The post went over a few of the new features. Some were expected, such as the introduction of the sub-classes to each class. Each class had 4 different sub-classes readily available to be taken on. The only thing that was barring players from them were the Sub-class Quest, which you had to clear before being acknowleged by the system. Players were recommended to take them only after reaching Level 10. Of course, there was no information on the hidden sub-classes such as the Saint of War's one.
The post followed by identifying a few damage corrections, mostly to the warrior class. It stated:
"Many players have raised their complaints towards the power of the Warrior class and as such, we've decided to take a bit of the power off of Stab. Thanks to the player Blind Dreamcatcher, we noticed how the warrior's skill Stab was a bit overtuned in the way it scaled. As such it damage shall henceforth be calculated in the following manner: "(Strenght+Attack Power)*2".
We hope that this should answer the big power creep Warrior suffered. Thank you for your understanding."
Well, this sucks. I was getting used to one-shotting* everything in my path, it was such a nice feeling.
The post then introduced the course of how history would change in Terranova. There was going to be an Event Quest: "Darkness Descends", which appears to one player in each town. At the end of this Quest, every player of said city would be able to try and clear the first few Dungeons in Terranova.
The post gave no further information on what the event was about, nor how you were supposed to clear the Quest. There was also no information on the Dungeon's name nor location, that would be up to the players to find out how to uncover both the Quest and Dungeon entrance.
James had a head-start compared to most players, seeing as he had already done both his Sub-class mission and had the Event Quest ready to go in his inventory. The estimated time for the server being up was , at the earliest, the next day and as such, James decided to go offline and take a rest.
By now, it was pitch dark and James felt a stinging hunger. He had been playing almost non-stop for the entire afternoon, disregarding food and other necessities. He also noticed that one of his brothers had left him a note. It stated that dinner was done, he just had to heat it up.
He went downstairs to the kitchen. Apparently, it hadn't been too long before his brother left him the note, as he was still there having dinner by himself.
Everyone was used to having dinner alone, ever since their mother died. There had been a special, silent understanding between the three brothers, where they tried to lessen the impact each had in the lives of the others, so as to keep those memories of when mother was still around intact.
James still felt hurt, and hadn't managed to go out much or socialize ever since. His basic routine had become to wake up, go to school, study and sleep. Repeat.
There was a sort of automated feeling to it, almost numbing, to the point James wasn't required to have much of a thought process during those days. It had helped a lot, especially in the beggining, right after mother passed away.
James had barely hanged in there due to Marcus's existence, the one true "light" in his life, if you so wanted to call it. James had developed a reliance on Marcus, the only one who took the time to listen to him.
It had developed to the point when James didn't even know who he appreciated more, his actual family or Marcus. He had even thought of asking Marcus to move in with him, but Marcus's family had always struggled a bit on the financial department, and James didn't want to be a leech. His deadbeat dad had not even shown up for the funeral of their mother, and Marcus's family stood there behind him, silently supporting him.
If James wanted to, he could cash out of Terranova for a not so small amount of money, and pay for his share of the rent in Marcus's home. He still wished to keep his advantage over other players. To make money, one had to spend money and as such, it would be a not so wise move to cash out right now.
Just as James was about to end his meal, his brother raised his eyes from his plate and asked:
"You have been playing Terranova, right? If you have and need some help, me and my crew have already reached level 5 and managed to hunt an uncommon Beast. If you need anything, you know my IGN, right? "
"Mhm, yes I do, don't worry. I won't hesitate to call for help then, when do you think you can reach level 10?"
"Should hit level 10 somewhere between tommorow night or the day after. Why? Need to assemble a team to clear the Dungeons?"
"Yeah... If I really need it, I'll ring you up then. Good night."
"Rest, school is over now. Take a bit of time off and sleep well today, you'll need it."
James got back to his room and picked his phone up. Its battery was dead, so James started to charge it. He turned it on and saw that Marcus had called him a few times already.
James rang him up, to which James got no answer. Typical Marcus, James thought.
After a few minutes trying to get in contact with Marcus, he finally picked up.
"Hey man! How unfortunate, the game's updating after the first day. It's crazy right? Either way, what do you say we go out for a few drinks? Just a few."
"Marcus, you know I don't drink man... Don't even try. Last time, you ended up in the back alley of a 7-11 at 8 AM, not knowing how you got there. That's not exactly the result of "just a few", is it?"
"Don't bring those embarassing memories back to me. I still remember my mom yelling at me when I got home. Ugh... Wanna come over? Just bring your VRHelmet over I guess?"
"Are you sure your parents don't mind? I mean... "
"Just get your ass over here so we can go play something. I still remember you liked chess right? There's an old board here at home. Just come, it'll be fun."
"Okay, see you soon. Just give me a few minutes to pack a bag and get my stuff ready. I'll go over by walking, so don't bother with picking me up."
"Okay, stay safe buddy. Don't cause a ruckus when you leave the house. See you soon!"
Great, now I have to pack my things together. Ugh, I should probably take a bath, I look hideous. James had been sweating the whole afternoon, so one could imagine how he looked and smelled.
He got off the shower, closed his bag, went up to his brother's room and told his brother were he would be staying at. He also texted his eldest brother that he wouldn't be at home for the next few days, so as for him not to be worried about James's location and safety.
James and Marcus had always lived close by, a 10 minutes walk or a 20 minute stroll, if you went about gazing the streets.
It was the beginning of Summer, and as such, the streets were bustling with people. There were older people who had taken their nightly walk and younger folks who were starting to get ready to go out clubbing for the night. All of that was a stranger to James, he had never lived those things personally, having only read stories and heard from other people's experiences.
When James got over to Marcus's house, he was welcomed by his parents. They were a middle aged couple, who had a tired look on their faces but always made an effort to smile around James, which he truly and dearly appreciated.
Both James and Marcus had already eaten, so they went to Marcus's room and just hung out for a few hours, even forgetting the time, something James rarely managed to do. They stayed up late, talking about the chase they were put on, followed by Marcus's experiences of dying over and over again.
They talked until they couldn't even keep a normal train of thought from how tired they were. Both of them were used to go over to eachother's places, so James just took "his" bed and decided to call it a night. He kept reminding Marcus on how important tommorrow's day was going to be, and how stupid it was of them to stay up so late.
But truth was, James was actually enjoying himself. He rarely ever felt this feeling of carefree-ness, the one you get from talking to an old friend.
Last thing James remembered was to fall asleep thinking of how he wished these days replaced his everyday life.