Gamer God: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure

by P. J. Frost

  I teetered, my head spinning...

  ...and Erinye's strong hand clamped around my upper arm firmly. I looked down and realized I had almost walked off the edge of the path.

  “Take care, comrade,” she said with a smile. “I will allow no harm to come to you.”

  “Thanks,” I breathed. “Guess that was kind of a close one, huh?”

  Suddenly, a series of long, low, haunting whistles echoed across the mountains. They sounded unearthly and sent shudders running through me.

  “Guys,” Quorull called out warily, surveying the ridge ahead, “I think we're about to have an even closer one. Look.”

  The hooting whistles grew louder, more insistent... until the source of them swept up into the sky over the nearest ridge, causing the blood to freeze inside my digital veins.

  It was the skeleton of a dragon, roughly the size of the Empire State Building.

  It had tattered black sails strung between the bones of its massive wings, allowing it to glide on the wind. There were dozens of wind chimes, each the size of a grown man, hanging from its ribcage and producing the hideous wailing noises.

  And there was a blue gemstone just below its ribcage, throbbing with energy... and projecting an icy blast up past its neck bones and through its huge open jaws.

  Toward us.

  “Flaming Shield of Sheznahar!” I blurted it out without even thinking, and the fiery barrier formed in front of us just in time to deflect the attack.

  But it wasn't enough to block all of it. Each of us still took some damage.

  And it cost me.

  My Magic Meter was down to two-thirds.

  The Bone Dragon soared overhead and based on its trajectory, I could see it was going to come around and strafe us again. That was how dragons tended to operate in WarriorWorld.

  Sure enough, the monstrosity swung around, its skeletal tail lashing wildly as it flapped toward us.

  “A lifetime of video games,” Quorull said calmly, removing an arrow from her quiver and nocking it, “has led me to conclude that the huge glowing gemstone in its chest is probably its Achilles Heel.”

  “Safe bet,” I agreed. “Do your thing, Huntress.”

  She gave a curt nod... waited for the creature to come within range... and released the shaft.

  It struck the gem.

  The Bone Dragon flailed and blinked red once, momentarily falling off-course before lethally plunging toward us again.

  “I believe you may have irked it somewhat,” Erinye observed dryly.

  “Here, get behind me,” I urged. “I can cast the shield spell again...”

  “No.” Quorull reached into her Bag of Cherishing, grabbed her last Health Potion, and handed it to me. “You two go back down the path and out of range. I'm going to soak up the blasts and kill that stone in its chest.”

  “But that's crazy!” I protested. “Those blasts are too powerful! Two, maybe three of them, and you'll die!”

  “That's just it,” she answered. “I won't die, my avatar will. You're the one who needs to conserve your Health and Magic Meters so you can make it to the end and get out of here.”

  “The arrow barely made a dent in it!” I pointed out. “And you only have a couple more left!”

  “That's because of the range. I think I have an idea how to fix that problem. Now go, both of you. I've got this.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I'll see you on the outside, all right?”

  I wanted to argue, but Erinye pulled me away. “Quorull is a cunning and noble warrior. We must trust in her.”

  As we hustled back the way we came, I looked over my shoulder... and noticed that Quorull was preparing an enchanted rope arrow, looping the other end of the magic cord around herself.

  “Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” I whispered hoarsely.

  The Bone Dragon passed overhead, projecting its icy “breath” at Quorull. She stood her ground, absorbing the damage while she kept her aim. She started to blink red slowly.

  Then she let the arrow fly.

  Its barbed head caught between two of the monster's ribs, and as the skeleton soared upward, it pulled Quorull off her feet and up into the air after it. As soon as the Bone Dragon realized it had an unwanted passenger, it pointed its fleshless snout down at her, blasting her with the crystal's energy again.

  Now she was blinking a hell of a lot more rapidly.

  But she was still alive.

  And climbing.

  “Remarkable,” Erinye breathed, staring up at her.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “She really is.”

  Quorull ascended hand over hand, a dagger between her teeth. She was too close to the Bone Dragon for it to blast at her again – too close for it to do anything, really, except swipe at her with its rear claws. Each one was the size of an airplane propeller, and when they sliced at her, she went solid red.

  That meant one more hit, and she was finished.

  I felt Erinye's hand close tightly around my own, and when I looked over at her, she had tears in her eyes. “Her sacrifice is so noble. You are... fortunate to have one such as her in your life. How did you come to know her?”

  “We work together.” It seemed like such a comically simple answer in light of what we were watching.

  “And is she... that is, are you two...?” Erinye cleared her throat uncomfortably.

  “We're just friends.”

  Quorull reached the stone and took the blade from between her teeth, stabbing at it repeatedly. The Bone Dragon bucked and spasmed, blinking and then going solid red.

  “Best friends,” I amended.

  The Night Elf Huntress, gleaming scarlet, chopped at the gemstone one last time – and it shattered. The Bone Dragon twitched one final time and then died, vanishing.

  Which left Quorull hanging in mid-air for all of a half-second before she plummeted to the ground and blinked out of existence, all without making a sound.

  “She did it,” Erinye said, astonished. “She saved us.”

  “Then I suppose we'd better make it count for something,” I replied, giving her hand one last squeeze before releasing it. “Come on, let's see how all this ends.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  I don't know if my momentary loss of perspective had somehow been tied to the Bone Dragon, but after it had been vanquished, the path to the obsidian fortress of the necromancer seemed a lot more straightforward.

  Erinye and I covered the rest of the distance easily – and the next thing we knew, the cyclopean, headstone-like towers were looming over us.

  The snow around it was even deeper, and there were numerous pieces of armor half-buried in the frost (along with the frozen bones of their former owners). I leaned over one of the helmets, examining it carefully.

  “Does this mean that other players like yourself have ventured up here before?” Erinye asked.

  “Nope. This is the armor of the Knights of Kronos,” I observed. “They're friendly NPCs from the 'Raiders of Norinya,' one of the earliest missions Tacker released.”

  “What does it signify, then? Why would the remains of those warriors be here?” She sounded mystified.

  I frowned. “I wish I knew. But between this and all the NPC skeletons we've encountered, I'm starting to get the sense that...”

  I didn't get a chance to finish my thought.

  The pieces of armor – and the remains encased within them – suddenly sprang up from the snow, flying together and assembling themselves into four skeletal Knights of Kronos. They hefted their swords, marching toward us with a heavy clanking sound.

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “I was afraid of that.”

  “Sorcerer, a word of advice from one warrior to another,” Erinye said, summoning her emerald energy sword. “Do not use your magic to defeat them. They will fall just as swiftly under the blows of your staff, and you may yet require all of your remaining power to confront the necromancer.”

  “Good point,” I agreed. “Thanks.”

  But I was tired as hell.
I had been pushed far past my breaking point, both mentally and physically. My mind had never been prepared for this kind of sustained strain, confronting things that should have been impossible.

  I honestly didn't know how much more I could take.

  Then again, what choice did I have?

  I raised my staff, using it to fend off the sword strikes from the Kronos Knights. I swung at the head of the one on my left, smacking the helmet off his shoulders along with the skull inside it. The metal-plated head bounced away in the snow, but the body kept coming, blade at the ready. Its companion swung its weapon, and I had to leap back to avoid being decapitated.

  Okay, so going for their heads isn't a valid plan of attack, I thought. What's the best way to immobilize them, then?

  The answer came to me almost immediately, thanks to one of my favorite flicks from when I was growing up: The Karate Kid.

  “Sweep the leg, Johnny,” I said to myself.

  I ducked under their swinging blades, aiming my staff low and knocking their armored legs out from under them. Their upper bodies crashed to the ground.

  They kept crawling forward, but their positions suddenly looked a lot more vulnerable to me.

  I rested a boot on the back of the first one, raising my staff like a golf club.

  “Fore!”

  I swung, taking off one of its grasping metal arms, then the other. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Erinye was doing a solid job of dismantling her opponents as well – although the strain of it all was starting to show on her. Her wings were drooping, and she was breathing a lot harder. Her movements were getting slower too.

  Finally, we both managed to smash our attackers to pieces. I waited, watching to see if they would suddenly rise up and assemble themselves again... but after about fifteen seconds passed, it seemed as though they were down for good.

  “What is the meaning of all this?” Erinye asked. “All of these undead foes?”

  “Someone's trying to wear us down. Doing a damn good job of it too.” I popped open the final Health Potion bottle, restoring my Health Meter to full one last time and hoping it would be enough.

  “But why?” she demanded. “You have said that our adversaries are the very people who made this world. That they control every part of it. They can create and un-create at will, is this not so?”

  “Essentially, yes,” I conceded.

  “Then why would they go through all this trouble to stop us? Why not send enemies who would be truly impossible for us to kill in combat... or better yet, just erase us from existence? It makes no sense for gods to waste their efforts on such trifles!”

  “Those are all very good questions,” I admitted. “And the truth is, Erinye, I have no idea. Maybe they're sadistically toying with us... amusing themselves with our prolonged suffering, like a cat playing with a mouse. Or maybe there are certain protocols they need to follow. Rules they're not allowed to break.”

  “Why would that be?”

  I gave her a tired grin. “That's how games work, isn't it? They have to give the players a legit chance of winning, or else there's no point to them.”

  “Sydnar...” Erinye stopped herself, took a deep breath, then started again. “Sid. For that is what you are called in your own world, is it not? Sid Coleo?”

  I swallowed hard. “Yes, that's correct.”

  “It is a good name,” she continued, tenderly cradling my face in her claws. “A noble name. Sid, you once told me that your own world makes no sense... has no design, no discernible reason or purpose to it. Perhaps the same is true of this world. My world.”

  I shook my head. “After everything I've seen and done these past two days, Erinye, I don't think I can believe that anymore. About either of our worlds. All of this happened for a reason. We're here together, at the end of it all, for a reason. And I intend to find out what that reason is.”

  She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, opened it again... and leaned forward, kissing me.

  It wasn't like any kiss I'd ever had before (though admittedly, that wasn't exactly a huge database to compare it to).

  Her lush, verdant lips pressed against mine, and her warm breath tickled the roof of my mouth. The tip of my tongue flicked against one of her sharp fangs, pricking it and making me taste my own blood.

  Who had programmed all of this? Who had coded this level of detail into the experience? How was it even possible?

  Before I could properly register what had happened, she released me. “I see an entrance ahead. Let us proceed.”

  I followed her to the ten-foot-tall dark doorway in a daze. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I had been seeing Erinye on posters and in YouTube ads for WarriorWorld for over a month... and I had just felt her kiss me.

  Like, for real.

  I didn't know what was coming next. But whatever it was, I suddenly felt a lot more capable of facing it head-on and defeating it.

  The corridor we entered was long and rectangular, and it was almost too dark to see anything. I could have used an illumination spell, but I didn't dare. Any expenditure of magical energy would offset the amount I'd have available for whatever threat was waiting for me at the end of that shadowy hallway.

  Coral had given her avatar's life to ensure I would retain as much of my Magic Meter as possible. I had to respect that and accomplish as much as I could in-game without relying on spells.

  Erinye, on the other hand, wasn't bound by such constraints.

  “Hey, Erinye,” I began, “that glowing green sword of yours... does it cost you anything to use? I mean, does it siphon off your Health Meter or anything like that?”

  “No,” she answered. “It is a natural weapon of mine. It is a part of me, just as my claws, fangs, and wings are. Why do you ask?”

  “Because we could use some light in here.”

  “Ah. Yes. I see your point.” She conjured her blade, and the walls lit up – revealing rows of complex hieroglyphics.

  “Thanks.” I studied them, leaning in as close as I could without blocking the emerald light.

  They were crude chiseled depictions of NPCs. Hundreds of them, from every quest that had ever been released. All carefully labeled with lines and arrows denoting their stats and various permutations.

  “They're character schematics,” I said. “Blueprints.”

  “What do you mean?” Erinye arched an eyebrow. “They do not appear to be blue.”

  I tried to think of terms she'd understand. "They're, um... what everyone in your world is made of. The sets of rules and dimensions that make them who they are. And again, not just the major ones. All of them, down to the smallest insect. Every creature that isn't a player is cataloged here."

  She looked around, nodding solemnly. “I see. Like the sketches of a god, then. Absently scribbling the fundamental substances of the beings he creates... before callously crossing them out.”

  I nodded uncomfortably. “Yeah, actually. That about sums it up.”

  Her green fingertips traced a pattern on the wall, and her expression darkened. “Look.”

  I went to where she was standing and saw what had caught her eye.

  It was her.

  Her character's design and stats were listed along with all the others. There were no major differences I could discern – nothing that would explain how she appeared more independent and evolved than the rest of the NPCs.

  Erinye reached out, touching my upper arm tentatively. "Sid. Do you think that at the end of this quest, we will find... Kol-Bee Tack-cker? Will I be able to look him in the eye and ask him why he made me as I am?"

  “I don't know, Erinye. I have no idea what's waiting for us in here. I'm just glad we'll be facing it together.”

  I felt myself getting goosebumps, and it surprised me. I didn't even have real “skin” here, so how could it get all pebbly? Again, I had to ask: Had all this extreme physical detail actually been coded?

  Or was it something else? Was WarriorWorld somehow just... taking on a life o
f its own?

  Mysteries on top of mysteries.

  “Coral, if you're out there watching this,” I said, “say a prayer for us and keep your fingers crossed. We could use all the help we can get right now.”

  We reached the end of the hallway and stepped out into a cavernous domed chamber. The center of it appeared to be a round fountain, churning with a pearlescent, mercurial substance that glowed bright white. The liquid traveled across the room via dozens of deep grooves in the floor, flowing into rows of cylindrical glass enclosures. There were more of those large tubes lining the walls than I could possibly count, and I went to the nearest one, peering into it.

  A half-formed NPC – the beginnings of what looked like a Minotaur – was floating in the tube. Its skeleton was mostly assembled, and layers of flesh and clothes were being rendered over it row by row like an old dot matrix printer.

  “What is this fluid that nourishes them?” Erinye asked.

  I crouched down, dipping my fingers into it carefully and examining it. Suspended within the liquid were billions and billions of iridescent runes, almost too small for the eye to read.

  No, I realized. Not “runes.”

  Ones and zeroes.

  “This is pure code,” I marveled. “It's being used to re-spawn all of these NPCs who have been killed in the game. This is the point where they re-enter WarriorWorld and are restored to their previous forms.”

  “So they can be killed again,” Erinye observed harshly. “And be brought back to life, over and over, for the sordid amusement of the players.”

  Again, I hated to admit it, but she was right.

  “This code must be flowing in from the real world,” I said. “Which means...”

  “That you have, at last, discovered the portal you have been seeking.”

  The voice echoed through the chamber, and we turned to look at its source: A figure in a white robe, carrying a polished crystal staff. He had a long white beard, and smooth skin covering the space where his eyes should have been. There was a white gemstone mounted in the middle of his forehead. His tone was surprisingly soft and friendly, like a kindly grandpa.

  “You are correct, Sid Coleo,” he went on. “What you see before you is one of the rare doorways between your world and this one.”