by Thad Ward
Now that Ada wasn’t trying to kill him, Ike realized this was the first real person he’d spoken with since waking up here almost a day ago. Idalia had given him someone to talk to, but Ike felt a sense of relief speaking to a flesh and blood human being. If nothing else, it confirmed that he hadn’t been hit by a truck and plunged into some bad anime trope.
Ada rolled the poster back up. “Well, I hope you’ve learned something about taking other people’s things, Ike. It could lead to cases of mistaken identity. I’m not sure why you’d want his stuff, anyway. Is it enchanted or something?”
“It wasn’t when I found it,” Ike said. A realization that player versus player combat was clearly allowed dawned on him and he quickly changed the subject. “Hey, why did you ask me about the Matrix?”
“Oh that,” Ada said. “It’s a trick I picked up on the game forums. You can’t usually tell the difference between a player and an NPC, but someone figured out that NPCs aren’t allowed to talk about the real world. So, if you find someone who can, they have to be a player.”
Ike cocked his head to one side. “Interesting. Is it really that hard to tell an NPC apart from a player? I’ve only met one so far. I guess she seemed realistic enough.”
Ada raised an eyebrow. “You’ve only met one NPC? That’s weird. There were dozens in my starting zone, three just to instruct me in my class abilities. Where did you start?”
Ike nodded toward the dungeon. “In there. Naked in the dark. Next to the body of your bounty.”
Ada’s jaw dropped. “I’ve never heard of that. I’ve never even read about it on the forums. There’s a lot that’s random in True Calling, but everyone gets starting gear and a tutorial as far as I know.”
This was the first time Ike had heard the name of the game he was in. It didn’t ring a bell. He considered telling Ada more about his situation but thought better of it. Maybe if he got to know her a bit better. “Maybe it was a glitch? I don’t know. I wasn’t really given any options at the start,” Ike said, trying his best to hide the truth without lying outright.
“I know, right!” Ada’s sudden fangirl energy startled Ike. She paced as she spoke, gesticulating angrily. “I still can’t figure it out. Here’s a game with an unknown number of classes and races, but the game devs decide we can’t pick the ones we want. The game does it for us! A quick brain scan and we’re plopped down who knows where in this ridiculously-sized world. No character customization of any kind, not even the avatar. I wanted to play a healer, damn it!”
As Ada mentioned her avatar, it occurred to Ike how cute she was. Her long, curly brown hair spilling out of her hood framed her rosy cheeks nicely. Her earthy green eyes were pretty in spite of the frustrated look on her face. And her outfit – a red cotton shirt over a black leather bodice, black boots with matching lace, navy blue breeches, and light leather armor strapped to her forearms and shins – hugged her curves nicely. He caught himself ogling her in time to look away before she noticed.
“It does seem like an odd design choice,” Ike said. “What’s wrong with trapper?”
“That’s the worst part! Nothing!” Ada collapsed on the nearest step in defeat. “Nothing at all. I love everything about my character. I didn’t think I would. I never even would have thought to try trapper. I have to admit, they’ve really got the Calling system dialed in. It’s like it knows us better than we know ourselves.”
“There’s a scary thought,” Ike said, sitting next to her.
“Hold on just a second,” Ada said, turning toward him and narrowing her eyes. “How did you know I was a trapper? Or my name? I never told you.”
“Your character info window,” Ike said. “When I focus on characters or items, I see their name. Sometimes I get stats, too. My guess is it’s based on the level of whatever I’m looking at. Do you not have that?”
Ada shook her head. “Nope. You must have the Identification skill. It’s handy, but not everybody starts with it. It must be nice.”
Ike felt like comforting her. “I guess. I’m sure you’ve got some useful skills that I don’t. And hey, maybe you’ll get it when you level up.”
“If I level up,” Ada huffed. “That’s the other rub. You can earn experience points from all sorts of things, but you can only gain levels when you complete quests.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Ike asked. “Questing is a pretty big part of most RPGs.”
Ada quirked an eyebrow. “You really don’t know, do you? Did you do any reading about this game? It’s only been out a week. I figured everyone playing this early on would be on the hype train.”
Ike shrugged. “It was sort of a spur of the moment thing. Diving in the deep end, so to speak. What do I not know?”
“Quests,” Ada stressed the word. “All the quests are hard to find, hard to complete, and totally unique. Nobody knows when they’ll pop up, who gives them, or what rewards you get, and they never happen the same way twice. The AI that runs the game generates them on the fly. Folks are going nuts online trying to catalog them and figure out commonalities, but there aren’t any. It took me days for this one to fall in my lap.”
“Huh,” Ike digested. “So you can’t level without quests and the quests themselves are rare and random. Not even Googling them will help. Damn, that’s hard.”
Ada nodded. “You’ve got it.”
Ike realized the significance of what he’d done and dropped his head apologetically. “Sorry I looted your guy. And beat him to death with a bat.”
Ada shook her head and rose to her feet, stretching her back. “No need to worry. From what I’ve read, you get notified if you fail a quest or can’t otherwise complete it. I haven’t gotten anything like that, so the game is still afoot, my dude.” She turned toward him. “I just need you to tell me where to find his body.”
Ike couldn’t tell if Ada’s mood had just recovered quickly or if her frustrations with the game had been purposefully exaggerated. He considered his options before responding. “I’m happy to help, Ada. It won’t be easy getting back to it, though. As luck would have it, I have a quest to complete, too. How do you feel about helping each other?”
Ada smirked. “I guess that’s fair. I haven’t partied up in this game yet. Sure. Sounds fun.” She put out her hand and the two shook on it.
Ada Rose has joined your party.
Chapter 6
Pulling mobs
“D
id you get that, too?” Ike said as he read the notification.
“Sure did. Isaac… Fennell? Don’t tell me that’s your real name,” Ada said with an amused look. “Only noobs use their real names.”
Ike gave her a flat look. “As a matter of fact, yes. How did you pick yours?”
“Sorry, sorry,” Ada said, holding up her hands. “I figured if they were forcing me to play a roguish type, I’d name myself after the spy in my favorite zombie games.” She looked at him and her expression turned more serious. “Wait a second. Is that your character sheet? Artificer? Astral?”
Ike wasn’t sure why, but he felt mildly indignant like Ada had peeked at him changing clothes. “Sounds like it, yeah.” He looked more closely at Ada.
The two stared intently at one another for a few seconds before the intimacy of the exchange occurred to them. Ada cleared her throat and looked away, a slight blush in her cheeks. Ike coughed and became very interested in a nearby tree. “Sorry about that,” he said. “What does Investigation do?”
Ada shook it off. “A lot like Identification if this character sheet thing is any indication, except I can see hidden things. Traps, secret doors, concealed weapons, poisoned food and water, clues… you know, detective stuff. I haven’t had a chance to test it on characters in stealth, though.” She crossed her arms. “Quid pro quo, Clarice. What’s up with the mana drain?”
Ike checked his character sheet, reminding himself his maximum mana was down by one. “I get mana drain by enchanting things. It’s permanent as far as I can tell, but I can cast Har
vest Enchantment to remove an enchantment and get the mana back. I learn the enchantment if I don’t already know it, too. Is that how your traps work?”
Ada nodded. “Pretty much. It takes me materials and a minute to set one up. If I find one, I can cast Disarm Trap to get the materials and learn how to make it. Double Trap Materials lets me duplicate materials I’ve got, but the copies disappear after an hour. Quick Set lets me lay a trap instantly. I try not to use it much.”
“Not bad,” Ike said with a nod. “Trapper seems like a sort of thief class. A sneaky advance scout with ambush tactics. Just with traps instead of backstabbing.”
“And artificer seems like a crafty type,” Ada said. “All about equipment customization and maintenance. Magic items at level one must be pretty sweet, even with the mana drain. At least you can mix and match enchantments to suit the situation.”
Ike turned to face the dungeon, peering through the open front doors. “Okay, so here’s the scoop on Austrin Fortress.”
The pair spent the next hour discussing the hazards and layout of the dungeon, order of priorities, and group tactics. Ada’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Ike soon found himself swept up by it. She was foul-mouthed, friendly, genuine, and just as quick to anger as she was to forgiveness. Ike found himself liking her immediately.
They sat in the grass as they talked, casting spells in preparation. Ike used Minor Repair on his shield, which was still damaged from the fight with the rats, as well as his bat and tunic, which had each lost a point of durability during the fight with the skeletons. He offered his services to Ada, who was more than happy to get her bow and karambit – the curved knife she had used to threaten him earlier – repaired, as both were at half durability or less. She was especially pleased when he cast Minor Reshape to turn a large fallen branch into about thirty arrows. They were low quality and sported sharpened tips rather than proper arrowheads, but they refilled her otherwise empty quiver nicely.
Ada, meanwhile, cast Double Trap Materials until her mana was depleted. She had an assortment of wires, spikes, and rope, each of which was bundled into a sort of kit. When Ike asked, she explained how she always kept the real ones on hand and only laid traps with the copies. That way they only cost her mana and not gold.
When they were done, they ate, drank, and relaxed to recover their health and mana. “So, how about some enchantments?” Ada said hopefully, her mouth half full of some sort of big, chewy cracker. The expression on her face told Ike it was not to her liking.
“I would if not for the whole mana drain thing,” Ike said. “Unless you have some other magic item you don’t mind swapping.” He tore off a bite of old, burnt rat meat and grimaced at the taste.
“Not all of us are so lucky,” Ada said, but she didn’t seem too surprised. “I get it. Too much to ask when we just met. Maybe we’ll find a few magic items when we take out this Wailer thing of yours.”
Ike rose and gathered up his equipment. “Alright. My mana’s full. I’m guessing we have another half hour before your doubled trap materials expire. Shall we get started?”
Ada followed suit, sliding her karambit into its sheath and slinging her bow. “Okay, just like we planned. I’m going to sneak in and lay a few traps along the hallway. You stay by the door. If I yell, come back me up.”
Ada crouched down and crept forward. She wasn’t invisible or even transparent for that matter, but her colors seemed to become muted, blending better with the background, and Ike found it easy for his attention to simply slip off of her. Ike stood at the entrance to the dungeon, holding his bat and shield at the ready. He strained to hear what was going on inside without success.
“Okay,” Ada whispered from the shadows within the doorway. “I was able to fit five of them, starting right here,” she knocked gently on the floor, “and every two meters or so up to the dining hall.”
Ike slipped into the entrance and glanced down in surprise. “Ada, are your traps supposed to glow like that?”
Ike couldn’t tell Ada’s expression in the dark. “Wait, they glow for you, too? Nice,” she whispered. “It must be a party benefit. Only someone who sets a trap or uses Investigation to find it can see it that way. To everyone else, they’re practically invisible.”
“It makes sense. It’d be hard to party with a trapper if you couldn’t see their traps to avoid them,” Ike said. He stepped carefully over the first four traps and positioned himself behind the one closest to the dining hall. He pointed his bat at the closest skeletons on the floor until it started vibrating. “There.”
Ada, who’d been following along behind him, raised her bow. “Pulling,” she said, then loosed an arrow at the pile.
Ike had warned Ada that the skeletons were resistant to piercing and slashing attacks, so it came as no surprise when the shot did no meaningful damage. It didn’t matter; the point was to get the enemy’s attention. Three skeletons assembled themselves from the floor and rattled toward the party.
Ike raised his bat and shield to meet them. As the first skeleton reached the tripwire, it pitched forward onto its chest, landing heavily. The skeleton immediately behind it got tangled in the legs of the first, clattering to the floor as well. The third skeleton wasn’t close enough to get tripped up but had no way of getting past its companions. It was forced to wait its turn as Ike dispatched the two prone opponents with the bat.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
“Should I back it up into the next trap?” Ike asked as the final skeleton approached.
“Nah, two versus one should be a piece of cake,” Ada said, stowing her bow and unsheathing her karambit. As the skeleton raked its claws ineffectually against Ike’s shield, Ada rounded to the other side of it and slashed at its spine. The strike connected without any apparent damage, causing the skeleton to turn toward her. Ike ended the fight with a downward blow to the skeleton’s back.
You have gained experience.
“That went so much smoother than my other fights,” Ike said with a smile. He kept his voice down but not as low as it had been now that the immediate vicinity had been cleared.
“That’s because you didn’t have me around,” Ada said with mocked haughtiness. “It’s why I love this class. It might take time to set up the fight, but I can pretty much guarantee a win if I’ve got time to prepare.”
“No kidding,” Ike said. He caught himself feeling hopeful again but let it happen this time. Things seemed easier now that he wasn’t alone. He stepped into the room, found the next set of skeletons with his bat, pointed them out to Ada, then stepped back behind the next trap.
The two settled into a steady rhythm, repeating the sequence as they cleared the room one group at a time. Ike was shocked to see just how many of the skeletons would animate; moving through the room quickly when he fled the Wailer had been a bigger gamble than he’d realized.
Some pulls were heavier or lighter than others. When one came, they would flank it without bothering to waste the trap. When two came, Ada hung back. As they used up the traps, Ada would cast Double Trap Materials and set more.
Then they pulled four skeletons. Ike did his best to tank them while Ada circled around, using hit and run tactics to distract the outliers. It was then that Ada was introduced to the Blinding Break enchantment. A particularly heavy hit to Ike’s shield filled the room with light. Thankfully, the skeletons were dazed long enough for Ike to dispatch them, but it took Ada a few minutes to recover her vision.
“I know you warned me about that,” Ada said as she sat by the room’s entrance, blinking away the spots in her eyes, “but man, I had no idea it would be that bright. It’s a hell of a trick.”
“Yeah, sorry all the same,” Ike said. “I’d warn you but I never know for sure when it’ll go off.”
“Do you think the boss saw it?” Ada asked. She leaned her head back with her eyes shut.
“I doubt it,” Ike said, turning his attention to the other end of the room. �
��It’s pretty realistic, but I suspect there’s still some game logic at work. Otherwise, that flash would have attracted the rest of the room, the boss, and maybe a few things from adjacent rooms. This place isn’t exactly well lit.”
“Must be,” Ada said, returning to her feet. She unslung her bow. “I’m okay now. Let’s keep going. I need to log out in a few minutes.”
The two continued their previous strategy without any more surprises, but Ike couldn’t help but be distracted by how casually Ada had talked about logging out. He tried not to let it show. Thankfully, it was dark enough that Ada probably couldn’t tell.
They did the last few pulls of the room more carefully than the rest so as not to accidentally attract the attention of the Wailer. Rather than using her bow, Ada crept up to a group of skeletons and touched a bone with her karambit. While the skeletons got on their feet, she retreated to Ike and the traps, which were situated at the room’s halfway point.
“That’ll do it,” Ada said, wiping sweat off her forehead a few minutes later. “Smooth sailing so far, but I need to go make lunch and have some real-world time. Where do you want to make camp?”
Was camp important? Ike tried not to let his ignorance show. “Just outside the entrance?” he suggested.
“Works for me,” Ada said, and the two exited the dungeon, squinting in the midday sun after so long in the dark of the fortress. When they arrived, she started gathering sticks. “Wait a minute,” she said as she held the bundle in her arms, “you’ve never made camp, have you?”
Ike scratched the back of his head. “No. The first time I got outside was when you ambushed me.”
“I prefer the term ‘unexpected greeting.’ Ambush is just so… negative,” Ada smiled mischievously as she laid the sticks in a simple teepee shape. “There’s nothing to it. If you log out in a rest area, like a camp or an inn, your character is safe. Nothing can touch you. If you log out somewhere else, you can get attacked, drug off, looted, killed, you name it.”
“Got it,” Ike said. He followed Ada’s lead and started clearing the area of debris. “Anything special you need to do to make it count as a camp?”
