by Cosimo Yap
But, there’s no way forward.
Try again.
Alan pressed his hands forward once more, pushing against the invisible structure before him. This time he heard a whir of gears as a passageway opened. Alan stepped through the entrance, finding himself led through a boxed in, dimly lit metal tunnel. It was comforting to be surrounded by walls and a ceiling again. What was more disturbing was the information Eve had.
The tunnel led into a central hub area, about the size of a movie theatre. It seemed to have been long forgotten, scavenged clean of any furniture, parts or items. There was a large screen on a far wall, but it was broken and looked to be ancient. Alan didn’t notice anything else of import in the room, not even a control panel for the screen. There were several tunnels that led out of the room. Clearly, this wasn’t a simple labyrinth. Perhaps it was some sort of research station or…
A prison.
What?
I… know it’s a prison.
How do you know?
I DON’T KNOW, OKAY? But… I know that this facility is a prison. Or at least, it was.
Alan stood still for a second. For the first time, he could sense a certain degree of distress within Eve. She had, of course, been concerned, stern, and even commanding before, but this was different. She seemed on edge, almost more human than ever before.
Enough. I detected a faint noise from the highlighted corridor. We should proceed down it to find what we can, then quickly die so we can complete our current main objective. We can return when we figure out more or are at a higher level.
Alan nodded, and made his way over to the indicated corridor. After a short straight passageway a spiral staircase soon appeared. Alan began descending the stairs. A few minutes later he was still walking down the stairs.
I wonder if I could get down faster somehow…
Request acknowledged, an unknown voice said in Alan’s head.
Wait, what?
Suddenly, the stairs shifted, forming rectangular panels that connected to each other, transforming the spiral staircase into a slide. A soft blue glow began to emit from the panel directly beneath Alan, somehow negating most of the friction. Alan began to rapidly slide downwards. Still worried about traps, Alan unsuccessfully tried to manage his speed as he wasn’t sure what he would be finding below. The slide showed no signs of slowing down, and the walls provided no grip. Alan began to feel gravity accelerate him faster, and his stomach began to drop.
As Alan slid down he would occasionally hear the sound of gunfire or yelling, but the sounds were intermittent, hollow, like ghosts in a machine. It was, Alan had to admit, sort of fun, as the speed he was sliding down began to approach that of a fast roller coaster. Then the spiral staircase disappeared, and Alan was flung out into pitch darkness, sliding along an unseen path. It reminded him of a rather unforgiving level in a racing game he used to play, but the road was translucent instead of rainbow. The slope gradually began to rise, then it descended once more, and Alan found himself slowing down.
In the distance flashes of light appeared. He quickly activated his armor’s invisibility. As he drew closer, he could make out the forms of a number of players fending off a metal, humanoid monstrosity. The abomination of flesh and metal was nearly ten feet tall, sporting blades grafted onto its two arms, a face half covered by a mask full of tubes and wires. The rest of its body was likewise covered in scars, metal plates, wires, and tubes; the creature had two clawed feet as well. As Alan felt himself slow down, he saw that the remaining half of its face was simply a lump of flesh, devoid of anything resembling an appendage. Yet, the monster leapt about with ease. A name tag appeared above the monstrosity: Experimental Warden.
There were about twenty players grouped together around a mounted turret in the center of a large circular platform, about thirty feet in radius. Surrounding it was nothing but pitch black darkness, but Alan knew there were likely hidden pathways as well. Eve calculated the ending destination of the slide, it was about ten feet above this larger platform all the players stood on. Alan watched as the Experimental Warden leapt forward as fast as a speeding bullet, knocking three players down. It darted its two arms forward, piercing its blades into two of the fallen players, then flung them backwards, into the abyss. Each blade was coated with a writhing, black venom that seemed to emerge from the Experimental Warden’s body.
The two players arced through the air and fell to their deaths, but before the Experimental Warden could retreat it was hit by waves of fire emanating from the mounted turret, decreasing its health by 3% to 45%. It then leapt backwards, into the abyss. To the players standing on the platform below, it would look like it had simply disappeared, but Alan could see that it had landed on a hidden platform below.
“God damn it,” a man swore. He wore a black cloak with a red star on the back of it. “That’s the 100th time it’s done that, didn't anyone see where it went?”
“No, it vanished. Shouldn't we retreat? I’m not sure we can defeat this thing; it wasn’t our intention to fight any boss.”
“Ha! Do you want to be the one to return to Lakshi empty handed? Besides, we just need for it to go for the right target…”
“Are you sure this is going to work? All of our kinetic and biological weapons seem to have had no effect on it. The only thing that gets to it is energy attacks.”
“Shut up idiot. Have any of my plans failed before? And don’t speak so loudly, who knows how intelligent it is.”
Should we help them? Alan asked.
Negative. Continue to observe.
Alan did so, waiting; hoping nobody noticed him, least of all the Experimental Warden. He watched as the experiment leapt onto another invisible platform underneath the large platform, disappearing from Alan’s view as well. Shortly after it reemerged on the other side, and slowly crept back onto the main platform.
Before anyone could react, it leapt forward into the group of players again, and stabbed its two blades forward. This time, a blade pierced a player in a robotic suit. Arcs of electricity burst out of the player, enveloping the Experimental Warden and stunning it momentarily. The player turned out to be a miniaturized mech. Before the Experimental Warden could react, three other mechs jumped forward, shooting out restraining grappling hooks and wires that shot out their own waves of electricity. Meanwhile, the mounted cannon kept unloading wave after wave of fire at the boss, slowly etching away at its health. Alan watched as its health decreased, at the rate of around 3% a second.
Activate hypercognition.
Concentrating, Alan did so half a second later, watching as the world about him slowed down.
Alright, here is the plan. We are going to leap down, and using forward momentum attempt to behead the Experimental Warden with our laser knife when it is low enough health, in approximately 12.672 seconds. Quickly grabbing any loot the boss drops, we will proceed to leap off the platform, into the abyss.
Wait, we’re gonna steal the kill, just like that?
Yes.
But—
These players are likely slavers. I am about 97% certain based on their equipment and speech patterns. Did you not notice how they didn’t come here to fight bosses? The Abyss Labyrinth is the perfect place to lay traps, as there is little to no regulation, plenty of unknown entrances and exits, and if the authorities come, you can leap to your death, so they’ll never catch you. This does makes it crucial that you do not get caught though, jump off the edge. Is that understood?
Um, yeah.
Looking down at the players, Alan noticed that many of them did look rather menacing, and were even marked with the chaotic status that only came from attacking other players or committing severe crimes.
Get ready.
Taking a deep breath, Alan put away Orion’s Cores and got out his laser knife. He really needed a sword if he was going to keep going for one hit kills.
Eve plotted out the exact angles that he was to leap out and strike at. Trusting Eve’s abilities to calculate, Alan
leapt from the platform as the leader of the slavers took out a purple-laser cutlass, no doubt wanting to finish off the boss himself. Slowly, Alan felt gravity take hold as he dived forwards, knife outstretched. When he was a few millimeters away from colliding with the boss Eve deactivated the armor’s invisibility field right as Alan activated the knife’s own laser field.
Alan’s blade sunk into the Experimental Warden’s neck which had already been tenderized by the flames. A slew of messages popped up but Alan ignored them, grabbing the two pieces of loot the boss dropped, and then began to sprint with all his might towards the edge of the platform. With a yell, the slavers fired at Alan, but he managed to evade the hooks and other capturing devices using his inhumane reaction speed and surprise. He was struck by a few darts, tipped with some metal that pierced his shields and light power armor, but before their effects could come into effect Alan was already leaping off the platform, into the abyss.
Alan read the message log as he fought the effects of the poisons he had been struck with.
x30 Bonus XP for slaying an enemy over 300 levels higher while you’re under level 100, taking 0 damage from said enemy!
Minus 40% XP for failing to deal more than 1% of the enemies’ total health.
Kill stealer! Due to the nature of your actions, your chaotic level has risen, and you receive a minus 25% XP penalty. This effect is mitigated because of the chaotic nature of the group you stole the kill from.
x22 Level up!
Gained over 20 levels with one kill! +20 bonus ability points
A small metal key, acquired!
Death’s Claw, acquired!
Poisoned! An unknown substance has entered your system.
Poisoned! An unknown substance has entered your system.
Poisoned! An unknown substance has entered your system.
Then, Alan’s consciousness faded…
***
You have died!
Current respawn point: Upper Levels of the Administrative Center on Khersath
Due to the nature of your death, no memories lost.
Level loss: 5 levels. All credits lost.
Death’s Claw dropped.
Skill proficiencies have decreased.
Abilities Ignore Pain and Programming a Path have been forgotten. Transcendent Will has been reverted to Indomitable Will.
All stats have permanently decreased by 5.
Hidden quest: Failed.
Alan found himself, back at his Home, the blank, white space that was his safe haven within the Game. He stood next to the only other being there, the Administrator; staring, mouth agape, at the screens open before him.
This… this…
Yes?
These death penalties! What the hell? How is this fair? And you didn’t even mention potential memory loss! Did you know this would happen?
Yes, I did. And it was worth it. We have gained far more levels than we lost, and can earn stat points relatively easily through training.
But, the lost abilities—
Can be relearned much more easily once remembered, especially as we know how to unlock them. You will just need to run until you collapse with hypercognition activated.
Do you have any idea how painful that was!? Do you really think that… well, alright, I probably will go through it again, for the abilities, but still. Warn me or something next time, okay?
Very well. I suggest we hurriedly retrieve the package then proceed to the Black Rose Docking Bay. There are 34 minutes remaining, and we are saving ability points for the Quick Learner talent, which costs 500 ability points, thus no need to spend any now. Simply place the points you gained from the Gifted skill into agility, then respawn at the Administrative Center.
Alright... Alan agreed dejectedly.
***
25 minutes later, Alan found himself approaching the Black Rose Docking Bay. He had easily retrieved the mysterious package from the Administrative Center, no questions asked, and had proceeded to sprint all the way. He managed to make it with 10 minutes to spare.
Standing in a corner, Alan saw Kitana, conversing with a giant, grey-skinned bald man in flowing brown robes with a huge war axe on his back. Alan was about to make his way over when someone called out at him.
“So! You managed to make it, and with the package no less. Impressive work, thanks a lot.”
Alan turned, finding a man, maybe in their late twenties or early thirties, with bright blue eyes. He wore a white uniform that Alan, could, perhaps, describe as a lab coat, if scientists allowed their coats to fall into disrepair and become rumpled beyond reason. The man had a certain gleam to his eyes as he scanned over Alan, nodding to himself.
“I am Phantom," he said. "Now, hand over the package so I can inspect its contents.”
Alan hurriedly did so, excited to see what was inside. A message popped up once he transferred it to Phantom.
Congratulations for completing: A Simple Task!
x2 Level Up!
Black Lotus Reputation gained!
Phantom carefully took out a metal key, similar to the one Alan recently found. As soon as the key was near the small black box an opening appeared, and Phantom inserted the key into the slot. Phantom then removed the top of the box revealing… an unmarked bottle of amber liquid, which Phantom took out and examined with a joyous smile on his face.
“Um, what is that?” Alan asked, curious.
“Why, the finest Haxlardian whiskey, of course! Only 250 bottles of this stuff is made a year, and it’s illegal to sell it outside of the Haxlard Empire.”
“Wait, so I braved the Undercity for… a bottle of liquor? How much is it even worth?”
“Hmm? Oh, about 15,000 credits, maybe. It’s finding the stuff that’s so damned hard.”
15,000! I bribed those guards 20,000 credits, each! Then spent 60,000 to teleport it up here!
Yes… it seems this quest wasn’t actually as important as I thought it was… Maybe… Well, we’ll see.
“Wait, you know that it wasn’t even yours to pick up, right? Some other person came to pick it up right after me!” Alan said.
“Interesting," Phantom said, examining another recruit. "I’ll have you tell me more about this later, but that will have to be after your initial assessment. Assuming you get accepted into the guild, of course.”
“Initial assessment?”
“You don’t think we just let anyone with a recommendation that completes a fetch quest in, do you? Impress me in the assessment, or at least do reasonably well, and I’ll recruit you as my squire. Now, I have errands to do, but I’ll watch the streams. Probably.”
And with that, Phantom turned around and strode away.
“Wait, aren’t you tired?” Alan called out after him.
“Nah, Erudites don’t need much sleep,” Phantom yelled back, as he merrily took a swig from the bottle of liquor Alan had gone through so much effort to acquire.
I’m not sure I want to work under him…
Yes, we’ll have to see. I think it should be noted that I did not notice his approach at all. He seemingly appeared out of nowhere… We should concentrate on this initial assessment for now, though.
Nodding, Alan walked over to Kitana, who had finished her conversation with the grey-skinned giant. To Alan's surprise, Kitana had risen to level 120 and was wearing a completely outfit. He thought his leap to level 79 had been fast, but Kitana had only been level 80 when he last saw her aboard the Titan. She now had on black robes over a black vest and grey undershirt. Alan could tell her clothing was not made of ordinary material, as the light around it seemed to be absorbed by the cloth, creating a sort of dark aura. She still wielded the same katana.
“Hey, Kitana. How are you?”
“I’m doing quite well, Alan. This is quite the guild you’ve found.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ve found it to be interesting. Just wondering, but how did you level up so fast?”
“Well, Mason,” she gestured to the man she had been
talking to earlier, “is one of the Arms Masters of the guild, and he wanted to get an estimate of my ability. Thus, he suggested I visit a local underground fighting ring. The battles were quite exhilarating, and I managed to kill a number of opponents, impressing many and leveling up quite a few times in the process.”
“Kill?”
“Hmm? Yes, the fights were mostly to the death. Otherwise it would be mostly pointless, wouldn’t it?” Kitana grinned, gazing into the distance, smiling almost bloodthirstily, causing Alan to shiver slightly. It was strange, to think of all the people around him going about killing things, but he supposed he should get used to it. It was all part of the Game, after all.
“Um, yeah, I guess so… Glad you’re having fun.”
At that moment the grey-skinned giant clapped his hands together, creating a miniature sonic wave, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone in the hangar, some 30-odd people, mostly younger looking kids, around Alan and Kitana’s age, 16 at the youngest, 25 at the oldest.
“Alright, recruits. My name is Mason, and I am an Arms Master of the Black Rose Guild. Any who wish to join the guild should now follow me into the shuttle, to take the initial assessment slash trials slash whatever you want to call them. Any wishing to leave now may do so, but know that once you step foot in the shuttle you must complete the test to completion. Any questions? No? Good, let’s go.”
