“Yup. Seen and heard it myself. ‘It’s only a game and the NPC is just a chunk of code, nothing more’.”
“Exactly. One minor detail, though. A child always gets in the way, who must be murdered.”
“A humanity test?”
“More like an inhumanity test. Yet many pass it. They turn away or close their eyes. Remember the phrase in the classic? ‘I’ll pray for my sins later’,” Max curled his hands into fists. “But it’s not so easy to wash the blood off your hands, even if it’s virtual. As soon as the task is complete, you get a smoky aura. Many don’t return to complete the quest but a day passes, then another, yet the aura doesn’t dissipate. You can no longer enter normal towns with it. You can’t discard the item that you obtained from the inventory. Any player or NPC has every right to send you for respawn. I’m just stating facts, I’m not feeling sorry for them. There are some that delete their character. Others become bandits and form gangs. And some return to the Dark Frontier. As a reward for the first murder, they receive a fully-fledged Dark aura, which adds points to their characteristics, gives them the ability to use items, outfits and weapons altered by the Abyss, and unlocks a dark magic branch on the skills tree.”
“And there’s no way back?”
“Theoretically, there is. There are cleansing amulets out there, but nobody has found one yet. Dark players take the side of the Abyss. We don’t know their real hierarchy yet. Nobody has traveled further than the Wild Lands so far, and those who reached the Dark Frontier either deleted their accounts or switched to the Dark side. There is another category, however, the most detestable, in my opinion. Savage_Hulk and his gang belong to it. They get to Level 30 and head to the Frontier. They accept the mission and obtain the aura, but serve only themselves and not the Abyss.”
“What’s the advantage in that?”
“Once they obtain the aura, they don’t need to worry about their accounts. They won’t get banned because they now belong to an ‘enemy faction’. Dark players can be eliminated face-to-face but that’s it.”
“And nothing can be done?”
“That’s not true. But we have to use gaming methods, as I’ve already said. We don’t let them set foot on our lands. We protect new users and players with peaceful professions. Fifty percent of realism is a lot, believe me. Death is still death, and after a dozen respawns it begins to terrify.”
I nodded, deep in thought. “What about me?”
“Do you truly want to stay?” Max narrowed his eyes. It was a familiar look. We had been through a lot together.
“After everything that you’ve told me? Yes, I do!”
“Justify why.”
“I won’t. It’s not something I can explain. To live the remainder of my life in front of the spherovision when I have an alternative? Max, don’t act dumb. You know me.”
“Fine. Let’s consider it a rhetorical question. But there are complications.”
“My health’s still good.”
“That’s not what I meant. We would like to ask you not to get a new account. You’ll remain Dan.”
“Why?”
“Your inventory contains unique items with hidden abilities. None of our people received the Secret of Forest Hill personal quest, although they went there alone and in groups. There is no dry tree and no remains. There are no rocks or the dried-up spring either. You’ve been to a place generated just for you. And the deciding factor is that your character has been teleported further than any of our explorers have been.”
“Will I get support?”
“Here, yes. But not in the Edge of the Abyss. It’s impossible. The section of underground that you have discovered hasn’t helped us in any way, we haven’t been able to find it so far. You will have to level up and escape from there on your own. But the Clan is willing to pay for the information. Any discoveries that you make will increase your reputation among us. You can join the Mongooses as soon as you find your way back. Now, about the real world. It’s dangerous for you to return to Denis’ apartment or to your own. You’ll stay here for now. We’ll provide you with a VR capsule.
You have a lot to think about. If you come back alive, you’ll have payment and stars on your shoulders. And if you perish, well...”
The door opened suddenly and a guy of about eighteen entered the room. He was holding a nanocomputer tablet.
“Hi. Are you Dan?” he glanced at me.
“Didn’t anyone teach you to knock?”
“Oh, sorry, I was thinking about stuff. You’re Dan, right? I’m here about your character.”
“Andrey, let me introduce you to Sasha, he’s our analyst and tactician.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you.” A section opened in the floor and another armchair rose from the recess. “Right, fellows,” he sat down. “The character has some crap skills but he’ll live. I checked the logs. I estimate the overall level of the undergound as 25+. It’s pretty passable. I reckon it used to be just a normal set of subterranean locations for a large town. Dan’s Stamina is pretty good, you just need to quickly level up your Adaptability and you’ll be fine.”
“I get killed.” I reminded him.
Sasha deigned to look up from the tablet. It was weird, he seemed to be focusing over my head as if he was looking for a frame.
“Andrey, despite all the ‘respect your elders’ crap that I get hammered into me here, don’t be a newb, OK?”
“I wasn’t the one who created the character.”
“Yeah, but you’re the one playing. Can I continue?”
“Go on.”
“OK.” he focused on the tablet again. “This is what we do. We increase the realism level to 50%. This will allow you to accrue additional experience points. Your goal is to go up 5 levels and get your Adaptability to 12 and then you’ll be the king of this dump.”
I choked on my juice.
Max was listening in silence. My eyelid was twitching while he was trying not to smile. He was enjoying this.
“What’s wrong?” Sasha asked in surprise as if these few sentences were a detailed lecture that could explain everything.
“I’ll kick the bucket. It will be incredibly painful! There’s a zombie with a spear hanging around. I’ve only got a broken sword. Why do I need to level up my Adaptability? Can you explain properly, since you’re a specialist?”
“Like Luck, Adaptability affects all characteristics. But while Luck is random, the effect of Adaptability is quite predictable. Many simply underestimate it. Basically, when the character was created, the five available points should have been spent on Adaptability, then additional progress bars would have appeared beside each characteristic in the interface. They fill up gradually and don’t reset to zero if you die. It’s called ‘adaptive leveling’. Meaning that the fastest-growing characteristic is the one being used the most in that particular moment. If you carry heavy loads — your Strength increases. If you climb trees or shoot a lot with a bow and arrow, the additional bar next to Dexterity will gradually fill up and,” Sasha snapped his fingers. “bingo! you get +1 for that characteristic. Get it?”
“Now I do.” I nodded.
“Adaptability actually has lots of hidden advantages. As soon as you get it to 12 points, you’ll be able to use certain items and equipment that aren’t typical for your class, and when your Adaptability reaches 15, you’ll have the option to create a multiclass character.”
“Multiclass?” I asked in surprise. “What for?”
“When you meet a Warrior of the Abyss, you’ll understand why. We’ll discuss that later. Right now, we need to quickly get you up 5 levels. You’re a former soldier, right?”
“Yup.”
“Then I don’t see any problems,” he concluded cheerfully. “You know how to group together correctly? You know what rolls are?”
I nodded curtly.
“Your opponent has a spear,” Sasha continued. “Which means that he has two types of attack: stabbing lunge and spinning strike. You simply avoid the
stabbing move. The mob is vulnerable at the end of the forward lunge. You jump back to get out of range of the spinning strike, then find the right moment and attack. I saw in the logs that you were killed with venom as well?”
“Yup. Centipedes.”
“Super!”
I couldn’t understand what he was so happy about.
“You can buff your weapon,” Sasha explained patiently. “Smear the centipede along the wall with your first hit, then dip your blade in the slime and it will inflict additional poison damage for a period of time. The zombie’s weak spot is its neck, so you need to go for the throat or the base of the skull from behind. This is called a critical hit. During a crit, your sword will produce 150% of the base damage. Get it?”
“I get the general gist. I’ll have to try it out.”
“All right. Get your Adaptability to 12 and then we’ll discuss what you need to do next. Remember that the virtual world isn’t simply realistic. You can use different events to your advantage. Anyway, go and experiment. For more detailed instructions, I’ll need the logs and video of your next session.”
“Well?” Max asked when Sasha grabbed his tablet and ran off to continue his other work. “Will you risk it?”
“Yes, I’ll try one more time.”
“In that case, here’s an additional chip and a personal nanocomputer,” he gave me a thin bracelet and added, “Wear it on your wrist. In normal mode, the information is displayed on your contact lenses or as a holographic tablet, whichever you prefer. When you’re using the VR capsule, the chip allows you to create a personal digital space.”
“What do I need it for?”
“The gap between a virtual death and respawn is twenty minutes. You can spend that time in comfortable surroundings. It relieves stress. Each member of our Clan has such a chip. It helps if you have to spend several days in a virtual capsule, during a raid, for example.”
“Can you explain how it works?”
“You’ll have access to a builder and will be able to create a virtual room with a familiar interior. You’ll also be able to expand your personal space if you have enough imagination. You’ll work it all out yourself, it’s very straightforward.”
“So, I won’t need to leave the capsule at all?”
“In theory, yes. But I don’t recommend abusing that option. It’s better to exit, have a proper meal and a proper rest. One more thing, you have internet access in your personal space. If you need to get some advice or find information on the gaming forums, you can safely press ‘log out’. Just don’t leave your character in dangerous spots.”
He touched a sensor on a wall control panel. A section of the floor moved aside and a VR capsule rose up.
“Ready to begin?”
I was silent.
“Then dive in,” Max patted me on the shoulder reassuringly. “Fifty percent of realism is very motivating, trust me!”
Chapter Five
I GOT UNDRESSED and lay down in the VR capsule. The whine of the servomotors no longer made me nervous. The sensors wrapped around me body, the gel shifted slightly and the segments began to close.
That’s it. I was on my own now.
The intro came and went.
…
Welcome to the Edge of the Abyss!
…
Max was right, the heightened realism was very motivating. Smells were sharper, my trembling was more pronounced and the rustling coming from the darkness sent shivers down my spine.
My fingers tightly gripped the handle of the broken sword. The pile of refuse ran down to the stone gutter and a centipede lay in wait on the wall. An involuntary tremor ran through me. Calm down. If I started to panic, I’d be sent to respawn again.
Reassuringly chanting “none of this is real” to myself didn’t help in the slightest. I felt fully immersed in the gloomy dungeon setting as I heard the hiss of the venom dripping from the disgusting creature’s mandibles. I began to understand why the Edge of the Abyss maintained a billion users. Where could one experience such a thing in the modern world without paying for it with one’s life?
The sound of footsteps, snuffling and the rustle of collapsing garbage. Someone was creeping up on me from behind. My recent opponent, I bet!
I rolled and leaped up, striking as I spun around. The sensations were incredible as if I was young again!
My muscle memory was correct but game mechanics came into play and my character had a very low level of Dexterity. The strike was slow and inaccurate.
Damn it! I jumped backward, avoiding the retaliatory thrust.
Sasha was right. The zombie attacked with his whole body rather than just his arm. He was pretty clumsy and off-balance. The momentum drew him forward and forced him to bend over, leaving him vulnerable.
That was my moment!
Yeah, I wish. The sudden spinning attack sliced through the air. The rusty spearpoint almost slashed across my throat.
Shit!
The centipede arched its body and spat venom at me but missed. I was in constant motion, avoiding the attacks and trying to control the situation but without much luck. A sudden pain pierced my leg. A huge rat had sunk its teeth into my ankle!
I flung it away with my sword and limped to the center of the arched hall where the lighting was better and there was more room to move. The zombie followed me, breathing noisily and watching me without blinking as it waited for me to trip or get distracted.
It was a bit too quick-witted for a mob!
The piles of refuse that had accumulated below the crack in the ceiling started to move. Rats, at least ten of them! I must have disturbed their nest.
There was no way that I could deal with all of them. I need to run, but where? Toxic vapors continued to trickle out of the tunnels and only the break in the brick wall looked more or less safe. Although, how could I be sure?
There were no other options. Were there?
So many rats. They were large, stocky creatures of Level 6-7. I could take any one of them if it had been by itself, but they were social mobs and attacked as a group.
I needed to clear the central hall any way that I could, without dying myself. The gap in the wall was not a solution. I didn’t know what lurked in the depths of the labyrinth. I had to survive! This was really important. Having experienced the heightened realism and previous respawns, I wasn’t sure that I could return here again and again when I already knew that I was doomed to fail.
I changed my strategy. I grabbed the shredded shirt from my inventory, poured water on it like last time and pressed it to my face as I dashed into the toxin-filled tunnel, the one that was a blind alley.
There was the green glowing moss that absorbed death energy. I spun on the spot. A whole pack of rats were chasing me!
I swiped at them with my broken sword. Got ‘em! The quickest ones died. The vapors really sapped their health. Many didn’t even make it out of the poisonous fog.
The toxin affected me too but to a lesser extent. I was alive, at least, and the zombie was too cautious to follow me.
Several more rats leaped out of the gloom. One collapsed before reaching me, its paws twitching helplessly, and I killed the others without too much trouble as their Life bars were at a minimum.
I caught my breath, desperate to get away from there. Now that I knew about the necrotic energy, I could feel the unnatural cold emanating from the walls. But why was it focused right here?
A good question. I inspected the moss, looking for something unusual beneath the soft carpet covering the stones, but in vain. I couldn’t stay in this tunnel for too long. The piercingly cold energies were clearly unsafe. I needed to return to the central hall. The rats following me had all perished thanks to the vapors but that blasted zombie was probably waiting for me near the exit.
I suddenly felt incredibly tired. My thoughts became apathetic. I wanted to sit down on a mossy boulder, close my eyes and forget about the gloomy atmosphere as I found peace, no matter how brief.
I o
beyed the urge. I sat and meditated, reassuring myself that rest was necessary to regain my Stamina and regenerate Life points.
The strands of moss hanging down from above started moving, reaching towards me and softly sliding over my shoulders to slip down along my body and wind around my arms.
I started, shaking off the haze in my mind and leaped up, ripping the glowing threads.
So that’s how they fed? They mentally lulled their victims to sleep, cocooned them and dragged them up the ceiling?
Edge of the Abyss (Respawn Trials Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 8