The Dragon's Wrath: A Virtual Dream

Chapter 36: Call to Arms

(Monday, May 17th Game Day / Monday, February 15th Real Day)

Logging on just before the sunrise, I was able to sneak a glance at the sleeping Selene and Katherine. The two of them curled up to their respective sides of the large wooden bed, fashioned of multiple planks used as slats along with a large collection of the softest furs around. A bed fit for a king, or queens.

Quite comfortable too, though I have yet to actually sleep on it.

Enjoying the angelic face of Katherine as she slept was somewhat of a guilty pleasure, one that I would need to end sooner rather than later. Selene on the other hand, continued to sleep with a face full of serenity, seemingly content with everything in her life.

As the two slept I could only help but wonder how I could manage things going forward. I had taken… a significant leap a few nights ago with Selene, and had yet to do anything truly physical with Katherine.

By all intents and purposes, my relations with Selene had progressed to the highest level while Katherine's was simple flirtation.

Yeah, I wasn't a great man nor was I a nice one, but I always tried to do the right thing. It was decided; I would cut things off with Katherine after talking to Selene.

Before I could think any further, I was presented with a system message:

[A Regional Call to Arms has been issued!]

[A horde of Goblins have been discovered in an abandoned mine-shaft.]

[Assistance is required.]

[Details of the Location have been added to your Map.]

What… is this? Was this a global quest? It says regional… does that mean this is specific to the North? Without any further hesitation, I quickly opened the in-game browser and searched out the term "Call to Arms TDW" online.

There were only two other examples of such a Regional Quest, and both led to what was termed a Static Dungeon. These Static Dungeons were dungeons that could be repeated infinitely by parties and came with specific quests attached to them.

All one would have to do is gather a group, head through a barrier erected by the NPCs at the entrance, and then upon completing or abandoning the dungeon for a certain period of time, it would reset. Once the dungeon reset it would be free to enter once more, freshly restocked with creatures to kill again.

These were the perfect tools for grinding levels.

And grinding levels was exactly what I needed as well.

Opening my Character Menu, I was woefully behind in the leaderboards. In nearly a month since hitting level 26, I was only at level 29. All of my time had been spent doing manual labor while the girls hunted in my stead… I was honestly regressing.

Looking through the threads on the Regional Quest, I realized something interesting. The first group to clear the dungeon received huge bonuses in Reputation and Experience, along with a Title to display if you so choose.

Those types of rewards were excellent motivation. Guilds would have the advantage but in the North, I would only have to compete with a few humans, a few dwarves, and the elves. Only the elves would pose a real threat as far as organized guilds go.

Opening my map to see where the Static Dungeon was located, I was a bit dismayed. Nearly a one-hundred mile journey to the southeast… by foot no less.

The location was just twenty miles north of the dwarven mountain range and around thirty miles southwest from the elven territories.

It wasn't a bad location.

Quite fair actually when considering it is smack dab in the middle of the lower North, the North-central, and the North-east region.

Stepping outside to take a look at my village that had already started to take shape, there was now a functional wooden wall that surrounded the accessible areas of the village. There were no gates, just simple openings for now but that would suffice.

The blacksmith hut, the weaver's spindle & loom house, the tanning station, the trade post, the shipyard, and a farmhouse across the river had all been completed. The three 30'x30' log cabins along the base of the mountain had been completed as well and with the warriors now occupying that, the log lodge was considerably spacious.

Rather than create a separate tavern, some furniture was being created to fill out the lodge to serve as both the tavern and the housing for the Non-Combat NPCs. There was a small shack created for the chickens as well, and in due time I would have a massive chicken farm to go with the barley and oats I was currently growing. Yeah, in no time at all this small village of mine will become something special.

The only thing that bothered me going forward was if I left for the Call to Arms, how would I know if my territory is safe? Being a hundred miles away would be disastrous if some guild came and attacked. It would take me far too long to return in any reasonable amount of time.

As if reading my mind at that very moment, Selene spoke out to me, "Sir, can you hear me?"

…What kind of question is that? Turning around, I could not see Selene anywhere and thought to myself, this must be a trick. Confused by the practical joke that was being pulled I decided to reply, "I can hear you, where are you hiding?"

"I'm inside the cabin with Katherine still…."

"Wait, what?"

How could that be, I was walking along the riverbank nearly half a mile from the cabin.

And then she spoke again, "When I woke, I felt something different and noticed that we had performed the Soul Link…."

"Soul Link, so… we can now converse without being near each other?"

"Yes."

Well.

That's convenient.

Browsing through my Menu to find the Companion Tab, I soon found my answer. I had reached a sufficient enough level of Loyalty through a high amount of Affection & Trust with Selene to activate the Soul Link. The Soul Link essentially allowed me to message or converse with her across any distance, just as if she was a real player. It was exactly the same as if I were to contact someone on my friend's list.

Does this mean, if I do the same with Katherine… that I could have constant contact with both of them no matter where I am on the continent? That I can actually leave this village to their management and still stay updated? That I can make adjustments on the fly from anywhere in the world… well, that was just fantastic.

What a stupidly convenient system these developers decided to put in.

All I needed to do was roll around in the hay with Katherine and I would be good to go. Ah, but wait… I was going to keep things monogamous.

Sigh, these developers really are forcing me into a harem.

I don't know if I should be thanking them or disparaging them.

Well, it wasn't like Katherine was unattractive.

Cough.

"Selene, I'm going to be leaving on a trip for a few weeks, do you think you can manage the place?"

"We can't come with you?"

"I think the villagers need your presence, and the place I'm headed to is going to be extremely dangerous."

"I see. We'll be fine."

Yeah, they would be fine.

They had forty-four troops that would shield them.

It was about that time anyways, for me to start leveling again.