The Trapped Mind Project (Emerilia Book 1) Read online

  Level: Novice level 1

  Effect: 5% increased speed

  Cost: 5 Stamina/second

  Not even the snippy game could get him down as he continued to run, taking in the beauty that was Emerilia.

  Here he was free from work: the constant phone calls, the late-night meetings and conferences. He might live on Earth, but his people on the Moon didn’t like having normal schedules.

  He went through settings, turning off notifications when he was in combat and other necessities so he could actually fight instead of having a letter in his eye.

  That done, he pulled up his map and set a way point for his destination. Even if it was just a hill, there was a nice river going past with fresh water from mountains a few kilometers past it. There was plenty of wood and the Dwarven side of him promised those mountains weren’t just for show.

  Yeah, how the hell did I turn out to be a half-dwarf? I thought that there would be some ability for me to choose things. He opened up his browser, asking his question.

  Many people got human, though there was a spattering of different characters. It seemed that the game picked out what it thought you were most aligned to. Even if you restarted, you usually got the same character. Some people were annoyed; most were interested what this meant.

  Dave felt the need to move sideways; he did so, narrowly missing a tree.

  “Interface and running, bad idea—got it.” He continued to read but looked around to make sure he wouldn’t run into any more trees. He was pretty happy that he got that Dodge skill now!

  After twenty seconds, he dropped down to jogging. It was going to take him hours to reach that hill at his current pace.

  “Time to do something with those points, I guess.” Dave opened up his character sheet. He dumped two points into Agility and another 2 into strength, bringing him to a Stamina recharge of 0.60/s and 120 stamina.

  Character Sheet

  Name:

  David Grahslagg

  Gender:

  Male

  Level:

  1

  Class:

  -

  Race:

  Human/Dwarf

  Alignment:

  -

  Unspent points: 1

  Health:

  1100

  Regen:

  0.28 /s

  Mana:

  100

  Regen:

  0.50 /s

  Stamina:

  130

  Regen:

  0.85 /s

  Vitality:

  11

  Endurance:

  9

  Intelligence:

  10

  Willpower:

  10

  Strength:

  13

  Agility:

  17

  Dave moved around, he opened and closed his hand, feeling more strength in his grip but also much lighter on his feet. He couldn’t run a marathon but he felt like he could run much faster for longer with the increased agility.

  “Okay, that’s strange,” Dave looked at his sheet, he had put 4 stat points into his main attributes but he’d stayed at level 1.

  He put the last point into his agility, studying the sheet once again.

  Character Sheet

  Name:

  David Grahslagg

  Gender:

  Male

  Level:

  2

  Class:

  -

  Race:

  Human/Dwarf

  Alignment:

  -

  Unspent points: 0

  Health:

  1100

  Regen:

  0.28 /s

  Mana:

  100

  Regen:

  0.50 /s

  Stamina:

  130

  Regen:

  0.90 /s

  Vitality:

  11

  Endurance:

  9

  Intelligence:

  10

  Willpower:

  10

  Strength:

  13

  Agility:

  18

  “So, I only increase my overall level if I put all five of the stat points from that level into my attributes?” Dave frowned, he would have to do some experimenting with his stats later on.

  Dave expanded the map in the top right of his vision with hand gestures.

  “Well, this is going to take a while.” Dave waved his hand, dismissing the map and watching his Stamina bar grow slowly. He continued to jog, heading off the beaten path and into the forest that grew on either side of the road. The road fell away as Dave started to sprint again.

  Moving through the forest was slower but Dave took the time to look around. He saw a flicker of fire, he turned to face it.

  “The hell is that?” Dave started to walk towards what looked like a sea of fire.

  He walked into a small clearing where there were a number of flowers moving in the wind. Their blooms looked like fireballs, the wind turning them into a sea of living fire.

  “These graphics are aweeesome!” Dave crouched down and looked the plant over. His notifications flashed. He opened it up.

  New Active Skill: Herb Lore

  Stop and look at the pretty flowers once in a while. Who knows—sometimes you can use them to make a real fire, or whiskey!

  Level: Novice level 1

  Effect: 5% chance to discover valuable plants in your area. Faint idea of what the plant might be useful for.

  “Well, maybe I can make some Stamina potions. I hate being slow.” He picked up the plant, studying it, and moved around, grabbing others. He had a faint idea of what they did, as if he had once known and now it was just locked away in his mind. “Maybe later, I’ll figure it out,” He tucked them away, looking around the area trying to find if there was anything that might improve his stamina. He found a sort of moss that he felt might help him.

  “Might as well give it a try, he pulled it off the rock and started chewing on it.

  “Ugh,” Dave spat it out, rubbing his tongue as if to try and remove the wet taste of dirt and pine-sol. “Tastes like floor cleaner! Or, like I chewed one of those tree air fresheners for my car.”

  Dave swilled water trying to get the taste out of his mouth. Forgetting his pursuits as an alchemist as he checked the other updates to his status; at such a low level, it was only natural his skills were racing higher. He was at Novice level 3 for sprinting, a nice 9% increased speed.

  “Time waits for no man, even a half-dwarf half-man.” Dave checked his way point and continued his journey.

  He started to get hungry, so he called up some dried meat from his bag. He chewed on it and continued his way. The hunger fell away as his Stamina took a nice boost.

  System Message

  You have been playing for eight hours. As per regulations, you have twenty minutes before mandatory log off. Please preselect actions to occur when you log off.

  “I spoke too soon,” he said, chewing on the food. “The hell are preselected actions?” Dave wandered into the forums, finding out that his character could still operate as he was away, like some kind of bot. If it was making goods or something, then it’s abilities were degraded, but things like walking, or simple manual labor, it was all for.

  Dave wanted to use it but reconsidered it with the forest potentially having animals in it. He didn’t want to appear back in Omal.

  Dave forewent the sleeping save option and picked the manual one in his interface before hitting the logout. He didn’t want to make his character walk around in the middle of a forest he didn’t know. He wanted to take in the journey, not race through it, and there was the threat of animals and creatures that might kill him while he was offline.

  Emerilia disappeared in a flash, returning him to the lobby. He exited the lobby and felt the helmet on his head.

  He pulled it off, stretching.

  “Well looks like I should look up how to make a house after all of this,” Zane moved to
his computer and looked up the information on his computer.

  Chapter 3: Taking in the View

  Dave stared at the rocky outcropping that rose over the forest, giving a great view of the land. For two in-game days he had been running towards his destination, when he logged off he looked up how to make houses and crossed that against what Emerilia had in the way of materials.

  He would’ve made it to the way point if he had run his avatar in bot mode but he wasn’t willing to risk it.

  “Good time as ever to give that Surveyor skill a second chance.” Dave changed direction and headed up the outcropping. It took him awhile but he finally got to the top. He let out a low whistle.

  There was a blue and red moon visible in the sky; the sun bathed Emerilia in her warm rays. Trees spread for miles, with glades and the occasional farm here and there. In the distance, he could see Omal and trace out the road that connected it to the rest of Emerilia.

  A fresh breeze rolled over him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and the landscape seemed to change. Without conscious thought, he slowly turned in a circle. His eyes locked onto various items he couldn’t see with the naked eye but he could sense. It was if the land was talking to him and he’d just opened up his ears to it.

  For a few seconds, it went on until his Stamina bar was drained. Dave took a drink from his canteen and grabbed some food from his pack. His mini-map was filling with new markers. He wasn’t about to stop yet; he knew there was more out there. A quick look at his map showed that he had a half-dozen new markers.

  “So worth the gold.” Dave grinned.

  As he waited for his Stamina to recharge some more, he looked at his interface. Notifications were up to the top right of his view. With a click, it would cascade and tell him his latest skill levels.

  Down at the bottom left, he had his Health, Mana, and Stamina. The last one was slowly growing. There had been a chat window above it but he’d removed it.

  He was looking to get away from things, and having a bajillion messages scrolling past his eyes every minute was not getting away, in his mind.

  In the bottom right, there was a mini-map with a compass around it.

  His Stamina bar filled three-quarters of the way. Again, he closed his eyes, letting his troubles fade away and feeling out toward the area around him.

  His eyes opened; the land was speaking to him. He turned in a full circle, seeing items that he hadn’t noticed the first time. He opened up his map, looking at the various greyed-out items that were littered around him in a five-hundred-meter area. There were ore, animal dens, various plants. What caught his attention was a building; he focused on it.

  > Abandoned Cabin.

  He checked his map. It was a slight detour, but there might be something useful there. The map went back into its corner with a thought. Dave started his way back down the outcropping and toward the cabin. He looked at the notification panel. The drop-down opened.

  > You have found Merriroot

  > You have found Yip Fox Den.

  > You have found Fresh Spring

  “Ugghhh, this is worse than cleaning out my spam filter!” He changed settings, he’d only be notified about his skills, levels and main quests. They would also be hidden away under the notification tab instead of jumping out in front of him.

  Stat Increase

  Many would have bought a horse or used a portal to travel. You like to move the old-fashioned way.

  +1 Strength

  “Holy crap! That’s awesome. If I continue training or using one thing a lot, then it will increase. Makes sense—the more you fight, the more Stamina you get, or the more you cast spells, the more magic you get.” Dave winced at a thought. “Ughh, that would really suck to level up your Vitality that way.”

  Emerilia gave a pain feedback; it was about forty percent, but it was enough to make you know you got hit. If you increased your Stamina by running and Mana by casting, then you could increase your Health by getting hurt and surviving.

  “And that is a theory I never want to figure out, even with the ability to self-heal.” He looked at his low Health recharge; it wouldn’t be much use in battle. Having a high recharge would just make you overpowered as all hell.

  After battle, it might be enough to heal minor wounds. It made bringing Health potions, or someone with healing abilities, a good freaking idea.

  “My attributes increase through actions. I wonder if I got five stat increases if I would level up again?”

  He moved to the next two prompts, interested in the games leveling mechanics.

  Active Skill: Sprint

  Level: Novice level 5

  Effect: 13% increased speed

  Cost: 5 Stamina/second

  Reward: 500 XP

  Level 3

  You have reached level 3. You have 5 unused stat points.

  500 XP boost for reaching level 5—I will take that! Maybe I should work on my Dodge and try a few more Surveyor checks, get them up to level 5. That XP will be useful. Speed up this run a bit! He tapped his chin in thought.

  “Right now, I’m building skills and the like quickly as I’m a low level. If I bring my stats up the old-fashioned way, then I can use the points later. I haven’t seen a time limit on the stat points for levels anywhere.”

  Active Skill: Surveyor

  Level: Novice Level 4

  Effect: 11% chance to see surrounding landmarks.

  Range: 620 m

  Cost: 5 Stamina/second

  “Who’s the man? This guy—that’s who.” Dave did a little dance and moved his arms in a circle. He looked around to see whether anyone could see his antics.

  “No one around to tell me to smarten up. I’m liking this place more and more! Should have my board meetings here.” Dave shook his head. Those thoughts were for the real world. Here he was going to have fun!

  He continued on his path for the Abandoned Cabin. He ran at trees, dodging at the last second, or jumping over little shrubs. He didn’t want to get into fights but the extra XP boost would be nice indeed!

  He got to the cabin with some Stamina to spare. He didn’t go directly to it, but stayed in the trees around it. He crouched down and moved around the area, looking for traps or why the hell the place was abandoned.

  It was a simple cabin: one chimney, wood-shuttered windows, and a door that had been ripped from its hinges. Although it was simply built, it was also sturdy. Whatever had taken the door off had been a big sonofabitch.

  New Active Skill: Stealth

  You know how to use the shadows to your advantage. Your Peeping Tom fantasies come to life. The guard will hunt you down, you pervert!

  Level: Novice level 1

  Effect: 5% chance to remain undetected (reduced in direct light). When in Stealth, attacks have a higher chance to stun and gain a critical hit. May your aim be true.

  Why does this game think I’m some kind of debauchery driven pervert?

  Dave looked at the place, feeling a need to go inside. First, he used his Surveyor skill. He looked around, feeling a worn path leading to the cabin; he could feel a bear wandering around, looking for a meal a few hundred meters away. He knew that he wasn’t reaching out to the full distance of his Surveyor skill. It was more sporadic than up on the outcrop.

  Must be the trees and crap in the way. Dave grinned at the realism. Someone might be able to figure out what was around them by looking for it, but if there was something in the way stopping them, then you were just shit out of luck.

  He walked around, using his skill a few more times to get a better image. Still, nothing more came up. He moved forward, keeping low as he looked at the door. Two perfect burn holes had cut through the hinges.

  Fire magic, if I was a betting man. Dave walked into the cabin. It was pretty old, with holes in the roof and the floor rotting away in places. He noticed a small blue indentation in the fireplace. He brushed away some of the old soot and pressed the indentation.

  Click! Dave looked
to the old pelt that was in tatters on the ground.

  He kicked it aside and a trapdoor opened. You wouldn’t have known it was there unless you pressed the hidden button. Even after years, it fit seamlessly with the rest of the floor. A stairway led downwards.

  Cool underground trapdoor thingy in an abandoned cabin—nothing could go wrong here. Might be a necromancer’s lair for all I know! Even as he complained, a grin grew across his face.

  He stepped down a step; the stairs went down for a while. Dave moved slowly, really hoping no one was home. He pulled out his blade, holding it in his hand. His hands were sweating as he half expected something to jump out at him. The trapdoor closed and he was stuck in darkness.

  Well shit, I thought Dwarves were supposed to be good in the dark!

  New Passive Skill: Night Vision

  You go into the darkness ready to piss yourself, but now you can at least see what’s going to leap out and kill you.

  Level: Novice level 1

  Effect: 5% increased night vision.

  Racial bonus: Dwarves, even half-Dwarves, are at home in the darkness of mines and their empires dug underneath mountains. +25% increased night vision.

  Now we’re talking.

  Dave could see around the room he came to in greater clarity. There was a table in the corner opposite the stairs; it extended along the far wall with various tools and items on it. To Dave’s left, there was a perfect silver floating oval. It was about seven feet tall and four feet wide. Gold, blue, black, and white runes ran along its edges.

  Dave could feel the power radiating off it. The Dwarven side of him was in awe of the workmanship; the human side wondered how much he could get for it.