CHRONICLES of a PC Gamer Stuck Inside an RPG (Book One: Duelist)

Chapter 45 - Moonlight Requiem

I followed the human disguise of Bane in silence as Enab led me through various checkpoints. Eventually, he took me down the stairs to the dungeons.

Enab turned to face the jailer, an unkempt looking man with a large gut and tiny legs. "He is a member of our Brotherhood and must be treated accordingly. Please provide him with a private cell near the water pipes," the young man instructed.

The jailer nodded and grabbed my left arm roughly. He pulled me down the hallway, past numerous occupied cells and finally opened the door to an empty jail at the very end. "Here you go, your eminence," he said mockingly. Without warning, he pushed a fat hand against my back and threw me into my cell. He smirked at me as he locked the door and whistled a tune as he walked away.

I looked around my cell and saw that it was approximately four feet by six feet. There was a chamber pot in a corner but nothing else. There were no windows to tell the passage of time. The only source of light was the torches on walls between the cells. I started pacing around the room, with my hand casually touching the wall when I suddenly stopped—I felt the warmth coming from this particular section of the wall. Remembering Enab's request to the jailer, I realized that the water pipes, especially the hot water pipe, was running past this section of the wall. I turned around, sat down, and leaned my back against the wall. The warmth felt soothing and I slowly lowered my guard.

Knowing that there were still some time before sunset and first rays of moonlight would arrive, I decided to spend my remaining time going through all my pop-up messages:

"Spell effect: Dark Rejuvenation. Stamina 100% recovered. 2x Attack. 2x Damage." This was the spell that Lord Bane had cast on me during my fight with Ebenthal. With double attack and damage, I wouldn't be able to miss my attack even if I had closed my eyes while I swung the sword.

"Charge skill SUCCESSFUL. -10 Stamina. Critical hit! -90 Damage. +100XP." Dang! I didn't realize that Bane's spell would double my critical damage. Along with the 45 points of damage taken by my opponent from the first Charge attack, Ebenthal took 135 Damage in total and apparently had less than that.

"Bishop Canterbury's Quest COMPLETED. +5,000XP. Title ACQUIRED: Were-Hunter. +1,000 Reputation. +2,000XP." My jaws dropped when I read this notification. What was the bishop's quest again? Oh, yes! The Holy One wanted me to find Judge Wachtel's killer and avenge his death. Since Ebenthal was the leader of the were-pack, the game apparently made him responsible for the judge's death. Thus, the wererat's defeat by my hand was considered the completion of the bishop's quest.

"Personal nemesis DEFEATED. Bonus: +1,000XP." Talk about killing two birds with one stone! It was true that Ebenthal had turned into my personal nemesis, and I was happy that the game granted me a little extra experience for defeating him.

"Stamina reduced to ZERO. Condition: PARALYZED." This was when I ran back to the surface after Sister Maisen and Captain Li decided to make their last stand in the chamber. I ran at my top speed and drained my entire stamina bar in the process. It was pitiful the way I had to crawl through the tunnel because I ran out of stamina. I will have to undergo more stamina training. "Stamina 100% recovered. Health 100% recovered." This was when Master Gurgne gave me a stamina potion and a healing potion to help me recover.

"Relationship FORMED with Deacon Manfeuh. +100XP." This occurred when I accepted the deacon's offer to teach me the ways and customs of the Brotherhood.

"-5 Health." "Condition: ENTHRALLED. Duration: 0.00.00.60." "Permanent Status: Marked by Bane. -500 Reputation, -1,000XP." Ouch. Being branded by Bane had cost me a ton of experience points! I did not expect to lose any experience in this gaming world. I will have to keep this in mind. Thankfully, Jasla kindly kept my mind off the pain. I couldn't help but feel my cheeks turn red at the memory of her kiss; it tasted like apricot. "ACQUIRED: Truth Stone of Order and Chaos. +500XP." This was a surprise. I didn't expect to get any experience out of getting my cross back from Bane. So in the end, the demon cost me 500XP.