By my final break of the day, a total of five platinum keys have been claimed. I unplug from my workspace and make my way to the break room down the hall. While I had been sitting in a gray cubicle, surrounded by the hum of conversations about interest and recent transactions, almost half of the keys have been claimed in less than half the time available.
There doesn’t seem to be any logic behind where the keys are found. Maybe it is actually random. One player found a key while rescuing children from a burning building—an NPC kid gave it to her hero. One player was cutting down a tree as part of a quest chain and the key ‘fell’ from the branches as the tree toppled. It seems there was a bit of a scuffle in that instance, nearby players seeing it fall and trying to reach it first. But in the end, the player who cut down the tree was able to fend them off.
I am both encouraged by this and frustrated. Because, hell. Maybe really anyone can win. Maybe it really is random and all I need is luck. If all I need is luck, maybe I have a chance. God knows I haven’t been able to get far with just work. But, then, on the other hand, I’ve never been lucky. And that’s not a strategy.
I shove a few more Doritos in my mouth as Travis walks in. He is always trying to talk me up about how my Toterra character is doing. I’ve somehow managed to avoid him all day, but I knew it was too good to last.
Like I said—I’ve never been lucky.
“Hey man,” he greets me. He strides across the dirty green tile to the fridge and stands there with it open, just looking at what is stored away. I’m not clear if anything in there actually belongs to him. “How much game time did you get in before coming in? You look tired.”
Gee. Thanks. “Just a few hours. You?”
“Yeah me too. But I’ll hit again tonight and again tomorrow.”
I stuff more chips in my mouth. Why did I have to sign up for overtime on tomorrow of all days? At the moment, needing the money doesn’t seem to be a good enough reason.
Travis leans against the counter, eating what looks like chicken salad straight from the container. The mayonnaise coating the corners of his mouth as he chews turns my stomach.
“You saw that another key was just found, right?” Travis asks.
This is it. Delivering this bit of news is exactly why he walked into the break room at the same time as me.
“So, that’s six?” I respond, not showing any emotion.
“Yeah. Six. This new guy seems like Toterra Online’s wet dream. He’s already a pretty well-known YouTuber. You know. Exactly the kind of player they want to build their marketing around.”
“Anyone I’ve heard of?”
“Maybe. Player name is Jargonaut. Real name Jason Bannon. Vlogs about gaming in general and MMORPGs in particular.”
“Hm. I’ll have to look him up.”
“Nah, man. Trust me. He’ll be everywhere.”
I hate when Travis says ‘trust me.’
“Cool,” I say, standing up. “Thanks for the head’s up. Gotta go …” I point awkwardly at the door. Exiting conversations gracefully is not in my skillset. Yet one more way video games are better than real life.
Travis nods at me as I head back to my desk. I still have a couple minutes left of my break, so I search this Jargonaut guy’s videos.
The most recent one was uploaded just this morning and features Jason reiterating Toterra Online’s recent news and providing his own commentary.
I plug my headphones in so Sandra doesn’t have a reason to look over, and hit play.
The dude is … huge. Even though he’s sitting I can tell. Broad shoulders and arms that might even be the size of my thighs. Dark hair, dark eyes, wide perfect white smile that every son-of-a-doctor-or-lawyer has.
“Breaking news, fellow gamers. Toterra Online’s recent announcement has players everywhere canceling weekend plans and smoking meth. I’m only logging off the game for you, dear viewer. Just these few minutes before I’m back in, up to my elbows searching for a platinum key with the rest of the world.”
I hit stop. I can’t take anymore—I get the gist. He’s charming and wonderful and I kind of want to punch him in the neck. Actually, now that I think about it, that might only be as high as I can reach anyway.
Okay. So six keys have been found and we still have a little over thirty hours to go. My chances just keep getting worse and worse. I close out the running news updates for the last couple hours of my shift. It’s just too frustrating when there’s nothing I can do about it.
My friends have been awfully quiet in our group chat all day. Tessa checked in to tell me they miss me and to hurry up and get in the game, but other than that they are all focused on covering as much Toterra ground as they can.
Once I’m off work, I do the same. I walk into my dark, small apartment, toss my keys on the kitchen counter and think only briefly about dinner. Part of me wants to heat up a can of soup, but that will take up time I don’t have. So, cold pizza it is.
I grab the whole box from the fridge and return to my usual gaming spot in the living room. Biting off as much of the pizza as I can in one mouthful, I turn on my gear and wait impatiently for the confirmation that it is connected. I treat this VR helmet better than my car. It cost just as much. At the time, two years ago I thought it would be more than worth it and that I could find a way with all my gaming to make it pay for itself.
Now though … two years later it’s way out of date and I still have only played enough to gain access to two of the other Toterra realms. And now Tessa keeps telling me about Wild River Territory, so that one is next on my list. I mean, it’s great that it’s possible to use game currency to buy access, but the price is set so stupidly high that I would have to play eighty hours a week for a year to get close. I’m really great at this game and strategy and problem solving and all of it. But no one knows because I’m too poor.
The tiny green light clicks on, letting me know my gear is connected, my account is logged in, my character is loaded and it is time to enter the game.
Nine hours later, when I finally disconnect again, I am no closer to finding a platinum key and have even fewer chances now that two more have been claimed. A petite Latina girl who plays with the name Balderdash13 and a Canadian woman—player name OnederWoman—will be joining the circle of winners in a couple of days.
I glance at the clock. Just over twenty hours left of the challenge, which means just over forty-eight hours until the twelve are whisked away to get their head start in Camlan Realm.
And I have to spend ten of those hours on the phone with inept strangers. Goddamned job.
Chapter 4
I clock out late Sunday afternoon and don’t bother to hurry home. At least Travis was off, so I didn’t have to listen to him. But that is the only good thing I can say about the day. Since I clocked in, a total of six more keys have been found. That means there’s only one left, and only six hours remaining to find it.
As I look for street parking anywhere near my apartment, my phone rings. It’s Tessa, checking on me.
“Hey,” I say, answering and trying to display some enthusiasm.
“Asher. Dude. How was work?”
I wince. “Come on. Who cares? The same as always.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re home now and there is still a chance. One key left. It could be yours!”
Tessa sounds like she has just shot an energy drink directly into her veins.
“Yeah,” I say smoothly. “Or it could be yours.”
“Or it could be mine! And you would be so happy for me! Or it could be Ryan’s and we will all be happy for him.”
“But not Carrie,” I say laughing.
“Oh, hell no. She’s on her own.”
“You should get back in there, Tessa.”
“Yeah, yeah. So should you. Look, you’re not working tomorrow right? So play until it’s over and just take tomorrow to relax. Maybe even—gasp—play a different game.”
“Let’s not get crazy.” I grin despite myself.
“Maybe we could watch a movie long distance or something. Or start stalking the winning players in earnest. My point is, Asher, there really is still a chance. Don’t give up.”
“We’ve talked about how I’m not lucky, right?”
“Blah, blah. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Okay, Tess. Fine.” I smile again. “I’ll ‘try.’ Did you hear those mocking quotations around try?”
“I heard it. Did you hear my eyes roll just now?”
“Yep.”
“Great. Eat something. Get in the game. Luck be with you or break a leg or God bless you or whatever people are supposed to say in this situation.”
As I enter my dark apartment, I realize I have lost count of how many nights in a row I have just rushed home from work to eat whatever sad single-serving food is in the fridge and jump right into the game. Maybe after tonight I should take a break. Leave the house more. Look at a tree or something.
But for what?
Again, I leave the kitchen lights off and again I grab a cold dinner to eat quickly. This time it’s a couple pieces of lunch meat and an apple. Yes, actual produce. Go me, being all grown-up. I had halfway forgotten I even bought that.
I settle in to the couch again and within a couple minutes my character SirAsh3r awakens in Toterra Online.
I’m sure what to expect. Would Toterra still be crowded by the thousands of players trying to claim the last key? Or would people be starting to give up?
Turns out the latter, but only barely. I imagine more of the casual players don’t care enough to battle it out for one last chance, but there are still plenty of players walking the streets, turning over garbage cans, running from NPC to NPC hoping for a clue. I resume my same methodical searching that I had left off when I logged out the previous night. Toterra City is on a grid, and through careful tracking I have managed to walk just over half of the space, including inside all the buildings that would let me in.
Even though it has a cap of Level 10, Toterra City is enormous. I think I heard something like 10,000 different quests just in this basic, beginning area. Enough to let the free players like me to stay occupied for years.
There is no way I’m going to get through all of this city before midnight tonight. I PM my friends.
ASHER: Any more big brilliant ideas in the last few hours we have?
CARRIE: No, but omg I can’t wait to sleep. I already told my boss I’m not coming in tomorrow.
TESSA: Yeah, just keep at it!!!! Someone has got to find the key. Might as well be one of us.
RYAN: Less talking. More searching.
I close out the dialog box and push through a crowd of players all elbowing each other on the steps of the bank. I can’t imagine what other loot and things people have found in their thorough combing of Toterra City. I wonder if half the reason for this was just to get players to rediscover this area more or spend their money on things here.
Four hours later and I am still key-less. Fortunately, I suppose, everyone else is as well. Previous winners have been announced in-game as soon as the key was claimed, so at least I know I don’t have to log out to keep up with the news.
But at 11:40 p.m. or so, I’m beat. The lack of sleep is catching up to me and there is no possible way I’m going to be able to cover the last third of the City in the remaining twenty minutes. I’m hesitant to log out, though. After all, I do actually have tomorrow off and I kind of want to see what happens at midnight. Especially if no one finds the last key.
But rather than walking the streets, beating bushes and overturning crates, I need to be more productive. I want to complete that store owner’s quest I’ve left open since Friday.
I open my map, reorient myself and jog back twelve blocks to that store. God, I love gaming. There’s no way I’d be able to run twelve blocks in real life without losing my breath or breaking a sweat.
Since the accepted quest is still open, I just need to check-in again with the NPC to start the timer. Of course at this basic level, half the point of this quest is for the game to teach me how to run and navigate the streets quickly. At ‘go’ I run out of the store, down the still crowded sidewalk almost a full block before darting in the alley. The boxes I had previously searched through are all back in their original locations. I lift and dig and toss cardboard aside. Now that I know how many are here, I already have a head start. Once I’ve emptied the alley, I start a deliberate walk back to the store, eyes darting right and left until I spot another of the same kind of box in the alley across the street.
Checking my timer as I run, I know I’ll only make this if both of the remaining Empty Burlap Bags are in this alley. I am running so fast that I actually have to brace myself against the side of the building to keep myself from smashing into it. One box at my feet easily gives up the bag hidden inside.
But where’s the last one?
I only have forty-five seconds left. It has to be nearby. This quest shouldn’t be that difficult, seeing as it is only for a player up to Level 10. Where is the final box?
There. Almost out of sight behind a dumpster farther back in the alley. I run, dropping to my knees at the same time I try to stop in front of the box. I push my arm between the flaps of the lid and grab the last bag.
Chapter 5
Two seconds later the last Empty Burlap Bag is stored in my bag and I get the message:
Congratulations! You have gathered all 7 Empty Burlap Bags that Morris the shopkeeper asked for. Return to his store to turn them in and claim your reward.
Big sigh. I suppose I could have done the whole quest again. And faster, now that I know what I’m looking for. But goddamn am I glad I don’t have to.
I jog back across the street to the store. It’s now fewer than ten minutes until midnight. Once I turn in this quest, that should be right about the time to watch the closing fireworks or whatever is going to happen to end the Challenge. I enter the otherwise empty store and stride to the cash register. Morris waits expectantly as I pull seven Empty Burlap Bags out of my backpack to present to him.
“This is excellent work, SirAsh3r. Thank you for your help. As promised, here is a larger backpack for you and ten silver pieces.”
With the magic that is video game action, my backpack is immediately swapped with one almost twice as large.
“Before you go,” Morris says, stopping me in my tracks, “there is one last thing I would like you to check.”
I pause before realizing I’m waiting for a dialog box to ask me if I want to accept a quest. When nothing appears, I stutter, trying to re-engage my brain in the conversation.
“Oh, um. Yeah. Ok. What do you need?”
“There’s another pile of boxes at the end of aisle 24. Could you just make sure they are all empty?”
And still no actual quest offered. That’s just weird. I have never heard of NPCs just … having conversations. That doesn’t seem right. Especially in this noob area. Why code in the artificial intelligence required for that kind of unscripted interaction? Why invest the time and money?
Unless …
My heart rate immediately double and I dart down the last few steps to the end of the aisle.
Oh. Holy. Shit.
Why would the game developers make this NPC special? Why would he be acting counter to what a player expects?
Unless he IS special.
My clock tells me 11:58 p.m. Two minutes. I start lifting, shaking and casting aside cardboard boxed for the third time that night. In the corner of my eye I see the time flip over to 11:59 p.m.
Faster. Now lifting a box in each hand, two at a time, until—
Thud.
A light thunk sounds from inside the box in my left hand. Another shake confirms I didn’t imagine it. I don’t have much time, but I clear a spot on the floor in front of me and set the box down reverently. Pushing open the cardboard flaps, I’m greeted by a gentle silver glow emitting from whatever is inside the box. I take a deep breath, my heart still hammering. I actually feel li
ke I might cry.
There, at the bottom of a 12” x 16” cardboard box, is a platinum key as large as my hand. I wrap my fingers around it.
A dialog box pops into view.
Congratulations! You have discovered the 12th Platinum Key to the Camlan Realm!
Attention: Saving this Key will immediately announce your player name to all Toterra Online players as well as adhere you to the rules of the Camlan Challenge.
Do you accept?
The moment that I pause to think about my choice is infinitesimal.
“Yes,” I whisper.
The Platinum Key disappears from my hand and the game informs me it has been stowed in my backpack. The clock switches over to 12:00 a.m., just as the game notifies millions of players.
Congratulations SirAsh3r, finder of the 12th Platinum Key of Camlan Realm!
And just like that my whole life is different.
I’m still kneeling in the back of the store, when I get a bombardment of private messages. Thirty, seventy, one hundred and eighty all in the first minute or so. I have to think quickly. Only my friends will know where in the game I am, but all it will take is another player reading my name floating in blue above my head for me to be identified. And then who knows what happens. People are crazy and I don’t want angry players mobbing me.
I only have a short run, but I have to go quickly.
“Thank you,” I call needlessly to the shop owner as I run out the door. Why? I have no idea. He’s just code, but this gratitude and anticipation bubbling up inside of me required it.
Out the shop door, across the street, then jogging straight west for four blocks. At two blocks I start to notice players stopping and pointing at me. At three blocks, at least a handful have started running after me. Four blocks down, I hurry into my safe house and check for the third time that the Platinum Key is saved in my backpack, and log out of Toterra Online.
When I become aware of my apartment again and remove my VR helmet, my hair is plastered to my forehead in a sheen of sweat. My heart is still beating like crazy. In fact, it almost seems to be getting worse.
Quest for Camlan_A LitRPG Adventure Page 2
