A girl stepped out of the nearest shower at that moment, eyes widening at Val's presence. "I just rerolled," he winked.
The girl, a fit looking Asian with voluptuous curves, frowned thoughtfully. "I didn't know you could do that," she said, not at all shy about dressing in front of him. "But I always wanted to play a mech-warrior, so I'm happy with my build. What class did you decide on?"
"Rogue adventurer," he instantly replied. "I found a backdoor on Readit. Now my class is open to anything! Fencing, magic, psionics, any skill I want without restraint, but since I'm not a standard build, I'm not welcome in the starter zone." His words were hurried as he pointed at the additional pair of servitors now heading their way, hands holding what Val would almost swear were stun batons. He flashed the bemused looking girl a sheepish smile. "I didn't realize they would be quite this serious. I don't have a clue where I'm going. Can you point me to the exit?"
She chuckled softly. "You didn't even get a node implanted?" She tapped the shiny port drilled just above her temple and winked. "I think you got spoofed by a troll on Readit, buddy. If you play the standard classes, you get to download whatever class packet you like! Including free starting skills, a complete basic training back history that hits you like a ton of bricks and you're like completely floored, and then you realize that somehow you've already digested the info. Everything! As if two years of memories are completely ingrained. It's fantastic!" She smirked as Val grimaced, already walking away as the irate looking security closed. The girl pointed toward the middle hallway off in the distance. "The chip also gives you quests and has internal maps! Anyway, middle hall, and good luck with your rogue class! I'm Arnythree! Message me on Readit later with your build, we'll compare notes!"
Val saluted his thanks, hurrying off as angry murmurs followed in his wake.
"Hey, what the hell? Where's my equipment? Hey, wait, did that guy..."
"Steal your clothes?" chuckled Exalted's newest mech-warrior. "I'm afraid he did, buddy. He's playing a backdoor class, can you guess which? Hint: it starts with the word 'rogue.' she laughed as the guy cursed. "Anyway, my name's Arnythree. What class are you playing?"
"Battlemage," the guy grumbled. "Incompatible with tech."
"Oh man, you need to self-synergize with a 50 point mana pool for that class, right?"
"That's right, it's an elite class. Most players are lucky to even get thirty, standard is ten. And of course I'll put points into mana every level and forge myself into something truly lethal. But only a fool would fail to have a backup weapon for when his spells run out, and that bastard stole my sword!"
Val could all but feel the man glaring daggers at his back. "Give me back my sword, asshole, or I'm going to Ice Spear you to the moon!"
"Bloody fuck," Val cursed, his fast walk quickly turning into a run across that endless chamber, Val rubbing his eyes at what seemed massive computer banks to both sides stretching in odd directions, for all that the screens were primitive vacuum tube black and white, and the spools and diodes looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
He gave a pleased grin as the vast, endless chamber seemed to finally come to an end up ahead, another uniformed player before the middle gate, inky blackness crackling with myriad flashes of silver-grey lightning as the young man prepared to go through.
Val abruptly came to a halt as the teen smiled his way. "See you in the game," he said, placing a hand into the rift, screaming abruptly as his body writhed and fried, pulsing with strange energies, then disappearing entirely.
Val pulled back abruptly. "No fucking way."
A faint tingle on the back of his neck.
duck!
He fell to the ground as a jagged spear of icy death flew past him before shooting into the middle gate of inky blackness ahead.
Val hissed and rolled, springing to his face as an irate looking man covered in nothing but coarse body hair began to shout at him. "You stupid goddamned little punk! Thinking you can steal from me? Just because this is a game? I have to deal with enough of you pricks in the real world, asshole! Don't think I'll tolerate your shit here! You're going to give me your name and social security number right here, boy, and I'm going to see you booted off this server and press formal charges, see if I don't!"
Val blinked in disbelief. The man's face reddened with fury.
"Glacie Pilum!" he roared, jabbing forth his finger again, and a spear of ice tore through the air.
Val dove to the side and rolled, knowing how hard it was to hit a target moving at odd angles. He could feel a strange bow wave of force centered on the magical spear, his left hand instinctively pushing outward, as if against an unseen current. A fierce grin split his features as the spear jolted slightly off target, missing Val cleanly as he continued to roll.
The pugnacious man's fury seemed only to grow. "I have this spell mastered, you little prick! I'm not out of mana yet!"
Val's flipped himself back to his feet, his body just as strong and agile here as it was on Earth. He frowned, gazing carefully at the heaving man, more certain than ever that he hadn't imagined it. There. He wasn't just muttering spell names that automatically triggered an effect. The game was so intricately designed that Val was actually beginning to see the complex weave of chrome and blue threads streaming into the guy's hands, an instant before his ice spear catalyzed into existence.
"Glacie Pilum!" And even before the ice left the man's hands, Val could feel that same bow wave of force preceding the spear, like a submarine missile pushing through the water before it. And just like a strong countercurrent could force a torpedo off course, Val could feel the ice spear's trajectory shifting as he somehow thrust out with a counterforce, knocking the spell aside even as he dropped into a half crouch before springing to the left once more.
The wise man sees what's right in front of him! Arcane Perception Rank 3 Fully Quantized.
What you can perceive, you can manipulate, even as you twist and use skills in ways they were never intended! Hybridized hominid brain for the win! Personal Resonance Mastery Rank 9 Fully Quantized!
"Stop right there!" Roared what were now half a dozen soldiers wearing full suits of glossy white armor. They looked well protected, for all that it shone like plastic more than steel. Val frowned at the blasters, realizing his character might soon be in peril, as much as he was enjoying getting a sense of his potential with his sparring.
The man before him was breathing hard, though his hot glare had turned into something of a smile. "You want sport, is that it, boy? Well, I'll give you some damned sport! Glacie Pilum!" he roared, and Val just barely ducked in time, angry with himself for allowing even a moment's distraction from the threat facing him. Even as he dodged and darted, his sense of the complex, even beautiful weave of shimmering strands of chrome and blue (earth and water) that made up the spell grew ever clearer to his mind's eye.
His opponent's eyes widened, surprised, it seemed, to see that Val had countered his spell once more.
Val's grin grew as the security approaching began to curse, smoke hissing from their blasters and batons. And most of them had been yards away.
Val winked at the man he faced, and he could somehow sense that the man was out of energy, waiting for his mana bar to refill. "It looks like your spell killed their blasters."
The man blinked in surprise, then laughed. "That's right. Mages are the superior class! Our arcane might fuses their tech. That's why they don't have us join Dominion military campaign until we're much higher level. We'll short out their silly mechs!"
The approaching Asian girl slipping easily past the guards frowned at that, as did her companion "I'll have you know, mech-warriors are no joke in this game," Arnythree declared. "As soon as we prove ourselves in the field, we get access to units with Vulcan Cannons that could blast you to smithereens, five hundred yards out."
Her companion nodded. "And we get to run missions throughout the entire galaxy, exploring worlds, forging alliances, one day spearheading campaign
s of conquest of our own. Whereas you two will be relegated to this one backwater planet for the entirety of your game, since no pilot is going to trust mages radiating energies that could fry his ship mid-warp!"
The older man shrugged. "Couldn't care less. I'd far rather unlock the hidden secrets of this universe, the whispers of creation and destruction tied to my every utterance! To become an archmage, with a castle and fiefdom of my own, one day."
Val nodded. "Tourism is nice, but I'd rather be exploring ancient ruins and discovering lost secrets and artifacts than playing a tech game. Why rely on mechanized machines or spaceships for my power, when it could all come from within?"
His opponent smirked. "First sensible thing you've said, kid. My name's Hankro Battleblood."
Val smiled. "Johnathan."
Hankro frowned. "That doesn't sound very immersive."
Val shrugged. "Guess not. But Lord Battleblood sounds like a cool title to earn yourself, one day."
Hankro grinned. "It does, doesn't it?" His gaze hardened. "Don't think I forgot what started this little dialogue. I would like my sword back, if you would."
Val smiled. "Let's make a deal. You hit me with one of your spears, it's yours. If not? You get to practice casting, and I, dodging."
Hankro frowned thoughtfully. "It is the perfect place for some practice, since we don't really have to worry about starter buffoons." He glared back at the cursing troopers, most of whom were glaring and muttering, content, it seemed to let Hankro handle this his own way. The two closest unarmored security just stared at them with incredibly lifelike expressions of jaded disgust. "They must have used real actors. No other way to simulate those expressions."
He smirked as the two would-be mech-warriors cursed before the gate, now glowing blue. Arnythree glared at Val and Hankro. "You goofballs flipped the breakers. Now this gate is exclusively magic aligned." She frowned at her blaster. "I'm lucky our starting weapons are both modifiable and soul-linked, otherwise they would be fried. Same thing with our class-based implants," she said, tapping her brow, "or I'd really be pissed."
Hankro flashed an evil smile. "Think fast, kid... Glacie Pilum."
A sudden streak of icy death slammed the tiles so hard they cracked, but Val had already spun back, hair tingling on the nape of his neck as he could all but taste the magics orienting on him. He grinned, reveling in the simple joy of playing such a lifelike simulation, truly embracing it, and when the next spear of ice launched through the air, Val could feel the tight web of force he was somehow squeezing forming up into a disk to meet it, somehow a perfect repulsion for the web he faced, for all that he grunted with the effort, feeling that it drained him, somehow.
He blinked in shock as the perfectly solid spear of ice, laden with considerable mass, tore free of the magic web Val's ward had blocked, its own inertia more than enough to continue its arc, Val's simultaneous dodge all that kept it from spearing right through him.
Mageward Rank 1 Fully Quantized. Straight on ward-block! Nice try! Good thing you still thought to dodge. 20 mana spent. 15 hit points of damage taken! Positive total remaining: You suffer minimal adverse effects! You have suffered a Light Wound. -1 Penalty countered by adrenaline surge! Fear check neutralized with killer's background. Carry on!
Val hissed then, only feeling the pain at that moment, the spear having penetrated the shield, albeit with far less force, tearing a gouge in his bicep as it streaked past, slamming and lodging into a now crackling and smoking wall of computer hardware.
The boy beside Arnythree was clapping approvingly. "I always love tearing up starter zones!" He cheered.
Hankro laughed at Val daring to block the spell straight out. "Most mages can't counter physical manifestations with their Magewards. You might counter the magic if you're skilled, but Ice Spear is one of the few spells with considerable mass and inertia behind it. That's why I chose this spell as my free mastered. It also gave me rank one in four magic arts." He smirked then. "It's also the most expensive level 20 spell in the game, but damn if it isn't effective. You were better off knocking the spells aside as part of your dodge technique, and you aren't bad, either. Only a few people can grab that PRM skill, but almost no one can see the weaves well enough to do that more than a couple times before they mess up, if Readit isn't full of shit." He suddenly grinned. "Admit it, you were meant for this game! You're another elite 50 point mage, like me. Some sort of deflection specialist, am I right?"
"We're all elite," Arnythree countered. "All of us are somehow interfacing with the strange fields the aliens are shooting down from their spaceship that's blocking everything beyond our solar system from view. That's the only reason why we're interfacing without servers!"
Her companion shook his head. "That's bullshit, Arny," he said good-naturedly. "There was a supernova or something within a few light-years of Earth, and even though it's been eclipsed by a nearby star, the gravity waves are disrupting our ability to see the stars."
"That's not how physics works, kids," Hankro smirked. "No one knows where the stars went, or how we're able to commune with a game officially offline with no working servers. The answer, ladies and gentlemen, is simple."
"And what's that?" Arnythree asked.
Hankro grinned. "Magic. It's real. Almost as real as this: Glacie Pilum!" he said, stabbing his fingers at Val.
Val let his sparring partner's words wash over him, already darting aside with his shield of force ready as Hankro began forming his now clearly visible spellweb, Val tasting exactly where he would strike and dodging aside before Hankro's spear had even launched.
And with a frisson of wonder, it all made sudden, perfect sense.
"Glacie Pilum!" Val roared, feeling the forces of earth, water, creation, and manipulation synergizing together into a wondrous, beautiful whole; his spear roaring forth as he poured every ounce of himself into getting it right!
Ice Spear successfully quantized! You have countered this spell multiple times and intuitively understand the forces and fields involved. Ice Spear successfully learned at basic proficiency. Ice Spear can now be cast without penalty!
Meta-Magic Feat: Spellboost Rank 1 Successfully quantized!
Critical failure for boosting first casting of unknown magics avoided! Boosted Ice Spear cast! 60 mana spent!
His body shook with the sudden roar and flood of alien magics storming through his soul, a fierce clenching of his will keeping the strange spell matrix in place even as the energies slammed through his frame, every ounce of his will directing and focusing it all into the massive spear of ice even now hurling through the air, crossing the distance between himself and Hankro before he could blink, blasting through the man's sternum with the force of a charging knight.
Critical hit to sternum! Boost Ice Spear damage exceeds Hankro's hit points! Unmitigated Fatal Damage as your spear rips clean through aorta and spine! You have killed a fellow Terran with a single blow, and all his limitless potential is now yours to seize! Experience earned!
Hankro blinked in speechless surprise as he was slammed back, Val's spear lodging into the nearby computer bank deeper than any of Hankro's had, holding him upright as his trembling feet lost all strength and he slumped, held upright only by the spear that had pulverized his chest in a spray of blood and gore, looking at Val in blinking wonder before his eyes glazed over in death.
The male mech pilot smiled and nodded. "Damn brutal. PvP in the starting zone! Nice kill, man, don't forget to post it on the boards." He saluted Val with his blaster and winked.
The Asian girl looked at Val with horror. "Jesus fucking Christ, you really killed that guy!"
The other player confidently shook his head. "No. You really have to immerse yourself in the game and buy the right perks before you can feel visceral sensations like smell, taste, pain, or sensuality in the game itself, and the pain option is voluntary. No way in hell you'll see it in the starter zone. He just got a buzz shock. Same thing if someone taps your hand with a buzzer. That's the stand
ard penalty for all deaths, no matter how much of a noob you are, so everyone takes the game seriously. It's surprising, not painful, and when you get kicked out, the death throes are scripted."
Val, well able to smell the sour smoke of fried transistors and taste the coppery stench of blood crawling up the back of his throat, his arm throbbing with very real pain, thought it best to say nothing.
"Are you sure?" Arnythree asked.
The guy winked. "Read it on Readit." He then nodded at Val. "This portal's flipped to pure magic attunement, and you're obviously a mage. If I were you, I'd make the jump in-game. Starter kills are epic, but they're likely to boot you if you stick around, even if you are smart enough to use a black cat helm."
The girl furrowed her brows once more.
"A traceless helm," the guy sighed. "Like my Excelsior model, but tweaked."
The girl grinned. "You know a hell of a lot about this game. What do you feel about dual boxing battle-mechs?”
The boy brightened with a genuine smile. "Why not? We did both pick the most badass class in the game. I'd rather see the stars and battle throughout Dominion territory than be stuck on a single planet, so yeah, let's do that. I could use a battle buddy."
"Awesome!" She said. "Let's sync our quest logs." They tapped their heads together, utterly oblivious of the increasingly panicked looking security edging closer to Val, both of them giving Val a wave goodbye as they headed back to the main room to try another exit point, utterly disregarding the approaching personnel who paid them no mind, all of them focused on Val.
Val flashed a dark grin, his ebullient mood of but moments before replaced by something bleak and cold with Hankro's dying gaze. Part of him felt guilty, strangely enough. He had enjoyed sparring with Hankro, and wouldn't have minded a fellow mage as a friend. And Hankro's only reward was to be brutally speared in a starter zone by someone he had been sparring with, in what was almost good fun.
Endless Online: Oblivion's Price: A LitRPG Adventure - Book 3 Page 10