Supreme Lord of Soulnight

The Beginning

That night, Liwan logged in on Soulnight. He was automatically directed to his character's default starting map, the town of Enorcal. Characters in Soulnight has five basic classes for starters; Sidhe, Magus, Chevalier, Warrior, and Slayer. When your first character reaches a certain level required by the system, you can create an advanced one from the same account.

Advance characters have three classes; Warlord, Invoker, and Pugilist. Liwan picked the Chevalier class. It is a race proficient with swords and spears. Each race has specific gender by default. Chevalier, Magus, Warrior, Warlord, and Pugilists are all males, while Sidhe and Invoker are female characters.

The first time he played Soulnight, he did not bother reading the forums or guide. Suffice to say, he plunged in on the game blind. Later he realized that he wasted so much time running around like a headless chicken instead of planning his gameplay. He regretted that when the game developers later introduced new features to the game, his character was left behind.

Liwan's character upon creation was automatically transported to Enorcal, in front of a tavern specifically. Apparently, his character managed to reached level 10. Not much, actually. It just proved to show that he was a little lazy in his gaming in the early days of Soulnight. But it doesn't matter. He's here now to change that.

A message notification popped up on the screen. It came from Denver, asking him of his location. Then another one came from Jayson, asking the same question. If he remembers correctly, Denver created a Slayer, a character adept in sneak attacks. While Jayson chose the bulkier character, Warrior. Denver's character was named Silencer, while Jayson's was called RagingInferno. What about Liwan? He decided to name his character Blade. Not so creative.

"Outside the tavern at Enorcal." Liwan sent his reply to his two friends.

RagingInferno invites you to a group chat. Accept or deny?

Liwan clicks on a accept. Another box appeared, showing his friends.

"Let's party," Jayson suggested.

Liwan did not immediately respond but instead checked the character's level. A pop-up window appeared, revealing the information he needs. He's only level 10. Then he tapped on the map. Another pop-up window appeared with the list of all the areas in the continent of Soulnight. All the other areas on the list were greyed out, an indication that he's not eligible to warp yet to those areas. The only place he could be is in Enorcal.

"I can't yet. My level is too low. Wait until I'm level 20." Liwan messaged back.

"Darn it. We have no choice but to go solo for now," Jayson complained.

Denver wasn't perturbed.

"It's alright. The experience rate for low levels like us is at 90%. It won't take us long."

They all agreed to go solo for now. Chevalier, Slayer, and a Warrior share the same hometown, so automatically, when they die, they're transported to the restoration point. Enorcal's restoration point lies in the town center, which happens to be the town's circle.

In the safe zone of the town, NPCs or Non-Playing Characters are serving their own purposes. They're divided into two categories: quest NPCs and shop NPCs. In Enorcal, there are three quest NPCs and three shop NPCs. The rest are just for decorations. Liwan made his character walk towards one quest NPC to start. Since he's still at a low level, he needs the support of that NPC.

He approached a Sidhe by the tree near one of the safe zone's gates. He clicked on it and conversed with the NPC. His first quest was to acquire the warp ability, which the same Sidhe would grant him after fulfilling the requirements. He was tasked to kill ten cursed spiders and ten cursed hounds around the town walls' vicinity. Submission of quest requirements would have to wait until he reaches level 20.

After accepting the task, the Sidhe moved her hands and cast a spell on Liwan's character. In an instant, tendrils of strange power enveloped him, looking like rainbow ribbons swirling around his body. It is a blessing granted by the Sidhe to aid him in his task. If the blessing losses potency, he is free to come back and ask the Sidhe for the blessing again.

Even after fulfilling the task, the Sidhe's blessing is free. But only to a certain extent. When one reached level 120 and acquires class proficiency, the Sidhe would deem the character strong enough to stand independently.

No more blessings. You're on your own. And if you keep coming back just to annoy the Sidhe, she will release her arrows on you. The arrow's effect is instant freeze, rendering your character immobile for an hour, encased in a block of ice.

Liwan's character walked towards the north gate. Cursed spiders and hounds are located in the northern part of the town, just behind the abandoned cemetery across the small creek running past the plains. Before, he wasted time walking around trying to find the location of those cursed beasts. As a result, he died multiple times from the attacks of stronger monsters.

He kept on resurrecting at the town's restoration point and losing gold faster than he could blink. Potions are not cheap. And if you don't watch out for your spending, it would render one's character bankrupt. Slain monsters drop gold, but it's not enough if one repeatedly dies and exhausts all the funds for potions.

He went past the gate, and calmy brandished his light sword. It's the cheapest he can afford to buy from the weapon's shop. He did not bother checking the map. He knows his way even with his eyes close. Just past the stone bridge lies the abandoned cemetery.

Liwan was about to step off the stone bridge when suddenly his screen went grey all over. Then a red-lettered message flashed across his computer screen.

You were slain by Crimson Cloud.

Crimson Cloud? Liwan's eyes narrowed. So that son of a b***h is here. He had almost forgotten when he met Melvin in the game and how everything started. Instead of getting angry, Liwan was somewhat relieved. It's the same. His encounter with Melvin at the game remains unchanged. That guy got acquainted with him in the same way. Later, they became friends. Or so he thought. Liwan straightened on his seat.  

Well, well. It is time to give Melvin a dose of his own medicine. Liwan felt giddy with the thought, an evil smile playing on his face.