Three options appeared before him, each one leading to a different tree of abilities. He took his time, clicking between the Bowmaster, Trapper, or Beastmaster to read up on them. He considered Beastmaster because of Willy, but the wolf worked almost better now than the skills he would gain. Plus, Bishop wasn’t sure he was ready to try and train other companions. He liked Willy, so he skipped those two and clicked on Bowmaster. Another prompt popped up, asking if he was sure. He could not change his spec again until level thirty, unless he wanted to pay a hefty amount of gold. He hit yes and his body was surrounded in a blue glow.
“Bowmaster,” the trainer said, “follow me.”
She walked out a side door and they stepped out in a vast open area that possibly couldn’t exist this deep in the city. She stopped near a line in the stones and pointed down the field.
“There is a target at the far end. Hit it successfully and prove to me you are ready for this path.”
Bishop nodded and stepped up to the line.
He waited for new skills to fall into place, but nothing happened. “Um, which shot should I use?’
“Use what comes naturally to you, Bowmaster,” she said, without looking at him.
“What comes naturally, right,” he said, and he drew back the string. Increased Swift Bow, his most powerful shot for the moment and the one he could shoot the farthest, appeared. Three arrows rested against the bow. As he drew his arm back, he focused on the targets far away, breathed out, and released.
All three arrows flew through the air and thudded home in the target at the far end.
The trainer bowed her head. “You have passed the test.”
A prompt appeared before Bishop.
You have earned the title of Bowmaster.
New Skills Gained: First Tier Fiery Arrow. First Tier Stealth Shot. First Tier Assassin’s Tear.
“Neat,” he muttered.
“Return to me whenever you are in need of supplies for your specific class,” the trainer told him. “Until then, happy hunting, Bishop.”
“Thanks.”
She stepped to the side, and he took that as a sign to leave through the door back inside the cathedral. The Trainer followed behind and the door closed as she returned to her place.
Bishop pulled up his skill tree and proceeded to rearrange his new abilities since he was only able to have eight available at any given moment. He kept the Instant Shot as a way for a quick attack. Fiery Arrow did a hefty amount of damage, but it had a long cooldown, so he put that second, followed by Increased Swift Bow. The Stealth Shot was strong, giving him twenty seconds before the target he attacked could come for him. He definitely wanted to use that one. He needed to keep an AOE, so Rain of Poisoned Barbed Arrows stayed, along with Execute so he could also still have a hefty kill shot. Set Trap wasn’t a terrible thing to have on hand either, so he made sure to let that one stay, too. Lastly, he kept the third new ability, Assassin’s Tear. Its cool down was three minutes, and it took a big chunk of mana, but it was a last resort kind of shot. It would deal damage to anything within ten yards of the target, including friendlies.
“Hey,” Maverick said, running over to him. “Can we go hunt stuff now?”
“I think we have some time.”
“There’s some hunting grounds right outside the city. Let’s go!”
Bishop hurried to keep up with her, excited to see these new skills in action.
Chapter 7
A day passed in the game. Bishop focused on gathering funds to purchase a modest home for their guild and going over strategies with the players before logging out for the day.
He and Maverick also spent some more time showing off their specialty skills. They ended the show with Bishop targeting a bear a decent distance away and unleashing Assassin’s Tear. The entire grove went up in blue flames, consuming the bear and several other animals around it.
Jimmy leapt on his back, shaking him as he said they would definitely get through the dungeon now. No one had any idea what they would find once they breached the dungeon door, but Bishop smiled all the same. His group was nearly ideal and, once everyone had their spec chosen, they would be able to make a solid plan. Maverick managed to track down another two players, DPS both of them. Thus, they needed only two more. Another monk who could switch between tank and DPS would be ideal, but that was a worry for tomorrow morning.
Bishop logged out and Harrison Harper opened his eyes in the gaming lab, a wide grin on his face.
“I take it you had a good day. Looked pretty relaxing from my end,” Tyler commented.
“For the most part. Just taking it all in, you know?”
“I do actually. Mr. Crawford had all of us test out the game first before turning it over to beta testers. The details in there are incredible and how real it feels?” Tyler’s eyes fluttered closed and he sighed as Harrison laughed. “Man, if I could marry technology I would.”
“One day, who knows, maybe you will.”
Harrison clapped Tyler on the shoulder and stepped off his platform, waiting for Jimmy and the rest of the group. They sauntered out of the lab together, talking in quiet excited voices about what the next few days would bring. Harrison figured two more days, three tops, would get everyone to double digits. Then there was the gear to consider. All in all, they should be getting into the dungeon at the start of their second week in beta. Sadly, Dennis Crawford did not allow the gamers to be logged in over the weekend; his reasoning was for maintenance on the game and working on bugs pointed out by the players. Yet, Harrison had a feeling it was to make sure all the players stayed grounded in the real world. A stroll outside sounded ideal and, after dinner, Harrison, Alana, and Jimmy sucked in deep mouthfuls of the dry desert air.
“Wonderful night,” Jimmy mocked, stretching his arms over his head. “Why did we come outside again?”
Alana elbowed him and he smirked. Harrison shook his head at the two flirting. “Ah to be young again,” he mused, as he stepped onto the gravel path winding through the cacti gardens. He said it quietly enough the other two didn’t hear him, but he enjoyed listening to their banter in his back. Jimmy was twenty-five; Alana a little younger than that. She hadn’t told Harrison her age, but he knew she wasn’t as old as he was. Most of the players here weren’t.
Alana cackled when Jimmy cursed, and Harrison glanced over his shoulder to see her holding him in a head lock. She glanced up at Harrison with the most innocent face ever.
“What?”
“Just don’t kill him yet. We still need him, remember?” Harrison reminded her with a laugh.
Jimmy reached around. He tickled her sides and she let him go with a playful smack to his arm. “Yeah, don’t rough up the healer. I’m in charge of keeping you alive.”
Alana’s face went blank. “Shit, you are, aren’t you? We’re dead, calling it now.”
The gravel crunched underfoot as they caught up to walk beside Harrison, putting him in the middle. He shot both of them a sideways glance, catching the faces they made at each other in front of him.
“Would you two like to walk together?”
“No, she’ll put me in another headlock,” Jimmy groused as Alana snickered.
“Meant to ask you, Alana,” Harrison said as they walked further, “how did you get your letter for the beta testing?”
She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, kicking a rock along with them. “Just showed up in the mail. Weird though that it wasn’t an e-invite, but got the letter and saw a chance to get away for a month. Had the money for it. Didn’t ask too many questions. Heard about this company a few times.”
“So no one really knows how they chose people?” Harrison asked, more to himself than them.
Majority of the players were Jimmy’s age and younger. Even Rodney, who Harrison saw yet again that afternoon, was in that age range. So why was Harrison the only odd man out?
“Man, what’s with the pinched face?” Jimmy asked elbowing him. “Look like you swallowed a lem
on.”
“Nothing, just curious is all.”
“About?” Alana asked.
“Who picked the players to be in the game? Not that it’s a big deal, but I’m the oldest out of the bunch, at least that I’ve seen,” he pointed out. “Running around with all you youngins.”
“Maybe Dennis wanted someone of experience to help promote the game when it’s finished,” Alana suggested. “Your name’s still really well known, even though you disappeared for a while.”
Jimmy nodded in agreement. “Sure that’s all it is. I mean look at what you’re doing with our group. We’re the first guild to be created. Bet you didn’t know that.”
Harrison’s brows shot up to his hairline. “Really?”
“Yeah, everyone else is still working on leveling themselves and getting loot. No one’s really focused on the dungeons, but here you are ready to take a bunch of us through it like a pro.” Jimmy shrugged as he poked at a nearby cactus, wincing when it stuck him. Alana rolled her eyes at him and his cheeks flushed. “Just saying.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Guess I’ll stop worrying about it.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. Man,” Jimmy said through a yawn. “That game might be virtual, but I’m beat. Think I’m going to bed. We have one more day and then the weekend.”
Harrison stopped to study a pink bloom on another cactus. “Yeah, time to relax and get ready for the dungeon. Thinking Monday or Tuesday we’ll be ready.”
“You and your high hopes.” Jimmy waved and walked back the way they came. Alana followed after him, catching up quickly. Harrison’s chest ached when she saw her lean into Jimmy’s arm and plant a quick peck on his cheek before rushing off ahead of him.
Harrison missed his wife Juliet every day, but the pangs grew worse now that he was sobering and watching love bud around him. Once all this was over, the first thing he was going to do was call her and see how she was, tell her how he changed, how he wanted to be better. If nothing else, he wanted a second chance with his son, but a second chance with the woman he loved hung before him like a damn carrot on a stick. In her rage, she had told him she was going to move on and find someone else but, as far as he knew, she was still single. A few of their mutual friends kept him up to date whenever he bothered to check in with them, and they all said the same thing: Juliet missed him as much as he missed her.
He wandered down the path a ways further before walking in a side door and heading towards his room. He sank onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, ready to enjoy another restless night of sleep, when something vibrated in his room. Bolting upright, he glanced frantically around his room until he remembered the small device planted in his duffel bag.
Scurrying to grab it, fearing any second Dennis or Felicity would suddenly appear in his room and kick him out, he fell to the floor and dragged the duffel out from under his bed.
A message ran across the small screen: Where is my information, Harper?
Harrison glanced at the square device and noticed a button on the back. He pressed it and a green light appeared. “What?”
The word appeared on the screen.
“Shit, delete?”
Those words appeared to. He took his finger off the button debating what to say.
“Haven’t found safe time to get data yet,” he said, holding the button down. A second button was next to the first and he pressed it. His words disappeared and new ones appeared: Message Sent.
He carried the device with him back to his bed and tried to lie down again, but it vibrated almost immediately in his hand and he raised it to his eyes to see what Paris sent back: Growing impatient. Send something soon or I’ll think you’ve changed your mind.
Harrison glared at the device and, gripping it tight in his fist, considered chucking it across the room. Once again, the two voices in his head were vying for his attention.
Finally, Harrison set the device down and he started looking around for the drive he was given. If he waited a few more hours, the players would all be in bed and the lab would be empty. His best chance might be at night, although there could be guards roaming the halls, and he was sure Dennis Crawford would not leave the lab unguarded. There had to at least be cameras and maybe even a security system with an alarm hooked up to the lab doors. Harrison was no thief, and he considered telling Paris he knew there were players in the game gunning for him and that Rodney was here. Why work for someone who was clearly not going to hold up his end of the deal?
Because maybe you can use this to your advantage instead, he thought as he paced around his room. Use it to black mail him or, hell, turn him over to the cops.
If Harrison could get out from under Paris’ thumb, he could have his life back, or at least pieces of it. No more debts, no more looking over his shoulder. No more being trapped in a life he never thought he would fall into.
Now needing the data for an entirely different purpose, Harrison glanced at the clock every few minutes until it was nearly one in the morning.
With the drive in hand, he stepped out of his room and walked towards the lab. He spotted only one other person sitting at the main desk. Thankfully, the guy was busy watching a small flat screen TV; he didn’t see Harrison sneak on by and disappear down the hallway towards the lab.
Harrison expected there to be a guard on this door at least but, when he stepped up, the doors slid open with a hushed whooshing sound. A few lights were already on. He hated being out in the open like that but what choice did he have? He hurried forward towards his station. This was far too easy. If this was a game, he would be walking into a trap right about now. Still, nothing happened. No alarm went off, guards didn’t come running towards him, and a boss didn’t suddenly fall out of the ceiling for him to fight.
He reached his station and glanced around once again. The drive would stay tucked out of sight in his pocket until he found the right place to stick it. Clicking the mouse at the computer Tyler used to monitor his progress, Harrison watched the screen come to life. Displayed were his stats for game play today, or rather from yesterday. His heart rate spikes, blood pressure, things Harrison cared nothing about. He scrolled down lower and saw his character stats for the game. His number of PVP kills, regular kills, all his accomplishments. The farther down he scrolled, the wider his eyes grew. He knew he did a bit more than several other players in the game, but he didn’t realize how much more he managed to achieve.
There was a rankings list farther down and he was at the very top. Alana and a few others were all level ten, but less players than he thought. He wondered now how many of the quests he found were tailored more for his player than for the others. Part of him feared eventually they all might figure out he was able to do more quests which was why he leveled so fast, but surely Dennis wouldn’t make the playing field that uneven, would he?
He was so caught up in reading about Bishop the half-breed’s accomplishments, he didn’t hear the footsteps behind him until several overhead lights popped on. With a startled yelp, he whipped around, pressing his back to the counter.
“Evening, Harrison,” Dennis Crawford said, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile. “Or should I say morning? I never know what to tell people at this time of day.”
Harrison’s heart hammered in his chest. Dennis didn’t seem upset to find him in here snooping around. “Do you normally talk to many people around this time of day?” he asked, trying to keep it light.
“When you’re designing the newest VR game to hit the market, you tend to keep odd hours.” Dennis’ hands clasped behind his back as he walked around Harrison’s station. “This lab is one of my greatest accomplishments. Not another one like it in the world. Quite the intriguing concept for a man with a mind like yours. Needing to know how it works and where he stands amongst it all.”
Thankfully, Harrison still had the drive tucked in his pocket. He forced his body to relax. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, but I was just curious to see what Tyler sees when I’m in game play.”
/> “Understandable, of course. You are the highest ranked player in the game for the moment.”
“I saw that, and I had a few questions about that actually,” he said, his curiosity overriding any worry about getting hold of the game data for Paris.
“Why don’t we take a walk towards my office? Maybe a nice cup of tea will ease both of us and, after our conversation, you’ll be able to sleep soundly without your mind racing from a thousand questions.” Dennis nodded his head towards the door to the lab and, without waiting to see if Harrison followed, walked out.
Harrison glanced once more at the stats on the screen before following Dennis. They walked out into the hall and he spotted two men at the end of the corridor, radios in hand. As they neared, one asked Dennis if everything was under control.
“Yes of course. Mr. Harper here was just sating his curiosity. Nothing to worry about.”
The two men frowned, but stepped aside. Dennis directed Harrison towards a set of stairs he never noticed before and their steps clanked up the metal stairs until they reached the second floor. “Didn’t even think to ask what was up here.”
Dennis’ face crinkled with his smile. “Nothing exciting I’m afraid. My living quarters and that of the rest of the staff.” He stopped outside a set of plain, double doors and pressed his palm to the reader beside them. The doors slid open and Dennis waved Harrison inside. “Welcome to my home.”
Harrison’s eyes wandered around the airy space. “I like your choice of art,” he mused with a smirk, pointing at sketches of places he recognized from the game. “Did you do all of those?”
“Majority of them yes,” he answered standing beside Harrison. “I’ve had a vision in my head for so long about this world, one day I sat down and started to draw it out. Piece by piece, the land of Samar came together.”
“And then all you had to do was create the races, add a story, and a game was born.” Harrison stared at each image in turn before he reached stills from the game itself. “If I ever had a lick of creative talent, this is what I would’ve done, but all I was ever good was playing the damn games, not creating them.”
The Wraith of Valenastrious: A LitRPG Epic (World of Samar Book 1) Page 10
