by Rick Scott
We wait for the troll to be well and out of sight before I rush forward and collect the gear from my tombstone. The contents come zipping up my HUD in a big wall of spam.
You collect a pair of Initiate Miner’s overalls from your corpse.
You collect an Initiate Miner’s helm from your corpse.
You collect a Rusted iron ring from your corpse.
You collect an Iron mining pick from your corpse.
You collect a stack of Sneaking Potion(10) from your corpse.
You collect a stack of Sneaking Potion(10) from your corpse.
You collect a chunk of silver ore from your corpse.
You collect a chunk of silver ore from your corpse.
You collect a chunk of silver ore from your corpse.
You collect a chunk of HQ silver ore from your corpse.
You collect a Scroll of Shadow Copy from your corpse.
You collect a copper coin from your corpse.
I immediately equip everything and feel far less vulnerable, the equipment appearing like magic over my torso and legs as I put them on.
I initiate a trade with Gilly to give her a stack of the sneaking potions.
She then put up 500 credits in exchange for the trade.
I’m about to tell her it’s too much, considering what I paid for the potions, but the thought of the rent being due next week keeps my mouth shut; although I do feel like a bit of a heel as I hit the trade confirmation button.
“Cool,” she says with her gorgeous smile. “Let’s take one of these so we don’t have to make two corpse retrievals.”
We do so and a small buff icon appears on my HUD indicating I’m under the effect of the potion. I’m in no hurry to run up to a troll to test it out though.
“Where to now, Reece?” Gilly asks.
It’s always a little weird to hear someone call me by my character name out loud. Although in truth I respond to it as easily as my real name. Sometimes, I have to admit that I wish it was my real name. “Definitely not around here with that troll roaming the tunnel. And the buff will wear off as soon as we start mining. We should try and find someplace that has some nodes that’s relatively far away from these things.”
“Okay give me a sec.” Gilly’s eyes then glaze over and I know she’s now multitasking on her rig, bringing up another window to do some research.
That’s another great thing about Gilly. She loves learning about the game and knows just where to find the info for it. I, on the other hand, have no stomach for weeding through the millions of online posts and vids about almost any game aspect you can think of.
A couple minutes later Gilly unfreezes.
“Okay, I got us a map,” she says as she suddenly reanimates. “There is a big chamber at the bottom of the mines that has a bunch of these trolls that all hang around in the center. But there are like twenty nodes all around the edge of the chamber that we can mine without aggroing them.”
Good ‘ole Gilly, the best girl scout ever.
“Sweet!” I say as I feel that familiar thrill of anticipation rising. “Let’s get to it!”
Gilly grins at me with that killer smile again and gives me a wink. “After you, partner.”
Chapter 4 The Journey Down
The Silvertooth Mines are a lot more complex than I thought they would be and by the time we hit the third switchback that leads further into the depths of the mines, I’m doubly glad that Gilly had bought a map. On the plus side the potions were working just great. But it was a bit unnerving to walk past the giant trolls, thinking at any moment they would let out a roar and smash you to a pulp. We rebuff a couple of times just to make sure the sneaking effect doesn’t wear off at the wrong moment. As I take the potions I try not to think about the fact that I’m blowing a whole day’s worth of food on each one.
We don’t need to use torches thanks to our mining helms, but really the extra light source was just to brighten the area a bit more. Even without them the mine is never in true darkness. It had a fair bit of ambient lighting, with lanterns set every thirty feet or so. It’s still a game after all, and what sense would it make if you couldn’t see the awesome details put into the area’s architecture. Unless it was a horror game. Then pitch blackness would make total sense.
But I’m glad we’re not playing one of those.
Horror and me don’t mix.
We hit the bottom of the mines and just as Gilly had said, we enter into a huge cavern that looks more like a football stadium. Not that I’ve ever been to a real football stadium, but I learned about them through the mandatory education feeds you have to take up to the age of sixteen. I’m glad I passed the classes and my school days are now over. So now I can focus all my time on making money.
I count about a dozen trolls milling about the wide expanse. Every so often they grumble or growl to one another. Gilly and I skirt around the edge of the cavern to about halfway.
I hit my Prospect ability and whammo… Paydirt!
A cluster of eight or nine nodes light up right along the cavern a few feet from us and Gilly and I practically run to them.
“This is awesome!” Gilly says and slams her Steel Pickaxe into a node. “And we’re the only one’s here too! We could mine here for hours!”
I engage a node and get a big hunk of experience for a successful first hit. “The XP is great too! I think I’ll level after just a couple of nodes.”
We share a couple more woo-hoo’s and then set to hard mining.
I play it safe at the beginning, holding back on Gambler’s boon just to ensure I get enough ore to pay for the potions and my game time. I’m into about my fifth node when I hear a massive ding and a burst of light explodes all around me.
Congratulations! You have gained a Level!
You are now level 7.
You have gained 1 attribute point.
“Gratz!” Gilly shouts to me. “You’ll be catching me up soon.”
I give her a laugh as I check my stats and ponder where to place the attribute point.
Strength: 6
Determines melee damage and requirements for heavy armor
Dexterity: 3
Determines melee accuracy, critical hit chance and activation speed of ranged weapons
Agility: -10
Determines dodge ability, attack speed and requirements for light armor
Intelligence: 6
Determines spell cast speed, technique points and potency for Elemental Magic
Mind: 8
Determines magical defense, technique points and potency for Celestial Magic
Vitality: 8
Determines stamina, HP and regeneration speed.
Strength is always a good bet as it will lower the amount of hits I need to clear a mining node. Then again some extra Mind or Int would be useful for more TP so I can use more abilities before I have to rest up. My Vitality seems high enough for now, but then again, stamina and HP is always useful.
I can’t make up my mind so I decide to save it and get back to mining. I’m gaining XP so fast in here that I’ll probably level again before we leave. And next level will probably be a double attribute point bonus, giving me three to spend in total.
I have two and a half stacks of ore so far and decide to start going for Gambler’s boon to get some HQ drops. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even get another treasure chest. But hopefully with something good in it this time.
My first attempt earns me a bust, but my second and third attempts both earn me an extra ore drops plus a HQ.
“Good going over there,” Gilly says. “Get anything good?”
“Some High Quality’s.”
“Awesome.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll be able to clear rent from this run alone.”
“Nice!”
I stop to admire Gilly as she hammers into the rock face. She’s developed a really good rhythm, alternating between the nodes in her area, activating abilities in between. Her arms are pumped and glistening with a light sweat as i
s her forehead which she wipes every so often with the back of her hand. Her brows are furrowed with determination, which actually makes her go from ‘cute’ to ‘sexy’ in my books. She catches me staring and just smiles.
“Hey how’s your mom doing, by the way?” she asks.
The question takes me completely off guard, since I’m nowhere near thinking along those lines. But her question is genuine and not meant to deflect my thoughts. She’s the only player I’ve told about my mother’s conditions and it’s just another example of how great a person Gilly is for asking.
“She seemed pretty good this morning,” I say. “No coughing fits like last week. I guess the new medication is working.”
“Good news.”
“Yeah…” Good news. My thoughts and words trail off as I recall my last trip to the specialist with my mom. It wasn’t an actual trip mind you. The doctor examined her through her rig and I had come along for moral support.
“The good news is the cancer hasn’t spread beyond the lungs…so far,” the doctor’s avatar had said. He’s a slim black guy in his thirties wearing a white overcoat and stethoscope which look more like props. “But it is stage four. A transplant is what we’re looking at now.”
My mom grips my hand from the chair next to me; the same thing we were doing in real life. My mom is still young, just over 40. In here she looks her age, beautiful, dark haired with vivid blue eyes. The same that I have. But in the real world, she looks much older. Much closer to death.
“How long?” she had asked.
The doctor paused. “You’ll need an operation within six months.”
She starts to cry then and I hold her hand tighter.
The doctor soldiers on with the information, whether from professionalism or apathy I really can’t tell. But I give him the benefit of the doubt. “The fastest and most complete option would be nano-surgical reconstruction. It’s also the most expensive. But there’s no chance of the cancer returning or spreading.”
“How much?” I ask.
“Around three million credits.”
My heart nearly stops at hearing the price.
“What else?” my mom asks through a sob.
“A cloned lung would take longer to grow, about half the cost. No chance of rejection, but the risk of the cancer returning is still there.”
“What about prosthetics?” she asks.
“Around five hundred thousand, but there’s a high rate of rejection.”
“How high?”
“Around 50/50. Maybe a little worse even.”
That didn’t sound like very good odds for that much money.
“Anything cheaper?” I ask.
“Organ donation,” he says. “Around fifty thousand. But the list is very long and even if you can get one in time, the rejection rates are still high, but not as bad as the prosthetic.”
That visit was over a month ago now and still I haven’t managed to save up anything. The reality of it opens a deep hole in my stomach and I feel like vomiting. I can feel tears begin to form in my eyes. How am I going to do this? How am I going to save enough money in only a few months’ time?
“Reece, are you okay?” Gilly says, suddenly standing next to me with her hand on my shoulder.
I wipe away the stray tear and smile. “Yup. I’m good.”
It’s a total lie and she knows it. But she’s cool enough not to press it further.
Still, there is deep concern in her big green eyes, and I have half a mind to just tell her everything. But I dare not dump anymore of my burdens on her. She knows my mom is sick, but I haven’t told her about my last visit yet. She still thinks I mine just to pay the rent and my mom’s medicine bills. And most days I fool myself into thinking that too.
But the truth is, I have to make a lot more money than that.
A heck of a lot more.
And fast.
Chapter 5 Noobs
Gilly and I get back to mining. My resolve is doubled as I’m reminded why I’m down here. I use Gambler’s Boon without reservation. I’m not going to make 500 grand in a couple of months by playing it safe. I need to risk it big to win big.
I’m so into mining ore that I barely notice when I ding another level. And then another. I hardly even notice that Gilly is having a conversation with me, that I only occasionally acknowledge with an “uh huh” or an “oh yeah?”
Only when a powerful yell resounds throughout the cavern do I stop and look up from my grind. “What the heck was that?”
Both Gilly and I turn about sharply to see a group of players pouring into the cavern. The player who had yelled is still yelling; releasing a powerful warcry as she charges ahead of the pack.
And she is the most stunning woman I have ever seen.
She dwarfs the other players surging behind her and is three quarters the height of the twelve foot tall mountain troll she slams into with her marvelously ornate white shield.
The huge beast grunts, winded from the blow and from the bar above its head I see it lose over half of its HP. The woman then finished the rest of the bar off with a quick swipe from a glowing white blade that looks as big as I am.
The giant woman activates another ability with a second powerful warcry and all the trolls in the room react to it, bellowing as they begin to charge at her. I half expect her to run, but she stands her ground. I swear I see a grin part her ruby stained lips as her charcoal gray eyes gleam under a set of dark brows. Her jaw is wide and strong and framed by a head of platinum blonde hair.
To say that she’s beautiful is an understatement. But she’s much more than that. This woman is powerful, intimidating. If presence were an attribute she’d have over 100! I almost feel sorry for the trolls as they slam into her like in a wall of gray flesh.
Instantly half of them are stunned by a flash of white light that comes from her sword as she raises it high above her head. She keeps yelling and slamming into the trolls, keeping their attention as the rest of her party catches up to her. When they do, she cries out in booming voice that sounds like it belongs to a goddess.
“Hit them now, Thanus!”
From far behind her I hear one of the mages begin to chant. Then a half second later the air above the trolls’ heads opens up in a massive dark void and bolts of lightning shoot from it like rain. The accompanying thunder is deafening and reverberates in my chest. The dozen or so mountain trolls take more damage than I’ve seen in my life and fall to the ground as their health bars delete to zero in less than a second.
“Wow…” Gilly says next to me looking stunned. “That was cool.”
I can’t help but agree.
As the corpses of the fallen trolls begin to disappear the giant woman strides from within them, headed toward us! I still can’t get over how tall she is. At first I think she’s elven, but she’s not slender like an elf, more buff like an amazon. And her ears are normal like a human’s, not pointed.
I check her character to see who and what she is.
Name: Val Helena
Sex: Female
Race: Half Giant
Class: Paladin
Level: 85
Guild: Ragnarok
Holy crap! A max level character!
Her full-plate mail armor gleams like it’s made from ivory and is trimmed in gold with a royal blue underlay. Her shield is embossed with a massive gold cross and her sword the same, which, up close, looks more like a longsword built for her proportions, except to me it looks more like a two-handed claymore.
I take a quick peek at her armor set.
Royal Holy Knight’s Circlet: +20 Valor +30 TP
Royal Holy Knight’s Breastplate: +850 HP +30 VIT +30 STR +30 Valor
Royal Holy Knight’s Gauntlets: +350 HP +20 STR +20 MND
Royal Holy Knight’s Greaves: +850 HP +10 STR +10 AGL
Royal Holy Knight’s Boots: +350 HP +20 VIT
Royal Holy Knight’s Shield: +100 Valor +100 TP
Royal Holy Knight’s Sword: +30 STR +30 MND +30
Valor
My mouth literally hangs open. I’ve never seen such amazing looking gear and on such an amazing looking character. The combination is enough to make my mind froth in a wicked combination of adulation and envy.
Val Helena towers over Gilly and I as she comes to a stop before us and I have to crane my neck to see her gorgeous face. She has to be a couple feet taller than me!
She rests a gauntlet clad hand on her hip and then lets out an exasperated sigh. “What are a couple of noobs like you doing down here?”
Her voice sounds amazing to me, even with the insult: deep and sultry, like a hot teacher or someone’s hot mom. She even looks older like that, too. Not cute like Gilly, but actually kind of intimidating. A mature woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to demand it. My heart is pounding and I can’t tell if it’s from excitement, my libido or just plain fear.
“Hey!” She snaps her fingers in my face. “Can you hear me down there? I said what are you doing here?”
“We’re mining, what’s it look like?” Gilly snaps back unfazed. “And what’s it to you?”
“Mining, huh?” A male warrior in red-plated samurai armor sidles up next to Val Helena. He’s got a dark full beard and a top knot that reaches to Val-Helena’s chest plate. “I’m betting they’re spies.”
Spies?
Gilly and I share a look of confusion and I send her an in-party message that the newcomers can’t see: “What are they talking about?”
“No idea.”
“What guild are you guys with?” Val Helena demands more than asks.
It takes me a second to remember it myself, since I never really interact with anyone on there, besides Gilly. “The Nasgar Labor Union.”
“Yes, I can see that much from your character info, Reece,” Val Helena says sardonically. “I mean your real guild. The one you use for your main class?”
“This is my main class.”
The male warrior laughs—whose name is Zeke and is level 45, when I check it. “I bet you guys are snooping for Storm Raiders. They’re always trying to steal LM claims from us, man.”
