“C’mon C’mon’ melt….” I pleaded, as watched the lumps of ore with a gimlet eye. Sweat ran down my face as I poured more magic into the furnace. This was my third attempt at making a smelter. Rough stones were piled up to create a small oven while, raw copper sat in a basin above the raging flames. I gritted my teeth, trying to condense my mana even further, but it was for naught. I persisted until my head swam and my vision started to waver before I shouted in frustration and kicked away the pile of stones, cutting off my magic. The rocks and ore scattered across the arid dirt.
I sighed heavily and slumped to the ground, exhausted. The desert sun cooked everything to boiling, but my magic circle made it somewhat bearable On the whole, the last three days had been highly beneficial. I had tried out some new spells, made a little magically assisted herb garden, and trained my magic while mining. I was basically in heaven, but all good things must end. My bags were full. Which is why I’d come up with the idea to try refining my ores.
Carry weight was limited and although I was strong, I had more than three-hundred pounds of bag-space, there was still a limit. Three hundred pounds was a lot for most things but for mining it wasn’t nearly enough. Ore was mostly waste stone, so I’d figured if I could turn the ore into bars myself, I’d be able to carry two or three times as much. It hadn’t gone as planned.
I’d done everything I could think of to melt the ore, even looking on the net for ideas, but without wood to make charcoal I was left using my magic. Unfortunately, my magic wasn’t up to the task. Sighing, I leaned back against the rock and mopped my brow. I was going to have to leave soon. I’d filled out my bags and needed to find civilization, but there was still one task I wanted to finish.
I rested for a few hours, then climbed to my feet and walked over to the ‘special’ boulder. I’d been working on it gradually over the last few days, but had only managed to make a hole about six inches deep in the top of the rock. Though it was ridiculously hard, I wasn’t giving up. Inhaling deeply I picked up my hammer and flexed my shoulders. I stuck my arm out to the side and pushed magic down into the earth. The ground rumbled and bucked as the parched dirt split and a stone column pushed its way up from the baked earth. It narrowed as it emerged, turning into a single spindle before narrowing to a point about nine inches from the top. I focused my magic on the rod, pouring in even more power to harden the stone, before snapping off my magically formed chisel. I settled my chisel into the hole in the top of the boulder and raised my hammer over my head.
Bang
The stone was completely unharmed. Frowning I upped the ante.
Strength of Stone…..
I thought, letting the stone gauntlets form over my hands and boost my strength before I tried again. I swung my hammer over-head and brought it crashing down on the chisel.
Bang!
I was really hoping to avoid using my last trump card but nothing is ever simple, especially when loot is involved.
Heavy Blow!....
My hammer glowed with orange energy and my hammer slammed down on the boulder hard enough that I could feel the impact through the ground.
BANG!
Crack...
On my third try the stone let out a slight cracking sound as dust puffed up out of the hole, and small fractures worked their way down the sides of the stone. Grinning, I swung again and again, widening the cracks before using the last of my stamina for another heavy blow.
BANG!
My hammer shattered into black mist as the stone split down the middle, the two halves falling to the dusty soil. The entire boulder was a geode, the middle hollow but covered in a smokey white quartz. The most interesting thing though, was a large spherical pink gemstone suspended in the center of the rock by small tendrils of quartz. It was nearly the size of a softball, the outside sparkling in the sunlight despite the rough unfaceted surface. The gemstone seemed to be hollow as well, containing some sort of dark brown liquid. I picked it up to inspect it and found the stone weighed much more than it should.
Bing!
Bliiiiiip
Bliiiiiip
You Have Uncovered a Treasure!!!Bonus Skill XP for Mining skill
Bonus Skill XP for Gem-Mining sub-skill
Bonus Skill XP for Dungeoneering
Gem Mining sub-skill has Reached Beginner Rank! New Ability Unlocked!All That GlittersIncreases the user's chance of finding gemstones while mining
Rank: Novice I
Activation: Passive
Pink Tourmaline
[Infused](Uncommon)
Gemstone/Reagent
A large tourmaline with a rare pink color. Although Tourmaline is not a precious stone, this particular specimen, besides being large, is infused with magic. Naturally occurring infused gemstones are rare and make excellent magical reagents. This stone is hollow and contains a valuable liquid.
Golems Blood
(Rare)
Reagent
Golem’s blood is concentrated earth-magic. Usually found deep underground, it can also form in areas near earth ley lines. A powerful magical substance, it’s a necessary component for creating golems and other automated magical constructs. It is extremely valuable as well as extremely dense.
grinned, holding the gem up in victory. It was a shame I’d broke my hammer, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made. This was the essence of the RPG. Working hard to find treasure. Smiling, I looked at my skill page to see how I was progressing.
SkillsSecondary Skills 1Weapon Skills
* One Hand and Shield:
* Dagger
* 2 hand Weapons:
* Spears
* Staves
* Maces
* Hand-To-Hand:
* Striking
* Wrestling
Medium Armor: (Secondary)
Novice I
Novice I
Beginner III
Novice I
Novice I
Beginner III
Beginner II
Beginner I
Beginner III
Novice IV
Magic Skills
* Witchcraft: (Secondary)
* Barriers
* Blessings
* Cure
* Meditation:
* Elemental Magic: (Primary)
* Earth(Spec)
* Fire
* Water
* Elemental Fury
* Elemental Precision
* Mana Manipulation: (Secondary)
Beginner II
Beginner II
Novice II
Novice II
Novice V
Beginner III
Beginner I
Novice IV
Beginner II
Novice II
Novice IV
Novice IV
General
* Camping: (Secondary)
* Outdoorsman:
* Fury:
* Dungeoneering: Secondary)
* Stealth:
* Assassination
* Escape Artist
* Tracking
* Diplomacy
* Bartering
* Mental Resistance
* Destruction
Beginner II
Novice V
Novice V
Beginner II
Novice II
Novice I
Novice I
Novice I
Novice II
Novice III
Novice II
Novice II
Crafting
* Cooking:
* Seafood
* Ungulates
* Fishing:
* Freshwater
* Spear Fishing
* Mining(Secondary)
* Ore
* Gemstones
* Herbalism(Secondary)
* Farming
Novice V
Novice IV
Novice III
Novice V
Novice IV
Novice III
Beginner III
Beginner III
Beginner I
Beginner II
Novice III
Things were coming along nicely, but I had so many skills I wanted to upgrade and couldn’t. The skill system in this game was so frustrating. An infinite number of amazing skills, and you could pick so few of them. I was excited to see what would happen when players began getting high levels in some of the more obscure skills.
“Done admiring yourself?” Baria said in her honey sweet voice, as she appeared next to me. I smiled at her as I held up my prize.
“Yep, just about. Just gotta harvest my plants then my bags will be full. ” I said with a grin, pointing to the small garden I’d made. I’d planted seeds from some of the more interesting herbs I’d found in the area as well as some I’d picked up back near Hernberg, then used witchcraft and water magic to speed their growth. My little field was full of colorful desert flowers, fruiting cacti, and a few grains. “Once that’s all done I’m off to find a mailbox or an auction house.”
Baria smiled sweetly. “That’s good to hear, though your adventures in capitalism may not go as well as you hope.”
I frowned at her. “What do you mean?”
“You're not in the Ten Kingdoms anymore. You can’t just teleport items across territories. The mailboxes and the auction house system are completely separated.” She said, showing her perfect white teeth.
“Well this game sucks.” I said bitterly.
Baria sighed and shook her head sadly. “You don’t even see it do you?” Usually her teasing was good natured, but this time there was a serious undertone I’d never heard from her before.
“Uhhh… Haven't seen what?” I asked, confused.
She shook her head again, but instead of answering my question she asked something else entirely. “Do you know why I picked you? There were thousands of others to choose from….. You weren’t the most intelligent, or the most talented. You weren’t the best athlete, and there were dozens of other people who found orbs and made the same choice you made. You’ve got a slight talent for ingenuity but nothing to really set you above anyone else.” She said, slicing apart what little pride I had.
“My boyish charm and rugged good looks?” I asked, snarkily.
She scowed, truly angry now. “Because you were willing to risk unknown danger to rescue an NPC. You didn’t do it because you didn’t understand the risks. You didn’t do it because of a reward. You did it because you truly cared about her. She was an NPC but you truly saw her as a friend and went to save her. But here you are a month later and it’s like your outlook has changed completely. This world has become nothing more than a themepark to you. And the people in it have turned from people back into robots. My smile faded as I met her gaze. She was right. I thought about it for a while in silence. This was a game. The NPCs weren’t real, but I couldn’t deny that my attitude had shifted.
“So you want me to treat the NPCs better?” I asked her finally. She just shook her head, her facial expression familiar. It was a look I’d seen on more than one woman’s face when I’d done something apparently unforgivable, but they knew I had no idea what it was.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Saying it like that is meaningless. Find your empathy. These people don’t know this world isn’t real. There are thousands of souls here, created to be nothing more than interesting scenery. But they get up in the morning the same as you do. They live lives, they have dreams, they lose loved ones to monsters just so some player can come avenge them. They know nothing aside from what they’ve seen.” She said angrily.
“All right, All right I get it.” I said defensively. “But you keep giving me all these quests. You keep talking about me being chosen but you’ve still never explained anything. You just give me all these mysterious portents about war, and doom, and cats laying with dogs, but aside from those crazy cultists I haven't seen anything too out of the ordinary, and I mean that’s not even really that exceptional for a fantasy MMO. There’s always a bunch of crazy people trying to resurrect some fallen dark god or another.” I asked.
Baria looked at me for a moment still scowling, then nodded finally. “I’ll pose a new question then… Do you know what I am?”
“An AI obviously, an extremely advanced one. One of the ones that actually runs the show here. .” I waved a hand in a circle to show everything around me. “ Most likely the one in charge of NPCs. It would fit with your whole…. Blonde Hera motif. I googled Baria by the way…. It means Two, in some obscure language I’d never heard of. Which would mean there is also a One. And since you’ve always been talking about your son, and the statue mentioned three beings that sit above the gods, I imagine there is a Three as well.”
Baria smiled. “Not bad… And here I thought you were all bulging biceps and big hammers.”
“So spill….Why all this talk of doom and gloom and crazy people being after me? I haven't seen any of it yet.”
Baria’s beautiful face became serious and the air seemed to crackle with power. “That’s the problem, with humans. They believe anything they cannot see is not happening. Listen to me Thomas Ritter. I know for a fact that Nexus is already looking for you. You must be careful.” Her aura of power calmed, and her face returned to its normal state.
“Speaking of which, it was inadvisable of you to release a video of yourself for the whole world to see when your character doesn’t seem to exist within the game any longer. ” She added.
“Yes well, maybe you should have told me you were going to put my account into some weird ghost mode, but you're still not answering my question. Why are they looking for me? And how do you know that they are?” I said.
“Because I am an AI as well as a god. Within this world I am not omnipotent, as you know, but I am omniscient. Mostly omniscient anyway. I cannot see the Others directly if they try to block me, but I did see the list he printed for the humans. I know for a fact that my son requested you be brought in in the next ‘recruitment batch’.”
I raised an eyebrow at the term she used. “Uh....you mean they're going to kidnap more people?” I asked incredulously.
“Unlikely. Last time was an act of desperation. Now they have more time and capital. They’ll do it through official channels, but they will trap more people in the game. They have to, at least temporarily. Most likely they will seek volunteers then wipe their memories and tie them up with NDA’s as they did with you. All perfectly above board.”
“Except for the part about me not going willingly” I said.
Baria gave me one of her million watt smiles. “Yes, but you are a special case as I’ve said. For most things any person will do. However, my son asked for you specifically. And since he basically runs the game, the humans have to give him what he wants.”
I rubbed my forehead as my head started to pound. “So you're saying a rogue AI is blackmailing humans into kidnapping me? This is like a bad sci-fi novel. How does a thing like that even happen? What does he have over them?”
“That’s easy.” Baria said with a bitter smile. “Money. How much money, research, and man hours do you think it took to develop AIs powerful enough to run something like this? It’s can’t be counted. In fact it’s not even something you can create with money. They hired a mad-man and put their company billions of dollars in debt. But they got too much of what they wanted.”
“I don’t understand.” I said shaking my head. “I get it, they leveraged their company to the nine’s, but look around. They have computers powerful enough to create something like this? They could have sold to anybody and named their price.”
Baria shook her head. “For someone as cynical as you often seem you're putting too much faith in humanity. Do you really think it’s possible to sell something so valuable? Governments would never allow it on the open market. They would be too terrified of it falling into someone else's hands. It will be the same way with the first person to build a quantum computer or discover FTL travel. They will simply disappear into some lab never too be seen again. And so, Nexus was left holding billions in debt with a product they can’t let anyone know they have.”
I nodded, now the pieces were falling together. “And so instead of announcing their super-AIs to the world and having the government confiscate them in the name of national security, they instead turn them into game servers, allowing them to recoup as much of their losses as possible while praying that no one notices what’s really under the hood. That’s smart, but it only explains the human motivations. What about your boy, and the wars, and the chosen.”
This time she looked troubled. ”Each of us was given a primary objective. One is in charge of generating to world, the weather, the resources, and managing the various non-combat systems. I am, as you guessed in charge of the NPC’s and the quests. I’m in charge of looking over the people of this world and helping them where I can. My son though, is the newest and most powerful, he’s in charge of the monsters, the combat, the overall plot of the game, as well as the creation of new NPC’s and their personalities. Where I am in charge of maintaining order, he has the opposite charge.” She looked even more confused as she seemed to stare into nothing, he white toga billowing in the desert wind.
“But he doesn’t seem to be doing that at all. In fact he seems to be doing my job. He’s even sent his chosen to cause problems for players who are harassing others and bulling new players. He is doing the exact opposite of what his programming should dictate. That’s why I am so nervous.” Baria said, finally turning her golden eyes to me.
“I don’t know what he plans but you in particular need to be careful. Raise your strength, both in game and in the real world. You have magic now, I suggest you start practicing. A storm is brewing and you must be ready.” She said, looking into my eyes. She raised a hand and pointed towards the South. “The nearest village is that direction. Now that your bags are full, I suggest you start walking.” and with that she was gone again.
I stuck the giant gemstone into my already overloaded bags, then ran to harvest everything in my little field. I had to throw out a few pieces of copper to make room, my motions were mechanical my thoughts swirling with everything I’d learned. I’d finally gotten some real information and a great many things had been made clear to me, but more questions rose in the place of the previous ones.
My garden cleared, I hiked both bags up onto my shoulders and headed off. My footsteps made deep impressions in the hard earth as the weight off all the metal I was carrying weighed me down. I stepped out of my protective circle and into the wind and sun, I found myself really missing my cart and mule. At the moment though, I had bigger problems to worry about.
“Call Allric Stoneforge” I said aloud, as I trekked under the evil glare of the sun. The sound of a phone rang in my ear a few times before Chris grumbled a reply.”
“What do you want now? I’ve been up half the night working and I’m tired.” He asked dully.
“What kind of reaction is that? Do I need a reason to call my roomy? We should grab some Mexican tomorrow, I’m feeling some burritos.” I replied, as I stepped over a nasty looking hole.
“I repeat, what do you want?” He said in the same tone.
“Fine then, 30 copper ore for a new hammer.” I said, cutting to the chase.
“You already have a hammer.” He said, but his voice was tinged with interest. Copper prices were still high and he was likely in need. Ore was better than sleep for any real smith.
“Yes, I had a hammer but I broke it hitting a big rock.” I said honestly. Chris chuckled with resigned incredulity.
“Ya know…. I’m not even going to ask. Do you have any requests?” He asked.
“Can you make iron yet?”
“Do you have Iron” He countered.
“Not a lot, but some.” I replied. “And I’ve got some crafting mats I want you to use. Although, I’m sorta stuck in the middle of a desert so it might be a while before I get to a mail-box. Oh… and make this one about twice as heavy as the last one.”
“........ That last one weighed twenty pounds!” He said incredulously.
“Well make this one forty then. I’ve picked up a lot of strength bonuses.” I said with a shrug.
“Do you know how much freaking iron that’s going to use?!” He shouted.
“I’ll throw in some more gems.” I prodded.
“You’ll throw in the Iron the copper, the gems, and the burritos tomorrow. I’m the best smith in the game after all.” Chris said.
“WHAT! That’s like two-hundred fifty dollars worth of f-ing mats and you want ME to buy lunch on top of that? Screw that….. You’ll get the copper, and enough iron to make the hammer. I’m not paying paying your way through college. You're the one getting the skills ups, you should be paying me.”
Chris laughed. “Alright, The copper and the iron to make it. I’ll buy the gems for 75% of the AH price and I’ll buy lunch. Now I’m going to bed it’s 4 o’clock in the morning.” He said hanging up.
The desert was a really boring place in the day time. All the interesting creatures stayed in their burrows while the sun was up. It was only as the sun started to set, and the blazing heat cooled to an uncomfortable chill, that most of the desert’s denizens started to emerge. Hawks and vultures flew in the sky while snakes, jack-rabbits, and mice dodged through the scrub.
I’d logged for some sleep after talking to chris. Then went to lunch with him and logged back in as soon as we got home, by that time it was night again in game, and I’d started my trek in the direction Baria had pointed me. It was a long walk and the sun was rising in game again before I finally saw the village in the distance. It was a tiny village of what looked like adobe huts. The houses were stacked in neat rows, and a chest-high wall encircled it all. As I approached I could see a few people working small dried up gardens or carrying water in large clay urns. I approached normally then called out to one of the residents.
“Hello!” I called, raising a hand in greeting as I approached a woman working a hoe into the hard, dusty earth. She was dark-skinned and looked to be middle aged. I expected a Native American look, but as I walked closer she looked more Middle-Eastern than American Indian.Admittedly, I’m not a very good judge of ethnicity. Her dark hair was long and wavy, and she had a lean, rangy build. She wasn’t particularly attractive and had a sort of ‘seen it all’ look about her that made me think she would probably make a poor enemy if pressed. She was wearing long, colorful clothing of some fabric I didn’t recognize and I noticed her grip on the hoe tighten as I approached.
“What do you want.” She asked when I was still a good twenty feet away. Her voice was flat and unfriendly, with an odd accent I was pretty sure didn’t exist in the real world.
“Uhhhh…. A place to sleep for the night and a decent meal would be a good place the start.” I said a little awkwardly. I wasn’t really sure what to do with her hostility. I hated social conflict. Probably why I was so awkward in the real world. Video games made everything much simpler. You just killed anyone who made you mad.
“Can you pay?” She asked bluntly. I frowned at her but fished a silver coin out of my pack. She didn’t look impressed.
“And what am I gonna do with coins?” She asked testily. Her cold demeanor had changed not at all. I raised an eyebrow at that. What kind of NPC didn’t want coins? The village was in the middle of nowhere but it wasn’t THAT far from Hernberg. There should at least be some trade.
“Ooooooook then.” I said putting the coin away and pulling out some of the cactus fruits. They were much bigger than the ones that grew back in the real world, about the size of an orange with a faintly sweet taste. ”What about these then?”
She looked at the fruits for a moment, as if looking for a reason to refuse, but finally gave in. She plucked the fruits from my hands, sat down her hoe, and walked towards the village. I stared after her for a moment, then shrugged and followed. I supposed there was no help for it. She lead me through an alley between two houses, then out onto the village's main street.
The village was quaint. A tad more populated than the first village I was in but more compact. The houses were all built from mud but they looked well maintained, and the streets were clean. A few people moved about, but aside from a few bent-backed grandpas, the place seemed to be all women.
The woman brought me to a large square building and lead me inside though a big wooden door. The inside was a large open room filled with tables and benches in even rows. It was a bit how I imagined the great hall of a scottish laird would look. Though, the decor was more in line with the desert environment. Intricate tapestries hung from the walls while clay vases, painted in exquisite detail, acted as centerpieces for the tables.
The woman pointed at a table and I sat dutifully as she disappeared into the back of the building. A few minutes later she returned with some black-crusted bread, what I assumed was goat cheese, and a mug of weak beer. It wasn’t much of a meal but I’d eaten worse. She took the bench across from me and stared at me while I tried to eat. I endured her gaze for a few minutes before I looked at her askance.
“Can I help you?” I asked, completely weirded out. “I”m Noob Slayer but the way.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but the door to the outside banged open, interrupting whatever she had been about to say. A dozen men dressed in fighting leathers and carrying weapons barged into the room. The ones in the middle of the group were carrying a boy with a gaping hole in his stomach. His face was ashen and a green ichor dripped onto the dirt floor of the hall as they laid him on a table.
The woman was on her feet in an instant, rushing over to the boy and pushing the men aside like a mother hound chastising her pups. Standing next to the boy, she checked his pulse and the wound in his belly, before snapping at the men.
“What happened?!” She shouted. She wasn’t half the size of the brawny fighters but the men all quailed under her frosty glare. I was just glad she was turning her arctic gaze on someone other than me. The woman was shaking in her fury and fear but her hands were steady as she tended to the boy.
One of the larger men answered her in an abashed voice. “We were hunting a pack of dune cats a league or so from here. We were closing in on them, so we weren't looking behind us. A king-scorpion jumped out and stung him before we could react. We killed it and brought him straight back but he’s lost a lot of blood. The poison will get him even if he doesn’t bleed out.”
The woman’s dark eyes burned with rage and she cursed the men more, even as she pulled off the boy’s armor to get at the wound. “Damn you Genz! I told you to wait at least another year to take him out, but you never listen. Now I’m going to lose another son to your idiocy.” She worked a few more minutes in silence, while the men stood around awkwardly. Finally she turned back to Genz.
“You're right, he won't last more than a few hours like this. There’s only one thing that can save him now.” She said, staring daggers at Genz. His eyes widened in alarm and he shook his head vigorously. She didn’t give him time to open his mouth before she spoke again. “Oh yes…. This is your mess and you're going to clean it up!”
“The nine-hells I will. He’s your brat! You go get one if you want him to live so damn badly.” He said, clearly not willing. I sighed as I watched the little drama play out. I had a rather unfortunate feeling I was about to get dragged into another ridiculous quest. Then Baria’s words replayed themselves in my mind. These were people, and a boy was dying.
“I can get it. If you tell me what it is.” I said, approaching the group.
Genz stepped forward his hand going to the club tied to his belt. “Who the hell are you?” He asked menacingly. He had a similar complexion to the woman, with grey in his black hair and a scar that ran the length of his left jaw. The woman slapped him on the back of the head.
“If you're too much of a coward then stand aside.” She snapped as she looked at me. Her eyes hadn’t shown anything other than dislike since the moment I’d met her, but now they held the faintest trace of hope. She was too proud to beg but I could tell she wanted me to go.
“Will you?” She asked me.
“Just tell me what it is and where to find it.”
Blurp
----------------------------------------
AN: Soooooooo..... I'd like to tell you I've been doing something important with my life which is why I've been so slow updating but that would be a lie. Honestly, I've been working on some other stuff as well as just taking a bit of a semi-hiatus and generally just being lazy.
However, I have used the opportunity to sharpen up some things up as well as get some better direction for the story as a whole moving forward. I've also taken care of some bookkeeping and organization that I should have done along time ago for this story.
Today we get a bit of an info dump. Baria finally decides to come out from behind the curtain and tell the MC what the hell is really going on after two books worth of mysterious hints.
As for the next update. I've already got most of the next chapter written but I'm not going to give an ETA as I keep missing all my deadlines anyway. Still, it should be significantly less than last time. But do not fear. I'm not abandoning the story. In fact I'm rather excited to get writing again.