Galmi opened his eyes and immediately winced, as pain shot through his arms from the numerous cuts and bites. He’d only been out for a few seconds but it’d been enough time for his health to drop to a dangerous level.

 

He had little time to react, and so Galmi pulled out bandages and began to wrap them around the cuts. There was no finesse to what he did, instead he put all his effort into using every bandage he had.

 

You Have Learned A New Skill
First Aid	Level 1(0%) Beginner
You have learned how to care for people at the most basic level. With the proper tools you can help others recover a small amount of health, as well as stop bleeding.

 

Galmi ignored the new box that appeared, far more focused on working all of the bandages around his wounds. When they ran out of it he paused to study his own handiwork.

 

In a sense he had a similar appearance to a mummy, though only on his arms and one of his legs. The Red Wolf had failed to connect any solid strikes to his chest, which he expected was the reason he hadn’t died.

 

Galmi pulled out the canteen from his inventory and quenched the raging thirst that’d begun to mount. After he put it back into the bag he glanced around to see if anything had changed. That was when he saw the ball of red fur.

 

He scooted away from it with upraised arms, his first instinct being that the Red Wolf wasn’t dead yet. When no attack came he looked past his arms and noticed that the ball of fur was small.

 

As though it had responded to the look the ball uncurled and a wolf pup sat on its haunches. It barked at him excitedly, but it remained sitting. Behind the pup its tail wagged back and forth.

 

You Have Found A New Pet
Red Wolf Pup	Nature Alignment
A small, cute, and little animal that has no clue about how ferocious and dangerous she will eventually become. So long as she is treated well she will remain absolutely loyal. Gender: Female Age: 0 Days

 

“Pet? I didn’t know this game had a pet system,” Galmi muttered to himself.

 

The system responded to his comment by presenting a new box, one that asked for a name. “Fine, I guess I’ll call you...Scarlet,” Galmi said as he input the name, “that should do for now.”

 

Scarlet responded to her new name by crouching down low and wagging her tail even more. A little yip was the only warning she gave Galmi before she ran over to him, and then started to run in circles.

 

“Cute little devil aren’t you?” Galmi said as he patted the dog on the head. As his fingers ran through the soft fresh fur of the puppy a sharp pain came from some of the bandaged digits, a reminder that he hadn’t recovered.

 

A glance at the corner of his vision, where a red line sat, was all he needed to know his health was regenerating. Galmi decided to hold off on returning to Linkston until the bar was full again. With a bit of extra time on his hands he opened up the skill list to check on his progress.

 

“When’d I get this?” Galmi asked as he stared at two new skills.

 

Skills
Skill	Level	Description
Packleader	1(0%) Beginner	You have proven yourself to be a strong fighter, capable of leading a pack of animals and showing them the proper way to live. Generates bonuses for any animals following you.
Heavy Blow	1(0%) Beginner	You're capable of delivering a powerful blow. The damage output is significant but it comes with a high stamina cost.

 

“What the hell is that?” Galmi fingered the word packleader. Was it a bonus from killing the boss, or because he had a pet now?

 

Any further thoughts in that regard were disrupted when he heard growling, the noise coming from all around him. Galmi turned and saw the brown fur of numerous wolves as they’d formed a circle.

 

“Well...crap.”

 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 

Nika was against one of the toughest opponents she’d ever faced. There was no mercy being given to her, it came at her and demanded more than she’d ever given in her life. Marcus had already fallen victim, having been knocked out, and it seemed as though Selene had lost her sanity. Selene’s blissful smile and the glimmer in her eyes forced Nika to admit that her friend had been bewitched in some way.

 

“I can’t take this anymore!” Nika finally yelled as she threw the book at the nearest wall.

 

Marcus jolted awake, his face lifting up from the book that’d bored him to sleep. “What’s happening?” he asked as he looked around with a confused look.

 

Nika didn’t even waste time explaining anything to Marcus, instead she grabbed him by the arm and went for the door. “I love you Selene, but we’re going to the training hall. You send us a message when you’re done reading!”

 

Selene felt a twinge of sadness when the door of the library slammed shut. She looked, almost guiltily, down at the book in her hands. Ten years ago they’d met in high school and ended up becoming friends, but as they’d gotten older their relationship had become strained.

 

Nika was the one who’d thought up the idea of playing The Cracked Earth. It wasn’t hard to understand why, as any game could allow you to play with friends you could no longer meet in real life.

 

Yet Selene had also been surprised by Nika’s suggestion, as Nika had always enjoyed games where you could easily see your statistics. Selene didn’t understand exactly why, but Nika loved to boost her characters as much as possible and push her limits. So when she suggested a game where those statistics were hidden it’d been a little odd.

 

Selene decided she’d finish reading the book first, eat dinner, and then she’d go join them. Though she expected to be useless in a fight, as she didn’t care much for fighting to begin with, at the least she could spend time with them.

 

For a few hours the library was filled with only two sounds. The noise of the pages that Selene turned, and the ticking of a grandfather clock in the corner of the room. The library NPC remained silent at her desk, as she existed only to help people find books.

 

Selene didn’t even notice the passage of time, and so when she closed the book the clock gave her a bit of a start. She’d read the Tale of the Water Nymph in its entirety, but she’d also missed out on eating her dinner. With worried fingers she opened up the main menu and went to quit out of the game when a system alert interrupted her.

 

You Have Learned A New Skill
Water Bolt	0(0%) Beginner
Through reading Tale of the Water Nymph you have learned how to gather a ball of water and throw it. The damage of this attack gains a bonus in the presence of a body of water.

 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 

Robert had settled down on a stool, a piece of lumber in his hands. He’d hoped to turn it into a bow, perhaps an item he could give to the local store in order to make some money. He’d given the task of making arrows to his son, who was in his own room.

 

A sudden knocking came from the door, and Robert jumped off of the stool in surprise. The bow he’d hoped to make was ruined by that, a fresh gouge running down a large section of it. Even if Robert tried to fix the mistake it’d never be useful for a proper archer.

 

“Goddess damn it,” Robert muttered in anger as he stomped to the door and opened it.

 

What he saw on the other side was not what he’d expected. A man stood there, one with dry blood all over his clothing and nothing more than scraps hanging from his body. The stranger swayed in the doorway, barely able to stand, while a small red dog next to him barked in alarm.

 

“You wouldn’t happen to have any more bandages would you?” Galmi managed to ask before he collapsed on the spot.

 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 

Nika and Marcus had left the city of Faeriver after they’d spent a short while in the training hall. Much like dozens of other players they’d tried their hand at attacking dummies, and they’d also learned quick enough that their avatars were very responsive.

 

With the advice of a few other players they’d run across, the pair had opted to try the northern plain. The light forests and flatlands that surrounded the city were the domain of goblins, small humanoid creatures with grey skin and black eyes. The goblins were Chaos aligned by nature, and they had a habit of attacking anything they ran across.

 

When the first group of goblins charged the pair it was Nika who responded first. She pulled out two short swords, one in each hand, and swung her blades before the goblins could attack. The slashes were solid, and the head of a goblin flew. While it arced through the air it dissipated into a white cloud.

 

Due to her experience playing other games, Nika found it almost trivial to fight the small group of goblins. Her left blade was often used to deflect the feeble clubs, while her right would lash out in retaliation. As she carved her way through the weak monsters Marcus followed in her wake.

 

Marcus was a man who loved the knights of old, and so when he learned about the flexibility of The Cracked Earth he knew exactly what he wanted to be. Armed with a shield and a mace he kept the goblins off of Nika’s back, smashing any who got close.

 

The fight itself was fast and clean, and neither Nika nor Marcus gained any damage. It was a result that only emboldened the pair, and so they continued on their trek across the plains.

 

“Oh hey, I got the dual sword skill!” Nika exclaimed in joy as she finished off another goblin.

 

Marcus grunted back to her, his shield smashing away one of the goblins that’d crept up behind him. “It seems easy enough to get basic skills,” he admitted to her, “but I haven’t gotten any sort of class offer yet.”

 

Nika put one foot on the chest of a standing goblin, and then she shoved it down to the ground by sheer force. The frail monster couldn’t even resist the push and collapsed on the spot, and before it could look up at Nika a sword impaled its eye. “I read on a string that you need to get intermediate skills for some of them, but a few only require getting specific skills. I’m thinking of going barbarian.”

 

“Sounds like the perfect class for you,” Marcus muttered under his breath.

 

Nika either didn’t hear that comment, or pretend not to, and instead she pointed one sword to the east. Off in that direction they could make out a large group of goblins, at least forty of them, and what looked to be a single figure in the middle.

 

“Let’s go help that guy!” Nika declared, though the glint in her eye made Marcus believe she just wanted an excuse to fight the goblins.

 

Nika dashed across the field in the direction of the gathering of goblins. As she neared the battle she could make out the details of the unknown man. He wore a fur lined suit of black armor, and in his hands was a massive two-handed hammer.

 

Nika became a red blur as she dove straight into the wall of goblins. Her impact was much like a large rock hitting a pond. Her blades swung out as she abandoned the idea of defense, and instead she embraced the bloodlust that had grown within her.

 

By the time she reached the center of the goblins she had a wide grin on her face. The goblins she’d killed and injured lay behind her, and rather than speaking any words to the stranger she merely swept past him. Her blades never once paused as she continued to slaughter the weak monsters.

 

“Not bad!” the stranger shouted with a laugh. His hammer swung out and caught two goblins at the same time, tossing their broken bodies away.

 

Nika twisted around, her two blades extended out, and caught six goblins in a whirlwind attack. An alert popped up as she acquired a new skill, but in the heat of the battle she had little care about it.

 

Marcus finally reached the battle and joined the fight against the goblins. His shield swung out and smacked aside one goblin, while his mace made a satisfying crunch on contact with a skull. “I hope you don’t mind us joining your fight!”

 

“The more the merrier,” the stranger commented as he lifted up his hammer, “Hammer Fall!”

 

When the hammer swung down and struck the ground an explosion occurred. The dirt beneath them all lifted up, with only the spot where the stranger stood remaining unmoved. All of the goblins who still stood fell down, while Marcus and Nika struggled to keep their footing.

 

There was no hope for the goblins after that move. While they strove to stand back up the trio executed the rest of them, and before Nika could thoroughly enjoy the fight it was already over. A vast cloud of white particles swirled around the area and was summarily absorbed by the group.

 

The stranger lifted his heavy hammer with one hand and rested it on his shoulder. “Hah, nice to meet you!”

 

“Hah indeed,” Nika said as she flashed a grin at him, “happen to know where there are more?”

 

Marcus could only sigh at that. “Don’t mind Nika, she’s all fight and no manners. My name’s Marcus, by the way.”

 

“Name’s Typhoon,” the stranger replied, “shocked to meet someone who likes fighting as much as me.”

 

“Like? I love to fight,” Nika stated as she put her swords away, “I’m going to turn into the best barbarian this game will ever see!”

 

“Oh! Ho ho, you’re going to make me fall in love. How about you two join me for some more fighting, I know where the big groups spawn and I’m hankering to test out a few more skills.”

 

Nika’s eyes almost glittered as she looked pleadingly at Marcus. It was a look that he’d seen a few too many times in the past, and almost always led to him getting hurt. “Alright, we can do it, but we should check in on Selene soon too.”

 

“Don’t worry, she’s probably reading every book in the library.”

 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 

Galmi waved his hand at Robert, who was in the middle of trying to give him food. “I’m fine, you don’t need to hand feed me or something. I’m no invalid.”

 

Robert grunted at that and put the tray of food down on a nearby table. He pulled a chair over to the bed that he’d put Galmi on, settling down and looking at the adventurer. “Could’ve fooled me. I can’t believe you even made it back to town as beat up as you are.”

 

Galmi looked away from the tracker and scratched at the back of his head. “Yeah, you’re right, I’m sorry.” Galmi turned to look at Robert again. “I mean you’ve been backing me ever since I started.”

 

Robert leaned back in his chair, a stunned look on his face. “You’re a weird one, I don’t think I’ve ever heard an adventurer say sorry.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I thought I was pretty straight forward there, I mean none of them ever say sorry.” Robert shook his head at that thought. “They just swing on through Linkston, make a ruckus, then run off complaining about how bad our town is.”

 

“That’s because they’re a bunch of dicks,” Galmi told him, as he started to look around, “by the way where’s Scarlet?”

 

Robert gave a jerk of his thumb toward the door. “If you mean that little wolf pup Tim’s playing with her. By the way, what are you going to do next?”

 

Galmi gave a shrug in response to that. “Well...I’m probably going to find a big city? You know of anything like that around here?”

 

Robert let out a sigh and shook his head at that question. “Why are you so helpless,” he muttered before he spoke up, “there’s Faeriver off to the west. I’ll show you how to get there tomorrow.”

 

Galmi wanted to argue that he could leave then and there, but he didn’t want to upset the NPC. Instead he scratched at the back of his head again, thinking about an idea he’d had earlier. “Hey Robert?”

 

The tracker had started to stand up and paused to stare at Galmi. “You need something?”

 

“Can you grab a bow? I’ve got an idea I want to test.”

 

---

Help Files

The Cracked Earth

The Cracked Earth is a Massively Multiplayer Virtual Reality Game(MMVRG) released in 2107 by the Neo Terra Foundation. The game takes place on the titular Cracked Earth and has a heavy focus on a fantasy setting and freedom of player choice. The Cracked Earth is a planet that has crevices from which all manner of monsters emerge. In order to deal with the threat to everyone the gods have granted blessings to the players, individuals who have chosen to step forward and fight against the evil. The end goal of The Cracked Earth is for the players to discover why the crevices were formed, as well as how to stop the monsters from appearing. There is no limit to how a player may choose to act, though the other players and the Non-Player Characters will respond accordingly. Similar to other MMVRGs it runs at three times the normal rate of time. Any players who have difficulties with that rate are recommended to not play this game.