Hero

by Paul Bellow

  “Not us,” I said. “Josh, Sarah, and I don’t have prisoner numbers because I hacked us into the game to try it out.”

  Derringer laughed, shaking his head.

  “You broke into a prison, huh?” he asked.

  “I didn’t know,” I said defensively.

  “Well,” Derringer said. “Without prisoner identification numbers, we should go.”

  “Maybe I can hack a shell on the network.” I turned to the terminal, staring down at the computer keys. “There has to be a way.”

  “You don’t think the best hackers in here haven’t tried?” Derringer asked.

  “Yeah, sure, but maybe…”

  I stopped talking as I stared at the blinking cursor.

  “We should get going,” Derringer said. “Things on level one-three have been getting crazy. Magi Inyontoo teleported me and the other Dark Knights back to this level to get something of Ryu’s for him.”

  “You weren’t sent to kill us?” Bernard asked.

  “No,” Derringer said. “He wants the brownies to kill you three.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  Derringer shrugged his shoulder.

  “I wish I knew more,” he said. “I think he knew I was about to leave. A lot of others are leaving him ever since you guys showed up. He told us no new players would ever enter the Tower of Gates. When it turned out that was a lie, he started losing his grip on power. He’s ruled the first four levels so ruthlessly, people are happy for a reason to leave him.”

  “Sounds like we’re having an impact,” I said.

  “Maybe.” Derringer pressed the bricks to hide the terminal. “Someone needs to kill him. There’s rumors he’s never been killed before.”

  “If he’s done anything to Sarah,” Josh said. “I’ll be the first to take him out.”

  “What else do you know about level one-three?” Bernard asked.

  “Undead,” Derringer said. “Magi Inyontoo has been creating undead.”

  “Like zombies and stuff?” Josh asked.

  I turned to him.

  “What happened to you, anyway?” I asked. “After Magi Inyontoo killed you.”

  Josh frowned.

  “All I remember is fighting in an arena,” he said. “The memories are still fading. I remember it as a long time, but I can’t be sure.”

  “We’ve been in here over a few months now,” I said. “Time’s so strange.”

  “It gets worse,” Derringer said. “The longer you’re in here.”

  “Just imagine the brownies,” Bernard said. “In the real world, they’re probably a few months old, but in here, their minds have grown to be…I don’t even know how old.”

  Derringer turned his head toward me.

  “This so-called game is messed up,” he said. “I’ve always seen prisons as a necessity in modern society, but this place goes too far.”

  I took a deep breath. He wasn’t wrong.

  “There must be a reason they stopped letting new people in here,” I said. “My father will be coming home shortly, and he’ll get us out of here one way or another.”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it,” Derringer said.

  Bernard nodded.

  “Me, too,” he said. “I’ve been in here too long and heard that too many times.”

  “Wait a minute,” Josh said, turning to me. “We’re not in here officially. Are you sure your father will get us out?”

  “He wouldn’t leave me in here,” I said.

  “But babies and prisoners are apparently okay?” he shot back.

  I reached for the hilts of my swords, just wanting to feel them.

  “No fighting in the party,” Derringer said. “I mean it.”

  Josh crossed his huge, muscle-bound arms over his chest.

  “Do you know where we’ll come out on level one-three?” Bernard asked, deftly changing the subject. “After we come out of the portal.”

  “Good question,” Derringer said. “You might make a good second-in-command.”

  “Anything for you, boss,” Bernard said.

  Memories of coming into the game flooded my mind. All those early mistakes we’d made. We’d come so far, but Sarah had died.

  “I’m not certain because Magi Inyontoo has been known to mess with the portals,” Derringer said. “If he hasn’t changed anything, we’ll appear in Fishguard. We’re entering an entirely different level. Even if things look the same, they might be different because it’s on its own timeline.”

  “Still can’t believe we never found that before,” I said.

  “Not everyone finds it,” Derringer said. “I didn’t know about it at first. Someone told me it was here. You’ll find from here on out that some people love to share information. It’s worth more than gold or any of the items in the game. Well, most items.”

  “I’m glad we found you,” Bernard said.

  “Enough talking; time to find Sarah,” Josh said then walked away.

  We followed him to the shimmering portal for level one-three.

  Josh stopped in front of it, waiting for us to catch up.

  “Are we ready?” he asked.

  I opened my mouth then shut it. We’d put Derringer in charge. After not trusting Bernard for far too long on level one-one, I was ready to trust someone.

  “We’re ready,” Derringer said. “Josh, you go first and secure the landing site. Bernard, you go next just in case he needs healing. Eric will go next then me. Any questions?”

  “I’m the cannon-fodder?” Josh asked.

  “You’re our tank,” Bernard said. “Our smart tank.”

  Josh smiled then walked through the portal.

  I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself.

  “Wish me luck,” Bernard said then stepped through.

  Derringer looked over at me, installing a sense of confidence.

  “Your turn,” he said, nodding his head toward the rippling portal.

  I walked through, ready for anything.

  30

  New Class: Valkyrie Skyrider

  Sarah

  After I died, I appeared in the Tower of Gates. The gamemaster was leaning against the inner stone wall as if waiting for me.

  Did he know I would die? This game is so weird, Charlotte.

  She didn’t answer me.

  Charlotte? Can you hear me?

  “Welcome, adventurer,” the gamemaster said. “It seems you’ve failed to stay alive. Don’t worry. Your time in the Tower of Gates isn’t over. When you die in here, you’re usually transferred to the status of an…”

  “NPC,” I interrupted. “Can you tell me how to get out of the game? Did I lose my familiar? I was growing fond of her.”

  The gamemaster frowned. I feared and hated when he did.

  “Interrupting your superiors isn’t good for your rehabilitation,” he said.

  “Are you going to deduct experience points again?” I asked.

  He shook his head.

  “Why would I when you’re becoming an NPC?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe…”

  Before I finished my sentence, Magi Inyontoo stepped out of the portal for level one-two.

  “You’re still here,” he said. “Great.”

  When I reached down for something to protect myself, I noticed I was in a new body.

  A human female?

  That was a boring option. I wondered if I was trapped now as an NPC—like Bernard was before we met him.

  “Don’t fret,” the gamemaster said. “This player is breaking the rules and will be punished appropriately in due time.”

  Magi Inyontoo laughed.

  “You can’t punish me,” he said. “She should be very afraid right now. You’re the menace in this game, not me. I’m trying to get out of here.”

  He stepped toward me, holding up a glass vial tinted red.

  “Drink this,” he said. “We need to talk.”

  “Are you nuts?” I asked, taking a step back.

  The
gamemaster moved forward to block Magi.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” the gamemaster said. “You should leave.”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” Magi said. “Let her drink the potion and decide.”

  “That’s against regulations,” the gamemaster said. “You should leave.”

  “We need to talk,” Magi said. “Even without the potion, you need to listen.”

  “All I need to do is find my friends,” I said.

  The gamemaster turned to me and said, “If you stop listening to the unruly player, I have an offer for you. You might like it.”

  “Go on, I’m listening,” I said.

  “How do you feel about getting your own unique character class in the game?”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Magi said. “He’s lying. It’s a trick.”

  “Tell me more,” I said, loving to defy authority.

  “You’ll be the first and only person to play a Valkyrie Skyrider,” the gamemaster said. “How does that sound to you?”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Magi said. “He’s a trickster.”

  “And so are you,” I turned to the gamemaster. “Are there any catches?”

  “None at all,” he said then smiled like a grandfather pleased to see me after too many months. “This could make you as powerful as Magi in time.”

  I glanced over at the high-level mage. Was he just jealous of me?

  “My friends,” I said. “What about them?”

  “You will spawn on the same level as them,” he said. “In time, they will find you.”

  “Screw this,” Magi said. “I’m leaving. You’re on your own. I tried to help.”

  “You’re free to play,” the gamemaster said. “Everyone is free to play.”

  “We’re all free to leave this stupid game,” Magi said then turned.

  I watched as he stormed toward the portal for level one-three.

  “Good luck,” Magi said right before he walked through.

  I turned back to the gamemaster. He continued smiling.

  Can I trust him?

  “Do you accept my generous offer?” the gamemaster asked.

  “Are you saying I have a choice?”

  “Unfortunately, you’ve not progressed enough in your rehabilitation to have much of a choice in this or any matter. I recommend you keep working on improving yourself as a person. This is a good opportunity for you to grow into a productive member of our society.”

  “I don’t want to be here,” I said. “You need to let us out.”

  “You must pay your debt to society prisoner number...” The gamemaster flickered like a cheap hologram then continued. “Error. Not a valid prisoner number.”

  He disappeared completely. I glanced around at the empty hallway between zones. A game notification screen appeared.

  In exchange for the new character class (Valkyrie Skyrider), you will respawn as a player character twenty years before the rest of your party. They will enter the world you build for them.

  Do you agree? [Y/n]

  No. I can’t stay away from the others that long.

  The game controls wouldn’t let me choose no.

  Why is the no option greyed out?

  In exchange for the new character class (Valkyrie Skyrider), you will respawn as a player character twenty years before the rest of your party. They will enter the world you build for them.

  Do you agree? [Y/n]

  Stop, already!

  I missed Charlotte and the others.

  Could I survive twenty years on my own?

  Was the gamemaster trying to teach me a lesson?

  And why had it blinked and disappeared? Glitches in the system?

  Questions piled up as I stared at the game notification screen before me. I saw all three portals had also blacked out.

  Are they broken?

  Should I wait for the others? Can I stay here that long?

  I took a deep breath and thought about twenty years.

  Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad with a new class.

  I hesitantly accepted the game’s terms.

  So much for an open-world game.

  The first three portals activated.

  I stared at the swirling pattern.

  Level One-Three on my own.

  You got this, Sarah.

  Time to grind.

  I stepped through the shimmering portal.

  Epilogue

  Unleash All the Undead

  Magi Inyontoo

  After walking through the portal to level one-three, I appeared in a sparse room with a wooden desk. The new players had killed the black dragon, but I had enough power to raise him from the dead.

  If I couldn’t kill or have the new players killed, I needed a backup plan.

  Ryu would become an impressive bone dragon player character. With his power and the rest of the undead swarm, I’d overwhelm the system and catch a break. The other players had temporarily stranded me on the first four levels of the game, and I wanted out badly.

  When I put my mind to something, nothing could stop me—not even the virtual walls of our prison. Hank, Ryu’s new character name, would be able to summon undead faster than anything I’d come up with already. I had power-leveled his character a little bit.

  I left the greeting room and walked outside. Many people had left Magictology, but once I showed them my true power, they would crawl back—begging to get out of the Tower of Gates. Until that time, I had to concentrate on my latest plan—unleashing all the undead.

  Stacking player character bodies had worked for a while, but the gamemaster AI had found a way to stop that line of attack. By creating a vast undead army that would sweep across every level in the game, I could flood the system and buy myself some more time.

  I teleported to the most advanced Tower of Sherlock. As I walked through the computer simulated reality—my base of operations—I questioned my existence. Too many years in the game had broken something in my mind.

  Freedom was never free. I had to pay a price.

  Where is he? I wondered, impatient as ever.

  On the horizon, I saw a dark speck in the sky that grew larger the closer it got.

  Hank looked magnificent, magically flying. With him on board, I wasn’t as concerned about losing Eddie or the dozens of others. I’d also gained two brownie assassins.

  Hank landed on the ledge then folded his wings. I walked closer as he swiveled his large, skeletal head in my direction.

  “Careful now,” he said in a scratchy voice.

  “You’re late,” I said.

  “Then kill me and put me out of my misery,” he said. “I didn’t ask for this.”

  “No, but you like it.” I smiled. “Admit it.”

  “It’s cool,” he said. “I’ve been practicing my summoning skills.”

  “Good,” I said. “We’ll need them. I want more undead.”

  “Are you sure you want to try this?” Hank asked. “Everyone else is abandoning you.”

  “Do you want to quit now, too?” I asked.

  Hank chuckled and shook his head.

  “You know I believe in you,” he said. “You opened up the skeletal race and so much more. This game wouldn’t be the same without you, man.”

  I smiled internally, keeping my face free of emotions.

  “You’re doing well with it,” I said. “Now, it’s time for payback.”

  “I’ve been waiting.” Hank sat up, towering over me. “This will be fun.”

  “As many as you can make and as fast as you can make them,” I said.

  “Once I create some that can summon their own, things will add up quickly,” he said.

  “We need to hurry,” I said.

  “You worry too much,” Hank said.

  “Or not enough.” I stepped back. “Let me know if anything goes wrong.”

  “Not a problem,” Hank said. “Off to do the Lord’s work…”

  He lifted his wings then leaped into the air.

  I watche
d as he soared east.

  Would my plan work? An army of the undead was the only way forward. Creating enough undead mobs and turning enough players into undead versions of themselves would help.

  My earlier tests with the Cursed Pendant of Visions and stacking dead player characters had shown that the game could be overwhelmed in certain circumstances.

  I had to try to use that fact to my advantage and overload the system.

  The gamemaster AI needed to die.

  “When did you get back?” Gord-En asked from behind me.

  I turned and smiled, pleased to see him again after so long.

  “You came,” I said. “Wasn’t sure if you would.”

  “Do you really have a way out of the game?” he asked.

  “Straight to the point as always, I see.”

  “That’s how you survive in here,” he said.

  I smiled then said, “Still as charming as ever.”

  “You’ve made a mess of this level.” He shook his head. “Why do you always have to cause trouble? They might let you back on the higher levels if you stopped being crazy.”

  “I’m not insane,” I said—a little too quickly.

  “Defensive,” he said. “You’re worried.”

  “We should both be worried,” I said. “Their wizard made a deal with the gamemaster.”

  “Oh?” Gord-En tilted his head back. “Tell me more.”

  “Another new class,” I said. “What did you expect?”

  “You never know,” he said.

  I nodded. He wasn’t lying. The game could be fickle, but it also had boundaries.

  “Do you know what she got?” he asked.

  “Valkyrie Skyrider. Even worse? The gamemaster sent her twenty years in the past. She might be able to ruin our plan with the undead. Every time he does that, it screws up the entire level. We need to be ready for any big changes she’s able to make.”

  “Or go back and kill her,” he said.

  Gord-En stared over the edge of the ledge.

  “We can’t afford another failure,” he continued.

  “I know…”

  Both of us fell silent for a moment, lost in our thoughts.