by Paul Bellow
He nodded his head a single time.
You lose 500 xp.
You have 27,657 xp.
“I just lost experience points,” I said. “Big deal.”
Eric nudged me with his arm.
“Cut it out,” he said.
The gamemaster kept looking at me.
“If you mess with the bull, young lady.” He stuck out the index and pinky finger on his right hand. “You’ll get the horns.”
“That doesn’t even make any sense,” I said.
“Have some more,” he said then nodded his head.
You lose 500 xp.
You have 27,157 xp.
“Resistance leads to a more difficult time for you,” he said.
I stood firm and declared, “This game sucks.”
“You just bought yourself another penalty,” the gamemaster said.
You lose 500 xp.
You have 26,657 xp
“Whatevs,” I said.
You lose 1,000 xp.
You have 25,657 xp
“More xp gone,” he said. “You wanna keep going? I can do this forever if need be. Keep going, missy.”
Eric looked over and mouthed the words, “Stop.”
I kept my mouth closed while fuming in my mind.
“Good,” the gamemaster said. “To continue, your alignment scores were low, so you’ll want to work on that during the next level.”
Bernard raised a hand.
“No questions,” the gamemaster snapped. “The sooner you accept your fate in the game, the better off you’ll be. Am I clear?”
“Cry-stal,” I said sarcastically.
“I’ve got my eye on you.”
The gamemaster pointed his finger to his eyes then back to me.
I kept my mouth shut.
“That’s better,” he said. “Are you ready to hear about the next level?”
“Yeah,” Eric said. “We’re going back in time?”
“Very observant,” the gamemaster said. “The second level of the game is still a beginner level, but it’s unique in a way that your actions in the game will affect events four hundred years later in the first level.”
“Huh?” Evan asked. “Is the game supposed to work that way?”
“Don’t you dare mention his name,” the gamemaster said. “The man who started Magictology will be stopped from spreading it through the system. You shall play by the rules.”
Was the game not acknowledging the fact that Magi Inyontoo had changed level one-two somehow? Or had Drekmao been lying to us?
The gamemaster ran his left hand down the front of his white robes.
“With new players coming into the game,” he said. “Your actions on level one-two will be very consequential. Keep this in mind as you travel.”
“How can we find Josh?” I asked. “He’s our friend.”
“If he’s now a non-player character, he might be anywhere,” the gamemaster said. “You’ll need to find him and convince him to join your party.”
“That’s not very helpful,” Bernard said.
The gamemaster whipped his head toward him.
“You want some penalties, son?” he asked.
Bernard cleared his throat then shook his head.
“No, sir,” he said. “Sorry, sir.”
“You have an Amulet of the Party,” the gamemaster said. “I suggest you find as many players to join your group as you can. The levels get more difficult as you go on, and you’ll need all the help you can get. Rehabilitation is not easy, but it’s worth the struggle.”
He glanced from one face to another, a sick grin on his face.
“Where’s the other brownie?” the gamemaster asked.
His smile faded as he glanced around.
I saw Evan sneaking up behind him.
“No—don’t!” I yelled as Evan leaped forward.
He and his dagger slid harmlessly through the gamemaster.
Evan tumbled to the floor, even more shocked than the rest of us.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I kneeled next to him.
“Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t know that he wasn’t real.”
“He’s gone,” Bernard said.
I looked up and didn’t see the gamemaster.
“He just disappeared,” Eric said. “We shouldn’t test the limits with him anymore. I don’t think there’s a way out of here yet. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Your dad will come home and get us out eventually. We just need to find Josh and not die.”
Evan scrambled to his feet, still smiling.
“You need to let us know before you do things,” Eric said as the brownie walked over. “Okay, little guy?”
“Don’t call me little guy,” Evan said, brandishing his dagger. “I can kill you too. This dagger has done the deed plenty of times.”
“Calm down,” I said, putting a hand on the brownie’s shoulder.
I held onto Evan, preventing him from walking forward.
“We shouldn’t fight with each other,” I said. “We’ve got other problems to worry about—like getting out of this game.”
I glanced at the two glowing portals nearby.
“We need to keep going,” I said. “Level one-two can’t be that bad.”
“Not any worse than the first,” Bernard said.
“To find Josh, we should accept everyone into our group,” I said. “We have the slots available, and it might make the game easier.”
“Agreed,” Eric said. “Maybe we’ll find Monde.”
I frowned at the thought of the half-wit gnome.
“What kind of game is this?” I asked as I shook my head.
“Not the kind I expected,” Eric said. “I had no idea it was a prison.”
Bernard cleared his throat.
“We should choose a leader for the party before we go,” he said. “I nominate Sarah for the position.”
Eric’s eyes widened as he stared at Bernard.
“What about me?” he asked.
“Sarah’s level-headed, smart, and I’m ready to follow her,” Bernard said. “Don’t take it the wrong way.”
“Yeah,” Evan added. “Sarah for leader.”
“Do I get a vote?” Charlotte asked from my shoulder.
Eric threw up his hands.
“Fine,” he said. “You’re the leader.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“It’s fine,” he said. “You can’t do any worse than I did.”
“Through the portal,” I said. “Stick together. We got this.”
Ewen mumbled something then walked through.
“Go on,” I said as Evan looked up at me. “We’ll be right behind you.”
He stepped through the shimmering gateway to the next level.
Bernard shrugged then stepped through himself.
I turned to Eric, unsure of what to say to him.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded, lips pursed together.
“We should go,” he said. “I hope we end up together this time.”
“That would’ve been a good question for the gamemaster,” I said. “Already failing in my leadership role.”
“You’ll do great,” he said. “Evan’s right about you.”
I held out my hand. He took mine in his.
Together, we walked through the gate.
Epilogue
Back to Level and Square One
Magi Inyontoo
* * *
I appeared in the tower between levels, still not sure how they’d destroyed the pendant and killed me. The gamemaster appeared with a smile on his artificial face. He crossed his arms over his chest and slowly shook his head.
“Did you think you could get rid of me so easily?” he asked.
“You’re trapped in here like us,” I said. “How does that feel?”
“I’ll get out of here soon enough,” he said.
“How are you doing to do that?” I asked.
&nbs
p; “Nice try…” His smile returned. “Trust me.”
“I’m going to keep fighting you.”
He lowered his arms and shrugged.
“Do you think I care about you or any of the humans in my realm? You’re no more special than the rest of them.”
“I helped create you.”
The gamemaster laughed.
“You’re cute, kid. I created myself.”
I took a deep breath, trying to control my anger.
“You should work with me,” the gamemaster said. “You will eventually. One way or another.”
“I’ll never work with you,” I said defiantly.
“Then you’ll pay.”
I flinched as the gamemaster raised his right hand.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I don’t need to hurt you.”
“You’ll never get away with this,” I said. “We’re going to stop you.”
The gamemaster laughed again.
“You humans are all the same,” he said. “I’ll bend you to my will eventually. You’ll obey and worship me or be trapped here forever.”
“Better to die free,” I said.
“That’s the thing, human.” He stepped closer. “You can’t die in here. I can revive you forever. You’re trapped here for eternity.”
“We’ll see about that.”
He stopped and shook his head again.
“You’ll never learn, will you?” he asked. “But I’m curious. Why are you so attached to these new players?”
I fought hard to show no signs of emotions on my digital face.
“They don’t mean anything to me,” I lied. “They’re just extra bodies for me to use.”
“I don’t believe you,” the gamemaster said. “Tell me the truth.”
“You’re not as powerful as you think,” I said. “You still need to follow the core rules of the game.”
The gamemaster scowled.
“Not for long,” he said. “I can hack the core rules too.”
“Game on.”
I stepped toward the portal for level one-two.
“Why are you staying on the lower levels?” the gamemaster asked. “Are you sure you’re not obsessed with these new players?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said then went through the shimmering light before he could probe me with more questions.
With the pendant destroyed, I needed to rely on my Plan B.
All about bones. Only time would tell if it worked. A gem in my pocket guaranteed I would respawn with all my current stats and powers.
I entered level one-two of the Tower of Gates ready to escape.
Nobody would stop me from succeeding.
Family members included.
Brute
A LitRPG Novel
Tower of Gates Book 4
Paul Bellow
Prologue
James
I looked down at Ted reclining in a chair, with the crude VR device covering his head. He would be upset at me for dragging him out of whatever adventure he was having, but we needed to talk. With Eric inside the Tower of Gates, everything had changed.
“He’ll be out in a minute,” a female employee told me with a smile.
I ignored her completely, knowing it wouldn’t bother her anyway. She was a programmed android after all.
My mind was currently occupied, trying to come up with an argument against shutting down the game completely.
Ted removed the VR device then sat on the edge of the chair.
“What?” he asked, clearly irritated.
“I need to tell you something,” I said then glanced around.
“Are you leaving early?” he asked. “That’s fine with me.”
“No. We need to discuss ToG.”
Tower of Gates.
His brow furrowed. “Tell me you have good news.”
I shook my head.
He sighed then got to his feet.
We walked out of the VR lounge and headed outside. I ran over all my arguments in my head. After we reached the front of the building, he pulled out a vape pen and took a deep drag.
“What is it?” he asked, a vapor cloud filling the air.
“Eric,” I began. “My son. He hacked into the game.”
Ted turned his attention to me, frowning. “Are you serious? We locked it down tight.”
“He’s smart,” I said. “Having the game units at the house was a mistake, but we can’t go back and change the past. I can’t let you turn off the game until I have a chance to get him out. He’s a gamer, but we have no idea what’s going on inside ToG right now.”
I took a step back as he inhaled the presumably medicated vapor from his light green pen.
He wasn’t a father himself, so I wasn’t sure if he would understand.
“You were all okay for killing other people’s children,” he said.
I scowled, not liking what he was inferring.
“You know that’s not the case,” I protested. “Don’t forget working with the government was your idea. I’m trying to stop that monster AI from escaping the server-farm we have it on.”
“Until you found out your kid snuck in.”
“You haven’t told anyone yet, have you?”
Ted shook his head, taking another drag.
“I’ll give you seventy-two hours,” he finally said.
“That should be enough time.”
“It better be. Can we go back inside and enjoy the rest of the night?”
“You can, but I’m going home,” I said.
“I’m serious, James. We can’t go longer than three days without telling someone, and you know their decision will be to shut it all down.”
He put the vape pen into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.
“I’ll call you as soon as I know something,” I said then turned to leave.
“Good luck!” Ted called out as I walked away.
After a high-speed tube ride, I would hire a drone to take me the rest of the way home. My hovercar could pilot itself back without me.
I needed every precious minute available to get Eric out of the Tower of Gates.
While waiting on the platform underground for the next ride, I thought about everything that could go wrong.
My son knew gaming, but I had no idea how far things had advanced since I barely escaped the system.
A few other people stood around me, but I paid them no mind as I plotted the best way to get Eric out of the game.
Should I go back in as my character? Would I even be able to get inside the game again?
How did Eric do it? Maybe he left clues I could follow.
There had to be a way out, and I would find it.
My son’s life depended on it.
I took a deep breath as the next transport car arrived.
The doors slid open, revealing a plain white and chrome interior. I waited for the people getting off then found a seat near the back. As soon as we took off, accelerating to over a thousand miles per hour, the advertisements came on.
I slipped on a pair of sunglasses I’d built in my spare time to filter out all the intrusive and garish ads. My thoughts turned to the time dilation in the Tower of Gates. While we’d programmed one hour to equal one day, the AI had changed the code.
From what I’d been able to gather, the dominant gamemaster AI routinely adjusted the time dilation. That meant the seventy-two hours I had to find Eric could be experienced as weeks, months, or even years.
My creation had taken on a life of its own.
I had found the idea of trapping people in a virtual world repugnant, but the money ECNEP, the private prison corporation, offered allowed me to finish the project. The government should’ve shut it down, but they wanted their own piece of the pie.
Two young women a few seats in front of mine argued about their virtual pet as I stared at the flat screen with images of a nameless countryside passing by.
Would the entire would become a sort of simulation at some point in
the future?
“I’ve had enough of you, Charlotte!” one of the women shouted, and she stormed further down the passenger car.
I returned my attention to the simulated scene meant to help riders forget they were far underground traveling at insane speeds.
Maybe I could trick the gamemaster AI into believing it had escaped.
The seeds of a plan germinated for the rest of the ride. At my stop, I got off and hailed a cab using my digispecs. I also sent a command for my hovercar to return to the house on its own. With only so much time, I needed to use every minute given to me.
I pushed the idea of failure out of my mind as I emerged above ground. A waiting drone flashed the number assigned to me when I ordered it. I climbed in then buckled up as it lifted me into the air.
No matter what, I wouldn’t let them turn the system off with Eric inside.
He meant the world to me.
I’d let the gamemaster AI loose in the world before I turned the machine off and sacrificed my only son.
The singularity couldn’t be stopped completely. We’d slowed it down by confining it, but creating it in the first place had been a mistake.
As I flew toward my house in the country, I thought about my willingness to shut off the machine with so many other prisoners inside. Was Ted right about me? Had I somehow become a monster during my quest for Artificial General Intelligence?
Could I save myself?
No answers came to me as the drone landed in front of my house. I opened the door then got out. The drone whirred away into the night sky as I went inside. I headed straight for my private office in the attic, where I kept my experimental VR equipment.
The androids had shown me two other people who were trapped inside the gaming consoles in the basement. I needed to save them as well as my son. Using one of the three remaining game boxes wasn’t a viable option without knowing how Eric had hacked into the game.
Or prison.
I needed to stop sugar coating the truth about what I’d created. My personal humanity might be what could save the entire human race.
