The FIVR technology’s terrifying potential to cause harm had been made evident.
The game became a device to administer excruciating pain, unlike any I’d felt before. There were numerous in-game safeguards and controls to protect players from many hazards in-game, even a pain setting players could adjust, according to how much they were willing to endure for the sake of realism.
But I was not a player anymore, according to the game.
Barska laughed in pleasure as he inspected the eyeball dangling on the end of the scalpel blade.
“Are you ready to tell me the location of your clan now?”
I was ready to tell him anything he wanted. Nothing justified enduring such torture. I felt tears falling down my one remaining eye. This was just a game!
I opened my mouth to answer, Barska watched me expectantly, smug and amused. He stood there tall and arrogant, a depraved champion of his race, used to getting his own way.
His arrogant pose struck a nerve in me. My fear and pain were pushed back by my hate and rage.
“I will get out of here,” I mouthed slowly, staring directly into the vile creature’s face. “I will kill you for this. S-l-o-w-l-y.” I clenched my teeth. “You will be consumed with darkness and Nihilator will have your soul, I swear!”
You have made a vow in the name of your deity, Nihilator
Condition: You must Sacrifice Barska Demon Eye to Nihilator.
Time limit: 7 days
Failure: Divine rank reduced. -1000 reputation with Nihilator.
Success: 100 Faith Points
Barska was unfazed by my threat. Snorting contemptuously, he tossed my ruined eye across the room with a sharp flick of the perverse scalpel in his hand.
“You need to be taught how to address your betters.” He spat. “I was going to let you keep one eye, so you could see me entertain your precious Tika. But you took away the opportunity for that bit of fun, so there's no reason to hold back now.”
Before I even understood what was coming, he’d jabbed the scalpel into my other eye.
I screamed as the pain stabbed into my brain again like an icepick. I was back in that other universe, where pain was the only constant. But this time another element crept in along with it. Rage.
Along with the distant awareness of my body flailing uncontrollably, that ember of rage grew, becoming a reality other than the pain, keeping madness at bay. I opened myself to the rage and embraced it, letting it fill the screaming void of my pain. The rage flowed like magma, searing through my veins, through the pain, drowning the other sensations with its own cleansing, excruciating fire. My rage grew stronger and hotter as Barska continued to work his sadistic perversions on me.
Time had no meaning in my rage filled existence. At some undefined point much later, Barska had pulled the implement out of my eye socket. There was another popping sound and all I was left with was blackness.
I was utterly immersed in darkness. Blind.
I’d been blinded by spells in the game before. Spell-induced blindness darkens the game’s visuals, but there was still an awareness of having sight. But that awareness was now gone, I was completely blind.
Full Immersion Virtual Reality, FIVR… the Full part had a whole new meaning for me now. The capsule connects directly to the user’s brain and perfectly mimics the signals sent to the brain by the body, making the game come alive in the user’s mind. It could also convey pain and blindness with exquisite realism, as I recently learned. Without the safeguards in place as a buffer, my brain could not distinguish between reality and the game anymore.
Hungry… With a sudden clarity I realized hunger was another such symptom. As a goblin I felt hunger, players never did. Up until now it seemed so natural, I hadn’t given it a thought.
I was now as much a creature of this world as any other NPC or mob out there, subject to the same range of sensations. This was my world now, my ‘real’ world. It was time I accepted it.
Embraced it.
USED it.
Through the pain and rage, my mind cleared and a basic truth became evident to me. This world is real! What difference does it make if it's a ‘virtual reality’? If I can experience it with my full senses it is MY reality! “This is MY world!” I hissed through gritted teeth. I struggled to keep my mind clear through the pain, to embrace the realization.
I had to learn to live here, make this world my home. By accepting this truth I would finally start to live as NPCs do, emulating their innate ability to interface with the game. That was the only way I would be able to rise high enough to reach the other world. The world outside.
With all of my being, I embraced my realization. Forget about the rules! This world is real, magic is real. Use it!
I forced myself back to the here and now. Everything was dark. The pain was still there, but I could bear it.
“I. Am. Alive.” I growled through clenched teeth and...forced my eyes to open.
New Trait Gained: Mind Over Body
Where others would have surrendered to pain and misery, you have persevered. When faced with a terrible ordeal, you showed your true mettle, proving your will is stronger than your body, and attaining a great feat.
Effect I: 50% reduction in pain levels and 50% less chance to lose concentration while casting spells.
Effect II: +50 to Mental Resistance.
Effect III: buff gained - Mana Sight.
My dark world suddenly filled with lights and colors. An icon, a small glowing blue eye appeared to the corner of my vision. And I could see! Everything!
Barska was a star-hot red shape in front of me. The room itself was only visible as defined by the dim mana radiating from the vegetation in the room. Faint web-like growths of lichen revealed the walls in the dimmest of blue light, while the scattered cave mushrooms poking up from the ground outshone the lesser growths. The chamber felt damp, and the mushrooms gave off an earthy odor that lingered in the air, something I hadn’t notice before. I looked at myself, the familiar dark glow was even fainter than the light from the lichens, but there were three small flares of intense blue on my arms and upper body. The Manaleeches.
I was ‘seeing’ the world around me, outlined by the mana that flows through all living things.
I was no longer dependent on my lost eyes to see.
With my newly acquired sight I could see the flow of mana in a much greater detail than with the earlier ‘mana sense’ version. For some reason, my other senses became sharper as well, making the world around me come alive more vividly than ever before.
Despite the pain coming from my eye sockets, I was eerily calm. My rage was locked away inside my chest. I could feel it, moving like a living thing, but it didn’t affect my mind. I knew what to do now.
This world was my world. I could do anything. All I needed, was time.
“Yes, you are alive. For now.”
Barska’s voice reached me, unexpectedly close.
“But only because I allow it” he beat on his chest for emphasis, apparently forgetting I was blind.
Barska mistakenly thought my earlier uttering was aimed at him.
“Sooner or later, I will find your settlement. I will slaughter every single member of your pathetic clan, and I will tear your cemetery apart and burn the bones,” he was rubbing his hands together, and licking his lips in sadistic anticipation.
“Then, and only then, will you be allowed the relief of death. Without your precious little cemetery to anchor your spirit, your death will be permanent. I will rip out your heart and eat it raw. Your power, meager though it is, will be mine. I will be stronger, and your soul will be lost, never to be reborn.”
I raised my head to look at the now distinguishable features of my enemy, glowing red in my Mana Vision.
So that’s what it’s all about. If he kills me permanently, he will be able to absorb my power. In simple terms, by performing this act, Barska would take energy from me, and use it to increase his own Boss tier.
I’d j
ust found another way to climb the boss ladder, only this time I was the rung about to be stepped on.
It also looked like I had discovered another way to permanently die in this world, besides Nihilator’s Devourer ability. Well, it was all part of the natural order of my reality now. Sometimes you are the hunter, and sometimes the prey.
I was not afraid. Despite my dire situation, I did not intend to lose. But I had to buy more time, and I absolutely had to draw Barska away from Goblin’s Gorge.
Might as well trying bluffing him again.
“Alright, I’ll tell you what you want to know.” I feigned resignation. “There is a river to the south east of here, about 10 kilometers away. There’s a clearing next to a bend in the river - the settlement is there.”
Barska grinned evilly, “Good, much better. I will send a scouting party to check it out. As a reward, I will not hurt you again until they return. But if you have lied to me…” he growled menacingly, “You will experience pain of a kind that will have you begging to tell the truth.”
He stepped toward the exit and called out, “Elenda!”
A moment later, I heard the sound of steps approaching, and the glowing blue shape of a person came into the room. It was the hobgobliness-elf female I had fought before.
Barska laid his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry little goblin shaman, my lieutenant will take good care of you.” He looked at her. “I promised that I wouldn’t hurt him, my dear.”
With a cruel smile he added, “Enjoy.” Then he left, moving jauntily up the stone stairway.
Elenda approached, swirls of crimson mana appearing in her eyes and her entire aura of mana projected cruel eagerness, mingled with last. Not the best time for my Sense Emotion ability to trigger.
“I promised you would pay for the deaths of my warriors, remember? It’s a pity Barska already took your eyes, but there is plenty left to carve off, and I happen to know a few interesting tricks most males would never consider using.”
Then she punched me, expertly putting her entire body weight into the punch, hitting me in the gut and blowing the air from my lungs.
My new ‘Mind Over Body’ trait was already proving its usefulness, the hit was only marginally painful, though I was still winded. I coughed repeatedly, trying to suck a breath in. The core of condensed rage in my chest responded, burning hotter with the fresh burst of pain. I embraced that feeling and spat in her face defiantly.
She wiped the offending liquid away. Then drew a knife.
“Now, let’s have some fun.”
***
I looked blearily around me.
I was still alive. The smell of blood was heavy in the air. My blood.
Elenda had spent a lot of time working her wiles on me. She started slowly, first etching shallow cuts all over my chest and stomach, gradually slicing deeper into my flesh, and working her way down to the pelvic area. I kept my ‘eyes’ closed and concentrated on the rage, flowing in molten rivers through me as her knife worked at my groin.
She kept a careful watch on my health, bringing me close to death, then letting my body regenerate so I could endure another bout of her ‘fun’.
When she got tired of cutting, she used magic. She performed a ritual dance, making vines grow rapidly from the cave’s ceiling. The vines, mirrored her movements, snaking down the chains and over my arms and upper torso. When my arms and torso were covered in a thick net of vines, Elenda’s movements became closer to clawing and stabbing gestures and the vines sprouted sharp burrowing thorns into my flesh. Elenda laughed as I moved, trying to escape the thorns.
My legs were free of the vines, but whenever I moved, the thorns dug in even deeper, releasing bursts of magically induced pain that were hard to endure despite the 50% pain reduction, and the blazing knot of rage in my chest.
Then the sadistic bitch sat on a stool, and leisurely flung firebolts at my legs.
If I tried to evade, my movements caused the thorns burrow in deeper and inject me with more intense bursts of pain. If a firebolt hit, I flinched at the pain from the scorching of my legs, and the thorns did their thing anyway.
Of course, Elenda, with her sadistic nature, was having a great time. At one point, hazily, through the pain and burning rage, I saw she was panting in excited lust at my pain.
I couldn’t even kill myself. I tried to purposely cause the thorns to inflict greater damage on me when my health was low, but Elenda just used healing spells on me.
It went on for hours. Despite my newfound mental fortitude and the rage that kept me focused, I eventually succumbed to the pain and passed out. Finally escaping the torment.
I dreamed again.
Disembodied, I was floating above a riverbend. In the hazy semi-lucid state I saw humanoid figures battling an enormous shaggy brown beast. The smaller figures seemed to be in trouble, the shaggy beast was mowing them down with ease. Then my vision blurred, as if I’d traveled a great distance at high speed, and I observed a single one of the humanoid creatures carefully moving through a narrow gorge. It stopped as it reached the end of the gorge, then raised its arms triumphantly. My vision blurred again, and was replaced by a vision of different, much larger humanoid creatures, marching grimly, trampling trees as they traveled through the forest.
Slowly, I regained my senses. I was back, still hanging in the chains.
But, thankfully this time I was alone.
Elenda had had her way with me for most of the night. It was early morning by my personal clock, and my health had regenerated fully.
The premonition was a shit-ton of bad news. I believed what I saw was real, not some dream-delusion. The visions I’d had in the past; foretelling the coming of the invading hobgoblins, and Nihilator’s consuming darkness turned out to be accurate, so it stood to reason this new one would come true as well.
Despite the torture I was subjected to, my life was never really at risk. But the things I just witnessed changed that. If the hobgoblins found my clan, or more accurately the clan cemetery, then my life would be over.
I have to do something! I wracked my brain trying to come up with an escape plan, but couldn’t come up with anything workable. A few blinking notifications drew my attention.
New Era Online [Internal messaging service]:
From: Malkyr
Subject: Dude what happened?
You didn’t respawn along with us.
Are you still at the hobgoblin camp?
Holy crap did you kill them all?
I bet you’re collecting all the loot right now! Anyway, we’ll be logging off to grab a bite and a bit of a break and be back in a bit
Alert: The system has recognized that you are stuck in the game. Would you like to send an alert to a game administrator for assistance? (responses usually take between 6-48 hours)
I snorted in derision. Game? What game? This is not a game and I don’t need no stinking Traveler, those so called ‘players’, to come to my rescue a week from now.
I considered responding to Malkyr’s message, calling for help, but decided to wait. There was little chance the siblings could rescue me from this place, they were just not powerful enough yet. Besides, I’d just gotten an inkling of an idea for a plan, and if worked, I wouldn’t be needing their help anyway.
The sounds of shuffling steps coming down from the stairs pulled my attention back to reality. The new real reality.
It didn’t sound like the graceful walk of the bloodthirsty hob-bitch, Elenda. I could feel the heavy steps thump on the floor.
The footsteps continued to approach. A large hobgoblin warrior emerged through the entrance. This guy was in bad shape. In my Mana Sight he was covered in glowing ‘blemishes’; burns and open wounds that leaked mana. Most of his armor had been stripped away, and chunks of flesh torn from his body, exposing bone and viscera. He looked like he should be dead, and smelled like it too. But here he was, still walking around. I assumed he was one of the warriors that survived my grenade attack using this opportuni
ty to come thank me for it in person.
The hobgoblin didn’t say a word as he closed the distance between us, stopping with his face uncomfortably close to mine.
Jeez, do these guys ever brush? I clenched my teeth, steeling myself for the blow that was sure to come. It would be nothing compared to what had gone before, but still...
The hobgoblin moved his face even closer. What the hell is he doing?! I thought in alarm. His mouth opened displaying a row of broken teeth. I braced myself, expecting him to tear into me like a wild dog with those jagged stubs.
“Hey boss, how’s it hanging?” the hobgoblin whispered in my ear, then giggled like a loon.
“Vic!!!!” I growled angrily, “Where the hell have you been?!” Worst timing for a joke, ever. And I was beating myself up for falling for it. I should have noticed the hobgoblin’s aura was purple, not blue. But I was out of it from the torture, and still getting used to this new ‘sight’.
He looked down at my blood-soaked crotch and whispered softly, “not hanging too well I see. Ouch, that looks painful.”
“Vic!” I whisper-shouted.
“Sorry boss!” the hobgoblin-wearing-Vic shrugged apologetically. “After you got knocked out, they dragged you to the tunnel. I saw a chance to slip away unnoticed, so I took it. I figured it would be better to leave you that way, if they had ripped me off your shoulders while questioning you it would have given me away.
"I tried to reach you sooner, but the tunnel is warded, so I couldn’t contact you telepathically. And there are a couple of guards at the entrance, so I couldn’t sneak in either.”
I rattled my chains in frustration. “The short version Vic, we don’t have a lot of time.”
“Alright.” he said and continued speaking faster. “Anyway, I hid and I watched. They were clearing the dead bodies. You did a fine job blasting them to bits, by the way. I noticed one of them was mostly intact, so when no one was looking I jumped into it and took control, then I walked the body straight down the tunnel, no one bothered to ask me what I was doing. And here I am.” he finished with a performer's bow.
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