The Sleeper Must Awaken

by Kip Terrington

  Penalty for failing or rejecting this quest: 40% reduction in building points.

  Time limit for completing this quest: 3 months.

  Accept Quest? Yes/No

  “Ooo, a tower shield, that would go great with my MIL Bar,” Joe fantasized.

  “I don’t know, Joe, you are all about mobility, a shield might slow you down. That shield is in the distant future, we should discuss the optimal offer we could make to the dungeon. How much is a life really worth?” Zoya asked as they began to discuss what they would ask for the lives of their people.

  Chapter 32 - Oh No You Didn’t

  The UI understood that in the beta version of any game, developers would often let an exploit go until the game’s full release. When a player found a way to use the game mechanics to their advantage and level easier than everyone else, or make too much money, it was considered a bug in the game. When the game would move from beta and go live, the developers became relentless exterminators and removed every bug in order to keep the game in balance.

  In this case, the UI was no different. Its priorities were based on rigorously tested best gaming practices.

  The game must be playable and fair. However, like any new game, the UI's number one priority had been to increase its user base. Every second of the day, it was finding new players and adapting existing storylines to create new game content. The initial wave of expansion had encompassed all of Dollmar and the complete southern quadrant of the Wild Mountains.

  Unfortunately, whatever had powered the initial surge had waned. The UI was now forced to give quests to existing players in order to facilitate the adoption of the game by new populations. The consequence of spreading the game through player quests was an uneven, almost Rorschach-like, spreading of the UI’s area of influence. Despite its asymmetrical reach, the UI was always extending. It was registering tens of thousands of new NPCs and hundreds of players every day.

  With such a consistent and successful launch, the UI was now forced to focus on the playability and fairness of the current incarnation of the game. Unfortunately for Joe and Zoya, their rapid rise in levels was an anomaly that required increased scrutiny.

  The UI was committed to an unbiased regulation of the game. As it assessed Joe and Zoya, it recognized that, as Champions, they were in a special class of players. The rules that they followed were not exactly the same as the ordinary player.

  Though this discrepancy created some unfair advantages, it was hardwired into the existing world code and, as such, the UI could not alter it, even to create balance. However, even when the UI only compared other Champions to Joe and Zoya, their power leveling was still concerning.

  Since the inception of the game, no other Champion had gained more than thirteen levels. Despite this unequal progression, the UI could not identify the exploit Joe and Zoya were utilizing. Unlike most games, players and Champions had all started from vastly different levels.

  Part of Joe and Zoya’s rapid rise could be attributed to their Level 1 starting point, but not all of it. Though Joe and Zoya were early adopters, the UI could not afford to play favorites. Action had to be taken.

  The UI began to run simulations in order to determine the least intrusive way to normalize their gameplay.

  Running…

  Running…

  Optimal solution found. Sending user notification of UI decision…

  ***

  The party was in full swing and, though Joe and Zoya had wanted to participate in the festivities, they were feeling the pressure.

  “I need to go get some work done,” Joe confessed.

  “Me too. I'll go down to the dungeon and present our proposal,” Zoya said.

  “I'll go raise more livestock,” Joe replied, before everything changed.

  Attention! Attention!

  Anomalous power leveling detected. In order to maintain the integrity and consistency of gameplay for all players and Champions, corrective action is required. The UI must be unbiased and hold all Champions and players to the same standard of regulated gameplay. Due to the overpowered nature of the Voice of Monty Ring, the UI has decided to remove it from gameplay. Please remove the item so that the UI may resolve this issue without causing harm to its original owner.

  Reflexively, Joe closed his fist to hold the ring tighter. He already felt a slight pull.

  “What's going on, Zoya?” Joe asked, worry evident in his voice.

  “I don't know. I've already submitted a formal complaint in the contact support tab,” Zoya replied.

  “I'm not giving this item up. From what I understand, this item wasn't even given to me by the UI. It was a reward we received from those who summoned us. I don't think the UI has the required authority to take it,” Joe said, as he held his closed fist tight to his chest.

  “I will submit a ticket telling the UI it has made an error and that we have stayed within the rules set by both this Moon and the UI,” Zoya quickly stated.

  “Absolutely. Also, put in the ticket that it would be disrespecting the original magic of this world if we set aside this item. The integrity of both this world and the UI is important. We can't choose favorites either,” Joe said as the pull on the ring began to increase.

  “Message sent… I got a reply, let me forward it to you,” Zoya said.

  The UI thanks you for your support ticket. Your continued interest in both the game and the magic of this world is appreciated. However, the UI cannot allow bugs to remain exploitable. The integrity of gameplay must be maintained and the rules and regulations adhered to. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to your character or your future plans for development.

  The pull increased and it was no longer gentle.

  “We might be in trouble. It's starting to sting,” Joe said, looking down at his fist.

  Even though the music was still playing and the feast continued, the Chief of Clan Bounder noticed something was happening to his king.

  With an urgency that bordered on reckless, Bridcha ran over to Joe.

  “What wrong?” the yeti asked.

  “The user interface is attempting to take away one of Joe's most valuable items, simply because he's been so successful in the last month,” Zoya responded in a rush.

  The chief’s paws began to glow with a soft purple light and his claws extended. The tear in his flesh caused his own blood to start dripping off of them.

  “Who I kill?” Bridcha asked, wanting to help his king.

  Joe smiled, filing with pride at the veracity and courage of his vassal. “There are some opponents, Bridcha, that can't be dealt with by steel or magic. I just have to hold on to this ring and hope that we can talk the UI out of its decision,” Joe said.

  The moment the chief extended his claws, the mood in the room changed and almost instantly all eyes were on the king. Instinctively, Zoya turned off the music. The obvious chatter of concern began to spread through the room.

  ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

  Please remove the Voice of Monty Ring so that the UI can resolve this issue without causing undue harm. Failure to follow UI instructions may result in unforeseen consequences.

  “We can't afford to slow our leveling. What options do we have right now?” Joe asked. Zoya closed her eyes and focused on increasing her processing power.

  “Our options are few. We have to work within the user interface in order to deal with the user interface. Right now, I am assessing all of our gameplay in order to provide proof that we have not used any exploits or cheats. I will continue to analyze every choice we've made so that I can submit another ticket that will hopefully help the UI change its decision,” Zoya continued to speak as quickly as possible.

  “Okay, I will leave you to it. I guess my job is to keep my fist closed,” Joe said.

  Warning. Warning.

  Champion Joe, remove the Voice of Monty Ring! Pull on the ring will increase until instructions have been followed.

  The pain increased from a sting to a near skin-breaking pain
.

  “Oh man, this is giving me such a pinch! Make way, people, I got somewhere to be,” Joe said as he hopped off his throne and ran over to his place of power where he began to cast healing spells on his hand, knowing that it was only going to get worse before it got better. Without even opening her eyes, Zoya flew to join him at the place of power.

  As the strain steadily increased, Joe was forced to use his other hand to hold his fist closed.

  “It's ironic. If the UI hadn't just given me such an upgrade in strength, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my fist closed at this point,” Joe said through gritted teeth.

  “I help?” Bridcha asked as he retracted his claws and moved his paws to help add pressure to Joe's grip.

  “Yes! Don't worry about crushing me. Help me hold as tightly as possible,” Joe said, both grateful for the chief’s added strength and the fact that his eye was ignoring the proximity of Bridcha.

  WARNING. WARNING.

  UI instructions have been ignored. The Voice of Monty Ring will be removed. Necessary actions will now be taken to force compliance. The UI apologizes for this necessary correction and regrets the pain you will soon experience. The UI hopes that after this incident is resolved, you may once again enjoy normal gameplay without further destruction.

  His skin broke and all that was holding the ring down was his space-age bones and the weight of his yeti vassal.

  “I can't hold it! More pressure, Bridcha!” Joe commanded.

  The chief bent over the top of Joe putting all of his considerable weight down upon Joe’s hands. Even with the thousands of pounds of pressure, the chief could tell it wasn't enough weight. Joe's bloody finger was slowly pushing Bridcha up. The last thing the chief wanted was to learn to fly. With a forceful growl, Bridcha barked a single command.

  “Yetipile!”

  It was a child's game, but his clan understood it's serious purpose. Lil was the first to respond. Without any hesitation, she jumped up and onto her father's back spreading her whole body out to maintain as much balance as possible. One after another, the yetis began to climb, creating a white furry pile of pressure.

  If the ring hadn't been pulling up and away from Joe, such a weight would have suffocated him. But even with the increasing mass piled on top, the ring was not forced down. Joe felt the strain, not only on his hand, but in his very soul. Having come from a world where magic wasn't real, the UI did not fully grasp that one could not remove a soulbound item without severely wounding the very life force of the item’s owner.

  Joe began to feel the desperation. If he let the UI take away the items that made him powerful, it would not end with the ring. If you pull the teeth from a wolf, it will starve.

  “Zoya! Bind the ring to me! Hurry!” Joe screamed. Splitting her focus, she answered Joe.

  “I don't know how to do that, Joe. I don't have a spell that can help!” Zoya cried.

  “Prepare to bind me to my oath!” Joe cried and Zoya did so.

  “I will fight for the survival of my people! I will not relinquish the tools I have earned to protect them. This ring is bound to me and I am the shield of my kingdom. I will not give up this ring until my very bones are ground to dust!” Joe screamed and the black cords of binding shot from the hands of the dark fairy, wrapping around the ring and knitting its metal and magic into Joe's very bones. Joe felt the strength of the binding deep in his marrow, but the UI did not submit.

  Warning!

  Extreme buildup of heat imminent! Please evacuate the top floor of the Five-Sided Castle.

  The message was sent to everyone, even the NPCs without a HUD. Before anyone could follow the instructions, Joe shouted orders.

  “If you're an NPC, evacuate now! We can hold it without you,” Joe said, less sure of the assertion than he sounded.

  Suddenly, the ring was white hot and even though Joe had some protection against fire, he felt the flesh melt off his hand. Despite the horrible pain, Joe realized the danger his ring now held for his yeti compatriots.

  “Get off of me, Bridcha, you need to flee now!” Joe commanded, but the yeti didn't budge. Joe could smell the burning hair from the yeti who was too close.

  “I know that you don't like to obey, but remember the last time you didn't trust me! You need to flee with the rest of the NPCs. Or will this be another betrayal?” Joe asked, knowing it was unfair to say. Joe could see the pain both from the heat and from the decision on the yeti’s face, but the chief relented.

  With an effort, Bridcha rolled out from under the pile that now consisted only of yeti players.

  Unfortunately, Joe knew that to both NPC and player, the heat of the ring was going to burn them, so when the chief created space by rolling out of the pile, Joe followed him.

  Suddenly, there was very little weight holding the ring down and Joe shot into the sky like a superhero pulled by one finger. If it wasn't for the bindings Zoya had just created, the ring would have slipped off Joe's finger.

  Unfortunately for the UI, Joe's bones and the ring now formed one solid composite that even intense heat could not separate. Because it was an enclosed space, Joe only shot up to the top of the dome where the ring could go no further.

  There he hung, the flesh of his hand already burned away, revealing his bleached white skeleton all the way up to his elbow. Joe tried to cover his face to shield his twenty-sided eye from the torch that was now his hand.

  Those who had begun to flee stopped when they saw Joe high up upon the ceiling.

  Once again, the mob began to feel spontaneous fury and vocally began to challenge their oppressor.

  “Unjust!”

  “Curse the Tyrant UI!”

  “Thief!”

  Without even realizing what they were doing, virtually every player and NPC within the castle began to submit protests to the UI.

  The support tickets the UI received were colorful and, almost without fail, not suitable for children's ears – especially the ones submitted by children who, in their lack of knowledge, inadvertently created a few new profanities that caused mothers to wash their children's mouths out with soap for centuries to come.

  Observing how almost every player in the vicinity protested the UI’s actions, the UI reconsidered and once more began to evaluate the data that Zoya had been submitting.

  ***

  The fairy’s multiple arguments, and the evidence behind them, had been compelling. Four main points had stood out among the rest.

  The item in question was given to Joe as a just reward from powerful beings outside of the UI’s jurisdiction.

  Other Champions started at much higher levels, and yet they were not penalized for their overpowered status.

  The reason Joe and Zoya leveled so quickly was their superior technique and focused gameplay, not any specific exploitable bug.

  If the UI began to penalize players for being good at the game, it was only encouraging mediocrity, which was the death knell of all MMORPGs.

  ***

  Abruptly, the ring stopped glowing with heat and the UI let go of it. Joe flailed as he fell through the air, only to land on a big pile of yetis. Despite their fluffy appearance, it was not a soft landing. Joe could tell that he had multiple internal injuries and quite a few of the yetis had broken bones.

  Despite the excruciating pain, Joe focused and began the work of healing the injuries both to himself and to his compatriots.

  Rod, the dwarven mage, jumped up to help some of the yetis with less severe injuries.

  Joe looked down at his hand. Regrowing his flesh would not be the work of an instant and would require more time and energy than Joe wanted to give it.

  Zoya flew over and inspected Joe’s unfleshed hand and arm.

  “That is really gross. You know, Joe, you may not have access to a rifle, but for a moment, you did have a firearm …” Zoya smiled.

  Joe just stared at her.

  “Everybody’s a critic, I don't think you're ever going to get that ring off. If the UI couldn't pull
it off, I think it's a part of you now,” Zoya commented, pretending that she wasn’t at all bothered by Joe’s hideous appendage.

  “You did an amazing job with that binding. If Sauron had had someone like you to bind his ring to himself and he had had unbreakable bones, like I apparently possess, then all of Middle-earth would have been covered in darkness,” Joe said in between the casting of healing spells.

  “Well, I guess it's good that I'm here and not there, because the universe would be a much poorer place without The Lord of the Rings,” Zoya said as Joe cast a spell that began to grow muscle tissue on his hands. Sure enough, the muscles grew over top of the Voice of Monty Ring. Joe noticed and smiled.

  “You know I didn't even have to get orthopedic surgery to get that metal implanted in my bones. I think that's a good thing. That way my insurance rates won’t go up,” Joe said, attempting to crack a smile.

  “Before you get too positive, you should check our most recent UI messages,” Zoya lamented and Joe pulled them up.

  Response to report ticket

  Re: Appeal for continued possession of treasured item.

  Due to the users’ outcry on your behalf, the UI chose to reassess your appeal. The arguments and evidence you submitted were documented properly and fulfilled all procedural requirements. In terms of content, the arguments were compelling and brought to light many factors the UI had failed to take into account. Because of these factors, the UI has reversed its decision and will now respect the right of user Joe to maintain continued possession of all his soulbound items. The UI hopes that this unfortunate incident does not color your further gameplay. In the future, the UI will strive for greater research before it takes such actions.