Continue Online The Complete Series

by Stephan Morse

  “Was Mister Carver a Traveler then?”

  “He carried the same air that you all do.” Her hand gestured toward the four players who sat huddled together. They were gathered like a group of lost children. Even HotPants seemed to seek the comfort of those who were familiar.

  “Then he’s not dead, right?”

  “Wait a minute, that old bastard!” HotPants swore repeatedly in fury. “He knew! He told me!” Her staff started lashing out against the hedge maze’s defenseless walls.

  “If he’s like us, he probably logged out somewhere.”

  “No. He’s dead there too.” Mylia’s face twisted and finally one hand brushed the side of Carver’s still form.

  Carver’s skin looked faint. Slowly there seemed to be something missing in him. At first behind the eyes, then more as an absence swallowed William Carver from the inside out.

  “What do you mean, Miss Jacobs?” SweetPea was wringing out the hoodie between both hands.

  The other players gasped as the last of William’s body vanished with a sound like shattering glass.

  Mylia nodded slowly.

  “There. When a Traveler can no longer come back, they-they break.” She pulled off the scarf wrapped around her forehead and dabbed at watery eyes.

  “Is he…?”

  “He’s…” Shadow muttered. The would-be assassin had been quiet during most of this exchange, but still he watched.

  “The Messenger’s Pet. Its name is the meaning. Whoever it follows has something to tell our world.” Mylia shook her head slowly. One arm raised and wiped away at her face.

  “Only in the telling, they often die. Then the Messenger’s Pet will guide the greatest to the Voices.”

  Mylia finally lost it and burst into tears. The four players looked at each other.

  Data recording of the entity known as James - an AI in Continue Online, closing statements.

  Thus concludes the initial playback of data. Denizen Mylia Jacobs has shared some of her story, though this goal was not completed in time for William Carver’s cessation. Partial credit will be awarded.

  Interestingly, it is Grant Legate’s choices with the Travelers that have outweighed his positive achievement regarding the “Final Adventure” goal. This action alone is deserving of merit and notice by the other Voices. Their results have been compiled and stored into the autopilot feature Travelers may use.

  We will be watching them.

  New Player Results: HotPants

  I never liked the old man. Maybe he reminded me too much of my own asshole father. He used age as a crutch and sent me off to get him food. As if he had no way to support himself. Stupid computer can’t get hungry. Why even program that in? Of course I had to make him show me where this Miss Hall woman was too.

  Four days later, and maybe, maybe, I had a little sympathy for the old man. The computer. He kept trying to join me in this training exercise that Miss Hall was putting me through. She was a right ogre of a woman. Still, it was rough enough for me in this virtual world. Things actually hurt, I actually felt tired, and everything haunted me even when I logged out of the ARC. But I liked it. Hitting things was the highlight of my day. The system gave me skills or stat bonuses of some sort, and I didn’t care.

  Peg, as I discovered she liked to be called, showed me how to do a hand wrapping along with other basic armor issues. That way I had a little defense to go along with my whacking things. She asked why I wanted to learn a staff, and I told her that they were useful in my world as well. Swords were a little harder to get a hold of, but brooms were everywhere.

  Saturday, the kid came over. He said I looked different. I told him it was because I didn’t have to put up with his father anymore. Maybe that was a mistake, but give what you get. I can’t wait ‘til his father tries to start shit with me. I’m getting good at hitting things.

  Sunday, right after lunch, the old man got me situated with one of the guards. The programmers did a good job on the Captain, and I’m not ashamed to say that it reminded me how much time had passed since my last real date. Too bad he was a computer.

  That night, a small group of town guards and me went out and did night raids on wolf dens. We hit four of them, and I nearly died a few times. They showed me some tricks with bandages and cloth while we were out. It seemed familiar, and the system prompted some annoying message about skills. At least the whole “being attacked” thing started making sense. I could safely say fighting wolves was not like beating up stationary straw people.

  The next day, the old man and those three children all got together with me. It took a few hours, but I got to hit lots of weird creatures. The thunk of connection gets me every time. These clothes are kind of hot too. Part of me almost felt young again.

  Of course, I half expected things to turn out the way they did. Shame. I was starting to like the old man. He was decent, for a computer. I should call Dad after I log out. It’s been a while since we’ve spoken.

  New Player Results: Awesome Jr.

  My dad’s name actually is Awesome, at least in-game. When I started to play, he was busy running a group raid on some dungeon about six hundred miles north of [Haven Valley]. Heck, he only let me play because I started passing my classes. He nagged me constantly, both outside and inside the game. The tell system was downright annoying. I mean, I get that he’s trying hard to make up for Mom being sick, but sometimes…

  I had wanted to play for a while but needed someone to start with. Plus there were other things I could do that wouldn’t be as big a risk to my science class. Continue Online would easily take up a lot of my time if I let it. Melissa had asked me about the game a week ago, and I freaked out. How often does the girl you like ask you about something you like? It was perfect.

  Mister Carver made things kind of difficult. Not bad, though not anything like what I expected. That little winged guy was fast and way too smart. It wasn’t like following a puppy dog in some quest. The little guy led me straight to each player or their trainer without missing a beat.

  That was how I figured out who to talk to later. Mister Carver was nice and all, but he was a grump too. Being around him wasn’t any fun.

  I had too much homework to do, so I had to keep popping in and out of the game. SweetPea, Melissa, was doing the same thing. We kept missing each other when we logged on. Or I had been busy running errands for some of the town’s people while she was cooking or cleaning at one of the inns.

  Most of the skills I picked up were kind of scattered. I got one for [Thrown Object] after playing makeshift basketball for an hour. It didn’t even tie into weapons specifically, only objects. Another skill had appeared called [Talkative], which helped build reputation with the town folks. Finally, the one that had the most potential was [Chemistry], a simple enough name for mixing stuff together.

  Then Mister Carver roped me in out of the blue. What was the point of that? I wasn’t a super uber fighter or anything. Probably because I hadn’t taken the game seriously, especially compared to Shadow. At least Mister Carver helped me spend time with Melissa. I wanted to cheer when he gave us that cave to spend the night in together.

  I didn’t confess, not exactly, but Melissa didn’t run away either. She talked a lot and explored. That was the first time we really managed to be on the game at the same time. My skill, [Mana Sense], made her glow even more. I spent hours keeping it active and watching her.

  Then we did this awesome maze. The place was sweet—colors everywhere like I was in a Wonderland painting. Or a psychedelic playground lit up by black lights. Dad, Awesome, didn’t know that I had seen some of his old collection in the garage.

  Then we let Carver die. Dad says it happens sometimes. That NPCs pass on. Only Mister Carver wasn’t an NPC. Yet we got a [Legacy Wish] from him, so he was part of the system somehow? I don’t think players can give other players quests. I haven’t told Dad about this yet. I’m not sure how to break it to him. He gets kind of excited about weird system features and turns school girl
over Easter eggs.

  New Player Results: SweetPea (Name Occurrence ID: 3rd)

  Melissa didn’t like a lot of things: dirt, untidy areas, poor hygiene, people being too close, dogs, and more. Too much reading at once gave her a headache. Her parents constantly made her log out to check on things around the house. Public speaking made her tummy do flips.

  She liked Adam. Adam was a goof who didn’t make fun of her issues. Plus his name was Awesome, or was close. It was funny. Melissa would giggle about things when no one was looking, and if anyone actually caught her, she blushed and tried to hide.

  The old man was a little different. He seemed so distracted, confused—a lot like her grandmother did in the late afternoon. Melissa, SweetPea, tried to be patient and hardworking. She cleaned up around the house in the real world; why not clean up a city where other players existed?

  Melissa had thrown something at an older man who littered right in the middle of town once. Immediately she hid behind a building corner and prayed no one noticed. She had worked hard to clean up the city as she traveled. That man was disrespectful.

  It helped. A little. The world gave her a trait called [Inconspicuous] and backed it up further with [Hidden Threat]. SweetPea didn’t think she was very threatening at all, but at least it made people less likely to attack her. Awesome Jr., Adam, seemed as though he wanted to go on adventures, so she would go too, but being attacked by monsters so real scared her.

  Each ink creature looked like something from a nightmare at first. SweetPea couldn’t help but hide. Everyone else was so brave, even Adam. He seemed fearless and kept searching for some way to help. Melissa had gained a few minor spells but actually attacking those things wasn’t in her nature. She could use the one healing spell she’d learned.

  Then that big gross one appeared. Like a huge pile of squirming grossness. Then so many of the little ones, and she had to start kicking the tiniest ones. They were squishy and made her feel gross, but she did it. If Adam could, if William Carver could, then she had to at least try. Mister Carver reminded SweetPea of Grandma. And he tried so hard.

  New Player Results: Shadow (Name Occurrence ID: 52nd)

  Alan Walters, or as he was known in-game, Shadow, had started off the week strong. His training with Master was going well, and the basic skills he desired were slowly coming together. It took a lot of work to move a skill past demonstration and into the realized stage. It was worth the effort.

  Chasing down the cow had been a stupid quest, but Old Man Carver had led him in the right direction. When Alan killed the cow in rage and was chased off by the owner, he somehow ended up at the front door of a retired assassin for a duke. It was impossible for him to know if Old Man Carver had intended things to go that way or if it had been a happy accident.

  Wednesday evening, he had earned the [Silent Step] trait, perfect for sneaking through crowded areas. Thursday had garnered [Erase Presence], which Alan, Shadow, planned to use in player versus player. Friday, he’d managed to actually sneak up on a stray wolf and realized how Continue Online handled backstabbing. The trick, he had found, was that attacking from the front allowed a chance to dodge. From the back, they would be blindsided. That gave Alan all the time he needed for connecting with a critical point.

  Regardless, Alan didn’t hold a grudge since everything had worked out. Saturday night, he had agreed to Old Man Carver’s group quest. The chance at loot and skills this early in the game was amazing. He assumed it was an event quest, especially once they had gotten the old NPC talking. The trait they gained that night by the fire was incredible. [Legacy Wish] read like an overpowered ability. Unique quest offerings, following in a hero’s footsteps, all of it made Alan tingle in excitement.

  Sunday, Carver had died. No coming back. No plot twist. The sudden last-minute save by a giant dragon hadn’t been in time. No one showed up to resurrect him. None of the players had skills high enough to try. He was dead because they weren’t strong enough. Afterward, the game felt a little too real. A little less friendly, a little colder. Somehow, that suited Alan perfectly. After all, he had a legacy to uphold.

  Trait Received: [Legacy Wish]

  Type: Passive, always active

  Details: Travelers possessing the trait [Legacy Wish] will receive the following benefits for any action related to the bestowing entity’s core beliefs:

  Personalized quest offerings

  25% faster reputation gain

  10% additional progress on all skills demonstrated during ‘Difficult’ or higher quests

  Conditions: Upholding the core beliefs of the person bestowing the [Legacy Wish]

  Beliefs: William Carver: seek adventure, assist new players, care for the world of [Arcadia].

  Warning! Betrayal of the ideals tied to [Legacy Wish] can result in the wish being removed, along with all benefits. Other penalties or changes may apply depending upon the conditions and scenario being run.

  Afterword

  Support for this project came from many corners of the globe. Many fantastic people checked into my website and promoted this story in their own ways. My wife suffered through amazing amounts of irritation (with me) to complete editing all the unintentional grammatical abuses. Finally, in the years gone by, my father once read a terrible two page story of mine and said ‘I can actually see this’ – and sounded proud. Without that simple conversation the idea of writing would have never lodged itself in my teenage brain. Every bit of encouragement helps.

  A few notes about the story. William Carver, the room of trials, and this entire book was never intended to be so long. It grew as characters were added, small tidbits interwoven, and my imagination ran away repeatedly.

  When I started writing in Feb 2015, I wanted to show life outside the game system. To me, the VR and LitRPG only covers half a person’s story. A character does not exist just inside the game, nor should anyone ever be so limited. The idea of a virtual reality game has to impact a person’s actions in reality. I hope to continue (hah) displaying that concept throughout this series.

  For fans of the LitRPG genre, check out www.RoyalRoadL.com for more amateur stories. They house a very large collection of people across the globe trying their hand at writing fiction. LitRPG and any game elements are a very common story type on this site. Thank you for reading!

  Continue Online Part 2: Made

  Commencement — Point of View

  File: Transcript 17A44

  Capture Source: Games for Gamers - Online Blog - Episode 100

  Time: Approximately 4 months ago

  Tina: Welcome to Games for Gamers. Tonight marks our one-hundredth broadcast, and as a result, we’ve lined up something extra special.Roland: Heh.

  Tina: The man laughing here next to me is none other than Roland Yigher, one of Trillium’s Directors of Marketing, and also known as Daniel Boone in the world of Continue Online.

  Roland: Hey now. It’s a good name, and remember we can’t talk about too much of the in-game stuff.

  Tina: Right, tonight’s interview comes with rules laid down by Trillium International, our lord and masters, and the makers of Continue Online. Thank you, Roland, for the reminder.

  Roland: Heh.

  Tina: First rule, I can’t ask questions directly about the game setting itself. This includes skills, special locations, or other items of that nature.

  Roland: Right, Tina.

  Tina: Secondly to that, I can’t overtly ask questions about the game.

  Roland: When in doubt, see rule number one.

  Tina: Do not talk about Fight Club.

  Roland: Basically, yeah. The lawyers have had a field day with all the information constantly being posted. Technically we’ve got a slew of AIs, and I’m talking the stuff that makes military-grade drones seem dumb; they’re specialized to bring down sites as soon as they get uploaded.

  Tina: While we’re on the subject, Roland, I’ve heard a few private servers are getting knocked out almost seconds after posting information.


  Roland: Anything we can find. Average response time is about three seconds.

  Tina: All right, tonight’s focus is not on Internet freedom rehashes. Instead our questions for Roland will feature items compiled from our audience in advance. These questions have been reviewed by Trillium for possible issues and those that received a pass will get asked.

  Roland: All above board, I hope, Tina.

  Tina: Of course. We’re not trying to risk any jobs; we’re only trying to understand the science behind the magic.

  Roland: That can be dangerous too.

  Tina: Question one is simple enough—why a fantasy world? Why not space ships or superheroes?

  Roland: There are two reasons. Well, the original project was proposed by what is now known as the ARC Lab. Their head scientist had been an avid game follower and loved some of the earliest prototype VR machines.

  Tina: The old headsets, visual and audio, that kind of thing?

  Roland: Right. A few went with game consoles but were limited in their immersion.

  Tina: Good start, keep going, Roland.

  Roland: Sure, Tina. So fantasy, which is rich with lore and a lot of unexplained stories, seemed the best bet. It’s hard to delve into a space setting because it requires a huge knowledge of sciences, which our average player base wouldn’t have.

  Tina: It’s easier to explain away magic then?

  Roland: In essence. The ARC Lab wanted the freedom to create a world that drew on all the lore and stories already out there, without having to micromanage the laws of science.

  Tina: Yet the ARC is used for space exploration training, so one could argue that it supports those laws as well.

  Roland: Those are simulations and on a much, much smaller scale than Continue Online. Without exposing too much, there’s a lot in Continue that’s researched and developed by players. It wasn’t thought out ahead of time.

  Tina: All right. We’d pursue that if there was time, but I’ll keep going forward. Next question. The time dilation. How exactly is that accomplished? The technology for it still hasn’t been successfully reproduced in any other machine.