The Virtual Realm

by Daniel Perusko

  “So, this is it, Stacy, no turning back. This is where our struggle begins. From here on there will be a lot of fighting and hardship. Are you ready?”

  Stacy put her hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle.

  “Weirdo, stop being so dramatic. Anyways, I’m ready to fight things!”

  A fizz of disgust popped in the air. He knew Stacy was only acting like this because she didn’t believe what they had read in the system message earlier. She didn’t believe that they could die for real. She still thought this was just a game. Maybe she was right, maybe this was all a prank, but he wasn’t willing to take that chance. Only time would tell if she was right or not.

  “All right, let’s go.”

  They marched out of the city gates, like soldiers preparing for battle. Unfortunately, these soldiers were all too green for the hells that awaited them ahead. Dusk and Stacy got their first look at their new environment, or perhaps battleground would be more fitting. Rough rock covered the floor of the land, forming into steep formations. The aspiring adventurer strained his eyes to discern what looked to be two cliffs about a mile ahead of them, connected by a wooden bridge. He couldn’t tell from here, but it looked like there was a camp on the other side of that bridge. He couldn’t make out the structures, but he could spot small flames dancing in the night, and fire usually meant people.

  As far as living creatures were concerned, he could make out a few fellow players that were fighting in the distance. They looked like mere specs from where he stood. An idea suddenly came to life inside of him. Since he didn’t know how to fight things in this particular game, he figured he could ask a fellow player. Oftentimes in MMOs if you asked a player for help they would insult you or flat out ignore you. Yet, in a game such as this, where you could lose your very life with a single mistake, Dusk had the feeling that other players would be more willing to help. He would need to group with people more than usual. In this game you would be safer if you grouped with other players—strength in numbers.

  Dusk made his way to one of the adventurers who was locked in a brawl with a spider. This spider’s size dwarfed even the most gargantuan of arachnids. Exterminating the vermin would not be as simple as snuffing it out of existence with a tissue—there was no tissue big enough for something like this. The arachnid’s opponent was an adventurer with hair that was dyed such a rich blue it reminded Dusk of the skies on a clear summer day. The deep azure was shooting out in spikes—wild and untamed. The heavy plates which protected his form glistened silver in the moonlight. He was clutching a bronze shield in one hand and a plain silver long sword in the other. It was expected that the armor he clad himself in wouldn’t be anything fancy. These were the beginner levels after all. Dusk expected that in the later levels, the armor designs would start becoming quite a bit more intricate. Wearing this type of armor and holding a sword and shield, this adventurer was undoubtedly of the Knight class.

  Unlike Dusk’s Phantom and Stacy’s Cleric, the Knight class excelled in absorbing damage and surviving. They boasted the highest defense in the entire game. Their one niche and sole defining characteristic was their ability to be the shield for their group. They could only heal themselves, and their damage was laughable in comparison to a Phantom’s for example. Even so, the role of tanking damage was arguably the most valuable position within a group dynamic, and as a result good tanks were frequently sought out.

  The large spider this fearless Knight was fighting moved backwards a step, spitting a sticky web directly at the adventurer. He slashed it in two as if he was slicing through butter. The web fell on both sides of the Knight, failing to ensnare the target in its sticky embrace. The sword left behind a silver trail in the wake of its slash. The spider lunged forward at the Knight with its frontal appendages, intending to sink its teeth into the man’s flesh. The Knight quickly raised his shield towards the spider, mitigating most of the damage. The sky haired fellow followed up by bashing his shield on top of the spider’s head, causing stars to swim in its head. The Knight did one final sword slash in a diagonal cut. There was a brief flash of light which followed his sword entirely. A moment later a piercing screech was heard, and the spider fell to the ground in a lifeless husk. The Knight promptly sheathed his sword, now certain of his victory.

  Taking this chance, Dusk called out to the seemingly courageous Knight.

  “Hey, can you spare a second to help us with something?”

  The Knight turned his head, now aware of the nearby spectators. An amiable grin appeared on his face as he saw them—a friendly face, with energy to boot.

  “Sure, I’m always up to help people, what do ya need?”

  “Well, normally I usually figure things out by myself but... could you tell us how to fight in this game?”

  The Knight rammed his fist into his open palm. His muscles burned with excitement. The grin was still present as if it was glued to his face.

  “You wanna know how to fight, huh? Sure, I can show you.”

  “Well more accurately, can you tell us? I already saw you fight that spider.”

  “Sure thing. Well, how do I put this? Do you see the bar on the bottom of your screen that shows the skills you have?”

  Dusk simply nodded as he followed along like he was a student back in his college classes.

  “Well... hover your finger over your skills; what are the names of the skills you have?”

  “Swift Strike, Back Slash, and Stealth.”

  “Okay, so there are two ways to use those skills. One is by saying the name out loud. Two is by thinking of the skill itself. So if you’ve seen what Swift Strike looks like, just think of yourself doing it, and if you’re able to do it then your character will use it.”

  “Hmm, I think I understand, so I have to say the skill out loud at least once to see what it looks like first, correct?”

  The Knight gave Dusk a hearty thumbs up.

  “Yep! You got it! Give it a shot.”

  “Sure. One question first though, what’s your name?”

  “The name’s Frost.”

  Dusk extended his open hand for a hearty handshake.

  “Well then, Frost, my name’s Dusk; nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise. Hey, who’s your attractive lady friend there?”

  He was of course referring to Stacy, who had been standing quietly in the background, a wallflower watching the events unfold; until now. She beamed with delight, glowing with the welcomed attention she had just received from a 'Knight' in shining armor.

  “Oh, you’re a charmer aren’t you? Drake, you could learn a thing or two from this man.”

  Frost seemed confused for a second. His eyes lit up a moment later as the revelation dawned on him.

  “Oh I get it! That’s Dusk’s real name?”

  “Yep! He has no idea how to talk to girls; you should be teaching him how to do that instead of teaching him how to fight.”

  Frost couldn’t stop himself from chuckling at Stacy’s snide remark.

  “Haha, attractive and funny, I like you.”

  “Thanks, I know. I’m awesome aren’t I?”

  Dusk cleared his throat loudly as if he were having an asthma attack, making his disapproval known.

  “Okay, you two, this is funny and all, but that’s enough. By the way, I do know how to talk to girls, Stacy; I just don’t talk to you like that because I only think of you as a friend.”

  “Yeah, right; you know you love me.”

  Dusk’s head quivered in opposition to her.

  “If by love you mean hate, then yes.”

  Frost had been watching this and couldn’t help but feel frozen in awkwardness, as if he were somewhere he didn’t belong.

  “Man, you two are really harsh on each other. Are you sure you’re friends?”

  Stacy and Dusk both peered at Frost before bursting into a thunderclap of laughter.

  “Yeah, it’s great isn’t it? Yeah, we are friends even though it doesn’t look like it,” Stacy grinned.


  Dusk nodded in affirmation.

  “Yeah, we’re just kidding around. Anyways, my friend here is called Stacy; this is her first MMO. She’s a Cleric.”

  The relief rushed through Frost’s veins as the conversation had settled back down into his comfort zone.

  “Gotcha, as a Knight I can heal too so I can tell you healing is almost the same as attacking an enemy. You picture the action you perform just the same as if you were attacking an enemy. The only difference is who you aim it at. Picture who you want to heal, and then aim towards that person; but enough talking, huh? Let’s try it out on this rabbit here.”

  Stacy clasped both of her hands in front of her chest and cooed. The expression on her face couldn’t be anything further from a killer’s visage.

  “Oh this rabbit is so cute.”

  She gasped as the realization of what Frost had said just dawned on her.

  “Wait, did you just say we’re going to kill that rabbit? No way, it’s too cute!”

  Dusk began unsheathing his dagger, eager for his first fight.

  “Well, you don’t have to, Stacy. I’ll do it.”

  He declared as he called aloud a sequence of commands.

  “.” Upon utterance of this command Dusk looked at his right hand; his body had become transparent. In MMOs, would make it so enemies could not see you, and you could sneak up on enemies from behind and do more damage. Often stealth classes had a few moves which would do more damage if you were behind the enemy. Dusk already had one such move. As he slinked slowly and carefully to the rabbit’s rear side he called out another command.

  “.” After executing this command, Dusk’s body seemed to move on its own. More accurately, his body lunged downward as his right arm fell into a downward dive, slicing through rabbit flesh with a squelch. It was an odd feeling; he temporarily felt like he was in someone else’s body, that he was being controlled like a puppet.

  It must be the system controlling me, he thought. This’ll take some getting used to.

  The rabbit turned around and kicked him in the gut. He doubled over slightly from the impact as his breath was stolen away into the night.

  “,” he said aloud, struggling to speak. Dusk’s arm moved to make a swift horizontal cut across the rabbit’s diminutive torso, leaving a purple light effect that vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The rabbit let out a desperate cry, before falling over on its side dead.

  Acid was pumping through his body. All of his senses were heightened. That rabbit took 15% of his health with the one hit it managed to get off on him. Dusk was completely green when it came to this kind of combat. He generally kept to himself in the real world; hence it had been a long time since he had gotten into a physical altercation beyond an occasional push or punch in the arm. The only combat he excelled at was with a keyboard and mouse, which would not help him here in the slightest. If multiple monsters decided to attack him at once, he wasn’t sure if he could make it out alive.

  Killing what seemed like an innocent rabbit, for the briefest of moments, Dusk felt like a serial killer, a Charles Manson in the making. A pang of guilt struck him, a grim realization. He didn’t slay the rabbit for food, but simply to test out his abilities. He had made the cuddly creature his test subject. To reach the end goal, he would have to slay countless creatures such as these. Then it hit him. This world wasn’t real. What he snuffed out was not an innocent hare, but a compilation of virtual bits and bytes assembled into organic form. Why did he stress over this for even a moment? These furry foes didn’t really have souls, right?

  Frost walked up to Dusk and roughly placed his iron clad hand on his shoulder, breaking him out of his self-guilt.

  “See, Dusk, that’s not so hard, is it?”

  Dusk was still huffing breaths. It became all too clear for him that no matter how much he thought it so, he hadn’t yet fully prepared himself for the experience of combat. He hadn’t completely grasped the dark reality of this world.

  “Ha, what do you mean, how are you able to fight so nonchalantly? Are you already used to it or do you not believe this is a game of death?”

  “Nah, I just know that I won’t die. I’m the one who’ll get everyone out of here. Everything will work out in the end, trust me. I’ll save everyone.”

  Dusk couldn’t believe the amount of confidence that flooded out from this man when there were so many things that could happen to them along the way. He had to know.

  “Just how do you plan on saving everyone exactly? Do you have a plan?”

  Frost staggered back slightly as if he had just received a jolt of electricity.

  “A plan? Not really. I will save everyone and that’s all there is to it. I promise.”

  Dusk was baffled by what he was hearing. Was Frost kidding around? What kind of buffoon charges in headfirst without any sort of plan? Was he a genius or simply a fool?

  He’ll get himself killed thinking like that.

  He admired the Knight’s courage but was irritated by his naiveté. He figured it’d be smart to keep his opinions about Frost to himself for the time being—best not to slap away a guiding hand. One thing was for certain, Frost definitely chose the class that lined up with his personality.

  Dusk buried his objections deep within him for the moment and managed a soft smile.

  “Okay, hero, right now let’s focus on getting to max level. Saving everyone else can come later.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Dusk suddenly remembered something important. He turned towards Stacy with expectant eyes.

  “Oh that’s right, you still have to learn combat mechanics before we can start, Stacy.”

  “That’s fine, I’m sure if you learned it I can too.”

  “You heard everything Frost said to me right? What abilities do you have?”

  “Um... let’s see. and . It looks like one heals an ally and the other one is for killing things.”

  “Okay then, let’s see what you’ve learned.” Dusk pointed over to the southwest where a small rabbit was hopping around, oblivious to the murderous command the Phantom had uttered.

  Stacy gazed at her best friend with puppy dog eyes, pouting. She had already insisted she wouldn’t kill cute things a few minutes ago, and here Dusk was asking her to kill another rabbit. Was he daft?

  “No, I won’t do it!”

  “Huh! Why not?”

  Stacy’s frown became even more pronounced, as if Dusk was asking her to put down a long time pet. “Because, look at him, he’s soooo cute! I can’t kill something as cute as that.”

  Frost let out a soft chuckle while Dusk buried his face in his palm.

  “You were actually serious about that earlier, Stacy?”

  “Mmm hmm, if you want me to fight something, find something else.”

  Dusk scanned the area vigorously for a few seconds, a predator searching for prey. His hunter eyes spotted a spider to the north. He pointed towards it so Stacy could catch a glimpse of the hideous creature.

  “Okay, Stacy, you see that spider? You think you can fight that?”

  “Ew, that thing is gross. Yep, I can kill it!”

  Dusk nodded in reply and sighed once more. This was going to be a long journey. He ambled closer to Frost and muttered in a low, quiet voice that was just a notch above a whisper,

  “Frost, if it looks like she’s losing the fight we need to jump in and help her okay?”

  “Gotcha. I would’ve done that anyway.”

  Stacy pulled out her magic wand. Truth be told, it was a small branch that was about the length and width of a ruler. It was a weapon that was a far cry from intimidating, but she had to wield it to cast her abilities. She stared down the spider in abhorrence and taunted boldly,

  “Die you ugly spider! !”

  A small bolt of light quickly shot out of the wand, smacking the spider square in the face with a sizzle. The spider screeched and staggered backw
ards. Upon seeing this Stacy jumped for joy as if she had just won the lottery. She turned towards Dusk and Frost excitedly, showing off like a child would to their parent.

  “Yay, did you see that, guys? I hit it!”

  The spider quickly recovered from the shock and started crawling towards its assailant, furious from being hit dead on by Stacy’s unwarranted attack. Dusk panicked slightly and yelled out to her.

  “Stacy, it’s not over yet, it’s still alive!”

  Stacy spun around just in time to get hit in the side by one of the spider’s appendages. The fresh Cleric grimaced in pain.

  “Ugh, you ugly bastard, just die!”

  “Stacy, your healing ability; use it on yourself.”

  “Good idea! !”

  A shining golden ball of light the size of a baseball appeared in front of her. After a half second it exploded into hundreds of sparkling golden particles that enveloped her body. After the animation was complete, Stacy’s health pool was now replenished to full.

  Dusk smirked confidently and cheered his friend on.

  “Okay, now hit it again! Hit it until you’re sure it’s dead.”

  “Yep, got it!”

  Stacy once again focused on the foe in front of her. She pictured annihilating the enemy with holy judgment. Once again bolts of light struck the spider; this time in a continuous flurry, until the spider buckled under the assault and fell to the ground, motionless.

  “Okay, now I did it, yay!”

  Dusk exhaled deeply as his eyes swerved towards Frost.