[Level Training] Maximillion's Quest of Self

[Maximillion VonMitternacht]

During his time in Elder Tale, Maximillion has established himself as a skilled tactician and leader when leading small forces, such as 3-4 man cells during Dungeons and Instances. Despite being of the Monk Class, he always seemed to show aptitude for Scouting, Recon, Infiltration and even Sabotage Missions. However, due to his low level, and the fact that he gained most of his insights from researching others’ exploits in the game, he hasn’t actually had the chance to do much outside of small-time Dungeons, which – truth be told – can hardly be called ‘dungeon’s, and are more caverns where Level 1’s get their first taste of partying for Missions and Quests.

He was perhaps one of the only Monks to go the harder-than-it-is-easy paths of developing his fighting techniques instinctively, rather than using his User Interface and Skills to do combat. He leveled much slower than his fellow Level 1 players, and constantly found himself JUST on the brink of a Level Up, when he would find himself pummeled to the ground, and lose much of the EXP he had gained in the first parts of his Quests.

That was back when this was a game, and before they all found themselves mysteriously transported into the world of Elder Tale, in a world that looked reminiscent of the pictures he had once seen of London, England on the internet. Although he lived in the United States, he loved to experiment, and had been *convinced* that the proverbial ‘grass was greener’ on the UK Server, rather than the US Server, and had thus committed to logging in on the distant servers, hoping to enjoy some kind of benefit his fellow Americans were missing out on.

But, that’s a story for a different time…

* * *

Today found him fighting his way through one of the Beginner Dungeons, taking on a small party of 2-3 Goblins, each of them coming at him with battered copper swords, throwing themselves at him, and striking him every chance they got. As had been the case each time before, he was taking a significant amount of damage, even though he was dealing decent damage himself. Although he had started out with some Starter Potions, thanks to the generosity of a more experienced player who had visited the Londonium area, he suspected he would have gone through them in no time, if his technique improved.

Parry a slash aimed at my left shoulder with a strafe to the right, he chanted silently, in his head, as he took on the maneuver he incanted in his head. Duck to avoid a wide horizontal slash, and aim a right hook for the goblin’s throat. Throw arms in front of torso in an X-Formation to block a slash aimed at my vitals, and aim a kick for the soft of it’s gut, then aim a rising knee-kick to it’s chin, followed by a two-handed hammer blow from above, down it’s head..

Maximillion, prior to coming to Elder Tale, had learned the absolute fundamentals of the Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo Martial Art styles. While it wasn’t enough that he could hold his own against masters in those Arts, it gave him a basic foundation to build upon as he practiced fighting his enemies using his own wit, instincts and intuition, rather than the Skills List his User Interface came with.


Word Count: 558 (according to WordCounter.Net)

[Maximillion VonMitternacht]

There wasn't much in the way of lodgings, for individuals who didn't belong to Guilds. There were always the Inns, but Maximillion was a frugal man, and preferred to save his coin when and where he could, even if it meant sleeping up in a tree somewhere, or in some hidden area even the Assassins might not have thought to look. He had been a Beta Tester, but had used this opportunity not to try and scrounge up tactical advantages to the other players (as some had), but instead had sought to find little nooks and crannies that might make for good hiding places, meeting areas, as well as to prospect potential Guild Halls.

He had always held aspirations of being some Guild Master of some renown, and celebrated far and wide for whatever skills he brought to the table. Over time, though, he began to find that the absence of an outgoing, extroverted personality could cause problems for someone trying to make friends and get to know others. Back when this had been a game, it had neither made nor broken him, nor did he think it ever would.

Now that Elder Tale was more or less the real world, he was paying for his loner antics, and would have to do everything in his power to keep up, until someone scouted him for their Guild and he had a chance to reap the benefits of his training.


Today, Maximillion was sitting outside of a merchant's stall, a weaver and tailor by the looks of it, using a large, flat stone and some carving utensils to try and craft some ornaments and wooden trinkets he could try and sell for a little extra income. His Crafting Level wasn't as high as it could be, but a lot of his time had been spent taking on dungeons and Quests, and he hadn't felt very inspired for crafting ornaments. Even though, his crafts were little more than small Tiki Idols, and miniature Totem Poles, fashioned after those of the Native Americans. When inspiration hit him, he could come up with the most amazing crafts and projects.

On days like this, however, it was slim pickings, and all he could do is mirror something he had seen or experienced previously, and hope people bought into it and, in turn, bought it with their hard-earned gold.

I can't believe how unsteady my hand is! He thought to himself, scowling with frustration as he traced over the form of the wood with his hands. It had been so much easier to just use the Crafting Skill he had in his User Interface panel, but he didn't even know if designs like this were available, and templates for Crafting cost money...something he didn't have a whole lot of, yet.

I craft, and I craft, and I craft. It's worse than grinding, because it's not near as exciting! Did I choose wrongly to try my hand at Crafting? Would I have been better at something else? Maybe something that involved words, or writing? I was certain an Art-related profession would be easy enough for me, having an affinity for it in the real world....although, I guess this is 'the real world'. At least for now, perhaps.

He saw people walking around, talking and socializing, and resented how easy it seemed for everyone to pair up and make friends. It wasn't something he had ever been good at, so he was a loner. It was why he picked a Monk, other than having a knack for the Martial Arts like he did.

Was there nothing he could do to improve his station some? Was he doomed to just see everyone around him making friends, forging long-lasting connections, and prospering in a system where loners were picked apart one-by-one, and teams made all the difference in their endeavors? It seemed like a bleak prospect to him, yet the more time that passed without him finding teammates, Guildmates, and the like, seemed like further affirmation that this was the kind of fate he was looking at.

Pessimism wasn't something he liked to indulge, as it was a slippery slope that led to ruin, or so he was always heard saying. Heavens knew, he definitely believed it to be true, which was why he could speak with so much conviction when he spoke on the subject.

Word Count: 728 (according to WordCounter.Net)
Total WC (Thread): 1,286

[Maximillion VonMitternacht]

It was now the third day, and Maximillion was pushing his way through yet another dungeon, part of a tricky little Side Quest for newbies who freshly completed the Tutorial. Although Maximillion had already made it to Level 36 back when it was just a game, he had started out at level 1 when Elder Tale had become his new reality. While he benefited from much of the knowledge he had once before, he had to go through the rigors he had went through when starting the game a few months ago.

I am really aggrevated with this process... He said, scowling as he made his way to one of the nearby Beginner Level dungeons again, preparing to go through another series of rigorous training Quests.

I think it's harder because I have to actually get up, and motivate myself to move through the many phases of the game. Naturally, pointing and clicking is going to be significantly easier. Now, I have to face my laziness, and lack of drive where it matters most!

As the first monsters of the dungeon appeared, Maximillion snorted, smashing his right fist into the palm of his left hand, then kicking off the ground, flying through the air for the first monster, a red slime with two dots for eyes, jiggling back and forth as he came at it. When his fist collided with it's body, it flew backwards. Just as the ebony Monk was about to round on the other one, he heard a sick squelch in the corner, and looked around. The first slime, the one he'd struck, had split into two slimes!

"Aw, hell." Maximillion said with a grunt, taking a few steps back and flexing his fingers.

"Looks like today's monsters are going to be particularly pesky."