“So, it’s more like an epic fantasy world with game-like qualities, instead of a roleplaying game with a real world backdrop?” He was not certain if he was asking the question right, but he was still curious to hear her answer.
“Oh yes, on this server the landscape and many things are focused on being more like a medieval world with a game interface. On the hardcore server everything is just well, more epic. The monsters are still adorable, and the musical score is quite lovely, but the world itself is... well, breathtaking and well outside the medieval standard.”
“Why not have a version of that for casual players?” asked Scott. It seemed like a no-brainer to be honest.
She shook her head. “The council keeps blocking that. Honestly, my family thinks that opening a fifth server for casual players of that version of ARS would probably solve most, if not all, of our current player retention issues.”
Scott rubbed his chin. “How does that whole end of the world thing work if the Lords of destruction are only on the hardcore server?”
Rhea sighed. “They are native to that server, but once they trash that world they will move to the other two player servers. Epic hardcore gods of destruction and carnage are far beyond the capacity of the casual players of this server or the innocent and sweet natured people in the kid friendly server. “
Scott thought about it for a moment. He envisioned that scenario as a bit like Vegeta from Dragonball Z appearing out of nowhere to crush all life on his version of Earth, but landing at Disney World . A Saiyan slaughtering Disney characters was both disturbing and hilarious. He related his thoughts to Rhea she nodded.
“Yes, it would be quite similar to that. No power of this world could stop them.” said Rhea.
“Why trash all three of the player server worlds, though?” Scott did not understand that. The G-rated world should not even be included.
“Honestly?” she asked him.
He nodded to her. Yes, he wanted to know.
Rhea snorted. “The council is a bunch of jerks.”
She blinked. “That’s the reason?”
“Yeah, they don’t have to do any of this. They just choose to do it because it is fun for them and they think it will make more money to unleash an end of the world event.” said Rhea.
“So, basically they are a bunch of total dicks who like screwing with people for profit?” asked Scott.
“Are there any other types of business executives?” asked Rhea with a soft smile.
Scott snorted at her then shook his head. He granted her a wry smile. “I see your point.”
Despite the disturbing nature of the conversation, they shared a small laugh. Life was certainly going to become more interesting in the near future.
Chapter 22: OEC Public License
Another Arvulf fell before his mighty fists. Scot could not believe how much better he fought now that he had discovered the true path of the sorcerer. He did occasionally cast his spells like he normally had, but through the power of synchronicity he was able to do much more overall damage even if the mana cost was also obscenely high.
Scott blurred forward and unleashed a rapid strike to the chest of another Arvulf. His fist slammed into it with explosive force and it was sent hurtling away. It screamed as it burned, and died in horrible agony.
The ability to combine burn and rapid strike had created a combustive blast synchronization that caused miniature explosions when his fists hit. Each strike cost him both the mana for his rapid strike and the cost for the burn spell. He had mastered rapid strike already due to his hard training, so he was able to hit seven times in the space of a single second.
Unlike his spells, the cost for rapid strike had increased slightly with each level. It now required ten points of mana to use the skill and he could do ninety percent damage with each strike. The explosive damage from his punches only did around half the damage of an actual burn spell, but it did that damage per strike, and it combined with the actual physical damage from the rapid strike skill. The damage potential was almost obscene.
Scott leapt to the side to avoid an Arvulf that attempted to tackle him to the ground then he unleashed his rapid strike once more. This time he only used its normal mode. It was more mana efficient that way.
The higher level monster was crushed by the power of his repeated blows. He turned to face the last one. “Ar-Lita!”
A brilliant blue light flared up around him then a bolt of electricity arced outward from his palm and shot into the monster with great effect. The Arvulf started to spasm and the sorcerer saw it as a good opportunity to finish the beast.
Scott raced in then blurred forward. His fists pummeled the creature several times and then just before the last strike he cried out, “Ar-Lita!”
A powerful surge of raw electrical energy arced through the beast and died silently. It could not even howl out in agony. Waves of heat and wafting smoke rose up from the electrocuted corpse.
The beast’s killer smiled and congratulated himself on a job well done. He reviewed the battle report with a satisfied grin.
<<< Battle Report >>>
Victory!
Congratulations, you have defeated seven Arvulfs!
+ 8567 EXP
+ 5679 Fayth
+ 21 Ability Points
Item(s) Acquired
Arvulf Pelt X 3
Arvulf Fang X 1
<<< * >>>
“Man, look at how easy that was. I can’t believe how much time I wasted using spells the way that I had been using them.” said Scott. Sure, it was far more mana efficient to simply spam his spells when fighting weak opponents, but when he faced monsters that were of a higher level it was much better to synchronize.
There had been hints about that all along. He was on the path of balance. That meant that he should be able to use his physical and magical abilities together. His class was a class devoted to synchronization! It was less useful for most other classes, but it was the true specialty of sorcerers and to some extent, monks.
“One more battle like that and I’ll gain a level.” said Scott.
He spoke up inside his mind. “Good job, Scott! Do you want me to restore your health and mana?”
“Yes, please.” he said with a smile.
Ero made a cute little noise and then Scott felt a sense of warmth radiate throughout his body. He read the information screen that popped up then smile.
<<< Status Effect >>>
You have been afflicted by the beneficial status effect Fairy’s Serene Blessing. While you are neither in direct combat nor attempting to perform an aggressive action, your health and mana will regenerate at a steady rate.
<<< * >>>
Ero had several abilities, but this one was the most useful as far as Scott was concerned. She could only use it a few times in a given day, and would need to rest for at least an hour between uses. However, it caused him to regenerate his health and mana at a rate of roughly one point per second and it lasted for several minutes.
“Thanks Ero!” That was really nice of her. He knew how much it took out of her to use her fairy powers.
The tiny little fairy said, “You’re welcome, Scott.” She then made a loud yawning sound.
“Sleepy, princess?” asked the sorcerer.
Ero giggled sweetly then said, “Just a little.”
Scott laughed softly then said. “Get some rest, Ero.”
“No... I want to stay up.” she said.
He could actually hear the pout in her voice. She did not want to go to sleep. She wanted to stay up and play. “OK, let me rest for a minute or two and we can head out to find another group of monsters.”
“Sure.” she said cheerfully.
After he had rested, Scott moved on. It was time to find another group of monsters to fight. He hoped that it would be a large one, as he wanted to increase his level quickly. He was excited about the possibilities of the future.
He needed to reach level one hundred and reincarnate before he transfer
red over to the hardcore server. That would allow him to transfer over with an advanced class, and the extra stats would be helpful. Things would be hard, especially since Rhea was going with him and they would both be level one with only the most basic of gear and starting character money. There would be no rapid leveling like they planned to do here.
In some ways, after he had learned about the other reality he had begun to see his recent adventures in a new light. It was almost as though he had been playing in a tutorial mode and now the true game would begin.
In truth, they could have gone already, but he still wanted to crush Corpse Rat before they left. If they were all a level one hundred, they could join together with Crimson Shadow in order to PVP the crap out of those fools.
This world worked like a game, and the players were gods in moral form, so they could not get kill them off permanently. However, they could ruin their happiness and make them look like pathetic assholes. That would have to do.
***
“So, you told him?” asked Shara.
Origin nodded to her sister. “Yes, he now knows that he has to transfer to the original world server in order to face his destiny.”
“Do you think he can handle it? Things are a lot different there.” asked Shara.
“Yeah, he’ll probably die a lot at first but he’ll get the hang of It.” said Origin. She clicked accept on her work terminal and a recently deceased male fisherman reincarnated as the daughter of a merchant guild mogul.
“Not gonna pull any strings for him?” asked Shara with a grin.
“No, no. He has to develop on his own. If he is babied up the ladder of power he won’t be ready when the time comes.” said the blue haired goddess. She clicked decline, and a recently deceased soul of a child molesting bandit was reincarnated as a slug monster instead of as a human.
She continued her duties as goddess of love and reincarnation for a few moments before Shara spoke again. When the red-haired ninja goddess spoke she asked, “So, you going to be an elf arcane blade again?”
“Sure, why not?” asked Origin. She clicked a button. A loyal and protective cow in Eizen was allowed to reincarnate as a female Minotaur.
“I was just curious. Elves take a long time to gain a level. It isn’t nearly as useful in the original server.” replied Shara.
Origin nodded to her then smiled. “That depends on how you play, I suppose. There is an experience pool that limits how much experience you absorb after all. Leveling takes time either way, might as well spend that time developing skills so that you can hunt higher level monsters.”
“True and I suppose the fact that you can only reincarnate three times does matter.” said Shara.
The goddess of love nodded once more then absent mindedly caused a rich man from Argent to be reborn as a bullfrog. “Speaking of incarnating, what about your community service project?”
“Ah, you know. Same old, same old. Some Earth was purchase from its creator deity. An up and coming game studio decided to screw around with it and discovered that they suck too much to do it right when there is already a dedicated world-setting. The elders took over and made it an open source community project.” said Shara.
“What was wrong with it?” asked Origin.
Shara shrugged. “Well, it seems to be some sort of typical modern Earth setting, but those idiots linked it to our Open Source World Building Template.”
“What’s wrong with using the OEC GPL?” asked Origin. Most Indie developers used one of their licenses and world settings as a basis for that sort of project.
Shara stared at her flatly. “They used our Medieval Fantasy World Engine.”
Origin blinked. “You’re kidding? They had a modern Earth and did that?”
“I know, right? They had a perfect opportunity to do a near-future Earth concept where people ran around spouting words like chummer or referred to themselves as street samurai.” said Shara.
“Shadowrun much, sis?” asked Origin. She clicked a button and a turtle in Lower Abyssinia was allowed to reincarnate as a bird. It had always wanted to fly free and now it would have its chance.
“I know. I know... Still, if not that, then something! Come on, be original! They should be developing skills like computer hacking and machine gunning or something.” groused Shara.
“So, add them in.” said Origin absently.
Shara snorted at her. “Add them in... You make it sound so easy. I’m not in programming. I’m stuck alpha-testing the second rate garbage they are making.”
“Ah, so that’s what you are going to be doing?” asked Origin. She had been curious about Shara’s position in her community project.
“Yeah. I have to pick a background and enter the world as a child. I’ll actually be stuck there for twenty whole years!”
“Ah, that’s not so bad. How much time will pass here?” asked Origin.
“About a month. All of the alpha-testers will be inserted at the same time and have to grow from birth to adulthood so that we are part of the world or something.” said Shara.
“So, you’re going to have to grow up on a modern day Earth, meet lots of humans, and make friends?” asked Origin.
“Yes...” replied Shara. She tried to pout. She really did.
“You suck. If I did not have Scott, I would trade with you in a heartbeat.” said Origin.
Shara stuck out her tongue at her sister. “It would be better if the world was not going to be wrecked. I swear, don’t these idiots even think of the people whose lives are going to be ruined by this?”
Origin blinked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” asked Shara with a hint of surprise in her voice.
“No... Tell me.” said Origin.
Shara sighed. “They did not copy and repopulate the world with fresh souls. They did a baseline world update.”
Origin stared at her, hard. “That... That is highly unethical.”
“No kidding! Those poor people are going to have their entire existence screwed over. I’ve looked at the current timeline that was set up and saw what happened when they attached the world to that open source version of ARS.” said Shara.
“What did they do?” asked Origin.
“They had everyone fall asleep at the same time so the world could update! So many people died. It made me sick.” Shara growled low under her breath.
“Whoa... Did they make reparations for the deceased?”
“No. No, they did not.”
“That’s disgusting!” snapped Origin.
“It’s also why the world was taken from them and made a community project. The new project leaders are trying to salvage the situation and keep hope alive, so to speak. Still, that Earth has been ravaged. I’ve seen what is coming. They have a hard time ahead of them.” said Shara.
Origin’s teeth ground lightly. What those idiots had done was little different than what those jerks on the council wanted to do to her beautiful ARS. Why must her people do that? They want to be human so badly that it hurts them inside, yet they callously disregard the needs of the very people that the gods worship! Every good thing in the divine city was a realization of a human ideal that the gods loved. Why ruin a perfectly good Earth and cause havoc among its inhabitants?
“Why can’t they, the council or these people, see what they are doing is wrong...?” Origin sighed softly.
Shara shook her head. “Wish I knew, sis. They worry so much about player retention that it blinds them.”
Origin’s dainty fists slammed down on her communication’s table. She snarled out, “Damn the players!”
She looked to Shara and shouted, “What about the people! What about our people? I am sick of this... this... this shit!”
Shara’s left eyelid twitched. Her sister, her sweet and normally gentle sister, had just said such a thing. She reached down and placed her hand on Origin’s shoulder. “We do what we can to make their lives just a little more bearable, maybe?”
Origin�
��s fury lessened slightly. She looked down and to the side while her chest heaved. “Yes, I guess you’re right.”
She looked back up at Shara then nodded. “You’ve grown up a little, haven’t you?”
Shara leaned forward and winked at her. She gave her sister a view of far more of her cleavage than Origin had any desire to see. “Think Scott’s noticed?”
“Shara!” Origin gasped aloud and then pouted at her sister.
The ninja girl laughed loudly then tousled her older sister’s hair. “Now now.”
Origin refused to relinquish her pout, despite her sister’s antics. She was in no mood for her sister to hit on her Scott. She might be the goddess of love, but she took after her father more than her mother in that regard.
Her father was the god of loyalty and hope. Her mother was the goddess of fertility. It would be better to say that Origin was the goddess of monogamous romantic love rather than the sort of thing that her mother or older sister Mid championed.
Shara kissed her sister softly on the cheek. “You might want to show him how you’ve grown sometime, sis.”
Origin’s face turned bright red. “Since when do you speak in such a fashion?”
The ninja goddess laughed softly. “I speak that way all the time... I just have no Scott of my own to show my growth to, unless you count the one who had a heart attack.”
“He was so fat...” Origin shook her head slowly. She could not truly envision a Scott who was shaped like a pumpkin with feet. Even her divine talent for imagery fell short of that feat.
Shara pouted then sniffled a little. “Yeah...so fat.”
Rhea reached around and gave her sister a warm hug. She still had not quite gotten over the death, restraining order preventing her visitation, and eventual timeline restoration of her poor Fat Scott.
Chapter 23: Epilogue
Time was a fickle thing. Sometimes a person could have too much of it on their hands. At other times there was not enough time to be had. Yet, there were always the exact same number of hours in a day. Scott had both too much time on his hands and not nearly enough.
Origin ARS 3 (Origin A.R.S.) Page 24
