The Grind

by Dante Doom

  “I can assure you that my money is good,” the man said as he watched her test it. “If you’d like, I can pay in shekels.”

  “Your silvar is fine,” Savannah said. She thrust out a hand to shake his. “My name is Savannah deForge.”

  “I’m Timon laRange,” he said.

  “Of House laRange?” Savannah gasped. “Those are the big leagues!”

  “Well, yes…” Timon said. “But, we aren’t without our problems. There’s been a big fight inside of the family lately and my parents are worried about the loyalty of our Knights. My brother has been pushing hard to take control of the family factory, and Father is worried about a coup. If I were to end up a Serf, well, it would be trouble all around. So we decided to hire someone on the outside for help.”

  Savannah didn’t particularly care about what he was saying. For all she cared, he could have claimed to be from the moon and she’d still have taken his money. Normally, her father would ask all sorts of questions and probably lose Timon’s business, but no one was around except for Savannah. This was the perfect job.

  “Let’s talk about points,” Savannah said. Greed seized control of her at once. If he were willing to pay two silvar for the job, he’d probably pay even more in points. “I want an even split, fifty-fifty. It costs one point five million points to become a Lord of the High Court. So that means you’re going to need three million points with consideration for payment.”

  Timon looked at her for a moment, as if he were discerning her words. She kept perfectly still in response, knowing that she couldn’t give away how absurd of a deal this would be. After a second, he shrugged. “I don’t care; I’m not one to do the math. I’ve always assumed someone would be Grinding for me, so whatever it takes, I suppose.”

  Those words were like honey dipped in gold to Savannah. One of the problems with entering the Grind illegally was the fact that the only way she could gain points was by ghosting. If she were to attempt to play on her own, she’d have no way to save her points and would be restricted to the one entry per ticket like everyone else. She felt her heart flutter at the idea of gaining enough points to become a Lady of the High Court. All she’d have to do was finish this one job, wait for the next Grind day, and stroll into the game, cashing in all of her illegally gained points. Then she’d be a Noble. She’d be part of the ruling class and no one would ever tell her what to do again. She’d be free.

  Savannah smiled widely as she shook his hand. “Okay. When are you due to go in?”

  “Anytime I’m ready,” Timon said.

  “Then let’s not waste our time,” Savannah replied. She took out a small pill from her satchel and handed it to him. “Swallow this, and then head over to your pod.”

  “What is it?”

  “It lets my pod find yours so that I can ghost you,” Savannah said. She had never once thought to wonder what the pill actually was, but its purpose was enough of an explanation. Her father had a large stash of them, and they had always used them.

  “I hope it’s safe,” Timon said as he held the pill up to the light.

  “It’s as safe as anything in this world can be,” Savannah replied.

  “So there’s only a thirty percent chance of me getting sick? That’s a better rate than breathing the air, then,” Timon joked.

  Savannah burst into laughter. The joke was moderately funny at best, but the real joy was in the fact that Savannah had found her ticket to the life she’d always dreamed of. She had found her way to nobility.

  Savannah stretched her arms out as she felt the warm winds whip around her. She was back inside the Grind, a place that was almost more familiar to her than the city of Verre. Of course, that wouldn’t be the case for long. No, soon she would be free from having to spend her days Grinding away for other people, fighting tooth and nail for the status she desired. All she had to do was take this Noob around for a few weeks, or even a month or two, and she’d be set for life.

  “What is this place?” Timon asked once he finished materializing in front of her. She had been waiting for him to finish adjusting to the world. He had been motionless for a few minutes, eyes darting back and forth rapidly. Transferring into the Grind for the first time required a brief loading period for human consciousness to be able to adjust to the virtual world. Now, Timon looked rather awestruck at the plains of wheat surrounding them.

  “We’re in the Imaren Fields,” Savannah said. “Not the typical starting area, but it’s a good place to get your feet wet and find some Virals.” She smirked when she saw a combine harvester roll past them, being pulled by a tractor. Turning back to look at Timon, she added, “I figured it’d be a great place to begin.” Before bothering to say more, she quickly checked both her and Timon’s character sheets, making sure to set both of their characters so that they had the same target goal: 1.5 million points.

  “Incredible,” Timon said as he watched a large machine with two huge scythes attached to its arms effortlessly slice through the wheat. “I’ve never seen such marvels!”

  “Yeah, those are called Scything Machinas,” Savannah said as she pointed at another machine. This one was fifty feet tall and was planting thousands of seeds across a vast stretch of land. It would slam its long arms into the ground, pulling back on the soil, and then distribute the seeds evenly through a special tube feeder system in its legs. “Big-ass machines designed to farm.”

  “Why are they farming in a simulation?” Timon asked. “That doesn’t make much sense.”

  “Don’t ask me,” Savannah replied. “I think they made the Grind for something in the World Before, but I have no clue.”

  “It is a mystery,” Timon mumbled as he stared at the machinery. “Well, what’s the plan?”

  “Do you see those things over there?” Savannah asked as she pointed at a large, hunched over creature. It had purple and yellow tentacles jutting from its back, and it moved across the ground like a gorilla, using its long arms to push itself forward. Its body swirled as if a nebula were inside of it.

  “Yes, is that a Viral?”

  “Yup. We’re here to kill them. Virals are worth plenty of points. We’ll move from level to level, looking for Virals to kill and doing some quests or puzzles along the way.”

  “I was taught that Virals are too dangerous to fight,” Timon warned her.

  “Bah, we’ll be fine. They’re dangerous, but they’re also worth the most points in this game. So, we’re Viral hunters,” Savannah said simply. “But before we get fighting, hold still.”

  She turned and faced Timon’s avatar. Then she took a deep breath and passed through his body, allowing the electricity to jolt her skin as she walked.

  “Whoa!” Timon shouted as he was also zapped. “What did you do?”

  “I ghosted you,” Savannah replied as her UI stated, You are now linked to Grind Player #44593. “Now, whenever I score points, you’ll be the one to receive them. At the end of the game, you’ll have to split your points with me.”

  “Oh, I understand,” Timon said as he flexed his hands. “I don’t feel any different.”

  “You won’t, either. Here’s the deal—if you die in here, you get kicked out of the game and you take me out with you. If I die, you’ll get kicked out, too.”

  “I won two additional lotteries,” Timon replied. “We have three lives total.”

  “Why is it that the Nobles and rich always seem to win the extra lives?” Savannah murmured to herself as she glanced out at the Virals. Whatever. It was time to fight.

  “Now, you’re free to shoot at them and play along or you can just hang out,” Savannah said, “but never draw Aggro. If you prefer to kick back, that’s fine.”

  “I’m not here to let you do all the work,” Timon said. “That sounds a little too dishonorable.”

  “Hah, whatever, Silvarspoon.” Savannah chuckled as she pulled out her Pulse Shotgun. Thug-class Virals were usually most susceptible to high concentrations of damage, and the shotgun would do her well. The
weapon began to buzz as she pumped it, readying for battle. Timon produced a small pistol, and she reminded herself she’d need to find her client some better weaponry if they were really going to get to three million points.

  “Let’s do this!” Savannah shouted before rushing towards the Thug Viral. It began to shoot at her as she opened fire, dashing in a circle around it. 50 damage hovered above the Viral’s head as it stampeded towards her.

  Timon was shooting also, but his aim was terrible. Blue streaks of energy zipped past as each shot went wide. “Ah, this is harder than I thought!”

  “Your skills are too low!” Savannah called out as she leapt to the right of the gigantic creature when it swung its tentacles toward her. Another blast of energy caught the side of the creature, dealing 50 more damage. “Just keep shooting. Don’t forget—when you use a skill, you increase its level. The more you use it, the better you’ll get.”

  “Oh, right, I completely forgot about that,” Timon said as he continued shooting. A single streak of energy crashed into the back of the Viral and the phrase 15 damage hovered above it. “Everything in here seems so realistic; it’s hard to remember this is a game,” he commented.

  “We’re fighting what looks like a giant monster with tentacles in fields of wheat with giant farming robots and you forgot we’re in a game?” Savannah teased as she caught a fist to the jaw. 44 damage hovered above her head as she flew backwards from the blow. She had been too busy making jokes to see the attack coming. The creature was on top of her as fast as it could be, screaming out that strange viral shriek as its tentacles began to pummel her.

  Savannah didn’t bother to stand up; instead, she aimed her shotgun high and began blasting at the yellowish tentacles whipping at her. With each shot, a tentacle would break off, landing limp and inert on the farmland. There was no damage, however, as the Viral regrew tentacles just as quickly as she could shoot them off.

  “Haha!” Timon shouted as she saw the words Pistol Skill Rank 2 hovering above his head. His shots were getting a little better, but not by much. The Viral continued pummeling her, but Savannah was quick enough to shoot all of the tentacles as they appeared. Thugs weren’t very intelligent in terms of AI, and tended to use brute force to overwhelm their enemy.

  Savannah quickly activated one of her special abilities, Furiously Fast. Green energy shimmered around her entire body as 50% Speed Boost hovered above her head. She rolled out of the way of the Viral’s attacks and scrambled to her feet, backing up quickly and firing with each step. The Viral brought its tentacles down in front of it like a shield, blocking the shotgun blasts. The tentacles still broke off with each hit, but the Viral was regrowing them quickly enough that she wasn’t making much progress in taking it down.

  “Timon! Shoot the center of the Viral’s back!” Savannah shouted as she continued to distract it. “That will disable the limb regeneration!”

  “Right! I’m on it!” Timon dropped down to one knee so he could stabilize himself. He aimed his pistol and began to fire. The blue streaks crashed into the back of the Viral and it shrieked as Critical Hit 30 damage hovered above its head.

  “Nice!” Savannah exclaimed as her shotgun tore through several of the remaining limbs. No tentacles rushed to shield the Viral this time, and so she was free to blast a few more times, dealing 50 damage with each shot. This Thug was tough, though. It still had nearly 150 hit points left.

  The Viral roared defiantly and dropped down onto all fours. The words Charging Blow hovered above its head as it began to bolt towards Savannah at a blinding speed. Thanks to her power-up, she was faster, and able to dodge out of the way. As she leapt to the right to avoid the monster, however, she felt her back push up against something. It was the Scything Machina.

  “DO NOT DISTURB!” the Machina shouted as it brought its two long arms down to slash at Savannah. She narrowly avoided the long scythes whipping out and cutting at her.

  “Ah, crap!” Savannah cried out as one of the blades cut her in the leg, hard. 25 damage! Injured: Half-speed hovered above her head. She hobbled away from the machine and it returned to its work.

  “I forgot to tell you, don’t touch those damn things,” Savannah said as she looked at Timon. He rushed up to her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Savannah said as she eyed her health bar. She was down to only thirty hit points now. “Keep your focus on that!” The Viral had stopped in its place and was facing them. The word Charging was hovering above the creature’s head.

  “Right!” Timon said as he began to fire his pistol at the creature yet again. The shots went wide with each burst.

  “Come on, man, you’ve got to actually aim, too,” Savannah said as she grabbed his gun and pushed it down a little bit. “You don’t aim above the target; you aim a little below it. Energy weapons function at hitscan, which means they don’t work like they’re firing actual bullets.”

  “Oh, really?” Timon adjusted his aim and his shots began to hit the Viral more, and finally she could see the damage racking up. Once it got within range, she’d be able to finish it off with her shotgun.

  “You know, you seem woefully unprepared for this kind of thing,” Savannah said as she limped towards the gorilla creature. She raised her shotgun up and waited. The charge would have to be another rush attack. Hopefully, she could kill it before it hit her. With her injury, the speed boost she’d had was gone and she wouldn’t be able to dodge out of the way.

  “Yeah, well, I wasn’t really expecting to be going into the Grind this early…. Family drama, you know?’

  “I was preparing for the Grind when I was still in diapers,” Savannah replied as the Viral began to charge at her. Overdrive Charge hovered above its head in bright red words. As it stampeded towards her, Savannah aimed her shotgun at the barreling creature and waited. The creature’s large body towered over her in another split second and she fired twice. Lethal Damage hovered above the monster’s head as it exploded into a mist of energy. The mist evaporated as several thousand small yellow orbs went rushing off towards Timon. 3,000 points/1,500,000 hovered above his head.

  “Wow!” Timon said. “You weren’t kidding about Viral points.”

  “Yeah, they don’t have high drop rates for loot, though—only points,” Savannah said. “That’s the only drawback to fighting Virals.”

  “Well, we’ll need better weapons. Where do we get them?” Timon asked.

  “Same place where I can get healed up, the Wellspring of Life.” She pointed to a small swirling portal in the center of the wheat fields. “We can sell some points in exchange for gear. And I’m gonna have to hit the med center to get back up to one hundred.”

  Timon walked alongside her. “Is every fight going to be that exciting?”

  Savannah grinned at him. “Only the fights we win.”

  Chapter Three

  Savannah could hear Timon gasp once they materialized in the Wellspring of Life. His eyes were already wide at the sight of the spiraling city before them.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this… it’s so beautiful! Like those old cities from the World Before…” Timon whispered. “My grandparents told stories about places like this. They said there are all sorts of different buildings full of people who work all day. There were stores on the streets, they told me, filled with food of every kind, and they even said that people didn’t have ranks—they used money to buy property.”

  “I’ve heard the same fairy tales as you,” Savannah said as she shook her head. “I think some peasant made all that up. Rank is everything, and money belongs to those with power.”

  “There’s more to life than rank,” Timon muttered, turning around in a circle as he took everything in.

  “Hah, really? You’re the son of a Noble.” Savannah spun around to face him. “You’ve had everything handed to you on a silvar platter. You aren’t going to convince me that rank isn’t important. I mean, come on, man, you’re the one hiring me s
o you can become a Noble.”

  “Well, it’s not like I have a choice,” Timon replied. “I’ve got my entire family riding on this. If it were up to me, I’d…”

  “You’d what? Be a Serf?” Savannah asked with a laugh. “You fancy boys really have no idea what life is like outside the center of Verre. Never mind. Let’s just get moving—I need to heal up and find you a proper weapon.”

  Timon opened his mouth to argue his position, but instead chose to say nothing. He silently followed Savannah as she led him through the spiraling city, where neon lights flashed advertisements for different stores. Some of the stores were player owned, but there were AI programs that existed within the Grind to run the majority of the stores. She could smell the stale air of the city and feel the heat emanating from the buildings themselves. The beeping and whirring was almost overwhelming compared to the rustic land of Verre. Maybe some things in the real world weren’t so bad.

  They reached a building with a red cross on the front and the words Med Center hovering above it in bright yellow letters. A few people were hanging out at the entrance, talking to one another. They were other Grinders Savannah knew fairly well. Grinders often looked out for each other and, in turn, they were expected to pay the courtesy forward. While the game was filled with all sorts of perils and players out to cause havoc, Grinders were usually the most honest lot. There was extreme irony in this, of course, since Grinders were illegally playing the game.

  “Savvy!” said one of the Grinders, a tall man by the name of Bert. He reached out and high-fived her as she walked up to them.

  “What’s happening?” Violia asked.

  “Nothing too much, just taking a job around,” Savannah replied as she pointed to Timon. He was standing at a distance, still staring up at the sky in awe.

  “Never been in the Grind before, huh?” Mulls, the short one with a leather jacket, asked.

  “Nope. Weird, because you would figure a Noble’s kid would have been in here a few times. But it’s like everything is brand new to him.”