Back in the Game

by Christopher Keene

  “Because the item doesn’t exist!” Data retorted.

  Brock ground his teeth and stepped closer to him. “No, because you’ll give the code to Wona and they’ll delete it before their secrets come to light!”

  “That’s bullcrap!”

  “Boys, boys!” Siena stepped through, separating them. “There’s a really easy way of solving this problem. Data, you give us the software we need to track the item down, and, if you want, you can come with us.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not allowed to give the software to players.”

  “Data, this is important,” I argued.

  “So is keeping my job!”

  Something then occurred that I could’ve sworn I would never hear. Siena began sounding sincere. “Data, you’ve trusted me with a cracked copy of this software before. I deleted it right after I got what I wanted, just as I said I would. Besides, I think this is a lot more important than finding one of the Color Blades, don’t you?”

  Data ground his teeth. “Tsh, you were supposed to keep that a secret.”

  “Data, please.” She moved closer to him, her eyes wide while looking up at his ashamed expression. “Whether or not you trust Brock is irrelevant. Trust Noah . . . and trust me.”

  He nodded. “I’ll only give it to you, though. If you’re sure about this, if Brock gives you the item’s code and I give you a copy of the item tracking software, you’ll be able to find the player who has it. But I’ll only give you the software if you promise you’ll let me see it when you have it.”

  There was something in Data’s voice as he said this, as though he honestly wanted to believe us. Siena nodded and turned to us with her familiar grin.

  “Alright then, that settles it! I’ll be the tracker and whoever wants to find this thing can follow me.”

  I nodded. “When do we do this?”

  “I’ll need a day to get permission to use the software and make a copy for her.” Data sighed. “But remember, the item tracking software itself can be tracked by Wona when it’s activated. They’ll hunt you down if they catch on to what you’re doing.”

  “Being hunted by Wona . . .” Siena walked away, shrugging. “Sounds fun.”

  Having had the experience of being hunted by Wona, I wasn’t sure if I agreed with that sentiment. Nevertheless, once we received the item tracking software, we would be one step closer to finding the Transfer Orb.

  Chapter 6: Trust

  Frank was well aware he had a lack of conviction with the actions he took in-game. It didn’t take much encouragement for him to second guess himself and start to think he was a fool, especially when that encouragement came from Tessa.

  They sat in the theater district, facing each other on the stone seats as the teaser trailers for the upcoming expansion played on the screen between two ancient Greek statues. From the videos that repeated over and over, the imagery of blimps, whistles and gears gave off a steampunk vibe.

  In a city like Galrinth, the theater looked out of place.

  “What were you thinking?” Tessa cried, raising her nimble hands up in exasperation. “Someone would obviously notice the connection between a new rare item being put up to auction and the low-leveled, armored tank who’s never entered the hall before! No offence, but you kind of stand out.”

  “Keep it down, Tess!” Does she want all of Galrinth to know how I screwed up? “What did you expect me to do? I had to get rid of it somehow!”

  “But not by revealing to everyone that you, one of the weakest Heavies in the Dream State, had it. I’m surprised you haven’t been invited to a hundred Tertiatier dungeons already!”

  Tessa was right. He had received several invitations to do Tertiatier dungeons.

  Despite being small for even a Range Niche, Tessa was one of the few in-game friends that Frank felt he could trust. The elfish blondie had been his friend since pre-school and she had always looked out for him, even during his transition into this new world. Next to his tank avatar, her green-scarfed form looked even smaller simply by contrast.

  “Well, you don’t put it in a place where everyone can see it!” Tessa slapped her forehead. “I mean, come on! You could have at least altered your avatar before going into the auction house!”

  “Okay, okay, look!” He made his menu visible for her to see. “It’s no longer up for auction! I’ve closed it, happy now?”

  “Happy . . . ? Yes, I’d say I’m happy you’re not gonna get lured and slaughtered for it.” Tessa raised her brow, letting a narrow grin spread over her lips. “I’m just trying to make sure you don’t get a bum deal with it, Frank, that’s all.”

  “And what do you suggest I do, oh wise one?”

  Tessa grinned and raised a finger. “I’ve got this friend who would be willing to take it off your hands for a good price.”

  “And who would this friend be?”

  “His in-game name is Dice, and he’s one of the few Wanted ranks in the Dream State with red hair. I’m just saying this in case you want a way to recognize him when you two meet up. He can be trusted to keep his mouth shut. I won’t even tell him your name if you don’t want. I’ll just give you a time and place that you can arrange to meet and make the trade.”

  Frank nodded. “How much?”

  “Fifty thousand.”

  I guess that’s only twenty thousand less than what I asked for.

  Frank nodded. “Alright, that’ll do I guess.”

  “That’ll do?” Tessa asked in outrage. “The most Moola a single player can get in one dungeon is ten thousand! You’d be getting five times that much!”

  “Okay, okay, fine! I said I would go. When are you going to arrange it for?”

  “I’ll message him now and see when it suits him.”

  Frank’s brow furrowed. “Wait, if you know how much he’s willing to buy it for, you must have told some people about it when shopping around to see if anyone was interested.”

  Tessa shrugged. “As I said, Dice is trustworthy, and I never mentioned your name. I’ll message him and we should do a dungeon. Hopefully he’ll get back to us by the time we’re done and you can get it sorted by tomorrow or the next day. Just try to stay away from any Tertiatier dungeons until then.”

  Frank nodded and stood up. “You know I haven’t accumulated enough Skill Points to go into a Tertiatier dungeon on my own anyway.”

  “Sure, but you never know whose invitation you might get in the next few days from Wanted rank players hoping to do you in.” Tessa got up and followed him out of the theater district toward the Galrinth Gateway. “Anyway, where do you want to go? Toena? Yarburn? Lucineer? Onjira?”

  Frank grinned, stroking his chin. “Hmm, I’m thinking Japanese tonight. What do you think?”

  Tessa smiled her pixie smile and nodded. “Yeah, Japanese sounds good!”

  * * *

  The Emperor’s Maze was a dungeon on the eastern providence of Toena. It was a rather unique Primatier dungeon. Not only was there a sure-fire method of getting through it by sticking to the right hedge wall, but by using a Heavy of Frank’s size, one could bottleneck enemies while a Range teammate like Tessa could take them out.

  They made a great two-person team for such a dungeon and it was the third time they had done it in the last two weeks. Having lots of bird enemies that would swoop in from a distance allowed Tessa to increase her Skill Points quickly.

  The maze eventually led to the high verandah of the palace, and the climb would increase his speed even further for whatever dungeon he decided to do next. Doing the dungeon together was mutually beneficial.

  The vine monsters that rose from the maze hedges were annoying. They whipped around and tried to tangle and trip him, but it was nothing his Broadsword couldn’t deal with. When one wrapped around his armored leg, he severed it, jumped another and ran to catch up with Tessa’s darting form.

  Tessa ran ahead, leaping from hedge to hedge, firing her mini-crossbow and reloading it as soon as she landed. Her arrow tips were poisoned,
so if her first attacks didn’t kill the monster, all it took was a simple charge from Frank to finish them off.

  Attempting to get himself free of another vine, a massive snake arose from the hedge, its python head rearing up to strike. He screamed in horror and swung at it, but it darted back. Tessa flipped over the pathway and fired an arrow at the back of its head. The impact of the blow drove its head forward enough for Frank to lunge in and chop it off.

  Ah! I hate snakes!

  He put more effort into the blow than he meant to and fell on his face. Sometimes when he was afraid he did more damage to himself than the dungeon did. The constant encounters here allowed him to build up Skill Points to decrease his already light weight stat in order to move faster. This made him less bogged down than a usual tank as they had to sacrifice speed for the heavy armor they could wear and weapons they could wield.

  “Hurry up, Frank!” Tessa called.

  He panted as he ran down the last path leading out of the maze, up the steps, and onto the Emperor’s Palace verandah. There, the final haul of the dungeon awaited. The palace was covered with gold, twirling ribbons, massive gold bells, and was surrounded by several fishponds. Tessa waited at the top of the stairs, jumping up and down and waving her arms.

  When he arrived at the top, he put his hands on his knees and breathed heavily. Tessa patted him on the back and then turned to the items waiting for them. They included several of the Resource Items found in the maze itself as well as a Dragon Dagger. Frank allowed Tessa to take the dagger considering how ridiculous he would’ve looked wielding such a tiny thing.

  “Thanks . . . hang on.” Tessa looked down, staring at her messages. “Okay, great! Dice said he’s busy tomorrow, but that he’s keen to meet you in a Secotier dungeon the next day.”

  Frank felt confused as he got his breath back. “Why does it have to be a Secotier dungeon?”

  Tessa shrugged. “It’s just where he wants to do it. You can’t have your stuff stolen in Secotier, remember?” Her eyes narrowed as though slightly puzzled by the name she was reading. “Have you heard of the Broken Clock Tower before?”

  Frank shook his head, helmet rattling. “No.”

  It sounds ominous enough.

  “Me neither.” Tessa shrugged. “It must have been a part of the last expansion. According to the map he sent me, it’s a Secotier dungeon that’s on the Yarburn coast, further down the bay on the gorge’s grassland. Oh well, now you two have a place to meet and make the trade.”

  Frank sighed, feeling like Tessa was rushing him a little, but if it was rushing him toward something he wanted, he had nothing to complain about.

  I’m not gonna lie. Fifty thousand Moola is going to be really helpful. I can’t wait to buy a mount that can carry a Heavy.

  Chapter 7: Taking Stock

  I stalked from the auction house. Knowing that Wona might once again be hunting my friends and me, I pulled up my inventory and was displeased with what I saw. I was running low on Crystal Blades, the key weapon in my arsenal. My entire strategy revolved around being able to quickly regenerate them while in a fight. With only a dozen left, I knew I would have to do some more grinding in Lucineer to restock.

  More time in that frozen hell. Heck, if I’m not spending my Moola to bid on the Transfer Orb, there has to be an easier way of dealing quick damage to enemies with light weapons.

  I remembered my fight against Sirswift’s team during their ambush in Rubik’s Castle. Sirswift had revealed that he had been Bitcon, the one I believed had kidnapped Sue, and that his team had instigated the crash that got me stuck in the game and killed her.

  I also recalled the horror of seeing my Crystal Blades simply shattering against their armor. There had to be a better weapon I could use and an ability that worked to the same effect when using my Gravity Well and Speed Amp combination.

  “Noah! David’s gone to bed. No surprise after his last few night shifts, but I’m still up for a bit of grinding if you’re up for it.”

  I turned to see Brock catching up to me. It was because of him that I had gotten out of Sirswift’s trap alive. Because of him I didn’t slip into a coma like they had hoped. He was a true friend, one I would trust both in-game and IRL, even if it was somewhat his fault Sue was dead.

  “You were there, watching for the right time to swoop in and save me when I was fighting Sirswift, right?” I asked.

  He nodded. “I would have used my mount’s Ice Breath to do it sooner, but you used Wildfire on him. It would have countered my attack and it’s a one-off kind of thing. Wipes out the rest of your Mana, too.”

  “Then you saw how useless my blades were against them?”

  He inclined his head. “You would expect that from swords made of ice.”

  I looked into the New Calandor equipment stores as we passed them, window shopping. “I need a light weapon, something a bit sturdier than my Crystal blades. You know of anything like that?”

  “Sure, there are tons of light swords out there. The only problem is that the lighter the weapon, the more likely it’s going to break, and you won’t be able to regenerate them quickly like you can with the Ice Regeneration ability.”

  I never realized how misleading that name was until now. It doesn’t really regenerate my Crystal Blades considering it takes one of them each time I use it. Is that just the cost of summoning them quickly?

  I stopped when seeing another forge, which through the curly-framed windows looked well overstocked with swords. An idea came to me then, or maybe it was a possibility.

  “Brock, is there an ability like Ice Regeneration, but for regular swords?”

  Brock grinned, but it was half-hearted. “Sure, but it would cost a lot of Moola to buy enough swords to use it . . . oh . . . you’re going to ask us for the Moola we received from Pirate Cove, aren’t you?”

  I nodded sheepishly. “Just yours. If you don’t need it, that is.”

  “Hah, ten thousand is a lot of Moola. I’ll consider it your birthday present.”

  “Thanks, man.” I gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder and we continued walking to the fountain at the city’s center. “So what about this ability?”

  Brock breathed in through his bared teeth. “It’s called Instant Reforge. But that’s the tricky part, the dungeon you have to complete to get it . . . let’s just say it’s an extreme environment.”

  “Considering I would have to spend two days in a frozen wasteland to get enough Diamond Dust to synth for Crystal Blades, completing one dungeon in an extreme environment doesn’t seem like a bad alternative.”

  “That’s because you’ve never been to Sulfur Pit before.” Brock’s eyes widened as though in pity of my naivety. “It’s a Secotier dungeon between Galrinth and the Lucineer mountains better described as the dungeon closest to hell.”

  I suddenly recalled Data telling me of the dungeon that could be used to get to the Penance Peaks without a mount. “Every great game should have a lava level,” he had said.

  I grabbed out my blue Summoning Stone. “Sounds good, let’s go.”

  “Nope,” Brock said, shaking his head. “Nope, nope, nope. We’re going to Onjira first.”

  I made a face, and Brock laughed. “There’s no talking yourself out of this one.”

  “You’re beginning to sound just like Data.”

  Brock’s eyes became cold. “That’s not funny.”

  We stopped at the Gateway beside the fountain. The thing was statuesque, covered in cherubs and other old Christian iconography. The map and setting options appeared, but I was still waiting for Brock to explain why we were heading to Onjira.

  “Look, Sulfur Pit is hot, and I mean extremely hot. If you just rush in there, it’s unbearable. But if you spend an afternoon in Onjira, your temperature tolerance would make the heat . . . more bearable.”

  That’s why Data was talking about Sulfur Pit when we were in Onjira. Is that the reason such a miserable place is so popular?

  I nodded. “Alright fine, O
njira it is then.”

  We both selected Onjira and vanished from the cool streets of New Calandor, appearing in the hot winds of the desert. Dust blew in our faces and shadows of large cats and rhinos moved in the shadows of the sandstorm. It brought me back to when training here with Data a month ago. There was only one difference, my company.

  “We’ll head to Ayer’s Rock!” Brock called, equipping his goggles. “It’s the hottest place in Onjira. A few hours there should be enough.”

  I equipped my own goggles to block the sand. “Too bad.” Brock turned to me in confusion and I grinned at him. “I forgot my sunscreen.”

  Brock shook his head, grinning at the bad joke before heading off. Unlike when I headed to the rainforest with Data, the wind was at our backs. Ayer’s Rock was south of the Onjira Village and was, as its name suggested, a massive sandstone monolith that looked more akin to an orange mountain than any rock.

  “This place is like one giant bird coop,” Brock called, lowering his voice now that the storm had calmed to a gentle breeze. “The strongest avian monsters are here. You’ll be able to train up your wind and lightning magic.”

  “Good. I have level two spells for my earth, ice and water magic, and a level three spell for my fire magic, so it’s about time my wind and lightning spells caught up.”

  Brock took out his white Summoning Stone. “Let’s get mounted up.”

  I grinned. I had been waiting for a chance to ride Peragon again. Spending hours flying over the countryside and taking in the views was one of the many fond memories I had when living here.

  I pulled out my own Summoning Stone and threw it into the clear blue sky. It glowed in blue pulses and with a sudden flash of white luminance, the lightning blue part-lion, part-Pegasus, part-dragon appeared where the item had been.

  Brock threw his own stone in front of him and his Ice Dragon appeared before Peragon flew down next to it and we both mounted up.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask, can all mounts use attacks like your dragon’s Ice Breath?”