Apostle of the Sleeping Gods Read online

  “If you ever decide to share, write me a message,” Polynucleotide shrugged. “I might even invite you to the clan if you want to start taking Dis more seriously...”

  “I have a question,” Irina shot out. “Did you do all that levelling on your own, or did the Dementors powerlevel you?”

  “A little of column a, a little of column b,” I answered indistinctly and got up from the table. “Alright, bye.”

  “Yep, bye...” he answered. “By the way, Sheppard...”

  “Yeah?”

  “Chieftain is a combat class,” he said, hiding a smile by lowering his head.

  I smiled back. Big Po was giving a clear demonstration of his position of power, not leaving a single question unanswered.

  Irina took down the “bubble” and my ears were struck by bass tones and clanging music from the group of joyous bards on stage and the tumult of tavern patrons. There were only players and bots in the room. The workmen were still earning their keep on shift. Patrick, who I wanted to talk with to finish up the quest, was not around either. According to the map, he was near the Tristad market square and all the better. Passing that quest with potential Axiom spies around would have been a mistake.

  I took a look around and saw Big Po whispering into a signal amulet and Irina giving commands to a rogue and a thief who were suddenly next to her. Had they been there the whole time?

  In the end, the talk with the leaders of Axiom wasn’t quite as unpleasant as I expected. What was more, it made me reevaluate what I got from the ins. Depths Teleportation was now more valuable than any legendary in my eyes. Especially when I considered how important it was for me to stay mobile. For escaping an ambush, it was the ideal lifeline.

  I ran up the stairs to the second floor, jumped down the hallway, running into couple of fourteen-year-old noobs hugging and dove into the portal to my personal room.

  I was going to pick my class today. If it took too long, I could study the descriptions and leave of Dis to look over some guides. Initial class choice was not fatal. After all, you could regenerate your character on entering greater Disgardium without losing your level. But that was clearly the wrong move for me. I stood to lose too much: my threat status, achievements and the skills like Ghastly Howl and teleportation. Plus, then I would only get to pick standard classes, even if there were four hundred and some. And that was disregarding specializations from courier to gunsmith. But the unique ones... Well, the game’s AI only handed out rare classes in the sandbox based on gameplay style.

  So then, what were my options: Solo Adventurer, Wandering Monk, and Herald. Before me stood three full sized copies of my character.

  The first, suited up in full plate armor, twirled a sword and sat it on his shoulder. The second, wearing pants and a vest, performed a series of punches and kicks, then did a flip and froze at attention. The third was wearing light-absorbing armor and either a crown or a simple diadem that was pitch black. He was just standing with his arms crossed over his chest, his glowing green eyes blinking forebodingly.

  I decided to leave him for dessert and started from the most obvious:

  Wandering Monk

  Rare combat class (less than 0.01% of players).

  Specializations: melee, support.

  Bonus attributes: Agility.

  In the hidden and faraway reaches of Disgardium, there are monasteries which only a select few know how to reach. There, monks study not only faith and the use of defensive and offensive auras, but also deadly martial arts.

  Reading the class description, I mechanically kissed the knuckles of my right hand. My lips spread out into a smile: if I could do nuclear damage with Hammer as an untrained noob, then what would happen after I learned combo moves and other deadly attacks, then juiced them up with plague energy?

  Chapter 6. A Difficult Choice

  AS IT TURNED OUT, wandering monks were a very particular class. They had no home and could not belong to any faction or adhere to a particular deity. They preached altruism and could not start fights or they suffered huge penalties to faith power and would be forbidden from using class moves.

  A more tolerable downside was that wandering monks couldn’t take professions. Beyond that, they were not allowed to refuse quests or wear heavy armor.

  But still, the more I studied the game class, the more it drew me in.

  First of all, it turned out that beyond mana for spells, monks had another resource called spirit which governed spell and attack power. How much of it they had was dependent on faith. And that wasn’t the same thing the priests of the many gods of Disgardium operated on. In fact, it was just about the exact opposite.

  Whereas followers of a sect believed in the power of their deity for crumbs of reputation, with faith points used to activate buffs and new abilities, well...

  ...Wandering monks, thanks to their ardent faith that the world, although made by gods, yields easily to change and is formed by the mindpower of intelligent creatures, have the ability bend and warp reality itself.

  Their unarmed attacks still deal physical damage, but that is reinforced with mental damage, which can also be crushing.

  By power of faith, monks can control the rate time passes in battle, making them more able to dodge or land a series of unstoppable blows in the space of a second. And the stronger their faith and attacks become, the more nightmarish an opponent they can make.

  Monks are probably one of the speediest classes in Disgardium. And the most unpredictable. After all, they have the most powerful combat attacks. Literally tearing the fabric of reality with their mental fortitude, a monk has a certain chance of taking down any enemy. Of course, the chance is extremely small, and the higher an enemy’s level the lower it gets, but it is there. Always, in every battle with enemies of any level and with every attack.

  Further, monks can also make valuable support characters. Their defensive auras increase dodge chance and slightly improve the armor of all allies. Their healing auras restore health points, and offensive auras constantly damage all enemies in active radius.

  Class bonuses:

  +5 agility per level

  +1% recovery speed for health, mana and spirit per level

  +30% unarmed combat damage

  +25% polearm combat damage

  +10% attack speed

  +5% movement speed on foot

  So, no swords, rings or armor? I supposed I could get used to that. I had spent almost all my battles wearing nothing but underwear! Beyond that, although it was a rare class, it did a great job of masking my abilities. Oh, I’m doing crazy damage with my fists? It’s because I’m a monk! Walking around bare naked? Pants are taboo! Not in the city often? Monks cannot spend the night in taverns or spend longer than one day in a city. And that, by the way, was all verifiable.

  Overall, studying the two remaining classes might be a formality. But considering that I couldn’t go back on this, I needed to look it all over carefully, then unhurriedly comb the forums and sit with a calculator putting a build together and figuring out my attributes. And the class bonus would give me one hundred and twenty points to throw around. Anyhow, there was no rush, I could do this the smart way.

  Just in case there was no info on this class online, I took a screenshot of the description and opened the next:

  Solo Adventurer

  Rare mixed class (less than 0.01% of players).

  Specializations: soldier of fortune, universal warrior.

  Bonus attributes: any two of your choice.

  In Disgardium, loners walk a prickly and winding path. Where a group may clear the way with fire and sword, a lone adventurer has to go around. But, if need be, they will accept battle and fight with the strength of three...

  As I was reading, my avatar completely changed equipment a few times: first he looked cool with two curved daggers in his hands, then pulled on some leather armor, changed it for chain mail, then into plate. The daggers converged into a short narrow sword which grew longer and two-handed before t
urning into a halberd. Then in a flash, it turned into a composite bow with a notched arrow. The animation looped back around...

  ...Lone heroes are no strangers to relying only on themselves and must forge their own path.

  Soldiers of fortune rely on stealth and the element of surprise and, whenever possible, prefer persuasion to combat. Failing that, they will get inside their enemy’s head and manipulate them into thinking they’re a friend.

  Still, different situations require different abilities. Some solo adventurers are famed for their quick wit and insight into all manner of subjects. Also, by levelling one type of weapon, they have a high chance of improving adjacent weapon classes. A talented swordsman will be just as good with a cudgel or an axe. And learning to shoot a bow will give your character the ability to use crossbows and slingshots as well.

  Several paths can be chosen, all giving different bonuses and abilities. Although soldiers of fortune, can wear heavy armor, they would never do so as not to lose their advantage. Universal warriors have the same chance of success regardless of armor or weapon.

  Traders and tavern owners are favorable to lone heroes, and give them good discounts.

  The active insight skill gives an adventurer knowledge of an enemy’s weak points, and knowing the optimal way to pack for a journey while leaving room for loot will allow you to carry more weight.

  However, the defining feature of a solo adventurer is their independence. When outside a clan, they receive huge attribute bonuses and even larger ones when outside a group...

  Unlike the wandering monk class, this one gave different skill bonuses depending on specialization. Unfortunately, they could not be combined. But some bonuses and penalties were shared by every solo adventurer regardless.

  Class bonuses:

  +3 to any chosen attributes per level

  +10% to all main attributes (outside a clan)

  +20% to all main attributes (outside a group)

  +30% health and mana recovery speed outside battle

  +20% to critical damage

  +15% carrying capacity

  +5% to movement speed

  +10% to vendor discount

  +100% to inventory size

  +1% to chance of receiving improved loot

  Class penalties:

  -10% to all main attributes (in a clan)

  -20% to all main attributes (in a group)

  I was amazed at how many bonuses solo adventurers got. Standard classes only received +5 points to bonus attributes per level, a solo got a total of six. And the choice would be mine to balance how I saw fit. That one-point advantage would provide a full one hundred extra attribute points by level one hundred ten and, with bonuses, it went up to one hundred thirty. As long as I didn’t join a clan or group, I’d be a killing machine. Strange that it was such a rare class... Although it was only possible to get through dungeons alone in Dis with curse of the undead, same for solo’ing rare mobs. For the most part, if you didn’t have a group you were nobody. I would have to spend a long time sitting with a calculator and busting my brains. After all, I’d have to consider potential bonuses from following the Sleeping Gods and the Destroying Plague.

  Gods! Nether, wandering monks were not allowed to follow any specific ones! What did that mean, would I not be allowed to choose this class? Or would I be forced to refuse Behemoth’s quest and they’d undo my initiation?

  What about the Destroying Plague? Was it even a deity? I wiped the perspiration from my forehead and lay down on my bed. I heard a plaintive creak below me and spat out a curse. The room started to smell musty and dust swirled up in the beams of the sun coming through the window, shimmering. Was this a sign that it was time to upgrade my personal room? Who knew? I would potentially be spending a lot of time here after today...

  I closed the class window despite myself and got to the next one. Its name intrigued me:

  Herald

  Unique class (never before chosen by a player).

  Specializations: none.

  Bonus attributes: charisma and luck.

  Only those marked by the gods can foretell world-altering events. And even though we haven’t seen any of those around, Mr. Ingannamorte insists on implementing all possible classes before release, so I’m just filling up empty space. Blah-blah-blah, great herald, something here, get it done. Nergal shoots lightning out his ass! Or light? Aw screw it. My cat pissed in my boot, the jerk! Oh... Elsa, stop shaking your ass around in front of that stupid bastard Ramachandra! What kind of name is that anyway? OMG, so much to do, and I’ve gotta fill text! No one is ever gonna see this!

  Okay, I’m going for a coffee. Bud, I don’t know who you are but, if you’re reading this, just know it’s my last day working for Snowstorm. I might even say my last hour! So, how much more do we need here? Five thousand characters – and that’s just the description. Nether! I trust this text is unique enough for you, Mr. Ingannamorte? What’s with this rush to launch?

  I’ve still got bonuses to earn, and the damned class specializations department, of course, didn’t send a damn thing! Lol. Who in their right mind can think up ten thousand different classes? Who needs them all? Why come up with a hundred different kinds of warrior? Plate armor and a sword. That’s a warrior. But no, we’ve gotta stamp out every class in between to meet all tastes! Pff... If you name the class Bogatyr[1], that doesn’t stop it being a warrior. But we’ve got a huge Russian market! A higher strength-to-damage modifier? You need a separate class for that? And that’s saying nothing of the Chinese. A shu warrior or a ji warrior. The coders just change one line but we’ve gotta sit here and peck out a whole description...

  “Our game will be self-regulating!” “Sure, of course.”

  This whole thing is held together by duct tape. It’s just idiotic: a whole department spent a year hacking away at these Sleeping Gods, and now they aren’t even gonna be in the game! We have to have Sleeping Gods, every self-respecting game has Sleeping Gods. Of course, Mr. Inga-kissmyass-nnamorte! No one is ever gonna play your stupid game. This is complete crap, and no new-fangled VR immersion technology is gonna help! Pressing buttons and looking at a screen is one thing. Taking a real sword to the stomach is totally different. Where are you going to find enough masochists to play this crap?

  No more than twelve bonuses and penalties per class. Hehehe... Hit two thousand characters...

  That same kind of blather went on for a long time. My first thought was to write Snowstorm support and I would have done so, if I hadn’t gotten to the class bonuses first.

  Class bonuses:

  +100 persuasion skill

  +5 charisma and luck per level

  +50% ranged damage

  +30% movement speed

  Skill Dissimulation

  Skill Imitation

  Skill Herald (single use)

  Skill Divine Revelation (spontaneous)

  Class penalties:

  -50% vendor discount

  -30% carrying capacity

  -90% inventory size

  -50% armor value

  Unique class, taken automatically. Cannot be declined!

  The final lines of the unique class description simply mocked me:

  Russian random in action! You’re gonna have to try real hard now, bud. I pity you! I’m going off home in the first flying car I find! If you’re ever in Orenburg, drop by a restaurant called Uncle Vanya’s. Ask for Vlad The Lisper and tell him how you managed to get this one.

  Wow...!

  Chapter 7. Herald

  DENIAL, ANGER, bargaining, depression and acceptance, the five stages of grief. Denial and anger had passed fairly quickly, but I was stuck at the bargaining stage, studying class skills.

  Dissimulation

  Active class skill.

  Current level: 1.

  Knowing who your enemy is can often define the course of a battle. Now you can hide your true nature, keeping important information from your enemies.

  This skill works on everyone however,
the higher someone’s level compared to yours, the higher their chance of ignoring the effect.

  Hidden at present level: character name.

  Perhaps as this skill improved I would eventually be able to hide more than just my name. Meanwhile, in my case, this was a useless skill for now. Having no name would just cause questions, and it did nothing about my flashy title of herald. Furthermore, in the sandbox real name and age were displayed, and this said nothing about hiding that. I even realized why: the class and its skills had been invented many years ago while the game was still in the design phase. But the department of education had only started requiring real names a few years after launch.