“Watch out! He’s doing his big attack again!” Maria called out, while dodging swipes from a skeleton’s sword. Just as she finished speaking, at the front of the large underground chamber all light seemed to dim for a moment as a large skeleton swung its scythe down and across in a sweeping motion. From the tip of its scythe a large black line was drawn, which suddenly jumped forward as it was completed, hurling a wide AOE that swept through the room.
Peter reacted quickly to the call out, ducking low beneath the attack before it cleaved him in two. “Thanks!” He yelled, before getting back up and drawing his bowstring back. Breathing in slowly, he took sight of his enemies. He was currently standing in the back of a large underground chamber, about 30 meters wide and high, and about 100 meters long. Near the sides of the chamber were large black marble columns holding the ceiling up, with torches emitting an ethereal blue glow attached to each of them. Before him stood a small horde of skeletons with basic armor and short swords, with the larger one standing close to the front of the chamber in front of what looked like an altar of some kind.
Maria was weaving between some of the small skeletons, punching or kicking them when she could, while Jacob wielded his broadsword to keep the bigger guy busy until the others were done mopping up the weaker mobs. Beside Peter was their healer and spellcaster, Lily, whose brow was furrowed and looked quite upset that her most recent spell was interrupted by the large-scale attack.
Taking aim, Peter loosed an arrow at one of the skeletons Maria had just punched and sent flying, looking to follow up and get a kill. Unfortunately, these skeletons were super resistant to his normal arrows, and he only had a few more blunt tips that were more effective against their hard bones. The arrow struck true, smashing in the exposed skull of the skeleton before its body exploded into light and a few bones fell where it had fallen. Pulling back his string again, Peter felt the assistance of the game as his skill <
Next to him, Lily finished charging her next spell as she yelled, “<
“Aim for the necklace,” he shouted, “it’s probably the thing binding it here. If we break it, it might be banished!”
“Got it!” His teammates shouted back, quickly going on the offensive. Jacob moved back in, and took most of the aggro from the boss, keeping its scythe focused on him. Maria dodged to the side under a swing and moved around to the back before jumping up and grabbing its shoulders and pulling herself fully onto its back. Then she climbed up and wrapped her legs around its arms before fully wrapping both of her arms around its head and pulling it backwards.
“NOW!” She yelled, holding the skeleton in place as it struggled to get free of her grip. Lily thrust her hand forward and said, “<
Peter had his bowstring drawn taught as he channeled some mana in his body into his bow. “<
As the remains of the necklace hit the ground, the dark mana surrounding the skeleton seemed to fade slightly, and its movements became slower. From there it was a short fight until Jacob managed to decapitate the skeleton with his broadsword. Its body dispersed into particles of light, and the sound of the system rang out.
<
<
<
“Man, I was told this was gonna be easy,” Jacob said, falling dramatically to the ground and laying there.
“It was easy, wimp.” Maria said, rolling her eyes. “Do we want to try another floor, or call it a day?”
“W-well to be fair,” Lily spoke up, sounding slightly skittish, “he did have to keep the boss occupied while we finished off the minions.”
“Exactly, what took you guys so long anyway? It seemed like I was soloing the thing forever.” Jacob spoke as he lifted his helmet from his head.
Peter, walking up to them, said, “Sorry guys, partly my fault. I used way more blunt arrows than I anticipated. I expected more zombies or ghouls and less skeletons.”
“Ah yeah, that makes sense.” Jacob said. “Anyway, I vote we call it a day. I’m beat.”
“I suppose with Jacob giving up on us, it will be harder to make progress,” Maria said, kicking the armor of Jacob slightly. Jacob just rolled his eyes, not giving into the taunt. “Same time tomorrow then? We can probably get another 10 floors done, and then spend the weekend fighting the final boss.”
“Sounds good to me,” Peter said, swiping at the air with his hands. “See y’all tomorrow, good fighting.”
“Later, wuss.” Maria joked.
“S-see you tomorrow,” Lily said.
“See yah, Jacob, have a good one,” Peter said.
Jacob nodded to the rest of the party and swiped with his hands a final time, his body fading out of existence.
“Alright, I’m out too I guess.” Maria started tapping the air as well. “Get good rest, tomorrow will be even harder.” Before acknowledging anything else, she swiped, and her body faded out as well.
“Good job out there, Lily,” Peter spoke up. “You really did a number on those skeletons.”
“T-thanks.” Lily said, lowering her eyes a little. “It was just a bad matchup. I do use holy magic as my main school, after all.”
“Still, good job.”
“A-anyway, I should get going. Dinner’s probably waiting on me.” Lily also started tapping the air.
“Alright then, you have a good one too.” Peter responded, getting a small nod out of Lily before she disappeared, leaving him alone. Looking at the system message still being displayed above the altar, he selected <
||Name: NaCly03 Level: 21 (+1)
Race: Wood Elf
Class: Archer
Subclass: Marksman
Profession: Fletcher
HP: 376/500 MP: 22/800 STM: 352/1300
Wisdom: 84 (+4)
Intelligence: 63 (+3)
Perception: 252 (+12)
Willpower: 21 (+1)
Charisma: 21 (+1)
Luck: 21 (+1)
Dexterity: 231 (+11)
Agility: 154 (+4)
Strength: 104 (+4)
Endurance: 133 (+3)
Constitution: 51 (+1)
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Free Stats: 10 (+10) ||
He had gained a level from his dungeon delving today, bringing him up to level 21. Looking at his stats, he again realized how unbalanced his build was, but he had leaned hardcore into the archer theme, choosing to be a Wood Elf Archer at character selection and only cementing it more when he decided to pick up fletching as his profession, mainly to save on the silver cost of arrows. He had only started playing a few months ago, so his level wasn’t terrible, even though most of the top ranks had levels nearing the 100’s. Seeing he had another 10 free stat points, he decided to wait to decide where to put them in case he found something he desperately needed them for.
Seeing nothing else on his menu trying to grab his attention, he sighed and stood up from bed.
“Better replace those arrows I used up today, I’ll probably need more of them tomorrow,” he mumbled to himself. Opening the door to his room, he slipped out and down the hallway and then down the stairs, into the main lobby of the inn. There wasn’t anyone else about but the owner, Tim, who looked up from the sheets of paper he had draped on the counter.
“Hey, NaCly03,” he said, without so much as a stumble or change in tone as he pronounced Peter’s username, “Did yer dungeon diving go well? Felt you return a few minutes ago.”
The NPC’s in Eternal Realms: Legacy were quite the enigma to Peter. The AI used to run them was so advanced that they seemed completely human to anyone they interacted with. Dreamworld Interactive, the company that published Eternal Realm: Legacy, and the inventor of the full-dive headset used to play it, had said that their AI was so good, it was unnecessary for voice actors or motion capture suits to simulate the experience. After thousands of hours of testing and experience, the public still had not found a single thing wrong with the AI. They never got stuck in corners, always sounded genuine, and always acted like they belonged in the world they inhabited.
As a former programmer himself, Peter found it eerie. He was almost positive there was no possible way to make AI this good even with the technological advancements made in that area recently. Turning his attention back to Tim, he answered, “Yep, it went pretty well, even got a level! I’m about to head out to restock on some of the arrows I used.”
“Congrats on that level, those can be hard t’ come by. I don know how you Travelers get them so fast. I’ve been working this job as my profession for 40 years and I’m only level 30. Enough to knock a couple heads together if it gets rowdy in here, but not enough if anyone strong tries to put up a real fight.”
“You’re lucky everyone likes you Tim, no one would think to try and rob you.”
“Yeah, they like yah till yah say they don’t got the silver to pay, then nobody likes yah. But enough about me, you stay safe out there. Don’t glue yer hands together makin’ those arrows of yers.”
“Will do, Tim, see you around.”
Peter left the building and entered the street, and was assaulted by the sounds of a bustling town. Orienting himself, he turned left down the dusty unpaved street and made his way over to the Armory. Normally one could only buy equipment there, but if you could prove you had a crafting profession, they would allow you to rent a space to use for crafting. Entering in the Armory, he saw the stocky dwarf running the place look at him before grunting,
“’Evenin. I s’pose you’ll be lookin’ fer a space t’ rent again?”
“Yep, 2 hours please.”
“That’ll be 5 silvers.”
After handing him the 5 silvers, the dwarf motioned him into the back, where Peter was left in a large room filled with various crafting devices and tools, along with tables and workbenches. There were several other NPCs and Players in the room, but they all basically ignored Peter as he made his way to an open workbench. He then got to work crafting some new arrows.
Peter had no clue originally how to even begin crafting an arrow, but after he got his profession, the game helped him significantly in making them. It gave him a step-by-step process that he needed to follow and outlined where he needed to cut stuff or place things or how he needed to smelt his arrowheads. He used some lumber he had bought a few weeks ago and put into his inventory, along with some iron ore he had obtained from mining a little in the Grave Caverns. 2 hours later, and he had another batch of about 60 arrows ready to go. Stretching after the long time at work, he decided to call it a day. He walked back to the inn and laid in bed before opening the menu and logging out.
Slowly his vision of the inn ceiling faded as he felt the strange sensation of his mind coming back to his real body. Instantly his nostrils filled with the sharp scent of antiseptic, the smell of disinfectant clinging to every surface. He reached up with weak arms to remove the VR headset from his head, giving him vision to the sterile white environment surrounding his hospital bed. The fluorescent lights cast a harsh glow on every surface, momentarily blinding him until his vision returned to normal.
Lying motionless on the bed, Peter felt the weakness he had been avoiding in the game pervade his body. He felt the oxygen machine pump air into his lungs, his own body too weak to do it for him. His arms slumped down, what little strength they had already used up by removing his headset. He heard the rhythmic beep of the monitors around him assuring him of his continued existence. Turning his head slightly, he saw his IV had been replaced while he was away, giving him continued nourishment. He moved his head back into position and stared up at the ceiling, contemplating what had gotten him here.
Peter had had a relatively normal childhood, a younger brother and loving, if sometimes distant, parents. They had both worked full-time jobs pursuing careers, and while they loved their kids, sometimes they didn’t have the time for them. Once they started school, Peter had gotten bullied and done some bullying, as is unfortunately normal for some kids. Nothing too bad, just some pushing around a name calling. He had shown a good aptitude for science and was put in advanced courses. His second year of middle school, he found his calves becoming more swollen with time, and his mom managed to take a day off work to take him to the hospital to find out what was wrong. Many tests later, he was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a condition almost exclusively found in young males that led to muscle failure and to which there was no known cure.
The onset of the disease was slow, allowing Peter to continue his childhood and education almost as normal, but the weakness still continued to grow year after year. In High School he found his passion for programming, and he managed to get accepted to a college with some academic scholarships. But soon, his disease caught up with him. As his disease progressed, his hip and back muscles went first, making him require a wheelchair to hold himself up as he navigated his senior year of college. He managed to find a job that allowed him to work remotely, and during that time his legs soon became unable to bear his weight either. His life consisted of routines revolving around his physical therapy; he worked hard to keep his fingers, his lifeline, from growing weak. But suddenly, about a few months after graduating, he woke up to a suffocating pressure on his chest. Being barely able to breathe, he managed to dial emergency services before his world went black. He woke up in this very hospital, attached to these machines, and had barely moved in a year.
Day after day consisted of exercises, visits from family, and the monotony of living an immobile life. His life had become a living hell, with him unable to do anything for himself or go anywhere by himself for too long. Then one day, unexpectedly, he received an announcement from his medical staff. As part of a promotion program, Dreamworld Interactive had donated 400 units of their groundbreaking full-dive VR headsets along with their new game, Eternal Realms: Legacy to the hospital. Peter was provided with a set to make his life better, and to also let him enjoy a life without the limitations of his current body. Since receiving the gift, his mood had seen a drastic change. His once hollow eyes rejuvenated and he began to look forward to the time spent in the game. The release it allowed him from the cramped hospital room, the sterile smells, and the pain in his own body. He became a new man, at least in the game. Wanting to relive the feeling of freedom, he had chosen to be a Wood Elf Archer, and he loved every second of it. He loved the feeling of the wind on his face, instead of the cold recycled air of the hospital. He loved the feeling of the ground rushing away beneath his feet as he ran, instead of the still, cold feeling of the hospital bed beneath his back. He loved the feeling of drawing a bow his real-world muscles couldn’t even lift and look into the distance far beyond the confines of his room. He made friends in the game, especially Jacob, Maria, and Lily. They had faced challenges together, laughed, died, and respawned. Maria was a bit willful and could come off as mean, Jacob was super easy going and never wanted to work hard, and Lily was a smart but shy girl who was very good at spellcasting.
This had been his life for the past few months. Days spent in virtual reality as his body continued to waste away. He knew death was still just around the corner for him, as he was aware his heart could give out almost any day. But he made full use of the time he had left, grasping at what he could to make the days mean something beyond the despair of the great beyond. Ultimately, he was still scared of death. Scared of what it might mean for him, despite the promise of the end to his suffering. So, he ran from his fear, and found delight in his new existence.
His eyes still staring at the ceiling, he began to feel the wetness pour over from his eyes onto his cheeks as the memories he tried to push down while in the game rushed back up into his consciousness. He was not ready to die. Just one more day. That’s what he asked for every day. Just this one day, where he could live his new life again and not worry about what was creeping up on him. He knew it wouldn’t last, but he wasn’t prepared for when it came.
That night, as he was asleep, the heart monitor beside his bed began fluctuating wildly. The night shift nurses rushed in, seeking to stabilize his heart and keep him alive. After several hours of fighting, and 2 moments of his heart restarting after being stopped for more than 4 minutes, the man named Peter was declared dead.
Peter, meanwhile, was unaware of what was happening outside his body. His consciousness was blissfully unaware of the panic and eventual despair surrounding him. He remained peacefully asleep the whole time. That is, until the pain came. Suddenly, without warning, he felt a pain like never before, like some large hand was grasping and crushing him. He opened his eyes with a jolt… and saw nothing. Yet the pain remained. He tried to find out what was hurting, but it felt ever-present, like his whole body was being dragged through flames. He tried to call out, but his mouth didn’t seem to respond. He tried feeling his body, but his limbs didn’t move. In fact, he couldn’t feel his limbs at all. He was not aware of his body in the least bit, but the pain still remained. Soon after, the all-encompassing pain subsided, as what felt like knives descended upon him and felt like they were trying to carve a part of him away. He resisted with all his might and did not allow the pain to keep a hold on him. He had been through too many surgeries and been sick for too long, he would not allow this pain to take a part of him away. He fought for control, and eventually found it; he fought the pain away and was left alone for a while. Then, a new assault began. This time instead of trying to take away from him, it sought to give him something that was not his. He resisted but had no experiences to draw from to help him try and fight it off and found himself on the losing end. Slowly that which was not his own forced itself into him, slowly changing what and who he was. Soon he slumped once more into unconsciousness, missing the words that were displayed before him:
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