“I’m not in love with her and keep your voice down,” I whispered.
“Whatever,” Oz said and picked up a blue velvet bag, and dug around inside.
I found a red potion like the one we had retrieved for old Grundar and popped the cork. I sniffed it and wondered if I should take one for the team and test it. I put the cork back on and placed the vial back on the table. Some of the potions were purple, and a lot of them were in different-sized containers.
“Found some gold and couple of scrolls,” Oz tossed the parchments on the ground.
“Sweet. Maybe more magic spells,” I said. “I bet I can become a full mage with a little more work.”
“Whatever,” Oz said.
“How are we supposed to know what all of these stupid potions do without testing them?” I said.
“Read the bottom of the cork, dummy,” Kirian said from the room’s entryway.
She was so quiet on her feet I didn't even hear her approach. Scared the hell out of me so badly I knocked over the potion I had been eyeing. It struck the ground and then shattered, splashing purple fluid all over the floor. Before I could try to scoop some backup, it soaked into the dirt and rocks and left behind nothing but a stain.
“So much for that one. I think it was for moving in shadow,” Karian entered the room and dropped next to the table. “The green ones are cool. Gives you a boost to your stamina. You feel like you can run all day after taking it. But there’s a side effect because you crash about an hour later. Imagine a double dose of NitroGroove suddenly dropping out of your system.”
I nodded, removed the cork, and turned it over. There were indeed marks there.
MINOR ALACRITY
10-second weapon haste
“HUH,” I said.
“What was that one for?” Oz asked.
“Haste,” I said.
“Nice find. It makes your attacks faster. Too bad that one got busted.”
I picked up a small red one and popped the cork.
MINOR HEALTH RESTORATION
50%
“SWEET!” I said and tossed back half of the bottle.
It tasted like honey, but there was also an undercurrent that reminded me of iron. No, blood. That was it.
I nearly gagged but kept my stomach contents in place. Then a warmth started in my center and spread outward. The pain in my feet dissipated as did the burns on my back. I touched my neck, but the scar was still there.
“Drink this,” I offered the rest to Oz.
He nodded and took the vial then sniffed. “Smells like…”
“I know. Tastes like it too, but the effect is amazing. Just drink it,” I said.
Oz sipped it, waited for a couple of seconds, and his eyes shot wide open. He swirled the contents in the vial and then lifted it to his lips and drained the rest.
“Man, that stuff doesn’t have the greatest flavor, but the effect is pretty striking,” Oz said.
“Enjoy it for now. After hitting level seven it takes two of those to restore my health,” Karian said. “Luckily there are stronger potions out there.”
I opened another bag and found some old apples and a hunk of cheese draped in a rag. When I revealed the yellow chunk, I recoiled. “Oh my god. This stuff smells like dirty feet.”
“The rule of thumb is that the stinkier the cheese, the better the taste,” Oz said and stuck out his hand.
I gave him the cheese and wiped my hand on my shirt.
Oz considered the round chunk, broke off a small piece, sniffed it, and then tossed it in his mouth. He chewed for a few seconds and then turned and spit it out.
“That is disgusting. Worst cheese, wait, I don’t think you can even call that cheese. That's a nasty hunk of smegma,” Oz said.
“Did you just make a Red Dwarf joke?” Karian laughed.
“Yeah because it fit that repulsive stuff,” Oz rewrapped the cheese and tossed it in a corner.
“‘Smoke me a kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast,” Karian declared.
“Huh?” Oz and I echoed each other.
“Nothing, losers.” Karian’s face fell, and she went back into the other room. “I’m going to kick my feet up.”
“Okay,” I nodded as she departed.
Oz sorted a few more bags as he placed them into piles while I dug around one of the bags. It contained more smelly clothes so I tossed it in the corner of the room. After fifteen more minutes of looking my head felt woozy.
“That health potion had a nice effect, but I’m suddenly feeling sleepy,” I said.
“Me, too. Let’s sort this stuff out tomorrow. I’m beat,” Oz said.
We wandered back into the main room to find Karian stretched out on one of the beds. She had her feet crossed and her arms behind her head. That black leather was so supple. There were what looked like dragon scales down the front of her cuirass and each had red stitching on the outside.
“Weird how fast those work,” Karian said. “I ran a few errands for the temple in Weslori, and the old guy gave me a few as a reward.”
She stood up and stretched. I did my best not to stare. It was simply unbelievable that Karian was here, in the game world, with us.
“Doing errands in town got you some XP?”
“Oh, yeah. Lots of quests in Weslori. Plus it’s not lame like Candleburn. I mean, it does have its problems, like it’s run-down, but there are things to do. That reminds me. I saw what looked like a lot of smoke in the distance. Did something catch on fire in the village?” Karian asked.
“Really? That’s weird,” Oz said.
“What do you mean Weslori is run down?” I asked. If I remembered correctly, Weslori was a beautiful place with a palace, and well-maintained homes and shops. Just wandering into town allowed you to hook up with the blacksmith and complete a bunch of fetch quests for him. Although I didn’t relish going out and breaking up rocks for ore, it was a good way to earn some coin and more importantly, XP.
“It’s just, I don’t know. Run down,” Karian said.
“That doesn’t sound right,” I said.
“We can go tomorrow and look around. I’ll help get the bodies out of here then what do you guys say we get some rest? Potions can be a lot of aid, but you need to sleep,” Karian said. “I know I’m making it look easy because I’ve gained some experience points but I’m dead on my feet.”
“It would be a lot of help if our HUDs worked correctly. Mine keeps flickering, and the icons and stuff are messed up.”
“I think it’s just a buggy interface. But I can tell you from experience that as you level more of the HUD comes alive. It’s quite helpful, but it’s tied to your experience,” Karian said as she looked up, presumably to study her own HUD. “I think it’s part of a tutorial, but the pieces aren’t all there yet.”
“Wait a hot second. Are you telling me that we’re beta testing this stupid game?” Oz rose to his feet, his face a flurry of emotions that ended in hard set eyes and a snarl.
“I think so. It’s the only thing that explains how flaky things are. Like how come I only started seeing the glow around mobs after I hit level five.” Karian said.
“Glow?” I asked.
“Yeah. Tells you how hard mobs are to kill. If you’re not a high enough level, they are red. Green is too easy. Blue is an equal challenge. Yellow can get your ass kicked, and red will get your ass killed.”
“Well that would have been helpful a few hours ago, you know, before we got killed,” I sighed in frustration. “I’m very good at this game. I know it inside and out because I’ve lived in it for years.”
“Not this version,” Karian said.
“Oh, I’m all too aware of that,” I said. “All too aware. It’s like the bones are here, but I don’t recognize the rest of it. You need to come clean with us, Karian.”
“I told you what I know. Just trust me, okay? Tomorrow I’ll teach you guys what I know. You’ll be surprised how fast you level up. Consider me a teacher if you will until you guys catch up.”
“Then what?” Oz said. “Then what the hell do we do? Just setup a home somewhere and live out our days in a stupid game world?”
“I don’t know. I assume we’re going to get out of here at some point,” Karian said. I wasn’t convinced that she believed her own words.
Why did this have to be so damn unpolished? Th’loria hadn’t been this confusing even when it launched. Sure there had been bugs, connection issues, long queues to get in the game, but at least there had been an excellent tutorial. Plus the VR interface had been the best on the market at the time.
“Like I said. Tomorrow morning we’ll go out, and I’ll show you guys where to get some easy kills. You’ll level up in no time,” Karian said. “Plus the book gets super helpful. Keep an eye on it. Around level five a lot of the pages filled in.”
“Screw that stupid book. I tossed mine,” Oz grumped.
“You can’t throw the book away,” Karian said.
“Well, I did.”
“No. I mean it will come back to you. Look through the pile of stuff that was left behind when you died. I bet it’s there.”
Oz frowned and shifted the remains of his gear around until the book appeared underneath the jerkin he had taken from the dead bandit outside. Oz picked it up and then turned to the fire in the middle of the room. He looked at the cover and then back at the low flame.
“Don’t do it,” I warned. “You need the book.”
“I just need to go home,” Oz said and tossed the book in the fire.
The flames roared for a couple of seconds as flames licked at the paper, and then the book flipped over and fell out of the fire.
Oz snatched up his guidebook and tossed it under a bed, then he flopped down on the thin mattress, put his hands under his head, and stared daggers at the ceiling.
“Yeah. Rest sounds amazing,” I said.
“As I said, you do need to sleep in the game. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself making a lot of mistakes. Trust me on this one,” Karian said but failed to follow-up with an explanation.
She was right. I was thoroughly exhausted. I hadn’t been so tired in my entire life. The whole day and half of the night had been one long fucking drag after another, and the potion, for all it did to restore my wounds, actually made me feel like I was going to fall over at any second.
Sleep.
Suddenly I could barely keep my eyes open.
“It’s nice and warm in here,” I said as I sat on one of the empty beds and laid back.
The mattress was one lump on top of another. Something poked me, and when I reached under my back, I pulled out a white feather. I studied the intricate piece of plumage and wondered what kind of weird Th’loria bird it might have come from. Harpies used to nest not far outside of Weslori, and they were nasty things that feasted on human flesh. Maybe it was just a chicken feather.
But I hadn’t seen a single chicken since we had arrived. In the old game, they were all over the place. You could even go out into fields and hunt them for dinner.
Something was seriously wrong with this version of the game world.
I yawned wide and then closed my eyes for a few seconds.
Then some weird shit went down.
I’M NOT sure what I expected when I went to sleep in Th’loria. I guess I thought I would at least dream the way we do back at home, but what I got, instead, was anything but a bunch broken images I would barely remember the next day.
You know how when you’re in a dream world, and things are weirdly all over the place? Well, that’s not how it happened. I felt like I was floating in a black place for a very long time, comforted by soothing waves that enveloped my body.
A woman appeared dressed in a gown of white covered in tiny jewels. Her headdress formed out of long feathers that reached into the sky. Her face was serene but also wise, but she appeared to be in her mid-twenties. She floated above me, and long gossamer wings flapped in the breeze.
“You will journey far,” she said, her voice as sweet as honey.
“I already have. How do I get home?”
“You are home, Walter. You have always been home.”
“I don’t understand. I want to get back to the real-world.”
“What is more real than this existence?”
“I don’t know. Like my old apartment and stuff. I like it there.”
“And yet you have lived here for how much of your life?”
“I don’t know. A day,” I sputtered.
“A day? Is that so? Think back further. How long have you lived in the Realms of Th’loria?”
“It’s not a real thing. It’s just a stupid game so let me out,” I pleaded.
“Very well. I return you to your reality. When we meet again, I shall have a quest for you. Look for signs of my passing, and I shall come to you again. But heed these words: the shard bearer is a greater threat to the land than any realize. If you are to face him, you will have to grow stronger.”
“The shard bearer? But I had one of those things. Lots of people have them.”
“The living shards are a new anomaly in the land. Beware him but also prepare for him.”
“Wait. Is this some epic quest you’re giving me? I’m a low-level nobody,” I protested.
“Sometimes the greatest hero is the one who recognizes and embraces his limitations. You must save this realm before it too late. Already it has fallen low, but there are depths it may plumb if you are unable to save it.”
“What does that even mean? Depths it may plumb?”
“When you arrive in Weslori, it shall become apparent. Look for signs of my passing, follow them, and I you shall be greatly rewarded.”
“What’s your name?” I tried figuring that if she told me some lore from the game might come back to me.
“You know who I am, Walter,” she whispered and faded away from sight. “Look for the signs.”
“Wait! If I kick this shard guy’s ass, do I get to go home?”
There was no response.
MY EYES SHOT OPEN, and a vision of beauty greeted me. Karian lay just a few feet away and had a blanket pulled up to her chin. Her dark hair caressed one cheek and her mouth parted. I blinked away sleep and rubbed my eyes. My muscles ached like I had done a few hours of yard work at my parent’s house when I was a kid, but my body also felt like it was healed. I reached down and touched the bottom of my feet and found that the blisters were gone but had left hard calluses behind.
“What are you staring at?” Karian asked.
“Me? Oh, uh, I just woke up,” I turned my head and rubbed my eyes. “Not staring.”
“Okay then. Where’s Oz?”
“I don’t know,” I said and sat up. “What do we have to slay to get some coffee all up in here?”
“Are you trying to sound cool?” Karian said.
“Uh…”
“Because you sound a little dorky.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” I grinned. “So about coffee?”
“Trust me. I turned Weslori upside down looking for some. They do have a pretty good tea that kicks like a mule.”
“That sounds gross,” I said.
Then a moment of dizziness arrived as the vision came back to me. Who had the woman been? It was hard to get excited about some mythical shard bearer even though Falstace had been mentioned in Candleburn. Was this a new quest delivery system?
“We need to get you guys leveled up ASAP. I have an idea,” Karian said as she stood and stretched.
I did my best not to stare.
“Yeah? That would be cool because it’s been slow going so far,” I said, still admiring her body.
“You just have to think like the game. How do you quickly level up?”
“By completing quests,” I said.
“That’s one option. What’s another?”
“I guess killing stuff.” I scratched my head.
“There you go. There’s a field not far from here with some rabbits and stuff, plus some giant bugs and they
grant a nice bit of XP. That’s where I initially went. The rabbits are just bait for the predators of the field.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said as it came back to me. “It’s a good place to lure out lizlings.”
“Right. They aren’t that big, and some have two heads. But the best part is they are slow. I cut a swath the other day.”
“I don’t understand. How did you get here earlier than us? We were all at the party at the same time,” I asked.
“I don’t know, but my guess is that in-game time is subjective. We might have only been inside for a few minutes in the real world. Computers think and process code a lot faster than we do.”
“You said you had no idea how we got here but you know a lot about this stuff,” I said.
“That’s because I pay attention at the meetings. Plus there’s a guy in R and D who has a thing for me. He keeps his secrets tight, but I’ve been able to coax out little hints out of him in the past. I knew they were working on full immersion, but there was a problem with the drugs.” She leaned over and touched her toes then stood back up and stun her arms around like a windmill.
“Wait. Drugs?”
“Yeah, you have to open your brain receptors or something like that. I don’t pretend to understand.”
“This just gets better and better,” I muttered. “What are you doing?”
“Just loosening up.” She grinned. “Gotta stay sharp here, and the body is second only to the mind. Keep both ready, and nothing can get in your way.”
“I’ve seen a whole lot of things get in our way.” I stood and leaned over to touch my toes, but it didn’t go so well because I was only able to reach about half way down my calves. “Maybe Oz is on watch.”
“Maybe, but we took out the bandits. It’s game logic again. No other NPCs or animals are assigned to this location.”
“You seem so sure of that,” I said. “What if you’re wrong?”
“Good point, Walt. I’ve been wrong about a lot of stuff,” she said. “Here, let me show you some moves to loosen up. Drop to the ground with me on all fours.”
We got down on our knees, and she showed me how to stretch my arms out above my head while I knelt, so my head was practically in the dirt. Then we came up, so my body formed a bridge.
SHARDS OF REALITY: A LitRPG novel (Enter the Realm Book 1) Page 11
