Evolution

by Travis Bagwell

  ***

  Jason glanced up when his alarm went off – signaling that it was time to exit his virtual study and log back into AO. Rubbing at his eyes, he wondered how so much time could have passed already. He had fallen into bed the previous evening exhausted and had woken up this morning and immediately started working on the assignments that Robert had given him.

  He was beginning to think that the engineer was a sadist. What he had assigned Jason weren’t so much lessons as programming puzzles. They were much more advanced than what Jason had tackled in the past. He had a decent grasp of basic programming, but he wasn’t sure that he was ready for sophisticated matrices and puzzles involving strings and arrays. Most of Robert’s assignments seemed to involve more math and number theory than actual programming.

  At least the virtual environment made the learning curve a bit more shallow, and, after several hours spent beating his head against the puzzles, Jason felt like he had made some progress. Not a lot, but some. He would take that as a small victory.

  “Now I need to get to work,” he murmured. He pulled up his system menu, logging himself out of his study. He was soon standing inside the VR headset’s blinding-white waiting room, and he reached for the door to Awaken Online.

  A moment later, Jason was standing in the cavern below the Hippie’s temple. He immediately glanced toward the water along the northern part of the cave. Yet there was still no sign of the tentacle creature.

  “I haven’t seen it yet,” Eliza said from behind him. He turned to find the water mage sitting at the base of the steps leading up to the temple’s second level, nearly a dozen bottles and vials spread out around her. Frank and Riley were nowhere to be seen, and his friends list confirmed that they hadn’t logged in yet.

  “Well, I suppose that’s a good thing,” Jason finally replied. “I’m not sure how we would fare against that creature. We barely survived the first encounter.”

  “Didn’t you promise the lizardmen that you would kill it?” the water mage asked without looking up.

  Jason stepped over to her and sat down on a nearby step while he watched her work, Eliza’s hands measuring and combining powders too quickly for him to follow. “I guess I did, but I wasn’t really planning to follow through. If we can find the grimoire and this water relic that Lord Baen mentioned, then we can figure out how to rescue the sailors and return to Falcon’s Hook.”

  Eliza looked up at him, her brow furrowing for a moment. “So, you lied.” It wasn’t so much an accusation as a statement.

  “Yes. I suppose I did. We didn’t have many options under the circumstances.”

  Eliza nodded slowly. As she finished mixing one of her potions, she pulled her wand from her waist. With a quick jerk, she tugged at the crystal embedded in the top of the wand. It flipped open, revealing that the base of the weapon was hollow. With precise movements, she loaded the vial into the hollowed-out wand and snapped the crystal shut once more.

  “What are you doing?” Jason asked.

  “The mist spell you saw me use back in Falcon’s Hook is just regular water vapor. The spell itself isn’t poisonous. Most water mages use it for concealment. I figured out that I can combine my potions with the mist and use it as a vector for the toxins. To make it easier, I had this built,” she explained, holding up the wand.

  “I can preload a potion using a special vial. When I tap this button embedded in the side, it forces the potion’s contents through the focusing crystals at the top. See, I had the craftsman drill small holes in the crystal.” She handed the wand to Jason, and he could indeed see that there were tiny holes bored into the top of the weapon.

  “But wouldn’t that only allow you to use one type of potion at a time? It seems pretty labor intensive,” Jason observed, handing the wand back to her.

  A small grin crept across Eliza’s face. “Yes. That’s why I had him make me a dozen.” She opened her pack to reveal a large number of the wands, each with a different color band wrapped around the hilt. “I color coded them so that I could keep track.”

  “That’s clever,” Jason replied, impressed with what she had come up with. He was constantly surprised with how AO’s game mechanics could be manipulated to develop creative weapons and strategies.

  Eliza blushed slightly at the compliment. “Thank you.”

  Their conversation was interrupted as Frank and Riley suddenly popped into existence nearby. Riley spared a glance at Jason and Eliza, a frown creasing her lips as she noticed them huddled together over Eliza’s potions. The water mage immediately began cleaning up her crafting supplies when she saw the pair enter the game.

  “Are you guys ready to explore this odd temple?” Frank asked enthusiastically.

  “I suppose so,” Jason replied, rising to his feet and gesturing for his minions to start the trek up the stairs. He grimaced as he saw them hobble forward on their broken limbs. This was all he had to work with now?

  As the group started up the stairs, Frank gestured broadly. “So, what are we thinking? Fire breathing dragon? Massive scorpions? Mutated, feral lizardmen?”

  Riley shook her head. “My money is on something sheep-themed. Maybe mutant sheep-lizard hybrids?”

  As the group neared the top of the stairs, Jason held up a hand, and they paused. A lone door stood before them. It was in much better repair than the double doors they’d entered through, and a simple iron doorknob was installed on the front.

  Jason’s group immediately took up positions around the door. Frank pulled his axes from the loops at his waist and stepped forward while Riley readied her bow. Jason mentally commanded his minions to flank the door so that they would be ready to join in the fray if something came barreling through the doorway.

  “One, two, three,” Frank whispered. On three, he pulled the door open swiftly and stepped inside, his axes bared and at the ready.

  What they discovered on the other side was a simple square room, approximately twenty feet wide and twenty feet long. The walls were made of large blocks of stone and lanterns hung along each of the four walls, giving off a pale blue light. The room itself was barren, no furniture or items marring the floor.

  “It looks safe,” Frank said curtly from inside, gesturing for the rest of the group to follow him into the room.

  Jason was the last to enter the room. As he stepped inside, the door swung shut with an ominous bang. The group whirled at the sound and watched with wide eyes as the door began to ripple and contort before disappearing entirely. Soon, only smooth stone stood where the door had once been.

  “What the hell?” Riley muttered, banging her fist against the wall. “The door just disappeared?”

  Frank let out a short sigh. “Forget what I said before. It looks like we get to deal with an irritating puzzle.”

  “I humbly disagree. Puzzles can be quite entertaining,” a voice spoke up from beside Jason. The Hippie had abruptly appeared in the room, Fluffy in tow. The sheep promptly trotted over to Eliza and gazed up at her expectantly. In response, the water mage automatically began scratching his head. “Games stimulate the mind. Plus, they help a person learn to control those other pesky emotions like frustration. You have to accept the puzzle and have the patience to learn its quirks. It’s rather fitting don’t you think?”

  Jason ignored the god’s odd word games. If he was presenting them with a puzzle, then what they needed to know were the game’s rules. “How do we get out of here?” Jason asked.

  “Ahh,” the Hippie said, raising a finger. “That’s a great question. The rules are quite simple. Each room is a perfect square with exactly two doorways.” As the Hippie finished speaking, two wooden doors appeared along the eastern and western walls of the room. “The entry doorway will always disappear when you enter a new room, and then the two exits will appear.”

  “That doesn’t exactly answer Jason’s question. How do we get out?” Eliza said, irritation coloring her voice.

  The hippie nodded enthusiastically. “What would be the poi
nt of a puzzle if it didn’t have a solution? There is only one exit from this level. Your goal is to find it. You know… before you die.”

  “Die? From what?” Riley asked, glancing around the barren room.

  “What a silly question,” the Hippie replied, cocking his head as he inspected Riley. “From the things people typically die from. Blunt force trauma, heart attack, disease, starvation, old age…” He continued rattling off an endless list of deadly conditions.

  “Okay, okay,” Jason interrupted. “So, it’s sort of like a maze, and we need to find the end?”

  “Something like that,” the Hippie said, a broad smile curling his lips. “Anyway, good luck!” With that, the man snapped his finger, and he and his pet sheep immediately vanished.

  “I’m really starting to hate that guy,” Frank muttered.

  “Just give him a few weeks,” Eliza replied sourly. “He doesn’t grow on you.” This earned her a laugh from Frank.

  Jason ignored their banter, inspecting the doors that had appeared during the Hippie’s explanation. They seemed to be identical, which didn’t provide any clue as to which direction they should head. Then a thought occurred to him and he pulled up his map. A hollow feeling settled in his stomach as he looked at the screen hovering before him.

  “What’s wrong?” Riley asked, noting his expression.

  “Our friendly god forgot to mention that our map data doesn’t update inside this room,” Jason replied in an irritated voice. “There’s just a swirling black vortex with our player icons. If this applies to every room, we are quickly going to get lost.”

  “We could mark the rooms another way,” Frank offered. Like we could make a symbol on the wall to indicate that we have been in a room and which doorway we went through.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Jason replied as he considered the barbarian’s plan. “I knew we kept you around for something!”

  “You mean besides acting as your decoy and personal transportation,” Frank muttered.

  Jason patted his friend on the back. “We have to play to your strengths.” Then he turned to Eliza. “Do you have a paint or dye that you can use to mark one of the doors?”

  “I might have something,” the mage murmured as she began rummaging in her pack. A moment later, she pulled out a small red vial and a little brush. “Do you have a preference?” she asked timidly, motioning to the two opposing doorways.

  “Not really,” Jason said. “We’re flying blind here. Just pick one.”

  Eliza hesitated, seemingly uncertain which door to choose.

  Riley quickly stepped in when she saw the girl faltering. “How about the one on the right?” the archer suggested.

  Eliza nodded quickly and moved to the eastern door, swiping a red “X” beside the doorway.

  “You guys ready?” Jason asked. Frank and Riley nodded, readying their weapons once more. Eliza moved toward the back of the group, standing near Jason. At a nod from Jason, Frank yanked the new door open and stepped inside. The door led into a small hallway, another closed door at the opposite end. As the group entered the narrow corridor, the entrance door abruptly vanished, closing off their way back to the room. It seemed that the Hippie wasn’t going to make this easy.

  Great, Jason thought sourly as the group paced quietly down the hallway. This prevents us from cheating by opening the door and inspecting the room on the other end before we commit to entering.

  Upon opening the door at the end of the hall, the group discovered an almost identical square room, replete with ominous blue lanterns and stone walls. The only difference was that this chamber was filled with broken crates and skeletons riddled the floor.

  Jason noted that the positions of the corpses were odd. They were all humanoid and seemed to be leaning against the wall of the room. He stopped to inspect a corpse, noting that its limbs were all intact. This corpse must have been some sort of soldier in life, fragments of rusted mail armor still adorning its torso. He didn’t notice any fractures or broken bones that might indicate that the person had died in combat.

  That’s weird.

  As the last of Jason’s minions stepped through the doorway, the entrance door shut with a bang and promptly disappeared. Two new doors then appeared along the walls – one leading back the way they had come.

  “One of the two exit doors can appear in same the direction we entered from...” Jason murmured to himself. “Interesting.”

  Frank shook his head. “More like bullshit. Man is this going to get old fast – especially since we don’t know how large this level is. Speaking of which, what do you think killed these guys?” he asked, kicking at one of the corpses. That corpse was adorned in more loose-fitting cloth clothing. Jason couldn’t help but notice that the material was in much better condition. Perhaps that person had died more recently…

  His thoughts were interrupted as the skeleton’s hand launched forward and grabbed Frank’s foot. The barbarian let out a surprised yelp as he stumbled, caught off balance by the sudden attack. Frank hit the ground hard. The skeleton promptly came to life, clamoring on top of Frank and raising a rusted dagger into the air. Before the blow could land, a bolt of black energy arced through the room, slamming into the skeleton and blasting its arm off at the shoulder. A spray of ivory dust filled the room, and Frank coughed as he scrambled back to his feet. Riley stood near Jason, her bow still vibrating from the release of her arrow.

  All around the room, the skeletons leaning against the walls began to rise, dust drifting off their bones. They grabbed at rusty axes and swords lying on the floor – what might have once been their weapons in life.

  “Put our backs to a corner,” Jason ordered immediately. “Riley and Eliza stand by me, and Frank in front.” As they moved into position, he mentally commanded his decrepit minions to form a buffer behind Frank.

  Nearly a dozen skeletons were crammed into the small space, and a quick inspection revealed that they were all above level 150. That meant that they were not to be underestimated. The skeleton that Riley had struck was already pulling itself back to its feet. Its soulless black eyes trained on the group and the creature seemingly undeterred by the loss of its arm.

  Frank lunged forward as one of the skeletons closed in, severing its bony arm with a vicious blow of his axe. The metal threw off small sparks as it struck bone, the material buckling and then breaking under the force of the attack. Yet the creature shrugged off the blow, darting forward with surprising speed and scoring a slash along Frank’s ribs.

  Riley immediately began healing the barbarian, using her health transfer ability to refill his failing health pool. She couldn’t keep that up forever, and Jason suspected that her health drain wouldn’t work against these undead opponents. Her abilities seemed to rely on enemies that had a circulatory system. His mind raced as he tried to think of how to tackle the monsters in their current condition.

  “Frank, try removing their heads,” Jason ordered even as he began to cast Curse of Weakness. He suspected that the spell wouldn’t be effective against the skeletons, but it didn’t hurt to try. A moment later, the needle of dark energy splashed harmlessly against the skeleton’s ribs, not having any effect. Meanwhile, the remainder of the undead were already shambling toward the group.

  Frank followed through on Jason’s command. He lunged forward again, this time fire curling up the hilt of his blade and coiling around the metal. The axe slammed into the skeleton’s head, caving in its skull with explosive force. The blow was enough to stop the creature, and it crumpled into a pile of inert bone before Frank.

  “The head works,” Frank shouted above the din of battle. Riley hadn’t waited for his comment, her arrows already filling the air and blasting through the skulls of the enemy skeletons. As he saw the enemies toppling around him, Frank rushed into battle, swinging both of his axes with wild abandon.

  Eliza chose that moment to enter the fray, yanking a wand from her pack. A thin trail of mist immediately began streaming from the crystal
embedded in the tip of the wand as her free had danced through the gestures of her spell. The vapor began to fill the room. However, instead of focusing on the skeletons, the mist clung to Frank and Riley. As Jason watched, Eliza depressed the button on the side of the wand, and the mist slowly began to turn a brilliant crimson. A few seconds later, Frank and Riley’s health began to refill – the pair pressing their attack harder as they realized that they had a healer supporting them.

  She can inject healing potions into the mist? Jason wondered in shock, his mind considering the possibilities that option might present.

  A short time later, the last of the skeletons collapsed on the floor. Frank’s arms were riddled with gashes. Even with Eliza’s healing, he had lost nearly half his health during the short encounter. Jason’s minions hadn’t fared much better. Two had been completely destroyed, and the others were now in even worse condition. Riley’s health was also quite low – the archer having been forced to use her own health to keep casting Void Arrow.

  “Man, that was rough,” Frank muttered as he surveyed the room, ivory bones now riddling the floor in piles.

  “No kidding,” Jason agreed. He had felt almost useless during the encounter. Most of his spells were ineffective against undead creatures. The only silver lining was that he now had some materials to summon new minions. Without their heads, they wouldn’t be of much use, but at least he could repair his existing skeletons and start stockpiling extra materials.

  With that thought in mind, Jason immediately began casting Custom Skeleton. He repaired his existing summoned creatures – replacing broken and missing limbs but not attempting to do anything fancy. Then he dropped the creation screen and handed a few extra bags to the less capable minions, ordering them to pick up the remaining bones.

  “What are you doing?” Eliza asked him cautiously. She was staring wide-eyed at the repaired skeletons. From her perspective, they must have pieced themselves back together in a whirlwind of bone as he used the spell creation panel.