Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1 by Joshua W. Nelson Read Free Book Online

wanted to change as High Elf got an intelligence bonus and not a Wisdom bonus. But Jason was happy as he too saw that AltCon was weaving the two disciplines together and that he didn’t have to beef up Intelligence much with his High-Elf Racial bonus. I was also happy he put points into Constitution and Agility. Never underestimate the Cleric that can avoid and/or take a hit.
    My build was slued slightly because of my agreement to be the character with the highest Chance. Being the rogue I would normally have a higher Dexterity so I could land Critical Strike more often. But I also needed to have Agility and Constitution because if the Tank went down, there was a good chance my level of damage would make me next on the target’s aggro list and I would need to survive long enough for the Cleric to start landing heals on me. But I was still happy with my build.
    There was only one more order of business. And my teammates were far more excited about this part of the game than I was. It wasn’t that I was or was not excited. I just didn’t care. But to them, this was to become their identity.
    “Come on dude! You can’t just call your character Alex! That’s dumb! You need to have a bawler name like Hotboy Escobar or something. Who calls their avatar Alex?” Dan ranted on while walking around the table.
    “It’s a game, and it’s a Beta, so these characters won’t even be around when the game goes live. Alex will be just fine. What are you guys going to choose?” I asked the group. And just like that they all became tight lipped. They looked like they would more likely tell me their Social Security Numbers and their bank account numbers than they were willing to tell me the names for their avatars.
    “Well since you guys aren’t going to spill, I say we call it an early day and go home and get some rest. Tomorrow is the big day and I know I want to be well rested for this,” I said.
    For once, Wayne wasn’t the only one with that twinkle in his eye. They all had it. Myself included.

CHAPTER 7
    August 8th, 2043
    The download was now at 94%.
    ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.
    I wasn’t getting out of my RAC, what with the emergency latch not working. And I didn’t know what would happen if I kept panicking. I needed to calm down.
    In my third year of college I had taken two classes on meditation. One was through Yoga, which also satisfied a PE credit. The other was an elective tied to my Philosophy major. Yeah, third year was the “free your mind” and “all viewpoints are the right viewpoints” phases of my life. That one I am not terribly proud of. However, I did take away one thing from that year. And that was how to slow my respiration and heartbeat through meditation.
    I didn’t know what would happen if I entered into the game with me in a complete panic, but I also didn’t want to start finding out either. I started using a breathing technique where you breathe in for seven seconds and exhale in eight seconds. You do this four times. I didn’t really have that much time, so I modified it a bit and breathed in for four seconds and out for four seconds. The rhythm and the effort seemed to do the trick. My heart slowed down and my breathing became less rushed.
    ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.
    I laid flat in the RAC and just tried to ease all my muscles and focus on my breathing. The red light wasn’t helping. Nor the alarm. Or the blinking messages.
    The download was at 99%.
    ERROR.
    And then as before when I was at the AltCon building, what I can only describe as hyperspace lines raced past my eyes, and the next thing I knew I was in the middle of a forest. And I was cold. And I was alone.
    * * *
    On that last day at AltCon, Dylan had told me that all of us would be logging in to the main starter town for “Light” alignment. Those with “Dark” alignment like Dark Elves or Trolls would start in a different town. So I was surprised that I was in the forest and not in Port Town as I thought I would be.
    I took a moment