Delvers LLC: Adventure Capital

by Blaise Corvin

  The proper stars were even in alignment. There would be no better time, and he didn’t want to further risk losing all his hard work.

  Vale moved to his carefully inscribed circles and realized he was bleeding from somewhere. Oh well, it could wait. All his spells from the fight before were still active, so he was riding a high of magic. He paused for a second, breathed deeply, and called up his [Ancient Occult Lore] activation menu.

  Do you want to activate your arcane portal?

  Vale chose YES.

  Are you sure?

  The map tethered to this arcane portal is demanding a

  permanent loss of -5 Intelligence to proceed.

  Vale paused and thought for a while. The map was asking for an insane loss of Intelligence. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he could lose any stats, that it might cost him more than he’d already given up to use the map.

  He should have known there’d be more to it. He’d been a fool. It even made sense that he would have to give up Intelligence, the one stat necessary to have deciphered the map in the first place. It was the core stat for his primary class, too.

  He stared at the prompt a long time, but finally gritted his teeth and chose YES. This was going to hurt. He had the bare minimum Intelligence necessary to use the map in the first place, but he had to know where this map led. He had to know if he’d been right.

  Suddenly, he felt nothing but pressure, like the entire world was pushing in on him. Flashes of lights and color bombarded him, even with his eyes closed. He felt the brush of catastrophe a number of times. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but he knew he was barely avoiding death. He hoped his Luck stat would be enough.

  The map had been meant for the transport of a player twice his level, after all.

  Eventually, the colors stopped spinning and Vale opened his eyes. He was greeted with the sight of an enormous, ethereal tree.

  “Yes, I was right!” He whooped with joy.

  He stood on a walkway leading directly into the World Tree. To his left was the aspect of Autumn, the surrounding forest, all shades of honey gold and red. To his right was the aspect of Spring, trees dripping with lush vegetation and radiating the vibrant glow of life. Majestic mountains loomed in the distance, framing the World Tree like supplicants.

  He slowly walked forward, giddy from his success. He had no idea what to expect. Over the last year, players had heard rumors of the World Tree, but nobody had found it. Vale was the first.

  He stepped into the tree and got a flashing prompt:

  Congratulations!

  You have found the fabled World Tree!

  You have a choice…of Power!

  The World Tree is ancient and must gift some of its power!

  Choose between:

  Fire – +Strength +Intelligence

  Air – +Agility +Intelligence

  Water – +Willpower +Intelligence

  Earth – +Stamina +Intelligence

  Upon your choice you will receive:

  -A Legendary class

  -A legendary, elemental magic skill (required, takes one skill slot)

  *Please note that this magic skill can be used without affecting player sanity.

  *(Does not require a Willpower check)

  -Additional awarded XP

  -Additional stat points allocated

  Do you wish to accept this power?

  Vale chose YES.

  Choose your Element

  Each element can be chosen once by one person

  The World Tree’s energy only grows to this level every 1000 years

  Vale thought carefully. He’d been working on his character being something of a gentleman scholar with a magical flair, and he decided to stick with that. He also didn’t like the idea of choosing Water, although it would have been a good element for him too.

  He chose AIR and all hell broke loose.

  Stat points awarded

  400,000 XP earned

  Level Up!

  Level Up!

  New title earned: Legendary Air Adept

  New legendary class earned: Air Adept

  System Alert! Vale dePardon has found the World Tree. Vale dePardon is the Legendary Air Adept of Secret of the Old Ones!

  Mandatory skill awarded

  It was all a little overwhelming at first, but Vale quickly grasped what was happening. He grinned as he allocated his two stat points from gaining two levels and examined his new character sheet. All his health, mana, and stamina were maxed out again. He’d gotten lucky too. His new attribute points from his new class were applied before he leveled up so he’d gained more mana per level.

  Name: Vale dePardon

  Class: Occultist

  Subclass: Explorer

  Hero Class: *At level 20*

  Legendary Class: Air Adept

  Level: 12

  Experience: 940542

  XP to next level: 69458

  Stamina: 59/59

  HP 59/59

  Mana: 90/90

  Stats: (Total/Original/Level Ups/Bonuses)

  Strength: 4/2/2/0

  Agility: 10/3/4/3

  Stamina: 5/4/1/0

  Intelligence: 10/7/0/3

  Willpower: 6/6/0/0

  Luck: 16/8/5/3

  Class Skills: Fencing, Ancient Body Magic, Paranoia, Ancient Occult Lore, Map Reading/Cartography, Elemental Magic: Air

  Permanent Bonus Source: Mystic Clover (Luck +3), World Tree Tithe

  (Int -5), World Tree Boon (Int +8, Agi +3)

  Smiling from ear to ear, he called up his [Ancient Occult Lore] activation menu.

  Do you wish to return?

  Vale chose YES, and the World Tree instantly teleported him back to his dank cellar. His eyes glowed as he mentally went through the list of all his new abilities. It was all amazing, completely amazing. He’d made back the Intelligence he’d sacrificed and then some.

  Giving up that five Intelligence hadn’t been easy. In retrospect, he figured it’d been a test to determine if he was a real Explorer or something. If he’d been wrong about where the map took him, he would have been screwed.

  He immediately folded the precious map and decided he needed to hide it as soon as possible. There were three more elements that the World Tree could give. He had to decide whether to gift them to friends or sell the knowledge. Each element would probably be worth over a million US dollars, but he’d have to sell them all at once. After someone else got an element, he would no longer be the only player that knew how to get to the World Tree.

  He was tired, but he got moving. First things first, he had to loot Brutus’s body. After being stalked for so long by the huge psycho, it was going to be super satisfying to sell all his gear. He’d have to find an NPC with decent rates, though. No players would touch it.

  Brutus was scary even while he was dead.

  Vale knew he was one of the most powerful players in the entire game now. Unfortunately, because of the system alert, the rest of the world knew it too.

  Let them come.

  Wanted

  Trent tried to pay attention in class, but ultimately gave up. He couldn’t fight the inevitable; he had way too much on his mind.

  His virtual university classroom didn’t have the same level of realism as Secret of the Old Ones, but it was still fairly immersive. Everyone in the class looked as they did in real life. Avatars and cosmetic alterations were not allowed.

  The professor droned on, displaying incredible skill. The man could somehow even make Astronomy boring, a subject Trent cared about deeply.

  Trent secretly smiled as he overheard one of the other students whispering about Vale dePardon. SOO was such a popular game, important news was even more highly regarded internationally than the largest e-sports.

  The whole world knew the name of Trent’s in-game avatar. It was a strange feeling knowing that his virtual self was so famous.

  Trent still had to figure out what he was going to do with his hard-won knowledge, though. Should he pro
cure real-world money, or in-game favors?

  The decision was even more complicated due to how so many players actually made money by selling items in-game. The line between wealth in the virtual world and wealth in the real world was a bit fuzzy.

  Part of the problem was that Trent wasn’t sure how he could sell such expensive information at once, nor even what path to take. There were websites dedicated to trading things in-game for real money, but they were all third party and relied heavily on trust. One player sent money, the other player met the paying party in-game to give them what they paid for.

  This worked fine for most items, but for information worth a fortune, it would be risky.

  Trent tapped his finger on his virtual desk while he thought. The feeling wasn’t quite as satisfying as tapping a real desk. Still, if any of his classmates looked at him, he knew they’d see him exactly as he looked in real life; just shy of tall, dark hair, dark eyes, lean face, an air of wariness.

  The virtual classroom perfectly captured the clothing he was wearing, too. He had on jeans, a t-shirt, and his Bluetooth-connected sneakers. Nothing fancy. He wasn’t sure how his persocomp told the VR classroom what he was wearing, but it was hard to hide from something in your own head. He really wasn’t sure why he needed to wear any clothes at all in the real world.

  Whoever had built the VR infrastructure for private and public education had obviously not liked the idea of students hanging out at home naked while virtually attending class…or something.

  Of course, students without persocomps, usually for religious reasons, and students who just wanted some social, face-to-face interaction went to the public pod facilities, but Trent usually couldn’t be bothered. He wanted to log into SOO as soon as he was done with class.

  He also hated public restrooms.

  After class was done, Trent logged out. He glanced around his little dorm room before sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. He knew some people liked to Dive while sitting, but Trent preferred to lie down.

  He knew some people thought colleges should do away with dorm rooms since classes were virtual, but Trent actually enjoyed staying in a dorm. If he wasn’t living in student housing, he probably wouldn’t have any in-person friends at all. The birth rate for the world was down enough, too. He agreed with the politicians who said that young people should still actually interact with other—Trent just didn’t like to do so too often.

  He got up and poured himself a drink while he thought about what he should do in-game. He needed to hydrate before Diving anyway, so he sipped his sports drink while thinking about the game itself.

  Secret of the Old Ones, the second global deep dive VR game (DDVRG) was a multiplayer RPG with some very distinct differences from other games.

  One of its greatest strengths was its realism. Players could not differentiate between Secret of the Old Ones and reality other than the in-game mechanics. It was even more immersive than Strength and Magic Online had been.

  The first DDVRG, Strength and Magic Online, had been a revolutionary experience. For almost forty years before SMO was created, various companies had tinkered with deep dive VR tech. The gaming industry had always been huge, and it didn’t take a genius to understand how much money truly immersive gaming could make.

  One of the greatest hurdles developers had to overcome was hardware constraints. VR headsets and haptic suits had become incredibly advanced, but still couldn’t offer a full deep dive experience. It wasn’t until the invention of the persocomp, a personal computer link implanted in the brain, that true deep dive VR was possible. Plus, the United World Council’s decision that a persocomp was a human right was a godsend for gamers.

  Strength and Magic Online had been revolutionary, the greatest game made for its time. However, Secret of the Old Ones, or SOO had surpassed it in every way.

  The design decision by Yggdrasil Entertainment to build its new game in an HP Lovecraft-style horror universe had made some early industry pundits scratch their heads. That was before the game came out. The emphasis on personal skills and learning, the difficulty in leveling, the compelling world and quests…it was all amazing.

  Trent personally loved the game’s setting. It was the perfect mix of fantasy, horror, and the familiar. Players who didn’t like the combat aspect could play a largely social game in towns and cities. Meanwhile, power gamers like Trent could explore ancient ruins, poking around for buried treasure.

  Trent suddenly realized he’d killed his sports drink. He knew he’d have to pee eventually, but luckily, his persocomp slowed most of his body’s processes to a crawl after Diving.

  He reclined on his bed and decided to visit a market while Diving. He still had all of Brutus’s shit to sell.

  ***

  Like always, Diving was a riot of colors and sensations. It almost felt like an out-of-body experience, like being connected to the universe. Trent tried to keep his mind as calm as possible. He didn’t want to be one of those people who acted high their first 30 minutes in-game after Diving.

  ***

  Trent found himself back in his body as Vale dePardon. He’d logged out before on the outskirts of one of his favorite towns, so he only had a short trip to the market. He’d already stashed his precious map. The map itself acted as a mystical anchor in the game. He couldn’t just get away with memorizing the information it held.

  He couldn’t chance it being stolen if he was killed. Hiding things was always a risk in SOO because anything hidden could be found, but more experienced players like Vale all had special stash spots.

  Vale smiled grimly. Anyone who went after his stash spot would get a very nasty surprise.

  He trudged forward, his loot sack so full it actually felt heavy. Compressed packs were one way the creatures of SOO had bent reality that Vale was deeply thankful for. Lugging gear and loot around in wheelbarrows would not have been very immersive or dignified.

  Eventually, Vale cut across one last field and found himself on the main road into Gabenz, a coastal town, and one of his favorite places to trade. In-game, it was near sunset, and the town’s buildings made an interesting backdrop against the multicolored sky.

  He made his way through familiar back alleys, dodging other players and troublesome NPCs alike. He didn’t feel like dealing with an encounter or learning of a new quest. He was here to make money.

  Gabenz was a coastal town, and most of the markets, the best markets known to adventurers, were near the docks. Trent continued to keep a close eye out, warily watching shifty men in top hats and ladies in bustles go about their business.

  Vale ruefully thought about how easy it was to tell female players from NPCs. Most modern women hated bustles and petticoats. There were some hardcore role-players or female gamers who liked how they looked enough to put up with the inconveniences, though. The thought sobered Vale. There were plenty of female assassins.

  His head was on a swivel as he grew even more paranoid. It wasn’t too much longer until he got to the docks and the fringe of the commercial district.

  Vale cautiously passed couples arm in arm, nearing the location of one of his favorite NPC fences. However, as he turned a corner, a piece of paper caught his eye. It said, “WANTED!” and it had a picture of his face.

  Oh fuck.

  Vale jumped as he heard a voice behind him say, “Just keep walking. Don’t turn around or things will get really bad, really fast.”

  Vale didn’t move at first until he felt the barrel of a pistol pressed into his back. “Go straight, right up into that alley up ahead. We wouldn’t want to involve the town constables in any unpleasantness, right?” Vale heard laughter from at least a couple other people.

  How had he missed them? He took a mental step back. His face was probably plastered all over town. If groups were actively looking for him, they could be sneakier than he was being vigilant, or they could be using special skills.

  Vale was not in a good position, not at all.

  Oh fuck, indeed.

&
nbsp; Slaughter Alley

  Vale slowly plodded forward, his mind racing. He wasn’t sure if his ambushers were after the World Tree map, or whether they were just trying to score a bounty. Their motivations were important. If they were just after a bounty, they wouldn’t expect him to risk a week of logout time by resisting. Most players were very cautious about dying after the first time they got locked out for a week and had all their gear stolen.

  On the other hand, if the bastards behind Vale were just after a bounty, using his new magic to escape would spread like wildfire in the rumor mill—if any saw it and lived to tell about it. Getting locked out would prevent that, though. The only hope he had was to kill every single person who saw him use his new abilities.

  Players could not post from verified accounts while locked out. The TOS of SOO forbade players from talking about events leading to their death while they were still dead too. Yggdrasil Entertainment enforced their rules with an iron fist. Most players were smart enough not to risk being banned.

  Vale’s mind raced. Every possible thing his attackers could be planning ran through his head, checklist style. They could be planning to restrain him, or run a trace to find out who he really was, or try torturing him for information.

  Torture of a kind did work in SOO. Of course, a player could always choose to log out, to stop Diving, to Surface. However, if a player Surfaced while in the middle of combat or conflict, they had 20 minutes to return or they would automatically die.

  Most players thought the system was fair. Players who didn’t want to engage in dangerous situations usually stayed away from them, and if a player didn’t want to play anymore, they could log off. The penalty kept it from being abused.

  The possibility that most worried Vale was the trace. He was just a poor college kid. He wasn’t completely naïve. He knew that there were some people in the world who would be willing track him down in real life to get his secrets. There were quite a few individuals and several businesses that made a very lucrative profit off SOO, after all.