Login Re:Coded: A LitRPG Novel (Incipere Online Book 2)

by R J Triveri

  “So wipe them out unless they want to help?” Made sense to her, but then again, Dante was the delver between them ever since the giant spider-woman nearly wiped her out. He knew the ins and outs of team formation better than she did. “This is your show to plan, Dante.”

  Before he could answer, the emoticon-wearing announcer appeared in a crackle of sound, applause, and light. This time, its head was a flash of emotion, a toothy smile with wide, soulless black eyes. “Four minute to showtime, kids!”

  It was then the pair noticed the eye symbol had been closed, but their viewer count had climbed to well beyond one hundred thousand viewers. To Dante, it wasn’t a surprise. Before he had come here, he used to love watching MMO runners do dungeons. The more complex and rare the mechanics were, the more fun it was to watch.

  River took a deep breath to suppress her surprise and smiled as she asked her question. “Anything else we should know?”

  3:45 until the stream is re-established.

  The announcer smiled at River with a bulbous yellow face and shook its head. “Just that this isn’t going to be that easy, you’ve got at least one high-level diver on the first level.” The emoji grin shifted, growing into an uppercase D and two T’s for eyes. “If he wanted, he could wipe both of you out in a single shot.”

  Without missing a beat, the more PvP-knowledgeable combatant picked up on the hint and began to capitalize on the information. “It’s a gunner class then.”

  The emoji face simply blinked before it continued. “I can’t confirm or deny that, but I don’t think it’s a shot in the dark to think so.”

  “What about the Replica Ones?”

  The dark, unwavering eyes of the emoticon face turned to face Dante as it answered very simply, having returned to its normal smiley-face emoji appearance. “What about them, Seeker?”

  Materializing his focus from his inventory, Dante sighed. As if his question were obvious, he repeated what made the most sense to him to ask. “What can we expect from them?”

  Its body faded back into the pixels of the world and left a floating, smiling face behind like a creepy Cheshire Cat. “A challenge, Seeker Dante. A challenge is what you can expect!”

  “The drops! What’s the loot table looking like?” Dante insisted as the timer under the eye continued its eventual drop into nothingness.

  In a move only doable by someone of a higher order in the world, the face spun itself around, exploded into a range of sparkles, and created a rather large screen in front of the pair depicting something like a graph with blurry, crayon-like graphics and slowly sharpening words.

  =Well, if you direct your attention to my graph here… you can see how much my ability to care about your loot is dropping by the moment.=

  Sure enough, the rather messy-looking line graph was now marked with the term ‘ability to care’ on the Y-axis, and it was slowly dropping. Despite that, the disembodied voice continued all the same before the graphic and the face vanished into data.

  =However, with your current number of viewers, your challenge bonuses, your devotion bonuses, which are zero by the way, and your ambient drop potential, you have above a six percent chance to receive something by the end of the dungeon. If you survive, that is.=

  Those weren’t bad odds in Dante’s mind from the calculating look on his face. There were much worse percentages in other dungeons for anything of real value nowadays, but River never could get past the numbers and scowled at where the announcer once stood.

  “Six percent?” Her voice practically dripped with her deeper thoughts that were better left unsaid.

  1:55 until the stream is re-established.

  =Six percent is more than most get, and, if you think about it objectively, you have a twelve percent chance between you. That’s six more whole percent than if you were alone! If I were you, I’d be getting ready for your first challenge.=

  1:25 until the stream is re-established.

  =Because he’s going to be a doozy.=

  Dante weighed the familiar, polished graystone focus and turned his attention from the wall to the opening of the room. To him, the dark shadows lingering just beyond the light looked all the more formidable knowing that there was someone waiting among the monsters. River only turned once the last vestiges of the screen vanished, the announcer eroded, and the time began its final descent.

  0:45 until the stream is re-established.

  “River, how do you want to start this show? You’re the stream expert.”

  The ideas came at a rapid pace as she thought about their combined talents, his spell list, and her own skills. “Head to the entrance and charge your focus with Fulgoris. Release it before we go down, and we should have a clear shot without too much effort. As a bonus, we’ll be nice and flashy. People love flashy.”

  “Whatever you say, boss,” Dante joked as he made his way to the position as the counter reached the last ten seconds of the countdown. It would make for a great opening shot from her angle depending on how the stream was taken. He didn’t want to tell her that usually stairwells were clear at the opening of the dungeon.

  That thought quickly vanished as a shadow spawn braved the light. Out of the inky darkness of the shadows, the liquid darkness lashed out and cut the air. Dante’s reaction time was better though, and his foot connected with it before its claws could grab him. The squeal of the creature falling down back into the shadows was like melting nails on a chalkboard, but it recovered as fast as it fell. Back on the attack, it made a bee line straight for him before River could react, with a large set of new, dangerous claws.

  “Dante!” River’s feet took her with a fevered pace across the dusty, but polished brick floor towards where Dante waited.

  =And… we’re back! Welcome everyone to the Dungeon Run on this beautiful, now closer to being mid-day Picnic at the Pits! How’s everyone doing out there? Are we ready for a party?! I know they are, and their guests aren’t going to wait for them to get further in!=

  Skill cost extracted: Dante Rior - 96% Integrity Remaining

  Opening the stream in a show of overwhelming force, Dante released his pent-up Fulgoris and sent a crackling of sparks and light careening into the darkness like a missile. A sickly, inhuman scream was followed quickly by the sizzling pop of the ill-fated shadow spawn. A few he didn't see waiting in the wings flashed to life, reflecting the bright light of death from their eyes, echoing in the now-silent passage as River slowed her pace.

  “Not bad, Dante.”

  He grinned a bit and nodded as she caught up with him. “Shall we continue?”

  She shook her head. “Not if we want to do this right.”

  A moment passed and his stone began to glow again as another Fulgoris grew in his care. “Fine, make it quick.”

  With his words, the pressure began to build. It was one of the moments she had been training for all this time. You never got a second chance to make your big debut. Letting the air of her stress release itself, the eye flicked open, and River casually threw her sword into the air with the flick of her wrist. Seeming to ignore the weapon, she turned herself backwards and faced where she knew the most common camera would be streaming out from, the over-the-shoulder third-person perspective. As fluidly as she had tossed and turned the blade, the end of her opening fell into place as her blade sank into its sheath waiting on her back. Without splitting a hair, she continued to smile as she let the move sink in with her viewers. It may have been a move anyone with a dancer’s skill could manage, but she made it look more fluid than her armor would allow.

  Putting a slight tilt to her head sent her hair running down her back like her namesake, and a practiced smile soon graced her lips so easily that it seemed true. She took only a moment more to prepare before the words enthusiastically flowed to her new audience. “Hello and welcome to the Pits run! If you didn’t already know, I’m River Hexi, and this is my partner, Dante Rior. It’s about to get a little nuts in here, so stay tuned as we conquer the Ruins of Tenebrae and an
yone that gets in our way. Don’t forget to follow us on the SIFS if you like what you see!”

  Dante visibly cringed as she played up the cameras with a wink and turned to face him. His focus continued to light the way at the top of the steps as he watched the figurative dust of her bombshell settle.

  Dante Rior => River Hexi: Are you done?

  River Hexi => Dante Rior: Why are you such a spoilsport?

  With a sigh, Dante turned away and looked back down the pathway. “Ladies first?”

  She shook her head and gestured for him to take the lead. “And let you fry me by accident? No, I don’t think so. Get going, Sparky. We’ve got a race to win!”

  With the introductions out of the way and the adventure about to begin in earnest, the viewer count stabilized, and the pair continued down the stairwell into the shadows of mystery that receded against Dante’s light.

  Chapter Twelve: An Error in Judgement

  The stairs held no more surprises as Dante’s light easily pointed out the remaining shadow spawn to dispatch. Not in the mood to waste Dante’s potential, the pair acted as bloodhound and hunter, one pointing to the target and the other slashing them out of existence. Thankfully, the stairway combat only lasted a minute or two before things became quiet.

  Despite knowing their disadvantage, the pair descended quietly, cautiously into the darkness of a dungeon neither of them had explored. Reaching the bottom of the steps, Dante held up a fist, and the pair stopped. A hundred yards or so out from the base of the stairs, a storm of pixels and light burst from every direction and condensed into a torrent of shimmering, lifeless light. From their spot within the shadows, they looked on wordlessly at a lone figure dressed in shadows stood as the last man standing, holding only a gun and a glowing vial of starlight.

  “Holy shit,” River cursed, seeing the gun materialize from his hand. Seeing the destruction he caused, she had a sinking feeling concerning the depth of shit they had just walked into. “He can’t be alone. That had to be half the floor’s population to make a light show like that.”

  Not being one for a lack of information, Dante moved a few steps forward and strained his eyes as he triggered a variant of his most versatile spell for information. “Scan.”

  The distance diminished the light and the number of fireflies as Dante willed his skill to push out, but whether the targeted man could tell a difference between the additional light and the dying light of the pixel tornado wasn’t clear. The black-coated gunner didn’t seem to make a move against it as the information shot back to Dante’s screens.

  Scan Complete!

  Scan has been hampered by distance, spell resistance, and [error].

  15% Successful.

  Athos Aramis

  Rank 20 - [Error]

  [Error] Integrity Remaining

  Armor Class: [Error]

  Status: [Error]

  Skills: [Error]

  Most commonly used skills: [Error]

  [Error]

  “Never seen that before,” he mumbled as he forwarded the data to River. “I don’t think it could be any less helpful.”

  She had to agree as she cursed again. “At least we know his name, but I can’t see a scratch on him or his coat. He couldn’t have done it alone.”

  As if her hushed words were enough to gain the man’s attention, Athos turned towards their corner of shadow and held up the vial, trying to expand his vision into their sanctum of shadow. “Hello?”

  Of course, survival instinct dictated that they ignored him. His light couldn’t reach their depth of darkness, so they went quiet again before Dante nudged her. A quick message reminded her about the differences between their two worlds.

  Dante Rior => River Hexi: He wouldn’t show even if he did. This isn’t an arena match, River, but look at him. No armor and that vial… I think is Sol Arum. I think he’s an alchemical arm.

  “Are you still there?” the voice came again as his stance changed. The black jacket covering the majority of his form shifted with his movements, only briefly revealing the satchel at his side.

  River Hexi => Dante Rior: Just having a vial doesn’t mean anything. He could have gotten that anywhere.

  Dante’s face was deadpanned as he made an overly obvious gesture to the assumed alchemical arm.

  Dante Rior => River Hexi: What dungeon diver would be caught dead using Sol Arum as a light source? It takes up an entire hand just to hold it! With the light spells and other enchantments so cheap, why waste the hand or bytes unless he made it himself?

  River’s response was a simple silence, thinking about some rebuttal to her friend’s logic as Athos lowered his light source and drew his gun as he turned to leave the pair of dungeon divers. “Okay.” His words were cautiously optimistic before turning his back to them with an audible groan. “I guess I’m talking to myself now. Maybe I really am going nuts.”

  His words didn’t fall on deaf ears as Dante urgently turned to River.

  Dante Rior => River Hexi: What do we do, River?

  Even in the darkness, he could see the telltale smile of a plan coming together.

  River Hexi => Dante Rior: I have an idea. Wait for my signal.

  Without much more than that as a warning, River stepped out of the shadows and approached the light of the Sol Arum with her best, friendly tone to signal her approach. “Hello there. I wasn’t sure if you were a friendly or not.”

  The voice grabbed the man’s attention quickly as his reflexes flung him around to face where it had come from. His black coat stuck to the darkness outside of the light, but his eyes, his icy-blue eyes were as obvious, even from their distance, as the goggles on his head or the gauntlet on his wrist. “Who’s there?”

  Play it cool, River said to herself as she eyed the gun in his right hand. Her voice met his ears a few moments later as she reached the edge of his light, unarmed, and put on a smile. “I’m River Hexi.”

  She watched from her barely lit position as he strained his eyes, trying to make out what might have been hidden behind River’s shape, but outside of his ring of light, it was a pointless effort. “What are you doing here alone? It’s dangerous.”

  “I could ask you the same question, you know?” the girl continued as she walked closer. “How’d you clear this area so fast? Do you have a party here?”

  “It wasn’t so bad when I got them all in one place. Just took a few vials of Pyrothium,” he explained simply.

  It only took a moment for Dante to gloat.

  Dante Rior => River Hexi: I knew it!

  River sighed softly to no one in particular. Athos’s response seemed to take her actions as disbelief, so he continued to explain himself. “It’s a real time-saver, and the bonus damage of it and the Sol Arum against the shadow Wild Ones keeps them from overrunning me.”

  As River stepped closer again, she watched his finger twitch a bit against the trigger, but he made no move to level it to her. To that, River thanked Incipere’s various gods. She wore no armor, carried her sword on her back, and did the best she could to appear harmless. All of those things weren’t enough to calm the man, but it was enough to keep him from opening fire on her as he spoke again. “Why are you here alone?”

  There was no overt hate in his words, but River took them as a challenge all the same. “I’ve got all the rights to be here that you do, but I’d guess you’re here for the same reasons I am.”

  Athos took in her words and shook his head, a dark smile playing against the edge of his lips. “I really doubt it, River, so explain it to me.”

  The man’s eyes were on the shadows, and he missed her face move into an amused smirk before she spoke again. “You really don’t know?”

  The thin line of a frown and his furrowed brow said enough for her to go on guard. Catching the smile on her face linger, his neutral nature seemed to melt away as he took a more defensive stance. At that distance, she was finally able to get a good look at the weapon and noticed the fact it had a larger barrel than a typical
gun. It was more like a cannon had been miniaturized and put into his hand. It made him feel all the more dangerous as he gave her an unexpected reply. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

  River Hexi => Dante Rior: He says he’s got no idea what we’re doing here, if you missed that. What do you think his deal is?

  An awkward pause filled her ears as the tension continued to build between her and the alchemical arm.

  Dante Rior => River Hexi: No idea. He seems human, but maybe he’s some kind of escort quest? At least that might support the errors I got. Either way, he has to know what’s going on.

  River just smiled as she read the message.

  River Hexi => Dante Rior: Either way, keep yourself hidden until we know.

  “Well, I’m here to take on the Lord of Shadows,” River said, giving him her best smile.

  The man looked her over, decided she wasn’t a threat, and the gun vanished again as he laughed darkly. “That’s a death wish. You can’t beat Omnida.”

  River was almost actually offended at the remark, but she reasoned that if he were an NPC, it was just his nature to egg her on. “I’m stronger than I look.”

  As if to support her idea, he didn’t even hesitate before tearing her down further. “You’re not even equipped enough to deal with the Wild Ones here. He’s not going to go easy on you because you’re new. You’ll die if you go alone.”

  Why’s he so concerned? River thought to herself as her NPC idea seemed to blow itself apart. Well, competition wouldn’t be trying to talk us out of it. they’d be goading us in. An escort would be blunt about what they wanted. “Who are you?” she managed after a moment to ponder his tone.

  “Athos Aramis, Alchemical Arm,” came his quick response as his ice-covered eyes darted around the center of light. “Look, we don’t have time for this. We need to find the stairway to the next floor. There’s an arch in the plaza we can use to leave. I use it all the time.”

  We? River picked at her knowledge and her odds. She had never fought an alchemist, but as far as she knew, it was a crafting class. If he had been able to clear the floor on his own during a run… Her eyes flicked to the viewer count, and apparently they were just as interested as she was, from the rise. A few hundred more every few seconds poured in to pad the count. It was crazy to see the numbers jump so quickly for her! They must have hit peak hours. She grinned no matter the reason. She wasn’t going to let her audience down.