Star Divers- Dungeons of Bane

by Stephen Landry

The Vrax had a 1000 HP. We did some damage in our first attack but the creature dove back under ground.

  ‘Nice going, a few more rounds and we’ll have it,’ I said.

  The creature emerged again and again we fired. This time it didn’t try to come towards us, instead, swinging its tail and smashing Gorge and Naomi into the wall.

  ‘You guys ok?’ I shouted.

  Both Kira and Nel were already rushing over. Kira with some kind of injection in hand.

  It was a stimulant. As soon as Naomi was injected, her eyes turned green. I could see a yellow energy surround her like an aura. For a moment she seemed invincible.

  ‘No thanks,’ said Gorge, holding up his hand as Kira prepped another injection. ‘I don’t need it,’ he cracked his neck and stood back up.

  With a shrug, Kira injected herself, boosting her own health as the Vrax swung at us again. I kept firing, standing just far enough away to avoid any damage. Unfortunately, most of my shots were being deflected by the Vrax’s thick back hide. Turns out we were lucky the first time, as it charged us head on.

  The neck was a weak spot. So were the creature’s eyes, which were solid white. Since it lived underground it was blind. The rest of its body was hardened. I guess this made some sense. It was a creature that had evolved to dig through desert sand. It had four claws on each foot, each measuring about three feet long. It could probably kill any of us in one or two blows.

  Quick Lore

  The Vrax is a rare alien creature that lives on Rem. In most cases the Vrax is only available to fight during seasonal events such as Winter festivals and Spring Blossom events, having come out of hibernation from deep below the planet’s surface. In order to fight the Vrax, a player must reach Level 10, it won’t give the light of day to anyone weaker. The Vrax quest is usually given by NPC villagers living on Rem as a special hunting quest, since the Vrax in the area are known for being hostile and destroying many smaller settlements. It can also be encountered randomly.

  Chaz stood by my side. I could see he was trying to mimic the things I did. For once, I was the leading scout. I guess maybe I should have told them Cass was in charge, but really it wouldn’t have done any good. Cass was covering Kira and the others. Her health had dropped to 75. Had she been hit by one of the Vrax claws? I wasn’t sure and didn’t have time to think about it. I had to defend, as the Vrax turned away from the three of them and set its sights on us. Somehow, it had figured out we were weaker than the rest. Maybe it was our poor attack damage or maybe something more. It turned its head towards us and for a moment I felt like I was staring into its eyes. Then it span again and I felt the whiplash of its tail as the air turned to a sonic boom and Chaz and I were thrown back against the wall.

  My health dropped to 90 points. My stamina 50.

  I got up as quick as I could, but the Vrax was charging towards me.

  Naomi shot me with her Biotek rifle. I felt my HP rise. 95.

  Somewhere between being blown against the wall and standing up, I had dropped my rifle. I pulled my sword, Aegis, from my back and held it like a shield. The creature’s tail hit the blade full force. Like a razor, Aegis cut the Vrax’s tail clean off. The creature cried out and made a number of unholy sounds before turning towards me again. It opened its jaws and inside I could see the face of a man screaming out with red in his eyes.

  Vrax Aberration

  Level 35

  Hostile

  The creature was transforming. Health regenerating.

  Something about cutting off its tail had sent it into overdrive. As the face inside its mouth stared at me, I watched as he monster unhinged its jaw ready to charge. And the creature had also regenerated its tail. This wasn’t a normal Vrax. This was something unique to the dungeon. I stood ready for the beast to come at me. If I timed it right, I could swing Aegis and knock the creature back. If I missed I would die. Game over.

  The Vrax charged and I waited for what felt like the longest second of my life. It was faster than I thought but not fast enough. I swung and clipped the creature with just enough force to deflect it past me. In doing so, I fell to the ground but I had given my team the chance to attack.

  From all sides Cass, Kira, Gorge, Naomi and even Chaz fired on the Abberation until its health had dropped half a bar. It began to dive back underground but Kira had cast a shield across the floor. As she held her hand against the ground I could see the shield glowing red around us. The Vrax was in a frenzy as it turned towards me again. This time I was ready. I dived with my sword in hand and cut across the face of the man I had seen inside its throat. A line of text appeared, ‘killed Adrian Parker, First Class Medical Officer Vrax Abberation.’ +5000 XP. I was now less than 500 points from levelling up to 31.

  Aegis also levelled up.

  Level: 3

  Damage: 60

  Weight: 5 Ibs

  Weapon Type: Melee

  Rarity: Rare

  Impact: 10

  Range: 0

  Stability: 10

  Sharpness: 8

  Elemental: None

  Critical Chance: 60%

  Modifiers: None

  Nel lit up the room. My feeling of delight collapsed. Naomi was laying on the ground. One of the Vrax spines had pierced her stomach.

  ‘Get me a med patch quickly!’ Kira screamed.

  ‘I’m out,’ I said.

  ‘Same here,’ said Chaz.

  Gorge looked sorrowful. ‘I don’t use patches.’

  Kira was in tears.

  Scanner in hand, Nel was standing over Naomi’s avatar. ‘Poison. Chance of survival seventeen percent and falling.’

  Naomi was smiling, despite the blood pouring out of her mouth. ‘I have my pain dampened, I’m not going to logout until the very end.’

  ‘You’ll survive this; you have to, I’ve decided to take you on as my apprentice,’ Kira cried.

  ‘That’s great…let me…let me show you what I learned watching you,’ Naomi’s voice was trembling. Her health began dropping again, as did her mana. A small blue orb of energy floated above the palm of her right hand as her eyes turned yellow.

  15% chance survival

  10% chance survival

  5% chance survival

  0% chance survival

  Naomi was gone. I brushed my bangs back trying to wipe away the trace of tears from my eyes.

  A few minutes later an artefact appeared beside her echo. It was a blue gem. A permanent reminder of the blue orb she had conjured just before her death. Kira claimed it and attached it like an ornament to her Ki rifle.

  After that, we made our way back to the Chel stasis chamber and I logged out of the game. My pod opened and I felt disoriented. I vomited down my chest as my throat burned and my hands began to shake.

  Reynolds was waiting for me, dressed in black as ever. ‘Good show today kid,’ he handed me a small wet wash cloth. As he checked my heart rate and blood pressure, I didn’t say a word. I heard him mention they lost the feed for a few minutes in the dungeon, some kind of weird feedback. I wanted to hit him in the face but I stopped myself. Clenching my fist, I was angry at the mission, angry at the company, angry at myself, even mad at Damien for dying. It wouldn’t do either of us any good. I relaxed and let him hand me a handful of vitamins and pills and told me to get something to eat along with some rest.

  Half an hour later, Reynolds left and I was laying in my new bed. I couldn’t stop thinking about Naomi. I logged onto the net and brought up the live dungeon feed. On the screen was my body, laying alongside Cass, Kira, and Gorge with Nel standing guard beside us. Our avatars were sleeping inside the Chel’s stasis chamber but that didn’t mean we were really safe. Chaz was still there in the game. He was keeping watch too. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t logged out yet. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have to carry him the next day. If we had logged off any earlier, I was sure now that the Vrax would have swallowed us all whole.

  A small sub-group dedicated to following our feed was holding a virtual vigil for Na
omi in the city of Alet on the water world known as Loomis which had been her starting area. Like the rest of us she had become famous. The first casualty in our quest to clear the Chel dungeon.

  Another sub-group had managed to translate the inscription on the tome I had found.

  ‘No Level Required.’

  11.

  Debris

  I woke up at 9 a.m. the next morning after just four hours of sleep. Reynolds was there again. Turns out he had a key to my suite. Not that I was surprised to see him, but it was quite uncomfortable given how ugly I felt. My head was pounding. Still, he had medicine and breakfast waiting. Breakfast was scrambled eggs alongside some kind of fake bacon and toast. Although Reynolds had seasoned the eggs in a way they tasted great, honestly that didn’t stop me from adding half a bottle of ketchup to my meal. That was a habit my mom had always picked on me for. Ever since I was little, ketchup had been one of my favourite condiments and I could eat it on anything.

  Cup of black coffee in hand, Reynolds sat beside me while I ate. I asked him if I could have some and he told me I was too young and handed me a bottle of water instead. I wasn’t too young and it wasn’t like he was drinking real coffee anyway. Real coffee had become rare, like many other things people had taken for granted.

  ‘Seattle’s best faux coffee,’ he smiled through his long beard. ‘You should know that views skyrocketed last night when you confronted the mole creature. Crimson Kings are making a move towards that area though so better watch your back. They’ve started a petition to have you banned from the game. Calling you a cheater. Even blaming you for that young girl’s death.’

  ‘Blaming me for her death,’ I slammed my fist against the table. I wanted to cry. Naomi’s death wasn’t my fault. It was an accident. She was a hero who had done everything she could to save her team in the worst scenario possible.

  ‘Calm down. Didn’t you see the vigil they held for her? That girl is a star. More famous now than she could have ever dreamed. People are already printing T-shirts with her face on it.

  ‘Meanwhile, I’ve news about that dungeon your avatar is sleeping in now. Currently it’s locked and it looks like it’s going to remain locked unless players are level forty-five or higher and a part of a raiding party. You and your band of misfits were lucky you were already inside, otherwise you would have gotten crushed by the guardian. Not to mention the Crimson Kings are amassing a small army on the outskirts of Rem. Everything you are discovering is wild, everyone is watching to see what happens next. Even the developers had no idea the AI was going to do what it did.’

  I finished eating and pulled up the net. Reynolds was right. In the hours after her death in the game Naomi’s social accounts had to be temporarily disabled as she become a public figure. Fan pages were popping up and agents from all over were already trying to discover her real name. I had about a dozen messages asking for interviews and demanding I make some kind of statement but there was one particular message that stood out.

  Breq,

  This is Naomi. My real name is Hannah. Please don’t feel bad for what happened. I wish you and Kira all the best. It’s going to be awhile before I am able to start a new character. Starting at level 1 is going to suck but I’ll catch up. Thank you for making me a part of your team even if it was only for a little while.

  I will be watching you. :)

  - Hannah

  The message included ways to contact her in the real world alongside a picture of what she really looked like. I was flattered. Even Reynolds saw I was turning red.

  ‘Got a fan message?’ he laughed.

  ‘No, a message from a friend,’ I replied.

  ‘Looks like more than that,’ he finished, wandering over towards me. He tried to look over my shoulder but I closed out of the net before he could spy on me. He was probably reading all my messages anyway, it wasn’t like my life was private anymore.

  ‘A thirty-minute workout, then you can log back in,’ he pointed towards some of the exercise equipment that came with the suite.

  ‘Isn’t it a bad idea to work out right after eating?’ I asked.

  ‘Ideally, you would eat three to four hours before you exercise but your time is valuable and were not going to do anything that requires that much sweat. Mostly making sure you’re breathing okay along with some stretches before you cram yourself back in that pod all day.’ With a chuckle, Reynolds tossed me a pair of spandex pants and a tank top. ‘Put these on, they will help.’

  A part of me still felt like I was running on fumes. Four hours wasn’t enough sleep, but once I was back in the game I could grab a stimulant from Kira and that would keep me going for awhile. Reynold’s workout consisted mostly of repetitive exercises that worked on straightening my back and stretching my muscles. Turns out he was also licensed chiropractor and he gave my posture a quick adjustment before I changed into a set of clothes to wear inside the pod.

  Chaz had spent thirty minutes watching over us before logging out. I guess like the rest of us he couldn’t quite come to terms with Naomi’s death. It was Kira who logged back in and told him to get some rest. As I had guessed, Chaz was a casual player but he was trying to make his way into playing professionally. The Corpse Divers recon mission was his way of trying to see if he had what it took to make it into a real guild. Before logging out he had spent a total of fifteen hours in game. I could only imagine how sick he had felt. Kira had logged out after another half an hour, once Gorge had logged back in to take over the watch. For some players it was possible to sleep in-game. Gorge crossed his legs and stood against the wall in a meditative state. He was letting his mind rest while the rest of him in the real world lay still in his pod. At a moment’s notice he could spring to life, but until then he was just like the rest of us.

  ‘Access’

  Checking for necessary update files...

  Update 1.11.8 found.

  Initializing...

  Player environment meets necessary requirements.

  Retina scan / Identity confirmed.

  Dive 100%

  Loading player data...

  Pro Tip

  Bring the appropriate equipment.

  Dungeons are full of hazards. Make sure you have the right set of armour along with health, resistance, and boosters to make it through to the end of the day.

  Pick up everything. You never know what might be useful later down the line. Additionally, picking up scrap can help mend armour if it gets damaged. Your artificial companion can always help carry the load for you.

  Take advantage of the high ground.

  Look for environmental hazards that can be shot down, broken apart, or can cause explosive damage.

  Have your teammates support you so when you have to reload they can cover fire. Vice-Versa. There is no I in TEAM.

  Don’t forget to share loot and EXP.

  Don’t stand in lava.

  Chaz was waiting for me when I logged in.

  I woke up on the metal floor. My avatar coming to life. As I started to move, my head was pounding and my ears were ringing. The world was a blur until I blinked a few times and found myself staring at a crack in the ceiling. I leaned forward and pulled up my display. Everything was still there, just as I and left it. I wiggled my toes and moved my legs, repeating some of the exercises I had done in the real world. After warming up for a few minutes, I crawled towards my rifle and picked it up. I looked it up and down, making sure there were no flaws present and checked the weapon’s level, comparing it to my own affinity and sharpness. I did the same for Aegis and breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to save Naomi; did she manage to find you?’ Chaz said, extending his hand. I grabbed it and let him help pull me up. I stood there a moment just taking everything in. My eyes and ears continued to adjust. His voice sounded muffled at first but after a moment everything was clear.

  ‘Yes. Did you have something to do with that?’

  ‘I got your contact information from K
ira and I sent it along to Naomi; I’m sorry if that was out of line…she thought you were really cool and I felt like I owed it to her, she saved my life more times than I could count and now I just want to survive, I want to beat this dungeon and take the core in her name,’ Chaz said making a fist.

  ‘She’ll be back, you know she will,’ I reassured Chaz. That was true but it wouldn’t be the same. Naomi would probably have to start on a separate server and realistically it would take her months to get close to our level (and even then, there would probably always be something of a gap in level). Bane was no easy game, even if you were just grinding low level dungeons. Still, I had no doubt I would see more of Naomi / Hannah and thinking about her made me feel happy. The last time I had liked a girl had been in middle school: between my parents dying and living on the streets relationships had been the farthest thing from my mind.

  Some twenty minutes after I’d returned to Bane, Kira and Cass logged in. Gorge, Chaz, Nel and I had already been discussing where to go next. It seemed that during our time away the starship’s transformation had settled. The core had solidified itself in the engine room. Based on the knowledge we’d gained yesterday; Gorge had drawn a small map of what he believed was the shortest route to get to there. It was also likely the most dangerous.

  Nel used her laser to open the welds that had sealed the door inside the stasis chamber, and we moved back through the garden. The remains of the Vrax Aberration hadn’t yet disappeared and it looked like something had been feeding on it.

  ‘Voth,’ said Kira, looking closely, her black spandex uniform stretching tight as she bent over. ‘they’ve eaten a lot of the body’s specialized organs; probably that will mutate them even more.’