Chapter 4: Run in with Faith.

  Cold, alone, and in the middle of dense foliage, Fisk scowled, shaking his fist at the sky above.

  “You can't just leave me out here in the woods with nothing to-”

  *OWWWWWWHL*

  “-shutting up,” Fisk said quickly as a loud howl of an unknown beast echoed in the distance. “Could have at least drop me back in the city… then again…”

  Images of the hungry players flashed before Fisk's eyes, a sudden chill running down his spine as he recalled their predatory gazes.

  “Maybe I'm safer out here with the wolves…” Fisk muttered before taking a breath.

  Alright. Calm yourself. Let's go over the facts. One. I'm dead. Two. I'm stuck in a video game. Three I've got a blueprint thing to get a new leg and finally… I can issue quests. Games these days have menus, question now, is how do I access-

  As if sensing his will a floating blue box appeared.

  -Support Menu

  -Quest Menu:

  -Equipment

  -Knowledge

  -Crafting

  -Inventory

  -Messaging

  -Support

  -Options

  Support? Maybe I can call for help! Fisk immediately tapped the support option, hoping upon hope he could get some help out in the woods.

  Alas, such luck was beyond Fisk.

  “Forums? Why does clicking support send me to forums?!” Fisk scowled as a multitude of threads flooded his vision.

  (A/N: Remember to shit on EA)

  “Where the hell is a tutorial or guide?” Fisk muttered, tapping through the forums only to stop as a series of threads caught his view.

  -[NPC Giving out INSANE EXP!!!]-

  -[Player named Senzawa hit Level cap, can I do it too?]-

  -[Instant level 25 NPC?]-

  -[Devs don't understand balance]-

  -[Here's why level cap doesn't matter]-

  -[Has anyone spotted One-leg?]

  “Oh… oh no,” Fisk frowned, tapping and reading the nearly infinite threads that were about his incident in the city plaza.

  “One- leg? That's rude,” Fisk growled despite the description about him not being wrong. Then his eyes shifted to one thread in particular that sent alarm bells ringing in Fisk’s mind.

  [{GOD Clan} Willing to pay BIG for information on One-leg!]

  “Great… just what I needed, a bounty on my head,” Fisk frowned, his eyes squeezing shut as a headache began to form behind his eyes.

  After a solid minute Fisk continued to scroll, reading the various forum posts on information about this world. However, there wasn't a lot here he didn't know other than his notoriety causing a fuss.

  “Hm?”

  Then Fisk came to a post, one that caught his eye amidst the spam of players pining for his location.

  [Tutorial for NooBs by {FOP} Clan]

  “Interesting…” Fisk muttered, opening the thread and reviewing the information there. “Stats… classes… race traits? Didn't Eve say she'd give me a class?”

  With one eye tracking the post, Fisk raised his hand, his other eye now looking at the blue box that opened.

  “Huh… so these are my stats?” Fisk muttered, his gaze entranced on the blue screen. Fisk frowned, his eyes darting between his support menu and the forum as he read the guide. “Everyone starts off with ten stat points. However, certain races like humans, azovs, and certain halflings can spawn with higher free points…”

  But I have fifty? Fisk noted, Maybe it's because of my special situation? Let's see what happens if I add a point into a stat-.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Upon Fisk tapping the plus sign beside Strength, his body began to tingle, a pulse of energy akin to a shot of espresso that started from his toes and seemed to travel up to his eyes.

  “A video game…” Fisk muttered as he scanned his surroundings.

  The cold dewey grass beneath his legs, the hard bark of the tree he slumped on, and the cool, brisk air tainted by the scent of greenery that was exclusive to the great outdoors. If this was a video game then Fisk didn't know what the hell reality was.

  “Feels more real than anything I've ever touched,” Fisk said, observing his palm filled with grains of soft wet dirt.

  He paused, reflecting on Eve’s words.

  “What do you want to do…”

  He closed his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips as he thought of his lost comrades.

  What would they do? What would his friends want for him?

  To live. To go on. The answer was as clear as day, but Fisk wasn't sure what that meant if he was now a ghost in a digital world.

  Settle down? Start a family? Was that even possible?

  No, that could wait, for now, he had his mission and a goal, a way to perhaps regain something robbed from because of a mistake. No… not a mistake. He didn’t regret what he did, only that others had paid the price for his failure.

  Fisk turned his attention back to the guide, his finger scrolling down the forum post. If this was his new life, it was time he studied.

  ****

  Picking red berries from the forest outside her village, Faith brushed the sweat from her tanned brow, her long blonde hair proving the usual nuisance of blocking her view everytime she bent over.

  Of course it wasn't that she had anything dangerous to look out for, at least not with the immortals running around killing everything insight.

  Faith paused, eyeing another pair of adventurers running by.

  At first, she and the other people of her village had been apprehensive about the arrival of the strange looking fellows. Especially with the rumors of how violent they could be. But with the presence of the Immortals, so too came the Judges, beings whose authority transcended kings and declared violence be banned from Liurnia Village.

  Now, the people were safer than ever! Even the monsters didn't bother attacking this far, allowing Faith to carry her berry-picking backpack deep into the nearby foliage unmolested.

  At least… that's what the village elder said and while true, the monsters kept away from the village… there were still a whole host of other issues because of the Immortals.

  “Awaken my child.”

  “Hm?” Faith stopped cold, looking around as a soft whisper of words seemed to caress her ears and a tingling sensation danced across her skin.

  An attack?!

  She drew her dagger from the sash around her waist, her eyes darting to and fro as she prepared for the worse.

  A few moments passed before she finally relaxed enough to decide to move on towards a red berry bush, only for her eyes to focus on a man sprawled out in the dirt.

  “Sir?” Faith called out, unsure if it was an immortal one or a man in need. “Uhm…. Sir!”

  Silence, the man unmoving.

  Slowly, Faith began to inch her way forward, her rope sandals pressing gently against the cool morning grass as she moved to inspect the man face down in the dirt.

  “Sir?” Faith said, poking the man with her walking stick.

  “fuuuh…” The man let out.

  “Sir are you okay?”

  “Wawa…”

  “Huh? I can't hear you,” Faith pulled her sundress up and crouched down, poking the man on the head who was missing a leg.

  “Water… food…” The man groaned, his eyes flashing upward and making her jump a little at his sharp glare.

  “Oh! Here!” Faith said, quickly helping the man up and turning him over. She took her water skin off, handing it to the dirty man who ravenously emptied the contents of the leather patch.

  Faith handed him berries from her basket, the man making a mess of his face and turning his tattered rags into a gruesome scene of berry gore.

  Scary... Was the singular thought that went through her mind. Faith knew not to judge a person by their appearance but this stranger had eyes that were everything BUT kind.

  “Uhm…”

  “Ugh… my health bar… my food meters are rising…” The man said, tapping at the air as if he were an immortal one. “Stamina is food, good to know…thank you so much, you're literally a life savor lady!”

  “Uh, you're welcome! What are you doing out here?”

  “I- wait!” The stranger exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Faith who went wide-eyed at his touch, “You can understand me?!”

  “Y-y-yes? You're scaring me!”

  “Ah! Sorry! I'm uh, I'm Fisk, thanks for helping me,” The vagrant said, sitting back onto the dirt with a loud sigh, his head resting on the tree. "You?"

  “I’m Faith von Strongarm, what happened to your leg?” Faith asked, looking down at the stump where a limb should be. Losing a limb or being injured weren't too uncommon, but those injuries could be healed easily thanks to clerics. However this man’s injury was weird, a stump, almost as if he wasn't born with a leg!

  “Uh…” The man paused, sighed then chuckled, “I lost it in a fight.”

  “A fight?! Goodness, are you an immortal one?” Faith asked, but that didn't seem right either. While he exhibited mannerisms like an immortal he was… different. Faith couldn't quite put her finger on it but she could feel he was just a normal man.

  The stranger took a moment to reply, the gears in his mind obviously turning.

  “No, I'm not an immortal one, but I do need help, do you have a village I can hold up in? I promise I don't bite.”

  “To heal your leg?” Faith said, turning her head to the direction of Liurnia. “I don't know… my village doesn't really like strangers…”

  Suddenly an explosion in the distance, the telltale signs of a battle raging along with shouts.

  “Please! Just for a couple of days. Once I'm uh… healed I'll be on my way,” The man said, his eyes almost pleading and making Faith feel bad. “There are bad people after me, if you help me I won't forget it!”

  Faith pursed her lips, her mind recalling the rumors of immortals burning down villages and attacking strangers for no reason. There had been an incident in the past, but a Judge had quickly stopped the immortal before a massacre could happen.

  “I guess I can bring you back to my village… I'll help you! But l can't let anyone know you're around. Once you're healed you have to go!” Faith said, taking off her backpack and emptying the contents.

  “Thanks, you have no idea what kind of day I've-what are you doing?”

  “I'll have to carry you in, so get in the basket.”

  “What?” The vagrant said as the sounds of fighting drew closer.

  “Get in the basket! Immortals are after you right? This way I can hide you!”

  “Lady I weigh a hundred and fifty pounds, there's no way in hell you can lift-”

  Faith rolled her eyes, instead picking up the man who screamed as she began stuffing him into her berry basket. “Hush! I'm trying to help you!”

  Eventually she managed to fit the man in her cage before throwing berries atop him to obscure him as a pair of immortals clashed above their heads.