Chapter 7: 7. Forums

Rhys sprinted out from behind his wall and locked his eyes on the toxic ape. A savage smile appeared on the beast’s face as it watched the human running towards the river. Rhys smiled when he saw the toxic ape attempt to cough up another poisonous sphere.

It thinks the river will slow me down. Rhys chuckled to himself as he jumped. He instinctively knew that he could cover the width of the river with his strength. The toxic ape almost choked when it saw the human flying towards it!

However, before it could react, Rhys unleashed the Creeping lightning he had at the ready with both hands. The beast screamed as the spell struck it and caused its muscles to spasm. Its skin of its chest melted and charred as it fell to the ground. Rhys laughed at its helplessness as his knees crashed onto the creature’s stomach.

The toxic ape was left defenceless as Rhys kept it pinned beneath him as he swept his lightning upward to focus on its face. Rhys grit his teeth as the creature screamed in agony. Its eyes bubbled and burst as the lightning seeped in through its sockets to reach its brain.

Rhys gasped for air as the toxic ape’s last breath rattled from its throat. He had just realised that he had been holding his own breath since he left the safety of his wall. I killed it. He thought as he studied the blood and body fluids that covered his clothes.

This kill felt different somehow to him. Perhaps it was because he acted in self defence against the Soren but this time he had been the aggressor. Rhys let the feeling sink in. He knew he had to get used to this kind of thing. After all, the path to the peak of power in Nexus would be long and filled with death.

He shook his head as he steeled his gaze. He placed a palm on the toxic ape’s chest as he cast his Drain Force spell. Rhys felt the energy leftover in the beast’s corpse transferring to his own body.

You have accumulated 15 points of Force.

Rhys’s eyes narrowed as the game system notified him of his gains. That’s more than I was expecting from this creature. Rhys frowned as he thought about it. If my spell steals a tenth of the Force my victim has accumulated, then I’ve just wasted a further one hundred and thirty-five points. That would have been enough for me to reach the next rank!

What a waste! He thought as he stood up and glared at the corpse beneath him. I definitely need to find a better Accumulation method. He sighed as he glanced around the clearing. It was clear the underground forest would be excellent for training in, but he wondered if it was safe to eat the creatures there.

After all, for the ape to produce its toxic attacks, that meant there had to be something poisonous inside its body. Rhys just was not confident that he could identify what organ carried that trait. I have to look for something else that seems less dangerous to eat. Preferably, it would be easier to carry as well.

Rhys used the water in the river to clean the splatters of blood from his skin and clothes to the best of his ability. Maybe I should follow the river. He mused as he studied the clear waters. With a bit of luck, there may be some fish.

It seemed like a good idea, since he could always follow the river back to that spot. The only question he had in his mind was whether the deeper parts of the forest were the domains of stronger creatures than the Toxic Ape.

However, the surrounding forest had become quiet. Which was likely because of the ape’s pained screaming. Any animals nearby probably knew there was a new predator in that area and did not want to give away their position. Rhys felt like he had little choice in what he did next once he analysed that situation. With a determined expression on his face, he set off, following the course of the river.

Rhys soon noticed that a light breeze would wash through that underground area every ten minutes. Is this connected to the outside? No. It’s too regular for that. Eldre must have enchanted something down here to keep the air fresh.

He could not help but to be further amazed when he realised that. It seemed to him that being a mage might not be so bad after all. Rhys thought about what areas of magic and the stats he should focus on in the future, as he kept his eyes peeled for any sign of life.

I need to find a balance between my spells and being able to fight in close combat. If I can get a good mix of the two, I won’t have any real weaknesses. Eldre’s test had shown him the weakness of his class. Although mages appeared to be extremely powerful and capable of anything, they were also extremely brittle.

It would only take one wrong move or someone capable of closing the distance to spell his doom. Rhys sighed as he wondered if there were any spells out there that could help to complement that style. I know too little to judge if it would be a viable method.

Player forums have now been activated.

Rhys’ eyes shot wide in surprise as he halted his march at that announcement. Player forums? He thought as he called up the stat menu and saw a new tab labelled ‘Forums’!

By now he had realised he could navigate the player menus with just a thought. However, he was surprised by what he saw when he entered the Forums tab. Hundreds of new threads were flashing in front of his eyes as they poured in. The titles were mostly players introducing themselves and what they were looking for in potential party members.

However, as he scrolled down, he found a section that seemed to be limited to players in his realm! Rhys scanned their titles until he found one that grabbed his attention. It was called: I’m a cultist! So what?

Rhys immediately entered the thread and scanned its contents. The author of the post was called Tolke. It took Rhys a moment to place that name with one of the players who had been captured during his escape. Now that he knew it was related to where he was, Rhys focused his full attention on it.

[I’m a cultist! So what?

You are reading story The Source://Error at novel35.com

So, I’m going to get straight to the point. When my group jumped straight into Nexus, we didn’t know what to expect. As everyone knows, the trailers have been out for a while now, so I won’t cover anything they have already shown. Instead, I’m going to focus on my group’s experience so far.

Most of my group like the idea of becoming mages and getting up close and personal with the enhancer class. So we quickly settled on what realm we wanted to start in. However, we were quickly disappointed to find out that we don’t even get to choose our class at the start! What kind of joke is that?

We quickly discovered that we had to find an Enhanced of the class we wanted and convince them to use their Power on us. This is how you awaken your Empowered class. So be careful! There’s a chance you could get hit by a different class if you try something stupid!

Anyway, we lost interest in the village where we started and headed out into the wilds. We received some directions to a nearby town where we hoped we could find a solution to our class problem. But guess what! We were ambushed!

Now, you’re probably thinking that’s just bad luck or laughing at us. I would be too in your shoes. However, our ambushers are part of some underground cult that I suspect may have a major role in the hidden main storyline of our realm! That’s right! You heard it here first!

Now, if you want to join this faction we uncovered, just add me to your friend list, send me a message, and I’ll set up a meeting point. The cult has access to all three classes in this realm, so there’s something for everyone. I’m willing to bet it’s the ONLY guarantee you’ll get at this point to gain your class!

Not only that, but you’ll be getting access to the main story mission! Just now they have us searching this branch of their organisation for a slave that seems to have gone missing, but the rewards will be well worth it! Hope to see you all here on the dark side soon!

-Tolke]

Rhys frowned as he finished reading the post. It left a bitter taste in his mouth as he watched the replies flooding in. There are too many players seeking to join them now. Let’s see if I can do something about that. A grin crept across his face as he chose the option to reply to the thread.

However, the system soon replied that action was unavailable to him! Rhys screamed in frustration, as he could only watch his enemies get stronger. All because the players wanted to access the story of his realm as soon as possible!

Rhys chewed on his lip as he considered his options. Since I’m an NPC, I know that the system hasn’t been controlling our actions. It’s all just natural events that have happened because of our choices! They’re mistaking whatever the cult is planning as a scripted event they can take part in!

An idea popped into his mind as he came to that conclusion. I can use the forums to monitor what the players are up to! If I use that information right, I can make them think I’m the main character of this realm!

Rhys’ mind spun with ideas of how he could manipulate the players into helping him. Some people would say it’s just wrong to trick this many people, but they’re using us for their entertainment. As long as I make sure they have fun while following me, I’ll have them dancing in the palms of my hands!

He would have to make contact with a player who had not joined the cult, though. Which would be difficult considering Tolke’s post. However, it would not be impossible. He was sure there would be players out there who would be unwilling to join such a sketchy organisation.

Rhys raced off through the forest, eager to gain as much power as possible so he could put his plan into action. I need enough power to beat the players who will eventually come after me. I need to make them afraid of me. Then, those who choose to follow me will feel like they’re making the right choice in going against the cult!

Rhys was so focused on those thoughts that he completely forgot that he was supposed to be hunting for dinner. Instead, any slight noise he heard would cause his wrath to fall on the unsuspecting creature who gave away its position!

The creatures in the outer area of the forest soon trembled with fear as they heard the death cry of several creatures, one after the other.

You have accumulated 23 points of Force.

You have accumulated 17 points of Force.

You have accumulated 9 points of Force.

You have accumulated 18 points of Force.

You have accumulated 15 points of Force.

Just three more points to go! Rhys growled as he stared at the Red Winged Wasp hovering in front of him. His robes were torn to shreds and covered in blood. It was hard to tell if it belonged to him or the creatures he had slain during his frenzy. I’ll reach the next rank once I take you down! Rhys thought as he jumped towards the wasp, lightning crackling at his fingertips.

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