by Cosimo Yap
Alan brought up the Sneak and Acrobatics abilities as well as the updated Stealth ability.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Stealth (Basic)
E
D134566322
F
The art of moving about undetected.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Acrobatics (Basic)
F*
???
G
The ability to perform miraculous feats of agility and balance.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Sneak (Intermediate)
E
F1559189361
G
An intermediate stealth ability.
Alan frowned slightly, unhappily looking at the mediocre results before him. He closed the windows resolutely, sure that he would do better on the next test.
A.I. Interaction Examination Initialized
The labyrinth of walls and traps slowly vanished, replaced by the original white chamber Alan had found himself in. A wall of chat windows appeared before him, and then suddenly without hesitation streams of numbers and symbols started appearing on all of them.
Eve frantically began to analyze them, trying to interpret for Alan. Line after line of text appeared in each of the windows as Eve slowly began translating all of the different lines to English, or at least computer code that was in English. Protocols, syntax, everything from letters to indentation were all over the place, and Alan couldn’t make heads or tails of anything any of the windows were showing him. He imagined the complexity of the hundreds of different computer languages that existed, and then he thought about the thousands or maybe millions of languages that must exist in the Game, shuddering at the thought. While the windows, each of which Alan assumed represented an AI of some sort, might be trying to communicate useful information to him, Alan certainly wasn’t getting the message, and Eve couldn’t help him due to the strange rules governing AI interaction in the Game.
As a headache slowly developed, Alan stopped trying to interpret the lines of code. Instead, he closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind, searching for a mental connection. To his surprise, Alan detected hundreds of “minds” or AI, but most seemed distant, foreign. If he really strained, he might be able to forge a connection with these “minds,” but Alan chose to initially ignore those that seemed too far away.
He re-imagined each possible AI as a sort of mote of light, a star in the sky, and a map slowly began to form in his mind, tenuous connections swirling about as each star seemed to move and react to others. Alan concentrated on the nearest, brightest star, easily within reach. A strong connection was established. Hesitatingly, Alan sent out a thought.
Hello?
Immediately, the connection was broken, and the star in Alan’s mind disappeared. Unperturbed, Alan continued to make connections, sending out the same initial Hello. Most responded similarly to the first, simply breaking the connection and vanishing. A few he was able to have a basic conversation with, introducing himself, but they were all uninteresting, and soon broke off their connections. As Alan started to strain to connect to the distant stars in his mind, he felt his headache slowly increase in intensity. It was a sort of dull, throbbing pain, rather than the knife-like pain that came when he was pushing his physical limits, but it seemed to underlie his every thought, his every action.
Talking to these distant AI was like trying to converse with a madman. They raved in different languages, talked in unknown symbols that Alan had never heard of. One repeatedly yelled the thought TWO with such intensity that Alan was forced to break off the connection with the fear permanent brain damage might be done.
Another responded with a thought that almost tore Alan apart.
It returned infinity, or at least a representation of it. An ever-flowing river of unceasing madness, filled with eternal moments of nothingness, an never-ending field of stars, points so far yet so close that distance was meaningless, a mind numbing, all-encompassing black hole that Alan felt himself get lost in as he slowly let his mind try to wrap its head around the concept. Eve ended the connection, concerned after Alan stopped all active mental processes.
Alan dazedly blinked out of the reverie, the thought, and had to take a few minutes to gather himself before trying to make the next connection. The thought of infinity hadn’t scared Alan. Instead, it enraptured him. He wanted more, to go beyond, to see further, to perhaps try to begin to understand the most infinitesimal part of the ephemeral message the AI had sent, but it was gone.
Alan proceeded on, emboldened by the experience, hopeful of the knowledge the distant stars might impart on him. Alan felt reality began to lose its grips on him as his mind, this imagined field of stars became all that he was aware of. He connected to each, they responded, or didn’t, and the connection was ended, until but one star was left. It was the furthest of all, a dim silhouette of a shadow compared to the bright sun of the first.
As Alan slowly tried to connect to it, he was amazed by the size of the construct. This star dwarfed all the others, it was a behemoth among ants, a galaxy rather than a simple star. Beyond it, behind it, perhaps through it there was something else, another universe, another plane of existence, yet Alan could only get the briefest of glimpses before the connection formed.
Hello?
Before Alan could react, before his next thought even began to form in his head, the galaxy responded.
Who are you? No, wait… Through the connection a wave of black specks that Alan’s mind interpreted as starships the size of stars moved towards him at the speed of light, coursing through Alan’s mind. Alan could somehow physically feel the presence as it made its way through the entirety of his brain in the blink of an eye. He had the faint sense that it had analyzed all the electrical signals there, the storage of memories, even the entirety of Eve, but that was impossible, as only a moment had passed, a thousandth of a nanosecond.
Hmm, interesting. Since you managed to catch my attention and alert me to something, have a gift. I also warn you that if you detect any of my brethren, try to avoid them at all costs. Few are as kind as I.
The mental starships once more coursed through Alan’s mind, but this time instead of simply scanning they began rearranging and constructing unknown objects using the planet that was his own mind as the base. There was a sharp pain, and Alan lost consciousness…
***
Alan opened his eyes to flashing red messages.
¿¡WARNING!? TERMINATE CONNECTION ¿¡WARNING!?
ERROR 304: UNABLE TO TERMINATE CONNECTION
Warning Dismissed… Test resumed
Scoping out the Competition Updated:
4/10 Major players met
Bonus: 0/10 Objectives found
Calculating results…
A mysterious entity has done… something! Unsure of the changes to your mind, you can feel the ability to tap into a mysterious force you were unaware of before. Additionally, your mind seems stronger than ever and you have gained a new ability, Mind Defense!
+50 Intelligence +10 Willpower
Psionic Energy has been removed and replaced with Computational Energy!
You now have 400/400 Computational Energy. Active abilities such as Hypercognition drain Computational Energy. Computational Energy and regeneration rates may be improved by increasing the intelligence attribute.
Due to the loss of Psionic Energy, psionic abilities and equipment are no longer usable by the player. Items and abilities may have special effects that can be unlocked with the use of Computational Energy.
For managing to forge connections with unknown entities, you have gained a new ability, Connect!
+5 Intelligence
Your mental resistance has vastly improved!
+5
Intelligence +10% Mental Resistance
Through observation, you have managed to gain a new ability, Mental Hack! Though you don’t understand how it works or its full uses, you feel as though you might be able to replicate such an attack against those who you are connected to mentally. Note that any attempt to hack an Administrator will be severely punished, and that mental attacks are considered just as harshly as physical attacks in the court of law!
By managing to communicate with every entity in the examination, including an unknown, unseen force, A.I. Interaction has been reclassified as Data Interaction (???), a Hidden Ability. Hidden Abilities are unable to be shown to or shared with other players. Unable to rank proficiency in ability.
+25 Intelligence
Alan calmly read the windows. He knew he should still be feeling disoriented from the experiences, yet instead felt oddly detached and calm, analyzing everything. He opened up windows for the new and updated information with a thought.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Mind Defense
B*
???
A
Your mind has been organized in such a way that it is only with much difficulty that a foreign host will be able to begin to comprehend it.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Connect
C
???
B
The ability to mentally forge connections with machines. Somehow, your mind is able to comprehend and send digital signals.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Mental Hack
D*
???
C
The ability to seek and exploit weakness in connected minds.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Data Interaction (???)
S*
???
S
Error.
Alan quickly came to the conclusion that there was something more to the Game than just the simple battle for control of the universe. There were hidden forces moving about, playing with the players. He needed to become stronger and help ensure Earth’s safety. Afterwards there were mysteries to explore. Alan sensed an incoming transmission, oddly aware of a number of entities surrounding him, his thoughts clearer, more precise. The moment they detected that he was aware of them they slowly disappeared. Alan hypothesized these were Administrators within the Game, as they had the same feel to them, a sense of a bright yellow star. A message appeared:
Basic Combat Test concluded. You have been awarded a Combat Ranking of B318271931, and Potential Combat Ranking of S+.
+30 Levels (+5 Levels for each Combat Ranking increase) +30 ability points for gaining 30 levels with one action
Congratulations! You have reached level 100, and have been awarded 100 ability points. Bounty quests, raids and general warfare have been unlocked. For further information, consult your nearest Administrator. Please note that from now on you only gain 1 ability point per level.
Shortly thereafter, Alan felt and saw a new message appear.
Congratulations, you have passed the combat assessment doing well beyond expectations! You have been awarded 5000 guild points, and qualified for a squire position under Knight Phantom. Report to him after the guild assessment is complete.
All recruits will now have free time to get lunch and prepare for the final assessment, a round-robin objective-based combat tournament. Teams will be decided based upon previous assessments. The tournament will begin at 1400 Khersath Private Quadrant Rose Standard Time in the Simulation Dome.
Groaning to himself, Alan proceeded to lunch.
***
As Alan emerged from the Black Rose Cafeteria, which simply consisted of a metal vending-machine like dispenser that provided the strange grey blocks of food that seemed standard both in and out of the Game, he received a message from Phantom.
Phantom: Come to my location, simply enter an elevator in the keep and it will take you to me.
Alan hurried over to the closest elevator to the keep’s entrance, wondering what Phantom wanted. Alan waited for an empty elevator to arrive, as strangely the common etiquette was to wait for an empty elevator cabin to arrive rather than simply getting in together and getting off at different floors. It seemed there were secrets aplenty in the Black Rose Guild, not least of which was where people worked.
A few minutes later, Alan finally found his way into an empty elevator without other, higher ranking members of the guild commandeering it on “important business.” He silently entered the cabin, waiting for it to descend. And descend it did. Alan stopped paying attention after Eve guessed they had gone 100 floors downward.
Whatever the outer appearance might show, it was clear that the Black Rose compound was much larger than most people believed, going deeper than Alan even thought possible. Alan wondered what they might be hiding down here, what could possibly require so much space. Then, suddenly, Alan passed through an electric field of some sort. He felt a strange tingling as his feet slowly passed through it, followed by his legs, body and finally—
Alan something—
A soft beep sounded in Alan’s mind, and then Eve was silenced, gone from Alan’s consciousness. He suddenly stopped feeling the familiar presence, carefully analyzing everything. A part of him felt free, clearer, yet another part felt oddly empty. There was suddenly no background noise, no constant calculation or outlining of his surroundings. Just the basic in-game interface. And silence.
Shortly thereafter, the elevator doors began to open. Alan tried to hide against the wall and prepare himself for whatever emerged. He pulled out his laser pistols, ready for whatever horror awaited him. Instead, he was greeted by a nervous-looking Phantom, wearing the same old lab coat.
“I must say, good job on the assessments, I never imagined a recruit would achieve a combat rank of B, much less five of them. Now, I’m sure you have many questions, but before we get started, please come in and have a seat,” Phantom said, completely ignoring the laser pistols pointed directly at his face.
Alan hastily stowed the laser pistols, then slowly walked out from the elevator into what appeared to be either a mad engineer’s basement or a small car repair facility. They were in an underground room about the size of a large car garage, with the space for about four large vans. Strewn about the floor were mechanical devices of varying sizes that Alan couldn’t make heads or tails of. Before he could get a better look at any Phantom guided him over to a seat beside a bright silver capsule. Phantom then promptly grabbed an odd metal helmet directly connected to the capsule and put it on Alan’s head.
“What—”
“Shh, let me calibrate this, it’ll only take a minute. Sit still and be quiet,” Phantom admonished, rapidly accessing some digital terminal that had appeared before him the instant the helmet was placed on Alan’s head.
Alan silently accepted the order, gazing about the room. The majority of the space was dominated by three things, the capsule, a large server or computer of some sort connected to said capsule, and then finally a third machine up against the wall tied to the computer on the other side of the room, opposite the capsule. At first Alan had thought it was an overly large microwave that could fit an entire person or small car, but that was frankly ridiculous. He silently examined the machine until he noticed a large screen on the side of it with various diagrams and blueprints, realizing what it was. It was what was called an Advanced Foundry, essentially an advanced 3D printer.
In the Game the majority of crafting professions that one might normally consider, like blacksmithing or tailoring, were obsolete. Even their modern day counterparts, gunsmiths and armorers that specialized in advanced technology, weren’t generally needed
. Instead, there existed Advanced Foundries, often abbreviated to Foundries. These devices could, given the materials and a blueprint, create practically anything, from weapons to armor to even hypothetically spacecraft. As the largest Foundries could only generally create something the size of a small sedan, larger projects were created piece by piece then assembled by other machines. Still, such technology meant that the creation of all items within the game was met with one simple bottleneck. Designs.
Companies and governments guarded their designs like Coca-Cola guarded its secret formula, like the White House protected nuclear launch codes. There was often no greater secret, no document more precious. For, if someone managed to steal, say, the design for a Haxlardian fighter, they would then be able to quietly construct as many Haxlardian fighters as they wished, given they had the resources and facilities. Of course, the design was not needed to make repairs, and separate machines were constructed to make such repairs often for simple things like armor and weapons. Still, you would have to find the right machine for the right type of equipment. That was another reason why guilds were quite useful. They could build up a supply of a number of repair machines regardless of faction the armor or weapon was tied to, while governments generally shied away from keeping machines capable of repairing their enemies’ technology. Reverse engineering was virtually impossible, and it was a simple rule within the game that Forges could not be tampered with, similar to Administrators.