The massive cat-beast had now turned toward Jude, who was hurriedly trying to aim at it with her machine gun. Kyle drew his energy blade and ran closer, but he wasn’t able to intervene before the cat charged Jude. She managed to graze the beast with a quick burst of fire, but then it slammed into her, sending her flying. Ethan tried to get up to help, but a wave of dizziness zapped all his strength. Had he hit his head?
“It’s a growler!” Eveck yelled in warning as he ran to hide behind Michael. “Watch your backs. They hunt in packs!”
Michael and Lily had both been focused on the growler in their midst, but they immediately spun around to study the forest. They were just in time. Two more growlers burst out of hiding and charged them.
Kyle used a burst from his jetpack to land atop the first growler and stab it in the spine. The cat screamed as the blade bit deep. Jude was down but not out. She had somehow kept a firm grip on her gun, and she managed to rise into a kneeling shooting stance. That allowed her to unload at the growler charging Michael, who was also shooting at it with his pistol. The combined firepower brought it down before it could reach him, and Lily managed to shoot the growler dashing her way a few times before gracefully dodging its attack. As Kyle finished off the first cat with another slash to its spine, Ethan’s other teammates swiftly brought the last growler down with their combined firepower.
Only then did Ethan feel strong enough to climb to his feet. Groaning, he opened his inventory and used a couple healing items on himself. As his head cleared, his chest wound started to burn painfully. It was a good thing he had a solid supply of painkillers. That growler had opened his armor like a tin can.
“What the fritzing overload was that?” Jude yelled furiously as she stomped toward Ethan. She seemed mad.
Ethan winced and gave her a conciliatory smile. “Sorry, I froze. I thought I saw something that wasn’t there. It won’t happen again.”
This didn’t appease Jude at all. She continued to glare at him with eyes full of fury. “I don’t care if you think you saw a hidden door to the top of the tower! You almost got me killed! If you’re just going to stare like a slack-jawed dreg when we’re under attack, you should leave the team before you get us removed from the tower.”
“Now, now. Yelling in the forest is both dangerous and unproductive,” Michael asserted as he walked closer. “We have wounded, so we should head back to the city.”
“Oh, so now we have to write off this entire expedition because of him!”
“Staying out here with wounded would be far too much of a risk, and we shouldn’t split up. Other players are probably hanging around outside the city looking for weak targets to ambush,” Michael explained.
“It’s been known to happen,” Eveck said in agreement.
“Great,” Jude growled sarcastically as she threw her hands into the air and stomped away to vent. She muttered to herself as she kicked one of the dead growlers. Clearly, she had anger issues.
Ethan then focused on Lily as she walked toward him. “Are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah. The meds are already doing their job. It’s nothing. Don’t worry about me,” Ethan answered. He was still kicking himself over his screw-up. What was wrong with him? Now he was seeing the shadow when it wasn’t even really there. Er, if it was ever real…
Suddenly, Kyle yelled to get everyone’s attention. He was off in the bushes, out of sight. Ethan wasn’t sure when he’d managed to wander off… or why. “Hey, it looks like there’s a cave over here. I bet there’s mega loot in there. I’m going in!”
“Wait a moment!” Michael quickly yelled back, but there was no reply, and the older man sighed deeply.
Eveck chuckled. “I’ll stay here with these two. Why don’t you take Jude and make sure Kyle hasn’t fallen into a bottomless pit. I rather like him. It should be safe to move that far, and you have a compass of your own, just in case.”
Michael nodded, and soon he and Jude had disappeared into the forest.
“Give us a moment, please,” Lily told the guide after the others were gone.
Eveck chuckled again and gave her a quick bow. “As you wish. I’ll be just behind that tree over there.”
As the Aknii man walked away, Ethan gave Lily a questioning look. Why did she want privacy?
Putting a hand on his shoulder, Lily met his eyes and put on a serious face. “Now, tell me. How are you really feeling? I want to help.”
Caught off guard, Ethan hesitated. He wasn’t sure how to reply to her. Did he need help?
“There’s obviously something wrong. Tell me about it. It’s just you and me here now. Was it the shadow?” Lily inquired in a reassuring tone.
“Yes,” Ethan admitted. He didn’t want to lie to her. “I thought I saw it earlier, but it was just the growler sneaking up on me. That’s why I froze. It won’t happen again.”
“Here, sit next to me and relax,” Lily told him as she sat on a log and patted the spot next to her. “You still look more than a little unsteady on your feet.”
Ethan did as he she suggested and then Lily took his hand in hers. Surprised, he glanced at her. Deep empathy and resolve reflected in her eyes as they met his.
“This is important, Ethan. We need to have a real heart-to-heart talk.”
“About what?” Ethan asked. Despite the interrogation, sitting next to her was sort of nice. His chest had even stopped bleeding!
“Everything that is bothering you, both here and in the real. I’m your friend, and it’s obvious something is tearing you apart.”
“It’s nothing. Just, you know… stuff.”
“Don’t lie or try to put on a brave face. I can see the fear in your eyes. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Trust me. I can help you, and your fear will destroy you if you don’t deal with this. To keep climbing the tower with me, you need to trust me.”
Ethan sighed and looked away. “It’s stupid. I’m just being rebellious and dumb. Selfish and paranoid.”
Lily let go of his hand and pulled his chin around so that their eyes met again. Ethan didn’t resist.
“No, you’re being human. No one is perfect. So, what do you feel when you see the shadow?”
In the face of Lily’s kind understanding, Ethan found himself opening up. He needed to trust someone. He couldn’t fight everything alone, not without breaking.
“I feel powerless, and my life feels pointless, like I’ve wasted it,” Ethan said before taking a deep calming breath and forcing himself to describe some of his history with her. He was ashamed of being on economic support and never accomplishing anything. Lily was the last person he wanted to have look down on him, but the words were pouring out now, like a dam had burst.
“I mean, even if I had a job, what’s the point?” Ethan asked rhetorically. He was ranting now. “I don’t care about lording my status over others like scum do, so I don’t really need the money. I’m actually content with my apartment and clothes, but I’m missing something. It’s sad. We live in a society where all our basic needs are met, and it certainly doesn’t make us happy or content. I don’t know what I want.”
“People have always had to find their own source of meaning. I think we lack easy answers these days because we’ve lost our faith.”
“Our faith?” Ethan remarked in surprise.
“Yes, our faith in ourselves and in a greater whole apart from ourselves. As a society, we no longer believe we can overcome hardship. We think pain diminishes us. We no longer believe our suffering has meaning, that it makes us better in an eternal way.”
“Is that what you believe? That our pain matters? It sounds grim.”
There was a hint of laughter in Lily’s smile, like they were just having a friendly chat. “I believe everything people do matters. Even our smallest actions reverberate out into the universe forever. We can’t grow and be our best selves without pain and failure.”
“I haven’t suffered that much,” Ethan remarked automatically. Really, he was spoiled and had been given far
more than most humans had ever had in the past.
Lily shook her head. “Pain isn’t something you can hold in your hands or show off. You can’t measure it against the pain of other people. Everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has felt suffering and despair enough to destroy them. It is part of what makes us human.”
“That doesn’t sound very harmonious. They prefer to think that if individuals obey the whole, all forms of conflict and suffering can be prevented,” Ethan chuckled. He meant to sound light-hearted, but it came out grimmer than he had intended.
Lily shrugged. “Many things that are undeniably true don’t sound harmonious. What’s important is for you believe in yourself and find a reason to struggle, despite the pain.”
Ethan looked down and was silent for a moment. Lily and he were sitting side by side now and holding hands again. “I feel a lot better, like a weight has been lifted off my chest. Thank you.”
He’d never been able to talk to anyone about this sort of thing before. He wasn’t usually a very open person when it came to his feelings, and having a real conversation was next to impossible without questioning the harmony ideology. That could be dangerous since you never knew who was listening. Briefly, the memory of the agents from the Bureau of Economic Harmony who had visited him flashed through his mind. That could have gone much worse than it had. He was lucky Tekko had stepped in to protect its own secrets.
“Good, I think I hear our teammates returning,” Lily replied as she got up and extended him a hand.
Blinking, Ethan took her hand and allowed her to help him to his feet. He’d been hoping for some more time to talk. He hadn’t managed to ask Lily about her own background yet. Now would have been the perfect time to ask.
Ethan heard the snapping of branches, so he stepped away from Lily and turned to see a flash of Kyle’s armor through the bushes ahead. At the same time, Eveck stepped back into sight from behind a tree and gave Ethan a knowing wink. Ethan had completely forgotten the Aknii man was still here. He flushed in embarrassment at the thought that he might have been overheard, even though he was just an NPC in a VR game.
As Ethan collected himself, his teammates arrived. Kyle led Michael and Jude over. None of them looked very happy.
“It was a dead end. There was nothing of value in the cave,” Kyle told Ethan. “There wasn’t even anything cool to fight in there. It was dark and boring.”
“You fell into a hole and got your foot stuck in a crevice,” Jude replied scornfully.
“I got myself out with my energy blade.”
“And almost cut your foot right off, and you did take a large chunk out of your armor.”
“I can still walk fine, mostly.”
Michael sighed in frustration and turned to study Ethan, Lily, and Eveck. He looked tired and more than a little frustrated. “At least nothing happened out here while we were gone.”
“Nope, nothing at all,” Ethan hurriedly replied as he nodded in agreement.
Michael gave him a questioning look but then rolled his eyes and turned away as he muttered to himself. “Kids these days…”
Since the party had taken quite a bit of damage, they headed back toward the city. Even Jude didn’t argue. She seemed annoyed with everyone, and she clearly wanted the forest expedition over with.
The team of players and their guide reached the city without incident, and once inside the gates, Michael turned to his teammates. “Well, it seems I was right about the futility of wandering around in the forest without a proper plan.”
Eveck was still nearby, and he shrugged as he walked away. “You usually don’t find a haul like the one you folks did your first time out, and injuries are common out there. The forest is a dangerous place. If you’d butchered some of the monsters you killed, then you could still have made some profit, but you choose not to.”
“We’re not here to earn a living. We have bigger goals,” Kyle told him.
“I get paid regardless, so it’s no coin out of my purse. Just send word if you want me to guide you out again, pilgrims, and remember to tell everyone that I’m the best in the business,” Eveck replied before waving goodbye and disappearing down the street.
Ethan watched him go and then turned to take in the bustle of the city around him. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself. Lily’s words had really helped him put things in perspective and had given him new resolve. No matter how difficult things got or how much he doubted himself, he was going to accomplish the task before him. He wouldn’t let fear or embarrassment keep him down. He was going to make it to the top of the Tower of Ascension and prove to himself that he could accomplish great things. Shadow be damned.
CHAPTER 21
WILL TO LEARN
Now that they were back in the city, none of the team members were sure what to do next, except for Ethan. He needed to find some way to fix his armor. He’d managed to patch the deep gashes in his chest plate, but it would be weakened until it was fully repaired.
“Come on, one of you must have picked up some sort of hint about the temples. You can’t all have nothing!” Jude exclaimed in frustration.
“What about you?” Kyle shot back. “You were slacking off while we were combing the city yesterday.”
“I didn’t know you were all so useless,” Jude replied. “Apparently, I need to do everything myself.”
“Let’s not let hurried emotions cloud our judgement,” Michael calmly interjected. “We’re all on the same side here, and we need to work together.”
Kyle looked momentarily chagrined and nodded. Jude kept scowling angrily, but she bit her tongue.
Michael gave them both an approving smile. “Let’s continue this chat somewhere more secure. All the players in this city are looking for the temple as well, and there are plenty of ways to eavesdrop in Worldshift.”
He had a good point. Looking around, Ethan saw several players in armor mixed in discreetly among the nearby pedestrians. Most of them looked to be interacting with merchants or just walking around, but who knew what they were really doing. Thus, the entire team followed Michael to a nearby tavern. There, Michael rented a private table in a back room, and they all sat down.
The older man looked serious once everyone was seated. “Now, since we haven’t found any hints that lead directly to the temple, we obviously need to expand our search. Has anyone encountered anything odd or out of place?”
Kyle shook his head and looked annoyed. “There are a lot of strange things here, but nothing that stands out to me. For a place that gets so many visitors looking for the thing, the Aknii sure know next to nothing about the temple. They just accept that players show up and disappear magically without questioning it. It’s apparently the will of our ever-watching god. We’re kind of like mischievous elves to these people.”
“The blue people with pointy ears think we’re elves,” Jude chuckled.
However, Ethan frowned at the mention of elves and gods. He could think of something that was suspicious about this floor. Discretely, he turned to give Lily a questioning look. She hadn’t brought up anything to do with the Origin to the others, so he didn’t want to bring it up without her permission. Lily met his gaze and gave him a reassuring smile before turning to Michael, who had caught the interaction.
“I’ve encountered something noteworthy about this city and its people,” Lily told him.
“Oh?” Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.
Lily nodded. “It seems like some of the Aknii are capable of using a type of magic or psychic power. It’s tied to their religion.”
“Interesting, for sure, but how is it relevant?” Michael asked. “Unusual powers aren’t all that rare among monsters and NPCs in Worldshift.”
Instead of answering, Lily turned toward Ethan. “Show them.”
Ethan shrugged and did as he was told. He raised a hand and concentrated on touching the Origin. There was a loud whoosh as energy poured forth to create a familiar orb of whirling air. There was shocked silence f
or a moment as the others stared.
“With some training, players can learn to use the power too,” he explained to his teammates. “They call this evoking.”
“Wow, that’s so cool!” Kyle exclaimed excitedly as he leaned forward. “What does it do?”
“Um, well… You can use it to create light, heat, or force, among other things,” Ethan answered awkwardly. “I can’t do too much with it yet.”
As the others watched, Ethan briefly made the ball revolve around his hand for a few seconds before letting it disappear with a pop.
“Seems like a dumb party trick to me,” Jude remarked contemptuously. “I’ll stick with my guns instead of messing around with weak bullshit like that.”
“It is odd that the game designers would add this ability to the game now,” Michael mused aloud. “Why have a magic system in the tower?”
Ethan decided not to share Lily’s theory about it being a form of hacking. He didn’t want to embarrass her.
Suddenly, Michael sat up straighter and nodded. “Ah, I see. The stone mural from the ruins. That effect of Ethan’s was somewhat similar to the aura around the key in the art.”
“Yes, that’s what I was thinking,” Lily said.
While those two were talking, Kyle leaned toward Ethan. “Hey, where did you learn to use those leet psychic powers? I want to try that smack too. It looks epic cool.”
“Er, I don’t think they’re psychic powers exactly. Also, Lily knows more about it than me, so you should ask her,” Ethan told him.
The team discussed their plans for several more minutes and decided to check out the temples in the city. Lily pointed them in the direction of places that taught evoking, although Jude still seemed completely uninterested. Ethan also noticed that Lily didn’t mention Adhut. Did she want to keep the best teacher for herself? Did she think he would turn them off with his cranky demeanor?
Worldshift- Virtual Revolution Page 23