Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1)

by Cosimo Yap

  ***

  Countless minutes later (42 according to Eve), Alan finally felt his descent slow. The slide gradually began to level out. When he opened his eyes, Alan found that he was moving alongside a metal pathway nearly 50 feet wide. All about him were heavy fortifications, turrets and mechanical behemoths that would have been intimidating if they hadn’t been powered down. Eve highlighted countless shield batteries and hidden traps that were turned off as well. Alan couldn’t help but feel as if he was cheating the system somehow, but silently accepted it. It looked like he’d soon come face to face with someone with real power in this place. Probably a gigantic computer of some sort.

  The slide finally came to a stop, depositing Alan before a massive metal doorway, hundreds of feet tall, the entrance to a structure that was built into the surrounding walls. It looked as large as an imperial palace, if not quite so impressive in its current dilapidated state. Alan could see wires sticking out the various battlements at the top of the door. Like much of the rest of the prison, the building was devoid of much that would tell Alan its purpose, the only outstanding features being the defensive battlements.

  In front of the doorway stood two level 1500 mechanical golems, modeled after an ancient race of giants, at least according to Eve. Each stood nearly twenty feet tall with six appendages, four winding arms of coiled metal and two legs, but no discernible head. Each arm held massive cleaver-like blades. They appeared to be made out of a dark grey metal with a more stone-like texture. Similar to Sidestep, the entirety of their bodies were covered in tubing that pulsed green. In the center of each golem’s cylindrical torso was a large, mechanical eye that glowed blue. Unlike the other defenses, the golems were still active.

  Nervously, Alan proceeded forwards. The two sentinels slowly turned to face him. Alan slowly took another step forwards, then another, until he was between the two. As they took no further action, Alan let out a sigh of relief before walking onwards. He noticed that each golem had a second eye on the opposite side of their torso. A small doorway opened up when Alan got close enough to the entrance.

  Alan glanced inside, then froze. He immediately activated hypercognition mode, as well as his armor’s advanced stealth mode. Within the structure was a Predecessor.

  The Predecessor stood in the middle of the structure, a lightly glowing collar around its neck. It wore a tightly woven chain mail vest made of the writhing black metal the other Predecessor’s knife had been made of, and wielded a massive two handed great sword made of the same material. The metal, which absorbed light, shrouded the Predecessor in darkness except for the collar. Alan discovered the metal absorbed every other type of radiation as well as he rapidly switched between types of vision to try to get a better look.

  It is called soulsteel, Eve informed Alan, a physical manifestation of a Predecessor’s psionic abilities, the only known metal capable of cutting their skin. It is impossibly dense, yet light, with numerous other properties we don’t have the time for now. They forcibly draw out their psionic ability, through their blood, and it solidifies into the metal you see before you. A small ingot about the size of a mark is able to be produced about once a millennium by every Predecessor. That mark-sized ingot could easily be exchanged for a small spaceship worth billions of credits. The fact that it has so much…

  That Predecessor is either very strong, or very old, quite possibly both. Predecessors often challenge each other, dueling for soulsteel, taking half of what the defeated party owns. A symbol of status, and strength. I am unable to determine its level, and it is an S class threat, if not higher. You are right to proceed with caution.

  Alan stood still, staring at the Predecessor, continuing to test out his different types of vision. He almost gasped when he finally switched to gamma vision, noticing what was behind the Predecessor. Most of the structure was devoid of anything except for metal tiling on the floor, a large hall perfect for a massive raid boss. At the far end of the room the massive wall was adorned with metal cables stretching out of one central point, a cylindrical barrel with ten small slots, each containing a symmetrical cube crystal the size of a fist. All but one was devoid of color. This tenth crystal glowed softly in Alan eyes.

  Gamma radiation, at least according to the basic lesson Eve had given Alan, was deadly. It also emerged from highly energetic events: black holes, supernovae explosions and the like. That it was contained within a crystal, which didn’t seem to leak any of the light elsewhere, was amazing. If this facility depended on such power sources, Alan wasn’t sure how he’d ever find a suitable replacement. Alan switched back to his normal, see in the dark vision, in which the crystal was black.

  Next to the ring of crystals was a small, glowing circle. When Alan concentrated it, it became clearer, manifesting into a solid teal circle of color that rose up and became a cylinder.

  A Capture Point, Eve let Alan know. The Predecessor must be the area boss.

  The Predecessor turned to face Alan.

  “What is the delay? Come in.” It spoke in a gravelly tone, as if it hadn’t used its voice in years.

  “And, uh, what if I don’t want to?” Alan nervously said, backing away from the door way a bit.

  In a single step, before Alan could react, the Predecessor was at the doorway. It looked down at Alan.

  “Then I will end you. Even if you are a figment of my imagination.” It widened its teeth in a vicious smile.

  “Um, I’m real, please don’t hurt me.” Alan swallowed nervously, stepping into the room, deactivating his armor’s so-called advanced stealth mode.

  “Good.” The Predecessor attempted what it thought was a calming smile, though to Alan it looked more like a grimace. “Why are you here? Another search of Aleph, perhaps?”

  Hands trembling slightly, Alan brought out the small violet crystal. The Predecessor narrowed its eyes.

  “Um, I'm here to recharge the power or something like that.”

  “Why don’t you leave here and never return?” The Predecessor rested its massive hand on Alan’s shoulder.

  “And, um, why would I do that?”

  “Do what? That was simply an errant… suggestion.” The Predecessor punctuated the last word by gripping Alan hard enough that his shields quickly drained, halved by the simple squeeze. Alan winced as there was a crushing sound, and a message popped up notifying Alan his armor was damaged.

  “Sorry, that was an accident. I hope nothing worse happens if you stay here longer,” the Predecessor said, staring at Alan menacingly.

  Alan looked up blankly at the Predecessor, not taking the hint. “Um, okay? Here’s the crystal, to help with the, um, quest?”

  Alan, I believe the Predecessor was threatening you, trying to get you to leave.

  Oh, he was? Why would he do that?

  Unclear.

  Um, right.

  The Predecessor stared down at the miniscule human holding out the little crystal, then let out a throaty chuckle. It took the crystal out of Alan’s hand in a blur of movement.

  “Ha! That’s good, quite good. The stones on you, eh? Very well, I suppose I’ll deposit this bit of energy. What are a couple more centuries of imprisonment, anyway?”

  Trying to hide from the Predecessor that he had been obtuse, rather than brave, Alan hurriedly said, “What do you mean, a couple more centuries of imprisonment?”

  “Don’t you know?” The Predecessor stopped, staring at Alan.

  “Know what?”

  “Energy Saving Order 5329. To save the dwindling power it was decided that biological prisoners would serve as wardens. Their sentences would be shortened in return… though, considering my sentence, a few centuries off of it makes little difference.”

  “Um, no, sorry, that’s the first I’m hearing of this…” Alan nervously said.

  “Why did you bring me this then?”

  “Um, cause I got a quest to? So I can get a sort of reward or something and get stronger.”

  Although, the reward was simply a series
of question marks… Alan silently thought.

  “That’s it? A procedurally generated task is given to you and you set on a quest to complete it? ”

  “There was also, uh, something about a gamma threat level and the Authorities.”

  “Which you know nothing about I assume?”

  Alan nodded.

  “How strong are you?” The Predecessor questioned. Alan opened his mouth, then paused.

  “Tell me. No matter your strength, it should be clear I could easily kill you.”

  “I have a combat rank of B, and am level 118.”

  The Predecessor stared at Alan. He shifted around nervously.

  “How did you get here?”

  “Um, I asked nicely?

  The Predecessor opened its mouth, then shut it. It muttered under its breath, “They must be getting desperate.” Alan shifted his feet about. Abruptly, the Predecessor turned to stare at Alan.

  “Did you hear that?”

  Alan nodded.

  I used a combination of noise made and mouth movements to infer what you “heard", Eve let Alan know.

  “It was sort of a combination of hearing and reading your lips.”

  The Predecessor glanced around the room, then took a step forwards right next to Alan. It crouched down so that its lips were directly in Alan’s line of sight, but angled downwards so they wouldn’t be able to be seen from above. The Predecessor put its arms around Alan, like a hug, blocking out all other angles of vision. Alan struggled to move away from the Predecessor, but he was easily held in place.

  “Stop. Can you understand me?” The Predecessor mouthed.

  “Yes,” Alan said uncomfortably.

  “Stop. No more talking. Watch.”

  Alan remained silent.

  “So, you were willing to help them out, just because they gave you a so-called quest? Well, hear me out, and I can guarantee you come out of this with much, much more than you ever imagined.

  “This entire facility is underpowered, abandoned by the so-called Authorities in their search for Aleph. The warden program is unable to devote processing power to understand strange situations. Like this one. It orders with broad commands, no finesse or subtlety. For example, it simply told me to aid you. Say something like thank you, that greatly helps, please continue. It shouldn’t notice anything too odd.”

  “Um, thank you very much, this is of great help, I mean you are of great help, please continue,” Alan said aloud. The Predecessor grimaced, but continued his silent communication.

  “Good enough. That should placate the damn shitware for a while yet. Now, did you see the black crystal behind me, within the large machine, next to the brightly glowing circle? Not the dull, colorless crystals, but the black one.”

  Alan nodded, rolling his eyes at the Predecessor’s language. It must think he was an imbecile.

  “Okay, here is what’s going to happen. Once I am dead, you are going to remove that crystal from the machine as quickly as possible.”

  “Uh, once what?” Alan asked aloud.

  The Predecessor jerked its head threateningly. Alan quickly shut his mouth.

  “Once I am dead. I do have orders to protect the energy source and kill intruders, you know? Trust me, the warden program has methods to compel even ones such as I.” It shuddered. “Though, it using those methods should also help to drain the facilities reserves further…”

  “Wait, if you die, will you even come back to life?” Alan asked.

  The Predecessor shrugged. “Death is life. I cannot discuss matters with you… if you think yourself worthy, challenge another Predecessor to a duel. Simply repeat the phrase: Death is life. Demand answers. Moving on. I will give you a piece of precious soulsteel, which will be your reward, along with the black crystal.

  “I will bind this soulsteel to you in the form of twin knives, so that you and only you may wield them. Given soulsteel’s nature the items will drop should you ever die, but only a Predecessor will be able to unbind it for their own use. I suggest you never let a Predecessor know you have soulsteel, and keep it in a safe location once you leave here. You are nowhere near strong enough to have passed through a warrior trial or to wield such a metal. Still, circumstances beget the necessary…" The Predecessor's eyes glazed over, reveling in some distant memory.

  “Anyway, as I was saying, once I am dead, remove the black crystal, then escape this facility. I suggest you slit my throat, then run; I may be compelled to resist you once you attack me. I will try to resist it, but I guarantee nothing.

  “You may need to deal with those golems outside, but they shouldn’t be able to detect you in that stealth mode you were in earlier, and the soulsteel blade should cut through them easily. Their brains are at the center of their bodies.

  “Also, you should really learn to hide your presence, as you are only undetectable by machines. Perhaps untrained fools would ignore you as well, but few beings of power would fail to notice you. Anyways, after you have removed this crystal and grow stronger, return here. Remove or destroy the rest of the power sources in this prison. Trust me, you will be well rewarded.”

  A quest appeared before Alan:

  Prison Break:

  Remove and destroy all power sources of the mysterious Abyss Labyrinth, unleashing its prisoners upon the universe.

  Option: Try to free only certain beings

  Option: Try to conquer the Abyss Labyrinth

  Option (Missing Systems): Try to play both sides

  Penalty: ???

  Reward: ???

  Time Limit: Unknown

  Threat Level: Beta - Gamma

  “Um, and if I don’t want to do this?” Alan asked.

  “Then I kill you. I won’t be able to torture you, but the penalties applied by the warden program would be worth it. It’s almost out of power, a few more millennia at most.

  "Even if my sentence is elongated, as long as all those that come here to try to repair the systems are dealt with, I will be free once the power runs out.”

  “Look, um, it’s not like I want to die, but I just don’t have enough information to make a decision. Like, I have no idea why you or anybody else here is imprisoned,” Alan said, hoping his statement was innocuous enough to not alert the warden program.

  The Predecessor stared down at Alan.

  “Fine. Simply perform the task as I outlined, then go and learn more. You should be able to fool the warden program. Tell it you are analyzing the crystal so you can recharge it, or some other such lie. Then make your decision. I am confident you will see that we are in the right, and are unjustly imprisoned here.”

  Another quest appeared before Alan:

  A Mad Gamble:

  Kill the Predecessor, remove the black crystal. Escape from the Abyss Labyrinth with the crystal.

  Option: Find out more before attempting either Missing Systems or Prison Break

  Rewards: Black Crystal, Soulsteel Knives

  Penalty: Possible imprisonment (est. 1 month max sentence), Failure of Prison Break and Missing Systems

  Alan quickly thought through his options. At the very least, he should kill this boss that was offering itself to him, right? The powerful weapon sounded rather nice as well, and he didn’t even need to go through with this crazy plan after he killed the Predecessor. But what was that about the possible imprisonment? Eve remained quiet in Alan’s head.

  As if it could sense Alan’s thought, the Predecessor continued, “And, if you do kill me, but fail to take out the black crystal, the automated systems will surely kill you, no questions asked. That is why I said to remove it as soon as possible after I am dead. It will likely start spewing out poison gas or some other such nonsense. Thus, this is the only path you have if you want to escape here alive.

  “Now, follow me. I will pretend to prepare to add the crystal you brought. Until the warden program is alerted, we should have a nice little chat. I’m sure you must have plenty of questions. First, though, I must transfer the soulsteel to you.”
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  The Predecessor stood up straight, then commanded Alan to hold out his hands, palms upwards. Alan did so. The Predecessor reached into a pocket, pulling out a piece of soulsteel the size of a small smartphone. Within its hands the soulsteel changed shape, becoming twin knives about the length of a pencil. Each knife had a small handle and razor-thin arced blades. The Predecessor took a blade in each hand.

  “Oh, and this is going to hurt.”

  The Predecessor suddenly brought the blades below Alan’s hands then thrust upwards, piercing his upheld palms. Before Alan could react they cleanly cut through his armor and the center of his palm, each penetrating bone. The Predecessor let go of the knives’ handles, then thrust its own hands through the blades, grasping Alan’s hands firmly. The Predecessor’s blood was almost a pitch black, and Alan watched as a trickle streamed into his own wounds.

  Alan immediately felt the blood enter the veins within his hands, travelling upwards through his body. It burned, like a thousand ghost peppers had been condensed into hot sauce and directly injected into his blood stream. His body turned feverish, sweat pouring out like rain. He began having difficulty breathing, his throat drying up, the entirety of his self aflame. Abruptly, the two knives liquefied, entering Alan’s body through his bloodstream.

  Alan tried to break free from the Predecessor, his body writhing in pain. The Predecessor calmly watched, holding Alan’s hands firmly in place. Alan had long ago activated the Ignore Pain ability in an attempt to relegate the liquid fire pulsing through his veins to the back of his mind, but it was to no avail. The boiling blood within his body grew hotter with slow intensity, from a steady blaze to a roaring inferno.