The Scout of Artemis (LitRPG Series): Press X to Loot Book 1

by Gregg Horlock

  “We don’t have any tours booked for 9 days, and I don’t know about you, but I haven’t heard the phone ring in a while.”

  Then I thought about what had happened in Terence’s office. “Are we sure the phone is plugged in?” I said.

  “I’m not much of a gamer, you know,” said Cal.

  “You play poker all the time.”

  “It’s not a game when you know you’ll win.”

  He had a point. The only time I’d seen Cal lose at a game was when he threw a few opening rounds to sucker the other person into making a big bet.

  “Thanks for coming,” I told him.

  He shrugged. “What else was I going to do while you’re gone? Listen, we get breaks in there, don’t we?”

  I nodded. “You can only stay in the capsules for 48 hours, then you have to have an eight-hour rest from it.”

  “Maybe we should delay going in. Like, you go first, I wait eight hours, then I go in. That way, we’ll never take our breaks at the same time, so we’ll never lose ground in the chase.”

  The idea had occurred to me, too. But after spending hours researching Pana Reborn, I knew that you were most vulnerable in your early levels. The developers believed in tough love, and most people died at least once before hitting level 4. If we were just playing for fun that would be fine, but after you died, you couldn’t respawn for 8 hours. Given that we needed to find Helder’s Bane first to win the prize money, we couldn’t afford to die.

  We signed disclaimers and were ushered into the capsule room by a gloomy techie. The main hall resembled something from a dystopian future. Rows of capsules lined the floor, crammed together as close as possible as if they were trying to use every inch of space. Cables trailed off each capsule, two in the middle and one at the top. I guessed that the cables at the top fed something in, and the other two took something away. It was probably best not to think too much more about it.

  “See you in the game,” said Cal, as he stepped into his capsule. At five foot eight, he had plenty of room. I nodded at him, and then the techie attending to him closed the door.

  My capsule was more snug. I was only six foot two, but it felt like I had to strain my neck to fit in it.

  “What happens if someone’s taller than me?” I asked the techie in front of me. “Can they even fit?”

  He wore a necklace with a peace logo hanging off the end. The hair on the side of his head was long and curly, but he was bold on top. His lab coat had grease stains on it.

  “Big fellas have to order a special capsule,” he said. “And they double the subscription fee.”

  “What if you have problems standing up for a long time?” I said, thinking of Francis.

  The techie looked at me quizzically. “You filled out the health forms, didn’t you?”

  “It’s not for me. I’m just curious.”

  The techie grabbed the cable from the top of the capsule, unscrewed it and twisted it around so that I could see it.

  “This baby feeds you a muscle relaxer from time to time. Then it starts with the food. And while you play, the capsule stimulates your muscles to make sure they don’t weaken. But you can’t really do longer than 48 hours.”

  “What if I don’t come out after 48?”

  The techie looked at me for a few seconds, then smiled as if realization had hit him. “You’re going for Helder’s Bane, aren’t you?” he said.

  I sensed an opportunity. I tried to lean forward, but straps had tightened around my arms, legs and waist. It made me feel like a prisoner, but I knew it was for my safety.

  “Do you know anything about it?” I said.

  He laughed. “Think they’d tell a techie like me? I’ll give you one tip. Just a general one about the island. Be careful at night.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “That’s all for the techie tip time,” he said, fastening the cable back in. “Now open wide.”

  I barely had time to react before I saw a tube coming at me. I opened my mouth and felt it snake over my tongue and then down my throat. At first, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I knew that in a stressful situation, the worst thing you could do was panic. I held my breath and tried to calm my thoughts. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, focusing only on the numbers in my mind.

  When I opened my eyes again, all I saw was darkness.

  Chapter Eight

  And then colors streamed through. Dull at first, but then they got stronger until it felt like my eyes were stinging. Gradually a picture came into view, and I realized that I was in Pana Reborn. Not only that, but I was looking directly up at the sky, staring at the sun.

  I don’t know what I had imagined the game controls to be, but once I was in Pana, it felt instinctive. If I wanted to move my head, I just thought about it. There was nothing more to it than that.

  I looked around me and saw that I was stood on a dock. A few ships were moored up to my right. Beyond them was a sea that started out blue but seemed to turn red further in the distance. I heard the flapping of a sail against a mast as the wind hit it. From somewhere nearby, I heard a conversation. At first, I thought it might have just been background noise, like a soundtrack for the game to add to the realism. When I listened carefully, I could pick out their words.

  “So, I told her I was taking the job. After all, we’re only going to Artemis. How many times have I been out on the sea and returned home right as rain?”

  “And what did she say?”

  “Begged me not to. Said she’d dreamed about something happening on the way there, like a storm was coming.”

  At first, I couldn’t tell where the voices were coming from. Looking to my right, I saw two sailors stood around a barrel. Their names were written above their heads.

  Jarek Lonsoon – Sailor Level 8 – NPC

  Filipe the Weary – Sailor Level 22 – NPC

  So, these men weren’t even players? I found it hard to believe that the sailors stood across from me were just lines of code being spewed out by a server. Everything about them was so real; the way their clothes rippled with the wind, the way they blinked every few seconds, even the tones of their voices. Nothing about them seemed fake, and I wondered how advanced their AI was.

  It wasn’t only them, though. Everything around me seemed too real, as if I had woken up in the middle of a dream. I refused to believe that any of this was made by code. There was no way even the most talented programmer could emulate the way the sun shone on the surface of the water, or the salty smell of the dock.

  I needed to explore. Something stirred inside me, a need to see what else they’d put in the game. I had only been here a few minutes, but already I understood how people could get addicted. It was intoxicating to think that my body was strapped into a capsule while my mind was free to explore this vast world.

  First things first, I needed to find Cal and our ship. And then I guessed I had to wait for Terence Pierce’s son. The ships to my right seemed to be the public ones. They were so tall that I had to crane my neck to look at them, and they seemed like they could fit at least a hundred people. The smaller ships were at the other end of the dock, beyond a row of stalls where traders sold fish and mussels.

  I needed to head toward the smaller ships. As soon as I lifted my foot and started to walk, my body seized up, and a message appeared on my screen.

  You must choose a class.

  That’s right. It hadn’t occurred to me before now since I was so taken with this new world, but I hadn’t had a chance to pick a name or class. Before I had the opportunity to wonder how that was done, a character screen appeared, blocking everything else from view.

  Name:

  Class:

  Level: 0 (50 exp to lvl 1)

  Class Ability:

  Primary Skills (0 of 2 chosen)

  Secondary Skills (0 of 2 chosen)

  Unspent Attribute Points: 20

  Strength:

  Agility:

  Endurance:

  Intelligence:


  Charisma:

  I needed a name. I was quite partial to my own, but I guessed that Christopher didn’t lend itself well to a fantasy setting. I needed something a little catchier. That said, I still wanted to stay true to who I was. Given that I was here to explore and to find something – Helder’s Bane – before everyone else, I had the perfect name.

  Name: Columbus

  Christopher Columbus’ name had taken a bit of a hammering now that history had caught up with him. We’d learned about what he did when he discovered America, but still, he was my namesake. Dad had named my brother after Francis Drake and me after Christopher Columbus. By choosing Columbus, I felt like I’d be picking a name he’d approve of.

  Next, I needed a class. The class list was what you’d expect to find in an RPG; barbarian, mage, cleric and so on. I knew that mage and barbarian were the most popular classes. I had no doubt I’d see dozens of barbarians wandering around in their leotards, swinging broadswords at everything that moved. I was here to cover ground quickly, and I needed a class to suit. In the end, it was an easy choice to make.

  Class: Scout

  I heard the dim sound of a typewriter, and I realized it was to signify that some of my character sheet had been filled in. I checked it.

  Name: Columbus

  Class: Scout

  Level: 0 (50 exp to lvl 1)

  Class Ability: Favored Environment

  Primary Skills (0 of 2 chosen)

  Secondary Skills (0 of 2 chosen)

  Unspent Attribute Points: 20

  Strength:

  Agility:

  Endurance:

  Intelligence:

  Charisma:

  With scout chosen, I gained the class ability of Favored Environment. The specific setting hadn’t been chosen yet. From my research, I knew that I’d have to spend time in a certain environment before I got that option. Ditto with the primary and secondary skills. They weren’t just handed to you; you had to earn them by doing things. That was the beauty of Pana Reborn– you had the choice to make whatever character you wanted. I could have wandered over to the fish stalls and bartered for a haddock and thus would get a trading ability. That was how it worked. I’d need to select my skills carefully.

  The only thing left to do now was to spend my 20 attribute points. Your attribute points were one of the cornerstones of the game. Most people loaded up their strength and endurance, thinking only about the fights they’d have as they levelled up. For me, that didn’t make sense. As a scout, I needed to tailor my stats to my class. I was never going to be a warrior, so I had to maximize my skills.

  With that in mind, I knew that agility and endurance were important. I needed to move quickly since finding Helder’s Bane would be a race, and I needed the stamina to keep going. It was also important that I load up my intelligence. I added 7 points to agility, 6 to endurance and 5 to intelligence. Then, to level off my character a little, I gave a point each to strength and charisma. I wasn’t going to be lifting weights or using powers of persuasion, but I’d get by.

  Unspent Attribute Points: 0

  Strength: 1

  Agility: 7

  Endurance: 6

  Intelligence: 5

  Charisma: 1

  There was one more stat on my character screen that I hadn’t looked at yet. It didn’t seem like I could do anything with it.

  Subscribers – 1

  I knew that some people spent their time watching the live feeds of players in Pana Reborn. Whether it was because they couldn’t afford subscriptions or because they liked being voyeurs, some people loved to watch others play. I knew that all player feeds were public, but I still hadn’t expected to have a subscriber already. Who was it?

  I hadn’t told Dad about the game, since he wouldn’t have had anything positive to say about it, and I didn’t need the argument. It could have been Francis, but I doubted he had the motivation to even turn on his computer these days. There was only one person it could be. It must have been Terence Pierce checking up on me. He was watching to make sure I wasn’t just using his investment to mess around in Pana.

  Congratulations! You are now a Scout Level 0! Enjoy Pana Reborn!

  Chapter Nine

  I felt the hold on my limbs start to wear off, and a few seconds later I was free to walk down the dock. I went by the market stalls and heard the vendors call out after me offering deals on cod, bass and haddock. I got the overwhelming stench of fish in my nostrils.

  When I reached the end of the dock, I saw a small wooden ship. It resembled a Viking rowboat, as though we were a raiding party who would soon invade the shores of Artemis. Next to the boat were two player characters.

  Jack Spades – Gambler Level 0

  Rex Alpha – Barbarian Level 0

  I didn’t recognize the barbarian, but there was something familiar about Jack Spades. I instinctively knew that it was Cal. He didn’t look like my adopted brother facially, but there was something about the way he stood. That, and that fact that he’d chosen gambler as a class.

  “Jack Spades?” I said, walking toward them. “Really?”

  Jack looked at me. “And I guess Columbus is the height of originality, yeah?”

  “You sound like a reject from the X-Men.”

  The barbarian stood away from Cal and stared at the horizon, as though he was deep in thought. He wore leather armor that seemed to mould itself around his muscles, and a silver sword hung from a strap on his back. I wondered where my starter equipment was, and I suddenly realized that the chill I felt wasn’t just the wind. It was because I was only wearing my underwear and a thin shirt. Damn. This was like my school nightmare all over again; looking down to realize that all my clothes had disappeared and everyone was staring at me.

  “Feeling cold?” said Jack, looking down at my underwear.

  Jack was dressed in a frilly shirt and a pair of trousers. It made him look like an eighteenth-century poet. A deck of cards stuck out from a pocket on his chest.

  “Where’d you get your kit, Lord Byron?” I said.

  Jack nodded toward the boat. “Everything’s on deck waiting for you.”

  Two men sat on the deck of the boat. One of them had an oar in each hand and was going through the motions of rowing, as if he was checking that they worked. The other was tying a rope through a loop and grunting as he made the knot.

  The barbarian turned to face me.

  “You must be Terence’s son,” I said.

  Terence had warned me that his son was a jock, so it only seemed natural that he’d choose barbarian as a class. I couldn’t say I was overly fond of his name, though. Rex Alpha made him sound like an eighties b-movie star.

  Rex walked forward. His movements were unnatural, as though being a barbarian didn’t feel right to him. He stuck his hand out toward me.

  “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he said. He shook my hand delicately, as though he was scared he’d break my bones if he squeezed.

  Something about the tone of his voice and the words he chose didn’t seem right. I got the sense that Terence’s description had been a little off. Rex didn’t seem like your usual jock. There was a depth behind his eyes, as if he was taking in all his surroundings. I wondered if there was more to Terence’s son than the old man liked to admit.

  “This sword is bloody heavy,” he said.

  He was obviously uncomfortable with both his class and his equipment.

  “You sure you want to be a barbarian?” I said.

  He sighed. “My character came pre-loaded. Father chose it for me.”

  “Did he choose the name too?” I asked.

  Rex nodded. “He couldn’t have picked something more obnoxious if he’d tried. I sound like an adult film star.”

  “Are you boys getting on, or are you here as entertainment for the sailors?” said a voice to my right.

  One of the NPCs on the boat leaned against the mast and stared at us. He wore a polo neck shirt. He had a blue tattoo of an anchor on his right for
earm. I looked at Jack and Rex.

  “Ready?” I said.

  Jack nodded. Rex shrugged his shoulders.

  “Let’s go then.”

  Chapter Ten

  The journey to Artemis would take a few hours, I knew. There wasn’t much to do as our boat made its way across the sea. It was like waiting for a loading screen to finish, except I couldn’t go away and make a coffee or watch TV while it happened. I knew that my character had to be present while it crossed the sea. If I logged out and then logged in again, I’d just find myself stood on the docks.