Chapter 10: Book 1, Chapter 10: To The Victor Goes The Spoils

"Please, no more. You have bested us, and I no longer wish to fight." the bandit's face was nearly kissing the dirt.

Shane felt disappointed but sympathetic at the man's lack of determination to see things through. If Shane had been playing this on his PC, there was a good chance Shane would have immediately impaled the thief. However, the firm sense of reality now weighing him down fundamentally changed how comfortable he felt stepping outside his comfort zone.

As time passed, Shane's perception of Endless Veil's world felt more and more lifelike—even with the menus, magic, and mayhem. It felt like real life, and in real life, he didn't usually act so rashly.

Shane huffed, "I wish you had done this while your companions were still alive. Things didn't have to go down like this." he scolded the bandit.

The hairy man gave a sympathetic smirk. "They did what they wanted. We've been doing this kinda thing long enough to know our actions are our own, which is why I want to take you back with me. With someone like you as part of the gang, we would see a lot of success. Hell, we might be able to even do some good."

Shane momentarily wondered how many players found themselves in situations like these. These NPCs could react with believable behavior through the game's technical systems and even act on their beliefs. That's what made Endless Veil so promising was the potential behind every encounter.

"How do I know you or someone else won't try to kill me when my back is turned? I doubt your kind's values have much to do with loyalty."

The man raised his head but still couldn't meet Shane's eyes. "I understand how trust would not be easy to come by after my crew and I acted. Please accept this as a token of apology and good faith."

The man groaned in pain as he reached into a pocket sewn into his dark brown pants. He lifted his open palm towards Shane while bowing his head once again.

"I imagine you're low on mana between your spells and these minions of yours. That spell caster next to you especially, bastard packs a mean wallop."

Shane looked at the ring resting in the man's palm. It had a thin but gorgeous deep-sea blue stripe on the outside of the ring, with the rest made of polished wood. He picked the ring up to inspect it closer and found it had a single rune that glowed a soft blue on the inside of the band. A new menu showed the ring's stats a second later.

-Replenishing Wooden Ring-
(Uncommon)

-Modifiers-
Replenishing: +1 HP/Mana Regeneration Per Minute While Out of Combat

Shane realized the value of a magic accessory like this and frowned. "I didn't see you using any spells of your own. Why do you have something like this?"

The man couldn't meet his gaze, "We got it the same way we had planned on obtaining your coins," he stammered, clearly uncomfortable.

Shane's frown deepened, and anger swirled with disappointment in his gut. "I would feel dirty accepting this from you and would hate to think I took something from you that you took from other innocents," and tossed the ring back into the man's face.

It bounced off his cheek and landed next to him. The bandit looked up at Shane and scowled. Shane's eyes told the bandit a scowl wasn't the best idea, and he bowed his head again.

"Fine," he said through clenched teeth. "What do you want? I want this to be over."

Shane thought it over for a second, grinned, and nodded to himself.

"You're going to give me everything on you that you didn't steal from others, everything on you that you personally earned. Don't give me something stolen either; I'll know." He said sternly as he pointed to his eyes.

Shane knew he had convinced the prostrating man of his made-up ability to tell an item's origins when the bandit began removing his gloves, boots, spiked mace, and a bag of coins from a belt compartment.

Shane looked over the small pile of goods the man had laid before him and nodded in approval. "You've done what I asked and didn't try anything funny, thank you. Head the way I came, and don't let me see you again."

Shane's face hardened slightly as he leaned in. "I'll have my minions negotiate a new road tax with you if I catch you pulling this shit again."

The bandit gave a series of quick nods before jumping to his feet and jogging past Shane. He was wearing nothing but his undergarments on. In Truth, Shane had briefly considered the bandit's request to follow him back to their camp. However, the risk outweighed any possible benefits between the lack of trust and his current exhausted state. He could have become one of them if he played his cards right, but all bravado aside, he wouldn't be able to stomach being a thieving dick.

The sun was setting, covering the trees, road, and the fleeing bandit in a warm golden light. Shane watched until the burly bearded man was several hundred meters away before releasing a giant sigh of exhaustion. Once he had gotten past his initial anxiety, he was surprised at how capably he could fight them.

This surprise extended to how natural it felt to converse with them. Sure those bandits weren't "real" people technically, but it felt damn close enough. Feeling safe now that the bandit had departed, Shane squatted down to inspect what the bandit had left behind.

-Bandit's Left-Behind Gear-

Would you like to loot?

Enter/Cancel

He selected "Enter" in his mind. For some time now, it felt more natural to interact with his menus this way. He occasionally still interacted with the menus physically, which felt cool to do.

You Have Obtained The Following:
(Common) Leather Boots of The Bandit
(Uncommon) Leather Gloves of The Bandit
(Uncommon) Impactful Mace of Power
25 Silver Coins

As soon as the items appeared in his inventory, a new window materialized over them.

-Emergency Level 1 Survival Quest-

Survive The Bandit Trio Encounter: Complete!

You Have Obtained The Following:

• 60 Exp
• 40 Silver Coins
• 2 Gold Coins

You May Pick 2 of The Following Rewards:

• (Uncommon) Rending Iron Longsword
• Minor Mana Siphon (Common Shadow Spell)
• Small Pouch of Gold Coins
• Blaze (Uncommon Elemental Spell)

"I'll never get tired of getting new loot," he said as he marveled at his choices.

Each reward listed was valuable in its own right, but he would make a slightly different choice this time. Shane selected the gold pouch and Minor Mana Siphon spell. Immediately, a small bag appeared in his hand; he opened it to find precisely ten gold pieces. His logic was that the gold could come in handy if he encountered shopkeepers or merchants or needed it to sway a conversation.

The other menu he began exploring was the minor mana siphon spell. It was an active spell and thus would use one of his two active spell slots. Shane opted to replace his current healing spell because he needed a more constant stream of mana to use his magic and maintain his companions. As he resigned to this change, another new window appeared over his inventory.

-Congratulations, You Are Now Level 3-
You have received 2 Soul Points!
You have received 5 Attribute Points!
You have received 1 Active Feat Slot!
You have received 1 Active Spell Slot!

Shane made the kind of smile that reflected the fact he no longer had to sacrifice a healing spell for the ability to siphon mana from his enemies. After re-equipping his "Proper Regeneration," he brought up his "Spells" tab and selected "Minor Mana Siphon."

-Minor Mana Siphon-
(Common Shadow Spell)

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The user can absorb 1/10th of the opponent's maximum mana through physical touch.

Cost: 5 HP
Range: Melee
Duration: Instant
Cooldown: 30 seconds
Requirement: 5 Intelligence/8 Wisdom

He couldn't help but grin mischievously, "This spell will be every wizard's bane!" he exclaimed.

A new idea immediately struck him. Shane reached out his hand and touched Mage's bony chest, "Mana Siphon," he said, his voice low.

Blue wispy tendrils seeped out of Mage's body and flowed into his own. Shane could somehow tell a part of him felt slightly more restored.

HP: 80/145
Mana: 17/102 (+15)

Mage stared at Shane but otherwise did not act like it just had its mana stolen.

"Is it okay if I do this on occasion? Like only if I really need to? He tentatively asked Mage.

The robed skeleton only stared at him further. Shane wanted to think that meant, "yes, my mana is your mana," but he only felt terrible for siphoning resources from what felt like more than just a minion. He couldn't help viewing even simple AI companions as more than they were. Having spent so much time designing his own AI, leading to the AI Director, likely didn't help.

Not long after that, Shane plopped himself down in front of a tree on a particularly thick patch of fresh green grass. The events of the day were taking a toll on him. The wounds that weren't fully healed were just enough to sap his strength, causing him to feel winded after only a little physical exertion. He felt there were better times to use potions, too, especially not when resting would heal him to total health.

Then there was also the fact that he just killed people. Sure they weren't innocent, but he had never taken a life before—ultra-realistic video game world or not. So he sat in that comfortable patch of grass under the tree whose leaves made a cascade of calming music within the wind. He sat in silence for a few hours while Mage watched over him—thinking about all that had happened.

Shadows slowly crept across the road until they began to merge in the hazy darkness of twilight. Shane yawned, which was odd, given he hadn't eaten anything besides that feat gem over twelve hours ago. It seems being in this world had altered his body in ways he hadn't yet considered. Being tired didn't surprise him, not after what he went through and what he had to do.

"Just a little bit more, Mage, then we can crash somewhere for the night," he said wearily.

He opened his inventory to find the loot the bandit left behind and selected the mace.

-Impactful Mace of Power-
(Uncommon)

+24 Phy Damage

-Modifiers-
Impactful: Hits deliver more kinetic energy with increased knockback
Power: 20% more physical damage

"Impressive! Let's see how it feels without any proficiency."

Shane summoned it into his right hand and felt his arm immediately sink due to its weight. Not only was it several times heavier than his short sword, but the balance of the weight was too. He sloppily swung it around, trying to get used to the awkward momentum of the mace's large spiked head.

Out of curiosity, Shane swung the mace over his shoulder with all his strength. It hit the ground before him, sending dirt flying as he watched a crater around two feet in width form.

"This is some anime shit right here," he mused, pleased with the weapon's performance.

Equipping the mace also materialized a simple belt with a slot for the top-heavy weapon. Shane tucked the mace away and re-opened his inventory to look at the two new pieces of bandit armor.

-Leather Boots of The Bandit-
(Common)

+10 Physical Defense

"These will do better than the uncomfortable novice flip-flops I've been wearing."

The boots materialized, and he lifted one of his feet and noticed it was bathed in the cool blue light of his inventory menu.

"They aren't anything to look at, but I'll take the extra defense," he said while bringing up the bandit gloves.

-Leather Gloves of The Bandit-
(Uncommon)

+10 Physical Defense

-Modifiers-
Bandit: 10% chance to steal an item with any physical attack

A grin returned while he imagined stealing something powerful in the middle of combat.

He quickly equipped both pieces of Leather gear and began to flex the gloves while tapping the toe and heel of each boot against a nearby rock. The difference between the novice set and this was night and day. The quality of the stitching, padding, and even how they made his extremities feel warmer were all improvements.

"Oh!" he gasped as he remembered the two bandits he had killed earlier a few feet down the road. He looked to where they should have been and saw neither their bodies nor any loot orbs left behind. He sighed, looked over to Mage, and shrugged.

"I guess that's enough looting for now, come on, let's find a place to hunker down."

Shane, and Mage, made their way east of the path to Krooth. The goal was to find a secluded spot away from the potential bustle of the road. A couple hundred meters later, they found a small open area with flat grass in the dark shade of many trees clumped near one another. Not only would the trees and shade protect them from sight, but the cluttered leafy canopy also acted as a make-shift shelter from any potential rain.

Shane found a comfortable spot near the base of a thick tree. He looked toward the sky as he lay on his back. It was already dusk, and despite the many overlapping leaves and branches, Shane could make out trace remnants of orange in the dark blue of the night.

Mage was nearby, leaning against a tree; its brown robes fluttered in the soft cool breeze. It stood there with its bony arms tucked into the pockets of its robes and scanned the environment between its surroundings and Shane. His companion's glowing green eyes made him feel safer in the darkness of night. This was the last thing on his mind as he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

-Notice-

"Mage" Has Been Slain

Spell "Skeleton Crew" Has Ended

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