The Alchemy Worlds: Enter T(he)rap(y): A LitRPG Adventure

by Victor Justice

  “Allow me to introduce BeyondMind,” Doctor Calladyce’s booming voice dragged Matias’ attention away from the all-consuming pyramid.

  Matias blinked stupidly at him. For a few seconds, he was unable to form a coherent thought. “What?” he said at last.

  “Don’t worry. BeyondMind has that effect on people who first witness its magnificence,” Calladyce admitted. “You are looking at the most advanced virtual reality computer in the world.”

  Matias scowled. “Virtual reality? What the hell is that?”

  “It’s where you’ll be going, Matias,” Amy said. “As part of your rehabilitation, we are going to immerse you into the three dimensional simulation of the fantasy universe BeyondMind has created.”

  Matias shook his head. “Speak English, baby.”

  Amy smiled coldly. “It might be easier if we showed you.”

  She touched her tablet and a corona of golden fire appeared around the apex of the geometric shape. It flared out in all directions and the walls of the huge room were enveloped by holographic images that quickly rotated around Matias’ head. His mouth fell open as he stared at the cavalcade of exquisitely detailed and vast landscapes that paraded past his eyes.

  He saw majestic mountain ranges, expansive lush valleys, rushing rivers, sprawling forests, icy wildernesses and great stone cities straight out of the Middle Ages. They were interspersed with stranger sights too: oceans made up of grasping metallic hands, underground labyrinths of pulsating multi-coloured rock, slender dart-shaped monoliths that sparkled like diamond, and forbidding citadels carved from ice and bone. He glimpsed people as well, humans in archaic outfits going about their business in bustling medieval towns, or working the land on tumbledown farms.

  There were other . . . creatures too. Some humanoid but not completely human and some Matias couldn’t even begin to describe. The images were now moving by too quickly for him to look at the details properly and soon they all began to blur.

  “Welcome to the Alchemy Worlds,” Doctor Calladyce declared, making an expansive gesture with his arm. “A nexus of realities where you can be whatever you want to be. Choose your destiny and carve a new life for yourself. You are about to enter a game of infinite possibilities, Mr. Temno, where you are the hero, or the villain, depending on your choices.”

  Matias stared at him and a contemptuous smile spread across his face as realisation dawned. “A game? You mean a role-playing game?”

  Calladyce nodded enthusiastically. “More correctly, a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role playing game, or VRMMORPG for short, the most realistic ever created. Thanks to BeyondMind, your consciousness will be immersed inside a living, breathing universe full of NPCs who will be just as real as your avatar, or think they are at least, and other players from ‘our’ world. You can interact with anyone and anything, and you will experience every sensation with as much intensity as you do in everyday life. There is nothing else like this in existence.”

  “A freaking game,” Matias muttered and burst out laughing. “You gotta be kidding me, man.”

  Doctor Calladyce gave him a confused look. “Are you not impressed?”

  “It’s a dumb game loser-geeks play to escape their cruddy little lives. Why the hell should I be impressed?”

  “It is the means of your salvation, Mr. Temno,” Calladyce said. “Your quest through the Alchemy Worlds will transform you into the man you truly are.”

  “I ain’t playing no stupid game, man,” Matias sneered. “This is all freaking bull!”

  “Full compatibility diagnostics on test subject completed, doctor,” a man’s voice said over a Tannoy system. “Neural pathways compatible with interface. Ready to begin immersion.”

  Matias glanced over to the observation window and saw one of the tech guys with a hands-free microphone attached to his ear, studying a view screen.

  Doctor Calladyce smiled. “Thank you, Jeff.” The old man looked at Matias, and a cruel light slithered into his eyes. “I think the best way for you to comprehend the gift we are offering you is to send you straight in, so you can experience the wonder of our creation firsthand.”

  “Oh no, you’re not getting me anywhere near that thing!” snapped Matias, shooting a black glare at BeyondMind. Though he would never admit it, the strange machine frightened him. The pyramid seemed to sense his fear, and Matias thought he could hear snatches of cold, mocking laughter at the edges of his mind.

  “There is no need to be alarmed, my dear boy. You are on the threshold of a glorious new beginning. You will be remade, whole and pure,” Calladyce gabbled, his eyes glazing over. He nodded to Amy. “Lower the energy barrier.”

  This was his chance.

  The guards had begun to move forward to surround him, shock batons at the ready, but if he struck quick enough he’d be able to make a grab for the girl. Harming women went completely against his moral code, but the crazy old man was standing too far away. There was no way in hell he was going to let this freak mess with his brain, and she was his only bargaining chip.

  He watched her press her screen and figured the barrier was down.

  Before he could make a move though, BeyondMind began to glow and an invisible force rolled out of it, directly hitting him in the chest and freezing every muscle in Matias’ body. His eyes widened in panic and grappling hooks of crackling blue light shot out of BeyondMind’s surface, embedding themselves deep into his body. He jerked as white hot agony shot through him and his stomach lurched as the hooks swept him straight off his feet and yanked him at terrifying speed toward the pyramid.

  “Open your mind!” shrieked Calladyce. “All you have to lose is yourself!”

  Matias caught a glimpse of the shock on Amy’s face and her wide frightened eyes before he collided with BeyondMind.

  A cloying membrane like ooze enveloped him in its warm folds and he heard himself scream out for help before everything went black.

  Chapter III: Learning Curve

  Matias opened his eyes. His heart was pounding hard against the wall of his chest and his legs were trembling. The thick stench of rotting vegetation hit him square in the face and he grimaced.

  As his frazzled mind tried to process what had just happened, he gazed around at his surroundings. He was standing upright in what looked to be the inside of a huge tree hollow, and he could feel soft, mossy earth between his toes. Pallid yellow light washed over him from a source beyond the misshaped hole that gaped in front of him. He could hear something rustling about outside the hollow, followed by a weird grunting.

  For several moments, Matias stayed motionless, thinking that this was all just a weird dream. His mind replayed the strange encounter he’d had with the creepy old doctor and that hot chick Amy, staring at the artificial world they showed him and then being pulled into the malevolent computer they had built. Surely, all of that had been just a fantasy? Or could it have been some kind of hallucination, maybe? He knew some of his buddies had gone on bad trips after dropping acid, but he’d never messed around with any of that crud. He’d seen firsthand the damage it could cause on both his mom and later on his girlfriend, and swore never to lose control like that. That didn’t mean Calladyce hadn’t injected him with something, though. Maybe they were experimenting on him without his consent? It could all be some kind of test carried out by the military. It made a twisted kind of sense, and nobody would care if he didn’t survive their research. Nobody cared about him, period.

  The sound of something shattering on the other side of the opening snapped him out of his broodings and the grunting got louder. Every muscle in his body tensed. Whatever was going on, it all looked and felt very real, and he couldn’t stand inside a tree forever. As quietly as possible, he moved toward the opening and peered outside.

  Another room spread out before him on the other side. Roughly circular, it looked to have been scooped out of the insides of a tree itself, with a branch laced ceiling and walls of untreated wood,
gnarled and irregular. Hanging from the ceiling was a thick clump of grey fungus which glowed with a sickly light, providing the room with its only source of illumination, and haphazard shelves breasted the uneven walls as best they could. Those were filled with various jars and bottles coated with thick layers of dust. The floor was a patch of dry mud interspersed with flagstones of grey slate where free standing shelves, crudely put together, heaved and sagged with dozens of ancient looking books bound in vellum. The only other furniture that he could see was a large workbench filled with various equipment and a filthy sleeping mat lain out in the natural crook of one of the walls. Tattered rags clung to the bones of the skeleton sprawled out on the mat and its grinning skull was bent to one side so that it was looking straight at Matias. Its empty eye sockets held him in its sightless gaze.

  All of a sudden, there came a heavy thud from near the workbench. What looked like a primitive microscope made of brass was flung across the floor to join the collection of broken debris already gathered there. In the low light, Matias could make out a squat humanoid shape rooting around amongst the paraphernalia on the shelves.

  His heart pounded in his ears as he stepped out of the alcove and into the room itself. He looked around quickly, trying to find an exit. He hoped that if he was quiet enough, he could sneak past the strange creature. As soon as his feet touched the dank earth though, the creature jerked its head up, sniffing the air. It turned rapidly and glared straight at Matias.

  Matias backed away, staring in revulsion at the misshapen thing in front of him. It had a stumpy, barrel shaped body, covered with dark, bark like skin that was scattered with clumps of dense green moss. The creature’s head was little more than a lump of moss itself, without a neck and containing a vestigial face of bulging frog-like eyes and a slit for a nose. A grotesquely wide mouth of jagged, yellow fangs devoured the lower half of the countenance. The mouth hung open and unleashed a chilling howl when the thing spotted Matias.

  Before he knew what was happening, it loped towards him in a simian type motion and lashed out with its long arms. Pain exploded behind his eyes as it knocked him off his feet. He tumbled to the ground in shock and confusion, and the creature jumped onto his chest, ripping at him with its thick black claws. Desperate, Matias started to fight back, his mind screaming with terror.

  In all the chaos, he was suddenly aware of an image flickering in the corner of his eye. Three horizontal bars hovered there, one on top of the other. They were red, green and blue respectively, encased in an elegant tracery worked in gold. As the creature slashed at him, the red bar began to go down in fits and jumps, like liquid being emptied, literally disappearing as he watched. The green one was going down too, until he stopped struggling and put his arms up in protection over his face. Then, it began to fill up again.

  All the time, the vile monster was screeching at the top of its voice and Matias felt darkness closing in around him. The red bar was becoming dangerously low and survival instinct told him if it went down completely he would die. His heart was screaming in his chest now, and his arms and chest were bleeding from multiple slashes. A deep fury seeped through him, pushing away his fear. Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t going to take him down!

  With a huge effort, Matias pushed back at the creature and bit hard into its forearm. The taste in his mouth was beyond disgusting. He gagged against it but somehow kept on sinking his teeth into the foul bark-like skin. He managed to break the surface and a sticky, repulsive liquid oozed onto his tongue.

  The creature’s howling reached a crescendo, and Matias was sure it was crying out more in pain than rage. A welcoming relief came to his chest as the creature abruptly scrambled off him. Keeping his teeth on its forearm, Matias yanked his head back as hard as possible and took out a chunk of the thing’s arm as it pulled away.

  Seizing the advantage, Matias spat out the rancid lump of bark flesh and regained his feet. The creature was clutching its arm and mewling. A foul smelling yellow sap oozed between its gnarled fingers. Matias fought down the impulse to retch and sought some way to capitalize on this opportunity.

  Recovering from its wound, the creature came on to attack him again. That’s when Matias spotted the brass microscope on the floor. He snatched it up just as his opponent lunged at him again. Matias let out a feral scream and lashed out with it, holding it by its tube and wielding it like a club. The microscope’s heavy base smashed into the side of the creature’s head and Matias heard a sickening crack. The creature staggered to one side as more yellow sap pumped over the mossy expanse of its head.

  Sweat and tears half-blinded Matias as he rushed on and hit the creature again, smashing down again and again with the microscope. The monster went down under the ruthless onslaught, its head and face reduced to a soggy pulp. It let out a moan and crumpled to the floor. It twitched for a few moments and then went deathly still.

  Panting hard, Matias let the microscope slip from his sticky fingers and he sank to his knees. In the corner of his eye, the three coloured bars flickered in and out of existence. He watched numbly as the green one began to climb until it was completely full again. The red bar, though, was a fraction of what it had been and remained stuck in that position. After a while, the bars faded away completely, but a burst of dramatic instrumental music split the stagnant air and a message in gold lettering appeared in front of his face:

  New Ability Learnt: Hand-to-hand combat

  Experience points gained: 10

  Experience points needed for next level: 190

  “Congratulations, Matias,” he heard Amy’s voice behind him. “Welcome to the Alchemy Worlds.”

  Matias heaved himself round and glared at the source of the voice. Amy’s face had appeared in the wall behind him. It was made from bark and seemed to have been carved into the uneven surface. Only her pale blue eyes, saucer wide and gleaming, betrayed that she was a living thing and not a sculpture.

  “What the hell was that?” Matias snarled, getting shakily to his feet. He felt the urge to vomit but suppressed the impulse. He wouldn’t show any weakness in front of her.

  “Your first taste of the game,” the living face said. “Consider this your formal induction to the game.”

  “Consider this my formal resignation from the game,” he snarled, flipping her the bird. “I want out of this scuzz-hole!”

  “That won’t be possible, you are now fully immersed. We are unable to extract you until the BeyondMind computer is satisfied that you have completed your rehabilitation,” Amy replied, ignoring his obscene gesture.

  “BeyondMind,” Matias spat. “That’s no computer! It’s something else, something . . . evil. Yeah, you see it too. By the look on your face, you weren’t expecting it to come alive like that.”

  Alarm crossed the tree face and it abruptly faded away. Matias hit the place where it had been with his fist.

  “Hey! Come back! Get me out of here now!”

  A few moments later, the face returned, calm and composed. “I will talk you through the basic game mechanics and then you can get started,” she said.

  Matias shook his head. “Forget it sister, I ain’t playing.”

  Amy shot him a cold smile. “That’s your prerogative, of course, but you will remain immersed in BeyondMind. You’re being held in suspended animation while your consciousness plays the game.”

  The air next to Amy’s face shimmered and an image began to take shape. Matias found he was looking at himself in the huge white chamber, floating in a transparent membrane bubble connected to BeyondMind’s surface by a sinuous, pulsating tendril. His real self looked small and pathetic next to the huge, glowing computer. His eyes were closed and his body hung limp and boneless within the bubble.

  “Your body is being sustained by nutrients. Whilst it’s within the membrane, you are in a state of total bio-suspension. You will not age or grow sick,” Amy explained. “In theory, you will be preserved forever, and as long as your body lives your mind
will remain in the game world. Personally speaking, I’d be inclined to explore a limitless virtual reality and benefit from an experience few humans can even begin to comprehend. Or, if you prefer, you can always just sit around inside a stinky tree, scratching your nuts for all eternity. It’s completely up to you.”

  Matias ground his teeth together but knew he wasn’t going to get out of this through threats and intimidation. He had to play along. Besides, he couldn’t deny he wasn’t curious at exploring the computer generated world they had thrust him into. “Okay, okay, you got me where you want me. Just get on with it.”

  A satisfied smile spread across the wooden face. “Good boy. First things first, let’s access your stats and HUD screens.”

  “How do I do that? Stick my finger up my butt?”

  “If that’s what floats your boat, go right ahead, but I’d advise you touch the tattoo on your left forearm,” Amy replied.

  Matias looked down where she had indicated, noticing for the first time the green pyramid tattoo now inscribed onto his skin. He stared at the symbol and tentatively touched it with the fingers of his other hand.

  The tattoo flared with a bright green light, and the room around him swirled and blurred transforming into a brightly lit chamber of white marble. Sleek columns decorated with exquisite scrollwork braced the walls and directly in front of him was a heavily ornamented golden picture frame. Inside the frame, a holographic screen glowed. It had a full length image of Matias, standing in his t-shirt and shorts next to a list of stats written in Copperplate Gothic font.

  “Welcome to your Sacred Shrine,” Amy said, as her face emerged from the nearby wall. Instead of bark, it was now made of marble. “From here, you can access your stats, monitor the development of your avatar and distribute points when you level up.”