“She doesn’t do herself justice,” Ordin intervenes. “The princess was accurate beyond compare. The undead never stood a chance.” He bangs his fist on the table and the ale he is drinking sloshes over the side of the mug.
“And what about you?”
Ordin sits up straight and puffs out his chest.
“I brought them dwarven hell!” He laughs and raises his warhammer in the air. “It was a glorious fight. I found myself surrounded on all sides. Outnumbered. But we dwarves are a tough bunch.”
“Only two of you made it through?” I counter.
“Some are tougher than others.” He smirks.
Tinker takes offense to Ordin’s comments.
“If I’d had a powerful warhammer, I’m sure I could have smashed the buggers around too. But I became a battle-mage so you lot would have at least one to watch your back.” Tinker’s gray hair falls in a mess around his shoulders. He wears large, round glasses that make his eyes seem ten sizes too large. The staff he carries is made of a vibrant silver metal and holds a blue stone at the top. “I almost made it out of there, too. If I hadn’t run out of mana, I would have blasted them all to smithereens.”
The others just sit back and laugh. Tinker lifts his beer mug, which is the size of my head, and drains it in one swallow.
“At least two of us are around to compete with the princess in the next round.”
“Aye,” the other three say in unison.
“What are your plans while we wait for the next clue?”
“Same as you, I suppose,” says Aleesia. “We’ll keep leveling and searching for better items. You never know what could come in handy. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.” She smiles at me and I have a hard time saying no.
“We’ll see. I still have to work. I was meaning to ask you, though, are any of you sponsored? I have a few offers and I’ve been thinking about accepting.”
“It’s a good way to make a little extra cash, if you like what they are offering. Nothing worse than getting stuck with a product that sucks and a contract that forces you to keep using it,” says Aleesia.
Extra cash? How much money does she have if the money from sponsors is just icing on the cake? Well, her dad is a developer, so I’m sure they wipe their butts with gold coins.
“Who offered to sponsor you?” she asks.
“A lot of companies, actually, but the one I was excited about was VR HaptiX. I’ve heard they are the best suits around.”
“That’s great. I think they are the same company that sponsors Ryken. My dad uses a HaptiX suit. I’d take the money. Then you’ll have more time to quest with us.” The others nod in agreement.
We spend the next few hours talking about what quests could be next and all the ways the other dwarves failed the first one. It feels good to just sit, hang out, and relax, even if it is only for a few hours.
When I receive a notification saying I need to power up my box soon, I say my good-byes and head home.
In my home portal, I remember the spellbook I looted from the yeti and pull it up in my inventory.
Item: Spellbook. Requirements: Level 15. Activate Y/N?
I accept and the same sensation as before runs through my body. I feel tiny vibrations throughout my being before my vision goes white.
Congratulations! You have learned the ability Haunted Earth. Cost: 100 mana. Roots spring forth from the earth, rooting your opponent in place for two seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Haunted Earth will really help me out when I’m facing monsters stronger than me. My biggest problem so far has been the hits I’ve taken. Now, I can root them in place and get in a few good hits before backing off. Still, I hope I get some more damage spells in the future.
The next morning, when I walk into the mines, Grayson does something he never does. He stops working. He grips my shoulder hard and looks intently in my eyes.
“You did it, kid.”
I feel like he wants to say more, like there is something he’s not telling me. His eyes dart away when Buzz comes clamoring down the tunnel.
“I finished watching all the highlights. You’ve got a lot of competition, no doubt about it, but I think you’ve got a real chance. A lot of them had just as much luck as you did, trying things that worked in other worlds. Some were just plain outright strong as hell and beat the zombies to a pulp. And Ryken had the unfair advantage of being the perfect role for that world.”
When the bell rings for us to work, Buzz runs through details that might be of use going forward. He knows my opponents’ strengths and weaknesses, what abilities they used, probably what they ate for breakfast. He will likely be my greatest asset going forward aside from my own skill. His desire for me to win is just as strong as my own.
I tell him about Merlin, my new spell, and the fight with the yeti.
“Oh, man, I’ve always wanted a pet. Can you imagine me riding a fire-breathing dragon? I would look so badass.” He mimics riding a dragon through the tunnel.
When we break for lunch, I ask Grayson and Buzz for their advice about sponsors. Grayson is the first to answer.
“I’d think long and hard about it. Once you leave the mines, everything is on you. Food, water, electricity, a place to live. If your sponsorships fall through, if you don’t make it to the next round and they drop you, what would you do then? Working here isn’t the best thing, but at least you know you’re taken care of as long as you go to work.”
“Like they took care of my mom?” Buzz’s voice shakes as he says it. Grayson and I sit in silence waiting for Buzz’s next words. “You’ve got a real shot here, Esil. I know you’re doing it for my mom and I love you for it, but this is bigger than her, you’ve got to see that. You’re in a position to change your life forever. To never have to come back into this dirty mineshaft ever again.
“You don’t owe anything to the mines. Or to me or Grayson. Hell, you don’t owe anything to my mom if you don’t want to. You owe it to yourself to get out of here. This is not something miners ever get a shot at. How many miners do you know who have ever made a name for themselves in the world?”
After Buzz speaks, the silence is so deafening that I hear a ringing in my ears. I know deep down that Buzz is right. If I don’t take this chance now, I might not get another. I might end up like Grayson, swinging the pick every day and wondering what might have been.
“Goddammit,” says Grayson, rubbing his eyes. “The boy’s right.”
“You should leave right now and get your sponsorship set up. Maybe you can get moved out by the end of the day if you’re lucky. I’ll keep researching and let you know if I find anything useful.”
I’m almost out of the tunnel when I hear the shuffle of feet running to catch up. I expect to see Buzz, but it’s Grayson.
“When you get settled into your new place, send me a message. There is something I want to show you.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next few days pass in a blur. I sign a contract with VR HaptiX for twenty thousand gold annually. It’s enough money to buy me a small apartment in Civic City. The apartment has heat and air and hot running water. And the food, what a treat to not eat the processed mush I’ve been used to. Meals get delivered to me by drone and all I have to do is put them in a microwave. A few minutes later, they come out hot and delicious.
I never really knew how bad we had it in The Boxes until I got out here.
VR HaptiX sends me clothes with their logo. Living in Civic City, it’s the first time in my life I’ve been able to freely leave and go outside. As long as I put on my mask, I can go anywhere I want. It scares me at first, the thought of just opening the door, but my apartment has a small sanitation room that fills with steam each time I enter and exit.
Part of me wonders what I’ll do once this tournament is over and I have more free time. I’ve never had a life before. How do I even go about being social?
Little by little, I explore the city. I don’t have much time since I spend most of my d
ays training, but for an hour a day, I walk my neighborhood. No one really speaks to me as I walk past, probably because of the masks we wear. What was the world like before all of this?
My new haptic suit is far nicer than the one I’ve been using. The control and immersion are so good that I notice almost no difference between my body movement in the game and in real life. The sensitivity of the feedback feels realistic when I rub my fingers together.
I log into my home portal, where Merlin stays when I’m not there. I bought him a perch and several dangly toys to keep himself occupied while I am away. As soon as I appear, he flies to my shoulder and nibbles at my ear.
Over the past few days, I have gained three more levels. I spread my new stat points into Agility, Vitality, and Intellect. My current stats are beginning to round out a little.
Level 18:
Strength -14
Agility -2
Vitality -3
Intellect -6
Dexterity -3
Stamina -0
With all of my sponsorship’s details finalized and my apartment set up, today is the first day I have with no constraints. I told the princess I might meet up with her later, but first, I promised Grayson I would message him when I was ready to see what he had to show me. I send him a message and a few minutes later, he responds.
Esil,
Glad to hear from you. Meet me at Pirate Bay this evening after I get off work.
-Grayson
The day passes by quickly as I explore a world inspired by old cartoons. Everything is flat and two-dimensional. Even my body is flat and when I turn my hands sideways, it looks like a piece of paper. The colors are bright, but with no shading or definition. Monsters crumble into balls of paper when defeated. I’m having such a fun time that I almost miss the alarm I set telling me Grayson is off work.
The portal to Pirate Bay lets me out onto a crowded pier. Merchants line the pier selling oysters, pearls, chests found on the bottom of the ocean, and much more. Dozens of ships float nearby at sea and others are tethered along one of the many docks. Each ship has a detailed flag hanging from the mast. Skulls, krakens, wolves, and a myriad of other colorful symbols blow in the wind. People carry boxes onto the ships, either preparing for a long voyage or quest.
Many of the people around me look weathered and dirty. Some are covered in tattoos. There are more dreadlocks than I have seen in my entire life. Large billowy shirts hang loose next to cutlasses, scimitars, and sabers.
A man with dark black hair waddles down the dock, a gun tucked into one side of his belt and a cutlass in the other. A large red parrot sits on his shoulder. The parrot squawks at me as he passes.
“Hello.” The parrot’s head bobs up and down.
“Hello,” I reply.
“Hello,” the parrot echoes again.
“Dumb bird,” says the pirate. “Only knows one word.” He moves in close, his golden eyes fixed on Merlin. “That’s a nice owl you have there. I bet he knows when to shut up.” With that, the pirate walks past me and disappears into the crowd.
I walk the pier, taking in its eclectic population. Merlin flies off my shoulder and perches upon the mast of a nearby ship. The pirates are a rowdy bunch; many of them drink rum and roll dice.
“Hey, you!” yells a man with a purple mohawk. He has a sparrow tattooed on one side of his head and an anchor on the other. “Fancy a game of dice?” Two men sit huddled next to him, a few gold coins on the worn pier.
It looks like a fun way to pass the time until Grayson arrives. “Sure, how do you play?” A wicked grin runs across the man’s face and his two friends chuckle.
He picks up the gold off the dock. “It’s one gold to play.”
One gold is a lot for a single game. He must anticipate taking my money. I place a gold coin on the dock and he and his two friends do the same.
“First person to roll a seven is the shooter.” He hands me the dice and I toss it to the ground. I roll a six, and mohawk rolls an eight. The man next to him with dirty blond hair and gold teeth rolls snake eyes. The last man, who wears a green bandanna over his black hair, blows on the dice and rolls a seven.
“Now what?” I ask.
“Leo here is the shooter. It means he rolls the dice this round. He’s going to make a bet and then we have to match it. How much are you betting, Leo?”
Leo rattles the dice in his palm. “I’m feeling lucky. Three gold.”
“Now either we match it, or we lose the initial bet. So, you in for another gold?”
It doesn’t really look like I have much choice. Either I pay another gold to play or I lose the gold I started with. I place another gold on the table. Mohawk and Blondie both put down a gold. Together, we have matched Leo’s bet.
“If Leo rolls a seven or eleven, he wins the pot. If he rolls a two, three or twelve, the money is split up amongst us. If he rolls any other number, then that becomes his point. At that time, if he rolls the point, he wins, and if he rolls a seven, we win. Got it?”
It seems simple enough. It’s just a game of probability. The first roll has the highest odds of winning or losing because there are five numbers to hit. And from then on out, only two numbers. Probability puts us all on the same playing field.
“Got it.”
Leo rolls the dice and it lands on six. He mumbles something under his breath.
“Six is his point now. If he rolls it, he wins. Seven wins for us. Any other number means he rolls again. We can also take new bets on whether we think he will win or lose.” Mohawk pulls a gold coin from his pocket and lets it roll across his fingers. “I think he will win. I’ll bet one gold. What about you?”
“I bet one gold he loses,” says a voice from behind me. “And if you try to load the dice with magic, I’ll make sure he loses more than that.”
I turn around and see Grayson as I have never seen him before. Not wearing his miner’s clothes, he looks like a completely different man.
Grayson wears a white vest unbuttoned, exposing a roaring bear head tattooed on his chest. Several necklaces and amulets hang from his neck. A belt with a revolver sits on his hip. Two golden battle gauntlets cover his hands. His mustache curls up around the edges, almost forming a circle.
When I turn back around, the three men are no longer smiling. They seem concerned, almost worried.
“Just a friendly game of dice, Grayson.”
Grayson doesn’t look at me, but he places his gold coin with the others. I do the same. Leo rolls the dice and it clatters across the wood. A five. He rolls again and I can see the sweat beginning to form on his brow. A four. There’s no doubt about it that they were going to hustle me. But why are they so nervous around Grayson?
It takes three more rolls before the dice hits seven. Leo is pissed, I can see it in his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything. I’m up three gold from the exchange. Grayson doubles his money.
“You really ought to be careful who you get involved with, kid. Those three were going to use magic to hustle you out of your gold. By the time you knew what was happening, you would be down five to ten gold.”
“Thanks for stepping in. Why were they so intimidated by you?” I ask.
“I have a bit of a history in these parts.” He sets his face and looks out to sea. It’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about it.
“Nice threads, by the way. I never would have pegged you for a pirate.”
“We all have lives outside of the mines, Esil. You know that.” The necklaces he wears jingle as we walk down the pier.
Merlin swoops down from his perch and lands on my shoulder. He hoots a few times before quieting down. His head darts in many directions, taking in everything we pass.
“That’s a smart bird,” says Grayson. “I can see his vigilance.”
“Where are we going?” There has to be a reason he brought me here in particular. He knows I need to train and level. Grayson wants me to win, so it has to be something he thinks will help me in my next quest.
“You’ll see soon enough. How’s life outside of The Boxes?”
I tell him about my new apartment and all the perks of being sponsored. He seems genuinely interested as we make our way out of the pier and onto a cobbled road that leads away from the nearby town.
“All Buzz does is talk about you and the quests since you’ve been gone. I’ve heard more about this damned tournament than I ever cared to.”
I smile at that. “He’s a good friend.”
The cobbled roads turns to dirt and soon, we are far away from any other people. A dense jungle to my right rattles with the calls of thousands of insects. Sandy white beaches stretch for miles to my left. Waves roar as they crash, sending crabs scurrying back and forth as the tide retreats.
Further up the road, we come across a section where dozens of boulders, several stories high, litter the beach. The coastline here is rocky and the water that crashes against it is dark and turbulent. Several frogmen guard the boulders with spears.
Bullywug. Level 22. These foul, amphibious creatures fight with poison and trickery.
Grayson clinks his gauntlets together and they begin to glow a faint blue.
“They guard the entrance to a secret lair. I think it can help you if we can get there.”
“Have you beaten it before?” I ask.
Grayson looks troubled when he answers.
“I tried, but there are aspects to it I haven’t been able to overcome.”
“No time like the present!” I switch to my elven spear. It seems like the most logical weapon to fight the bullywugs with.
The bullywugs are half my size, but portly and angry. They have the bodies of frogs, but walk on their hind legs, holding wooden spears tipped with jagged rocks. My heightened eyesight allows me to see the liquid that coats the rocks. Poison. The largest of the bullywugs takes a defensive stance as we approach, his spear pointed in our direction.
Pangea Online: The Complete Trilogy Page 13
