Path of Darkness Read online

  Swiping his hand through the air, Jon caught the bag, and a prompt appeared in his vision.

  System: Bag of Holding received.

  Soul bind it? Yes/No?

  Jon selected yes.

  Bag of Holding is soul bound.

  Do you want to view the contents?

  Before Jon could select yes, he was swirling inside a whirlwind, and the air pricked like knives piercing his skin from all directions.

  Chapter 3

  A dry wind blew toward him, spraying his face with dirt and foliage. After an intense sneezing fit, he pushed himself up and sat on the ground, glancing around. It had been years since he’d smelled the refreshing scent of dirt and foliage. In prison, all he’d smelled was shit and the rotten stench of the mines.

  Glancing up, he found the bright star in the sky was already halfway to the western horizon, and a long shadow covered his face. The source of the shadow was a stone statue that looked like a giant’s middle finger erected from the ground. A white halo covered the distal phalanx of the finger, giving it a divine appearance. Upon gazing at it for a few seconds, a prompt appeared in his vision.

  System: Shrine of Kasari, a forest god. Do you want to declare your allegiance to Kasari? Yes/No.

  Jon quickly selected no. There was no way he would select yes until he learned what the heck that statue did. The first thing he’d read on an online game guide was that many decisions in BlackFlame Online would permanently alter his character, so he would have to choose everything cautiously.

  Getting to his feet, he glanced around only to feel disappointed. The place looked deserted. An old one-story stone building stood fifty meters away, bearing a sign reading “Outpost Office.” A three-foot-tall wooden palisade circled around the shrine and the outpost office.

  It looked nothing like the ones he’d seen in the BlackFlame Online commercials.

  After Baltazar came to see him for the first time, Jon had sneaked into the prison library to access some game videos, and they had shown majestic views of the game. Tall medieval buildings packed with various races—elves, humans, sexy nymphs, and so many others. The city they showed bustled with people farming and visiting inns, markets, and whatnot. The videos swayed him to say yes to Baltazar’s offer without giving it a second thought.

  Did he make a mistake?

  Maybe this outpost area was on the outskirts of the city. Hoping for the best, he walked to the palisade and peeked over it. The barren view crushed his hopes like someone stomping on a bunch of just-sprouted crops. A long grayish crop grew as far as the eye could see between where he stood and the distant mountains. The only break in the monotony were small wooden huts built every five acres or so.

  Maybe the other side would be better.

  Hope again riding in his heart, he walked to the other side of the shrine.

  The same view covered the horizon. There was nothing else. Not even a small building.

  Leaning over the palisade, he touched the grayish crop.

  An alert popped up briefly.

  System: Herbalism level too low to identify the crop.

  “Hey, man, come here.” A shrill voice called.

  Turning, he saw a bald man popping his head out of the only window of the outpost office.

  Nodding to him, Jon walked over. At least he’d found someone who could answer some of his questions. There were so many unclear things, and he needed to learn everything from the start. This was f-ing crazy.

  Ignoring the man’s cringe-worthy face, Jon said, “Mr. ...?”

  “Call me Denis.” Pulling a small notebook from somewhere inside the office, he placed it on the wooden platform attached to the outside of the window. “You’ve got farm number forty-three. Take charge and come back with your harvest in three days. Remember, every week’s quota must be fulfilled by Sunday afternoon, or you don’t get rations.” A wicked smile grew on his face. The man gave off a strong unwelcoming vibe, and he smelled like a bad dream.

  System: Mandatory Quest: Farming

  Quest Class: Uncommon

  Farm the weekly quota given by Denis to receive your reward.

  Reward: Rations and 5 copper/week.

  “But, Denis—”

  Denis waved him away with a hand. “Get lost.”

  Jon ignored his arrogant attitude and pressed forward with his questions. “Can you answer a few questions for me?”

  “Congrats, because you’re an arrogant jerk, your quota is doubled this week. Two thousand weed plants.” He flashed his wicked yellow teeth.

  An old, wrinkled hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him away. For the first time, Jon noticed his own clothes. He was wearing a dark green shirt and gray trousers. There was no underwear beneath the trousers, and it itched like crazy already.

  “Fella.” The owner of the arm pulled him away. He was an old man in his sixties with scarce hair and a white beard. At least his clothes looked better than Jon’s. “Come with me, and I’ll explain everything. If you piss that fella off, you’ll end up doing double work for the first week, and trust me, that ain’t good.” This fellow too flashed yellow teeth, but in a more kindly fashion.

  What was wrong with all these people? Didn’t they use toothpaste here?

  Jon nodded and followed the man to outside the palisade and onto the farm numbered six. He rubbed his smooth jaw as they walked toward the small hut at the corner of the farm. “What’s your name, sir?”

  “I’m Grimish. A fellow convict. I guess you’re the new one they told me about. Nice to meet you, fella.”

  Jon extended his hand. “Call me Jon.”

  Grimish squeezed it with an unexpected strength. “Welcome to the barren land of Laxania.”

  Looking around helplessly, Jon pulled his hand from Grimish’s monster grip. If he had kept it there, Grimish might’ve broken a bone or two, and he didn’t know yet about how the game treated injuries. At least if he died, he would respawn at the shrine. So, no permanent death.

  One good thing.

  Flipping the worn bottle green curtain slightly, Grimish entered his small hut, and Jon followed him.

  The hut was quite minimalistic. A small fireplace, a bunch of pots, a wooden table and chair, and a bedroll that looked like it was made from ragged clothes were the room’s only contents.

  Jon took it all in with a cursory glance before returning his attention to the old man. “Grimish, can you tell me about the farm and what I’m supposed to do there?” Everything else could wait.

  “Fella,” Grimish scratched his white beard, “is this your first time playing the game?”

  “Not exactly. I know a bit about RPGs, but this is the first time I’ve been inside BlackFlame Online.”

  “Hmm. Guess I need to give you a beginner’s lesson. Those fellas at the corporation give squat to the people they send in here.”

  “That would be very helpful.” A grin formed on Jon’s face. Finally, he was learning something. “First tell me about farming and the six-month structure.”

  A rustle outside the hut attracted their attention, and the foul smell of liquor drifted in through the drape-covered doorway.

  “Oh, damn. The earth monsters are here.” The calm look on Grimish’s face turned to dread.

  Chapter 4

  Grimish jumped agilely to his feet, belying his seemingly fragile body. “Follow me, fella. Just don’t get near the earth monster, or you may die on your first day here.”

  A chill ran down Jon’s spine. Not even an hour inside the game, and they were already talking about monsters and death. And he thought farming would be a peaceful job! It was in the real world, at least, far safer than what he used to do in his youth.

  He sighed. What could he do?

  Grimish pulled four small flags out of thin air.

  Jon stumbled backward, nearly falling.

  How did he do that?

  “Stay in front of the door, and when I shout, plant them at the front corners of the house.” He handed Jon two of the flags
, then placed his free hand on the worn drape covering the door.

  Jon nodded. It sounded simple enough.

  The palm-length flag had a silver border around it and a weird symbol in the center.

  Grimish rushed outside. Jon followed. The star had descended to the extreme west, and the light had mostly vanished from the surface, replaced by rays of darkness.

  Strangely, Jon could still see the land covered in gray crops in detail, like his vision had improved a lot.

  As Grimish zipped through the waist-high crop, Jon wondered why everyone called it a weed. While running towards the other end of the farm, Grimish pulled a shovel from the air. It startled Jon less this time. It must be a game feature, he figured.

  A strange-looking creature jumped out of the land and leaped at Grimish. It was comprised of loose stones and was smaller than a ten-year-old child. It had sharp stone teeth and one red eye filled with animosity.

  It looked scary and unfathomable even from a few meters away.

  A warning popped up.

  System: Level is too low to identify the creature.

  Are you stupid? Stop casting perception on things that out-level you.

  +1 to Perception for foolishness.

  Jon was taken aback by the snarky message, but he enjoyed gaining Perception skill. He knew what that skill meant, or at least what it meant in the RPGs he’d played. But that was twenty years back, so he wasn’t sure if the skill had the same meaning in this game too.

  Pushing the useless thoughts away, he focused on the fight between frightening monster and Grimish.

  The monster was trying to bite Grimish, but he kept the monster at bay using his big shovel. Despite his fragile appearance, he proved to be quite strong for a farmer.

  Tendons bulging, Grimish threw the monster away and swiped his shovel over its head, scoring a clean hit.

  The monster fell and melted into the ground.

  “Jon, now!” Grimish shouted.

  On cue, Jon hurried and planted the first flag at one corner and the second at the other.

  Grimish planted his flags as well. When they finished, the four flags formed a perfect square. When Grimish stabbed the fourth flag in the ground, something changed around them. A strange power gushed from the flags and filled the square space between the flags.

  What was happening?

  The effect of the strange field was visible. The weed crop inside the field grew two inches taller, and the shovel in Grimish’s hand shone with a white light.

  The earth monster jumped out of the earth and leaped at Grimish, but this time Grimish’s shovel hit it with a savage blow. It sliced into the creature’s head like it was cutting through a cake. Small stones jumped all around as the shovel made its way inside the creature’s brain.

  The shovel stopped right above the creature’s eye. The light in its eye died, and the creature fell lifeless to the ground.

  Another notification popped up.

  System: You’ve participated in a battle with an Earth Elemental. Experience gained +600.

  Congratulations. You’ve leveled up. You gain two skill points and six stat points (+3 due to no class selection).

  A white light descended from the sky and washed over Jon, and a slew of notifications popped up.

  Name: Jon (Level 1)

  Class: Locked

  Second Class: Locked

  Stats:

  Strength 10

  Dexterity 5

  Constitution 5

  Intelligence 5

  Wisdom 5

  Chance 0

  Charisma 2

  Health 175/175

  Stamina 125/125 (5.25/S)

  Mana 50/50 (5.25/S)

  Spirit 50/50 (5.25/S)

  Skills Locked

  Utility Class: Formationist

  Stat points available: 6

  Skill points available: 2

  Experience 600/1000

  Grimish eyed him. “I totally forgot that you new fellas level up so quickly. That was just a level 5 earth elemental.” He scratched his beard. “Ah, I get it, fella. We were treated as a party, that’s why you got that much experience.” A warm smile grew on his face. “Now, show me your Bag of Holding so I can tell you what the things inside mean.”

  “How?” Jon asked. Though he had the bag attached to his belt, he didn’t know how to use it, and it looked too small to hold much of anything. It was just a fist-sized bag—more of a coin purse, really.

  He tried to slip his hand in the bag, but it ended even before it started. It was that small inside.

  Grimish smirked. “Will it.”

  “What, like... open, Bag of Holding!” Jon chuckled, but went with it. “Drop everything on the ground.”

  Things started popping out of the bag. Flags like the ones Grimish had shown him, a shovel, a large bottle filled with seeds, and a bunch of gold coins.

  “What the—”

  A shovel pierced Jon’s throat.

  Chapter 5

  A black notification popped up.

  System: You have received 300 damage from Grimish’s shovel.

  You have died.

  When the notifications cleared from his vision, Jon found himself in a five-by-five-yard room.

  Where the heck was he?

  When he tried to get up, immense pain shot from his throat like the shovel was still stuck inside it. The memory of his death came rushing back to him. Right. F-ing Grimish had stabbed him with the metal edge of the shovel.

  Had Grimish gone mad? Why did Grimish kill him?

  His head throbbed in pain against the flood, and it took him more than ten minutes to calm his mind. Slowly, the pain faded away. Finally, after twenty minutes of solitude, he rose and looked around. The room was painted gray and smelled like nothing, just like the rooms he’d been in when he first entered the game. It was strange. The game world itself was so realistic. He remembered the scent of liquor in Grimish’s hut and the weed crop’s. Why didn’t this room smell like anything?

  While he paced inside the small room and around the small table placed in the middle, his gaze fell on the small counter at the left of his vision and the red bar below it. Focusing on it revealed it was his respawn counter. The red bar depicted his Health.

  He had two more hours before respawn. Where was this place? Could he access the internet here?

  A screen appeared on the table instantly. So, he could will things to appear. Good to know.

  Excited, he sat down and searched the BlackFlame Online Official Wiki to learn more about classes and stats. If he remembered correctly, characters needed to focus on stats to improve their prowess.

  A quick glance through the hundreds of classes available overwhelmed him. There were too many, and a character could select multiple classes too. Alas, his class was locked, and he wouldn’t be able to pick one for the next 343 years.

  He sighed regretfully.

  Tapping on the table, he moved on to the utility classes. A character could select two utility classes which could be advanced.

  Interesting. He ran his fingers through his long hair, realizing for the first time that he had long hair, unlike his short hair in real life.

  A thought popped up in his mind, so he willed a mirror into existence. A man with blue eyes, a sharp nose, and a square jaw looked back at him in the mirror. It seemed he’d retained the features of his real self, minus the short and corroded neck.

  Damn, he was too handsome, even for himself.

  He chuckled and willed the mirror away.

  Going back to his research, he opened the utility class page.

  The utility class Formationist, it was an interesting class.

  Formationist - A utility class that deals in formation flags. Utilize the Spirit or Mana from your body to stream power into the formations. Formations can be used for utility functions in various professions.

  There was a bunch of other information too, but nothing related to how to use this ability. One interesting thing he learned,
though, was that the class could be upgraded to Formation Adapt level. Unfortunately, there was no information about it.

  He supposed he had to figure that out in the game.

  Moving on, Jon accessed the stat information.

  Strength: Strength is the main stat for melee characters. It increases your Health, Stamina, and melee attack power. It allows you to lift heavy weapons and items. Each point gives 5 Health, 5 Stamina and 5% melee attack damage.

  Dexterity: Dexterity means speed and attack frequency for long-ranged weapon characters. It determines how much precision and power you have in your ranged attacks. It increases your Health, Stamina, speed, dodge chance, and attack range. Each point gives 5 Health, 5 Stamina, 1% speed and dodge chance, and 5% attack range.

  For farming, Jon suspected he’d need to focus on these attributes more. The most important thing would be Strength. If the game was like the RPGs he’d played, items would have stat requirements too.

  Constitution: Constitution helps your appearance. It increases your Health and Stamina, along with resistance to fatigue. Each point gives 10 Health and 10 Stamina.

  Constitution seemed good too, and it doubled the points of Health and Stamina he would receive for each point.

  Now he was torn between the three choices. Strength would increase his Health, Stamina, and attack power by five, while Constitution would increase his Health and Stamina by ten. And Dexterity might be needed for farming speed—not that he would get automatic machines like the ones in real life. He’d probably have to do everything by hand.

  As realistic as the game was, both would probably be needed for farming. But, having seen the earth monster, he knew he would need attack power too. And he had to take care of Grimish, too.

  His fingers clenched into a fist as he remembered the traitor. What did Grimish gain by killing him?

  He moved on to the other stats.

  Intelligence: Intelligence helps you think faster and better. It increases Mana and Mana-based spell damage. Each point increases Health by 5, Mana by 10, and spell damage by 1%. This also adds to your elemental resistance by 1%.