by K. T. Hanna
Murmur blinked at him. “Yes. It’s been a couple of hours. You’re level three too.”
He laughed and stood up straight, the seven-foot frame of his locus only slightly taller than her own. “Guess I’m just not used to seeing a girl—”
Murmur couldn’t help it. She laughed. “If you’d said that thirty years ago, I might have believed you.”
His eyes narrowed very briefly, so quickly, in fact, she couldn’t be completely certain they had. “I haven’t gamed with many girls who’ve been competent.”
“Then you probably haven’t gamed with many girls.” Murmur grinned, her quip shooting out like lightning. “I have to get to my trainer. Good luck on hitting four.”
She turned on her heel and headed to her guild, steps quick and purposeful, leaving Jirald behind. He seemed harmless enough, but the girl thing was an eternal annoyance. She knew it grated on her mom’s nerves too. Besides, she had plenty of gaming friends who didn’t give a crap what anyone’s gender was—as long as they could do their job and do it well.
At the turn off to the Enchanter Guild, Murmur paused again, looking out over the street that she had bypassed before and frowned. It didn’t seem to be all that interesting, just rundown buildings that appeared to get progressively worse the farther the road led in. Still though, her gut tried to push her in that direction and she made a mental note to go and check it out soon.
The Alleyway is drab and run down during the day. Beware of visiting at night; more than one adventurer has been lost, never to return. Should you venture in, be sure to mind your step.
Murmur blinked at the scrolling text on her screen that dissipated as soon as she’d read it, leaving a small blinking light at the corner of her vision. Accessing it quickly she realized the quest log had updated. But all she had was the information she’d already read.
She headed down toward the guildhall, pulling up those quests too. Each of the quests had a checkmark beside it along with Complete. Upon opening each of them, the reward was listed as trainer specified. Murmur frowned and entered the hall.
“There you are, Murmur!” The cheerful locus behind the counter recognized her from earlier. Although how she knew Murmur’s name was another thing. “Belius is waiting for you.”
The foyer was filled with other players, and they turned to look at her, curiosity piqued. Murmur nodded at the NPC and headed through to the back again, trying desperately not to make eye contact with any of the people waiting.
Belius sat at the desk this time when Murmur walked into the room. He finished writing whatever it was he was taking care of and pushed his chair back to stand up. “Ah, Murmur. You’ve finished my errands, I see.”
She nodded, marveling at the fact that there was no need to activate any type of quest mode. The game was seamless, and chillingly real. “Those skeletons didn’t like coughing up their bones, oddly enough.”
Belius laughed. “They’re strangely attached to them.”
There was a definite twinkle in his eyes. Murmur found herself warming to his character. NPC or not, he seemed more human than many people out there. She handed him the items, and Belius smiled.
“You may choose two more spells from those initially available. Keep in mind, you will need to acquire the leveled up versions when you qualify.” Belius handed her a scroll. “This is a list of the spells and their levels as they are available to you. Generally you obtain a new level of spells every fourth level until you hit level twenty. Remember to be aware of the level of enemy you’re fighting. The higher they are in comparison to your own level, the more likely they are to resist your spells until they render them completely ineffective.”
She nodded at him. It was standard that you could use a stun at level four on a level ten enemy and have it be ineffective. She leafed through the spells though she was already quite certain what she would choose. Free spells were free spells after all.
“You may select from the scrolls you see here. If any of them are level four spells, you may purchase them in advance of your level. But you may choose two level one spells as your rewards.” Belius moved to the side, leaving a bookcase filled with scrolls directly in front of her.
Murmur scanned her list and chose
Minor Shield
Cast: Self only
Type: Buff
Duration: 45 minutes
Effect: This casts a minor shield over your skin, increasing your Armor Class by level + 3, and hit points by level + 5.
Simple Animation
Cast: Self
Type: Pet
Duration: until death or dismissal
Effect: This summons a magical pet to do your bidding. It costs a tiny sword to cast. Isn’t the best at obeying commands.
Murmur blinked at the last spell. That sounded rather sarcastic. “Where do I obtain tiny swords?”
“From me.” Belius smiled. “They’re two copper for one, or three for five, or seven for one silver.”
Murmur raised an eyebrow. Considering she needed one per cast—”I’ll take seven.”
Belius smiled. “That will scale with you through to level seven. However at level eight, you will need to acquire the next version.”
She nodded, going through the spell list again, and considering the seven silver she had on her. The illusion spells were tempting, but her cash flow wasn’t established yet. A couple for level four would be her best bet. Mesmerize was the crux of being an enchanter. After all, stopping mobs in their place so they couldn’t move, effectively taking control of their minds—that was the shit she was looking forward to. But level four spells were one silver each. She checked her bags, knowing she’d be able to sell some stuff and decided to go all out.
“Mesmerize, Flux, Gate, Invisibility.” She paused, scanning over the descriptions. “Human Illusion, and Fear.”
Belius gathered all of the scrolls in his hands and passed them to her. Completing the quests gave her a sliver of experience too. She wasn’t about to complain.
“Wise choices indeed, young enchanter. Tell me. How do you feel about this path now?”
Murmur hesitated, analyzing her own feelings, and ignoring the flash of notification from Sinister for the moment. “It’s interesting. While I feel somewhat weak, I think these tools will help with that. It’s just…”
“What?” He smiled at her, well sort of. Locus smiles had a tendency to devolve into a grimace. It was the sharp rows of teeth in their mouths, tugging at their lips while trying to convey the expression.
She looked at Belius, seeking any hint that he was a player character. The thing was, with his reactions, she couldn’t precisely tell. While he played a part, he seemed so much more approachable. She touched her head. “You spoke to me earlier. In here. That fascinates me. The strength to peer into people’s minds seems farfetched, and yet.”
Belius moved a step closer, his starry eyes gleaming with a dark light. “And yet?”
“And yet—the possibility fills me with excitement. If that’s what an enchanter can do? I want to learn it.” She met his gaze, unflinching.
Belius smiled. “Grow stronger, gain experience, and you might want to see why your gut tells you things.”
Murmur blinked. “How did you...?”
Belius tapped his own head and grinned, sharp teeth peeking out from his lips. “Remember? If you shout about how you feel in your head, I’ll always hear. It might be good, it might not be. Try to quiet your thoughts so you don’t broadcast it to the wrong person.”
“Does everyone do that? Broadcast, I mean.” She held her breath.
“Everyone. While most aren’t very interesting, there are some for whom it can be dangerous.”
She pondered for a moment, and Belius cleared his throat. “Don’t forget to choose a robe young one. I recommend the robe that grants you an extra point to your charisma.”
Murmur had completely forgotten about the robe reward and eagerly chose a plain white robe with a rope belt, and a sturdy staff that stood n
ext to it. Plus one to Charisma would be useful. She’d keep her worn one too, just in case.
Initiate’s Robe—Enchanter
CHA +1
AC 3
Weight 0.2
Level 3
Initiate’s Staff—Enchanter
Damage 5-9
Weight 5
Level 3
“Time to train?” Belius asked, and she blinked at him, completely having forgotten about her level up points. Scanning her spells, she chose to put five points into Conjuration so she hopefully wouldn’t fizzle every single Mez. Plus, it would help summon the animation too. Abjuration was essential for her shielding.
“Thank you.” She said, smiling at her trainer.
“No need to thank me for something you’ve earned.” Belius approached his desk again and sat down. “Now I do have work to do, but when you’re ready, I’d gladly chat again. Though I do think you might want to follow your gut.”
The Alleyway tugs at you, stronger this time. Perhaps you should head there straight away.
The message flashed across her vision briefly, and as she closed the door behind her, she swore Belius winked at her.
There was barely any room to move in the corridor outside Belius’ room. A few enchanters chatted with each other while waiting for their trainers, some of them spouting off about theory behind how Mez and enchanters were supposed to function in general. It was a conversation she wished she could join.
But that bloody Alleyway wouldn’t get out of her mind.
Finally she reached the foyer and purposefully walked over to the lady at the counter who she’d already spoken to twice. “I’m so sorry. What’s your name?”
“Elvita.” The NPC replied with a smile. “Thank you for asking. Most people just try to inspect me and figure it out. Can I help you?”
Murmur wondered why she hadn’t done the inspecting thing herself, but her only reasoning was that Elvita felt too real. Besides, actions were supposed to dictate results in this game right? Being polite to NPCs might help in the long run. “I have some spoils I need to get rid of.”
“Excellent!” Elvita clapped her hands together once, and her demeanor shifted to serious. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”
Murmur dumped her haul out on the counter. Elvita sorted through everything, separating the club, the staff and dagger, and the venom glands. She pushed the spider legs and the heavy sword back to Murmur.
“You need to keep those. Spider legs make delicious food, and you’ll need that soon enough. If you’ve got a minute I’ll send you through to Arvin. He’s in our kitchen and can show you the basics. This sword, you’d do better advertising. I can give you seven silver for it, but someone else might pay as much as a gold piece. It’s up to you.”
Murmur glanced at the twenty-seven spider legs with renewed appreciation. “I think I’ll sell the sword to you if that’s okay. There’s somewhere I need to be.”
“Great!” Elvita moved the sword back to her side and grabbed an abacus. Hands flying for a few seconds, she looked back up with a smile on her face. “One sword at seven silver, five venom glands at two silver and five copper each, one rusted dagger at eight copper, one splintered club at one silver and three copper, and one worn staff at three silver and five copper. Total is two gold, five silver, and one copper.”
Murmur smiled and added it to her remaining silver and two copper, liking the sound of the coins rustling against each other. “I’ll take you up on that offer with Arvin.”
Elvita smiled. “Of course. You may need to buy some butter, but it’s not expensive.”
The guildhall kitchen wasn’t large, but could comfortably fit two people. Arvin seemed to be an NPC of very few words, and he showed her to the cooking fire and taught her how she could create one herself. Flint for the fire, then butter, salt, and pepper. Murmur wasted no time creating her masterpiece. Technically, anyway.
Considering her cooking skill was at zero, her first few attempts ended in a blackened charred mess that even the dog didn’t want to eat. However once she got the hang of it, she created spiced spider legs with her butter, salt, and pepper. Twenty-two of them in fact.
Spiced Spider Legs
Health Regeneration 4 every 5 seconds
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
At least that was the food problem solved. She sent a link of the food to both Sinister and Devlish, telling them to pass it on to the others as well. Then she purchased twelve, hour-long waters from Arvin for a painful sum of one gold.
From Sinister: You can already cook?
Well, of course. Aren’t you running out of food?
Murmur shot back the reply while waving goodbye to Elvita and exiting the Enchanter Guild. Her level was nowhere near satisfactory, and she had no idea if the slum was a good place to go, especially since it appeared to be getting darker in-game. It was now three in the afternoon. Maybe three hours left of daytime?
From Sinister: I bought enough to tide me over for a few hours while I grind. We’re all going to head out to meet you once we move to the 5-10 level area.
We? Murmur found it far easier to juggle her thoughts and conversations than usual. She arrived at the intersection to the slums and paused, casting Minor Animation which resulted in a fizzle. Suppressing a groan, she cast it again and watched in rapt fascination as an ethereal disembodied ghost with a floating sword and small shield appeared. In fact, everything about it floated. Guess it really was a weak pet. Still though, better than nothing. Her only options to tell it were attack, stop, or follow. It didn’t seem to have any special abilities.
From Sinister: The guys and me. Scroll through the shit ton of messages we’ve been sending you, oh anti-social one.
Murmur glanced down and groaned. Apparently her HUD wasn’t quite as refined as she’d like. Sorry about that, she sent back and got to fixing her HUD and permission settings so her best friends wouldn’t be neglected. Shit. Her chest constricted slightly, reminding her how much she hated to be ignored. Murmur sighed and scanned through the messages, she realized her friends were all at varying degrees through level three and she’d missed it! Those not on their continent were even preparing to journey to Tarishna and the Obsidian Woods, where they could all level up to fifteen together. Or something.
This sounds great. Still tweaking my HUD. Didn’t mean to ignore you all. So sorry! She sent the thought to all her friends and hoped that made Sinister feel better. She wished the system could convey her actual emotions, but the gear wasn’t that advanced yet. Her friends were the light at the end of the tunnel. Soloing wasn’t her thing. She couldn’t wait to group—after she finished this annoyingly pushy errand.
Murmur glanced at Jibartik and frowned, but couldn’t figure out how to rename her pet.
“Shit!” Despite having allocated her training points with Belius, she’d completely forgotten to distribute her statistic points. Frowning, she initiated her character stat screen. With her charisma sitting at twenty, or twenty-one with her robe, she dumped another four points into charisma to bring it up to twenty-four (twenty-five with her robe). Adding three to her intelligence brought her up to eighteen and left her with a manapool of ninety-nine.
Biting her lip, she glanced at the in-game time and added another into intelligence and constitution. It brought the latter to thirteen and increased her hit points to 103 which made her feel a lot safer. With the intelligence increase, her spells would hit harder now, too.
Satisfied, she told her pet to follow, and stepped over the line and into the slums.
Storm Corp
Storm Technologies Division—Theoretical Neuroscience Arm
Countdown: Two years before Somnia Online implementation
Jessa knocked on Michael’s door. He could tell it was her from the rhythm.
“Go away.”
But she didn’t move. There were no scurrying footsteps, only a deep and audible breath before she spoke. “The CEO is waiting to talk to you.” And that was followed by
the hurried footsteps away from his office.
“Hello, Mr. Davenport. Sorry for the wait.” Michael tried his best to keep his tone even. The simmering anger he felt was difficult to cover.
The trials are doing well so far. How is the data coming?
Michael didn’t want to answer. The data Teddy needed for the contract was technically perfect, but it wasn’t what Michael was after, not exactly anyway. “It’s going well, but I do believe I can make it line up even better, and thus create a more accurate assessment.”
Hmm. So far I’m impressed, Jeffries. Keep this up, and you just never know. If you think we can be even better, if you think you can get the headgear to interact at an even stronger level and read their subject? Then you have my blessing.
This time Michael smiled. “Thank you. I’ll make sure they exceed all expectations.”
The line went dead, but Michael’s mood improved. Sure, they were only twelve months or so out from needing to go into full-scale production. But it wouldn’t matter if the initial headgear wasn’t perfect. It would suit for a stupid game. Half of it wasn’t even the headgear to begin with. He could refine and tune...
He was so close to accessing parts of his brain he hadn’t even known he possessed. The artificial intelligence units he was working with were astoundingly intuitive. Rav, Sui, and Thra...the game world was huge and these were the initial three that had been activated. The others could interact with the world, but were still learning. Teaching them was fun, letting them learn how the headgear worked so they could encourage the players in different ways, could read them and afford them unique experiences.
Tapping into memories was possible, as were surface thoughts. Michael was certain with a few more tweaks, the headgear would be completely able to access most parts of the brain.
Just a few more months, and everything would come together.
Release Day: Somnia Online
You’ve entered an area not policed by the City Guard. Be sure to pay attention to your surroundings, and remember, not all thoughts can be hidden.
