Aether Gate Online:
The
SLAYER
A LITRPG Saga
By Darren Hultberg Jr
Copyright 2018
Dedications
For my parents, who never objected when I chose to spend my adolescent years gaming. Who would’ve known I was actually doing some early book research!
And to Joe (or should I say, Giffrim). No matter what world we were exploring, you were always by my side with an axe in your hand.
I’d also like to give a special thanks to all my readers on Royal Road Legends. Without your continued support and feedback, I would never be able to write like I do. You guys rock!
Prologue
Dusk had fallen at the Axion research facility, the building empty and dark as the midnight hour drew close. A cluster of monitors came to life, illuminating a small room in blue. At the center of the room stood a man, his suit well fitted and neatly pressed, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Images from the monitors reflected onto his glasses. Numbers scrolled haphazardly across the screen. Information to be processed. Data.
Another man entered the room, his posture slumped. He wore his weariness like a cheap suit. “Sir, are you sure about this?” he asked. “The amount of lives this will affect is going to be catastrophic.”
The first remained silent for a moment before answering. “Do you find satisfaction in this world, Wesley?”
“Well, n-no sir.”
The man turned to look at Wesley. He removed his dark glasses to reveal eyes both intense and resolute.
“Exactly. Just look around you. We were born into a world wrought with pain, a world that decays from the pollution left behind by our ancestors… a world where corruption inches its way into every facet of our lives... No more! The sun has set on this world, but tomorrow it will rise on a new one… a world where those that are truly worthy will rise to the top.”
“And what of you, sir?” Wesley asked, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“What of me?” The man leaned in close, causing Wesley to flinch. “I will be its god.”
1
September 7th, 2076
The clang of swords was like music to my ears, even if it was just virtual reality.
“Watch my back!” I yelled as two brutish orcs made their approach, a pair of longswords grasped tightly in their thick, green mitts. I drew a blade of my own and pointed it at the beasts, prepared to strike them down at the first opportunity.
“Chill out, Adam.” Max replied, leisurely swinging a Warhammer around in his hands. “These mobs are trash.”
“Yeah.” I conceded. “But I heard an elite spawned in this area yesterday.” I paused our conversation as the first of the orcs made its move, charging in with the tip of its sword aimed directly at my heart. I easily side-stepped the strike and drove my blade into the creature’s neck. The HP bar above its head immediately depleted, and the creature faded from view.
“Damn, this game’s gotten boring.” Max said with a sigh as he turned and slammed his Warhammer through the second creature’s skull.
“We only have to hold out for one more night.” I reasoned. Max was right, though. The VRMMO’s out on the market had gotten rather dull, especially with how much Max and I had played them. Soon, that was about to change. Tomorrow night was the launch of Aether Gate Online, the most anticipated game release in the 21st century. The game had promised an immersive experience like nothing that came before it. From what I had read it boasted dozens of playable classes, a fully realized fantasy world with several different factions, high level raiding events and I quote… “the best PVP experience a game could offer.” The thought of some solid PVP had me stoked!
A notification blinked in the air above us.
Elite monster approaching
“Here we go!” I said, readying my blade. The soil shifted as a pair of bony fingers began to emerge from the ground.
Suddenly, a series of loud bangs on my bedroom door quickly eliminated any immersion I had in the game. “I gotta go Max.” I said with a sigh as I pulled up the main menu and selected EXIT GAME.
“Its all good man.” Max replied. “I’ll catch you tomorrow.”
“See ya later.” I replied as the game disconnected. I removed the soulink VR device from my head as another round of banging echoed through my room. There were many reasons I loved escaping to the virtual world, but one of the biggest had to be my father.
“Open the damn door!” he hollered, his words slurred from all the beers he’d drank this evening. Reluctantly, I popped the lock off. The door swung open and my father stumbled in. He was no more disheveled than usual, and his eyes had this glazed over look about them. Sometimes, on his way to the bathroom he would make little detours to my room just to give me hell. He staggered so close that his breath made my eyes water. “What the hell are you doin in here?”
“Nothing dad. J-just playing a game.” I replied, avoiding eye contact with him. He was bigger than me, though not by much. Nevertheless, he was my father and a confrontation with him was never going to end well for me. He stood there, staring for what seemed like an eternity. My stomach started to twist into knots. Finally, he turned to leave the room but not before giving me a stiff shove out of the way.
“Always on that goddamn game… you’re wasting your damn life.” he mumbled. I stood and watched as he made his way to the door. Of course, he had to stop and get one last jab at me. “Oh, and next time, open the goddamn door when I knock!” He slammed the door as he exited the room, leaving me to my thoughts. Deep down, I knew he was wrong about that whole ‘wasting your life’ schtick. The world had gone to shit, I knew it had and so did he… he’d just chosen a different way to escape. The question was, why did he have to drag me down with him?
I gripped the soulink headset in my hands, running my fingers across the smooth facemask and the slightly elevated logo that read ‘Axion Advanced Technologies’. The worlds this device had taken me to were always so much simpler than my own. They made sense, unlike my shitty reality. I thought about throwing the headset on and knocking out a few quests or helping Max with that elite mob, but my heart just wasn’t in it tonight. Instead, I tossed the device on my desk and went to bed.
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September 8th, 2099
It was launch day! Well, almost. The game officially launched at midnight and almost everyone I knew was planning an all-nighter once the servers went live.
School seemed to drag by so slowly. It was senior year, so my schedule was packed with electives I could give two shits about. I struggled to keep my eyes open through final period as the robotic instructor droned on. Today’s lecture was ‘lessons that humanity can take from the third great world war.’
Heh, like I needed to hear that. The war had taken my mother from me, the one person in the world who understood me better than anyone. Her death damaged me more than any physical pain ever could, it damaged all of us. That’s probably why I spent so much time in virtual reality... why would I want to stay in a world that could destroy something so beautiful?
I dashed for the doors as soon as the final bell rang, eager to get home and get everything ready for launch. The smell of toxicity and pollution hit my nose as soon as I stepped outside. You see, my school was in the lower levels of a giant ‘megatropolis’ known as Sector 7. There were so many people packed into the giant sprawling city that the environment had taken a back seat to human need. It was unfortunate, really.
I waited patiently near the edge of the school grounds for the gravtrain to take me back to suburbia. My mother might’ve been gone, but at least the money she left us kept dad and I out of the city.
I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I turned with a grin on my face, assuming it was
Max. Unfortunately, I was quite wrong.
“Where’s my money, douchebag?” Victor said, squeezing tightly on my shoulder until I winced. Vic always had his eyes on me like homing missiles. Was I that easy of a target? I mean, I wasn’t particularly small, but perhaps his perceived dichotomy between us triggered something in his tiny brain. After all, I was a socially awkward loner and he was a varsity linebacker at one of the largest high schools in the city.
“Get the hell away from me, Vic.” I said, trying wriggle out of his grasp.
“You’ve been avoiding me all day, Adam. Didn’t you think I’d find you sooner or later?” He was right about one thing, I had been avoiding him. You see, Vic was a tough guy, but he wasn’t too smart. One day I made the mistake of showing him up in geometry, a mistake he’d never forgotten. That was four years ago… and he had make sure to give me hell ever since. Today, he was short on cash for lunch, but I foolishly stood my ground when he asked for it this morning. Now I was going to pay.
Vic looked around, checking to see if the coast was clear before blasting me in the stomach with a closed fist. I dropped to my knees, sucking for air. “Shoulda listened.” Vic said as he got ready to hit me again. Thankfully, Max had arrived. Max was a pretty big guy, and though he certainly wasn’t an athlete, nobody ever really thought about messing with him.
Vic sized Max up for a second, trying to show some bravado, then walked off towards the parking garage.
“Nice talkin to ya Vic. Have a great day.” I said in my most sarcastic of tones as Max hoisted me back to my feet.
“Asshole.” Max added, a scowl on his usually cheery face.
“Don’t worry about it man. I’m fine. Besides, nothing can ruin today.”
A smile returned on Max’s face. “I can’t freakin wait!”
It was only a moment before the gravitrain arrived. The large shuttle came to a stop in front of us, its sleek cabin hovering over two vertical steel beams. We were giddy as we rode home, eagerly awaiting the game’s imminent launch. We decided that Max would crash at my house. If Max was there, then my dad would likely leave me alone... and besides, launch day events were always way better with a friend.
We arrived at my house shortly after. My dad was sitting on the couch, waiting as Max and I entered. Max gave me a look, but I gave him a nod and he made his way upstairs.
“Adam.” My dad said, his tone much more somber than last nights.
“Yeah, dad?”
His voice starts to crack. “I- I just wanted to say sorry…. About last night. I-“
“It's fine, dad.” I interject. I really didn't want to do this right then, especially with Max over.
We exchanged looks and I could just tell he felt terrible. That’s how these things usually went. He would get drunk, give me a hard time then feel bad and apologize the next day. I know my mom’s death hit him harder than anyone. It was the reason he turned to the drink. Still, that didn't mean he deserved a pass every time he lost it.
I turned and followed Max upstairs before the conversation could continue. I know there was more that he wanted to say, but I'd reconcile with him later.
It didn’t take long to get our rigs set up. In fact, by five o’clock we were downright bored. Max offered to jump into another game to pass time, but it just didn’t feel right. With all the hype built up, the only thing I wanted to do was jump into Aether Gate Online.
2
I sat back in my chair, holding the soulink headset in my sweaty palms. I looked over at that clock. 11:57…. Only 3 more minutes until launch and I could barely sit still. Damnit time speed up!
Max was already jacked in, patiently waiting for the server to come online. I for one hated staring into the black empty screen, so I held out til the last minute. Instead, I sat back, impatiently fiddling with the soulink. The headset was quite a technological feat… It started by partially blocking out the user’s senses, then tapped into their subconscious through a series of rhythmic messages to the brain. It allowed the user to ‘full dive’ into their game or application of choice, though with enough jostling (or in my case, yelling) you could pull the user out of the immersion.
At first, the technology was shunned upon. A few prominent ‘health experts’ claimed that such a link could pose a risk to the user’s brain. Others complained that jacking into the soulink was just another way to escape a world that was already full of its own problems… Then they tried the soulink and realized how much better it felt to be spell-slinging wizard rather than living the dreary life they were given. Jack in and you could be anything you wanted to be, you could live the life you deserved to live. The device was truly revolutionary…
12:00am! I threw the headset over my head. It blocked out most of my senses, but I had no trouble finding the power switch. After all, I’d been doing it every day for the past six years.
Everything was dark and silent for the briefest of seconds. Then, a bright white light illuminated my vision. The words “Aether Gate Online” materialized in front of me. I waved the menu away, eager to dive into some gameplay. Almost immediately, stone walls began to rise on either side of me. The once empty space beneath my feet was quickly populated with floorboards of solid oak. I gazed around as the room came to completion… a dark chamber with no exit and a pair of sculpted stone dragons on either wall. Cozy!
I inspected the chamber, though it had little information to offer.
“Your name.” a melodic voice echoed through my ears. I searched for the source of the voice, but the room was still quite empty.
“Your name, traveler…” the voice echoed again. I pondered for just a moment. This must be the character generator module… damn. I hadn’t even come up with a good name yet! I thought on it for a few seconds more. I wanted to start with something fresh, a new name that I could build a legacy on.
“Zander” I said aloud. “Zander Darkblade.”
Suddenly, the space in front of me began to blur, as if the area was in some sort of flux. Small pixels that looked like tiny sparks began to light up in front of me. Eventually, the tiny specks of light fused as they took bodily form. Gradually the light faded, leaving the form of an elvish maiden just feet in front of me. My eyes went wide as she approached, her long violet gown flowing despite the lack of air flow in the small chamber. I gave her a quick look over. Her features were nearly perfect, from her smooth pale skin to her golden hair. The realism was uncanny…. she was quite beautiful, even if she was just an NPC!
“Welcome Zander Darkblade, to Aether Gate Online.” She said in her melodic tone. “Please select your class.” She stepped aside as 3 separate projections appeared side by side. I held my hand up to the first projection, which pictured a heavily armored warrior cleaving his adversary in two. The picture faded as a circular menu appeared in its place.
The words Combat Domain illuminated above the menu. I scrolled through the myriad of classes…there were so many! Warrior, rogue, ranger… I dropped my hand and let the menu fade. The next projection pictured a spellcaster firing bolts of fire from his hands. I pulled up the menu.
Magick Domain. The first few classes displayed were typical spellcasters… mage, warlock, illusionist. I was never much of a caster, so I released the menu and moved on to the third and final projection. It displayed a savage-looking fellow wielding an axe imbued with blue fire.
This was the Primal Domain. The first pair of classes displayed was shaman and druid. I dropped my hands to my sides and thought on it for a moment. The elvish woman continued to stare, awaiting my decision. The fact that she looked so real made It a little creepy. After some deliberation, I pulled up the physical classes once more and gave the circular menu a spin. I’d went straight to warrior in my last few MMO’s, but this time I wanted something different. I thought back on my life for the briefest of seconds. I was sick and tired of getting pushed around. I wanted to be powerful. I wanted to play something that invoked fear by name alone but could back up its namesake with brutal efficiency.
I paused as something caught my eye. I read over the class description. A combatant skilled at dispatching single target foes. This class specializes in removing strong and elite threats. “This.” I said aloud.
“You have selected the Slayer class.” The woman said. “Your character model will be generated upon entering the game. Please remain still why I format you for your role.”
“Wait, what did you say?” Before I could react, the elf pressed her hand against my forehead. I lurched back as a rush of data… no, of knowledge, flooded my mind at an exponential rate! Basic battle maneuvers, various fighting stances, deadly skills, it all filled my brain so quickly that my eyes rolled back in to my head!
Moments passed as my brain struggled to process the information. I took a knee, breathing deeply as the rush finally subsided. Slowly, I began to rise when another wave of knowledge crashed into my mind… the history of great and powerful slayers, battles won and lost. It all came so fast that I could barely keep track. Then, abruptly, it all stopped.
I fell forward, my head spinning from the experience. I tried to recall some of the information I had taken in, but I just couldn’t seem to access it, as if there was some sort of blocker. “What did you do to me?” I gasped, holding my head.
The elf hovered near me, the soft silk of her violet dress brushing against my face. “I have given you all that you will need for your journey. In time, as you grow stronger, you will find access to more of the knowledge you have been granted.
“But,” I began to speak, but she floated away from me, ignoring my call. Suddenly, she turned about.
“Prepare yourself, traveler, for the culling.”
“The…culling?” I had no idea what she was talking about.
“All those who enter the Aether Gate must prove themselves in the culling. Survive, and you will be rewarded. Fall, and you will perish. Good luck traveler.”
The Slayer Page 1