Soulstone: Awakening (World of Ruul Book 1)

by J. A. Cipriano

  “Word,” Two’ Manchu said as we ventured into the oppressive green stone room. As we stepped inside, the sound of dripping water filled my ears, and the cold, moist air ran along my flesh in a way that made me shiver.

  Thankfully though, since we could see all the traps, we reached the other side without incident and found ourselves staring at the rusted iron bars blocking our way.

  “What do you think?” I asked, glancing at the door. It wasn’t lit up like it was trapped, but it was clearly locked on the other side with a massive padlock. “Maybe we could break it?”

  “I think we definitely try. Here, hold my beer,” he said, offering me a non-existent brewski before reaching past me and pushing hard on the door with both hands.

  The barbarian’s massive, oversized muscles bulged, straining with effort, and as he pushed with all his might, the door started to give. Not at the lock because that was sturdy as hell, but at the hinges screwed into the stone. Small fissures appeared in the stone around the dark metal, and as I saw them, I immediately moved forward to help.

  Putting my shoulder against the bars closest to the hinges, I pushed with all my strength. My legs burned with effort and my heart pounded in my chest as a loud shriek of tortured steel filled my ears.

  The door tore off its hinges and swung inward using the lock as a fulcrum and scraped against the stone like nails on a chalkboard. The sound wrenched my insides as the barbarian and I tumbled through the opening and hit the stone beyond in a heap.

  “Hey, who’s there?” called a strangely familiar male voice from the other end of the room as I scrambled to my feet and braced myself for attack. We were in a corridor about ten feet wide and a hundred and fifty feet long. A door similar to the one we’d come through was spaced evenly along the walls on either side of us, which made me think we’d somehow come into a dungeon through the back of a cell. Interesting, but not terribly helpful.

  “Crash? How the hell did you get here?” Two’ Manchu called, both worry and relief simultaneously filling his voice as the barbarian scrambled to his feet and looked around for his buddy.

  I was also a bit relieved. Crash was a great player, and while I’d been a bit worried about facing him in the tournament before, he’d developed Titan Gate. If this world was as similar as it seemed to be, he’d likely know tons of secrets that could help us. Having him here would be like having Harry Dresden’s talking skull!

  “Two’ Manchu, is that you?” Crash called back, and this time I realized I could see a figure at the far end of the chamber with one arm extended through the bars. He waved at us. “Thank God you found us. Did Ivan send you?”

  “Found you?” I asked, and my voice seemed to echo in the tiny room. “We’re here by total accident.”

  “Oh… Ivan said he was going to send you over a day ago. We were going in day one and you guys were going in day two. I just assumed he told you to come help us…” Crash shook his head.

  “Shouldn’t you know how to get out? You helped with Titan Gate. You’re supposed to be like a walking encyclopedia,” I said, my elation at having found him disappearing in an instant. He should have found a way out after so long. He was Crash fucking Overdrive, after all.

  “Unfortunately, while I worked on the game extensively, there are so many differences between Titan Gate and Ruul that I haven’t managed to figure out a way out of here. A lot of stuff is like that unfortunately. I’d hoped Ivan would help because Dark Heart and I have been trapped in here for almost twelve hours. We were on a quest for Gereng and fell in this sinkhole. We managed to make our way down the bouncy stairs, but as soon as we opened the door at the bottom, we were transported into the cell and haven’t been able to get out.” He gestured at the blackened stone around the cell door. “We’ve literally tried everything. I’ve dumped over a thousand mana’s worth of fire bolts into the doors and got nowhere.”

  Understanding and thanks to George filled me. If he hadn’t frozen that door, we might be trapped in the dungeon too. Thankfully, we were on the outside, and because of that, maybe we could save Crash and Dark Heart, whoever that was. The name sounded familiar but I couldn’t quite place it.

  “Wait, when you say Dark Heart, you don’t mean the Dark Heart, do you? She’s one of the best players in the world. Her Twitch feed has like a million followers,” Two’ Manchu asked, starting toward the cell containing Crash Overdrive.

  Before he made it more than a couple steps, I shoved down my surprise at yet another person being here and grabbed his shoulder to stop him. I wasn’t sure who Dark Heart was, but since she was here, I was willing to bet she, like Crash, was a great player. Still, something about this setup smelled like a trap, and after what had happened a few minutes ago, I wasn’t taking any chances.

  Two’ Manchu looked at me quizzically. “What?”

  “Let me look for traps first,” I whispered as Crash nodded his agreement to my plan.

  “That’s a good idea, Kahn. The last thing we want is to get incinerated now. If we did, Dark Heart would be pissed, and let me just say, she’s not very fun to be around when she’s pissed off.” As Crash spoke, I sighed. I wasn’t sure if he was right about Dark Heart being awesome or bitchy, or whatever, and while I trusted him because he was the world PVP champion, I just wasn’t sure. If she was that popular, I’d like to think I’d have heard of her. Still, I hadn’t heard of everyone, and I didn’t normally watch feeds with girl players.

  “I still cannot believe the Dark Heart is here,” Two’ Manchu practically squealed as he tried to look past Crash into the cell. “I mean, since she’s here, she’ll have to talk to me…”

  “Yeah. She went in first. I actually got here after her. Evidently, she’s known about Ruul for a while and they’ve been trying to get her to go inside for almost a year. The tournament was her idea to recruit people for her party.” Embarrassment filled his voice as he continued. “I just wish they were nicer about their whole recruitment process. After I met with Kahn on stage after your defeat, I went backstage. As I got to the green room, someone grabbed me from behind with one of those chloroform rags. Next thing I knew, brain in a fucking box.”

  While he spoke, I used my Detect Lesser Traps skill, but it didn’t turn up anything. I wasn’t sure if that was because it hadn’t found any traps or if there were really no traps, but only one of those was helpful so I decided to just go with it. If I got hit with a trap though, banned or not, I was going to exploit the fuck out of this game to not die.

  “Yeah, similar thing happened to me.” Two’ Manchu called back, looking at me for the okay before proceeding. When I nodded to indicate the coast was clear, he moved forward. I was still a bit worried I might have missed something, but I let him proceed because hey, if one of us was going to step on a trap, it might as well be him, right? “And Kahn actually. He’s with me. Say, why isn’t Dark Heart talking too?”

  “She’s asleep, well, meditating. Actually, I’m not sure. After we got caught in here, she said she was going to find a way out and went into a weird trance. She hasn’t said a word in almost twelve hours.” Crash shrugged. “She’s not given to explaining herself, which let me tell you, has been pretty annoying.”

  “Well, wake her up because this is a jail break,” Two’ Manchu exclaimed as he stepped up to Crash’s cell and put his torch close to the lock so he could examine it.

  In the torchlight, I finally got a good look at Crash. He looked almost exactly like he did in real life with spikey blond hair, brown eyes, and more muscles than any gamer of his level should have had, and even though this was virtual reality, I instantly found myself jealous and wanting to punch him.

  Unlike his avatar, his gear didn’t seem that great since he was dressed in a robe that reminded me of what I’d gotten as a drop from the kobolds.

  Behind him, a girl who looked almost exactly like the chick who had stabbed me in the fucking neck with a hypodermic needle and gotten me into this situation was sitting on the floor with her back agai
nst the wall. I mean, it didn’t look exactly like the girl who had stabbed me, but it was close. Too close for it to be a coincidence. Had I been recruited by Dark Heart directly? It seemed crazy, but maybe had.

  For all her supposed prowess as an uber gamer chick, her gear didn’t seem much better than Two’ Manchu’s because she was decked out in gnollish chainmail. Then again, she did have chain pants and had a huge tower shield slung across her back. Where had she gotten them? I’d have to ask because I hadn’t seen anything like that. The shield especially seemed a lot better than something that should have been down here.

  “Her!” I cried, and before I’d stopped myself, I’d tried to lunge at her through the bars. “She’s the one who put me in here!”

  “What do you mean?” Crash said, glancing at Dark Heart. “Are you sure? I mean, I saw you two talking after your match with Two’ Manchu, but I never thought…” He shook his head. “Guess the girl likes to get her hands dirty.”

  “Whatever,” I said, glaring at him. I wasn’t actually mad at him though. I was mad at her.

  Actually, mad didn’t quite cut it. I was positively livid. Yeah, I was going to get her out, and when I did, I was going to fucking murder her kidnapping ass with extreme prejudice.

  My eyes snapped from her to the lock Two’ Manchu was still analyzing. Kneeling down next to the lock, I gave it my own inspection. Unlike the jail cell we’d broken through earlier, this lock, along with the bars, seemed brand spanking new.

  It was obvious there was no way we’d be able to break it down. While I had half a mind to try to pick the lock since all rogues in Titan Gate started with that skill, I hadn’t bothered to buy a lock pick. Man, when this was over, I was going to buy a bunch of stuff and just keep it in my inventory just in case.

  “So, can you pick it? You’re a rogue right?” Crash asked, watching me carefully. “I mean, I know there doesn’t seem to be classes like in TG, but I’ve been using priest skills and Dark Heart has been using her Paladin ones…”

  “I probably could pick the lock if I had a fucking lock pick,” I snapped, standing up and glaring at him. “I don’t know why I didn’t think to buy basic adventuring gear.”

  “Or we could just use the keys,” Two’ Manchu said, ignoring my diatribe before I could get going. As I turned to look at him, he walked past me toward a key ring that hung on the far wall. “I’m sure one of these will work.” He pointed to the keys on the ring.

  “What if it has a trap?” Crash asked, but Two’ Manchu waved him off.

  “Relax, Kahn already checked for traps. It’s clear.” Two’ Manchu grabbed the keys off the wall as Crash peered closely at me. While I liked that he had faith in my abilities, it concerned me a bit. What if I was wrong?

  “There’s no way you could check for traps unless you’re level ten, and I seriously doubt it because I’m only level ten, and I hunted for a full day.” He thumbed at Dark Heart. “She’s only twelve, and let me just say, monsters fall before her like wheat to a scythe. You’ve been here, what, six, seven hours tops? You couldn’t be more than level eight and that’s if you’re super-fast.”

  “Level seven,” I said, sighing. Of course the great Crash Overdrive would know all the skills. People said he had one of those crazy memories and that he won not because he had uber micro, but because he knew exactly what move to counter any move ever. “And it’s Detect Lesser Traps.”

  “That’s not a skill,” he said, shaking his head.

  “It’s not in Titan Gate, but it is here.” I tried to smile at him, and it must have worked because he sighed and pressed his forehead against the bars.

  “Yeah, I know a lot about TG, and it’s been messing with me because this game is so similar seeming, but I guess it’s not really the same game at all.” He gestured at Dark Heart. “I mean we both know level two magic, but I’ve been seeing her use warrior and paladin skills side by side. Every time I bring it up, she just makes an excuse like you’re doing right now. I wish you guys would tell me why you can do things I can’t.”

  “Didn’t Ivan tell you your mind makes it real?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him as Two’ Manchu came over.

  “Yeah, that’s the problem, I guess. Since I fancy myself a priest like in TG, I can’t seem to see myself doing anything else.” He sighed loudly as the barbarian unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Who would have thought knowing so much about TG would be such a huge hindrance.”

  “Who indeed,” I said as Two’ Manchu pulled the smaller man into a hug. “I’m glad you’re here though, if you weren’t, I’d be stuck with this guy and his bunny.”

  “Fuck you, Tubs of Fun!” George said enthusiastically while scratching himself.

  “You have a talking bunny?” Crash asked, staring wide-eyed at George. “Cool.”

  “It’s to be expected,” Dark Heart said, her eyes snapping open to meet mine as Crash exited the jail cell. “Aaron has a high enough connectivity pattern to be able to tame a pet. I’m surprised he picked a bunny though. Tigers are the most optimal pet because they have the highest health.”

  “Is there something wrong with being a bunny, Sugar Tits?” George asked as Dark Heart got to her feet and came forward, completely unbothered by George’s comment. I’m not sure, but that bugged me a little because just hearing her talk gave me a bad feeling. She had that total Ice Queen vibe. It reminded me of all those stuck up female professors who were needlessly difficult graders in class because they were trying to prove they were better than all the men. Now, I’m not saying that’s true, but that’s how she made me feel.

  As Dark Heart moved toward us, the light seemed to play off her in such a way as to exemplify exactly how nice her virtual body was. I mean, she’d been hot when cosplaying as Tifa, but this was a whole other level of hotness. Ice Queen or not, given the chance, I might not care if Ivan watched me.

  “Why are you talking about me like I’m not right here?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her as she approached and looked me up and down. “And how do you know that stuff about connectivity?”

  “I have a direct feed to all your data from the lab.” She tapped her forehead. “You do too actually. If you pull up the vitals window, you should be able to see us three since we’re all connected to Ruul by the Brain Scan system. You may have noticed you didn’t have to party with Two’ Manchu in order for your drops and experience to be shared. That’s why. Because of the way we’re integrated, we’ll always be considered a party if we’re at all close together.”

  “Elizabeth, pull up the vitals,” I whispered while turning away from them so they wouldn’t see me talking to myself.

  A menu appeared in front of me displaying my name as well as the names Two’ Manchu, Dark Heart, and Crash Overdrive. As I stared at them, I opened Dark Heart’s men causing a whole bunch of vital statistics to appear. The only problem was I had no idea what they meant.

  “What’s a brain wave mesh of sixty seven percent mean?” I asked, looking from the menu to Dark Heart as she studied me like a science project.

  “It means my mind has synchronized sixty-seven percent with the game’s neural network. It’s a touch complicated, but you want as high a synchronization as possible.” I waited for her to say more, but she didn’t. “The higher your sync is, the more powerful you are, basically.”

  What she said made me wonder if that’s why I’d been able to roll all twenties, or use a skill that didn’t technically exist. Was it because my sync was really high? It was definitely reasonable, and as I opened my own menu to check, Crash shattered my thoughts with a shout of surprise.

  “How the fuck do you have an eighty-six percent, Kahn?” Crash cried, looking at me with his mouth open. “I’ve got twenty four!” He shook his head.

  “You have all twenties for your stats?” Two’ Manchu said, glaring at me so hard, I nearly flinched. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t want you to feel bad?” I offered as I realized I could see Dark Heart’s stats
displayed under her name. She had some twenties as well, but the rest were less spectacular.

  “Well, fine, I mean, I guess it’s private, and you didn’t have to tell me, but still. I thought we were friends.” He looked at me for a minute before turning his gaze to Crash and sticking his tongue out. “I’ve got a fifty-four percent sync by the way. Guess I finally beat you at something.”

  “Even a stopped clock is right twice a day,” Crash said, ignoring the barbarian as he turned to Dark Heart. “I’m not sure what you did to get them here, but I appreciate it. Sitting around in there till I died, wouldn’t have been a terribly fun way to go.”

  “I did nothing. I tried to reach out to Ivan through the neural network, but I haven’t been able to get in touch with him.” She sighed and twirled her hand dismissively. “It’s not as odd as you might think. He is in the real world and people do sleep there. If he jacked the two of these guys in after he did us, then he’s likely passed out. I’m sure he’ll check in once he wakes up.”

  “Whatever,” I said, ignoring them and this sync stuff. I shut the menu. None of it mattered. What mattered was getting the fuck out of here and finishing the quest. If Ivan was asleep, fine. If he was ignoring us, that was fine too. None of that mattered. Being here, now mattered. We had to finish this dungeon so we could get on with finding the soul stones, stopping the maelstrom, and getting our bodies back. “Let’s just finish this dungeon.”

  “Good idea,” Dark Heart said, moving close to me so she could whisper into my ear. “Sorry about the whole stabbing you in the neck thing.” Only the way she said it made me think she wasn’t sorry at all. Still, I decided to let it go… for now.

  “Not a problem,” I said, stepping away from the Ice Queen. “So, do you know where the boss room is?”

  “I’m guessing through that door.” She pointed at the huge door next to where Two’ Manchu had grabbed the keys off the hook. It hadn’t been there before, but it was now. It looked like it was made from solid iron. A giant skeleton skull protruded from the center, and from the way it sat there, I got the distinct impression the jaw also doubled as a knocker.