Original Enchantment (True Calling LitRPG Book 1)

by Thad Ward

  “I don’t mind,” Ike called back. “We don’t know if that’ll work, though. You might need to be the one to collect the head to complete the quest.”

  Ike was at the halfway point now. Ada had made it another meter or two when a plank suddenly broke beneath both of Ike’s feet. His hands became vices on the rope handles as he dangled, scrambling his feet for purchase. “Shit! Help!”

  Ike felt faint as he looked down. The bridge was rocking wildly as he struggled, but the handles sagged too much to get his feet back up to the next plank.

  He was about to activate his ring when he felt a hand under his shoulder. Ada pulled upward, yelling as she did so. It gave Ike just enough extra height to clear the plank with his foot.

  “Thanks,” Ike panted. His whole body was shaking.

  “Just go, please,” Ada said, her words clipped.

  They reached the opposite side of the chasm without further incident, stepping well into the corridor and sitting down on either side. They filled several minutes of silence with deep, calming breaths.

  Ada was the first to speak. “Do you ever wonder why people crave adventure? Real life is dull a lot of the time, sure, but I doubt most folks realize just how stressful an adventure would be. We romanticize it, you know?”

  Ike nodded. “Well, I don’t think you or I will ever look at Indiana Jones the same way,” he said wryly. After another minute, they collected themselves and proceeded.

  Ike knocked on Idalia’s door, but he knew she wouldn’t answer before he did so. The curse had been lifted and he detected none of the icy aura that had filled the air around Idalia. He stepped into the room, sad that he didn’t get a chance to talk to her one more time. “I did it,” he said, stooping next to the skeletal remains in the periwinkle dress. “Just one last thing.” He gathered her remains into his satchel as respectfully as he was able.

  The two followed the hallway Ike had first come down what seemed like ages ago. “Creepy place to wake up in,” Ada commented as they passed collapsed rooms and climbed over debris, Ike’s light playing long shadows along the walls. “Is that the guy?”

  Ike nodded as they approached the body of the thief. “Pretty hard to miss a naked guy with a bashed-in skull.”

  Ada flushed a bit, though Ike couldn’t tell if it was from the nudity, the smell, or both. She knelt to examine the head. “You did a number on it. At least the face is mostly intact.”

  “Sorry,” Ike said, though his tone wasn’t apologetic. “I wish I’d known. Even if I had, though, he was a zombie. You have to aim for the head. Everyone knows that.”

  Ada nodded and swallowed, drawing her karambit. Her face took on a green tint. Ike suspected she wanted to say something but didn’t want to open her mouth for fear of vomiting.

  Ike left his glowing stone on the floor and stepped away, looking into the darkness. As Ada started removing the thief’s head, he felt compelled to speak, both to take their minds off of it and to cover up the tearing, squelching, popping noises. “So, you need to turn this quest in back in town, right?”

  “Yeah,” Ada replied. “A village called Weir southeast of here.” Ike heard a wet noise and Ada sobbed a little.

  “Nice place?” Ike asked. “Any good spots to eat?” He regretted saying it almost as soon as the words left his mouth.

  “Don’t talk about food right now,” Ada said, but she kept going with the conversation. “Yes and no. We’re in the highlands. It’s inspired by Scotland. So the answer depends on how much you like haggis.” Ike heard Ada taking deep, intentional breaths through her mouth.

  “I had meant to ask about that,” Ike said. “I’m an astral and you’re a highlander. Does this game even have elves or dwarves, or is everyone just a variant of human?”

  Ada seemed to take to this line of conversation more readily. She grunted from effort and Ike guessed she must be working on the spine. “More fantastical races exist and some folks get to play them, but it seems like most people end up human. The developers say it’s rare that someone can function well in a different body type. Sort of like the early days of non-neural VR when the motion made everyone nauseous.”

  There was a crunching noise followed by a loud, soggy thump on the floor. Ada breathed a sigh of relief. “Never let it be said I didn’t earn my level on this one.” She drew a sack out of her belt pouch and rolled the grim trophy inside.

  “Want to head back to camp?” Ike asked. He turned to her and retrieved his stone. “There are some corridors I didn’t fully explore my first time through.”

  Ada shook her head and tied the sack to her belt. “Let’s just go. I’m down to my last rations, so I don’t have a ton of time to waste getting back to town. Besides, none of the other side bits in the main building had anything noteworthy.”

  Ike nodded and held up his hand, looking at the ring and willing it to activate. Ada held her pendant and did the same. The wind whipped up around the two of them, forcing them to close their eyes.

  Suddenly the air felt much chillier and the world around them was much brighter. Ike opened his eyes to see that they’d returned to their campfire from earlier. The eastern gate of the dungeon stood nearby.

  “Well, that worked beautifully,” Ada said. “The hard part’s done. Now just a trek back to town. Do you mind if I log out for a bit, though?”

  “That’s fine,” Ike said. “I’m still waiting on my response from the GMs, and I’ve got one more thing to take care of out here.”

  As Ada lay down next to the fire to exit the game, Ike searched nearby. The soil of the mountain pass was mostly rocky and bare, but he managed to find what he was searching for: A flat, bare spot with a patch of vibrant blue flowers nearby.

  Ike used Minor Reshape to turn his bat into a shovel, then began to dig. It was sweaty work, made worse by the biting mountain wind, but he was happy to do it. When he’d made enough of a hole, he carefully arranged Idalia’s remains inside, positioning the bones so she appeared to be laying down asleep. He picked three flowers, put them in the skeleton’s hands on the front of her dress, then covered the grave with dirt. He used some nearby rocks as a makeshift cairn.

  The mountain top was silent except for the wind, which seemed properly mournful to Ike. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Idalia,” he said, feeling the need to speak. “You were a kind person. Wherever you are, I hope you’re happy and I hope you get to keep helping people.”

  They were simple, honest words, a eulogy for an almost-total stranger. Nothing stirred in response, no specter of the dead apothecary or whispered thank you on the wind. Just the same, Ike felt a sense of gratitude, knowing that this was what Idalia would have wanted. A few moments passed before a string of notifications lit up Ike’s vision.

  You have completed the second objective of the quest: Cleanse the Cursed Fortress.

  Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Cleanse the Cursed Fortress.

  You have reached level 2.

  Your maximum health has increased to 7.

  Your maximum mana has increased to 13.

  Your Enchantment skill has increased to level 2.

  Your Identification skill has increased to level 2.

  You have learned the racial skill: Prophecy 1

  You have learned the spell: Siphon Mana

  Ike read through the list and shook his head. “One more point of health but three more points of mana? Is that based on my class or my primary attributes? Enchantment and Identification went up, but Healing Arts and Magic Item Improvisation didn’t. Is that because I use them more?” He focused on his heartbeat to see the full picture.

  “Why’s my mana drain so high? Oh, right, the ring,” Ike said, casting Harvest Enchantment to remove Safety. It was a useful ability to have, but it had served its purpose for the time being.

  Harvest Enchantment has failed. You cannot harvest an enchantment that is still recharging.

  Ike frowned. “Huh, I didn’t realize. Good to know, though. I guess I’ll get i
t back tomorrow. Now, what about that Enchantment level? Didn’t the notification say level two? Why is it showing three with a plus one? Is it being boosted by something?” Ike scanned the character sheet again. “Right, I forgot about that World First thing. I figured it was just an achievement, but it’s on my character sheet like it’s important. Does it come with a bonus or something?”

  Ike nodded his approval. “I love it. I’ll take ten, please. That last part makes it sound like a bit of a double-edged sword, though. I’ll have to ask Ada about it. Now, as for the new stuff, what do Prophecy and Siphon Mana do?”

  Ike’s eyebrows rose. “I’m not sure what ‘the weight of destiny’ means, but glimpses of likely futures seem handy. I wonder if they’re random or if I trigger them somehow. And Ada will be happy about Siphon Mana since I can use her mana to enchant her gear.” He rubbed his chin as the idea germinated, but was interrupted by a notification.

  A game administrator is ready to answer your prayer the next time you enter a rest area.

  “Well, best not keep the ‘gods’ of the issue queue waiting,” Ike said.

  Chapter 10

  Signing the legalese

  A da hadn’t logged back on by the time Ike returned to the campsite. He stepped toward it, not having more than a second to wonder how he was supposed to initiate the conversation with the game masters before he found himself somewhere else entirely.

  Ike stood alone in an endless expanse of white. Above, below, and to all sides there was nothing. Just a featureless white void, lacking so much as a discernible light source or horizon. The air made him think of Goldielocks: Not too hot, not too cold, not too dry or humid. He noted that there was still gravity, and whatever was beneath his feet felt solid enough.

  “Hello,” came a woman’s voice, overly friendly in a scripted sort of way. Ike knew the tone well. He’d heard it many times on calls with customer support representatives.

  Ike turned toward the greeting as a woman faded into view. She was pretty in a touched-up photo sort of way: Skin devoid of blemishes or wrinkles, teeth that were perfectly white and straight, and a tasteful amount of makeup. Her wavy blond hair fell down her shoulders in that sort of effortless yet flawless way that actually took hours for a hairdresser to pull off. She wore a white toga with a sky blue floral pattern that was cut to make room for the two downy-white angel wings sprouting from her back.

  “Uh, hi,” Ike said. “Thanks for getting back to me.”

  “Of course,” the woman said with a practiced smile. “Here at True Calling, the safety and happiness of our players is priority number one. We’re sorry it’s taken so long to get back to you and appreciate your patience.”

  Ike tried not to roll his eyes, but he felt like he was listening to an answering machine. “Right, so, has someone fixed it? Can I log out now?”

  “Unfortunately, we have determined that the error did not originate within our game system,” the woman said without her expression changing. “However, due to the severity of the issue, we have taken steps to reach out to the local authorities. They have checked on your home and verified your safety.”

  “Thanks,” Ike said slowly, but something wasn’t adding up. “Why don’t they just unplug my rig, then?”

  “In the process of a technician attempting a manual shutdown, it was determined that it would be hazardous to your health,” the woman explained. “A physician has been called to the premises before the shutdown can be attempted.”

  That made Ike’s eyes go wide. “Hazardous to my health? How? My rig’s top of the line. There are all sorts of federal safety laws.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t have those details at this time, but I will pass on your request for more information,” the woman said. Her unwavering tone and expression were starting to get on Ike’s nerves. “In the meantime, we here at True Calling understand your concerns and would like to make it right in any way we can.”

  Ike crossed his arms, irritated but thoughtful. Whether the glitch keeping him from logging out was the game’s fault or not, they’d want to keep it quiet. Things like this made headline news. “What do you have in mind?”

  “First,” the woman held up a finger, “we would like to take care of any real-world errands or communications you may need.”

  That had been at the top of Ike’s worries. “Right. I need someone to let my employer know so I don’t get fired. And my cat needs to be taken care of. There’s probably some stuff in the kitchen that will go bad soon. The trash needs to be taken out.” He tried to think of anything else that might be critical over the next few days but came up blank. “That’s all I’ve got for now.”

  The woman nodded. “I will be glad to pass along your requests. Second,” she held up another finger, “we would like to cover all expenses incurred as a result of the error. This includes the cost of round the clock monitoring by health professionals.”

  Again, this didn’t add up for Ike. “You just said a technician and a doctor were there working on the shutdown now. How long is this going to take?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t have those details at this time, but I will pass along your request for more information,” the woman repeated.

  “So what you’re saying,” Ike said, feeling his temper rising, “is that my rig is malfunctioning so bad it could kill me if I’m logged out. The tech at my home can’t fix it. And even though the glitch is with my equipment, you want to pay all my bills and have a doctor watch me for an indeterminate amount of time while I’m stuck in your game. Do I have all that right?”

  Despite Ike’s anger, the woman appeared unfazed. “That’s correct. Thirdly,” she held up a final finger, “we would like to compensate you. We will continue to work on the problem and resolve it as soon as we are able, but we understand how difficult this must be and would like to offer a generous settlement on top of covering the aforementioned expenses.” A game window with a legal agreement appeared in front of Ike. “Please review this agreement if you would like to take advantage of our offer.”

  This was what Ike had been waiting for: A Non-Disclosure Agreement, something to cover True Calling against a very expensive lawsuit while also preventing him from informing anyone, including the media. Ike had seen some in his day; it was pretty standard when developing software that dealt with sensitive information or proprietary technology.

  His first instinct was to flip game staff the bird and tell them where to shove it. It wasn’t that the offer wasn’t reasonable on its face. It was how carefully the woman had avoided admitting to any wrongdoing. The subtext was plain as day: They’d messed up and wanted to handle it quietly while also hedging against him not taking the deal.

  Ike quirked an eyebrow at the end of the agreement. The “compensation” they were offering wasn’t insignificant. It was roughly his annual salary… with an extra zero on the end. Sure, if he was right, he could probably take True Calling to court and get a good bit more, but it would be a messy, protracted legal battle that would undoubtedly make him the subject of worldwide scrutiny. He hated to admit it, but this was a pretty sweet deal.

  Besides, what was the likelihood this could take more than a few days?

  Ike took a deep breath. “Fine,” he said at last. He flicked the screen to the bottom of the agreement and signed his name with his finger. “When will I get updated?”

  “We have assigned a dedicated support representative to monitor progress on your issue and update you on any changes,” the woman said. “You will receive in-game communication every morning until the problem is resolved.”

  “Thanks,” Ike said, though his tone was still annoyed.

  “Thank you for your patience and understanding. Please continue to enjoy True Calling,” the woman said with a slight bow. Cold mountain wind abruptly whipped through Ike’s hair as the campsite faded back into view on top of the blank support universe.

  “Whoa!” Ada exclaimed, jumping as if he’d snuck up on her.

  “Sorry about that,” I
ke said. “I just got done with the GMs.”

  “Ah, talking to Janet,” Ada inclined her head in understanding. “Everything squared away?”

  Ike shrugged. “Sort of a holding pattern, but it did help settle some things.” He had avoided talking to Ada about his logout issue earlier, but he didn’t like the idea that keeping it secret was a legal obligation now. It felt too much like lying. “Wait, who’s Janet?”

  Ada laughed. “It’s what everyone calls that overly automated support avatar that never stops smiling. It’s a reference to an old TV show.”

  “The name fits,” Ike said. “At any rate, it looks like I’ll be able to play for a few days without interruption. How long are you on for?”

  It occurred to Ike how personal the question was, but Ada didn’t seem to mind. “I saved up my time off for a year before the game launched, so I’ve got another week or so. I’m not using anything fancy to play, though, just a VDX headset, so I’ll be in and out like I have been.”

  Ike smiled. It wasn’t a situation of his choosing, but at least there was a silver lining to spending it in good company. “Well, what do you say we start the trek back to town until your next logout? We can compare notes on the way. Maybe hunt up some dinner. I can tell you all about the new stuff I got when I leveled.”

  Ada rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Oh boy! Lead the way.”

  Chapter 11

  Traveling

  “S

  kills advance as you use them, but they can only go so high. Pretty much everything is capped by your level. Some stuff is also capped by primary attributes,” Ada said, grunting as she landed. She looked back up at Ike as he climbed down the short drop-off. “At least I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.”

  “Got it,” Ike said. He was having a harder time descending the mountain. He figured it was because Ada’s Might and Vigor were a point higher than his. “So a level two character can’t have a skill higher than level two, and I couldn’t have a Might-based skill higher than level three no matter what level I get to.” He jumped the last two feet to land next to Ada, stumbling but catching himself. “I found an exception, though. I got something called a World First. It boosted my Enchantment skill level past my character level.”