Mageblood

by Christopher Johns

  Were they supposed to die as horribly as Mona made them? I shuddered at the thought.

  I put away the rollout and stretched before I went on my morning jog to the gym. I didn’t have to do anything today except be here to let the dive installation crew in, and that was just going to be in the game room, so no worries on space. Despite the fact that my house wasn’t a vast indicator of the wealth I had, there was room available. I preferred a smaller home compared to the other properties on my street. It was simple. I liked that.

  Granted, my snooty neighbors probably hated me since my home was the most colorful on the block. A lovely shade of red, whereas the others were a dull shade of black, white, gray, or some awful combination of the three.

  I pulled on some light blue shorts that fell just below my knees, a black and green tee, and a bright yellow jacket. It wasn’t dark out right that second, but the jacket would help work up a sweat as well as warm my muscles.

  It was a fifteen-minute jog from my place to the gym. I hated running. With a passion. However, it weirdly helped ease my mind, and it was the healthier option to driving. And it’s not like I’m in terrible shape either—I’m a fairly athletic guy despite the fact that I was still pretty thin. I liked to lift, and I don’t mind eating healthy either. I just… God—hated running.

  I left my house, and the door locked automatically behind me. The windows shuttered themselves, and my back door would be locked as well. After throwing some earbuds in and jamming to the music I had on my phone, I bounced a couple times on my toes to let my body know what hell was to come and set off down the row of homes toward the end of the street.

  I waved to a couple of the neighbors who were outside. One, I could never remember his name, waved back. His dark beard and bald head separated him from the others, but he still had that generic look about him. Oh well. Super nice guy, though.

  After a few minutes at a light jog, I shifted myself into gear. As the beat and tempo of my music turned and lifted, so too did my spirits. I was able to really feel the blood pumping in my body, now. I hated it. Once I got to the gym, I scanned my card at the door, then thumb printed in.

  “Hey, mister Seth!” The young man at the desk greeted me kindly. He wore a purple polo tucked into some gray shorts. His Hispanic features were handsome, his closely cropped hair slicked at the top in the latest style.

  “What’s up, Antonio?” I bumped my fist against his with a smile. I loved it when Tony worked. The kid was a blast, and he liked my work.

  “I caught the end of the stream yesterday,” he responded excitedly. “That was a pretty nasty water spell you tossed at that raid boss. What was it called?!”

  “Sylph’s Spout, you get it as a class quest reward for the final tier as a water and ice mage,” I explained.

  Tony was a super fan who loved B&G as much as he loved reading comic books. Kid was old school, and I loved it.

  “Oh man, I can’t wait to try it out!” He looked like he was ready to log in and play right then. “I’m about six levels away from the current cap, and I’m having trouble on the class quest for level fifty-four. Any advice? You know how hard it can be to find this info, B&G has a whole team out there to stop people from uploading quest info.”

  I thought for a moment, knowing that it was true. The fifties had been a mad dash for me, so it was a little difficult to remember, though.

  “That the one with the fetch quest that leads to a dragon?” He nodded. “Okay, cool, so take the left corridor inside the tunnels to the dragon’s lair. It’ll say you’re going the wrong way, but it’s the most direct route. Once you get to the end of that corridor, climb to the top of the wall there, then start chucking spells down at the dragon from above. You’ll be just inside the quest circle, so you’ll be able to get all the good loot and complete the quest. The NPCs in the quest will go in and distract it while you drop damage on it.”

  “Mister Seth, that’s GENIUS!” He smacked the counter in front of me, excitedly.

  “You can thank Sondra; she was the one who told me about that sweet spot after a friend went through the quest before me.” I smiled. I’d had to beg her for the advice myself.

  He shook his head. “You guys are awesome. Well, I won’t keep you from your workout, Mister Seth. Let me know if you need anything!”

  “You got it, Antonio.” I smiled at him again as I walked toward the free weights to begin my lifting for the day.

  It was back day today, so I would be lifting for a bit.

  I lifted to my heart’s content, taking a moment to scroll through my social media feeds between sets. I saw a few posts about the fight yesterday, and a few more about our switching to MMO, heh—that was almost too easy a name, to be honest.

  Some people were upset to see us go, but Bane didn’t have any plans to throw out any more content for quite some time, and it was time for us to try something new.

  Plus, we were all excited to try this game. I had to admit, I was more than a little curious to see what kind of innate magic we all were going to get. I tried to search online for any news about it, but since tonight was the launch for the first wave of players, there was nothing but wild speculation. And hype bombing.

  Trolls carpet-bombing peoples’ hopes about the game and being general assholes. One such person was actively berating anyone who speculated about any type of magic calling them newbs and scrubs—what a jerk.

  I shook my head and pocketed the device before continuing my workout.

  After a couple hours, I was ready to jog home. Once I arrived, I was able to shower and grab a bite before the doorbell rang.

  I opened the door to a gentleman in a suit; he regarded a clipboard. “Mr. Seth Ethelbart?” He asked with a slight German accent.

  I grinned back. “Guilty.”

  He had short blonde hair that was almost the color of spun gold, chiseled facial features that had been freshly shaved completely smooth—a cultured set of golden eyebrows and a large, athletic build. The suit itself was obviously made and tailored specifically for him; it contoured to his body the way a suit usually did to important people.

  “Excellent!” He held his hand out for me to shake, firm grip on that guy. “I’m Wilhelm—yes, like the infamous scream heard on most classic movies where someone is thrown from great height—Micahvisch, and I am a representative from the Mana, Myth, and Legend Studios. I’m here to ensure that your system is properly set up, attuned, and ready for your enjoyment.”

  “Wow, man. That’s some introduction!” I laughed as I blinked at him. He smiled genuinely at me, mirth in his eyes.

  He leaned forward, and the sparkle in his storm-gray eyes turned mischievous. “I’ve been working on it all morning in the mirror. The first bit, though. The second bit I’ve been dealing with my whole life.”

  It took me longer than I would have liked to realize that he had purposely switched the two sections of his speech. But when I did, I laughed and had to offer him a fist bump. He seemed… intrigued by it and gently rapped his knuckles against mine.

  “Now.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Where can I have my crew bring their equipment?”

  “Oh, for sure—follow me.” I led them through the entry to the hall that led to my room and turned into the first door on the left. “This is the room I cleared out per the instructions. I hope it’s of suitable size?”

  “It is. The standard is fifteen, by thirteen feet and will be all we need, this is much more room to work with.” Wilhelm crossed the room and eyed the power ports in the walls. “The rewiring won’t take long; our electrician is a master at his craft. Where, if I might ask, is the fuse box? This is a fairly modern home, so I doubt he will have much to do, but he will need to ensure the generator and solar power cells are adequately attached and powering the system.”

  “Fuse box is actually inside this closet behind a false wall panel. There is a matching panel outside on the opposite side of the wall.” I explained as he took several notes on a note
pad he produced from a pocket. His pen scrawled quickly, the golden object moving as if by magic.

  “I see, and there is access to the rear of the home where we can install the generator?” When I nodded, he scrawled some more information down.

  “What’s with the generator and solar panels?” I asked curiously.

  “Well, the solar panels are to store and power the machine so that the extra wattage doesn’t overtax the home’s grid, or that of the city.” When I looked at him, his eyes never left his paper and scribbling. “The generator will have a few small wind turbines designed to capture the barest of winds to further charge and power the system and the generator. The generator itself is designed to function on next to no energy for days in the event the power goes out. So, theoretically speaking on my part—our scientists and techs were very insistent this was the truth—the generator should be able to power the system and all functions of those inside for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for more than a month and a half.”

  My eyes shot open so wide it was a miracle they didn’t flop right out.

  “Indeed, it does seem a little far fetched, yes?” He eyed me quizzically. “Are you quite alright, Mr. Ethelbart?”

  I blinked and almost had to pick my jaw off the floor, but I nodded.

  “Excellent.” Wilhelm smiled softly. “Installation will begin with the power sources and generator. From there, my crew will bring in the system, after which I will attune the features and provide further information to you on how to work everything. I calculate our installation time, and tutorial will take approximately two hours, forty-five minutes and thirty-seven seconds.”

  I nodded dumbly, and Wilhelm chuckled to himself before stepping next to me. “I tease. It will all take roughly three hours, and my men will be in and out of the front for a while. If you would like to watch, please be my guest—but the servicing of the system is top secret, so I will eventually have to kick you out of this room for a bit while I acclimate the system to its new surroundings. Is this amenable?”

  “Very, Wilhelm. Thank you for your humor and candor.” I suddenly needed a drink of water. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

  “Very well.” He walked toward the door clapping his hands twice. “And so—It begins!”

  For the first hour, I heard the crew taking equipment into the back yard; the sound of drills, hammers, and other various tools and men at work filled the air. Footsteps on the roof and more drilling. Sawing from inside the room as the electrician checked the wiring that was needed and added in the necessary lines for the system.

  Normally, this would result in the neighbors calling the cops—but I had done my due diligence and gotten the proper permits and sent letters to all my neighbors, letting them know what was going on.

  I had done the same for the other party members as well. As they began bringing the equipment from a large moving truck inside, I went out back to see the result of their work.

  The panels took up a large section of the roof, and there were a few on the ground as well, but they were lifted a good twelve feet on sturdy poles. There was a large blocky device beneath the panels on the poles, and I assumed this was the generator itself. It was matte black, with a panel that was damned near indecipherable to me, but the power was at half already.

  “It comes to you half charged as a safety measure,” Wilhelm startled me as he spoke behind me. “Just in case there is a surge from the fuse box, or the power does go out for some reason while you are playing.”

  “Oh, that’s incredibly thoughtful,” I observed with my eyebrows raised slightly.

  I looked around my empty backyard to find several large, but thin turbines attached to propellers. Each of them faced a different direction. As I was watching the wind turbine directly south of me, a stiff breeze began to blow just across it, but it wouldn’t have been the perfect direction to catch the wind right to generate any kind of power.

  Or at least I hadn’t thought it would have. The turbine twisted slightly so that the propeller faced directly into the wind and began spinning wildly.

  “Engineering has come a long way in the last decade or so. Better sensors, and with them, the ability to minutely adjust a wind turbine.” Wilhelm explained easily. “They can deviate about thirty degrees or so from their original position to make use of even the slightest wind in the area, and you have at least a dozen of them. Your generator will be filled within the next day or two—dependent on the weather, of course.”

  “Right.” I nodded; still a little shaken from the amount of change that had happened so swiftly.

  “I will now see to the perfect construction of the system, please excuse me.”

  ***

  After another hour of listening to hushed conversation, then one command of “Leave me to my work,” the door opened.

  The workers fled the room—well, they walked quickly—and left Wilhelm behind with the door shut.

  Another thirty-minute wait after that, and he came out of the room, his suit and tie still perfectly in place, though he did seem a little more tired-looking to me. It was difficult to tell with that chipper smile plastered to his face.

  “It is completed, come—time for your tutorial, Mr. Ethelbart.” Wilhelm motioned for me to walk forward into the room, and I had to admit—as excited as I was—I was also nervous as hell.

  I steeled myself and walked into the room, expecting some hulking behemoth of a machine taking up the majority of the room.

  Instead, I was greeted by what looked like a tube. It stood at eight feet tall and was three feet wide, a clear outer cover facing me. The exterior was a sleek silver color that reminded me of quicksilver. The interior was a lush mixture of deep to light purples, blues, and reds that seemed to pulse on their own. There was a handle in the front that Wilhelm pointed to immediately.

  “Obviously, the entrance to the system.” He grinned as I blinked a few times then refocused on him. “I assure you—you will be able to play as soon as the game is ready. Until then—attend me. Yes?”

  “You got it, boss.” I offered him a slight salute that he took in stride with a little bow of his head.

  “As I was saying.” He motioned to the handle. “This is the handle, keyed to your exact biometrics—please touch it now. It will be very warm at first. Do not let go.”

  I gave him a stare for a second but did as I was told. I grabbed the handle, and even if I had tried to let go—I couldn’t. My hand seemed to fuse with the clear material instantly, and a growl of pain escaped my throat. Then it cooled quickly, and I could let go.

  As soon as I cupped my hand, Wilhelm was beside me instantly with a gel that he swiftly spread over my palm with an expertly gloved hand. Once he was finished, my hand suitably numbed, he took the glove off and tossed it into a baggie then pocketed it.

  “Evidence.” He smiled again, and I couldn’t tell if that had been a joke or not.

  Not wanting to seem rude, I chuckled a little.

  “Now, I understand that you prefer to stream your sessions. Unfortunately, the in-game tutorial will not be something that is streamable; however, once you are finished with that section, there will be a command in your status screen that will allow you to stream to your adoring viewers.”

  He opened a laptop that was on a small box outside the machine on the left. “All diagnostics are sent directly to our engineers and personnel at all times of play—so if anything happens to you or around you while you are in the game, we will know. With that in mind, we will send medical or local law enforcement to you posthaste. Your safety and experience with us while playing are of the utmost importance to us at Mana, Myth, and Legend Studios. There is little else for you to know other than a few small details, but if something should happen that the game or system are tampered with, we will have tech support here right away, so you need not worry.”

  I nodded and motioned for him to continue, as everything he said—while weird—seemed to be centered on a perfectionist drive to
have people enjoy themselves. And their work.

  “Thank you.” He bowed slightly again. “When you enter the system, you will need to be nude. Good gods, man—not now—have some decorum.”—I grinned as I lowered my shirt.—“Anyway, you will need to be nude. Also, there is a fluid that will cleanse you and help you to fully integrate with Mephisto’s Magic Online. Think of it as amniotic fluid, and you, but a babe to this new world filled with delight, adventure, and magic.”

  I golf clapped for him lightly, his smile returning slightly. “While you are in-game, there is a slight time dilation. Every hour you spend in-game—passes three times as fast inside. So, plan your time and gaming accordingly with appointments and whatnot. There are alarms that you can set to remind yourself, but you are an adult with the ability to care for yourself and know your priorities.”

  “Okay, so—about the game,” I started, my mind reeling with how many questions I had on my mind.

  Wilhelm held up a single finger to silence me. “I am but a peon to the designers, Mr. Ethelbart, and your questions will soon be answered. What I have been instructed to tell our lovely customers, is that the character you receive is the only one you will receive, until you beat the game. Then, you can try something different. So, there will be no quitting and starting from the first step for anyone. The game’s operating intelligence meshes so well with the system you are in, that the given ability is as true to you as breathing or gravity. It is law.”

  That last bit had been said in an almost blatantly ominous tone. I was digging that.

  “Okay, that’s fair.” I had to admit that was odd, but I suppose it kept the system from fragmenting or going overboard with the abilities and innate types of magic it gave to the players. “So, when can I play?”

  Wilhelm looked at his watch and smiled. “In three hours, the game goes live. If that will be all, Mr. Ethelbart, my team, and I have one more customer to see to today.”