The Cheater's Return

by Brian McGoldrick

  There are ways around identification and analysis spells and Abilities. A variety of Abilities, spells, and items exist that allow you to conceal or disguise yourself from divination type spells, but they are not exactly common. Depending on their design, they can hide, edit, and change what shows up under identification and analysis spells and Abilities. By using them, everything turns into a game of rock, paper, scissors between the identification and the obfuscation spells. The stronger or more effective spell wins in the end.

  From what Raven Goddess said, with a Torc of Fintan, it should be impossible to figure out your real race, because you really are something and someone else. These torcs are an unbelievable treasure.

  I put a Torc of Fintan on and attach a soul thread to it. For a few seconds, it feels like there is a band of molten metal around my neck, and I barely manage to keep from screaming. When the pain abruptly ceases, I put my hand to my neck and find the torc is gone. I can still feel the soul thread attached to the torc, but it seems to have merged into my flesh. What the fuck?

  It is time to try this out. Closing my eyes, I bring an image of the head enforcer from Vinny's fight club to mind. My memory is not eidetic, but from what I can tell, it is considerably above average. After just seeing someone or something once, I can recall nearly every detail of their appearance, and after reading technical documents a few times, I can memorize the contents nearly word for word.

  Through the soul thread, I can manipulate the Torc of Fintan with just a thought, and as I activate it, three-quarters of my Mana is sucked out of me. Because of the loss of so much Mana, so quickly, a wave of dizziness hits, me and I stagger slightly, closing my eyes.

  As I open my eyes, again, I see everyone staring at me, and Cavallo's mouth is hanging open.

  Vinny's head of security is a big guy, but he is still only about 190cm. There is a huge difference between 190cm and 286cm, and my clothes are hanging on like I am a kid wearing his father's clothes.

  "How do I look?"

  With an audible clicking of his teeth, Cavallo's mouth closes, and he just stares at me for a few moments. "You're almost a dead ringer for Tony. If your posture wasn't different, I would think you were him. Do you feel any different?"

  "Weak. And light. This guy doesn't have enough body mass."

  "Fat disgusting pig." Chin-Sun's whispered words are barely audible, but that does nothing to hide the venomous hatred in her eyes.

  Other than being fat and ugly, I have never been sure what I did that made her hate me so much. Her hatred for me has always been extreme, but over the last few days, she seems to be getting pathological. Sometime soon, I am going to have to deal with her. If I do not, there is no telling when she will fuck something up, intentionally or otherwise.

  Raven Goddess passes out torcs to the others, and keeping one for herself, she hands the rest to me. "You should be very careful who you give these to."

  I nod. "Yeah. I don't want these to wind up in the wrong hands."

  I cannot help but wonder, are Chin-Sun's hands the wrong hands?

  "Once the game goes into War Mode, the Church will be targeting anyone that is close to Crom or myself. With these torcs, we can move about with near impunity." Once again, the darkness seems to hover behind Raven Goddess' eyes.

  "Owwwww! That hurts! Why didn't you say anything, Fat Pig!"

  I glance at Chin-Sun. "It's not that much pain. I thought you were tough."

  "Fuck off, Fat Pig!"

  Cavallo rubs his neck. "That does hurt a bit."

  I have an idea that may or may not be stupid. "Could we use these to change into skeletons or zombies and just walk past the undead spirits outside?"

  Holding the tip of her chin between her thumb and index finger, Raven Goddess stares into space for a few moments. "Skeletons and zombies will definitely not work. They clearly lack the capability to hold our consciousnesses, but I am not sure about something like a ghoul. Though decaying, a ghoul's brain should be capable of holding the complete consciousness and intellect of any of us, but I do not know if we have enough Mana to make the change."

  Raven Goddess stares at Chin-Sun. "I, especially, do not know if she has enough Mana."

  Chin-Sun glares at Raven Goddess. "If that fat pig can do it, I can do it."

  Raven Goddess shakes her head. "Having pride is good, but you should never let it affect your judgment. Crom has more Mana than I do. You do not even possess half as much Mana."

  "I have a buff that can temporarily increase the target's Mana, but I do not know if it will be enough." Serena's soft words fill the cold silence left behind by Raven Goddess' chastisement of Chin-Sun.

  "Circle of the Sun and Moon ?"

  With her eyes opening wide. Serena looks at Raven Goddess, but after a moment, she shakes her head and smiles. "I do not know why you knowing about that spell should surprise me."

  "It is an extremely rare spell. How did you acquire it?"

  "A trader in Bone Fort had a single copy."

  For a moment, Raven Goddess reveals an expression somewhere between surprise and shock, but it quickly changes to a frown. "That should not have happened. There are far too many abnormal events taking place."

  "What happens if someone tries to shapeshift without enough Mana?"

  Raven Goddess looks at me. "I am not certain. I have never possessed a Torc of Fintan, nor have I seen one used by anyone but you. The stories I have encountered vary in the result. At best, the torc will just fail to activate. At worst, there could be partial change, and that would result in an unpredictable outcome."

  "A ghoul, eh? Once I get my Mana back, I'll try to change into one."

  "Who needs to wait for you!" Chin-Sun closes her eyes, and her face scrunches up.

  No one tries to stop Chin-Sun, but Serena casts a spell on her. I think everyone is already tired of her antics and histrionics.

  Several minutes pass, and Chin-Sun's expression turns into frustration. We all just watch and wait for the outcome.

  Without any warning, Chin-Sun's form warps and twists. I could not see myself change, and it is fascinating to watch the way her body shape changes and pulses. It seems to take a lot longer than my own transformation, but in the end, her form stabilizes. Chin-Sun's skin has a corpse-like pallor, and body proportions are no longer quite human. Her arms are longer, and her legs have a twisted, bandy appearance. She looks like a ghoul, but the question is, has she become a ghoul?

  Opening her eyes, Chin-Sun collapses to a kneeling position.

  Identify Monster!

  Common Ghoul (Fighter) Level 10

  » HP 220/220

  I put on a nasty smile. "She shows up as Common Ghoul. Looks like her body matches her personality."

  "Fuck you, Fat Pig!" As Chin-Sun talks, the sharp, jagged teeth of a ghoul become visible in her mouth.

  "No thanks. Your looks are passable, when you're not a ghoul, but your personality turns me off."

  I look at Raven Goddess and point at Chin-Sun with my thumb. "You're the one that knows everything. Will the undead outside ignore us, if we're like her?"

  Raven Goddess nods. "In all likelihood, they will, but nothing is ever certain. Do you want to take the risk or use your Nonexistence to Undead spell?"

  I shrug. "I'm up for trying it."

  I look at Cavallo and Serena. "What about the two of you?"

  After they look at one another, without saying anything, Cavallo nods. "We'll take the chance."

  With the way that they seem to communicate without words, I have to wonder if they are using a private chat channel, but I do not think they are.

  "All right. Once I get my Mana back, I'll change to a ghoul."

  Raven Goddess sighs and hands me a half-dozen Mana pots. "Will you just use potions, already? I have several extra stacks."

  I do not hide my smirk. "I knew it."

  I drink a Mana pot.

  Without saying anything else, Raven Goddess glares at me, and Serena watches her with a not quite hi
dden smile.

  While I am recovering, Cavallo, Serena, and Raven Goddess all change into ghouls.

  After I get my Mana back, I focus on the image of Ghoul Boss Chomper. When I activate the Torc of Fintan, it sucks my Mana completely dry, and I collapse to my knees. As I hover on the edge of consciousness, Chin-Sun's nasty laughter fills my ears.

  "It takes a shit ton of Mana to turn into this thing."

  I take Ghoul Boss Chomper's Spear out of my inventory and use it to support my weight, as I rise to my feet. Being in a ghoul body feels weird; my coordination is completely off. If I had to fight right now, it would be ugly.

  Cavallo stares at me for a moment. "You show up as a boss, with the name Ghoul Boss Chomper."

  "Nice. I'm going to go outside and see what happens."

  I head back down the tunnel to the hole that Serena drilled in the side of the tomb, but about halfway through, it is blocked.

  "Can you open it up, again?"

  Both Serena and Raven Goddess cast spells, and the tunnel opens up.

  Passing through Serena's tunnel, I pause inside the illusion cast by Raven Goddess.

  Seven of the incorporeal undead are in my line of sight. If this does not work, I will be dead so fast, I will not have the time to scream.

  As a ghoul, I do not need to breathe, but I take a deep breath, anyway, and step past the illusion.

  Nothing happens. A couple of the undead look in my direction. One appears confused, but none of them do anything.

  "It looks like this will work."

  Everyone else leaves the tomb, and Raven Goddess leads the way through the barrow land.

  * * * * *

  A couple hours after leaving Fintan's tomb, Raven Goddess stops outside another tomb. The lintel and doorposts have engravings of anvils, smithing tools, and fires.

  I have an irritating premonition, but when I look at Raven Goddess, she seems to be ignoring me.

  "Serena, we need another tunnel."

  After Serena bores a hole into the barrow, we follow Raven Goddess inside and head to the central chamber.

  Seeing a huge anvil at the foot of the stone slab with a skeleton on it, I stop and frown.

  Raven Goddess walks up to the pile of loot around the slab and picks up a pair of tomes. Turning around, she walks toward me, holding the tomes with the front covers facing me. The titles are easy to read: Basic Blacksmithing and Divine Smithing .

  Seeing my sour expression, Raven Goddess smirks. "You need to learn Divine Smithing to repair your broken war scythe."

  I take the tomes from Raven Goddess and examine them. Divine Smithing does not have the feel of a normal tome, and after putting Basic Blacksmithing in my inventory, I check the information window for Divine Smithing .

  Divine Smithing

  » Divine Smithing is the highest form of Smithing created by the Divine Smith Goibniu. He used it for all the works recognized as his greatest creations. These include the Torcs of Fintan and the Silver Arm of Nuada.

  » Capabilities: Unknown

  » Requirements: Unknown

  The information in the description is pathetic. Just what the hell is Divine Smithing ? Thoroughly unenlightened, I slowly flip through the metal pages of the Divine Smithing tome. The contents make about as much sense to me as a text on fluid dynamics would, but one thing, which I am fairly sure of, is that the knowledge contained within it is not any sort of standard Crafting.

  "This can't be absorbed, can it?"

  Raven Goddess smiles. "No, it cannot. You will have to comprehend the knowledge within it on your own. The Crafting arts contained in that tome lie outside the control of the Shackles of the Domination. I am not sure if the Shackles of the Domination recognizes it as a Crafting Skill or not. If you master it, you could think of it as another game-breaking cheat."

  As I stare at Raven Goddess, with narrowed eyes, I cannot stop myself from frowning. "How?"

  With a calm demeanor, Raven Goddess steadily holds my stare. "Tathlum existed before the Shackles of the Domination, and there are things that cannot be controlled by the Quantum Control Program's game overlay. If you want to break the game, you should find the things that exist outside the Shackles of the Domination. If you collect those things that the Shackles of the Domination cannot control, one day, you might find a path to your goal. One such item exists in the Tower of Balor."

  The armistice condition of World War IX is to claim the Eye of Balor from the Tower of Balor. I have not a single doubt that the Church has made that the armistice condition for a reason.

  After Raven Goddess says nothing more for ten or fifteen seconds, my frown deepens. "You aren't going to say anything else?"

  Without losing eye contact, Raven Goddess shakes her head. "I cannot. Not yet."

  Secrets. This woman is filled with so many secrets; I can never know when she is telling me the entire truth. I have never caught her lying, but if I ever learned that she had told me the entire truth about anything, I would probably die from a fatal heart attack on the spot.

  "When?"

  "When the time is right." Raven Goddess' expression has traces of pain and sorrow, but with her, there is no question that she is allowing me to see that much.

  With a smile that has no warmth or humor in it, I put the Divine Smithing in my inventory and walk past Raven Goddess.

  Like with the burial chamber in Daray's barrow, there is a pile of loot around the stone bier. It consists mostly of human-scaled tools, weapons, and armor, but while searching through it, I quickly find several more tomes, made with metal pages, that contain plans for everything from shovels and hoes to magic infused armors and weapons.

  I put some of the loot into my inventory. It might prove useful while running around in shapeshifted forms. The shapeshifting ability of the Torc of Fintan opens up some very interesting possibilities, and I will need gear sets that match each fixed form I create.

  Off to the side, while staying right in the corner of my peripheral vision, Raven Goddess watches me and smirks. Her expression seems to say that everything is going according to plan.

  "We're tomb raiding. Isn't anyone else interested in steel alloy loot over a hundred thousand years old that isn't a bit rusty?" My tone of voice is as sour as my mood.

  Cavallo scoffs. "A hundred thousand years? It can't be."

  "Goibniu died shortly after the last war with the Fomhoraigh. That was close to 110,000 years in the past." Raven Goddess' voice is as hollow as mine is sour. Digging through these old tombs is harder for her than it should be. Looking at her, she gives the impression that she is digging up the graves of friends and family.

  I stop searching through the loot pile and stare at Raven Goddess. Her bearing makes her seem older, but from her appearance, she could easily pass for nineteen or twenty. She has spent almost her entire life inside the game, and she said that she treats the game as though it is reality. Does she treat it as if it is reality, or does she believe that this is a one hundred percent real world and not a constructed reality?

  Meeting my stare, Raven Goddess smiles sadly, and the heavy darkness behind her eyes looks strong enough to consume her. That smile is anything but a smile, and the pain lurking in her eyes would drive most people insane. Maybe, she is insane. Does it matter?

  What is the difference between our reality and one that was constructed by some alien technology? Is this constructed reality less valid? Most people would say 'Yes' to the last question. I used to think of everything as just a game, but after reaching Rank 4 as a Shadow Knight, I learned things that I can never unlearn.

  The trials for Ranks 1-3 are all physical tests; you need a certain level of mastery over your character sheathe, spells, Skills, Talents, and Abilities. The trials to go beyond Rank 3 are different. A certain level of mental comprehension and understanding of the laws and reality of this world is necessary to reach Rank 4. I never thought about what understanding this world meant. No, I ignored what it meant. I did not want to think about it.
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  If I was asked about the differences between Earth and this world or what the validity of this world is, I am not sure what I would say, anymore. In just these few short weeks, I have changed. For the first time in years, I have a purpose beyond just eating. No matter the consequences, I am going destroy to QCP and bring down the game. Will this world exist after that? I am no longer certain that it will suddenly disappear. I think the Church may have made something that can no longer be unmade.

  What will happen after that? Will bringing down this game stop the Church from just creating a new game? After they freeze me, I will never be able to leave my cryo-capsule and survive, and even if I could, is there any possible way for me to stop the Church of the Resurrection from doing what it wants to?

  I scoff and shake my head. No, there is nothing I can do beyond bring down this QCP, putting a stop to this game. With luck, I might get a few answers before the end.

  Raven Goddess' smile changes. For just a moment, there is a trace of light and hope in her eyes, but it does not last. Can she guess what I was just thinking?

  "Fat Pig looks like he's losing it." Chin-Sun's mumbled comment overflows with her venom and hostility toward me.

  As Raven Goddess glares at Chin-Sun, Chin-Sun cannot meet her stare for more than a second. Chin-Sun turns and walks back down the tunnel toward the entry Serena bored through the side of the mound.

  "That girl is poison." Cavallo delivers his comment in an offhanded and disgusted manner, but it does not change the weight of it.

  The problem that is Chin-Sun needs to be dealt with, but I have no idea how to do it. I suck at dealing with people.

  With a heavy cloud of indecision hanging over us, we search through the loot around Goibniu's stone slab of a bier. The tools and weapons are more than a hundred thousand years old, but not a single one has a speck of rust or tarnish on it. How can someone make a weapon out of steel that does not rust after such a long period of time?

  I take out the Divine Smithing tome and stare at the cover. With a flash of irritation, I use Item Ancestry on it.

  * * * * *

  As the blackness fades, I see an old man staring down at me. He is the same man that created the Torcs of Fintan, the Divine Smith Goibniu. An expression of shock on his face fades, and his eyes narrow.