by Harper North
I lean closer. “Okay. Tell me more.”
“You heard me. Now, do you want the ten thousand credits or not?”
“Raven, sell the Detector,” The Hermit says. “I am meditating on the buyer Poe mentions. It may be advantageous to visit him.”
With his words, I gulp and equip the Detector. I hope I’m doing the right thing. This will still leave me ten thousand credits shy of what the Elders want. But if this big guy in the next room can do better, then I might have to go for it.
What exactly can he exchange? We have Lucky_Champ on our side, after all.
So, I take the gamble and I agree to the sale. A message appears in my log that ten thousand credits have been added to my account, which don’t show in my HUD. I breathe a sigh of relief as Poe thanks me for the sale.
“If you want the big guy,” he says, “you had better hurry. He logs out for his work shift in two in-game hours.” Poe points to an archway in the back of the temple.
Without another word, we follow it. I hate that I’ve sold the XP Detector for so cheap, but we don’t have time to shop around for better markets.
I duck through the opening first. The light in here is golden rather than green, and large statues of warriors stand in a ring around an ornate table in the center of the room. There’s a Human avatar seated at the table’s far end, joined by seven other avatars too. But it’s obvious who the big guy is. Not only is he a Level 41 and sits at the far end, as if he’s heading a business meeting, but his username is actually TheBigGuy and he hasn’t bothered with armor. Instead, he wears a golden suit that GloryStealer would die for. Yes. Golden. He sits with his hands folded on the table as he speaks with the eight, mostly-armored seated avatars. NPC’s stand around the perimeter, all scantily-clad female Humans with platters in hand.
“Bring me The Binding Beastiary. I can fetch a profit on that. In exchange, your entire cluster will receive two weeks of vacation time and transport to my private beach. I’ll pull the strings, guaranteed. But no Artifact, no time.”
I freeze as I watch the meeting.
He speaks like a higher-up. An ICC executive. There’s only one explanation for that: he is one. Only a ranking ICC members could get anyone two weeks of vacation. The room oozes sleaze and I want to back out, but Lucky_Champ is once again in his element. He nods at me and urges me forward. So far, TheBigGuy has made no motion that he’s noticed us.
“Raven,” The Hermit says. “This player is safe to make dealings with. Now that I am inside this map, I can see his past transactions. He honors them. Players bring him Artifacts and he helps them in real life. TheBigGuy then makes money off selling the Artifacts at markups. Alerting the Admins about these activities would not be advantageous to his business model.”
At least The Hermit can understand transactions. Feeling bad that I got mad at him, I step forward as the cluster rises from their seats. “Excuse me,” I say. “We’d like to make a deal with you.”
TheBigGuy looks right at me. He’s fit in The Binding, like all people are, but I imagine something far different behind that avatar. “Ah. It’s you,” he says. “What brought you here?”
I sit in the seat closest to him, showing him no fear. He’s shrewd. I can tell that already. I’m going to have to be the same.
“So, you know about me,” I say.
“I may know some things,” TheBigGuy says, a smile hinting at the corners of his mouth. “Now, Raven_Vex, what deal would you like to make?”
I want to shrink back, and I sense that’s what he wants as well. This is someone who gets his way. But instead, I change my comm settings to put me in a private chat with TheBigGuy. My cluster will hear silence from us, but that gives me time to formulate a story for them later. “I want to reach Earth from Mera. In real life. What I’m looking for is transport that I should have received before.”
As I speak, I eye my clustermates. They wait for something to happen, but none of them sit. I wonder if Coco_Dream thinks I’m crazy. Lucky_Champ eyes a chair and I sense he’ll be making his own deal with TheBigGuy once I’m done.
“Ah. Yes. I understand,” TheBigGuy says, leaning back in his chair. “A real-life ticket. I could secure you one, but the ICC typically reserves transport for its high-ranking members. Transporting an ordinary citizen from planet to planet will take pulling many strings, but it can be done.”
“What do I need to do?” I hate asking that question.
A NPC servant places a glass of red liquid before TheBigGuy. He slurps it down. It must be some sort of Earth drink that Atlas said could make you feel good but make you stupid if you have too many. Meran tolerance for mood-altering substances must be much higher than Earthans. Though, that doesn’t apply in-game, so that won’t give me an advantage here.
“Your request is very . . . interesting,” he says. “There might be a couple of Artifacts I could make a killing from. I’ve never sold an Ancient Replica before.”
“A what?”
“Oh, it’s a piece of technology from the days before the universe ripped in half. Well, here in the game. You know. No one knows who made it, blah blah blah. The talk is that an Ancient Replica can clone your avatar to help you fight. Comes with a complete AI, too. Easily worth half a million credits. Oh, and there’s another thing out there known as the Ancient Eye. You can spy on any player you’ve friended. Great for cluster control. Sure, you can only spy on one at a time, but imagine all the cluster leaders out there who would want such a thing.”
“And getting these Artifacts will be almost impossible,” I snap. It’s coming. I know it.
TheBigGuy leans forward, a gleam in his brown eyes. “Get those for me, and you win yourself a trip to Earth in real life.”
Clenching my fists, I force myself to think. TheBigGuy must know I’m the Credit winner and that I can’t actually use my prize to relocate to Earth, as promised. The injustice of it all burns. He’s trying to take advantage of me. Even his gold suit betrays his motivation, mocking me further by the half-naked NPC’s who dote on him.
Meanwhile, my clustermates wait. I should have come in here alone.
But what choice do I have?
“Tell me where I can find these Artifacts. And I also want fifteen thousand credits in addition to transport.” That will cover the remainder I need to not get cast out of Raralin before it’s time to leave plus money to live on once I’m relocated.
“Done on the credits. As for the Artifacts, there’s a rumor floating around that the Eye is hidden deep within a map in the Lazara Desert. In ruins full of old robots made from unknown technology. And the Replica can be found in an ancient lab that hasn’t been used since the in-game universe ripped apart. That’s on the other side of the planet, in the Gangras Region. I’ll give you a data chip with the info on how to get there. Melissa, can you get my guest the chip?”
One of the NPC’s, whose vital areas are barely covered, steps forward. “Yes, my dear.”
I struggle not to gag as she holds out her hand and a small, floating data chip appears. I take it after a moment and stuff it into my inventory. With that, TheBigGuy nods at me in a silent signal to leave him. That part, I don’t linger on.
My cluster says nothing as we exit the hidden market. The Hermit doesn’t even speak. I imagine he’s meditating on the data chip and will have helpful information for me—or at least information on how screwed we are. Once we’re back in the dense jungle, Coco_Dream takes my arm and pulls me aside as the others head toward the Jump Pod, unaware that we’re hanging back.
“Raven, what is going on? Why did you mute us out of that conversation?”
“Did they draft you to interrogate me?” I ask, trying to pull away. But Coco_Dream is still a few levels above me. I can’t.
“No. I want to know. There’s something more going on here.”
I sigh, waiting for The Hermit to warn me about something, but he doesn’t. We’ve reached a breaking point. My cluster will mutiny if I don’t start being honest with them
. And it’s the right thing to do. So, I say, “This isn’t just about me staying in Raralin. I made a deal with TheBigGuy to get to Earth in real life because I have a friend there who needs help. He won’t turn us over to the ICC. He’s here to make money on the side and bask in how cool he is.”
“Look, I know you’re the Credit winner. We all know. You were broadcast all over the game on the Earth side. That’s not a secret, but I understand why you’re trying to lay low.”
“That’s all,” I say. Maybe I wouldn’t have to face this Master Admin if TheBigGuy could pull strings. That was my biggest hope. “I also need to pay off some debts. But, most of all, I need to reach my friend.”
“Enough said,” Coco_Dream says. “I’m here to help.”
“Now I want to know why you joined us,” I say. “Fair is fair.” Coco_Dream21 is an advanced player, after all. If she wanted to level up, she would have joined a cluster of Level 40+ players and not mine.
“I followed you for a bit once you crossed to this side of the game,” Coco_Dream explains. “I was trying to spy on you and see if you had any secrets for reaching The Binding. Like just about everyone else, I wanted to get there without breaking any rules. But when that Atlas_Reign guy came along and swept you away, I lost track of you until the ceremony. And after that, when I realized you hadn’t crossed to Earth in real life, I wanted to know why. Something didn’t seem right. So, I asked around and searched the forums to find your recruitment counter on that moon.”
“Do you want the truth? The ICC doesn’t let winners cross. They arrange to have Credits stolen by rogue clusters, and if that doesn’t work, they try to kill the players. Hence my debt from escaping in real life. It’s all a ruse to keep people paying and playing.”
Even though she’s an Android, Coco_Dream21’s face falls. “I knew something like that had to be true.” The disappointment appears to drag her into the ground.
“Look, we’ve found another way. Maybe. Let’s get to the Jump Pod.” I know what she’s feeling right now.
“Agreed.” Coco_Dream collects herself and lets go of my arm. She’s tough. “I’ll help you get to Earth. Tell us the mission, boss.”
“I will.” A strange feeling fills me as I realize I’m making a true friend. Atlas seemed to be one and Loxia also, but she could be dead now for all I know.
We meet back at the Jump Pods. “Everyone,” I say. I tell them about the two Artifacts that we need to find as they listen with interest. “We are headed to the Gangras Region for the Replica first. Having replicas of ourselves will help us immensely when we fight for the Ancient Eye, so we should find that one before tackling the other. On the way, we all need to level up if we haven’t already.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Lucky_Champ asks. “Have you seen the Gangras Region?”
“No,” I admit. The Hermit will educate me.
“Look, we need to do what we need to do,” Coco_Dream says. “The Gangras Region it is.”
CHAPTER 6
SINCE THE GANGRAS Region is on the other side of Planet Yaren, I have time to level up. I demand that everyone else do so as well. I sit with Coco_Dream and Vadie while GloryStealer and Lucky_Champ occupy the second Jump Pod. The landscape sails past far below as we soar over the clouds.
“I don’t know if gaining a few more levels will do much on this map, if it’s so dangerous,” Vadie says. “I put the chances of us getting destroyed the second we exit the Jump Pod at seventy-five percent.”
“What are you?” I ask. “An Android?”
“I’ve already allocated,” Lucky_Champ says over the comm. “Forty-one Luck points, Level 27.”
“I know you have,” I say. “What about everyone else?”
“Level 14 now!” GloryStealer shouts over the comm. “That map was awesome!”
“How amazing!” Vadie says to him. “You must have allocated them all to Vanity.”
“Shut up,” GloryStealer says. “I allocated them to Strength and Speed.”
Vadie facepalms and presses the button on his arm to activate his comm again. “But you’re supposed to be a Sniper.”
“He’s getting better,” I say. “How about you, Coco_Dream?”
She finishes waving her hands and smiles. “Well, I just spent the five upgrades from the boss fight and the fifteen from the treasure map, so I’m now standing at a proud Level 33.”
“Excellent,” I say. “Vadie?”
“Level 17 now. And it makes sense for me to add to Strength and my Healing Rate.”
My palms itch as the progress bar on the Jump Pod screen moves. Now that I know where everyone is, I can focus on myself.
15 points.
+–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––+
Strength: 25
Speed: 37 (+3)
Stamina: 21
Healing Rate: 27 (+3)
Awareness: 40 (+3)
Close Range Combat: 17
* Sniper Dead Eye: 41 (+3)
General Accuracy: 40 (+3)
Luck: 25
+–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––+
I avoid allocating to Luck this time since we have Lucky_Champ. Perhaps I shouldn’t have done that in the first place. Besides, we must survive these two maps first before we get to any loot.
But the fifteen upgrades take me up two levels.
Victory music plays as Level 29 appears in my vision, growing and fading. The familiar tingle of satisfaction washes over me as the music dies. At 293 upgrades, I’m close. I’ll be able to use that 5th Tier Sniper Scope. It’s said to be able to focus on enemies beyond my map’s range and detect heat. I can only imagine the Sniper Dead Eye points it will add to my base stats.
The Jump Pod slows. The Hermit hasn’t said anything for a while.
And then he speaks.
“Raven, I have meditated about this area. It is an ancient city built before the cataclysm that tore the universe in two. The city is so old that it no longer has a name. Most just call it the Lost City. There may be valuable information within about the other side of the universe or the times before the rip, but I cannot make sense of it right now.”
The engine hum drags out as we descend. Sweeping all my stats out of the way, I join the others by the porthole and look out. My map expands––thanks to the three points added to my Awareness––making the Jump Pod marked dot appear tiny. Outside as well as on the map, the landscape is gray and orange. But, on closer inspection out the window, this ancient, once grand, city is now a heap of stone ruins that resemble jutting rocks more than buildings. Rivers of volcanic rock run in straight lines, perhaps from a lava flow down what may have once been a street. No enemies dot my map yet, though, but they won’t spawn until we disembark.
“Looks friendly,” Vadie says.
“We exit armed,” I say over the comm. This is the type of place for an Ancient Artifact to exist. This city houses the Ancient Replica.
We emerge onto a raised platform that is surrounded by a lava moat, with only a crumbling stone bridge to grant access into the main city. All of us stop at an old, ramshackle Save Station nearby that provides the only friendly glow in the area. We’re in a square, I realize. As I survey my map, which is oddly clear of red dots, Lucky crosses the bridge, likely in search of loot.
“Something doesn’t seem right here,” I say. “A map that holds an Ancient anything is usually crawling with enemies. Look at the Infernix map.”
“I wonder what race built this?” Coco_Dream asks. “It’s promising, though. I see no other players on my map.”
“How much Awareness do you have?” I ask as the two of us cross the bridge.
“28 points. Lucky_Champ has 50, I think. He’s the Scout.”
“Makes sense,” I say. “Lucky, you have lookout duty. Any bosses or mobs in the distance, and you let us know.”
He raises his hand as he ducks into the dilapidated,
half-collapsed doorway of a dark building. I tense, but he shouts at us to come in as a crate creaks. I duck into the building and enter a room filled with moldy crates, burned wood supports, and busted computer terminals. If there was a trap, it would have activated when Lucky first began looting stuff. Barely any light enters this building. But Lucky holds a glowing orange sphere with a single black button on the bottom. He’s gravitated to a crate hidden in the corner, one I would have missed.
“What’s that?” GloryStealer1 asks.
“This,” Lucky says, “is an EMP bomb. It’s a one-time use but deactivates every weapon that uses electric power for a limited time.”
“Great job, Lucky,” I say. “Hold onto that. What else does it do?”
“Doesn’t boost any base stats,” he says, as if reading off a database. Lucky waves his free arm to go through his HUD. “This is the first one I’ve found. It won’t deactivate Ground Bombs or Reflecting Stars, but it works on things like Attraction Rifles and Electric Gloves. And it reduces all armor in the area of effect by fifty percent, which includes heat and cold protection. Oh. And it would also shut down Electrified Titanium Armor.”
“If we encounter any raiders—” Coco_Dream starts.
“But,” Lucky interjects, still reading, “The player or cluster using this bomb is also affected.”
“What’s its area of effect?” I ask.
“It doesn’t say.”
“Then it might be a risk to use,” I say. “Keep it, though.”
We continue moving through the city. Our armor has to expend energy while keeping us cool as well as to prevent heat damage whenever we stray close to a lava river. Losing that protection would guarantee damage HP throughout our journey. The EMP bomb will have to wait.
The ground rises and, as we walk, it’s obvious we’re getting close to a formerly important part of the city. The eroding streets lead us to less crumbled streets and away from the lava rivers. A large front-pillared building stands before us, with vines creeping up the stone. It’s the first bit of life I’ve seen in this hellish landscape.