Initializing

by K. T. Hanna

  A skeleton shattered the earth just off the path in front of her, its gleaming red eyes focused solely on her. It cackled, and stepped forward in that jelly-boned way. It conned yellow, and she stunned it with Flux before casting Minor Suffocation on it. She smacked the shit out of it with her staff as soon as it got close. Maybe it was the mobs she’d been fighting so far, but the blunt thwack of the staff instead of the slice against flesh and the running of blood just didn’t pack the same punch. As she fended off a well-aimed slash with her forearm, she hissed in pain before growling deep in her throat, momentary rage fueling her. She whirled the staff around her head before angling it directly into the neck gap with as much force as she could muster. The skeleton toppled to the ground, granting her experience and a small feeling of satisfaction. Glancing up and down the road as she bent to loot the creature, Murmur realized she’d come farther than originally anticipated. The skeleton gave her some bones, 9 copper, and a lovely iron dagger.

  Iron Dagger

  Damage 6-8

  Weight 1

  Level 5

  This weapon allows you to strike fast and true.

  She hefted it in her hand and decided it was worth a try. The road to Obsidian Forest was going to be scary, but damned if she wasn’t looking forward to it. A little more wary now, Murmur stopped in the middle of the path, and summoned her animation. Its peaceful bobbing next to her added a layer of security she didn’t otherwise feel. Somnia was so real, there could be brigands hiding out here, or even other players just looking to be dicks. It Happened at the best of times. It was hard to believe her physical body lay on the bed back at home, while she was here, feeling the night air, tasting the rain on the wind that the next day would likely bring, so many little things that made the world so real in comparison to what she’d felt before.

  Sinister: Are you here yet, are you here yet?

  Murmur laughed softly, hoping not to wake anything slumbering nearby. She could see red points glowing in the distance. Tempting the night wasn’t something she was willing to do just yet. Maybe in a few more levels.

  She replied quickly. Not yet, I took the left path, so I’m hoping I’ll get to you soon. Either that or I’m about to die a spectacular death at the hands of something ten times my level.

  She could almost hear her friend laugh in response.

  Sinister: You’re good. Don’t worry. Left should be it. I think. The others aren’t here yet, so I’m twiddling my bloody thumbs.

  Bloody expletive or literal?

  Sinister: Your pick.

  Murmur sighed. It was going to be good to converse with people again. Even though the NPCs were amazingly alive, she’d missed her friends. An owl-like hoot sounded in the distance. She frowned and concentrated.

  That could be an owl. Or someone’s lookout. Focusing, she tried to sense if there were other people out there. Not by their body heat or noise, but by their thoughts. Whispers flitted close to her mind, darting here and there, almost divulging their secrets before dissipating like a cloud on a sunny day. She put a stop to it before she got a headache, but not before a string of words flitted across her vision.

  Hidden skill activated—Thought Sensing.

  Class: Enchanter only.

  Level—not applicable.

  Effect: Developing your inner senses you’ve awoken your latent psychic powers. With constant use your skills will increase, while the opposite will occur should the skill not be used. See your trainer for specifics when you reach Thought Sensing (25).

  “Guess the dull headache was worth it,” she mumbled, rubbing at her temples. Glancing at the in-game clock, she realized she’d already been walking for a bit over an hour. Surely she had to be getting close?

  There was movement up ahead, and Murmur readied herself just in case, only to realize it was Sinister. Sinister ran toward her, screaming like an idiot and probably waking every slumbering undead within a two mile radius. She glomped on to Murmur when she reached her, and they both tumbled to the ground laughing.

  “You dork. It’s not like you’re not sitting right next to me.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Sinister hesitated a second, then laughed out loud, the sound distinctly her own. “By the way. Your alien ass is fucking hot.”

  Murmur batted her eyelashes coyly. “Why, thank you.”

  “Idiot.” Sinister punched her in the arm. “I’m just as hot.”

  Murmur gazed up and down, deliberately slowly. The dark elf was mostly what she expected. Purple-hued smooth skin. Wavy, flowing white hair. Her friend’s chest mirrored about a C cup, while the rest of her body seemed toned and fit from what she could see. And Sin had chosen white eyes instead of the habitual red. “Why yes. Yes you are, you sassy little dark elf you.”

  They hugged again and helped each other up when Sinister looked over Murmur’s shoulder and her eyes widened. “You do know there’s a disembodied sword and shield at your back, don’t you?”

  “Yep.” Murmur grinned, showing her alien teeth. “We’re buddies.”

  “Ah, so you do have friends then.” A familiar voice stopped Murmur in her tracks and she turned around slowly, not entirely trusting her memory.

  “Yeah, I do.” Murmur stood light on her toes, tensing slightly, shooting Sinister a quick party invite. “Fancy seeing you here, Jirald. At night. An hour away from Stellaein.”

  Jirald laughed, but the sound rang hollow, like he didn’t really mean it. Murmur tensed and waited for him to finish.

  “Yeah, I can see how that might look. Sorry. Just meeting some of me mates out here. I was so set on locus. Probably not the best species for a rogue, but you know, I usually play a plate class, so this sneaky shit is a heap of fun.” He glanced to the side for a moment, probably scanning through his own HUD for something. “Wow, you really did catch up to me. I’ve been sprinting most all the way from the city, so you must have hit level five way before me.”

  Feeling slightly more at ease and watching Sinister size the guy up as well, Murmur put her pet on follow. “Not sure. I had a crazy stupid quest spawn a gazillion respawning monsters on me. Leveled before I knew it.”

  “You do look rather roguey.” Sinister interjected, grinning. “Murmur here is pissed she isn’t a healer, but I get to kill shit and heal damage with their life. Cool, huh?”

  While she sounded pleasant and hyperactive, Murmur watched Sin’s eyes, noticing they never left Jirald’s form, scanning him for any untoward movement. Sin might be a nice person to her friends, but she didn’t trust strangers. It was one of the things they had in common.

  “Blood mage?” Jirald’s eyes widened.

  Murmur’s narrowed, wondering if he was surprised or calculating her damage to heal ratio. Hazard of gaming the way she did, everything was a calculation, everything had a pro and a con.

  “Fantastic class. Not sure why I stuck with ranger for so long. Anyway, I’m gonna steal my girlfriend from you, because we have some friends we’re supposed to meet up with.” Sinister extended her hand and shook Jirald’s firmly, her eyes never leaving his face. “Ciao! Gotta run.”

  Sin grabbed Murmur’s hand, yanked on it, and ran down the path, not slowing until their meager stamina bars ran out.

  “Keep going,” she panted.

  Not about to argue, Murmur ran with her after the initial stumble, happy that Jibartik seemed to be keeping pace. After what seemed like forever, they arrived at a humungous log. At some stage the tree must have towered over the forest, but now it was just a huge ass hollow log sitting close to a three-path crossroad, where a lone guard stood beneath the directional sign.

  “Meeting them here then?” Murmur scaled the surface by leveraging herself up on a knot in the trunk, and sat, able to watch the surrounding area and potentially approaching mobs at the same time. “So, what was up back there?”

  “I could ask you the same thing!” Sin seemed irritated, even angry. “You’re way too fucking trusting, Mur.”

  “Trusting? Me? You have
no clue what spells I could cast on that guy if he tried something. Especially at this level where he wouldn’t have any resistances to his name.” Murmur searched through her inventory for the food she’d made and handed eight spider legs to Sinister. “There. That should keep you going for a while.”

  “Hey! Thanks.” Sinister beamed at her.

  Subject successfully changed.

  They sat for a few moments, basking in their different views of the world, tinged with whatever colors their eyes made them see at night. Murmur spied dark shapes approaching. Four of them in varying heights. As they came closer she familiar names appeared on her HUD.

  “Yo, you two!” Devlish grinned widely, his mouth making him resemble a laughing gecko. His dark green scales glittered with a gold sheen, reflecting the moonlight with iridescence, a hallmark of the lacerta species. Muscles visibly bunched beneath them, their strength obvious. The nose and eyebrow ridges stood out, prominent, which made the cut jawline fade a little into the background. It was just what Darren said he wanted to be. His dread-knight, Devlish, towered as tall as Beastial, about the same height as the locus. The other two were shorter, but one of them not by much.

  “Sorry,” Murmur called down just before they began climbing up. “We don’t want anything today thanks. Gave at the office.”

  “Smart ass.” Devlish turned her around in a huge hug once he made it that far. “I have to say, these locus are freaking gorgeous. If a little eerie to look at.”

  “Put me down before I stun your ass.” But she was smiling. Devlish was a damned good guy. They all were.

  Havoc smiled shyly. He was the least boisterous of the group, often overly serious. Evan appeared to be a dark elf necromancer. He never did have the best character imagination, but his go-to name had always been Havoc. Even as a necro, it was nice to have Havoc back. “Hey Mur. See you got your name.”

  “See you’re a dark elf. Again.”

  His skin was darker than Sin’s, almost a purple black, and he’d gone with bright blue eyes. He shrugged. “What can I say? I play what I like.”

  Sin was glaring at her. “What?”

  “Invite them?”

  “Oh, shit.” A few quick directional thoughts and they’d formed a group of six. If they wanted to add any more, they’d have to form a raid. Murmur went through the group make up. It could be worse, much worse, but it could probably be better too. Still. It was a solid beginning with a good amount of utility and damage.

  With her crowd control abilities, they were pretty much guaranteed safety as long as they coordinated their efforts. She’d only glanced at the dread knight class, but knew it was a sort of necro tank. Life leeching should help Devlish maintain aggro, and grab it easily from Merlin when he pulled with a slow shot. Rangers were fantastic at kiting—they could do damage while slowing the mob and keep their distance. Luckily in a group, Merlin wouldn’t have to worry as much about ranger gating—or character death, depending how you looked at it.

  Havoc’s Damage Over Time spells would whittle down the mob’s health, but were far more powerful than her own Minor Suffocation considering he probably had at least two. She wasn’t sure if he had any direct damage spells, but his pet was about five times stronger than her own, and far more reliable. As for Beastial, his tiger familiar looked fierce, and from what she could remember, he was a martial fighter whose powers boosted with his pet’s proximity.

  And Sin, she could build power for oh-shit heals to increase her usual heals. As long as she had a target, she could damage it, and return the damage to the group as health. Right now it was single target, but she’d become more powerful over time. Murmur ran through several different sequences in her head, tentatively happy with their group makeup. They were only level five. As they gained in experience they were going to be very powerful indeed.

  “You make the guild yet?” Merlin interrupted her thoughts, his blond hair seriously out of place in the haunted forest. He’d stubbornly chosen the name he always used. It was probably going to confuse the hell out of people who saw his class first. His hair was braided tightly into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck, and his bright baby blues completed Merlin’s go to appearance. She wondered if he meant to look like a pointed-eared version of himself.

  Murmur raised an eyebrow. “I’m not made of money. The guild charters are what, ten gold? Pitch in, slackers. And I’m not fucking recruiting. I did it last time, and I just don’t like people.”

  Sinister laughed. “Fine, fine. I’ll recruit, but you have to raid lead.”

  “You can’t recruit. You hate people as much as I do. And fuck that shit.” Murmur’s irritation rose so much that she put her hands on her hips and scowled. She knew it was a very odd expression on a locus, having seen the expression on locus she’d passed in her city. It made her sort of look like she was half-snarling, half-laughing. “Dev can lead the raid. I’ll—how about we level first?”

  Beastial laughed for the first time. And while it was definitely Selwyn’s voice, there was a guttural tone behind it. His whole chest moved with the action, several deep red tattoos rippling while he did. He looked like a cross between the Terminator and Rambo, complete with the shoulder length brown hair. Tall, with the physique of a gym rat, a long braid hung down his back. Selwyn was stubborn, he’d wanted to play his tank and yet beastmaster was his class. Seems like he’d compromised by choosing to be a viking.

  She wasn’t sure if it was appealing or not. “Let’s get cracking. We have what, six or seven in-game hours left before the sun comes up and we lose the level-boosted mobs?”

  They all nodded.

  “Awesome. Let’s kill some shit.”

  Killing a few low level beetles that scurried around them as they walked, they made their way to a nice clearing that was a decent chunk of the way from the path so that any patrolling guards didn’t interfere, and yet close enough that they could run for help if they fucked up. Getting ready for a pure grinding session, Murmur handed everyone eight of her spider legs. “You better have bought drinks for yourselves, you lazy bastards.”

  Dev and Beastial sidled up against her. “Thanks, Mur.” They crooned.

  She rolled her eyes. “Stop it.”

  They laughed and moved away, but not before Devlish squeezed her shoulder briefly in reassurance.

  Murmur glanced around at the available enemies, just out of combat range. The skeletons in this forest seemed much bigger than the ones she’d fought before. None were below level eight. There were even a few red ones, which were undoubtedly level ten. “We’re still in the level five to ten safe zone, right?”

  Havoc scanned around them and nodded. “We’re close to the ten to fifteen, which means the mobs will be anything from eleven to twenty at night over there. So we’ll have to steer clear of that.”

  Devlish glanced around warily. “Probably a good idea.” He seemed nervous; he’d not played a tank before. But he was a good player with an analytical style, so Murmur wasn’t worried. She winked at him, trying to convey her confidence in him.

  “I can pull with my DoT, as long as you taunt them when they run past you.” Murmur offered. It would be easier to keep a stream of monsters coming if someone other than the tank pulled.

  “Let’s give it a shot.” Devlish set his jaw, determination overtaking the nervousness. “I can drain a bit of the mob’s health, Sin. I should be a last healing priority.”

  “Got it.” Sin buffed the group with a strange blood leeching buff, while the rest of them loaded self buffs. “Pull.”

  “Actually.” Murmur paused. “Fuck that. Merlin, you pull. You’re a freaking ranger.”

  Everyone laughed and Merlin took aim sheepishly. “Thought I’d avoided responsibility. Incoming!”

  Butterflies of excitement flew around Murmur’s stomach. This was the way games were meant to be played. With a group of trusted players, battling against foes that could slay you singly in a heartbeat. Talk about an adrenaline rush.

  Off they
went.

  The level eight skeleton never stood a chance, neither did the level nines they pulled. Even so, nine was four levels higher than they were, and orange cons could resist a lot of spells. After about six mobs, the group fell into a rhythm.

  Merlin pulled with a slowing shot that delivered the mob at the perfect moment to Devlish’s taunt. Dev then used his meager blood drain, and whaled on it with precise hits. Both Murmur and Havoc DoT-ed the mob, and their pets ran into the fray. The thing was, Murmur’s pet wasn’t the best at anything. It was sort of useless actually, even if its bobbing in place was kind of calming.

  At some stage Murmur remembered to trade her small bones to Havoc for his pet. His answering smile was worth it.

  Beastial was fun to watch. His cat jumped in and they worked in tandem to take down the skeleton. The thing was, Murmur was quite certain, that the cat and melee combat combo would go over much better when the foe they were fighting had an Achilles tendon for the cat to tear at. They worked in symmetry though, and mobs this small were at least good for everyone to practice on. Learning a class took time, and the earlier the basics were mastered, the better.

  In the meantime, Sinister’s spell leeched life from the skeleton. Murmur was skeptical about this part of the process considering their opponent. Little clouds of blood floated between the skeleton and Sin’s hands, eventually to whomever she needed to heal. While it looked gory, it was something Mur wished she’d been able to try out. Perhaps the blood in this case stood for life force. While they finished off the mob in camp, Merlin scouted for more.

  When they got two, Murmur Mesmerized the one farthest away and redirected her pet to the nearest. For a few seconds Jibartik got stuck between mobs, in a sort of indecisive sway. Mana ticked slowly, but it was rare anyone needed to sit. The group make up was fun, less mechanical than previous games, and yet smooth.