The Cheater's Return

by Brian McGoldrick

  Patrick shrugged dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

  Anger and determination flared in Chin-Sun's eyes. "I will! You wait and see!"

  Behind Chin-Sun's back, Vincent gave Patrick a thumbs-up.

  After a moment, Chin-Sun's face paled. "Um…are there Summoners that don't use dead things?"

  "Yes, child. Do not fret, we will find a good match for you."

  "What about the two of you? What classes will you take?" Morgan's attention was on Vincent and Laura.

  Laura expression became serious. "This is a World War. I will triple-class. Druid, Ranger or Scout, and Beast Master."

  Vincent sighed. "I will use that Dark Marauder class. Once I see exactly what it looks like, I will pick Rogue and Arcane Caster Classes that match well with it."

  Morgan pursed her lips in thought. "When you log into the game, choose Bone Fort Island as your starting location. Ignore the Extermination Zone warning. As long as you are careful, you will be able to handle it. It will take Crom and I a little more than two days to reach Bone Fort Island from our current location."

  "I'm logging back into the game. When you get in, send me a friend request." Without waiting for a reply, Patrick left the room.

  Unconsciously, Chin-Sun stared at Patrick's departing back. Her face displayed a mix of resentment and nervousness. Clenching her fists, she looked at Laura. "I don't know how to use the quantum capsules."

  Without saying anything, Laura looked at Morgan and raised her eyebrows.

  "I have capsules that the three of you can use in this mansion. If you wish to stay here until we enter the cryogenic capsules, there is plenty of room. Chin-Sun, the staff has prepared a suite for you to use, until you enter cryogenic suspension, but right now, you need to get started in Primacy Online as soon as possible. Come with me." Clearly expecting to be obeyed, Morgan left the room.

  Dead Islands, Toraigh

  First Month 19, 10 RC

  As soon as I log in, the rush of enhanced cognitive power hits me. I feel my thoughts speed up, and my ability to remember and recall memories improve by a couple orders of magnitude. When you upload to your character, you do not get any smarter, but your mind works faster and more efficiently. The more points you have in your Mental Characteristics, the more noticeable it becomes.

  Once they get into their character sheathes, too many idiots, ironically, make the mistake of thinking they are smarter than they are. Everyone else gets the same boosts based on their mental stats and the same advantages to their problem-solving capabilities.

  Strangely or not so strangely, the boosts make no difference in the user's creativity, and despite the increase in mental faculties from being in a character sheathe, the chemical side of emotions still have the same effect on the overall thought processes of the user. Rage, lust, jealousy, pain, and pretty much any other emotion will, still, make people act stupidly or lose control.

  We wasted half the day in the real world, and I check the date and time. First Month 19, 10 RC 00:48.

  That is five days lost to dealing with moving and settling in. That is a lot of time to drop. With the Church Crusaders, the other cheaters, the Council of Witches, and whatever other top-tier players grinding like mad, we will have certainly lost ground. We are going to have to scramble to catch up and become Initiates, Rank 1, ahead of them.

  By Ranking up, you get a strength multiplier as opposed to an arithmetic increase. Rank 1 is a huge jump in strength from Rank 0. The strength increase is the single biggest one in the game. It is the first and biggest watershed in the power growth of character sheathes. As you go up in Rank, the difference in power between the Ranks becomes less noticeable, but a Rank up is still a huge increase in strength every time.

  At least this time around, I am starting on a level playing field with everyone else, including the cryogenic immortals. Building up a sheathe, to the point where I could crush my enemies, was a hard slog in Primacy Online V . Everyone that mattered had a lead of decades at the very least, and there were cryogenic immortals, who had two millennia of time in their sheathes. The only reason that I climbed as high as I did was that anyone dangerous was long gone from the low-Level areas. The power players had all Ranked up to a Rank they could not get past, and they were all busy scrambling for every little advantage in Level they could get. The only things that mattered to them were the people above them. They never paid attention to anyone below them. They were blind fools.

  I look around the dimensional pocket. The blood and charcoal colored crystal still floats in the air above the stone slab. It is all that remains of Daray. As I reach out and take the crystal, my hand shakes with rage. I have killed people on Earth and in the game. I was only eleven the first time I killed someone on Earth. I have no problem killing, but I had no desire to kill him. I can barely control the rage from being forced to kill at the whim of the QCP and not by my own choice.

  What is real, and what is fantasy? Raven Goddess asked me that question, and now, I understand why. Deep down, I am not sure if this world is just a game or if it is real, but I feel more alive in a character sheathe than in my real body. It has always been that way, but I never thought about the reality of the game world. Maybe, I refused to think about it.

  As I stare at the Inheritance Crystal in my hands, I smile coldly. What is real and what is fantasy, do not matter. I have a promise to keep. I promised to find Daray an inheritor for his Class, but he did not think of it as a Class.

  Are Classes a construct of the QCP, or are they endemic to the natural laws of this constructed reality? What was Daray? Was he real or fantasy? Does it matter?

  Whether here or on Earth, I live my days as though both worlds are real. Raven Goddess' way of living might be the best one. No matter which world I am in, I should think and act as though it is a real world.

  If I were to decide one was real and one was not, would I still act the same? Would I follow the same code of morality in both? Would I use the belief that one is fantasy as an excuse to not live according to my codes? I never considered myself to have any moral or ethical codes or beliefs. When you grow up in the underbelly of a city-state, they are a luxury that will get you killed. Only those with skills or wealth have value in Yukon City. If you come from a family with neither, you are a disposable commodity. Your entire family has less value than a piece of mining machinery.

  Life is cheap. When I made millions from Primacy Online , I forgot that. Even when the Church confiscated all my assets, I did not remember. I was already as good as dead, so what was the point in ruminating on the value of life? I fell into a habit of fixing quantum capsules and fighting. I was just waiting to die. Maybe, I was trying to get myself killed.

  Nothing has changed. I am still as good as dead. No matter what I do, I will die when I log out after the war ends. The only thing that matters is winning. I am going to break this fucking game. I am going to kill as many of the Church's lackeys as I can. It will be a pointless last stand. In the end, I cannot do any real damage to the Church.

  Was Daray like me? He was already dead, but he was not dead. Was he just waiting to die completely?

  As Daray's Inheritance Crystal disappears into my inventory, I let out a sigh and take out Crom Cruach's Aspect Crystals. I have just barely enough XP to advance to the next Level in all three Classes.

  Other than incremental Characteristic increases, I do not get anything from Leveling up. There are no new Aspect Abilities. I need to acquire normal Abilities. I want some of the basic types of combat abilities like cleaves and combat leaps.

  Opening my eyes, I look at Raven Goddess. "Did they get logged in?"

  Raven Goddess nods. "Check your friend requests."

  Pulling up the UI, I open my Friends List and see one from Cavallo. It looks like Vinny decided to use his old name. I hit the accept button. That is one more friend than I had before being perma-banned from Primacy Online V . Raven Goddess used to be the only one on my Friends List. In the past, except when I ran a
round with Raven Goddess, I was a solo player. I was so used to being by myself that I had no interest in joining parties, and the idea of joining a guild is anathema to me.

  Whether fluffing Arena League sheathes or in my life outside the game, I was used to being alone. Mi-Cha was my only friend, but as soon as she was old enough to play Primacy Online , she was recruited by the Northern Warriors. After I stopped fluffing, there was nothing to keep us together. Mi-Cha spent all her time with the team, and I spent all my time in the game. We had drifted apart.

  Voice chat between friends is initially restricted. It unlocks, when you get your Class. Until Cavallo has a Class, the only way we can communicate is through text messages.

  - Crom Cruach: Yo!

  - Cavallo: Crom! We are already Level 2. You two had better hurry up.

  - Crom Cruach: We're on the way. Message me if there are any problems.

  - Cavallo: There are other players here, but they all seem to be small, tight groups or solo players. No one has started trouble, yet.

  I stand up. "We should get a move on."

  Bone Fort Island, Toraigh

  First Month 22, 10 RC

  Seven of the twelve 'moons' are visible in the sky, as we run the boat aground on the shingle in a secluded cove on Bone Fort Island. With the exception of one real moon, the 'moons' of Tathlum are actually other planets orbiting Tathlum's sun, and nine of those planets have moons of their own. For whatever reason, the planets in this solar system have a ridiculous orbital pattern where they revolve around one another, while the group, as a whole, orbits around the sun. Or at least that is what Raven Goddess says, and the memories in Crom Cruach's Aspect Crystals agree with her.

  "Why do you have a cutter with the Church of the Sun's emblem on it?" Standing on the shore, Cavallo stares at the boat's sail.

  He does not look much different from real life, but like me, he edited out the excess weight he was carrying. The main difference is Vinny has maybe fifteen or so extra kilos to my more than one hundred fifty extra kilos. That may be an exaggeration of my fat level, just a slight one.

  I shrug. "We killed off the dogs in a Church outpost and took the subsequently unowned boat."

  Cavallo grins fiercely. "Did you get any Holy Crusaders?"

  I shake my head. "I don't think so. They all seemed to be NPCs."

  "Too bad."

  "What Level are you three up to?"

  Cavallo straightens his back, in a seemingly unconscious action. "Level 7."

  I raise my eyebrows. "That's fast."

  "Serena and I are questing machines."

  As she exits the boat, Raven Goddess chuckles. "Bone Fort is a real starter village. Where we were in the middle of nowhere. The Shackles of the Domination were playing games with us, right from the start."

  I stand up to exit the boat, and the eyes of Cavallo, Serena, and Chin-Sun stare at me. They raise their heads in unison to keep their eyes focused on my face.

  Cavallo shakes his head. "And I thought you were big on Earth. Are you a Half-Giant?"

  "Yeah. My race choice was locked."

  "Interesting. That was not even an option for oof ." Serena hits Cavallo in the back of the head, and he rubs his bald pate.

  Serena glares at Cavallo. "Stop with the pretentious enunciation and style of speech, already. We're back in Primacy Online , again, and we're from the back alleys, just like he is. I'm so sick of pretending to be an upper class phony. It's time to be ourselves."

  "Damn it all, wife! Don't talk with your fists."

  "Man up, husband. Where is that man that beat down seven men that hit on me and didn't even wince, when Coach sewed up that flap of skin that was supposed to be attached to his forehead?"

  I exchange glances with Raven Goddess, and she shrugs. "I only fought them. I never talked to them."

  Serena looks in my direction and grins. "We're both orphans from Yukon City. We made our place and earned our fortune in the game. Don't tell this blockhead husband next to me, but I miss the thrill of the war, as much as him."

  "Right." I shake my head and walk past the pair of them.

  Chin-Sun's character sheathe is about the same height as her real body. As I walk up the shingle toward the woods, her head tilts back. With her mouth hanging open, she looks almost straight up to see my face. "Fat Pig, you turned into Big Ugly Muscle Pig."

  Looking back over my shoulder, I point at Chin-Sun with my thumb. "Is she completely useless?"

  Holding up his hand, Cavallo waggles it. "She has the situational awareness of a rock. I can't believe she's really a top-level RTS player."

  With her hands on her hip, Chin-Sun glares at Cavallo. "Hey, Bald Octopus! I don't have a top-down point of view! How the hell am I supposed to be able to assess the situation!"

  "Noob." I sigh and walk into the woods.

  With Serena at his side, Cavallo scrambles to catch up to Raven Goddess and I. "We still have a number of quests, but they are all part of one chain or another."

  I shrug. "It doesn't matter. I'm already Level 11. Let's just kill shit until you can get Classes."

  * * * * *

  Earthen Spear

  » Create a spear from the surrounding earth. This spear will affect creatures that are immune to common weapons or are in an incorporeal state. It can be wielded as a melee weapon or hurled at an enemy.

  » Requires earth such as dirt, sand, and clay. This spell has no effect on other mediums.

  » Minimum Level: 10

  » School: Earth Elementalism

  » Type: Special

  » Mana Cost: 1MP

  » Duration: 10 seconds / Caster Level OR until thrown.

  » Damage: (1 + Magic Damage Bonus) + applicable weapon usage bonuses

  "{Earthen Spear} ."

  The spell name is all the mnemonic chant necessary for most Novice, Rank 0, spells, but they still require concentration and focus. A column of dirt rises from the ground next to me and forms into a rough spear. It has a point on each end, and the surface is like sandpaper, but it still does damage.

  My pronunciation is still terrible, but after practicing it for most of the two days Raven and I spent travelling, it is good enough to cast my Novice spells.

  I hurl the earth spear into the ghoul that Cavallo is fighting with. Even though the earth spear is formed from a spell, it still has to be aimed and thrown manually. This is no different from an Elementalist spell that has the same functionality and name. Considering how long ago Crom Cruach lived and died, the Elementalist spell may even be derived from this one.

  "Aaarrrr!"

  As the earth spear punches through the left side of the ghoul's chest, the ghoul's enraged scream fills the night. A couple seconds later, the earth spear crumbles back into loose dirt.

  I check the ghoul's status and my combat log.

  Ghoul (Elite) (Fighter) Level 7

  » HP 3521/6300

  Ghoul: -194 Piercing Damage(10 Damage Absorbed By Physical Damage Resistance): 95% Skill Expression (+50% Damage): Spell Expression 70%

  Yes, I suck at using throwing weapons, but this is training. There are a number of spells in the Earth Master Aspect Crystal that create items that are used as melee and thrown weapons, and some the higher Rank ones have ridiculous damage potential. The more practice I get the sooner I will break through the one hundred percent Skill Expression mark. If I was over one hundred percent Skill Expression, that ghoul's Damage Resistance would be useless against the Untyped Damage.

  Cavallo shakes his head. "Slacker. Give me some real DPS."

  I snort. "I'm practicing my throwing weapon skills. You should just thank me doing better DPS than the noob."

  "Who are you calling a noob, Big Ugly Muscle Pig!" Chin-Sun chimes in right on queue.

  "Stop being mean to the poor child. I would have never taken you for a bully." Serena gives me a dirty look.

  I shrug. "I like bullying noobs, and is it my fault Chin-Sun knows she's the noob?"

  "Stop calling m
e Chin-Sun! Call me Domina!" Chin-Sun turns her back on the ghoul she is fighting and glares at me.

  "Look out, noob." I point at the ghoul behind Chin-Sun.

  "Eeep !" Dropping her staff, Chin-Sun squats down and covers her head with both hands.

  With her swords limned in blue radiance, Raven Goddess spins like a top and takes off the ghoul's head. "Pay attention when you fight. Once you go into War Mode, you will no longer resurrect. Death will be real."

  Chin-Sun looks up at Raven Goddess. "I'm sorry, but he's bullying me. I got mad."

  Raven Goddess shakes her head. "You have no idea what bullying is. Once the war begins, people will not just say things to provoke you. They will capture you, enslave you, rape you, and torture you. There will be no logging out and no escape. As you are now, you will be nothing but a victim."

  "I'm sorry." Her fearful eyes brimming with unshed tears, Chin-Sun hugs her knees.

  "Chin-Sun, you should just quit. If you die, Mi-Chan will be all alone when she's cured." I destroy a ghoul's knees with two quick kicks.

  Except for Chin-Sun, we have never stopped fighting. Cavallo and Serene are not on the same level as Raven Goddess and myself, but they are far above the level of the common morons that I have run into.

  "Stop calling me Chin-Sun! Call me Domina! It's my game name."

  "That sounds European." My punch shatters the ghoul's jaw.

  Cavallo laughs. "It's Latin. You could think of it as the ancestor of Italian. It was a dead language before World War III. It's the female form of 'master', as in the owner of a slave."

  Chin-Sun smirks at me. "Call me Domina, Big Ugly Muscle Pig."

  "I like noob better, but I'll think about calling you Dominatrix."

  "You fat, ugly, perverted pig! I hate you!" Chin-Sun's screech echoes in the night.

  It feels like a cold hand clamps onto the base of my spine, and I look around.

  "Food is noisy." The words have a guttural tone to them.

  From the south, a pack of nearly twenty ghouls moves into view. The ghoul in the lead is well over two meters in height and has a three-meter long spear casually held in its left hand.