Syntax error on line 17.
“Crap!” Ike spat. He narrowed his eyes on his enchanting interface.
An enormous beak tore through the canopy of the wagon. It snapped at Dusty’s blonde hair as she narrowly ducked out of the way. “How’s it coming, hero?”
“Concentrating here,” Ike said, an edge of irritation in his voice. His eyes scanned the offending line. “God damn missing semicolon,” he muttered.
Uncaught reference error. “previousUser” is undefined.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Ike growled. “Why is that null?”
Ada pointed her bow through the hole and let an arrow fly. Her hand reached back to her quiver and grasped nothing but air. “I’m out of arrows,” she said, gritting her teeth. “Don’t mean to rush you, babe…”
“I know, I know,” Ike said. “Give me one more second.” He scanned the code preceding the error for faults in his logic, then made another quick change.
Type error. Argument 1 passed to Weapon::position() must be of the type array. Object given.
“Piece of shit!” Ike cursed. He was about to say more but got cut off when the wagon rocked from side to side. Milly screamed as she fell across the wagon onto Ike, breaking his concentration. Her glasses clattered to the floor.
“Sorry about that,” came Clay’s voice from the front of the wagon. “Having… a little… trouble with the horses,” he said. His words were clipped, as if he were straining.
Ada helped Milly off of Ike, then pulled her to the floor and out of the way as enormous talons raked open another section of the wagon’s canopy. Great, dark wings rustled the canvas as the monster outside screeched in frustration.
Ike reopened his enchanting interface and focused. “There you are,” he said under his breath, fixing a malformed variable declaration. “Got it!” He hefted the axe he’d been holding toward Dusty.
Battle Axe has gained the enchantment: Returning
Battle Axe’s remaining enchantment capacity: 0 / 1
Mana: 12 / 12 (-5)
You have learned the enchantment: Returning
You have gained experience.
Dusty took hold of the axe. “You really like to keep a girl in suspense,” she said, crouching as she glanced out of the back of the wagon. “What do I do with it?”
A pair of talons raked what was left of the canopy and took hold of it, tearing it free of the wagon. The occupants stared up in surprise as a bird the size of a person loomed over them.
Giant Vulture Level 3 An oversized variety of common vulture that preys upon cattle and horses. Attack: 5 Defense: 3 Health: 11 / 11 [https://litrpgbook.com/wp-content/relic-tamer/giant-vulture.jpg]
“Throw it!” Ike yelled.
“Don’t need to tell me twice,” Dusty said and, with a grunt of effort, hurled the heavy battle axe with both hands. Runes along the blade flared to life. It clipped the vulture’s wing, causing the bird to falter and lose speed. “That didn’t do it. Now what?” Dusty asked.
“Get ready to catch!” Ike called over the noise of wind, hooves, wings, and wagon wheels.
“Catch what?” Dusty said over her shoulder, then her eyes went wide. The battle axe came spinning back like a boomerang. It clipped the vulture’s talon and flew into Dusty’s hands, causing her to stagger from the impact.
“Rinse and repeat,” Ike said, a wry smile playing across his lips.
Dusty hurled the axe again. It took several attempts before she brought the giant vulture down. Clay pulled the wagon off the road and everybody got out to catch their breath.
You have gained experience.
“The horses will need a good rest,” Clay said as he approached Ike. The two pack animals were grazing in a small meadow behind him. “They’ve got plenty of stamina left, but they’re pretty spooked.”
“That’s fine,” Ike said. He surveyed the damage to the wagon. “We’re lucky it held together as well as it did. It’ll take me a while to repair, but we should be ready by morning. Besides, the horses aren’t the only ones with frayed nerves.”
Clay nodded. “That was quick thinking with the axe.”
Ike shrugged. “Not quick enough. I do my best work when I can prepare.”
“Aw, don’t fret over it,” Clay said, clapping Ike on the shoulder. “It wasn’t a total loss. My Teamster skill just went up to level two.” He beamed a broad grin.
Ike nodded approvingly and turned to the rest of the group standing in the road behind the wagon. “Anything worth looting?”
“Not really,” Ada called back. She held up a brown and black feather. “Some fletching, maybe.”
“What about the meat?” Ike asked.
Dusty made a disapproving scowl. “You want us to eat this thing?”
“You never know,” Ike said. “It could be some sort of delicacy where we’re going. Either way, it never hurts to have a bit of spare food. Giant vulture meat can’t be any worse than giant rat meat.”
Milly gave Ike a look that was half disgusted, half incredulous as she cleaned her glasses. “You ate a giant rat?”
“Ask Ada about it sometime,” Ike said, smiling. “Let’s pull everything off the road and make camp for now. Once we’ve got the rest area set up, anyone who needs to can log out for the night.”
The party nodded their agreement and set about their separate tasks. Ike used his Minor Repair spell to start fixing the wagon while Ada found a suitable clearing, Clay tended the horses, Dusty felled firewood for the night, and Milly pitched the tents.
It only took a few minutes before everything was situated. The party was only a day out of Weir, their first trip together, but it felt to Ike like they’d been doing this all their lives. Since the goblin raid, everyone looked to him as the de facto leader, but the truth was their group coordinated so naturally he didn’t have to give much direction.
You are in a rest area.
The sun was setting on the horizon. Dusty laid the last log on a stack near the fire and wiped her hands. “Well, that’s it for me, ya’ll. Gotta head to work.”
Ike nodded. “Sounds good. Don’t forget to log out in the back of the wagon. That way you’ll be with us whenever you log back in.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Is that how that works?” Clay asked as he finished hitching the horses to a nearby tree. “I thought rest areas were always stationary.”
Ada shook her head. She leaned down to start the campfire, then took a seat on a nearby log. “I looked it up the other day. Group vehicles count as mobile rest areas for party members. You just need to keep it safe.” She reached up and fidgeted with her hair until it spilled out of the French braid she’d kept it in most of the day, letting out a sigh of relief.
Dusty nodded and hopped in the back of the wagon. “Got it. I should be back online sometime tomorrow evening. Duty calls.” She leaned her head out and gave a dramatic wink. “Don’t get too bored without me,” she said, then faded out of view.
“I need to go, too,” Milly said softly. “I’ve got chair placement later this week and I need to practice.”
“It’s a shame the judges didn’t see the battle of Weir,” Ike said, smiling. He sat down next to Ada. “You gave a hell of a performance. I’ve still got chills.”
Milly smiled and shrank into the hood of her cloak a little, holding her gittern case close. “Thank you,” she said before turning and climbing into the wagon.
“I think you embarrassed her,” Clay said, pulling a spare log to the side of the fire opposite Ike and Ada. He hauled the vulture’s body next to him, sat, and began de-feathering it.
“Just being honest,” Ike said. “She’s got real talent. If we keep telling her so, maybe she’ll start believing it, too.”
Ada laid her head against Ike’s shoulder, her long hair resting lightly on his neck and chest. “I need to log out eventually, too. I start back to work tomorrow. I’m all out of vacation time.”
Ike smiled sadly and laced his fingers into Ada’s. “What about you, Clay?” he said conversationally. “What’s your schedule look like?”
Clay frowned and focused on the vulture. “Same as it always is,” he said sullenly. “Nothing but free time. My rig’s cheap, though, so I need to log out to eat and sleep and such.”
Ike wanted to ask for details but thought better of it. “Well, I’m fine keeping an eye on the wagon for everyone whenever you two want to head back to the real world.”
“I can stay for a bit,” Ada said, nestling herself a little closer to Ike.
Clay leaned in, sniffed the part of the vulture he’d been handling, then gave a disgusted look. “I think this is a lost cause. It smells deader than the things it probably eats. I wouldn’t…,” he said, trailing off when he raised his eyes to see Ike and Ada. He gave a knowing smile. “Right. I just remembered something I needed to do back home.”
Ike felt his face flush a little. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, Clay.”
Clay shook his head and laughed. “I don’t need my Fellowship skill to see you two could use some privacy. I’ll catch you lovebirds tomorrow.” He waved at the couple over his shoulder as he hoisted himself into the wagon.
The fire crackled in the silence that followed. Ada was the first to break it. “How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Better,” Ike said, and it was at least half true. “I’ve been over things in my head dozens of times. I don’t know enough, so the only thing I can do is keep moving forward. Find these Sage Keys, whatever they are. Maybe then I can get some answers.”
“I did some digging online,” Ada started.
Ike shook his head, interrupting her. “I wish you wouldn’t. We talked about this. It’s not safe. I don’t want to get you mixed up in all of this.”
Ada pulled herself off Ike’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. Her expression was tender but serious. “You’re right. We did talk about this. And I’m not about to let you deal with it all alone.” She tightened her fingers around his.
Ike made a pained expression. “Are you at least being safe?”
Ada nodded. “Just the way you told me. Only public networks with an incognito browser and a reputable VPN. No logins or personal information. I haven’t mentioned anything to anyone else… yet.” She gave pointed emphasis to the last word.
Ike gave a sigh. “Good. It’s not foolproof, but… thank you. I need your help, but I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt. What did you find out?”
“No cases like yours,” Ada said. “At least, none that have been reported. They’re either keeping a tight lid on things or your situation is unique. It’s hard to get any information on the company’s internal workings.”
“Not a surprise,” Ike said. “Most video game companies guard their trade secrets. There’s too much money at stake not to.”
“There are other problems, of course,” Ada said. “The sort you get when folks who should log out decide not to. Someone having a heart attack after playing True Calling for three days straight in a rig without life support. Folks skipping school or losing jobs.” She paused. “A few cases of VDX psychosis.”
Ike took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve considered that.” He looked into the fire for a long moment.
VDX psychosis had been around for as long as Virtual Dive Experiences themselves. It happened to people who overused the technology. They’d start to hallucinate outside of their rigs. Some even lost touch and started thinking the virtual world was real, which led to tragedy when virtual worlds with flight or respawning were involved. Treatment could help. Most people got better eventually, but some people never regained their grip on reality. That’s why it was important to log off once in a while.
Ada continued to study Ike’s face. “Don’t worry,” she said gently. “We’ll figure it out. We’ll fix this.”
Ike gave a sad smile and turned back to Ada. “I know. Sorry to always be worrying you.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. It felt cool and soft under his lips. “Just don’t do anything drastic. Not yet. Not until we know more. I don’t want you painting a target on yourself.”
It was Ada’s turn to ruminate. They both looked into the fire. Its crackling punctuated the silence between them as dusk passed into night.
“Do you feel like we’re moving too fast?” Ike asked. The question seemed to materialize before he’d even given it much thought.
Ada pursed her lips and shrugged. “On paper, maybe. We’ve only known each other for a week now. To be fair, it was a very full week, but it’s not just about that. I’ve had boyfriends, but there’s something different about you. I felt it when we first met at the fort. I don’t know how to describe it. It feels like I’ve known you for a long time.”
Ike searched her face. “I know what you mean. It feels... natural.” He was going to say more but stopped short, letting the thought finish itself.
Ada smiled, then took a deep breath. “I hate to admit it, but I think your theory about the game making sure compatible people cross paths is right. I feel it to some degree with everyone in the party. Not romantic, I mean, but there’s a sort of rhythm. Like we all fit together.”
Ike rubbed a hand through his hair. “It makes you wonder: If the game is so good at figuring out what you should play and who you should play with, would we be better off just letting it make all the decisions for us?”
Ada rolled her eyes. “Here I was starting to agree with your creepy theories and you had to go and make them even creepier. What would be the point of a game that chooses everything for you?”
Ike smirked. “In Soviet Russia, game plays you,” he said in a silly attempt at a Russian accent.
Ada giggled and rested her head on Ike’s shoulder. They sat in amiable silence for several minutes longer. “I need to log off,” Ada said at last. “I don’t want to, though.”
Ike turned back to her and smiled. “Real life goes on. Worrying about your video game boyfriend shouldn’t stop you from paying your bills.”
He leaned in and kissed her lips this time. It was slow and lingering, drawn out so they could delay their parting for just another second. He closed his eyes, savoring the smell of her hair, the softness of her lips, and the brush of her hand against the back of his neck. He pulled away gently and pressed his forehead to hers, their eyes closed. “I’ll be here when you get back,” he whispered.
Ada gave a faint smile and stood, walking over to the wagon. She held onto the side and paused, then looked back to Ike. “You’re not, you know?”
“Not what?” Ike asked.
“My video game boyfriend,” Ada said. “You’re not my ‘video game’ anything. You’re my boyfriend. Period.” Her gaze lingered for half a breath longer before she pulled herself up into the wagon and disappeared beneath the canopy.
Then Ike was alone. He sat in silence for several minutes. It occurred to him that it’d been a while since he’d been truly alone with his thoughts. Not since he’d shown up in Weir with Ada a few days ago. Since then, there had always been someone around, always something else going on. Something to distract him. Normally he’d enjoy the respite, but there was nothing quiet about this silence. It echoed with all the fears that had been building up in Ike since he’d woken up in the game. How had he logged into a game he’d never even heard of? Why couldn’t he log out? Why was a guy named “Z” passing him secret messages coded into enchantments? Why did he have access to the code, anyway? What did the Sage Keys have to do with it?
What would happen if he died?
Ike shook his head vigorously with his eyes closed, then smacked both of his cheeks. “Snap out of it,” he said, pulling a stone out of his pouch. At a mental command, the stone lit up as bright as a lantern and drifted out of his hand to float slowly through the air in front of him.
Stony Durability: 5 / 5 A common rock. Beacon: Floats on its own and emits light equivalent to a lantern upon command. Attack: 1 Range: 3 Value: 60 [https://litrpgbook.com/wp-content/relic-tamer/stony.jpg]
“What do you say, Stony?” Ike said to the wandering mote of light. “When you’ve got a problem, you can fret over it or you can get to work, and I’ve never been one to brood when I can tinker instead.”