Nigel checked his email: two more orders for high-level characters, and more for special items. He needed to get back into the game. Being the young entrepreneur that Nigel was, he decided to use another one of his backup accounts to continue his side business. He had to be careful since these backup accounts contained most of the rare and unique items that were sold separately. If something happened to this account, he would be finished.
As soon as he got the account back online, he received an in-game message from Jet. Nigel opened the message. It contained a scroll and a note explaining to use the scroll exactly at 6 p.m. She had some news to share. He put on his augmented reality glasses for access to the enhanced heads-up display the game offered. While it was not as immersive as the available virtual reality goggles, it did provide an acceptable enhanced hands-on experience. He could still move objects in a three-dimensional space, but he still needed his monitors to complete the illusion of immersion.
At 6 p.m., Nigel used the scroll to transport his in-game self to the location inscribed on the scroll. His field of view blurred for several seconds. When his vision cleared, he scanned the room for any signs of Jet. There was no sign of her, but he realized that he was in a sparsely furnished room that appeared metallic. At the opposite end of the room, two chairs and a small table were placed under a window. As Nigel took a seat, he caught a glimpse of the virtual horizon. In the distance, a mountain range with several waterfalls poured into a vast lake. At the nearside of the lake, a small sailboat was tied to an ancient-looking dock. Several animals which appeared to resemble unicorns were prancing in a nearby meadow.
“Hey, Nigel.”
Nigel spun around. It was Jet, or at least the in-game representation of her, known as an avatar. Her in-game avatar appeared to be glowing. She wore a white robe and a jewel-encrusted staff. Her avatar put his lowly rouge to shame; he felt like a bum standing next to a queen.
“Let me guess, a mage?”
“Close, a Magi.”
“Very nice! How did you pull that off?”
“By surviving the three trials and defeating the boss, of course.”
Nigel haven't even seen any other Magi in the game. To become a Magi, the player had to possess the highest level of skill in the game. Nigel heard rumors of players taking months to obtain even the Pre-Magi status that is after reaching max level. He was in awe. There was more to Jet than he realized.
“Sorry I’m late. I had to deal with my father. He doesn’t approve of the game.”
“That’s okay. I was admiring your microcosm.” In the game, a microcosm was a private virtual space.
“Thanks. This isn’t the only one I have.”
“Really?” Nigel was impressed. Microcosms were not only expensive but rare because space was limited on the mega server.
“I brought you here because I wanted to discuss some potential changes that Prezelverse Games is planning.”
“I know that an expansion is coming.”
“As a beta tester, I have access to certain unreleased content. I’ve been authorized to share some of my experiences with a limited number of people. I think the changes will affect your side business.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“In what ways?”
“It hasn’t been announced, and it may not happen immediately, but it will soon after. The bounty system is going into effect.”
“Bounty?” Nigel looked worried.
“Bounties will be placed on anyone who uses unauthorized programs, or for anyone caught using any automation. That’s not all—the dark denizens are being upgraded.”
Nigel didn’t like the sound of that. The use of even minor scrolls in the game had the potential of summoning a nearly unbeatable foe. “More powerful?”
“In a way, but they will be controlled by real players who can track the offending player. If that weren’t bad enough, you can only access these dark denizens via a connection to the Dark Web.”
“That is good. There will be less players,” Nigel said.
“That is true, but anyone on the Dark Web is more advanced technically and will be almost impossible to beat alone.”
“That is just great,” Nigel said sarcastically. “Do you know when these changes will go into effect?”
“Not sure, but it could be any day. With the holidays fast approaching, it will probably be soon. Pretzelverse will want to maximize profits before year end.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“I would hate to have you waste your time leveling characters only to lose it all. The news was only part of why I invited you here. The final beta of the patch ends tonight, and each tester is allowed to bring in a guest. I chose you.”
“I’m honored.”
With a wave of her staff, she opened a portal. Jet urged Nigel through. Nigel stepped through the portal to find himself at the base of a silver spire. All of the pleasant scenery was gone; instead of prancing unicorns, there were flying gargoyles. One of the flying menaces took notice and started a downward descent. Nigel cloaked himself; one of the rogue's abilities was stealth. The creature kept coming. To Nigel’s horror, he realized that the gargoyle could see through his stealth. Jet stepped through the portal, uttered some words that Nigel didn’t recognize, and the gargoyle seemed to bounce off him. Nigel realized that she had cast a shield spell.
That spell is going to attract a dark denizen for sure, Nigel thought.
“I got you, Kid. Let’s go,” Jet said as she gave him a wink and a smile.
Jet led Nigel to the base of the spire. There was no visible door or entrance anywhere he looked. Jet uttered some sort of incantation which sounded like “Un-Por-Vet”—or something like that—and a narrow passage opened in the spire. Nigel followed Jet’s lead. He could barely fit through. More like a crack, Nigel thought. Nigel followed Jet into a dark hallway. Judging from the mini-map on his heads-up display, Nigel suspected that they were on the ground level of the spire. Circular hallways led to unknown regions.
“Watch for sludgelings.”
Nigel tried to say something, but it sounded like a grunt.
Nigel didn’t know what a sludgeling was, but it sounded nasty. He followed Jet through the hallway leading upward. The walls shifted; it was disorienting to Nigel. He realized that it was a sludgeling because it stretched out and tried to attach itself to Nigel’s armor. Jet cast another spell that lit up the room, which caused the sludgelings in the immediate area to flee. The effect only lasted a few seconds before they were back with greater numbers.
When they reached the top of the hallway, the sludgelings were covering every surface. Nigel checked his health meter for damage. He didn’t take any. He realized they were floating. When they reached the end of the hall, the sludgelings vanished. A new threat presented itself. A large three-headed creature with fire emitting from the mouth and nostrils appeared. Jet shielded them but not before the fire from the monster touched Nigel; his armor had no protection. He realized that he had only one health unit left. He normally had a hundred units or more at any given time. Jet realized what was happening and cast a party recall spell.
Then there was darkness.
“You’re safe now,” Jet said.
“That was just a taste of the new content. Sorry, I didn’t mean to take you that far. I got carried away. I patched you all up.”
Nigel finally opened his eyes; they were back at Jet’s microcosm.
“Was that the new content? I haven’t seen anything that advanced in the game before.”
“It is, but, unfortunately, most players won’t get to experience it.”
“Why is that?”
“It is some of the advanced Dark Web content I was talking about. You need special access to the Dark Web to even gain access to it.”
“Can we go back?”
Jet smiled.
“I would like that very much, but I promised I would eat dinner with my parents tonight. My father is home for a change, and he wants to have a proper dinner, whatever that means.”
Jet gave Nigel a scroll. “Have a look around before you go!”