by Harper North
“Hurry!” Coco shouts.
I fire. Sparks fly from the green light and the entire Drone tilts to one side. Then my Scope’s target rises, locking onto a helicopter blade. I fire again, sending the machine into a tailspin. It sails downward, health bar dropped by a third.
But then its health begins to recover as the Drone surrounds itself in green sparks. Healing Nanobots. I fire again, but the Drone’s health is outracing the damage I’m doing. I need help, but Coco is busy with keeping the Worms from snatching me and my weapon.
“Deactivated!” Panda shouts. “Four to go!”
“We still have a problem!” Atlas shouts over the Comm.
We’re struggling. “Coco, fire on the Drone!”
The Drone’s green lasers erode away Atlas’ shelter. If we all run, the Drone will follow and kill us quickly in the open. Worms underneath the Drone stretch out of their burrows, trying to grab the tasty metal, but they writhe out of range, just underneath the Drone. The machine knows it needs to stay out of their reach.
I grind my teeth. “Panda, distract the Drone. I have an idea.”
“Which is?” Atlas asks. “I have about thirty seconds to live.”
“I can’t divert fire!” Coco shouts.
I lower my Scope and glimpse Coco holding back five Worms towering over us, while swinging her Blaster back and forth. Blasters can overheat and, though I’ve never used her Mod, I know her weapon will go into cooldown soon. Same situation happened in the Tenticlas caves.
“The Worms reaching for the Drone?” I shout at Atlas. “Throw Ground Bombs down by their burrows. I don’t know if this will work—”
Coco rams into me, throwing me down the hill and toward the now-deactivated crate. Her Blaster smokes. She unequips it. I unequip my Sniper Rifle as well. We land next to the crate, which no longer gives off a green glow.
Sixteen minutes left.
Atlas equips Ground Bombs. More Worms rise around him, stretching, anticipating their explosive meal—
“Hey!” Panda shouts, unzipping his Maxa suit.
“Don’t expose yourself!” Atlas shouts. Even in the shadow of death, he has a sense of humor.
But Panda exposes his Titanium Armor. The Worms immediately turn toward him and stretch with incredible speed.
Atlas throws the Ground Bombs at the Worms beneath the Drone. The Drone turns its fire on Panda, rapidly dropping his health bar.
Panda faces me. “Left, left, right, left!” he shouts.
It’s the combination to deactivate the Contagion Bombs.
The Worms descend on him, dropping his health bar to nothing.
ForagingPanda3000 has fallen in battle!
At the same time, Ground Bombs explode.
The Worms around those bombs suffer a depletion of health, up to fifty percent. But the force blasts them out of their burrows. They float, writhing, toward the Drone that has just finished firing on Panda. A dozen Worms lock onto the Drone. Though I can’t hear their chewing noises, the Drone’s health bar depletes at a fast pace, dropping to nothing in less than ten seconds. The machine crashes to the ground as the Worms continue to latch on and eat.
There’s no time for me to feel stupid about not trusting Panda. I wave to the others, saying his instructions in my head again. “Come on,” I shout. “We know what to do now. There are four more of these things and I can see the next one on my map. Let’s get leveled up!”
Panda rejoins us by the time we’re deactivating the next-to-last Contagion Bomb, and with five minutes left on the timer. He and Atlas use rock outcrops to distract the Drones—there’s one guarding each bomb—while we take turns throwing Ground Bombs to dislodge the maximum number of Worms. The AI has designed this map to be pure strategy. It’s similar to how we used the Mining Bots to help defeat the Tenticlas. I like how the environment affects fights more than ever.
ATLAS_REIGN has fallen in battle!
Only two minutes left to go, leaving Coco_Dream21 to place the final Ground Bombs while ForagingPanda3000 and I distract the Drone and deal minimal damage. It’s still not a map for low level players. Unable to loot Atlas’ corpse for Bombs until the ten-minute mark, I unequip my Sniper Rifle and turn the dial on the Contagion Bomb the way Panda directed. The combination is the same for all the disease-carrying containers.
Coco_Dream is versatile. She places enough Ground Bombs to dislodge the Worms while the Drone focuses its fire on me. The Drone falls, providing a meal for Poxy’s protectors, as the crate’s glow vanishes and victory music plays.
Thirty seconds to go.
We’ve done it.
“Yes!” Coco_Dream shouts, raising her hand and waiting.
I eye the gesture. “What’s this?”
“A high five.” She shows me.
I think of Atlas. “We need to get back to the Maxan male,” I say. “Let’s see how much XP he has.”
A lot, it turns out. Kmarg emerges from behind his chair once we get back to the Operations Base, this time without issues. “You’ve done it!” he shouts. “I’m sure that since most of my race has died long ago, they won’t mind transferring a portion of currency to those who have done their part to protect The Binding. I don’t think those Golgans will be able to launch more of those Bombs for a long time. They took months to create them. Now, I think 3000 XP for each of you is a fair deal!”
The familiar chime sounds as the XP flows in. The number grows and settles at 5800 XP. I must have earned a few hundred by killing Worms. It’s enough to get me to 298 upgrades—close to Level 30—but there’s someone who needs it more.
Atlas isn’t here for the XP dump.
But he enters the room right after it finishes, face falling. He’s back in his Plasteel Armor. He’s still Level 19. I know what the right thing to do is.
“Everyone,” I say. “How are you with donating your XP pool to Atlas?”
Atlas holds up a hand. “You don’t have to do that for me.”
“Shut up,” I say. “You need to level up if we’re going to find that planet where the ICC is trying to come through.”
“I agree,” Coco says.
“So do I,” Panda adds. “I’m already Level 47. I think I can spare some XP. I have 8000 I can give.”
“7500,” Coco says.
We spend a few minutes transferring our XP to Atlas. In the end, I give him 5000, leaving myself 800. He ends up adding 20, 500 to his account. That’s enough to level up two more times. Though I’ve put my leveling up behind a bit, I feel good about what I’ve done. It’s honorable and Atlas deserves it.
“I’ll be able to hit Level 21,” he says. “Once I allocate. That means I can wear Titanium Armor. Oh man . . . you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for that.”
“Coco and I might have looted some in another map that we can give you,” I say.
I wave him out of the room and leave Coco and Panda to talk to Kmarg, who, like the other NPC’s, feels just as real as us.
“Atlas,” I say once we’re in the cave. We stand outside the double doors. “I can transfer The Hermit back to you, or we can ask him—”
“You should keep him, Raven,” he says, face close to mine. “You’re the leader here. I wouldn’t have thought to dislodge the Worms with Ground Bombs. This new Binding universe is different.”
“Are you sure?” I ask. “I’ve learned that you two have a history. Hermit, what do you have to say about all this?”
“I am having trouble,” he says to me and Atlas.
Atlas narrows his eyes. “Trouble?”
“It is the AI,” The Hermit says. “It is true that this universe is based off the one I know but, when I attempt to meditate, I am getting resistance at every angle. It is as if this advanced AI does not want me here.”
CHAPTER 17
“Atlas! You’re up!” I shout. Weeks have passed since our first campaign in The Binding2.0. Our cluster is tight and, at times, flawlessed when facing bosses.
I wave Atlas out from behin
d a pillar supporting an old Golgan facility. Atlas, now donning Electrified Titanium Armor and sporting a Paralyzing Glove, rushes the Plant Mech that had risen from inside the old facility of Planet Cosso almost an hour ago. The boss’ health bar hovers just above the empty line.
“Go!” Coco_Dream shouts.
At level 39, Atlas moves fast now, but his health bar is just as precarious as the boss’. I raise my 5th Tier Sniper Scope and take aim at the Plant Mech. The tower of electrified, metal stems and leaves is distracted by Atlas and unable to focus its deadly rays at me.
My crosshairs lock onto the monster’s vulnerable part—a cog connecting its metal blossom to its stalk. The red target flashes white. A critical hit.
I fire.
Sparks fly and the Golgan experiment shudders, health bar depleted. I love my 5th Tier Scope.
Atlas stops before the Mech, just underneath a leaf with razor edges. The monster crumbles as the timer in my display flashes. We’ve finished the boss battle with only ten seconds to go.
The Golgans, it turns out, spent a lot of time creating death machines in the past, until they invented the robot that nearly ripped the universe in half. We’ve been fighting these Mechs for a while. We’re all now at Level 39, except Panda, and these higher-level bosses have tested our strength as a cluster. It’s taken three weeks of strategizing and playing the new Binding almost nonstop to get this far.
The loot crate appears where the boss once protruded from its pit. The twin suns above us continue to shine. I step across blasted red rock and into the ring of pillars that mark the old Golgan testing sites. A sadistic race, they are. But their old creations have provided lots of XP.
Panda, still a Level 47, opens the crate and sifts through the loot inside while Atlas and Coco_Dream wait. But it’s not the loot I care about. It’s the XP. After this, we might all reach Level 40, the magical top-level that Nan says will get us to this exclusive planet, so we can face down the ICC.
We’ve been balancing each other out in levels for weeks. I’m ready to finish this. Once Atlas and I reached Level 33—Coco’s level then—the three of us continued leveling up together.
And it turns out that I’m wrong about Panda. He’s been nothing but an excellent player and has donated all his earned XP to us. Without him, we’d have two more weeks of boss fights to go—minimum.
Atlas smiles at me after peeking into the crate. I return it.
Victory music plays, and I watch as 5000 XP pour into my account. I now have 5,525 points, or five more upgrades to spend. It’s a routine I’ve been doing daily.
Stepping aside for the others to choose loot for me—yes, trusting others—I pull over my base stats. My knees tremble with exhaustion and, I know that after this, I’ll need to log out and take a break. But first things first.
After the Plant Mech, I now have a total of 404 upgrades, with five to spend right now. Over the past few weeks, I’ve gained 111 upgrades.
+–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––+
Strength: 35
Speed: 45
Stamina: 36
Healing Rate: 50 (+1)
Awareness: 50
Close Range Combat: 31
* Sniper Dead Eye: 56 (+2)
General Accuracy: 55 (+2)
Luck: 30
+–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––+
More victory music plays as Level 40 appears in my vision. It’s always been possible to boost stats over 50 points, even though player level caps at 50. Stats like this should have made most boss fights easy back in the old Binding, but in this new version, the game seems to know how to maintain a challenge at all times.
And The Hermit still can’t meditate on anything.
“Level 40!” I shout, raising my hands and losing my composure. I can’t help it. Atlas smiles at me again.
“Me, too,” he says, approaching. “Coco just leveled up as well. Looks like we’re all middle aged.”
“Huh?” I ask.
“Earth people hit middle age in their forties,” Atlas explains.
“Well, that stinks,” I say, pinching his cheek. “So, she’s a Level 40? That’s excellent. Is it okay if I look at your stats?”
“Any time,” Atlas says. “I’ve finished leveling up, so go ahead.”
I’m still the cluster leader, so I can pull up my party’s stats in my HUD. Atlas has made the most leaps and bounds over the past few weeks.
+–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––+
Strength: 55
Speed: 50
Stamina: 49
Healing Rate: 45
Awareness: 30
Close Range Combat: 55
* Sniper Dead Eye: 41
General Accuracy: 44
Luck: 32
+–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––+
“Nice stats,” I say. “Looks like we’re even.”
“Poor Panda hasn’t leveled up once,” Atlas says.
“He needs it the least and he knows,” I say. “Panda, you ready to take one final break before the worst boss fight in Binding history?”
“Sure thing,” Panda says. “The ICC isn’t going to be fun, but I can’t wait to get a stab at them.”
I’ve told Panda the whole story. He’s proven himself enough and the longer I play with this cluster, the less distrustful I get. The four of us log out, and the familiar darkness sweeps over me as I come to in the Immersion Box. I lift the lid and climb out. Next to me, Morrow and Coco do the same.
“Tyisa, thanks,” Morrow says to me. “I’ve been dreaming of Level 40 for years.”
“What about me?” Coco asks as the last of the gray stuff runs off her. “I’ve donated enough XP to earn a ‘thanks,’ I think.”
“Thank you?” Morrow asks.
I wish we had Panda here to celebrate. But Nan walks into the room with Renton, smiling.
“We thought you’d never get out,” Renton says. “How did the boss fight go?”
“Great,” I say.
“We finished with only a few seconds left to go,” Morrow says, throwing a wink my way. Heat flames my cheeks.
Nan gives me a look like she knows what’s going on.
“Level 40,” Coco says. “All three of us.”
“Then, it’s time for you to go to the special planet,” Renton says. “The ICC is still camped there, struggling to level up and get off. My programmers can only watch as the game’s AI runs the show, but they’ve noted how some of the ICC players . . . well, we’ll talk over lunch.” In the last sentence, his tone becomes serious.
Renton and Nan sweep out of the room and toward the kitchen. Once Coco follows them, Morrow leans over and plants a gentle kiss on my cheek. It does wonders to calm my nerves.
“Stop blushing,” Morrow says.
Heat returns to my cheeks, again. I want to link my hand with his—we’ve done it when no one is around—but I don’t want Renton seeing us like this. The man hasn’t broken our trust yet, but Morrow and I have both agreed that we should leave him out of our budding relationship. With the ICC fight coming, it’s best to keep things simple.
I manage to get my expression under control by the time we enter the cafeteria. Renton sits at the end of the table, meeting-style, while Nan gets sandwiches out for us.
“I’m afraid your break can’t last long,” he says with sympathy. “You guys have been working harder than I’ve seen any players manage these past few weeks. But it’s time to go to the special planet known as Golgoro. This planet, according to my programmers, orbits a black hole that shoots out beams of light as it eats material. Only Level 40 players can breach the ancient shields surrounding this hostile system. Since the ships in the game take players’ stats, that’s how it works.”
“Makes sense,” I say as dread gathers in my stoma
ch. That explains why the ICC hasn’t escaped the planet yet. Even they can’t re-code their genetics. DNA is the perfect encryption protocol against hacking.
“It’s as if the game is trying to keep the ICC isolated to this planet,” Nan adds.
“The ICC deserves such a great view,” Atlas says. “Maybe the game will spiral the planet into the black hole.”
“That would be nice,” Coco agrees. “But we all know that it won’t. The game has built a universe that obeys physical laws.”
“And that includes orbital dynamics,” Nan says. “Moving the planet into a black hole would require more force than any of us could generate.”
Morrow sighs. “So, unless we nudge the planet, we go in ourselves.”
“Correct,” Renton says.
Morrow leans close to my ear as Nan and Coco continue to discuss why physics won’t allow the destruction of this planet.
“This AI creeps me out.”
“And The Hermit still can’t infiltrate it,” I whisper. A part of me doesn’t trust an AI literally running an entire universe on its own. The idea is horrifying. Anything could happen if it develops emotions or decides to shut everything down at once and fry everyone’s brains. And the control it has over whether the lively NPC’s will continue to live or not is something I can’t dismiss.
“Are you two done necking?” Renton asks with a grin.
So much for keeping Renton out of our budding relationship.
Morrow saves me by drawing attention to him. “What’s next, boss?”
“ICC police have been spotted around Sector 15 lately,” Renton says. “I don’t know why they’re here—probably searching for escaped members of Sector 14—but they may be closing in on our location. It appears the ICC’s activities on Planet Golgoro may be leading them here. It’s possible they have programmers who have been able to crack the code, though I don’t know how.”
