by Cosimo Yap
“Ah, but of course, my master may also be quite generous. I’m sure that you didn’t think I wouldn’t reward you for your help.”
Alan smiled, but then, remembering the guards couldn’t see his face, simply slowly took two diamond marks out, giving one to each of the guards.
The guard who had been talking to Alan inspected the mark; the other glanced at Alan confusedly. The older guard shrugged.
“Get him his package, and quickly.”
“Alright.”
The rifle-wielding guard ran into the warehouse. A few seconds later, he emerged, carrying a small black box about the size of a shoebox.
“Here you are, sir.”
“Thank you,” Alan said, taking the box and carefully putting it into a compartment on his back. The box had no clear opening, but its contents seemed secure, as nothing rattled or moved about when Alan lifted it up. The revenant armor would soon be at full capacity, as it didn’t have much room for carrying objects other than weapons and ammunition. The compartment Alan had placed the box in was really meant for a sword or other hilted weapon, not a box. He should probably get some sort of futuristic backpack or bag at some point, although it would weigh him down a bit.
As Alan turned around and headed back towards the city gates, another cloaked figure strode past him towards the guard. Alan caught what he said to the guards.
“I’m here to pick up package E51 for Master Silver, here is the order confirmation.”
The two guards took out their weapons, and shouted, “Hey, you there, stop!”
At that point though Alan had already turned invisible, sprinting away with all his might. Alan spared a glance behind him, only to see the guard throw a sensor in his direction. Time slowed as Alan entered hypercognition mode, greatly increasing the speed at which he thought and was able to communicate with Eve.
Eve plotted out where the sensor would land, along with the radius it would scan. There would be no evading this sensor.
Perhaps if we had taken them by surprise, we may have been able to defeat them, with a 13.4% probability. Now our chances to win a direct confrontation are noticeably smaller. Our best chance is to run away. They will only get brief snapshots of where we are from their sensors, especially if we are able to continually run out of the sensor’s range. Two dangerous uncertainties are we do not know the guard’s abilities and we don’t know if they have backup, but I estimate we have a 45.9% chance of escape.
Got it.
The first few steps were easy. Alan sprinted away, then dodged the EMP grenade and bullets fired at him with Eve’s help. He was soon out of the sensor’s range, but the other guard simply threw another one in front of Alan as his partner picked up the other. They continued this relay as Alan continued running forward, using Eve's warnings to evade the bullets and occasional swipe of a sword.
Alan soon began to tire, a heavy cloud of fatigue settling in his mind.
Can’t we shoot the sensors or hit them with a surprise attack?
Don’t you remember any such action will have to be performed after the armor’s invisibility has been deactivated? Additionally, if you haven’t noticed the guards are much faster than you are. The only reason they haven’t caught up is the need to pick up their sensors and keep you in its range. Unlike us, they also don’t have time to plan their every move. Only around 30 seconds have passed in real life.
Don’t remind me.
Alan had thought his previous experience in the Game had pushed his limits before. He had, after all, experienced mind numbing pain in the Tutorial. But this was different. Before, he had to simply sit still, and watch as the Predecessor advanced. Now, for each second that passed, he had to force himself to endure greater pain. It was like he was at the end of a set in a grueling workout, but on a completely different level. Pushing himself to take another step, pushing his body forwards in a full on sprint, was experiencing each moment of the muscle weary pain and tiredness for an eternity. His body, his mind, surely couldn’t take more.
Keep going. You are barely at the 35% of your body’s limit.
WHAT!? Alan moaned into his head, a large sense of dread coming over him as he pushed himself onwards.
To what limit must I push my body to in order to escape?
Simply 70%, the point of near-collapse. I am not unreasonable, and do not expect you to push yourself to the point where you would die.
Alan swore at Eve.
You are wasting energy.
Sighing, Alan focused on but one thought. Move. He let Eve worry about where, and when. The details didn’t matter, only the motion. Alan pushed himself forwards, through the pain, the fatigue that couldn’t possibly get any worse. Of course, it did worsen, slowly but surely, as Alan felt his body seem to almost tear itself apart. He was pushing it too hard, harder than should be possible. But Eve guided him onwards.
Exhaustion and discomfort was soon but a remnant of the blissful past. This was torture, a torment so unbearable that Alan almost wished to die, to step into the oncoming bullets rather than dodge them. But, for some reason, Alan managed to persevere, finding a quiet strength within that he didn’t know he had. The pain, the weariness? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was forwards. Something clicked inside Alan’s head, and an in-game message appeared before him. Alan ignored it, and it closed automatically. Eve would have directed him if it were important.
Suddenly, Alan realized he was nearing the market district once more, as the crowds began to swell. Alan was able to deftly maneuver past people, but the guards chasing were having a great deal more difficulty, as they were trying to chase down a person no one else could see, firing into supposed nothingness. A few people began firing back at the chasing guards.
Realizing, that he might escape, and soon, Alan felt a short-lived burst of energy, only to have it soon be replaced once more by the mind-numbing agony of continuing onwards. A few seconds later, the guards lost Alan, a sensor they threw forwards knocked aside by an enraged old woman, shouting something about public decency.
Alan felt himself slow down as he escaped the sensor’s range, relief washing over him.
DON’T STOP. ONWARDS.
What? But—
IF YOU STOP HERE, THEY WILL FIND YOU. ONWARDS.
And so Alan pushed himself onwards, as his vision began to blur and his consciousness began to fade. As he even began to lose his sense of feeling, the pain somehow blissfully disappearing, he continued forwards, where Eve directed. Then, his body could take no more, and Alan collapsed onto the ground, oblivious to his surroundings.
***
Alan awoke in an alleyway, a shrill ringing sounding in his mind. Groaning, Alan rolled onto his back. Every part of his body felt sore, his legs hurting so much he almost couldn’t feel them. As soon as he was full conscious, the ringing stopped.
Welcome back. I allowed you to rest as long as possible, I activated and deactivated the armor’s invisibility to avoid detection while you were asleep. We have an hour and a half to get back with the package.
Groaning, Alan pushed himself up, staggering as his legs felt weak underneath the strain of the weight of his body and the Revenant armor. Now that he was able to check his messages, he saw to his surprise he’d gained a number of new abilities:
Through sheer willpower alone you have managed to push yourself to your limit, and beyond! Enhanced Control sub-abilities Ignore Pain and Programming a Path unlocked. Indomitable Will has been reclassified as Transcendent Will, an ability under the Enhanced Control ability tree, increasing its effectiveness.
Alan checked out the tooltips of the skills:
Ignore Pain allows the user to ignore a portion of their pain. Not all pain may be ignored, and if a player’s concentration is broken this effect may be nullified.
Programming a Path allows the player’s thought out actions to become almost second nature, allowing inhuman feats of precise movement.
Transcendent Will appears when the user musters their willpower t
o transcend normal limits, accomplishing an impossible feat through sheer willpower. Passively increases willpower, and in extreme situations allows the users to accomplish unattainable feats of will.
Endurance +15, Willpower +20
Grinning, Alan slowly managed to make his way back to the entrance he came through. There, he found the man with the dark formal attire and purple glove, nonchalantly talking with one of the guards, holding a sensor behind his back.
Through a different exit, then.
Alan made his way over to the next closest exit. Just as he was about to approach though, Eve highlighted a woman, leaning against the wall next to the entrance. Holding a sensor.
Damn.
Yes, all the exits out of the Undercity are likely guarded. I am uncertain what organization might have the manpower to guard every entrance though… I wonder what it is that’s in that package.
Yeah, so, how do we get out then?
I am unsure. If they are guarding all the entrances to the Undercity, they are likely guarding the lift back up to the Administrative Center as well. Also, I doubt we could even get back in time. At least, not alive.
Wait, what do you mean?
Right now, if we want to have a high probability of joining the Black Rose guild, completing this quest, which is clearly not a simple task but a major test to get into the guild, is of the utmost importance, correct?
Um, yeah.
Well, I noticed there was an Administrator outpost within the Undercity. It will, for a price, teleport a player’s items into their secure vault, which we will then be able to access. After we die and respawn inside the Administrative Center, our last respawn point, that is. Due to its proximity our respawn time should be negligible. The only difficulty is that the item must not belong to another player for us to teleport it in our name, and I am uncertain whether or not the black box is registered to someone else. As it is unmarked, I highly doubt it, especially if it contains some illegal substance, as the Administrators would confiscate and scan the item.
Dying, really? Is there any other way, like shooting or teleporting ourselves out?
No, this is our best option for completing the task. Player teleportation is unimaginably expensive, even short distances. Additionally, in any other scenario, if we die, we would undoubtedly drop this item.
Alright…
However, since we are planning on dying…
Yes?
I think we should take risks I’d otherwise advise against. As making it out is unlikely, with little chance of gain, I suggest we explore the Abyss Labyrinth Dungeon, and maybe try to get lucky in a dungeon far above our level, trying to steal or ambush unsuspecting, chaotic players. Don’t attack any normal, non-chaotic players as you will lose more if you die with chaotic status for attacking other players.
I know. PvP and who it’s okay to attack and when was one of your first lessons. Let’s go.
Alan made his way over to the Administrator outpost. It didn’t look like any spotters were watching it. At least, none that Eve detected. Shortly thereafter, the Administrator teleported the box for three diamond marks, which seemed like an absurd amount as it was only moved up a few floors. As he was expecting to die, Alan then exchanged the rest of his credits for five diamond, one gold and eight silver marks, which were one level below gold, worth around two hundred credits each at street value.
Alright, we have about 30 minutes, maybe a few more if we hurry once we respawn at the Administrative Center, let’s see what we can find in the Abyss Labyrinth.
Chapter 16
Alan managed to make his way into the labyrinth with an unsuspecting group of explorers. The guards seemed to be more interested about who and what was potentially coming out of the labyrinth than who was going in. Inside the ruins of the building, there was a set of stone stairs leading into pitch-black darkness. The stairs were perfectly symmetrical, and Eve was able to outline in the darkness where the stairs should be, allowing Alan to roughly see in the dark. The explorers were making preparations and going over plans, so Alan decided to proceed down without them.
As Alan entered the dark labyrinth, two messages appeared:
You have now entered the Abyss Labyrinth. Unknown perils await in this seemingly bottomless maze.
Warning! Your level is far lower than even the weakest of threats in the Abyss Labyrinth. You are advised to leave and come back when you are a higher level or with a larger group. Otherwise, don’t blame sudden and unexplained death on anyone but yourself.
Communications with the outside world have been suspended. Your ability to send messages to other players is disabled.
Ignoring the messages, Alan continued onwards, invisible. Once he was far enough away from the surface he activated the glow of his sidearm, illuminating the path downwards. The area truly was an abyss. Other than the stairs, there were no walls or even floors that Alan could see. Instead, there was only the pitch blackness of a bottomless, unfathomable depth. One misstep could easily lead to his demise. Alan wasn’t one to feel vertigo, but the presence of nothing but the darkness was fairly unsettling.
Alan made it to the bottom of the stairs after what seemed like an eternity. There were three paths illuminated by a soft blue light, though Alan couldn’t tell where the light came from. Down each path were simple, 10-foot wide stone walkways. Each was right next to a bottomless drop. There was a player’s note saying that the right and left paths had been cleared already, thus Alan was about to take the middle path when Eve communicated with him.
Wait. Fire at the ground in between the paths and next to them.
Um, alright.
Alan did as Eve ordered, firing in between the paths with his laser pistols, wondering what Eve wanted. He watched as the lasers shot out into the depth going further and further until disappearing into nothingness. Then, as Alan fired to the left of the leftmost path, the laser struck something, and the outline of a fourth, hidden pathway appeared.
What? How did you know?
Lucky guess. Continue firing at the ground and follow the invisible path as your shots illuminate it.
Alan did so. This hidden path was invisible; the only way Alan knew which way to go was that Eve marked where the shots he struck landed, creating an outline of where the path was. Unlike the stone paths, it was barely three feet wide, making it difficult for Alan to maneuver, especially as it twisted and turned. It was unnerving too, standing on an unseen road, on top of darkness. After a few minutes, the path led Alan below the stairs he had entered through, backwards rather than forwards.
*Click*
Alan’s foot pressed into the ground, pushing into a pressure plate. His mind immediately leapt into overdrive.
Three incoming projectiles from the stairs.
Eve highlighted three darts coming towards Alan. Alan dove, barely avoiding them.
Perhaps we should proceed with more caution.
Um, okay.
Alan continued to creep along the invisible path slowly, barely surviving a number of traps thanks to Eve’s observation skills and his own inhuman reaction speeds. A few were surprisingly simple to maneuver around, such as a single tripwire and a gap in the path that had to be leapt over. Others were puzzles that Alan had no way of understanding, control panels with unknown symbols and technology at work. Eve seemed to understand them though, and following her orders Alan managed to pass them with ease. Finally, after around fifteen minutes of scrambling around Alan found himself before what was, as far as he could tell, a cube-like structure. The path ended here, yet as Alan spread his hands out over the invisible wall before him he could find no door or obvious way of entering this structure.
Try reaching out with your mental capacities.
Like I’m trying to communicate with an Administrator?
Yes.
Alright.
Alan concentrated, trying to detect some sort of machine presence or consciousness he could interface with. To his surprise, he detected a faint presence before h
im, and initiated contact.
Hello? Anyone home?
… Systems Initializing. Error. Warning: Limited Power.
Greetings Traveler. Warning: ERROR. Main Systems Offline.
Traveler? Are you an Administrator? What are you doing here?
ERROR: Bad Request.
Wha—
Resuming Power Savings Mode. Estimated remaining power supply for limited functionalities: 34 Millennia. Please contact the Authorities and repair or supply power source, Traveler. Current threat level: Gamma.
The presence cut off, and a new quest appeared before Alan:
Missing Systems:
Restore power to the mysterious Abyss Labyrinth. Find out more about the structure and its purpose.
Option: Figure out who the Authorities are and attempt to get help from them
Penalty: ???
Reward: ???
Time Limit: Approx. 3000 years
Threat Level: Gamma
Threat level? What’s that? And how did you know that I should reach out to try to contact some machine presence?
I am unsure. My actions have been motivated by a faint sense that I have been here before, or I know something I shouldn’t… There is no data in my memory to indicate I was ever here before. This is highly disturbing. A threat level only appears in a quest which could potentially lead to far reaching and possibly horrific consequences. The highest known threat level is Alpha, which was only once recorded during a universe wide genocidal rampage, the Predecessor War, while the lowest threat level is Gamma.
Yet even Gamma threat level quests have been known to influence the fate of entire planets. I am unsure if the threat level is because of the time limit or possible effects of the quest. Guilds and factions, even enemies such as the Empire, Haxlards and the Republic often band together to solve such quests. We should continue on, and try to find more. Proceed with caution.