by Jakob Tanner
Everything went black.
27
//run: virus_scan
//run: fragmentation
//run: defragmentation
//run: restore_corrupted_file
//run: VRmodelling_render
//run: destroy_file
I fell through a sea of numbers and code. I didn’t know how long I’d been falling for. I couldn’t move, I could only descend. What was happening to me?
The girl from my dreams flickered in front of me.
“Why are you hurting me?” she screamed.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” I said.
The girl was crying.
“Why are you doing this to me? Leave me alone!”
Darkness enveloped me.
*** _RUNCOMPLETE00 ***
I GASPED AWAKE, my arms clawing into the air, grasping at the space above, hoping to grab onto something real. Serena’s head appeared in my vision, her chest and body looming over me. She smiled and said, “Guys! He’s alive.”
She fell on me, hugging me with all her strength. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and whispered, “I’m so happy you survived.”
I hugged her back, squeezing her chest into mine, as the sky above shone down on us. Sunlight leaked through a massive hole in the corner of the ceiling.
Quest Failed: Mystery Creature in the Woods
“The monster,” I said. “Did it escape?”
Serena nodded her head and opened her mouth to say something, when Edward Silver pounced on me. He grabbed me by my coat’s collar and shook me.
“You never told me you dabbled in forbidden magic,” he yelled, face reddening. “You’re no worse than the thing we were fighting. I can’t believe I ever fought alongside someone like you.”
You have lost status with Edward Silver, Captain of the Royal Knights of Laergard, Arondale Outpost (Eastern Laergard). You have fallen from neutral alignment to “distrusted” status.
Warning: If you descend into further negative alignment, such as “outcast” status, you will no longer be able to enter towns or cities with Royal Knight outposts.
He threw me back against the floor and walked out of the dungeon. His face and stats in my party menu disappeared. The black mark on my wrist burned. Eve, the innkeeper, had warned me this mark would get me into trouble. I didn’t realize it would hold such social stigma.
Shade handed out his furry hand to me and said, “Don’t worry about him. Typical Royal Knight behavior. Always so stiff and law abiding.” He yawned. “No fun whatsoever.”
I grabbed Shade’s hand and he lifted me off the ground. “Tell me what happened after I fell unconscious.”
“A giant blast came out of your palm—like a laser beam—except it was pitch black,” said Serena. “Your blast hit the creature in the shoulder and it screamed out, wailing—”
The little girl’s voice shot through my memory: Why are you hurting me?
“And then it leapt in the air, punched a hole through the cavern’s wall and escaped.”
“Thank goodness too,” added Shade. “We were all seconds way from being crushed by the beast’s earthquake spell.”
“There’s something about the mutated creature we don’t fully understand,” I said. “I don’t know if we’re going about it the right way. Is killing it really the answer?”
“We’re not strong enough to kill it right now even if we wanted to,” Serena said. “Let’s get out of here.”
The three of us headed back through the dungeon. It was pretty easy as no new mobs had respawned. But it was depressing as we hadn’t beaten the boss. We had travelled all the way to the bottom only to fail. What a waste of our time. The horrible mutated amalgam was still out there. Still roaming the land, threatening everything in its path.
The Golpe swamplands was empty when we got out of the cave. I turned to Serena, “Should we fast travel to Arondale?”
Serena shook her head. “Let’s hold off. Shade won’t be able to.”
It was crazy the privileges players had over NPCs. Did the NPCs resent human players for this fact?
We trudged through the forest until eventually we entered the farmland meadow
on the outskirts of Arondale.
“Well that adventure yielded a much less substantial amount of loot than I’d been hoping for,” said Shade. “This calls for only one thing: ale! I’ll be at the Crow’s Heart if you need me.”
Shade’s party icon flickered away as he ran off towards the city.
Serena stared off into the sunset.
“What now? Our current party is too small to go after the mutation.” I scratched the back of my head. “I know this sounds ridiculous but did you wanna take a break? See if the market is still open? I saw really tasty treats I wanted to try.”
Serena shook her head and she wiped something from her eye.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” said Serena, sounding totally not fine. “The market sounds nice, but I don’t know if I can do it tonight. I’m going to fast travel to Land’s Shield and go to the library there. As with today’s quest, clearly the game’s algorithms and A.I. are incorporating game mechanics—quests and the like—to deal and control the problem; there must be more information hidden in the history and lore of the world.”
“Do you really have to do that tonight?” I asked, regretting it as soon as I said it.
Serena nodded. “Meanwhile, you need to complete your class quest. And—” She held back a sob. “Survive the night.”
I had briefly forgotten my time here in Illyria was potentially almost over. This was why she was acting so weird.
“Even with our failed quest, it’s been the best afternoon I’ve had in A.K.O. so far. But I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t hear from you tomorrow. That’s why we can’t see each other until then. Thinking about it right now is already destroying me on the inside. So good luck Clay and hopefully see you soon. I’ll need your help destroying the mutation.”
She came towards me and leaned her head into mine and we kissed. I reached up to touch her but my hand merely swiped through her vanishing body. She was fast travelling away, the tears in her eyes disintegrating into pixelated dust and then nothing at all.
28
I stood on the hill as the windmills spun below me. Farmers returned from their hard day in the fields to their homes for supper while I stayed frozen on the hill above. I didn’t budge an inch, lingering in the spot where Serena and I had just been together. I still felt her lips touching mine. I didn’t want to let go of the moment.
When I dropped out of university I didn’t want to see anyone. I didn’t want to confront any of my classmates. Their judgment would have been too much. I wanted to escape. I withdrew my college fund without talking to my parents and booked a plane ticket to Europe. I didn’t say goodbye to anyone. After all those years, I only regretted not saying goodbye to one person. Not my father. Not my mother or brother. No. The only person I wished I’d seen before I left was Serena. For years, I accepted I’d never see her again. Now through a demented turn of fate, we were both cursed with the ZERO virus and wound up in this strange fantasy purgatory. My second chance with her existed beyond the slow dipping sun, in the world of tomorrow. The kiss felt more real than I’d ever imagined kissing her would be like. My eyes welled up, knowing this second chance—with Serana but also at life—was far from guaranteed.
The swoosh of an airship flying overhead snapped me out of my melancholic daze. I shook my head. Wallow time was over. There was still daylight left. If this were potentially my last day alive in here, well I’d make the most of it. With a new found determination, I moved down the hill towards Arondale.
The city was quieter than it had been earlier in the day. Less adventurers roamed the streets—they were still out grinding in the forest and fields or locked into a longer quest chain. Merchants were deconstructing their market stalls and packing their leftover wares into caravans. One food stall was still open,
the whiff of its savory delicious smell leading me to it. A Muumuu couple was serving bear meat sandwiches with melted cheese and mustard. It was ten gold coins for one. I handed the money to the woman and the man handed me the sandwich wrapped in a napkin.
I took a bite and the salty flavor of the sandwich burst in my mouth. The rough texture of the meat mixed perfectly with the mustard and cheese. I took another bite and then another until before I knew it I had gobbled the whole thing and had nothing but residual crumbs on my fingers.
Well-Fed (Buff): You gain 3% faster HP and MP regeneration (Duration: 20 minutes)
Great. Not only did I feel way better with food in my stomach, I was being rewarded for it too. With food in my belly, I headed over to Frederik’s shop. He was about to close but I asked if he wanted to buy any loot off me. I sold him my rough leather boots, the Golpe spear and shield for twenty-five gold coins.
I wished him a pleasant evening and continued on my way. It wasn’t dark yet and I had one last thing I wanted to accomplish today. I headed through the quiet streets of Arondale to the west gate. I hurried through the meadow, ignoring the bumblebee and mosquito prey, and through the apple orchard to the tall windmill on the hill. I knocked on the door. It swung open and there stood Theobold, red in the face from another interruption, grumpy as ever.
“Isn’t it late for questing?”
“You told me to come back when I’d learned my innate skills. Well, I have.”
Theobold crossed his arms and grunted. “Oh really? Care to prove it to me?”
I didn’t waste any time. I took a step back from the door and let the mana inside of me run to the tips of my fingers and emerge in a glowing orb of light.
“The energy ball, yes,” said Theobold. “You showed me this morning.”
I jumped in the air and created platforms of mana at my feet, allowing me to jump higher and higher. Up in the air, I let myself fall, occasionally creating a small platform to steady myself back to the ground.
Not one to mince words, Theobold grunted in approval.
Finally, I unsheathed my sword and held it above my head. Once again I let the mana inside me course through to my fingertips where I gently let it envelop the blade of my sword in a shining silver glow. I did this for a few seconds and then brought the sword back down and sheathed it at my side.
I turned to Theobold to see what he thought.
The old Rorn mage scratched his chin and said, “Good. Now the real trial can begin.”
29
Real trial!?
“But I thought learning those abilities was the trial,” I whined.
Theobold shook his head. “Are you kidding? There are Aeri children who can do all those things and we don’t grant them the powers of a mage, now do we?”
The old man stepped outside and slammed the door shut. “Come with me.”
I followed him behind the windmill. He stepped inside the carriage of his hot air balloon. “Get in,” he said.
While I generally believed it was a good idea not to get into hot air balloons with strange older men, I would have to make an exception. He removed the powerful staff from his back and raised it in the air, summoning fire and air into the balloon, lifting us above his windmill and into the clouds.
The meadow and apple orchard below us were now nothing but tiny specks.
“This is incredible,” I said. “And you’re operating it with magic?”
Theobold grunted as he continued to manipulate the elements around him and navigate his balloon ship deeper and deeper into the clouds.
“You’re doing it all without mana crystals as well,” I exclaimed.
“Hrmph. So you’ve learnt a bit about this world then, huh?”
The way he phrased the question was odd but I wasn’t sure why.
“Yes. There are indeed alternative forms of sky travel than the airship. But the economy of the mana crystals is what dominates the political machinations of Illyria. A peaceful, less harmful solution to all the continents problems is not in the interest of the various ruling classes.”
The rants and ravings of a curmudgeonly old man faded in the background as I day dreamed of manipulating fire and operating my own type of airship: be it a hot air balloon or something else. Taking to the skies was thrilling.
We travelled through a wet mist of vapor until we arrived in a small cavernous passageway of clouds. The sun poked through like an eye peering through a keyhole. At the top floated a small floating island, no bigger than a large slab of rock. Theobold lifted his staff and made different actions with his fingers, manipulating the elements so we landed the balloon ship on the small island.
The floating slab of rock housed two stone columns, between which glowed a purple swirling portal.
“You must pass through there,” said Theobold, stepping out of the balloon carriage. “To attempt the trial of the mage. If you succeed, you gain the apprentice mage class.”
“And if I fail?”
“The class is closed for you forever.”
I gulped. My build wouldn’t suit many other classes. I’d already dumped my stats in the appropriate base stats. Shit. If this didn’t work out I would be seriously disadvantaged for the rest of my time here in A.K.O. Whatever class I’d potentially do instead, my stats would be sub-optimal to everyone else who knew what they were doing. I’d be less welcome in parties and guilds. Life would simply be more tough for me than it already was.
Fuck that.
“When you enter the trial,” said Theobold. “You’ll be temporarily given the apprentice mage class kit to use. Take a moment to study it before you continue on.”
I nodded my head and walked to the portal. It was time to become a mage.
I STEPPED through the portal and found myself in a temple built of stone. A large staircase stood in front of me. I wasn’t sure where it led; I was unable to see the top. Windows scattered across the stone walls let through rays of light and showed off the bright blue sky and clouds of the world outside.
An immense pain rushed through my head. I collapsed to the ground. It was like the worst migraine or headache I’d ever felt. I gripped my head, massaging my scalp from the intense throbbing. Tears leaked out of my eyes. What was happening to me? Then, as quickly as the pain had arrived, it disappeared. A prompt appeared in my HUD:
Temporary Class Unlocked: Apprentice Mage
As a student of mana, you harness the raw energy of the world around you, taking control of the four elements to unleash your power.
Effect 1: +5% faster MP regeneration
Effect 2: +25 Spirit
Effect 3: +25 MTKP
Effect 4: +10% resistance from mana-based attacks
Effect 5: Access to Apprentice Mage restricted abilities
Effect 6: Cannot wear heavy armor
Effect 7: Cannot wield heavy weapons
Whoah. The pain I must’ve experienced must’ve been my brain downloading all of the class’s knowledge and insights. I clicked on the new abilities prompt and more windows appeared.
Temporary New Abilities Unlocked: You feel a heightened sense of the elements around you—such is the way when studying the power of mana. Spend Class Skill Points to unlock new abilities on your class skill tree. You gain 1 Class Skill Point every time you level up. You can also level up your abilities by using them frequently.
I checked the amount of Class Skill Points I currently possessed. I had gained the amount I would have had if I had gained this class at level one, so I had ten points to spend.
Starting abilities:
Fire: Fire is every mage’s weapon of choice. Fire abilities deal direct damage to your opponents.
Fire Blast: Shoot an orb of molten lava at your enemies
MTKP: 30-50
MP Cost: 8
Water: Water provides life to all living things. Water abilities heal and strengthen you and your party members.
Healing Mist: Create an enchanted mist around you
Ability: Heal 60 HP
MP Cost: 8
Air: Air is all around us, manipulating all of our movements. Air abilities control and debuff your enemies.
Lightning Cage: Paralyze an opponent with a cage made of lighting.
Ability: Opponent is paralyzed for 10-15 seconds
MP Cost: 10
Earth: Harnessing the Earth means manipulating the very ground at your feet. Earth abilities deal damage to a wide area of enemies.
Earthquake: Make the ground around you tremble and erupt with jagged rocks
MTKP: 25-100 (5 meter radius)
MP: 20
Amazing. I’d taken ages to get three abilities and now in a single stroke I’d gained four more. Each element had its own skill tree, unlocking more abilities when I spent skill points there. It was possible to spend points on current abilities, strengthening skills I was already comfortable with. The tables and systems were immense. I’d have to sit down for days to study what kind of mage I’d want to be. I had so many options. I gave a cursory glance at the higher-level abilities and some of it was absolutely insane. Fire had an ability called supernova. It created a massive meteor in the sky to pummel your opponent with. Earth had an ability to summon an Earth golem—which would be extremely useful for solo play as it would tank for me.
A giant grin formed on my face. But I was getting ahead of myself. I still needed to test out my current abilities. I opened the palm of my hands and thought fireball. A ball of flame ignited in my hand. Somehow my mind intuitively knew how to summon a fireball now. I threw the ball at the nearby wall. It blasted and dissipated in a shower of smoke and ash.