Login Re:Coded: A LitRPG Novel (Incipere Online Book 2)

by R J Triveri

  “Sorry.” The woman waved at her without turning for a moment, deep in thought as she scrolled through the screens. “I’ll only be another moment.”

  “No, take your time,” came the automatic response as the girl stood in line behind her.

  She got the impression that Sandra smiled, but the reflection in the screen was a little too distorted to tell for sure as she spoke again. “Oh, don’t worry, I will.”

  River’s lips gave a little embarrassed smile at what she hoped was just an off-handed comment, but Dante cringed. She was his best friend, but if anyone could take a molehill and make it into a mountain, River could.

  A few moments passed, and a group of combatants moved to the travel arch and vanished into their waiting contests. With the crowd gone, the three were alone, and River was still silently looming behind her idol, practically dripping with anxiety with each movement of her hands and each bounce of her feet.

  Dante Rior => River Hexi: Could you make me feel worse for you?

  Her face fell with her pride and quickly responded.

  River Hexi => Dante Rior: Shut up.

  It took a few more moments for Sandra to finish and turn to face River. Her visage was as hard as Dante had imagined it, but it was just how River had last seen it during the championship bout three months ago.

  “Didn’t think there’d be anything new today. Sorry for taking so long,” Sandra said again before backing off. As if on instinct, she sized River up. “But you know, it’s a little rude for newcomers to try and move in on places they aren’t ready for.”

  Her face flushed a little further as she could feel Dante’s teasing gaze drilling into the back of her head. “I wasn’t trying to be rude.”

  “Well if you weren’t, you certainly came off like it,” Sandra pointed out. “What are you looking for here before you’ve even earned some credit?”

  River had heard she was a bit blunt, but it didn’t seem ill-spirited. She shook her head in response. “I just wanted to meet you.”

  “Oh.” Sandra’s face softened a bit as a small smile snuck into existence. As if it was a normal thing, she seemed to shift gears. “I should be used to it now, shouldn’t I?” She chuckled to herself as she continued unabated by her own thoughts as she turned from them to River’s gaze and continued her line of thought. “Well, I’m no more or less than you’ve heard of me, so if I have to explain myself, my reputation has definitely lost its touch.”

  If Dante hadn’t had years to study her body language, he would have missed just how surprised his friend was. This is Sandra Queen? River thought quickly. She was so… normal, so laid back.

  “Now, did you want to speak to me, or are you just happy meeting me?”

  “I have questions!” River blurted out before she could stop herself. Embarrassment painted her face as Sandra couldn’t help but laugh, but the younger Blade Dancer did her best to power on. “That came out way too excited...”

  Whether she was used to people falling all over themselves to meet her or not, Sandra recollected her laugh, smiled, and put on her best non-judgmental face as she spoke. “You remind me a lot of my daughter,” she said with a twinge of nostalgia. “She’s gotten a lot better at controlling herself since she settled down. I almost miss it.” River’s face went from embarrassed to unreadable as she tried to figure out the message the woman was sending to her. “You need to relax, miss...”

  “River.”

  “River, then. Relax,” Sandra said as she watched excitement grow in River’s face. “You can ask one question, then I have to get ready for my match. I should have been there twenty minutes ago, but the champion has a few privileges when it comes to time constraints.”

  A chance to talk to her hero? One question? What could she ask? The possibilities rushed through her mind as a message flashed in the corner of her vision.

  Dante Rior => River Hexi: River, don’t forget to breathe.

  She couldn’t catch a break today as Sandra quickly figured out from the glances River shot back at her friend.

  “Private message?” River nodded, almost embarrassed. “What’s he telling you?” She hesitated, and it only made her idol laugh. “River, if you can’t speak to me, how do you think you’ll ever get the better of me.” Before River could open her mouth, she added, “And don’t apologize or say that’s not your plan. It’s everyone’s here.”

  “To breathe.” Sandra grinned but said nothing. River nodded appreciatively as she took a deep breath and collected her thoughts into a neat row. “Can I ask my question now?”

  “Yes.” Sandra grinned as she turned to leave the conversation. “Now that you have, I have to go get ready.”

  Shock raced across every one of River’s features as she was put on defense. “But I didn’t ask a question.”

  “Yes, you did, and I answered you,” Sandra pointed out, on the brink of laughing again before she walked past River. Taking a moment more, she turned to face the woman again. “I will give you one piece of advice, River, a free lesson for you and your friend.” When she had the pair’s attention fixed on her, she continued. “A gladiator always needs to be thinking on her feet. If you can’t do that, give up now.”

  Realization washed over River as she realized just what the other woman meant. She had asked a question about asking a question, and Sandra used it against her like a counter attack. With that moment to think through what had happened, River nodded with a newfound respect for the woman’s quick wit. “I’ll try.”

  The champion smiled and looked her over one last time and took a step closer. She was almost shoulder to shoulder now with River as she spoke just softly enough for the other woman to make out what she said. “You do that, River, or your friend here will be moving up the ranks without you.”

  For the second time in just as many minutes, River was for once without words as her idol continued her approach to the arch and towards the cheers of an arena far away. Then, as if she had never been there, Sandra Queen was gone.

  Still transfixed on the words Sandra had used, River looked on. Long after the pixels of her data had vanished, she thought about what the other woman had said until someone interrupted her thoughts.

  “River?”

  She turned to Dante at his words and gave him a soft, questioning noise best construed as, “Mm?”

  “What was that about?”

  “What?”

  Dante only grinned. “You froze like a deer in the headlights.”

  River puffed up as if she were going to argue it, but sighed. “I did, didn’t I?” she admitted weakly, then gave him the barest explanation she could. “Sandra said you were more observant than I am.”

  He hesitated but didn’t disagree with her statement. “Most of the time.” With all the compassion her friend could muster, he put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “But you’ve always been better at putting plans into action. That’s why we make such a good team.”

  She smiled, regaining a bit of her confidence that had been bruised. “Thanks, Dante.”

  “Anytime,” he said as he turned to look at the schedule of events. “Looks like we won’t officially be on until later this week. Wanna use our newfound privilege and go to the Pits?”

  She brightened at his words and her ego began to heal at Dante’s offer of fame and fortune. “Oh, hell yeah! Bring it on!”

  Chapter Nine: Pits and SIFs

  As the pair made their way to the travel gate at the far end of the room, Dante couldn’t stop grinning. This had been the one thing he had been hoping for as he programed their destination. The only thing a dungeon diver could really enjoy from being a gladiator. Well, other than the possibility of upper-tier, near epic-level loot.

  Restricted Location [Gladiator’s Wake - The Pits entry hall] has been selected for transport.

  Checking access rights for Dante Rior and River Hexi.

  ...

  Rights have been confirmed.

  Location accepted. Please prepare for transport
.

  Besides the perk of being able to fight in the arena for credits, gladiators were granted one other monumental perk since the 3.0 update: access to the restricted area known as the Pits.

  On most days, it was an uncompromising ten-round dungeon fight against waves of Wild One replicas. Though it didn’t sound impressive, the event was complete with a unique loot table and unique challenges that changed every day. There were no bytes or other basic drops to grace these randomized tables. No, it was just the best of the best for those ready to entertain the masses. The drop rate of anything might be smaller than a snowball’s chance in Hell, but that just made things all the more challenging, but even better than the rare loot was the fact that there was no chance of death. If the challengers dropped below twenty percent, any loot that they managed to find would be put to the fragmentation table and combat would be cut short.

  “Come on!” Dante said, racing in front of her as they pushed through the halls that made up the underside of Graywall.

  “Slow down,” River called as he began to pull away from her staggering form once more.

  “Never!” he cried back like a ten-year-old finally getting his break at freedom to antagonize her. “You’ve got to hurry! It’s almost noon, and you know it’s one of the biggest times for SIFS viewing.”

  Well, that was unexpected, River thought to herself. “I thought you hated the SIFS,” she called back as she picked up the pace.

  “I do,” he answered as it made him slow down, “but the wiki says that the amount of viewers you have will influence the drop rate.”

  River’s face was the picture of intrigue as she finally caught up with him under the flickering lights of the cool enchanted flames that danced golden in their braziers on the walls. “So, the more they like you, the more you get?”

  He nodded as he checked his map and turned them to the left. The last thing he needed was for the pair to end up in the wrong place in the undercity known as Gladiator’s Wake. “So the rumors go. Then there are the bonuses for the challenges you can take on, too.”

  She smiled a bit wider. “Challenges?”

  He nodded. “How do you not know this? Didn’t we read the same thing?”

  She shrugged as they turned another hall. “I kinda skipped the dungeon stuff.”

  “Should have known,” he said simply as they reached the end of the hall. A line had already formed before a large stone door. “Damn, we’re late.”

  “It’s only four people, it’ll be fine, Dante.”

  He shook his head. “Depends on how they approach it. Together we’d be faster, but if they try to draw it out, even at ten minutes apiece…”

  “Peak hours would already have passed…” River finished. Her face almost fell, but her hands were quicker. A swipe of her hands brought up her information window as she and Dante stood at the back of the line. Scrolling through the tabs, she brought up her SIFS integration window, scrolled to the Pits information, read the daily challenges, and began plugging in information for the start of their scheduled stream. “I have an idea.”

  Dante peeked over curiously as a question painted his face. What sort of plan did she have for them this time? “Full integration, all angles, dual stream, split screen... It doesn’t seem that different than our normal runs.”

  She smiled and began putting in the stream title. “Confirm the challenges.”

  In the corner of his vision, the message appeared in the party window:

  Challenges Offered by River Hexi for the party:

  Stitch-less: the party will compete without armor for a 10% increase to drop rate.

  Confirm? Y/N

  Bulk: Wild Replicas will have a 10% boost to damage output and health for a 5% increase to drop rate.

  Confirm? Y/N

  He looked at her for a moment as he confirmed both choices. “I still don’t get it.” River was always one to think outside of the box when it came to the SIFS, but he still wasn’t sure what her plan was.

  “Check out the stream title,” she added with a rather disturbing grin on her face.

  There wasn’t a single feature on his face that didn’t scream his decision’s regret. “Stitch-less Action in the Pits? Really?”

  She smiled ruefully as she wiggled within the details of polite convention. “I’m not lying, am I?”

  Dante’s tone was dark, lacking any play that she tried to bring him into. “You make it sound like we’re part of a dark cast.”

  “Hey, don’t rope me in with them! It’s just click-bait!” she defended a little louder than she intended. As two of the others waiting their turn turned to face the pair, embarrassment painted her face. “What are you looking at? Don’t you have streams to set up?”

  Her friend simply shook his head. “Sorry, but that title is a little more than I’m comfortable with.” Dante pointed out as the line shortened. Only three were left in front now. “I’m going to just stick with the Pits’ General SIFS stream. If they like me, they’ll find me from there. Not to mention the general stream will have a lot more viewers.”

  “You won’t get any followers like that,” River reminded him as she started the countdown for the stream at fifteen minutes. A moment later, River switched her equipment around. In a flash of light, her armor was gone, replaced by a simple sundress of the same blue hues. “Besides, the dark casts are just a myth. Everyone knows you can’t be seen during Blackout.”

  “Still isn’t worth the risk.” His armored robes vanished just as quickly with a simple gray shirt and black pants replacing it. To be fair, River had made the pair quite a bit of money with her efforts, not that he saw more than what he earned. With her expansive wardrobe and expanded carrying capacity, he couldn’t argue with her methods more than he already had.

  “Say that to our bytes account when this is over.”

  “Sounds fun,” came a new voice as she interjected herself into their conversation. Directly in front of them, a woman turned to give a face to the voice. She was slightly taller and decked out in rogue’s gear, a cloak, leather armor, and a number of small knives attached to her belts. “That’s a brave move for today. I don’t envy it though.”

  Dante’s ears perked up at that and leaned past River’s shoulder to see her more clearly. “Why’s that?”

  “Yeah,” River said in agreement.

  In a matter-of-fact tone, the woman with the night-sky-colored hair shrugged. Turning from River, she addressed Dante directly. “Today’s theme is earth. Rock, metal, magma, get the idea?”

  Dante could see the rage boiling under the surface of River’s calm face. She hated being ignored almost as much as she hated Dante being right. Her mask was holding, but only just. Diverting her words back to himself, he nodded. “I don’t like the sound of that.” So much for a good haul today. “Are you taking any of the challenges?”

  The woman shook her hair, sending galaxy-hued strands in opposing directions as she came back to rest. “I put on a good enough show on my own.” She offered her hand a moment later to Dante, bypassing the surprised River. “I’m Nyx.”

  “Dante,” he said, returning the gesture. “This is River.”

  “Ah, the newbies,” she said in sudden recognition. “You two put on quite the show up there. There aren’t many pure casters here.”

  Dante grinned a bit at her comment before waving her off. “I’m one of a kind.”

  Nyx returned the grin before she continued. “So I guess it’s your first time here then.” He nodded. “Good. Keep your wits about you, and you’ll be fine. Oh, and don’t do anything stupid.”

  “We’ll be just fine, thanks,” River pointed out as some steam slipped from her lips. “A team always has a better chance.”

  “And has to split the loot,” Nyx pointed out with a smile. “Though I wouldn’t mind a Seeker for a partner.” Dante only smiled at the compliment as she followed up with an obvious question. “What’s your rank, Dante?”

  “High enough,” he said simply. The last thi
ng he needed was to let his information leak before his first bout. Well, leak any more than the wiki page would allow.

  A pair entered next, leaving just one other, Nyx, and the two gladiators in line for the Pits. “Not a bad answer.” She smiled and was distracted for just a moment, then, as if answering another question, shook her head. “Maybe this won’t be our last encounter.”

  He nodded, letting his grin show his agreement more than his words. “Hopefully, it is as far as the arena’s concerned. Rogues aren’t the easiest to keep in place.”

  The look on her face seemed a little taken back, but she smiled all the same. “You’re sharper than I thought.”

  “I get that a lot,” Dante said with a smile as the woman walked past River and him back towards where they had come. “Where are you going?”

  River seemed just as confused as the woman answered. “You’re all the buzz right now. You deserve to take the stage as soon as possible.” She smiled at Dante again and made a motion with her hand that seemed almost like a weapon flourish. “I’d just be a letdown.”

  He thought for a moment and nodded. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  She smiled as she turned her back to them and waved. “Not at all necessary. Just put on a great show, and good luck.”

  She took a few more steps away and materialized something in her hand before either of the pair had a chance to say much.

  “You too,” River offered, interrupting Dante in the process of opening his mouth.

  Without a response, the item showed its true nature as the light of a jump disk flashed, and Nyx vanished back into Incipere proper. In the absence of the woman, River waited for Dante to say anything. When she watched him continue to try and silently will the curved creature back into existence, she sighed rather loudly and gave him a once over.