Sword of the Depraved
Cut down by the forces of Lintirmai, the depraved creature known only as The Beast’s Soul was imprisoned inside a great metal sword made from the hull of an ancient alien starship.
That which may never die must be contained.
Damage: 30 (with 25% chance of 120 damage critical)
Class: None required
Level Required: None
Weight: 10 Ibs
Affinity: 50%
Sharpness: None
Elemental: Soul - Steals players’ Mana for better attacks
Modifiers: None
As the sword became a part of my own inventory, a screen appeared before my eyes asking me if I would like to rename the item. ‘Yes,’ I said aloud, wondering if the guards would come in and attack me. Maybe this whole thing was some kind of trap or set up.
An augmented holographic keyboard appeared before my eyes, allowing me to type any name I want. Most of the time I was against naming weapons, since I was always moving from one to the next. Guns and melee weapons could be upgraded, but even after two years there were a ton of weapon types I had yet to try. Bane was full of them. There were thousands of iterations of guns and melee weapons some of which could even be combined. Most common were M44 and Ki rifles which could be advanced and levelled up alongside players. There were several hundred variants of pistols as well. With no shortage of weapons I had never bothered to change the name of one. Of course being a Corpse Diver we had an armoury the size of three baseball fields inside the Ibanez and I had only been able to use a third of them. Most of my team felt the same; there was no point in naming something and becoming attached to it when we could all die on the next mission. As far as I knew, the boss was the only one who had named a weapon.
I must have stared at the letters in front of me for ten minutes as I tried to think of the coolest name. I settled on Aegis.
Aegis - Broadsword
Cut down by the forces of Lintirmai, the depraved creature known only as The Beast’s Soul was imprisoned inside a great metal sword made from the hull of an ancient alien starship. Passed from one cursed soul to another Aegis is a living weapon that not only protects its masters but eventually devours their very being.
That which may never die must be contained.
Damage: 30 (with 25% chance of 120 damage critical)
Class: None required
Level Required: None
Weight: 10 Ibs
Affinity: 50%
Sharpness: None
Elemental: Soul - Steals players’ Mana for better attacks
Modifiers: None
‘Strange,’ I thought, reading how the biographical information had slightly updated since I renamed the item in hand. Reading it now and knowing I was the sword’s new master did not fill me with confidence.
The boss kept me waiting for six hours.
Plenty of time to familiarize myself with the rest of the room and practice my kendo kata with my new weapon. My father was a firm believer in extracurricular activities and I had been studying martial arts and kendo since I was around five years old. All of those skills made living on the streets easier after they died, though I doubt he knew or would support the way I used them to defend myself. Those same skills also translated to the game world. Kendo kata would usually be practiced with a bamboo katana or blunt sword but in the game it was all practice. With the skills I learned in real life I could easily adapt any melee weapon and had become an expert in hand-to-hand combat. There were several martial arts created inside the game world too that I had started to learn.
The boss was a woman who went by the name Lady Gray. She had short dark hair with grey streaks and a scar ran down across her right eye and another scar down across her lip. She was tall. Taller than most male players and slim with an athletic build. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties and if her real life body was anything like her avatar she easily could be mistaken for a pop-star or glamour model. When she entered, I was still holding the sword down by my side and starting to sweat. My stamina was low since I had just swung the weapon several dozen times. She smiled as she looked me up and down.
‘So, you’re Breq; I think this is the first time we’ve ever officially met.’ This wasn’t true. She was the leader of the Corpse Divers and I had seen her aboard the Ibanez several times. We also met when Damien led me into an interview for the team. In fact she had to sign off on my joining. She probably signed most of my paychecks too. Still, I didn’t feel like it was the time or place to correct her.
‘That’s me, Breq,’ I said wondering if I should be saluting or readying my weapon for attack.
Name: Lady Gray
Age: Unknown
Level: 92
Status: Alive
Mana: 300
Class: Tech-Mage
Health: 250
Stamina: 250
Load out: None
I didn’t stand a chance. I placed the sword behind my back and felt a sling digitize across my chest to support it. If Lady Gray was going to kill me I was sure she could do it even unarmed. The boss was the first player I had ever even seen with such a high level. She was also a tech-mage with a high mana and could probably summon a weapon with a critical hit strong enough to destroy me in an instant. Most players I came across when not in the Spire or inside settlements were in their 30s or 40s like myself. Lower level players were usually out grinding, while higher players were dungeon diving in quadrants I couldn’t legitimately enter. At level 90, the boss was capable of going anywhere she wanted in the entire galaxy.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting,’ she said, smiling at me again.
Two chairs materialized inside the room.
‘Let’s have a seat, I see you’ve been training, I’m glad you found something to do in this room. We have much to discuss,’ she sat down, motioning for me to do the same.
I unclipped my sling and sat down across from her without saying a word.
‘I had to do a little negotiating with the Crimson Kings since you had Nel steal one of their destroyers. I’m surprised our mutual friend was able to control such a vessel without any crew. Amazing how far she made it before Cass and the others were able to get aboard.’ She paused, ‘don’t worry, the Crimson Kings won’t be causing us any trouble, we’ve released the prisoners we captured and I’ve taken care of the rest,’ she was smirking now.
She had a twisted look in her eyes.
I sat there and said nothing.
‘What we do need to talk about is your situation.’
I continued to wait, not wanting to say anything. I still had the data cube and that new quest I had to complete no matter the cost.
‘Whisper in the Void: are those words familiar to you?’ she asked.
‘No,’ I lied.
She stared down at her lap. Her shoulders tensed slightly. ‘A Whisper in the Void,’ she repeated.
‘No,’ I lied again.
‘Breq, you should know I already spoke to Kira. I know she hired you for a quest,’ she said calmly. She was still smiling at me as I lied to her again.
‘I have no idea what you are talking about.’
‘Oh well, I guess I’ll have to rethink my decision to reassign you and the rest of your squad. I do know a few fetch quests that need taking care of though, a Wraith hive or two that need clearing,’ she was nearly laughing as she spoke, trying to break the silence that filled the room.
The last thing I wanted was to continue low level quests. I would never get the chance to enter the Cold Zone.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said looking down, ‘I lied.’
‘That’s better, please be honest with me, you’ve cost our little group a fortune and become a wanted man, I am your friend, I am here to help you.’
There was a slight pause as an eerie silence filled the room.
‘If you spoke to Kira you know it’s a quest, a job assigned to me.’
‘Yes, have you reviewed it yet?’
‘I was a little busy running for my life,’ I replied.
‘Take a moment to review it further,’ she smiled.
— Quest —
A Whisper in the Void
Created by: Moonrain Media / Kira
Expected Difficulty: Veteran
Rewards: Unknown
Details:
1. Find a way inside the Cold Zone
2. Recover the echoes of the lost (0/3)
3. Kill the man with the skull mask.
Level Requirement: 50 (locked)
I wanted to scream. How had I not seen that earlier? I could view the quest but it was currently unavailable for me to activate. The boss could see it in my eyes. Everything I had done to this point had been for nothing. It would take me another year at the least to level up enough to activate the quest and access the levels needed to make my way inside the Cold Zone.
‘I see you’ve found it,’ she said.
‘It’s not fair,’ I was making a fist, pulling at my trousers just above my knee. This time, my shoulders were tense. I felt like I must have looked either completely terrifying or pathetic. It was always either one way or another.
‘This is why I wanted you to trust me.’
‘So I could see I’m a failure, that I still have a long way to go?’
‘No, because I can help you level up,’ she smiled standing up.
‘Follow me,’ she said. The two chairs began de-materializing just as quickly as they came into being. I stood up and followed her away from the room slinging Aegis around my back again. As I stepped forward through the doorway, the two of us were teleported and I found myself standing on a glass floor inside an observation room looking outwards towards a planet that covered much of the horizon. ‘This world is full of many secrets, some good, some dark; even the game-creators don’t fully understand everything they have made here.’
Quick Lore
Though many artefacts possess the ability to teleport one or more players across small distances, teleportation devices are illegal unless registered and cannot be activated while inside dungeons. Teleportation is very dangerous and can result in loss of inventory, forced death, or change in stats.
Teleportation is only obtainable by the tech-mage class and has a cool down time of 24 hours.
I stood staring out at the luminous sphere on the horizon.
The planet was Orithyia. The second planet in the Alpha-1 system. It was beautiful. Though mostly nothing but toxic atmosphere there was a small area in which humanity had built a settlement. The planet had a strange rotation but just enough of a magnetic field to hold an atmosphere similar to that of Earth. The habitable part of the planet had only one season and was near what was the planet’s equator, surrounded by massive mountains that made Everest look like an anthill. This kept the toxicity that surrounded the central part of the planet in check. Orithyia, unlike Apus which traded with everyone, was exclusively home to the Crimson Kings.
‘We stole their destroyer yes, but we also released their prisoners in return. We even promised to give the starship back. Yet one hour ago, there was a bounty placed on your head. Not the first, mind you, it seems the Chels themselves want you dead and there is a thirty-million-dollar credit reward. Enough to live a good life both in game and home,’ she paused and lifted her hand into the air and shaped it like a gun. Then, Lady Gray pointed downward towards the planet and I watched as an orbital strike commenced. Hundreds of warheads fell from the sky, raining fire upon the players and settlements on the planet’s surface. I could see the Ibanez from the observation deck along with several more battle cruisers and at least one Titan doing the same. The Titan was of course Lady Gray’s own personal starship, named Wave Maker.
‘You’re killing them,’ I said my voice trembling.
‘I’m protecting you,’ she said as the two of us watched the world burn.
I understood. Lady Gray was showing me her true strength. She had probably made them promise not to attack or go after any of us for what had happened. If it was true and there was a thirty million credit bounty on my head I would be hunted by everyone in the game. The Crimson Kings had betrayed her even after she released their prisoners in good will and when they placed the bounty on my head she had to show them that her words were words of power. She had to set an example. I was not to be harmed.
‘The battle with the guardian has made you famous,’ she said turning away from the planet and towards me.
‘Famous?’ I said wondering how all of this had happened so fast.
‘Millions watched you fight the guardian and saw what happened and now with a bounty out for your death millions more are going to be watching your every move,’ Lady Gray had been looking around the room as if it was possible someone else might have been listening. Her eyes gave away her actual paranoia but maybe there was something she knew I didn’t. It was obvious she had been playing Bane far longer than I had and already knew many of the game’s secrets. She smiled at me again. That same twisted smile that made me feel like I was actually talking to the devil. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I had a pretty good life before my parents died but after a year of running away from everything and trying to live on my own I never imagined for a moment I would become some kind of celebrity. Even when I became emancipated and a ward of the company, it hadn’t occurred to me that it was possible others would want to watch me play.
‘I want to talk to you in the real world,’ she said breaking the long silence. I wasn’t sure how to respond. There were only a few times players actually met in the real world when they weren’t friends or part of a team. I had never met anyone else from the game in the real world and had only met my team because we all worked closely together at Keen Industries. Each of us had to see one another since our immersion pods were so close together.
What more could Lady Gray want to tell me?
What more could she be after?
What could I possibly do for her?
5.
Breach
The Real World
Early Morning
The boss, Lady Gray, had invited me out for ‘coffee and donuts’ in the real world and I couldn’t refuse. In game, she walked with me to a shuttle and stood at the door as I went inside and she watched as I placed my avatar into stasis. I logged out en route back to the Ibanez, where she promised Cass and the others would be waiting for me when I re-entered.
I remembered a story: Erim, the journeyman. A part of Bane’s lore. Erim had been the one of the first cadets to journey out into the stars in search of artefacts. It was a journey that was - according to lore - set to take twenty-two years, as it was made without the use of world gates and STL. Erim was hellbent on racing across the cosmos in an exot ship, traveling just under lightspeed. Lore stated that he had discovered alien artefacts, weapons of unequal value. I stared down at Aegis. Was this one of the artefacts? Why had Lady Gray let me hold onto it? The story of Erim was one that began with hope and adventure and ended in sadness. Erim never finished his journey. Hunted by a rogue cult, his valuables stolen from him, his ship was said to have jumped away into the Cold Zone. No matter what weapon I held I was weak, it felt like I was a prisoner. Our meeting was set to take place mid-afternoon the next day. Lady Gray told me she would send a driver for me and that all I had to do was wait and rest at my place.
When I came out of my pod, I was greeted by Keen Industries security personal. Two of them, both wearing black-collared shirts with a gold patch that shined brightly on the front and black dress trousers. They were armed with a small baton carried on their side sitting beside a walkie talkie. They both also had a smart watch. One was saying something into it but I was disoriented and couldn’t understand what it was they were mumbling. The guard closest to me caught my shirt as I began to fall out of my pod. I was nauseous, near vomiting. My vision was also blurred but most of all I felt like I was starving at th
e same time.
It was common if someone spent more than twelve to fourteen hours inside virtual reality that their physical body would feel some after-effects. I had been playing for sixteen hours. Mostly, because waiting for my meeting with the boss had taken so long. One of the guards had been trained for exactly this type of situation and I felt a needle slide into my arm; it was attached to an IV. Minutes later I was laying in a hospital bed in a fresh scented gown with the Keen Industries logo on it.
‘You’ve made us millions.’ The voice came from a suit walking into the room. It was a man in all business attire. He had a small five o’clock shadow, which was weird because it must have been pretty early in the morning at this point given my meeting with the boss had most likely taken place around the middle of the night.
‘What?’ I asked.
‘Breq, your fight with the guardian at the Spire led to more views than the Battle of Broken Dreams,’ the suit said, smiling. ‘We’ve already made license deals with several mainstream media companies including Moonrain Media who we know you’ve been in contact with,’ the figure said, ‘from now on you get the best: a private room with your own VR set up and a team to watch your back.’
Star Divers- Dungeons of Bane Page 5
