by R J Triveri
“Some way to show your appreciation,” came the tease.
She brushed his comment aside and continued to stare out over the city from her spot on the bed. “It’s the best way to let someone know how you feel,” she said, enjoying the untainted breeze of the deep night. “When you’re fighting someone, they know how you feel. If you hate them, they’ll feel it in every punch, every kick…”
“Every toss from the roof?” Dante added with a slight chuckle.
To that, River simply nodded to acknowledge the event and continued along her train of thought. “If I beat her, really just go all out and beat her, she’ll know just how much it means to me.” She turned back to face him after a few moments of silence. She didn’t quite smile, but it wasn’t a frown either as the words continued to flow from her lips. “Whether I’m just fighting her to fight or not, she’ll know.”
As much as he hated to admit it, he had seen River fight far too many times and come out better emotionally, if not physically, for him to argue. Dante had never been one to fight himself. He’d been more concerned with his studies, games, programing, watching SIFS streams… There were just far too many things he could be doing instead of fighting. On Incipere, he had learned a bit about it, but fighting people and fighting Wild Ones were two very different forms of fighting. To him, blowing up a few spawns or calling down thunder to create a shocking situation for bosses wasn’t really fighting. Here, his risks weren’t permanent. Well, they weren’t permanent outside of death, and for him, there was no emotion involved. It was a high-risk, high-reward life style, and he wouldn’t change his choices for the world.
“Just don’t go overkill,” Dante half-heartedly joked. “You don’t want to go Red while you’re trying to show how much you care.”
“Like I’d be able to even touch her at my skill level,” she sighed. “Besides, she has a family. I couldn’t do that.”
The words rang true for Dante as he tossed his sheets aside, got up, and put a hand on her shoulder. “I know you couldn’t.” He knew as well as she did that River couldn’t kill someone that didn’t deserve it. The thought of a single night that seemed forever ago pushed itself to the surface. The memory made him wince, and he absently pulled his arms closer and rubbed the inner section of his right forearm. She had come close before, very close, but she had been able to pull herself back from that. Despite everything that had happened, she hadn’t crossed that line.
Seemingly without a care in the world, a grin suddenly crossed her face again in the slight pause. “That reminds me…” She acted as though she were trailing off, lost in thought, but anyone that knew her knew better. “Remember what I said when we first started planning that little dungeon trip?”
His joke and mirth were lost a moment later. “Yes…”
With that simple word, River’s screen revived as she turned to face him. A few moments later, a message appeared in his window that made his face fall all the more.
River Hexi has invited you to join the Graywall Arena preliminaries.
This is a personal challenge and will be a 1 v. 1 - Player versus Player event to increase visibility and attempt to qualify for a weekly arena presence.
Requirements for victory have been set at a defeat vector of 20% integrity with safeties enabled.
Requirements for acceptance into the Arena Challenge: Crowd favor
Accept? Y/N
“You know that I don’t want to do this,” Dante repeated as he looked up from his own screen.
She shrugged, dismissing his disapproval with his earlier words. “You promised to at least try.”
He had promised, and with little more than a groan, Dante accepted the challenge. There was no fanfare, no flash of light as he did so, but it was a heavy decision all the same, judging by the furrow of his brow. “Fine.”
“Perfect!” She didn’t try to hide her enthusiasm as she switched screens and brought up the one window she had been waiting to utilize for the whole of her Inciperian existence, the SIFS Caster.
During the update to the world before her arrival, Incipere and Earth had become much, much closer. The SIFS allowed anyone to follow active Inciperians. The more important Inciperians were automatically opted in and given control of their 24-hour streams; others were given the option to join in on the fun or not. With that escape, River had found her idol, she had learned about the strange customs and festivals of Incipere, and their general indifference of Earthers, which her people were known as when they arrived. Most importantly? River had formed the ultimate plan.
With the window up, a simple message appeared in its soft, white text:
Are you sure you’d like to opt into the Singular Inciperian Focus System?
By selecting this option, you will automatically have a SIFS Wiki page generated with your information and vital statistics.
In addition to this, your personal channel will be created and censored only during intimate moments and other equally private matters as dictated by the system’s preset generation presented by Ellaunum. In addition to this, members that subscribe to your daily casts will be able to chat with you directly when you dictate an open cast or other similar moments to be determined by you.
As an advisory, these settings should not be changed except with the utmost care.
By becoming a member of the SIFS community, funds can be donated to you once the system has been properly balanced. This feature is currently disabled.
Warning: This cannot be undone once you have confirmed and been connected to the system.
Would you like to opt in? Y/N
For the average person, there might have been some hesitation, but River was not the average person. The power of her confirmation towards her ultimate goal could have shattered windows. In a soft flash of light and text, the deed was done.
“Huh,” River said absently as she looked at her hands. Nothing felt different. She had expected… something. The only difference was the loading bar on her previously empty SIFS window.
Data is being compiled, please wait.
Moment by moment, the screen continued to update as River watched.
Compilation of data complete.
Transfer in progress.
Your SIFS page has been populated and set to open.
Your page will be updated in real time and by users.
Main cast title has been set: River Hexi: Blade Dancer (#ff69b4-1)
Sub casts to be created and archived at-will through this window.
Private cast settings are set to normal.
With that, the screen updated one last time and she was shown a dual window of her Wiki page and the cast controls. She hadn’t streamed on the other side, but she was familiar with the concept and controls that the Inciperian panel seemed to use. According to what she was seeing on the panel’s display window, her vision would be captured like a video output and streamed live to the Internet and her viewers along with her vital stats.
As she focused on the different filters, commands, and permissions, Dante interrupted her thoughts with an update of his own. “Done.”
Shifting her attention, she arched an eyebrow. “Huh?”
“Ready to stream when you are,” Dante said with a smile. When it didn’t immediately register, he explained a little further. “We’re in this together, right?”
She nodded as her focus shifted. That was… unexpected of him. “You sure you want to put your life out there too? I’m a big girl and can stream all by myself.”
“Too late for that now, isn’t it?” He shrugged as he tapped a few places on his screen. “It’ll be fun. Besides, this way you’ll have to come diving with me again. What’s better for your fans than a good duo dive into death’s embrace?”
She couldn’t deny that as she closed the windows. In the back of her mind, she knew her life was much less private than it had ever been, but she didn’t really mind it as long as Dante was in the same boat as her. A soft ping sounded in her ear, and from the way his hands sw
iped screens away, River figured he got one as well.
Moving from the SIFS screen to her message tab, she was surprised at what it contained.
Greetings, River Hexi!
I am Arena Support 76, and I am informing you that your challenge has been accepted by Dante Rior. On four weeks from this day at ten in the morning Inciperian time, you will be meeting him on the field of battle to prove just how much you deserve to be admitted into the arena’s roster of challengers. Attached is your battle pass. Press your thumb to it to bind yourself to the time of combat. As you arrive, present the pass to the gate, and you will be taken to a private ready room.
If you have any questions, please contact me back at this address. Have a good night and good luck. May Unum shine on your victory and bring your opponents to a quick defeat.
Arena Support 76
Attached: Battle Pass - Graywall [Unclaimed]
“Wow, that was quick,” River stated as she touched the attachment and a small driver’s license-sized card fell into her lap. Taking the card in one hand, she used her left to press her thumb against a small red box. Light radiated from the square before the card morphed to show her name, her picture, and the date and time of the bout.
“Yeah,” Dante mimicked as he did the same. His card shifted blue and filled in just as much as hers had.
Sending the item to her inventory, River looked back outside then back to Dante. “Guess we’ve got a lot of planning to do from now to then.” A smile played on her face as she gave him a wry smile and walked over to her bed. “See you tomorrow for training?”
“Of course you will.” He nodded and got back into bed as soon as his focus and the card were back in his inventory. As River could have guessed, the stone gauntlets vanished into data with the focus. Instead of getting under the sheets, he opened his windows again and navigated to the SIFS Wiki. “I’ve had more than enough of dreamland though. I’ll wake you up at first light to go take on another dungeon.”
“No giant spiders. Got it?”
There wasn’t even a hesitation in his reply. “Not if we can help it.” He grinned. “I heard about one with a siren as the boss.”
“Sounds fun.” With that, she sat on the bed and watched her friend. The thought of keeping him company through the rest of the night was tempting, but the idea of being awake any longer than she had to be was starting to annoy her. Time would pass quicker if she slept. A decision reached, she pulled the sheets over her body, removed her clothes in a flash, and sighed peacefully. “Night.”
“Night.”
While Dante continued to work the night away planning his next dungeon dive, River was safely within her dreams in a world of black silence.
Chapter Seven: The First Strike
Four weeks passed faster than the pair could have planned and on the fabled morning throughout the city of Graywall, a bell chimed from the top of the tallest building for the ninth time. Closing his study windows and with only an hour to spare, Dante figured it was time to awaken his friend from her loud, but otherwise uneventful sleep.
“River,” Dante said softly as he hunched over his friend. When she didn’t respond, he repeated himself a little louder. “River.”
The woman groaned as Dante’s voice failed him. Of course she was sleeping like a rock when time mattered the most. Resorting to more drastic measures, he put a hand on her shoulder and shook her a bit. Despite his efforts, she continued to snore as he corrected his last thought. Sleeping like a rock didn’t do her justice. River slept like a piece of dark matter in the heart of a black hole.
“River!” Dante nearly screamed as his other hand took hold of her shoulder and shook. With no time to spare, he had exhausted nearly every option he had. On his last nerve, Dante seriously considered using the focus to create a water spell to drench her. The idea only got stronger as he noticed the smirk on her once-placid face. “Damn it, River. You’re the one that set this up.”
She continued to smirk as she continued to play her game of possum. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you, I’m sleeping.”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“A little after nine,” she answered reluctantly as she opened her eyes to look back at his.
“We’re going to be late!”
She groaned, pulling the sheets back over her head. “It’s only a few minutes away. We’ll be fine.”
“And if there’s a line? If you miss your chance?” Dante countered, pulling the sheets from her protected head. “You’ll be kicking yourself! Come on, get up.”
Her groans were all the worse for Dante’s truths. She would be kicking herself, and today just wasn’t the day for her to prove him right. She’d been planning the arena trip for quite a long time. Opening the room’s private storage, she produced her secondary pride and joy, a suit of shimmering sapphire armor. Well, almost a suit. She had been saving up for the helmet, and blew everything on Dante’s focus. She was still recovering from that little shopping trip. In a flash, her azure clothing was gone and her curves were coated in the thin, but strong, sapphire-blue armor. Thankfully, it hadn’t been one of those chainmail bra things and was a real-deal armor. It wasn’t much stronger than her previous set, but the professional-looking armor, even at just class two, made a much better statement for anyone that met her for the first time. With another flash, her sword found its way to her side and she grinned.
“Ready.”
Dante had simply equipped his focus, the strange gloves, and a new, knowing smile. His tone was that of a teacher telling his student something that should have been guessed at as he spoke. “You know, I worried about this last night.”
She knew that tone all too well. “Really now?” she led with. “What about now?”
“Now, I think you should be the one to worry.” A soft, golden glow punctuated his words as a Fulgoris spell flared to life for only a moment to crackle across the surface of his new power source. A moment later, his face fell as he saw the clock of his still-open window. “We’re wasting time! Come on!” River dropped all pretense of bravado and fell in line as Dante casted a simple spell with his off hand. “Leritate.”
Skill cost extracted: Dante Rior - 94% Integrity Remaining
Dante’s hand began to glow a dull gray as a burst of wind enveloped their feet with all the force of a strong spring breeze. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as the last time they had used it, likely due to the focus’s secondary effects, but River wasn’t going to complain as they raced for the door, through the halls, and out into the city street towards their ultimate goal for the day.
It was a goal punctuated by friendly violence and judgment, but a goal all the same as River felt her lungs heave. Equipping heavy armor before running was not one of her better ideas as she looked to her side and saw Dante grinning proudly at his newfound athleticism. On Earth, he couldn’t hold a candle to her when it came to anything athletic, but here, the rules of Earth only applied when the all-knowing game logic deemed it to be useful.
Ten minutes of running, and quite a few pissed-off vendors and customers of the trade district later, the pair were heaving at the challenger’s gate. The crowds must have already either entered or dispersed since the path was completely clear.
“Thank God,” River said almost under her breath. “We’re not going to miss it.”
“It’d be a shame if we couldn’t beat the tar out of each other.”
The joke wasn’t lost on her as she gave one last push before the pair began to slow. It wasn’t more than another minute before the pair walked up to the gate. Something began to prick at River’s confidence. Where were the guards to let them in? Who would take their Battle Pass and get them registered? In a few more steps, all her questions were answered as a system message appeared and brought the pair to a stop:
Please present your Battle Pass [Graywall].
That’s one question answered, River thought to herself as she looked over at Dante. Without a second thought, he had already materialized
the pass for the system. She followed suit a moment later and presented it to the gate as well.
After the passes flashed, the pair vanished in a burst of snowy pixels and a new message appeared to greet them.
Pass recognized.
Combat will begin in fifteen minutes.
Your wait period will be served in the new combatant’s lounge.
Transportation in progress…
Good luck.
Before River even had a chance to argue, she was swept up in a storm of pixels and felt her stomach lurch like a drunken zombie towards wherever the tasty brain-of-a-meal that could be called the new combatant’s lounge was located.
It was not a pleasant trip.
As River’s stomach found her body once more, two things were apparent. The first was that River was alone in the new combatant’s lounge. The second was that the lounge was little more than a stone room with a padded stone chair and a view screen tuned to the arena’s personal broadcast channel showing a bout already in progress with both combatants already near the sixty percent mark.
As she settled in and finally reined back in her stomach, a ping in her ear and a bit of text appeared to bring her some semblance of reality once more.
Dante Rior => River Hexi: Hey, I know you aren’t the biggest fan of whispers, but are you okay?
River Hexi => Dante Rior: You’re the exception to the rule, Dante, and you know I hate teleportation. I don’t know why I want to void my lunch every time we do that.
Dante Rior => River Hexi: Just lucky, I guess. You ready for this?