by Edward Brody
“Ummm… sure,” Aaron hummed. “Actually, you can just take it.”
I looked down at the bow again. It wasn’t a great quality bow, but it would be a good hunting weapon. And the chests and furniture on the ground were better than anything that the dark elves probably had in their shabby shacks.
That gave me an idea.
“Who built the homes that the dark elves are staying in?” I asked.
“Some did their best at building their own homes,” Donovan replied, “but we have a low-level carpenter in Edgewood who built some of them, given his lack of tools.”
“And there’s no armorer, tailor, or weaponsmith?” I asked.
Keysia and Donovan both shook their heads. “Not anyone with more than the most basic of skills.”
“And correct me if I’m wrong,” I said, “but the dark elves could use a supply of armor and weapons.” I lifted the bow up in my hand. “Weapons like this?”
“That’s a poor quality bow, but it would be an acceptable starter item. I suppose we could use items like those,” Keysia answered.
I nodded my head and held a finger up to the two elves. “Give me a moment.” I turned, waltzed over to Aaron, and pulled him to the side.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“You’re a merchant,” I said sharply.
“What?” he asked. “I’m a crafter, not a merchant.”
“You’re both,” I countered. “The elves in Edgewood don’t have an honest vendor they can sell their shit to for a good price, and they probably get ripped off when they try to buy from town too. We can stock up any stuff we don’t use and sell it to the elves for a fair price. And… we can buy from them at a better price that they’d get in town.”
“But that’s—”
“This is how we build our empire,” I interrupted. “If we trade with the elves, the gold will start flowing in, giving us a path to expand in Edgedgwod. ‘Put Edgewood on the map’, remember?”
Aaron sighed. “It’s a good idea, but we don’t have a shop.”
“Sell from your home,” I said.
“Fuck that! I don’t want my home to be some sort of wares shop. That’s where I sleep!”
“Okay, then just build a counter in my house and sell out of there.”
Aaron huffed and shook his head. “And if I spend all day selling stuff, I won’t have time to level crafting.”
“Just a little while… until we have someone in our guild who can act as a permanent merchant.” I glanced over to the large wooden chests on the ground. “Would you rather have people come here and hand over their gold, or would you rather carry all these heavy items into town?”
Aaron twisted his lips. “I guess you’re right.”
“Good.” I threw a light punch at Aaron’s shoulders. “Now I just have to get the elves invested into trading with us.” I turned and walked back over to Keysia and Donovan.
“We should be heading back home,” Donovan said.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll tag along,” I said. “I have a proposition that might interest you.”
Chapter Eleven
Day 9 (Earth)
Event code: 3012. Failed to decrypt!
“Shit,” Gustov hissed. He swiveled in his chair away from his computer. “You guys having any luck?”
Sar shook her head. “I’ve gotten some of the code to decrypt, but even when it’s readable, it’s just bits and pieces of a much bigger picture. The CPU blockchain is moving too fast for it to mean anything.”
Marcello and Sung both shook their head. “Nothing.”
Gustov sighed and slapped the desk. “Alright, let’s take a break. You guys up for some Battle League?”
“Hell yeah,” Sung cooed.
“Let’s do this!” Marcello said loudly, picking up headphones off his desk.
Sar tapped her feet and swung back around to her computer.
Crylight, the name of Gustov’s team, had been working together for years as hackers. They funded their lives, as well as purchased their sleek, industrial-styled headquarters, on funds they scalped from huge, billion-dollar companies. They weren’t the type of hackers that defaced websites or went out of their way to make political statements. They never created virus or ransomware that drew negative attention from the public. They played it safe—a million here, a million there—only taking what they needed to keep their lives comfortable and fly under the radar.
Basically, so they could game all day and never work a day in their lives.
Crylight was also one of the most successful and well-known guilds across just about every RPG, FPS, and MOBA. There was always the same guild leader—Gustov—and his three accomplices were always second in command, but otherwise, they never let anyone else too deep within their circle. But with tight leadership, and lots of free time, they always rose to the top.
All four of them had purchased Nexicon headsets, but on the day they arrived in the mail, they had been busy competing in a tournament for the grand prize of the first-person shooter Assault Strike, and thus weren’t logged in when Dr. Winston shocked the world.
When the authorities showed up to collect their headsets, they handed them over, lest they draw unwanted attention to any of their criminal activities.
But Eden’s Gate was still the most talked about gaming advancement to ever hit the world, and if the rumors were true—that people could exist inside the game and live forever—Gustov and his team wanted to find out. They didn’t want to break or shut down Eden’s Gate. They simply wanted a peek inside, so they could get a feel for the world, to see if it were real, and make a conscious decision if Crylight would make the leap to immortality.
Gustov lifted his headphones and clicked the Battle League icon on his desktop, but as soon as the game started to load, a chat window popped up.
deathknight35: Hey check this out.
gustov.crylight: ????
deathknight35: darknet://223.49.53.4553/3g2upl4-pm.root.onion.advancedkit/nexicon_p1source8.rar
Gustov clicked the deep web link and downloaded the package. He was alarmed when the files started unpacking immediately.
gustov.crylight: Wtf, no password protection?
deathknight35: Someone used some cheap RSA encryption to protect it. Lol… Not worth locking it back up. Just have a look. I think you’ll like what’s inside.
Gustov started scanning through the contents, and his eyes went wide. Pictures, descriptions, and programing language was all laid out in simple to read files. Every piece of the Nexicon VR system was detailed, including a thorough explanation of the way the motherboard interacted with the host and the CPU blockchain.
gustov.crylight: Where did you find this?
deathknight35: I was scanning the deep, deep, deep for leaked Eden’s Gate info, and this was posted on some porn forum.
gustov.crylight: Why is your scanner set to scan porn sites?
deathknight35: I scan for porn sometimes too. I like tits, dude! Fuck! Just look at the files.
gustov.crylight: Do you still have it?
deathknight35: What?
gustov.crylight: The headset they gave you for beta testing.
deathknight35: Yeah… But it’s useless, remember? It couldn’t connect to the live servers.
gustov.crylight: Are you still living on some Island?
deathknight35: Yep
“Fuck,” Gustov cursed aloud.
Kevin (deathknight35), was one of the lower level members of Crylight, but Gustov kept in close contact with him since he briefly beta-tested Eden’s Gate. While the governments were going after all the production versions of the Nexicon VR, with no sales records and no occurrences of people passing over to Eden’s Gate with pre-production gear, the handful of beta headsets had gone unnoticed.
But even if Kevin had one to share, there was no way that one of them would ever make it through the mail or pass through border immigration.
“Yo, dude!” Sung yelled. “Why aren’t you logged in? We’re
waiting for you!”
Gustov jumped out of his chair. “Everyone get your gear. We’re going on a little trip.”
Chapter Twelve
01/09/0001
There were forty or so dark elves sitting around the large fire that was in the center of their main circle of homes, most of them staring ahead quietly, not saying much to each other. Twigs cracked as Donovan, Keysia and I approached, and a few of the elves turned their attention towards us.
Some of the elves I hadn’t seen before, and they had obviously never seen me either as their eyebrows were raised, and they immediately started to call attention to the other elves who hadn’t yet noticed us approaching.
Garrik was standing nearby, leaning against the same shack that he had been leaning against the last time I was in the area. He took a step forward as soon as he noticed us. “Back again with the human?” he asked loudly. “Is he an ambassador between the elves or a babysitter?”
“The Edgewood mine is clear,” Keysia answered. “We assisted Gunnar with taking out the kobolds.”
“The area around the runestone is clear as well,” Donovan added, “… for now. Anyone who wishes to pray there can do so without fear of attack.”
The elves around the fire started mumbling to each other.
Garrik huffed. “A waste of energy. We all know the kobolds will be back. And if not the kobolds, perhaps something worse.” Garrik scanned the elves sitting around the fire. “And who here mines, anyway?”
“We do,” I said. “At least we will. And if anyone else wishes to mine, I have a pickaxe I can spare.”
Garrik snarled and took another step forward. “You come to trick us into mining slavery, then?! You wouldn’t be the first humans to try.”
The mumbling of the elves grew louder, and some of them visibly looked angry at the idea.
I sighed. “No… that’s not what I’m here to do. I was just offering a pickaxe to anyone who may want it. But I did come here with a proposition. One that I think can benefit your people.”
Keysia and Donovan smiled. I had given them a brief rundown of my plans, and while they had their doubts, they also thought it was a great opportunity for the dark elves.
I cleared my throat. “Trade,” I said pointedly. I let the word hang in the air for a bit as they all stared at me. “My friend—Aaron—and I are starting a guild, and we wish to invite you to trade with us.”
There was a moment of silence, and then several of the elves started snickering and laughing.
“Listen to what he’s saying,” Keysia insisted. I glanced over to her, and shadows from the fire bounced off her body. When I first saw the girl, she had a youthful, feminine appearance, but spending time with her had taught me that she was more powerful than she looked. Maybe I was biased because I had seen her ability to battle in the mines, but when she talked, everyone listened.
“What a great benefit!” Garrik shouted mockingly. He raised his hands up and down towards all the elves. “Everyone get up and gather your things! It’s time to go trading.”
Several of the elves laughed.
Over the laughs, I shouted, “I understand that you’re not treated fairly in the nearby villages!”
The laughter softened, and everyone turned their eyes back to me.
“What I’m offering is fair trade. Buy from us, and you’ll pay the same price as a human. Sell to us, and we’ll pay the same price as if we were buying from anyone else.”
The elves all straightened their backs, and their eyebrows rose. Even Garrik looked a little surprised.
“Now,” Donovan said, “hunting for more than just what we eat can have a purpose.”
“And if you craft,” Keysia added with a smile, “you’ll have an outlet to sell your wares. Fair trade will allow us to have better lives.”
Several elves let out subtle sigh of relief and others started chattering.
“Bullshit!” Garrik grunted. “You’re level 11. You can’t possibly have enough gold or resources to trade with all of us!”
I nodded my head in agreement. “That is true. We don’t have much now, but we’ll trade with whatever gold and items we have. And my friend has committed to crafting, so the items we’ll have to offer will only get better with time, and… and…” My mind wandered as my plan to ‘put Edgewood on the map’ was coming together in my head all at once. “And we’ll build a path from the main road, directly into Edgewood, so that trade can flow freely to us from other villages.”
That comment drew a mix of emotions. Some looked excited at the prospect, but most looked worried, and some looked downright terrified.
“A path that runs into Edgewood?” Garrik barked.
“Edgewood isn’t far from the main road, so creating a small trail that leads to—“
“Free passage is not permitted in Edgewood!” Garrik interrupted.
“Not free passage, but just up to where our homes were built so people can trade with us,” I clarified.
It was clear that most of the elves were unsettled by the idea, which I could understand. They were living alone, segregated and discriminated against by most other races. Inviting people who’ve treated you badly onto your front doorstep is a disconcerting idea for anyone. Keysia was on board, even Donovan to a lesser degree, but even they had an uneasy air bouncing off them.
“You would allow this!?” Garrik shouted, looking back and forth to everyone.
“It’s an opportunity for change,” Keysia said. She waved her hand towards the elves and then towards the shabby homes around them. “We can’t stay living like this forever.”
“So let’s just invite everyone into the forest then!” Garrik shouted. His colorless face was starting to tinge with red, if that were even possible. “How long before they hunt us down for our ears?!” He turned to look at me. “We don’t have the Queen’s army here. You expect this human to protect us? A level 11?”
“It’ll take time for us to work it all out,” I explained, “but I’m confident—“
“If you’re so confident—” Garrik gripped the hilt of his mace and pulled it from his back. “—then show me how confident you are.”
I held a flat hand up and sighed. The guy was totally intense and taking everything the wrong way.
“He fought well in the mine,” Keysia said. “I’m confident in his abilities.”
“Then he’ll have no problems showing us that he can fight,” Garrik snapped.
You have been invited to a standard duel with: Garrik Oros
Do you accept this duel? Yes/No
I turned to Donovan, hoping he would offer some advice.
“You can decline his invitation to battle,” he said, “but you’ll look weak if you do.”
“I don’t want to fight him,” I said low, “nor do I want to kill… or be killed.” I didn’t have to inspect Garrik to see that he was a lot stronger than me.
Donovan raised an eyebrow. “We’re not orcs. A duel is usually over when one person has obviously lost. A win will earn you respect, but a humiliating loss may cause you to look worse than if you if had just declined.”
“What do you think I should do?”
Donovan shrugged. “Garrik is level 16. He will most likely win.”
“Come on now, human!” Garrik shouted, gripping his mace tightly. “Show us that you’re willing to fight for Edgewood!”
I sighed and closed my eyes tightly. It was ridiculous that the guy thought that dueling me would solve anything. It would prove nothing no matter who won. But then again, I was pretty certain that Garrik knew that too. He was just trying to use his words to lure me into a lose-lose situation, and he probably wanted to just pick a fight.
Level 16, I thought. I thought back to when I had fought the arachnid guards in Gramora dungeon. Both of those monsters had been level 19 and totally dominated me until I had cast Boiling Blood. There had been two of them versus three of us, but I had since gained a level. At level 11, perhaps there was a chance that I could use the
speed of Boiling Blood to overcome Garrik as well?
But then again, I had Mythanthar’s blade at the time. It wasn’t that much better than the bronze sabre that I had equipped, but I wasn’t used to the new sword yet, and I was notably weaker without the +5 strength bonus.
I glanced up to Garrik who was glaring at me.
Name: Garrik Oros
Race: dark elf
Level: 16
Health/Mana/Stamina: 180/120/140
Status: friendly
You have reached level 4 in Inspect!
Friendly? I wondered. I guess the game considered anyone who wasn’t attacking without provocation friendly, but I still found the label comical. Garrik was about as friendly as my old crabby landlord at my LA apartment.
The other elves were looking at me with questioning eyes.
Fuck.
I knew it was a bad idea, but I couldn’t just walk away from the duel and lose my honor. If there was a chance that I could beat Garrik and gain the respect of the dark elves there and then, I would have to take it. If I lost, I guess I would deal with the consequences.
I pulled up my stats menu and threw the three AP that I had gained from my last level into strength. I figured that would help with the strength that I had lost when Mythanthar’s Blade broke. I put the LP I had saved into Block, bringing me to level 3 in that skill. It was one of my weaker combat abilities which wasn’t near hitting the next level, and I hoped that it would give me a chance to block Garrik’s massive looking mace if I couldn’t use my speed to dodge.
I lifted my hand and cast Divine Sight on myself. It was dark by then, and the immunity to blinding spells would be helpful if Garrik had some ability that would leave me without my vision.