“The early days of New Era of Man Online were lawless and chaotic. Nations and corporations across the globe fumbled their first in game initiatives. Many groups found themselves led not by the most competent but by the most outspoken. Violence was often the first, second and third option with diplomacy a distant fourth, followed by violence again.”

  From “NEMO – The Beginning” by Anonymous

  Year 1, Month 1, Day 1, 08:00 in game.

  Miller’s Crossing housed several thousand people in a town that rested along the banks of the Golden River. Several large mills powered by waterwheels nestled against the stone floodwalls lining the river. The river itself was over two hundred feet across and had bridges crossing it in three locations. The sturdy bridges had high spans supporting the carriages and wagons crossing them while barges slowly traveled underneath.

  The peacefulness and order of the city gave way to fevered excitement as dozens of portals opened in the field on the south side of the city. Hundreds of players emerged and began scattering in all directions. Risk of Injury members emerged from the portal into the arrival area of Miller’s Crossing. The portal field itself was dirt interspersed with large stone circles inscribed with runes and covered by runic archways. Torgon and his guildmates gathered quickly before heading to their assigned exploration tasks.

  Torgon addressed the excited guild members before letting them go. “Everyone in the guild is going to stay inside the city for the first few hours. We’ll look for party quests we can do inside the town before we go into the wilds. Make sure everyone stays in contact over the guild chat. When we step outside the protection of the town guards it’s going to be a bloodbath until the initial rush of crazies dies off. We need to find some easy social type quests for the younger kids and then we can see about tackling these guild quests. I also want to let the eager people see just how much fun the combat is going to be.”

  The team strode purposefully towards the mills and the docks paying close attention to their surroundings. Stone walkways for pedestrians separated traffic from the constant flow of wagons and carts. Nearing the dock district, they noticed large warehouses and open storage areas. Most buildings and yards had workers in constant motion but one stood out with a well-dressed man in livery waiting impatiently by a gate. Sacks of flour piled high outside the mill waiting to be loaded on the barge that sat moored nearby. Approaching the gate, Torgon stopped in front of the portly man dressed in the green and brown colors of the Mill. “My good man, is there work here for those willing?”

  The man looked the group up and down, eyeing them speculatively. “If you’re willing to work hard, I need these sacks loaded onto the barges. The pay isn’t much, but the better you do the better it is. If you prove useful, there are other things that need doing around here that a group can handle.”

  “You have received a Quest! Basic Quest: Load the Barges. Requirements: Load 100 sacks of flour onto the barges. This quest is repeatable. There is no penalty for failure. Reward: 10 free xp, 2 Copper Coins and 1 Reputation Point with the town of Miller’s Crossing.”

  “We’ll get right to work sir!” The party immediately began loading sacks of flour. They were heavy, fifty pounds or so, and awkward to carry. Each sack took about a minute to pick up and shift to the barge and reduced their energy while they worked. While they carried the sacks, messages filtered in from all over. The library was located but it required a reputation of 100 with the town to be allowed inside. Over twenty different small guilds had members recruiting around the portal, but no clear major players had emerged. The pushiest guild was the Red Hat Raiders, a well-known griefer guild that always trolled the start of new games.

  Allestor grunted after about half an hour and spoke, “You know, the kids back at the guild hall grabbing resources are getting more xp than we are.”

  “Nobody has reported anything any better than this and the people who have left the city are showing back up quickly with fewer people in their groups.” Hyperia shouldered another sack while talking.

  Ovarrix laughed. “Seriously, if any of you are actually from the future and have spent years playing this game, tell us now, we’ll go do whatever you tell us to.”

  “Just keep loading. I think we’ll get a group quest when we have enough reputation. I’m just not sure how much it will take. Besides, we all knew this was going to be a marathon and not a sprint. This is a world, not just a game.” Torgon and the others kept shifting sack after sack. Hours of hard labor, the dream of every gamer.

  The warehouse foreman approached the group after the 10th completion of the quest. “You folks have done excellent work. I have a bit of a delicate matter that you can help me out with. Would you be willing?”

  “You have received a Quest! Basic Quest: Clean out the Rat’s Nest. Requirements: Slay the rats that are lurking in the warehouse where the grain is stored for shipping. Rewards: One random bound skillbook. 1 silver, 20 reputation with Miller’s Crossing. Penalties: Failure to complete this quest will result in a loss of 5 reputation with Miller’s Crossing. Note: This quest is a lair quest and requires a minimum pain threshold setting of 50% to complete.”

  “We’ll get it done sir,” Torgon answered.

  The foreman motioned to the warehouse. “They’re in the back room. They scared off my regular crew, and it would make my life so much easier if they were gone. You all seem like the type willing to endure a little pain for a solid gain” The foreman’s smile was just a little too wide after thinking about pain.

  The party didn’t think too hard on the npc before moving to the warehouse and stepping inside. “Let’s adjust our pain settings and see how bad this is going to be.” Torgon opened his interface and navigated to the newly available slider bar. It was set at 100% and grayed out.

  “Um, Boss, my pain threshold is locked at 100%.” Allestor offered.

  Everyone looked at each other and grimaced. A system notice appeared. “As permanent residents of the game world your pain and sensitivity thresholds are locked at 100% to reduce the risk of psychosis and other undesirable behavior. In exchange you will suffer half the normal death penalty. Upon your death an experience debt of 5% of the experience needed for the current level will be applied. Please note that as permanent residents your experience per level requirement is double that of tourist players. This means your loss per death equals theirs. Experience requirements for skills are unaffected by your player status. Thank you for choosing NEMO as your home.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  After a short round of cursing by the party, Ovarrix offered up, “Dodge tanking it is. How are we going to do this?”

  Torgon groaned in mild frustration, shook his head and addressed the group. “We’ll take it slow and careful. I don’t want to get bitten by rats and I don’t think any of the rest of you do either. It makes me wonder if lairs, dungeons and raids will all have minimum pain thresholds. If they do, well, since our pain threshold is maxed it might give us an inherent advantage over the rest of the players. Anybody feeling particularly tanky?”

  “I’ll go first.” Dusty offered. “I’ve been bitten and scratched a lot before with work, you know, Veterinary Assistant.”

  The team entered the back of the warehouse and met with another notification. “You are entering a basic lair. To clear the lair, you must kill all the creatures inside. Current kills 0/20 minions 0/1 boss. The minimum pain threshold requirement for this lair is 50%”

  The interior of the warehouse was dimly lit and smelled strongly of rat feces. It was disgusting and dirty. Squeaks and skittering echoed from all directions in the dusty room. Dusty led the group deeper into the storage area with their swords drawn. A brown rat the size of a terrier dashed towards the party. It was skewered by three swords, and its death rattle filled the space. Glowing red eyes filled with malicious intent appeared in the shadow.

  “Well, that’s not good.” Allestor quipped.

  Well over a dozen rats charged the group. The team scrambled between crates to cut down on the sheer number of rats that could face them at one time. Swords flashed in a vain attempt to keep them at bay, but the group was quickly engaged in the front while more rats clambered up the crates. Dusty yelled as large white incisors sank into her calf even as she stabbed a rat through the eye. Allestor punted a rat back, but it merely rolled a few times then charged back into the fray. It took three or four stabs to keep a rat down and the bites and scratches added up. A rat jumped onto Torgon’s back and he felt the tearing on his shoulder. His free hand snagged the rat and tossed it high into the air before he swung his sword into it like the world’s most plague-ridden baseball. Hyperia jumped high and landed on top of a rat with a sickening crunch. Two clambered onto Ovarrix but he slammed against a wall to dislodge them. The wounds were adding up, but the rats were dropping. After an agonizing minute of pure chaos, the rats were all dead.

  Dusty sat down to recover after that last rat died. “Being a tank is going to suck. These are just rats, and it hurts so much.” The bites and scratches ached but healed fast under the effects of the group’s health regeneration. No one had dropped below 50% health, but it seemed a lot scarier. The rat corpses had small bag symbols floating above them indicating the presence of loot, and everyone moved to collect it. They were now the proud owners of 20 fresh rat tails that could be turned into the city’s adventurer’s guild for a small bounty. The lair updated to show that all the minions were dead and only the boss remained.

  The darkness in the back of the chamber seemed to deepen, slowly coalescing into a large misshapen form. A humanoid rat over six feet tall with lumpy flesh and missing patches of fur strode out. It carried a spear and chittered angrily at the group. Torgon took the time to analyze the beast.

  “Ratling Chief, Basic Lair Boss, Level 1. Health 100%”

  “It’s definitely the lair boss but analysis isn’t giving exact health for me right now. Spread out, wolf pack it. Dusty and I will be up front, Hyperia and Ovarrix on the flanks, Allestor to the rear.”

  The rat beast leveled its spear, roared and charged. Torgon dodged the head of the spear, but the beast whirled the shaft and slammed it into his side. A fifth of his health disappeared in a single hit. Ovarrix and Hyperia managed light slashes along the boss’s sides and Allestor cut into its legs. The beast started to spin around but quickly cut back and shoved its spear towards Torgon again. Dusty knocked it aside with her sword, sparing him an impalement. He didn’t escape completely unscathed as the head of the spear cut a deep gash along his leg. Torgon cried out in pain and moved back with barely half his health left. Dusty pushed underneath the Rat Beast’s reach and left the front of it bleeding while the others added deeper wounds. Ovarrix was hurled back after catching the shaft of the spear in his gut.

  Dusty danced around the front of the beast, trying to keep its focus on her. Torgon and Dusty fell into a rhythm where one would deflect the spear while the other pushed in for a slash. The floor was soon slick with blood and the beast slowed down, its wounds preventing it from responding effectively. The rat monstrosity lost its footing and fell granting the party a chance to close in and stab it until it stopped moving.

  “We really need to get some healing. The pain settings suck so much.” Torgon winced as he probed the tender spots on his body. “Dusty, you want to do the honors of looting the beast?”

  She moved forward and tapped the loot bag sharing the information with the group. “We have 50 copper and three items.”

  Wooden Shield: Basic, Armor 2, Durability 100/100, Skillbook: Basic, Magic, Force Bolt. Fire a magical bolt of energy inflicting 1 to 6 +(1xInt +1xSkills) damage per bolt. Gain an additional bolt every 10 skill levels. Recipe: Basic, Alchemy, Health Potion (Lemonade Flavor). A simple potion of health that will restore 20 to 40 health.

  After a short deliberation, Dusty received the shield, Hyperia learned the skill and Torgon stored the recipe. The party left the lair and stopped on receiving several notifications.

  “Quest Completed! Your party has successfully completed a quest. Each member is awarded 20 reputation with Miller’s Crossing. The group is awarded 1 silver. Ovarrix receives Skillbook (Bound): Basic, Combat, Parry.”

  “Congratulations! Your party has successfully completed a Lair. Each member is awarded 50 xp and 10 copper. The group is awarded a Basic Lair Core, A Basic Lair Chit and a Logging Axe: Basic, Crafting Tool, Durability 100/100”

  “Regional Notification. A Party from the guild Risk of Injury has become the first to complete a Lair in Miller’s Crossing.”

  “Congratulations! For being the first party to complete a lair in Miller’s Crossing, each member of the party is awarded 200 xp, 40 copper and 20 reputation with the town of Miller’s Crossing. The group is awarded 2 Basic Lair Cores, 2 Basic Lair Chits, Leather Boots: Basic, 2 Armor, 100/100 Durability, Skillbook: Basic, Combat, Dodge. Skillbook: Basic, Crafting, Toolmaking, Blueprint: Basic, Toolmaking, Basic Fishing Pole. A simple fishing pole that can catch fish up to ten pounds.”

  Torgon assigned the dodge skill and the boots to Dusty and learned the toolmaking skill and the fishing pole recipe. He noted that it took ten minutes per craft of the fishing pole. Each attempt would take one unit of basic wood and one unit of basic plant fiber. “We’ll pass the logging axe off to whoever is back at the guild base and farming. The good news is that we can finish the guild fishing pole quest, it will just take me, oh, 17 hours of crafting minimum.”

  The guild chat channels exploded with people talking about the notification. The kids and staff were all wondering just how hard the lair was and reporting that others were approaching them to ask about it too. Ovarrix cocked a sly grin, “Looks like a low-profile approach isn’t going to work. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Allestor had a feral grin of his own. “Oh yeah, we’re about to have some fun.”