by Harley Vex
But remembering the Lava Incident gives me an idea.
"Time to graduate to the second grade," I say. "It's experiment time."
I need to bring the Dreadmoths to me. Days upon days of watching my dirt tower, water trap has confirmed that Dreadmoths don't spawn in enclosed spaces. And I already know from the Lava Incident that they're attracted to light. I doubt that's changed in the update. They're moths. I've seen enough of them in real life swarming street lamps to know Salvos won't change that part of their behavior.
But before I build a trap, I need to get into the sky.
More like, I need to finally reach the top of that cliff.
* * * * *
Ladders are easy to make, at least. I get two by placing two columns of Common Sticks around a column of Plant Twines. It's a bit time consuming to gather the materials, but worth it, because I'm able to just stick the ladder pieces, each of which is half my height, to the side of the cliff. They stay on as if I've crazy glued them.
And they stay on as I haul myself up them. I don't tire during the climb, at least, and I can let go with one hand and tap my inventory with the other, summoning a weapon, tool, or item into my hand. This allows me to stick ladder after ladder just above me, climb a bit more, and repeat. It doesn't obey the laws of physics but neither does most of Salvosera. But I like the charm.
"Just don't look down, Mike," I mutter.
So of course, I do.
"Look back up, or you will need an adult diaper," I say, dizzy. The ground is at least fifty feet below at me at this point, and I'm only two-thirds of the way up this cliff. My heart pounds as I forget I'm in a game for a moment. But my footing is good and feels stable, more stable than it would in real life. I can imagine Fatigue would make climbing difficult and more realistic, but I'm fine for now.
And at long, long last, I reach the top of that tall cliff.
Hauling myself up onto the grass is easy, but as soon as I do, dizziness comes over me as I stare at the sprawling Scattered Woods below. I can see my house and—yikes—a single Lavaworm that's been camping on my roof. I'll need to light it because I'm lucky it didn't ambush me when I exited my house this morning. I'm also looking down on the top of my waterfall-fed barley farm and the dirt tower that houses my water trap. My tree farm is a thick row of neat growth and I can even see foggy hints of my Swamp Ghoul grinder from here. A small hole near it reveals my Peat mine which I've been working on for some time.
Then dread comes over me. I've got to back away from the edge of the cliff, because a fall like this will kill me. When I do, I lose track of the ladder.
Then another thought hits me.
"I'm going to have to climb back down eventually." Or slowly dig a staircase down with my new Granite Hammer. I back over short, bright green grass, breathing in chilly air. I sigh in relief and stop near another tree.
Is that a patch of snow over there?
It's cold up here. The small snow patch feels like the real thing when I lean down and press my hand into it. I don't leave a print or anything, but it's interesting and just adds to the weird charm. Hopefully Dreadmoths don't have an aversion to cold or my newest trap isn't going to work. They shouldn't. They spawn at this height all the time. I first eye the cliff. It's a narrow, flat surface for the most part with a couple of trees, but it extends lengthwise as far as I can see. And the cliff is thinner than I thought. From my position, I can even see the Flatlands biome I visited, plus the pool of lava in the distance, partially obscured by fog.
"Are you kidding?" I shout at the sky. "That pool of lava was this close to my base?"
All that time I was messing with molds and clay buckets, I was less than fifty meters from my house. Balling my fists, I count my paces across the top of the cliff. Yes. The cliff is just fifty meters wide but hundreds long. I could have dug through it with my hammer and saved a buttload of time.
I force myself to calm down. "That's a project for another time," I say, eyeing the sky. The clouds seem closer now. I must be at least forty blocks in the air, judging from the ladders I made. If I light up the top of this cliff, I should stop ground mobs from spawning and leave more room for Dreadmoths. Being higher up might also cut the spawn rate in that massive cave, further helping me lure in more of what I want. I haven't done any studies to find out for sure, but that's just what I've seen.
I tap my backpack to open my inventory. I have blocks. Lots of Common Planks, which stack to 99 in each slot. More Ladders. About thirty Crap Peat Torches because I've used up all my Spark Clusters, and haven't gotten more from my trap so far. Dreadmoths like light. The Lava Incident proved that.
And then I need to kill them and collect the bounty.
And after that, I'll have a full set of armor.
And after that, I'm showing Salvos what Mike Wattles is all about.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the Mike Wattles Dreadmoth Destroyer."
My Dreadmoth Destroyer is on a Common Plank column another thirty meters or so above the top of the cliff. At least the build height in Salvosera is high enough for me to do this. I'd been worrying about that.
I stand in the middle of my creation and explain the logic of my newest invention. "I've got a ladder going to the top of this tower and I enter the wooden structure through the floor. You can see a trapdoor there." I motion to the middle of the tower's floor, where a dark trapdoor waits. "And my octagon tower, I know, is blasphemy in a world of pentagons."
It's fancier than my house, sadly. And brighter. Windows on every side and one Peat Torch above each window keep things lit. Turns out I can only place Peat Torches on non-transparent things, but that's fine. I can see what I'll be doing.
"Maybe I'm not such a bad builder. This thing looks like a wooden version of that tower in Canada," I say. "These windows let me see what I'm doing and I can bravely hack at the Dreadmoths from in here." I've got Common Slabs above each window, leaving a hole for me to use.
But it's really cold up here and the air is thin. And having openings doesn't help.
I shiver. "At least my irrigated Fertile Farmland blocks don't freeze. That was another thing I was worried over." I walk to the windows and look down at the outer part of my tower. A wooden platform surrounds it on all sides, and a wooden wall on the other side of that platform blocks my view of the world.
I turn my gaze down at the water streams I've got flowing from the four irrigated farmland blocks, one on each "corner" of my tower. Water flows ten blocks from each source, in each direction, to two collection channels that lead inside.
"This running water noise won't make me have to go to the bathroom," I say. But at least 1.) I won't die in my murder hole and 2.) Only Dreadmoths should spawn up here, and my distance from that massive cave should cut down on underground monster spawns and increase the spawns up here.
"So basically, the Dreadmoths will fly towards the light down here and sink between the inner and outer walls of my tower. Then I'll kill them and let the water bring their plates to me. The walls will stop their drops from falling to the ground."
The light outside dims. Then the sky goes dark and only the pale light from the Peat Torches outside filters through the windows.
My theory that being up here, way off the ground, will make more Dreadmoths spawn turns out to be right.
I hear screeches, some fairly close, some far away.
"Yes," I hiss, readying my Granite Hatchet. I swing it, relishing the whooshing noise it makes. It's a much more satisfying sound than the one the Flint Hatchet made.
And then I wait, hoping that the Peat Torches do their thing.
But halfway through the night, I realize that I named Peat Torches Crap Torches for a reason. Towards the end of the night, one Dreadmoth wanders close to my tower, and then dives in between the walls and into my kill range as it emits an ear-splitting screech.
I swing and make the kill quickly, without taking any damage, and finally a coveted Dreadmoth Plat
e falls into my water stream and slowly makes its way, along with some Silk, to one of my collection points. The Plate and Silk ride into my tower under another Common Slab I've got up for safety and settle on the floor.
The sun's coming back up. Pink light invades my windows.
I pick up my prize.
"One Dreadmoth."
I eye my inventory. A whole night's earned me this prize. In a week, I might have enough for a chestplate. And that's if I'm lucky.
A mirthless laugh rises in my throat. "I've got to do better."
Of course, first tries on these mob traps rarely work well. I'm guessing that light sources are a tiered thing like Ovens and tools. Or I simply need more weaker light sources to attract more Dreadmoths. Lava attracted that one Dreadmoth with no issue, so it must be considered a strong light source, and I imagine that Spark Clusters can make something with brightness between the Peat Torches and Lava.
But the problem is that my tower is wood.
Spark Clusters it is.
But to get Spark Clusters, I'll need to make another extremely risky cave run without armor. And that's a great idea.
"What to do, Mike?" I pace around the Dreadmoth Destroyer as the remaining Dreadmoths despawn, one by one, in the daylight. The screeches vanish. Lava's not an option. I could rebuild this whole thing with dirt so I could use lava, maybe put it inside a glass tower, but I still suspect Salvos has made lava burn through Clay Pails. "Okay," I say, thinking out loud. "The safest option is to add more Crap Torches. Lots of them. I can go back to the Peat mine. Make a staircase tunnel down and see if I can find some Spark Ore down there too. Worst case, I just end up with a lot of Peat." Then I think of Anthony Anton and add, "Testing is just part of the business." He should know that. And besides, I'm still alive and making progress.
I climb down from the tower, throwing open the trapdoor I've placed over the exit. Dizziness comes over me as I eye the top of the cliff way below. Yikes. But I gulp and lower myself down the ladder, rung by rung, descending faster than I would in real life. Then once I set my shivering legs down on the grass of the cliff, I sigh, walk over to the two Common Plank columns I've placed to mark the location of my second ladder, and descend that one as well.
It's late morning by the time I make it down to my house. No Lavaworms wander around today which is strange, but then I remember that being so far in the air stopped mobs from spawning on the ground. I find none in the dirt tower trap, either. Bummer.
I walk over to the border of the Northern Swamp. A few Swamp Ghouls wander out of my first trap and try to traverse the Glass Panes, only to die in the sun as they're slowed by the Leaves. I ignore them and walk over to my Peat mine. It's still there, ten blocks deep now, stopping partway under the lake where I first saw Swamp Ghouls. I've left a single burning Peat Torch on the wall in there to prevent mob spawns and it seems to have worked, though I can barely see the end of the short tunnel. At least they don't go out, because I placed that torch sometime last week.
A strange wave of nostalgia sweeps over me. I spent my first night out here, looking at those dead trees out on the lake and the mysterious green light I still haven't figured out. But the sun's already approaching noon so I need to get to work.
"This had better be productive." I walk into the tunnel. Dark Peat surrounds me on all sides and makes up the floor, and Damp Soil makes up the ceiling. The whole place smells the way I'd expect a swamp would. The embers of the Peat Torch brighten a bit as I pass and cast a breeze on it—a cool effect that wasn't in 1.0, I've got to admit—and dim again. After moving my Granite Shovel and Granite Hammer to my hotbar, I get to work tunneling not only forward, but downward, keeping my tunnel three polygons wide. Globs of Peat drop and I pull them into my inventory, and I realize the light's so dim I can't tell what I'm doing anymore. I add my last Peat Torch into my hotbar, which appears in my hand, but before I can place it, the ground falls out from under me and I'm falling through a void.
I find myself standing in the Salvos Simulator a moment later, whirling to face whoever logged me out. I wasn't in the game for that long, was I? Still, I'm not shocked to see Candi standing there, one lock of red hair hanging over the front of her suit. She's balancing her laptop on her hip and forcing a smile at me so hard that I wonder what disaster is about to befall me now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
"You log me out a lot." That's all I can mutter as I take off my helmet and then the gloves. I almost slip on the floor of the Simulator.
"I log everybody out a lot," Candi says as her grin drops off.
Ouch. I'm tired of these mixed signals. "Was I about to screw up on something?"
But then she waves me out, erasing every indication that yes, I was about to screw up. "You all have been working hard. We're going to Dill and Steve's tonight. All of us."
"Dill and Steve's?" I ask as she backs away. Behind her, Don stands, removing his own helmet. He's broken a sweat and lets out a breath. Has he died since 1.1 started? I can't tell. And behind him, Val climbs out of her own Simulator, pulling her haptic gloves off. We've got a full house tonight. All of us have come down to the testing room.
"Yeah. The adult arcade. You've never been there?" Candi asks. "You're the only local guy. Mondays are by far the best days to go. The place is a lot less busy."
" We go out together once in a while," Don says, catching me up.
"Of course I know what Dill and Steve's is. Natalie and I went there on her birthday two years ago with some friends of hers," I say, hating that I'm giving off sour grapes.
Candi frowns. "Yeah. We all need to take a break. I know 1.1 is different, but I have instructions from the top that our gamers need to avoid burnout." She stares at the wall as she speaks and I somehow doubt that's the truth.
"No kidding," Val says, pulling her braids back.
Apparently everyone's been adjusting. I feel less stupid but no less rejected.
Despite making a bit of progress and not dying in Salvosera, my mood plunges into the toilet as I wait my turn to get changed. Once everyone's out of the changing room, Candi waves us to the underground garage. Even the thought of having a fun night at Dill and Steve's doesn't lift my mood that much.
We cram into a pair of cars to take the drive to the arcade. It's not that packed on a Monday night which I'm sure is why Candi chose today to take us all out. She drives the car I share with Don and Val while Kevin, Liz, and Matt take the other car. I wonder if any of them have died in-game and will come back to eviction notices.
Candi checks us all in to Dill and Steve's at the front counter using Anton's credit card. The woman at the front desk gawks at it before swiping. A lot of people must know who Anton is. Creationist. Duh. He's only the most famous VR developer in the world.
"Everyone has five hundred credits. We meet for dinner in the restaurant in two hours," Candi says, motioning to the huge arcade floor and the attached burger joint. She seems so carefree right now but I can't help but wonder if she's got a motive for logging all of us out at the same time. Candi might have zero interest in me but I've got to look for any warning signals.
And I've got to mention Natalie. I promised her that.
I pair up with Matt for the next couple of hours, trying to enjoy myself. We play a few racing games, a couple of first person shooters, and that one game where you cut fruit on a touch screen. I'm not great at any of them. Unlike Val and Kevin, I'm not big into actual combat or reflexes. But I have fun all the same, and I take a while to realize that Candi's been pretty absent during the past couple of hours.
"Doesn't Candi ever hang out with us?" I ask once we finish a round of the corny fruit game.
Matt shrugs. "Not really. I mean, she's around, but she's not really around. I think aloof is the word. She reminds me of a cat."
"Good comparison," I grumble.
"Come on. She's so busy she couldn't date anyone if she wanted." Matt slaps me on the back. "Don't take it personally. I don't think any of us have dated withi
n our group. It would ruin things, you know?"
"Gotta love that drama," I say. I can't bear to tell him that Beta 1.1 could ruin things and not just on the gaming front. But I have the feeling Matt's pretty safe. He's got that big subscriber base he can bring to Salvosera thanks to his long walk to the Glitch Lands. Kevin and Val are both straight-up PVP and Liz is more of an explorer who hunts down new features. If Salvos wants to make cuts, they won't need two PVP people. And explorers can only do so much.
And then there's me.
I'm here because Miriam went over Anton's head.
"Say, it's almost dinner." Matt peels himself from the fruit game and motions to the burger joint. "There's Candi."
Despite the vibes she's been sending me I look forward to it. We all sit at the same table and joke around like old friends and I can see why dating is a no go. We're just a group of nerdy gamers. Friends. Comrades. Maybe even a family. We order greasy burgers with butter buns and fries that come with a whole tray of weird sauces. I'm careful not to partake in the booze on the menu, despite there being a ton of drinks with ridiculous names like Dancing With A Moose and Beach Combing In Underwear. I'm the only one who doesn't order a beer with the other guys, and as the time creeps toward ten PM, Matt and Don get up and stretch.
"So," Candi says, pocketing her phone. "How is everyone doing?"
"Great," Matt says.
"Having fun," Kevin adds.
"Finally got done lighting up that cave," Liz adds.
Everyone offers vague answers, following the non-disclosure rule.
"Fine," I say.