Continue Online (Part 4, Crash)

by Stephan Morse

  My hand placed atop the smooth orb. A display popped with what looked like a standard gear system. I could, if I wanted, get one set of items to go into the dungeon with. Apparently this was the king’s pity in action. The equipment wasn’t [Bound], dying would result in all my gear remaining with my corpse. The equipment looked to be poor quality, barely better than the nasty orange and black clothing I wore.

  I picked a leather set. There were no [Limberness] penalties, and my own armor wearing skill was fairly limited. Pulling items out of inventory was allowed. [Wild Bill] went on my head, and my weapons slid into the cheap belt provided with my leather armor.

  “Once the gate drops down it’s your turn to go in! Staying out here for more than an item turn in will result in death! Trying to kill any of the guards will get you riddled with arrows.” Knight Middle pointed at a barred area in front of us. It was the same exit that the other two groups went through. “Dying will bring you back here where you may enter without the staggered timer! ” Knight Middleton nearly shouted the words at us.

  I wondered about [Blink]ing past everything. How far away could I get before magical system nonsense sealed my abilities again? The gate dropped down, signifying our turn in this delayed dungeon entry process. Viper walked ahead a little ways while I equipped my items. Squisks was content on hanging back a little. The Traveler didn’t even have any gear on.

  Numbers ran through my head patterning to the sound of music as I waved in time to the song. I wanted so bad to find Xin and just dance away a night with her. Not in this dungeon, not worrying about what might have happened to [Haven Valley]. A slight hum accompanied my walk to the dungeon entrance.

  Session Seventy - How does it feel?

  Two months before Xin passed away I had gone in for laser eye surgery. Clients could walk into a kiosk-sized stall and place their head on the chin rest. From there the process had been simplified to a machine that scanned through layers of skin and flesh before putting up the results. A series of polished glass globes would slide close to the eyeball, then the machine said, ‘number one, or number two?’. Walking into the dungeon was a lot like that experience.

  Number one belonged to a clear and sunny day above ground. Flipping to the second lens turned our surroundings sharper, but in a very disturbing way. Darkness swallowed us up. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. After a minute the pulses of light from above were visible. They dripped down like water or falling stars through the earthen walls. In the distance was the sound of a river, or something liquid traveling onward toward destinations unknown. The passageway wasn’t wide as it spiraled around corners and downward.

  I liked the feel of this dungeon, but the two people in front of me looked creepy by the pattern of light. Multiple shadows slid off the players, rolling in waves as the drops of falling starlight passed. Whiteness to their eyes and teeth glowed. Viper’s serene smile sat off kilter. Squisks kept sending shifty glances back toward me where his eyes went from glowing white to pitch black instantly.

  Briefly, I activated the [Sight of Mercari] and groaned as vision overlapped my senses. A month in Advance Online had been long enough to forget how this ability impacted me. Along with the grunt was a disconnection, as though I was myself and a creature floating above my own head.

  Before the abrupt vacation, I tried to stick to using it for seconds at a time, almost like a quick scan of the region where I picked out needed names. It allowed me to avoid asking strangers for directions. I also felt neat and mysterious using [Blink] to get into weird places and say, ‘Delivery from the Voices’.

  “You okay, Hermess? No dying until you earn uss pointss.” Viper didn’t sound concerned.

  “An ability. Hold on.” All around was a map that displayed a lot of detail. This place was big enough to take days of game time to explore. A quick scan revealed an enemy group right around the corner.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” I asked them.

  “I haven’t been here before.” Viper hissed while looking around.

  “Okay.” The throb in my head hadn’t died down. This game already pushed mortal minds to the limit with time compression. Adding in extra sensory feedback that extended in multiple directions could easily overload a person.

  “Have you been here?” the snake man asked me.

  “No. I assume the final boss is down, and if we want that, we follow the path.” I waved and tried to focus on where the other players were. There were so many possibilities to focus on, but none of them did any good without knowing how much time we had.

  “Wait. Sshussh,” Viper said and put up a hand. “Sshit. Ssomeone iss close.”

  “Three other players,” I muttered which caused Viper to look over at me. My shrug didn’t clarify anything. This ability didn’t show monsters unless they were intelligent enough. Treasure chests and floor slants were invisible. I got dots, relative distance, and colors.

  One red person was moving swiftly toward us. Their speed didn’t show any enchantments or skills. Soon their footsteps could be heard thudding along the floor. Dirt shook from the ceiling.

  “Don’t kill me! I’m not a convict!” he yelled and his hands waved.

  The shout confused me, I didn’t think of myself as a convict either, so what was the point of yelling? Plus they were red while wildly waving us out of the way. I delayed a few seconds too long and nearly missed a stream of monsters chasing the player. This man was trying to pull an entire group of hostile creatures onto our path.

  Squisks ran straight for the train of monsters while throwing rocks. They shifted targets while the guy who had been running smirked. I shook off a mild headache from [Sight of Mercari] and switched to [Awareness Heightening] then readied [Morrigu’s Gift] into a smaller sword form. Using the big two-hander would do more damage, but this hall didn’t have enough room.

  Viper hissed and pulled a blade out of the strap across his chest. An arm pulled back to throw it at the running player. I went for Squisks, if he wanted to die, then I would make sure his passing got me an ally from group four.

  Everything around us had slowed down. The other player’s arms waved in a delayed dance. My heartbeat thumped at half time. A [Battle Hum] effect kicked in, helping my [Blade Dancer] with music. This messy scene of players running in different directions almost made me giddy.

  Players, monsters, they were within my ability to solve now. Not like the me of months ago. Still, all of this would have been hectic to a normal person. In my elevated awareness, this was like a practice dance.

  One hand yanked out [Morrigu’s Echo], the second shape-shifting weapon turned into a long spear that was promptly thrown toward the player with a train of monsters. There was a sickening squelch of noise that got buried under a disorienting [Blink] as I appeared in front of our third team member. Viper hissed in confusion but loosed his blade that flashed with green.

  It sailed toward Squisks but instead embedded itself into a monster’s hide. Seal like barking echoed through the room accompanied by a player’s shout. I retained a sense of awareness and looked toward the third party member’s legs. Shadows cast from the rolling lights didn’t line up.

  I closed my eyes briefly and activated the [Sight of Mercari] again. Squisks in my head didn’t line up with the fleeing goatee man and his illuminated eyes. I adjusted rapidly and swung [Morrigu’s Gift] straight into a seemingly empty location. A largely camouflaged body that felt unreasonably solid went flying toward one wall.

  [Weapon Focus: Bladed] Rank 4 adds 40% Damage

  Defender failed awareness check, dodge check, reaction check: [Unexpected Strike] Adds 150% Damage

  Attacking weapon exceeds defending armor value

  My eyes drifted to the weapon briefly before sliding to the crumpled body of Squisks near a cavern wall. We were lucky this room had opened up a little. His health bar was flashing red and critical. The Traveler’s autopilot symbol came up quickly, meaning our sudden shattering of his skills caused the man to log out.
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  There were two more Travelers slightly farther in, no doubt waiting to pick up the pieces after this train of monsters killed us. They would be in for a surprise at this rate. [Awareness Heightening] kept running as combat continued. I glanced at Viper for a moment. His mouth opened in slow motion as he gaped at the suddenly appearing body of Squisks.

  My hat tilted back and I put out a free hand to grasp [Morrigu’s Echo] as it [Recall]ed. The spear melted down to a shorter sword and got tucked back into my belt. Two weapons were really hard to wield effectively for a man like me.

  I leapt toward the gathering of creatures that had been led into this room. They looked like shuffling zombies that were half broken. Huge arms pulled them along the ground. Bits of bone and detached eyeballs illuminated their bodies. They were slow but those monsters’ arms could easily crush the life from a player.

  An arm twice the size of mine clawed out as my shoulder rolled down. One elbow slammed the creature in its face. Viper’s body moved amid the half rotten creatures. I yanked out [Morrigu’s Echo], in dagger form, and slammed it into the creature’s face. The monster barked once like a seal then gurgled as [Morrigu’s Echo] extended just enough to ruin its brain.

  “What are you doing?!” Viper’s voice was louder than the monsters being destroyed. Worst of all, he sounded so annoyingly slow. Each word threatened to escape notice due to their drag.

  My latest victim tried to roll over onto me. I let [Morrigu’s Echo] go and spun onward to another creature. [Battle Hum] kept me happy, a waltz tune carried through. Four beats per second for normal fights, under [Awareness Heightening] the tempo was closer to eight beats per second while still being functional.

  I turned, found a new position to be in, and [Blink]ed above a monster’s back. [Morrigu’s Gift], one of the only two weapons Hermes had ever earned as a character, pointed down. Both arms jerked to a halt as the sword slid through the beast’s body and dug into the dirt.

  Touchdown!

  Total Health Remaining: 80%

  My leg slipped and thudded hard on the kneecap. Landing wasn’t a skill I was good with. I abused [Recall] again and shifted a giant blade to quickly swipe at the nearest half a shambler that was crawling toward me. A ripple of force vibrated my arm as the blade got stuck around halfway through the creature’s neck.

  The fight kept going for another handful of scrambling seconds. These monsters couldn’t be the toughest beings down here, none of them were bosses or [Elite]. My count ended up being both Travelers and six monsters, against Viper’s two.

  The worst part of monster fighting was getting blood all over the new clothes. This game liked to bathe its players in sensations of gooey liquids getting into every crevice. Moments like this made things feel real.

  I cleaned the edge of the Morrigu weapons off on Squisks’ dead body while Viper moved closer. The man could move quietly, but [Sight of Mercari] gave me full vision at the cost of mental focus.

  “We’re clear, at least from the other teams,” I said through grinding teeth. My knee throbbed and the rush of using [Awareness Heightening] left me doubly drained.

  “You make no ssensse. Thosse, sskillss sshould be impossssible,” the player said from behind me. His feet were kicking at various corpses to ensure they were dead.

  “Yeah.” I hadn’t found many players like myself either. Two shape-shifting weapons? Goodness no, there hadn’t even been one other player yet. Most couldn’t switch weapons in battle, yet with these, I could cruise through nearly any playstyle but a caster. Though, my [Bow] skills were super low.

  “You don’t look like a warrior or whatever that wass.”

  That made me smile. I didn’t feel like one either. [Battle Hum] was still active as one finger poked through the combat log. The battle had been hectic and fast paced. My mind could handle everything moving at just over ten times normal speeds but only because there was a lot of support from the game. I honestly didn’t do much more than pick a target and think of an ability. It was like dancing, one motion flew into the next.

  “Me? No. I’m a lover, not a fighter,” I said. The two-handed sword version of [Morrigu’s Gift] drove downward with all the strength my excessive [Brawn] could manage into Squisks’ body. This time, a very clear icon appeared denoting his deceased status.

  Rank 8; Path Pervert killed – 20 [Redemption]

  Rank 5; Path Luckless Fool killed – 13 [Redemption]

  Teammate killed – 50 [Redemption]

  Combat Contribution +15 [Redemption]

  Voices above, that one scuffle barely made me gain any points. Plus we wouldn’t get anything for these items if we didn’t and couldn’t bring them back up top. We didn’t have enough time for me to sit around and calculate the numbers. I pulled out my paper and ink tied to the [Messenger’s Tube] kit and scrawled a message for Big O.

  “What’ss that?” Viper hissed. The poor guy was clearly puzzled.

  “Proof, and maybe an ally.” I closed my eyes and said a prayer to the Voices. Hopefully people honored deals down here, but there were ways to survive even if they didn’t.

  The snake-eyed man laughed in a weird drawn-out manner. He sounded delirious about our thrown together group. We had maybe twenty more minutes before the next group came in behind us. Two people from group one were much farther in the dungeon according to [Sight of Mercari].

  I stood with a final shudder before trying to put my [Acting] skills to the test. “Still think you could take me out?”

  “Maybe, I can ssee that those movess left you drained.” Viper’s eyes pointed in different directions. The idea that any player could handle double vision threw me off.

  “Yess.” I accidently hissed back at him before feeling sheepish. “You can loot anything you want. Take first dibs, take it all. I don’t really care.” I waved at the pile of monsters and the two dead Travelers.

  “You ssure you’re willing to trusst me?” he asked.

  I shrugged. Too many abilities that required a low weight in my inventory. Continue Online let us put everything into a magical pocket or flip through character screens on our display, but there was still a value assigned.

  Viper looked away and my chest lifted in the effort to take in steady breaths. A muscle in my shoulder screamed about how out of shape this virtual avatar was. Virtual sensations were powerful. I let myself express the discomfort for only a moment before trying to get back under control.

  There was no time to really take care of it. I had to figure out the means for summoning Dusk forth. The sooner my [Messenger’s Pet] and I were reunited, the quicker events would be easier to survive. Though thinking of him as a pet was weird, he was half friend, guide, lifesaver, and critter destroyer.

  Trait: [Messenger’s Pet] – [Companion, Exotic]

  Rank: 4, Unique Variant [Messenger’s Pet]

  Details: Monster Companions are far different than a captured and trained Monster. Having one requires earning the trust of a creature and being patient. This process is not achieved overnight. Travelers with a Companion pet will:

  See increased growth stats in the Companion (10% quicker gain to character points)

  Receive additional information and prompts regarding the Companion

  May receive ‘Blessings’ or other ‘Gifts’ depending on the Companion type. Not all changes are beneficial.

  Companions also have the following differences:

  Buffs are not shared between the Traveler and Companion. They are separate creatures

  Companions may choose to ignore or even leave the Traveler depending on performance

  Reading the Continue Online floating box confused me for a moment. This trait hadn’t been at rank four last time. For months of game time it had been completely stuck at two, but now it had increased.

  There was a button under the journal entry that would initiate a summon. Dusk, would he be okay returning to Continue? Last time we had been together the small critter was a four-armed space raptor with an insanely long tail.r />
  I punched the button for [Summon: Companion] and got a system message. Most of my abilities were activated with mental imagery like [Blink] or my shape-shifting weapons, but calling Dusk back was more complicated. This was the first time he had actually died in-game in our months together.

  My head turned to look at the other player. Our small room was safe enough for the moment. Viper was cutting away at one of the corpses behind us and grumbling. I watched him pull out a small crystal and wave it over the corpse. A stream of light transferred to the hand-sized shard. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone gather monster essence. Even Shazam never bothered.

  Viper could have all the loot, especially if doing so kept him working with me. I read through the messages presented by Continue Online’s game system.

  System Help!

  Summoning a companion requires the use of [Lithium] circle casting. Ritual assistance display is being provided to assist with the learning process. More complicated [Lithium] spells require memorization until rank four mastery of each individual spell is demonstrated.

  I had decided a long time ago that spells could be left to Beth and other players who cared to go that route. Still, the Voices above saw fit to help the clueless like me with a guide.

  In front of me was a slightly blue glowing circle on the ground. The circle vanished, then redrew itself. The hint was obvious enough for me. While Viper looted, I followed step after step to create a circle on the ground.

  Resummoning Dusk would not be a simple process while being rushed. The outside circle, an inside one, seven triangles and very careful squiggles were all reproduced from the instructions. Acceptable lines turned up green, poor ones were yellow, and the worst were red.

  “What’ss that?” Viper got far too close while I was lost in tracing the images.

  I ignored him and fixed one line with [Morrigu’s Gift] in staff form. This felt a lot like what TinkerHell had done months ago while we were trapped underground. This was kind of neat, but also a terrible time to learn.

  Words appeared on my screen citing the closing part of the ritual. I tried not to laugh then repeated the words.