Chapter 11

THE BRINK

The words formed across my vision as my next step crunched onto a thin layer of snow. The transition from dry hot grassland to a frozen snowy landscape was about thirty meters wide in total. I shivered, the sudden cold biting into me. Mie had recovered to the point of being able to walk herself. Her footsteps crunched in the snow next to mine.

There were familiar northern spruces lining the path, which was now blanketed in white. The temperature was freezing, and we were both shivering. It had taken us two hours to reach the boundary to The Brink, and the sun was high in the sky and shedding out some warmth. But, despite its heat, the air remained cold. I breathed deeply through my nose, enjoying the familiar scent of spruce and pine. I could see my breath as I exhaled. The place felt like home. Here, the inky black lines of The Black Domain were thicker. There were also more of them.

I froze when I caught sight of a yellow nameplate far off in the distance. I looked all around us. There were a lot of trees obscuring my vision, and an uneasy feeling rose in my stomach.

“Mie, what are your thoughts on expanding the party?”

“I think we probably should start trying to. If we get cornered by a group of four players . . . not even someone as awesome as me could carry your ass through that.”

I grunted.

The nameplate paused, still far off, and I could just make out a hooded humanoid with a green cloak right before the player, turned, and fled.

Huh. Having a duo really must be intimidating to other solo players. I couldn’t blame them. I would have hesitated too, and I once again took a moment to appreciate how grateful I was having Mie around . . . most of the time.

“What is this stuff?” Mie said.

“What stu—MIE, NO!”

She poked her finger into a thick line of the inky substance of The Black Domain that flowed through the white snow. A stream of it rose up like a snake, reared back, and punched into her gut. An icon with a black line appeared above her health bar, which was now dropping at an alarming rate.

“GAH, I DON’T LIKE IT! SAM!”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

I ran over to her, inspecting the debuff as she stumbled back. The black stream, which now more resembled a vine, tightened and prevented her from retreating.

{Corruption Vine} for forever

Description: You take 10 damage per second until the vine connection is broken. This effect can stack up to two hundred times.

“What the hell?! Why would you touch it?!”

“I WAS CURIOUS. GAH! IT HURTS. GET IT OFF ME.”

I had no idea if it would work, but I popped out a spear and bashed the middle of the vine. It didn’t do anything. Mie Flash Healed herself as her health dropped below twenty-five percent. The vine looked like it was some kind of leech. I thought it might be sucking blood out of her . . . at an incredible rate.

“Hit it with your staff!” I said. She did, but like my spear, it had no effect. “What the hell is this thing?!”

I pulled her away from it until it thinned slightly and became taught. Then I pulled as hard as I could around her waist, and after a moment—and a scream from Mie—it snapped in the middle like a rubber band. The part attached to her went limp and fell off her, and the part attached to the stream turned back to liquid. We stumbled backward, and I fell onto my back. Mie’s massive form landed on top of me and knocked the breath out of me.

“Gah!”

We untangled ourselves, and as we both stumbled to our feet, I panted out, “Holy fuck! Don’t just go touching random shit!”

I could feel her embarrassment in our bond. She was like a little child, and in a lot of ways reminded me of my girls when they were young. Especially when we were somewhere new, they would run around and touch . . . god damn . . . everything.

I sighed. “It’s fine. Just give me some kind of heads-up next time.”

After that, we avoided the flowing black lines more carefully. This place, this . . . area, felt evil, like the devil himself had passed through. Maybe he did.

We came across a pack of small snow cats that threw themselves at us like little clawed bullets as soon as we got close. They varied in level from five to seven, and there was a total of five. They didn’t give much experience, and all our hits were instant kills. The fight was over before we knew it. I cringed as I watched Mie’s staff crush the last one like a baseball bat smashing a watermelon. Her damage further solidified in my mind that physical attacks were still the way to go, and at this point, it was looking like I was stuck with that decision.

It wasn’t the only group of cats though. We continued north, taking on larger and larger packs of the beasts. The constant mobs gave me a chance to try out a new mechanic I had been noodling with. I had been able to purchase a load of crappy spears from Mark’s Supplies, and like in our fight with the guards, after throwing one, I could pull another one out of my Character Inventory no problem. After testing it a few times, I realized I was really only constrained by stamina. My cooldown for that ability was pretty low, and I could often toss out two spears in quick succession, knocking out two cats before they even reached us. A pattern emerged for these large group fights. I would throw a couple spears, followed by a Sweeping Strike to lock the rest of the group in place, back up a few paces, pop a stamina potion, and repeat. The number of stamina potions I was going through was unreasonable, but they kept us safe, and that was worth the cost for me.

The fights further solidified some inventory mechanics between our Soul and Character Inventories. I thought we might be able to use the mechanic on imminent death, to get all our items to safety before dying, but it looked like that wasn’t possible. And worse, just like you couldn’t log out while being in combat, you couldn’t initiate the transfer of items between inventories while in combat. So that sucked. No last second gear-saving potential. There were some positives though, like if we knew a fight was coming, we could pull our better gear out . . . not that we had any better gear yet. Or if there was a specific type of engagement, we could rework our kits as needed, assuming we were not yet in combat. Not all bad, but still not exactly what I was hoping for. I was probably thinking too defensively anyways. We had life credits to spare. Then I remembered the woman getting . . . pancaked. Actually, I liked my four life credits staying at four life credits.

We saw a few more players. But we were never close enough to catch their levels or names. There were enough to where we were able to put together that multiple entry events must have occurred near the same area as ours. That made sense to me, as the numbers of players based on the size of the entire island had not been adding up. It was not like there were one hundred thousand unique locations in all. Most locations I had seen so far took up a good amount of area. Like The Brink, for example. It was a large area, but I doubted it was a starter area. I was surprised to see anyone in this area at all. I had assumed we already had a level advantage with that event. Maybe folks had stayed up all night? Didn't Tittles mention something about an increase in events . . .?

The grind was real. We gained minor experience throughout the day and were now approaching level ten, but it would take a couple more hours yet. The cats dropped silver, copper, pelts, and meat as we went. Most notable though were two uncommon gear pieces.

{Catskin Greeves}

Rank: Uncommon

Grade: Shabby

Slot: Shins

+4 Armor

+2 Constitution

+[4%-8%] Knockback Resist

{Catskin Breastplate}

Rank: Uncommon

Grade: Stellar

Slot: Chest

+10 Armor

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

+3 Constitution

+[10%-16%] Stun Evade

That stun evade was fantastic. I replaced my basic gear with the better equipment.

Another hour later, we were so close to level ten, and it was dusk when Mie said, “I’m hungry.”

“Again? Didn’t you just eat some bread?”

“No. My Soul Space body is hungry . . .” She trailed off.

“Oh. Right. Okay . . . ” It was odd. I too had felt my hunger and thirst periodically, but those sensations would disappear shortly after. Why wasn’t that working for Mie? Maybe because she was an item?

“You have gone . . . what . . . twelve hours without eating? Why haven’t you said anything? You must be starving.”

“I AM. But it’s not like I want to stare at your nipple for another twenty minutes.”

“What is with you and my nipples? I have a T-Shirt on my soul space body now too. No . . . nipple-staring needed.”

“I just . . . don’t like them.”

“It would be super weird if you did.”

I started kicking at the snow beneath my feet. Mark had mentioned that fires would give us the same XP boost that logging out from an inn would give. So, I inquired how one . . . acquires a fire. He had looked at me like I was dumb or something. I was . . . It was basically the same as on Earth.

I cleared away a patch of snow to the dirt beneath our feet then found some kindling and small dry sticks. I carefully placed the sticks in a tent formation around the kindling, then I pulled some split cedar out of my inventory and started stacking it, box style, right over the kindling and sticks, making sure to not disturb what I thought of as my ‘Fire’s Heart.’

After that, when I mentally focused on the creation, an option to ‘Light Fire’ appeared. I mentally selected it, and a small fire started within the Fire’s Heart. Small lines of smoke rose up and hit my face and nose, as the fire began to grow.

That smell. A memory slammed so suddenly into me that . . . it felt like . . . I was home. I was sitting in my La-Z-Boy recliner, staring into the heart of a fire that burned within our wood-burning fireplace. My body ached after a day of physical weekend warrior labor. My wife was busy in the kitchen, and sounds of shouts and giggles echoed through my mind as Lily came running around the corner with a handful of bread dough stuffed in her mouth. She always stole some of that damn dough.

I crouched next to the fire for a long time. I wanted nothing more than to stay right here and continue to watch the fire flicker. To hear it crack and to remember my family. To remember the good times. But I couldn’t. And it would be dumb to stay in Hearth during the night. I looked over at Mie, who nodded at me, indicating she was ready to log out. I scanned the area closely, making sure no other players saw us as we logged out. Then I pulled up my message system.

Sam: Greg, we’re headed back. Just FYI.

Sam: Greg?

Mie: Yay! Greg’s dead!

Worried, I glanced at fire one more time and then we both selected ‘Log Out.’

I knew exactly what was going on with Greg as soon as I appeared back in the Soul Space. I didn’t even have to open my eyes.

The space had filled with the smell of a well-used minivan that had just gone through a fast-food drive through. I knew immediately what fast-food chain that grease-cooked, liquid smoke smell was. I could almost feel the mayo, tomato, onion and . . . fake meat and bread . . . in my mouth. My mouth watered. . . and I hated that I loved it so damn much. These fucking smells have to stop.

I opened my eyes to the sight of Greg. Somehow . . . he had managed to make himself look even worse . . . to the stomach-churning level of horrifying. It was like we had appeared next to Jabba the Hut after a session of lust-filled gluttony. There must have been twenty sandwich wrappers crunched up into little balls and thrown around the room. Greg’s fat body lay spreadeagle on the floor, like the Whoppers . . . had just taken him. What the hell. He was sucking in heavy breaths, each one sending a loud snore through the small room. A half-eaten Burger King sandwich was still in his hand. I took a hesitant step forward and accidentally stepped on a wrapper. Mayo and ketchup squished between my toes. Did he ask for extra mayo?! It still covered the sandwich wrapper. Then . . . I saw the empty jar of mayo.

“Gah! God Damn it, Greg? What did you do?!” I asked.

He didn’t respond . . . but I thought I knew. I checked my Soul Inventory interface. Ugh. I am so stupid. I checked around the room and confirmed that . . . all our extra silver . . . was gone. I’d forgotten that the Soul Space was our Soul Inventory.

“What’s happening?!” Mie said from the floor. “Did Greg go on a road trip?”

I didn’t answer. I was exhausted of this. Of Greg. Every time I entered the Soul Space, I immediately wished I wasn’t there. I exhaled as I saw a log in my feed.

You have 6 cubed meters of unspent space. {Spend}?

I got to work clearing up Greg’s mess, cutting up the paper wads, and plunging them out of the space through the toilet. I spent two meters of unspent space elongating the bathroom and purchased a cheap starter shower that came with hot water. We still had silver from the day in our Character Inventories, thankfully. I shook my head, still not over it, but I just let the creature sleep. Damn it, Greg.

I spent the other four meters carving out a cubby on the opposite side of the Soul Space from the bathroom. I purchased bunk beds and mattresses and placed those in the newly created cubby. Then I purchased pillows, sheets, soap, and blankets and put those in their respective places. I grabbed Mie and showered her off, put her in a new onesie, and plopped her on the bottom bunk.

Then for the first time in two—or three?—days . . . I took a hot shower. Mie was yelling from the main room about food. So unfortunately, I had to make it quick. I got dressed and fed her a bottle on her bed, which was much more comfortable than the ground.

When that was done, Mie passed out on the bottom bunk, so . . . I purchased a big-box-store . . . pepperoni pizza. This reality makes it way too easy to get fat. I ate half of it, then had a thought. I opened my Soul Inventory and tried to drag over the ‘Half a Pepperoni Pizza’ item that appeared in my Soul Inventory over to my Character Inventory. I got an error about it not being Hearth compatible. Damn. But Hearth items are compatible with the Soul Space? I dragged one of the spears from my Character Inventory over to my Soul Inventory, and it clattered to the ground next to the bunk beds in the middle of the Soul Space at the spawn point. Yep. That was starting to make more sense to me.

I grabbed the manual off Gregs desk and climbed into the top bunk. I stretched, tired as fuck, and opened it.

It continued to remind me of those campaign board games where you fill in missing content with stickers. In those games, the stickers contained additional rules or descriptions. Items populated as we came across them, and I saw some that I hadn’t directly interacted with. Those I thought must be items that Mie had come across, which further indicated that the Soul Space was somehow linked to both of our Hearth characters. The manual helped quell the tempest of swirling questions in my head. It had brief descriptions of our shortlist of attribute points. It was all standard stuff. Constitution raised your health pool. Agility increased your stamina pool as well as your attack speed. Intelligence increased your mana, Wisdom your mana regeneration rate, and Endurance your stamina regeneration rate. I read that races were locked to specific attributes, meaning stats like Intelligence and Wisdom didn’t apply for me, even though I had picked up some items with those as attributes. But the explanation felt lacking. It didn’t mention things like Toughness, Durability, Flexibility, or the large number of other attributes that were clearly also listed in my profile. I tried to make sense of it all one more time, but my vision went fuzzy and I passed out.

The night . . . was long. Mie needed constant milk. We were up every three hours on the dot. Instead of just letting the time pass, I racked my brain, trying to figure out some sort of exploit to get into the dungeon early.

Greg roused from his food coma and noticed me poring over the manual. He asked what I was up to. I wasn’t over him stealing our silver . . . but I told him what I was thinking.

He looked at me, his head cocked, after I told him what I was thinking and said, “Why though? You get a choice for your second Battle Art once you reach level ten. It’s the third one that isn’t handed to you.” He said it all matter-of-fact-like.

I just stared at him, not comprehending for a solid minute, and when it finally registered . . . I did a mental face palm.

I had assumed that the Battle Hall was the only place to get Battle Arts. I felt dumb, but I didn’t tell Greg that. I said something like, “Shut the hell up, Greg. What do you know?”

And Mie, who had about fallen back to sleep, muttered, “Yeah, shut the hell up, Greg,” and promptly passed out again.

In the morning, I watched the player readout as it slowly fell to hit a round number.

Players Remaining: 400,000

Life Credits: 4

The player count was still falling at a rapid rate, but it looked like it was slowing down. Every time I saw that number fall, even if it was just by a single digit . . . I thought about that woman and how she had been smashed. I thought about the blood that had hit the camera, and everything in the Soul Space getting sucked up and out, like a kid sucking up a chocolate milkshake with a straw. It had only taken a second, then it was empty.

"Greg, what exactly happens when a player gets . . . squished?

He shrugged, and with a sad voice he said, “Every time it happens, I just think to myself, ‘Why can’t that be me?’ ”

Frustrated I thought, Maybe . . . I can help you with that.

My fists clenched as I prepared to log in to Hearth. I glanced around the slightly larger room. Despite Greg, and everything else that had happened here, I couldn’t help a small part of myself feeling like this was home. My blood boiled. This . . . is not my home.

I flipped through some menus, making sure I had everything I needed. We would eventually need to head back to The Notch for more stamina potions, but for now we were set. It was time to get back out there and get back to the grind. I knew the sweaty type probably hadn’t even slept.

I reviewed our supplies one last time, confirmed Mie was ready, and watched the soul transaction logs after selecting the option to login in the bottom right of my interface.

Key received

Initiating soul transaction

Processing memory

Checking sanity

Packaging for transit

Transmitting data

Soul transaction complete

The pre-dawn darkness of Hearth appeared around me as I popped into existence. The cold gripped my arms, and snow was falling slowly. It melted when it hit my shoulders and head. The fire blazed hot in front of me, as if it had been stoked and more wood had been thrown on top.

My heart stopped as I caught sight of something through the playing flames.

A slim girl with a hooded green cloak stood directly across from me. Her bow was drawn. She had one purple eye focused down the long length of an arrow, and it seemed to glow with a killing intent.

But her face . . .

Lily?