by Mars Dorian
I simply nodded and moved away from the telescope. Balzac stashed his crate in the available space on his shelf and double-checked it, probably ensuring it was sealed correctly. “Speaking of the pilgrims… they have notified me about your incredible protection service. They claimed you were a ferocious warrior striking down the bandits with your harpoon and engine blade.”
“I had two strong team mates helping me out.”
“Still, you followed up on your promise.”
“I’ve sworn to protect them.”
Celeste and Caspian also offered good financial rewards, but since Balzac wasn’t the money maniac, I purposefully avoided mentioning it. The Blue Flame storyline was all about launching a rebellion against an evil syndicate so I stayed within the narrative.
“I assume you’re eager for your next mission,” Balzac said.
“Yes, sir.”
He walked toward the giant wall and pointed at various landscapes of Fourlando—the Eastern Isles, the Mainland, and the Western Crescent which looked like half a croissant curled toward the continent. The landscapes featured countless villages and townships I had never heard of.
“Let’s not waste any time then,” Balzac said. “I have a few operations in mind that require your attention.”
My heads-up display updated with his offer.
Quest: Lucky Ranger
Type: Scout Reconnaissance
Description: Balzac wants you to explore the Fortune Forest, an infamous gambling township in the middle of the woods, west of Varmegarden.
Reward: 1450 credits, cont. experience, 1x harpoon upgrade
Do you accept? (Yes/No)
For the first time since playing the game, I hesitated. The quest looked decent. I had never been to the Fortune Forest, but I’d heard the woods harbored many unpleasant surprises. The reward was okay, and the objectives doable, but the agent’s warnings lingered in the back of my mind.
Do bigger things.
Do bigger things.
Think of the damn viewers. And for better or worse, I did.
“There’s a reason for your hesitation,” Balzac said. “Let’s reveal it.”
Of all the NPCs I had met in the Crystal Crusade, he was the most astute. He could read my facial features like a trained profiler from a government agency. Which meant I had to weigh in every one of my words. “I don’t want to be ungrateful, sir, but after everything I have done for the Blue Flame, I expected a more important quest.”
He looked at me with an empty expression. I feared a negative response.
“Can you clarify your concern?”
I couldn’t tell an NPC like him that I wanted bigger quests because it would skyrocket my viewerships and build my personal brand. I used the game narrative to hammer home my point. “I’d love to do something bigger. Something that really elevates our rebellion to the next level.”
A faint smile graced Balzac’s lips. “You are definitely ambitious, my friend. Be careful that your grand aspirations don’t outmatch your skill. I hate to recite the obvious, but hubris does come before the headshot.”
I lacked a witty comment, and hoped Balzac would fill the void. Thankfully, he always had something to say.
“However, there’s a bigger mission that requires more of my time lately. With our influence spreading around the Norsefalia, I want to ally with folks from beyond the continent.”
My eyes curved toward the wall map. “The Eastern Isles?”
“The Western Crescent,” he continued. “An isolated but gigantic land piece shunned by both the Syndicate and most Mainlanders.”
“Why?”
“The inhabitants have, how shall I say, a problematic relationship with humans.”
“So they’re not human?”
He offered the quest to me and pointed at the big Western Crescent island to the left of the main continent. My HUD updated.
Quest: Where no man had gone before
Type: First contact
Description: Blue Flame leader, Balzac, wants you to travel to the far West Crescent island and make first contact with the Preshaar, a beast man race. They are strong and proud warriors, but their isolationist politics have estranged them from the humans on the main continent. Use Balzac’s scroll and convince the leader of the Preshaar to join the Blue Rebellion.
Reward: 1750 credits, a light-to-medium melee weapon upgrade
Do you accept? (Yes/No)
The quest description fired up my curiosity. For the past months, I had only traveled to various places of Fourlando’s main continent. Bay cities, central townships, and villages that reminded me of ancient Europe in the real word. But the Western Crescent featured a new territory I knew nothing about, which excited me. So many questions whirled around my head.
“What’s a Preshaar?”
“They are a tribe of beast men living exclusively on the Western Crescent. They’ve avoided contact with the Mainlanders for the past decades, ever since the war between the Beltar Empire and the Syndicate broke out.”
I faintly remembered other races being mentioned in the game, but my focus had solely relied on the main continent, the Academy and the many skills.
“I can see you’re confused,” Balzac said.
“I’m just curious. I had never heard about them.”
“They shun contact with us Mainlanders. But to our advantage, they loath the Syndicate as much as we do, which is where you come in, Dash.”
He paused and intensified his stare. “Travel to the Western Crescent and offer the alliance in my name. Tell the Preshaar about the Blue Flame’s vision and convince them to join our fight against the Syndicate. In return, they will have our full support.”
Now that sounded like a big-ass quest worthy of my WarTech. I’d get to travel to a new place, meet a new race, and take my questing to the next level. My soon-to-be-agent and viewers would approve.
Do you accept the quest? (Yes/No)
I confirmed the offer which brought another smile to Balzac’s hawkish face. “It’s a challenge, Dash, maybe your greatest one yet. There’s no shame in rethinking your decision.”
“I’ve made up my mind, sir.”
“Very well.”
He produced a sealed, deadwood scroll from one of his many pouches. “This is the official message for our alliance. Give it to the leading commander of the Preshaar tribe. Return as soon as you’ve forged an alliance.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Focus on the possibility first.”
I welcomed the message with both of hands and put the scroll into my gear pack/inventory. Balzac watched me with care. “Unfortunately, I can’t offer you any ship, as our sea presence has yet to be build. You have to be creative about reaching the Western Crescent. But since you demand challenges, see this difficulty as a means to expand your skill set.”
“I will find a way, sir, I always do.”
“Your actions will speak for themselves.”
He always left these ambiguous statements, as if he wanted to play with my emotions. With one last nod, I left his observatory tower and turned around. The tower scratched Fourlando’s sky like the eternal watch dome eying my game progress. Balzac Spinoza would lead the Blue rebellion from the comfort of his four walls while I journeyed to the distant lands and fought freaks I had no names for. Shivers rocked my spine, just the right amount to be vigilant.
I was ready for the grand journey.
6
According to the quest info, I could invite a couple of players to join me, so I messaged L’ocean, Rokkit, Wu, Yumi-D, and Mort. Basically all the buddies I had fought along with during my first major quests. Wu and Mort were offline, but the other three responded and appeared at the main plaza a couple of minutes later. I remembered the ancient times when I had to spend almost half an hour finding anyone to team up with me. Incredible how fast the group dynamics had changed. Like in the real world, players loved to team up with successful up-and-comers. I could only imagine how many thousands
of player requests Holland Pax would get.
I waited at the village plaza of Cloudkiss and saw my favorite co-players approaching me. Rokkit spearheaded the walk, of course. “I’m semi-impressed, Boltzmann. You’re either courageous or deluded beyond salvation.”
“Have you ever visited the Western Crescent?”
“Not in this life. I’m just not that into furries.”
No idea what he meant, maybe the beast men. I welcomed L’ocean and Yumi-D to the group. They carried mid-rare and light-medium gears and sported useful equipment. Guess I hadn’t been the only one leveling up. Together, our party consisted of a WarTech, a Lancer, a TechMage and a Ranger. The perfect combination of highly-specialized players who could take on almost any challenge. A Stalker would have been nice too, but according to the quest description, we didn’t need any stealth tactics.
“Have you checked out the content of the quest?”
Rokkit rolled his eyes. “No, we’re here for the annual wind rider festival.”
“Maybe it was a mistake pinging you.”
“C’mon, Boltzmann, little critters would wipe the cave floor with you if it wasn’t for my presence. Who’s gonna watch your back when you realize you forgot to put Reepo batteries into your engine blade?”
I instinctively checked my inventory and realized I lacked any Reepo battery supply. Either Rokkit could tap into my menu or he knew me too well. Either way, his knowledge was scary. He tapped his temple with his index finger. “I got the sixth sense, you know.”
“Guess I don’t have to worry about unpleasant surprises then.”
Nothing beat the feeling of tackling difficult quests together. I looked at the world map of my e-scroll. The Western Crescent lay a few hundred kilometers away from us. A good way to reach the island was to traverse the mountains and then pass the ocean. But the rugged region featured freezing temperatures with extreme cold weather conditions. The amount of gear and accessories we’d need would have blown my budget. Thankfully, Yumi-D had better idea.
“Hey, why don’t we go back to the Academy, rent a boat and travel the distance by sea?”
“We can do that?”
Rokkit looked as if he was about to give himself an invisible face palm. “Every cadet gets a lifetime pass to the Academy, which means we can access all their crafts, too.”
“I had no idea.”
“Of course you hadn’t.”
I still flirted with the idea over traversing the nearby mountains, but the other players feared the journey. Maybe the regions sported enemies and dangers I wasn’t aware of. And since I had no interest in dying on my way to a quest, I followed their advice.
“The Academy it is.”
We mounted the fowls in the village stable and sprinted down the steep path to the Great Plains. The journey to the Academy took a bunch of minutes, which was fairly quick but still rattled me. Time became a valuable item for me, and I didn’t want to waste it on traversing distances.
“Isn’t there a faster way to travel between the important spots?”
Rokkit shrugged. “Airship’s the fastest. But no-one but the Syndicate accesses them. Or rich level forty plus characters.” He grinned. “Maybe you should ask Holland Pax to join your game session and lent you a nice A-class battlecruiser.”
The idea of piloting airships felt like a distant dimension. I had barely developed my WarTech and needed to reach Level 20 before I could even think about commanding advanced vehicles. But one fine day, I’d pilot an airship. I had to.
L’ocean shared her knowledge. “I’ve heard about a train net connecting all the major townships that are controlled by the Syndicate. But they’re certainly not going to add Cloudkiss to their routes.”
And I knew why. Officially, the mountain village didn’t exist on the map. A security measure to prevent Sunbleeders from finding the HQ of the Blue Flame and destroying it. Everything in this world followed the narrative that I, or any other player for that matter, set in motion.
We finally arrived at the Academy located at the most northern spot of the main continent. The castle-styled complex towered as proudly as ever and triggered old memories buried in my subconscious.
“Don’t melt on your fowl,” Rokkit said.
“Aren’t you happy to return?”
“I’m not the touchy type.”
Chuckles cruised around our group. The second we entered the close perimeter of the complex, a warning message entered my virtual vision.
“You’re now entering the safe zone of the Academy. Your gaming session will temporarily be set to public for the duration of your Academy stay.”
Do you accept the condition? (Yes/No)
Currently, I had played a private session where I could pick co-players to join my narrative. But the Academy counted as a player’s hub for beginning players which meant the gaming options changed.
“And here I thought school was out forever.”
We marched toward one of the entrance gates and passed the marble-graced reception hall of the Academy. A couple of thousand players buzzed through the hallways and steered toward the different sections of the Academy. Reminded me of my early days, when I still learned the rules of the game and died at almost every tutorial quest. What difference a few weeks made. We pranced through the hallways where hundreds of low-level players passed us by. Most hadn’t even picked their class yet. A couple of cadets recognized my character and stopped in their tracks. Encouraging cheers flew my way.
“Keep it up, Dash.”
“Love what you’re doing.”
“You’re a great inspiration.”
It almost felt like a fan event in the real world. Granted, most of the players who congratulated me used classless Levels 1 to 4 characters, but still, I loved hearing their compliments. I had upgraded from being the bad player example to a semi-popular guy. If that would translate to my viewership numbers, I could quest like a very happy man.
“Don’t let it go to your head, Boltzmann,” Rokkit said. He received the most attention. Groups of low-level players swarmed around him like zerglings and plastered him with questions.
“Sorry, fans, but I have to focus on a new quest.”
He patted my shoulder plates. “I gotta make sure that Boltzmann isn’t biting the digital dust.”
He shook a couple of hands.
The amateurs cheered him on and shouted his name.
I had never experienced such a fan hysteria within the digital realms of Fourlando—surreal. As if the game and real world merged.
Rokkit waved goodbye to the horde and followed us into the subterranean bay where we had launched from during our field mission. Insane amounts of melancholia returned.
“There’s a frigate transporter available for us,” Yumi-D said.
Our team halted in front of the sight. A small frigate with high-fibered sails awaited us in the dock. The design featured the classic European frigate architecture merged with a Steampunk-styled metallic overhaul. It looked both classic and modern. A retractable chain linked the beauty to the port.
L’ocean clarified. “It’s a hybrid wind-based and steam-engine enhanced frigate with defense abilities.”
“What kind of defenses?”
“Four embrasures and one adjustable 45mm cannon on each gunport.”
Rokkit shrugged. “The bare minimum to survive a sea battle.”
“Sea battle? I thought we just needed a speedy ship to reach the Western Crescent as fast as possible.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Boltzmann, every region in Fourlando is infested with danger. But if you’re afraid of sea battles, you can always go play a new train simulator. I’ve heard the Japanese added a VR version.”
“I’ll keep that open for when I’m old and senile.”
Yumi-D spoke to an NPC in charge of the bay. I couldn’t recognize her, but her uniform sported the crest and designs of the Academy. After the conversation was over, Yumi-D joined our group with a ‘trade’ request. “Okay, tha
t will be three-hundred and fifty credits per person, y’all.”
Rokkit grimaced. “We have to pay for that crap? I thought we have a free pass to every Academy utility?”
Yumi-D balanced her weight on her right leg and strove her index finger past her chin. “Mmmmm, big boy—access is free. Usage, however, is another matter. Only cadets can use ships without paying for them.”
“But why does the Academy need money?” I asked.
“It’s probably a game measure to prevent seasoned players from returning to the Academy all the time.”
It sounded reasonable, so I shut up and paid the sum. To be fair, the fee was minimal compared to the possible reward of the quest—discovering a new continent and allying with a new race. Besides, thanks to the recent quests, I had made thousands of credits. Barely enough to pay for one percent of an airship, but decent pocket change for average quest demands.
We boarded the frigate and checked out the available space on the deck. Yumi-D took control over the steering wheel on the quarterdeck and fumbled with the machinery of the dashboard. “I’ve spent some points on the vehicle ability. Besides, I love love love steering.”
We unlocked the sails, escaped the dock, whooshed under the cave’s metal gate which opened just for us, and steered into the open sea. The game administration told me that we left the public safe zone of the Academy as we ventured into the private sea.
The horizon of the ocean melted with the sky of Fourlando. Unlimited freedom wafted at me.
What a view.
What a goddamn beautiful view.
I rested my arms on the rails and lost myself in the gaze. L’ocean stepped next to me and joined my sea staring. Her eyes reflected the crimson color of the water’s surface. “It’s hard to believe that this landscape is part of a game world, isn’t it?”