Chapter 20
“Dinner.” Once I got out of the game, my stomach gave a loud rumble.
“Groceries could not be purchased because of insufficient card balance, Viktor,” Home informed.
“Cook from what you have,” I winced.
“Okay. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.”
Taking a shower, I reflected on what to do next. Masha had been refusing to put any money on our shared household account since that quarrel, having all of her meals out. That left me with the only option of eating what still remained in the fridge, usually items with a very long shelf life.
It was the second week of our separate budgets. In the meantime, I had gained 90t reputation with the Wargs. Ten more before I can choose the air missions, not merely grab those occasionally flashed by the system.
Ground missions remained my main source of income and experience as the air ones became extremely rare. A short time ago I had learned that I was no longer the only ship owner in the game. Fighter missions were made available to me only when all the other pilots were off; I learned that from the notifications.
This situation, and the end of my monopoly, forced me to put even more money into upgrading my ship. I couldn’t afford falling behind the other pilots who were already close on my heels. Under such pressure, I often forgot about real life. Like today when I remembered the zero card balance only after leaving the game and hearing from Home that it was out of groceries.
“Home. Order some instant noodles. I’ll transfer sixty dollars to your account today once get back into the game. Use all of that to buy noodles. I’ll need a big stock of those.”
Finishing the shower and slipping into a bathrobe, I came to the living room to be presented with cooked semolina, apparently from Masha’s dietary reserve. It contained no milk or butter, let alone meat. I forced that absolutely tasteless substance down my throat with great effort, wishing I had remembered the need to replenish groceries before quitting the game. My real-world account was almost always at a zero; I had to spend more and more on improving the ship systems as the lack of upgrades exposed my ship to serious risks during quests.
Stuffing the last spoon into my mouth, I heard the front door open.
“Good evening, Mariya,” Home greeted. I already knew it was her. Who else would come to visit me so late, using their own key to unlock the door?
“Is Viktor gaming?” her voice came.
“No. He is having dinner in the living room,” the AI informed.
I saw her appear in the doorway. At the sight of me finishing her stale dietary breads, she gave a loud, despising snort but said nothing, just went to her bedroom.
“News on,” I told the AI without following her. I didn’t feel guilty enough to take the first step toward making up, particularly considering her principled eating out. That annoyed me even more than her demonstratively ignoring me.
The familiar evening news anchor appeared on the video wall, telling about the global situation and recent events in the country. Listening to his measured tone, I started dozing off when another man’s brisk voice woke me up. “And now our Galaxy broadcast. We’ve made it regular by popular demand that seems to be further increasing by the minute! Over ten million players in Russia only. The global user population is over hundred million, and it continues to expand.
The main driving cause behind this boost is the easy access to game capsules. As we all know, the publisher provides them in exchange for in-game hours, which attracts the middle class. And the poorest populations are making use of the numerous game clubs that had opened recently to earn, honestly and steadily, up to 8,000 dollars per year, while spending no more than eight hours daily in the game.
This strange social phenomenon made the governments reconsider their attitudes toward the game. The currently discussed question is how the gamers’ incomes can be taxed. None of in-game earners are officially employed, yet their monthly income has increased more than ten times. It must be noted that many people whose official income is below the poverty threshold are receiving various kinds of welfare payments to support them and their families. Now, with their income being the nation’s average or even above it, they should no longer remain on welfare.
So far the governments keep monitoring the situation, discussing the issues of game account legalization and game-to-real currency transfer with Galaxy’s publishers. We are monitoring it closely, too. It’s no longer a secret that some of our colleagues are using evenings and weekends to try themselves in a new role. I even bought an armored vehicle yesterday. The construction mode is just great! I’ve never enjoyed another game this much since I was a kid. You can put all sorts of things onto your Galaxy vehicle! The game allows you to buy and install virtually anything that can be possibly put on its chassis, though it’s a pity that it doesn’t have an in-game auction enabling players to sell their loot to each other. Even simple exchange would improve the in-game economy greatly, increasing variety and engagement value.
Again, it’s no secret that Galaxy’s gameplay outside the quests is overall rather monotonous compared with that found in other open-world MMORPGs. Instead, Galaxy’s players are locked inside a single city, with no PvP opportunities; any attempt at it is severely fined.”
The anchor interrupted himself, casting a sly glance at his colleague. “But we’ve got a bit of insider info: the developers are closely watching the gamers’ feedback and they’ll soon introduce some new features! So let’s wait and hope that these will make the other dimensions of game experience just as good as its opportunities for side earnings.”
“By the way, Nikolai. Yesterday, the developers announced that they’ll introduce new, level 5 quests next Monday. According to them, it will increase in-game earnings and broaden the range of possible interactions between infantry and machines, but the new missions will be extremely difficult to complete. The enemy AI level will be increased by an order, making it a really formidable opponent.”
“Really? Great news!” the co-anchor rejoiced. “I can’t wait to test my transport in those. That’s all the Galaxy news we have so far. See you tomorrow at the same time.”
Cool, I rejoiced, too. Level 5 quests. I should take them once they are available. They’ll probably come with bonuses at the start. And they’re going to pay more credits.
Switching the video wall off, I went to bed without checking on Masha. Judging by the silence in her bedroom, she was in her capsule, playing.
“Viktor,” the AI said suddenly. “Mariya asked to inform you that she’s leaving tomorrow. For a practice camp. To prepare for the major hosted by China.”
“She couldn’t have told me herself?” I shook my head, lying down and pulling the blanket over.
“She also asked if her jobless roommate devouring her year-old stock of cereal and bread needs to be left some money.”
“Tell her that he doesn’t,” I said angrily. “No more messages from her today. I’m going to sleep.”
“Yes, Viktor.”
***
Nothing can compare to steamed, spicy noodles when you get up hungry in the morning.
The AI, probably tired of reminding me that instant foods are bad for my health, just poured boiling water over another portion. The house robot served it on a tray.
The main task for today is to gain the two remaining reputation with the Wargs, and then get ready for new quests, I thought, eating the noodles. Everyone was sharing the news on the forum yesterday, negotiating the exact time and place to meet each other and start the new missions together.
“Viktor. If you are interested in hearing that, the first game of the tournament, between the International champions and the second strongest Starry Sky team in their group, has just started,” the AI informed me.
“Why are you telling me that?” I was surprised. “I thought I had disabled all such notifications.”
“Mariya enabled them again. For all games she’s taking part in.”
“Is that her way of making up?”
I couldn’t help but smile. I hated our lengthy quarrels. This one was actually the worst I had ever had with Masha. “Turn it on. I’ll watch for a while,” I resolved. If she asks whether I watched the game, I can honestly tell her that I did.
The enemy location was still unknown during the initial phase of the first battle. Drones pulled a classic move, sending the first core ship ahead as a ranger, while all the rest searched the map, destroying bot ships to win team bonuses. A standard beginning; they completed it fast. A couple of times they came across the enemy who was doing the same, but neither side initiated a battle, preferring to retreat.
Things became interesting when all available bonuses were collected and it was time for team fights. Each killed enemy produced bonus points that the captain could distribute to any ship, increasing either attack or defense, or even give all of the points to the sniper to make the damage from his missiles absolutely tremendous.
The first and the second battles were won by Masha’s team, with Masha being great in both, covering the core with her shields. But then things became weird. The Drones’ ships either scattered all around, making themselves an easy prey, or their sniper took the position where he was discovered and annihilated in a moment, or… In a word, they looked like a completely different team, one I did not recognize. And it was not just me. The commentators were very emotional as they discussed the number of mistakes in Drones’ play, expressing dissatisfaction with such a poor performance in an important tournament with qualification points at stake: “Even when if your opponent is the second strongest team, such attitude will surely be punished!”
I didn’t watch it to the end, nor did I watch the following game. I had to get going if I wanted to complete my plans in the scarce time that I had before level 5 quests are made available. The time of their launch was featured on the official website; I had just eight hours to accomplish two more missions and gain the remaining reputation points.
Yesterday I got out of the game completely exhausted and depressed because I had failed to gain the desired reputation points. Just a little bit more. I couldn’t wait to get it done and start looking for good fighter quests in the morning, but I just couldn’t do two more tasks in that shape. Neither did I dare to take any of the long quests that gave +10 reputation; I could’ve failed them, getting another deduction that I would have trouble closing up. To avoid this risk, I relied on simple tasks which rewarded me one reputation point.
Finishing my breakfast and taking care of the dishes, I headed for the capsule. A long day was upon me, and I had to make good use of it.
Don’t forget to drop put more money into Home’s account, I reminded myself, lying down into the capsule. Web and utilities are to be paid today, or they may be cut off.
Chapter 21
“Come on, come on.” Lying on the bed in my apartment, I impatiently counted the minutes remaining till the start. Five more… The excitement is killing me. I was itching to see which level 5 quest would appear first, and particularly the bonuses it offered. In order not to risk my ship in the very first battle like that, I was going to enter it as an infantryman, not a pilot. However much I craved for x-something rewards, I wanted to keep my ship more.
Once the clock struck 6 p.m., a new quest appeared on the long list of available ones, highlighted in navy-blue; number 5 in its heading indicating the quest level. The required number of players and machines was also stated.
“Wow! It’s really something special.”
I was afraid that I would miss out on the quest because the spots were filling up too fast. However, the minimal number of players needed in the party for the quest to start was 100,000 players! This was enough to remove my fears. With the lower threshold that high, the upper one must be no less than 500,000.
The required number of vehicles was amazing as well. Never before had I seen any quest demand over 10,000 armored vehicles and 1,000 tanks.
I was startled at seeing the required number of fighters set at 10, but then remembered that I was no longer the only fighter pilot in the game and pressed the “Accept” button, selecting the infantry icon.
Level 5 quest accepted: The Tiun City
Duration: 8h
First attempt bonus: x10
Reward: 2,000 credits
Fine for leaving the position early: -4,000 credits; -10 reputation with the Wargs
Load the location map?
It’s not really much. I was disappointed at seeing the price, although two thousand credits could actually buy me enough groceries to last me a week.
What if I try being a pilot? I thought, cancelling my choice and selecting the fighter icon instead.
Level 5 quest accepted: The Tiun City
Duration: 8h
First attempt bonus: x50
Reward: 10,000 credits
Fine for leaving the position early: -20,000 credits; -10 reputation with the Wargs
Load the location map?
Get out of town! I switched back to the infantry mode to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things, but the fivefold gap in quest bonuses was real. So those are the upper class perks. Compare two thousand credits and ten! Ten thousand credits could not only buy me good, fresh food that would last me a month or so, but also pay my recent utility debt in full.
The substantial difference in earnings rocked my determination to enter the question as an infantryman; it just was too great. Watching the player slots, including those in the fighter group, fill up rapidly, I settled for the pilot role.
If things get really rough, I can escape and wait for evacuation. Fuck credits and reputation. I can earn more later.
My ship came in tenth, completing the party. The quest started in a moment. I saw the loading message.
The tunnel effect of mind transfer seemed to last longer this time. I was shocked to see us appear not on the planet’s surface as usual, but in a giant hangar inside a spaceship, with a score of other fighters lined next to me. It was the first time that I was starting at such a location and in such a company.
The chat exploded with a torrent of voices. From the hubbub, I learned that I was not the only one astonished by the new starting point. The infantry found themselves inside troop carrier shuttles, and the vehicles and tanks were transported by heavy support units. We were not all on one large ship, but dispersed across a hundred of them. Since the game didn’t have groups enabled, everyone used the general chat to find their friends and acquaintances that happened to be on other ships. All that mind-boiling cacophony made me switch the sound off. Silence fell; I breathed with relief. Now I could use the time to examine the inside of the ship carrying the fighters.
I tried to open the cockpit and have a walk around, but the system message popping up prevented me from that:
The cockpit has been locked. Five minutes left before start. Stand by for further instructions, pilot.
Getting it, I started to look around. The other fighters were apparently of lower classes than mine, judging by their size and appearance. I had seen others like them in the shop, going for about 500,000 credits in their default set-up. And mine, with all its gear and exclusive equipment, was priced at one million.
Satisfied with my ship appearing to be the best, I took a closer look at the ship’s interior. On the gallery running beneath its ceiling, strange humanoid creatures bustled, sometimes pointing their fingers at us. Their flattened heads with bulging eyes looked like those of a fish. Zooming in at them with the aiming system, I saw some semblance of gills on their necks.
Looks like the devs are making the world more diverse by introducing a new race. Players must be already bored with seeing only mantises, I thought, taking in the hangar. Everything looks so lifelike. Every minor detail of it. Not like that Lego base.
Attention, fighter pilots. Start in 00:59…
Attention, fighter pilots. Start in 00:58…
Attention, fighter pilots. Start in 00:57…
A new message with a countdown appeared on the main sc
reen. Immediately after that, the giant damper in the ship nose started to rise, opening up to the view of outer space…completely obstructed by a huge planet. Only the data from scanners and sensors told that we were in outer space by marking the remaining distance to the planet.
The upgraded guidance system showed me not only mere green dots than before, but about a hundred icons of ships of various types and sizes surrounding the one that carried my fighter. I could even see the properties of some.
This upgrade was totally worth it, I rejoiced at having an advantage by getting better-quality information.
Attention, fighter pilots. Start in 00:01…
I was pressed into the chair, the invisible grips snatching my ship to fling it out into the space with acceleration. I was not ready for that, but my engines already started and the game system had transferred the navigation route was transferred to my ship, so I just sped up, flying toward the coordinates. The fighters lining behind me in the hangar also left the carrier to follow me.
Military task: provide air cover to troop carriers. You will get a bonus for each destroyed enemy ship or space/air defense tower.
Another new type of message, a rather rejoicing one.
Scan. Choose optimal height, I commanded the AI while taking a look around. My new sensors allowed zooming in on the surface so close that I could see that the bustling creatures there looked much like those inside the carrier. The only notable difference was the uniform color: red with silver, while those on the ship wore pure silver.
The creatures on the ground had apparently detected the attacking fleet as they were hastily unfolding their defense; double air and space defense turrets were placed along the city perimeter, energy shields around some buildings, and lots of machines and soldiers were scattered about.
“Scanning complete. No air threats detected. Should I start neutralizing the enemy space defense?” the ship’s AI asked.
Lost in Space Page 13
