Login Accepted: Incipere Online Book One

by R J Triveri

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: Speaking of the festival… is it a date?

  Sitting back, he waited as he fidgeted with the cloth at the end of his coat sleeve.

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: Do you want it to be?

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: If it wouldn’t be weird. I mean, I don’t think it’d be weird, but I’m not always the best date.

  Her response was swift.

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: Athos, stop thinking so hard.

  Embarrassment flushed his cheeks as his came a moment later.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: Right. Sorry.

  And then there was nothing. For Athos, it was like he was back in high school again. It was like he was in the sixth grade again, passing a note to a cute girl, and waiting to see what she check-marked. Waiting was always the worst part.

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: To be honest, I already thought that was what we were doing.

  A smile grew on his face as he read that line again. Maybe he wasn’t as bad with women as his friends always joked.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: Can’t wait then.

  Athos opened his inventory and inspected the ring. He hadn’t gotten an accessory item before and figured it wouldn’t be the worst thing he could have gotten from the box. Pulling the ring into existence, he studied it. A shimmering, unbroken silver band with a single blue stone set on what he assumed was the top. Tapping on it, a small screen appeared as he held it reading off its purpose:

  Ring of Protection:

  The ring of protection acts as a light, magical barrier to minor damage. Your garb will act now with a light armor rating rather than just part of your avatar. If you are wearing light armor, the armor is slightly more protective. The effect will last for as long as you wear the ring. The effect does not transfer to armor classes higher than light armor.

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: You don’t have to wait, you know. You could visit anytime now that Dad’s calmed down a bit.

  He smiled at that as he slipped on the ring.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: Tomorrow. If… when this is all over, I’ll come.

  Checking the clock, it had already been over half an hour.

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: I’ll tell Dad to make up the guest room. We could use an extra hand around here with all those Nightbloom Dad’s planted. Before you ask or roll your eyes, it’s not a joke. Mom’s just getting ready to have the baby.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: As long as things go well, I’ll be there, and I hope everything goes well with your mom.

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: Then don’t do anything stupid. Keep your head down and remember to use your skills. World Bosses aren’t like anything you’ve ever faced before. They’re smarter.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: I’ll be careful.

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: I’m serious. Don’t die, Athos. I don’t want to lose a friend today… listen, I’ve got to concentrate on this. When it’s all over, tell me.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: I will. What are you working on?

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: A surprise. See you soon, Athos.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: Yeah. Good luck on your project.

  When he was sure no response was going to come, he opened his window and began to study his skills. There was only one he hadn’t used yet, and the materials for the pact were a bit expensive. His last pact had also left him a little wanting after it stole twenty percent of his integrity. The Nightmourn Pact needed Obscurus Arum, Pluvias Noxia, and Cholorethium to work. To top it off, it could only be performed with ‘sufficient natural surroundings.’ In his mind, he practiced the wording, then thought it was a bit silly. As soon as he wanted to trigger it, the wording would come.

  Going back to his window, he went to the bed and set the timer for an hour and blacked out into blissful unawareness.

  Gaming the System

  As if a bell rang inside of his head, Athos was awake and alive. Much to his chagrin, the idea of a bell ringing inside his head wasn’t such a far-fetched idea. In his vision, Nekka was dancing with a rather large bell in an effort to wake him. An hour, an entire night, it didn’t seem to make a difference. It always felt as though only a moment had passed.

  Wake up, Athos! You have one letter and no friend requests pending. Would you like me to read you your mail?

  Athos felt almost his old self again as the old practice of wiping the sleep from his eyes took over. Once he was ready, he nodded to his armored feline and sat back to listen to the letter.

  Athos, it’s Sammi.

  Don’t come back to the inn. The Suits have nearly rented the place out. I’ve never seen so many of them in a single place. They’re planning something and I don’t think it’s anything good. Stay at the guild house and stay out of sight until they leave.

  Don’t do anything stupid.

  It amazed him how well Nekka could imitate a voice that he’d heard before. It was as if Sammi was actually speaking to him. Nekka used the same intonation, attitude and general demeanor he had known the girl for. Too bad for the alchemical arm that he had noticed the letter a little too late.

  Would you like to write a reply?

  He shook his head. “No thanks, Nekka. I’m sure that she knows I’ve gotten the message.” Well, one way or another he’d gotten it anyways.

  Okay! Will there be anything else, Athos?

  “No, Nekka. I’ll be fine. Thank you for your help.” With a nod to his master, the armored feline waited for a moment before dissolving again into the data that made up Athos’s essence.

  The guild house was still too quiet for one reason or another. Not that Silent Ran made noise, but the others should have. He knew for a fact Torrent was staying there. Trina should be as well, and any of the other members. Not that he had met many of them, but they still should have been here moving.

  Opening his status window, the alchemical arm checked the time. According to that, there should have only been fifteen minutes until they were supposed to meet up. With a grunt, he pulled himself from the couch and made his way to the door. He stopped short as footsteps came up behind him.

  “Don’t bother,” came quietly as Trina’s voice broke the silence. “They’re all gone.”

  That sounded ominous to Athos as he turned to face her. “Who’s gone?”

  “When the guild got the message, we lost almost everyone. No one wanted to fight.” The woman almost sounded like she was in tears. How many could have left the guild? How many did you need to even be considered a guild?

  “Who’s left?”

  She held up her hand and began counting on her fingers. “Allen, Torrent, Ran, Diz, you and myself. That’s it. Twenty-two members up and left. Thankless, selfish bastards.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “There’s no way we can take on a world boss like this.”

  Athos knew enough about game worlds to know there was some truth to her words. Raids and bosses like this were designed for a group to fight. Even then, it wasn’t even possible if that group wasn’t organized. Despite that, he smiled. “We don’t have to take it on directly.”

  Trina looked at him curiously. “I don’t want to sound rude, Athos, but what the Hell do you know about fighting a world boss? Up until last night, you didn’t even know what they were.”

  He nodded to that as she sat down and bent her head back against the top of the couch. “Maybe, but if you think about it, we just need to reset the aggression levels. Right?”

  She nodded but simply shrugged the response away. “And how do you propose we do that? Should we go up and ask nicely for them to make the Wild Ones nicer?”

  He seemed a little uncomfortable at that question, but as his mind worked, a simple idea came to mind. “We beat the dungeon.” Trina looked at him rather dumbly as he continued. “From what I understand, a boss will spawn in the dungeon each time we enter it if we haven’t completed it, right?”

  Trina nodded. “Yes, but how
does that help us?”

  A smile grew as his plan came together. “Well, I’ve been there already and didn’t finish. If I go back in, wouldn’t my instance reload?”

  The thought had never occurred to Trina, but she nodded tentatively. “Well, it should, but that doesn’t help us right now.”

  “I think it can. Ioh returned to the forest after Thor’s Hammer struck, so she’s part of the instance again, isn’t she?” Again, Trina nodded. “Then wouldn’t the older version reload so I could continue where I left off?” Trina seemed dumbfounded at his revelation as Athos’s excitement grew. “Vedava, the boss in Rodda, said that she remembered each day except for the days that she died. My Ioh should remember me and if I can tell her what’s going on, it could change things.”

  Trina sat and thought for a moment. Her head rested in her hands pondering what he had said, the rational, the ideas that he had to deal with. “You realize how crazy that sounds. You’re talking about gaming the AI, the spawn system, the dungeon data itself, and risking everything on the memory of a dungeon boss that may not even know who you are.”

  “You’re forgetting that she has to survive the day, or her memory will reset.”

  She looked him over carefully before she gave the alchemical arm his answer. “You’re insane, Athos.”

  “Is it as insane as taking five people to fight a world boss in its home?”

  Apparently from her expression, it wasn’t. As she sat next to him, Trina seemed to be at odds with herself as she spoke. “We could always just leave, Athos.”

  To that, he nodded. “We could, but will you? Could you walk away from all these people that want to keep this city as their home?” When she didn’t answer, Athos sighed. “I can’t do that. I know what it’s like to give everything up, and if I can help, just a little, I think I have to do it.”

  Trina looked at him in a new light and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t take you as the hero type, Athos.”

  He smiled but shook his head. “I’m not. Well, I don’t want to be.”

  “If this works, you will be.”

  “No, if it works, you will be. I didn’t want any of this. I came here to live, not to be a dungeon-dwelling, monster-killing bad ass.”

  “Pity, you’d look good with some high-level armor to go with that gun. Maybe even a sword?”

  A friendly scoff erupted at that remark. “I’d look like an idiot.”

  “And that’s why normal people don’t attempt class modifications.”

  With a somber smile, Athos patted the gun at his side. “If this works, I just want to be left in peace. No guilds, no adventures. I just want to live my life again.”

  Trina nodded. “You can do what you want once we get that bounty taken care of, or did you forget that.”

  In truth, he had. “One thing at a time.”

  “One thing at a time,” she agreed. “Well, the ball’s in your court, Athos. It’s your instance, so you need to be the party leader for it to load.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep, it’s the logic of things around here. You should know that by now.”

  Damn the game’s logic. “Fine, how do I set up a party?”

  Opening her screen, she turned it to him and showed the guild roster. “When you click on a name, you should get a list of options. Then just click on invite to invite them to the party. It’s really pretty simple.”

  Using his fingers to open his screen, Athos brought up the guild roster. One by one, he clicked the remaining names and watched as the messages ticked across his screen.

  Trina Rorna has been invited to your party.

  Torrent Lase has been invited to your party.

  Allen Lee has been invited to your party.

  Ran Samere has been invited to your party.

  Diz Reagen has been invited to your party.

  Not even a second later, the first message came back.

  Error: Your request to Diz Reagen could not be completed. Please try again later.

  Huh. He didn’t expect that, but his mind tried to get the rest of his thoughts in order as one by one, the invitation was accepted by the rest. A few moments later, his screen was populated by new symbols and bars. Loot sharing? Targeting marks? He sighed and with his hand brushed them away like flies in his vision. He didn’t need to mess with any of that. It only got worse as the chat began to populate.

  (Party) Torrent Lase: Didn’t see this coming. What’s up?

  (Party) Allen Lee: I’d like to know that too. Why isn’t Trina leading? What the Hell are we even doing?

  Athos shook his head as Trina put a hand on his shoulder. “Just explain the plan like you did to me. You’ve already got the hard part done.”

  Taking a deep breath, Athos thought out a few finer points and put the words into the chat.

  (Party) Athos Aramis: I have a plan to take out the world boss. If it works, nobody has to die.

  (Party) Trina Rorna: it’s a crazy plan, but the logic seems to work. I won’t force the issue, but hear him out. We’ll make the decision as a guild.

  (Party) Allen Lee: I can’t wait to hear this.

  The alchemical arm could hear the disbelief and dripping sarcasm even through the text. It was so nice to know that people were already willing to accept what he could give. Within a matter of moments, he explained his plan the same way he had to Trina and waited. He knew it could take a bit for some people to read that much text, but he tried to be patient.

  (Party)Torrent Lase: You realize how crazy that sounds, right?

  (Party) Allen Lee: I don’t normally agree with the kid, but it does.

  (Party) Athos Aramis: It might be, but it should work.

  (Party) Trina Rorna: What’s the vote? I think it’s crazy, but it sounds crazy enough to work.

  (Party) Allen Lee: I’ll go with whatever the vote is, but I can’t support something this mad. For all we know, the instance was corrupted when the dryad became a world boss and the dungeon was disbanded.

  (Party) Torrent Lase: I have to agree with Allen, Athos. I’m sorry, but there has to be another way.

  Some leader he was turning out to be. Turning to Trina, he pointed out the obvious. “It’s two to two.”

  “There’s still Ran.”

  As if on cue, the last message flashed to life.

  (Party) Ran Samere: Trina, you’re blinded by grief and are desperate to end this. I can’t in good faith make this vote in your favor. He can do this on his own, but the guild will not take this on. I suggest we leave it to the Guardians.

  (Party) Allen Lee: Holy Shit.

  (Party) Torrent Lase: The ancient has spoken. Sorry, Athos.

  (Party) Ran Samere: You’re both bastards.

  As their argument about bastards continued, Athos felt anything but defeated. His plan would work. Well, it should work. In his mind, there wasn’t a single reason it shouldn’t. Other than the obvious that nothing ever worked out for him. Before he could over think things, Trina put a hand on his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry, Athos. I guess we’re on our own.”

  He shook his head as his attention shifted from his thoughts back to her. “No, I don’t think we’ll be alone.” A moment later, he looked from her to his still open window before two messages flashed across the screen as a few particularly nasty insults flew.

  Allen Lee has left your party.

  Ran Samere has left your party.

  Keeping his cool, he asked the one person he knew he could count on for help.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: I need a huge favor.

  Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: What’s up?

  Switching from the guild roster to his friends list, Athos sent out one last invitation.

  Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: I need you to fight with me if you think you’re up to it.

  Sally Queen has been invited to your party.

  The message must have shown up to all the party members by the way Trina looked at him and the message that quickly fo
llowed the text.

  (Party) Torrent Lase: Athos, who is that?

  Sally Queen has been added to the party.

  (Party) Athos Aramis: Trina, Torrent, meet Sally. A rank 10 mechanist.

  (Party) Sally Queen: Rank 13 now, Athos. I told you I’ve been busy. So, you guys can’t do it on your own and have to call in the one-armed woman?

  (Party) Torrent Lase: I hope that’s a joke.

  (Party) Sally Queen: You’d hope wrong, but I can hold my own.

  If she was half as good as she claimed to be, he hoped she could.

  (Party) Trina Rorna: You can go, Torrent. Let the ladies do their job and keep Athos alive long enough for this to work.

  (Party) Torrent Lase: Hell no! I’m not going to miss this now! I’m with you, Athos.

  (Party) Sally Queen: I think I missed something.

  (Party) Athos Aramis: We’re going on a dungeon crawl, Sally.

  A moment of hesitation lingered in the air as Sally processed what he was saying.

  (Party) Sally Queen: You’re not joking, are you? My dad will flip out if he knows.

  (Party) Athos Aramis: You want to tell him?

  (Party) Sally Queen: Hell no! Don’t tell him! I’ll be in town as soon as I can build another jump disk. About an hour tops.

  (Party) Athos Aramis: Meet us at the edge of the business district. This is going to be over one way or another today.

  (Party) Sally Queen: Right!

  (Party) Torrent Lase: Got it!

  Athos took a deep breath after that last message and looked to Trina. “Walter’s not going to like this.”

  Trina simply smiled and shook her head. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”

  Opening his friends list, Athos shook his head. “Not for you to do. I’m the party leader.”

  She only grinned as she gave his shoulders a pat. “See, you’re a hero already.”

  ***

  From its place within the world, Unum continued to act. One by one, defenses began to be rebuilt, but the damage was already done. Every piece of the cascading actions should have been countered. Like ducks in a row, it should have been able to repair the problems that had been created, but something was wrong. It had taken just too long for the Unum to reestablish control.