BladeDust Online: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 1) Read online

  Sorry, this character name has already been taken. Please pick another name.

  Shit! I should have known Bradley was already taken. How dare this other unknown player take my name. I made a mental note to myself that I must eliminate Bradley if I ever ran into him during my play time. He would pay for taking the name I desired. My mind scrambled as I tried to come up with another name. Suddenly, a random name popped into my head. Walker Williamson! I thought it was cool, so I went with it. Then, a message popped up:

  Congratulations!

  Your character is ready to be created. Please confirm your character creation information below is correct:

  Walker Williamson – Level 1

  Human Male - Warrior

  Statistics:

  HP: 10

  Stamina: 10

  Mana: 10

  Attributes:

  Strength: 1

  Persuasion: 1

  Intelligence: 1

  Willpower: 1

  Sneak: 1

  Agility: 1

  Skills:

  None yet acquired

  Perks:

  None yet acquired

  Abilities:

  None yet acquired

  Note to User: Perks, skills, abilities, weapons and armor are all acquired throughout your game play at the pace you desire. All users start with an empty inventory and have equal potential to be successful in the game world.

  Please Confirm Your Character Build. Yes/No?

  This was all so exciting. I liked the idea of everyone starting at the same basic level. I had played games like this in the past and always had a blast with them. But this was different. I was actually going to be inside of the game. I was ready to play, but it was almost too exciting. I knew this very moment was one of the best moments of my life. Nothing in the past could compare to the excitement I felt during this moment. Oddly enough, I almost didn't want to confirm. What if the game world wasn't nearly as realistic or as cool as I had hoped? Well, there was only one way to find out. Yes! Everything was the way I wanted it and I was ready to play. Everything went white and some pleasant music began to play. My body jerked from side to side as I headed down a bright tunnel. This was it! I was about to arrive in a brand new world.

  Chapter Six

  Within an instant, a world appeared around me. Wow. It was so real. Looking down at my arms, I couldn't help but notice how skinny they were. Wait a minute. Was this a glitch? I didn't remember making my character quite this skinny. When I created myself, I was thin, but not this thin. I looked like I just crawled out of my grave. How was anyone ever going to be scared of me with these toothpick arms?

  To make matters worse, I wore brown shorts and a tight white shirt. This was a very basic outfit they had started me out with. Surely I still had an eight pack didn't I? I pulled up my shirt and took a look. Oh man! All I could see were ribs. The weird thing was, I still had a little pop belly. It wasn't a healthy look for sure. I put my shirt down and tried to forget about what I had just seen. What about my inventory? At first, I couldn't figure out how to open my inventory. But then, it popped up in front of me. Shit, it was empty!

  So, I had nothing at all? Great. I guess they really do make players start with nothing. It was cool, but I knew I had my work cut out for me. I was ready to grow stronger and earn some money. How would I earn money though? I really didn't know much about how the game was set up. But, I think that was part of the appeal to the game. Suddenly, an alert popped up in front of me:

  BladeDust Online System Alert:

  Note To User: You have 30 days to earn 35 gold coins. Please set aside 35 gold coins and prepare for payment. Payment will be collected at the end of the 30 day period.

  Okay cool. 30 days seemed like plenty of time. I would worry about that as the date got closer. I examined the area around me. Where were the other players? I stood on a narrow dirt road surrounded by green grass. In the distance, I could see a fire burning. There were small shacks surrounding the fire. Was it a village? I started to walked but then stopped. Where was Tommy? I took in a deep breath. He was probably still creating his character. I wanted to wait, but I had no idea how long it was going to take him.

  Truthfully, I was just too excited to wait around. I kicked the dirt beneath my feet and watched the dust rise into the air around me. It was so amazing. Everything was so real. I just couldn't believe it. What was I going to do first? I didn't know. How could I? This was a brand new world, and I had just been born. I kicked my legs just to make certain they worked like they did in real life. After that, I threw a couple of punches into the air. Oh yea, this was going to be fun. I headed down the path and quickly realized something. My feet felt naked. My eyes rolled downwards and caught a glimpse of my bony feet. Where were my shoes? I didn't even have any shoes on? What? Was this for real? They didn't even start me with shoes? I guess this really was a hardcore game. I took another step and felt a pain in my foot. Wow. It hurt just like it did in real life. It was awesome, but kinda scary. If I could feel pain, what would it feel like to be seriously injured?

  My next steps were slow as I carefully tried to avoid any sharp pebbles. As I got closer to the village, I heard a high pitch squeaking sound. What was it? My eyes darted around while looking for the source of the noise. Beneath me, was a vicious little rat. His eyes were full of fury and he seemed way too anxious for a rat. The look on his face was very unpleasant as he hissed at me. Did I have to kill this rodent? Was killing the world's ugliest rat my first challenge in the game? The rat crawled closer and looked like he wanted to nibble on my foot. He was hungry, but was a fool to choose me as his potential meal.

  I didn't have a weapon. Yet, I still felt confident I could kill the rat. I needed a weapon, but where was I to get one? Then, I saw it. A small rock was on the ground. Yes, this will be good enough. I stepped back and raised the rock into the air. “You lived a short life little rat,” I yelled while smashing him with the rock. There was a squeal as the rat revealed it's large buck teeth. I thought he was about to die, but he continued to live. How did this rodent survive my attack?

  “Die,” I yelled as I hit him again. Still, the rat didn't seem bothered. He was one tough little bastard. My better instincts took over as I turned around to flee the scene. But, was I really going to run from a rat? Was that how I was going to start this game? No, it couldn't be.

  With determination, I turned around and stared straight into his beady little eyes. Then, without warning, he leaped onto my arm. There was a sharp pain as his teeth sunk into my skin. Shaking my arm, I wanted him to leave me. “Get off me,” I yelled over and over. Suddenly, I noticed my health bar flash up:

  Walker Williamson – Level 1

  Hp 8/10

  -2 Damage Received!

  Damn, the rat had taken my health down to 8/10. I guess that wasn't too bad. With a quick flick, I slung the rat against the hard ground. He rolled on his side and began to tremble. In a weird way, I almost felt sorry for him. But, there was no time for sympathy. A small area of blood covered my arm and I noticed two small tooth holes. Shit! What if this rodent had possibly infected me with the rabies virus? I didn't know if he carried the disease for certain, but it seemed very possible considering the crazed look in his eyes. No sane rat would behave the way he did. That I knew for sure. And for that, he would die. Walking towards him, I nodded. “Impressive,” I mumbled with both hands around the rock. “But not impressive enough,” I yelled while slamming the rock into him.

  There was a long squeal and his body didn't move. It was official, I was a rat killer. I took in a deep breath and enjoyed my victory. Man, that rat was tough. Much tougher than any rat I had met in the real world. With a flash, some text popped up in front of me:

  Congratulations!

  First Kill! You slayed a countryside rat!

  A countryside rat? That label sounded way too peaceful for him. Within an instant, the rat's body disappeared and was replaced with something. Yes! It was loot. I reached down and
grabbed what he had left behind.

  Genuine Rat Fur

  Slot: Upper Body

  Level: 1

  Value: 0.2 Gold

  Weight: 0.25 lb

  Genuine rat fur? Did people actually make fake rat fur or something? I didn't know, but it seemed a bit odd to consider someone actually doing that. This rat had some value? Would the gold convert into real world dollars? I didn't know, but I would eventually find out. On the way to the village, I continued to worry that I might have been exposed to the rabies virus. The possibility of me turning into a crazed person bothered me. Then, I began to wonder how close I was to reaching level 2. I opened my inventory and saw a small XP bar at the bottom. Nice, it was already at 16/100. I guess reaching level 2 happened pretty quickly. I wondered if the leveling up would slow down with each new level? I had played games like that before and suspected this was how things worked here.

  As I got closer to the village, I realized I had to be careful. I didn't know anything about these people or what they were doing. A tall skinny man stood at the entrance of the village. I was excited. My first run in with another character. He held one hand into the air. “What brings you here?” he asked with a flat voice.

  “I'm new,” I replied with a smile. “Just created my first character.”

  The man brushed his solid white hair before itching his shoulder. While looking at his shoulder, I couldn't help but wonder why he had his shirt off. It seemed he was suffering from some pretty severe sun burn. Honestly, he must have been really proud of his skinny body to want to show it off so badly. “How long have you been playing?” I asked.

  “Since release day,” he replied. “I've been hanging out here ever since.”

  “How do you like it?”

  The man laughed. He spat on the ground and walked closer to me. “What are you really doing here?” he asked with an odd look on his face.

  “What do you mean? I just told you. I'm brand new to this game.”

  His head went back and forth as if he didn't believe me. “Cut the crap,” he yelled. “I know why you are here. We all know why you are here.”

  A few other people with folded arms emerged from behind the man. “We all know,” a woman yelled.

  “You're here to take it all. Just admit it. You're the one who's been snooping around here at night. Aren't ya?”

  I didn't answer. I was surprised and didn't know how to respond. “Come here,” the man yelled.

  My lips curled downwards. “Why?” I asked with a slow voice.

  “Raise both arms into the air,” the man demanded.

  I knew it was a game, but it all seemed so real. My better instincts made me obey his instructions. The rat bite had hurt enough, and I wasn't ready for more pain. Both hands went into the air as I began to panic. “What do you want? I don't have anything in my inventory.”

  The man walked closer until he was right in front of me. His hands patted down my body. He was searching for something, but what? “I got nothing. Well, nothing but rat fur.”

  His black eyes stared into mine. “Now, I believe you,” he said while pulling away. “I'm sorry I had to check you. We've just had some trouble with players dressing up as total newbies around here. They come around here acting like they just arrived in the game world.”

  “But, why would they do that?”

  “They say they want shoes. But, they aren't here for shoes.”

  “What do they want then?”

  He looked in both directions before replying. “I shouldn't even tell you. If you come back here and look for it, I'll have your head. Understand?”

  My head? Was he serious? Maybe I didn't want him to tell me. Yes, I didn't. “That's okay,” I replied while taking a step backwards. “I would rather keep my head.”

  The man shot me a blank look. Then, he burst out into laughter. “What the hell man? You really are new aren't you?”

  My head bounced up and down as I continued walking backwards. If I struggled to kill a rat, I knew I was way too under powered to kill this man. Truthfully, I didn't like the way he was talking to me. I would make him pay for it in the future. But for now, I would be the lesser man. In the end, I would be the bigger man though. Yes, that was it. I would come back and give him a beat down. Well, that's what I told myself anyways. My footsteps continued taking me further and further away from the man. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice. “Where am I?” the voice yelled from behind me.

  Tommy? Was that really his voice? I spun around with urgency. “Is that you?” I asked while examining his build.

  “That's right,” he replied. “The new and improved me has arrived.”

  I smiled. He looked much different. He was taller, a little more muscular and had black hair that was slicked to the side. But, he wore the same basic outfit as myself. I had never been so happy to see him in my entire life. “Nice build! You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

  “I can't believe how real this is,” Tommy replied with too much excitement.

  “I know. Isn't it great? I never expected it to actually be this amazing.”

  Tommy walked closer to me. “I think you might be starving. Don't you need to eat something?”

  Eat something? Maybe Tommy was right. Was I on the verge of death? I certainly didn't want to end up dead in a ditch somewhere. “Yes, we should eat. By the way. What did you name yourself?”

  He was eager to reply. “Tommy The First.”

  I raised one eyebrow. “That's kinda lame isn't it? I named myself Walker Williamson.”

  “Someone took Tommy. So, I wanted to beat that guy. Now I'm officially the first Tommy.”

  “That makes sense,” I replied.

  Tommy changed the subject. “Where's the nearest food place?”

  “Who is he?” the tall man asked from behind me.

  “Who are you?” Tommy asked while pointing at him.

  I put both hands into the air. “He's my friend and we are late for something. Nice meeting you and good luck with everything.”

  I quickly grabbed Tommy's arm and began to head in the opposite direction. When we got far enough away, I told Tommy how much of a weirdo the guy was. “He patted me down and said he was looking for something.”

  “What was he looking for?”

  “I don't know,” I replied. “Oh, and this evil little rat attacked me. You should have seen it. I picked up a rock and sent him straight to heaven.”

  “If he was evil do you really think he went to heaven?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I hope so. I'm sure his life already sucked really badly here. Seems like he would be rewarded or something for having such a terrible life.”

  As we went further and further down the dirt road, I couldn't help but wonder where we were headed. It was almost like I was born again. I felt more alive than I had in years. “Where is this road going to take us?” Tommy asked.

  “To a new life. To anywhere we want to go.”

  In the distance, there was a faint thumping noise. “What's that?” I asked with one arm in front of Tommy.

  “I think it's your stomach growling,” he replied.

  “No,” I whispered. “Listen.”

  The thumping got louder and louder until I saw something coming from the end of the road. “There,” I yelled. “It's coming this way!”

  “Is that a dragon?” Tommy asked with a crack in his voice.

  “I think so. What do we do? Why doesn't this game have a tutorial or something? I have no idea what to do.”

  “We gotta fight it,” Tommy said while back pedaling away.

  “With what? A rat nearly bit my arm off earlier.”

  “He did? That rat bit you? You never told me he bit you. Did it hurt?”

  “Yes,” I replied. “It actually hurt a lot. I mean, only for a few seconds. Kinda like getting shocked or something.”

  “I don't like getting shocked,” Tommy replied with some healthy fear in his voice. “That happened to me once when I was plugging
something in near my bathtub. And, I didn't like it.”

  I looked around in all directions while trying to map out an escape plan. But, the land was all flat. Nothing but flat green grass with one long dirt road in the middle of it. “Why would they start us out here? Of all places? Why here?”

  The dragon continued running down the dirt road towards us. Why wasn't it flying? Moments passed as it got closer and closer. Then, I saw something. “Look on top of it. What is that?”

  “I think it's a guy,” Tommy replied. “But he's all weird looking.”

  Tommy was right. It was a guy, and he was weird looking. The ground began to rattle as the beast got closer and closer. Dust flew into the air as the dragon came to a sudden halt about twenty feet in front of us. “Do you need a ride?” asked the man who was riding it.