Chapter 46. Data Theft

Over the next hour, I started learning ASL and Latin the way someone does when it becomes absolutely vital to their future. It’s like Journey called me up to tell me that their drummer was sick and if I wanted to fill in, I needed to learn all their songs. I started with the words for Ice and Fire. Those were the spells that Janica told me that I needed to find. I practiced the sign language. I practiced the Latin. I wrote flash cards. I even stopped to put on a playlist of pump up music. I was living in my own personal montage, and I was going to enjoy it. I was wiggling my fingers with open palms while chanting Parvun Ignem , which meant “Small Fire” in Latin when “Eye of the Tiger” came on. I was Rocky Balboa, pounding raw meat with bare hands. I learned Fire, Ice, Water, and Earth. I learned a bunch of adjectives and modifiers in Latin and sign language that might help me adjust my spells. “Small,” “Large,” “Over Time,” “Area,” “Ground.” If this worked—and I really hoped that it worked—I needed to find more spells in the game so that I could learn how spells were modified. Would it be possible to create a wall of flame? What about a wall of earth? What about shielding Janica when she was in trouble or creating a wall of wind?

When Sofia came into my room, I was shouting “Nimbus” while my hands pushed rain down from a cloud.

“What in the world are you up to?” she asked, a smirk on her face.

I told her everything, words spewing out of my mouth.

“I hope you’re right,” she said. “Because you’re going to need it. I have bad news. Did you look at the IO news feed today?”

“No,” I said. “I was a little busy.”

“Look it up.”

I pulled up the feed. Several headlines made the list. IO Reaches Record Number of Subscribers. IO Pods Sold Out, Users Reselling for Ten Times the Cost. But one stood out, and I knew this was what she referred to. IO Claims AI Stealing Data at Alarming Rates. Will Shut Down the Game if Not Found.

I clicked on it, but before I could read the article, Sofia spoke. “There’s a rogue AI somewhere that gained access to too much information. They’re extracting it at high speed. Apparently, 10% of the data in the cache has already been stolen. The developers are so scared that they’re willing to permanently shut down the entire zone where the theft is taking place if the theft reaches 50%. They’re offering a fifty-thousand dollar reward for anyone who can provide clues with proof.” She paused. “Warren, the theft began forty-eight hours ago.”

I thought about that for a moment, working backwards. “The exact time we planted the Dungeon Seed,” I said. “That can’t be a coincidence. Do you think we should report it?”

“I don’t think we can yet,” she said. “Unless you have proof that this is where the data is being taken.”

“I still don’t get it,” I said. “What kind of data is being stolen, and how are they stealing the data?”

“Check out the article,” Sofia said.

I started reading. The spokesperson from IO made a point of saying that the data breach had nothing to do with people’s personal information. They claimed that someone had designed an AI to pretend to be a human, and that the programming was so effective that they were playing the game without anybody knowing that they were an AI. The theft, they said, had to do with the in-game information.

“So they’re not trying to steal bank account numbers,” I said. “Or gamer’s identities. They’re trying to gain information about the world.”

“Weird, right?” Sofia said. “Why would somebody go to all the trouble of creating an AI just to datamine things like in-game items, Skills, maps, monsters, stuff like that?”

“Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the developers don’t let people freely post information about the game? Like maybe they’re going to sell a game guide?” I was guessing.

“Maybe,” Sofia said. The inn is up and running,” Sofia said. “It’s mostly on autopilot. I think it’s time for you to get in there and figure this out. Get into the dungeon and see if there are any clues that the theft is happening from within. Find proof. Fifty-thousand dollars is a lot of money, but if they shut the zone down, that inn we just bought will be worthless.”

An image of returning to the factory flashed through my head. We had plugged all of our resources into the inn. It hadn’t made us any money yet, but it had the most potential to change our lives. I needed to do whatever I could to protect our way of life.

“Have you been able to contact your friend who’s trapped in that dungeon yet?” Sofia asked. “Maybe he knows something.”

I shook my head. I had tried to contact Henry multiple times with direct messages. I hadn’t received anything in return.

“I need to get moving,” I said.

“Good luck.”

You logged into Integration Online.

I wished I could tell Janica everything. She was my partner, and she deserved to know that my world was meddling in hers. That the people from my world saw this as a game. But this would raise existential questions that I didn’t want to discuss. Instead, I told her a half-truth. That someone in the dungeon was stealing information and that we needed to find proof. It was such a big deal that people in my world were worried about it. And that we needed to find Henry. Fast.

“I hate to say it,” Janica said. “But if things are that urgent, maybe it’s time to tell Rowan and try to get her back. We could use a couple more people.”

I shook my head. The thought of confronting Arthur again was too much for me to handle. Rowan wouldn’t forgive me anyway. In my experience, people didn’t just let things go. Happy endings were a thing in movies. Not real life.

We couldn’t rush straight to the dungeon, though. We needed to be ready. First, we needed to get Janica a weapon to use with her shield. And another weapon, if possible.

I needed to figure out how to enchant my gear. And create some new spells.

Janica took the Dark Iron Ore and 200 Silver and went to find a blacksmith. I didn’t want to part with the money, but I knew it was necessary. I still had 409 Silver, and I was really hoping that the inn would bring in enough to cover our rent, which was due in about thirty-six hours.

I went down to the common room of the inn. Afternoon light flooded in through the windows, exposing deep brown hardwood floors and a matching bar that wrapped around the kitchen, allowing dozens of bar stools for patrons.

Mags walked up to me. “Can I get you something?” she asked. “We have a meaty stew in the back. Maybe an ale?”

“Sounds great,” I said. “Hey Mags, did all of those instruments come from The Dancing Cougar?”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Yep,” she said. “They were mine. And I brought them with me. Can’t have an inn without live music. And people can’t play if they don’t have an instrument. You wanna get up there and sing a couple?”

There must have been twenty gamers sitting at the bar or at tables, drinking, talking, getting their food buffs. I wasn’t ready to perform. Too much stuff to do. But it was good to see that the place was already bustling.

“No,” I said. “I need to study. Do you happen to have a private space where I could eat?”

“Sure. Follow me.”

She took me to a side room. Behind a wide curtain, a banquet table sat empty. “You can use this space,” she said. “We don’t have any parties today.”

“Thanks,” I said. As I waited for refreshment, I opened up my enchanting menu for the first time. The index listed only four things.

Enchanting Patterns:

1. Basics

2. Critical Strike with Spells

3. Damage reduction

4. Disenchanting

I turned to the page called “Basics.” It had a brief overview of the profession. The rules were similar to that of Leatherworking. Every point gained gave a bonus to speed and chance at discovering a recipe. About half way down the page, I found an interesting paragraph.

Enchanting is a versatile profession. One can enchant weapons, gear, and common objects. Each enchantment requires only three things:

1. A source of power.

2. A symbol that represents the effect desired.

3. A connection between them.

Oftentimes, the source of power is used to create the pattern. For example, a Tailor might use Enchanted Thread to sew a symbol. Enchanted metal may be inlaid into a weapon or a piece of plate armor in the shape of a symbol.

Other times, a power core can be connected to a symbol like a circuit, running power to a functional glyph. For example, one can create a light source by drawing the glyph for light onto an object, then connecting the glyph to a power core with Enchanted Wire.

The possibilities are endless!

This took me off guard. It seemed like enchanting was the source behind Integration Online’s version of technology. With the right materials and knowledge, a person could create modern amenities.

I pulled out the book that Bill had given me and opened it up. I began flipping through it, looking for connections. I found a section called heating systems. The diagrams were so complicated that I couldn’t decode any of them. It was like a blueprint and a drawing of a circuit combined.

Mags sat a bowl of soup and a beer in front of me. “Are you an Engineer?”

“No,” I said. “Just a beginner Enchanter. I’m trying to figure out how it works.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well if you figure it out let me know. I’d love to get some amenities in the inn. An amp for the stage area would be great. Though they never last long.”

“What do you mean?” I said.

“At The Dancing Cougar, I had to replace the power core after every performance night.” She shook her head. “Terribly expensive, but worth it. Wasn’t like that before. Amps used to last for years. Do you need anything else?”

“No,” I said. “Thanks for the meal.”

I continued to look through Bill’s book, but didn’t really know what to look for. I didn’t have time to read through hundreds of pages looking for clues right now.

I finished my meal and headed for Dread’s shop. I startled her when I opened the door.

“Oh,” she said. “It’s just you.”

“Hey Dread. I’m back to get some enchanting done.”

“Did you bring some Uncommon items?” she asked.

“Just one… I was kinda hoping that I could use some of your materials to make more,” I winced. I hated asking for favors.

“Absolutely,” she said. “I’ve got a whole stack of leather right here for you.”

“Really?”

#x200e “Yep,” she said, a mischievous smile on her face. “Of course, you’re going to do some enchanting for me in trade. I’ve got about twenty ways that you can pay me back.”

She started pointing to the armor sets that were displayed on racks around the room. “I want a Critical Strike enchantment on those three… A Defense enchantment on that one… what other patterns do you have?”

I sighed. “None yet. How’d you know that I had Defense already?”

“That’s the starter pattern, honey. Every Enchanter has that one.”

I got to work. I made Tribal Leather Bracers in mass amounts. Dread had informed me that every piece of leather gear made by an Enchanter over 100 Expertise level would be Uncommon. It didn’t matter which item was disenchanted, whether it was a bracer, a shoulder, or a chest piece. Each had an equal chance of creating Magic Dust, the main component of Enchanted Thread. So it made the most sense to create Uncommon items that used the least amount of leather and took the least amount of time to create.

We became a little disenchanting factory. First we made bracers. Dread skinned carcasses in the back at an unbelievable pace. I made the armor. My Expertise in Leatherworking went up. And with each point, I got faster. Over the next two hours, I made twenty bracers.

“Next step,” she said, “is to make the thread.”

I opened up my Spell Book to the disenchanting page and activated the spell over and over again. Each time, the armor vibrated faster and faster with energy, slowly expanding. I thought each time that the bracer would explode. Instead, it would collapse into itself, condensing into a tiny nucleus of purple particles. Magic Dust. I did this twenty times. The sign language for the spell was kind of funny. It looked like picking up something invisible from one hand and throwing it away. The last thing I did was disenchant the Malevolent Cloth boots that had dropped in the dungeon.

Next, Dread showed me how to make Enchanted thread. We boiled water, then added the components. For every spool of thread, it took 5 Magic Dusts. We steeped them all together for a few minutes, then she pulled out the spools and set them aside. I took a moment to check my prompts.

Your Expertise in Leatherworking increased from 143 to 148.

Your Expertise in Enchanting increased from 1 to 22.

Congratulations, you made a Discovery!