Redmaw says, 'I do not know anything about the tome of order and discord'

Priest of Discord says, 'The Tome of Order and Discord was penned by the seventh member of the Tribunal and has become the key to a life of Discord, in spite of the author's pitiful warnings. Do you not have one, child of Order? Would you like to read it?

Redmaw says, 'I like to read'

Priest of Discord says, 'Very well. Here you go. Simply return it to me to be released from the chains of Order.'

Of course I would return the book after I had read it. He was nice and loaned it to me, so it was only natural that I returned it once I had finished with it. It was actually only seven pages long, more of a pamphlet than an actual book, so I sat down to read it there. It was a nice location, with a good view of the lake. The tome mentioned an age of turmoil and that the children of order were protected by a benevolent power. They were unable to harm, or be harmed by, another child of Order without mutual consent. The priests of discord taught that true power could only be gained from Discord's embrace. Once Discord was chosen, the child would live in constant peril and never again be protected by Order. It was difficult to understand what it all meant. Perhaps you needed to have played the game to understand. Even though it was the game that I had started in, I had not done much of anything in the game yet. Since the book was finished, I returned it to the human npc.

Priest of Discord says, 'I see you wish to join us in Discord! Welcome! By turning back on the protection of Order you are now open to many more opportunities for gory and power. Remember that you can now be harmed by those who have also heard the call of Discord.'

I was not sure what that meant. If only I could talk to Primrose and learn from his game knowledge, but he said that he was busy. I probably should not contact him unless it was an emergency. What the npc had said confused me. Opportunities for glory and power held no interest for me at all. Those who have heard the call of discord could injure me, but the enemy npcs have already injured me several times. I was not sure how it was different from before or if anything had changed at all. I took one last look at the strange npc, thanked him for the borrowed book, and then turned towards the bank. It was just across the lake, over a gray, stone bridge.

I passed by five more npcs on my way to the bank. Some had long names, like Hierophant Granix, and others had short names, like Jozter, above their heads. The bank was called “The Block,” and was guarded by two troopers with daggers. It was slightly below ground, so there were a few stairs for me to descend. Two bank tellers were at the bottom, behind a counter. Stones were also placed in the ceiling, above the counter, which was pretty weird, because only the teller's waist area could be seen. Perhaps it was to protect the identities of the bank tellers, or maybe it was just poorly designed by the architect.

Klok Margar tells you, 'Welcome to my bank!'

So much for their identities being protected. They just tell you their name upon arrival. Both tellers wore long blue pants with golden squiggle marks on them, along with a green sleeveless t-shirt. A new window opened up in front of me with twenty-four empty squares. The squares looked similar to the ones in my inventory, so I assumed that chests and items could probably be stored there. What surprised me though, was that there was 1,078,141 gold coins already deposited in the bank. That was the exact number of gold coins that were placed in the bank of a previous game. I opened up my inventory and looked at the 1,108,000 gold coins there. I thought that I was 2,000 gold coins short for a moment, but then remembered that it cost me that much to (G)et a room at the inn before I left that game. The only thing that looked weird about the current bank, were the “Shared Bank” slots. Again, I wanted to contact Primrose and ask him about them, but resisted the urge. It was not important enough to pester him about the four squares that were separate from the other twenty-four.

Primrose wanted to be sure that I knew where the bank was so that I could deposit the items that I was not supposed to bring back to Earth. Just the Bubble Shield and the Spike Boots so far, but it has only been one day since everything had happened. Who knew what items tomorrow held. I left the bank area and crossed back over the bridge. There was a three-story stone castle to my left, but I decided to wait until Primrose was available to ask him about it. Behind the castle, there were some new npcs that I had not seen before. Three frogmen called “a froglok slave.” They were much shorter than me and had large green heads with bulbous red eyes. Their mouths opened up wider than my entire torso when they let out a loud FROOAK sound. All three of them had shiny metal shirts that were held to their waists by a belt with a golden belt buckle. Two large brown gloves and two golden shin guards completed their costumes. As I looked at the three of them, one separated from the other two and approached me. It started out with an awkward high step movement, but changed into a hop as he closed the distance between us.

a froglok slave hits YOU for 8 points of damage.

a froglok slave tries to hit YOU, but YOU are INVINCIBLE!

a froglok slave hits YOU for 6 points of damage.

a froglok slave hits YOU for 2 points of damage.

a froglok slave hits YOU for 5 points of damage.

a froglok slave hits YOU for 8 points of damage.

a froglok slave tries to hit YOU, but YOU are INVINCIBLE!

a froglok slave hits YOU for 4 points of damage.

You have become better at Defense! (5)

a froglok slave hits YOU for 4 points of damage.

A froglok slave tries to hit YOU, but misses!

a froglok slave hits YOU for 6 points of damage.

a froglok slave tries to hit YOU, but YOU are INVINCIBLE!

a froglok slave hits YOU for 8 points of damage.

a froglok slave hits YOU for 8 points of damage.

It attacked me! I thought that it was safe inside of the Iksar city, but I was wrong. One of the frogmen ran up and attacked me inside the city! Even worse, the other two frogmen joined in the fight against me too. All three of them waved their right fist at me and they did not miss their attacks that often. The window with my name on it appeared, and the red bar slowly decreased as the attack damage added up. I stood there for a moment, unsure of what should be done. It finally dawned on me that my Spike Boots had not released any spurs yet. A quick look at my inventory revealed that they were not on my feet, but inside of a chest. I quickly equipped them to my FEET slot and they appeared on my feet.

a froglok slave hits YOU for 8 points of damage.

a froglok slave was hit by non-melee for 100 damage.

a froglok slave was hit by non-melee for 100 damage.

a froglok slave was hit by non-melee for 100 damage.

You have slain a froglok slave!

You gain experience!

You have slain a froglok slave!

You gain experience!

You have slain a froglok slave!

You gain experience!

It worked! The three frogloks that attacked me collapsed on the ground. The names above them had turned into “a froglok slave's corpse.” Strange, they had not disappeared into smoke as the slimes did, or simply vanish into nothingness, like the Silent Death and the other npcs did in the game before that. They had left corpses behind. I had forgotten about the scorpion that Trooper Taer had killed many hours earlier. The scorpion left a corpse behind when it died. Primrose told me that npcs were not real though. If they were not real, then they should not have a corpse. It did not make sense that an npc, who could not possibly be alive, could die and leave a corpse behind. Primrose said that they were fake and could not die. He knew everything about games, so he could not be wrong.

Crusader Cotat was hit by non-melee for 100 damage.

Crusader Cotat was hit by non-melee for 100 damage.

Crusader Cotat bashes YOU for 68 points of damage.

Crusader Cotat tries to crush YOU, but YOU are INVINCIBLE!

Crusader Cotat crushes YOU for 101 points of damage.

Trooper Googin was hit by non-melee for 100 damage.

Trooper Googin was hit by non-melee for 100 damage.

Trooper Googin was hit by non-melee for 100 damage.

Trooper Googin tries to slash YOU, but YOU are INVINCIBLE!

Crusader Cotat tries to crush YOU, but YOU are INVINCIBLE!

Trooper Googin slashes YOU for 169 points of damage.

Trooper Googin slashes YOU for 155 points of damage.

You have been slain by Trooper Googin!

You have lost experience.

Welcome to level 4!

You LOST a level! You are now level 4!

Welcome to level 3!

You LOST a level! You are now level 3!

Welcome to level 2!

You LOST a level! You are now level 2!

Returning to home point, please wait...

They, the guards, they attacked me! That city was not safe at all! They allowed me to walk in without an issue, but then killed me as I attempted to leave. I did not want to fight anyone. I just wanted to retrieve the parcel from Primrose, use the bank, and leave on friendly terms. There was no reason for conflict between us. First it was those froglok npcs, and then even the Iksar npcs attacked me. They killed me so fast. Killed....killed....I was.....dead? I looked around the area where I stood. It was next to the dirt path and fallen pillar, just the same as before. The same place that I always seemed to appear whenever I arrived in the game. Everything seemed the same as before, until I looked down and saw my bare chest, legs, and feet. Well, there was some brown loincloth-looking thing wrapped around my pelvic area to hide my private parts, at least. When I opened up my inventory, I noticed that everything was gone. Every single slot was empty. No armor, no storage chests, nothing remained. Even my shirt, pants, and gloves from Earth were gone. I really.....did not have a choice. I had to contact him.

Redmaw: i think i may have died been killed

Redmaw: frogloks guards they attacked me when i tried to leave the city

Primrose: Now's not a good time. As long as you stay in that game, you're safe.

Redmaw: but i think i died i dont have anything everything is gone

Primrose: Seriously, bad timing. You're fine. Just go loot your old corpse for your stuff.

My corpse.....I had...a corpse. It just...Primrose had to be wrong. There was just no way. It was not possible for me to have a corpse. I turned to the right and ran towards the city. Though I made sure to give Trooper Taer a wide berth, just in case he felt aggressive towards me. The two guards that guarded the city looked perfectly calm, but their fake plastic weapons no longer looked as silly and harmless as they used to look. I slowly tiptoed closer as I kept a watch on the weapons in their hands. They made no move to stop me and allowed me entry into the city. I crept quietly down the tunnel and then spotted it. An Iksar lay on the ground as if asleep. It had a long-sleeved shirt, gloves, pants, and shiny boots. Above the Iksar's body was the name “Redmaw's corpse.” It was true, it was all true.

I died and left behind a corpse. That was my body and my clothes were still on it. That was just...it was too confusing. I looked back down at my body, the one I was currently in. If it was my body, then what was that? My corpse, or so the game says, but if that was my body, then this could not be my body. Could it? Was this also my body? If this was my body, then that corpse could not be my body. But it had all my clothing still on it. Were both of them my bodies? How could I have two bodies? My shaking hands came up and clutched at the sides of my head. I just couldn't make sense of what I saw. What would happen if I died again? Would I get a third body? If the body that I inhabited was so easily replaced, then was it of no importance then? Mother had always told me that the human body was unimportant because it was only temporary. It was the soul that was most important because it was immortal. The soul does not die with the body, even when separated by death. But, even if my soul survived separation from my body, then how, why was another body created. Where did it come from? Shouldn't I have ascended to heaven? It didn't make any sense. What was that corpse? What am I? Am I really alive, or am I really dead?

Redmaw: is this the afterlife?

Primrose: Motherfu....I really don't have time to deal with your nonsense right now. There's a war going on out here, you know? A real war. World War 3. Nukes were used. FUCKING NUKES! Millions are dead, perhaps Billions. The world is on fire. Ahhh. Damnit. I'm sorry, okay? I know you're confused, but I can't do this right now. Talk to you later.

A war. A real war. If it was truly the afterlife, then it wasn't heaven, but hell. It was no wonder that my soul couldn't ascend to heaven. My soul was already trapped in hell. The world itself was on fire. I should've known. The signs were all there, always were, but I had ignored them. Never accepted by Mother's church, always left out from the team activities, and told that I wouldn't ever be chosen. A Mother who only cared about her books and her prayers. She ignored me ever since it was decided that I wouldn't become a chosen one. I had always been doomed to hell, I just didn't know it. A Father who only paid attention to his children when he wanted to hit something. In a way, I was happy when his dog died because he spent more time with me afterward. In hindsight though, they were never good times. No, I was the one who tricked myself, lied to myself. I hated that dog and blamed it for dying. If it hadn't died, then Father would've left me alone. The basement, right, an entire life spent wasting away in the basement of a house that wasn't even my own home. Father always said that it was his house, his rules, his home, not mine. It was never mine. It had always been hell. How could I not have realized it before?

I got up, turned around, and left. The corpse wasn't even worth looking at. It wasn't me. At least, it wasn't me anymore. The body wasn't important. Only the soul mattered and my soul was still with me. It was immortal and would stay with me always. I expected the guards to attack me as I left the city entrance, but they ignored me entirely. I walked by the Crusaders and Troopers as I followed the dirt path into the forest. It didn't take long before a scorpion attacked me. I didn't even bother to defend myself. A decaying skeleton also attacked me, and then another one. I watched the red bar that represented my hit points slowly dwindle, a few points of damage at a time. I died much more quickly than I thought I would've, and ended up back next to the dirt trail and fallen pillar again. Once there, I walked back down the trail towards the location of my most recent demise. As I walked, I opened up my barren inventory and noticed that I only had 397 hitpoints as a level 2 Beastlord. It was no wonder that I died faster than before.

Two “a scaled wolf pup” jumped on me and started to attack before I even returned to my corpse. It was there though, right where I left it. Two more decaying skeletons joined the massacre and I quickly fell again. I made sure that both my eyes were opened this time. I wanted to know what happened when I died. Unfortunately, nothing happened. I stood in the forest, surrounded by enemies, and then instantly, I was next to the dirt path and the fallen pillar. There was no loss of time. No pain, anger, sadness, or even happiness for a continued existence after death. There was nothing, but an emptiness. It didn't matter. The body, the corpses, the deaths. None of it mattered. It was no wonder that Primrose called it nonsense and told me that he didn't have time to explain it to me. Mother couldn't explain the soul to me over the course of many years. I walked back down the pathway again, again, and again. A corpse was left behind each and every time. But it didn't matter. I didn't even lose experience for deaths anymore, so remained at level 2 the entire time. Even if it was an inefficient use of time, it calmed me down somehow. It soothed me to just walk and die a dozen or so times. I wasn't even angry at the npcs. If they were supposed to be nourishment for me, a player, then shouldn't I also be fuel for them too? That was the circle of life after all. To eat or to be eaten.

After my most recent death, I stood and once again looked out towards the forest below. For some reason, I felt pretty good. Even though I had not achieved anything physically, I felt that I had made a huge leap forward mentally. I was so quick to get flustered, nervous, or apologized to others for things that weren't even my fault. Primrose was right, it was just nonsense. All of my problems, my concerns, and my fears. It was all so childish. This was hell and there were wars, even nuclear weapons had been used. What I needed to decide, what was important, was what I wanted to do. The thought had never actually occurred to me before. What did I want to do? Well, first thing I wanted to do was change location, so I sat down and pretended to camp. This place meant nothing to me. It was the wrong place to come to a serious decision. The basement, the house, Father's home, answers would be found there. I appeared on the bed in the basement after thirty seconds. I wasn't even sure I should call it “my bed” anymore. I hadn't acquired it for myself. I wasn't even sure where it came from. Perhaps I was more tired than I realized, because it only took a few seconds for me to fall asleep.