Lost in the Game

by Christopher Keene

  Ice, Fire, Water, and now Earth. Makes sense. They didn’t even have an earth elemental in the Druids’ Keep. This should be interesting.

  “This looks like the end,” Chloe said, shoulders slumping.

  Vega shrugged. “Makes sense, if you include the entrance, that is.”

  At first I couldn’t see much in the distance, but then I noticed a small lever in the ground just off from where we were standing. If the boss of the dungeon hadn’t shown up by now, either that triggered him to appear or showed us another way out of here. I walked over to it and crouched down, brushing away some dirt so I could see the warning message at the top of the device.

  “Warning: Rotation.”

  “Go on, flip the thing,” Vega called as he noticed me standing over it.

  I nodded and went to push the lever down. It was rusted and took a bit of effort, but the second it gave way, gears began to whir, and the whole room rumbled. It suddenly made sense why the walls and stairs weren’t connected to the ground as, with the room’s tremors, the walls and stairs began to spin, seeming to take the rest of the mountain with it.

  Vega grinned. “Now we’re talking!”

  After it made a full one-eighty, it stopped and lights appeared high up on the dungeon’s walls. There were hidden rooms—two of them.

  I see. So those are the true seventh and eighth floors.

  The mother of all bats flew from the top floor. It must have been furious after I killed the rest of its colony. From the second room came hundreds of moving vines, which caught hold and then seemed to possess the bat, the moss and branches making it grow even larger before it flapped out into the air above us.

  “That’s more like it!” Vega called.

  The bat-hybrid swooped down and landed on the wide mud floor before us and let out an ear-piercing screech. I was impressed, but from what I knew of Primatier bosses, their bark was always bigger than their bite.

  “So what’s the strategy, team leader?” Vega asked me.

  The monster flew at us before I could answer, clawed feet reaching and grasping toward us. Vega and I jumped out of the way. I lifted an Earth Mound from the ground to cover us as Chloe fled back behind the stairway, stopped, and began popping off Fire Bullets. They weren’t as effective on the Mother Bat as fire spells were on the plant monsters, and only helped in getting the beast’s attention.

  “Have you got the Earth Punch spell?” I asked.

  Vega nodded and went to say, “Ye—” before another deafening screech filled the cavity.

  I tried to continue my instructions but then realized I couldn’t hear my own voice. In fact, I couldn’t hear anything. Vega put his hand to his ears, appearing not to be able to hear anything either. I assumed the deafening was an effect of the Mother Bat’s screeching, but whether it was a permanent or temporary change in this dungeon, I could only guess.

  Instead, I mimed my strategy to Vega before it could attack again, pointing to the dirt below us, punching my fist and then pointing to the Mother Bat Chloe was firing upon. Right away, Vega pulled an A-Okay sign and then held up three fingers. He lowered one finger, then two, and then the last. Together we ran out from behind the pile of earth, fists balled for the Earth Punch spell.

  Vega’s first punch came from the mud floor and launched the massive bat into a back wall. Although I punched forward, my focus was on the back wall and struck it back toward us. I caught Vega’s gaze for a second, raising my left hand. He nodded and raised his right as the bat flew toward us. Together we punched simultaneously, our two rock fists emerging from either wall and smashing the Mother Bat between them.

  Complimentary level two spell combos, like Ice Coffin and Plasma Beam, did more damage than singular level three spells, doubling the amount of health it would do normally. And considering earth complimented itself, our combo took over two-thirds of the boss’s health.

  My ears began to ring and my hearing slowly returned to me, so I screamed, “Once more, I’ll go high . . .”

  “And I’ll go low!” Vega shouted back and balled his fist.

  Just as the Mother Bat landed, it began to screech anew so we couldn’t form another plan, but it was too little too late. Just as I clenched my fist and swung down, Vega mirrored my attack with an uppercut. The corresponding punches slammed together, and an explosion filled the place between the knuckles, signaling the demise of the Mother Bat.

  Vega grinned and we raised our fists and fist bumped. From the outside, it must have looked odd. After all, Vega still looked like Sirswift and I was congratulating him on our teamwork together. Needless to say, things had changed since then.

  Another announcement popped up:

  — EARTH UPGRADE: ‘LANDSLIDE’ LEARNED —

  Again, the blank avatar showed the arm gesture needed for the spell. Its beginning position resembled the Tsunami spell, but instead of holding one arm up it held two, and instead of a swiping across, it was more like the two arms were collapsing, as though folding under immense pressure.

  That’s it then. I finally have level three magic for each of the beginning spells. Considering I got my first level three spell, Wildfire, back when I was still trying to find Sue, I’m surprised it took me this long. But I guess Skill Points just creep up over time.

  I turned to see Chloe emerge from behind the stairs, looking abashed.

  “What?” she asked as she saw my smile. “After what you guys did to the plants above, I could have sworn fire would have done the same to the vines on that bat!”

  I shook my head. “Water, fire, air, and earth. I bet they even expected us to use a wind spell like Vacuum to lift a Range Niche teammate up into those rooms to retrieve the hidden items and abilities.”

  Chloe looked up at the lit rooms on the wall, as though glad she could take center stage for once.

  “Well, we would,” Vega cut in, “if we didn’t have these.”

  He summoned his Bird’s Eye and jumped on. Chloe frowned and I rolled my eyes before summoning my own.

  “He has a point.”

  Our platforms lifted us up to the top room, revealing a sparkling spider web stuck between several roots. Being the first to arrive, Vega was the first off his Bird’s Eye.

  “Sweet! New ability!”

  I did the same, and as soon as we touched the spider web, another announcement popped up.

  — ABILITY LEARNED: ‘SPIDER CLIMB’ —

  “Does this ability allow you to climb walls?” Chloe asked as she touched it next. “It makes sense considering being able to climb those walls and vines is the only way to get out of here.”

  “Not that we need it with the Bird’s Eyes.” I got back on the platform. “Let’s find out what’s in the other room.”

  I made it down and saw that there was an item, and for once one I could actually find a use for. Lying on the ground was a faded orange cloak with a high collar that curled upward at the throat. Inside the material of the collar were mirrors, so that all a player had to do was look down to see if anyone was sneaking up behind them. With one of the Future Projection’s only weaknesses being back attacks, that cloak would be incredibly handy.

  “Mine!” I turned as Chloe and Vega turned up. “Vega, I let you take all the Resource Items, and I’ve already promised to pay for a trip for us, Chloe, so would you mind? I really could use this cloak.”

  Chloe put her hands on her hips. “It looks too heavy for Range avatars anyway.” Then she smiled. “Just know that you’ll owe me and I’ll agree.”

  “Done,” I said and picked it up.

  — ACQUIRED: ‘ALERT COAT’ —

  I equipped it, testing how clearly it allowed me to see things behind me. I could see the others, arms crossed impatiently. It worked well.

  “Nice. Alright, let’s head back up, eh?”

  We took our Bird’s Eyes across the mountain cavity to the opening to the vine room. The entrance was too small to fit the platforms through, so we
dismissed them, climbed the vines effortlessly with our new abilities, and made our way up the ramps back to the second floor. As we arrived, however, I noticed something different about the room now that we were entering from the other side, and I halted.

  I recalled how the cavity walls had spun about, how the room hadn’t looked the same as the second level of the Engine Room despite the stalled gear. The moss, broken steam pipes, and general tone weren’t the only things different about the dungeon; the alcove where Chloe and I had made out was missing as well.

  Wait, but I saw it before, didn’t I?

  “What’s wrong?” Chloe asked when she noticed I wasn’t moving.

  I pointed to the corner of the room that the alcove was in. “In the Engine Room that would have been the alcove next to the back corner, right?”

  Chloe’s face went red and Vega looked at us in confusion.

  “So?”

  “It’s the wrong way around. The designers may have been lazy when copying the designs for Heaven’s new dungeon, but they still flipped it around 180 degrees so that it was different in the Engine Room.”

  Chloe’s brow rose and she reassessed the room. “You’re right, but if that’s the case, then the corner wouldn’t be at the back west, but at the front and east!”

  She rushed to the corner and went about flicking through the layers. As she worked, I couldn’t help but feel there was something about the Research Center’s spinning that made me think of the view of the archipelago as a whole.

  I mean, if they flipped the geography for Europe and Africa for the Dream State’s mainland, why wouldn’t they just flip a series of islands—

  I felt like I was reaching some new understanding when Chloe gasped and moved aside to show me what she had found. It was another short sentence with a series of numbers underneath it.

  More work for Dice, I guess.

  The sentence was about as vague as the last one, but something about this one made sense to me: “This place is real.”

  “What does that mean?” Vega asked.

  “I don’t know. But I have a feeling I know someone who does.”

  Chloe caught my eyes. “Brock?”

  I nodded and stood to leave. However, as I turned around, a message alert showed up in my vision and I felt my heart drop as I saw who it was from.

  Siena_the_Blade: “So, when are going to have this match, tough guy?”

  So, she found out who I was after all. Why did I even bother to hope otherwise?

  Chapter 10: Flipscape

  I let the others go ahead to Yarburn to cash in their gear. Before I left, I flew up on my Bird’s Eye and took a picture of the archipelago from on high. If Brock saw the picture, he might be able to tell me what was snagging my memory about this place.

  I sent two messages as I left the island. The first was to Brock, simply saying, “I need to borrow your eyes for something. Can you be in-game sometime tomorrow?”

  Then, swallowing hard, I messaged Siena. “Siena, why do you think I hid my in-game username when entering the Battle Royal? I can’t let people know I was a part of that competition. Can we please shelve our fight for another time?”

  Of course, it was Siena who replied first.

  Siena_the_Blade: “All the more reason to do it sooner rather than later. The quicker you lose, the quicker you’ll be forgotten. The Coliseum, tomorrow. Be there or be outed, tough guy.”

  How did I know she was going to say something like that to such a simple request? It’s like she thinks she’s the center of the universe or something. She’s so selfish!

  The real question was who I should deal with first: Brock or Siena?

  If I have to pick between dealing with her and getting help with finding the Screamers, for Chloe’s sake, finding the Screamers should always be my first priority. Besides, I don’t even really want to fight Siena, let alone in a place where my new ability would be on full display.

  “Fine then, but I’ll be busy in the morning.” Brock was an early riser so I could catch him first. “Can we make it in the afternoon?”

  Siena_the_Blade: “Morning, afternoon, evening, or night. I’m happy to kick your butt any time!”

  “I’ll take that as a yes for the afternoon then.” I sighed. She had forced me into this and I wasn’t happy about it. “I’ll be there, but only if you keep my identity a secret, okay? Do we have a deal?”

  Siena_the_Blade: “High noon it is! Don’t worry, little boy, your secret identity will be safe with me. Don’t know why you’re so worried, though. No shame in being beaten by the best, after all. See you then!”

  I felt my jaw clench involuntarily again, knowing this left me until lunch to speak with Brock. For someone I considered a friend, Siena could make doing my job difficult.

  I pulled up Brock’s contact info next and amended my previous message with: “Preferably in the morning if that’s cool.”

  I was making my way to Yarburn, where I could collect our new spells and abilities when I finally got a reply from Brock.

  Brockodile: “Siena?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No, it’s something else. You know about that already?”

  Brockodile: “I think she’s told everyone. Probably wants a crowd to watch her fight.”

  I bit my lip in anger. She had already broken her promise. I guessed she thought it was okay if she only told our close friends.

  “Figures. Can we meet up tomorrow? You could even come into the facility if you want.”

  Brockodile: “Sure, I’ll just see you in the game before lunch.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks.”

  Before logging off, I used the Yarburn Synth Square to learn the Toxin spell and made sure Dice had the new code to work on. Without replying, he gave me a thumbs up. If things worked out with that, at least our trail wouldn’t turn cold.

  ***

  Despite how bleary I felt when I got up, I contacted Brock first thing in the morning to make sure we had our timetables right.

  He deserved to be included in this. He wanted to find his old friends again, the beta testers, who had suffered the fate he himself only narrowly avoided. There was also his obvious overarching knowledge of the Dream State and everything about its creation. The third reason was that, after my own mock betrayal of our team, Brock had developed a powerful skepticism for all of my ideas, which at times undermined me, but in other instances showed I was jumping to conclusions. With how much work I had put into finding Lucas since he had turned up in Heaven a month ago, I didn’t trust myself not to miss some things. I wanted to speak with Brock again in person, not only in-game. His skepticism might be useful, but I still needed him to be on my side. I’d get a better sense of his willingness to work with me and Wona if I told him what I learned while showing him the area I had learned it from. His desperation to find the Screamers would be the only reason he’d consider helping me. After all, the area we had found it in had been bugging me more than the clue itself.

  I waited on the Yarburn shore outside the village where the nearest Gateway was located, watching the swell of the bay. He was five minutes late, but I was used to Brock’s lack of punctuality by now. When he finally showed up, he gave me his usual cheesy grin in apology and came to stand with me on the sand.

  “So, Noah, what’s this all about?” he asked, his tone cautious. “Something about needing my eyes?”

  I waved at him. “Yeah, yeah, I don’t plan on removing them from your skull if that’s what you’re getting at. I just have a theory that I want to run by you. Just hear me out, okay?”

  “So, sounds like you need my ears too. They’re all yours.”

  “First, a little context. Remember how when Malcolm locked us out of his Debug Room, Lucas said something about leaving clues in the Dream State?”

  “So that we could find him and the other Screamers IRL, right?” Brock nodded. “I think I recall you interpreting him mouthing the words. I personally can’t say I he
ard him say them though.”

  Good, he’s being skeptical about that too. That’s the first variable I didn’t consider: that Chloe’s wishful thinking has rubbed off on me.

  “Right, well, Chloe took it to heart and did every dungeon where her brother had been spotted, searching for clues that might give some hint on his whereabouts. One of the places he fled to when we first saw him was the Engine Room. In the corner of the floor he was defeated on, we found this.”

  I pulled up the recorded image so that he could see it.

  “He . . . isn’t . . . real?” Brock read and then frowned. “And that looks like an in-game area code below it.”

  “You’re dead right.” I grinned and pointed out over the ocean. “The area code led us to a place called Romit Island, just over that way. I . . . thought we could check it out?”

  Brock nodded. “Okay then, let’s go check it out.”

  “Really?” I hadn’t been expecting him to agree so easily. “Okay, cool. After you.”

  He pulled out his white summoning stone and summoned his mount, the large Ice Dragon. I had fought the massive monster twice now, once when Brock and I teamed up against it and again when it and Brock had teamed up against me. I followed suit and summoned Peragon, and together we flew out over the archipelago.

  As we soared over the arc of small islands, I heard Brock mumble something and turned to see him rubbing his chin. He then caught my eyes and pointed down. I nodded and we headed down to the topmost hill of Romit Island. Brock dismissed his dragon and levered himself up onto a boulder, sitting and pondering like the Thinker statue at the Gates of Hell.

  “Did you find another code in there?” Brock asked as I landed next to him, his voice suddenly serious and slightly impatient.

  “We did. Dice hasn’t worked that one out yet, I don’t think.” I dismissed Peragon and looked around. “But even so, there’s something about this place that’s familiar, don’t you think? I can’t put my finger on it.”