Hell's Glitch (LitRPG): Into a Dark Adventure

by Belart Wright

  You Have Vanquished an Encroacher.

  As with his own encroachments, Sam’s spoils for winning included a unit of solid Quintessence and a thousand souls. This time, instead of a Bloody Tearstone, he received an item called a Token of Survival for winning.

  “That’s for the king, asshole!”

  Sam stopped and read his new item to see if it had any value.

  Token of Survival

  Proof that one has survived an otherworldly assault.

  For those who have never adventured, Spirit Walkers are naught but a myth and those who talk of them are considered tellers of tale tales. Though mostly ephemeral, encroaching spirits can sometimes leave lasting personal effects. Objects or body parts left behind by Spirit Walkers can only be preserved when a survivor has an intense connection to it. With proper proof, even the skeptics can be swayed.

  After a while, Sam’s adrenaline began to wear off and his thoughts turned to the real world. Just how long had passed since the last time he checked. Now that he was thinking about time, it felt like he had been in the game forever and while he was loving every minute of it, he couldn’t help but wonder the state of his real body.

  The medical staff had assured him that they would take care of his body, but hadn’t given him any concrete details on how. To be fair to them, he hadn’t asked for any details either since he was so eager to start the game. He found it strange too, that he hadn’t experienced any lasting fatigue yet from playing for so long. He had been playing for more than a day now. It hadn’t occurred to him to log out and check on himself until now.

  “Maybe I should log out, just to log out. Stretch my legs a little ... my real legs.”

  He scrolled through his menus to the options menu. He couldn’t find the logout option there. He searched through his other menus, including his Alpha Build menu and couldn’t find any option that said “quit, exit, main menu, log out, real world, or even GTFO.” He was quite vexed. His next thought was to call Alex, but before he was able to do that he got a text message.

  Video Message Incoming: Fulton Milner, Director/Lead Designer

  25 Phase 2

  It was surreal seeing Milner’s real life head superimposed in the center of his HUD. The man was so dedicated to player immersion that he didn’t even let people voice chat or directly message each other, but here he was breaking all types of immersion with his joyless real life face.

  “Hello alpha testers. I highly suggest you watch this message somewhere safe. At a Soul Beacon perhaps. I’ll give you ten minutes to find one.”

  His face disappeared faster than it appeared, leaving Sam with a very peculiar feeling.

  “What a weird guy. Guess I’ll make my way back to the Soul Beacon at the cave.”

  Sam rested inside the cave and leveled up his stats as he waited for Milner’s next immersion breaking message. He leveled his speed up to twenty-eight and went back to thinking about what Milner’s impending message would be about. Maybe he would have something to say about the missing log out function. Hopefully they’d get it up again pretty soon. Sam was getting anxious thinking about such a huge flaw in the game’s system.

  How did they mess that up, he thought.

  He checked the time again and saw that his gameplay hours had stretched even further. He had already logged over fifteen hours in the game. He really needed to get out and check on himself and see if he could even move his legs after getting so immersed in this world. He was sure that he’d have to pee like a racehorse too, once he got out.

  Video Message Incoming: Fulton Milner, Director/Lead Designer

  Milner’s image cut into Sam’s HUD. He was visibly sweating and the dark rings under his almond shaped eyes were now more pronounced. His shaggy black hair was more disheveled and for whatever reason, his five o’clock shadow looked messier than before.

  He then remembered that it was an automated digital clone that he had come across before when configuring the game or perhaps Milner had simply pulled an all-nighter to ensure that the test was going well. Looking at him, Sam wondered if Milner shared the same Japanese heritage as himself. Milner was not a traditional Japanese name, neither was Fulton for that manner.

  “Bear with me, testers. I know this is jarring. My team is just finishing the calibrations to allow me entrance into your game worlds. Ah, looks like they’re already done.”

  The video feed was cut and suddenly a light blue portal appeared next to Sam. Sam hurriedly got to his feet and drew his sword. A light blue, pixelated version of Milner stood in front of him with his hands in his coat pockets. Slowly, digital Miller came to be colored with more realistic hues and eventually it seemed as if the man from the video had now stood right in front of Sam.

  It reminded Sam of when he had first entered the virtual world. Milner was wearing the same white lab coat as before. Milner stared right at Sam, but his eyes didn’t seem to be focused on him. Most likely, it was the same look he was now giving to all the testers en masse.

  “Yes, this is good, feels more natural this way. With that aside, I’m here to make a few announcements regarding this alpha build test. First off, I’d like to congratulate our top testers for giving us some much needed data. The top five testers include Immortal Kalika, Sword Wrench Man, Sarem the Sanguine, Justinian Eighty-Nine Thrills, and Regal Deego.

  “These testers have made the most progress in the game, collected the most rare items and equipment, and are generally the best overall players of the game. Top five player Sarem the Sanguine is also the first tester to find five distinct glitches in the game earning him the reward for that contest.”

  A replication of Sam’s avatar appeared next to Milner in his black armor and long swooping cloak. He was life sized and made Milner look like an ant. Milner’s head barely came up to his chest. Sam grinned and mumbled to himself.

  “I look good in my Bloody Sunday’s Best.”

  Milner dismissed the digital Sarem clone and continued on.

  “There will be further rewards for those who find a suitable number of glitches, but that particular contest is now over. Thank you Sarem for helping us ensure the quality of Project DH.”

  Sam took a strange pride in that. It felt good to be finally acknowledged for his skill. He took his gaming very seriously.

  “Our number one player is, by and large, Immortal Kalika. She is the only tester who has not died yet, truly deserving of her namesake. These feats are also deserving of a round of applause.”

  IMMORtAL_Kalika’s digital clone appeared right next to Virtual Milner. Even though her avatar was small, she still looked badass and dangerous with her blood red hair, dark skin, deep black face tattoos, and yellow pupils. She was also wearing a red and white outfit that looked just like Ji’s, complete with her artistically styled steel plated gauntlets and greaves. Had she killed Ji in her game?

  Virtual Milner clapped his hands and soon the sounds of a chorus of claps joined his own. Sam wasn’t sure if it were a premade audio track or the combined audio of the other players. Sam himself wasn’t clapping, though not out of spite. He respected Kalika’s prowess completely and hoped to reach her level of play soon. He just felt like clapping would be pointless.

  “Now, on to the main reason for this intrusion of mine. I’m here to inform you all of the changes we’ll be implementing going forth with this alpha test. We are now entering the second phase of Project DH. To be honest with you all, phase one of the project was a total failure. Overall, you’ve all proven to be a lackluster group of testers with unusable player data. None but Kalika has given me even close to the results that I need to call this project a success. That may be my fault, since I didn’t provide the correct motivation for you all, but that stops now. From here on out, we’ll be striving for the best results.”

  Milner paused and stared right through Sam with a frightening intensity.

  “We can all agree that people are motivated by many things, but under it all are very basic primal motivations. We are mo
tivated to eat, we are motivated by success, and we are motivated by sex. All of these motivations harken back to one ultimate truth: we are all motivated to survive. That’s the ultimate goal of our species, survival, by any means necessary. I want you all to keep that in mind, because phase two starts with the activation of Survival Mode—or I should say it started with the activation of Survival Mode.”

  What the hell was he talking about? Survival Mode?

  “Of course, the question on everyone’s lips is ‘what is Survival Mode?’ To put it simply, it means that if you die inside of the game then your real life body will die as well.”

  “Bullshit!” Sam yelled out loud. “Why would you even say something like that?”

  “Many of you are knowingly disturb by this and rightly so. That’s a natural response. Many of you also don’t believe a word that I am saying or at the very least can’t believe it. But it’s the truth and the quickest way to get you to believe it is to show you, because your survival is what’s important. Survival mode has been active now for the last two hours, ever since this last spike of PVP interactions. It’s only been active for PVP, which can only be initiated via player encroachments. Certain testers who were killed while being encroached upon are now dead in real life as well. In the last two hours, twenty-one testers have been killed in PVP combat.”

  “No way ... no fucking way ...” Sam repeated as he listened on.

  “Since my words are not proof enough, my team has prepared a video chronicling all those who’ve lost their lives. This is a graphic video, but none of you can afford to look away. I implore each and every one of you to look on and remember each player who has died so far. Remember their names as you go forth.”

  Milner faded away and another video appeared in Sam’s HUD. The screen was split in half with half the footage detailing a match between two testers in third person view and the other half showing a close up of some young guy strapped to a Dream Chair with his head covered in the Miyabi Full Dive headgear. He was breathing deeply, almost snoring, and subtly reacting to the virtual fight. It looked as if he were having a very vivid dream.

  Sam guessed it was the sleeping guy’s gamer handle at the top of the screen. His name was LAStrPD. His avatar, a revenant in Fighter’s armor, was on the left side of the screen joined in battle by a crimson eyed Walker, Justian89Thrills who was dressed as he was when Sam had fought him only moments ago.

  Justinian nailed LAStrPD with two sword blows and ended the fight with a vicious thrusting attack. LAStrPD fell to his knees holding his stomach. The guy in the recliner on screen next to him strained against the straps binding much of his body, nearly breaking them. His screaming seemed inhuman but didn’t last long. It was replaced by incoherent babbling as his body violently convulsed and he foamed at the mouth. Soon after, even the convulsions stopped and some young nurse walked over and checked the pulse of the tester. The nurse removed the Miyabi headgear and placed a white sheet over the body.

  The video then cut to another side by side of a young lady in the Miyabi headgear. Her revenant Cutthroat went by the name of Lord of Boltz. She put up a good fight against Justinian but was ultimately cut down by him, just like LAStrPD. Her real life death was just as gruesome as LAStrPD, only she suffered a severe nose bleed as well.

  The next video featured a bald avatar dressed as a Priest, who wielded a Battle Axe. It was a familiar opponent to Sam. The name displayed at the top, HolyVermillion, confirmed that it was the same tester he had fought. The tester playing him was as large as a professional football player, but looked at peace reclining as his revenant avatar did battle.

  The footage on screen was of Sam’s avatar, Sarem, digging his Rapier deeply into HolyVermillion’s back and kicking him into a minefield of Stumpies that teamed up and killed him. Holy Vermillion’s large young tester thrashed about and broke through his restraints. He managed to grab onto a nearby nurse who was trying to secure him. He yanked her around and crushed her wrist in one hand.

  He grabbed the exposed parts of his own face with his second hand and squeezed it with violent intensity, breaking his skin and drawing forth his own blood. His thrashing soon stopped, his grip on the girl slackened, and some other nurses came to assist her. They cautiously checked his pulse and then placed the white sheet over him after removing his headgear.

  “Holy Vermillion ...”

  The next video was another of Sam’s kills, this time against a player called 3Angelo. Sam had finished the undead Ranger with an arrow to the head during their intense sniper battle.

  “Three-Angelo.”

  Sam repeated all the names of those he had allegedly killed during PVP play. There were many.

  “Infamous Sampson.”

  “Call of Carl.”

  “John Washington.”

  “Xpansion Pak.”

  “Dick Rumsfeld.”

  “Spearwife.”

  Sam had counted each time a player was killed. Durga2Smooth was the twentieth player killed. The seventh to be killed by Justinian89Thrills. Justinian was second when it came to PVP kills, Sam was first with eight. In these circumstances, it wasn’t a title that he wanted. He quietly watched on as the twenty-first video began to play. Tears began to fall from Sam’s virtual eyes as soon as the name and images appeared.

  In real life the player was tall and skinny. A lanky white guy with large hands. His face was at rest, with a faint smile on his lips as he laid in his Dream Chair. The battle between the avatars was a playful yet heated one. A tall dark Cutthroat versus a heavily armored Knight with a tower shield. The Knight struck out with his Arming Sword and landed a hit. The Cutthroat retaliated with a couple of Fireballs then managed to land a backstab on the Knight. Finally, the Cutthroat parried the Knight’s sword slash and stabbed him in the heart. Sam committed the image and the name to memory. His final kill.

  “Roburn.”

  His best friend, Robert, struggled and squirmed against his restraints as his avatar faded away. Robert tore the restraints right off, as if they were paper, and tried digging his fingers into the Miyabi headgear. He punched at it, harder and harder, until his knuckles began to bleed. His legs were still bound to the chair and he ripped one of those restraints off as well with his bare bloody hands and stood on his free leg.

  There was a small table nearby that he picked up and tossed across the room inciting screams from the nurses nearby. He clutched his headgear and screamed. His pain was evident in his tone. Sam could see his own sleeping self directly across the aisle from Robert and it frustrated him. A minute went by with Robert’s breathing getting more ragged with every passing second. Sam desperately searched for his logout button to no avail. His best friend was dying right in front of him and there was nothing he could do about it.

  A light was flashed onto Robert and someone could be seen approaching. Robert knew someone was approaching too, his attention focused intently on whoever it was. He lunged forth at the strangely dressed guards, but the restraint that bound his leg kept him tethered. He reached down to pull at it. Sam was suddenly startled when he heard gunshots. There were two, then four. Afterwards, Robert slumped down to the ground cradling his body. His blood began to pool beneath him as the image disappeared.

  Virtual Milner appeared again at Sam’s side, a blank expression on his face, and his hands in his pockets. Nothing had changed in his demeanor, while Sam was on the verge of breaking down.

  “Now, hopefully that has shocked you out of whatever complacency you might have been prone to before. This test is about survival. That’s what I expect from the very best among you. From here on out, Survival Mode will be in effect for enemies and obstacles in the normal game as well. The only way to survive against all the odds is to elevate your play, your reactions, and your tactics. You must be smart and you must be quick on your feet. The game is not designed for stagnant players. Those twenty-one that have died already, let them be the lesson you need to push you forward. You must be more stalwart and play smarter than
your fallen colleagues. For those of you that are still in shock or denial, I assure you that this is real. Death will be the only thing that awaits you should you choose to continue to treat this like a game and play as if you have nothing to lose. There is no way out but victory. You must finish the game with your life intact. Your log out functions have been revoked and won’t be reinstated until you complete the main questline of the game,” Milner explained.

  Even as distraught as he was now, Sam knew that Milner’s promise of escape sounded like a bunch of bull.

  “I wish you all luck in your endeavors. Get strong and defeat the four fire bearers of the alpha. See you at the end of your journey.”

  Milner faded into light blue pixels then disappeared completely. Sam was left with silence and a light wind that he only now noticed was cold. He sat back down in front of the Soul Beacon and thought of all that just happened and how ridiculous it all was. It was completely unbelievable, but any hope that he had that it was a hoax was gone as soon as he saw Robert’s real body get shot four times. Robert was so close when he had died, yet so unreachable. Sam closed his eyes and couldn’t help but to scrunch them hard as hard as he could. His virtual tears fell fast as if he were squeezing water out of a wet rag.

  Just what the hell had happened to each of the testers? What had happened to Robert?

  “I’m so sorry Robert. What have I done?”

  He buried his head into his hands and bent down to the ground letting his tears fall.

  “I shouldn’t be crying. I killed you. It’s my fault.”

  He gritted his teeth and punched the rocky ground. He thought of all those he’d killed, all nine of their names popped into his head along with the images of their last moments in battle with him. Their names scrolled by like credits in a movie. HolyVermillion. 3Angelo. Infamous Sampson. Call of Carl. John Washington. Xpansion Pak. Dick Rumsfeld. Spearwife. Roburn.