by Terry Schott
Sebastian nodded.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, man. To play this amazing game with my best friend. I didn’t ask to be special. I never wanted to work for the other side.” He shook his head. “If you want me to leave, I will. But I can be useful to you here.”
“You can level characters now?”
“I can.”
“Well, then.” Sebastian smiled. “Welcome aboard.”
Chapter 42
Kieran pushed open the flap of his tent and stepped into the morning air. He surveyed the camp and made his way towards Ansko, who was sitting at a table finishing a plate of eggs and bacon.
“Morning, Kieran.”
“Ansko.”
“Sleep in?”
“No. I was writing a few letters to be delivered.”
“Ahh.”
Kieran sat on the opposite side of the table and poured himself a coffee from the carafe. “How are the preparations coming?”
“Slower than we would like.”
“No surprise, there.”
Ansko set his fork and knife on the plate and pushed it away. “Every race wants to be part of this.”
“As they should.”
“We can’t wait forever. Which is how long it could take if everyone is left to their own discretion.”
“I know.” Kieran raised the cup to his lips. “Put the word out that whoever is not present soon will be left behind. If anyone misses us, they can catch up or turn around and go home.”
“How soon?”
Kieran stroked his chin. “Fourteen days.”
“Okay. This is pretty exciting, isn’t it?”
“I suppose, although I find myself more nervous than anything.”
“We’ve waited a long time for this moment.”
“Over two hundred years. If this is actually the moment. Feels like it is, but we’ve thought that before, haven’t we?”
“You’re fusing a follower of Light and Darkness?”
“Best to put it all together just in case this is it.”
“From what you’ve told me I think the pair will get along well together. And Xander being a player should help. There isn’t the deep-seated hatred between faiths that two NPCs would have for each other.”
“There is different danger from Xander, though. It’s possible that he will not agree to help us; that his loyalty to the players will be stronger.”
“I think he will help us,” Ansko smiled. “Especially when Xander learns who recently joined the other side.”
“Who?”
***
“You’re kidding me?” Xander asked.
Kieran shook his head. “I’m not.”
“Isaac Chase is here?”
“In Darwin’s Vale.” The Scout raised one eyebrow. “You don’t like him very much?”
“That’s an understatement. He tried to kill me.”
“Really?”
“Or maybe worse. I was supposed to get an orientation before entering this world. Instead, he made sure to send me in without a single tutorial. I think he wanted me to fail and stacked the deck against me.”
“What makes you so sure he did that?”
“I was a professional gamer back home. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, and I’m sure someone paid Isaac to send me in here without any help. Maybe strand me here so I couldn’t get back to my body. Isaac’s responsible for that.”
“Do you hate him enough to help our side instead of the players?”
Xander’s icy eye socket flashed with anger, and his mouth curled into a snarl. “Absolutely.”
Chapter 43
Jerry approached Kara and sat.
She pushed a drink across the table and raised her own glass in a toast before taking a sip.
“We celebrating?” he asked.
“You are.” Kara looked at her drink. “The demise of ARC Gaming. You seemed keen on that happening.” She raised the drink to her lips again. “And it is.”
Jerry frowned.
“Drink up, pal. Happy times.”
“Jesus, Kara.” He reached for the glass, raised it to his mouth, and downed the contents in one gulp. Then he set it on the table with a thunk, caught the waiter’s attention, and held up two fingers. The waiter nodded and moved toward the bar. “How bad is it?”
“Past the point of no return. We’ll have to shut it all down fifteen days from now. Maybe we can keep it going for another two or three more, but that’s about it.”
The waiter arrived and placed the drinks on the table. “Thanks, man.” Jerry handed over his credit card. “Can ya bring us two more and then another pair every twenty minutes till I tell you to stop?”
“Sure thing, sir.” The waiter smiled.
“Jerry.”
“Sure thing, Jerry.”
Jerry pushed one of the glasses across the table and raised his own. “Drink up, girl.”
She downed her first drink and reached for the second. “Buying rounds till we pass out? You’re happier about this than I would have guessed.”
“I’m not happy at all.” He took a sip of whiskey and shook his head. “How much will ARC stock be worth in two weeks? After Blades VR fails.”
“Nothing.”
“And I can’t begin to sell my shares for another three, maybe four months.”
“None of us can.”
“I had over a million bucks in stock, Kara.” She frowned and he nodded. “There goes my retirement. ARC going out of business ruins me.”
“Damn, Jerry.”
He took a sip of whiskey and swallowed. “I don’t hate you, Kara. Sure, I wasn’t thrilled when Isaac left you in charge, but I didn’t want you to fail.” She shook her head and he nodded. “I know I wasn’t very nice to you, but that was to motivate you.” He smiled. “Works on my sales people. Tell them they can’t do it—that they’re gonna fail—and they do whatever it takes to prove me wrong.”
“All the time?”
“Mostly. Especially with the good ones.”
“Guess I wasn’t one of those.”
“You had some bad luck is all.”
“It’s too late to be nice, Jerry.”
He laughed. “It’s never too late for that.”
She looked at the table, shoulders sagging. “I couldn’t keep the major investors from cashing in.”
“Ruth Benneman.”
“I should have stood up to her.”
“And died? Or worse? I always had a bad feeling about Isaac taking mobster money. Those chickens were bound to come home to roost at the worst possible moment.” He twirled his glass between both hands. “Any chance we can raise enough capital to stay afloat? Or at least give us more time?”
“I’ve tried. Everyone I know has tried. Wait a minute. Any chance you know someone?”
“I know people who have the funds.” He thought about it for a few seconds and then shook his head. “But I wouldn’t ask them to come into this. Can’t drag any of my friends down the drain with us.”
“It’s not dragging them down. With a bit of capital we could keep moving forwar—”
“We can pull players out safely, then?”
Kara pursed her lips and shook her head.
“Then we’re not in a good spot. You’re telling me that less than a month from now, over two thousand wealthy kids, and a few business leaders, are all going to die.”
“As it stands.” She nodded.
“Damn.” Jerry finished his drink and pushed the empty glass away. The waiter arrived with two fresh drinks. “Perfect timing.” He emptied one glass and held on to the second.
Kara raised one eyebrow.
“Yours is still full. I’ll help you with this round, but you need to catch up for the next one.”
The two sat quietly for a time.
Jerry frowned. “Can’t they slit their own throats?”
“They could, but why would they do that?”
“So they can exit and save their lives out here.”
<
br /> “They don’t know the danger.”
“Isaac is inside. He hasn’t told them yet?”
“He found Sebastian, and they’ve been talking. You’re right. Killing themselves would be the best way to go.”
“Then why haven’t they?”
“Isaac doesn’t know how little time remains.” Ice cubes in her glass clinked together as she took a drink. “I’m pretty sure that he does have an exit strategy, but I think he’s making it part of the game. One last chance to impress the beta testers. They are gathering for a big battle.”
“How big?”
“A massive raid.”
“Dungeon boss or something?”
She shook her head. “The remaining players have gathered to form a single force. The NPC races are also combining.”
“An all-out war between the two, then?”
Kara nodded.
“Do they have enough time to reach each other and fight?”
“If everything goes as planned, they should face off two weeks from today.”
“Well, then,” Jerry raised his glass. “Here’s hoping that we get lucky and they have their epic raid-style battle. Fingers crossed that they manage to wipe before we run out of cash and have to unplug their bodies.”
Chapter 44
Sebastian stepped onto the stage and looked out at the crowd. The entire town had turned out to listen to him speak. Over two thousand adventurers stood shoulder to shoulder and far down the street. “Will everyone be able to hear me?” he asked.
Ezref smiled as he removed components from the pouches of his belt. “Once I cast the amplify spell. I could make it so the enemy army could hear you, wherever they happen to be.”
“A few hundred meters should do the trick.”
Ezref nodded. “You’re right, that will be a good enough range to reach past the listeners in back, but not by too much.” He began to craft the spell, hands moving as he spoke the words of magic. He finished and stepped back. “There you are. Careful not to scream, or you’ll blow the eardrums out of people in the first few rows.”
Sebastian nodded and took a step forward. “Hello?” He spoke as he would to someone standing directly in front of him for a personal conversation. “Can everyone hear me?”
The crowd quieted, and all heads turned toward the stage.
“In the back?” Sebastian looked to the men and women standing off in the distance. “You hearing me okay?”
There were muffled shouts of acknowledgement and thumbs-up signs. Sebastian smiled. “Perfect. Let’s get this started, then.”
He cleared his throat and began to speak. “As many of you know, my name is Sebastian. I’m the guy responsible for your visit to the land of Preu Treya.”
The crowd applauded. Sebastian raised a hand and nodded as shouts of support and thanks filled the air. A few seconds passed and applause died down.
“Thank you. I’m glad that you’re enjoying this world as much as I hoped you would. A few days ago, my business partner,” he paused, “and lifelong friend, Isaac, appeared in town. Isaac, step on up here for a second, so everyone can put a face to the name.”
Again the crowd cheered and applauded loudly as Isaac came onto the stage and waved. Isaac moved to stand beside Sebastian.
“Isaac wasn’t supposed to come to this reality,” Sebastian said. “Not during this beta test, anyway.”
“Then what’s he doing here?” someone shouted from the crowd.
“Before I answer that,” Sebastian continued, “I’d like to remind you all of the roles we play. Together, Isaac and I come up with the ideas and decide if they are worth trying. Once we agree that a project will move forward, I go to work and design it, while Isaac does the public relations, raises capital, and hypes it all to the public.” Sebastian shrugged. “I create the product and he gets the glory.”
There were boos and cries of “No way, Sebastian!” from the crowd, but Sebastian shook his head and waved a hand. “Don’t be like that. It’s a perfect setup. I don’t care for the accolades. All I ever wanted to do was make something awesome. And that’s what I am good at. But, without the hype and publicity, no one would want to try my creations for themselves. I’m thrilled to let Isaac take the spotlight.” He looked at Isaac and smiled. “We’ve always been a great team. Neither of us could have succeeded without the other.”
Sebastian paused and looked out at the crowd. “Why am I telling you this? To reassure you. To let you know that when it comes to technical knowledge, it’s my opinion that matters.” He smiled. “Isaac came into the game because he was afraid the computer system was crashing, and panicked.”
There were pockets of nervous laughter. Sebastian smiled. “That’s right. The non-tech guy panicked and came to check with me. I am happy to assure you all that he was wrong. Let me be clear. The computer simulation that we are all in is not about to crash or fail.”
He watched expressions of relief appear on faces. “I’m glad that he did find me, though, because there is one tiny issue that should not be happening with the game, but is. I designed the simulation so that players could be disconnected at any time. It was intended to be a safe process, but there’s been a bit of a partial glitch. The only way to get out of here without danger to your real body is to die inside the sim.”
The crowd was silent, many expressions conveyed confusion.
“If I were to stab Isaac right now, he would exit the game and wake up in his real body. No problem.” Sebastian looked at Isaac, who raised one eyebrow but smiled and nodded. “But if Isaac gets back to his body and tries to pull me out by shutting off my monitors or terminating my connection to the server, then I am in trouble.”
“How much trouble?” Someone asked.
“Enough that we don’t want it to happen,” Sebastian said.
“So,” A woman raised her hand a few rows back from the stage, “beta testing lasts as long as we can manage to stay alive inside the simulation?”
“If your avatar does not die, then yes.”
Again, people cheered. Sebastian waited until it died down. “Thing is, while theoretically that might seem good, it really isn’t. This is beta testing, people. You’ve all played enough games to know that beta testing can’t last a long time. Why? First, because there are bound to be bugs and issues with the system. The longer this goes on, the less stable it becomes. The trick is to end the beta test before the system is stressed and crashes. Normally, that’s important, but with this game, it’s crucial. Because your lives depend on it.”
Sebastian felt the energy coming off the crowd become more subdued. “Plus,” he smiled. “beta testing has limited features. The sooner we get out of this, the sooner I can load the entire game and make it live. Which, I can assure you, is even better than what you’re experiencing now.”
There was more applause. “If we are all agreeing to exit the game,” he said, “which it sounds as if we are, then quickest way to accomplish that is to kill our avatar selves.” Players booed the suggestion, and he raised one hand. “There is another option, though, and I think it’s a much better way to go out. The NPC races are gathering to attack us, and the army that will soon be marching up to our gates is epic. Engaging in this battle is a guaranteed wipe, but since I’ve convinced you that it’s time to head back to the real world anyway, why don’t we do it in style?”
He walked back and forth across the stage, swaggering like an evangelist before his congregation. “We’ve all adventured. Campaigned in some amazing instances. But now a world event is coming toward us. I say we step up and fight. This will be the first Raid-sized encounter in Blades VR. I say that we make it a memorable one.” He smiled. “Is anyone with me?”
The crowd responded with a thunderous roar. Sebastian laughed and looked out over the mass of charged players. There was no doubt in his mind that they were ready for a fight, and prepared to give their lives to win it.
Chapter 45
Xander paused midway through his sword drill
and turned as the sound of metal striking metal reached his ears from somewhere nearby. He followed the noises until he came upon the paladin and his squire sparring with blades in a small clearing. He watched them until Firth noticed his presence and stepped back, lowering his weapon.
“Good morning,” Helias lowered his own blade, his characteristic good-natured smile present despite the early hour.
“Morning. Sorry, I didn’t mean to halt your lesson.”
“Firth’s expression tells me that he was concerned that you’d be approaching to attack.”
Firth grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. “Old habits.”
Helias laughed. “It’s so cute when grownup words come out of the mouths of children.”
Xander smiled.
“I’ve told the lad that we are under a truce, but he is a natural when it comes to mistrusting enemies of our Lord.” He nodded toward Xander. “Those are magnificent blades you wield.”
“Thanks.” Xander sheathed the swords, shoving the midnight steel into his arms, where it liquefied and became one with the animated, tattoo-like patterns.
“Yeah, that part,” Helias’s eyes widened, “is fantastic.”
Xander grinned. “It is kind of cool, isn’t it?”
The paladin laughed and nudged Firth. “Any chance you might draw them again? So the lad can see.”
“The lad.” Xander laughed. “Sure.” Instead of the longswords, he drew forth a large broadsword.
“Where are the other blades?” Firth asked.
“I can form whatever type of weapon I choose.”
“Truly?” Helias walked closer, obviously intrigued.
“I can do this as well.” Xander waved a hand and his black shirt turned to liquid, exposing his bare upper torso as it flowed back onto his arms.
“Wow.” Helias shook his head. “Amazing.” His smile disappeared and he looked at Firth. “Careful when you’re around this one, boy. That stuff hates the light and will sting us if we touch him. Or worse.”
“Is that true?” Firth asked Xander.
“Maybe. I wouldn’t know until it happened.” He grinned. “Want to find out together?”
