Chapter 4

“Mie! What did you do?!” I asked.

I heard her pop into existence behind me. I turned around slowly and was greeted by a towering feminine figure some three feet taller than me. Her skin glowed with a soft golden tint, hardly noticeable in the gloom. She looked strong but not overly muscular and wore basic shorts like my own and a sports bra. I had to take a couple steps back in order to get a description to pop up.

Race: Upland Highborn

Description: The Upland Highborn are a race of majestic and powerful humanoids who reside in the highlands and mountainous regions. Their imposing stature is matched by their regal demeanor and exceptional strength. Steeped in ancient traditions and spiritual reverence, they often serve as protectors and holy warriors. Their connection to the high altitudes grants them an aura of serenity and divine power, making them revered and formidable in both battle and guidance.

Racial Passive: 20% increased healing received, and 10% increased healing given.

Battle Arts, pick one of the following:

Holy Art: You acquire skill with a staff.

Shield Art: You acquire skill with a shield.

I backed out of the window and checked to see if I could tell what Battle Art she had gone with, but I couldn’t.

“What were you saying?” Mie asked in a baiting tone.

It was strange hearing such a high girly voice coming out of such a large figure.

“It seems okay,” I said. I felt bad and continued. “Depending on the abilities we get in game. You should have some sort of healing powers, and you can tank when we need it. I mean. I honestly don’t think I could have chosen better.”

“Yep agreed, you’re lame, moving on.”

I was just too curious to not ask. “So uh, what battle art did you go with?”

“You just can’t resist, can you?” She sighed. “I went with Holy. I figured some healing early game couldn’t hurt, and I’m sure Shield could come in handy if we need it.”

I was silent for a moment. “Okay. Good uh . . . job. For not really knowing much about this—”

She cut me off, “What do you mean, for not knowing much about this? Haven’t you figured it out? I have literally all of your memories as if they were mine. I know everything you do, sort of. I have to dig around your past, which is . . . disgusting. I didn’t need to know about you know,” she paused looking around, and then bent down to whisper, “Charlie.”

I froze, my hackles raised. Then I slowly turned toward her and said, “Don’t. Ever. Mention that to anyone. Ever.” I took a deep breath as I watched her go wide eyed and then smile.

“I’m serious.”

“Okay.”

Desperate to be talking about anything else, I said, “Speaking of . . . you having my memories . . . what are you exactly? What is a Soul Seed?”

“Like I said, I don’t know. Unfortunately, your memories are all I have. I have no memories of my own before meeting you and . . . Greg. Honestly, so far . . . existence kind of sucks. Does it . . . always suck?”

“Kinda, but you are you, and I am me, right?”

“Hopefully. Two of you would be way . . . sadge.”

“Mkay. That feels a little harsh.”

It sounded like we both shared my long-term memory, but we had our own consciousnesses. Like two separate computers sharing an external hard drive. I remembered back to when I had existed in two places at once. It had felt like my memories were copied. So maybe it was more like two minds, each with their own copy of the same memories . . . I shook my head. Whatever was going on, it was bizarre and not at all normal. A couple lines of text caught my attention in my feed.

Location selection based on time of death.

Location {The Rolling Hills} selected.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

The row of races popped out of existence, there was a bright flash, and suddenly we were falling . . . or at least that’s what my eyes told me. No—not falling. The floor had turned into a giant map. On it was a massive ocean, and in the center was an island. We were zooming in toward it which gave me a weird sensation of self-movement. It reminded me of being a kid wedged into the far back of my parents’ minivan, stuck in a balls-hot traffic jam. As I looked out the window, we would start leaving the car next to us . . . except we were not the ones moving. The other car was.

The rate of zoom quickened, increasing the speed at which we “fell”, until a small pin appeared. I focused on it.

Location: {The Rolling Hills}

Biome: Hills

Climate: Variable

Conditions: Mild

Population: Medium

Difficulty: Medium

A one-minute timer showed up in my upper right.

Time Until Launch

1:00

“Okay. You ready for this? I have no idea what to expect, so maybe if we end up separated, we try to meet up?” I could feel my voice quavering. I pushed the feeling downward. Other pins began to appear on the map.

“Sounds good,” Mie said. I heard her voice fluctuate slightly. We were on the brink of something new, and we were both nervous.

“Hey look,” I said. I pointed to a small town to the north of The Rolling Hills. “If we get split up. Let’s meet up there. The . . . ” I checked the name. “The Notch. I bet there is an inn or a townhall or something there.”

I looked into her eyes, widened my stance, hands rolling into fists, trying to show off some confidence. “Sound like a plan?”

“What are you doing? You look dumb,” she said. But I felt her gratitude. “Yeah okay. Sounds like a plan.”

I nodded one more time at her as the timer once again fell to zero.

Location {The Rolling Hills} confirmed

Key received

Initiating soul transaction

Processing memory

Checking sanity

Packaging for transit

Transmitting data

Soul transaction complete

The map and character creation space disappeared, and, in a flash, I found myself at the top of a large hill. The change was jarring. The sky was bright blue, the sun was warm against my skin, the breeze was fiercer and blew against me, tangling my hair. I could feel the freshly cut grass beneath my feet. Could feel it between my toes and the world felt . . . so real.

I spun around, looking for Mie, and found her towering character directly behind me. She had a yellow nameplate over her head, which quickly turned blue which I guessed indicated we were in the same party. We had spawned in back-to-back. I kept an eye on my system log. A few prompts coming in.

You unlocked the party system

You unlocked the party messaging system

Player IFartedInFrontOfHer(Mie) has joined your party

You received a {Broken Spear}

You received 5 {Basic Loaf}

You received 5 {Unfiltered Water}

Waiting for more players before starting Entry Event

Waiting for more players 2/10

“Really?” I said. “‘I farted in front of her?’ That’s what you went with?”

“Look who is talking,” Mie said, “YOU WENT WITH ‘ANYTHING BUT SQUISHED.’ ”

“Yeah . . . but that felt right . . . and at least I wasn’t actively making fun of you,” I retorted.

“Well, MINE felt right too. And honestly, I can’t help it. I know we should be discussing what the hell we’re doing here and how we’re going to survive, but what I really want to talk about is . . . that time you ended up naked—”

“Stop. Don’t go there.”

“I mean. What where you even thinking? It was so obvious.”

“You wouldn’t understand. Freshmen year is hard! Anyways, can we not do this right now?”

Thankfully, Mie let it drop, which was surprising based on the mischievous grin feeling I was getting through our emotional bond, but she was looking around and I did the same. I took a dozen steps forward. I could see something shimmering, as if the hilltop was closed off by a transparent purple wall. I walked over to it and prodded it with a finger. I found it smooth and firm, and the purple intensified where I touched it and rippled like waves, spreading out in a large dome surrounding the hilltop. I inspected it, and a transparent dark gray info box appeared right next to it with white text.

Entry Event Barrier, {Immune}

A few other players were spawning around now. One was extremely short, maybe a gnome? Despite the warm sun, a sinking feeling was filling my gut. It can’t be.

Waiting for more players 10/10

Then Tittles started speaking. His stoic voice was oppressive, and it came from all directions. It sounded as if the sky had opened up and revealed a theater’s worth of IMAX speakers. He sighed heavily as he started talking. “ . . . Fine. Hey again, folks . . . Tittles here. Welcome to Hearth! I hope you enjoyed your time selecting your character. We wish you the best of luck and hope you find your new existence thrilling. As a reminder, you have been given five life credits, not including the one you currently possess. If that count goes to zero, that means you are on your last life credit, and the next time you die your Soul Space will be reclaimed, and you will be . . . collected. Unfortunately . . . Jeff,” he said the name with loathing, “is pushing for a quick turnaround on this one. So, we are starting things off with a bang—" I heard someone else’s voice was coming over the audio. “GOD DAMN IT, JEFF—NO ONE CARES—” The loud voice cut off.

With . . . a bang? I didn’t have time to dwell any further on it as every other player’s nameplate turned from yellow to red. I looked at Mie, dread in my chest. Her blue nameplate had also gone red.

Entry Event has begun

Mode: Free For All

10/10 players remaining