The powerful magic wave tore the top half of each zombie apart, destroying the entire group in an instant and blowing the remains down the hall away from Vale.
Behind him, the torches sputtered, casting the destruction in a flickering, surreal light. Almost all the attack’s power was in a thin line that hit the stone wall as it shot down the hall. The spell ripped a large, jagged rent in the side of the hallway for the remaining range of the spell.
Absolute silence rang for several heartbeats. Vale wet his lips and sucked air in through his teeth before turning around. Bartholomew was leaning against a wall, shaking his head. Abigail had her hands on her hips. “Seriously?” she asked. “You could have done this the whole fucking time and we’ve still been taking them out one by one? Also, what in the hell was that?”
Bart started to chuckle. He said, “I think that was his wind magic. You know, it wasn’t like this stream was going to be unpopular to begin with, but after something like that…” He pointed down the hallway and chuckled some more. Then he abruptly sobered and looked directly at Vale. “Buddy, I think you’re about to hit the news again. Like, in a big way.”
Vale sheathed his rapier and covered his eyes for a moment. Bart was right. He’d known when he signed the contract to stream that he wouldn’t be able to hide his power anymore. Of course, that wasn’t as big of a deal after ABI’s video went public. The cat was out of the bag. However, whenever he created new attacks, he knew the entire world was going to see it within a week.
He realized that all the attention he was going to get was going to be a major pain in the ass, and he had no idea how people would react. However, griefers like the Lords of Finality were gonna grief. He would need to start practicing in secret. His contract gave him an hour a day in-game to turn off his stream. Unless he wanted to die—and dying meant his stream would be down for a week—he would need to start training during his private hour every day.
What a pain in the ass.
The Color Purple
It didn’t take much longer to clean up the last of the zombies. After the last shambler was down for good, the little group spent a solid hour looking around for whatever it was Vale needed. Vale missed old-school video game logic a little bit. In an antique game, the deepest part of the structure or where the zombies were most concentrated would have been where he was supposed to go.
SOO was not that predictable.
It was Bartholomew who finally found the hidden door to an old, cobweb-filled study. Disturbing drawings covered the walls, barely visible in the gloom. An old brazier in the corner stood in solemn vigil for the desk that dominated another corner of the room. A long, heavy table spanned the breadth of the entire back wall, its surface covered in old books and glass beakers.
“Well, this is…cheery,” complained Abigail. She sneezed and took a step back. “I’ll hang out right here. Vale, if you use any wind mojo in here, I will shoot you.”
“Okay, okay, don’t worry about it. Also, I already told you like ten times that I’m sorry I didn’t think of using my magic earlier. It’s just new to me, okay?”
Abigail narrowed her eyes, obviously skeptical. “Maybe after I forget how we spent the last two days grinding waves of zombies, I’ll bring myself to forgive you.”
Bart was walking around the room, ignoring Vale and Abigail completely. Vale joined his friend and quietly asked, “See anything interesting? I really don’t know what we’re looking for here.”
“Yeah, there is a box over there on that counter.” Bart pointed and said, “You’re the one with the high Luck stat, maybe you should check it out in case it’s a loot crate.”
“Shhh, keep that Luck stat shit on the down low!” Vale whispered.
Bart shrugged and began poking around near the desk.
Vale walked over to examine the strange box. When he was right next to it, he hesitantly reached out a hand and suddenly got a prompt.
Open the box?
Vale chose, YES.
The box slowly fell apart, kicking up a small cloud of dust, and a faint glow lit up Vale’s face. Where the box had once stood was a lumpy, luminescent rock. The strange crystal was held in a rune-covered stand. It pulsed purple, the light throwing weird shadows around the room.
The entire group stood completely still for a while until they were sure nothing was going to happen. Vale blew a sigh of relief. It seemed the box probably had been some sort of loot, but he still wanted to play it safe.
“Hey, wait,” Abigail called behind them. “Randomly glowing crystal notwithstanding, didn’t you say this was a quest?”
Vale answered, “Well, yeah, but like I said earlier, it’s part of a chain, and I’ve already done the first two parts. Plus, I only got it because of my legendary class and some other stuff I can’t remember. I can’t share it.”
“I dunno, man. This room is pretty wild,” said Bart. His chrome-spiked boots were leaving tracks on the dusty floor. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“Are you sure?” Vale was skeptical. “I’ve pretty much lived in places like this for the last year.”
“You haven’t achieved the next step of your quest chain, right?” asked Abigail. “Like, nothing popped up with the crystal came out, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, try sharing it anyway. This game makes a lot of exceptions.” Abigail was glaring at him again.
Vale had to admit the steampunk girl in bloomer shorts was right. In fact, he had built his entire gaming experience in SOO on how deep and surprising the game world could be. He shrugged and tried sharing his quest.
Do you want to share your quest, “Rumors of a Weapon?”
Vale selected, YES.
Bart and Abigail’s eyes immediately went vacant and they touched the empty air in front of them.
Abigail von Cog and Bartholomew Holstings
have accepted your quest, “Rumors of a Weapon.”
“Well I’ll be damned,” muttered Vale.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. A legendary weapon quest? I didn’t even know they existed!” Abigail looked completely floored. “Seriously, are you fucking kidding me? Just how lucky are you?”
Vale hid a smile. This was exactly why he wanted to keep his luck stat as secret as he could. He was hoping it would pay off even further at higher levels. All three players began searching the room again for anything that looked odd or interesting while Abigail muttered to herself.
Bart began reaching for the glowing crystal but Vale grabbed his friend, stopping him in time. “Don’t touch that!”
“What? Why?”
“Just look at it. It’s a glowing crystal in a magic horror game. It’s like a big red button.” Vale carefully pushed his friend away. “Plus, I’ve heard rumors of crystals like this. They supposedly have something to do with changing players’ races. The asshole guilds like Lords of Finality are always on the lookout for these things. I don’t think the crystal has anything to do with the quest. Let’s just leave it for right now.”
“What about the stream? We can’t just leave it here, or people will know where to look for it.” Bart’s voice was mellow, but he cocked an eyebrow. Unfortunately, he also had a point.
Vale facepalmed and said, “You’re right. You and Abbey keep looking for what we’re here for. I will take care of the crystal. Maybe. Hopefully.”
Bart nodded and moved off. Vale began moving around the crystal without touching it. He tried using some of his passive magical abilities but got no information. He rubbed his chin for a while, shrugged, and decided to try something new.
He thought carefully about his skills, [Ancient Occult Lore] and [Ancient Body Magic]. He thought about recalling things he’d read before in the game. He also thought deeply about improving his memory. It was a gamble, but it worked! He got a system message:
You have created a new spell. Would you like to name your spell?
Vale chose, YES.
What would you like to name your spell?
Vale thought about it and decided on, Lore Recall. As soon as the spell was available, he concentrated and cast it. He didn’t want to risk more than five mana since as an [Ancient Body Magic] spell, he’d have to control it with his poor Willpower stat. He didn’t fancy being knocked out from spell backlash. If the spell functioned like he hoped, it would effectively buff his [Ancient Occult Lore] skill enough to figure out what the hell the crystal was.
He activated the spell and succeeded his Willpower check. Then he reached out with his hand and was about to use his magical senses when Bart cried, “Found it!”
Vale jumped. He shook his head and walked over to see what his friend was looking at. Bart said, “It was behind this old calendar. Look, it’s a folded note with a wax seal.” Bart broke the seal and all three players craned their necks to see.
The note was surrounded by a border of hand-drawn mystical sigils. The center of the note read,
Go to the caverns of Y’Nule to find your destiny, nephew. -Percival
Suddenly, an alert popped up:
You have been marked for greatness! Continue on your
journey to understand what this means.
Vale closed the message and figured his companions both got one too when Abigail muttered, “Well, that’s not cryptic or anything.”
Bart flipped the note over and said, “Yes! Look! There’s a map on the back!”
Vale nodded and said, “Okay, pocket it. I still need to figure this crystal out.” He went back to the crystal studied it again. The pulsing was eerie, and the crystal itself appeared bulbous and disturbingly organic in nature. Vale reached out again and extended his senses.
Congratulations! Touching this item physically or with magic results in instant death, but you have avoided destruction!
What the hell? A chill ran up his spine as he thought of how close he’d come to accidentally dying. Another prompt popped up.
You have three choices.
You may:
Inspect the item to identify it
Store the item in your inventory
Use the item
Vale chose to inspect the crystal. When he did, the crystal flashed, searing his vision. He heard Abbey scream, but the sound seemed distant.
Secret of the Old Ones
This crystal has several unique properties in the Secret of the Old Ones game.
If used:
Player will become First Things race.
Player will attain level 15 or +1 level, whichever is higher.
(If Player is max level, no change will occur)
Player will receive the Legendary class:
First Things Head Researcher
Player will unlock unique First Things quest lines.
First Things race will be unlocked for new players in SOO
Existing players may switch to a First Things character within a week of the Secret of the Old Ones crystal being used.
*Players that change race this way will lose half of their level, rounded up.
Vale’s mouth opened in shock. This item was more valuable than knowledge of how to get the World Tree…and it was far more portable and easier to use. He was shaking his head in denial when another message popped up
You have three choices.
You may:
Inspect the Secret of the Old Ones
Store the Secret of the Old Ones in your inventory
Use the Secret of the Old Ones
Vale’s head rang. The implications of the crystal and what it could mean… it was staggering. It was probably worth a fortune, the only item like it in the game.
He drew a shaky breath and chose to put the crystal in his inventory.
Secret of the Old Ones is now in your inventory.
It may now be removed and handled without danger.
Suddenly, the ground shook and the entire sky flashed violet so brightly that some of the light found its way to Vale and his group in the dingy little study.
The system message popped up, buzzing Vale so loudly it felt like someone had hit him in the head.
System Alert! Player Vale DePardon has discovered the
Secret of the Old Ones! The First Things race will be unlocked as
soon as it is used and the First Things ruler is crowned!
“What the hell did you just do?” Abbey whispered in horror. “The entire game is going to be after you now. That’s a unique power up item. It will drop when you die!”
Vale opened his hands and stared at his palms. How could so much have happened so fast? Just a few weeks ago, he’d just been an Astrophysics major who enjoyed playing the most popular game in the world. He’d had a strange map.
Now he was going to be the most wanted player around the world. Abbey was right. He needed to think.
“Guys, I’m gonna log. I need to Surface.”
Bart said, “Okay, man, do what you need to do. Do you want me to come over?”
Vale felt like he was in a daze. He absently replied, “Yeah, sure. That sounds fine. Please bring me a burger or something. I think I am going to just take an hour to listen to music.”
Abigail gave Bart a meaningful look. Bart nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ll ask him.” Vale caught the whole exchange, but he had too much of his mind to think much of it.
He mentally reached out for his connection and Surfaced, his persocom drawing his consciousness back into the real world.
School’s Out
Trent woke up from his nap and immediately started checking out the gaming forums. He was really behind on the latest gossip and who’s who for SOO. His stomach dropped a bit when he saw what he’d been dreading. The hype for Vale DePardon’s new stream was at a fever pitch.
The night before, Steve had come over with the food Trent had asked him to bring in-game. They’d talked about the implications of what the group had found and Steve had asked for advice on how he should continue building his character, Bartholomew.
Trent had seen the exchange between Steve’s character and Abbey in-game, the little side comment. He was expecting Steve to ask him a question, probably an uncomfortable one. His friend didn’t say anything, though.
Trent slammed an energy drink and ate a few potato chips while burning through the forums. Things were looking bad. The Lords of Finality were trying to put a positive spin on their encounter with Vale. However, they were having a tough time, since the stream clearly showed them getting their asses kicked by a little steampunk girl.
Trent pinched his nose and sighed. The biggest news was about the Secret of the Old Ones, the item. The players online were calling it a Monarch Stone. A tiny handful of players so far had found crystals that would change them into another race. So far there’d been one undead player and a couple Abyssal Ones, the creepy fish people in SOO.
Players in the forums were guessing that the Secret of the Old Ones crystal was worth over ten million dollars. The number made Trent’s eyes bulge. How could a digital item cost so much?
His first reaction upon seeing the projected value was that clueless people were just tossing random numbers around. However, upon further research, he saw actual businesses making public announcements about buying the purple Monarch Stone.
Trent didn’t know what to do. Eventually, he pried himself from the forums, ordering his persocom to display his schedule. The Vermillion Entertainment rep had informed him that his guard detail would arrive in a couple hours. Trent thought the whole thing was a little over the top.
He just needed a little protection, not a full-time guard!
His contract only stipulated he would receive something around one thousand dollars US and a percentage of advertising revenue. He’d also get a percentage of endorsements or something. He hadn’t really paid attention. The main reason he had gone with the streaming company was to cover his ass in case anyone found out who he was in real life.
However, so far, it didn’t seem anyone had. In fact, even in-game, things were quieting down. He wondered if he’d made a good
decision by going with Vermillion or not.
He shrugged and took a shower. He didn’t leave his dorm very often anymore, but Vermillion told him his security detail would want to scope out his area and maybe visit his physical school campus. Why they wanted to, Trent had no clue.
His persocomp informed him that he had a class right before his security detail arrived. He sighed. He hated having such a full schedule.
After getting showered and dressed, Trent logged into his school network and found himself in his personal, neon-lit loading room. His loading room had been gradually evolving since his early teen years, and some of his old teen angst still remained. He chuckled at the posters on the walls and random weapons residing on flat surfaces.
Trent smiled and walked through the doorway into his classroom.
Class hadn’t started yet, and different groups of students were talking in groups as he arrived. Trent usually didn’t talk to many people other than the handful of other gamers and…Something was wrong. It seemed like every eye in the room was tracking him as he entered. Conversation stopped.
One of the girls in class tittered to her friend before walking over to Trent. He blinked. Girls in class never randomly came to talk to him. He wasn’t afraid to talk to people or anything, he just didn’t see a point when they were all in a virtual classroom.
The girl, Trent thought her name might be Becky, asked, “Are you Trent Noguero?”
Trent frowned. “Yeah. I’ve been in this classroom for months. Why do you even need to ask?”
The girl blushed, her persocomp translating her normal physical reactions to her current emotional state in the simulated world. “No reason to be a dick about it,” she muttered. “Anyway, is it true that the Monarch Stone is worth over ten million dollars?”
Trent’s heart dropped. “What are you talking about?”
The girl smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I guess you haven’t seen the newsletter, huh?”
Trent blinked again and immediately ordered his persocomp to bring up the daily newsletter. He skimmed until he found it. The article was fairly self-explanatory. It read, “Vale DePardon… our very own Trent Noguero?” The writer was anonymous. The side-by-side portraits comparing Trent to his character didn’t prove anything for sure, but he knew his anonymity was gone.
Luck Stat Strategy (Secret of the Old Ones Book 1) Page 6
