by Rick Scott
The goblin falls to the ground, losing 30% of its life and is now down to half.
Whoa! I didn’t even know that would count as a backstab! Fully visible, I run in with another War Cry and start slashing away with my one katana as the goblin struggles to pull the other free from its neck. The monster lets out a series of cries as sparks bounce across its silver armor and I look to see Rembrandt peppering it from afar.
“Get that dead!” he cries. “We need you over here!”
The goblin is down to 20% and scrambling to his feet. I land a few more slashes to its torso and with Rembrandt’s constant damage, the goblin falls to the ground for the last time.
You defeated the Goblin Champion!
You gain 12642 experience points.
Gilly gains a level!
I quickly reach down to loot the corpse and it disappears.
You find 6 nano fragments.
You find an ornate breastplate.
You find a set of ornate leggings.
You find a flaming bullwhip.
Wow! I didn’t think I could get its gear like that.
I retrieve my katana and rush over to where the rest of the party is still battling the wolf. It’s down to 60% and my brother is still tanking it with blocks and retaliation strikes, while Gilly, every so often, tops him up.
I recast Shadow Haste and prepare to engage.
“Maxis!” Val Helena cries out. “Let Reece tank it!”
My brother glances at me miffed and then looks back at her. “I got this! I have survived four tours on the surface, you know? I could solo this damn thing.”
Val Helena swings her axe into the wolf’s hide. “I’m quite aware of that, sweetheart, but if you let a proper tank take over, I could go all out and we’ll kill this thing a lot faster.”
“It’s true, mate,” Rembrandt says. “I’ve got to hold back when you tank sometimes. No offense.”
“What?” Maxis looks at Rembrandt like he’s just committed the ultimate betrayal.
“Plus,” Val Helena says swinging again. “You’ll be able to switch to DPS mode yourself and go all out too.”
Maxis grimaces as he fends off another bite from the wolf. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, slamming the wolf with a retaliation strike instead. Then he looks in my direction with a glare. “Reece! If you screw this up and die, I’m going to freaking kill you! You understand?”
Val Helena lets out a goddess laugh.
Holy crap, my brother is actually trusting me for once?
That spurs me on more than anything else. I cast Shadow Tendrils and enchant my blades with purple blue flames. I buff with Shadow Copy next and then vanish with Shadow Cloak. I circle to the wolf’s flank and then piece it with a backstab for 8% of its life.
I use War Cry as the giant wolf turns on me with a snarl. “Over here!”
I feel more energized than ever; more eager to prove my worth to my brother than just simply staying alive. I wait to predict the giant wolf’s moves. Its attacks seem a bit like Sheeba’s, but much slower than that. I slash into its muzzle with my blades and quickly side step a snap of its jaws. Yes! I can do this!
I hear Val Helena yelling as she buffs herself and Maxis changes his stance.
Maxis uses Fists of Fire!
Attack speed and damage increased but block and counter decreased.
They both go into some kind of hyper mode as they unleash while Rembrandt does something that doubles his attack speed. Gilly switches from healing to using her TP to cast Second Wind, replenishing their Stamina bars as they deplete.
“Nice one, Gilly!” Rembrandt commends her. “We should keep this one around, Max. I’m loving the limitless firepower!”
I work hard to counter the extra damage by landing as many of my enmity buffed blows as I can, while fitting in war cries and shadow magic in between; slowing the wolf and paralyzing it with Shadow Mist. After five minutes of fighting, we get the beast close to zero and Val Helena lands the killing blow.
You defeated the Giant Wolf Mount!
You gain 21200 experience points.
You gain a level!
You are now level 76!
Gilly gains a level!
Gilly gains a level!
Gilly gains a level!
1/3 Quest objectives complete!
“Woo hoo!” Gilly yells.
Maxis reaches out to touch the wolf’s corpse before it even hits the ground. The huge object vanishes in an instant and the villagers all start chanting the same thing: “Shard Warriors! Praise the gods!”
That name again…
“Don’t even think about celebrating just yet,” Maxis says as he brushes past me and heads for the river. “We still need to heal these people and put out these fires before we can claim this town. Let’s go!”
Chapter 3: Town Hall
We spend the next thirty minutes playing firefighters and EMTs.
Gilly uses her celestial magic to heal people and even raises a couple that were killed by the smaller wolves. The rest of us join in a massive chain that ferries buckets of water from the river to the burning houses. Val Helena acts as the anchor, using her eight-foot height to douse the burning roofs from near directly overhead. Eventually we get the fires under control and a system message pops onto my HUD.
3/3 Quest objectives complete!
You gain +100 Favor with Brookrun Village!
Favor level in Brookrun Village increases to Level 1
[Town administration is now available.]
What did that mean?
The villagers cheer all around us and again shower us with thanks and praise. There looks to be about a hundred or so people in all. Most are middle aged with some children mixed in. I see a woman sobbing, and wonder if she might be related to one of the villagers we couldn’t save.
I meander toward Val Helena as she works to clean some soot from her face with a cloth one of the villagers has given her. “Hey Val,” I say. “What happens when they die? Do they respawn?”
By the way the woman is crying I almost know the answer already, but I need it confirmed somehow.
Val Helena only shakes her head. “Another reason I consider these people real and maybe even alive. There’s no coming back from the dead for them.”
That sends a shock of uneasiness through me, both for the people that were killed and the goblin I killed as well. “What about the mobs? Are they the same?”
Val Helena removes her iron crown and dumps the contents of a bucket over her head, washing her hair. “As far as I can tell.”
I don’t know how to feel about that.
A bell rings; the same one I heard earlier during the battle. I look for the source and see an old man who has to be in his 80’s ringing it. He waves the brass bell up and down rhythmically through the air, calling for order. He’s short, almost like a Halfling, but mostly due to his arched back. I focus on him and see if I can pull up his name and stats.
Name: Wilbur
Level: 35
Class: Villager (Elder)
“All hail our saviors!” he shouts aloud when the crowd settles down. “Mighty warriors from the realm of the crystal shards. May the goddess bless them!”
“Blessings of the goddess be upon you,” they all say in unison with a short bow.
“I am Wilbur,” the old man says to us. “An elder of this village. Who is the leader amongst you?”
“That’s a bloody good question, mate,” Rembrandt says with a laugh.
“I am!” My brother steps forward in front of Val Helena, who is still washing her hair. “Does your village have a Wayfaring Stone?”
The old man looks a bit surprised by the question. “We do but… it has not resonated for many years now.”
My brother lets out a cuss. “Figures. Damn waste of time all around.”
Rembrandt laughs. “Come on, mate. You really think we’d be so lucky? We haven’t been able to find a working node the last two missions. And you think we’ll find one in t
he first village we stumble across?”
“Yeah, well….” Maxis eyes Gilly and me. “I got two burning reasons to try and find one real quick. Let’s go. We got to try another village.”
“Wait, hold up,” I say. “What’s this Wayfaring Stone thing?”
“It’s a means to travel, young warrior,” Wilbur says. “A conduit for where our two worlds meet. When I was around your age, that was the last time I saw one used. It brought a great warrior from your realm that nearly conquered all of Athagar. Or so I heard. He never stayed with us long.”
“Is that where we are?” I ask.
And suddenly a map appears before me.
What the heck?
It looks like a map of Nasgar almost, but there are slight differences and the names are all changed. Even more to learn in this new world.
“No, Athagar is far from here, to the east, but you are in Torren. Our village is named Brookrun.”
Something else then pops up on my screen.
Brookrun Village
You have completed all prerequisites to claim this town.
“Our village has suffered much this night,” Wilbur says. “As much as you’ve helped already, we could truly use your help to rebuild. If you have the time to spare.”
Do you wish to claim Brookrun Village? (Y/N)
I shrug, and then, more out of curiosity than anything else, I answer him: “Yes, we’ll help you rebuild.”
Congratulations! You have claimed a town!
You have claimed “Brookrun Village”
You are now a town administrator.
A huge stat screen then loads before me.
Name: Brookrun Village
Level: 1
Population: 102/110
Growth: +1 villager per year
Food: +23 surplus per day
Income: 0 gold per day [no trade routes established]
Morale: 34%
Security: -55%
Production: 51 Labor units/day
Trade Routes: 0
Structures:
(1) Common Hall(1): +10% morale, grants: Issue Edict
(1) Wayfaring Stone: [NULL]
(22) Log House: +5 max population
(25) Field: +5 food per day
Resources:
Gold: 5 units
Food: 53 units
Wood: 22 units
Stone: 12 units
Iron: 2 units
Actions:
Build
Demolish
Issue Edict
“Ryan!” my brother snaps. “What did you do?”
“What?” I say. “I think we should help out.”
“I agree,” Gilly says. “These people need us.”
Val Helena lets out a goddess laugh.
“Looks like your brother just claimed the village,” Rembrandt says with another grin. “Did you want him to do that?”
Maxis gives Rembrandt an eye roll above his shades. “Ryan, just tell him we can’t help and let’s go.”
“But the young master said you would,” Wilbur says looking confused and then he turns back to me. “Is this not true?”
Do you wish to abandon your claim? (Y/N)
I have no idea what I’m doing, but abandoning sounds like the absolutely wrong thing to do; especially when I look at those stats again. These people are in trouble. “No, I want to help. What do we need to do?”
“Damn you, Ryan!” my brother fumes at me.
“Hey, hey, hey…” Val Helena steps in between us, placing a hand on Maxis’ chest. “What your brother has done isn’t a bad move. We need some time to get our bearings anyway. Plus getting Gilly some levels in this area won’t be a bad idea either.”
Maxis grimaces. “I don’t care about getting her levels. I need to get her home! You know who her father is?”
“Yes, that’s well established, tough guy.” Val lightens her tone with a wink. “But we can’t really do anything about that, can we?”
“Aye,” Rembrandt says. “Not without finding a working Wayfaring Stone. We’ll be stuck waiting till the next world boss falls.”
Wait! what?
“You mean we’re stuck here?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Gilly says. “How do we get back?”
Maxis sighs. “I’ll explain it all in a minute. Let’s get away from all these people first.”
Wilbur looks back and forth between each of us perplexed.
I wonder just how much he understands of our world. Maybe it would be better if we had some privacy. “Um… Elder Wilbur?” I ask. “Is there some place we can go to, rest up, an inn or something?”
Wilbur chuckles. “Oh an inn would be a fine establishment indeed. If you’d like to set about building one, it may take some effort mind you.”
A prompt then leaps onto my HUD.
Village Inn: +20% morale +5% pop growth -5% security
Cost: Wood: 22/100 units
Stone: 12/30 units
Iron: 2/10 units
Food: 53/50 units
Labor 0/150 units
Force Build: 100 gold <100 Nano fragments>
You do not have the necessary resources to build this structure.
What the heck? You can just buy this stuff? And with nano too?
“For now, what we can offer you is the common hall,” Wilbur says. “For what you’ve done for us tonight, you’ve earned yourselves a rest. Please come with me.”
We depart from the crowd and Wilbur leads us to a large log cabin near the center of the village. It’s sparse inside, with only a few tables and stools. Antlers of deer and other game serve as decoration for the roughly hewn pine logs that make up the walls. Oil lamps are lit to provide soft yellow lighting and a few of the village women bring us mugs and a pitcher of fresh water.
“I’ll see to having some food brought for you as well,” Wilbur says and then departs.
As he mentions it, I do notice that I’m actually feeling hungry. I wonder if the food here is even real. Or if it will even matter, considering that I’m not completely real myself, but rather some kind of nanotech copy of my game character that my consciousness has been thrust into. Man this is too weird to even think about.
We gather around one of the tables and nearly finish the pitcher, before Gilly launches the first broadside at my brother.
“Okay, big bro,” she says. “Get to explaining how all this stuff works. What are these stones? How do we get back through them? And what’s the connection with the world bosses?”
Maxis opens his mouth to talk, but then Rembrandt jumps in.
“Allow me, mate,” he says and then turns his mirror shades to us. “It’s all one big extension of the AI’s network, you see? The builders that created the safe zones are still very much active.”
“Right,” Val Helena says. “Except no one’s ever seen one.”
“What do they look like?” I ask.
Rembrandt shrugs. “Whatever they like, I suppose. They’re pure nano, mate. They create the stuff. The real stuff. Not the knock offs we use. The nano we use have a half-life. Limited use. If they didn’t, we’d have a gray goo situation all over.”
“What’s that?” Gilly asks.
“Runway nanites,” Maxis says. “Infinitely replicating themselves till nothing is left. Sort of like the desert in the wild. It’s all dead nanites as far as I can tell.”
Holy moley…
“But back to the builders,” Rembrandt says. “I’ve heard stories from the locals that they appear sometimes. They consider them gods here. But in the tech worlds, they more closely resemble what they truly are. All controlling AIs with wills of their own. And they don’t seem to like us humans much.”
“Why?” I ask. “Do they see us a threat or something?”
Rembrandt shrugs. “No idea. I suppose from their point of view, we’re the old slave masters who need to be destroyed. Not all of them think that way though. Some I think want to protect us. They’re just like people, mate. All differe
nt.”
“How many of them are there?” Gilly asks.
“Another excellent question that I don’t have an answer to, miss,” Rembrandt says. “But I’d imagine at least one builder for every safe zone. And I know of three myself personally.”
“And what exactly is the wild?” I ask. “Who controls that?”
“Nobody,” Maxis says. “That’s why we can breach the protocol there more easily. But all the builders are connected to it somehow. It’s why we can’t just go back and forth to Citadel. Every time we connect to it, there’s a risk of being discovered. When you fight a world boss, what we’re actually doing is enslaving a sentry AI to the game world and defeating it on our terms.”
“If we defeat it, you mean,” Val Helena says.
“Right,” Maxis says. “But if we do, then we can send a broadcast signal. It allows the consciousness transfer. That was the 1-minute timer you saw when you defeated the boss. When that’s active people can transfer in and we here will get an option to log out.”
“Whoa,” Gilly says. “That’s bizarre.”
“What about the PVP match you guys were in with Aiko?” I ask. “What’s it do?”
“It sets the initiating protocol. It makes the connection to whatever random node the system picks for us. A small team can always gain access to the surface that way, but after that the sentries lock on, and then you have to battle through them. But once they’re defeated and we make a hard connect, any more than a minute, they’ll be able to trace the connection back to citadel and counter hack our system. I don’t even want to think about what would happen to us if they managed to do that.”
“This is crazy,” Gilly says. “No wonder my dad doesn’t talk about his stuff. No one would even believe him.”
“Your dad’s not in charge of all this,” Maxis says. “A dude named Dennis Fields is. He’s the lead software engineer. He’s in charge of all these safeguards. Makes sure we don’t expose ourselves too often.”