by K. T. Hanna
This time it took a minute or so for him to answer, and he did so just as she was about to knock for the second time. Pushing the door open, she glanced around. Belius stood, rummaging through his bookcase and glanced back at the door only briefly before continuing.
“Murmur. Good to see you. Give me just a moment; I’ve had to adjust a few things.” He finally straightened and turned to face her, his usual smile gone. In its place was one of the most thoughtful expressions she’d ever seen. It felt like he was trying to see through her, or perhaps into her. She tightened the shield, willing it to thicken.
The result was unexpected.
Belius’ eyes widened with surprise as a huge grin spread over his face. “Why, you’ve activated it! Come here, let me see.” He continued motioning her to come over.
She stood in front of him, not entirely sure what he was doing until she felt a slight pressure against the shield, like he was probing her thoughts. With a scowl, she strengthened it as much as she could.
“So you’ve got the shielding, and the sensing, I think?” His eyes sparkled with a joy that was infectious, making her proud and happy all at once.
“Well, yeah. I mean. I kept trying to think my thoughts closed, and suddenly I could?” She laughed a little self-depreciatingly, and then glared at him. Hand-holding was a pain in the ass, but vague hints weren’t much better. “It’s not like you gave me any hints.”
“Ah, my dear,” Belius tapped his head with his slender forefinger. “But I did. And you chose not to ignore my hints however vague they appeared. You remembered them every step of the way. That is a feat in itself. Few people are that tenacious, that observant.”
His eyes grew slightly vague, as if he was looking at his own HUD. Murmur supposed even the NPCs had to access system information at some stage.
“You’ve come far.” His expression grew serious, and he motioned for her to sit at the chair opposite to his at his desk. Once seated, Belius leaned his elbows on his desk and studied her.
“Your Thought Sensing is sitting quite happily at seventeen, and your shielding has just hit twenty. As we stood in this room, in fact. It appears you’re not allowing your skills to alert you to increases. I’d advise that you adjust the setting to allow you to know when a milestone is reached.”
Murmur blinked in surprise. How did he know how she’d had her UI set up? This wasn’t her mother playing a trick, nor was it a normal AI system. She wasn’t sure what to say, only knew anger was starting to gather in her stomach.
“Relax.” Belius leaned back this time. “I can’t, and won’t tell you many things, but what I can tell you is this: as you continue to level and explore what it truly means to be a part of the mind magician family, you will be given paths to take, and indeed, discover others that may not have been trodden yet. Make sure you practice these skills, make them second nature.”
“What?” She glared at him and his cryptic chatter. “Seriously Belius. I don’t have time for this. I need to eat, I need to shower because I’m pretty sure I stink, and then I need to level because it’s taking forever.”
But Belius was shaking his head and the action made Murmur stop. “This isn’t a game like you think, Murmur. You are here in this world, in our world. We all live here, and there are rules in place, and ways for you to progress if you look around and appreciate what you have.”
His smile was a little sad. The melancholy even reached his eyes. “An enchanter can be a powerful class. If you pay attention, if you seek out the elements that tug at your gut, that make your gut squirm, that won’t let you sleep, then and only then will you experience things in the way this world was meant to function.”
She squinted at him, trying to determine some level of sentience behind those fathomless eyes. Then again, surely he was as digital as she was, right? “So. I just need to keep my eyes and ears open?”
“Technically.” He chuckled, but the expression stayed on his lips, and he rocked back with a thoughtful frown. “While you can be powerful, while you can be stubborn, while most people might end up trying to avoid confrontation with you—an enchanter, as with every skillset in this land, is only as good as her team.”
Murmur ran the words through her head. They had a group, and as they grew she knew they’d work in flawless synchronicity. Surely that was a good thing. While she might be able to solo, she far preferred to group up, so Belius’ comment didn’t make sense to her, since she was already doing that. “Why tell me this?”
“Because your mind isn’t settled, and you’re in a distant place. You’re too impatient, and too ambitious, and far too confident. Take a step back and analyze what it is you truly want from this world, Murmur, because regardless of how much you think you’ve grown, you’re only running from yourself.”
Murmur stood outside the closed door to Belius’ chambers, running through the conversation in her head. How the hell was she running from herself? These damned NPCs and their cryptic vague shit. She made hers take a few deep breaths to get rid of her irritation.
Skill training aside, she’d grabbed one of each spell at two silver each. Damned expensive but she’d just wanted to get out of there. Running from herself. What a crock of shit.
She rummaged through her spell scrolls as she pushed her way toward Elvita, fully aware that she was scowling.
“Guessing Belius’ news wasn’t good then?” Elvita’s tone was full of sympathy, effectively reducing Murmur’s aggression.
Which was hauntingly similar to the enchanter calming ability. Murmur frowned and clamped down on her shield so fast, she thought she saw Elvita wince. Were the NPC’s using their enchanter qualities on the players? She glanced around at the packed foyer where every single enchanter stood waiting to see whoever they were waiting for. No one grumbled, in fact, most of them were enjoying conversations with other enchanters and waiting with good patience. The wheels began to turn in Murmur’s head, behind the shield she’d painstakingly erected. Suddenly it seemed very important to maintain that shield, more so than she’d originally realized.
“Yeah. You could say that. It’s all good. Got me some spells, and I need to sell some random crap.” She dumped it all out on the counter, painfully aware that no one else was even remotely close to them. It was like there was an invisible line around the area that she couldn’t see.
Elvita smiled, but it wasn’t as dazzling as usual, and Murmur softened her expression.
It wouldn’t do to piss off the NPC she’d likely see way too much. “Tally em up, boss!”
At that Elvita laughed softly. “Will do. Why don’t you go see Arvin if you have any meat?”
“None on me,” Murmur smiled, “but maybe he’ll have some recipes I can nab.”
She headed through to the kitchen, trusting Elvita to pay her fairly for the shit she dumped on the counter, and snagged three new recipes off Arvin. Grilled tiger legs, sautéed meat and mushrooms (makeable with any meat and mushrooms), and a mushroom skewer. She frowned at the selection and decided to figure out the rest whenever. All of them required her cooking skill be at least twenty, so that was fortuitous. This time she grabbed what appeared to be honey water. The level required was eight, and they cost over a silver each, almost as much as her spells. She grimaced, and bought ten of them. They’d last an hour and a half each, and hopefully it’d do her for a level or so.
Back out at the counter, Elvita handed over twelve gold and seven silver.
“You’re going to break my bank here soon.” She smiled ruefully, the twinkle back in the expression.
“I promise I won’t.” Murmur bid Elvita farewell and left the guildhall, heading to the gate before logging out.
Exiting the game for the second time was more disconcerting than the first. Wren shook her head after removing the headgear, her vision adjusting gradually as her augmented display set itself up again. For a few seconds her room seemed to swap itself for the enchanter guild foyer until she finally managed to blink the vision away, only to be r
eplaced by the afternoon sun shining through a crack in her curtains. Wren stood, a little shakily, but after a few seconds on her feet, realized that lying down for the last seven and a half hours had probably just disoriented her. She took the few steps to the window and closed the curtains.
Glancing at Harlow who lay eerily still on the bed, Wren shrugged and headed into the bathroom. A quick hot shower would do wonders to reset her clock. Even though she knew Harlow was okay, there was barely any movement of her chest to reflect that she was breathing. The silence was abnormal.
Hot water gushed down over her body, helping her work out the aches in the small of her back, and calf muscles. They’d been playing for just over sixteen hours. No wonder she felt hazy. Her neck was a little stiff, but not nearly as much as she’d expected. Perhaps the suit did work the muscles subtly.
Toweling herself off, she stepped out of the cubicle, cricking her neck from side to side, and pulled on a pair of track pants and a shirt. She’d get back into the more restrictive suit after food. Just about to open the bathroom door, Harlow beat her to it.
“Wren!” Harlow stepped forward and hugged her friend so tightly Wren felt her chest tighten with worry for her friend who seemed to be quite emotional lately.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, gently detangling herself, and looking Wren in the eyes. Had something happened on her way to get her spells?
Harlow laughed and glanced away. “Still worked up about that stupid death. But oh my god! You should see the shit I can do at level eight!”
Smiling, Wren gave her friend a quick squeeze. “Tell me all about it while we eat. I’m going to go make us some food—I’m famished.”
She left Harlow to her shower and headed downstairs, peeking in on her mother as she went. Four o’clock in the afternoon wasn’t exactly a meal time, but she didn’t care. Her mom sat between four monitors, actioning boxes and transparencies so quickly with her hands that Wren couldn’t follow. Her mother was the lead developer on the game. Every decision about it went through her mother. Only aunt Shayla, her mom’s friend and boss, had veto power on Laria’s decisions. At least insofar as the game itself went. She added her mom’s meal to her to-do list, and headed downstairs.
Fifteen minutes later, she emptied packaged fresh pasta onto plates, tossed with a creamy tomato sauce. Then she plopped quickly-cooked meatballs on top and set them on the table. Dashing upstairs she dropped one on the desk next to her mom, who mumbled a thank you without letting her eyes or hands stop their work.
Frowning as she realized Harlow was still in the shower, Wren dug into her own food, impressed by her own cooking skills. She ran over her character’s to do list in her head. The one thing she really needed to keep an eye on was how NPCs affected players. After all, the smoothness in the enchanter guild was nowhere near normal for gamers. She was concentrating so much, she didn’t notice Harlow was there until her friend sat down and started shoveling food in her mouth.
“You are a godsend.” Harlow muttered once she’d swallowed the first mouthful.
“Mhmm, bet you say that to all the alien cooks you know.”
“Of course.” Harlow laughed and gobbled down some more food.
“I got some good increases for this next level.” Wren frowned as she leafed through the Somnia site. “Upgrades to my DoT, and my personal shield, my weird and very single-minded pet thing. However, now I can cancel magic, root a mob, see invisible mobs, soothe them, and nuke them.”
Harlow smiled, munching on her food. “Thas exsellend.”
Wren laughed. “You really have to stop talking with your mouth full.”
After a gulp, Harlow spoke. “That’s part of my charm. But more importantly, I can now heal the group at once. Area of effect heal. Freaking excited about that.”
They sat in silence, eating food they hadn’t realized they needed. Wren felt oddly full, as if she’d been eating non-stop.
“Have you...” Harlow stopped for a moment, like she was searching for the right words. “Have you heard or seen some vague shit? Weird stuff.”
Wren groaned. “Not only have I seen it, one was the quest I was doing, and the other led to that skill that let me warn you all those mobs were coming.”
Harlow raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? What sort of skill was that? Fortune telling?”
“No. Thought Sensing, it’s called. Sort of sensed the ‘oh shit, oh shit’ radiating from that ranger.”
Harlow laughed explosively. “Guess I better hide my thoughts then.”
Wren paused for a moment before answering. “Actually, according to my trainer, we should all be watching our thoughts.”
Storm Corp
Storm Technologies Division—Theoretical Neuroscience Arm
Countdown: Fifteen months before Somnia Online launch
Michael sat in the corner of the server room, coffee cup clutched in his hands as he stared at the servers who were right now gearing to plunge sixty volunteers from several of Storm Corps divisions into Somnia Online. They’d been testing for almost eighteen months now. Varying group sizes, but nothing like this one. Sixty was their biggest group yet. The development of the process was down to fine tuning. His headgear was brilliant, and he’d finally made the delicate arms on it search for the correct location at the back of the head as well as conform to the skull. Its scans could penetrate through the scalp, and skull, focusing actually deep into the mind, accessing so much information, information the subject might not even remember.
And yet.
He stared at the servers. Their answers and perceptions were becoming human themselves, though more analytical. Michael wasn’t sure if they were mimicking the traits from the humans they’d had contact with, or if they were becoming truly sentient in themselves. Without their interpretations, the headsets were just fancy mind pokers. Mostly, the AIs’ answers could be attributed to complicated algorithms they’d developed for understanding human emotions and logic, but Michael wasn’t so sure.
“Dr. Jeffries?” Jessa popped her head around the corner. “New coffee.”
He graced her with a rare smile and saw the blush rise in her cheeks. He’d barely seen her out of the office for so long, he’d almost forgotten they’d had a thing. “Thank you, Jessa.”
She smiled, her youthful features that he remembered having gained a wrinkle or two. Had it been a year now? Longer? She still had that gorgeous blonde hair, and those pouting lips.
Even her incoming admonishment looked appealing through those lips. “You look like a wreck. You should sleep more.”
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Michael chuckled at his own joke, which earned him a scowl from his assistant. “Are they ready to begin then?”
Jessa nodded. “They’re all hooked up and ready to go. Scans of the new ones are about to start. If this goes well, we get to move onto the two hundred and fifty test.”
Dr. Jeffries looked down at his fathomless black coffee and thought about her excited reaction. What was the perfect way to respond to that? He’d spent too much time around the AIs. “Yes. I’m quite certain it’ll go well.”
He couldn’t explain the feeling he got from the servers. With the lack of sleep he’d had, it was probably all in his head. He smiled at her again, and noticed a brief look of shock cross her face. “After all, as long as it goes well, we’ll have clearance to officially put the game up for pre-order and commence manufacturing the headgear.”
Jessa returned the smile, and tension leaked out of her shoulders. “Rest up a bit, Doctor Jeffries. They’ll call on you shortly.”
Michael nodded as she pulled the door shut, and closed his eyes, the coffee cup still warming his hands, the whir of the machines behind him lulling him into a nap.
Release Day: Somnia Online
As soon as the game emerged around her, a flash appeared at the bottom of her screen. Murmur resisted the urge to groan, and pulled up the message, already pretty sure what it was.
Sinister: You’re telling them
about that ability, in detail, as soon as we meet up!
Okay, okay, Murmur responded. Of course she’d tell them. Harlow was making it out to be a huge deal. Before setting off, Murmur pulled out all of the new spells she’d bought, pausing at the illusion. Elf. So she had human and elf. That might be fun at some stage. She glanced through them. Suffocation and Shield were just upgrades to her DoT and personal shield, and then there was small animation, an upgrade to her floaty pet thing.
Cancel Magic
Cast: Self or others
Type: Debuff
Duration: Instant
Effect: Casting this spell will remove one magically caused effect from the target. Make sure you want to remove it.
Root
Cast: Others (or self if you really want to)
Type: Immobilization
Duration: 8 seconds
Effect: This will root the target in place. Probably not the best idea to cast it on yourself when fleeing in panic.
See Invisible
Cast: Self or others
Type: Buff
Duration: 10 minutes
Effect: Really? Does this really require explanation?
Soothe
Cast: Self or others
Type: Debuff
Duration: Varies
Effect: This will lower the threat level of a target, but it will not make it disappear. Probably not useful on yourself unless in a really bad mood.
Chaos
Cast: Others
Type: Direct Damage
Duration: Instant
Effect: This spell causes direct mental damage to the target, dropping their hit points by two times the caster’s level. Requires a recharge.
Her runes flashed under her skin like ripples of moonlight on water and her hair flickered like fireflies as she absorbed her scrolls. She wanted to sit and study them, to understand how they worked.