by EA Hooper
>Vincent: Do the stats go up to ninety-nine?
>Jim: According to the menu, specialized stats can reach nine hundred and ninety-nine. Nonspecialized stats only go up to eight hundred. However, I’ve never seen players with stats over a hundred.
>Vincent: It goes that high? High-level players must be capable of incredible feats.
>Jim: So I’ve heard. I don’t think the game is really designed for you to actually max out your stats. The cap is probably only that high just in case people spend the rest of their natural life training and challenging themselves in the game. I can only imagine how strong a max-level player would be. I can already match some Olympic runners in speed. I hear you hit peak human Agility and Strength at level fifty.
>Vincent: My Perception is already level two. I’ll probably catch up to you soon.
>Jim: Haha, real funny. Although, if you start catching up to me, I’ll quit partying and grind again.
As Vincent journeyed across several streets, he eyed various buildings. He passed multiple guilds and tried to avoid eye contact with the guildsmen who were trying to convince pedestrians to join them.
“Looking for gild?” one man shouted at Vincent. “Adventure? Glory? Join the Tree Snakes. We have bimonthly caravans to nearby worlds.”
Vincent ignored the man and continued past several inns, blacksmiths, and rune-makers. He glanced at a small shop called Rune Crafters and decided to step inside. Magical auroras glowed on the ceiling, and he guessed they were emitted by the shining stones on the tables. The stones looked to be made of different materials, and they all had shimmering lines and emblems carved into them.
“What are you looking for?” the shopkeeper asked. The bearded, dark-skinned man smiled at Vincent. “Combat runes? Utility runes? Music? Art displays? Perception alteration?”
“Uh, I know nothing about runes,” Vincent said. “I’m new to the World-Tree, so I’m just learning about things.”
“I understand,” the shopkeeper said. “Simple runes are easy enough to design. I’ll show you an example.” The tall shopkeeper grabbed a rock from behind his counter and placed it on the table. His finger glowed with mana as he carved a circle into the rock with magic. Then he cut a triangle into the middle of the circle. “Here, take it as a welcoming gift.”
Vincent grabbed the rock. “What does it do?”
“Focus your thoughts on it.”
Vincent concentrated on the rock, and a beam of white light appeared from the center of the triangle. He pointed the light around the room, illuminating dark corners. “It’s a flashlight?”
“Yeah, just a simple freebie. Runes work a little like computer programming. Almost anyone can carve rocks with mana, but you have to know the right amount of mana to use, the right symbols, and most importantly, the right kind of frequencies to put into the object.”
“Frequency?” Vincent asked.
“Everything in this world is interconnected—the magic, the air, the gravity. There’s invisible frequencies moving through everything. Invisible code. I can’t explain it, but it’s something you learn to feel if you tinker with runes a lot. You’re a Ranger, so I’d suggest learning how to make runes. Perception helps with designing runes, and since you’re a utility class, runes will come in handy.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Vincent said, looking at the rock. He tried to feel the magic inside, and a tingle traveled up his arm.
Frequencies? Interesting.
“I teach rune classes at night,” the shopkeeper said. “Once you get a little gild, you should think about taking a few lessons.”
“I might do that.” Vincent glanced at the man’s player profile for his name. “Thanks, Roderick. See you around.”
Vincent exited the shop, and his eyes fell on a large coliseum looming over the district. Okay, I need to check that out. He hurried in its direction, working his way through crowds and streets. The dense crowd made him feel suffocated, so he took a shortcut through a long, dark alleyway.
Man, I barely leave my house nowadays, and now I’m in a dense city with a million people. This is really something, though. A true fantasy world—everyone carrying swords, spears, and staffs. Glowing runes. I can’t wait to reach the coliseum. Maybe I can see what a fight between experienced players looks like.
Halfway through the dark passage, two shadows moved at the sides of the alley. A pair of men emerged, removing shadowy cloaks that had masked them in the dark. One man brandished a short sword, and the other held axes in his hands. The two men approached Vincent, readying their weapons.
“Dump your items,” the swordsman said. “All of them. I have a rune that will tell me if you have anything left on you.” He held a flat stone in his offhand that glowed with magic.
“Whatever,” Vincent said. “I just respawned anyways.”
He dumped everything out of his inventory, leaving only the clothes he had equipped. The two men took the items, but they looked disappointed.
“That’s it?” the axeman asked his friend.
“Yeah,” the swordsman said, looking at the dim light on his rune. “He’s only a respawn.”
“Probably a newbie,” the axeman muttered. “They’re the only ones dumb enough to take these back alleys. I told you we needed a better place to camp—like a dungeon.”
“Maybe when you have higher levels,” the swordsman told his friend. “You’re practically a newbie yourself.”
“Can I go?” Vincent asked.
“Not yet,” the swordsman said. He pointed his blade at Vincent, and the young-again man felt his nerves straining. “Give me the leather tunic too.”
“Come on,” the axeman told his friend. “We don’t literally need to take the clothes off his back.”
“Shut it,” the swordsman said. “I’ll take what I want.”
“Don’t tell me to shut it!” the axeman shouted, elbowing his friend.
The swordsman’s Mana Shield flickered and vanished. “Hey, watch it.”
Vincent felt his gaming reflexes kick in. He pointed his fingers at the swordsman’s head and fired Mana Gun through the man’s right eye. The magic bolt pierced his skull and went out the back of his head. Vincent leapt forward as the man’s body fell to the ground and turned to dust. He grabbed his sword as the axeman reacted and swung both axes downward.
The young-again man blocked the axes with the short sword. He tried to hold them back, but the thug clearly had a couple more levels in Strength.
What the heck am I doing? I should’ve just given them the tunic.
The axeman shoved him against the wall, and Vincent saw the flash of light as his Mana Shield vanished.
“That was a dumb thing to do,” the axe-man said, forcing him against the wall. “Now, I’ll have to chop you up. Hope you got your pain reduction set to ninety-nine.”
“Uh, one second,” Vincent replied. He struggled to flip through his HUD while holding back the axes with the sword. “Please, let me change it before you kill me.”
Strength Level Up: 1>2
Even with the slight increase in Strength, Vincent could barely hold the axes back. Just when he thought his arms would give out, the thug pulled away and unequipped one of his axes. He pointed his fingers at Vincent.
“I have enough mana for two shots, so you’d better not try anything,” the thug warned. “Max your pain reduction, and I’ll make it fast.”
Sweat dripped on Vincent’s forehead. “Hang on. I’m new, okay?”
His heart pounded in his chest, but unlike his encounter with the goblin, Vincent felt more excited than afraid. It’s only a game. I have nothing to lose by trying to win this fight, and I have halfway realistic combat experience from those last years with Monika playing Titanus Online.
Vincent turned his pain reduction to ninety-nine.
“Which menu was it again?” he asked the thug, trying to buy time.
“You kidding me?” the axeman replied. “You newbies are the worse.”
Vincent gla
nced at the items on the ground left behind by the swordsman. His HUD showed the nearest few, and he noticed the rune that Roderick had given him. “You know what, I think I found it.”
The Ranger dove to the left just as the axeman fired his Mana Gun. The first shot missed, putting a hole in the wall. Vincent grabbed the rune, activated it, and directed the light at the axeman’s eyes.
The thug aimed his fingers in Vincent’s direction, but struggled to find him through the blinding light. He took another shot, and it flew by Vincent’s head.
“Poor shot, kiddo,” Vincent said, charging forward and slashing through the axe-man’s Mana Shield.
The thug took a wild swing with his axe, but Vincent jumped back, narrowly avoiding it. He stepped forward while the man was off balance and rammed the sword into his chest. Vincent’s hands lost grip of the handle on impact, and his fingers slid across the blade.
The axe-man fell against the alley wall and smirked. “Alright, that was a good fight. Well played, sir. Well played.” His head lolled to the side, and then his body crumbled into dust.
Vincent’s body trembled with adrenaline, and he looked down at his bloody fingers. At ninety-nine percent pain reduction, he only felt an uncomfortable throbbing from the cuts. Still, looking at his sliced-open fingers made him nauseous. He grabbed all the items from both men, drank an elixir, and waited until the cuts vanished from his fingers.
The young-again man leaned against the wall, surrounded by the dusty remains of his two assailants. His chest rose and fell with excitement, and Vincent smiled at his victory. He raised his hands and shouted. “Woo!”
My previous mind-to-avatar experience in Titanus Online really paid off. Even if that VR game didn’t feel real.
>Vincent: I won my first PvP.
>Jim: You what?
>Vincent: Two guys jumped me in a back alley, and I took them down.
>Jim: Seriously?
>Vincent: To be fair, one of them elbowed the other and knocked out his shield. The other guy didn’t seem like a coordinated fighter, either, and he was only a little stronger than me, so he probably hasn’t played that long. Still, that’s another victory in my book.
>Jim: Congrats. Just don’t get too cocky, Vince. I’ve met high-level players that fight like wimps and low-level players with tremendous skill. You should take combat classes before you go picking fights with people.
>Vincent: I’m heading to that coliseum-looking place right now. I was hoping to see what higher level fights look like.
>Jim: Oh, then you’re in the Yellow Dragon District. No wonder you got jumped. Everyone over there is looking for a fight. I did some arena fighting between marriages. It’s where I met my last wife. Guess I shouldn’t have been surprised she turned out to be a psychopath that wanted to end all our arguments with a duel to the death.
>Vincent: You win at least?
Vincent waited several seconds for a response.
>Jim: I don’t want to talk about it. Go watch some fights and then come to the—
>Vincent: Blue Phoenix District. I know, I know. I’ll head that way next.
Vincent left the alley and stayed on the main roads as he went to the coliseum. He felt his mana slowly restoring itself along the way, and he even noticed when his Mana Shield rejuvenated itself.
Resolve Level Up: 1>2
Cool, he thought, reading the HUD as he approached the coliseum. He stepped into the crowded line as people poured inside the massive building. There appeared to be no cost to enter, so he followed a passage into the stands. Along the way, he passed people offering to buy and sell various items, and others placing bets for certain fighters. He noticed the betting tables had runes that showed holographic displays of the arena.
He stepped into the stands and found the closest open seat to the arena below. A woman walked down the aisle and looked at him. “Would you like to purchase a holo rune? It’ll show you a close-up display of all the fights today, including details of the fighters and their moves put together by our guildsmen during the bouts. The Clear-Eye Guild offers the fastest and most accurate information for all your arena needs.”
“No thanks,” he said, waving her away.
“What about you, ma’am?” the guildswoman asked the woman in the seat beside Vincent.
“Nah, I’m good,” she said. “I like to watch the fights with my own eyes.”
The guildswoman nodded politely and moved up the aisle.
“So, you come to the arena often?” Vincent asked the woman beside him.
“On my off days. I work with the Red Masons Guild most the time.”
“You have a job? In a video game?”
“You don’t?” She looked at his clothes. “Oh, you’re a newbie. That explains it. I’m sure you’ll find a job eventually. Most people settle in after a few years when the excitement of adventure wears away. This place becomes another life to live—one where you can live longer, eat anything you want without gaining weight, be as lazy as you want and not get out of shape, and be as reckless as you like without fearing the consequences.”
“I’m only here for the adventure. If I get bored in Teramor, I’ll move up the World-Tree for greater challenges.”
“That’s harder than you think. I couldn’t even reach the next City-World. My convoy got wrecked each time. This game chews up people looking for adventure. You’d almost think ARKUS didn’t want us to treat it like a game. Like it’s not designed to be beaten.”
“Every game is beatable. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
“To live, learn, and enjoy yourself. Not everything in life is about overcoming obstacles.”
Vincent smiled. “Depends on who you’re talking to. Maybe ARKUS made this game knowing different kinds of people would treat it differently and would want different experiences from it. Some of us will settle in and find jobs—live a prolonged life. Others will seek to challenge the game. To conquer the World-Tree.”
“Uh, maybe?” The woman turned her head to the arena. “Oh, the next fight is starting.”
Two people stepped into the arena, and only then did Vincent notice the near-invisible forcefield that separated the opponents. They stood face to face, waiting for the barrier to disappear, and Vincent used the opportunity to Scan them.
Player: Jon the Disparager
Class: Mage
Real Age: 35
Highest World: Mitigar
Vitality: Lv 40
Spirit*: Lv 55
Resolve: Lv 47
Perception: Lv 41
Agility: Lv 36
Strength: Lv 39
Player: Mayfield May
Class: Mage
Real Age: 28
Highest World: Valmont
Vitality: Lv 38
Spirit*: Lv 58
Resolve: Lv 48
Perception: Lv 43
Agility: Lv 39
Strength: Lv 38
A bell rang once, causing everyone in their seats to lean forward. A second bell rang, and then the barrier between the combatants vanished. Both Mages launched red-colored mana attacks at one another, and the spells exploded in midair. Jon circled around the explosion, running as fast as an Olympic sprinter. He fired two Mana Gun shots, and the enlarged size of the blasts made Vincent think they’d been upgraded.
The shots missed May, and she countered by summoning a wave of fire. The crowd cheered as the fire spread across the ground, but Jon countered with an ice blast.
“Got you!” May shouted, leaping through the embers and ice particles. She equipped a sword mid-jump, and fire appeared around the blade.
Jon created an ice lance and blocked the fire blade. They danced around one another, slashing and dodging as the crowd hollered.
Vincent stared with wide eyes as the battle continued. He could barely follow their movements or barrage of spells and weapons. It seemed like the two arena-fighters changed tactics every few seconds, leaving him astounded and straining to keep up. He tried to Scan their attacks,
but was disappointed that the elemental abilities didn’t show a Magic Rating. Instead, he could only read generic descriptions of their spells.
Mages have that Elemental Charge ability. It must convert mana into elemental power that’s physics based. So, only mana-based abilities have a Magic Rating.
“You see this?” the woman beside him shouted over the tumult. “This is a fantastic battle. One of the best I’ve seen in months.”
My scuffle in the alley was kids-play by comparison, and yet their highest-level stat is only fifty-eight. Meaning, this is still only a low-level battle. I can only imagine what it’s like when top-tier players fight.
Down on the battlefield, the two Mages panted and sweated. They’d both knocked each other’s protection away, and Vincent had noted their shields were different than his. May’s aura had exploded with a fire ripple before vanishing, and Jon’s shield had taken two hits to remove.
The two Mages gulped down bottles of glowing liquid, and Vincent Scanned one.
Mega-Ether – Drink to recover a moderate amount of mana.
Both combatants charged mana into their offhand. The glowing balls of energy pulsated and expanded, filling the arena and stands with a red glow. The crowd screamed with enthusiasm, and many people stood to their feet.
Both Mages have red mana, while mine is green, Vincent noted. Mana color must be determined by your starting class.
He stood and leaned forward to Scan their spells, but before he could, the two Mages released their ultimate attacks at one another. The two balls of mana hit one another in midair and exploded, shaking the entire coliseum. The red light of the explosion blinded Vincent for a moment, but his Scan caught a strange black distortion at the epicenter of the blast.
Negative Energy – ???
“What was that?” Vincent asked the woman beside him as the light of the explosion dimmed, leaving only May on her feet. Jon lay on the ground—alive, but with his right arm and leg vaporized by the blast.
“That was awesome is what is was,” the woman replied, grinning.
“No, I Scanned something at the center of the blast. Called negative energy.”