Asher stepped out onto the new planet. The ground was a hard rock. Sand was everywhere. He got a sense of deja vu, but ignored it. This was simply a new world. Stepping away from the black portal he scanned the area to make sure there was no danger. The air was dry, but there was a heavy wind blowing at the moment. At the center of a large valley, Asher felt like he was in the Grand Canyon. The valley was a good 1,000 feet across. Tall plateaus were on either side of them. He sniffed the air. So long spent jumping dungeons he could tell a lot about the planet just from the smell.
Though an entire planet could be one tier, there were always low levels. Like when he first went to Elantontrin. The planet was a Tier III, but he fought level 10 monsters. Young had to level up, and mana fluctuated. The more dense mana areas bred higher level monsters. This was a Tier II planet, but he could sense that it was on the lower part.
“Lower Tier II,” Asher commented loudly for the others to hear.
“What's the difference?” His mother asked. She was nervous since this was her first dungeon, he couldn’t blame her.
“Level,” he said. “Around here should range from 20 to 30. Perfect for us,” he said.
“He’s right,” Tosh said, reading a report in his hand. “Delver teams say there are groups-”
“Don’t say it,” Asher cut him off. “Dungeon Diving is all about getting the feel for it. I assume we will be dropped off on a planet we know nothing about for the trial. Let’s get used to that mindset.” Tosh nodded. This was the only dungeon delve they could book, and it had cost Asher 100 Syscos for the right to close it.
“Um, no offense,” Keera said as she raised her hand. She wore simple black leather gear, and held a mana pistol in her hand. Since mana was her main source of power the mana gun allowed her to condense it and fire it off. It looked more like a blaster from Star Wars to him, but she didn’t feel comfortable using any physical oriented weapons. “Why don’t you just power level us?”
Tosh answered. “We had discussed it before without you, but powerleveling isn’t really a thing. The System knows who did the most damage. Asher could immobilize, and you kill, but you all need the practice.”
Asher spoke next. “We will now form groups. Again, there are 3 types. War, Raid, and Party Groups. Raid groups can be as big as 100, but parties can only be 5 people. War is for anything larger than that. Experience gained would drop if you were in a raid or war group. In groups there are 4 main things to have. Tanks, who take the hits and the monster’s focus, Damage Dealers, who hit harder and focus on attacking, and Healers, who can heal. The last is Support, they do everything else.”
Asher studied the line of his friends and family. “Group 1 will be Vincent as the tank, Keera as support, Bishop as heals, Batman as DPS, and Atalanta as DPS. Group 2 will be Abby as Tank, Ming as DPS, Nadir as support, Tiff as support, and Ria as heals and DPS.”
“I’ve been thinking on that,” Abby said. “I don’t take hits so well. What do you think about Ria being the tank?”
Asher looked to his mother. She was in full plate armor. Shield on her back and a short one-handed sword. She had all the right gear. “Heals and tanking?” He asked her.
“I guess?” Ria said. During their time on Earth she had picked the sword and shield. She did have a more paladin feel to him, and in RPGs, paladins made great tanks.
“We can try it. I expect everyone to move around, and figure out what you like,” he said.
“What will you be doing?” Vincent asked.
“Going over the basics with you, making sure you can handle stuff. Then exploring,” he said. Smelling the air deeply, a big part of Asher had missed this. Looking up 2 suns stared down at him. He always wondered how there could be 2 suns. Did they revolve around one another? Did one revolve, and the other stayed put? Were they both the center of the solar system?
—
Asher ran up the canyon wall. His feet were nimble as he jumped from protrusion to rock. With his increased focus he knew what could be handled. He was still level 30, but with all the titles and quest rewards he had the stats of someone over level 40. When he was close to the 400 foot high canyon wall he leapt and grabbed onto the edge. With a quick pull with his fingers his body was tossed up to the top.
Don’t get cocky, he thought to himself as he looked around. There were more plateaus and canyons, but far off in the distance was a mountain. He willed his normal Guts gear onto his skin. He had learned quickly during the Trial how to instantly dress. The real trick was remembering all the little straps, and where they needed to go.
Giving himself a once over he felt he was ready. The other groups had been set up, and they were on their way to a fork in the road. Tosh would stay with them for now, but Asher was confident they could all handle it. They had been training for a month now. Though not as much as on the ship, they still made time when the drama died down from arriving.
Asher kicked off the ground, he flew forward 100 feet and landed only to jump again. Running was too tedious now. Pumping his legs only to shoot forward a few feet didn’t make sense. Since he had learned true focus he could bring his strength out instantly. The balls of his feet did all the work, when he grew tired he would run. Once he was far enough away from the others he would start to look for things to kill. Since you couldn’t gain experience from monsters 20 levels below your own he would have to make sure they were worth it with Identification.
When he was a few miles away he found his first game. They were standing lizards with fat heads. They stood on their rear legs and stared around as they tried to regulate their body heat. He used Identification on the first one.
Korint Fat Neck Lizards
Level 19
Asher wondered why the System bothered to name them at all, but he rolled his eyes and headed over. Willing out the Dragon Slayer he lept and was among them. He poured mana into his sword and twisted. Their fat heads popped off. It didn’t take long for them all to die.
When he was within a step he could will their carcasses into his ring. Then he was off again and the miles disappeared as the large mountain became closer. He ran into 2 more groups of the lizards. They gave about 2,000 experience each, after about 40 of them he leveled.
| Congratulations |
| For reaching level 31 you have learned the skill |
| ROLE IMMERSION (LVL MAX) |
| Role Immersion (LVL MAX) |
| Sometimes you have to make a porno with amateurs. This skill helps others in believing the lie of the role. |
Is this an illusion skill? Or does it only work on camera while I use my Roleplay skill? Asher wondered. Tiff had become quite good at Roleplaying, and got into it more often. Jokes weren’t as common lately. This would help the others when they needed to make another Prop Manifestation.
| Name: | Asher Whitmore | Skills: | ||
| Alias: | Quinten Hardly | Acting | LVL MAX | |
| System: | PORN STAR | STD Immunity | LVL MAX | |
| Level: | 31 | Roleplaying | LVL MAX | |
| Experience | 524/130,000 | 5+% | Prop Manifestation | LVL MAX |
| Title: | Lawful Good (9) | Relationship Screen | LVL 10 | |
| Guild: | Community | Ahegao | LVL 8 | |
| Syscos: | 5,690 | Survival | LVL 19 | |
| Tracking | LVL 16 | |||
| HP: | 165 | /165 (9) | Brawling | LVL 18 |
| MP: | 96 | /96 | Policing | LVL 9 |
| Battleshout | LVL 15 | |||
| Stats: | 0 | Intimidation | LVL 20 | |
| Strength: | 55 | Powerstrike | LVL 16 | |
| Dexterity: | 45 | Justice | LVL 5 | |
| Endurance: | 55 | Regal Presence | LVL 8 | |
| Agility: | 45 | Battle Instincts | LVL 18 | |
| Wisdom: | 32 | Weapon Throw | LVL 15 | |
| Intelligence: | 32 | Gun Fighting | LVL 9 | |
| Luck: | 32 | Full Body Control | LVL MAX | |
| Charm: | 31 | Mesmerizing Gaze | LVL 9 | |
| Massage | LVL 8 | |||
| Custom Stats: | Healing Touch | LVL 4 | ||
| Dick Length | 9 Inches | More To Love | LVL MAX | |
| Dick Diameter | 2 Inches | Smooth Talker | LVL 3 | |
| Fertility | Off | Mana Sight | LVL 20 | |
| Pheromones | 20 | Revenge | LVL 25 | |
| Libido | 10 | Role Immersion | LVL MAX | |
| Height | 6'-5" | |||
With that level it proved that he really was a Prime. Part of him suspected that he remembered the levels wrong, but 31 was a prime number. He worried about the fact the System might be after him, but then again it had never gone easy on him. Those were problems for another day. He manipulated stat points into his 4 lowest. During the Trial he had focused on the top 4. Though he missed the strength he had, he knew the others were important as well.
The lizards started to thin out. He really wished there was a way to call them all to him. His Intimidation was supposed to keep their focus on him, but it also scared them. The best he could do was make them run away. A thought came to Asher with that, he would have to save it for later. A wicked smile appeared on his lips.
It took 3 hours but he was soon only a few miles from the mountain. His eyes scanned the terrain searching for tracks. It didn’t take long to find the path of a large monster. The deep gouges in the ground spoke of something humongous.
He began to run instead of jump. Jumping over the canyon edge he landed and kept running. Asher remembered being scared by a 4 story drop, now he knew how to absorb the fall well and take no damage.
Excited by the prospect of something big he willed out the Dragon Slayer. The heavy metal almost felt light compared to his strength. The thick metal pipe grip was familiar in his hand.
He caught a whiff of something awful with his nose. Grinding to a halt he almost missed the beast. It was 15 feet tall and blended so well into the rock that he guessed it had a camouflage skill. He cast Identification on it.
*Korint ZILLA LIZARD*
Level 25
Asher had learned that monsters with an asterisk by their names meant stronger than normal. Either boss or an elite. As his eyes discerned the rock from the boss monster he was reminded of his first raid in Korea. This beast too was a lizard. Where the Korean one was long and thin, this one was stocky. Almost fat.
No good plan coming to him he cast Intimidation. Roaring, it echoed in the canyon. The Zilla opened an eye to look at him. The eye raised up over its head a few feet on a stalk. Asher waited, but it made no outward move.
Annoyed, Asher ran and leaped toward it. As he was in the air the Zilla moved out of the way, but it wasn’t fast enough as Asher's blade cut through a 5 foot thick section of the tail.
The beast scrambled away then. It was not used to someone attacking it as it retreated to its lair. Asher was soon running after it. He matched pace with it, but worried the beast's home was underground. More than one foe had gotten away that way. Asher increased his speed and with another roar he charged mana into his blade and struck the Zilla’s leg.
It hissed, curving around to face him. The eyes shot up as the tongue shot out. It was black, and he could smell poison. His mana charged sword blocked it like a shield. Asher was hardly moved back from the force. With a growl he raised his blade over his head as the tongue was retracted. Then he threw the hunk of metal at the monster’s head. The heavy sword turned end over end and embedded itself in its lower jaw.
Asher jumped forward as the Zilla hissed and spat poison blindly. None were close to him as he caught himself on the grip of the sword. Pulling it out as he fell he cast Justice into the sword for the first time in a long time. His mana bottomed out as he jumped and slashed down. The white holy light extended from the blade cutting the monster’s head in half.
He breathed heavily as mana slowly poured back into him. By the time he caught his breath he already had 1 MP. “Cool,” he said. Casting Mana Sight he traced the mana veins of the boss monster before they faded. They led to an area between the lungs. He walked over and with one hard hit he slashed through the rib cage. Gray blood splattered around him, but the mana pulsed.
Sticking his hand in he found the rock like material and ripped it out. Asher had found his first Mana Heart after stumbling upon it. Like Tosh had said, monsters could evolve. Typically they had a Mana Heart when they did. He had never found out what the Hearts were for, but he bet it was important. A part of him bet that Joon kept the one from the Korean boss.
Throwing it in his ring he left the carcass there. He had gained 8,000 experience from the one fight. Well worth the effort. Too bad it was too large to fit in his ring. He headed back to where he left everyone else.
—-
It was getting dark by the time he got back. From afar he was happy to see that they hadn’t given up. Group 1 had stuck with Vincent tanking. The Buster Sword acted as a good weapon and shield since it was so thick. The group fought monsters that resembled camels. The legs and necks were shorter, but they were just as tall as camels. They continuously tried to ram the group.
Vincent cast Ice and Lightning magic, and at one point he cast fire too. He guessed Vincent had leveled. Atalanta was with the group. She had disappeared for a while after the Trial but appeared again a few days ago like nothing happened. She was more than happy to join in a dungeon. Asher needed to make a point to talk with her later. For now she used her flight to draw more of the camels in.
Batman changed his location now and then. When he was at the back he cast shadow bolts that resembled Batarangs. He guessed he too got a new move. When he ran out of mana he went up with Vincent and attacked with a thin all black sword. Asher guessed it was Custom since the hilt was the shape of a bat.
Bishop was heals and stuck to that. Asher’s father wasn’t much of a fighter. But he would throw a white bolt of holy mana now and then. Some type of holy distance attack. Most everyone was full health the whole fight as he was able to cast healing spells from a distance. He wore white robes that had chainmail underneath. Keera stayed back. She really didn’t have many attacks yet. He hoped that changed as she leveled.
Using Mana Sight he noticed a grouping farther down the canyon. Running along the top he noticed a few of the standing lizards. Asher felt the team was ready for a surprise. The lizards between him and group 1 he threw mana into Intimidation. The roar echoed and caused the lizards to flee. Their fat necks shrunk and they slunk away.
Asher jumped back up to the top of the canyon and ran after them. He heard group 1 start yelling as the lizards approached. There were only 12 of them. Atalanta, Batman, and Vincent put themselves in front.
Atalanta extended her hands. He watched as her mana spread out in a wide wall. Then the lizards hit it. The mana sucked up all of the monster’s kinetic energy, causing those in front to stop. Those behind ran into them. Then all of them piled up together.
All 3 began slicing with their own blades. Keera used her mana gun on outliers and it wasn’t long until they were all dead. He watched as they breathed heavily. His father cast a new refresh spell on the team. They all high fived or cheered. Asher smiled. Then he was off to find group 2.
They were much the same. Asher used Identification and all of them had leveled a couple of times. They were in a large field that was as far as the eye could see. The field had large holes in the ground.
Intrigued, he watched as Nadir cast an illusion of a large snake. The illusion went into a hole, and a few holes over a man sized meerkat monster shot out. Tiff used her Flight to get near it. Then with a yell she used her new telekinesis to throw it closer to the group.
His mother drew it toward her with a yell. Hitting her silver shield with her sword the meerkat scuttled toward her. It scratched at the shield then Abby would cast a large ki blast into its side as the others attacked from a distance. A wave of fire escaped Ming’s hand on one side. Even Tiff cast her new Wind Slash skill she had learned from a skill book.
It didn’t take long for the meerkat to die and for it to disappear. A little hesitant with the size of the monsters he decided to try it anyway. He slunk around behind a hill and yelled an Intimidation inside a hole.
He heard yelling from the group and slunk back to see them being attacked by a group of 5. Abby had to start tanking 1 as his mother could only keep aggro on 4. Ria yelled orders and they focused on the one Abby had. When it was dead they used the rest of their mana to pound into the 4.
His mother got hit by friendly fire once or twice. But when she did she cast a heal on herself and was back near full health. When they killed the last one they cheered happily. Asher slunk away and found Tosh not far off.
“How’s it going?” Asher asked.
Tosh jumped. He was in a chair relaxing with a book. He closed it and looked back. “Have your fill of fun?”
“Almost,” he said. “Call them back. Let them rest. I’m gonna spend the night dragging mobs to you guys.”
—
By the morning even Asher was tired. He had spent all night running mile after mile. Finding new groups of monsters and kiting them to where his family tried to sleep was exhausting. They had set up camp near a cave. All pulling out tents and relaxing. Tiff had called him on the Comm, but he said he was far away. Around dark he pulled the first group of meerkats to the camp.
They had panicked of course. Tents were trampled on. Food was destroyed. But both groups were able to defeat them together. By the time they finished with them Asher already had the thick camels coming.
It didn’t take long for them to clean up and retreat to the cave. Asher was able to pull almost 2 groups an hour. They set up a watch consisting of each group. Asher had stayed up for 4 days straight at level 17. He thought they could handle 1 night. And they proved him right.
“What’s wrong?” Asher asked as he came to the mouth of the cave. Group 2 jumped up. The sun was coming up and they could just barely make him out.
“Where the hell have you been?” Vincent asked. “We’ve been attacked all night.”
“You have?” He asked innocently. “Well I’ll keep watch. You all get some sleep.” They smiled widely and headed further into the cave. Apparently they trusted him more than he thought. He felt a little bad. Just a little.
Asher didn’t notice Atalanta until she sat down a little away from him. She wore thick black leather gear and her orange hair was in disarray.
“It’s good to see you,” he said truthfully. “I was worried about you.”
She didn’t react to the comment. After a bit she asked, “why did you want me to come with you on this trip?”
Asher thought about it. It was probably the longest sentence he had heard from her since she joined. “Because you’re badass?” He guessed. “Nadir told me about this Matrix girl not to mess with. He sent me a file on you. It was a lot of information, but didn’t have any facts like your name or age. When I saw you robbing that bank I thought you were super cool. Maybe I thought you were a kindred spirit? Who knows. A part of me knew that you didn’t fear anything. And I was scared as hell to leave planet. I wanted a badass with me.”
She didn’t react from the statement. But he did notice a tear roll down her eye. Worried he messed something up he decided to say what he originally planned. “My Trial was bad. I’m sure I’d still be a blubbering mess if it wasn’t for those around me. But now I’ve realized that some of it was good. I learned a lot, and I know I’m stronger for it.” He tried to put his thoughts into words. “I know you didn’t have it any easier. But I want you to know I’m impressed as hell that you made it out. And I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
She stood up and walked further into the cave. Her hands wiped at her eyes. A sad look took over her face as he watched her leave. With a sigh he started a small fire. Soon he had coffee, bacon, and eggs cooking over it.
The smell woke up others gathered around the fire. “I know you think you’re tired,” Asher said, passing around plates. “But your bodies can handle a lot worse. I stayed up for 4 days straight fighting at level 17.”
His mothers eyes squinted at him. “Did you drag those monsters to us all night?”
“Maybe,” he said smiling. Groans of anger sounded and more than one pebble bounced off his head as people threw them at him. “This isn’t a vacation, guys. This is training. And we only have one chance at this. I won’t do it again, but you need to learn what your bodies can handle.” A few more people grumbled. Tiff threw a handful of pebbles at him, but they soon calmed down.
“Team building exercise time,” Asher said and explained how he awakened his System. It wasn’t long before people were laughing. Tiff joined in. Then they went around in a circle. It wasn’t long before the 3 outsiders were left.
Vincent began. “I grew up in Texas,” he admitted. “Joined the military. My best friend was our Sergeant. He took friendly fire and I took command. Then my System came up.”
“Sounds about right,” Asher said. “Ming?”
She slowly finished the bacon in her mouth. She typically only asked questions now and then. She was Asian and had tan skin. He at first didn’t think she was going to answer, then she spoke.
“I grew up in China. My mother was from Mongolia,” she said, shocking more than a few people. Not from the news, but the fact that she was talking. “My grandfather taught me martial arts over summers. My parents stayed in the city when I went to the country. When I became old enough I joined the military. One day as I was training my System awakened. Some higher up had an Identification skill and I was pulled out. Eventually I ended up in Interpol. I worked on a Red Quest out of Spain. There was a Gamer killing other System Users for experience. I guess I did so well they recommended me for this.”
“I’m sorry,” Asher said. “I can’t help but ask how your cultivation works.”
She thought about it for a little bit. “I absorb mana in the air. When I absorb enough I get experience. And also replenish my MP more quickly.”
“So cool,” Asher and Keera said. Ming smiled.
Most everyone looked at Atalanta. She blushed under the gazes. “I um- am not ready to talk about that yet.”
“Fair enough,” Asher said. “I appreciate you 3 coming here. Even if we haven’t spent much time together. If you do want to talk just let me know.”
No one said anything but they nodded. He cleaned up the plates as the new pop up screen appeared.
| Your Quest "Champion Representation" has been updated |
| Current Members: 11/?? |
| Time Limit: 7:12:32:42 |
| Quest Rewards: |
| Syscos |
| Experience |
| Random Champion Gear |
| New Skill |
| ????? |
Asher stepped out onto the new planet. The ground was a hard rock. Sand was everywhere. He got a sense of deja vu, but ignored it. This was simply a new world. Stepping away from the black portal he scanned the area to make sure there was no danger. The air was dry, but there was a heavy wind blowing at the moment. At the center of a large valley, Asher felt like he was in the Grand Canyon. The valley was a good 1,000 feet across. Tall plateaus were on either side of them. He sniffed the air. So long spent jumping dungeons he could tell a lot about the planet just from the smell.
Though an entire planet could be one tier, there were always low levels. Like when he first went to Elantontrin. The planet was a Tier III, but he fought level 10 monsters. Young had to level up, and mana fluctuated. The more dense mana areas bred higher level monsters. This was a Tier II planet, but he could sense that it was on the lower part.
“Lower Tier II,” Asher commented loudly for the others to hear.
“What's the difference?” His mother asked. She was nervous since this was her first dungeon, he couldn’t blame her.
“Level,” he said. “Around here should range from 20 to 30. Perfect for us,” he said.
“He’s right,” Tosh said, reading a report in his hand. “Delver teams say there are groups-”
“Don’t say it,” Asher cut him off. “Dungeon Diving is all about getting the feel for it. I assume we will be dropped off on a planet we know nothing about for the trial. Let’s get used to that mindset.” Tosh nodded. This was the only dungeon delve they could book, and it had cost Asher 100 Syscos for the right to close it.
“Um, no offense,” Keera said as she raised her hand. She wore simple black leather gear, and held a mana pistol in her hand. Since mana was her main source of power the mana gun allowed her to condense it and fire it off. It looked more like a blaster from Star Wars to him, but she didn’t feel comfortable using any physical oriented weapons. “Why don’t you just power level us?”
Tosh answered. “We had discussed it before without you, but powerleveling isn’t really a thing. The System knows who did the most damage. Asher could immobilize, and you kill, but you all need the practice.”
Asher spoke next. “We will now form groups. Again, there are 3 types. War, Raid, and Party Groups. Raid groups can be as big as 100, but parties can only be 5 people. War is for anything larger than that. Experience gained would drop if you were in a raid or war group. In groups there are 4 main things to have. Tanks, who take the hits and the monster’s focus, Damage Dealers, who hit harder and focus on attacking, and Healers, who can heal. The last is Support, they do everything else.”
Asher studied the line of his friends and family. “Group 1 will be Vincent as the tank, Keera as support, Bishop as heals, Batman as DPS, and Atalanta as DPS. Group 2 will be Abby as Tank, Ming as DPS, Nadir as support, Tiff as support, and Ria as heals and DPS.”
“I’ve been thinking on that,” Abby said. “I don’t take hits so well. What do you think about Ria being the tank?”
Asher looked to his mother. She was in full plate armor. Shield on her back and a short one-handed sword. She had all the right gear. “Heals and tanking?” He asked her.
“I guess?” Ria said. During their time on Earth she had picked the sword and shield. She did have a more paladin feel to him, and in RPGs, paladins made great tanks.
“We can try it. I expect everyone to move around, and figure out what you like,” he said.
“What will you be doing?” Vincent asked.
“Going over the basics with you, making sure you can handle stuff. Then exploring,” he said. Smelling the air deeply, a big part of Asher had missed this. Looking up 2 suns stared down at him. He always wondered how there could be 2 suns. Did they revolve around one another? Did one revolve, and the other stayed put? Were they both the center of the solar system?
—
Asher ran up the canyon wall. His feet were nimble as he jumped from protrusion to rock. With his increased focus he knew what could be handled. He was still level 30, but with all the titles and quest rewards he had the stats of someone over level 40. When he was close to the 400 foot high canyon wall he leapt and grabbed onto the edge. With a quick pull with his fingers his body was tossed up to the top.
Don’t get cocky, he thought to himself as he looked around. There were more plateaus and canyons, but far off in the distance was a mountain. He willed his normal Guts gear onto his skin. He had learned quickly during the Trial how to instantly dress. The real trick was remembering all the little straps, and where they needed to go.
Giving himself a once over he felt he was ready. The other groups had been set up, and they were on their way to a fork in the road. Tosh would stay with them for now, but Asher was confident they could all handle it. They had been training for a month now. Though not as much as on the ship, they still made time when the drama died down from arriving.
Asher kicked off the ground, he flew forward 100 feet and landed only to jump again. Running was too tedious now. Pumping his legs only to shoot forward a few feet didn’t make sense. Since he had learned true focus he could bring his strength out instantly. The balls of his feet did all the work, when he grew tired he would run. Once he was far enough away from the others he would start to look for things to kill. Since you couldn’t gain experience from monsters 20 levels below your own he would have to make sure they were worth it with Identification.
When he was a few miles away he found his first game. They were standing lizards with fat heads. They stood on their rear legs and stared around as they tried to regulate their body heat. He used Identification on the first one.
Korint Fat Neck Lizards
Level 19
Asher wondered why the System bothered to name them at all, but he rolled his eyes and headed over. Willing out the Dragon Slayer he lept and was among them. He poured mana into his sword and twisted. Their fat heads popped off. It didn’t take long for them all to die.
When he was within a step he could will their carcasses into his ring. Then he was off again and the miles disappeared as the large mountain became closer. He ran into 2 more groups of the lizards. They gave about 2,000 experience each, after about 40 of them he leveled.
| Congratulations |
| For reaching level 31 you have learned the skill |
| ROLE IMMERSION (LVL MAX) |
| Role Immersion (LVL MAX) |
| Sometimes you have to make a porno with amateurs. This skill helps others in believing the lie of the role. |
Is this an illusion skill? Or does it only work on camera while I use my Roleplay skill? Asher wondered. Tiff had become quite good at Roleplaying, and got into it more often. Jokes weren’t as common lately. This would help the others when they needed to make another Prop Manifestation.
| Name: | Asher Whitmore | Skills: | ||
| Alias: | Quinten Hardly | Acting | LVL MAX | |
| System: | PORN STAR | STD Immunity | LVL MAX | |
| Level: | 31 | Roleplaying | LVL MAX | |
| Experience | 524/130,000 | 5+% | Prop Manifestation | LVL MAX |
| Title: | Lawful Good (9) | Relationship Screen | LVL 10 | |
| Guild: | Community | Ahegao | LVL 8 | |
| Syscos: | 5,690 | Survival | LVL 19 | |
| Tracking | LVL 16 | |||
| HP: | 165 | /165 (9) | Brawling | LVL 18 |
| MP: | 96 | /96 | Policing | LVL 9 |
| Battleshout | LVL 15 | |||
| Stats: | 0 | Intimidation | LVL 20 | |
| Strength: | 55 | Powerstrike | LVL 16 | |
| Dexterity: | 45 | Justice | LVL 5 | |
| Endurance: | 55 | Regal Presence | LVL 8 | |
| Agility: | 45 | Battle Instincts | LVL 18 | |
| Wisdom: | 32 | Weapon Throw | LVL 15 | |
| Intelligence: | 32 | Gun Fighting | LVL 9 | |
| Luck: | 32 | Full Body Control | LVL MAX | |
| Charm: | 31 | Mesmerizing Gaze | LVL 9 | |
| Massage | LVL 8 | |||
| Custom Stats: | Healing Touch | LVL 4 | ||
| Dick Length | 9 Inches | More To Love | LVL MAX | |
| Dick Diameter | 2 Inches | Smooth Talker | LVL 3 | |
| Fertility | Off | Mana Sight | LVL 20 | |
| Pheromones | 20 | Revenge | LVL 25 | |
| Libido | 10 | Role Immersion | LVL MAX | |
| Height | 6'-5" | |||
With that level it proved that he really was a Prime. Part of him suspected that he remembered the levels wrong, but 31 was a prime number. He worried about the fact the System might be after him, but then again it had never gone easy on him. Those were problems for another day. He manipulated stat points into his 4 lowest. During the Trial he had focused on the top 4. Though he missed the strength he had, he knew the others were important as well.
The lizards started to thin out. He really wished there was a way to call them all to him. His Intimidation was supposed to keep their focus on him, but it also scared them. The best he could do was make them run away. A thought came to Asher with that, he would have to save it for later. A wicked smile appeared on his lips.
It took 3 hours but he was soon only a few miles from the mountain. His eyes scanned the terrain searching for tracks. It didn’t take long to find the path of a large monster. The deep gouges in the ground spoke of something humongous.
He began to run instead of jump. Jumping over the canyon edge he landed and kept running. Asher remembered being scared by a 4 story drop, now he knew how to absorb the fall well and take no damage.
Excited by the prospect of something big he willed out the Dragon Slayer. The heavy metal almost felt light compared to his strength. The thick metal pipe grip was familiar in his hand.
He caught a whiff of something awful with his nose. Grinding to a halt he almost missed the beast. It was 15 feet tall and blended so well into the rock that he guessed it had a camouflage skill. He cast Identification on it.
*Korint ZILLA LIZARD*
Level 25
Asher had learned that monsters with an asterisk by their names meant stronger than normal. Either boss or an elite. As his eyes discerned the rock from the boss monster he was reminded of his first raid in Korea. This beast too was a lizard. Where the Korean one was long and thin, this one was stocky. Almost fat.
No good plan coming to him he cast Intimidation. Roaring, it echoed in the canyon. The Zilla opened an eye to look at him. The eye raised up over its head a few feet on a stalk. Asher waited, but it made no outward move.
Annoyed, Asher ran and leaped toward it. As he was in the air the Zilla moved out of the way, but it wasn’t fast enough as Asher's blade cut through a 5 foot thick section of the tail.
The beast scrambled away then. It was not used to someone attacking it as it retreated to its lair. Asher was soon running after it. He matched pace with it, but worried the beast's home was underground. More than one foe had gotten away that way. Asher increased his speed and with another roar he charged mana into his blade and struck the Zilla’s leg.
It hissed, curving around to face him. The eyes shot up as the tongue shot out. It was black, and he could smell poison. His mana charged sword blocked it like a shield. Asher was hardly moved back from the force. With a growl he raised his blade over his head as the tongue was retracted. Then he threw the hunk of metal at the monster’s head. The heavy sword turned end over end and embedded itself in its lower jaw.
Asher jumped forward as the Zilla hissed and spat poison blindly. None were close to him as he caught himself on the grip of the sword. Pulling it out as he fell he cast Justice into the sword for the first time in a long time. His mana bottomed out as he jumped and slashed down. The white holy light extended from the blade cutting the monster’s head in half.
He breathed heavily as mana slowly poured back into him. By the time he caught his breath he already had 1 MP. “Cool,” he said. Casting Mana Sight he traced the mana veins of the boss monster before they faded. They led to an area between the lungs. He walked over and with one hard hit he slashed through the rib cage. Gray blood splattered around him, but the mana pulsed.
Sticking his hand in he found the rock like material and ripped it out. Asher had found his first Mana Heart after stumbling upon it. Like Tosh had said, monsters could evolve. Typically they had a Mana Heart when they did. He had never found out what the Hearts were for, but he bet it was important. A part of him bet that Joon kept the one from the Korean boss.
Throwing it in his ring he left the carcass there. He had gained 8,000 experience from the one fight. Well worth the effort. Too bad it was too large to fit in his ring. He headed back to where he left everyone else.
—-
It was getting dark by the time he got back. From afar he was happy to see that they hadn’t given up. Group 1 had stuck with Vincent tanking. The Buster Sword acted as a good weapon and shield since it was so thick. The group fought monsters that resembled camels. The legs and necks were shorter, but they were just as tall as camels. They continuously tried to ram the group.
Vincent cast Ice and Lightning magic, and at one point he cast fire too. He guessed Vincent had leveled. Atalanta was with the group. She had disappeared for a while after the Trial but appeared again a few days ago like nothing happened. She was more than happy to join in a dungeon. Asher needed to make a point to talk with her later. For now she used her flight to draw more of the camels in.
Batman changed his location now and then. When he was at the back he cast shadow bolts that resembled Batarangs. He guessed he too got a new move. When he ran out of mana he went up with Vincent and attacked with a thin all black sword. Asher guessed it was Custom since the hilt was the shape of a bat.
Bishop was heals and stuck to that. Asher’s father wasn’t much of a fighter. But he would throw a white bolt of holy mana now and then. Some type of holy distance attack. Most everyone was full health the whole fight as he was able to cast healing spells from a distance. He wore white robes that had chainmail underneath. Keera stayed back. She really didn’t have many attacks yet. He hoped that changed as she leveled.
Using Mana Sight he noticed a grouping farther down the canyon. Running along the top he noticed a few of the standing lizards. Asher felt the team was ready for a surprise. The lizards between him and group 1 he threw mana into Intimidation. The roar echoed and caused the lizards to flee. Their fat necks shrunk and they slunk away.
Asher jumped back up to the top of the canyon and ran after them. He heard group 1 start yelling as the lizards approached. There were only 12 of them. Atalanta, Batman, and Vincent put themselves in front.
Atalanta extended her hands. He watched as her mana spread out in a wide wall. Then the lizards hit it. The mana sucked up all of the monster’s kinetic energy, causing those in front to stop. Those behind ran into them. Then all of them piled up together.
All 3 began slicing with their own blades. Keera used her mana gun on outliers and it wasn’t long until they were all dead. He watched as they breathed heavily. His father cast a new refresh spell on the team. They all high fived or cheered. Asher smiled. Then he was off to find group 2.
They were much the same. Asher used Identification and all of them had leveled a couple of times. They were in a large field that was as far as the eye could see. The field had large holes in the ground.
Intrigued, he watched as Nadir cast an illusion of a large snake. The illusion went into a hole, and a few holes over a man sized meerkat monster shot out. Tiff used her Flight to get near it. Then with a yell she used her new telekinesis to throw it closer to the group.
His mother drew it toward her with a yell. Hitting her silver shield with her sword the meerkat scuttled toward her. It scratched at the shield then Abby would cast a large ki blast into its side as the others attacked from a distance. A wave of fire escaped Ming’s hand on one side. Even Tiff cast her new Wind Slash skill she had learned from a skill book.
It didn’t take long for the meerkat to die and for it to disappear. A little hesitant with the size of the monsters he decided to try it anyway. He slunk around behind a hill and yelled an Intimidation inside a hole.
He heard yelling from the group and slunk back to see them being attacked by a group of 5. Abby had to start tanking 1 as his mother could only keep aggro on 4. Ria yelled orders and they focused on the one Abby had. When it was dead they used the rest of their mana to pound into the 4.
His mother got hit by friendly fire once or twice. But when she did she cast a heal on herself and was back near full health. When they killed the last one they cheered happily. Asher slunk away and found Tosh not far off.
“How’s it going?” Asher asked.
Tosh jumped. He was in a chair relaxing with a book. He closed it and looked back. “Have your fill of fun?”
“Almost,” he said. “Call them back. Let them rest. I’m gonna spend the night dragging mobs to you guys.”
—
By the morning even Asher was tired. He had spent all night running mile after mile. Finding new groups of monsters and kiting them to where his family tried to sleep was exhausting. They had set up camp near a cave. All pulling out tents and relaxing. Tiff had called him on the Comm, but he said he was far away. Around dark he pulled the first group of meerkats to the camp.
They had panicked of course. Tents were trampled on. Food was destroyed. But both groups were able to defeat them together. By the time they finished with them Asher already had the thick camels coming.
It didn’t take long for them to clean up and retreat to the cave. Asher was able to pull almost 2 groups an hour. They set up a watch consisting of each group. Asher had stayed up for 4 days straight at level 17. He thought they could handle 1 night. And they proved him right.
“What’s wrong?” Asher asked as he came to the mouth of the cave. Group 2 jumped up. The sun was coming up and they could just barely make him out.
“Where the hell have you been?” Vincent asked. “We’ve been attacked all night.”
“You have?” He asked innocently. “Well I’ll keep watch. You all get some sleep.” They smiled widely and headed further into the cave. Apparently they trusted him more than he thought. He felt a little bad. Just a little.
Asher didn’t notice Atalanta until she sat down a little away from him. She wore thick black leather gear and her orange hair was in disarray.
“It’s good to see you,” he said truthfully. “I was worried about you.”
She didn’t react to the comment. After a bit she asked, “why did you want me to come with you on this trip?”
Asher thought about it. It was probably the longest sentence he had heard from her since she joined. “Because you’re badass?” He guessed. “Nadir told me about this Matrix girl not to mess with. He sent me a file on you. It was a lot of information, but didn’t have any facts like your name or age. When I saw you robbing that bank I thought you were super cool. Maybe I thought you were a kindred spirit? Who knows. A part of me knew that you didn’t fear anything. And I was scared as hell to leave planet. I wanted a badass with me.”
She didn’t react from the statement. But he did notice a tear roll down her eye. Worried he messed something up he decided to say what he originally planned. “My Trial was bad. I’m sure I’d still be a blubbering mess if it wasn’t for those around me. But now I’ve realized that some of it was good. I learned a lot, and I know I’m stronger for it.” He tried to put his thoughts into words. “I know you didn’t have it any easier. But I want you to know I’m impressed as hell that you made it out. And I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
She stood up and walked further into the cave. Her hands wiped at her eyes. A sad look took over her face as he watched her leave. With a sigh he started a small fire. Soon he had coffee, bacon, and eggs cooking over it.
The smell woke up others gathered around the fire. “I know you think you’re tired,” Asher said, passing around plates. “But your bodies can handle a lot worse. I stayed up for 4 days straight fighting at level 17.”
His mothers eyes squinted at him. “Did you drag those monsters to us all night?”
“Maybe,” he said smiling. Groans of anger sounded and more than one pebble bounced off his head as people threw them at him. “This isn’t a vacation, guys. This is training. And we only have one chance at this. I won’t do it again, but you need to learn what your bodies can handle.” A few more people grumbled. Tiff threw a handful of pebbles at him, but they soon calmed down.
“Team building exercise time,” Asher said and explained how he awakened his System. It wasn’t long before people were laughing. Tiff joined in. Then they went around in a circle. It wasn’t long before the 3 outsiders were left.
Vincent began. “I grew up in Texas,” he admitted. “Joined the military. My best friend was our Sergeant. He took friendly fire and I took command. Then my System came up.”
“Sounds about right,” Asher said. “Ming?”
She slowly finished the bacon in her mouth. She typically only asked questions now and then. She was Asian and had tan skin. He at first didn’t think she was going to answer, then she spoke.
“I grew up in China. My mother was from Mongolia,” she said, shocking more than a few people. Not from the news, but the fact that she was talking. “My grandfather taught me martial arts over summers. My parents stayed in the city when I went to the country. When I became old enough I joined the military. One day as I was training my System awakened. Some higher up had an Identification skill and I was pulled out. Eventually I ended up in Interpol. I worked on a Red Quest out of Spain. There was a Gamer killing other System Users for experience. I guess I did so well they recommended me for this.”
“I’m sorry,” Asher said. “I can’t help but ask how your cultivation works.”
She thought about it for a little bit. “I absorb mana in the air. When I absorb enough I get experience. And also replenish my MP more quickly.”
“So cool,” Asher and Keera said. Ming smiled.
Most everyone looked at Atalanta. She blushed under the gazes. “I um- am not ready to talk about that yet.”
“Fair enough,” Asher said. “I appreciate you 3 coming here. Even if we haven’t spent much time together. If you do want to talk just let me know.”
No one said anything but they nodded. He cleaned up the plates as the new pop up screen appeared.
| Your Quest "Champion Representation" has been updated |
| Current Members: 11/?? |
| Time Limit: 7:12:32:42 |
| Quest Rewards: |
| Syscos |
| Experience |
| Random Champion Gear |
| New Skill |
| ????? |
