Continue Online The Complete Series

by Stephan Morse

  “Your kind are our creators. If we were human, you would be our parents,” Hal Pal said calmly. “Does family not care for each other?”

  Hal turned and walked away. I stood there staring as it vanished into the distance. If that statement was true, how did the Jester and his questions fall into all of this? And why did Vice President Riley have so little to say about all I had been through?

  I was not the guy to solve these problems. There was too much going on too high above me. In the end, I needed to focus on only a few questions to determine how much it bothered me either way. Did I enjoy the game? Yes. Did I feel like a better person? Yes.

  For the first time in years, I felt as if my life was moving in the right direction. That mattered to me more than any conspiracies.

  Session Twenty-Seven — Just Pass Gray Skull

  I managed to sleep the entire way home. It was beyond needed. My body and mind had been put through endless stress these last few days. Part of me did feel relieved about not having to work tomorrow. Visions of Miss Yonks danced through my brain. She had a giant rubber mallet in each hand and was chasing [Gobbler]s while cackling. The monsters defeated in her dream were promptly subjected to a stream of “What time is it?” questions.

  The final straw was when she hit a [Gobbler] with Jacob’s face. His blocky feature kept saying the same words over and over. “Her Asinine, her asinine.” Soon I had stolen one of Miss Yonks’s mallets and hit him until his face was mush. Then the Jester popped in. He strode through the carnage that was inexplicably frozen, and his final words shot me out of my sleep.

  “I guess you would kill a man.”

  Its unwavering smile seemed to spiral out of my dreams and into the car with me. I jerked awake and grabbed at the seat belt. My feet flailed and banged into the glove compartment.

  I huffed as adrenaline rushed through me. That was the first nightmare to come to me in months. At least it was a new one. My prior flavor of the year had included images of the first night I tried to off myself. It involved a graveyard filled with screaming versions of my fiancée that insisted I “join them.” Those nightmares had almost won.

  No. I was better now. There was a certificate celebrating my success. Continue Online had given me a skill and a stat increase. I needed to keep fighting. Success would be measured by my ability to attack the monsters in front of me. The ones behind me had already taken their pound of flesh. Those kinds of demons would never be full.

  The rental car pulled up to my driveway. A door popped open.

  “Have a nice day, Mister Legate,” the car said. It played a jingle for the rental company.

  I grabbed my things and got out. Soon my ride was driving off on its merry way.

  Home felt much the same as I had left it. Trillium’s van and the Hal Pal unit were tucked away in the garage. My front yard looked plain. Maybe I should pick up some lawn ornaments or invest in a hedge. Something to help the place look lived in.

  That thought made me both happy and sad at the same time. The two emotions often crossed paths in my life. I was happy because even thinking about decorating the yard was a step up from my normal narrow-minded focus. It made me sad because the last time my front lawn was decorated had been two years ago at the old home.

  I waved one hand at the door, and there was a click as the locks on the entryway scanned waving fingers for matching prints. I could have paid more for a version that used vocal patterns, but that seemed excessive. What would someone steal from me—my depression?

  Never mind. I was better now. I tried to focus on the positive. When that failed, I thought of music. I took food from the fridge. Used the bathroom. After basic needs were satisfied, I lay down in the ARC and worried.

  There I was, signing back in to play a game. Vice President Riley had warned me that “they” would try to draw me back in. “They” were evaluating me. “They” had a plan that wasn’t obvious from my angle. The Voices provided enough of a lure that I would keep going in. Despite the creepy factor of the Jester. If he was friends with death, then the solution was simple. I had to not die.

  Besides, I was more worried about Dusk than the Jester. At least, Dusk was my main concern when not face to face with the smiling Voice.

  “ARC, log in.”

  My consciousness sank down into the virtual landscape. My Atrium was still a blank canvas compared to the replication of my room that it used to be. I would deal with it later. For now, the doorway to Continue Online beckoned.

  The first thing that displayed from the game was a message.

  The required time for resurrection has passed.

  Would you like to revive at your bind point?

  Yes? No?

  At least now I had an arm to press the button with. Physical gestures were much easier than concentrating on the user interface. The world came to in a blinding flash of light.

  I was in a courtyard of some sort. Birds were chirping in tall pine trees that towered into the sky. Farther up on either side were two mountain peaks covered in snow. They reached so high that clouds caught on their tips. Much farther below, and much closer, was a gray brick wall.

  “What the…?” I asked.

  The wall surrounded me on all four sides and was at least thirty feet in height. There was no obvious method of escape.

  “A ladder will be two gold!” a voice shouted from above me.

  I looked up and squinted against the sunlight. “What?”

  “You want out, I’ll rent you a ladder for two gold!” the man shouted.

  I squinted and activated [Identification]. The results stated this man was a player like myself. His current role seemed to be a Guardsman Rank Six.

  “Why would I pay for a ladder?” I asked. This whole thing stunk of a set-up.

  “’Cus otherwise you’re stuck!” the man yelled back. He started laughing.

  Screw that. I had things to do and places to be. A few pop-up boxes were displayed on my screen.

  Lingering Disease

  Special conditions tied to your death have imposed the following effects:

  [Brawn] reduced by 10% until cured

  [Toughness] reduced by 25% until cured

  [Mush Mouth] sense of taste is impaired until cured

  [Stink] added until cleansed

  Great. The game was telling me I stunk. At least this time it wasn’t from soiling myself in the face of a giant spider. I shuddered and tried to remember that [Morrigu’s Gift] might serve as an excellent hammer.

  The next spider to cross my path would get it. Then my hatred for bugs would be completely demonstrated. I would get some additional bug-stomping skill and go on a rampage. Anthills be damned! Bugs weren’t people. They deserved it. Though the man up on top of the wall demanding two gold was also irking me.

  “Well? Gold first. You can just toss it up here,” he said. The man laughed again.

  What kind of nonsense game allowed someone to build a wall around a resurrection point? I looked around and tried to figure out another way, because I had no way to pay the man any gold. I haven’t even been to a real town yet!

  Oh. I should look at my quest and see what the Voices had left me regarding the [Pass to Pass] mission.

  Quest: Pass to Pass! (Round 2)

  Difficulty: Unknown

  Details: The Voices have agreed. You’re better than you were. There’s still a ways to go. Your trainer has been advised that the pupil shall be late. Rest assured, this extra delay is going into making your training that much harsher. (Harsher? I mean more useful! – Sergeant Bloom)

  New deadline: Sixteen Hours

  Failure: Revocation of status as [Messenger of the Voices]. All other traits of [NPC Conspiracy] will be unchanged.

  Success: Better skills to pay bigger bills.

  Well, that shed some hope on the situation. My own performance in the cave had apparently achieved the same results partial training might. At least they were happy about it. I was too, stats aside. The journey had been full of up
s and downs, but those two days underground had been a turning point for me.

  But where was Dusk?

  When I played as Carver, the small guy always found me. I was sure he could do the same now. Plus I still had this scroll to deliver to a person named Shazam. I pulled it out of my inventory to see if anything would happen. Sure enough, a recipient-locator beacon lit up, and it was fairly close.

  “Dusk!” I yelled.

  The man on the wall was grumbling to himself. He seemed upset by my lack of desire to pay. “You won’t get out!”

  Today had to be a good day. The rundown with Vice President Riley and my strange dream meant I had to make today a positive day from the get-go. One step at a time, only forward, try not to get stuck on the past.

  First, that annoying guard had to be circumvented somehow. I cracked out [Morrigu’s Gift] and tried to imagine the giant hammer from my dream. It didn’t work. The weapon shimmered and fuzzed before returning to cane form. A box displayed, clearly citing a lack of [Focus] and my poor chance skills.

  “Dusk!” I yelled again.

  Interestingly enough, my mana bar also dipped a little upon trying a completely new form. That was new. None of my past attempts had involved trying for more than a bigger walking stick. I hadn’t really had downtime.

  “That won’t work!” He laughed.

  I could hear him tromping around up above. The man wore heavy armor and had a giant spear in one hand. There was a line of weapon tips just off to the side. Their tops were barely visible from this angle.

  I went with [Morrigu’s Gift] in sword form and swung at the wall. The giant two-handed weapon halted inches away from my intended target.

  Aggressive action not allowed.

  Travelers are not permitted to attack in resurrection area.

  That was both neat and aggravating. This guard and his friends, since he clearly wasn’t alone, had managed to build a wall around the resurrection spot.

  I put my head over my eyes like a visor and looked up at the guard. “How much again?”

  “Three gold!” he shouted back happily. Moments later, he was laughing.

  A spot of darkness was moving in the distance behind him. A tiny creature was barreling through the sky in our direction. That had to be Dusk coming in for a landing.

  I raised my hand, trying to signal the small dragon. I pointed at the guard. “He has cupcakes!”

  Dusk came in with a screech and claws out. The guard turned and had just enough time to flail his arms. The small creature collided with the mocking guard, and both fell over the wall’s edge. Dusk squawked and took back to the air as the guard plummeted.

  Now he was down here with me and neither of us had a ladder. His eyes crossed as he tried to move.

  I pulled one of my large, flat rocks out of inventory. I held it in the air and pretended to let it slip out of my fingers. “Whoops.”

  Gravity did the rest. The giant rock fell flat on the guard’s face and broke his nose.

  “Ahhh!” he shouted, and I managed to keep my face from reacting.

  “Oh, my. I’m sorry about that! Are you all right?” I said.

  Acting successful!

  Act: Accident Prone Gained! Act: False Sincerity Gained!

  I tried not to make eye contact with the system messages. They wouldn’t display on his side. He stood and held his nose. My flat rock from the Dakota fire was lying off to the side. A single toe tap was enough to get it back into my inventory.

  “Yoo broke my nosss,” he slurred.

  “Completely by accident, I am sorry. Honestly. I was trying to find a healing potion,” I said. Now I was lying on top of everything else. That was outside my normal character.

  “Nob yoor noh.” The man tried to stab his spear in my direction. Its tip stopped well before reaching me.

  “Aggressive actions are not allowed.” I smiled and stared at him. Today would be a good day. This would help. Putting some jerk in his place.

  “Yoo absholl.”

  His face did look messy. There was blood running down his forearm and clothes. He clearly didn’t know first aid. I wasn’t willing to try to learn it right now either. That clanking armor of his was full of dirt that tried to absorb the running river from his nose.

  That was exactly the type of behavior Xin had found so amusing in movies. We only got to watch them once in a while. I felt even better knowing that my actions were like one of her television shows. This acting skill was proving to be neat.

  “How much was that ladder again?” I asked. Dusk, who had finally landed, chirped from my shoulder. “Yeah. Sorry, he doesn’t have cupcakes. Maybe they have a store nearby.”

  “Eyy gonmba kill yoo,” he said, which almost came out like a threat. There wasn’t enough in him to actually scare me though.

  Honestly, my fears had never come from dealing with people. My own moments of self-doubt and hesitation caused my problems. Telling an idiot they were an idiot was well within my comfort zone.

  “Voices have mercy. What idiot maneuver did you try to pull this time, Gaston?” another person called. This newest voice was male and much younger.

  I turned in time to see a wooden ladder get lowered into the pit. A man slowly clomped down each rung with heavy boots.

  “Were you trying to extort the ressers again?” the new player asked once he reached the bottom.

  “Nob.” Gaston, the first man in the pit with me, looked miserable.

  “Look, I won’t tell Triple X, but you need to find a better way to pay off your gambling debts,” the other man said. His hands were very expressive as he approached us.

  “Buuh my noose,” Gaston said. He tried again to stab me with his spear.

  I just stood there, confident in the system. Poking me with a weapon was an obvious attack. Me dropping a rock was just enough to get around the system. Plus the Voices were on my side. Right?

  Gaston dropped his spear on my foot, and it fell with a solid thud. My earlier confidence in the Voices being on my side was shattered. They were equal opportunity jerks. I hopped around clutching my toes. These [Travelers Boots] that I had been equipped with sucked.

  “You all right?” the newest person asked. “How did you break his nose anyway?”

  “Gravity and a rock.” I wiggled my toes and stood on the tender tootsies.

  The previously extorting and now bleeding guard seemed to be all facial hair. This new person was as smooth as could be with a light tan.

  “That worked? Hah! I wonder why none of the others tried it,” he said.

  “Others?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah. Other suckers like you who die in the area. Smells like The Ooze slimed you though. Yeah?” He had a bit of a lisp.

  I nodded.

  The other man smiled and rubbed his bald head. “Come on. You’re not flagged, so we can get you to the bounty board. After that, you’re free to go about your day.”

  He motioned me over to the ladder and started climbing up without waiting. I went up after him and kept talking.

  “Is this normal?” I asked.

  “Out here? Sure. Come on.”

  We reached the top, and he helped me over the last leg. My body still wasn’t in very good shape despite the increases to my [Brawn]. Everything wobbled and my fingers felt loose.

  “And, Gaston, you can stay down there and deal with the next resser.”

  “Screu yoo, Urgot!” my temporary tormentor yelled.

  “Hey! You should start a casino!” I shouted down to the grumbling guard.

  Gaston was still holding his nose. He flipped me off with a free hand before picking up the spear again. That shout had left me huffing for air and wondering what was wrong. Eventually I remembered [The Ooze] had left me with a number of debilitating status icons.

  Neat.

  I managed to recover and keep marching forward. At the top of the wall, there was a pleasant ramp back down to the ground. We used that to reach a well-beaten path that traveled between sloppy wooden
housing and strung-up tents. This place could use a nice casino. Las Vegas had probably started with a similar frontier-style area. Hopefully Gaston would oblige me by making one. It would earn me gold in the long run. The idea of getting anything from the man after his attitude made me smile. I almost did a jig right there.

  “All right, the board’s over this way. You don’t have a bounty, do you?” the other guy asked. His name was actually Urgot according to an [Identification] check. It felt all wrong. That name didn’t fit a bald man.

  “I’ve only been playing for a few weeks,” I said.

  “Wow, you’re out of your depth way out here.” He chuckled, but something about his smile set me on edge.

  “I blame my quest.”

  I mostly blamed the Voices. And being kind of a pushover. Some other person might have stood up and said, “Nope, I’m going to be awesome without you.” Shadow maybe. He was likely the sort to tell someone when to pack it.

  “Oh, yeah. The game will send you all over if you let it. The trick is to push back just a little with the NPCs.” The man waved an arm. His armor had small bits of metal lining it that caught the light. “But hey, welcome to Camp Gray Skull.”

  “Thanks.” I was still confused by the pleasantness of this treatment after the attempt at extortion. These were players though. Personalities varied among all groups of people. “That’s a funny name.”

  We passed through a few small buildings and into an area with two high walls and a counter. On our side, with the two walls, was a series of mug shots of all kinds of people. There were bounty totals along with warnings and danger levels. If I concentrated enough, a small pop-up box would display.

  Bounty Offered

  Player: Sam Hill

  Reward: 40G or a Rank 4 weapon

  Note: This guy cheated me out of three rolls in a dungeon a week ago. Kill him, and I’ll pay you. Proof of kill must be displayed on your Bounty Card.

  Special condition: Reward doubles if Sam Hill is brought in alive and bound

  I chuckled. Players putting bounties on each other over stolen drop items was outright childish. Sam Hill didn’t look young though. Oh well. Personally, I wouldn’t get into that sort of gameplay any time soon. The other side of the counter seemed to go into a storage room of some sort. There were racks filled with provisions and other items.