Guild Wars

Misery spawned in Stagnant Moss town, which had become the default base for Umbra players. He spent some time taking in the amazing virtual world, marveling at how far technology had come since his time. 

Soon, a screen popped up before him. 

｢Thank you for choosing the Master Package! 

Rewards: 

2 Health potion 

2 Mana potion 

2 Stamina potion 

1 common weapons set 

1 light armor set 

1 medium armor set 

1 heavy armor set 

3 blank Tradeskills books 

1 basic resources chest 

1 rare resources chest 

2 rare weapons chest 

3 blank uncommon combat skill books｣ 

He had been told about this already. 

The potions he was to keep, the Common weapons he could sell to the guild for in-game money or IRL cash, for the armor set, he was supposed to pick the one he needed and could sell the other two like with the Common weapons set. 

The 3 blank Tradeskill books could be sold, but he was advised to take a minimum of one Tradeskill, especially as a Bloodline user. 

There were definitely Tradeskills out there that suited his skillset or the powers granted to him through his Lineage's Inheritance. 

The basic resources and rare resource chests were supposed to be opened only after he picked his Tradeskills, and they would grant him the necessary materials to start working on them without having to go and harvest them himself. 

The 2 Rare weapon chests would allow him to select his weapons of battle. If he required only one, he could sell the other to the guild for some money. 

Finally, there were the 3 Uncommon skill books. Misery had already been sent a list through PM of the best Uncommon skills for the various basic classes. 

Remembering all this, Misery rubbed his hair with a tired look in his eyes. He looked around the bustling town and decided to find a bar. 

"Rum…" 

Misery ended up in a tavern called The Swallow's Beak, which was populated by newbie players relaxing before their next quest or dungeon. 

Misery found a quiet spot and wondered how much money he had anyway. 

He saw that aside from the PM had also received 1000 UPs, which was the sign on benefit for core members nowadays. Misery remembered what the Little Princess had told him before he jumped in. She had initially wanted to come and pick him up straightaway, but her uncle had told her that he wished to explore the game on his own at first. 

Nevertheless, she did explain a lot of ins and outs to make life easier. 

These so called UPs were Umbra Points, which due to the power and popularity of the guild, could be exchanged with NPC vendors at a rate of 1 Umbra Point to 1 Platinum. 

'This means I'm quite wealthy, huh?' Misery smiled to himself with interest. 

He opened the bar's menu which included a list alcholic beverages and saw that the highest was the Rare "Fellowship of Bastards" drink. 

It was priced at 2 gold, something which made many normal players spit in disgust. 

Even the mighty Moar Wine, a player who tried to rob Draco once, had stated that only a dog would pay that much for mere alcohol! 

Well then, consider Misery a Feisty Barker because this motherfucker was gonna drink good today with the wealth he had! 

Without any hesitation he bought the drink casually and was presented it by a nice looking barmaid who smiled at him with interest. Misery showed his white teeth in return, also surprised that this simple peasant barmaid could be this attractive. 

She was already on the level of models outside the game! 

Then what about the truly beautiful women? The ones with better heritages and genetics? 

Misery was starting to understand that the hype Justin had made of this game's women might not be false. 

Anyway, he was more interested in his drink at this time. He casually gulped down a single glass, then his eyes bulged. He gazed at the bottle like it was a treasure he had never found before. 

"This… should not be possible." Misery's sensory organs were describing a taste to him that his brain did not believe was possible, hence his reaction. Despite being a connoisseur who had tasted some of the rarest rum on Earth, this drink beat all of them. 

And yet… this was just a fucking casual brew from some random bar in the fucking starter village! 

It was not even Epic Rank, and had surpassed anything he tasted on Earth by a mile. 

So then what about the Epic Rank rum or the Legendary Rank ones? 

Heck, Misery had been told that the Lucifer brat could even toy with Divine things if the stars aligned properly, so he could get his hands on Divine Rank rum. 

Would he just ascend to heaven from a single sip? Misery was looking forward to it. 

He finished his drink and took on a few more until he felt himself become somewhat intoxicated. Now he felt ready to think and make important life decisions with no turning back! How idiots made such decisions while sober, Misery did not understand. 

For the armor set, he chose to go for Light Armor. Misery was a member of the Merlin Lineage, more specifically its Mage Inheritance, but he had been trained by Knights and knew the details of the Knight Inheritance as well. 

He could easily be a warrior, swordsman or mage if he fancied. He even had a few 3rd Order Spells in his bloodline that were meant to buff his body, so he could fight physically with ease, just like a 3rd Order Knight. 

Some were passively activated all the time, which was how Misery had been able to whack Kiran to the ground despite the fellow having gained Tier 2 Control. And there's also the obvious fact that Misery had Tier 2 Control himself. 

Well, it should be obvious enough for someone who trained with Knights (Body of Godliness) and Mages (Void of Perfection) all his life until he became OP. Not all Merlin bastards had this, though, as the conditions to unlock were tough even if you had all the materials. 

It was also because of Tier 2 Control that Misery had been able to fight Politar Jukovic who had been buffed by Superhuman tech until he killed Misery's lads and got the fellow enraged. 

Medium armor would be bests, as Misery could play the Spellsword class. However, he was more of a Lance bearer than a sword user. Not only was he a lancer, but he focused on speed rather than power! 

So he wanted light armor that could protect from most basic damage and a light lance with a sharp spear tip. As for his defense, he had many spells in his bloodline to cover that, mana shield, physical wards and more. 

That is why from the two Rare weapons chests, he chose a lance and a shield. 

｢Congratulations on opening: 2 rare weapons chest (Spear and Shield) 

Rewards: 

Gae Bolg 

Rho Aias.｣ 

｢Gae Bolg – Spear 

Rank: Rare 

Atk spd: 30 

Dmg: 15-45 

Effect: Attack speed +30%, Accuracy +50%｣ 

｢Rho Aias – Shield 

Rank: Rare 

Def spd: 7 

Def: 500 (x7) 

Effect: Defense Multiplier (up to 7 stacks), Stack Recovery (1 per hour).｣ 

Misery was pretty satisfied with this stuff. He also noticed that he got the legendary Irish Spear. It's funny seeing how he was a direct descendant of Cu Chulainn who had been one of the strongest inheritors of the Knight inheritance in the Merlin Lineage with a bloodline purity of 69%. 

He had been an unstoppable pair with Scathach, who was also a bloodline inheritor of the Mage Lineage, with 72% purity. Misery here was a direct descendant of that line, which was why he was so strong and often got special treatment. 

He was Misery's great grandfather, and the fellow had not gotten to see him before he had been done it by that coward, Lugaid from the Morrigan Lineage. 

Misery then checked his empty Tradeskill books and looked at the list of them Sublime gave him. He then made his decision to get three of them, as he would not be spending all his time fighting. 

He also wanted to work with his hands, and this should be a fine way to do so. 

｢Congratulations on learning skill(s) 

Blacksmithing: 1, 0% 

Mining: 1, 0% 

Brewing: 1, 0%｣ 

He chose Blacksmithing because making weapons was something basic taught under the Knight's Inheritance. Every Knight had to learn how to make a basic sword and maintain it professionally. 

He selected Mining because he, Walter and two other Princes broke into the secret mine of the Knight Lineage and had been trapped in there for a few days. They spent that time actually mining and having fun rather than panicking. 

When they came out with more ore than the Lineage's slave miners had ever actually found, their parents and superior had been speechless. They decided to just warn the brats, but the slave miners suffered brutally for 'negligence'. 

As for Brewing… we all know why he selected that, so let's not pretend there was any reason behind this choice over the obvious one. 

Settling his Tradeskills, it was now time to handle his skills. First, Misery checked the list of useful spells for lancers and mages on the list that Sublime forwarded. 

With careful consideration, Misery made his three choices. 

｢Sonic Thrust – Active skill 

Effect: Thrust your spear forward with unparalleled speed, dealing extra penetration and piercing damage to a single target within 30 meters. This deals 150% Spear damage. 

Cooldown: 5 minutes.｣ 

｢Lightning Bolt – Active skill 

Effect: Cast a bolt of pure electricity towards a target, striking them with the might of lightning. This deals 70% Lightning damage. 

Cooldown: 3 minutes.｣ 

｢Shield Throw – Active skill 

Effect: Throw your shield like a projectile, dealing 120% blunt damage and stunning the target for 2 seconds. There is a 30% chance that the shield will directly return to the arm of the user. 

Cooldown: 2 minutes.｣ 

Misery chose only offensives skills, one for his spear, one for his shield and one for his magical abilities, which he felt made a nice balance. He was advised by the Little Princess to focus on honing his skill with the system's spells and skills, rather than rely on Control or his bloodline in the early stages, else it would be difficult to adapt later. 

Taking her advice seriously, Misery finished his rum and got up. As for the Rare resources chest and the basic one, he would open them later. Right now, he was in the mood to fight a little. 

He equipped the stuff he just got and walked through the town, heading for the nearest Field Zone where players farmed for experience. He was told that it was called the Wolves Forest, a level 1-5 Field Zone for newbies just beside Stagnant Moss. 

When he exited the town, he found hundreds of players coming and going from all over, some smiling while some looked bleak. Some were wearing guild insignia proudly on their chests, harassing others or trying to recruit. 

However, everyone gave Misery a wide berth without even looking at him too much when they saw the emblem on his chest that denoted a core member of Umbra. 

Misery scratched his head but didn't complain. He just entered the Field Zone and cast his Void of Perfection out. When he found some target, he used the 2nd Order spell of his bloodline, Short Teleport, to move closer. 

When he was close enough, he switched all that stuff off and went back to his raw state, intending to fight like a normal player. The wolf he targeted sniffed the air and noticed him, not that he was trying to hide. 

With a wicked bark that sounded like it wished to tear him apart, the wolf charged over valiantly, its eyes blood red. 

｢Name: Dire Wolf – Private rank monster 

Level: 3 

HP: 350/350｣ 

Misery simply smiled and thrust his lance out to meet the claws of the wolf head on, both attacks colliding majestically. The wolf was quick, jumping forward to attack, while Misery was seemingly retracting his force. 

The fellow simply swung his shield, timing it with the wolf's charge, making it fly back and crash down in shock as it could not understand how its force had been dissipated so easily.