vision was lightly obscured. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Death of fatherhood! Sandro looked at his father with pity in his eyes. First, he felt a great deal of anger towards him. Then, things calmed down. Now he even felt that he understood his father a little bit. He was just a lonely man, running from reality. Times had been rough in the past decades. The Kingdom had expanded its borders, and he himself had gone to the frontlines a couple times. There he learned important values. His generals had families, relationships. He met people and learnt that a mother protecting its weak child was capable of using more power than a woman protecting herself. He had grown considerably. With his grandmother as his mentor, life had mostly turned 180 degrees. Indeed Looking at his younger siblings, it was clear that they also had had some similar experiences. His grandmother was good at reading people and directing them towards their growth. So, when she told them of her decision, he wasnt surprised. His father was probably the only case she was never able to properly take care of. Was it because he was her son? Or was it because he was a lost case? Sandro didnt know. But he knew that, if his grandmother said so, then that was the best path possible. His faith in her was complete. *** Pietro looked at his father, a little bit of sadness and pain welling in his heart. He hadnt mastered all the Mental Resistances yet, as most as he loved grinding them above everything else. It was a surprise how much he loved grinding. Had it been not for his grandmother, and he would have stayed inside his fathers kitchen his whole life, eating and play-fighting with his sister. He would have never found his true passion. He would have lived a mild life, and well up unsatisfaction inside of him, to the point where he filled himself with gold and intoxicating foods all day long. Gold was delicious for a dragon. Delicious like heroin. Wasnt his father simply an addict? Maybe he, himself, could also be considered an addict, seeing as how he had decided to devote his whole life to reach higher and higher power levels. At least max level - he said to himself - then Ill find something else to do. Maybe collect cards? Whatever he liked to do at the time. Regardless of what, it didnt include that gooey, sticky emotional dependence his father had generated in the family. It didnt include staying still, in fear of losing what he had only for that to rotten away. *** Sandra pouted a bit. That was so ridiculous. What was the need to let her father know? Just send him a message inbox and be done with it! She had better things to do! The Elf-Gnomish Art Expo would happen in five days! She hadnt finished preparing her piece yet, and now here they were, dealing with her failure of a father! Oh, certainly she loved him. But love didnt equal praise and worship. She had her own husband already, and planned on laying her first egg in five to six years from now. But her father couldnt even start to fathom that. Were they his eternal children? Maybe they would be, had they not been trained by her grandmother. Aaah and dont even start on her grandmother! The old woman was merciless! She even wanted for her to get rid of her husband, just because he liked to stay at home! He isnt your son, grandmother! He doesnt sleep all day long! He even knits for me! Emotional Intelligence. That was the bigger difference between a dragon and a human. As much as they had lived over twenty awaken-years, at the time before her grandmother came back home, they were still children on their minds. Their mood would fluctuate wildly, strong emotions could even make them sick. They would not understand maturity, not matter how much had them lived. and they didnt live much, truth be said, as it was twenty years of semi-captivity. The most time they expended outside would be on dungeon-conquering trips.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Leaving a dungeon only to explore another dungeon. Dungeons all the way in! She liked art. She liked living freely and wildly. She liked songs, people, trills and the glitters of the court! She liked to make gossip and she loved intrigue - as long as it was just a small game of wits, as she would make it to be. As long as no one gets hurt, it is just a game. Luckily for her, it was a game that was useful in real life as well. From the three siblings, she was the first one to master all Mental Resistances. From there on, all she had to do was to accompany her grandmother and build her circle of friends. They had their small codes of conduct and betting rules. One could bet a dukedom, while other would bet their possessions. If someone ended up in too bad of a shape, they would be given some time to recover before returning to the game. Then, there were also nights-out, days-out, family time was it so difficult to make betting into something positive? She found it natural. One could bet futile things with friends, but should never bet against a real enemy. It should be assured victory. That was how she liked to live, and family life was how she liked to relax when she wasnt doing her business. Art well, it was a hobby. Regardless, her father was a dark spot on her perfect life. She wouldnt dismiss him, obviously. But she also wouldnt mingle on his own hobbies. which could be summed up on sleeping and making his family waste their potential. Youll always have a spot on my heart, dad just maybe not the one you fantasize about. *** Elicia felt a cold sensation spreading from her lower abdomen. It was like taking a cold bath on a hot summer, or eating Ice Cream on the beach under the sun. Refreshing. So many decades. So many decades she wanted to do this. But she didnt have the strength to. Why did I marry him? - Was how she first thought about the matter - Because I love him! - Was how she answered for herself. Then, she loved someone else. Then, someone else. And she kept loving people. Never breaking her vows, but, still The children came. She loved them. She loved them as much, if not more, than she loved her husband. But she was unhappy. She had small infatuations here and there. She had administrative work to distract herself. She would go to balls on Dungeon City and dance. She would visit weird people and laugh with them while thinking about the craziness of the world. Sometimes, she would fall in love with someone else. But she always returned home, past loves forgotten, infatuations deflated, husband sleeping on his bed. She then learned how to live a love story with someone, without ever needing any kind of contact. No kisses, no hugs, no sex. Just looking passionately at each other, doing things together, spend time with each other. She had had a handful of such imaginary husbands. Some made her laugh, some made her mad, some took her to do things she never thought about doing, while others well, they went away with the wind and she never saw them again. A few died as well. The good thing about those imaginary husbands was that they werent too deeply involved with her. They were free, and they usually didnt care about others. Of course, jealousy was something that happened all the time. But so, what? She was married in the first place, so, what to say except laugh? She had good times and bad times. Vows of eternal love and heartbreaks. And then she was satisfied. She didnt need it anymore. She started to look around her, and saw that, in terms of partners to share joy and sorrow there was no need to compromise. Good friends could be closer than partners. Confidants were more precious than people youre infatuated with. She had been betrayed before by some of her imaginary husbands. They humiliated her, or made things that broke her heart. And so, she started giving more value to people who stayed by her side as friends than to those who she felt like kissing, hugging and having kids with. More wonderful yet, wouldnt people who did those kinds of things while also remaining friends, no strings attached, be even better? Somewhere inside of her was the mentality of a matriarch. Of someone who isnt affected by compromise. Of someone who gives what they want to give to those they want to give, and then take it back at any time they feel like it. Of someone who gives more value to the moment than to past. To words spoken now than vows made in the past. She was poison for someone like Jack. And still, she desired him and he desired her. Maybe it was just destiny that both had to end up married. Maybe they had something to learn with each other. but that was in the past now. Before she knew of herself, before she knew how to keep in the present moment the vows made in the past. Before she knew how to sort the people around her, how much confidence to give to each and which were the consequences of sharing this or that to those or these people. Now, the old husband of her well, she felt he was past. That he had nothing else that she liked. Even the link they had as friends, as confidents, was lost in time as he slept and she couldnt share her joys and sorrows with him. He didnt know her anymore. So, were they really married in the first place? Elicia looked at Sasha. Her mother-in-law had helped a lot, that was for sure. She herself wouldnt have been able to do things that smoothly without her help. Without her guiding and serving as a supporting pillar for her children, so she could sort out her own feelings and have her own experiences. Then, at first, she asked herself whats this she loves another man thing?. He wasnt wishing to divorce in order to go live with someone else. She didnt wish to build this kind of relationship with anyone else, ever again. And then she saw Jacks reaction. She saw how he basically begged for mercy. How he asked for what? A bond. A bond of marriage a bond of dependence? What did he want him for? What kind of relationship did he want to build? She noticed how he unconsciously deactivated some skills. He himself didnt know what he wanted. She had a clue. Maybe what he wanted was to be more like her - free, polygamous, unhindered by the people around him. But maybe he didnt. She had no way to know. Because she had done all that she could in order to help him reach this, and now was time to take another step - allow him to detach from this bond they had formed, and be free to finally build something new. With someone else, maybe? No, he didnt seem like the kind of guy who would do that. He would probably look for her for a long time, almost like a stalker. And then he would probably start to look for people who were like her, and in this process Oh, it was useless to think about what he would do. There she was, fantasizing about the future. What was she, an oracle? Was this a bad habit she took from him? She pressed the divorce button, and then confirmed the option a couple times. *Youre now single again! * She closed the pop-up window and decided never to touch that DLC pack again. It was nauseating. *** Sasha gave the others a quick glimpse, before focusing back on her son. The poor thing would need help. She sighed inwardly and got ready to do her part. Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Pit Bottom! Some stories have a happy ending. Jacks didnt at least for now. [- I think its better for me to leave, then] Jacks words stunned his mother. As for Elicia, she knew this was coming. And his children well, they knew something was off, but couldnt tell exactly what. Jacks eyes, for some reason, were dry. He himself couldnt tell why. With a trembling hand he pushed the divorce button as well. This way, his now ex-wife wouldnt suffer from any of the maluses of ending a relationship in a unilateral way. The devs, for some reason, thought that it would be fun to add a few debuffs for those who had ended their relationships by themselves, without the partners approval. The broken heart debuff, which prevented healing above a certain percentage of someones health, was one of the nastier ones. Why exactly had them done such a thing? No one can tell exactly. Maybe it was the case where one of the devs had lost his in-game wife? Well, those kind of debuffs healed with time but, regardless, they were quite bothersome. - Son - before Sasha could say something, Jack was gone. His old house was were he was now, and he had nothing to do there anymore, except sleep. With a few breaths, all memories were erased. The table were he and his family used to eat. The old treasuries where he and Elicia called bedroom. The childrens rooms as well. All turned into molten rock and metals. The dungeon core, then, was destroyed as well. He had no interest on managing such a thing, and it would respawn eventually maybe. He really didnt care.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As for the monster waves which would happen all over due to that reckless act of his? He didnt even think of that. All he wanted was to turn his old lair into scorched and molten rock. Rock that he could dig, slowly and compulsively, while ignoring those behind him. Mother, wife, children he had none of them. He never had. He didnt want to have. His powerful brain told him he had, indeed, had those one day. But now he didnt. Sasha observed with quite a good amount of despair as her sons Mind became opaque and lost its brilliance. Not the Fairy Dust. That was there, as bright and shiny as ever. No. What he lost was his Minds will to do anything besides that. Cutting a small hole on the wall and hurling his huge body in it. A Dragon Kings body, gigantic on its own right. Bombarded by sad shouts from his once loved ones, and then even attacks and all kinds of forms of trying to wake him up. For nothing. He wouldnt hear, he wouldnt answer. Jack fell on a long, long dream - one made of pure lightness in the dark. *** The years flew by. Jacks mother endured five thousand. Riddled with guilt, she tried as hard as she could, but her son wouldnt wake up. Shouldnt he wake up after three thousand and six hundred years had passed by? Wasnt that how much Elicia had calculated? But he kept on sleeping. On a last act of detachment, her mind lighted up with countless lights and turned into beautiful dandelions, lighting up the consciousness of many powerful beasts that roamed nearby. His friend of old, riddled with malice and ill intent after losing everything, managed to persevere against his deadly dungeon for two hundred years. Marcus hated Jack to his bones, and after his soul regained its old body, it only became worst. But time eroded all things, his ambitions of vengeance included. Obviously, the fact that Sashas control over Jacks old dungeon was installed after a hundred years had past didnt help - indeed, it made almost impossible for him to progress over the 200o level. His ex-wife lasted a long time as well. Five hundred and seventeen years. Then, her Soul split and she lost her sense of self, becoming many. As for his children those lasted many, many years more than their relatives. Jacks firstborn, Sandro, lasted eight thousand years. Sandra, the youngest, lasted even longer - five hundred thousand years. As for Pietro, his drive for self-improvement lasted for about a few hundred years more than Sandros desire of power. Still, none of them saw him awake, ever again. The chains of time firmly holding him in place, Jack couldnt be made to wake, no mater how hard one tried. His youngest, Sandra, on her late years, would for a long time sleep right next to him, her own grandchildren coming to pay respects. His firstborns, ex-wife and mothers graves were nearby, and his middle sons was enshrined on a far away land. The god of self-cultivation, some called him. And time went by Hit the Road, Jack! : Hit Epilogue! Jack opened his eyes. Or, could it be really called opening them? All around him, beings of various ages and statures looked at him, curiously. Some whispered between themselves. They felt attracted to this huge-looking, ancient dragon, for some reason. And Jack, for them. A warm feeling whizzed inside of him. He seemed to know those beings, and the painful memories of his old days of married life assaulted his senses. He cried a tear, and a sense of relief released those tiny souls around him. - Its done.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A voice reverberated all around him. Where were he? He seemed to be floating amidst an immense and vast space. There was no light, but no darkness either. No sense of touch, smell or vision. Only presence. The overwhelming presence of two beings. - It took you long enough! - A feminine voice said, and Jack felt it came from inside him - Now go, we cant do anything for you anymore. Could he understand that? Go? Where? Wasnt he dead already? A gift. It wasnt a voice. And it wasnt presence, either. It was consciousness. Realization. Perception. Jack looked through himself, and saw his own being. Tucked between his Mind and himself, a small child cried in a corner. Then, it became a butterfly and went away. A sudden jolt of energy assaulted his senses, but he had nothing else to do at this time. Jacks Mind, now free of its disease, drifted back to the world it once belonged to. - Im happy. - Shabes old secretary, Samantha, said, and her voice was the world itself. Im happy too. Some people have potent minds. Those fragment one day, and become many. But what could happen, if one was to open their own Minds to many, at once becoming one? What once used to be Shabe smiled, as the Eons went by. Heaven and Earth, day and night, opportunity and destiny. Their affair ended in a happy note, as the end someday comes to all.