by Ryan DeBruyn
“Yes, Master, every intelligent being that you bring down here can accept daily quests.”
“Crash, go demonstrate all the exercises for today,” I order the AI tersely. Then I turn to Mur. In Gartuski, I growl, “Mur follow what Jeff do. Do same.”
Mur nods along, and as I watch Crash go through exercises, I set up two stations for the deadlifts, bicep curls, and every other action. Perhaps, I won’t have to support Mur with my bitcoins because he can earn his own.
It is worth a try. Even if Crash doesn’t think so.
My hands are gripping my knees as the world spins and threatens to force me to the ground. I focus on the puddle of sweat that is pooling under my literally dripping brow.
“How is he so good at this?” I manage to huff out between heaving breaths.
“Master, goblins are a physical race that automatically raise their physical characteristics as they increase their Sea’s size. Right now, the monster beside you is F-6 in all physical stats,” Crash responds to my rhetorical question.
I glare at the AI, not for the answer but for calling Mur a monster. Right now, I don’t have the ability to scold him properly, but I will try to remember to correct it later. Mur, of course, stands there with his hands on his hips like he did between each exercise. He isn’t even breathing hard. Actually, once he understood the pattern, it had been me desperately trying to keep up with him.
“Mur, follow again,” I bark out and shuffle unsteadily to the screen. I press the ten-bitcoin option for the reward and then hover my finger right above yes. “Press there, then here.”
Mur does so, and I watch as the screen flickers for a moment, but nothing definitive happens. I will check the bitcoin total on the central table after I select my reward. I choose the physical points this time and stand there thinking this is a rather anticlimactic moment for the first steps on my journey. Does it make me feel more powerful at all? Not even a little bit. I sigh, having been hoping for a bit of courage to come from the reward. Still, Ride or Die could be taking advantage of another new adventurer today. And that is why after the shop opens, I am going to at least head to the guard post to report Ride or Die’s crimes.
Well, after I increase my statistics. Also, I should have a full Dantian and River. I hedge my earlier resolve immediately. Something deep inside me rebels against the plan to leave the Training Room again. What if those murderers are waiting?
My resolve falters further, but I recognize the fear from the dreams and inability to sleep the night before. I will not let it control me. If I don’t face my troubles and fears, it really will be the same as the situation with Leah. I can’t let someone take away my access to the sun, to take away my freedom. Not ever again.
I begin going through the cooldown and again have Mur follow me while Crash demonstrates. After we are done, I rush to the central table, which confirms that Mur’s daily workout did register. Our bitcoin total is now up to twelve!
A long time-wasting shower later, I am staring at my Status screen in the slightly foggy mirror. One disappointment for me is that even though Mur is standing next to me, I can’t see his screen. I can tell he sees something in the mirror because he is tilting his head back and forth as if trying to understand the foreign lettering. I will definitely need to try to teach him English.
Ignoring him for now, I study my own page.
*Status*
Overall rank: F-1
Free points: 8
Free Physical points: 4
Free Mind points: 0
Status Effects: Chef’s Physical Boost [Green] (27 Hours remaining), Well Fed (19 Hours remaining), Training Room [Purple]
Total Bitcoins – 12
Physical Stats – Chef’s Physical Boost +1 [Green]
Strength – F-1 {3 / 10}
Speed – F-1 {3 / 10}
Endurance – F-1 {7 / 10}
Mind Stats
Capacity – F-1 {2 / 10}
Synapse – F-1 {4 / 10}
Recovery – F-1 {3 / 10}
Spells & Skills:
Gartusk Language – F-3
Sea of Qi Size – F-3
Current Fill: 13 / 13
Some parts of my status stand out to me. Primary amongst them is my near certainty that some of my stat points moved up. I didn’t place any free points or physical points either.
“Crash!” I shout excitedly, causing Mur to jump beside me. “Sorry, Mur,” I apologize uselessly in English, as Crash’s face pops onto the mirror.
“Master, the previous owner banned us from appearing in the mirror after we made one too many comments on his strange actions. Does your calling us here mean you don’t feel the same way?”
“What? How can you have strange actions in front of a mirror? Never mind. I don’t care. Crash, have my progress points increased?”
“Yes, Master, daily workouts and the use of your qi to heal the resulting microdamage seems to have helped. As for your mind stat increases, I can only assume that your brush with death and combat has yielded some benefits.”
I roll my eyes at its seemingly casual gloss over my near murder. I get that, for the AI, it is simple binary, either I am alive or dead—and since the more preferable outcome is what I got, I should be ecstatic. I even kind of wish I could look at the whole situation with Crash’s logical detachment. Maybe one day. . .
For now, I can feel my mood sour at the AI’s tone, but I ignore it and ask my next question. “Should I place my points or save them?”
“Please rephrase the question, Master, we don’t understand. Logic clearly dictates that yes, you should place your points, and we assume you are asking something else.”
“Come on! I am clearly asking if I am gaining these attributes only because I am F-rated? Or will I continue to see growth in the bars even if I am higher ranked?”
“Oh, why didn’t you say that, sire? The answer to your second question is that your body is using qi to repair and strengthen itself against stressors. As long as you continue to work out and put your body in perilous situations where micro-injuries are likely, you will continue to gain points. Your rank doesn’t matter to this process. Therefore, putting your points in now or later will make no difference.”
“Thank you, Crash. I think I agree with the previous owner’s sentiments of you not coming into the bathroom,” I say to the head with a sigh. Sometimes Crash can be a bit much.
“As you wish, sire. At least you didn’t ask us which way the beach is. . .” Crash mumbles as his image fades.
“But I know where Beach is?” I mumble to myself before adding three points to Endurance and six points to Synapse.
A strange sensation surges through my body once the points fill to ten and then deplete. It is almost like qi but a version of the energy outside of my control. It sweeps through my body and leaves in its wake a strange tingling similar to that of the best morning stretch. When I take a deep breath, I feel as if the air is somehow fresher, or maybe I can hold more of it. It’s not quantifiable, but I can truly say the world seems a bit brighter. The change isn’t only physical, and I can feel a sensation in my head like I have just woken up from the best night’s sleep in my life. The feelings are so pleasant that I can’t help but want more, and I stand there relishing them for a long while.
Eventually, I make my way back to the kitchen and discover that each recipe is slightly more expensive. Still, the serving sizes have doubled as well. Looking at Mur, I wonder if his choosing bitcoin rewards from workouts will be enough to feed us. I may have to choose the monetary reward every second day.
For an instant, I ponder if Mur would wish to choose the stat points, but if what Crash says is true, they aren’t needed by evolutionary races like goblins. Still, maybe I should explain it to him?
I shake my head; all this could become a pointless argument when the shop opens, so I shut my brain off and follow the recipe’s steps instead. Today, Pulled Rodentia with Buffalo Mozzarella and Coleslaw on a Bun is the meal choice. The fact t
hat we can make six servings for eight bitcoins, and it’s rank E, is awesome!
Chapter 23
September 1st, 151 AR
Jeff Turle
Mur licks his fingers and lips before eyeing the Tupperware containers with the four servings of leftovers.
“No! If Mur eat, tribe have no food later,” I scold him as sternly as I can in Gartuski. I understand his feelings though. The BBQ sauce that the Rodentia meat is smothered in just leaves me wanting more—no, I have a full Dantian and River; I don’t need more right now. Gorging myself would actually be detrimental later. I stand up and place a single Tupperware of the food in the fridge.
“Crash, is there a way to lock the fridge until a certain time?”
“No, Master. What type of dictator puts a lock on the fridge? You should eat when you are hungry. Or gorge yourself on the sweet, succulent foods you desire when you desire them. Perhaps you can explain the flavors to me while doing so?” The fact that his pompous voice almost sounds sexual makes me shudder, and I ignore the AI’s antics.
“Mur, one container for later. Eat when hungry-empty,” I suggest while trying to be better with the language. I actually manage pretty well until I fumble the ending.
As excited as I am for the shop timer that is now under an hour, it also ticks down the seconds of my procrastination. Once I have done what I can in the shop, I will have to go and report the events of yesterday to the Beach guards.
I swallow the small lump this thought forms in my throat and roll my shoulders back. No, I can’t back out in fear. I need to go into town and stop Ride or Die from doing this to someone else!
The walls slide to the floor with a swish and a click. Jumping up, I rush over to study the new addition to the Training Room. The first thing I see is a cage. Not like a cell to hold prisoners, but a grated pen with quarter-inch-thick silvery metal joined in rectangles. The cage has a counter that peeks through a tight opening with about a foot of clearance above it, but no more. Definitely not wide enough for someone to squeeze through. Not even Mur, and I note the tiny guy rush in front of me to examine the cage as well.
In that cage, there seem to be objects hanging. The first one I make out is a suit of armor. The next is a sword. I keep appraising as I approach the holo-puck hanging near a counter of the shop. I spot a club, rifle, polearm, and many other weapons or armor types. But there are also many things for which I don’t know the name or function. Rolled up papers; a strange, ratty book that is almost falling apart; a sheath for a dagger or short sword with no weapon apparent.
Mur starts attempting to climb through the cage, and I bat at his foot with a hand and make a motion of ‘get out of there.’ The interface screen pops up and I smile.
*Run-Down Pawn Shop [Gray]*
Listing weapons by popularity – 5 of 90,673
●Battle Dagger [Gray] – 20 Bitcoins
●Spear [Gray] – 20 Bitcoins
●Battle Axe [Gray] – 70 Bitcoins
●Rifle [Gray] – 100 Bitcoins
●Battle Sword [Gray] – 125 Bitcoins
Displaying page 1 of 18,135.
The prices of items have me extremely worried, considering I have a total of four bitcoins available. So I scroll to the sell tab, and a list of things in my subspace pops up.
The acorns actually sell for a bitcoin each, which means I make thirty bitcoins from that lucky looting. The meat from Rodentia sells for one bitcoin per fifteen kilos, and Chunkalunk is worth one bitcoin per ten. The Leporid meat is also one bitcoin per fifteen kilos. Then the skeletons of the Rodentia and Chunkalunk are worth ten bitcoins. I separate them out and see that Chunkalunk’s corpse is worth nine, and two Rodentia corpses are worth one for both. I feel my mood sour ever so slightly when I remember I won’t be seeing a boss for quite a while. The vast majority of the bitcoin sales are from the boss room or the boss itself. I did consider turning the bones into weapons but couldn’t pass up the bitcoins for them instead. With my meager experience crafting weapons, the bones likely will just sit in the subspace otherwise.
So, with selling everything but the meat, I make forty bitcoins. Not a lot, but also not bad. Two things are a priority for me right now: a cultivation manual and an English-language skill book.
I search the cultivation manuals first and want to cry.
*Run-Down Pawn Shop [Gray]*
Weapons and Ammo |
Listing skills books by popularity – 3 of 3
●The Green Verdant Cultivation Manual [Gray] – 300 Bitcoins
●Blue Mages Cultivation Credo [Gray] – 785 Bitcoins
●Emperor Ra’s Godlike Cultivation [Gray] – 5000 Bitcoins
What in the Seven is with this ridiculous pricing? “Crash, can you please search through to find anything else that might relate to cultivation?”
“Yes, Master, searching all possible variations for cultivation manual. . . Complete, we were only able to find two other possibilities. One moment please.”
Mur is pointing at a rather large black club that is hanging on the wall, while hopping slightly. The hops could be excitement or that he is too short to reach the object without them. I shake my head at him. After seeing the prices for everything, I’m not even sure I will be able to get a cultivation manual.
Barclay’s Ragged Handwritten Cultavatin Journal [Black]
Location: Auction
Starting Bid: 1 Bitcoin
Current Bid: None
Time Remaining: No bid
I raise an eyebrow at the first one and look at Crash.
“Barclay? Like the old owner of this Training Room?”
“Yes, Master. As you can see, he misspelled Cultivating or Cultivation. We did try to warn him about that.” I can hear the same derision from the AI that is often directed at me and wonder if Barclay went insane thanks to it. That would explain a lot.
I click on the next option.
Destiny Cultivation [Yellow]
Location: Auction
Starting Bid: 1 Bitcoin
Current Bid: 10,000 bitcoins
Time Remaining: 22h, 33m, 12s
So that’s a no. I put the minimum one bitcoin bid on the ragged journal and shrug.
“Do you know if it’s any good, Crash?” I sigh.
“We cannot say, Master. The previous owner was able to grow very quickly after he started it. However, he refused to let us scan its contents. He claimed we would ruin its order. Once he acquired an A-ranked cultivation manual, he placed this one up for auction.”
“You never saw the journal?”
“Of course we saw the journal and all the gear displayed on the shop walls, Master. We viewed them when the old owner placed them up for auction.”
Mur has come over and is standing between Crash and I, following the conversation with his head. It’s strangely amusing to watch Mur, but it also highlights the need for an English teaching tome.
“I meant the inside of the journal, Crash,” I sigh to Crash, after taking my eyes off Mur.
“Ahh, then no, sire. We never saw the interior of the journal.”
“Wait, what happened to the old shop then?” I ask after I realize that the old owner had one.
“Master, while waiting for a new owner, we were forced to cannibalize internal apps to maintain our operating systems. Even then, we lost much and were in power-saving mode when you arrived. That is why it took a day or so to come back online.”
“Okay,” I say hesitantly, not comprehending everything the AI says but realizing what’s left of the Training Room is a mere shell of what it once was. “Another question then, where do the items the shop sells come from, and who is buying or placing things in the auction?”
“Of course, sire. The shop itself has standard items from the Delving Spire storerooms but can only acces
s items at the same rating as its own. The individuals in the other Training Rooms put items up for auction or buy the auctioned items.”
“Hold on. How many Training Rooms are there? And am I buying from other humans then?”
“My apologies, Master, we should have been clearer. There are only two other Training Room Constructs on Earth, but you are purchasing from all the Training Rooms across all the worlds upon which the Towers arrived.”
I look back to the screen and notice that the auction has twenty-four hours, minus our few minutes of conversation, to complete now that a bid has been accepted.
Smiling, I glance at Mur. Part of what I need is taken care of, and now it’s time to get him ‘Englishized.’ Okay, maybe I could use an advanced manual myself. Still, if the manual for the English language is cheap enough, maybe I can buy a weapon.
Unfortunately, despite asking Crash for help and performing multiple searches myself, no such manual exists. I frown; it looks like Mur is going to have to deal with my broken Gartuski for now. It’s rather unfortunate too, because it would have been nice to have him perform some basic cooking quests. On second thought, would he be able to handle them so soon after learning the language? I picture myself reading the recipes in Gartuski and chuckle. Probably not.
I return to the main page and eye the spear at twenty bitcoins for an instant. It would be great to have a weapon with a longer reach than the dagger, but spending that much could leave us in a bad place. As I noted earlier, the boss room accounts for most of the funds. For now, I will stick to the knife and see how fast we can save coins in the future.
