System Launch

by M D Siskind

  Okay, not more dangerous than usual Ben concluded. That didn’t mean this was going to be easy. But, he mused, it could be much worse.

  Collecting ears from both Fog Goblins, Ben scanned the room again. He’d sweep back through once he’d finished clearing the ship and check if there were any chests. Clearing the rest of the ship was a higher priority. He didn’t particularly want to find out if the Fog Goblins would become more difficult at night.

  Spotting stairs in the far corner Ben made his way over with caution. The main room had proven free of traps. He wasn’t willing to bet the same for the transition point out of this zone. After spotting and disarming a tripwire on the third step, Ben headed up into the next zone.

  Not leaving the stairs yet, Ben carefully peered over and around the edge of the stairs. It looked like a cargo hold, Ben concluded. A large, open space with rows carved out by boxes and containers that had, previously, been strapped down. Ben could spot at least one stack that had come undone and spilled across the floor. Whether it came undone because of the crash or the Fog Goblins was unknown to Ben. And honestly, it didn’t matter. The result was still blockages that could become a chokepoint or a death trap all too easily.

  He continued to observe, at first spotting a Fog Goblin Scrapper. It walked around to a different row entrance and headed in, just before another Fog Goblin emerged from another location. Ben didn’t recognize this type, but based on the gnarled piece of wood it held Ben suspected a spellcaster of some sort. Ben used Discerning Eye on the caster, hoping like hell it didn’t have some ability to detect his scan.

  Name: Dregs Novitiate

  Type: Fog Goblin

  Rank: Common

  Grade: Lowest

  Level: 1

  HP: 15/15

  MP: 83/83

  The Novitiate stopped and peered around. Biting back curses Ben tucked himself as tightly to the wall of the stairwell as he could. Long moments passed, but nothing happened. After half a minute ticked by on his game-time clock, Ben cautiously glanced over the edge.

  Nothing

  Ben grinned. Okay, casters could detect being scanned, but that didn’t mean they knew where it came from. Good to know. Picking and choosing his steps, Ben moved up the wall of the stairwell, then around the side of the room. HIs goal wasn’t to exit without conflict. Rather it was to get a different angle, see if he could determine how many enemies he had in the room. Just as well. Once Ben reached the far wall and glanced down the side of the row, he saw a wall of boxes had been erected. Erected, not knocked over.

  Terrific. Ben looked at the wall of boxes to his side. It was an impromptu maze, patrolled by monsters, and he’d have to navigate it before he could move to the next zone. It was an all too typical scenario in VRMMOs, and Ben had conquered it more times than he could count in more games than he could count.

  A quick attempt confirmed that he couldn’t scale the walls to this maze. The system had made them too unstable, the boxes began to shake and tip over as soon as Ben started his climb. He dropped back down. Alright then, Ben conceded, we do this the messy way.

  Heading back down the outside edge, Ben checked around the corner. And saw a Novitiate coming his direction. Whether it was the same one or a different one was irrelevant to Ben. A caster in a maze was one of two extremes. A terror or a triviality. He intended for this one to be a triviality.

  Waiting until he saw it enter one of the rows, Ben activated Stealth and followed quickly behind. Turning down that same row, Ben saw the Novitiate halfway to a turn. Ben followed, waiting for the Novitiate to take the turn. Checking to make sure his target was still alone, Ben struck with Sneak Attack. He didn’t think he’d need more than that to take down a spellcaster from Ambush.

  He was right. The Novitiate dropped like a stone as its health evaporated. Glancing around corners to confirm they were clear, Ben collected the proof of his kill and withdrew from the maze to observe the outside edge again. He’d already confirmed that the enemy patrol routes took them through the outermost edge. All he had to do was wait and pick them off, one by one. It was a classic tactic for dealing with mob mazes and Ben was glad to see it still worked in Seeds of Lysium.

  Ben put down another Novitiate and two Scrappers, and collected their ears. After waiting for several minutes with no more activity, much longer than the biggest gap in the patrol pattern to date, Ben decided that was probably all this maze had. He headed in. With the maze cleared of threats as best he could confirm, Ben fell back on the classic tactic of putting one hand to a wall and maintaining that contact.

  Of course, that didn’t mean he was free of traps. Ben felt the tripwire trigger against his shin. Cursing, Ben jumped back as a spherical object fell out of a box to his left.

  It exploded in a burst of flame and metal, shaving 23 health off of Ben instantly. Cursing even harder, Ben pulled out a Least Health Restoration Pill and consumed it. While he could have left the health to regenerate, he had no idea what else was in this maze. Plus, he wasn’t willing to wait long enough to let more than 40% of his health regenerate the slow way. Ben resolved to start working on those Regeneration Pills as soon as he could. It would have been a blessing in this scenario.

  Eventually he found his way to an exit. In the corner, blocked off by a wall of boxes, stood an unguarded staircase.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Unwilling to assume that unguarded meant unsecured after his recent encounter with an explosive, Ben checked the area twice over. After disarming a trio of traps, including a nasty one that would have brought the wall of boxes collapsing on Ben’s back, he headed up the stairs.

  These stairs led out to the deck. As before, Ben stuck to the stairwell as he scouted the situation on the deck.

  He was glad he did so. He quickly counted out two Scrappers and two Scouts. Then he spotted the real problem.

  Another Novitiate, this one with the icon of a chevron next to its name. Deciding to risk it, Ben cast Discerning Eye.

  Then cursed when he saw the name read as Dregs Elite Novitiate.

  As soon as the results came up Ben fell back down the stairs from the deck and into the hold. Aware that such transitions didn’t always stop VRMMO enemies, he continued falling back to the maze. Ducking around the corner he’d used to exit the maze, Ben watched the stairs with tense nerves.

  The Elite Novitiate had been Level 1, same as the rest, and with the same Lowest Grade. But an Elite was an Elite all the same. Complete with double the HP and MP of the previous two Novitiates Ben killed. Having not yet tangled with Elites in Seeds of Lysium, and aware that spellcasters could detect his scan, Ben assumed the worst.

  Ten seconds after he’d come down the stairs, Ben saw both Scrappers enter the maze zone. He’d been right. The thing could detect his scan and decided to send subordinates to check what had happened.

  Ben grinned. This was an opportunity.

  He could take down these two now with the maze as cover. That would leave the ranged attackers upstairs without melee combatants to help with pinning Ben down. They would, he conceded, likely have traps on the deck. He couldn’t remove the traps from the equation. But these two Scrappers he could.

  Ben considered for a moment, before pulling out the Least Poison Coating he’d received earlier and applying some to his blade. A gauge appeared, counting off two seconds while he smoothed the coating onto the weapon. Ben realized the gauge didn’t move if he wasn’t actually putting the coating onto the weapon, meaning it took a little closer to five seconds. Weapon prepared, Ben fell back around the corner into the maze and waited.

  While he could kill the Scrappers, he couldn’t do so in one strike. And he’d need to do exactly that to at least one if he intended to prevent them from retreating upstairs. Sure enough, one of the Scrappers came around the corner and towards Ben. From that point, it was almost a formality for Ben to engage Stealth, sneak up on
his target, ambush with Double Strike, and put the Fog Goblin down.

  The poison coating worked quite well. The extra poison damage killed the Fog Goblin before Ben could engage his second use of Double Strike. Shrugging, Ben reapplied the poison coating before repeating the process with the second Scrapper just as it turned back to the stairs.

  Ben checked that the Scrappers hadn’t somehow reset the traps, Then he headed back up to the deck. Cautiously checking over the lip of the stairwell again, Ben saw that the Scouts had the entryway set up in a crossfire. He’d have to engage Stealth to slip out onto the deck.

  More worryingly, Ben realized he couldn’t see the Elite Novitiate from his current location. Try as he might, Ben couldn’t pin the Elite’s location. Meaning he’d have to Stealth out of here and hope he could find the Elite quickly. Engaging Stealth, Ben slipped up the stairs.

  No darts came flying at him. No spells knocked out his Stealth nor set him ablaze nor bathed him in acid. Ben moved towards the scout on his left, checking for traps as he went. He spotted none, but it took him 15 seconds and 3 MP maintaining his Stealth to confirm.

  It was when Ben closed on the first Scout and prepared to strike that things went south. Ben’s eyes snapped wide as he saw his MP begin to drop at a rate of one point per second. As though he were trying to open a chest, disarm a trap, or take other active actions.

  Ben didn’t waste time trying to figure out an answer right then and there. Instead he struck at the Scout with Double Strike. A lucky critical put the Scout down as Ben emerged from Stealth. Glancing around, Ben saw the Fog Goblin Elite Novitate was standing on a raised section of the deck. Its eyes fixed directly upon Ben.

  Behind the Elite stood a door. Ben was willing to bet it was the Captain’s Cabin. The location of the Alchemist’s Lab Notes.

  A wooden dart came flying at Ben, tagging him in the chest for 8 HP. He cursed and moved towards the other Scout. He absolutely could not afford to fight both the Scout and Elite Novitiate at the same time. Not if the Novitiate could somehow increase Ben’s MP usage while in Stealth. Ben had a sneaking suspicion that increased drain was the game’s way of indicating that someone was trying to break his Stealth.

  The Novitiate could negate, or attempt to negate, his best asset. Ben absolutely needed this fight as a one on one.

  Faced with a highly determined Rogue at close quarters, the Scout never stood a chance.

  A gutteral barking noise filled the air. Ben looked over at the Novitiate. A glowing circle, crisscrossed by geometrics and with a symbol Ben didn’t recognize sitting directly at the center, hovered at the tip of the Fog Goblin’s staff. It barked one last time, and the circle shattered like breaking glass.

  From the center of the circle lunged a snaking tendril of electricity. A spell!

  Ben cursed. Taking a quick step, Ben threw himself back down the stairwell. It was a gamble, but many spells were restricted to line of sight. Ben hoped that was the case here.

  He wasn’t fast enough to avoid burst of lightning, but he did manage to get into the stairwell before the Novitiate began casting a second spell.

  Grimly Ben watched as 32 HP fell off his gauge. Pulling another 2 Least Health Restoration Pill, Ben consumed them and grimly watched his health return to full He could take one spell directly before having to fall back and regroup.

  This was now a burst fight. The fighter who could cause the most damage in the initial exchange would, almost certainly, be the winner.

  Ben grinned. This was why he played Rogues. Not for the excitement of infiltration, the scouting ability, the exploration potential, or the ability for solo play. He liked all of those at times.

  But he loved Rogues because they played on the knife’s edge. Success or failure coming down to moments.

  Ben coated his sword with poison while watching his MP ticked up to 8 points. That meant 8 seconds, maybe less, to close the distance on the Elite Novitiate. Ben calculated quickly and realized that Double Strike would be off cooldown by the time he reached the target.

  Ben moved.

  Almost as soon as he cleared the stairwell his MP began to tick way at a rate of one point per second. Ben saw that the Novitiate had its eyes fixed on Ben. A glowing circle began to form at the tip of its staff, lines filling in second by second.

  So that circle is a tell and a signal. Ben smirked at the realization. He’d have to start working on recognizing which circle meant which spell. Ben closed the gap, his MP ticking away as the seconds passed.

  5MP. 4Mp. 3MP.

  Ben was in range of the Novitiate. Its circle completed, the lines and symbols familiar to Ben already. It was the lightning spell. Ben felt his grin harden into determination as he activated Double Strike once, then again immediately thereafter. Four strikes slammed out at the Fog Goblin even as the symbol shattered.

  Ben flew back from the bolt of lightning to the chest as the Fog Goblin crumpled to the ground. Groaning, Ben peeled himself up off the ground. The second bolt of lightning had taken 41HP, leaving Ben with less than 20% of his overall health left.

  Ben grinned as he took two more Least Health Restoratives and began making his way to the Novitiate. He was fairly sure it was dead. He stabbed down into it twice more. Just to make sure.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Afterwards, and after collecting the ears from both scouts. Ben looked at the Elite Novitiate’s ears. One was plain, the other had a gold hoop that none of the others, even the other novitiates, had possessed. The other Novitiates had a hole pierced in their ears, but neither had a ring like this one. Probably a rank indicator, Ben decided, before harvesting that ear.

  Ben looked at the door to the Captain’s Cabin. Rather than opening it immediately, Ben decided to be careful and check for more traps. The last thing he needed was to succeed in clearing the Rubina only to die to a damn trap.

  Ben found and disarmed the trio of traps on the Captain’s Cabin door. Then, with utmost caution, he edged the door open enough to check the room beyond.

  Empty. The bed had been tossed and the desk ransacked, but from what Ben could see the large chest against the wall remained unopened.

  Still, Ben assumed nothing and checked the room for traps. Spotting nothing Ben made his way over to the chest and began to examine it.

  As soon as he touched it a window popped open.

  Race Confirmed - Human. Keyless Entry Engaged.

  Race as a form of key? Ben noted that and realized why the Fog Goblins had been tossing the room. They’d been looking for a physical key to bypass this racial lock. Which means there’s every chance that the system will throw the same trick at players in the future.

  Ben grinned as he opened the chest.

  Congratulations Last Falcon! Your Party is the First in the Southeastern U.S. Server to complete the Instance - Pride of Rubina. Experience Award and Prize Chest Enhanced.

  Congratulations Last Falcon! You are the First Player in the Southeastern U.S. Server to complete the Instance - Pride of Rubina on a Solo Run. Prize Chest Contents Customized to Player.

  Turning his attention to the chest, Ben felt all the breath left his body.

  Right at the top was a leather-bound journal. Even with only a few hours invested into the Seeds of Lysium system, Ben could tell that this journal was no ordinary document. It fairly pulsed with power. The atmosphere in the Captain’s Cabin had become heavier from the power hanging in the air. Ben used Discerning Eye on the journal.

  Grandmaster Alchemist’s Lab Notes

  Ben was surprised to see that the rest of the description was question marks. But then again, he really didn’t need the rest. A Grandmaster Alchemist’s notes weren’t what Culvins had mentioned, but somehow Ben didn’t think he’d complain overmuch if they weren’t exactly what he’d been imagining. And if they were, then perfect. A passing curiosity came to Ben, and he tried to use the note
s. The system rather primly informed Ben that he did not meet the minimum requirements. It didn’t even bother telling him what those requirements were.

  Resigned, Ben put the Lab Notes into his inventory. Then he turned his attention to the rest of the chest’s contents. Inside were a dagger, a pair of gloves, and a nearly spherical contraption it took Ben a second to recognize as an Alchemist’s Cauldron.

  It was, in principle at least, designed like the one Culvins had used to teach him the basics of Alchemy. But in addition to having half a dozen more shuttered apertures, as well as a stouter chimney, there were patterns running up and around the outside that Ben didn’t recognize. They passingly reminded him of the spell circle that Novitiate had used when it attacked. Perhaps some sort of magical enhancement to the cauldron?

  It was a theory at least. Ben decided to test it and used Discerning Eye on the cauldron itself. He blinked, startled but pleased at the results.

  Name: Moonlight Kiln

  Item Class: Tool

  Item Type: Alchemist’s Cauldron

  Artisan Restriction: Alchemists

  Rank: Valuable

  Grade: Medium

  Ability: Kindled by Moonlight - Increases Alchemy success rate by up to 15% when used at night.

  Checking the in-game clock, then looking outside to confirm, Ben realized that nightfall was coming sooner than he’d like. He’d have to stay aboard the Rubina for now, then head for town once the sun rose. It would take an hour out-of-game, meaning three in-game. Plenty of time, Ben conceded, to figure out a few things.

  Some digging on the Alchemy forums told him exactly how valuable the Moonlight Kiln would be in the near future. Success rate was a function of not just skill, but luck and capability. An alchemist’s success rate was based on their Grading. If Ben could move from Novice to Practitioner, he’d have a 50% success rate for Common alchemic concoctions. A Novice like Ben had a base success rate of 25% with Common alchemic concoctions, much less more complicated work.