Chapter 147
Brian woke up to a sound he hated – the blaring of an alarm clock. It was a shrill rhythmic electronic beeping that was impossible to ignore. He woke up and wiped the sleep from his eyes and got out of bed, walked over to the computer, and silenced the alarm.
He was about to jump in to the VR bed when he remembered something important.
Bathroom.
He took a few minutes to relieve himself before washing up and returning to the game bed. He climbed in to the gaming bed and put on the VR helmet. One of the straps got caught when he put it on and he was forced to remove it and fish the offending strap out of the helmet before he once again pulled the helmet on.
He fastened all of the straps and catches before he laid back in the bed and wiggled around a bit as he tried to make sure the back of his neck made contact with the bed. Finally he found a good spot and closed his eyes.
His vision, all of his senses, faded to nothing for a split second before his sight returned. He was no longer laying down but was standing in his bunker. He turned his hand over and stared at it. The detail was incredible.
A disembodied voice suddenly announced, “The game map is now open.”
There was nothing more. Just the short announcement.
Brian checked the tiny clock in the corner of his vision. As he focused on it the display became clearer and easier to read. It read 20:00. Brian subtracted 12 from that and got 8. It was 8pm. Time to play!
Brian grabbed his knife and coat and shrugged his way in to the coat. The knife went in to one of the coat's large pockets. Brian took stock – he had two pockets on his pants, not big pockets but useful nonetheless. His coat had two deep pockets that could hold quite a bit more. So he could carry four pockets worth of objects and he had a knife for combat purposes.
Brian laughed. Combat purposes? He'd never been in a knife fight in his entire life and had no illusions about how his first one might go. He slowly realized that his best defense lay in running away, not fighting. A knife just wasn't enough.
Still, he'd bring it in with him, just in case.
Brian looked around and shrugged. There wasn't anything else worth bringing in with him so he walked to the thick main door of the bunker and reached out and grasped the handle.
His vision went bright white as he was transported.
Game already in progress. Loot what you can! Find treasures! Learn new abilities! Kill your opponents or evade them entirely! Most importantly, extract before time runs out! Good luck!
The notification faded away as Brian blinked in the darkness. He was in a building of some sort with high ceilings. There wasn't a lot of light and he was forced to use his hands to find the exit door. As he crossed over a decrepit stretch of floor he could hear the wood strain under his weight before the floor shattered under him in to pieces as what little was left of the patch of floor crumbled and sent him hurtling to the floor below.
He landed with a heavy thump and lay still for a moment. The fall had hurt which surprised Brian. Games as a rule didn't actually hurt when your character got hurt. This was different. Here you were your character. Brian felt every bruise and cut.
He carefully stood up and found that one of his ankles was now injured. He could just barely walk. Running was right out at least for now. He had some minor scraps and cuts but nothing life threatening. He turned his attention outwards and got a look at his surroundings.
Above him he could see the hole he had fallen through and then darkness. The floor above him was darker than the floor he was now on. He could make out a bit of light coming from further down the hallway. He decided to follow the hallway towards the light.
His travel was slow due to his injury. Halfway down the hallway he found two chests on opposite sides of the hallway. They just sat there unaccompanied by any other furnishings or decorations. The hallway was empty save for the chests.
Brian didn't need encouragement and began opening the chest.
Every time he opened something it seemed to take a few seconds before opening. Nothing opened immediately which turned opening items in to a tactical decision. He was completely occupied while opening the chest and would be unable to defend himself. It turned looting in to a dangerous activity.
As no one appeared to be nearby however he felt safe enough to loot two chests. The first opened and Brian rummaged around inside of it before pulling out a few items.
A green gem that sparkled when held in darkness but not light. A strip of fuzzy pink cloth. A golden shot glass with a single leaf engraved on its surface. They all went in to his pants pocket – he managed to jam all three items in to the same pocket.
Brian turned and began to work on opening the other chest across from it. His anxiety level rose the longer it took to open the chest. Finally he got the chest open and pawed through the contents.
Another strip of fuzzy pink cloth. A silver mug with golden accents. A small blue leather pouch of round shot, each roughly half an inch in diameter.
He secreted the mug in one of his coat pockets – it took up a lot of space. The fuzzy pink cloth went in to the same pocket as his other items. There was barely enough room and that pocket on his pants was now full to the brim. The round shot went in to his other pants pocket.
Brian seemed pleased with himself. He'd already loaded up with some treasure. Well, hopefully treasure. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with the items other than to bring them back to his base.
He moved forwards until he came to a door. He opened it as quietly as he could before passing through and closing it quietly behind him. The area around the entry door was dark, the nearby torch on the wall sat unlit in its fixture. He settled in to the darkness and went still.
He found himself in a gymnasium sized room dotted with flaming braziers that cast wild shadows across the entire room. The walls were lined with lit torches and Brian could hear a rattling sound from various places in the room.
The closest source suddenly walked in to view and paused just outside Brian's hiding spot.
It wasn't much of a hiding spot – it was just dark enough to not be seen where Brian had hid. The skeleton that paused in front of Brian didn't see anything out of sorts and proceeded on its way further in to the room.
Brian sat still as the rattling sound of bones drew further away. Brian let out a breath he hadn't meant to hold in. He visually searched the room for any other skeletons that he could make out from his position and managed to find two more. He also noticed a hulking figure, a statue, in the middle of the room. From Brian's point of view it appeared to be a crouched figure holding a knife in one hand and a silvery orb in the other.
Brian wanted to take both the knife and the orb.
He looked about the room at the dimly lit spots that he could hide in. There were quite a few thanks to all of the brazier's high sides which sent most of the light from their fires upwards and not outwards. He followed the movements of the skeletons he could see or hear and realized that if he was careful he should be able to thread a path right through the patrolling enemies and straight towards the central statue.
Brian waited until a skeleton stopped just outside his hiding spot. Again the skeleton paused as if searching before moving on. A few moments after the skeleton left Brian was moving. He crouched low to the ground and moved carefully to the next hiding spot.
It took him a few minutes which seemed like an eternity but he finally managed to climb up a short stairway and reached the statue, which was itself clouded in darkness.
The statue may have been meant to be human, Brian couldn't tell. Its face was hidden behind a featureless mask with only slits for the wearer to see through. The statue appeared to be wearing dark leather armor and soft looking boots.
Brian reached up and carefully took the knife and placed it in his coat pocket with his other knife. He was running out of room fast. At this rate he'd have to pick and choose what to extract with.
A skeleton passed close to where he was crouched and Brian went still as he held his breath and said 'please don't see me' over and over again in his mind. The skeleton stood fast, its eye inspecting the very patch of ground Brian was crouched over. Time passed and Brian began to sweat. Finally the skeleton appeared to give a shrug before continuing on its patrol.
Brian waited until he felt it had gotten far enough away to not hear him. He carefully reached up and grasped the silvery orb.
Congratulations! You have obtained a Scout's Orb and may consume it to gain the Scout class. This is a single use item. Once removed from this room any nearby enemies will be able to detect the presence of the orb and will attempt to retrieve it. Other players will also be able to see the orbs location. Do you wish to consume Scout's Orb? Y|N
Brian grinned. He had found a class! He must have fallen in to a hidden area! If he was reading this correctly then removing the orb from the room was a bad idea. His location would be visible to enemies and players alike. It was a much better idea to just use the orb immediately. He quickly selected Y and waited.
Congratulations! You are now a level 1 Scout. You have learned the following abilities: Stealth, Backstab, Thievery, Trapping. Increase your level to earn new traits and abilities. You must extract in order to keep this class. This class will expire once the game map closes unless you have already extracted.
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Brian suddenly really wanted to find an extraction point. He could always come back, but he absolutely had to get out with his new class.
He decided to try his new abilities. He could now bring up a row of icons in his vision with his new options. Stealth, Backstab, Thievery, and Trapping. He selected Stealth and his form instantly became more insubstantial. He grinned.
He was able to maintain his insubstantial form while moving slowly but if he tried to move at a walking pace it broke his stealth entirely. Slow and steady were the way to go it seemed.
Brian practiced entering and leaving stealth as he moved about the room and avoided the skeleton patrols. He remembered how the skeleton had paused in front of the door he had entered from and moved in that direction. He once again hid in the darkness near the entry door, this time he waited patiently for a skeleton.
He didn't have to wait long and soon enough a skeleton stomped up to his hiding spot and stopped right in front of him. He took out a knife from his coat pocket and held it in a relaxed grip. He waited until the skeleton turned around and lifted one foot to walk away.
Quickly he mentally selected Backstab and a portion of the skeleton's spine glowed blue. He plunged the dagger straight towards the skeleton's spine. The knife cut in to the bone before severing the spine completely. The skeleton made a popping noise and fell to the ground in a heap of bones.
Brian heard a clanking and quickly returned to his hiding spot by the door and went still. The clanking approached slowly before finally stopping in front of the mound of bones that now littered the ground.
The clanking had been coming from a rusted suit of metal armor that appeared to be moving under its own power. The helmet was visor-less as well as empty. There was nothing inside.
Brian kept still as he pondered how effective a knife strike to the back would be on a suit of metal armor. Not very. Not very effective at all. He decided that caution was the best course of action so he kept quiet and motionless until the suit of armor walked away to inspect another portion of the room.
Brian moved through the door and in to the hallway he had arrived from. He traveled down the hallway past the spot where he had fallen from the floor above. It was too high for him to climb out. He would have to find another way out.
He continued on down the hallway and further in to the darkness until he could go no further. He carefully reached out and felt the surface in front of him. It was a dead end.
A few moments later he found the doorknob and opened the door before moving in to a new room. He closed the door behind him and then took a good look. The room was a stairwell and had flights of narrow stairs leading up as well as down.
Brian would LOVE to go down and see what loot might be there but he couldn't risk it. He'd lose his class if he died before extracting!
With a shrug Brian began to slowly climb his way up the stairs. Halfway up the second flight he paused as the Trapping button at the base of his vision lit up. He looked about before he noticed a blue line running across one of the stairs in front of him.
Crouching down he inspected it more closely and mentally selected the Trapping button on his display.
A new overlay appeared which showed a glowing blue outline of the trap along with the trigger housing that was attached to the trigger line stretched out over the stair. Brian inspected the glowing diagram and realized that he could disarm it. He selected that option and all the highlighting went away except for one very specific piece. Brian tugged the piece loose and heard a ding sound.
Trap disarmed!
Brian grinned. This was fun! He walked the rest of the way upstairs much more alert as he inspected the area in front of him before stepping forward. It was safe but slow.
He eventually reached the top of the stairs and looked in to a narrow tunnel that curved to the side almost immediately making it impossible to see where it might lead.
Brian shrugged, this way was as good as any other. His only goal was the surface so that he could search for an extraction point.
The tunnel led on for about a mile which seems a lot longer when you're traveling underground. Towards the end it began to slope up before coming to an end at a thick stone wall. As he approached it he inadvertently stepped on a trigger that his Trapping ability hadn't warned him about.
Brian cursed but needn't had been worried. All the trigger did was cause the thick stone blocking his way to slide to the side out of sight. He stepped through the doorway. As he looked around he found himself in an alley. He was above ground finally! The door behind him quietly slid shut behind him. There was no indication that there had ever been a doorway there.
Brian wasn't sure how one got in to the area he had just been in but it seemed that the exit was one way only. He shrugged. No worries – he had already gotten what he wanted from there.
Brian moved to the next building nearby and crouched in some conveniently placed shadows. He was surprised at how much noise he made moving. It seemed exaggerated and a moment later he figured out why.
He could hear the player coming before he could see them. A jangling of buckles, armor, and belongings made an easy to detect sound that made it fairly easy to track their owner. Move slow and you don't make much noise. Move fast and you'll get where you're going quickly but you'll also make a ton of noise and possibly attract the interest of other players.
Brian stayed completely still and quickly selected Stealth from his available abilities. Things in Scavenger worked a little differently than they did in Eden it seemed but that was ok. It was still a lot of fun and that was what was important.
A player wearing leather armor and pants came in to view. They carried a sword and shield and had various pouches hanging off of a vest. A large torn bag hung from one shoulder and appeared to be carrying a six inch by six inch cube.
Brian kept quiet as the player approached his position. The player was close enough now that Brian could make out their face. It looked to be a young man and his eyes moved almost lazily back and forth as he walked down the alleyway.
As he passed Brian's hiding spot Brian made a decision. He'd stealth up and then follow the man at a distance. He appeared to have a lot of gear and loot and probably was looking for an extraction point – the very same thing that Brian was looking for. Brian could trail him to an extraction point, wait for him to leave, and then use it himself. Along the way he could practice his Stealth ability.
Having made up his mind Brian slowly moved from shadow to shadow. The city had grown dark and it appeared to be 8pm in game as well as out. A full moon in the sky made it easier to see in the night time darkness and Brian had no troubles following the man.
Eventually the man led Brian to a four way crossing. The man stopped when he heard a yelp from one of the houses. Brian froze – it was one of the dogs!
A dog exited a building on the corner and walked in to the center of the crossing. It stood still before it noticed the man who held out one hand and crouched down. The dog hesitated for a moment before it approached the man hesitantly. Finally it gathered enough courage and walked slowly over to the man, its tail wagging uncertainly.
Instead of patting the dog Brian was shocked when the man attacked it with his sword. The dog made a horrible cry for help and then ran, trailing blood as it fled.
The man laughed before mimicking the dog's cry for help in a sing song manner before he returned to his journey.
Brian was horrified. Although Brian had just severed a monster's spine that was a monster. A skeleton! The man had just attacked a dog! A friendly dog! Brian was a little surprised at how upset he was over it.
Brian's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows lowered as he followed along behind the man, moving stealthily from shadow to shadow. He was practically invisible even in the moonlight.
The man turned a corner and Brian followed a few moments later. On the new street he could make out a number of stores and restaurants lining the sides of the broad avenue. They held little interest for him however compared to the large extraction point dome at the other end of the street.
The man picked up the pace and walked briskly to the edge of the dome but stopped as a ripping noise could be heard. Brian followed and began to move closer to the man. The man had taken off his bag as it had ripped further and the six inch cube it had contained had fallen to the ground.
The man had a choice. Sword, Shield, or cube. Pick two. He could not carry all three. He stood facing the extraction dome as Brian finally arrived directly behind him.
Brian inspected the man closely. He was wearing leather armor, but it had a low collar and provided no protection to his neck or head. Brian was furious at what he had witnessed the man do earlier. Usually Brian was impotent in the face of his anger as there was normally nothing Brian could do about the things that upset him.
Here was different. Brian wasn't just Brian here. Here he was SCOUT Brian with abilities and traits to match the title. A feeling of power overcame Brian as he judged the man in front of him and found him wanting.
Brian raised his dagger and a portion of the man's neck began to glow blue. Brian narrowed his eyes and launched himself at the man. With one hand he grabbed the man's head and wrenched it violently to the side forcing the man to let out a gargled grunt. Brian followed up with an overhead stab down at the man's neck.
“For Fido!” he yelled as he stabbed the man.
He continued to stab until the man went limp in his arms. Quickly Brian knelt down and picked up the six inch cube. Last time he had found one and it had come in handy. Who knew what this one did?
A flurry of clinks, clanks, and foot falls filled the avenue as Brian could hear others running towards his position. Thinking quickly he entered stealth again and entered the extraction dome. He moved to the far side where there were more shadows and crouched down in the semi-darkness. He hoped that his new Stealth ability would be enough to keep him safe.
He quickly checked the time. 20:47. He had been playing in VR for FOURTY SEVEN MINUTES. It had felt like just a few minutes but had been almost an hour. It was a good thing he had followed the man to an extraction zone. Who knows how long it would have taken to find one on his own.
Five seconds. It took five seconds standing inside of an extraction dome before you would be extracted.
Others had arrived and were looting the man that Brian had just killed. There were three of them, all female. By the looks of what they were wearing he guessed two melee fighters and a mage of some type. They could tear him to pieces before he would even get a word out. He stayed quiet, and still.
“This the guy you were hunting?” the mage type asked the others.
“I think so. Heard he was abusing the dogs in game. I read about it on the forums too.” another answered.
“He didn't yell 'For Fido' though so who did?” the third wondered.
“I don't know but good for them. Damned dog-abuser had it coming. Who attacks puppies!?” the mage type asked the others.
"Virtual puppies," one of the other women corrected her.
"Oh shut up." the mage replied with a smile.
Brian's existence, for a brief moment, faded completely as he was teleported.