Atlas Online - Nick Venom (readnow TXT) 📗

my beauty sleep.” The announcer suddenly muttered, his tone sounding irritated. Tin was taken aback by the announcer’s sudden switch of tone. The announcer had remained robotic in Atlas Online---without a speck of emotions. However, this announcer was no longer the same one Tin knew from the game. Instead, this announcer seemed more humanlike. 

“I-I-I accept,” Tin muttered.

“Your rewards have been teleported to your bag. Your new daily quest will arrive in twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes, and fifty-seven seconds.” The announcer said, sticking with his original tone. Tin squinted his eyes at the board in front of him, which displayed his rewards and showed a small icon of the announcer. The announcer resembled Claptrap in his rectangular shape, but he was different because of the emotionless and robotic appearance he had. He wasn’t quirky or funny. He was a true robot.

Tin walked away from the cave’s entrance, glancing over his shoulders a few times. The boy had dragged his sister and himself along with Tin. However, they kept their distance from Tin, but close enough to keep their eyes on him. They had nowhere else to go, sp Tin played along, letting them join him. 

“Announcer, where’s the nearest town?” 

“You are close to Holy Sanctuary, the capital of the Hollister Kingdom. Wish to activate Tracker?”

“Denied,” Tin responded as he discovered a gravel road. On a sign were two locations---Holy Sanctuary and Hallout---pointing in different directions. Tin followed the Holy Sanctuary’s direction, the siblings chasing after him. 

“Where are you going?” The boy asked.

“The capital, you?”

“Can we go with you?” The girl blurted out. Tin turned around to face them. The girl hid behind her brother. She had pale skin, long pointy ears, deep blue eyes, and long blonde hair. Her brother had the same short blond hair, reaching his shoulders. 

“You really look like elves,” Tin muttered.

The boy tensed up, his hand gripping the shortsword tightly. The girl let out a shriek before disappearing behind her brother. “No, I’m not here to hurt you. I was just thinking aloud.” 

Tin understood the confusion. Elven slavery was common, specifically by corrupted humans. Elf slaves were everywhere in the human continent. They were kidnapped by human slave traders and brought to the human continent to be sold in droves.

  Meanwhile, on the elven continent, human slaves were very uncommon to find. Elves, instead, kept to themselves.

Tin turned around and continued following the road. He asked for their names and got Arlin and Siora, elven names. That was his last question, confirming his suspicions. They were taken from their home and dropped off here to be sold as merchandise. Moreover, elves without a master or certification of their freedom would be enslaved again. They needed someone to take them, someone to act as their master. He was needed to play that role.

 

TBC…

Episode Four "Golden Carriage"

The siblings followed Tin as they traveled to the capital, a long journey of eight hours. They took supplies from the bags of dead adventurers and equipped themselves with dirty water and half-eaten moldy sandwiches. The food was nowhere near five-stars. 

As they neared the halfway point of their journey, Arlin spotted a golden encased carriage lurking behind them. He pointed the carriage out to Tin, who pulled them over. “A golden carriage must mean it's someone important. I don’t want to get in the way of some noble and be sent to prison.” Tin remarked.

“Will they hurt us?” Siora shyly asked.

“I won’t let them hurt you,” Arlin told Siora.

“As long as we don’t get in their way, we should be good. Just in case, though, stay behind me.” Tin kept his eyes on the carriage as it drove by. The driver glared at him as they rode past. The carriage left Tin and the elven siblings in the dust. 

“Let’s go before nightfall,” Tin muttered under his breath.

The golden carriage passed them before skidding to a stop, attracting Tin’s attention. “Ambush!” Shouted the driver, diving off his seat, before he brandished a sword. Two guards jumped out of the carriage and brandished their weapons, pointing them towards the bandits that had popped up from the sides of the road. 

“Tracker has located five hostiles. They are outlined in front of you.” The announcer remarked tiredly.

“That’s a little late,” Tin muttered as he brandished Ashbringer. He then glanced at the right. “Stay behind the trees, hide there.” He instructed them. Arlin nodded and grabbed his sister’s hand, dragging her towards the trees. 

Tin looked forward and watched as a guard was cut in half by a rugged man dressed in torn clothing and with only one eye. The man wielded a large broadsword, five times the length of Ashbringer. The bandit glanced up and took notice of Tin. 

“Hey boys, I found a witness. What do we do about witnesses?” He shouted.

“Kill, kill, kill!” His men declared, roaring and yelling.

The driver and last guard came closer to the carriage, fending off wild attacks. Tin, sympathetic, charged towards the leader with Ashbringer in tow.

The two clashed swords, neither flinching nor retreating. The man grinned as one of his bandit buddies flanked around Tin. He noticed the flank, activating Fire Slash. The attack gave him room to turn around and activate One Shot Kill, devastating the flanker. He turned back around to deal with the bandit when he was jabbed in the face with the hilt of the broadsword.

Tin fell to the ground. He looked up and watched as the leader raised his broadsword. “I am Deadeye, the leader of the Brotherhood bandits!” He declared as he sliced down at Tin. He braced himself for the attack, Ashbringer sitting idly in front of him. 

“What the?” 

Tin opened his eyes and looked up, the attack being delayed. An invisible force had stopped the sword, five millimeters from his face. It was stopped in time.

 Tin glanced at the siblings, noticing Siora with her palms pointed towards him. “She has…” He started, confused at her new ability.

“What is happening? What kind of skill is this?” Deadeye shouted.

Tin turned his focus to Deadeye, standing up and pointing Ashbringer towards him. 

Deadeye’s face turned pale as he began sweating profusely. He looked around quickly and noticed one of his men watching him. “Kill him!” He shouted as he tried to retake his sword. The bandit nodded and charged towards Tin, who pointed Ashbringer towards the bandit and sliced him in half. 

Deadeye had given up on his sword and turned around to retreat. He glanced at the carriage and noticed that his men were dead, leaving him as the sole survivor. He raced towards the siblings in a hail mary attempt, but Tin fired off Fire Slash three times to scorch his back. Deadeye crumbled to the ground as Fire Slash slammed into him. His screams were short-lived, his body being cremated by the overwhelming fire.

The passengers of the carriage stepped out to survey the scene. Their casualties were one of their guards. The other guard and driver managed to fend off two of the robbers while Tin dealt with three of them. The ambush had ended in the innocents’ favor.

A woman dressed in a red near-transparent dressed walked up to Tin, She had pale skin and void-like eyes. She smiled at him, extending her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m June.”

“I’m Tin,” 

“It seems like we’re down a guard. Do you mind replacing that empty spot?” June asked, her tone being dead-cold. 

“Are you going to the capital?” She nodded her head. “I’ll go as long as I can take them with me.” He asked, motioning towards the siblings. 

“Let’s depart then,” She went back to the carriage and entered it along with a few others. The driver returned to his spot while the other guard sat with the lady. Tin motioned for the siblings to follow him into the carriage.

Onward to Holy Sanctuary, Tin thought as they departed the massacre. The bodies of the bandits were ransacked by the guard; all-important loot was confiscated.

 

TBC…

Episode Five "Holy Sanctuary"

The golden carriage rolled to the entrance of the capital, Holy Sanctuary. Tin peered out of the carriage window and gawked at the thick stone walls that separate Holy Sanctuary from its surroundings. The enormous city was double the size of modern-day Los Angeles 

Guards dressed in a mix of white and red outfits stood attentively at the gate, on the opposite of a moat surrounding the city. A large wooden drawbridge was lowered to allow people to reach the gate where the guards would check for threats. If everything worked out, you could enter within an hour.

The golden carriage rolled over the wooden drawbridge and skid to a stop on cobblestone. Behind them stood a large line of people waiting to enter.

The driver waved an insignia with the marking of a sparrow at the guards. “Restrictions are that any carriage is to be inspected for runaways.” A guard remarked.

“This carriage belongs to the Elfinstein family. Why must you block us?”

“Chris, let them do their job,” June said, loud enough for Chris, the driver, to hear. The driver nodded, waiting in his seat for the inspection to end. 

Meanwhile, the guards ushered June and the others out of the carriage. One guard went in and searched for anything suspicious with no luck. The other guard inspected the passengers, discovering the elven siblings. Tin stood in front of them with his hand hovering Ashbringer’s hilt. 

The guard brandished his sword. “Resistance here,” The other guard popped his head from the carriage and brandished his weapon.

“Lower your weapon. This is my bodyguard and those are his slaves. He misunderstood your intentions.” June remarked, crossing her arms. “Dare to touch them and you’ll fall here. My family will be brought into this skirmish if needed.”

“We wouldn't Miss.” The first guard said. He sheathed his weapon. “However, I need to check them before I can allow you to pass.”

“If you dare-” Tin started.

“Can it!” June’s attendee, a brunette female in a maid’s outfit, spoke up.  “How dare you cause trouble for the Young Miss!”

“Heather!” June shouted. “His fear is understandable. Don’t you dare criticize him for that!” She then looked up at the guard. “Hurry this up.”

He nodded and continued the inspection, eventually permitting them to pass. 

They entered the prosperous city. Green and orange ornaments were raised high on strings, hovering over them. Arlin and Siora looked out at the beautiful scenery, basking themselves in it. 

“What is your plan once we part?” June asked, ignoring the ornaments.

“I’m not sure, I didn’t expect to make it to the capital.”

“Then,” she licked her lips as she got closer to Tin, “how