World of Eternia: The Complete Collection

by Antony W. F. Chow

  Wesley sees the giant insect rushing towards him, but bravely stands his ground. Raising his long sword high in the air, he awaits the centipede to reach him. Before the mandibles can snap shut around his waist, the cavalier yells out, “Now!” He blocks the left mandible with his steel shield, and slashes his sword down on the right mandible. His powerful swing cuts through the mandible, causing a large piece to drop on the floor.

  At the same time, the mage hears the signal. Switching back to magic screen view he directs a dozen sharp, stony spikes to rise from the ground beneath the monster and pierce its hard shell. The spikes lift the giant centipede off the ground, leaving its frantically moving legs dangling uselessly in the air.

  As the brave knight turns to cut off the left mandible, Conrad cries out, “Lalalalalalala!” He jumps off the alcove and aims a powerful, two-handed, overhead swing of his ivory club down onto the doomed centipede's head. BBOOOOOOOOOMM! He quickly hops off the creature's head, and lands on the ground besides Wesley. A second later, the barbarian turns around with his shield raised, ready to fend off another blow from the monster.

  The giant centipede spasms its body once and abruptly stops moving, its elongated body still impaled from underneath by the spikes.

  The two melee fighters look at each other, and exchange light fist bumps with their left hands. “Victory!” the two say in unison.

  The battle mage pulls his head off the ground to confirm with his own eyes that the battle is over. Leaning back, he rests on his elbows and turns his head with a clockwise, circular motion to loosen the tightness in his neck. He notices that the priestess' hand is still on his, and squeezes her fingers softly.

  “We did it,” Diana says quietly as she squeezes him back while laying on the ground next to him.

  “Let's rest like this for a bit to recharge our mana pools,” he suggests and smiles.

  She smiles back, rewarding him with a dazzling smile of triumph.

  Chapter 9 – Speculation

  Weary and tired, the valiant knight trudges his sore bones over to the spell casters. Wesley sits down on the ground to the left of the entrance to the cavern. He leans his aching back against the wall. “Let's take five,” he says.

  Flush with adrenaline still pumping in his veins, the athletic man is bursting with energy and ready to continue forward. But seeing the sorry state of his teammates, Conrad decides to join them for a little rest and relaxation. He strolls over to join his party, and leans his back against the other wall next to the entrance. Tilting his head up, Conrad stares at the ceiling and enjoys the brief respite from their ongoing adventure in the World of Eternia. The time ticks away and soon his wondrous nirvana is interrupted by loud snores! He cranks his chin down and sees that the two spell casters have fallen asleep next to one another on the ground. . . holding hands!

  “They make an interesting couple, don't they?” a low voice drifts over from the left.

  Conrad turns his head and looks at the still awake Wesley. “Like oil and water,” he replies in an equally low voice. “Interesting how we both took such active roles in this last fight, and manage to keep our eyes open,” he muses.

  Wesley turns to his right and looks at the professional athlete. “Not really. I'm an old man, and I don't need as much sleep as these young kids,” he answers. “You, on the other hand, are used to physical exertion at a high level for an extended duration. How long did our fight with the centipede last? Five minutes? Ten minutes?”

  “Well, time seems to have a different meaning inside this virtual world,” the big man interjects. It is true that the passage of time feels different in WoE. Some missions are intense, but last only a good half hour in the real world. Other campaigns have dragged on for hours without the players realizing it. This special anniversary campaign started at nine o'clock in the morning Pacific Time, and he wouldn't be surprised if the real time is now noon. If Conrad ever meets the game designers for WoE, he would ask them to add a plug-in feature on the player's screen with real, local time. There have been stories on the public forum boards about players who have lost track of time playing games, and ended up collapsing with seizures from the excessive gaming. Conrad has no intention of becoming one of those players.

  “True enough,” the older man agrees grudgingly. “Our minds are so immersed into this rich, digital environment that we lose our sense of real physical self. Quite frankly, this was one of my concerns before joining WoE.”

  “Agreed,” Conrad replies. “When our minds are constantly being bombarded with stimuli, keeping track of time takes a back seat. But there is still a part of our mind that keeps the score. To be honest, I personally find this game to be no different than my baseball games. The rules and objectives may be different. However, I keep myself engaged in what's going on in the game -- from the hits to the types of pitches being thrown to the way umpires are calling balls and strikes. The level of mental immersion is surprisingly similar between this virtual reality game and my normal day job,” he smiles wryly. "It's a miracle that I haven't quit playing the game already. There's no real down time between the two," he shrugs. Turning serious, the barbarian asks, “How do you like this mission so far?”

  The leader pauses for a moment to gather his thoughts, and answers. “At first, I was not impressed, to be frank. When we received the personal invites in our game account inboxes, WoE didn't give much of a description for this mission. It was just something along the lines of taking a small party of four into Castle Eternia, and defeat the evil Regent to lift his curse over the Castle. It was pretty humdrum stuff to me,” he shrugs. "Nothing really stood out from the description, aside from the personal invitation aspect. I thought we will be doing beta testing on a new server or something," Wesley continues.

  “And now?” Conrad presses him.

  The knight smiles. “The campaign became a lot more interesting. The game developers made this campaign challenging. First by limiting party size to only four members. That way, you can't have a hundred members storm the castle.”

  “And sacrifice a few newbie players along the way,” the barbarian adds his two cents.

  “Indeed,” Wesley nods in agreement. “I would not be surprised if WoE had set high character level requirements for this mission precisely to keep out new players. If anything, this campaign is more of a reward to the faithful fans of the game who spend countless hours playing the game. The four of us certainly logged as much hours as any other group out there,” he notes. “Additionally, the campaign is more geared toward the thinking man, rather than a straight forward hack-and-slash gamer. Look at the situation with the moat, for example. How many piranhas can a player defeat before the rest of the school kills him off? Twenty? Thirty? It is highly improbable to kill all one hundred creatures by sword alone. No, this special anniversary campaign reveals a lot about the gaming philosophy of the developers behind World of Eternia, and apparently we approach the game in a similar manner,” he concludes. He turns the conversation to another topic that's been on his mind a lot during this campaign. “What do you think the prize is for beating this campaign?” Wesley asks.

  The big man smiles at his leader's sudden change in topic of conversation. “Personally, I'm hoping for a big amount of experience points at the end of the mission,” Conrad answers.

  The cavalier shakes his head. “Nah, I don't think that would be considered a 'special prize.' If we want more experience, we could easily blow through or repeat a few more high level dungeons. There would be nothing 'special' about getting extra experience points for finishing a difficult mission. Personally, I am expecting either unique items or special player status like badges added to our avatar's identity tags,” he speculates. "There is a social aspect to World of Eternia, and player accounts with these unique, non-transferable badges will probably increase in value on the black market, as EDE specifically prohibits the sale of player accounts."

  “I wouldn't mind getting a nice, big ax,” Conrad counters. “Don't get me wrong
. I like my ivory club a lot; I've had a wonderful time in WoE with my trusty club. But the idea of using something with a sharp edge to cause a little bit of bloodshed appeals to me too, you know what I mean,” he grins.

  “Just a little?” Wesley retorts with a snort. “If you get your hands on a magical ax, I would expect you to turn into a crazy, reckless berserker, and decapitate every humanoid that you come across,” he laughs.

  Conrad tilts his head, as the mental image of being a crazy berserker forms in his mind. “Yeah, that would be quite a different approach to the game than my controlled, reactive style of play right now. In that case, I would have to switch places with you and take the lead,” he notes.

  “Is that your preference?” Wesley asks him directly. The ex-Marine suspects that sometimes Conrad feels bored staying at the back of the party, especially since the action usually takes place at the front of the line rather than the back.

  The barbarian pauses for a moment to think about the question. “Well, it would certainly provide additional opportunity for me to be in the limelight and get more mob kills. However, I think for my barbarian character the cons would far outweigh the pros. Take, for example, our excursion through the miles long passageway. I would have triggered every damn trap placed by the dungeon designers. And Diana would have blown her one Resurrection prayer on me by now. No, I don't think a running-of-the-bulls style of play would work, at least not for this particular campaign,” he explains.

  “Fair enough,” the old man replies. “I know that the stakes are high in this mission, and being the first player party to complete this campaign is the priority right now. But I still want everyone to have fun. That's why I asked,” he explains.

  “Oh, I'm having plenty of fun,” Conrad replies with a grin. "If not, I wouldn't continue showing up for these campaigns, you know?"

  “Good to know,” Wesley nods. He pulls himself off the ground. “Our five minutes are up, and we need to get moving.”

  “I'll wake up our lovebirds,” the barbarian answers with a mischievous grin.

  Chapter 10 – Room of Eternia

  “Where's the exterminator when you need him?” Diana complains as she crawls closely behind the mage inside the tunnel.

  “You rang?” Lucious replies.

  The priestess smacks him lightly on his rear.

  The cavalier sweeps the rubbish in front of him to the side with his shield, to clear a path inside the lower middle tunnel. The giant centipede's body is still inside the tunnel. But impaled on the magically raised spikes, the carcass dangles four feet in the air, allowing just enough space for the adventurers to crawl underneath. Thankfully, the virtual reality gaming experience does not extend to the sense of smell, or else the adventurers would smell the foul rotting odor of this dead body.

  Since the carcass is blocking the tunnel, the mage cannot use his staff to illuminate the tunnel. Hence, the need to keep the summoned Will-o'-the-wisp in this mortal realm. The small flickering light bobbles in the air in front of the knight, following to the letter its master's command to stay two feet ahead of the party.

  “Are you sure this tunnel leads somewhere?” Conrad asks from the rear of the party. He hates being in this tunnel because there is no room for him to maneuver and turn around if he is attacked from behind. I would not put it pass the sadistic dungeon designers to have baby centipedes crawling out of a hidden nest somewhere in the tunnel to accost our party, just for kicks. He shudders involuntarily at the thought.

  “Absolutely, positively one hundred percent sure,” the mage replies. “When I cast my Move Earth spell to close off the other five tunnels, my magical sight sensed a hidden tunnel beyond the intersection of these six tunnels. That is the only exit that I found,” he says confidently.

  “Well, the game designers are certainly making us jump through a lot of hoops,” the big man rumbles. He is might tempted to make a wise crack about the rear in front of his face, but Diana could easily retaliate by kicking her leg out and digging her heel into his face. I am NOT going to tempt fate, he decides.

  “Ah, you mean you don't want video capture of your lovely behind for the world to see?” the young man teases him.

  “Ha! I'll have you know that chicks dig my ass!” the barbarian boasts. “If the two of us were to stand naked onstage and ask a female audience to vote for whose ass they prefer, I'm going to win in a land slide!”

  Diana laughs at the image of this contest in her mind. “Come on, guys! Let's keep this conversation strictly 'PG.' Remember, we have in-game audio capture and live streaming as well,” she reminds them. "We don't want to be disqualified, not after the trials that we have passed successfully."

  “Oops, my bad!” Conrad replies, suddenly feeling embarrassed by the conversation and her admonishment.

  “Guys, keep your head in the game,” Wesley scolds his teammates. “Also, I see the intersection straight again, and the opening beyond," he reports. "Once we reach the intersection, we can stop crawling to take a breather.” He smiles broadly at the carrot and stick method he just used on the party. Sometimes it is good to be at the front of the line, he smiles again.

  “Then, hurry up and move!” the big man urges. “I'm dying in this tunnel, man!” he complains, finally admitting his discomfort.

  “Oh? Are you claustrophobic?” the mage teases Conrad.

  “No!” the rear guard strongly denies. “It's just that with the dead carcass dangling over our heads, I'd rather get out of this tunnel ASAP. You know what, Mister High and Might Wizard? If you had spent just a smidgen more mana on these spikes, you could have lifted the carcass higher off the ground. And then we wouldn't be crawling on our hands and knees like this,” he complains.

  “Blah, blah, blah! You are such an ingrate!” the battle mage retorts angrily. “I had to blow out my entire mana pool, AND borrow some more from Diana, to spike that damn centipede in place. With the nasty biofeedback loop from emptying out my mana again, I took one for the team. Again. I practically handed that monster's head on a silver platter for you to bash with your big cave man club. And now that we got past the hard part, you're bellyaching over crawling inside a tunnel? Give me a break!” he yells.

  “ENOUGH!” Wesley shouts from the front before Conrad could reply. “Gentlemen, save your energy for the next fight," he orders. "I'm sure the dungeon designers have set up more tough monsters for us to deal with shortly. With that said, I am now getting out of the tunnel and moving into the intersection. We will take a one minute break to stretch out in the intersection before we move on to the next tunnel,” he says.

  With the Will-o'-of-wisp's guiding light, the armored knight crawls, head first, out of the tunnel. Sticking his head out of the tunnel, he turns his head from side to side and finds no monster waiting outside the opening. Looking down, he sees that the ground is about two feet lower than the bottom edge of the tunnel's opening. The cavalier pushes his body forward by pressing his hands and arms against the opening. Once his body down to his hips is through the opening, he carefully stretches out his palms on the ground of the intersection. He wills his legs to crawl forward to the edge of the opening. Taking a deep breath of air, he lifts his legs off the edge of the tunnel and tumble rolls his body forward. Once his feels his heels connect with solid ground in the intersection, he plants his feet on the ground and uses the momentum to spring his body forward and off the ground.

  Clap-clap-clap-clap! “Man, you're a real spring chicken aren't you?” Lucious applauds the armored knight's marvelous, acrobatic feat.

  Wesley turns around to look at the young man. “Well, I do my best to stay in shape, even though I'm retired and all,” he shrugs.

  “Well, I know my limitations,” the mage remarks. “I am certainly not going to be able to do that roll on the ground thingie. So instead of embarrassing myself in front of a world wide audience, I will get out of the tunnel the easy way: feet first.” He turns his head back. “Diana dear, I need to turn around to get out of the tunnel.
So could you please back up a little bit? You too, Conrad,” he requests politely while motioning with his hand for the two to back away.

  Biting their replies, the other two party members shuffle back a few steps.

  “Thank you,” the mage says while turning around inside the tunnel. Leading with his feet, he pauses momentarily at the edge of the opening.

  “You need help, dude?” Wesley offers.

  “Nah, I'm good,” the young mage replies. He slowly pushes his body out of the hole until his feet make contact with solid ground. He takes two steps back away from the opening, and pulls his upper torso out of the tunnel. “Piece of cake,” he says while giving Wesley a thumbs up.

  “Could you move the heck out of the way so that the rest of us could get out, mister showboat?” Diana complains. Jeez, this guy is so self-center!

  The mage takes a big, lateral step to his left, and slides his body away from the opening. “Here,” the young man sticks out his right knee in front of the opening.

  The priestess turns her body around so that her feet is facing the opening. She pushes her body forward, dangling her legs through the opening until she feels the proffered knee. Pushing her torso through the opening, she uses the knee as a step and gets out of the tunnel.

  After the two spell casters move away from the opening in the tunnel, it is finally the barbarian's turn. Conrad sticks his head out of the tunnel to gauge the drop from the opening to the ground.

  “You need some help, big fella?” Wesley asks.

  The barbarian lifts his head to look at the knight. “Who me?” he asks pointing a finger at his nose. “Nah, this is nothing,” he replies. Positioning his massive body into a tightly wound crouch at the opening, Conrad pushes off the balls of his toes and launches his body through the opening. He lands on his tower shield, and tumble rolls forward until his feet is on the ground.