=Classification: Minor, First Reporter.
=Bounty: 5 credits.
=RE: Bug 0.04:31-19b – Quest Revealed Info
=Thank you for your report. The availability of NPC and other game information in quest text is a known issue at this time. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
=Classification: Minor, Previously Reported.
=Bounty: 0 credits.
=RE: Bug 1.08:05-1a – Custom Quests
=Thank you for your report. The ability for players to create quests is currently a beta system. We appreciate your concern and have examined the suggested exploitation methods that you included in your report when planning our updates to the system.
=Classification: Moderate, Beta Development Information.
=Bounty: 50 credits.
=RE: Bug 1.12:52-62m – Missing Tutorial/Instructions
=Thank you for your report. We are currently working on creating a tutorial stage or other game instructions for claiming and using mounts. This oversight has been reported by numerous parties.
=Classification: Minor, Previously Reported.
=Bounty: 0 credits.
=RE: Bug 1.01:18-3a – Broken Supply Chains – Quest Exploitable
=Thank you for this report. The logic behind the application of this style quest reward was examined and found to have a critical flaw. This will be addressed as soon as possible.
=Classification: Critical, Quest System Flaw
=Bounty: 150 credits.
From what I gleaned from the responses only the first reporter of an issue got the bounty, and as expected the bounties were commensurate with the severity of the issues reported.
They probably took a look at your character as well to see if you used the exploit, or at least they should.
I had made two hundred and five credits. Not bad for a day’s work.
There were two more messages from Kabishiyama as well. I opened the first and began reading.
=Bug Reporting
=Mr. James Jacobs,
=I wanted to write you and thank you for your reports. That last one had the potential to really do a number on the economy in the later quest-lines. The dev team has been swamped since release and is only now getting to the queue of reports, so we had a bit of a delay in responding. I have added your name to a list of quality reporters, so your tickets should get top priority with our bug handlers going forward.
=Thanks again!
=Kito Yamada, Development Supervisor.
To some it might not matter so much, but to me, being recognized for the effort I put in was something to be proud of.
The final email was an advertisement for a convention planned to celebrate the launch of Sosaku Online and announce the plans for the game going forward.
That was fast, I thought. The game had just launched and already they were planning a convention? That was definitely not something I expected.
I read through the flyer and saw that it was taking place in New York City, which wasn’t far at all from my family’s apartment in NJ.
The ticket cost for the full con was two hundred and fifty credits, which was expensive, but with my current income I could probably swing it.
If things got tight, I figured I could always sell the ticket second hand to get my money back. Fuck it, I thought, and logged in to register and buy my ticket before it either sold out or I got cold feet.
I spent the rest of the trip to the arcade reading through the comments on my latest videos.
Once again, the narrative version of things got the most attention, validating my instincts.
When I arrived at the arcade the velvet ropes were still in place with their throng of hopeful players. As I walked by the desk and headed inside, I heard Tony asking the woman at the front of the line for her reservation fee and I chuckled.
Entering the main arcade, I saw that the line was much diminished from what it had been yesterday but there were also a lot more people playing in the arcade then was usual at this time of day.
I spotted Bill behind the counter, fiddling with a black box that was a new addition to the setup. As I approached, he held up a coaster with some glowing led lights and shrugged at my curious expression.
“Yeah, yeah, you were right,” he said. “But I’ll be damned if this thing isn’t annoying as hell for me to work. At least people aren’t standing around like zombies any more.”
“Ah, so you took my advice. Good. Maybe you’ll cut me a break when it comes time to renegotiate?” I said with a wink.
He laughed. “Maybe I will James, maybe I will,” and gestured towards the back. “Your pod’s ready. Be prepared for a small delay though since there is a patch.”
I grinned and headed into the back.
...
Chapter 16
*** Would you like to initialize Sosaku Online v1.0? (Yes/No) ***
I relaxed into the pod as the lining rose up around me and the nanite systems engaged, my normal senses fading as the connection messages scrolled by.
*** Connecting in 5...4…3…2…1... ***
*** Connection Established. ***
*** Attention, your version of Sosaku Online is out of date. Installing patch v1.0.1. ***
*** Patching …….0% ***
*** Would you like to view the patch notes while the installation completes? (Y/N) ***
Selecting yes, I read through the notes, skimming past most of the entries dealing with graphical glitches with some of the more exotic races, as well as some world geometry corrections and patched holes.
There were some minor bug fixes, which I paid closer attention to, finding those that were associated with the bugs I’d reported.
At the end of the list there was even a thanks section which listed the character names of people who had reported the bugs that were addressed in the patch.
There I was, Kheph Sa’tep right between such original names as Kekekekek and Kilzjuu.
The patching process had continued to run while I was reading and finished a few seconds later.
*** Patching Complete! ***
*** Loading… ***
*** Reinitializing Neural – Avatar Interface…..Complete! ***
*** Decompressing Character Skill Database…..Complete! ***
*** Welcome back to Sosaku Online, Kheph Sa’tep. Game time is currently 09:26:55. ***
*** System Alert: A player has completed your quest Poetic Justice! You receive 5xp! ***
*** System Alert: A player has completed your quest Poetic Justice! You receive 5xp! ***
*** System Alert: A player has completed your quest Poetic Justice! You receive 5xp! ***
*** System Alert: A player has completed your quest Poetic Justice! You receive 5xp! ***
*** System Alert: A player has completed your quest Poetic Justice! You receive 5xp! ***
*** System Alert: A player has completed your quest Poetic Justice! You receive 5xp! ***
*** System Alert: A player has completed your quest Poetic Justice! You receive 5xp! ***
*** System Alert: Your quest Poetic Justice, has been completed the maximum number of times and has been removed from the jobs board. ***
*** Achievement Awarded: Content Creator II - A quest posted by you has been completed by 10 separate players! ***
*** You gain 200xp! ***
*** Congratulations! You have reached Level 5! ***
*** You have gained 1 Combat Skill Point ***
*** You have gained 1 Divine Skill Point ***
*** You have gained 1 General Skill Point ***
*** You have Gained 1 Attribute Point ***
*** You have gained 13 maximum Hit Points ***
*** You have gained 17 maximum Mana ***
*** You have gained 7 maximum Stamina ***
*** Your friend Kjara is Online! ***
“Holy text-splosion Batman!” I exclaimed, shaking my head to clear the cobwebs as I settled into my virtual body. I read through the notifications and had to laugh.
/> The drips of xp from Fae-bio getting kicked in the dick, and that from the resulting achievement had been enough to level me up while I was offline.
Along with the skill points, level five had the added bonus of an attribute point which was a welcome surprise. I considered where I should put the point as I had several tempting options.
A higher Presence stat would improve my spellcasting skills, but more strength or constitution would be better for combat. It was a tough choice, but in the end I decided on Presence to buff my mana pool a bit.
I took a look at my character sheet to see the result.
Name: Kheph Sa’tep
Race: Human, Saa
Class: Priest of Anpu
Level: 5
Experience: 5055/7500
Hit Points: 144/144
Mana: 170/170
Stamina: 85/85
Divine Favor: 10
Attributes (Modifier):
--Strength: 13 (+2)
--Agility: 10 (+1)
--Constitution: 13 (+2)
--Intelligence: 12 (+2)
--Wisdom: 13 (+2)
--Presence: 18 (+5)
--Fortune: 12 (+2)
Racial Skills:
--Child of the Sun
--Martial Training
Class Skills:
--Blessing of the Gods
--Divine Blessing
--Temple Training
--Child of the Underworld
Boons and Blessings:
--Unknown Origins
Combat Skills: (Available: 1)
--Spear: 2 [96%]
--Shield: 2 [94%]
--Medium Armor: 2 [97%]
--Endurance: 1 [1%]
--Precision Strike: 1 [1%]
General Skills: (Available: 2)
--Armorer: 1 [67%]
--Cooking: 1 [1%]
--Discerning Eye : 2 [35%]
--First Aid: 2 [10%]
--Literacy (Saa): 1 [84%]
--Lore (Saa Religion): 3 [76%]
--Survival (Desert): 1 [76%]
--Weaponsmith: 1 [13%]
--Lore (Necromancy}: 1 [0%]
--Riding: 1 [62%]
Divine: (Available: 4)
Skills:
--Combat Caster: 2 [32%]
--Spectral Legion: 1 [N/A]
--Exorcism: 1 [0%]
Spells:
--Soothing Touch: 3 [42%]
--Sunstrike: 2 [10%]
--Jackal’s Tooth: 2 [0%]
--Beacon of Life: 1 [0%]
--Purifying Touch: 1 [12%]
--Flamestrike: 1 [54%]
--Sever Bonds: 1 [0%]
--Summon Legionnaire: 1 [0%]
I was starting to accumulate a lot of unspent skill points but couldn’t bring myself to spend them yet. You couldn’t lose them, and when trainers were available I wanted to have some in the bank to make sure I could learn any critical skills, like Endurance.
If it came down to it, I could always increase a skill on the fly if I needed to.
A lot of my skills were getting close to improving via use too, so spending points on them would be a waste.
My thoughts were interrupted by a new type of message.
>>>Kjara: Breakfast?
***Congratulations! You have received your first private message from a player on your friends list. As one of the very few immersion-breaking means of communications supported, messages may only be sent while within city limits and while not in combat. To send a message, select that person’s name on your friends list and focus on the initiating the messaging system. After the tone, dictate the message and then mentally click the send option. ***
I followed the instructions and responded.
>>>Me: Sure. Meet you in the common room in 5.
I gathered my things and headed down. The common room was empty except for Kjara. She was seated at a table near the bar with two plates of eggs still steaming on the table.
“Hungry?” I asked, indicating the double serving.
“What?” she responded. “Oh, no I ordered one for you as well. I forgot how fast they can cook things in game. Figured it would take a while to come out.”
I tucked my pack and shield under the table and leaned my spear against the nearby wall and sat down to eat. As with everything else in the game so far, the eggs were delicious. I savored every bite and barely noticed when Mareej and Jeila arrived from the kitchen.
I almost choked on a mouth full of eggs when a small body collided with my back and wrapped her arms around me and started talking too quickly for me to follow.
I swallowed my eggs and laughed. “Woah, slow down a bit, little one. I can’t understand what you’re saying when you speak so fast.”
Mareej headed towards our table with a small tray bearing steaming mugs, while Jeila calmed herself and started speaking slower.
“I saaaaid,” she began, extending the vowel sounds as only a child can, “thank you for saving my Eima Yasamin.”
She looked across the table to Kjara and added, “Oh, and you too! Thank you, thank you!”
Mareej arrived and hushed the girl, “Jeila! I told you not to speak of that outside of our home! Now go back to the kitchen and help your father peel the potatoes.”
The little girl hugged me once more and then sulked back to the kitchen, sticking her tongue out at her mother’s back as the curtain closed behind her.
I tried not to laugh but the amusement must have been clear on my face because Mareej gave me a very striking version of the look universally known as the “Mom glare”.
“Sorry, Mareej, but she is quite a remarkable child. As for what she was speaking of, I will not repeat it outside of these walls.”
Kjara looked confused, but Mareej rectified the situation. “The travelers that you saved yesterday from Tepik and his ilk are relatives of my husbands. For years we thought them dead, but now they have been restored to us. It is a great day for our family.”
Kjara smiled and said, “Now I’m even happier that we were able to save them. The smile on that little girls face was worth all the effort.”
Remembering the stone coins, I took one out of my pocket and handed it to Kjara. “I was given one of these for each of us by the driver of the wagon yesterday. Sajeev was about to tell me what they meant when the visitors arrived.”
I glanced at Mareej and showed her the coin. “Can you tell us what these are?”
She glanced around nervously. “It is a marker of sorts. A symbol of a debt owed. Any of my people are sworn to honor a request from one who bears such a coin as though it came from the one who bestowed it.”
I looked at her curiously. “But how would they know who that was?”
She sniffed. “They are enchanted, silly Saa. Each coin is tied to a familial line and can never be stolen. They must be freely given. So, to possess such a token is only possible for one who has done a great service to one of my people. For a Saa to hold one is quite... unheard of.”
I nodded solemnly. “I am honored.”
Kjara nodded as well. “We will not abuse this trust, Mareej. We will be taking our leave from Tael’va this morning, but my time in this place will always be full of fond memories.”
Mareej cracked the barest hint of a smile and replied, “May the storms pass you by,” and headed back to the kitchen.
“Mareej,” I called, “please tell Jeila I said goodbye!”
She nodded and headed into the kitchen, leaving us alone once again.
We finished our food and collected our things, ready to head to the caravansary and see if my wager with Raeg would bear fruit.
I had taken about three steps out of the inn before a small form came hurtling behind me to wrap my legs in a hug. I glanced down and saw Jeila’s little face glaring up at me and said, “So I'm guessing your mother told you we were leaving and you had to come say goodbye yourself, eh?”
She looked up at me, tears in her eyes. “Goodbye Kheph! Thank you for saving me! When I grow up, I’m going
to be a priest just like you so I can heal all of the children and save everyone from bandits!”
I chuckled and knelt to give the little girl a true hug. “You do that, little one. Follow your heart and I know you will do amazing things.” Jeila squeezed me one more time and then darted back into the Stone Serpent.
I turned to Kjara, seeing her watching me and I smiled. “Ready to go?” I asked, receiving a nod in return.
We headed towards the caravansary, enjoying the city coming to life around us as we walked. “Hey Kjara, did you get a message about the convention this weekend?” I asked as we walked.
“Yeah, I got one,” she said with a slight hesitation, “Seems a bit fast don’t you think?”
“Definitely,” I agreed. “But I think it could be pretty fun, and it’s relatively local to me so I snagged a ticket before they could sell out.”
Crimson Sands Page 22