Ivory Online - The Dragon Knight: A LitRPG saga Page 5
A similar plan to how I organized my town in Ivory Online, but here, such organization may bring unseen benefits. One thing I’ve always known about the medieval times is that they had shitty city planners. I planned to show them what a proper layout could do for productivity as well as health and morale.
When we finally arrive at the south eastern section, I noticed that there was an irritating buzz in the air. What exactly the noise was, I couldn’t tell from here, but it was obvious to anyone that it was coming from the Tavern. Not being one to dally unnecessarily, I waved to my advisor and palmed my pixie, breaking into a full on sprint towards the Pub. Even though my speed stat was only 20, I heard the air whistle slightly in my ears as I ran with impressive haste towards my destination.
Upon reaching the site of the noise, I realized what the sound was. It was the quaint buzz of people observing one of the most loved pastimes in any medieval society – and to be honest, in some of the modern ones too – worth its name. A tavern brawl.
The contest seemed to be between one man and three others, all clad in a variety of gear. The first assailant was a dark skinned elf wearing dark purple robes, clutching a black book with a skull painted on the cover. The second assailant was a dwarf with the color bronze defining his pigmentation. I would almost say he was the dwarven version of an albino. He wielded a large hammer that looked like it could cave in the head of a grizzly bear. His light armor was – unsurprisingly – bronze, made of a combination of leather and… steel? Ah, studded armor. Interesting. The final assailant was strange to put it lightly. A tall Orc warrior wielding two Katanas. He wore nothing to cover his ripped chest, but had a cloth wrapped around his waist that prevented us from seeing his manly bits. Thank God for small mercies. His two tusks were longer than I expected, and if my hours reading Ivory Online lore was correct, the length of the tusk displayed the age of the Orc.
Then there was the defender. He was the weirdest of the lot. He looked about my age, a young – and painfully handsome – warrior with cream colored skin wearing nothing but a drape skirt tied around his waist by a golden belt. His eyes were crystal blue while his hair was a mess of red-gold, smoothed over the top of his scalp yet flowing out into three prominent spikes at the back. What stood out most about him were his armor and sword. To call it armor would be misplaced, yet that could be the only term for it. It looked like a combination between lizard scales and futuristic Kevlar armor, covering his whole body from neck to toes… if he had a cowl, I would’ve called him Batman. His sword would have been a typical longsword had there not been a dragon’s skull symbol on the hilt, as well as the metal of the blade possessing a bright red color. I had a few ideas as to his identity, but I decided to see how the brawl would play out.
“Who do ya think ye are, boy!? This here be a place fer real men to gather and tell tales of bravery, not spout horseshite!!” The albino dwarf bellowed angrily, thumping his hammer into the ground.
“Especially not someone callous enough to claim he killed one of my kin. You will die for that,” added the dark elf in a voice filled with hatred. This one was definitely not here to play.
“Orc hate pretty boy! Orc kill pretty boy! Pretty boy call Orc dumb! Orc cut of pretty boy cock and shove it down his throat! Then pretty boy will no longer be as pretty!!” finished the enraged Orc warrior, who clearly lived up to the insults the ‘pretty boy’ leveled at him.
All eyes turned to the lone man to see what his response would be in the face of such numbers. Would he beg for mercy or would he try to run? There were so many outcomes to this and the crowd’s tense excitement rose by the second… until he spoke.
“Eh? Wait, were you saying something? Forgive my manners, but I couldn’t hear you, since you’re all using your mouth to do what your ass should do,” the Lone Warrior replied nonchalantly.
Well damn. I think I like this guy.
Unfortunately, his three assailants did not share the same sentiments. Their reactions were naturally inclined towards open hostility already, and what he said just lit the fire on the biggest explosive I’d seen in a while.
“Wha did ye say ya punk?! Prepare ta taste me hammer!!”
“I’m going to enjoy ripping you to shreds and re-animate your corpse into my personal shithole.”
“ORC!!! ANRGY!!!!”
The three adopted attack positions, the Orc and the Dwarf charging at him while the Dark Elf readied a spell. For that matter, the Lone Warrior just grinned and adopted a sword stance I was familiar with; the Iai stance. Any anime nerd worth his salt knew of the famous Japanese style of swordplay. Crouching slightly while gripping the hilt of his sheathed sword, he looked like an arrow pulled by the string, ready to loose at any second. I used this chance to examine each of them.
Name: Kova
Age: 30
Title: Novice
Race: Dark Elf
Liege: none
Alignment: Evil level 2
Class: Necromancer
Level: 10
HP: 200 MP: 450 SP: 100
Upgrade skill to gain more information on target.
Name: Doverk
Age: 35
Title: Common
Race: Mountain Dwarf
Liege: none
Alignment: Neutral
Class: Maverick
Level: 15
HP: 400 MP: 50 SP: 500
Upgrade skill to gain more information on target.
Name: Korg
Age: 60
Title: Blademaster
Race: Orc
Liege: none
Alignment: Evil level 1
Class: Swordsman
Level: 20
HP: 900 MP: 100 SP: 1000
Upgrade skill to gain more information on target.
Name: Clarent
Age: 21
Title: Legendary Warrior
Race: Hybrid – Dragon and Human
Liege: none
Alignment: Neutral
Class: Dragon Knight
Level: 1
HP: 2000 MP: 2000 SP: 2000
Upgrade skill to gain more information on target.
Oh no… oh no, no. This couldn’t be real. An actual Dragon Knight? In my Tavern? That class as a hero recruit in the RTS section of Ivory Online was as rare as Keith’s Paladin Class. The moment they hit level 20, they’d be in a class of thier own, using just a handful of troops – whether elite or common – to clear out whole player cities. Dragon Knights were soon removed in an update because of how OP – overpowered – they became. It seemed like that rule didn’t apply to this version.
The Orc reached the Dragon Knight first, swinging his katanas in a deadly arc, aiming to bisect the warrior. The Dragonkin easily side stepped the attack and whipped his sword out in a lighting flash, running the Orc through before anyone could make anything out. The Mountain Dwarf tried to halt his charge, realizing that this foe was no pushover, but it was too late. The lone warrior bounded ahead with astonishing speed, using his sword to slice the tendons of the Dwarfs legs, flooring him instantly.
Crouching cockily over his foe, he failed to notice what we all saw, the Blademaster’s body rising awkwardly and rushing him from his blind spot. My eyes were pulled towards the Necromancer by some force and sure as hell, she had taken control of the dead Orc’s body. The Katana came down hard on the Dragonkin’s back and I closed my eyes with regret, having lost a valuable asset so early. But instead of the sound of steel entering flesh, I heard the clang of steel on steel. The Orc and Necromancer were just as confused as I were until the Dragon Knight stood up and stretched like nothing happened.
“Should have aimed for the head, idiot. My scales are as hard as a dragon’s. Probably because they are dragon scales,” he explained while flipping them both off.
I really think I’m starting to dig this dude.
The Orc initiated a new attack sequence that while impressive, was clunky and lacked the grace of a true blademaster from the game. It might be becaus
e this was just a reanimated shell or maybe the spell did not let the zombie retain skills from its former life, but Clarent did even bother to unsheathe his words for this one. He just used the scales on his arms to block the quick but unprofessional strikes. When the Blademaster made the mistake of putting too much force into a wayward strike, Clarent took advantage and grabbed its head, displaying his class’ feared ability to all of us.
Bending the neck of the Orc in a weird angle - forcing it to open its mouth – he breathed fire down its throat, holding the body while it burned right before our eyes. It was a show of strength and brutality.
I loved every second of it.
Kicking the useless corpse away, he walked to the downed Dwarf – who had studiously used the distraction to try and crawl away – ignoring the Necromancer as if he didn’t exist. The Dark Elf, instead of taking the dwarf’s idea of escape to heart, snarled and went into another spell instantly. The Dragon Knight either didn’t see or didn’t care, as he grabbed the dwarf by the hair, bending his neck to give him the same treatment as the dead Orc.
“Wait, no lad, please. Hold on. Ye wer right! Ye wer right! Ye really are a Dragon Knight, I see that! Let me go lad. This isn’t necessary,” the albino dwarf pleaded. His cries fell on deaf ears as Clarent poured an inferno down his throat, suppressing the screams of the dwarf – but not his thrashing. Even as blasé as I liked to think I was, I found myself slightly disgusted by the scene. Immediately, I covered my pixie familiar in my palm. That sweet thing should not have to see this.
“Mira, how come there are people here?” I asked the obvious question that had been on my mind since the fight started. I recently built the cottages, so I expected the population to increase in a trickle, but from the amount gathered here it was like the cottages are full already!
“There are many wanderers and hopefuls looking to settle down in a new place and grow with the settlement. If we build enough housing, I expect us to have a population of 3000 by the end of the quarter,” Mira explained, watching the gruesome battle unfold stoically. It seems the only way to get a reaction out of her is to either ignore her or call her bunny ears. I put the idea of trying both at the same time on my bucket list.
Done with his target, the Dragon Knight ambled over to the Necromancer calmly, not a trace of worry in his demeanor. For that matter, the Dark Elf seemed hurried and was sweating profusely. Poor woman. It must suck to be her right now. However, Kova uttered the final word in her long chant, unleashing what may be one of her special abilities inherent to heroes in Ivory Online.
“Super Power: Raise Dread Knight!” She roared, a smile breaking out on her face.
Every hero in Ivory Online had a super power. The first was gained at level 5, the second at level 20 and the final at level 50. Of course, it’s massively hard to get a hero to level 35 much less level 50, but the final super power was said to be a game changer for even common level Heroes. No one knew what The Dragon Knight’s final super power was, as they were removed before anyone could get that far.
Following the Necromancer’s chant, the earth opened up to reveal a being from the abyss, one of the hated enemies of all warriors of Light and Order. A Dread Knight. It was a large skeletal man clad in red armor that was as ornate as any well-established Knight of any Kingdom. It held a great sword easily in one hand, a ‘V” shaped black shield in the other. It’s burning red eyes glared from within its darkened helm, focusing on the Dragonkin instantly.
For that matter, the Lone Warrior dropped his act and went into serious mode. He drew his sword and stalked the Dread Knight carefully. The Dread Knight uttered a word of power, sending a bolt of dark flame hurtling towards Clarent. The Dragonkin bore the attack faithfully, not moving away from it. However, the attack clearly did no damage to the Dragon Knight and he rewarded the Undead’s effort with a toothy smile.
Leaping forward, Clarent trained a kick towards the Deathlord’s right flank, the attack being met with the end of the black shield. It brought it’s sword down in an overhead swing, which the Dragon Knight side stepped, thrusting his own sword towards the Dread knight’s face. The Undead simply tilted it’s head to one side, allowing Clarent’s sword to graze it’s helm lightly.
The Draugr mimicked the Dragon Knight’s opening salvo, aiming a kick towards his mid-section. The agile Dragonkin backtracked easily, squaring up and scratching his head as if unsure what to do next.
They each paced around the other, taking stock and watching for any openings or weaknesses to exploit, until the Dragonkin was directly in front of the Necromancer. He simply broke into a winning smile and with his unnatural agility, leapt backwards and impaled Kova on his sword. Immediately, the Dread Knight screeched and crumbled into a thousand pieces while the novice necromancer simply fell off the blade, dead.
And like that, it was over. The Dragonkin wiped his blade on his drape skirt and looked around idly, his eyes coming to a stop on me. He then smirked and walked over to me shamelessly, thrusting his hand out in greeting.
“So, I heard you were looking for a hero.”
I definitely love this guy.
Chapter 4
Ultimate pledge
After clearing up the damage from the brawl, I asked Clarent to follow me back to the town hall. He obliged and fell into step, picking up a conversation with Mira about something or the other. I used that time to access the Construction tab and upgraded the current cottages to level 3 – which was the max level until I upgraded the town hall – using the instant construction finish. Then I continued on and built another barracks, a staging point – which is where marches were initiated – a warehouse and a marketplace. At that point, my resource count was too low to do anything with, so I’d have to wait until it replenished. I checked the village overview tab in the Administration section and a screen was displayed to me.
Overview
Buildings
Status
Level
Town Hall
Normal
1
Cottage
Normal
3
Cottage
Normal
3
Cottage
Normal
3
Barracks
Normal
1
Barracks
Normal
1
Warehouse
Normal
1
Walls
Normal
2
Staging point
Normal
1
Marketplace
Normal
1
Tavern
Normal
1
Satisfied, I opened the productivity tab and checked that one out as well. The window appeared before me, listing my gains and where they’re coming from as well as providing me with a few options to manage them.
Productivity
Food
Lumber
Stone
Metal
Per hour
200
200
200
200
Labor req
10
10
10
10
Prod rate
80%
80%
80%
80%
Tech plus
0
0
0
0
Troop req
0
0
0
0
Valley bonus
0
0
0
0
Capacity
5000
5000
5000
5000
Hmm, so I’d need a little over a day to make it back to full capacity. That was honestly fine at this level. If I gained resources too rapidly, it’d become far too easy. Already, while my boons were exciting, I also couldn’t help but wonder, did all those who chose not t
o delay get gifts as good as mine? There was no reason to think Vena would give me special treatment, so I should assume as such.
Seeing that we’d reached our destination, we climbed the steps of the Townhall, angling towards the place Mira showed me. There was something I wanted to see. Now that I was done with the first stage of the town’s improvement, I checked my pending prompts to see what came up while I was focused on the RTS section of the game.
__________________
You have gained a skill level!
Construction has reached level 4
Building speed +4%
Resource consumption -4%
__________________
__________________
Well done! You have learned the skill ‘Perception’
You can see things in a way no one else can. Especially through them.
“Gods what a fine woman. If only I could see through her blouse at the very least, I could die happy…. By the Gods, what is this blessed skill!? I... I CAN SEE!!”
__________________
__________________
You have gained a skill level!
Perception has reached level 2
+2% to observation
+2% chance to notice anything out of place
__________________
__________________
TING-WHIRR!!
You have leveled up!
You are now level 2!
+10 to HP
+10 Ability points (Standard: 5 + Blessing of Vena: 5)
+2 Skill Points (Standard: 1 + Blessing of Vena: 1)
You have advanced in level. Apply your AP and SP points quickly, as they will be lost to the void if you die.
“Well, isn’t my little puppet growing? How’s my gift coming along?”