Two days later, Jay was jumping back in the game on a brand new virtual reality console. It was strange to see the giant pod-styled structure in his living room. The pod was large, taking up enough of the living room that Jay had moved his couches to the other room. The structure was sleek, efficient in design, and made of a metal Jay couldn’t identify. It was light enough that he could move it around without help and the device didn’t fall through the floor of his apartment.

Unlike the previous generation which used motion feedback, the new devices communicated with the brain using some kind of laser system. Jay didn’t fully understand how it worked, despite crawling through message boards for hours. Everyone sounded nonsensical when talking about the new system.

To his understanding, the lasers allowed for communication through the optical nerve. Even to Jay, it sounded a little science fiction. The laser conveyed relevant information back and forth from the game system to the brain. The size of the pod was to account for all the systems for maintaining musculature and cleansing the body to allow for long term play sessions. The system was rated for up to twenty days of in-game time with sleep happening in-game.

He was nervous as the lasers hit his eyes, bringing him into the game world. He thought the lasers were called cranial spectrometers. As the game world phased in around him, his surprise morphed into wonder. This setup was as much like his old VR console as a supercar was like a chariot.

He found himself in the area they had been in last time. Taylor Lynn wasn’t around yet so Jay sent her a message through the friend system that he would be hunting animals around the area that he logged off from. He figured the mini-map would give her enough information to find her way back.

They hadn’t really spoken since he’d abruptly left the other night, except for some text messages – including a very surprised flurry of demands for answers when she received a visit from Tumult Corp. with her own contract offer. If all went well, she would only be annoyed with him for ghosting her the first night.

Until she arrived, all he could do was try to orient himself to the new gear. The first priority was to check out his abilities. They were a lot more relevant now that he needed to reach level one hundred. With a simple thought, the menu opened to display the three abilities he currently had: Analyze, Catalog, and Wild Strike.

The first two abilities were focused on collecting monster data. He needed those abilities to pay his bills. Analyze would give him information on creatures to help him prepare for fighting them. Catalog would record data from the fight to create an entry in the Bestiary. Wild Strike, on the other hand, was a versatile combat ability which could be used with range or melee weapons. The ability could only be used every ten seconds, but would deal triple the normal amount of damage.

Jay took the time to start analyzing and cataloging the basic critters found in the forest area. He collected data for a pair of squirrels, a songbird, a deer, and even a beaver. It took a few tries to get into the rhythm of Analyze, fight, Catalog, repeat, but he was able to kill enough simple creatures on his own to hit level three. Right after hitting the level, he noticed Taylor Lynn had sent a message – she would be right there. Jay backtracked to the area he logged in at. She was already there waiting.

“About time,” Taylor Lynn said, dramatically tapping her foot. “You still haven’t told me what you learned in the conversation with those suits.”

He knew her well enough to know she was probably joking with the exaggerated foot tapping. “First, I need to tell you about the loot.” Jay checked his inventory to make sure it was all there. All the expected items were accounted for. “They gave me some kind of ‘Founder Pack’ thing. I have ten thousand gold Prints, which I guess are coins. There’s an instant pet egg, which I tried to hatch yesterday, but it requires me to be in town. Oh, and there’s a box of rare-quality level one gear for my class.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a very special boy. Just put the gear on so we can get on with the fun stuff.”

“Sorry, I should have told them you wanted one, too.”

Taylor Lynn shrugged. “They couldn’t have given me one based on the contract I signed. I’m an actual employee. Giving me anything like that would breach the favoritism clauses.”

“Oh, wow.”

Taylor Lynn rolled her eyes. She was obviously getting bored, so Jay decided to move things along.

“Alright, putting on gear,” Jay said.

Jay opened the box of rare-quality gear, which spit out a variety of different armor items, including a cape and a hat. There was also an assortment of potions, two weapons, and some ammunition deposited into his inventory. There was a dagger which was much better than his previous knife. The crossbow was accompanied by some ammunition labeled “smoldering bolts”.

There were twenty of them. The description popped up as an opaque tooltip with another thought. It appeared in his field of vision when he looked at the bolts, stating they would add additional fire damage onto strikes. He immediately started planning to try and combine the smoldering ammunition with his Wild Strike ability.

Jay equipped all of the gear. All of the numbers on his character sheet were much higher. The gear pushed him to levels that were probably unfair for a new character. He was okay with that. When Taylor Lynn didn’t comment, he made an outlandish pose with a flourish. She chuckled and he knew it was the kind that was at his own expense.

“You look like a cowboy. Distribute your stats before we go, partner.” She looked like she was restraining a full laughing fit. Jay knew he was going to be made fun of for being a cowboy for a very long time.

“Oh yeah. I haven’t done this in awhile. This game is very distracting. It’s so pretty.”

He opened the statistics screen and found he had five available points. The available statistics were: Strength, Speed, Balance, Vitality, Insight, Perception, Discipline, and Intellect. Each statistic was set to a basic score between five and ten. Jay’s highest two scores were in Perception and Speed.

Some of the names were a little different than what he was used to, but being fast was the most important to him. His armor was of high quality, since he got the bonus gear. It wasn’t very heavy. He could use the extra dexterity to his advantage; to get to level 100, he was much better off avoiding attacks where he could.

He raised the score with all five points, which brought it up to fifteen. Closing the interface, he said with gusto, “Ready for adventures.”

“Freaking finally,” Taylor Lynn agreed shortly, turning on her heel. She started walking off into the trees, so he followed. “You have some catching up to do. I’m level four already.” This time, she was actually mad about him moving slow.

“I thought we agreed when I texted that you weren’t going to play without me?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I didn’t, after we made the agreement. When you first abandoned me, I stuck around for awhile waiting for you to come back.” Taylor Lynn blasted a small bird with an icicle for flying too close. “What the heck happened? It’s been a whirlwind, the past forty-eight hours. A new system was delivered to my apartment, along with a job offer to become an employed beta tester for Tumult Corporation. Obviously, you arranged this somehow. But what the heck?”

“It was part of my agreement with the Corporation. I didn’t want to go on this adventure alone. I figured you would kill me if I stopped you from seeing the first level one hundred Monster Hunter in the game.” Jay was matter of fact as he responded, because he believed he knew his friend well. He was technically going to make gaming history.

“Agreement? Jay, you didn’t sign a contract without talking to a lawyer, right? Tell me you didn’t.”

“Uh… I can’t do that. They were giving me everything I wanted. Why would I care about the specifics?”

“You always have to read the terms and conditions. What if you needed to complete it within twenty-four hours to be eligible for the payout? What if you have to play a certain number of hours per day?”

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem playing a certain number of hours. Besides, they want me to do this. Why would they put arbitrary restrictions on it to make me quit early?”

“This is serious, Jay,” Taylor Lynn said. She did look more serious than Jay normally saw her. For a moment, his resolve wavered, but then he remembered the truth of the matter. They needed him. There was no benefit they could get from making life difficult for him. There was no way the Corporation could take anything from him, either. He didn’t have any money laying around. That’s why he was working for them. Worst case scenario, he could find another bartending job.

Taylor Lynn started to move through the forest, ducking trees and brush alike as Jay spoke. “I know, but they need me. Some rogue contractor locked away their expansion code behind the Monster Hunter class evolution. I don’t think he expected anyone to get the class, with the pre-requisites and random generation. They can’t change it without breaking legal contracts. Which, as you just pointed out, are very important.”

“Sounds a little extremely convenient. Very low probability. You mentioned something about a treatment plan for Sarah over text?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure her doctor will figure it out. This doctor sounds like she’s good at her job. Very good.”

Taylor Lynn held up her hand for him to stop. She pointed to a small clearing up ahead where there was a pack of wolves lounging underneath some tree roots. The little nook was probably their den. Taylor Lynn turned to Jay and mouthed the words on three. Jay hoisted his crossbow and aimed it for the closest wolf. Taylor held up one finger. Jay started to charge his Wild Strike attack on two, feeling the crossbow start to vibrate in his hand. On three, they both sent an attack at the same wolf. Obviously, their teamwork was a little rusty.

The icicle and supercharged arrow crumpled the first wolf. The other four wolves were very displeased with this. Two wolves charged at their potential new meal. The other two wolves disappeared into the foliage, where neither member of the party could see them at all. Without time to reload his crossbow, Jay drew his new dagger and stepped forward to stop them from attacking Taylor Lynn. Jay at least remembered to protect the mages.

Jay’s new dagger was much more responsive as he waded into a deadly dance with two wolves. The weapon felt much lighter than the previous weapon. Jay landed a blow into the hindquarters of one of his attackers. He watched a large chunk of health vanish from the enemy.

“Jay move, I can’t aim,” Taylor Lynn called out.

Jay performed a dodge roll maneuver through the legs of the larger wolf. It was well-executed, except for a simple problem: fancy maneuvers were great opportunities for animals to try and eat their prey. Both wolves took advantage of their opportunity. A bite closed around Jay’s left leg at the same time that a set of claws raked across his chest. He couldn’t move.

As the wolves started to get pelted with icicles Jay focused on one of his abilities: Analyze. The ability took hold, displaying system information on wolves in another opaque tooltip, off to the side of his HUD. As he read the text, Taylor Lynn managed to blast the injured wolf with a pair of icicles that felled it.

System Message: Analyze Success! Wolf Entry: Whereas one might expect a real wolf to fear loud noises or intimidation, the wolves of Tumultua are more than happy to rise to the challenge. They are weak to fire magic, but resistant to ice spells due to their coat. Avoid their bite attack, as it can confer movement debuffs.

“Got any fire spells?” Jay asked as he finally freed his leg by kicking out with the spare. One wolf was much easier to contend with than two, but he certainly didn’t need any movement debuffs. He was fine, for now. “They’re resistant to ice spells.”

“No, just ice. Uh-oh-”

Jay split his attention, still fighting while keeping his eyes on Taylor Lynn. The other two wolves found her. She was trying to back away, but the wolves were circling from both sides. Jay’s only real attack was still on cooldown, so he redoubled his efforts at trying to carve the wolf in front of him up. To his frustration, he was only really able to land glancing blows. The wolves were quite agile, even with his focus on speed.

It was now a battle of attrition, since the lone wolf couldn’t land a decisive blow on Jay, either. They traded a round of attacks, but Jay finally got the upper hand with a stab attack to the wolf’s gut. He used that to his advantage and took down the wolf. As he ran towards Taylor Lynn, he noticed his Wild Strike ability come off cooldown.

Taylor Lynn, on the other hand, hadn’t been able to engage the two wolves in a direct fight. She was using her icicle attacks to stop the wolves from getting too close, but the wolves were having an easy time dodging the icicles. Beyond that, the animals were resistant to the attacks, but her spells were still giving them what they needed the most: time.

Jay charged a Wild Strike as he rushed the nearest wolf. He needed two more seconds. It rewarded him with a claw attack when he got within reach, but he used the arm holding the crossbow to block the slashing attack. He could feel the actual, real pain feedback from the game telling him those claws hurt. He released his Wild Strike attack, which knocked down the wolf that clawed him.

Taylor Lynn used her newfound opportunity for single combat to launch some kind of special attack. A barrage of icicles fired from her palm all at once. All five icicles traveled towards the wolf, which wasn’t able to block all of them. Several skewered it through the side. There was enough damage to defeat the last of the wolves, even with their resistance to ice. Jay immediately tried out his ability to get data on defeated enemies.

System Message: Catalog Success! Wolf entry added to Bestiary. All Bestiaries created by you have been updated. The Monster Hunter’s personal copy of a Bestiary can be accessed from the class ability menu.

System Message: Level up! Player “Jay” has reached Level 4. There are 5 available statistic points.

Wolves seemed to be worth fifty experience a piece, which wasn’t bad. It was much easier to level from killing them than the various forest critters he hunted earlier. He dumped all of his available points into Speed again, bringing the total to twenty points. They took a few extra seconds to catch their breath and slowly heal.

“So, why would someone care about locking away game systems, anyway? It sounds fishy. Especially if he made some sort of a key. Why even make a key? Maybe they’re hiding some kind of omniscient super AI they need access to later.” Taylor Lynn’s eyebrows shot through the roof as she pondered the idea, seemingly moving on from the combat they had just survived. He guessed it was easier to bounce-back since she was 2 levels ahead of him.

“No idea why he made a key at all. Seems like it would have been easier to just sabotage the data entirely. We’ll have to ask the Corporation about that when we get to meet them together next time.” He eyed one of the health potions in his inventory, but the total damage wasn’t enough to justify using it just yet. He was feeling a little sluggish from the damage, but thought the feeling was pretty cool. He really felt like he’d just fought off a bunch of wolves.

“When is that?” She didn’t look happy at being roped into this.

“When we reach level twenty and add our first rare creature to the Bestiary. It should be fun. There wasn’t anything weird in your contract – was there?”

“Well, no. We better get back to killing wolves as we travel. They’re the best experience until level five or six. After that, we can get some quests.” She stopped to survey the area and consult her map before setting back off into the brush of the forest without another word. It was almost as if she was in a hurry to get to level twenty.

“Lead the way,” Jay grumbled to her receding back. Her hesitation with the situation was making him more hesitant, but he was trying to hide it.