by EA Hooper
Vincent paused, remembering that outside the game, he was just an old man trying to distract himself until the second anniversary of his wife’s passing.
ARKUS’s update has me trapped in here for three hundred sixty years, but when I finally escape this game, it’ll seem like only half an hour has gone by. It’ll still feel like I lost Monika just two years ago.
Caught up in his thoughts, Vincent almost didn’t notice Xan about to step off the dirt path around the Jump Gate. The young woman reached for a gorgeous, multi-colored flower sitting at the edge of the grass.
“Wait!” Vincent shouted.
“Is it poisonous or something?” Xan asked, pulling her hand from the flower.
“No, it’s not that,” he replied. “When I Scanned the world, the prompt said not to leave what it called the Traveler’s Path. It’s suspicious that such a beautiful flower is growing just off the path. Reminds me of the Divine Sanctum in Titanus Online. You never got that far, did you?”
“No, I only had about a hundred hours in that game,” Xan said. “I did watch some of my dad’s gameplay footage of the Sanctum, though. I do remember there were sections where if you violated rules such as stepping off the branching paths, powerful monsters would be alerted to your location.”
“That’s right,” Vincent said. “You know, I chat with Fynn the Wolf Lord from time to time. Did you know the company he worked for made the neural processors used in Titanus Online? When they sold the rights for their technology to ARKUS’s devs, it included all the info they’d collected from the Titanus AI.”
“No way,” Xan said. “That explains some of the weird stuff I’ve seen from time to time. Like images of my family members used in dungeons. You remember that time I saw my mom in Marquis’s Hollow? She played Titanus Online with us sometimes. That game apparently saved a lot of data about its users to use against them.”
Vincent nodded, thinking of how difficult it was to defeat his shadow doppelganger at the end of the Divine Sanctum. “ARKUS knew a lot about us before we even stepped into the game. There’s no telling how it’s used that knowledge.”
“Well, it knows you like a challenge,” Xan said. “You sure you don’t want to step off the beaten path?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t planning to follow the trail the entire way to the other Jump Gate. I heard it makes a spiral around the planet that takes several days to follow, even if we run nonstop. I’m thinking we go along the path until we see what we’re dealing with.”
Vincent and Xan walked toward the beginning of the trail and followed it between two fields of rainbow flowers and shimmering, crystalline wheat. They eyed one of the giant barns in the distance, but their path seemed to be leading in a different direction.
“Barns?” Xan questioned.
“Scan said the most common enemies are owlers,” Vincent explained.
The young woman chuckled. “So, they’re barn owlers?”
Vincent smiled. “Guess so.”
“Did you find out anything else about this world?”
“Not from Scan, but I’ve heard one world in the Kai Run has giants. The second or third, I believe.”
“One has devils. Have you faced any of them yet?”
“I haven’t come across them, but Jim’s told me enough.”
“I’ve heard. Styxis will be rough, though you’re probably looking forward to that.”
“You know it.”
Vincent paused and stared at a silhouette in the field. It stood with its arms outstretched and didn’t move a muscle as he Scanned it.
Scarecrow – Monster Class: B+ | Age: 77 | Sex: None | Number of Offspring: 6 | Personality: Trickster
“It’s a B-Plus scarecrow,” Vincent told Xan.
“B-Plus?” she questioned. “Seems a little strong for a monster made of straw.”
“Maybe it has magical protection. Either way, it probably won’t bother us if we stick to the path.”
They picked up their pace to a jog. After a few minutes, Vincent spotted another scarecrow in the distance. This one stood a little closer, and its pumpkin head slowly twisted to track them. Vincent tried to Scan it, but he couldn’t gather the sliver of mana required.
“That one definitely sees us,” he noted.
“It’s not chasing us, at least,” Xan replied, keeping an eye on the scarecrow as the path circled around its crops.
The trail went over a tall hill, and when the duo reached the top, they saw miles of scorched farmland before them. After a momentary pause to take in the sudden change in scenery, Vincent looked down to find another scarecrow planted at a sharp turn in the path.
“You kidding me?” Vincent asked, trying to pull enough mana from his reserve for Scan.
Scarecrow – Monster Class: B+ | Age: 77 | Sex: None | Number of Offspring: 6 | Personality: Trickster
Vincent paused, rereading the information. He checked the list in his HUD where his Catalogue upgrade saved everything he Scanned. The list showed that he’d only Scanned a single scarecrow.
“It’s the same one,” Vincent muttered. He looked back and noticed no silhouette where they’d spotted the second scarecrow. “They’re all the same blasted scarecrow.”
“Are you sure?” Xan asked.
“It has the same age, number of offspring, and personality. Even Catalogue shows I only Scanned one.”
Xan equipped two longswords. Based on the color of the metal and their magical luster, Vincent guessed they were enhanced-verasteel swords with a rating anywhere between two-fifty and three-fifty.
The Ranger equipped his hand cannon, but he felt hesitant to fight the monster. “We might not beat this thing with our Debuff Chains,” he told his ally. “Let’s see if it lets us pass. I really think we’re safe if we don’t step off the path.”
“Alright, but if that thing makes one wrong move, I’m gutting it. I’ll break my chains if I need. It’s better to waste time remaking them than to wipe.”
“Agreed,” Vincent said, walking down the hill. He kept his copy of Song of Peace aimed at the scarecrow’s pumpkin head. The monster didn’t move a single piece of straw as they approached the sharp turn before the path reached the burned farmland.
“Try something, I dare you!” Xan shouted at the scarecrow as they neared it.
The scarecrow stood in silence; its carved smile almost seemed to be mocking them.
Xan started to make the sharp turn while keeping an eye on the scarecrow. She took two steps before Vincent noticed something odd about the trail and grabbed her arm to stop her.
“Trap?” Xan asked. “Trip runes or something?”
“No, something’s wrong with the trail,” Vincent said. His eyes followed the darker-colored dirt that started at the sharp turn and continued until the path became hazy in the distance.
Xan looked at Vincent, but then she shouted in surprise at something behind him.
The Ranger turned, pointing his gun at the scarecrow that had moved closer. His finger tensed as it hovered above the trigger, and he noticed it still remained just off the trail. When the monster didn’t move, he glanced at the soil where it had been standing earlier.
The burned-down crops hid a continuation of the original trail.
“The path doesn’t really turn here,” Vincent explained. “This pumpkin headed jerk burned down the farm some time ago to hide the trail.”
“Oh, I see the real path,” Xan said, squinting at the dirt. “Looks like it used to cut right across the farm.”
Vincent lowered his hand cannon, and they followed the real path across the destroyed farm. Every now and then, they spotted the scarecrow standing somewhere else. Its head rotated to follow them with hollow eyes, but its outstretched body never appeared to move. Their path took them within a short distance of a burned barn. Vincent saw dozens of item crystals glowing in the ruins, and the scarecrow stood over the ashes with a jack-o’-lantern smile.
“We need to kill that thing at some point,” Xan said.
“Preferably without breaking our chains, so we get a bigger boost toward gaining levels.”
“Let’s find an isolated area on the trail that looks far enough away from any other enemies—at least out of eyesight of those giant barns. That way, even if other enemies are alerted to our location, we’ll have a head start.”
Xan nodded as they continued onward. They followed the trail over hills and through a pleasant-looking dale. The path led them to a basin, and Vincent’s HUD showed the region’s name change to Traveler’s Basin.
The two players looked down as the path vanished before them. Vincent’s eyes swept across the landscape, noticing a new path started on the other side of the peaceful lake that covered most of the enclosed area.
“Is this a resting point on the trail?” Xan questioned.
“It might be,” Vincent replied, glancing back at the scarecrow. It had stopped at the end of the dale and seemingly refused to enter the new region.
“Then let’s fight this thing,” Xan said, equipping two swords.
Vincent readied Song of Peace in his main hand and a short sword in his offhand. “I’ll weaken it with shots, and then we can go in for close-quarters combat. So, scarecrow, any last words?”
The scarecrow remained perfectly still as the Ranger aimed his hand cannon at its pumpkin head.
“Didn’t think so,” Vincent said, pulling the trigger.
The shockwave raced from his gun, but it stopped at a wall of light that appeared just off the trail. Cracks spread along what looked to be a forcefield, which suddenly raced in all directions, encasing the path and the basin.
The wall flickered as it crumbled, and the world beyond the trail changed before their eyes. The pleasant-looking dale became a dark landscape with dead trees and little grass. Even the vibrant plants became dark and twisted. Black clouds materialized overhead, blocking much of the skybox’s light.
The scarecrow’s shape also changed when the illusionary wall came down. Even hunched over, it stood twenty feet tall and looked like a squid-beast made of straw. Its pumpkin head alone was about ten feet in diameter, and Vincent questioned how it even carried such a heavy thing around.
Straw tendrils raced toward the man first, but Xan jumped forward and cut through them. Vincent aimed his next shot on the massive pumpkin, blowing a chunk from its cheek. The monster replied with a piercing scream, unleashing a concussive force that knocked both players off their feet.
Vincent tumbled over ten meters before the long-winded scream finally ended. He blasted another chunk from the pumpkin while climbing to his feet. Xan rushed forward as the scarecrow stretched its straw tendrils toward them. She slashed through several, but it formed dozens more.
Vincent joined his friend, cutting through straw with a sword in his off-hand.
The scarecrow shook its straw body, and smaller pumpkins erupted from it. The pumpkins floated through the air, charged themselves with mana, and then dive-bombed the two players.
Xan hacked through the first two pumpkins, but the halves exploded, knocking her to the dirt. Her armor lost its subtle glow as the runes ran out of power. A third pumpkin flew in her direction, but Vincent shot it out of the sky, thankfully keeping the explosion from reaching her.
Without the runes, her verasteel armor won’t last long against this thing. We might need to break our chains.
“Don’t even think about it, Vince,” Xan said, standing to her feet.
Vincent shot down a pumpkin as it exited the scarecrow before flashing a puzzled look at Xan.
“I saw that look in your eyes,” she told him. “You’re thinking about using your full power because you’re worried I’ll get hurt. I know it’s been twenty years, but you really should know who you’re fighting alongside.”
Vincent smirked and blasted another pumpkin as it dove his way. The explosion still knocked out the first layer of his shield, but he ignored it as he took aim at the orange surface rising from the scarecrow’s straw body. He shot the next one before it emerged, and the explosion took out a large portion of straw.
“I think I figured out the easy way to beat it,” Vincent said, shooting another pumpkin as it appeared.
Xan slashed through the straw limbs as her teammate triggered another explosion that tore through the scarecrow’s body. The monster struggled to lift its massive head and crashed into the dirt before them.
Both players charged forward and hacked away at the massive pumpkin. They fended off the last few straw tentacles between carving pieces from its jack-o’-lantern face. A pained howl escaped the scarecrow, and Vincent pushed Xan away as an orange flash burned from inside the monster’s head.
The giant pumpkin exploded, sending pulp and seeds in all directions. The magical flash had done less damage than Vincent had expected, knocking out his shield’s second layer without damaging his armor. It didn’t appear that Xan had even been scratched after Vincent shoved her back.
“See, we didn’t need to break the chains,” Xan said, standing to her feet. She wiped pumpkin innards off herself.
Before Vincent could reply, the dozens of scattered seeds flashed with magic. In seconds, they grew to normal-sized pumpkins with flashing jack-o’-lantern faces.
“Maybe I spoke too soon,” Xan said.
Vincent snapped his Debuff Chains and cast Zero Field with both hands. Gravity waves lifted all the jack-o’-lanterns off the ground, tossing the orange shells away before they exploded. The multitude of shockwaves battered the two players, but their armor withstood the blasts from that distance.
“You didn’t make it very far with your chains,” Xan said, snidely.
“Well, I have to make exceptions for dangers that require magic,” the man replied. “Besides, I’ll need mana to make more charging stones. Go ahead and use the one I gave you.”
They both equipped charging stones and pointed them at the runes on their breastplates. Magic rippled from the engraved rocks, and after several seconds, their armors’ shielding reappeared. Xan handed Vincent her stone, and he looked over the two dull rocks. “Dang, I don’t think I can reuse these.”
“Why not?” Xan asked.
“Programming runes requires carving them with mana,” he told her. “Sometimes, you can re-carve the same object, but every time you do, you risk breaking it. These are too worn. We should be safe by this basin for a while, so help me find more stones.”
The two players searched around the edge of the water for flat, easy-to-carry rocks. After ten minutes, they’d gathered about twenty that looked ripe for rune carving. Xan watched as Vincent inscribed a circular pattern into one using mana.
“Is it bad I’ve barely learned any runes?” Xan asked, watching patiently.
“In my opinion, rune-making is one of the most valuable skills you can learn,” Vincent replied. “These here aren’t too complicated. See those different symbols on your armor? The circular one is used to transfer magic from other runes to the armor without carving them again. The lines at the sides of each plate transmit power and the main effect across the entire armor, so the entire suit acts as one big rune. Those jagged shapes around the circle trigger defense magic that creates the shields. The magic can maintain itself fairly well until the shield breaks, then it needs recharging.”
Xan nodded as her friend finished carving another complex shape into the rock. “You made that look easy.”
“All those years practicing my void abilities made me good at frequency control,” Vincent said. “Applying the right frequency is honestly the hardest part about making runes.” He poured his mana into the rock as he carved the last shape needed to complete the rune, but it shattered into pieces in his hands. “Well, getting it all to work without breaking the object might actually be the hardest part.” He grabbed another stone and started the process again.
After a half-hour of work, Vincent ended up with only four charging stones. He’d burned through all his mana three times, requiring him to replenish it with ethers.
&n
bsp; “That was a lot of work just for four stones,” Xan remarked, sitting by the lake with a bored expression on her face. “I can’t imagine how long it takes to make more complex rune systems. Like those viewing stations that broadcast arena fights across worlds.”
“I once talked to someone that specializes in making those systems,” Vincent said. “Most of what he said went right over my head. They use everything from scanning runes to transmitting stones, plus dozens of complex designs between the two. Also, they rebound their signals off Daiglass Towers to extend the range.”
“Uh huh,” Xan said, sounding uninterested. “Can we go fight monsters now?”
Vincent chuckled. “Yeah, sure. Let’s make a beeline for the next gate, and we’ll kill anything that jumps us on the way.”
Chapter 4 | Year 1
Player: Noah the Valiant
Location: Cryasal (World) | Crownkeep (City) | Crown’s Jewel (District)
Class: Ranger
Subclass: Warden
Vitality*: Lv 201
Spirit: Lv 188
Resolve: Lv 185
Perception*: Lv 209
Agility: Lv 176
Strength: Lv 173
Noah’s muscles still held tense with fear as he respawned. The angel’s attack had slain him so quickly he’d barely had time to register it. Zhang appeared a few feet away, and Ezra respawned ten seconds later, laughing like a maniac. His two friends stared at him with confused looks on their faces.
“Now that’s a real challenge!” Ezra shouted, a smile across his normally rigid face. “Nothing in this game has felt so insurmountable. Not dungeons, bosses, or even Dead-Worlds. But this—this is different. Those things outclassed us by leagues. I even nailed the girl with World Breaker, and it barely scratched her. She seemed a little surprised, but then she annihilated me with her own attack. How do you think they use world magic without pulling it from the ground?”
“I don’t know,” Noah replied. “We’ll need to study them and formulate a plan of attack.”
Ezra gave him an approving look. “See? You want to conquer this game as badly as I do. The challenge has already distracted you from your wife’s pregnancy.”
