Sanctum

by Matthew Powell

  “That would be great!” Joshua was still wary, but everything seemed to be going according to plan for the moment. He started walking side by side with Nillene, and the plan quickly fell apart when she put her hand on his shoulder. Her grip was stronger than steel, and the smile had turned into a menacing stare.

  “And while I’m giving you a tour, you can tell me what a Wight wants in our precious little town.”

  Chapter 13

  Our recruiting process is…a little special. The people we recruit are called Champions, and they can be created in any number of different ways. The thing about spawning monsters to force lone players into dungeons? That’s one of the ways we use to push players towards becoming Champions, but that’s just the start, something to kick the slackers forward. Everyone in the top 1000 of the leveling leaderboards is considered a potential Champion, along with anyone who successfully kills a monster two tiers higher than themselves solo, anyone who crafts a legendary piece of gear before tier seven, and countless other achievements. – On the creation of Champions, from the Chronicles of The Founder

  ◆◆◆

  This was bad, this was very bad. Nillene had known from the beginning, when her eyes hardened, that he wasn’t a real human, and he had fallen for it. Joshua wanted to facepalm, but he was too scared to make any sudden movements while Nillene’s hand was still on his shoulder. He could feel the force of her grip through his armor as she pulled him into an alleyway where they wouldn’t be watched.

  “Well, don’t just stand there. Start talking.” Nillene’s grip tightened, and Joshua could feel his armor start to crack from the force.

  “I-I wasn’t lying before! I needed a place to stay for a while, maybe use as a home base while I hunt zombies. I swear I’m not here to hurt anyone.” Her stare didn’t let up, and Joshua was about to start begging when her grip loosened.

  “Well, that’s good now, isn’t it?” The smile returned to her face. “You see, I’ve met a few other smart undead like you. Most of them are still dumb enough to try and attack me, but you seem to know better. Just don’t cause any trouble in town, and keep that helmet on, and I won’t have to step in, understand?”

  Joshua nodded furiously, afraid that if he spoke he might ruin it. Her telling him to keep the helmet on meant that the regular guards had probably been fooled, and his disguise wasn’t a total failure. It was just his luck to run into someone capable of seeing through it.

  “Good, good. You're free to go now. That whole thing about a tour was really just a way to get the guards to leave us alone for a minute, Grace is small enough for you to find your own way around.”

  Nillene moved to leave the alley and Joshua stood where he was until she left. As she was leaving, her head turned, and she left him with one last sentence.

  “Oh, and if I ever see one of those little eyes spying on me again, I’m going to find you.”

  Safe Zone Grace Unlocked!

  Nillene turned the corner outside of the alley and disappeared, leaving Joshua alone to his thoughts. He had drastically underestimated everything about this town. Coming here was almost a gigantic mistake, but thankfully everything had turned out alright.

  The news of other smart zombies was surprising. That meant there were either roaming high-tier monsters or other players that had chosen to start as a zombie, neither of which Joshua had seen any sign of. He had his flying eyes scatter through the surrounding environment, looking for any sign of smart zombies outside of the town walls. Keeping them inside the town would be suicide anyway, so long as Nillene was around.

  The town of Grace itself could best be described as Spartan. Most of the buildings were either remnants from before the apocalypse or hastily fashioned constructions made from rubble and wood. Joshua noticed several other players in the town as he explored, and managed to catch the eye of several of them. Most of the others were equipped with shabby military body armor or heavy sports equipment. Seeing him, decked out in a full set of plate, was making them curious and more than a little jealous. It was only a matter of time before someone approached him to ask about it.

  Mane, the Mercenary

  Tier: 2

  Level: 7

  HP: 5500/5500

  A tall, spiky brown-haired man wearing football equipment was the first to confront Joshua. He was nearly seven-feet tall and had an equally massive great-sword slung across his back. The sword, unlike Joshua’s corroded brown metal, was made of scrap and metal plates fused together. Taking another quick look around, Joshua noted that everyone’s weapons were similarly makeshift. None of them had managed to create weaponry or armor as he had yet.

  Despite being a tier above him and much better equipped, Joshua wasn’t confident in his ability to beat Mane if a fight. His Plague Plate might buy a little time before that giant sword cleaved him in half, but that wouldn’t be nearly long enough to dig through Mane’s huge health pool. He had already started thinking of ways to take the mercenary out as fast as possible when he remembered the warning Nillene had given him just moments ago. He couldn’t afford to fight in the middle of town.

  Mane, rather than wave Joshua down and draw attention, seemed determined to take a stealthier approach. He slowly made his way towards Joshua, trying to look as casual as possible. It was a little embarrassing given that both Joshua and the dozen other players watching nearby had already noticed him, but the large man either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

  “Hey man,” Mane said when he got close enough for only Joshua to hear, though others had inched close as well. “Any chance you can tell me where you got that armor? I’ve been running around in this football gear all day and it’s a little embarrassing.”

  Joshua had expected a more violent or demanding tone from the giant man, but Mane actually seemed pretty nervous about the whole thing. Joshua quickly realized the problem: not only was he better geared, but his high tier and low HP made it seem to other players that he was a high-damage class. Even though Mane was almost certainly capable of cleaving him in two with his great-sword, the mercenary and most of the other player’s believed Joshua was capable of killing them first. They were too afraid to approach with threats, and Mane was the first one to approach with a simple question instead.

  “I’m afraid you won’t be able to loot this anywhere around here,” Joshua replied. “My class let me craft my own armor, and it’s Soul-Bound.” He lied a little bit about it being a class feature instead of a racial one, but that was probably for the best. The others couldn’t see his race, only his class, and Wight Guard was obscure-sounding enough that most wouldn’t realize he was a zombie variant.

  “Tch, dammit. I knew I should have started on a fantasy world. Sure, this place has guns, but that’s about it. There’s no armor, no good melee weapons, and not even any magic!”

  Several of the nearby players nodded along with Mane’s words, equally frustrated. Joshua knew it was a bad idea, he knew that it might give away his race, but the chance to show off his meager powers was too tempting.

  “Actually,” Joshua said, drawing his sword and flaring up his Virulence Aura around it, “there is plenty of magic here if you know where to look for it.”

  The crowd looked almost in awe at the sight of the aura surrounding the longsword. It wasn’t bright or flashy, but it was undeniably there. Mane couldn’t hold back his questions.

  “What? How? But there isn’t supposed to be any magic here? I’m so confused right now.”

  “All it takes,” Joshua continued, “is the right class. I don’t know if it can really be called magic, but the zombies of this world have their own gods and energies. If you find them, you can tap into them to gain new powers and class evolutions.”

  “Gods…I hadn’t considered gods. Of course a game world would have gods in it, I should have thought of that.” Mane was understandably annoyed by this revelation, even if Joshua was lying through his teeth. Sure, Filth had helped him out a bit, but the only reason he had these powers was because h
e started as a zombie. The people who started as regular humans on this world wouldn’t have such an easy time getting powers.

  “Wait a second…radiation!” A girl from the surrounding players who had been listening in called out. “If we are supposed to compete with magical and sci-fi worlds, we need our own source of powers. It must have something to do with radiation!”

  There was an immediate surge of players towards the town gate. The girl’s words had sparked a realization in the crowd. Of course there was a way to get powers, they just hadn’t thought of it! Players rushed out of the town towards the irradiated zone right next to it, determined to expose themselves to as much radiation as possible. While this was a horrible idea in real life, they didn’t have much to lose in the game. If it didn’t work, then they wasted a few hours. If it did work, they could unlock stronger classes.

  Joshua had expected people to try and pray or contact gods, but this worked just as well. The hours they spent trying to irradiate themselves were hours that he could use to pull farther ahead. Even Mane had joined them, leaving the town empty of all but a few straggling players. Joshua used the new quiet to plan his next steps.

  The Plague Eyes had covered a large area surrounding Grace while avoiding the irradiated zone, but they hadn’t found any zombies showing signs of intelligence that would indicate a player. Either they were great at hiding, had given up, or had moved on to the irradiated zone. With Nillene around, them giving up seemed the most likely option. Continuing on hunting the low-tier zombies wasn’t worth it, and there wasn’t anything stronger nearby. The only option left was to follow the other players into the radiation.

  Before doing that, Joshua explored the town a bit. There was an item shop, plenty of empty and occupied houses, and a fairly large guard barracks. There were a few scattered gardens in the open lawns, but most of the town’s food came from scavenging outside the walls. There was even a player-run store set up, though it was just a wooden shack with the word ‘Store’ on a sign above it. Joshua, not seeing much else to do and not wanting to get caught in the crowd of players just yet, decided to check out the store.

  The inside was filled with scavenged convenient store shelves and a cobbled-together wooden counter that the store clerk sat behind. The clerk was a scrawny guy, no older than 20, who was napping face-down on the countertop. Joshua took a look around, trying to be quiet so as not to disturb him.

  Alaran the Apprentice Merchant

  Tier: 1

  Level: 3

  HP: 300/300

  Surprisingly, the goods lining the shelves were of decent quality. Plenty of health potions, consumable items that gave buffs, and even a few weapons were scattered around. Joshua looked around for a minute before he realized there was a problem. All of the items were priced in credits. This world didn’t have a local currency, so the store owner was only able to sell his goods for real money. Even the lower-quality health potions were still worth several credits each, and none of the players were willing to spend that much this early on.

  Joshua didn’t have many credits to spare, but he needed a way to heal up if he really wanted to fight stronger zombies. He picked up a few superior low-quality health potions, capable of healing 500HP each, and made his way towards the counter. Along the way, he spotted something he didn’t even think existed in Macrocosm.

  Lesser Spatial Storage Pouch

  Created by a rookie craftsman, this pouch can store 0.5x0.5x0.5 meters worth of items.

  Price: 100 credits

  There was a single shelf packed with dozens of these. How on earth the players outside hadn’t bought them out was beyond him, but Joshua didn’t hesitate to grab two off the shelf. One for personal use, the other for experimentation with his Pestilence. They were expensive, more than he should be spending given his current budget, but he couldn’t help himself.

  Joshua brought his items to the counter where the store clerk was still sleeping. He set the items down on the counter and rapped his knuckle on it a few times, trying to wake the clerk up without making too much of a racket. On the third tap, the clerk’s head jerked up.

  “Huh? What?” The clerk’s head twisted back and forth, looking for whatever had disturbed him. It took a moment for him to realize Joshua was standing right in front of him. “Oh, a customer! How can I help you today?”

  The clerk looked much happier than Joshua had expected. A wide smile sat on his face, elated to have a customer. Joshua pointed towards the items on the counter, which the clerk hadn’t noticed.

  “Oh! Hah, sorry about that. There haven’t been many customers yet, so I’m still not used to working the counter.”

  “I wanted to ask about that,” Joshua said while the clerk tapped on the potions and storage bag, opening an interaction menu with them. “I know not many people started on this planet, but there seemed to be quite a few other players around. Why does the store seem so…empty? I know the items are priced in credits, but none of them are that expensive.”

  “It’s not the credits, surprisingly. The zombies around here are way too weak, so weak that none of the players are bothering to stock up on health potions. I had a good deal of business shortly after I opened by selling weapons and armor, but people started finding better stuff by scavenging, so no one needs my goods anymore. You’re the first person to even step into my store in over two hours.”

  Alaran, apparently the owner of the store, finished whatever he was doing with the interaction menus, causing another one to appear in front of Joshua.

  5x Superior Lesser Health Potions

  2x Lesser Spatial Storage Pouches

  Pay 300 Credits?

  Yes/No

  Joshua pressed yes, draining the credits straight from his account. The clerk’s eyes widened for a moment after the transaction completed before he turned to Joshua with a slightly guilty look in his eyes.

  “Uh, probably should have told you this before, but you can only equip one storage pouch at a time. I went through the transaction without realizing it, so I’d be more than happy to give you a refund.”

  “No need, I bought one to test with my magic.” He flared his Virulent Aura once again, staving off any questions from the store owner. “I want to see if I can create my own inventory without the need for an item.”

  Inventories were something that had fallen out of fashion in VRMMOs in favor of things like spatial storages that needed to be crafted or bought, but the absurd range of available powers in Macrocosm gave Joshua hope that creating an inventory was possible.

  “Well, alright then. If I can just get a few more people like you in here, I could afford to move to a better world.”

  “A better world?” Joshua asked, confused. “I thought we couldn’t leave Sanctum until we found a way to travel off-world.”

  “For normal players, that’s true, but it’s different for merchant classes like me. We can spend money to do any number of things, such as upgrading our stores, hiring NPC workers, and even skip straight to different planets without the need for a travel method. The downsides are that we are completely helpless in a fight.”

  “I see…”

  That did explain Alaran’s low HP. It was as bad as Joshua’s had been as a Tier 1 zombie, and almost as defenseless. Being able to craft stuff like these spatial storages seemed like a good tradeoff but starting on a world like this had crippled whatever start the store owner had likely been hoping for.

  “Well, good luck getting off-world. You may get there through trading, but I’ve got zombies to hunt.”

  Joshua left the shop as Alaran laid his head back down, going back to his nap now that the store was empty again. He had spent too long goofing off in town, it was time to get back to hunting zombies. As he approached the town gate, Joshua spotted a few players milling around the walls near the exit.

  It was a quest board. Dozens of papers were stapled to it, listing potential quests and rewards in the area surrounding Grace. Once Joshua got close enough to read the quests, he
was slightly disappointed by the offerings. Most of them offered weak item pieces or a few hundred measly EXP to kill dozens of 1st and 2nd Tier zombies, enemies that he was getting sick of fighting. Most of the players in town were already outside in the radiation zone, trying to soak up as much as possible in the hopes of new powers, but the few remaining near the quest board were all avoiding a specific section. Why became quickly apparent.

  Wanted: 10x Tier 3 Zombies

  Area: Radiation Zone outside of Grace

  Reward: 3000 EXP

  Description: A repeatable quest. Zombies that wander into the radiation zone rapidly mutate, becoming much stronger than normal. As Grace is situated right along the zones border, strong adventurers are needed to constantly clear these monsters out. Reward is given for every 10 killed on return to town.

  Accept Quest? Yes/No

  3000 EXP. Joshua nearly drooled when he saw that number pop up. That was enough to get him a level-up without even counting the EXP from the kills. He accepted the quest, causing a new feature to pop up in his menu.

  First Quest Accepted! Quest Log Unlocked!

  Quests in Macrocosm function much like every other MMO. They are meant to serve as the primary method of leveling up during early parts of the game, and the method for leaving the starting world is locked behind a quest that is unavailable until the player has a Tier 4 class. Most dungeons have quests associated with them that can be accepted at the nearest settlement. Quests and quest progress can be tracked in the quest log.