Pangea Online: The Complete Trilogy

by S. L. Rowland

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know, but I want to. Let’s find a tailor.”

  The tailor is tucked away between a weapons shop and a medicine shop. The weapons shop showcases a myriad of revolvers and rifles. There are more gearshifts, scopes, and types of bullets than I could have imagined. Silver and wooden bullets. One claims to explode into flame upon impact. A special section marked ‘Rayguns’ catches my eye before I see a dark gray werewolf sitting behind the counter. He wears a top hat and long coat. The tails of the coat hang low and his fur protrudes from the sleeves next to his razorlike claws.

  We step into the tailor’s shop and Buzz’s eyes go wide. His short-buzzed black hair draws attention to the childlike wonder on his face. He sorts through rack after rack of clothing, piling up a large wardrobe he intends to try on.

  In the end, Buzz looks more dapper than I have ever seen him. He chooses a pair of black and red pinstriped pants, a white shirt with a red vest, a bow tie, a pair of goggles with brass fittings, a belt full of pouches, leather bracers with a half-dozen buckles and a black long coat. He looks like a completely different person from the man I work with in the mines every day. He stands in front of the mirror for a moment, admiring himself.

  When I step up beside him, I realize that I also look completely different in my green tunic and khaki pants. It’s crazy how much can change in just a few short days.

  I pay for the clothing, which sets me back nine gold, and we return to the street.

  Far above us, a large zeppelin floats through the air. A banner hangs beneath it advertising Portigee’s Emporium of Oddities and Eccentricities.

  “I know what I want to do,” says Buzz. He grins from ear to ear. “I want to play steamball.”

  “What the heck is steamball?” I ask.

  “Oh, it’s only the most popular game in all of Steamworld. I swear, Esil, sometimes I think your nose is so far up those elf butts that you forget the rest of these worlds exist.”

  “Shut up, Buzz.” I give him a gentle push in the side. “Lead the way.”

  I follow Buzz down the crowded street. He knows where he is going and walks with purpose. I’m sure he’s watched streamers walk through here a million times in his box late at night before falling asleep.

  When we arrive at the arena, the stands are full. We have to put our names on the player list and wait for an open pitch. I use the time to learn as much about the game as I can. Buzz is more than happy to fill me in.

  “Do you remember how before The Great War, people used to play a game called soccer? They called it the world’s game. Basically, the goal was to kick a ball into your opponent’s goal. That’s kind of how steamball works, except the goals are three hundred feet in the air and everyone wears steam-powered jetpacks to fly around the pitch.”

  “That’s it?” It seems like a simple concept.

  “Yeah, if you score more goals than the other team, you win. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, the other team can attack you.”

  “What do you mean ‘attack’?”

  “Just like it sounds. If they are able to wound you, then it makes it easier for them to score. It’s a bloody sport at times. And if they kill you, then you have to wait fifteen seconds to respawn, making the odds in their favor. Most games are five on five, but sometimes they will go bigger or smaller for certain events.”

  I watch the nearest game as it unfolds above us. Ten players zoom around leaving trails of steam, propelled by the packs they have strapped to their backs. A rather large man wears a pack with three canisters instead of two. He bobs along and I wonder if the packs have a finite amount of energy. Beside him, a wiry woman speeds by, carrying a brown leather ball. She has it tucked under one arm and fires a pistol with the other. A line of smoke erupts from the gun every time she fires and green lasers dart through the air. Two gnomes accompany her, one on each side. They must be her escort, because one carries a large cannon that booms like thunder with each shot and the other carries a sword with a gun built into the blade.

  The two gnomes wear large goggles that magnify their eyes tenfold. They look like large bugs fluttering through the air.

  One of their opponents, a woman in a tight green corset, fires a rifle and the light beam that erupts from it knocks the ball from the wiry woman’s hands. The ball tumbles through the air towards the ground.

  Out of nowhere, a long hand swoops in and grabs the ball. The fat man that had been puttering along is still far away, but his hand is attached to his arm by a long retractable mechanism. He presses a button on his wrist and the hand and ball rapidly return to him. He tosses the ball to one of the gnomes and continues puttering along. I am completely immersed in the game when Buzz grabs me hard on the shoulder.

  “We’re up next,” he says.

  I follow Buzz over to a booth that rents jetpacks. There are over a dozen to choose from. Some offer faster top speed, and others, great acceleration or the ability to change direction quicker. I see the one with the triple canisters designed for those of the more portly variety. Buzz and I both pick the Steampack 2000, which Buzz says is the best all-around pack.

  Item: Steampack 2000. Requirements: Stamina.

  “Do we need ranged weapons for this?” I ask. Everyone I have seen so far has carried a gun.

  “You don’t need them, but they are definitely helpful in keeping the other team off your back.” He shrugs, content to play the game even if he doesn’t have all the pieces. Not today.

  “Come on, Buzz. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.”

  His eyes light up when we walk over to the portable weapons shop. The weapons are housed in the back of a carriage. Dozens of firearms adorn the walls. Buzz immediately picks up a shotgun with a dragon etched down the side, named Firebreather. The stock is made of dragon bone.

  “Esil, it shoots fireballs,” Buzz says as he cradles the gun like a newborn child. “It. Shoots. Fireballs.” The price tag is ten gold. I don’t know if it’s more for the design or the firepower, but I don’t question it. I don’t care if I blow every gold I have today, as long as Buzz has a good time.

  I settle for a raygun with a rotating barrel. It shoots ray beams out of one barrel and a grappling hook out of the other. It might be useful in snagging down enemies. It costs six gold.

  I remember my Barter skill and decide to test it out.

  “Do I get a discount if I bundle these all together?” I ask the shopkeeper.

  He rubs his chin for a moment before responding.

  “I’ll knock off one gold because I like your spunk,” he says.

  Congratulation! You have added +1 to Barter. A man who can trade can own the world.

  Nice. I equip my new weapon to my inventory and check the stats.

  Item: The Grappler. Raygun. +7 strength. Ability: Grapple, fires a grappling hook and attaches to the first object it hits. 30 second cooldown. “You’ll not get away that easy, Bucko.”

  Once our weapons are equipped, we take the pitch. I activate my steampack and slowly rise into the air. The basic speed doesn’t use any stamina, but any time I speed up, my stamina bar drops a little. Three other players join us as we continue to rise to the two goals placed high in the sky. Two women and a tall lanky man are in conversation, talking about some quest they failed to complete.

  “Hello,” I say. “What’s the plan? It’s our first time.”

  “Great. Just great,” says the man. He’s wearing purple pinstriped pants and a green vest. Two revolvers with glass orbs attached to the hammer are strapped to his waist. A blue gas swirls inside the orbs.

  “Be nice, Jayce,” one of the women says. “We were all new once.” Her corset is pulled tight, exposing her large chest. I take a glimpse but Buzz has no such tactfulness and stares openly. She gives him a wild smile before turning back to me. “Don’t mind him. He’s a little salty he failed his quest. Just have fun. Try and score, and me and my sister here will do our best to defend the net.”

 
“What’s your weapon?” I ask.

  “You’ll see soon enough.” She winks. Her sister whispers something in her ear. They both giggle for a minute and Jayce rolls his eyes.

  “What’s this jerk’s problem?” Buzz asks me. “It’s not like this is ranked or anything.”

  “I don’t know. Let’s just have some fun.”

  A timer begins to count down in the center of my vision and the other team approaches from across the pitch. They look like a well-oiled machine with their matching outfits. Five men in brown and blue pinstriped suits fly toward us. Two carry revolvers, one has a rifle, one a long sniper rifle, and the other a shotgun. All of their weapons are ornately engraved and appear to be rayguns from the glass orbs attached to them.

  I look behind me and see the woman and her sister holding two large cannons that hang by straps from their shoulders. Electricity reaches out like tiny tendrils inside of the large glass orbs attached to each. They must be packing some serious firepower.

  The timer reaches zero and a brown leather ball falls from above. Buzz and two of our opponents rush towards the ball before I realize I should be joining.

  Buzz flies forward like a maniac, laughing hysterically and firing his new weapon. Fireballs the size of my fist fly through the pitch like spilled marbles.

  I focus and everyone’s status bars appear over their heads. Our opponents are all named Mr. Wiggles, each with a different number one through five. One and two carry revolvers, three has a rifle, four is the sniper, and five has the shotgun.

  The two women on our team are Hilda and Zelda. Zelda has the heart tattoo. Jayce passes me by and fires his weapon just as Mr. Wiggles1 picks up the ball. Blue lasers shoot out of his gun in quick succession, narrowly missing the man with the ball. Buzz continues to fly around the pitch, sending out a never-ending chain of fireballs. I wonder if the weapon uses mana or if the fireballs count as bullets? Either way, it doesn’t appear to be stopping. I dodge a fireball at the last second and feel the heat across my face.

  I’m amazed at the sensation my haptic suit is able to provide. It feels like I am actually in the air as I float across the sky.

  Mr. Wiggles1 passes by me and I aim my gun. The purple ray it fires hits him in the shoulder. His health drops by half and the ball falls from his hand. His teammates close in pursuit of the ball, except for the man with the shotgun who stays back to guard the goal.

  A deafening boom stops me in my tracks and I see a giant ball of light floating across the pitch. It grows larger and faster the more it moves. I stand back, completely immersed in the orb that exits Zelda’s cannon. The three Mr. Wiggles dive for the ball, oblivious to the orb approaching them. Mr. Wiggles2 catches the ball and raises it in the air just as the light swallows him whole. When the orb passes through him, all that is left is the ball, once again falling towards the ground. The other two attempt to fly away, but the growing orb pulls them towards it like it has its own gravitational pull. Seconds later, they disappear into the light before it dissipates.

  “We’ve got fifteen seconds to score,” yells Jayce. “Come on, noobs.”

  He picks up the ball and the two remaining Wiggles retreat in defense. Jayce fires off a few shots and fakes a dive. When he goes, our opponents move to block his movement. He tosses the ball over his shoulder to me and I catch it just as I ramp up my speed. I go high and see Buzz waiting by the goal. He has stopped firing his weapon and waves his hand for me to pass him the ball. I throw it hard and the ball hits him right in the hands. They are completely caught off-guard and Buzz tosses the ball into the goal.

  1-0 flashes across my vision and then minimizes in the top left corner along with a timer on the game.

  Mr. Wiggles1 respawns just as the ball reappears. He’s the first one on it. He fires a shot that hits me in the shoulder. My vision goes red and my health is at fifty percent. He flies past me and another shot hits me in the back, this time from the sniper. I can barely breathe as my haptic suit clinches around my midsection. My health is down to ten percent. I need to take cover fast. All the leveling I’ve done the past two days hasn’t helped with my defenses much. I focus on the opposing team and see that they are all level twenty. No wonder they damage so much. Buzz is lucky he hasn’t been shot yet.

  The sisters set off another loud boom when they fire their weapons. This time, two giant balls of light soar across the sky, but now, our opponents are ready for them and give them a wide berth. Mr. Wiggle1 does a barrel roll, dodging the long, slender beams of Jayce’s raygun.

  I push the speed of my jetpack and my stamina bar drops quickly. He is about to score unless I stop him. I activate Grapple and fire the hook. It catches Mr. Wiggle1 in the back and brings him to a halt, but not before he tosses the ball into the goal.

  1-1 flashes across my vision. Jayce flies up behind the goal scorer and empties several shots into the back of his head as he struggles to remove my grapple. The body disappears and we have a momentary advantage. I retract my grappling hook and turn to where the ball will drop. Just as I do, a bright purple ray hits me in the face.

  Chapter Nine

  By the time the game is over, we have won five to three. Jayce and the two sisters were so good, it makes me wonder what kind of quest they were on beforehand. Buzz scored two goals and I doubt I could kill his happiness if I tried at this point. We still have a few hours before we need to log out for the night so we might as well make the most of it.

  “Now that you’ve got a weapon, what do you say we go level up?” I ask.

  We exit the city and head into the nearby village to farm whatever creatures this world has to offer. Mechanical rats and cats scurry between buildings. My message notification blinks and I focus on it. The message is from Aleesia.

  Esil,

  I had a wonderful time questing with you today. I do hope we can do it again sometime. ;-)

  -Aleesia

  Buzz must notice the smile on my face because he immediately starts teasing me.

  “Someone’s in love,” he says. He draws out the final word way longer than it needs to be.

  “We’re just friends,” I counter. “She’s the only other friend I have besides you.”

  “Well, now that you’ve got the Worldpass, you should be able to make all kinds of friends.”

  There’s no hint of jealousy in his voice, but I’m sure Buzz is worried we’ll see less of each other going forward. Maybe I can buy him a basic Worldpass or something so that we can at least hang out outside of the mines sometime. I’m sure he would be much happier traveling around instead of surfing the web and watching other people live out adventures. I know it’s selfish of me to think about the places I can go that others can’t, but finding that chest was a gift and it feels wrong to not use it to the best of my ability.

  We come upon an empty section of road between two Victorian Era houses. They are squat little things and nothing like the estates of the wealthy with their towers and turrets and large bay windows. Smoke billows out of the chimney of one house. A large metal monster blocks the road before us. I focus on his stats.

  Mechanical Golem. Level 10. Behold, the gears of war.

  The golem looks powerful with its long arms and broad shoulders. A bright light glows yellow in its chest and steam shoots out of two canisters on its shoulders with every movement. Its eyes are made of tiny gears that continuously turn. It’s almost mesmerizing. When the golem beats its large hands on the ground like a gorilla, I feel the vibrations rattle through my feet.

  “Ready for your first battle?” I ask Buzz.

  He doesn’t look the least bit nervous holding Firebreather. He raises one eyebrow and flashes me a wicked smile. He may be a little too cocky. After all, he is only level two and has put all of his stat points into Intellect. I’d hate to see him die in two hits like I did my first battle. The memory of the harpy ripping through my flesh is still fresh in my mind. At level ten, I’m sure I can handle it no problem.

  “I’ll let you take him on y
our own so you can get all the experience. Let me know if you need any help.”

  Buzz moves in towards the golem slowly. He pulls the trigger and a fireball blasts from his gun and hits the golem in the chest. The golem slides several feet across the road from the impact. A third of its health is gone. There is no way in hell Buzz should be that strong.

  The golem rises to its feet and beats its mechanical arms against its chest. A loud ringing fills the area, making it hard to hear anything else. Buzz yells something, but I can’t tell what it is. The barrels of his weapon smoke violently. He runs towards the golem and fires another shot. The golem loses another third of its health and is knocked off its feet, falling to the ground with a thud. Buzz shoots again and the golem falls apart into a pile of gears and metal plates.

  “Ha ha, baby!” Buzz yells. “Level three!” He runs to the golem and picks up his loot. I try to catch up to him.

  “You know that golem was level ten, right?”

  “Yeah. So?” He doesn’t see the point I’m making.

  “Yeah, so do you think in all your infinite wisdom that a level two should be able to kill a level ten monster in three hits?”

  His brow wrinkles for a moment as he loses himself in thought.

  My mind runs wild itself. It can’t be a coincidence that he and I both hit harder than we should. It has to be connected somehow. But how?

  “You don’t think it’s a b—”

  “Don’t say it,” I cut him off before he can finish the word.

  If it is a bug in the system, then it could be bad. When it was just me, there was no way of knowing. I thought it was because of my stat points. But now that we know it’s not just me, we will have to tread carefully. Pangea Online proudly boasts that it can’t be hacked or cheated. Should I say something or file a report? If not, they might punish us. I might lose my Worldpass and everything I found in the chest. Or worse, we could lose our accounts. They might think we have abused the system. We would lose our jobs in the mines. That would mean getting kicked out of The Boxes. The only place lower than The Boxes is the streets. They say living a day on the streets is enough to drive a man crazy. After a week, the deformities start. The air does terrible things to those who don’t wear the protective masks.