The world of the Colossal Machine was fun, but sometimes things got strange. Having a large eye stare at you through a wall was one of those “strange” moments.
Jet pointed at the fissure with her staff and cast Un-Cras-Por-Cad: the “close fissure” spell. Blue light glowed from the crystal on the end of the staff. Jet heard a crackling sound as the fissure closed.
“Neat! I tried that the last time I was here, and the fissure opened wider,” April said.
“Spells in the Colossal Machine have both positive and negative effects. In most online games if a spell doesn’t work, then nothing happens, but in the machine there are consequences—good or bad—for every action,” Jet explained.
“How do you know so much about the Colossal Machine?” April asked. “Did you develop it?”
“No. I’m just a huge fan of the game. I have tested each version, and the developers send me invitations to special events not open to the public. I have played each version of the game, and know how it works inside and out.”
“What do you want to do in the Colossal Machine today?”
“Where have you traveled?”
“I’ve been to an area called the Gardens of Light,” April replied. “It is an area where fairy creatures fly around. It is very colorful. However, the edge of that zone leads to a dead area of scorched stones. There are some tall statues there. I got scared and left that place.”
“That area is called Darkow,” Jet explained. “It is a training area for Magi. It is a very high level. At the far end of that zone is a network of caves. It is rumored that Dark Denizens dwell there, but I’ve never seen them. In fact, I’ve only visited there to complete the final trials of the Magi.”
“Grandfather said that the game is also used for learning new things. Since you are a game expert, where do you think I should start?”
“I would suggest that you start in the Timemaker’s Terrace. It’s a hub between worlds. There are shamans there who will help guide you. One goal of Pretzelverse Games was to create an open world to teach and entertain. So, if you wanted to learn about math, a shaman would direct you to the Equation Grotto, an area with puzzles involving mathematics.”
“Math is boring,” April said.
“Math is a useful skill in the world of the Colossal Machine. Knowing it will not only help you solve puzzles and complete quests, but once the game senses you have a mathematical affinity, it will grant intelligence bonuses. Perfect for mages.”
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“What other things can the game teach me?”
“Most online games teach skills that don’t translate to the real world, but that is where the Colossal Machine is different. The developers have designed the game to teach while allowing a player to have a great time. Another example is strategy. Remember what it was like to learn chess?” Jet asked.
“Yeah, it was tough. It was hard to understand how certain things about the game worked. The horsey guy was hard to figure out until you showed me some different ways to move him,” April said.
“Imagine learning while casting magic. Suppose you are trying to teleport across a canyon that is three hundred feet long by four hundred feet wide. You can apply the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the distance for the spell. Remember that failed spells destroy your reagents, so you have a vested interest in calculating correctly. To solve the problem, you already have two variables for the lengths, so calculating the shortest distance and angle makes it easy when applied,” Jet explained.
“Wow, I never thought of it that way. I guess learning is fun,” April said.
“I created a game modification that will load templates from your school workbook so you can apply math problems to spells in-game. Try it,” Jet said.
Jet worked with April for several hours. As she predicted, April could solve all the practice problems at a much faster rate while in the game. With Jet’s help, she not only learned how to solve the math problems, but her character also leveled up and discovered a few new spells.
“It’s almost 6:00 p.m. Dinner will be ready soon,” April said.
“We should log out in your microcosm. It is a safe area,” Jet said.
Seconds later, they arrived at April’s microcosm. Jet showed April how to grant friends access to the microcosm. She gave Jet co-owner permissions.
They were about to log out when the fissure reopened, much wider this time. A greenish liquid oozed in, a pair of claws came out of the opening, and wails and grunting noises filled the microcosm. The room’s ambient light was dissipating.
“What’s going on?” April asked.
Before Jet could answer, the fissure widened, and a creature popped out and let out a battle cry that made April jump. The creature looked like a cross between a salamander and a goose. Its large, reptilian mouth snapped at April. Its tongue darted out, trying to latch on to them. Jet raised her staff and cast a lightning spell, which ripped through the creature. Its wings started flapping as it screeched. Jet hit the creature again, but it kept coming.
“Damn, I’ll have to hit it with the most powerful spell I have.”
As Jet consulted her inventory, the salamander thing’s tongue latched on to April’s throat. Its wings flapped and its webbed feet waddled as it started pulling her closer.
Jet cast the “apocalypse” spell, and several rings of energy emanated around Jet. The first was a ring of flame; subsequent rings had different properties, such as volcanic rock and acid. The salamander let out a loud croaking sound before collapsing into a heap of charred flesh.
“Whoa, that was so cool. What spell did you use?” April asked.
“An apocalypse spell—a level-seven spell that kills any creature within a small radius of the caster. One major downside is attracting the attention of a Dark Denizen,” Jet said.
“Do they always come when magic is used?”
“It depends how busy they are, I guess. Now that players can be Dark Denizens, they can come when alerted.”