Mmorpg: Shattered Land - Volume 3

2:00:00

Marius logged in and was faced with a torrent of messages. The notifications came thick and fast, making his eyes spin until finally, they stopped.

Slowly, Marius opened his communicator and found thousands of friend requests. With a sigh, he closed it, ignoring all the requests.

“Soli, you online?” Super Nova asked.

“I’m here. You ready to go?” Marius asked.

“Yup.”

The two met up and then departed for the level 20-25 map. After researching it, they found that there were three types of monsters there that Marius could Tame and there was also a bounty of Materials that Super Nova could Gather.

Iron Fox Level 22 – Black Rank

Howling Wolf Level 24 – Obsidian Rank

Screaming Hawk Level 25 – Obsidian Rank

Super Nova had yet to advance to Level 11 but he trusted Marius and his decision to tackle the challenge. He had to admit that with a Lord Rank Pet, their chances were very high of quickly advancing through the map. But he was worried about the Obsidian Ranked Monsters.

He’d never faced them before.

Marius was far more relaxed. He had been taking on monsters that were several levels higher than him since he started and had yet to find any lasting difficulty with them. At least nothing that he hadn’t been able to create a strategy for on short notice.

As they ran, they chatted, discussing game mechanics and tactics. Super Nova knew that if he continued to party with Marius, he’d need to step up his game. And surprisingly, Marius was an excellent model to learn from.

To Super Nova’s surprise, Marius was more than happy to help with the young man’s development, offering tips and pointers on how he could improve his gameplay. From training tricks to combat maneuvers, the old man was an encyclopedia of knowledge.

It wasn’t just game related topics either, but anything. Super Nova was beginning to suspect that Marius was more knowledgeable about Business any of the lecturers at the University. And he had it at his disposal? How could he not take advantage of it?

Of course, Marius did not mind being probed for information. He had spent most of his working life nurturing and training people, guiding them on their way to being a high powered CEO or business managers.

Besides, he did like to hear himself talk. Sometimes he needed an expert opinion.

Like that, they made it to the map and started hunting.

It was an anti-climatic moment for Super Nova. The moment a Stone Fox appeared Marius summoned his Stone Goat and sent it charging at the poor monster. It didn’t survive the first charge.

Surprised, Super Nova had to wonder just how powerful Marius was this early in the game. Maybe he really could find a way to break the game. What if he played for than just a handful of hours a day? The thought terrified him.

As the hour passed, Marius and Super Nova decided to take on the Grade 2 monster, the Howling Wolf. This Wolf was the first Obsidian Rank Monster Marius had ever tried to Tame.

It was a big mistake.

The howling Wolf earned its name.

The moment the duo and the Goat entered its range, it howled, summoning six of its brothers to hunt them.

Somehow, after a near-disastrous 20 minutes, Marius and Super Nova emerged victoriously. The Stone Goat lost 3 levels in the fight, having died to save them on multiple occasions. But they pulled through.

“Soli, can we go back to the Foxes? They were a little less bloody terrifying.”

Marius laughed. “Do you remember what I told you about strategies?” He asked.

Super Nova nodded.

“Well here’s the thing. I suspect that those extra Wolves only come out if the Howling Wolf starts howling. What would your solution be?”

“Tame it?” Super Nova suggested.

Marius shook his head. “I don’t think I am at that level yet. I could try, but there is another option.”

“Interrupt up.”

Marius nodded. “That range is a bit much for me, but you should be able to get there. If you can interrupt it for a second, I can get the Stone Goat in there to stall it until we can 3v1 it.”

“Do you think we can win? It seems risky.”

Marius gave Super Nova a grin. “What is a risk but a prelude to a reward?”

So they gave Marius’ plan a try.

To Super Nova’s surprise, it worked. Just as Marius planned, they executed the Howling Wolf before it had a chance to summon reinforcements and their combined attack ended the Wolf’s life quite quickly.

Armed with their specialized attack method, they rampaged through the map. The lone Howling Wolf they targeted didn’t stand a chance.

Time passed and soon it was time for Marius to log off.

“It might be best for us to both log off together,” Marius said. “I don’t think either of us will last long alone.”

Super Nova agreed. It was only the combined effort of his instantaneous movement skill, the Stone Goats massive attack and Marius’ control skills that had allowed them to wipe out a single Howling Wolf.

Take out just one of those factors and they wouldn’t stand a chance.

‘We’re going to need to log in at the same time,” Super Nova noted. Otherwise, they would be mauled to death upon login.

Marius nodded, sending the young man his mobile number. “Call me when you are ready to log in. You know my schedule.”

Super Nova was stunned by the old man’s level of trust. Did he have no online safety awareness?

Marius laughed at the expression on Super Nova’s face.

“I trust you kid, just don’t abuse that number. I might be old but I still have my ways. Now, come and stand behind me, when we log back in we don’t want to be caught unaware”

Nodding, Super Nova committed the number to memory.

“The area looks clear and we are out of combat. We’ll meet up next time.” Marius said.

Super Nova nodded as the two went back to back. “Rest well.”

Marius felt weak when he rolled out of the bed. The intense playing had worn him out but not to a point that he was overly concerned.

Slowly, he went about his routine.

Stretching, using the bathroom and eating his fill.

Afterward, Marius felt a little better, but still, the weariness pulled at him.

Brrrr, Brrrr, Brrrr.

Without a thought he answered his phone, not caring who was trying to contact him.

“Marius, how did you survive the level 20-25 map?” It was Rajan.

A tired smile twitched in Marius’ cheek. “I found some backup. Plus I have a pretty good pet.”

“Bloody Stone Goats.” Rajan laughed.

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing when I was hunting them. And watch your language.”

“Marius,” Rajan objected helplessly, “I am a grown man. I have children, even my children have children. Don’t you think I am entitled to speak how I like?”

“All the more reason not to use foul language,” Marius replied, an evil gleam in his eyes. “You are a role model now, a figment of integrity and prowess. Do you really want to let your family down by shattering that holy image with foul language? Besides, I am an innocent soul.”

“You were the first person to ever swear in front of me,” Rajan’s objected sourly. “And did you just insult me or compliment me, I honestly couldn’t decipher that.”

“I am an innocent soul, how could I insult you?” Marius replied.

Rajan was at a loss for words. This old man.

“So,” Marius continued as if the conversation hadn’t happened. “You’ve been following my progress?”

“Well, I’ve been checking to make sure you don’t go offline suddenly. Since you refuse to have a Carer someone needs to keep an eye out for your…irregularities.”

Marius laughed. he was surprised to find it was a genuine one.

“You really don’t need to worry Rajan. I am capable of taking care of myself,” he grinned boyishly, his fatigue forgotten. “I actually have more experience at it than you do.”

Rajan was speechless. Rajan had known Marius since his childhood. The man basically filled a paternal role of an uncle.

He had known him at his best. When he was still young enough to be a vibrant and charismatic force of nature. Yet it had been decades since he’d heard a laugh like that come from the old man.

It was enough to put a tear in his eye.

“Rajan, are you there?” Marius had been speaking but Rajan had been deaf to it.

“Just thinking,” Rajan replied, not admitting his distractedness. “You have found yourself a partner in the game? Will he be able to keep up with you?”

‘Haha. Well, I think it will be me trying to keep up with him,” Marius replied honestly. “But I think I have enough tricks up my sleeve to stay competitive.”

They chatted for a while talking about the game and other topics. Some old and some new.

But then fatigue struck Marius again and he was forced to withdraw from the conversation. Rajan had sensed the sudden change in tone and knew better than to ask.

The old man needed to rest and not just from game fatigue.

Marius set his alarm and took a nap. He knew his reserves were dwindling, despite his efforts.

And once they were gone.

It didn’t bear thinking about.

A few hours later Marius was awake, if not recovered, then at least refreshed. When Super Nova called, Marius was ready and they synchronized their login.

Like Clockwork, they entered the game simultaneous, back to back like how they’d left.

“Mine,” Super Nova shouted as he leaped into action. At that moment, Marius summoned the Stone Goat and launched his attack.

Sure enough, there was a Howling Wolf and Super Nova had interrupted its call for backup.

Marius had a small amount of pride in the young man’s reliability. “I still have an eye for talent,” he whispered as they slaughtered the Wolf.

For the next hour and a half, they fell into a rhythm, fighting in perfect sync. The experience and coins rolled in, along with the Equipment.

Marius began taking the opportunity to try Taming a few. To his surprise, he had an excellent success rate, Taming the Howling Wolf on every attempt.

“This is too good to be true,” Marius murmured on the fifth successful Taming.

“What do you mean?” Super Nova asked.

Since Marius had started Taming the Howling Wolves, the experience they gained had come to a standstill. He didn’t mind, after all, the stronger Marius made his Pets the better it would be for them overall.

Leveling up just took far to long to be a viable as the sole focus of strengthing their party.

Marius had only had passable luck when he had Tamed the Black rank Stone Goat, even after reaching Beast Tamer Level 2. Now that he had raised his occupation to Level 3, it would make sense that his taming efficiency would increase on Black Rank Monsters, but Obsidian should not be this easy.

Marius relayed this to Super Nova.

“Maybe it was that prerequisite quest that you told me about? The Impossible quest thing. Maybe because you completed that first, it made your Beast Taming a bit more powerful?”

Marius had to agree with Super Nova’s assessment. Rajan had mentioned that the Impossible Quest would yield some added benefit.

“Let’s just go with it,” Marius shrugged as they continued.

With his spike in efficiency, it didn’t take long for Marius to Tame around 20 Howling Wolves. He took care to keep them in a Refinement rotation so that he didn’t fill up his Monster Slots.

It was quite a tall order, but before too long he had Refined four Lord Ranked Howling Wolves.

Howling Wolf Level 1 – Lord Rank

Health: 1200

Mana: 200

Attack: 100

Defense: 100

Intelligence: 90

Spirit: 100

Dexterity: 100

Skills: (Beastial Glare – decreases targets defense by 20%)

(Howl of the Lord – Summons 10 Obsidian ranked Howling Wolves to attack target. Deals 20% base damage per Wolf. Cooldown 2 Minutes)

(Savage Assault – Deals 120% of base damage to a single target. Cooldown 0 seconds.)

Marius groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Super Nova asked in concern.

“The Lord Ranked Howling Wolf is too good. I can’t reason using it as Refining Material for the Goat.”

“Which is better?” Super Nova asked.

“The Wolf.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“I’ve gotten attached to the old Goat, and it has much better speed. If I use it to Refine the Howling wolf to High Lord Rank, then we won’t have a speed advantage and will need to change our strategy.”

“Well, it’s not like we can’t adapt to that, right? Wouldn’t your High Lord Howling Wolf have the ability to call reinforcements?”

Marius laughed, “Its a summoning skill called ‘Howl of the Lord’. It deals 20% of its base damage per wolf with Lord Rank stats. It also summons 10 wolves at obsidian rank to fight for us.”

It was basically an AoE move that dealt 200% damage.

Super Nova was surprised. “And why don’t you want to do it?”

Marius took a moment. “I would rather test it out first,” he replied.

In theory, he could Refine a monster beyond Lord Rank, but the issue was whether he could control it.

As it was, he didn’t have the Occupational level to Tame a High Lord Rank monster. Even though he had been able to Control the Stone Goat he was concerned that the Howling Wolf might have some gimmick that would make it disobey, or worse, turn on them.

“Help me catch another one,” Marius finally decided, “It’s time to experiment.”

It didn’t take long to find and Tame an Obsidian Ranked Howling Wolf.

Carefully looking at its stats and skills, Marius summoned it and had it cast ‘Howl of the Wild’, the lower class of ‘Howl of the Lord’

When the Wolves appeared, they stood stationary, in an attack formation around the Pet Wolf.

“Let’s try controlling them” Marius whispered.

Controlling the Pets was similar to a telepathic control. It was like Marius was controlling a puppet, and he easily made the Pet move. The Summoned Wolves, however, were tricker. Similar to moving multiple puppets with a puppet. A neat trick, and quite difficult.

After a few minutes of practice, Marius could have the six summoned Wolves to run in various formations. Though there was a noticeable lag in their reaction time, Marius did not feel it would be largely problematic.

The next test was using them in combat.

With Super Nova waiting as a backup, Marius launched a solitary assault on a Howling Wolf.

As he expected, the Pet and the summoned wolves could not interrupt the Howling Wolf in time, thus creating a 7v7 Wolf fight.

“Be ready,” Marius said to Super Nova while he manipulated the Wolf Pack.

It was a close battle, but in the end, His Pet died and its pack died with it.

“Kill the main Howling Wolf,” Marius commanded.

A moment later, Super Nova appeared before the Howling Wolf like a spirit, dealing critical damage to the already wounded Monster.

When it fell, its summons disappeared with it.

Nodding to Super Nova, Marius muttered “So far so good. Time for the Lord?”

When Super Nova was ready, Marius repeated the Experiment. Though manipulating 10 wolves was a bit more difficult, he had similar results.

The battle test saw the Wolf Pack slaughter the Howling Wolf and its summoned pack. Marius felt no issue with controlling them. In fact, the results were even more spectacular when you considered that the Pet was still Level 1 and it had destroyed its Level 24 counterpart.

Marius gave the Pet one more test, summoning it and having it cast ‘Howl of the Lord’. The moment that the pack appeared, Marius recalled the Pet, watching with relief as the pack disappeared.

“Last test?” Super Nova asked.

He had been nervous throughout the testing. If it had been him he wouldn’t have thought that the Pets would be able to rebel against its Master, or in Marius’ case, Tamer. he could help but respect his foresight.

Using a powerful weapon like a High Lord Rank Pet before doing some testing was a bad idea. Even though the test had taken over 20 minutes, he did not feel they were a waste.

Reasonable care and due diligence. In business, it was the director of a business to take such steps to minimize risk and protect the company.

Instead of a waste, he just had a first-hand view of how a Responsible man managed the unknown.