Dex Warrior (Libertas Online)

2: The Warrior and the Stranger

Libertas begins with a cinematic from above. My ragged character, a few other people, and three horse-drawn wagons traveling down a dirt road that weaves through grassy hills. I assume I'm guarding the caravan, as the game doesn't force feed new players any unnecessary backstory. What you become in Libertas is what the developers want you to focus on.

Soon, the Yishi come bounding down a hill top from the West, swords and bows shaking in their clawed hands as they screech. I watch the carnage unfold. Men sprout arrows from their chest, and I take a blow to the head, unable to take control of myself in the cut-scene. I lose every time, and the Yishi's take me hostage. My vision fades to black, then my view returns to the point of view of my own body again. I'm pulled across the plains in the back of the wagon as my vision flickers in and out as if to simulate fleeting consciousness. And finally, I wake up in a cavern, the clanging sound of the steel gate shutting behind me.

I'm greeted by the familiar old natural stone cell walls. The light misting of red splotches of blood tells me the Yishi are either into impressionism painting or someone died here. Moldy straw and loose stones are sprinkled about the floor.

I walk to the corner and kick over a few rocks to find my ticket out of here.

Bone pick

Someone has filed this bone to a point. Perhaps you could use it to escape.

Before I use it to open the cell door, I take one last look at my equipment in my inventory.

(LV. 1) Stinky Leather Helm: +1 ARM

(LV. 1) Tattered Tunic: +1 ARM

(LV. 1) Soiled Breeches: +1 ARM

(Lv. 1) Sack-cloth Shoes: +1 ARM

(LV. 1) Rusty Short Sword: +1 DMG

(LV. 1) Dented Buckler: +1 ARM

Inserting the bone pick into the cell lock pops the door ajar without much resistance. It slowly creaks open without me touching it, and just before I take a step outside towards the torches down the tunnel, I hear a strange humming noise coming from behind me that grows into a sound like the buzzing of a hundred bees.

I'm taken by surprise when, from head to toe, a woman materialize in front of me. Her hair is black and her eyes such a deep purple I'm reminded of an amethyst. The edges of her grey robes are burned and fraying holes reveal her knees, while the pendant at her neck is made from strands of dried grass tied into a loop.

She doesn't even seem to notice me as she focuses somewhere ahead of her. I assume she's looking at her inventory. With a bit of focus, her statistics appear in front of my eyes.

Rin II

LV. 1 Summoner

HP: 30/30

STRENGTH: 15

FORTITUDE: 10

DEXTERITY: 20

WISDOM: 20

INTELLIGENCE 21

SWAY: 21

(LV. 1) Burned Robes: +1 MR

(LV. 1) Tattered Sandals: +1 ARM

(LV. 1) Handwoven Ward: +1 MR

(LV. 1) Cracked Seeing Orb: +3 DAM

Holy crap! And I thought the Ranger had low HP. I suppose it's because her fortitude is so low, but what's even more interesting is how her statistics increase by ten points right in front of my eyes. Her intelligence and her wisdom stop at 25, while her fortitude goes up by two.