Chapter 8: Chapter 8
Chapter 8
"A head start"
At the age of nineteen, Mollie Houns was one of those hyped top 20 pro gamers. Rollin' Dice, her clan, would make the top 10 list in any game they played, including Gates of Darkness, where they really made a name for themselves. The young lady was a born leader, as every clan member could testify . She was swimming in sponsorship offers, and her gaming videos were a must-see.
Ascension made a predictable impression, beckoning her like a red rag waved at a bull. Needless to say, the game was so popular, it set a new record for most active players in one day. This public frenzy only spurred her competitiveness.
Rollin' Dice chose third Floor as their grinding base. They were numerous and growing fast, always recruiting new players. Loot drops in Ascension were not as valuable as they were, say, in Gates of Darkness. The first day in the game brought Kingmaker, Mollie only twenty-one silver coins, which was next to nothing compared to five and a half gold coins for the first day in Gates of Darkness.
The girl logged out and closed her eyes. She felt weary. Ascension wasn't going to be a fun ride.
Mollie's family consisted of businesspeople, which owned and operated a game capsule manufacturing company. She herself was the proud owner of one of those new generation capsules that now occupied one corner of her room.
She made herself a cup of tea and sat cross-legged at her computer She checked the ratings first: Crimson Berserker was at the top. The name was familiar to Mollie; he was the main aggro monger and the former leader of the Fortuna clan, an old-time rival of Rollin' Dice. He was level four at the moment.
There were not many players who could achieve that in such a short period of time. The rest of the positions, second through tenth place, included three of Mollie's clan members and their opponents. The first days in a game were usually meaningless warm-up, but this gap between the first place and the rest was a valid reason for concern.
She took another sip and switched to reading the forums. After draining her cup, she went to bed.
The next two days were all about monster annihilation and clan management, yet Crimson Berserker was still well ahead of the pack. He just kept leveling up, and, as much as Mollie hated it, there was nothing she could do.
Riqual Caverns, home to Coal Mantises, level three to five anthracite monsters, had been turned by Rollin' Dice into a grinding spot. The place was perfect and Mollie and her crew were slashing monsters non-stop.
"Hey, Maker, check this out," the healer, Beglamore, called, "there's something going on down there."
"What is it?" Kingmaker asked.
"It's the rating..."
Mollie frowned. She didn't want to be reminded of her archenemy's success. "Listen, Bucky, yes I am using your real name, I don't care if that bastard leveled up again."
"N-no, that's not it," he said, shocked. "It's something else. You have to see this."
"OK, but if you're wasting my time with some nonsense, you'll know what respawning feels like." She turned her attention to the rating tab. "What the…?! Level nine?!"
"I know, right?"
"How is this possible? Son of a…! His name is hidden. Who is this guy? It's been only three days, and he's four levels ahead of Crimson Berserker!"
"Don't ask me, I know as much as you do!"
Soon, everyone was talking about this anonymous player at the top of the rating chart. A serious ruckus ensued among the players, so serious that people were asking the administrators to punish the cheater. Crimson Berserker, who had never paid much attention to ratings, was as baffled as everyone else after he got the message.
"Yo! Check out the ratings =)"
"No need, you know I develop fast," replied Berserker with inappropriate arrogance.
"You'll definitely wanna see it. You got played!"
"lmao."
"See for yourself."
Following his friend's advice, the clan leader's right hand did just that. He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words.
"What the heck is this?! Are you freakin' kiddin' me?? Who could have skyrocketed like this? What the hell?!"
"Dunno, bro."
Three days after he killed the first rat, Will had reached level fourteen. He didn't realize that his progress was the primary topic of discussion on the forums because he had the Show my name in the ratings option turned off from the very beginning. He was going to maintain a low profile, just in case.
When RAVen logged back in, he confirmed that the rat had respawned. He perceived this as good news, and immediately left Pak a message, in which he asked his colleague for ten silver coins worth of bolts with extra fire, light, or holy magic damage.
"Ha-ha! Come to daddy!"
Yes, it was tedious and monotonous, but exciting at the same time. He couldn't wait to finish off the rest of the rodents. The loot bag from the first rat was still there, as were the four weaker rats. RAVen wondered if there would be more titles, and how many more level ups he was going to get, and if that would be enough to leave Skiavra.
All of this crossed his mind while shooting and reloading. Level neglect, improved stats, and more powerful bolts allowed for higher damage. His personal record was 21.
Click! Another bolt inevitably hit the bleeding monster, piercing its skin. The rat shrieked; its demonic fellow rats backed it up, like they knew they were next.
-12
Miss
Miss
-11
Four hours and thirty minutes of constant battering made the rat's HP bar hit 17%.
"Cursed Rat: level 40.
HP: 781/4600."
That was the fourth rat RAVen had butchered in the last two days. He was wasting fewer bolts than he did in the beginning. The fire helped a lot, as it sometimes set the target ablaze. DoTs lasted longer, too. Oldak was right about magic, yet this increase in damage brought him little consolation the rats were still too hard to kill.
RAVen maintained his relentless attack, and, ninety minutes later, another rat bit the dust.
"Level Up"
His latest conflict lasted for ten hours, and its resolution had earned him level fifteen. He didn't garner any more titles, but that didn't discourage him. Pak had sent plenty of bolts, so he was determined to keep working. The goal was to kill all the rats in one day, since there was no other way to get to the loot. He looked at the time and left the game to make himself a sandwich and read the forums.
Who is this player?
Calibur wrote: The True Serenity guild is looking for number-one-rated player!
Eternal wrote: True Serenity sucks! True Chaos is where it's at! Come join us, or contact us at any time.
Regular Joe wrote: Stop flooding! I'm just curious who this guy is. Has anyone seen him at all?
Bright Flare wrote: You fool! How are you going to recognize him if you don't know his name?
WHeeL wrote: Right. Inspect every player for LVL much? Ha-ha. LOL.
There were dozens of threads discussing the mysterious player. Will, not knowing what the fuss was about, opened up the ratings page. What he saw made him stop chewing. At the top of the list was an unknown level 15 player with 75 Influence Points. Four levels behind, with a mere 42 Influence Points, was Crimson Berserker. Do-or-Kill, another guy with a whimsical name and 33 Influence Points, had achieved level 11, and breathing down the leader's neck.
"Wow," said Will, when he realized he was the man of the hour. He shrugged , continued his meal, and scrolled down hoping to find something new.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone