Yvvaros: The Digital Frontier

Alex Mulder

This digital book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this title with another person, please purchase an additional copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. All other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 by Alex Mulder

Kindle Edition

CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

WORLD MAP

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

AFTERWARD

CHAPTER 1

“Yvvaros is more than just a game. It's the next step. Yvvaros is a living, breathing world, the final frontier. It’s as real as the world we're born into. Yvvaros is the paradigm shift we have been waiting for.”

The promotional video ended. Luke Smith stared at the computer monitor with one eyebrow raised, intrigued and more than a little skeptical. His best friend, Ben was watching him carefully, his fingers interlaced in front of his long pale face, waiting for a reaction.

“Well, that's certainly quite the pitch,” said Luke. “But honestly, I don't see anything all that special here. It's just another online role-playing game, complete with a monthly fee, probably just as much of a time and money sink as the rest. I'm not sure if it's worth taking a ride on the hype train for.”

Ben smiled at him and then shook his head.

“I'm telling you, dude, this one is going to be different. You can play it with one of the Gamesoft VR headsets. It's going to be… unbelievable. Like, for real.”

Luke could hear the excitement in his friend's voice and found it annoyingly contagious. He shrugged his shoulders and then took a look at the thumbnails for the other Yvvaros related videos on the side of the browser window. The number of views on most of them was a little staggering.

“This is the one that's based on the books by James K. Douglas, right?”

Ben nodded.

“After they had done the TV show, they were looking for anything they could find to capitalize on their popularity,” he said. “This isn't just going to be the most immersive MMORPG ever, it's also going to be one of the most mainstream.”

Luke scratched his head.

The most mainstream, huh?

He wasn't sure if that was a point for or against the game, but it did make him a little more curious about what the community would be like on release. He glanced back over at Ben to let him know that he'd keep an open mind, only to see that his friend was pulling a tiny pipe out of his desk.

“Are you serious?” asked Luke. “We have to be at school in twenty minutes.”

“That's why I'm getting high now,” said Ben. “It's going to be a long day.”

He lit the bowl, took a heroic hit from it, and then tried to pass it over. Luke held up his hand and shook his head.

“Not today, man,” he said.

Ben exhaled, blowing smoke toward Luke, who quickly stepped out of the way of the billowing cloud. Luke shouldered his backpack and got ready to head out, but Ben motioned for him to wait.

“Here, I'm not going to take no for an answer,” he said. Luke thought he was talking about the pipe, but Ben walked over to the closet and pulled something out of it that looked a little bit like a dark pair of scuba goggles.

“This is… your VR headset?” he asked. “Aren't you going to need this for the game's release tonight?”

Ben shook his head.

“I have the newer one I bought back when the drivers stopped working with this one,” he said. “It should be fine now if you run the update. Just promise me you'll give it a try?”

Luke sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

It's not like I have anything to lose, other than the cost of the game, right?

“Awesome! This is going to be a good old-fashioned blasty blast, just you wait.” Ben let out a rough smoker's cough into the crook of his elbow and stood up. “I would have figured you'd be more willing to consider trying it, what with your dad being one of the developers and all…”

Luke sighed and started for the door.

“Yeah, you'd think so, wouldn't you?”

The walk to school was short. It was the middle of fall, but the weather was still warm outside, and the sky was painted with lazy-looking white clouds. They arrived a few minutes before the first bell and streamed in through the front doors along with the other fresh-faced students.

“Alright, see you this afternoon man!” said Ben, as he split off in the direction of his locker.

Luke shot him a confused look.

We don't usually walk back together on Thursdays?

“In-game, dude,” said Ben. Luke nodded, already feeling as though his friend was taking the prospect of the virtual world a little too seriously.

He headed toward his own locker and mentally began shoring up his defenses in the same way he did on every morning. After unshouldering his bag, Luke got through the first two digits of his combination before he felt another student jostle his shoulder.

“You'd better hurry Slow Mo!” he yelled. “First bell is about to ring!”

Luke ignored him. It was something that had been a part of his life since freshman year, back when he'd never been able to wake up on time and get to school early enough. The nickname had stuck, and he didn't actually mind. The more physical stuff and crueler pranks were something else, though it was nothing that he hadn't grown used to over time.

He pushed his backpack into his locker, feeling the VR headset at the bottom as he hung it off one of the hooks on the wall. Luke's first class was calculus, and after grabbing the books he needed he hurried down the hall.

“Slow Mo is here!” yelled Brett. “You seriously need to learn to set your alarm, retard.”

Laughter erupted from the classroom. Luke rolled his eyes and glanced up at the clock. It was still only 7:59. He wasn't late, but his classmates were more interested in enjoying the joke at his expense then being technically correct.

He walked across the room and down the aisle toward where his desk was, or rather, where his desk had been. There was still a plastic, metal framed chair in the spot, but the desk was nowhere to be seen.

“We thought that you weren't going to be here, so we moved your desk into the closet,” said Brett. “Man, you really need to start hustling on your way to class.”

Luke glared at him, feeling his anger outpacing his ability to stay calm and controlled. He forced himself to walk to the back of the room where the closet was and opened the door.

One of these days, I'm not going to be able to just brush this kind of thing off anymore.

The sound of something falling reached him first, followed by cold water drenching his clothes. Someone had balanced a bucket on the top of the door. He wiped off his face and hair and then turned toward Brett, who was sitting at his desk with a self-satisfied look on his face.

The laughter in the room was biting and cruel. Luke began to stomp his way over to the jock, unable to contain himself any longer.

Enough is enough!

Before he'd made it across the room, Ms. Stiles, their authoritarian, no-nonsense calculus teacher, had walked into the room. She took one look at Luke and shook her head.

“I don't know what's going on, and I don't care,” she said. “Get your desk Luke and get in your seat.”

He sighed, and walked back over to the closet, feeling defeated and more than a little bit worn down. For the past four years, this was how every day had played out. Luke’s resolve was part of the reason he’d become such a target, durable entertainment for the serial abusers of his high school.

“Your shirt looks wet, you know…”

It was lunchtime, and Luke had thought that he was sitting alone. Ben usually dipped out during lunch to head to his car and get high. Today, however, a familiar face had sat down next to him.

Sam Jennings had been Luke's next door neighbor for as long as he could remember. They had gone to kindergarten and grade school together, and though their relationship had ebbed and waned over the years, she had always been there for him. Luke turned and smiled at her, trying to act as casual as he could, given the circumstances.

“One of the drinking fountains exploded on me,” he said. “You know how it is.”

She smiled back. Sam was one of the most eye-catching girls at their high school, short but with a cute face and a good sense of fashion. She was a little too focused on grades and school work to ever fit in with the popular, party obsessed cliques, but she'd never been a target of abuse like Luke was, either.

“Yeah Luke,” she said softly. “I do know how it is.”

She reached over and rubbed his shoulder. Luke rolled his eyes at her and shrugged her hand off. Sam was concerned about him, and he knew that she meant well, but it had never been his style to offload his problems onto other people.

The last thing that I need is for her to worry about me. I can take care of myself.

“Anyway, what's up?” asked Luke. “I thought you usually ate lunch in study hall.”

“I wanted to eat with you today,” said Sam. She pulled out a cute pink lunch box from her bag and opened it up, revealing food that looked a lot more appetizing than the plain tuna sandwich and carrot sticks that Luke had brought with him.

“Alright, knock yourself out,” said Luke. He had talked to enough of the guys in school, Ben included, to be aware that most of them were a little intimidated by Sam. It had never been an issue for Luke. He remembered her peeing her pants in kindergarten, literally crying over spilled milk in first grade, and enough other revealing things from over the years to be able to see beyond her alluring eyes.

“Thanks,” she said. “You can try some of mine if you want…”

Sam looked away from him for a second, and Luke didn't hesitate to take her up on the offer, plucking a dumpling out of her lunch box and tossing it into his mouth.

“Yum,” he said. Sam smiled at him and poked him in the arm.

“How are your calculus grades?” she asked.

“Fine.” It was a lie, but the last thing Luke was about to do was admit that he was struggling. Sam looked entirely unconvinced.

“Luke, why do you always try so hard to push me away when I try to help you?” she asked. “I could be your tutor, if you wanted.”

Luke shrugged his shoulders. Even though he loathed admitting it, part of him wanted to take her up on the offer.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, even if she is a bit of a know it all…

“We'll see,” said Luke. “I'm uh, really busy over the next few days.”

Sam glanced away from him with a sigh, and her cheeks turned bright red. An awkward silence hung in the air for a second, and then she closed her lunch box and stood up abruptly.

“Whatever, Luke.” She started walking away from him. Luke scratched his head and wondered if he should call after her or not. Before he could make up his mind, she had already disappeared, squeezing into an open spot at a table full senior girls. He sighed, and turned back to his food.

Am I really that much of a loner, or do I just like to make myself suffer?

The rest of the day went by quickly. Luke brushed off more insults and jokes at his expense and did his best to focus on paying attention in his classes. His mind wandered, as it always did, and he thought about the headset that Ben had given him, along with the video they'd seen that morning.

Finally, the last bell rang. Luke headed to his locker, weaving through the overcrowded hallway as quickly as he could. His backpack felt heavier than usual on his shoulders, as though the headset had pushed it over an invisible weight threshold.

The walk home was brief. Luke stopped as he approached the driveway, noticing his dad's car parked in it.

Damn it, I thought he'd still be at work.

Luke tried to open the front door as quietly as he could, hoping that he could get inside without making a scene. His dad was sitting on the couch, and looked at him blankly, almost without any recognition.

This is how it's always been, and how it always will be.

Luke had been four when his mother had died, and it had left him and his father holding the broken pieces of a newly dysfunctional family unit. They had had relied on her for everything, or at least everything that mattered.

Luke understood the pain that his father had felt at the time, even as a four-year-old. Unfortunately, Chris Smith's way of dealing with it was to close himself off and bottle up his emotions until they came to a head. When that happened, as it had so many times before, Luke was the only one around to be a target.

“I'm just going to head up to my room and work on my homework,” said Luke, breaking the silence. “Just call me when dinner is ready.”

“You're making your own food tonight.” His dad's voice was cold and uncaring. “I have to go out.”

“Oh,” said Luke. “Okay.”

The look that his dad shot back at him was enough to cause his body to tense up, as though he was a mouse trying to go unnoticed by a hungry cat. He felt his own anger building up, boiling over, inviting him to run out of the house to get some much needed space.

His dad turned back to the TV and Luke walked upstairs. He desperately wanted to try out the headset. It was less about his curiosity and all of the hype the game had garnered over the last several months and more about a need to temporarily escape reality.

Luke took the headset out of his bag and spent a minute hitching it up to his computer. It didn't look much different from other VR headsets that he'd seen, but after trying it on, he found that it fit over his eyes much more snugly.

It also came with two tiny USB webcams. Luke read through the instructions on the back of the box and saw that they were meant to be set up on either side of his laptop, facing toward him diagonally. They would pick up the movements of his arms, body, and legs, and translate them into the game.

The box recommended that he sit down to fully utilize the feature. Just by lifting his legs up and down at different rates and angles, he could move forward, side to side, and backward. More complicated actions like jumping and climbing also worked, though they were limited by what he could do in a chair.

The way the cameras picked up the movements of his arms and hands was what really got Luke excited. He knew from watching gameplay footage of Yvvaros that the combat was real time and skill focused. It was up to him to figure out how to use his weapon to attack and block. Everything from a sword, to a spear, to a crossbow operated very differently in-game.

The one thing that Luke had forgotten to account for was the size of the game. He clicked over to the Yvvaros website and bought the game through their web store, but it was huge. His computer had more than enough room for it, but it would take some time to download.

He spent a few hours doing the best that he could to distract himself, every minute taking what felt like an excruciatingly long time to pass. He watched a couple episodes of the Yvvaros TV show, wondering just how close to the lore the game would stick, and tried not to let his anxious excitement make his foot tap incessantly.

Finally, the download finished. Luke clicked through the installer like a madman, agreeing to the terms and conditions without reading them and making an account using his email and standard username. He clicked through the log-in gate, and finally, the screen faded to black.

“Welcome to Yvvaros.”

CHAPTER 2

The headset was still sitting next to Luke's laptop as he went into the character creation process. He was surprised by the graphics, which were more detailed and realistic than any game he'd ever played before.

I guess I should have expected that, with all the hype.

There was only one playable race in Yvvaros, human, but the customization options for it were massive enough to be essentially limitless. For the most part, Luke designed his character to look like him.

He made the body slightly taller and more muscularly toned, but the face and head were modeled after his own. When he was satisfied with what he'd created, he clicked to the next screen.

Yvvaros was a class based MMORPG, meaning that Luke had to pick a particular role for his character to play. Previews of the game had mentioned that the nature of the in-game combat gave players a great deal of freedom when it came to fighting styles.

There were four main class options to pick from – Warrior, Mage, Rogue, and Healer. Luke thought about which one would suit him best for only a moment before deciding to be a Warrior.

It had been a while since he'd played an MMORPG, but frontline fighting had always been his style.

Each primary class was subdivided into dozens of minor categories, everything from relatively standard options like Soldier and Knight to more exotic choices, like Samurai and Berserker. His eyes scrolled down the list, coming to rest on one particular subclass that looked interesting, Sword Saint.

What exactly is a Sword Saint, anyway?

Luke clicked on the class and saw a description of it pop up on his screen.

SWORD SAINT: The Sword Saint is a master of edged weapons. He can use unique spells to imbue his blades with different types of magic.

It was a vague description, but something about it appealed to him. He chose it as his character’s class, and then the starting stats selection screen popped up.

The attribute system was not all that different from other RPGs. He started with a value between 10 and 18 for his Strength, Agility, Speed, Endurance, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma, and Luck. For his class, they varied a bit, with Wisdom and Intelligence being on the lower side at 12, and his Strength, Agility, and Speed all being between 16 and 18.

Luke had 5 freely assignable attribute points to spend. He dropped one into Strength,  another into Agility, and a third into Speed. He put the last two into Luck, figuring that it had been a while since he'd played an MMORPG and he would need as much of it as he could get.

The screen also had an empty text box for him to enter his character's name. Luke thought for a moment and then entered “Kato.” It was always the name he picked, and he took it from the similar sounding name of an ancient Roman statesman that he'd learned about in his freshman year English class.

Finally, he reached what looked like the last screen in the creation process. He carefully examined everything he'd picked out for his character, and then finished with the set up, clicking on the play button in the lower right-hand corner.

His laptop screen dimmed to black, and then a pop-up appeared telling him to press enter once he'd put on his headset.

Finally! Time to find out what all of the hype is about.

Luke put on the headset and then hit enter.

He almost jumped out of his seat in surprise as a world appeared in front of him. He saw other people around him, all of them dressed in steel plated armor, or chainmail. The sky above him was blackish gray, crackling with thunder and lightning strikes. The ground was barren and battle-scarred, reminiscent of the outskirts of a forest after a wildfire.

“Hold your ground!” A heavyset man in a long chainmail shirt was at the front of the group, his hand gripped tight around the middle of a horizontally held spear as if trying to fence something back.

“They're coming!” screamed another soldier. “Don't let them break through to Stark Town!”

Luke, or rather, Kato, looked down at his hands. He realized that he had a sword in one of them; it swung effortlessly. One of the soldiers was a little too close to his blade, and Luke saw a health bar flicker into existence above his head. The accident earned him a contemptuous glare from the soldier, but that was it.

His own health bar, along with a blue bar and a green bar that he was unfamiliar with, was in the bottom left-hand corner of his field of view. Rather than taking him out of the experience, they felt natural, and he almost didn't even notice them at first.

Luke didn't have time to look at them for long. Emerging from a darkish fog a couple of hundred feet in front of him and the other soldiers was a horde of strange looking, humanoid monsters. Luke tightened his grip on his weapon and felt his heart begin to beat faster in his chest.

I feel ridiculous for being this nervous. It's just a game, no big deal.

“Charge!” The heavyset soldier began leading them forward, and one of the men behind Luke bumped into him as the group started to move. It made him feel as though he'd been knocked off balance, and not just in the game, but in his body back in his bedroom, too.

He began to run, moving his legs to carry him forward as the instructions with the headset had explained. His heart was racing even faster now, and something about how fluid and efficient the motions were made him want to laugh with delight.

The feeling only lasted for a couple of seconds as he drew closer to the group of monsters. They were unlike anything he'd ever seen in a video game before, nightmarish black skinned creatures with twisted faces and limbs that were too large to be in proportion to their bodies.

“For Kantor!” yelled the soldier at the head of the charge. The call was echoed by the rest of the group, and Luke felt his mouth forming the words and speaking them out loud without giving it a second thought.

The monsters fought without any weapons of their own, swinging massive claws attached to muscular arms. Luke held his sword in front of him and moved forward defensively, at least at first. He watched the others fight and suddenly understood Ben’s excitement. This wasn't like other games.

The battle was freeform and frenetic. Comparing it to other MMORPGs that he'd played would have been like comparing a scripted theater production to an improv troupe. The way the soldiers squared off against the monsters was unnervingly real, each of them staring each other down as they fought for their lives.

One of the men next to Luke fell from a blow to the neck. His body tumbled to the ground limply, and blood spurted out of the wound as though from a faucet. Luke trained his eyes on the man and a life bar appeared above him, down to the merest sliver.

There must be something I can do, or some healing item that I can use, right?

Before he had time to find an answer, more of the monsters were pushing into the group. Luke realized that he couldn't just stand there, and began swinging his sword in the space between him and the quickly approaching creatures.

One of them was within striking distance, but hopped back, just out of his reach as the blade came close. Luke swung again and watched the creature watching him. There was intelligence in the way it moved that was unnerving.

“We won't give up!” yelled a soldier from his left. “Force them back, at any cost!”

At any cost? Really?

Luke made himself remember that it was just a game, and moved forward toward his enemies. He wanted to get an idea of what his sword could really do and saw a chance as one of the creatures near him turned to strike another soldier. He pushed forward and swung the blade down in a killing arc, cutting into the creatures back. It let out a twisted cry as purple blood began to ooze from the wound.

TYMIAN: One of the monsters of Yvvaros, or “Yvvarites”. Highly intelligent, often hunting in large packs. Tymians live in caves and are rarely seen during daylight hours.

Luke felt satisfaction with his kill, but along with it came a strange realization of his own power in the game world. He could cut into the creatures, and they would bleed just like anything in real life. It was hard for him to know that and not be affected by it, especially with realistic examples of simulated violence all around him, screams, and nightmarish howls filling the air.

Two creatures approached him from the right. Luke lifted his sword to catch a claw strike as it came toward his shoulder and then immediately swung at the other one. The first one attacked again, managing to strike Luke before he could block. His vision flashed red, and the health bar in the corner of the screen lost a third of its length.

That much from one hit? Damn, I'll have to be-

Luke didn't get a chance to finish his thought. Another vicious strike came at him from a blind spot, and his health bar shrunk down to a dangerously low level as it made contact. He tucked his shoulder and rolled on the ground, quickly standing up among the other soldiers and regaining his bearings.

“This is it, soldiers.” The heavyset man was still alive, his previously gleaming chainmail shirt now spattered with purple blood. “We die today for Kantor to live another day.”

He let out a roar and charged forward with what was left of the men. Luke followed and realized that there were only a few allies left standing against the uncountable number of monsters surrounding them.

One of the creatures was hobbled over the fallen body of a dying soldier. Luke had a clear shot at its back and took the opportunity to stab his blade squarely through the monster's shoulder blades. A health bar above its head drained from around half to nothing, and a small empty bar in the corner of Luke's vision went up by a notch.

5 XP GAINED

Luke managed to cut through two more of them with quick, accurate swings of his blade. He was charging toward a third with his sword lifted high above his head when one of the creatures threw itself onto him, knocking him to the ground. The last thing he saw was the monster's grotesque face, its mouth overfull of razor sharp, blood covered teeth. His vision shook and then filled with red before slowly fading to black.

Luke felt nauseous. He understood exactly what had happened, but his mind rebelled against what it saw, even though logically, he knew that it was just a game. He wanted to close his eyes and lie down, mimicking what had happened to his character to break with the cognitive dissonance he was experiencing.

“Just relax, you're going to be okay.” A soft, feminine voice was suddenly in his ears. “You are in the Temple of Rygon. Our healers have brought you back. You're lucky to have a bound soul, especially after heading into a battle like the one you faced.”

RYGON: The seekers of the Universal Truth and the keepers of soul magic. The main religious faction of the humans of Yvvaros.

Luke’s vision slowly returned. He could see a high roof above him, and curious colored glass windows. It was clearly some type of temple, a place of worship and apparently, revival.

“The continent of Yvvaros is a harsh land.” The voice was coming from a tall, blonde woman dressed in a white flowing robe. “Many sacrifices are required from its inhabitants. And we thank you. The battle that you fought down there prevented Stark Town from being overrun by Tymians.”

Luke shook his head, and slowly climbed out of the bed he was lying in. Something about the woman’s mannerisms made him vaguely aware of her status as an NPC, one of the AI-controlled actors in the game world.

“I am the High Priestess, Azalene. You are safe up here, in the floating city of Kantor. I cannot thank you enough for holding the front line on the surface. The sacrifice you made, along with the other militia members, will not be forgotten.”

HIGH PRIESTESS AZALENE: The matriarch of the Temple of Rygon, binder of souls and channel of the Universal Truth.

It dawned on Luke that all of the men he’d fought alongside with in the battle had been NPCs. The whole thing had essentially been a glorified tutorial, a little more integrated and subtle than those found in many games, but effective.

“Your health has been restored by our magic, but you still are fatigued from the battle.” Azalene smiled at him and reached for a plate on a table next to her. “Here, eat this. It will restore your stamina.”

Luke took the plate from her and looked at it blankly.

How exactly do I eat food in this game? It’s not as though there is a button I can press or anything…

Feeling a little foolish, he picked up a slice of bread from the plate and examined it. It looked just like any he’d seen before in the real world. He opened his mouth as he brought it up to his face.

10 STAMINA RESTORED

The bread disappeared, and the screen briefly flashed green. Luke noticed that the stamina bar in the bottom left corner of his vision had been slightly replenished. He felt satisfied, not just from having figured it out, but also from the very act of “eating” the food. It was a very strange sensation to wrap his mind around.

“Your stamina can only be regained through eating,” said Azalene. “If you grow fatigued, you will begin to lose Health and Magicka.”

Luke glanced down at the last status bar on his screen, which was a dark blue. He assumed that it was Magicka, but was still unsure of what it was or what exactly it was used for.

“So uh, do I have to do a quest now or something?” he asked, suddenly feeling as though he wanted to run out and begin exploring.

Azalene smiled and shook her head.

LEVEL REQUIRED: 10

“I will have many tasks for you, later,” she said. “You are still recovering at the moment. Some fresh air would do you good, but be careful and stay close to the city until you feel confident in your abilities.”

Luke nodded and then looked around again. The temple he was inside of was huge, and it curved up into a geodesic dome. The light that spilled in through the stained glass windows filled the inside with color, blood red, ocean blue, and jungle green.

“Alright,” said Luke. “So… can I just head outside?”

The High Priestess Azalene smiled at him again and then began walking over to another bed, where another player had just materialized.

This is launch day. She’s going to have her work cut out for her as more new people begin streaming in.

Luke walked toward the large, curved double doors in the front of the temple and pushed through them. What he found outside caught him completely off guard.

KANTOR: The last city. Floating over a hundred meters above the ground, it was initially built by the Temple of Rygon as an offering to the Universal Truth. After the Severance Onslaught of 231, it became the last refuge of humanity, the only outpost untouched by the carnage.

He was in Kantor. The High Priestess had casually mentioned that it was a floating city, but no words could have prepared him for what lay in front of him at that moment.

The city was humming with activity and packed full of other players. The way they moved gave away that they weren’t NPCs, traveling in unpredictable paths, with varying degrees of urgency. Kantor was a gorgeous piece of architectural work, all of the buildings made of white marble with gold trim. The sandblasted brick walkways were clean of any litter or debris.

All of that was impressive, but what Luke was dumbfounded by were the clouds that hovered at eye level in the air directly in front of him. The edge of the city was no more than a kilometer from where he was standing, and beyond it was the empty nothingness of the sky.

Birds were thick in the air, flying in small groups and chirping merrily. Some had settled on the edge of one of the nearby buildings, watching him with eerily realistic eyes as he walked.

The Temple of Rygon was in the city center. Kantor itself was a floating disc covered with essential buildings that had an administrative feel to them. Luke walked forward slowly, finding himself unable to keep from looking side to side.

It felt as though he was standing on top of a gigantic, gleaming white coin that had been lofted into the air and forgotten by gravity. Most of the other players around Luke were conversing with NPCs or one another.

He saw a couple off in the distance at the edge of the city gleefully dancing near the outer wall. Beyond it was nothing but open air. A group of players were getting their thrills by competing to see who could be more daring in their flirtations with it the ledge. One of them hopped over the uppermost railing and dangled from it by one hand, laughing and whooping.

This is going to take some getting used to.

The thought of doing that himself made Luke’s stomach twist into a knot. The headset was more immersive than Luke had been expecting. All he could think about was the new frontier that awaited him.

A noise chimed in Luke’s ears. He noticed that a new icon had appeared in the lower left-hand corner of his vision, a small scrap of parchment. Instinctively, he reached his hand toward where his pocket would be as if to pull out his phone. He was wearing a pair of rough-spun, cloth trousers, and it took him a second to notice and check a small bag hanging from his belt.

Inside of the bag, which stretched surreally as he reached his hand into it, was a tiny scroll, rolled up and secured with string. Luke pulled it out and opened it, straining his eyes to read the words inscribed on it.

It took you long enough to get through the tutorial, Luke!

I’m down on the surface right now, but if you hang around Kantor for a minute or two, I’ll meet you back up there. I know what you’re thinking, and I’m right there with you! Even the other VR games I’ve played haven’t been like this! It’s almost too real!”

- Ben “Silverstrike” Dobson

The words inscribed on the scroll looked as though they had been hand written. Luke shook his head and took a moment to appreciate the detail that had gone into the world around him. Part of him wanted to rebel against it a little, as though finding the limits and rough edges of the simulation would allow him regain a sense of control.

Another part of him, a larger part, wanted to tip forward and lean further into the experience. He felt a chill run up his back as a couple of flowers growing in an earth box in front of him tilted to the side as a breeze blew by.

The wind… I can almost feel it.

CHAPTER 3

Luke made his way over to the very edge of Kantor while he waited for Ben, or as he was known in game, “Silverstrike”. He chuckled at the childishness of his friend’s naming choice.

Well, knowing Ben, it’s not all that unexpected.

The floating city was filled with shops, a couple of inns, a few NPC homes, and not much else. Luke remembered Ben mentioning that it, along with one other small NPC towns on the ground, were the only zones in Kantor that were unavailable for player and guild development. They were designed to be neutral areas for open trade and events, and as such, they were unique within the game.

Their unaffiliated status wasn’t the only thing that set them apart. Luke leaned against the outer railing that separated him from the very edge of the floating city. He could see another smaller town down almost directly below it, and beyond that, the continent of Yvvaros.

There were few, if any, signs of other players having made significant headway into the greater land expanse of the continent. It all just looked like an empty, untapped frontier. Luke was up against the southern edge of the city, and far off in the distance he could see the land slowly turning from grassy plains and hills into parched desert and dunes.

“Hey there, ‘Kato’!” A voice that sounded eerily familiar in cadence, but subtly different in depth called out to Luke from behind. He turned around and couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across his face as he recognized his friend.

Compared to how faithfully Luke had stuck to his real life appearance when he’d designed his character, Ben had taken a more liberal approach. He had created his face without his acne scars, knobby nose, or slumping jaw line. All the features of his real face were gone, replaced by the chiseled characteristics of an A-list actor.

Along with it, Ben had added long, silver-colored hair that reached down to his shoulders. His eyes were the same color, a combination that made him look eerily inhuman.

“Silverstrike, huh?” Luke smiled. “Well, I guess it fits.”

He waited for Silverstrike to make it over to the fence he was leaning against and had a sudden realization. His voice didn’t sound the same as it did in the outside world, either.

“Hey, why is it that the voice chat sounds off?” he asked his friend. “Is it distortion or something?”

Silverstrike shook his head.

“It’s not true voice chat,” he said. “In a sense, it’s better than that. The VR headset has a natural language processor that ‘hears’ what you’re saying, and then uses a close approximation of your voice to speak the words in-game. It allows them to add a configurable filter for swear words like… and…”

Luke saw his friend’s mouth move during the blank pauses and understood what he was getting at.

“I’ll have to remember to turn that off the next time I log in,” he said. “Really though, I’m not sure why they’d be worried about keeping things family friendly after that insanely bloody intro sequence.”

“Yeah, I have to say, I wasn’t expecting that,” said Silverstrike. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s designed to weed out people who might have an adverse reaction to this kind of game, immediately.”

The wind blew a bit of dust off the wall in front of them, and Luke had to remind himself that he wasn’t really there, and he couldn’t really feel it. He looked down at his body and carefully examined his outfit, the basic cotton shirt and trousers and the simple sword hanging in its scabbard on his belt loop.

“You’re still in your starting gear,” said Silverstrike. “Come on, we can get you some stuff in Stark Town to use for now.”

Luke followed his friend back toward the center of Kantor. There were more players mingling about now, each of them with their own unique avatar. A cloud drifted in front of the sun up above them, and everything became a shade darker.

Silverstrike stopped when the two of them reached a strange, runic circle near the temple that Luke had started out in. He nodded to Luke and walked into the center of it.

“I’ll meet you down below, buddy.” Silverstrike’s body disappeared in a flash of white light as he spoke. Luke scratched his head, and then slowly followed after him, standing in the same spot and waiting.

He didn’t have to wait for long. White light filled his vision and then faded. Luke didn’t feel any different, but his surroundings had changed. He glanced up and saw the city he had just been in, now floating above him. Kantor looked like a fantastic, magic-powered, low-hovering spacecraft.

“Alright, so this is Stark Town,” said Silverstrike. “It’s a lot smaller than Kantor, but right now, it’s the only other settlement on the continent.”

STARK TOWN: The first outpost to become fully self-sufficient on the surface of Yvvaros in the aftermath of the Severance Onslaught. Its existence is a testament to the strength of the human settlers and the blessing of the Universal Truth.

Luke scratched his head.

“It’s the only other town? Really?” He felt like even the most barebones MMORPGs had more than that.

“Haven’t you read the books, or watched the show?” asked Silverstrike. “The entire continent has been destroyed by the Tymians and other monsters. All that’s left beyond this are a couple of ruins and undeveloped expanses of wilderness.”

Luke nodded and looked around. Stark Town was nothing more than a basic collection of drab, brown and grey buildings, much more practical and much less breathtaking than Kantor.

“This is where we players come in,” said Silverstrike. “Forming guilds, building houses, farming, and eventually having entirely player run towns is the end game. Yvvaros is a sandbox MMORPG. It’s a little more freeform than the ones that we cut our teeth on back in the day.”

Luke smiled back at him.

“Sounds good,” he said. “Let’s get started!”

The first thing that the two of them did was head to one of the larger buildings in Stark Town, the local militia’s garrison. Luke was taken aback to find that the heavyset NPC soldier who’d led the introductory battle he’d been a part of was at the center of the room.

“You’re alive, soldier,” said the NPC. “That’s good to see.”

Luke felt a strange mixture of emotions as he looked at the man, his memories of the fight still raw and surprisingly vivid.

“We lost the battle, but we haven’t lost the war,” said the NPC. “Here, take some new equipment from the chest over there and get yourself prepared. I’m going to put you on guard duty for now against some of the wolf creatures that have been threatening the town. Come back to me with five of their pelts as proof, and I’ll give you your pay.”

QUEST ACCEPTED: Wolf Pelts for Militia (Level 1)

Luke smiled.

Some things never change.

The gear he found in the chest consisted of a simple set of leather armor, a sword, and a shield. Luke held the leather breastplate in his hand for a moment, and then made an attempt at lifting it up and pulling it over his head. It stretched to accommodate his body and slipped on easily, as did the rest of the armor.

He left the wooden shield with the commander and took only the sword, feeling that it was a better fit. It felt more natural to have one hand free during battle, at least to him.

“You’re a Sword Saint, right?” asked Silverstrike. “Strange… there wasn’t much hype surrounding that subclass prerelease. In fact, you’re the only one I’ve seen in-game so far.”

How is that strange? The description jumped out at me, that’s all…

“What class are you, anyway?” asked Luke. Silverstrike set his hands on his waist and puffed out his chest.

“I’m an Agent,” said Silverstrike. “It’s a Rogue subclass, with a mixture of combat and speechcraft skills.”

“What use is speechcraft in a game like this?” asked Luke. “It relies on a player driven economy, doesn’t it?”

Silverstrike smiled and waved his hand.

“Indeed it does, my friend.” His voice sounded different, deeper, and somehow more trustworthy. “But the speechcraft skills in this game actually affect the way words are processed and heard, so it makes no difference in the end whether I’m using them on a human or an NPC.”

Luke raised an eyebrow and said nothing else. He felt overwhelmed by the depth of the world and excited by the way it was drawing him in.

“Come on, let’s go kill some wolves.” He nodded to Silverstrike and then started off.

The area around Stark Town was known as the Inner Plains. They were grasslands, and mostly clear of trees and forest, with several low, rolling hills mixed into the landscape. Luke and Silverstrike jogged out to the north, noticing a couple of other players out and about, most likely on the same quest they were on.

“It doesn’t seem like there are all that many people venturing outside of the towns,” said Luke.

“Yeah, I think it’s taking most players a little bit more time to get comfortable,” said Silverstrike. “This game is… well, you went through the tutorial. The stakes feel a lot higher when the combat is so realistic.”

The environment was simple, but the details were impeccable. The grass underneath Luke’s feet shifted in the wind. A variety of different plants and flowers grew in clumps across the plains, waiting to be harvested. A group of tiny rabbit-like animals scurried about in a patch of vegetation, moving realistically, but with a bit less fear of humans than their real life counterparts.

It didn’t take the two of them very long to find what they were looking for. As they reached the top of a small hill, they could see a pack of three wolf creatures down below. The lead wolf in the group noticed them immediately and let out a shrill, alien sounding growl.

“Be careful,” said Silverstrike. “I saw somebody fight one of these things earlier. They can spit venom.”

The creatures were dark gray, almost black in appearance, with strange-looking purple eyes. The leader began to slink slowly up the hill showing its jagged, ugly teeth.

YVVA WOLF: One of the many corrupted creatures birthed during the Severance Onslaught. In addition to razor sharp claws and teeth, they have acidic saliva strong enough to dissolve human flesh.

Luke didn’t waste any time. He made sure his grip on his sword was solid and then lunged forward. The weapon felt as though it had weight, and as it cut into the flesh of the lead wolf, he was almost sure that he could feel the recoil.

“Look out!” Silverstrike yelled just in time for Luke to realize that another one of the monsters was headed his way. He dove forward over the first beast and fell into a combat roll down the hill. Behind him, the grass dissolved into green mush as the acid from one of the creature’s mouths landed on it.

Silverstrike hurled himself onto the same wolf that Luke had already wounded. He was wielding duel daggers and stabbed into the beast several times before backing away. It fell to the ground, and when Luke trained his vision on it, the health bar above it was empty.

“There’s one left for each of us,” said Luke. He tapped his sword against a rock and drew the attention of the larger of the two remaining wolves. It took a step back and then charged toward him.

Luke’s first swing cut into the creature’s snout. Unfazed, it pressed on, its claws angling toward him with deadly intent. Luke whirled, continuing forward with his momentum, and struck it again with his blade against its flank.

It let out a demonic howl and turned to face him. Luke moved quickly and finished it off, each strike feeling more natural and effortless than the last. The fighting style of the Sword Saint class matched his natural approach perfectly, and he couldn’t help but smile at how much fun it was.

10 XP GAINED

“Alright, that should do it,” said Silverstrike. “Here, you can have two of the pelts, and I’ll take the third. I almost have enough for the quest, anyway.”

Luke nodded and dropped down to begin skinning the beasts. He had never skinned an animal before in real life, but the process of doing it in the virtual world felt natural and straight forward, much easier than he’d thought it would be.

They stored the pelts away in the small satchels hanging from each of their belts, which also served as their in-game inventories. The bags were much roomier than their diminutive size suggested, but there was a weight limit to what they could hold.

After he’d finished, Luke wiped purple blood off his sword on the grass and then scanned the horizon.

“It looks like there’s a couple more off to the east of here,” he said. “Are you up for it, buddy?”

Silverstrike nodded.

“Oh yeah! Let’s do it.”

The group that Luke had spotted turned out to be bigger than the first one. There were four wolves in total, and as Luke and Silverstrike approached, three more came out from behind a nearby hill.

“Uh oh,” said Silverstrike. “This might get a little tricky.”

Luke nodded and felt his heart begin to race. This was reminiscent of the tutorial battle, and he clutched his sword tightly as the lead wolf began to move toward them.

“Just keep moving and fight defensively,” said Luke. “I’m sure we can take them if we just-”

The lead wolf let out a growl and the entire group charged forward at once. There wasn’t any time for Luke to do anything other than dodge and roll out of the reach of their jaws. He swung his sword wildly, hoping to strike vital locations, but only managing to push them back slightly.

Silverstrike was faring worse than he was. His daggers were extremely limited in range, and even though he was up against fewer of the creatures than Luke was, it was impossible for him to effectively play defense. One of the beasts nipped at the back of his calf and he let out a cry of pain that sounded a little too realistic.

“Just hold on!” yelled Luke. “I’m going to make my way over.”

Unfortunately, he had problems of his own to deal with. The wolves were using swarm tactics, approaching from every direction at the same time. Luke began to spin and swing in a circular pattern to push them back. It worked, but each time they moved forward they would gain a little bit of ground on him.

“Nooooo!” Silverstrike fell to one knee as one of the creatures took another bite out of his leg. Luke could only watch as two of the wolves pounced on him, followed by another from the group that had just been attacking him. He took advantage of the distraction and killed one and wounded another before rushing over to his friend.

“Silverstrike!” he yelled. “Ben!”

The creatures were tearing him apart, pulling off big chunks of flesh with each bite. It was a gruesome scene, rivaling the opening sequence. This time though it was happening to an actual player and his best friend, not an NPC.

Luke hacked away at the creatures, moving faster than he had thought that he could. The opening he’d been given by his friend’s fall was enough for him to turn the tide of the battle. Unfortunately, it was too late. He finished off a fourth wolf creature from the group and watched as the rest fled into the hills. His friend’s avatar lay still on the grass.

40 XP GAINED

“Oh man,” said Luke. “How do you revive people, anyway?”

He knew that if he could make it back with the right potion or spell within a couple of minutes, Silverstrike would still stand a chance, even with an empty health bar. But new to the game as he was, Luke was unsure of where to even start looking.

He glanced around one last time to make sure there weren’t any wolf creatures nearby and then began sprinting back toward Stark Town. His stamina bar was down to about half of its normal length and dropping fast, but he didn’t care.

There was one building that Luke had seen that looked as though it was some type of shop. He figured that even if they didn’t have any potions for sale, it was as good of a place to start looking as any. He rushed toward the door, faster than he should have been going. Fast enough that he couldn’t stop when it opened and somebody came out of it.

“Oof!” Luke tried to pull back at the last instant but still ended up in a collision that sent him tumbling to the ground. He slowly stood up and turned around, ready to apologize.

“Are you okay?” The voice he heard was soft and feminine. Luke stared for a moment at the girl that he had collided with.

“Uh, yeah, I'm all right,” said Luke. The girl was shorter than him, with a soft face, warm eyes and a sweet smile. She was smiling at him, and stepped in a little closer and held out her hand.

“I’m sorry, I guess I wasn’t really looking where I was going,” said the girl. “My name’s Tess. I’m just starting out in the game.”

“Same here. My name is uh, Kato.” Luke smiled and found that he was at a loss for words. He remembered Silverstrike and the wolves, and his sense of urgency returned.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go!” He moved past her with an apologetic nod. “If you’re new, be careful of the wolf creatures around the town. They’re a bit more dangerous than they look.”

The girl watched him with curious eyes as he hurried into the store.

The NPC behind the counter was an older looking man with glasses and white hair. He had an empty potion bottle in one hand and a rag in the other that he was using to polish a sheen into the outside of it.

“Hi there,” said the man. “What can I-”

“I need a revival potion or a spell!” Luke spoke in a loud, fast voice, and nervously tapped his hand on the counter. “Quickly!”

The man nodded and reached for something under the counter.

“Alright, that will be 50 gold even.”

Luke scratched his head. He wasn’t entirely certain, as he hadn’t checked at all since starting the game, but he was pretty sure that he didn’t have any money.

“Can I just have it put on my tab?” he asked. “Or maybe work out some kind of payment plan?”

The NPC shook his head. He opened his mouth, looking as though he was prepared to let Luke down gently when a familiar voice spoke up in the background.

“I can lend you the money if you want.” The girl from before, Tess, was peaking in through the crack of the door. She had a guilty look on her face, as though she was a little embarrassed about listening in.

“Wait, how do you have 50 gold if you’re just starting out?” asked Luke. Tess smiled at him and then shrugged her shoulders.

“I got the preorder bonus,” she said, “500 gold to start out with, along with a couple of other extras, including this nifty cloak.”

Tess grabbed one of the edges of her cloak and spun around, flourishing it as she did. Luke stared at her for a moment, smiling despite his urgency.

Is everyone in this game incredibly generous, or am I just lucky?

“Anyway, here.” She reached her hand out and dropped a small bag of gold coins into his hand. “Just be sure to pay me back, okay?”

Luke nodded.

“Of course,” he said. “Thank you such much.”

Tess reached into her satchel again and pulled out a small piece of parchment and a quill. She smiled and passed it to Luke.

FRIEND REQUEST FROM TESS: Sign to accept.

“Friend… request?” He looked at her dumbly.

“So we can find each other easier in-game,” said Tess. “This way, I can make sure that you pay me back.”

Luke’s smiled broadened, and he signed the paper.

“If you’re trying to revive somebody right now, you should hurry,” said Tess. “The potions only work for up to five minutes after death.”

Luke nodded and tossed the coins to the NPC. He took the potion and then hurried out of the store.

“Thanks again, Tess!” he yelled over his shoulder. “I owe you one!”

He rushed forward back into the grassy hills, pushing his legs into the ground as fast as they would go and hoping he had enough stamina left to make the round trip.

CHAPTER 4

Silverstrike’s body was no longer on the ground when Luke made it back to the spot where the encounter with the Yvva Wolves had taken place. Lying where it had been was a massive amount of blood and a couple of the beast’s corpses. Luke crouched down next to the scene and felt his heart sink. He spent a couple of minutes looking off into the distance, feeling as though he’d let his friend down.

When it became apparent that Ben’s avatar was no longer there to be revived, Luke crouched down and skinned the rest of the wolves. A small pop-up message floated across the bottom of his vision as he dropped the fifth one into his satchel, letting him know that he could complete the quest. He skinned the last few and took them with him, along with his fallen friend’s equipment.

At the very least, I can give these to Ben as a “sorry for letting you die” gift.

The sun had just set in-game, and it made Luke wonder what time it was in the real world as he made his way back toward Stark Town. He walked slowly, and by the time the settlement was within view, there were stars out in the sky.

Two features even larger and more dazzling came into view against the black of the night. Luke could see a medium sized moon, bigger than the one in real life, and colored azure blue instead of white. Slightly behind and below it was a smaller red circle, and it was hard to tell whether it was a second orbiting body, or a far off planet. Either way, together the two objects were beautiful.

“About time you got back!” Silverstrike was waiting for him in the middle of Stark Town, frowning and watching Luke as he approached. “I waited in spirit form for as long as the game would let me. I bet you got back to where I died just seconds after my soul returned to its bind point.”

Luke nodded. He felt relieved to see his friend walking around again. He knew it was ridiculous considering the rules of the game, but a part of him had been expecting his death to be permanent, especially after witnessing the violence that had been inflicted on his avatar.

“Sorry about that,” said Luke. “Here’s your stuff. And here, take these, too.”

He handed Silverstrike his equipment, along with a couple of the Yvva Wolf pelts. Silverstrike clapped him on the back, pulling his armor back on after tucking the quest trophies into his inventory.

“Much appreciated,” he said.

Luke looked around Stark Town. It felt different at night, and many of the NPCs he’d seen wandering around earlier had disappeared into their houses. There was a large inn just down the street from them, and Luke could hear music and laughter coming from inside of it.

“Let’s hang out in town for a little bit,” he said. Silverstrike nodded.

“The monsters usually come out in larger numbers at night.” Silverstrike waved a hand toward the town’s northern entrance. “So yeah, I think it might be a good idea for us to stick to safe areas in the evening, at least while we’re still at a low level.”

The two of them kept walking over to the inn and pushed through a group of players loitering out front to make their way inside. It was filled to the brim with people, all of them chatting with each other or experimenting with the game’s food and drink system. The atmosphere was similar to that of a bar or a restaurant in the real world, but there was an intangible element of unpredictability to it.

“Let’s grab seats at the bar,” he said to Silverstrike. “We might as well see what happens if we buy and drink the in-game ale.”

“Now you’re talking!” Silverstrike had a grin on his face that reminded Luke of the way his friend handled alcohol and substances in the real world. He tried not to worry as he led his friend over to take a seat.

“What can I get the two of you?” The NPC bartender was a gorgeous woman with a broad smile. She was wearing a low-cut green and white dress that looked like it would be right at home on a serving wench in a medieval pub.

“We’ll each have, uh, a mug of ale…” Luke smiled at her and felt a little foolish at the way his eyes were drawn to her figure.

Calm down, she’s just an NPC, probably not even aware enough to hold a real conversation.

The mugs were set down in front of Luke and Silverstrike. He looked over at his friend, who paid for the ale before eagerly taking a sip.

“Huh…” he said. “Well, I can’t taste anything, but it’s definitely having some kind of effect, I think?”

Luke took a “sip” of his own. It felt a little strange, as though his mouth in the real world was expecting to taste the liquid, and simulated a bit of the feeling automatically. He set the mug down and noticed that his vision had blurred ever so slightly around the edges.

“Is there anything else the two of you need?” asked the bartender. Luke started to say no and then paused, a thought forming in his head.

“Can you tell us more about the area around here?” he asked. “What should we keep in mind if we’re going to be in Stark Town?”

The bartender crossed her arms and looked as though she was thinking hard. Luke was surprised by how convincing the gesture looked, and for a moment, it was impossible for him to see her as just a mindless NPC.

“It’s funny you should ask that,” said the bartender. “Rumor has it that there has been some trouble happening deep in the Underground, in the caves that supposedly connect to Stark Town’s sewer.”

THE UNDERGROUND: The complex cave system that runs underneath much of Yvvaros. It is suspected of housing Tymian bases. Many locations connect to The Underground throughout Yvvaros and occasionally groups of intrepid adventurers voyage inside on raids.

Luke looked over at Silverstrike, who was deep into his mug of ale.

“I think that’s a dungeon for higher level players,” said Silverstrike. “It’s not claimable like  other zones on the continent, at least I don’t think.”

Luke scratched his head.

“Zones? Claimable?” he asked. “It’s been a while since I’ve played an MMORPG. Can you clue me in?”

Silverstrike set his mug down and wiped his hand across his mouth. There was a look in his eye that was a mixture of condescension and good humor.

It can’t be that surprising that I don’t know about this stuff, can it?

“The whole point of the game is to push out from Kantor and Stark Town and claim the zones for either yourself or your guild,” said Silverstrike. “There are still quests in Yvvaros, and you can level up through combat with monsters, but the real focus is on the interactions between players. Trading, wars, politics, that sort of thing.”

Luke nodded.

“Just like the TV show,” he said. Silverstrike winked at him.

“Now you’re getting it. Tomorrow, I think our focus should be on taking advantage of the fact that we have most of the basics down and trying to claim one of the closer zones for ourselves.”

Luke took another sip of his ale and smiled. He hadn’t really known what to expect when he first decided to try out the game, but he had to admit that he was having fun.

“Hey.” A familiar voice came from behind him and to the left. “Did the potion end up working out for you?”

Luke turned to look at Tess. She wasn’t wearing the starting equipment he’d seen her in before, but rather, a slim fitting, eye-catching purple dress.

“I didn’t make it in time to use it, unfortunately,” said Luke. “This is the friend I was headed to resurrect. Silverstrike, meet Tess.”

The two shook hands, and then Tess sat down next to Luke. He was happy that she was there, but at the same time, he felt almost like he’d been put on the spot.

She’s cute, or I guess I should say her character is. I wonder what she looks like in real life?

“I am still expecting you to pay me back, you know.” Tess’s tone was playful and made Luke suddenly feel as though he’d known her for much longer than he actually had. She smiled at him and flicked a couple of strands of hair out of her face. Luke smiled back.

“Well, it’s not exactly as though I’m drowning in money at the moment,” he said. “Maybe I can find another way to repay you?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she replied. “You were one of the few players brave enough to head outside of Stark Town, today, you know.”

Luke nodded, feeling as though she’d just given him a compliment.

“I think the intro may have put a lot of them off,” he said. “It’s different playing this game. You don’t feel quite as insulated from the action.”

“My point is,” said Tess. “If you want to pay me back, but don’t have the gold, there are other ways in which you could do it. I could use somebody to show me the ropes of combat.”

Luke’s back straightened at her suggestion. He looked at Silverstrike out of the corner of his eye. His friend was waving the bartender over to refill his mug.

“Uh, yeah, why not?” said Luke. “It might have to wait until tomorrow, but I’d be more than happy to. Especially if it means saving me from having to pay you back the gold!”

He felt stupid immediately after the words had left his mouth, but Tess just giggled and set one of her hands on his shoulder.

“Tomorrow, then,” she said. “I’ll send you a message in the afternoon when I’m in-game.”

“Yeah, tomorrow,” said Luke.

For a moment, neither of them said anything else. Luke was aware that he was only looking into the eyes of her avatar, and the voice he was hearing was only an approximation of hers. He also knew that the room they were in was just a three-dimensionally rendered set, but there was something underneath it that made it all feel real.

CHAPTER 5

The inn eventually began to empty, and the trio wound down along with it. Luke said goodbye to Tess and watched her character disappear into nothingness as she logged out.

“What was that all about?” asked Silverstrike, gesturing to where she had sat. Luke shook his head.

“She helped me get the potion,” said Luke, “she’s… really nice. That’s all.”

Silverstrike raised an eyebrow at him and smiled coyly.

“Sure buddy,” he said. “Anyway, it’s getting late. I’m out too.”

“Yeah, likewise,” said Luke.

I still need to eat dinner and get some sleep.

Silverstrike disappeared, and then Luke reached his hand into his satchel to do the same. The logout button came in the form of a tiny journal. All you had to do was sign your name, as though you were signing the end of an entry, and the game world would disappear.

Luke suddenly heard footsteps approaching him, followed by a bang. There was no one left in the inn who could have made a noise like that, not that he could see. His stomach twisted into a knot as he quickly signed his name in the journal and felt the world in front of him disappear. There was only black in front of him now, and the headset felt almost claustrophobic on his face without any sensory input coming out of it.

“What’s going on in here?”

What? Is that… my dad?

“Answer me, Luke!” His dad’s voice was loud and immediate, equal parts angry and condescending in tone. “You said you were going to be up here doing homework. Is dicking around in a virtual world more important than your grades?”

Luke pulled the headset off and swiveled around in his chair. It took him a moment to readjust to being back in his room and to get a handle on what was happening. It was late at night, and his dad was standing just inside his door. He glared down at Luke, his menacing gaze difficult to meet, one of his father’s mannerisms that always left him feeling intimidated and wary.

Chris Smith hadn’t been the same since a car crash had taken Luke’s mom, years before. He’d turned to alcohol to fill the void her death had created. Luke was sometimes the caretaker when his father became incapacitated, but more often Luke found himself on the receiving end of his father’s grief, anger, and booze induced abuse.

“Dad, I’m just trying the thing out,” said Luke. “Ben lent it to me, and-”

“You were up in here when I left for the bar!” His dad stepped forward and kicked a book on the ground.

He’s drunk, really drunk.

“It’s  the launch day. Of… your game.” Luke tried to hide his frustration as he looked at his father. “Yvvaros. I just thought I’d give it a try.”

His dad stared at him with intense, unpredictable eyes. Luke was totally still. He was worried about setting his father off.

Suddenly, the man burst out into loud, raucous laughter. Luke thought that he might fall over for a second, from the way he leaned back and his feet had to fight to retain their balance.

“You wanted to give it a try, huh?” His dad took a step toward him. “Is that so?”

He made his move suddenly. Luke jumped in his chair prepared to duck out of the way of his father’s fist. But instead of lunging for him, he swept the top row of Luke’s bookshelf onto the floor in a single, angry, sweeping movement.

“You think you can ignore your school work for that stupid game?” He had continued with his rant before Luke had a chance to respond. “And yes, it is stupid. I helped fucking design it, Luke. It’s an addictive waste of time. Playing it is the same as throwing your life away.”

He kicked one of the books on the ground toward Luke. It flew through the air and struck the edge of his desk. Luke flinched, it wasn’t uncommon for his dad to get this drunk, and he’d experienced worse dozens of times.

Why do I care so much, this time?

“You don’t understand, Luke,” whispered his dad. “Not a goddamn thing…”

Luke thought for a moment that his dad was going to spit on the floor in front of him, but he just stood there. After what felt like an eternity, he turned and left the room, stumbling down the hall on unsteady feet. Luke didn’t waste any time when he heard the door close.

His school bag was a couple feet away from his bed. He picked it up and stuffed his books inside, along with the headset and his laptop, shifting everything so that it could all fit. Then, he slipped open his window and silently climbed onto the roof of the garage. Shutting it behind him, he waited to make sure he hadn’t been heard before dropping down to the ground below.

He’s too drunk for me to take any chances tonight.

The moon was out, though its pale light provided little illumination compared to the double moons of Yvvaros. Luke shook his head. Comparing the two worlds was surreal. He walked as if in a dream until he reached the familiar park that he’d spent so much time in.

Thankfully the benches on the edge of the field were empty. He came here often to escape his father’s rages, and occasionally they were taken by people loitering or sleeping.

Well, that is essentially what I’m here to do, too.

Luke sighed as he lowered himself down onto a bench, setting his bag against the armrest and leaning his head against it. He was genuinely tired, not so much physically, but mentally. It felt as though he’d lived an entire day inside of Yvvaros. Now he was stealing what little sleep he could before the next day began.

A couple of birds began whistling and chirping in the distance.

So much for that idea.

In the end, Luke did manage to get a couple of hours of sleep. He left the park early, right as the sun was starting to rise, and walked to school. The clothes he had on were the same ones that he’d worn the day before, but there was nothing he could do about that, other than preparing himself for the taunts and jeers of his classmates.

The sun was still low in the sky when he arrived. Luke saw the assistant principal unlocking the front door and waited for her to head inside before he slipped in. The halls were empty, giving the building an eerie ambiance.

He dropped his books and bag at his locker, the sound of the metal creaking and the door slamming echoed down the corridor. Then, he headed straight to his first class. The teacher wasn’t there yet, and neither were any of the other students. He found his desk and collapsed down into it, his eyes growing heavy as he rested his head on his arms.

It’s Friday, if I can just make it through today I’ll have the entire weekend to...

To what? He backed his thoughts up a couple of paces and realized that all he really wanted to do was to go back to Yvvaros. The experience he’d shared with Ben, the fighting, the exploring, even the virtual ale drinking in the inn, all of it had felt meaningful. But school had never felt that way for him, and his home life certainly hadn’t either.

Is my dad right about me, after all?

Without realizing it, Luke drifted off to sleep again. He awoke to the sound of laughter, and could feel the attention of the room on him without even needing to look around.

“Well, at least he’s on time for once!” He heard the room erupt into a chorus of laughter. From the corner of his eye, Luke saw someone sit down next to him.

“I guess we’ll need a new name for you, Luke.” His tormentor from yesterday was leering at him, tall and arrogant. “How about… Ass Hat?”

The room laughed even harder. Luke rolled his eyes.

Has the entire class regressed back to the mindset of a bunch of ten-year-olds?

Brett slapped his hand on Luke’s desk and his books went flying to the ground. Without really thinking about what he was doing, Luke stood up. The jock was in his face in an instant, his cocky sneer made Luke’s blood boil.

“Go ahead, fuck face,” said the jerk. “Do it. See what happens.”

Luke couldn’t stop himself. Even though he knew it was stupid, he curled his hand into a fist and threw it forward. It caught Brett in the stomach and he doubled over.

“You fucking bastard!” Another of his classmates, another jock dressed in his varsity jacket jumped up and moved toward Luke. Two more joined in, and before Luke had time to execute an escape plan, they had thrown him to the ground and begun pummeling him with blows.

Worth it. Totally worth it.

It was painful, but Luke felt proud even as the beating intensified. One of their fists struck him across the face, and he felt his lip begin to bleed freely into his mouth.

“Stop this right now!” Their teacher had finally entered the room. He was an older man with a regressing hairline and protruding belly. “Who started this?”

“Luke sucker punched Brett,” said one of the jocks. “All we were doing was holding him down, he’s fucking crazy.”

“Watch your mouth,” said the teacher. “Luke, detention, now.”

Luke stood up and took a long look around the room as he dusted himself off. The eyes that met his were changed. There was no deprecating humor in them. He was no longer the brunt of a joke but a threat. Their expressions were full of loathing and anger.

Luke represented a kind of solitary strength and resilience that most of them were inherently afraid of and incapable of understanding. The fight was over, and even though he’d lost, he left the room unbroken.

I’ve had worse that this before. Much worse.

The school’s disciplinarian took her time chewing Luke out. He wasn’t overly concerned about her threats of suspension or expulsion for fighting in school, but he kept his mouth shut anyway. Anything he said in his defense would end up sounding as unrepentant as he felt.

He spent the morning in an empty, windowless room that felt a lot like a jail cell. He was allowed out for lunch, thankfully, and he stopped by the bathroom to survey the damage to his face on his way to the cafeteria.

As expected, his lip was badly swollen. There was also a small cut on his forehead and a fist-sized bruise on his right cheek. It was actually worse than what he’d imagined, but he endured the pain of washing his face and tried to forget about the fight.

The cafeteria was already full when he arrived. He walked over to join the end of the line for school lunch before remembering that his account was empty and he had no money to spend on food. Usually, he grabbed lunch from the fridge, but that hadn’t been possible for him that morning.

Whatever.

Luke sighed, and walked over to an empty table and sat down. He didn’t really care about the insults that much, and the fight had been more of a physical inconvenience than anything. Not having lunch after having not eaten breakfast or dinner the night before, now that was real torture.

“Luke…” Sam’s voice came from behind him and he looked over his shoulder in time to see her smile shift into shock when she saw his face. “My god, what happened to you?”

“Oh, you know…” Luke shrugged. “I fell down on my way to my locker.”

Sam rolled her eyes and then sat down next to him. She didn’t say anything for a moment. She just looked at him as though she understood what had happened without needing an honest explanation.

“Where’s your lunch?” she asked.

Luke smiled at her and waved dismissively.

“Don’t worry about me, Sam,” he said. “I’m just having one of those days.”

Sam was quiet as she took her lunchbox out of her bag. It was bigger than the one she’d had the day before, and she set it on the table in between the two of them.

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” she said softly. “Here, have some of mine.”

She opened it. There was a lot of food, and when she handed Luke a fork, something clicked in his head.

“This… looks like it was meant for two people, Sam.”

She smiled at him, blushed a little, and then nodded slightly.

“Well, it was,” she said.

Luke’s heart shifted into a new rhythm. He was suddenly very aware of how close Sam was sitting to him. He suddenly felt the stress of the day melt away. He reached his fork over, stabbed a grape and popped it into his mouth.

“Thanks, Sam,” he said. “This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time.”

“Luke…” Sam had an embarrassed look on her face. She frowned. “I have to be honest, I was going to share this with Mike, but he had to meet with one of his teachers.”

The grape suddenly tasted bitter and acrid in Luke’s mouth.

“Oh, right, of course,” he said. “Well, I just forgot my own lunch today. You know, I wasn’t… I mean, I didn’t think...”

His face felt hot, and he wanted to kick himself for being such a fool.

“I’m sorry, Luke,” said Sam. “I mean, you knew that we are dating, though, right? Mike and I?”

I had absolutely no idea and wish I still didn’t.

“Yeah Sam, of course,” said Luke. “Of course I did.”

None of the punches that the jocks in first period had thrown had hurt like this. What Luke was feeling now was a different kind of pain entirely, and he desperately wanted it to fade away.

“I have to run Sam, I uh…” Luke tapped his hand on the table as he stood up, no excuse coming to him right away. “I forgot something in my locker.”

“Luke, wait a sec,” said Sam. “You don’t have to-”

“Bye!”

Luke sped toward the side exit of the cafeteria and pushed through the double doors. His head ached and his palms felt clammy. He tried to focus on his breathing as he walked through the hallway, toward his locker.

God damn it.

He stopped at his locker, but only to grab his bag. Luke had never ditched school midway through the day before, but he felt as though if he stayed in the building for even a second longer, he was going to explode.

CHAPTER 6

Luke’s first instinct was to walk back to the park and hang around there for the next couple of hours. He began walking in that direction before remembering the type of people who loitered around there during the day, junkies and drug dealers, people that he wasn’t interested in getting on the wrong side of.

He couldn’t head home, either. His dad worked from home about as often as he worked in his office, and if he caught Luke there, it would end badly.

So instead, Luke just walked around town, with no real sense of aim or direction. Ben had the last period of the day free. Luke shot him a quick text, hoping he could meet up with him if he left early. He needed a place to hang out to clear his head.

And maybe get a chance to play Yvvaros without being chewed out for it.

The thought lingered in Luke’s mind. He thought of the game, of the wolf pelts, still sitting in his satchel, waiting to be turned in to the leader of the garrison. He thought about the way the NPCs acted and looked natural, as though they belonged in their world, in a way that he never could in his own. He thought of Tess, the promise he’d made to her, and the way that she felt so real and close.

It took Ben an hour and a half to respond to his text. It had felt like an eternity of waiting. Just as he’d begun his response, Luke saw Ben heading his way.

“Hey, what’s going on with you?” Ben pushed his hand against his friend’s shoulder. Luke could see the look of concern on Ben’s face as he studied the jock's handiwork.

“Nothing man,” said Luke, forcing a smile. “Nothing at all.”

“Dude, your face is a mess,” said Ben. “And the entire school has been buzzing with rumors about a fight, or something?”

Luke shrugged.

“I just had a rough day,” he said. “You know how it is.”

“Yeah, I do!” insisted Ben. “That’s why you need to tell me what’s going on with you.”

Luke walked slowly alongside Ben and gave him a brief rundown of the disastrous day. And since Ben was the only other living soul who knew what his Dad could be like, he filled him in on the events of the night before as well. Ben reacted the way Luke had expected he would. His expression was a mirror of Luke’s own anger and frustration.

“That is bullshit,” said Ben. “And I didn’t know about Sam, either.”

Luke sighed. That, out of all of what had happened, was by far the most painful thing.

“It is what it is. Come on, let’s get to your place and get in-game.”

“Man, you just read my mind,” said Ben. “A little bit of adventuring will get your spirits up.”

They reached Ben’s house and headed in through the front door. It was warmer inside than ir was outside, and the tantalizing smell of cookies in the oven hung on the air.

“Hey Ben, I didn’t expect you to be home so early.”

Ben, much like Luke, lived in what was essentially a single parent household, except with his older sister filling in for the role of his mother and father. Emily was 25 years old and in the midst of taking a year off from graduate school. While Ben’s parents worked corporate jobs that required constant travel, Emily was the one who took care of him and looked out for him.

“I always get out a little early,” said Ben. “I just don’t usually come straight home.”

Luke couldn’t help but admire Emily as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to greet them. She was a small woman, with long, beautiful dark brown hair. She was undeniably a drop dead knockout. She definitely had Luke’s attention. Today she was wearing a white short-sleeve T-shirt and black yoga pants. Over that she wore a pink apron with, “Kiss the Cook” embroidered across the front.

Oh, how I wish I could.

“Hey Luke,” said Emily. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s school going?”

“It’s been good,” said Luke. “To be honest, I can’t wait to graduate and get it over with.”

“It sounds like you have a case of senioritis,” said Emily. “I felt the same way when I was 18.”

Luke had always felt comfortable around Emily, despite her beauty. He could sit for hours and listen to her talk, about life, school, anything. In so many ways, Emily was the complete opposite of Ben.

She’d graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a 4.0 GPA from one of the better state schools. Ben had told Luke that she had gone back to pursue a Master’s in philosophy. She also was on the school’s gymnastics team and there was talk about her going national.

Ben cleared his throat and Luke was pulled out of the trance that Emily’s calming green eyes had cast over him. He nodded to his friend and started to follow him up the stairs.

“We’ll be gaming if you need us, sis,” said Ben.

“Alright. I’ll make dinner later tonight.” She smiled one last time at Luke. “Are you going to stay and eat with us, Luke? I don’t mind setting an extra plate at the table.”

Luke glanced over at Ben, who looked like he was starting to get a little impatient.

Well, I’m not exactly planning on leaving immediately…

“Yeah, maybe,” said Luke. “And if not, I’ll take some food for the road.”

The sides of Emily’s mouth turned up slightly into a smile.

I can’t believe she’s Ben’s sister.

Luke followed Ben upstairs and into his room. He shut the door behind them and began pulling his stuff out of his bag. Ben only had one chair in his room, so Luke set his laptop up near his friend’s bed and then leaned back against it.

“We still have to finish up the quest that we were in the middle of last night,” said Luke.

“Thanks again for trying to revive me, by the way,” said Ben. Luke grinned up at his friend just in time to see him pulling out his pipe and clicking his lighter into flame.

“Is that really necessary?” Luke scratched his head and glanced up at the ceiling. “I mean, your sister is downstairs. Aren’t you worried about her smelling it?”

Ben shook his head and exhaled smoke toward the window.

“Emily doesn’t care,” he said. “She’s chill about stuff like this. She kind of has to be these days, after… well, let’s just say that she’s the understanding type.”

Luke resisted the urge to pry further. He wanted to get in-game as soon as possible, but waited for Ben to take another hit and put his pipe away before reaching for his VR headset.

“Hold on, Luke,” said Ben, opening his drawer. “I’ve got a little something else, maybe something that you might be interested in?”

He reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of vodka, the label and appearance giving away how cheap it was. Wiggling it back in forth in front of Luke’s face, he raised an eyebrow.

I need to talk to Ben about this, eventually. For now, I guess I’ll just keep playing along.

Luke took the bottle from him and tipped it back. The vodka stung his throat and was hard to swallow, but he took a decent sized gulp anyway, mostly by accident.

It was hard for him to pinpoint exactly when Ben’s drug and alcohol use had begun to be a problem, but he knew it had been sometime within the last couple of months.

They had both been disenfranchised by the other students since middle school. It wasn’t clear exactly why, and Luke couldn’t blame his friend for reacting the way that he had. Navigating the social tiers of school was tough enough and with the years of harassment, the constant stream of insults and rumors, high school was a nightmare.

“Are you ready?” asked Ben. Luke passed him back the bottle and nodded as he watched his friend pull on his VR headset.

Is this just more of the same? Another way to dull the pain that we experience in our regular lives?

Luke shook the thought out of his head and then pulled on his VR headset and turned on the game. In an instant, he was transported back to where he’d last been in the game, just outside the Stark Town Inn. There were more people playing than there had been the day before. The streets of Stark Town were crowded with players busily going about their business.

PATCH NOTES: Immersive Mode has been added to the Character Record.

“Immersive mode, huh?” said Luke. He turned toward Ben and took a second to readjust to him as his avatar, Silverstrike.

“Yeah.” Silverstrike was already reaching into his bag and pulling out his journal. “I think it’s meant to cut own on the non-essential notifications.”

Luke shrugged, and took a second to enable it, too.

“Ready?” He looked over at Silverstrike, who nodded to him.

They first headed to the garrison commander. There were several other players who appeared to be just getting started with the quest. Surprisingly, the NPC leader turned to Luke and Silverstrike as they approached, as though he actually recognized them.

“Many militia fighters have been killed by the Yvva Wolves in the past few days,” said the commander. “I hope the two of you didn’t have too much trouble out there.”

Luke pulled the fur trophies from his inventory bag and handed them over. Silverstrike did the same rolling his eyes at the melodrama.

QUEST COMPLETED

“No, of course not,” said Luke. “Is there anything else we can help with?”

The garrison commander shook his head.

“Not just yet,” he said. “There is much work to do to secure Stark Town and our position here in the Inner Plains. Many of these troupes are too green, I can only entrust the work to more experienced men. Come back once you’ve spent some time exploring on your own.”

LEVEL REQUIRED: 5

The commander nodded to Luke and Silverstrike, and they knew that the conversation was over without being told.

I guess we have to spend a bit of time training up, first.

Back outside the garrison, Luke noticed a blinking red envelope icon in the lower left-hand corner of his vision. He fumbled around in his satchel for a second, finding a letter that hadn’t been there before.

“I’m going to grab some food, I’m almost out of stamina,” said Silverstrike. “Do you want something?”

“Sure, just uh…” Luke distractedly began to read the front of the letter. “Just get me some bread, or a sandwich or something.”

It’s from Tess… Why does that make me feel so excited?

“Alright man, hang out here for a sec.” Silverstrike jogged down the road toward the food stalls in the center of the market. At a glance, Luke thought they looked somewhat similar to the food trucks that occasionally parked at the festivals in his hometown, except much more medieval and rustic.

He walked over to a rough cut wood bench and sat down on it as he pulled the folded parchment out of the envelope. The writing on it was very feminine and very cute. Luke could hear Tess’s voice in his head as he read it.

Dear Kato,

I just logged into the game. I’m hanging out a little to the south of Stark Town right now, trying to figure out how to use my magic. Hopefully, this letter doesn’t take as long to reach you as letters do in real life. Come find me when you get a chance, you still owe me 50 gold!

Tess

“What’s with the grin?” Silverstrike had arrived back with the food and handed a large, crusty chunk of bread to Luke. He took it from him and brought it up to his mouth, watching as it faded into nothingness and his stamina bar refilled.

“Nothing,” he said. “Well, I mean, the girl from yesterday, Tess, sent me a message. She’s south of Stark Town, practicing the basics. I think I’m going to head over that way.”

“Since when were you such a people person?” asked Silverstrike. “Though she is cute, or rather, her avatar is.”

“Whatever man.” Luke stood up and put the letter back into his satchel.“I’ll meet back up with you later, and we can find something new to explore.”

Silverstrike sighed and waved him away dismissively.

“Sure thing, man,” he said. “Just don’t go getting too involved.”

The area immediately south of Stark Town was similar to the landscape Luke and Silverstrike had explored the day before. However, further off in the distance, Luke could see a large, menacing expanse of reddish gold desert sands.

The Sarchia Desert.

He’d seen a map of the continent of Yvvaros in the inn and knew that the main cities, Kantor and Stark Town, were located at the nexus of several diverse regions. The region immediately surrounding Stark Town was called the Inner Plains. It was a vast expanse of gentle rolling hills and grasslands.

The Blue Void lay to the north. The grass gave way to cold, snowy tundra. It was a harsh frozen land of ice and mountains, nearly devoid of life save for rumors of high level, savage monsters.

To the west, lay a vast ocean studded with pockets of unexplored islands forming an extensive archipelago only a few kilometers from the shore. The Western Sea, as it was known, was the western most expanse of claimable territory in Yvvaros. The islands themselves were full of dense deciduous forests and the sea teamed with an enormous diversity of aquatic life.

The eastern front was made nearly impenetrable by an ancient jungle. Beyond the lush forest lay the Msitu Wilds. Only the highest level players dared to venture within. The Msitu Wilds were ringed by volcanic mountains thaterupted without warning, turning everything in the resulting lava flow into a hellish inferno.

Luke spotted Tess leaning up against a fence right on the edge of where the desert started. She was again dressed as an apprentice healer and held a long quarterstaff in one hand. In the other she held a scroll and was reading it carefully.

“Hey there,” called Luke. “I got your letter. You’ve got nice handwriting.”

He’d meant it as an honest compliment, but Tess’s face was bright red as she turned to face him. He was a little surprised that the game was able to interpret an emotion with that much nuance into a proper facial expression.

“Oh, shut up,” joked Tess. “I had to write it with an old-fashioned quill and ink. It’s not as easy as history makes it look.”

She twirled her staff around as he closed the distance between them. Luke noticed that it still looked a little unsteady in her hands, and pulled his own sword out of the sheath that hung from his side.

“First piece of advice, you want to keep your fingers locked around your staff a little more tightly,” said Luke. “Like this. Enemies can disarm you if they attack your hands or weapon, but it’s harder for them if you have a proper grip.”

“Like this?” Tess took hold of her weapon with both hands and gave it a small test swing forward. The effort was improved, but it still looked a little too uncontrolled to Luke.

“Yeah, that’s a start,” said Luke. “What class are you, anyway?”

“I’m a White Priestess, one of the Healer subtypes.” Tess brushed a couple of strands of hair from her face. “And I need your help on my very first quest!”

“You mean the wolf pelts? We’ll have to head closer to town for-”

Tess shook her head.

“No, I got this quest from the High Priestess Azalene.” She smiled at Luke, as though she was happy to know something that he didn’t for a change.

“Well, what do you need help with?”

Tess opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, the sand underneath them began to rumble. The vibrations were made visible by plumes of dust rising into the air. Confused, Luke scratched his head and looked around. As suddenly as it began, the ground stopped moving.

An earthquake? I didn’t think that natural disasters were a part of this game…

Again, the rumbling started. This time, it was more intense. Tess tried to take a step and was knocked off balance. She fell forward into Luke. He caught her and held her up, feeling his body begin to autocorrect underneath the shifting sands beneath them.

The mystery of what was causing it was very short lived. From deeper off into the desert, the sand split open in the center, and a gigantic form emerged that was beyond what Luke could have imagined.

“That’s it,” said Tess. “I have to kill that worm to complete my quest.”

CHAPTER 7

DUNIDAN: One of the dominant life forms in the Sarchia Desert. Little is known about the worms and their habits, other than that they are extremely intelligent, eat anything smaller than themselves and are blind. They see and hunt through sound and vibrations in the sand.

The worm was a least ten feet wide in diameter, possibly more. Its body was the color of sand, and if it weren’t for the razor sharp, blood red spikes protruding from its scaly hide, it might easily have blended right in with the desert. It was also incredibly long. It traced a wide arc as it threw itself into the air before burrowing back beneath the ground. Most of its girth remained above ground even as it began to create another sinkhole in the dry desert wastes.

“That…” Luke was at a loss for words, his eyes completely transfixed on the sight of the worm. “What is that?”

“It’s one of the Dunidan,” said Tess. “Gigantic, super intelligent desert worms. I need to bring back one of its teeth for my quest.”

Luke couldn’t hide the skeptical look on his face as he turned to look at her.

“That thing?” he asked. “You’re telling me that your quest is sending you to make an attempt at killing that thing?”

“Not just me,” said Tess. “The High Priestess told me that I’d need to form a party to accomplish my quest.”

“Even with a party.” Luke shook his head. The ground was still shaking, even as the creature moved away from them and disappeared back underneath the ground.

“It has to be doable!” said Tess. “Look, this is a first level quest. I don’t think the developers would have coded a suicide mission into the very start of the game.”

She’s right. But then why is it that I still feel such a strong impulse against having to face that behemoth of a worm?

Tess crossed her arms and did her best to look as though she was disappointed in Luke. It was easy for him to see that it was an act and that she was as scared as he was. She may have been mockingly disappointed, but he could see her desperation as well.

Why is it that it hurts more to see her like this than to look at the worm?

Luke sighed.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he said. “I’ll help you. I’ll do it.”

Tess’s eyebrows pushed upward in surprise.

“Really?” She stepped closer to Luke, almost bringing their bodies into contact. “But… why? I mean, I just wasn’t expecting that.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Luke smiled at her, but stayed right where he was, braving the strange tension in the air between the two of them. “I still owe you one.”

The moment of closeness felt like an eternity. Finally, he turned and looked back toward the worm. It had disappeared even deeper into the desert. Other than a scattering of dust on the air, it had left no trace of its presence.

“We’ll need more people,” said Tess.

“I know at least one person who would be happy to help, a particular rogue friend of mine,” said Luke. “And I can help you find others.”

He smiled at her, and suddenly Tess did something unexpected. She took the final step forward between the two of them and pulled him into a hug. It took Luke a second to wrap his arms around her to reciprocate, but once he had, he felt his heart began to skip along, beating in double time.

Why the hell does she feel so warm, and so soft?

Finally, after several long seconds, the two broke apart. Luke could see something in Tess’s eyes that he didn’t recognize, something that he hadn’t known the game was capable of picking up and expressing through the headset.

“So all we need is a Mage, then?” asked Tess.

Luke nodded.

A Warrior, Rogue, Healer, and Mage. A balanced, capable adventuring party will have one of each.

“Let’s head back to Stark Town and see who we can find,” he said. “I’m sure that there must be at least one spell slinger crazy enough to join up with us.”

The two of them made quick time walking back to the small town. Luke was again surprised by the scarcity of other players in the wilderness. Like the day before, everyone looked to have clustered inside of the safety of the town lines.

Well, with creatures like that giant worm lurking around, it’s really no wonder.

“Alright, so how do we find another player, exactly?” asked Tess. “Do we just shout out into the marketplace crowd.”

Luke shook his head.

“Ben… er, Silverstrike explained it to me back before the game was even released,” he said. “All we have to do is head over to the notice board and leave a description of the kind of character we’re looking for.”

They walked toward the center of Stark Town. “Is this it?” asked Tess. The notice board was outside of the inn, and though it wasn’t that big, the notes pinned to it shifted and alternated as Luke read each one.

“Yep, this is it.” Luke pulled his quill and parchment out of his satchel and began scribbling. “Okay, so we’re looking for a level one or level two Mage, somebody who is actually working to tackle these starter quests instead of just sitting around.”

He finished writing the description down on the note and pinned it to the notice board. The text shifted, still keeping the gist of his message but editing it to correctly describe the character requirements in statistical form.

“Alright, now let’s go find Silverstrike while we’re waiting for someone to respond to this.” He looked over at Tess and saw her smiling at him. She was distractingly cute and he nearly tripped over his own feet as the two of them started forward.

Silverstrike was inside the Stark Town blacksmith, admiring an expensive dagger in the corner of the shop as the NPC Smith worked his hammer against a red hot strip of metal. Luke had to wave his hand in front of his friend’s face to pull his attention away.

“Hello, are you in there?” asked Luke. “I found something interesting for us to do.”

Silverstrike turned and looked at Luke, and then at Tess, and then back to the dagger on the table.

“Is there gold in it?” he asked. “I need to upgrade out of my starting daggers, badly.”

Luke shrugged.

“Uh, there should be, I think?”

“Yes, there will be,” said Tess. “I need one of the Dunidan’s teeth, but the rest of them and the scales can be yours to divide up.”

“A Dunidan?” Silverstrike turned back to them and crossed his arms. “You mean one of those giant worms down south?”

Tess nodded her head, and Silverstrike took a step back.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “A bunch of players that went after one of those things respawned in Kantor a short time ago. One of them was just in here telling me the story. He was still shaking. He said that the worms just surfaced underneath them and swallowed them whole. It took hours for them to die inside its stomach, their bodies turned to mush in its stomach acid.”

“Oh, come on,” said Luke. “Look… how about this? What if we don’t just take out the worm but clear the zone too?”

Silverstrike looked at Luke with a noncommitted expression on his face and waited for him to continue.

“It’s simple,” said Luke. “We find a zone that only has one worm in it, take it out, and fight off whatever other minor creatures are around. Then, by the rules of the game, it would be ours, right?”

“If we formed a guild together after killing it, then yes,” said Silverstrike. He had one hand on his chin and looked like he was beginning to consider it.

“Alright, that’s what I’m going to do then,” said Luke. “Tess, are you with me?”

Tess nodded.

“What about you Silverstrike? We can’t do this without a rogue…”

Several silent seconds went by before Silverstrike finally nodded his head.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll do it. But if it looks like a suicide mission, I reserve the right to bail.”

“A… suicide mission?” A new voice pushed into the blacksmith’s hut, coming from the door. Luke turned and saw a lanky man wearing a baggy red robe walk in. His face was partially obscured by his hood and his hands were hidden by the robe’s flowing sleeves.

“You look like a mage, to me,” said Luke. “Any chance you’re answering our group request?”

The man nodded.

“My name is Arex,” he said. “I’m a Red Mage. I’m still at level one, but I know the basics.”

“That will do just fine,” said Luke. “Alright, let’s officially form up as a group so that we can see each other’s main stats.”

He pulled another piece of parchment out of his satchel, remembering witnessing several other players demonstrate how to do it on his first day in-game. He wrote “Group Quest” at the top of it, and one by one, all four of them signed their name.

The logistics of forming a group was familiar. Most of the menu and info screens in Yvvaros were streamlined, designed to be immersive rather than following the conventional MMORPG standards. But for the group overlay, at least, it was still like any other game. In the upper left-hand corner of his field of vision, Luke saw the health, stamina, and magicka bars of his team members. A portrait of each member sat next to his or her stats, their avatars showing their movements in real time. Luke smiled and saw Tess’s portrait smile back at him.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” asked Luke. “Arex, like the notice said, our goal is to take down a Dunidan worm. We also want to claim the zone for ourselves. You can help out with as much or as little of that as you’d like.”

Arex nodded.

“I don’t have a guild yet,” he said.

“Neither do we,” said Luke. “After the zone is clear, we can draft the guild contract and get it set up.”

Arex nodded slightly in agreement.

Not a man of many words, I take it.

The four of them headed back into the grasslands south of Stark Town and continued onward until the Sarchia Desert was within view again. The weather had changed drastically in the short time that Luke and Tess had been away.

A massive sandstorm was ripping across the zone. A wall of dust had formed on the horizon. Luke continued forward noticing that the dry tempest blocked the sun’s light.

“Maybe we should head east or west, and then south?” asked Silverstrike. “There are dozens, probably hundreds of desert zones where we could potentially find the worms.”

The ground rumbled underneath them, and then Luke saw a gigantic, tubular silhouette burst out of the sand within the storm.

“No,” he said. “We can do it here. This zone is one of the closest to Stark Town, anyway. The enemies here will be a bit more proportional to our level because of that.”

“Hold on.” Tess stepped in front of the group and held her arms out to the side. “I only have a basic, level one group buff, but let me cast it before we head into battle.”

Luke hadn’t seen any in-game magic yet. Tess chanted under her breath and held her quarterstaff in the air. A gold circle of light pulsed outward from her, enveloping all of them before disappearing, leaving each of them draped in a light afterglow.

BLESS: +1 to all Combat Attributes for one hour.

“Alright,” said Luke. “Do you have anything like that you could cast, Arex?”

The mage shook his head. Luke shrugged.

“So before we head in, I think it would be a good idea if we came up with a-”

“Charge!” Silverstrike cut Luke off in midsentence and charged forward toward the wavering spot in the sand where the Dunidan was surfacing. Arex crouched low and followed after him, holding his cloak up over his face to block the wind and keep his vision clear.

“Alright, whatever,” said Luke. Tess followed behind him as he moved forward into the sandstorm.

The worm didn’t notice them at first. Luke watched Silverstrike drawing closer to it and felt less than optimistic about his friend’s prospects. His daggers looked tiny compared to the giant creature’s red razor spines and jagged teeth.

The storm subsided briefly and Luke had a clear view of Silverstrike’s first charge. He rushed forward leaping into the air, performing an acrobatic aerial roll before striking one of his blades against the creature’s skin.

A health bar popped over the worm indicating the Dunidan’s health was hardly affected. Luke tightened his grip on his sword and moved forward toward it. Beside him, a giant icicle flew through the air from Arex’s direction, Luke glanced at the Mage and saw a faint glow left lingering after the spell was cast.

The icicle struck a glancing blow against the worm, doing only a little more damage than Silverstrike’s dagger. Luke was just about within attacking distance of the Dunidan when it whirled around, curling its long body back toward him and lunged at him head first. He caught a brief glimpse of the inside of its mouth, overly full of razor sharp, spiny teeth and leaned to the side just in time to escape a killing blow.

The side of the Dunidan’s body banged into his chest, knocking him to the ground. He saw his health bar sink to half of its length as he pulled himself up from the sand and silently swore under his breath.

“Kato!” yelled Tess. Luke heard her start chanting again, and a moment later he was enveloped in blue, health restoring light.

“Thanks, Tess!” he yelled. Silverstrike and Arex were still doing their best to spar with the worm, avoiding its attacks only slightly more effectively than Luke had been able to.

“We have to use our combat abilities against it!” yelled Silverstrike.

“What?” Luke rolled as the worm’s tail surfaced and swung toward him. He realized that he’d never even bothered to take a look at his starting abilities. He had assumed that they’d be useless at level one.

“Just grip your weapon tightly and the menu should pop up!” Silverstrike threw both of his daggers at the beast, using one of his unique combat abilities. His duel blades cut into the worm and returned to him, boomerang style.

Luke let both of his hands squeeze into the hilt of his sword, and sure enough, a list of his abilities appeared.

SWORD SAINT COMBAT ABILITIES

PIERCE ATTACK

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

It was almost more of a tutorial, rather than a selection, a moving image of his character shifting into the starting position for something called the “Pierce Attack.”

“Alright, here goes-”

He was interrupted by their enemy. The worm had pushed all the way up and out of the sand, holding in the air for a moment like a strange, living skyscraper before falling flat. The ground shook violently as it slammed down. The effect of all of its weight hitting the sand at once created what felt and looked like a wave in the sand. Luke was knocked off his feet. Luke quickly pulled himself up, just in time to see Silverstrike being devoured by the creature.

“No!” screamed Silverstrike. Luke rushed forward at the worm, shifting into the stance of his combat ability right as he entered into range. He pushed his sword forward in a stabbing motion and felt his entire body lunge with superhuman agility.

PIERCE ATTACK

It was enough to puncture the creature’s hide, and a strangely vulnerable growling noise erupted from deep inside the worm’s body. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sufficient to get it to drop Silverstrike. A moment later, the worm was diving back underneath the sand, Silverstrike along with it.

“Damn it!” yelled Luke. Arex shot off more ice magic at the worm. It still had at least half of its health bar left, and now there were only three of them remaining to face it.

We don’t stand a chance without a full party!

“Kato, don’t stop moving!” yelled Tess. “It can only attack you if you become a target.”

She began to chant and glow green and then cast another spell on him, this time one that restored some of his magicka.

He held onto his sword and jogged in a circle around the center of the vibrating sand. A moment later, the worm burst up from the spot. It twisted into a frightening roll and shifted direction at the last second, crashing into Arex and sending him sprawling.

“Take this!” Luke used the opportunity to get another Pierce Attack in. It did a similar amount of damage compared to the first one. He kicked off from the worm’s body into the air, and then twisted and came down with one more strike.

The worm had less than half of its health bar left, but unfortunately it also had Arex in its mouth. The Red Mage struggled as the demon worm shook him back and forth, until his body hung limply from the worm’s jowls like a rabbit in the mouth of a dog. Luke watched as the worm tossed Arex into the air, his body fell lifelessly to the ground.

I still have the revival potion, maybe I can use it here?

Before he got a chance, the worm had turned his attention onto its next target, Tess. This time, it slithered across the sand, like a snake, with ferocious speed.

“Tess!” Luke screamed at the top of his lungs. He moved forward as quickly as his feet would carry him. He gripped his sword much more tightly than he needed to, and his skill menu popped up in front of his field of vision.

The words “Pierce Attack” began to glow in Luke’s skill list and suddenly, “Pierce Attack 2” was added to the inventory. Luke quickly studied the new move which was similar to the first and slammed his feet into the crumbling sand as he closed into range.

The next sequence of events unfolded in slow motion.

“Noooooo!” Tess swung her quarterstaff at the worm’s mouth in a useless gesture. The worm was locked onto its next target, blood dripping from the Dunidan’s teeth, it was a scene from a gory horror movie.

As Tess again made a futile attempt to ward off the monster, Luke suddenly found himself in striking range. He could use Pierce Attack 2 from twice the distance than he’d been able to with the original skill. As he pushed his sword forward into a lunge, an orange aura began to glow around his body.

He shot forward faster than he’d ever moved in the game before, fast enough to hear the air cutting by his ears as he went. His weapon pushed into the Dunidan’s hard skin and then kept going. Luke wasn’t sure what was happening, but he could see the damage to the creature’s health bar, which dropped to precipitous levels and then was empty.

Luke had cut all the way through the worm’s body, leaving a gory hole through the middle. Tess, still holding her staff defensively, watched as the creature slowly twitched into submission, falling flat into a dead, dormant heap on the sand in front of her.

“That…” Tess was staring at Luke with amazement in her eyes. “That wasn’t a level one skill…”

LEVEL 2 ATTAINED

LEVEL 3 ATTAINED

Luke stared at a new icon in the corner of his screen. He looked down at his bag and saw something glowing inside of it. He reached in and pulled it out, finding his Character Record journal. He opened it and suddenly the character stats written inside of it also began to glow.

The adrenaline from the battle was still rushing through him. He could see that the game had given him ten attribute points to spend, five from each level up. Writing in the journal with an ink quill from his bag allowed him to assign them. He dropped them evenly into Strength, Agility, Endurance, Speed, and finally, Luck.

There was a skill menu that looked similar to the one that activated when he squeezed his sword. Pierce Attack 2 was still there, and he realized that it was the skill that would typically be awarded to second level Sword Saints.

“Okay,” said Luke, exiting from the level up screen. “I think we won.”

“I’ll second that.” A familiar voice came from inside of the dead worm. A second later Silverstrike pulled his way out through the hole that Luke had created.

Luke smiled.

CHAPTER 8

“I think you should bring back Arex.” Tess crouched in front of the mangled body of the Red Mage and called over to Luke, who was busy cutting teeth and scales off the Dunidan.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot I had this.” Luke jogged over to where Arex’s body lay on the ground and pulled out the revival potion. “So do I just, pour it on him, or…?”

Tess took the potion from him and then held it up to Arex’s face. The bottle glowed brightly, and then Luke saw Arex’s health bar reappear, but with only a sliver left in it. The Red Mage opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

“The worm is dead?” he asked. Luke nodded and watched as Arex stood up and walked over to the fallen creature without saying another word.

“He’s a little intense,” said Tess. Luke smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders.

“I think his encounter with this thing’s razor teeth might have a little to do with it.”

The four of them regrouped by the corpse of the giant desert worm and began stripping it of everything of value. Luke was amazed at how big the thing was. While they were fighting it, the motion of its body had obscured its size.

“How did you manage to kill it, in the end?” asked Silverstrike.

“I used one of my… abilities,” said Luke.

The advanced version showed up just in time. Without it, we would have all been slaughtered…

Tess appeared to be thinking the same thing, but she said nothing. Instead, she glanced around the area that they were in. The storm had died down, and they could see the zone for what it was.

It was located right up against the Inner Plain, just a short walk from Stark Town. Further off into the desert, the sand gave way to a series of dunes, but what caught Luke’s eye was what was in the center of the zone.

“Is that… an oasis?” he asked the other three. “Did they add mirages into Yvvaros for fun or something?”

Tess shook her head.

“I see it, too,” she said. “It must have been hidden by the sandstorm before, but it’s definitely there.”

“Before we do anything, I think we should talk about what happens now,” said Silverstrike. Luke turned to face him and nodded.

“You’re right,” he said. “There are a few smaller monsters left in the zone, but once we kill them, it’s going to be up for grabs. We should go ahead and form the guild now so that we don’t have to deal with transferring ownership later.”

In Yvvaros property was earned, not bought. If an un-confederated group of players defeated all of a zone’s monsters, the right to build belonged to the player with the most kills. On the other hand, if the group was a guild, the group as a whole retained rights to the land.

Once the zone was developed, NPCs or even other players could be hired to serve as farmers, merchants, and innkeepers. With the basic need for food and water to restore stamina came a type of economic order that mirrored the real world.

“Alright,” said Tess. “But what are we going to call ourselves?”

Luke glanced over at Silverstrike and Arex. Both of them looked as though they had no real ideas of their own.

“KTSA,” said Luke. “It’s just the first letter of each of our character names put together. Kato, Tess, Silverstrike, and Arex.”

Nobody said anything for a moment. Finally, Tess stepped toward him and set her hand on his shoulder.

“I like it,” she said. “What about you two?”

“Yeah, it works,” said Silverstrike. Arex nodded slightly but looked distracted by his own thoughts.

“Alright, let’s get the charter written up,” said Luke.

The guild charter was a way of defining the laws and mechanics of a faction. In its most advanced form, it could include provisions that required players to pay taxes at regular intervals, contribute to the guild in different ways, and fight against the guild’s enemies as a single unit.

More often, it was just a simple contract that defined a particular property or zone as the home base controlled by the players of a guild. That was the kind of contract Luke scribbled down on the empty sheet of parchment.

“Alright,” he said. “We’ll share the zone together for now. I also specified that the guild hall that we eventually build will be communal property as well. If that sounds good to you guys, just sign right here.”

Luke had already signed it. He passed the charter over to Tess, who didn’t hesitate before signing her own name. Silverstrike didn’t have to think about it either, and after a moment Arex signed it in his own stoic fashion. Then, Luke folded the document in half, which caused it to glow with orange light. He then stuffed it back into his satchel.

“Alright, it’s settled,” he said. “Let’s take out the last few of these desert scrubs and then meet up at the oasis.”

The group spread out across the zone, which was only a square kilometer. They began cutting down the tiny, aggressive hyena-like monsters called Saripeds.

SARIPEDS: A native desert specicies. The Saripeds cry sounds like a cackle. They are solitary hunters and prey on desert mice and insects.

The guild members split off to cover more ground. The Saripeds were much easier to take out than the worm had been. Luke was the player who slew the very last one.

ZONE CLEAR

A flag suddenly appeared in his freehand, with the newly formed guild’s name scrawled across the fabric of the banner. He smiled and jogged over to show the other three.

In the center of their zone was a crystal clear oasis, about the length and width of a medium sized swimming pool. The area surrounding it was covered in lush grasses with clusters of palm trees close to the water’s edge.

“We did it,” said Luke. “The second I put this flag down, the zone is ours.”

“This is just the beginning,” said Silverstrike. “This could be a thriving area. We’ll build a guildhall, sure, but we’re so close to Stark Town! We can hire NPC merchants, and maybe even some farmers to irrigate the water and grow food and raise livestock.”

“Speaking of food, my stamina bar is depleting fast,” said Luke. “Let’s get down to business.”

“This could be our home,” whispered Tess. “In-game, I mean.”

Luke nodded to the ever silent Arex and then made his way over to the side of the spring. He brought the flagpole down into a spot on the ground that was more dirt than sand and watched as it began to glow. A short, concise message popped up in the bottom of his vision.

KTSA INHERITS SARCHIA DESERT ZONE 006

“Zone 006?” asked Tess. “That’s a terrible name for this place.”

“Let’s just call it, KTSA headquarters,” said Silverstrike. He scratched his head and raised one of his eyebrows at Luke.

“Dunidan’s Rest,” Arex spoke up, and Luke realized that he’d almost forgotten what the man’s voice sounded like.

“Dunidan’s Rest,” Luke repeated. “I like that. All in favor?”

Luke, Arex, Tess, and after a moment, Silverstrike, all raised their hands.

“Then it’s settled,” said Luke. “Let’s come back out here tomorrow to start thinking about how we’re going build this place up.”

They all agreed to meet the next morning. After a time was set, Arex looked at Luke and nodded slowly, and then without saying a word turned toward the desert and left.

“Where is he going?” asked Silverstrike. Luke shrugged his shoulders.

“Beats me,” he said. “But I know exactly where we should be going.”

Half an hour later, Luke, Tess, and Silverstrike were sitting at a table in the Stark Town Inn with food and drinks in front of them. Luke felt satisfied, as though the hard work and close calls of the battle had been for a purpose in the end.

“What did you get as your quest reward?” Luke asked, turning his attention to Tess. She smiled, and pulled a metal tiara out of her bag and put it on her head.

“This.” She blushed slightly. “It amplifies my healing magic. I figure it will come in handy on our next adventure.”

Our next adventure… Why does it make me feel so excited to hear her say that?

Silverstrike was distracted, busy downing ale and testing the limits of how the alcohol in Yvvaros affected players. Luke felt his heart begin to beat faster as Tess reached her hand over and set it on top of his on the table.

“I really want to thank you for helping me out today. It’s not something I could have done on my own, and I know it’s a little silly to say this, but it meant a lot to me.”

Luke nodded and smiled back at her.

“It’s not a problem,” he said. “We made a tidy profit ourselves, and now that we’ve claimed a zone for the guild, we can actually start playing this game the way it was meant to be played.”

“We can do more than just that!” Silverstrike sounded belligerently drunk. Luke wasn’t sure if it was an act, or if the game designers had coded inebriation into the game. He set his mug of ale down too hard and virtual liquid sloshed on the bar, some flying toward Luke making the hem of his shirt look wet.

“We control the oasis in that zone! There isn’t any water deeper in the desert, or in the zones around it! We might as well have a gold mine, or a raid dungeon, or, or…”

“Easy, man,” said Luke. “Do you want to go outside for a bit?”

“I'm all right,” mumbled Silverstrike.

“I’d… like to go for a walk, if you wanted to join me?” Tess set her hand on Luke’s shoulder as she spoke. He nodded and felt his heart begin to rattle within his chest.

“We’ll be back in a little bit, buddy,” said Luke. Silverstrike had his head down on the table but lifted a thumb up in acknowledgment.

The sun was slowly setting over the horizon outside. One of Yvvaros’ two moons were rising in the distance. It was the larger of the two, enormous and a bright azure blue.The floating city of Kantor had drifted off to the side a bit, but still reflected some of the sun’s light like a giant, white disc in the sky. Luke looked up for a moment and then glanced over at Tess, who was smiling at him.

“I want to show you something,” she said. “It’s a spot I found by luck while I was playing yesterday, right after I first made my character.”

She began to skip forward and Luke had to walk at double speed to keep up with her. There were fewer people in-game now. He wondered what time it was in the outside world as he followed Tess through the town.

She led him east, into the section of the Inner Plains that separated Stark Town from the dense wall of jungle of the Msitu Wilds. There was a hill that Luke had seen before but had never taken a close look at. She led him up to the top of it, the two of them hunching forward as the climb grew steeper.

There was a C shaped gorge on the other side of it, with a river at the bottom that ran out of the jungle and then curved back into it. The hill ended in a sharp drop off on the other side and Tess stood at the very edge of it holding her arms out.

The sun was setting. Everything had a fiery, orange glow to it, as though it was all just seconds away from igniting. Luke walked over to the edge of the cliff and took a seat next to Tess, staring off into the distance over the continent of Yvvaros.

“The view is amazing,” said Luke.

Of course it’s amazing, that’s why she brought me here in the first place.

“Yeah… Thanks again for your help today.” Tess let out a deep breath and sat down next to him. For a moment, the air was silent. A light breeze blew through it, and Luke felt as though he could feel it on his virtual skin.

“It wasn’t really any trouble , you know,” said Luke. “I actually had fun. It was… nice, to be of use to somebody like that.”

Tess brushed a strand of hair from her face and kept looking off into the distance.

“What is a game like this?” she asked. “I mean, what is it really?”

Luke opened his mouth to answer and then thought better of it. Like Tess, he kept looking ahead and waited for her to continue.

“My life on the outside, in the ‘real world,' is so different from here.” There was a soft hint of emotion in Tess’s voice.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“We put on the headsets to play in this world, and when we’re done, we take them off and go live in a way that’s so much less controlled.” She turned to look at him. “So much more chaotic.”

Luke turned his head to the side and shrugged.

“Where do you think this type of simulation, this game we’re in, is headed?” she asked. “I mean, there are already new headsets that interface with the brain, that actually connect to the nervous system. They’re right on the cusp of being released. What’s going to happen when it doesn’t just seem real, but it actually is real, to us?”

Luke shrugged again.

“I guess a lot more people will start playing?” He really had no idea how to answer. Tess had an intense look on her face. It was hard enough for him to think about regular things with her around, let alone the philosophy of virtual worlds and video games.

“This is the new frontier, Luke,” said Tess. “We always thought that outer space and exploring distant planets would be the next big leap for humans. But instead, we’re heading in the other direction, the introspective direction. We’re exploring our creativity, making new worlds that can be as perfect or as flawed as we want them to be.”

“Are you always this deep, or does the sunset bring out your intellectual side?” Luke made a face at her, and Tess let out a tiny laugh.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just… like I said before. I play this game and go on adventures, and… meet new people. And it makes me just want to go further into it.”

Neither of them said anything for a moment. Luke let his eyes meet hers and felt his heart begin to beat faster, like a rebellious stallion that wanted to break loose from its pen.

What am I doing here, and why is it that I can’t look away from her?

Luke slowly began to lean in closer, and Tess moved to meet him. His lips found hers, and a wave of powerful emotion swept over him. The kiss itself was strange, intangible and insubstantial, like kissing a ghost. But the way it made him feel was just as intense as any kiss in the real world had ever been.

“Luke…” whispered Tess. “I like playing this game with you. I want you to-”

The lights went out, along with the sound. Tess was gone, and the sunset and the cliff also disappeared. The shock was so great that his stomach lurched. It felt as though he was on a roller coaster and the car he was in had derailed.

“Shit, I think the power went out.” Ben’s voice, his real voice, was suddenly in Luke’s ears. It took him a second to put the words together and realize what that meant.

“God damn it!” Luke gritted his teeth and pulled the headset off.

“I was just about ready to turn in for the night, anyway,” said Ben. “Were you and Tess off on a secret adventure of your own?”

Luke felt his face heat up, but luckily, the room was just dark enough for it to be hidden. He sighed and began packing his headset and laptop into his backpack.

There’s nothing I can do about it now. Maybe I’ll just log back in when I get home.

“It’s late, I should get going,” he said. It was the truth. The sun had set completely in the real world, and Luke had to check his phone to get a sense of what time it was.

Almost ten. If dad isn’t drunk off his ass, he’s going to be pissed.

“Alright man, be careful on your way down the stairs,” said Ben.

Luke stepped out in the hallway, only to find that Ben’s sister Emily was walking toward him, holding a round candle in each hand. Her face was illuminated by the warm, flickering glow, and she was smiling at him.

“Hey,” she said. “I guess it must have been pretty jarring for the two of you to have your game cut off like that, huh?”

“Uh, yeah…” said Luke. “Were you reading in your room, or something?”

How does she always manage to look so elegant and beautiful?

Emily nodded and then passed him a candle.

“Yeah, something like that.” She hesitated, and then stepped closer to Luke. “You should probably get going. You don’t want your dad to worry. Besides, you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow.”

Luke nodded slowly and paused for a moment before saying anything.

She seems a little off, but I can’t get a sense of exactly how.

“Yeah you’re right,” he said. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow if Ben and I end up hanging out over here.”

“Tomorrow, then,” said Emily. “And Luke?”

He stopped and looked back toward her, his front foot frozen over the next stair.

“Nevermind,” said Emily. “Just be safe on your way home.”

Luke nodded again and continued down the stairs. He set the tiny candle on a plate in Ben’s kitchen, blew it out and headed outside.

CHAPTER 9

The lamplights were on, but Luke’s walk back to his house still felt like a trek through the shadows. His mind was turning over everything that had happened in-game, the fight with the worm and the acquisition of Dunidan’s Rest.

He felt a sense of purpose inside Yvvaros. At home, or at school, Luke was just going through the paces. He had already been accepted to a college that he’d be heading off to next fall. His life in the real world was unfolding about as well as it could, aside from his relationship with his dad and the school tormentors.

Yvvaros is… different.

One more surprise awaited him. As he passed by the park a familiar voice called out to him.

“Luke.” Sam was sitting on a swing in the kid’s section, her feet dangling down to the ground. Luke turned away from the street and walked over to her.

“Oh, hey Sam.” The memory of the embarrassing lunch encounter resurfaced, but Luke did his best to ignore it. “What are you doing out so late?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” said Sam.

“I’m just… headed home.” Luke scratched his head and walked over to where she was. A light breeze blew through the park and gave him the strangest feeling of déjà vu. He shook it aside and took a seat on the swing next to her.

“Sorry for what happened today, at lunch,” said Sam. “I thought you already knew.”

For some reason, it hurt Luke to hear her apologize almost as much as it had to make the discovery in the first place.

“Whatever,” he said. “It is what it is.”

“Luke, we’ve been friends since… well, since forever,” said Sam. “Can I tell you a secret, without it being weird?”

Luke nodded.

“I had the biggest crush on you, for the longest time,” said Sam. “All the way through the end of grade school and middle school, and I don’t think you ever noticed.”

How can she be telling me this now?

It felt as though salt was being poured into an open wound. He chewed his lower lip and tried not to think about how the same had been true for him, how much he’d thought about her during the same time period, and even now. He tried not to think about how badly he had blown it.

“Sam…” said Luke. “It’s not like we couldn’t still, I mean, if you wanted to, we could… try it.”

Sam frowned at him and shook her head.

“No Luke, we can’t.” Her voice was huffy and traveled through the air with a biting edge. “Things have changed. I’ve changed, Luke. And you’ve changed.”

“What are you talking about?” Luke shook his head and leaned toward her on the swing. “I’m still me. You have a boyfriend, but that’s not exactly a permanent thing.”

“What is wrong with you?” Sam looked like she wanted to slap him. “Actually you know what, let me answer that. I have the answer, and it’s staring me right in the face. I went to your house after school to talk to you, Luke. To have this conversation, and maybe then, it actually would have brought us somewhere.”

“Sam, that’s not my fault, I wasn’t home,” said Luke. “I was at-”

“You were at Ben’s house,” she said. “Oh, I know. Your dad told me that was where you’d be. You were at Ben’s house, playing that stupid VR online game.”

Luke’s face flushed with heat. He couldn’t lie to Sam, and instead of trying to, he felt his mind shifting into defense.

“Yeah, I was,” he said. “So what? It just came out, and it’s a lot of fun. What’s the big deal?”

Sam shook her head and scrunched her face up.

“You’ve always been like this,” she said. “Running away from your problems and into whatever you can find to distract yourself . It started with books and TV, and then video games, and now your own little online fantasy world.”

Where is this coming from?

Luke opened his mouth to object, but no words came to him. Sam stood up from her swing and took a couple of steps toward the park’s exit before looking back at him over her shoulder.

“You always find some way to close yourself off, Luke.” Sam shook her head, looking as though she’d come to a conclusion. “That’s why. That’s why I don’t want to take the chance. I prefer to deal with my problems, not hide from them and I wish you could too.

Sam started to walk away. Luke couldn’t bear to see her go, and before he could stop himself, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Luke, let me-” Before she could finish, Luke pulled her into a tight embrace.

There’s no way it could ever work between us, but still… I can’t just let her leave.

After a moment, Sam started to hug Luke back. He put one of his hands onto the back of her head, and then looked into her eyes. Her expression was sharp, but lined with a hint of confusion, and emotion.

“You can’t ask me to leave Mike,” whispered Sam. “Not just because you suddenly feel like you missed out.”

“I’m not,” said Luke. “Just… don’t give up on me.”

He leaned his face in close to hers. Luke had intended to give her a soft, reassuring kiss on the cheek, but somehow their lips found each other. Luke kissed her, feeling years, decades, of pent up emotion spilling out.

Just as quickly as the kiss had begun, it ended. Sam stepped away from him and brushed her hair back as she looked around the park.

“I… have to go,” she said, turning away. “I’m sorry Luke, I have to go.”

“…Good night, Sam,” said Luke.

He stayed at the park for a couple of minutes after Sam left. His emotions were a mess of conflict and confusion, and it was almost impossible for him to think clearly.

Is what she said true? Does it matter if it is?

Luke thought of Tess, and the similar moment they had shared inside the game earlier in the night. All of the same emotions had been there, but Luke had felt confident and sure with Tess in-game. This was real life, and it was so different, so much less predictable.

Luke sighed, and finally walked out of the park. His house wasn’t far, and when he made it back, he found that the front door was slightly ajar, left open as though a reflection of the indifference of whoever had last been through it.

His dad was sprawled out on the living room rug, spread eagle with an empty liquor bottle inches from his head.

Most teenagers would panic if they saw one of their parents like this, but for me, it’s just a regular Friday night.

Luke crouched down low next to his father and slipped one of his hands under his shoulder. He could smell the alcohol on his breath, the sharply sweet scent of strong gin.

“Come on, Dad,” said Luke, straining to lift the man’s weight. “It’s time for bed.”

“Damn it!” His dad swore and twisted out of his arms, falling to the ground with a thud. “Don’t treat me like a fucking child. I can walk on my own!”

His words came out in a slow mess of almost unintelligible slurs. He took one step up and then collapsed back down to the floor.

“Dad, please,” said Luke. “It’s late, just let me help you to-”

“I know where you’ve been,” muttered his dad. “I know what you’ve been doing all afternoon. Are you happy when you’re playing it, Luke?”

Luke didn’t say anything. He could hear the same disdain in his father’s voice that often came out whenever the man was talking about Yvvaros. Luke’s dad started to laugh and slapped his hand on his own thigh.

He’s a programming genius, but not even a single ounce of that touch bleeds over into his parenting.

“You just play the game, and act like it’s real.” He shook his head and stared into Luke’s eyes. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Because eventually, it’s going to be too real, Luke. You want to take that over the real world, and hide from real people, be my guest.”

“No…,” said Luke. “That’s not true.”

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue helping his dad to bed. He felt so much anger for the man, for his failings as a father, for his inhumanity toward his own flesh and blood.

If this is the person I’m hiding from in Yvvaros, then so be it.

Luke’s dad began to cough, causing his body to convulse. Luckily, they were almost down the hallway to his room. Luke used up the last bit of his strength in the final step toward the bed and let his father collapse down onto it, his legs hanging over the side.

“I… I love you, Luke.” His dad looked at him with grave, albeit still very drunken eyes. “I loved your mother and I love you, too.”

Luke bit his tongue hard enough for it to hurt. He didn’t want to hear any more of what his father had to say.

“Just be careful,” his dad called after him. “It’s up to you what matters in life.”

Yeah, yeah it is. That’s the truest thing you’ve said to me in a very long time.

Luke made his way up the stairs to his own room, slowly and steadily. It had been a long day, and he was tired. Tomorrow was a Saturday, and he could take advantage of the free time to catch up on his homework, and then get in-game. There was so much waiting for him in Yvvaros.

He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. He expected sleep to come right away, but it was elusive. His thoughts were filled with images of the Dunidan, and Yvva Wolves, Kantor, and the oasis.

Feeling like he had little choice in the matter, he gave up on sleep. Slowly sitting up he grabbed his backpack and set up his laptop and the VR headset.

I’ll just play until I start to get tired, and then I’ll go to sleep.

CHAPTER 10

Within minutes, Luke was back in Yvvaros. The shift was abrupt, the encounters with Sam and his father had left him tense and troubled. It was a relief to enter Yvvaros, to leave all of his problems and stress behind.

Maybe my dad is right. Maybe I’m just running away.

He shook the thought out of his head and looked around at his in-game surroundings. He was right where he had been when the power outage had disconnected him, up on the hill where he’d been with Tess.

It was night time, just like in the outside world. The sky was cloudy and a thin fog hung on the air, giving the area a slightly chilly ambiance. Luke glanced at the spot where Tess had been standing. She wasn’t there anymore, of course, and standing on the hill by himself made him feel a little lonely.

It probably doesn’t help that it’s night time.

He slowly made his way down the steep incline, bringing his legs up to a jog as he reached the flat ground below. Stark Town was only a short run away, and he started toward it. Kantor was mostly hidden by the clouds above, with only a few thin slivers of light shining through.

The lights of the lower town, however, were brilliant. Luke couldn’t see many players in or around the area, but the lights from the buildings and houses had a warm, homely feel to them.

Luke slowed to a walk as he made his way to the town. He didn’t have a destination planned out or any active objectives. He didn’t really feel like he needed one. At that moment just being a part of Yvvaros felt as though it was enough.

A gentle breeze blew in from the north as Luke made his way past the store where he and Silverstrike had met Arex earlier in the day. He turned and looked up at the sky again.

How high does the game world extend up to? Are there really stars behind the clouds, and moons? Are they just painted on, or are they something more?

Lost in thought, he wasn’t aware enough to watch where he was going until it was too late. Luke clumsily crashed into something, or rather, someone. He took a step back, realizing he’d knocked a player to the ground, and reached a hand down to help them up.

“Oh, jeez, sorry,” said Luke. “I literally have my head up in the clouds.”

“It’s fine. No harm done.”

It took Luke a second to recognize that it was actually an NPC he was speaking to and not another player. He raised an eyebrow and examined the man for a moment.

He was dressed in the armor of the Stark Town militia, and he had a spear slung across his back. He was tall, a bit taller than Luke, and his posture was stiff and formal.

“A have a proposal for you if you’re willing to hear it,” said the man.

LEVEL REQUIRED: 3

Luke nodded without thinking.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“My name is Private Ajell,” said the man. “I’ve been tasked with checking in on a missing patrol unit on behalf of the Stark Town militia. We haven’t heard from them in a couple of days, and the commander has become concerned.”

“I see.” Luke folded his arms across his chest. “So, uh, what do you need me to do?”

“You look capable enough. If you serve as my escort out to the edge of the western coast, the garrison commander is willing to pay you 100 gold.”

Well, it’s an escort quest, but it’s not like I have anything else to do right now.

“Alright, count me in.” Luke reached his hand out, and Private Ajell smiled and shook it.

QUEST ACCEPTED: Lost Patrol (Level 3)

“Thank you. Meet me on the western edge of town when you’re ready.”

He ran off to the west, his arms and legs moving in perfect, coordinated unison as he jogged away. Luke started to follow after him and then noticed that his stamina bar was down to about a third of its maximum length.

There was only a single food vendor still out in the main square. Luke traded one of the Dunidan’s scales for a couple loaves of bread. He began eating one as he followed in the direction that Private Ajell had gone.

He found the NPC standing near the western exit. As he approached, the militia man turned toward him and nodded.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Luke nodded back, and the two of them started off. The ground level fog had moved into the hills on the west side of the Inner Plains. Luke followed as close to Private Ajell as he could.

“So… what can you tell me about the area that we’re headed into?” Luke asked the question mostly just to fill the silence as they moved further out of town. There was something slightly unnerving about how realistic Private Ajell looked, and he found himself wanting to treat the NPC more like an actual person than an in-game actor.

“Not much is known about it,” said Private Ajell. “The Western Sea is beautiful, but the islands are full of dangerous enemies. The Tymians have a strong presence there.”

That’s not a bad reason for avoiding it.

The answer had been much more precise than Luke had been expecting. He suddenly began to wonder just how well the NPC could play at conversation, and how much they actually understood.

“Have you ever been there before?” Luke asked. Private Ajell looked over at him and nodded.

“I used to be part of one of the patrols than ran up the coast,” he said. “I’ve been to some of the smaller islands before, but Azanora Island, the big one, is still impenetrable.”

“Because of the Tymians?”

Again, Private Ajell nodded.

“That’s one of their strongholds,” he said. “The Temple of Rygon teaches that it was one of the places where the initial attack was launched from, back during the Severance Onslaught.”

Impressive, I wonder how deep his knowledge bank is?

“Yeah, I heard the High Priestess Azalene talk about that at the start of the… er, after being revived in the temple.” Luke scratched his head, watching his footing as they continued on. “What was it, exactly?”

“I’m not sure anyone knows exactly, not even the High Priestess.” Private Ajell’s voice had a surprising amount of apathy in it. “The Temple of Rygon teaches about it in the vaguest terms possible, no offense to them.”

“Were the records lost?” asked Luke.

“It was nearly a hundred years ago when it happened, when humanity was nearly wiped out.” Private Ajell sounded as though he was reciting information that he’d learned through rote memorization. “It was only through the Universal Truth, and through magic, that Kantor was able to take to the skies and we were able to escape.”

“Interesting…” Luke slowed to match Private Ajell’s pace. The coast had appeared on the western horizon, the beach partially obscured by a line of trees up ahead.

“Get ready,” said Private Ajell. “The patrol should be somewhere around here at this time of night.”

“Hold on, what’s that?” Luke reached his hand out and pulled the militia man back. He could hear something moving through the air in the distance. The two of them stopped to listen for a second. The sound grew louder.

“Damn it!” Private Ajell took a couple of steps and dropped into a crouch. “Get down!”

Luke fell to one knee just in time to dodge something that was clearly intent on doing him harm.

WRYE WING: A flying, carnivorous Yvvarite. Wrye Wings can grow to be the size of a human child and attack with powerful kicks from razor-clawed feet. They hunt exclusively at night and in packs. Only the power of the Universal Truth keeps them from attacking Kantor from the air.

Private Ajell was already moving into an offensive position to face them. Luke wasn’t sure what the NPC’s class was, but he attacked the monsters with speed and precision, jabbing his spear into the sky and pulling them from the air with it.

Luke stood up and pulled out his sword. He twisted as one of them rammed into his back. He swung his blade wildly in retaliation. The blow he struck was only a glancing one, but it matched the minor damage that the Wrye Wing had inflicted on him.

“Keep moving!” yelled Private Ajell. “They are most effective against stationary targets.”

Luke began to strafe to the side, straining his eyes in the dark, fog tinged night. He listened more than looked, waiting until he could hear the familiar screech from one of the creatures and then putting all of his energy into his swing.

His sword connected and he watched as a health bar over the Wrye Wing sank to zero.

There we go.

The monster looked like something out of a psychological horror movie. It’s wings looked almost like they’d been modeled after a bat’s, but the head was shrunken, and the mouth was too big. Its legs were out of proportion, too, looking a bit more humanoid than they should have.

“More coming your way!” Private Ajell shouted a warning to Luke just in time. Another group of three was headed toward him, traveling in a single file line straight at his head.

PIERCE ATTACK 2

Luke struck forward with his combat skill at just the right time. His heart raced as he smashed through the Wrye Wings, killing all three of them in a single intensely satisfying moment.

LEVEL 4 ATTAINED

A few feet away Private Ajell was finishing up with the last of the flying creatures. Luke took the time to take out his character record and assign his five newly acquired skill points. He put two into Speed, and one each into Strength, Endurance, and Luck.

If I learned anything from these monsters, it’s that speed is not to be undervalued.

“Are you ready to move on?” Private Ajell was waiting expectantly in the same spot he’d been in before the creatures had shown up. Luke nodded and began following him again.

CHAPTER 11

“They should be here.” Private Ajell stood on the beach with his arms crossed, glancing up and down the coast. “And if they saw us fighting before, they would have stopped to lend assistance.”

Luke shrugged. He was a bit mesmerized by the view of the ocean. He felt guilty for not being more engaged in the quest. Even though only some of the smaller, closer islands were visible on the horizon, the sight of the Western Sea made him want to push out into the water and go for a swim.

“Wait, there’s something over there!” Private Ajell motioned for Luke to follow again, and he took off after him.

“This doesn’t feel right,” said Luke, suddenly becoming aware of just how far they were from of Stark Town. “We should be on guard.”

The militia man nodded.

“I knew some of those men,” he said. “They are good people. If something did happen to them they… they wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.”

There is emotion in his voice. It almost sounds… real.

Private Ajell stopped a couple dozen feet ahead of Luke, he instantly saw why. An armored human corpse lay on the ground, half covered by sand.

“Dakiron…” Private Ajell knelt down and felt for a pulse on the dead man’s neck. Luke watched for a moment until he heard rustling coming from the tree line.

He pulled out his sword and watched as five Tymian charged out of the woods. Luke could only tell what they were from the dark silhouettes of their bodies. They made inhuman growling noises as they closed in on Luke and Private Ajell.

“Attack!” The militia man threw himself against the monsters with little regard for his own safety. Luke rushed forward, feeling as though it would have been smarter for both of them to hang back and fight defensively.

PIERCE ATTACK 2

Luke launched forward using his combat skill and struck into one of the Tymians. It didn’t do enough damage to take the monster out, only taking away about half of its health, but it pushed it back.

Another of the Tymians was ready to counterattack. Private Ajell moved to try to cover Luke, but a third creature cut off his approach. Luke turned in time to see a grotesque claw coming down on his shoulder.

His health dropped by a third, and only through a desperate backward dive roll was he able to avoid taking even more damage. Luke noticed something about the blow that made him a little nervous.

It didn’t just damage my Health. It took points out of my Stamina, too… what happens if I run out during a fight?

The march out to the coast had already depleted his Stamina bar by a quarter and the Tymian’s hit had taken it down another third. Luke realized that he was going to have to be very, careful.

He slashed at the next Tymian to approach and then rolled to the diagonal, moving to open up the creature’s flank.

PIERCE ATTACK 2

He dropped the Tymian by finding an opening in the monster’s guard with his blade. The Tymian’s health bar sank to zero, and the creature fell to the ground.

Yes! We can win, we just have to-

One of the monsters took advantage of his inattention and swung at him with its massive claw, managing a solid strike against his back. Luke’s stamina plummeted to zero, along with a large portion of his health. His legs buckled and he dropped to one knee.

No!

“For Kantor!” Private Ajell fought his way over to Luke and cut the monsters off from him. He fought aggressively with his spear, leaving his flank open to lure the Tymian’s into striking and opening themselves up to counter attacks.

Luke struggled to push himself away from the fray. With no Stamina, his Health and Magicka were draining automatically, and he could barely do more than crawl across the ground. It was a death sentence in Luke’s current situation.

The bread… I still have some left.

Luke pulled the food out of his satchel and forced it into the mouth of his avatar. Instantly, his stamina regenerated halfway. He could stand again, and moved forward to back up Private Ajell. Unfortunately, he was a moment too late.

There were three Tymians left. Private Ajell took out one of them in what was clearly a suicidal lunge. Luke saw that his health bar had dropped down to a sliver. One of the Tymians took advantage of the opening and struck him, reducing the sliver to nothing. Private Ajell fell to the ground, dead.

“Damn it!” Luke charged the last two Tymians in a rage.

PIERCE ATTACK 2

He used the Sword Saint’s only low level combat skill to stab into one of the Tymians. He saw its health drop to zero. Luke whirled to face the final foe.

Luke dropped into a defensive position as the Tymian moved forward, swinging its claws wildly. He used his sword as though it were a shield, guarding against the strikes and inflicting light damage on the Tymian as he did.

The monster was still at full health, Luke’s was dangerously low. He chewed on his lower lip as he thought about his options.

I don’t have any magicka left. This fight will be won by whoever can spot the other’s mistakes.

The Tymian moved unexpectedly. It crashed into Luke head first, pushing him back and down to the ground. The attack wasn’t enough to kill him, but the next one would be, and the Tymian was already moving into it.

Now!

As the claws came up into the air, Luke pushed his sword forward. The point stabbed into the creature’s stomach slightly and distracted it from attacking for just long enough for Luke to get his feet under him and push it even further in.

“Die!” His blade skewered through the monster, and its health bar dropped to zero.

LEVEL 5 ATTAINED

Luke pulled his sword out. He breathed a sigh of relief and immediately rushed over to Private Ajell.

The man was dead, as dead as the other militiaman that had drawn them into the ambush in the first place. Luke shook his head, touching both of the men briefly on the chest before standing up and turning away from the ocean.

He was an NPC. It’s not like he’s dead for good. But… still…

Private Ajell had been convincingly human. Though his mannerism was stiff and formal, he had shown a surprising depth of emotion when speaking of his missing comrades. That combined with an ability to understand and really answer Luke’s nuanced questions was striking. His death left Luke reacting the way he would to the death of a real live human being.

My avatar doesn’t breathe in this game, either.

The thought was a strange one, and Luke took it as a sign that it was time for him to head back to Stark Town. He moved off the beach and across the Inner Plains. Though he moved at a brisk pace, the return trip seemed to take longer than the journey out had. This time, he didn’t have anyone to talk to.

Luke was tired when he finally got back to Stark Town. He headed straight for the militia garrison, ignoring the level-up icon in the corner of the screen. All he wanted to do was get his reward and then go to sleep.

“Greetings, Kato,” said the NPC garrison commander. “You were on a mission with Private Ajell, were you not?”

Luke nodded and then frowned.

He knows without even needing to be told.

“Well then,” continued the commander. “What of the western patrol?”

“They were attacked by Tymians,” said Luke. “The entire squad is either dead or scattered. And Private Ajell… is also dead.”

The garrison commander nodded slowly. He set a hand on Luke’s shoulder and squeezed.

“That saddens me to hear,” said the commander. “They died for the sake of us, for the sake of Stark Town and Kantor.”

Luke nodded and watched as the man reached into a chest behind him and pulled out a small bag.

“Here you are. 100 gold coins.”

QUEST COMPLETED

Luke took them from him and thanked the man before heading back outside. The bag felt light, lighter than it should have, given the intensity of the experience he’d just been through.

I think it’s time for me to get some sleep.

CHAPTER 12

Luke slept in late the next morning. It was a Saturday, and not at all unusual, but that didn’t prevent him from feeling a little bit guilty when he finally pulled himself out of bed.

I told Ben that I’d meet up with him this morning…

He grabbed his phone from his nightstand and saw that his late awakening had already been noticed. There were two text messages waiting for him, one from Ben, and surprisingly, one from Sam.

“Text me as soon as you wake up! We need to get started on the guild hall.”

“Hey…”

Luke sighed and pulled himself out of bed. He started pulling his clothes on quickly, feeling a strange mixture of excitement and apprehension. It was the weekend, and he’d have plenty of time to sink deeper into the world of Yvvaros, but he was also dreading the emotional tightrope walk that awaited him with Sam.

Nothing is ever clear cut with her. I almost wish that the two of us could be like we were back in grade school, back when things were simple.

Instead of formulating a text to send back to her right away, Luke decided to take the easier road and get in touch with Ben. He hurried through a shower and got dressed quickly. He hoped to spend the day at Ben’s house gaming as a way of avoiding his father on his day off from work.

There was a knock at the door as he was making his way downstairs. Luke hurried into the living room, hoping that it hadn’t been enough to wake his dad out of his hangover infused sleep. He swung it open and was a little surprised to find Ben standing on the other side.

“You already texted me,” said Luke. “Was it really necessary for you to come all the way over here?”

Ben smiled and scratched his head.

“Actually, yes, Emily is making me do yard work. The only way I could sneak away and enjoy my morning ritual was by saying I was heading over here to grab you.”

Luke nodded, suddenly noticing the smoky scent coming from his friend’s clothes.

“Well, whatever,” he said. “You’re in luck. I’ll help you out. Just let me grab my headset and laptop from upstairs, first.”

“Exactly what I was thinking, man,” said Ben.

On his way back upstairs, Luke pulled his phone out of his pocket. He had let the message from Sam linger, but it felt rude not to respond, even after her harsh words and the way she’d shot him down.

Hey, Sam. I didn’t mean to mess things up last night.

He stared at the message for a couple of seconds before hitting send.

Am I being too passive?

Luke pushed the thought out of his head as he grabbed his gaming stuff and carefully packed it away in his backpack. He headed outside to meet up with Ben, and the two of them started down the road.

“Is your dad asleep?” asked Ben. “I thought he was usually off work on Saturdays…”

Luke sighed. His father’s unpredictable mood swings and the full extent of his alcohol abuse were something that he had actively worked to keep a secret from people. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but one of the usual excuses came to his lips before he could stop himself.

“He was up late last night working,” said Luke.

Working on being a scumbag.

As they rounded the corner onto Ben’s street, Luke could see that they had their work cut out for them. A carpet of dead leaves, brown, red, gold and green, was spread out across the lawn. Underneath that, the grass had grown far past what was acceptable, and there were also a couple of hedges that had overgrown into strange, wild shapes on either side of the lawn.

“Hey, you volunteered,” said Ben, preempting his complaints.

“That I did.”

Emily was making her way outside and onto the front porch. She smiled when she saw Luke. She had on a tight pair of jeans and a sweater that was slightly baggy on her. Luke tried not to notice just how nicely the outfit complimented her figure.

She’s Ben’s sister, she’s Ben’s sister…

“Hey Luke,” she said. “I see you’ve been drafted into the yard brigade for the day.”

Luke nodded.

“Yeah, I guess I have,” he said. “I don’t mind helping out.”

“That’s what makes you one of the good guys.”

“One of the good guys,” said Luke. “Right…”

“I’m serious!” Emily walked over to him and playfully shook him by the shoulder. “You’re enough of a good guy to look out for my little brother. Who knows what kind of trouble he’d get into without a friend like you by his side?”

“Sis, that’s a little demeaning,” said Ben. Emily just shrugged.

“I’m just being honest,” she said. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Luke.”

Luke caught Emily’s eyes for a moment. She looked happy, but there was a hint of something sad behind it, something melancholic and depressing.

What is it I’m seeing?

“I won’t be, Emily,” he said. “That’s good advice, thanks.”

“You owe me one,” she said, smiling.

“Yeah, I owe you one,” replied Luke.

Emily disappeared back inside and Ben started off toward the shed in the backyard. As Luke began to follow, he felt his phone vibrate. Even before he’d pulled it out of his pocket, his heart began to beat faster in anticipation of Sam’s reply. He turned his phone on and looked at the screen.

You didn’t mess things up:). I’m just confused by it all…

“I didn’t take you for much of a texter.” Emily had reappeared in the doorway, holding a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses. She walked over to the table that was over to the side of the porch and sat down.

“Oh, uh…” Luke scratched his head. “I’m just… checking in with a friend.”

“Is it… a male friend, or a female friend?” Emily asked the question casually enough, but Luke couldn’t stop himself from being a bit curious at her interest.

Why does she want to know?

He walked up and onto the porch and took a seat at the table. Emily was sitting across from him, watching him with her dazzling green eyes.

“It’s a female friend,” said Luke.

“Ah. I see.” She leaned back in her chair, looking a little disappointed.

Did I say something wrong?

“Are you here to help, Luke, or make small talk with my sister?” Ben had poked his head around the corner of the house and glared at the two of them.

“Sorry,” said Luke. “I should probably get to work.”

“It’s okay,” said Emily. “You go ahead.”

Luke paused for a moment before heading down the steps and joining Ben in the yard. He felt a powerful impulse to find an excuse to talk to Emily more, to spend more time with her, and…

And what?

“Alright, so you get started on the leaves.” Ben pushed a rake into Luke’s hands. “And I’ll take a crack at the hedges.”

“Sure thing,” said Luke. “With both of us working at it, this shouldn’t take too long.”

It only took Luke a couple minutes of raking for his enthusiasm to begin to fade. The yard was in worse shape than he had thought, with small rocks hiding in the grass, kicked up by cars from the road.

“Dude, it looks like it’s been an eternity since anyone has done any lawn care here,” he yelled to Ben. “What gives?”

Ben was busy snipping away at the hedges with a large pair of metal clippers.

“It’s just how it is. It’s only been me and Emily here for, well, a pretty long time. We make it work, but some things end up falling by the wayside.”

Luke glanced back over at the porch. Emily was sitting in a chair, holding an open book in one hand and a glass of lemonade in the other. She took a slow sip and flipped the page.

“She really looks out for you, doesn’t she?” asked Luke. Ben nodded.

“More than my parents ever have,” he said. “You must know how that is.”

Yeah, I know all too well.

Luke swung the rake hard against the ground, sending a couple of leaves scattering toward the pile that he’d started.

It took them a little over two hours to finish with the raking and hedge clipping, and another half hour after that to get the lawn trimmed. Luke and Ben alternated on and off with the old push mower, and by the time they’d finished, they were both tired.

“Perfect!” exclaimed Emily. “You guys did a really nice job!”

“Why weren’t you helping us out, sis?” asked Ben.

“Have you ever helped me clean the kitchen? Or the bathroom?” She smiled in good humor and passed each of them a full glass of lemonade. Luke’s fingers brushed up against hers as he took the glass, and he felt a rush of heat.

Easy, now…

“Let’s get to it, then,” said Ben. “Or have you forgotten, Luke?”

Luke shook his head.

“Yeah, we have more grounds keeping work to do in-game.” He paused as he spoke, wondering if Emily was going to say anything about the two of them playing Yvvaros, especially given how seriously they’d started taking it. She didn’t.

“I’ll be in my room if you need me,” said Emily. She smiled at the two of them and then headed back inside and upstairs.

“She left her book down here,” said Luke. “What exactly is she heading up there to do?”

The question came across in a slightly more intrusive manner than he’d intended. Ben shrugged and looked a little uncomfortable.

“It’s none of our business, really,” he said. “Maybe she’s secretly a gamer like us?”

I somehow doubt that.

“Come on,” said Luke. “Let’s get set up.”

The process of unpacking his laptop, connecting the headset to it, and getting in-game was becoming much more familiar to Luke. He sat on the side of Ben’s bed as he pulled on his headset and typed in his login information.

“Ready?” asked Ben. Luke nodded and then pressed play. The launcher paused for a moment, and an update bar appeared along the bottom.

“Hmmm, I guess they’ve released the second patch,” said Luke. “This might take a-”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was pulled back in-game. It was a little jarring, almost like stepping into an intense waking hallucination.

PATCH NOTES: Zones 000-050 rebalanced for early game play. Drop rates for Level 1 quest items have been increased.

Luke was standing in the middle of Stark Town, right where he had logged off the night before. He looked around the town square and spotted Silverstrike bounding out of the tavern down the road. The jogged over and met up with each other, clasping hands in greeting as though they hadn’t already spent most of the day together in the outside world.

“Those patch notes were interesting.” Silverstrike crossed his arms and looked off into the distance. “I guess they figured out that the realism and difficulty were scaring players into staying around Stark Town.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” replied Luke. He thought a bit about the fight with the Dunidan the day before, and how difficult it had been for an early level encounter.

I can’t say that I’m all that surprised, honestly.

“We should start thinking about setting up a proper guild hall,” said Silverstrike. “If we look around town, we can probably find a merchant that has what we need to get started.”

Luke nodded.

“That sounds like a good…” He trailed off, noticing that there was a level up icon in the corner of his screen.

Oh yeah, I ended up logging back on last night..

He went through the level up menu in his journal, assigning his skill points to officially become a Level 5 character.

“Are you ready?” asked Silverstrike.

Luke smiled at him.

“Beyond ready. Let’s go.”

The sky over the Inner Plains was crystal clear and picturesque. It was a deep azure blue, and the way that it contrasted with the green of the gently rolling hills was breathtaking.

Stark Town was even more crowded than it had been the day before. Luke had to keep an eye on Silverstrike just for the two of them to stay together. They thread their way through various adventuring parties and solo players all rushing by them to get to their destinations.

“I hope the merchant we’re looking for is down on the continent,” said Silverstrike. “Otherwise we’ll have to take the rune circle back up to Kantor.”

“There’s got to be one nearby.” Luke jogged forward, feeling as though he was starting to get a sense of the layout of the town.

The marketplace was in the center of Stark Town, along with all of the other important buildings like the Inn, the smithy, and the general store. They slowed as they neared the market and took in the local activity.

A couple of players had set up their own shops in the square. One of them waved to Luke and Silverstrike, a man dressed in expensive looking clothing, standing next to a horse-drawn cart laden with supplies.

“What are the two of you looking for?” asked the merchant. Luke looked over at Silverstrike before replying.

“We’re trying to build a guild hall,” he said. “Do you have anything that would let us hit the ground running?”

The merchant thought for a second and then nodded.

“I picked up some blueprints for a basic Guildhall earlier this morning,” he said. “Blueprints are the first thing you need in Yvvaros for setting up any kind of building. You’ll still have to gather the supplies, the wood, the iron, and the clay on your own, but without this, you wouldn’t be able to actually build anything.”

“Sounds good,” said Silverstrike. “How much?”

The merchant smiled.

“500 gold and the blueprints are all yours.”

“500 gold?” Luke had trouble hiding the annoyance in his voice. “That’s not exactly affordable.”

“This isn’t a low-level item,” said the merchant. “The only reason I even have it is because another player I made a trade with scored one as a random item with his preorder bonus. It’s going to be even more expensive if you try to get blueprints from an NPC.”

“He’s right,” said Silverstrike.

Luke chewed on his lower lip.

Well, we’ve already come this far.

“Look, we don’t have that much money. Is there any way we can come to an arrangement? It’s going to be a long time before most of the other players are in the market for something like that.”

After a moment of thought, the merchant waved a conciliatory hand in the air.

“There is something I could use a little help with. It’s more of a personal matter, rather than business.”

“Go on,” said Silverstrike.

“I got hit by a PKer during my level one Merchant class quest.”

Luke glanced over at Silverstrike, who mouthed the words “player killer”.

“Yvvaros doesn’t really have any significant penalties for PKers, other than the bounties that NPCs and players can place on people.” The merchant scratched his beard and then looked down at the ground. “I’ll give you the blueprints if you track this guy down for me and bring me everything on his body.”

Luke smiled.

“I think we can help you with that. What’s the guy’s name?”

The merchant leaned in closer to the two of them.

“His name was Arex.”

CHAPTER 13

“There must be some kind of mistake.”

After speaking with the merchant, Luke and Silverstrike went to the inn. The news about Arex had left Luke speechless, so Silverstrike had agreed to look into the merchant’s request in exchange for the blueprints.

“Two players can’t have the same name,” said Silverstrike. “And besides, ‘Arex’ is a pretty unique sounding one.”

“I know, I just…” Luke felt a strange conflict brewing inside of him. “There must be more to it than what the merchant told us.”

Players don’t just kill other players for no reason?

“Well, I told him we’d look into it.” Silverstrike leaned back against the wall of the inn and frowned. “Look, I know he’s technically in our guild, but we don’t really know this guy. He was just in the right place at the right time.”

“I guess…”

“Besides, Yvvaros doesn’t really have many penalties for player killing. Even in Stark Town and Kantor, you can do what you want, to who you want. The worst that can happen is a large enough bounty being placed on your head to incentivize other players to go after you.”

Luke still felt skeptical.

He didn’t seem like a PKer… did he?

“We should at least hear his side of the story, first,” said Luke. “There could be something that makes it a little more, well, justified.”

“Sure, man, of course.” Silverstrike was toying with one of his daggers in between his fingers. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at something behind Luke, who turned around just in time to see Tess heading over.

“Hey guys,” she said. “What’s up?”

She had on new equipment, a purple and white gown that fit her perfectly, along with a medium length healer’s staff.

Speaking of which, I’m overdue for an upgrade of my own. I need to get some money…

“Tess,” said Silverstrike. “We have a problem.”

The two of them explained what had happened with the merchant. Her face slowly shifted into a confused, worried expression.

“Why would he do something like that?” she whispered. “This doesn’t make any sense!”

“That’s what I think,” said Luke. “We just need to-”

“We don’t know him.” Silverstrike interrupted Luke midsentence. “That’s the real truth here. He was helpful against the worm but come on, that’s the full extent of the time that we’ve spent with him.”

Luke looked at Tess, and could tell that she was thinking the same thing that he was.

Could I really have been that bad a judge of character?

“Whatever…” Luke shrugged. “It’s not like we can snap our fingers and make him appear and answer for what he may or may not have done. Let’s just head back to Dunidan’s Rest, start gathering the materials we need for the guild hall, and wait for him to turn up.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Silverstrike walked a little ahead of the Luke and Tess as they started making their way down to the border of the desert. Tess sidled up next to Luke and leaned her head in close to his.

“Do you really think he did it?”

Luke shook his head.

“I don’t know…” He gave her a resolute smile. “We’ll figure it out, regardless.”

Tess reached over and took his hand into hers. It felt warm, even though Luke knew that it wasn’t supposed to, that it wasn’t something the game should be able to simulate. It brought back the vivid memory of the moment the two of them had shared the night before.

“I’m glad that I’m in a guild with you, Kato,” whispered Tess. Luke squeezed her hand softly, even though he knew that she wouldn’t be able to feel it.

The edge of the desert was much more active than the three of them had seen before. Due to its proximity to Stark Town, some new players had taken to lounging about and organizing their groups in the area.

“It will be less crowded as people start to reach higher levels and journey further off,” said Silverstrike. “At least, I think it will.”

Zone 006, Dunidan’s Rest, was an ideal spot. After they’d killed the worm and claimed their zone, the area had reverted to a naturally calm state. The zone wasn’t deep enough into the wild for persistent spawns to be much of a threat, which, combined with the Oasis, made it an even more lucrative prize.

“Alright, well, we’ll need some wood.” Luke was at the front of the group as they drew into the center of the zone. “That’s probably going to be the biggest material resource.”

“Wood, clay, and iron,” said Silverstrike, “along with other miscellaneous stuff like glass and maybe cloth that we might end up having to buy.”

“Okay,” said Luke. “I guess I’ll get to chopping.”

“I’ll go with you.” Tess hopped over to him, her face adorned with a coy smile. “I actually got an ax as part of my preorder bonus.”

She reached into the satchel around her waist and pulled out an ax that looked far longer than what the tiny bag should have been capable of holding. She examined it for a moment before tossing it to Luke.

“Perfect,” said Luke. “What about you, Silverstrike?”

His friend shrugged his shoulders and gestured south.

“I know exactly where to look for clay, but it’s a bit of a walk. On the far southern edge of the Sarchia Desert are the mud pits of Farswick’s Folly. I’ll be able to dig for clay there.”

Luke nodded.

“Alright, just be careful.” He set a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “This is looking as though it’s going to take a bit of time, but think about how awesome it will be when we finish. We’ll have one of the first guild halls in Yvvaros. We can even set up a shop in it if we want, and eventually start a little town.”

Tess clapped her hands together in excitement.

“Yes! That sounds awesome!” She took off to the north, back toward the Inner Plains, where they could find the trees they needed. “Let’s go!”

Silverstrike smiled at Luke.

“You heard the lady.”

It took Luke a minute to catch up with Tess after her spirited head start. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and soon the two of them were laughing and teasing one another. Luke jogged to keep up as Tess skipped along.

“I’m going to build a garden!” announced Tess.

“Our guild hall is going to be in the middle of the desert, in case you forgot.”

“We have an oasis in our zone, silly!” Tess veered over to Luke and playfully bounced against him.

“Hmmm, good point,” said Luke. “But it just seems a little, well, unnecessary. We should focus on getting the basics built first.”

“Fresh food and fresh water are the basics, Kato!” Tess skidded to a stop. “Speaking of which…”

The two of them had made it into the grasslands, and Tess sat down as she began rifling through her satchel. After a moment, she pulled out a long loaf of bread along with a couple of bluish looking vegetables that Luke was positive did not exist in the real world.

“My stamina bar is almost empty,” said Tess. “Here, you can have some too.”

Luke looked at his own stamina bar.

Jeez, mine is almost empty! How did I not notice?

Tess began nibbling at her food, taking small, mouse like bites out of the bread. Her expression looked as though she could actually taste it, and Luke found it to be one of the most endearing things he’d ever seen.

“Thanks, Tess,” he said. “Thanks for… well, thanks for being part of the guild.”

Tess batted her eyes at him.

“Is that really what you’re trying to say, Kato?”

Luke shrugged.

“I mean, it’s been cool hanging out with you. And getting to know you in-game.”

What does she want me to say? We kissed, and I still don’t know what it means.

Tess took another bite out of her food and rolled back so that she was lying on the grass and staring up at the sky.

“I wish real life worked more like this.” She paused, and Luke heard her let out the faintest of sighs.

“Well, magic and monsters would certainly make things more interesting,” said Luke. Tess shook her head.

“That’s not what I mean…” She patted the spot next to her, and Luke sat down.

“What do you mean, then?”

Tess was silent for a long moment.

“I can be who I want to be, here,” she whispered. “I don’t have to micromanage myself. I don’t have to hold back all the time, worry about what other people think…”

I thought I was the only one who felt that way…

Tess suddenly stood up and began brushing off her robe.

“Anyway, we should keep going,” she said. “That wood isn’t going to chop itself.”

The Inner Plains around Stark Town were mostly grass and hills. Look thought it made sense, given how focused Yvvaros was on dynamic player interactions.

New players could venture out and fight the low-level monsters near the town and be able to see anything approaching on the horizon with ease. There were no real hiding spots for PKers to camp out in, no traps for new players to fall for.

Further to the east, in the direction that Luke and Tess were headed, the plains gave way to denser foliage. The higher level Msitu Wilds were still mostly empty of players. The first few zones on the border with the Inner Plains and Stark Town were low level, but the challenge increased swiftly the deeper one went in.

Luke was in the lead, and he slowed to a walk as they began to approach the outskirts of the jungle. The area ahead was foreboding, with the trees and canopy forming a ceiling of foliage that was thick enough to block out the sun’s light.

Along with the vegetation was a strange, smoky fog, which Luke assumed came from the volcanic shields and mountains that he could see far off on the horizon.

“Let’s chop what we need and then head back to Dunidan’s Rest,” said Tess. “This area gives me the creeps.”

Luke nodded and pulled out the ax. There were a couple of trees around him, and he walked over to one and took a test swing at its trunk.

TANG OAK: Level 8

“Jeez, let’s hope the creatures in this zone aren’t as high level as the trees,” said Luke. “This isn’t exactly a newbie friendly place.”

He chopped as quickly as he could. The trees would automatically turn into neatly chopped pieces after enough cuts from the ax.

A bit unrealistic, but convenient.

Luke was surprised to find that he was getting experience for cutting them down. He had thought that only fighting and quests gave experience in Yvvaros, but apparently the game was more open ended in how players were rewarded for tasks. After the seventh tree he’d chopped down, two notifications popped up on his screen.

CARPENTRY +1

LEVEL 6 ATTAINED

“I leveled up!” He smiled over at Tess, who looked bored. “Just give me a second to spend my ability points.”

Luke dropped one point each into strength, speed, endurance, agility, and luck. He closed his journal, and noticed another notification.

NEW COMBAT ABILITY: CONJURE SWORD

“Conjure… Sword?”

“Luke!”

Distracted, Luke turned around to look at Tess. She was over by a group of trees that were next up to be cut down. Standing by her was a familiar face.

Arex!

Tess looked as though she’d been frozen in place by surprise and Luke felt much the same way. The Red Mage didn’t say anything. Instead, he just stared at the two of him with his usual stoic expression.

“Arex…” Luke finally managed. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re in the same guild,” Arex spoke slowly, and his explanation left Luke baffled.

“The guild chat,” whispered Tess. “He must have heard us talking.”

Arex nodded. Luke started to move toward them, and the mage took another step closer to Tess.

“She’s right,” he said. “I was listening, and I heard you accept the bounty.”

“Arex, we didn’t-”

“Enough.” The mage’s hand glowed with blue energy. “Drop all of your equipment on the ground, including the guild charter, and then leave.”

Tess opened her mouth to object. Arex pushed his hand against her back and she flinched in surprise.

“I’ll kill her if you don’t play nice,” he said. “And then I’ll kill you, Kato. I’m level 8.”

“Arex, he’s telling the truth!” yelled Tess. “Kato was against taking the bounty from the start.”

Should have I been? Silverstrike was right.

Luke glared at the mage and slowly pulled his sword out of its scabbard.

“Why did you kill the merchant, Arex?” asked Luke. “What’s the point in playing a game just to grief other players?”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, your merchant friend is as crooked as they come.” Arex’s eyes narrowed to a slant. “He was conning new players out of their spawn equipment, stealing their preorder bonuses when he could. He deserved what he got.”

Luke took a slow step forward.

“And besides,” continued Arex. “It’s like you just said. This is just a game. Nobody dies for real in Yvvaros. Here, watch!”

Before Luke could react, Arex had readied an ice spell in his hand. White, blue energy glowed brightly in his palm, and he slammed it into Tess. Her health bar dropped quickly, only a sliver remaining in it when the damage was done.

“Tess!” yelled Luke. “Hold on!”

“Luke, don’t let him-” Her words were cut off as Arex slammed another short range spell against her. She glowed bright blue for the briefest instant, and then her body shattered into tiny shards of ice.

Luke dropped to one knee.

It’s just a game, I know that… but? She’s gone…

“Oh wow, I didn’t realize that I could use Ice Palm for shatter kills, too,” said Arex. “Even if you had a revival potion, you wouldn’t be able to bring her back from that. Unfortunately, it also means that her equipment can’t be looted, either.”

“You bastard…” Luke felt rage take hold of him. He gripped his sword tightly.

“Kato, there is no point in you trying to fight me.” Arex charged up a spell in either hand as he walked forward. “Just give me the guild contract, give me the right to Zone 006, and I’ll let you-”

CONJURE SWORD

Luke’s original sword glowed bright white, creating a magical copy of itself that floated above and to the right of his head. It hung in the air like some kind of medieval drone, waiting for his command to fly forward or shift in front of him in defense. After a moment’s hesitation, Luke threw himself at Arex, swinging his original blade wildly and keeping the conjured sword ready to fly in and block.

“The battle has already been decided.” Arex leaped back faster than Luke could move forward.

He must have invested in Speed more than me.

The Red Mage launched a spell at him, a glowing ball of flame that Luke struggled to dodge in time. It came within inches of his face, not causing any damage, but setting the tree behind him ablaze.

“Whoops,” said Arex. “Bad aim on my part.”

“This is all just a joke to you, isn’t it?” Luke paused and stared at the amused look on Arex’s face.

“Yes.”

He doesn’t care about playing fair. Why should I?

Luke lunged toward Arex, using Pierce Attack 2 to close the distance. The Mage was taken off guard and threw up a magical shield a moment too late. Luke’s sword tore through his robe and into his body.

The blow did less damage than Luke would have liked, but it still left him feeling satisfied.

I don’t think Arex has any healing spells. He can only hold out for so long.

“I guess it’s time for me to stop fooling around.” Arex planted his foot on the ground and began launching icicles at Luke. The first few he was able to dodge with quick footwork, but the air became thick with ice, and one of them struck against his shoulder.

Damn it!

There was no pain, or at least not any simulated by the game. Luke’s chest felt hot, and it was hard for him to focus on anything other than his anger. His health bar was down to half of its maximum length just from that single spell.

“Hah! Now you’re starting to get it.” Arex walked toward him, slowly charging another projectile in his hand. “Give up, Kato. The two of us can start a new guild together, and start taking over. That’s what this game is all about! The strong will dominate, and the weak will submit.”

“Go to hell!” Luke attacked again, this time with both his regular sword and the floating conjured one. Arex put his magical shield up early enough to block the blows, and then pushed it outward, knocking Luke back.

“You’re only at level 6,” said Arex. “I’m just toying with you right now. You must know that.”

He’s right… I won’t be able to take him out with typical tactics.

“Goodbye, Kato,” said Arex. “I’ll make sure that the zone is well cared for once I’ve killed everyone in it and taken it for myself.”

Arex charged up a new spell, a giant fireball that Luke instinctively knew would be enough to finish him off.

Now’s my chance!

CONJURE SWORD

Luke re-summoned the energy blade, this time in a new, more advantageous spot. It was behind Arex, and the mage didn’t notice. Luke charged forward, playing the role of the brave warrior charging head first into certain death as the energy blade cut through the air toward Arex from behind.

The spell left Arex’s hand right as the conjured sword struck him in the back. Luke smiled as he saw the mage going down, and then realized that he was about to join him if Arex’s spell connected.

He ducked low, flattening himself against the ground and taking residual damage as the fireball crashed into the trees behind, erupting into fire. His health bar was down to only a sliver, but Luke was still alive.

“I… did it.” His thoughts shifted as he considered what had just happened.

Tess…

Arex’s fireball set a broad swath of trees on fire. Luke wondered briefly about whether there was a natural, in-game renewal system for destroyed vegetation. He slowly made his way over to Arex’s body and began stripping it of everything of value.

Even though the mage’s eyes stared up at him lifelessly, it was still within the period of time in which a player could be revived. Luke knew that Arex’s spirit avatar was hovering nearby, watching him and very likely cursing him.

“You’re wrong, Arex,” said Luke. “This might just be a game, but the players in it are still people.”

Luke made sure he had everything he Tess and Arex had arrived with before jogging off toward Stark Town, and Kantor. He was heading to the soul bind point.

CHAPTER 14

“Are you being serious right now?”

Silverstrike was looking at Luke with shock. The two of them stood near the rune circle in Stark Town. Luke had just started explaining what had happened while he and Tess were harvesting wood.

“I killed him,” said Luke. “Well, his avatar. It was after…”

After he killed Tess.

“I wasn’t expecting you to just…” Silverstrike looked frustrated, as though he was a little put off by his lack of control over the situation. “He was in our guild. You could have sent me a message, or-”

“He attacked Tess.” Luke looked away from Silverstrike, and then up toward Kantor. “He killed Tess, Silverstrike. I couldn’t just walk away. Besides, it was your idea to take the contract in the first place.”

Silverstrike looked at him blankly.

“I know, it’s just…Jesus, man.” He shook his head and said nothing.

“Yeah. Oh, here.” Luke stepped toward his friend and pulled Arex’s belongings out of his bag. “Give these to the merchant. Be careful when dealing with him. I’m not sure how much of what Arex said we can trust, but supposedly the guy’s a cheat.”

“If the guy’s a cheat, then why did you and Arex end up coming to blows?”

That is an excellent question.

“I don’t know,” said Luke. “The way he plays the game, it’s not like we play.”

Silverstrike nodded though Luke wasn’t sure if he really understood what he was saying.

“You’re okay, though, right?” he asked. “I saw Arex fighting against the worm. He’s not exactly one of the newbs of Stark Town when it comes to controlling his avatar.”

“I’m fine.”

Silverstrike stepped in closer to Luke, glancing over either shoulder before leaning in.

“Look, Luke, I realize that it had to be done. I was ready to do it too, and would have if I’d had to.”

“And?” Luke couldn’t prevent a twinge of anger from creeping into his voice.

“I’m not upset with you, I’m just saying that you have to be careful,” said Silverstrike. “You killed him, but he’s not really ‘gone.' The game doesn’t work like that.”

“I know that!” Luke realized he was yelling and tried to calm himself. “I know…”

“I have your back,” said Silverstrike. “You know that. We just need to make sure we keep in mind the consequences of our actions. We don’t need to make ourselves or our guild a target.”

Luke nodded.

He’s right.

“I think we’re going to have to rename it, by the way,” said Silverstrike. “It’s just me, you, and Tess now.”

Tess…

“I’ll catch up with you later,” said Luke. “Make sure you watch the merchant. And get him to give you more than just the blueprint when you turn in Arex’s stuff.”

Silverstrike smiled.

Stark Town’s transport hub was the rune circle. A group of players was standing around it as Luke approached, and new players would periodically step out of it and run off, in varying degrees of urgency.

The shift after he’d stepped into the circle was instantaneous. The only visual clue of what was happening was a white light that surrounded his body and filled his vision. The transition to Kantor was so quick that Luke felt a little sea sick once he and looked out into the clouds that passed by the floating city.

She should be in or around the Temple of Rygon.

The walk through Kantor brought him back to his first moments in the game and the strange feeling of being a guest in an alien world. There were still plenty of players running around, and Luke could spot the ones that were new and unaccustomed to the immersive nature of Yvvaros.

The sun was bright against the gleaming white walkway. What had surprised him about the city initially, and what continued to surprise him now, was how detailed it was.

There were tiny gardens outside each house. NPC merchants would materialize from the rune circle and guide horse drawn wagons down the road, dropping off deliveries at the various establishments. Even if there’d been no human players, it felt as though Kantor would go on, as alive as any town in the real world.

Tess was standing across from the temple, up against the city’s outermost wall. She was looking out into the sky, and Luke walked over to her slowly, taking up a spot next to her and leaning in.

“Hey…” For a moment, he was unsure of his words. “Uh, are you okay?”

Are you okay? I should be apologizing. It’s my fault she ended up getting attacked, getting killed.

Tess smiled at him. There was something unmistakably mournful about the expression, as though she was only putting it on for his sake.

“I'm all right,” she said. “It’s… the first time I’ve, well, you know… died. In-game, I mean.”

“Of course.” Luke turned so he was leaning with his back against the mid-length wall and looked over to her. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have been in the middle of that. It was my fault.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t apologize, it’s fine.”

There was a long silence between them. Luke felt a uncomfortable in a way that caused his concern for her to well up and manifest as a painful lump in his throat.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Tess?” he asked. “Can I do anything for you? Do you need some water?”

Water, right. As though that’s going to do anything for her in a virtual world.

“Really, I’m fine.” She paused for a moment, and then looked at him and blinked a couple of times. “I’m just glad that he didn’t kill you, too. You must be hungry. I got some food before. Here, take some.”

Tess sat down by the wall and pulled a fancifully decorated cake out of her satchel. It looked too big and too delicate to be stored in a bag, but there it was, completely intact.

“I was going to save it for after we got the guild hall setup,” she said. “But I’m starving.”

“You mean your stamina bar is low?”

Tess shrugged her shoulders at him.

“Sure.”

For a minute, the two of them didn’t say much to each other. Tess split the cake into slices, and both she and Luke had several of them, enough to refill their stamina all the way to max.

It felt weird eating the frosting covered cake with bare, dirty hands, but the game didn’t care about that kind of thing. Luke felt a little silly thinking about such a tiny detail, and as the meal went on, it started to seem almost natural.

“It’s a pretty realistic simulation,” said Tess. “I feel like the more time I spend in it, the realer it becomes.”

Luke nodded.

“I know exactly what you mean.”

Tess glanced up at a cloud that was passing a couple of dozen feet up and to the left of them.

“I… Dying like that, so suddenly, it brought back some memories.” Her voice was laden with quiet emotion, and Luke had to lean in to hear her. “I used to suffer from depression, in the real world. I guess I still do, to a certain extent.”

Luke didn’t say anything and waited for her to continue.

“Last year I had… a bit of a breakdown.” She smiled at him again, that same strangely mournful smile. “I tried to hurt myself. I tried… to kill myself.”

Luke reached his hand out to rest it on Tess’s shoulder. She was still looking out at the clouds and didn’t look as though she noticed or cared.

“I don’t mean to drag you down with my baggage, I just thought you should know.” Tess turned to look at him and Luke saw that she was blushing. “You must think I’m crazy.”

Luke shook his head.

“No,” he said. “I don’t. I think you’re Tess. I think you’re my friend, and…”

I think she has some of the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, even if they’re computer rendered. Even if they aren’t really hers in the physical world.

Luke leaned in and kissed her. He felt an overwhelming sensation rush through his body, not from the outside, but from within.  The lack of real contact didn’t stop the gesture from being powerful. In fact, it only seemed to amplify the symbolism and meaning.

“Luke…” whispered Tess. “Thank you.”

A gaggle of new players ran by them, laughing and chatting with each other in game speak.

They haven’t gotten to the point we’re at yet. They don’t see this ‘game’ for what it is.

“Come on,” said Luke. “Let’s head back down and meet up with Silverstrike. We need to have a guild meeting.”

Ten minutes later, the two of them were standing on the outskirts of Stark Town. Luke switched over to the guild chat and gave it a real sustained try for the first time. It made it easy for Silverstrike to find them, and when he showed up, he was grinning from ear to ear.

“I got the blueprints!” he announced. “And there’s more! I managed to haggle some extra iron ore out of the merchant.”

“That’s great… I think?” Luke scratched his head, and Silverstrike gave him an exasperated look.

“Iron ore is one of the other crafting materials we need in bulk to put the guild hall together,” he said. “We can use it to make nails, doorknobs, hinges, all of that sort of thing. Along with some glass for the windows, clay, and wood, we should be all set.”

Tess nodded.

“So all we need now is glass?”

“That and some more wood.”

Luke smiled at his friends.

At least one good thing came out of this mess.

“Alright then,” he said. “Let’s get moving. I’ll go get the rest of the wood.”

“Uh… maybe we should talk about the guild, first.” Tess’s voice was only a little louder than a whisper. “About the name, I mean.”

“Oh yeah,” said Luke. “We can’t exactly be KSTA now, can we?”

Silverstrike thought for a moment and then raised his hand.

“The Consulate.”

Luke looked at him blankly.

“Oh come on!” said Silverstrike. “It’s out of Roman history, just like your avatar’s name. Though I don’t think your namesake was ever actually a part of it.”

“The Consulate,” repeated Tess. “I like it.”

Luke pulled the guild charter out of his bag.

This, along with the zone that goes with it, was what Arex nearly killed me for.

“Alright, I’m going to make the change, but… one other thing.” Luke scratched out ‘KSTA’ and replaced it with ‘The Consulate’ in the document. “I think we should store it somewhere safe, somewhere that’s not accessible to other players. It’s one of the few things, other than equipment, that can be looted upon death.”

“There isn’t anywhere like that in Yvvaros,” said Silverstrike. “The only banks and storage facilities in-game are inside of guild halls. We can put it in there once we’ve finished with ours.”

Luke thought for a moment about what his friend was saying.

“But what’s to stop somebody from attacking our guild hall while we’re all logged out?”

The question was a scary one and it made all the hard work they were going through to set up the zone feel like it was in jeopardy.

“You get an automatic bounty for violating the laws of Kantor,” said Silverstrike. “And hopefully, our guild will be big enough by then for us to always have someone online. Guild halls are easy to defend even with just a few people if you set up the defenses correctly.”

He’s… really thought this through.

“Alright,” said Luke. “Well, I guess we should get to it, then.”

This time, all three of them split up. Silverstrike took up the role of the blacksmith, taking the iron ore to the nearest smithing station to turn it into what they needed. Tess took a bit of money from each of them and went off to barter for glass.

Luke headed back in search of wood. This time he went to the evergreen forests that served as a transition from the grasslands of the Inner Plains into the cold northern tundra of the Blue Void.

There weren’t many players up that way, Luke soon realized. Compared to the rest of the continent, the northern reaches had thus far been ignored by the player base. It was as challenging of an area as the Msitu Wilds, and not as traversable as the Sarchia Desert or the areas closer to Stark Town.

The only other players Luke saw were, like him, chopping down trees and working their carpentry skills. The trees themselves varied in size, with some of them being high enough to make the thought of cutting them down seem a little outlandish. He tested his ax against a more modest specimen.

EVERGREEN TREE: Level 7

His ax could handle that, and soon enough, Luke had chopped it down, along with several others just like it. The work left him feeling almost like his avatar was breaking out into a sweat.

That’s not something coded into the game…

After taking one last look around, he turned toward the desert, leaving the tranquility of the northern region. He cut through the chaos of Stark Town toward the southern desert and Dunidan’s Rest. It took him a while, and when he arrived, he found that Tess and Silverstrike were already waiting for him.

“It’s time for us to start building,” said Luke. “Let’s do this!”

Construction in Yvvaros was much simpler than construction projects in the real world. The different construction components still needed to be placed into position, but once they were close enough, they would lock in like magnetic Lego pieces.

On top of that, they had enough food to offset the stamina cost of lifting simulated weight, so it was easy for the three of them to work at a fast pace. Luke noticed how much the project was doing for Tess’s mood. She had a genuine smile on her face and responded to his flirting and teasing as she had before the incident with Arex.

The three of them started with the foundation, which required the blueprints to be set in place. They set the carefully cut stone blocks down into an even layer, and then the building’s frame on top of it. The walls went up quickly. It reminded Luke of constructing blanket and pillow forts as a kid, except more substantial.

The roof was the trickiest part because the wooden planks and clay caulking could only be placed from on top. Luke climbed up using Silverstrike’s back as a stepping stone and set the materials into place as his friends passed them up to him, one by one.

When they had completed the structure, they had the frame of a medium sized, one room building. It was still missing the door and windows, which took a bit of setting up to get into place. Silverstrike went to work connecting the hinges while Luke and Tess slowly installed the windows.

“Steady…” said Luke. Tess was holding one side of the window, and as she went to lower her end, it slipped from her hand.

“Shoot!” She let out a tiny gasp. Luke dove underneath the falling glass pane with lightning speed, catching it on his chest the way someone might catch a falling baby.

“No prob,” said Luke. “You can thank my catlike reflexes.”

Tess grinned at him.

“And you’re so modest, to boot.”

Eventually, all of the windows had been secured. The two of them walked to the front of the building, admiring the oasis they had in their backyard as they went by.

“It’s just about…” Silverstrike worked one final hinge into place as he put the door into its frame. “Done!”

A golden flash of light emanated from the building and an icon appeared in the corner of Luke’s screen.

LEVEL 7 ATTAINED

“Oh, cool,” he said. “I didn’t realize we got experience for building.”

Silverstrike smiled at him and nodded. Luke quickly leveled his character up, figuring that the others were doing the same.

Let’s change things up a bit…

Instead of distributing his five attribute points evenly, he decided to drop three into luck, and the last two into strength.

“Shall we?” He smiled at Tess as he asked the question and she gave him an enthusiastic nod in return.

The guild hall’s interior was, unsurprisingly, entirely empty. Luke walked around, admiring the high ceiling and spacious floor.

We’ll be able to buy furniture, or craft it ourselves, and make this place into whatever we want.

Tess looked as though she was thinking the exact same thing.

“This is amazing,” she whispered. “This… this is a home.”

A home…

An unbidden thought of his father and the stress he had to deal with in the real world flickered into his mind. He pushed it away and shook his head. Silverstrike was staring out the window at the oasis.

“We’ll be able to start farming here,” he said. “Maybe even set up a shop. That will give us easy experience, and we won’t even have to risk fighting monsters.”

“I’m still planning on fighting,” said Luke. “It’s a bit too much fun for me to resist.”

Tess and Silverstrike laughed, and for a moment the three of them just sat together on the floor, enjoying each other’s company and enjoying the game.

“I… have to log off,” said Tess, breaking the silence. “Sorry! It’s been a really long play session.”

“Yeah, we probably should to.” Luke glanced over at Silverstrike. “Same time tomorrow?”

Tess and Silverstrike nodded, and then all three of them logged out.

CHAPTER 15

Luke was back in Ben’s room. It took him a while to adjust after he’d removed his headset, much longer than it ever had before. The fluorescent lights felt strange and artificial against his eyes, and his body was heavy and slow.

It’s only late afternoon, maybe four or five. It was nighttime… in Yvvaros.

“Man, we were playing for a while,” said Ben. “It feels…”

He trailed off, but Luke didn’t need him to finish the sentence.

“Weird. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

Luke slowly stood up, stretching limbs that were on the verge of falling asleep. His mind was groggy, almost tired, but sleep wasn’t what he felt like he needed.

The game had been visceral, full of contrast and color, a stark difference from the drab grays and soft whites that decorated Ben’s room. He expected to see a status bar above Ben’s head when he turned to look at him. He realized with a start that it was scary to not see his own health and stamina meters in the corner of his vision.

“Jeez.” Luke shook his head slightly and stepped toward the door. “I think I need to clear my head.”

He looked over at Ben again and saw that his friend was moving toward his desk.

“What’s that?”

“You want to go get some food?” Luke’s stomach growled as if on cue.

“No, I’m good man,” said Ben. “I’m just going to…”

He was pulling something out of his desk that Luke recognized without the need to see more than its color. His pipe was already packed with a half smoked bowl of weed and ash.

“Oh, come on, man,” said Luke. “Don’t you want to clear your head, after-”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Ben lit the lighter in his other hand and Luke had to turn away.

“Never mind, I’ll talk to you later.”

Ben already had the pipe to his lips. He didn’t answer.

This is starting to become a problem for him.

Luke made his way downstairs. Emily was in the kitchen, humming a little song as she pulled ingredients out of the fridge.

“Hey Luke,” she said. “How was gaming?”

He shrugged.

Does she really want to know?

“It was good,” he said. “There’s a surprising amount of depth to the game.”

“So I’ve heard…” Emily pulled out a bread knife and began cutting through a long baguette. “I take it my brother is upstairs having some alone time?”

Luke nodded.

“Yeah, he’s uh…” No excuse came to mind, and he avoided Emily’s gaze like a guilty defendant in front of a judge.

“It’s fine. I know.” She smiled at him, a bit of sadness seeping in from behind it. “He’s my brother, but there’s only so much I can do for him. Trust me, it was the same way for me back when the roles were reversed.”

Back when the roles were reversed? Did Emily…?

“Anyway, can I make you a sandwich?” she asked. “They say it's bad luck to eat alone.”

Luke grinned.

“Who says that?”

“They do!” Emily let out a breath of mock exasperation. “The anonymous, intangible they!”

How did she end up with a brother like Ben, anyway?

Luke walked over to the kitchen counter and took a seat on one of the stools. Emily had on her pink apron and moved around the kitchen like a dancer, with no wasted movements.

“So… uh, what are you up to these days, Emily?” Luke tried to sound casual, even though he was dying to pry as much information from her as he could. “You’re taking a year off, right? How’s that going for you?”

Emily was cutting the bread down the center. She looked as though she was thinking for a moment and then flashed her brilliant eyes back up at Luke.

“It’s going well…” Her voice was soft and mournful. “I didn’t decide to, well, it wasn’t by choice that I took a year off.”

Luke suddenly felt as though his question had been out of line. He scratched his head and tried to think of a casual way to apologize, but Emily just smiled pleasantly at him. She reached over and put one of her hands on top of his, sending a wave of electric potential through him.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to feel sorry,” she said. “I’ve just been… sick, for the past few months.”

Luke couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Don’t worry, it’s not contagious,” she said. “I shouldn’t have even brought it up. I just wanted to give you an honest answer, Luke. You deserve to-”

Luke’s phone vibrated in his pocket, interrupting the conversation. He pulled it out slowly and winced as he saw the caller ID.

Dad…

“I’m sorry, Emily, it’s my dad,” he said. “I have to take this.”

“It’s okay.”

Luke walked into the living room before answering.

“Hello?”

“Luke.” His dad’s voice was tense and strung out. “Get your ass home from wherever you are, immediately.”

“Why?” asked Luke. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing is fucking going on, just get back here. Now.”

What the hell am I supposed to say to that?

“Dad, I’m at Ben’s,” said Luke. “If it’s not an emergency, can’t I-”

“I’m not asking you,” said his dad. “I’m telling you.”

The phone beeped, and Luke realized that his dad had hung up on him. He took a deep breath and tried not to let the anger building in his chest spread into the rest of his body.

“Is everything okay?” Emily walked up behind him and placed a soft hand on his shoulder. She had such a kind and caring aura, for a moment Luke wanted to sit on the couch with her and pour his heart out.

I want to do more than just that…

“I… have to go,” said Luke. “I can’t stay for dinner.”

“I can pack you some food to take with you if you want?”

Luke shook his head.

“Thanks, but I should get going,” he said. “If Ben comes out of his room later, tell him to call me.”

Emily nodded.

“Okay Luke,” she said. “It was nice having you over. You’re… always welcome here. You know that, right?”

“Thanks, Emily. I’ll see you later.”

Luke shouldered his bag headed out the door. Being outside gave him a feeling not entirely dissimilar to when he’d stepped out of the game before. The air was warm and the sun was slowly setting on the horizon, lighting up the clouds in brilliant shades of orange and red.

He walked down the street toward his house, again feeling a little unnerved by how different his body felt in real life. He managed to catch and resist the urge to try to pull out his map, something that was a regular part of navigating in Yvvaros.

Luke slowed as he approached his house. His dad’s car was parked outside, and just seeing it there made him tense.

This doesn’t feel like a home, at least not one that’s safe.

He took a deep breath and headed inside through the front door, opening it slowly and gingerly, trying to make as little noise as possible. There was no need for subtlety as Luke discovered from the crashing and yelling coming from within.

His dad was in the living room, or what was left of it. The couch had been thrown over and pictures had been knocked down. Chris Smith was emptying a bookshelf of its contents, hurling each title in a new direction as though he was possessed.

I should just head up to my room. He’s lost it, again.

Luke took a step toward the stairs and his Dad whirled around and charge toward him aggressively.

“You took your time coming back.” His dad’s words were slurred, but the look in his eyes was jittery, unlike what alcohol usually did to him. “Walk around the neighborhood a couple of times first, or something?”

“Dad, I was just-”

His father slammed the book that was in his hand to the ground and went back toward the bookshelf.

“I need money, Luke.” His dad looked desperate, suddenly. “Give me what you have on you right now. I’ll pay you back.”

“Dad, I’m not going to give you my money.”

Chris Smith stepped back toward his son, his chest heaving up and down with every breath.

He’s on something again…

His dad stared at him for a long second and then swung his hand. Luke flinched back, but the blow wasn’t intended for him. Instead, it swept the lamp off the side table next to the couch, which landed on the ground with a high pitched crash as the bulb inside of it broke.

“Your backpack…” he said. “What’s in it?”

Luke took a step back and grabbed onto the shoulder of his bag tightly.

“Dad, you need to chill out,” he said. “Head into your room, try to sleep this off.”

“It’s your headset, isn’t it? You brought it over to Ben’s with you?” His dad chuckled, and then paced the floor.

“It’s no big deal…” said Luke. “You don’t have to-”

“My own son! This is the ultimate irony.” Chris Smith stared out the window and clutched his hands to his head as though he was preparing to pull out his hair. “How much do you play it, Luke?”

I can’t be honest with him, not when he’s in this state.

“Just here and there, dad,” said Luke. “Just for fun.”

“Bullshit!” His father started toward him again, stopping a couple of feet away and extending his finger in accusation. “I can tell when you’re lying.”

He gritted his teeth and then ran a hand through his hair. Luke took a step toward the stairs, but his dad started up again before he could make it any further.

“The game never should have been released,” he said. “I told the rest of the design team as much.”

“Dad…”

“It’s just the beginning, Luke!” He screamed. “It’s the start of something that none of us are going to be able to control. It’s not just a video game, just a fun waste of time. It’s dangerous, both for the people playing it and for society.”

What the hell does that mean?

His father crossed his arms and stared at him with burning eyes. After what felt like an eternity, he turned toward the door.

“I’ll be back later,” said his dad. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Luke stood stock still as his father walked by him and out the front door. His heart was beating in his chest, but it wasn’t from just fear. He was angry at his father and ashamed of him at the same time.

He’ll come back and apologize, and try to act like this never happened. But it did.

He made his way upstairs and collapsed on his bed. It was hard for Luke to relax for a minute, to really let his guard down. He took his phone out of his pocket and saw that he had two new texts, one from Sam, and one from Ben.

I went to your place earlier and you weren’t there. What’s up?

Luke sighed, and decided against responding to Sam’s message. His heart ached at the thought of texting her, of having her text him back when it was so clear that she was still just out of his reach.

I’ll talk to her in school on Monday, figure things out there.

Ben’s text was shorter and more urgent.

Get in-game, now! We have a problem!

Luke winced as he read it. His dad had left, but if he caught him with the headset on again, there would be hell to pay.

This could involve the guild hall. Our guild hall…

Luke moved quickly, setting up his laptop on his desk and plugging in the headset.

CHAPTER 16

Luke reentered Yvvaros in the same place where he’d logged out earlier, the guildhall. It was dark and he could hear the sound of arguing coming from nearby. The blue light from the azure moon revealed three figures standing outside in the desert sands.

“Look, I’m sure we can come to a deal, but I can’t agree to anything until my other guild members get here.” Silverstrike was standing in front of two players that Luke had never seen before, both of them decked out in expensive looking plate armor.

“Other guild members?” The one standing nearest to Silverstrike was clearly the one in charge, and he had a self-satisfied smirk on his face. “Your guild hall looks like it was just built. How big can your Council guild possibly be?”

“It’s actually called The Consulate, not the council,” said Luke.

Luke stepped out through the guild hall’s front door and saw the attention of the strangers turn to him. He walked over, adjusting to the controls of the game and readying himself for anything.

“What’s going on here?” he asked. “Do the two of you need something?”

The leader raised one of his eyebrows, his smile turning further up into an amused grin.

“Yes, you could say that.” He paused, and then looked over to the oasis, the jewel of Dunidan’s Rest. “My name is Marcus. I’m the guild leader of the Revolutionary Rebels.”

Luke nodded.

“I’m Kato. Guild member of The Consulate.”

“Kato, let me put this in simple, straightforward terms,” said Marcus. “My attempt at diplomacy seems to have gone over your friend’s head, so I see no reason to beat around the bush with you. I want access to water from your oasis.”

Luke looked over at Silverstrike, who leaned in to whisper.

“I caught them snooping around the zone,” he said. “They didn’t explain this to me right off when I confronted them.”

Luke shrugged his shoulders.

“If you want water, I’m sure we can work something out,” said Luke. “The supply of it is limited by how much the oasis can produce per day, so you will have to compensate us for what you use.”

Marcus laughed and shook his head.

“I don’t think you understand what I’m offering,” he said. “You control one zone and have a tiny guild. The Revolutionary Rebels have taken control of five zones further into the desert, the latest one being right on the border with your zone. What is it that you call it again?”

“Dunidan’s Rest.” It took all of Luke’s effort to remain calm and cordial.

“Right… So here’s the deal. You can either join up with us and keep control over what you have here, or refuse, and make a new enemy. What’s it going to be, Kato?”

Luke looked over at Silverstrike.

This isn’t just up to me. Whatever I decide is going to affect Silverstrike and Tess, too.

Silverstrike shook his head ever so slightly, and Luke nodded.

“We’ve already made up our mind,” said Luke. “If you want water from us, then you meet our terms, not the other way around.”

The silence in the air was tense and loaded with violent potential. The only movement was from the wind, slowly blowing loose grains of sand across the crabgrass around the fertile land bordering the oasis.

Marcus made a sudden movement and Luke gripped the hilt of his sword.

“Whoa, whoa whoa!” The leader of the Revolutionary Rebels had his hands up harmlessly, but the look on his face was enough to keep Luke on guard. “No need to get violent. If that’s how it has to be, then so be it.”

Marcus nodded to his friend, and without a word, the two of them started off toward the south. There was a small sandstorm brewing on the horizon, and it made it look as though the two were disappearing off into a thick fog.

“That’s not the last we’ve heard from them,” said Silverstrike. “This is bad, man.”

Luke shook his head.

“We’ll figure out a way to handle whatever they throw at us.”

He walked over to the oasis and stared into it. The water was still crystal clear, even in the dark of night. The palm trees around it made him feel almost like he was cast adrift on a desert island.

How can this tiny little thing, a medium sized swimming hole in the middle of the desert, provoke such hostility?

“This is dangerous.” Silverstrike was shaking his head and chewing on his lower lip. “We have to start playing defense immediately.”

“Well, what do you suggest?” asked Luke. “If his guild is really as big as he says it is, then-”

“We need more people,” said Silverstrike. “More guild members. Dunidan’s Rest is prime territory. If we start advertising that we’re recruiting, I’m sure a ton of people will want to join up.”

Luke didn’t say anything. He couldn’t disagree with Ben’s logic, but he was still wary.

“Is this really the best idea?” Luke scratched his head and looked up into the night sky. “I mean, after what we went through with Arex?”

“What else can we do?” asked Silverstrike. “It’s either this or we essentially cede the zone to that dickhead. The three of us can’t defend it on our own.”

We can’t defend it on our own… yet.

Luke nodded to his friend and felt a smile creep its way onto his face.

“You’re right,” he said. “How about you take the lead in protecting things here, getting more members, if that’s what it takes, and I’ll work on some things on my own?”

“Like what?”

Luke looked up at the brilliant blue moon in the sky and suddenly felt empowered.

“I’m going to do the obvious thing,” he said. “Get stronger.”

He waited for Silverstrike to say something or object. Nothing came, and after a moment, Luke turned and headed off to the north, back across the Sarchia Desert.

Stark Town was almost empty. Luke was unsure if it was related to the time in the real world, or in-game, or just coincidental.

This is nice, for a change.

Kantor hung overhead, glowing with magical gold lights against the sky. Luke jogged through the town below, scanning the NPCs he came across until he spotted one that matched his needs.

“Can you help me, sir?” asked the NPC. “I’ve been cut off from my family’s homestead in the Msitu Wilds. I just need someone to go and make sure they’re okay.”

Luke slowed to a walk and made a beeline for the man. He was dressed in the rough-spun clothes of a farmer, but his face was crisscrossed with scars.

That’s the mark of a former militia man.

“I think I can help,” said Luke. “Just mark where the homestead is on my map.”

QUEST ACCEPTED: Jungle Homestead (Level 7)

“It’s not far in, right here,” said the man. “If it looks like they’re in danger, please, bring them back to Stark Town! I would do it myself if it weren't for the arrow I took through the knee.”

Luke smiled and began heading in the direction the man had indicated. Nights were shorter in Yvvaros than in the real world, and he could detect the faintest hints of a rising sun in the direction he was headed.

There were more players out now, but none of them were headed east. The Inner Plains gave way to jungle slowly, with the grass growing longer as more trees filled the fields, finally ending in the thick vegetation of the Msitu Wilds.

The homestead was in a clearing in the eastern reach, cut off from a direct route to Stark Town by a thick stretch of jungle. Luke readied his blade as he reached the barrier, heading into the dense forest with his guard up. The dawn light did little to penetrate the dark inside of the jungle. The land felt unpredictable and foreboding.

Off somewhere in the distance he could hear the cries of larger creatures. These were mixed with the rhythmic chirps of birds and insects. Strange, alien looking plants were mixed in with the trees and grass, some of them actively wiggling their vines and appendages as he walked by.

As Luke glanced over at one long, curling plant, he noticed a large purple spider walk across his foot. He flinched back and kicked it away.

The sooner I get this quest over with, the better.

Something moved in front of him and Luke swung his blade defensively. He saw a health bar pop up and disappear and the bush in front of him shook.

Whatever it is, I can’t see it. That means it’s…

He looked down just in time to see the aggressor. A large snake was slowly winding its way up his leg, not causing any damage, at least not to his health bar.

RED NYOKA: One of the many native snake species of the Msitu Wilds. Long-lived and continuously growing, they can reach sizes large enough to pose a threat to humans. This species often hunts in small groups.

Luke howled and began swinging his blade frantically.

His first strike hurt him as well as the creature. He pulled back and saw a second snake starting to wind its way up his other leg. Before he could do anything about it with his sword, a third had climbed onto him.

Fuck!

Luke swung his sword down, scratching what he could of the monsters, but causing no more than superficial damage. He lifted his sword up into the air and tried his best to kick the snakes free of his legs. When he brought his arm back into his field of view, a fourth snake had fallen out of a tree and begun wrapping itself around one of his arms.

Fuck Fuck Fuck!

Out of sheer desperation, Luke fell to the ground and tried to roll out of the snakes. It did nothing other than disorienting him. He could hear the hissing of more of the monsters approaching and forced himself back to standing on unsteady, weakened limbs. More snakes had arrived, and along with them, something stumbled out of the jungle that was beyond anything out of his wildest nightmares.

NYOKA COMBINE: A group organism, the result of many Red Nyoka’s working together to overcome a larger prey. It’s thought that Red Nyoka’s communicate through pheromones, much like ants or bees.

It was as though the snakes had taken human form. Luke stared at the hulking monstrosity, which had a head, four limbs, and the rudimentary structure of a human body, except with every inch of it replaced by angry, wriggling snakes.

Luke squeezed his sword and moved into the stance of the only combat ability that would still work in his current condition.

CONJURE SWORD

A magical sword materialized in the air in front of him. Luke maneuvered himself behind it and prepared to move on the attack.

He used the additional weapon in conjunction with his own blade to fight offensively while still defending. The conjured sword flew forward, stabbing holes into the Nyoka Combine like a diving fighter jet. His original sword he kept carefully positioned, using it to hack off the snakes already on him. It was a strategy that worked perfectly, up until the snake on his arm meandered up to his neck.

No!

Luke saw the health meter in the corner of his screen begin to drop fast. He focused on his conjured sword, taking a risk and sending it to attack the Nyoka Combine instead of helping himself.

His screen began to fade to black, and he brought his physical sword to his neck as he fell forward. It was as though he was trying to slit his own throat, with the snake under his chin taking the blow instead of his neck.

And then it was over. He was lying on the ground, still in the jungle, surrounded by dead and fleeing snakes.

“God damn,” he mumbled. Luke sat up and waited for his health to slowly regenerate, which it would as long as he kept resting. Without a healer with him, even small injuries could be dangerous if he didn’t allow himself time to recover.

The Nyoka Combine had collapsed. The snakes that formed its body were in reality just an outer shell. Underneath them was a long dead body of either a player or an NPC. Luke shuddered at the thought of potentially having to take its place.

He rested until his health had regenerated to about the halfway point. He pulled some bread out of his satchel and munched on it as he continued further into the jungle. Rustling noises, chirps, and creature calls came from every direction, a constant reminder of why he needed to move fast and get the quest over with.

CHAPTER 17

The sun was poking its way up on the horizon as Luke spilled out of the jungle and into the clearing that had been marked on his map. It was a small valley, and he hadn’t realized it from looking at his map, but it was right next to one of the smaller jungle volcanos which the Msitu Wilds were so well known for.

The volcano was a large bulge poking up out of the grass. Composed of black rock, it looked recently resurfaced and was bare of any vegetation. Luke watched it suspiciously. He knew it could erupt at any time.

In the clearing, he saw the homestead and made his way toward it. The building looked like a smaller, more residential version of his guild hall. The construction style was very similar, but there was a modest barn in the yard and a fenced in area that looked like it was meant to contain livestock. Luke walked over to the door and knocked on it softly.

“Yes? Who’s there?” The voice on the other side was soft, feminine, and very frightened.

“Your husband sent me,” said Luke. “I’m here to make sure that you’re safe.”

The door opened, and a woman poked her head out. Even though Luke knew that she was an NPC, the realistic expression on her face and the way her eyes softened as she saw at him made it hard to not view her as a human.

“Oh, thank the Universal Truth,” said the woman. “My daughter and I… We’ve been trapped in our cottage for an entire week. Something has been attacking from outside.”

Luke looked deeper into the house and saw a young girl, maybe twelve or thirteen years old, standing behind the mother.

“What’s been attacking you?” asked Luke. “And how in the world have you managed to stay safe?”

The woman shook her head.

“I don’t know what it is, or if it’s even just one creature,” she said. “We lock our doors and hide in the closet every night. It gives up eventually and leaves. That’s all we’ve been able to do.”

She’s part of this quest, and she’s just an NPC, but she’s still in danger.

“Come on,” said Luke. “I’m going to escort you back to Stark Town.

Luke waited for the two of them to grab what they needed from the homestead and join him outside. He glanced around the clearing and up at the volcano, and then began leading them toward the jungle.

This shouldn’t be too hard…

As if on cue, a large catlike creature with a strange blue hue to its fur leaped out of the bushes and at the woman.

PAKA DEMON: One of the more common predators of the Msitu Wilds. An ambush predator, it can extend its claws outward to increase the range and strength of its attacks.

Luke was only just fast enough to spear it using Pierce Attack 2 before it made contact. The little girl let out a convincing scream as he finished the beast off.

“Stay close,” said Luke. “We can’t stop moving until we’ve reached the Inner Plains.”

The sun was hanging in the sky behind them as they slipped beneath the canopy of the trees. Luke had only taken a couple of steps forward into the foliage when a soft rumbling came from the valley.

“What was that?” asked the woman.

Luke looked and immediately realized their situation was growing more dangerous by the second. Magma was erupting in spurts from the crater of a nearby volcano, splashing out into the jungle behind and to the sides of them. They had a minute, maybe two at most, before it set fire to the trees, the vegetation, and them.

“We have to move fast!” yelled Luke. “Stay close!”

He grabbed onto the hand of the woman, who grabbed onto the hand of her daughter, and began moving forward. A Red Nyoka slithered out of a nearby hole, but Luke put it down with several quick, coordinated strikes. He then used Conjure Sword to create an additional sword for defense.

The dense jungle limited how fast they could move. Luke took a look back at the volcano as they pushed deeper in and saw that lava was nearing the edge of the trees. He began using the conjured sword to cut through the grass and bushes, wishing that he’d invested more attribute points in Speed.

“Don’t stop!” he cried. “We’re almost there!”

To the left, he saw another Nyoka Combine fighting with a creature that looked like a zombified gorilla. Luke tried to pull the woman and the girl past before they were noticed but both monsters turned their attention away from each other and toward the group.

“Keep going!” Luke stepped to shield the woman and her daughter from the oncoming attacks. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute!”

He only just barely managed to get the words out when snakes began wrapping him up the same way they had before. This time, there were five on him before he could do anything about it. Luke whirled and killed one of them with a lucky strike, hearing the familiar chime of his experience bar ticking over to the next level.

LEVEL 8 ATTAINED

NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: CONJURE SWORD 2

“What…?” Luke didn’t have any time to examine his upgraded powers or drop in his new attribute points. The gorilla monster was lunging toward him, and he reflexively swung his blade at it.

CORRUPTED KENDRO: One of the fallen monsters created during the Severance Onslaught. Reproduces by killing and reconstituting the docile host Kendro.

Luke sensed the woman and her child close by. They had ignored his instruction to run.

“Get back!” Luke positioned himself in between them and their enemies.

CONJURE SWORD 2

Two conjured swords appeared instead of the one that Luke was used to. He focused and began using them to put up a fight against the Red Nyokas that had wrapped themselves around his legs and waist. Luke swung his original sword at the Corrupted Kendro, holding it at bay as the conjured swords played defense.

Luke whirled around, cutting through anything within range of his sword. Soon the air became thick with blades.

I need to get back to the soldier’s family!

He left his conjured swords behind to distract the monsters and looked around for the women. The lava had reached the trees, and behind him a wall of flame was approaching with surprising speed.

Luke spotted the woman and her daughter and felt his heart sink. A Nyoka Combine had enveloped them and the women appeared to be collapsing under the weight of the serpents.

“No!” Luke began chopping into the snakes but by the time he’d cut through all of the reptilian layers, it was already too late. The mother’s health bar was empty, and her body lay still. The flames behind him were closing in, and there was no time left.

“Mommy!” The little girl had survived but now fell to her knees beside her fallen mother. Luke scooped her up in his arms and began to sprint forward, feeling the heat of the inferno behind him closing down on his back.

He didn’t stop running, even after he’d crashed out of the jungle and into the clearing that separated the grass lands from the eastern reach. Tears were streaming from the little girl’s face, and a strange guilt had taken hold in Luke’s heart.

She was just an NPC, a non-playable character… Is this how I’m supposed to be feeling?

It was mid-morning in Stark Town, and finding the soldier again was made easier by the sun’s light. He stared at Luke blankly at first, and then his face shifted, becoming a mask of pain.

“Oh my god…” he cried. “Savannah… Did she?”

Luke nodded.

QUEST COMPLETED

LEVEL 9 ATTAINED

NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: ELEMENTAL INFUSION

It was too hard for him to look the man in the eyes, NPC or not. Luke took the gold reward that the man had promised him without a word and then walked away, not even bothering to think about the two levels worth of attribute points waiting to be assigned.

It’s just a game… It’s just a game.

The level up icon was flashing in the corner of Luke’s screen, along with a small red envelope that signified he’d received a new message. He reached into his bag and pulled out the letter.

Hey Kato!

I just got in-game, but I can only stay on for a couple of minutes. I left you a present in the guild hall, in case I don’t see you before I have to log off.

Tess

The message was exactly what Luke felt like he needed, but at the same time it made him feel vulnerable in a way that he never had before. He began walking through Stark Town toward Dunidan’s Rest, feeling as though he had something of his own to protect.

On his way there, Luke stopped in the merchant’s square to buy a couple of things with his newfound gold. His equipment was still decent for his level, and there was something else on his mind, something that pulled him toward the crafting ingredient merchant.

Luke left the merchant with a set of blueprints, and a satchel full of iron ore, almost enough to match what had been used in the building of his guild hall. He hurried through the southern section of the Inner Plains and across the border into the Sarchia Desert, hoping that Tess would still be around when he got to their zone.

The guild hall was empty when he arrived. Inside, there was another note lying on the ground, and underneath it was something that put a grin on his face the moment he saw it.

Hey, Kato,

I hope you enjoy it! An adventurer traded it to me in exchange for some water from the oasis. We’re sitting on a gold mine!

Tess

It was a rare one-handed longsword, the type of weapon that a Sword Saint could put to good use. Luke lifted it off the floor of the guild hall and took a closer look at it. It felt unwieldy in his hand, as though an intangible force was keeping him from being able to use it to its full potential.

WYVERN STRIKER

LEVEL REQUIRED: 8

Luke suddenly remembered the flashing level up icon in the corner of his screen and pulled out his journal. He divided the ten attribute points out between Strength, Agility, Endurance, Speed, and Luck, and slipped the journal back into his bag.

The sword gleamed as though it had only just been forged. There was a large sapphire encrusted into the handle. It shone the same color of blue as the larger moon in the night sky.

The hilt was wrapped in leather, and the cross guard had been forged into the actual blade. It felt light in his hand, now that he was at a high enough level to use it, it perfectly balanced and razor sharp.

I’ll have to thank Tess the next time I see her.

Luke looked forward to being able to build up the guild hall with her and delve into the world of Yvvaros even further, exploring the vast continent and discovering what the game had to offer. He walked outside the guild hall and using the iron and the leftover wood from the construction of the hall, he began working on his next objective.

Yvvaros allowed for player constructed buildings to be upgraded with a variety of different structures. After the encounter with Marcus and the Revolutionary Rebels, Luke had only one thing on his mind in regards to protecting their guild hall.

The blueprints he’d purchased were for a basic wall, and he pulled them out of his satchel to inspect. It was a resource intensive project, but the gold he’d earned from his last quest had been enough to get him the iron he needed for it.

It didn’t take long, certainly not as long as building a similar enclosure in real life would have taken. Soon enough he had the area fully walled in. He then fashioned a gate in the front, right across from the door to the guild hall and then took a look at his handiwork.

The oasis, the guild hall, and most of the fertile land in the zone had been sealed off. Anyone coming through from that point on would just see the dry desert and an outpost surrounded by a fence. The wall itself was not indestructible, but it would give them the time they needed to react to any outside invaders that wanted to move against them.

Not half bad, for a day’s work.

Luke walked back into the guild hall, taking a second to create two extra keys for the guild’s new gate. He pulled out parchment and envelopes from his bag and sent a key along with a message to both Tess and Silverstrike.

There. Now we’ll all have access, except for any new guild members that Silverstrike might have-

Luke’s body seized up as his headset was pulled off of him. His eyes hurt, and it took his mind several seconds to process the fact that he was back in his room, back in the real world. Standing in front of him was his dad, along with a woman that he had never seen before.

Not again…

CHAPTER 18

“And here’s my son…” Chris Smith stood next to Luke at his desk, holding a half-empty bottle of liquor in one hand and the hand of a lady friend in the other. “Making his old man proud by becoming a slave to a fucking video game.”

Luke turned and glared at his father.

Easy now, he’s drunk.

“It’s the video game that you helped design, dad,” he said. “Doesn’t that make you just as responsible?”

Chris Smith laughed and then whispered something in the woman’s ear, which caused her to also break out into a cackle.

“You think you’re so fucking clever,” he said. “You don’t know a goddamn thing.”

Luke stood up from his desk and resisted the urge to get in his dad’s face. Instead, he stood where he was and remained silent, waiting for the man to continue.

“Find somewhere else to be for the next few hours.” His dad’s words were slurred, but that didn’t reduce their bite. “We want the place to ourselves for a bit.”

Mom would be so proud if she could see us right now.

Luke bit his tongue and walked over to start packing up his laptop. At the very least, he figured he could check in with Ben and see if he could stay there for the night.

“Leave that shit.” Chris’s voice was sharp and angry. “I’m ashamed that my own son ever started playing it in the first place.”

“Dad, hold on, I-”

“Are you fucking arguing with me, Luke?”

Luke didn’t say anything.

He won’t hesitate to break things, including my bones, as drunk as he is.

Instead of putting up any further resistance, he walked around his dad and the woman and hurried down the stairs. It took every ounce of his willpower to not scream out in rage, to put a voice to the emotion that was welling up in his chest, like boiling water inside of a covered pot.

It’s not my fault…

Luke could still remember how his dad was, back before the man had changed into his current volatile self. He’d been a kind man, a loving father, and someone that he’d looked up to.

The car crash had changed everything. Luke had been there, sitting in the passenger seat. He’d been arguing with his mom about something insignificant, a toy that he’d wanted that she wouldn’t buy. She hadn’t seen the other car speeding toward them. The driver had been drunk and run a red light, and all Luke remembered was the sound of his own screaming and the blood.

If I’d just kept my mouth shut and let her focus on the road…

His mother’s loss had created an unbridgeable void. Luke had withdrawn, as had his father. As Luke had grown older and begun to live his own life, his guilt, and his father’s anger had intensified in proportion to each other.

Their relationship was broken, but in a way that made a twisted kind of sense. The way their dysfunctional relationship worked let both of them express their powerful emotions without ever requiring them to actually come to terms with them.

The first thing Luke did after being ejected from his home was to take a deep, calming breath. The second thing he did was slam his fist into the door of his dad’s car, causing no real damage beyond a small unnoticeable dent. His hand throbbed.

It was past nine, and the stars were clearly visible in the night sky. Luke walked down the street with no particular destination in mind. He thought about Yvvaros, about Ben and his avatar, about the guild hall, and about Tess. It was a world that made sense to him, unlike the one that he physically resided in.

He walked to the park, more out of habit than a conscious decision. It was beginning to cool off and Luke wished that he had a sweatshirt. He slowed as he approached one of the empty park benches.

“Luke…”

He turned around and saw Sam walking by on the sidewalk with a group of her friends. She said something to them and then split off. She walked over to him with an unhappy look on her face.

“Oh, hey,” he said. “What’s up, Sam?”

“You never texted back earlier. It feels like you’ve been avoiding me.”

Luke shrugged.

“What does it really matter, anyway?”

Sam glared at him and walked closer to the other side of the bench. She leaned forward against it, letting her face showcase all of her emotions.

“Luke, you… kissed me.” Her tone of voice started out full of anger, and then slowly softened as she went on. “It’s not like we can pretend that it didn’t happen.”

Luke’s chest felt tight with emotion.

“So what, Sam? You have a boyfriend, and it’s not me.”

Sam was silent for a long moment.

“You never used to be like this, so indifferent, and so… passive.” She paused and continued. “It’s the game, Luke. It’s that stupid VR game.”

Luke shook his head but said nothing.

“I know it is,” she said. “It’s changed you.”

“Why is it that everyone seems to view VR as a gateway to hell or something?” Luke sighed and stared up into the sky. “Maybe, just maybe, there is a reason why I find it so compelling. A reason that goes beyond wasting my time or escaping from my problems, whatever it is that you think.”

“Luke…”

Sam reached her hand out and set it on top of his.

“You’ve been going through something lately. I don’t know what it is, but…”

Sam’s emotions were staring out of the windows of her eyes.

“I want to be here for you, Luke.” She took a deep breath. “I want to be here for you more than I want to be with Mike.”

Sam slowly came around to the other side of the bench and let her arms wrap around Luke.

What…

“Sam… I…” Luke’s jaw was stupidly agape, and he blinked several times. “I don’t know what to say. Are you serious?”

Sam nodded and smiled at him with tears in her eyes.

“I’m serious.”

Without any hesitation, Luke pulled her tight against him. Her body was tiny and soft, but the static in his mind made it almost impossible for him to notice.

Tess…

“Luke…” Sam set her hand to his cheek, and the next thing Luke knew, they were kissing. She tasted like sweet strawberries, and he could feel her lips against his. “I want us to spend tomorrow together, Luke. I want us to go on a date, a real date.”

How in the world is this happening?

Despite himself, Luke began nodding.

This is Sam. This is what I used to dream about.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s… go on a date.”

Sam hugged him again, for a long time.

“I… I should get going.” She kissed him on the cheek and then slowly parted. “Text me. I’m serious about this, Luke.”

“Sam…”

She turned and walked away, looking over her shoulder at him as she went as if trying to impart some final hidden message. Luke’s heart skipped a strange rhythm, and for the first time in a long time, his physical body, his real body, felt happy and buoyant.

What does this mean for Kato? What does this mean for Tess?

He stood in the park for a long time. After a while, he began to wonder what time it was. He was acutely aware of much he needed sleep. Despite wanting to know the time, Luke was reluctant to check his phone. A text message from Sam or Ben, or Tess, if there was magically a way, could set his life on a new, uncharted course. Luke was scared of change.

A cold breeze swept against his back, sneaking in under the hem of his thin t-shirt.

Luke slowly began to head back to his place. He stood outside the front door once he’d reached the house, pressing his ear to it and listening in, confirming the silence before heading inside.

He was tired, and it didn’t take him long to get to sleep.

CHAPTER 19

Luke woke up comparatively early, for a Sunday. It was around the time that he’d usually get up for school, and he found himself wide awake.

Last night… did that really happen?

He reached over and grabbed his phone as if to confirm. A quick scan of the home screen revealed no new texts. Luke sighed and swung his legs over the edge of his bed, slowly rising to his feet.

After brushing his teeth and taking a shower, Luke took his time picking out an outfit. He wanted to spend as much of the day out of the house and away from his dad as possible. Ben would be around to work on the guild in-game. And then there was Sam…

She said she wanted to go on a date today…

Luke grabbed his bag and stuffed his computer and headset into it. He made his way downstairs as silently as his feet would carry him, stopping to grab an apple and a package of pop tarts from the kitchen before slipping out through the front door. He walked quickly as he ate and instead of heading straight to Ben’s house, he took the long way around.

A strange rhythm was developing in Luke’s life, and it made him feel as though his priorities were beginning to change. He wanted to get to Ben’s house and play Yvvaros. He wanted to text Sam and go on the real date she had suggested. But it didn’t feel like he could choose to do both.

I’ll just start out at Ben’s, and then figure out what’s going on with me and Sam later.

When he finally arrived outside the front door of Ben’s house, Luke knocked as softly as he could to still be heard. He waited for what felt like at least a minute before the door opened.

“Luke, hey…” Emily was standing in the doorway, smiling. She wore a thin nightgown that looked phenomenal on her. “Come on in. I’m not sure if Ben is awake yet but you are always welcome.”

“Thanks, Emily.”

Luke walked forward as Emily stepped back and allowed him in. She gently closed the door behind him, an odd tension settled in to the air.

She’s just… watching me?

Luke awkwardly scratched his head. It looked as though Emily wanted to say something to him, something important but was holding it back.

“I should probably go wake Ben up,” he finally said, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, of course.” Emily crossed her arms and looked as though she was searching for her tongue. “Uhm… Luke?”

“What’s up?”

“I… I can make you guys breakfast after if you get hungry.”

Luke smiled.

“Sure, that would be great.”

She’s acting weird.

He made his way upstairs and into his friend’s room. Ben was still sprawled out in bed, tangled in blankets and thankfully, wearing pajamas underneath. Luke pulled up a desk chair and gently began shaking him by the shoulder.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” said Luke. “We’ve got a guild to expand and monsters to slay.”

“Uhhh…” Ben looked as though he was still in the midst of a comforting dream. He slapped Luke’s hand away before slowly beginning to stir. “What time is it?”

“Half past eight,” said Luke. “I figured we might as well get an early start.”

Ben rubbed his eyes open and then sat up in bed.

“Fine.” He yawned and stretched his arms in an almost exaggerated caricature of a middle-aged man. “Can you pass me what’s in my top desk drawer?”

Luke opened the desk and found, unsurprisingly, Ben’s pipe and a bottle of prescription pain meds.

“Really? This early in the morning?” Luke frowned. “Can’t you at least wait until the afternoon?”

Ben climbed out of bed and slid Luke and the chair aside. He tossed a couple of pills into his mouth and took a hit of the pipe with quick, practiced movements, as though they had been a part of his morning ritual for a very long time.

“You have got to start thinking about cutting back,” said Luke. “This isn’t a healthy way for you to go through life.”

“Says who?” Ben exhaled a bit of smoke with each word. “It helps dull the pain, a lot. And besides, it’s no different from zoning out and playing Yvvaros.

Yvvaros… is more than just something to zone out into.

“Whatever,” said Luke. “But come on. Think about what your sister would say.”

Ben laughed.

“Emily isn’t exactly as well adjusted as she looks,” he said. “There’s a reason why she’s been home from school this year.”

“I thought it was to look after you?”

Ben shook his head.

“I’m only telling you this because you’re my close friend. Don’t let her know I told you, seriously. Luke, at the end of last spring, she attempted suicide.”

“Jesus…”

Emily? Suicide? She seems so happy.

The silence was interrupted by Ben taking another hit from his pipe.

“Anyway, all I’m trying to say is that we shouldn’t get too caught up in self-analyzing. Sorry to dampen your mood.” He walked over to his desk and took his wallet off of it. “Come on, they’re releasing the new version of the Gamesoft VR headset today. I have one preordered, and I figure if we get to the store early enough, we can scoop up another before they run out of stock.”

“Dude, I don’t have money for that.”

“Consider it a loan.” Ben walked across the hall to the bathroom and started brushing his teeth. “We… need you… playing at your best.”

“Alright, sure,” said Luke. “What makes these headsets so important? The ones we have already work well enough, don’t they?”

Ben spat into the sink.

“These ones don’t have screens, or speakers, or anything like the ones we use now. These headsets induce a noninvasive transcranial neural connection.”

“Uh, you mean like… a brain implant, or something?” Luke tried to not sound as confused as he felt.

“They are a bit more sophisticated than that,” said Ben. “You put on the headset, and the electrodes connect through the skin of your head, to your brain.”

“Does this mean I’m going to have to shave my head?”

Ben grinned.

“No. A bit of saline solution on each one should do the trick. Come on, let’s go.”

Emily was still downstairs and still in her nightgown as Luke and Ben made their way by. She gave the two of them a curious glance.

“No early morning gaming session?”

Ben shook his head.

“New headsets to buy,” he said. “They make the current generation of VR equipment look like old CRT TVs in comparison.”

Emily looked a little thrown. Her arm stopped stirring the bowl she had a spoon dipped into and she bit her bottom lip.

“Oh…” she said. “Oh yeah, I have to run some errands… I probably won’t leave until you two get back, but just so you know, that’s where I’ll be.”

“Whatever sis,” said Ben. “Come on, Luke.”

The gaming store was in their town’s tiny commercial district. It took Luke and Ben about half an hour to walk to, and once they got there, they were greeted by a surprisingly large crowd of mostly teenagers and younger adults.

“It looks like we weren’t the only ones anticipating the new Gamesoft release,” said Ben. “Come on, let’s push through the crowd.”

Luke nodded and began making his way through the mass of people, toward where the headsets were lined up along the back wall.

This is the same type of crowd I’m always running into in Stark Town and Kantor, and many of these same people are probably part the game.

There was only a half dozen of the new headsets left. Luke worried for a moment that they might not end up with theirs, but Ben elbowed a husky, bearded man out of the way to scoop one up.

“Alright, they should have the one I reserved behind the counter,” he said. “Let’s pay for them and get out of here.”

“Sounds good to me.”

After another half hour or so of waiting in line, they were finally able to pay for the headsets. Luke thought for a moment that he hadn’t heard the cashier correctly when he told them the price. Ben paid it without batting an eyelash, and they each carried a bag outside.

“How can you afford that?” Luke was shaking his head in disbelief. “That’s… $700 I’m going to owe you? Jesus, man, it’s going to take me an eternity to pay off.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Ben. “I’m not exactly strapped for cash. My parents give both me and Emily an expense account for all our needs.”

The walk back to Ben’s felt as though it went by much more quickly than the walk out had, even though they were going a bit slower. Ben stared at the back of the box and read aloud from it, hyping Luke up with the immersive details that the advertising copy promised.

“This is the ultimate VR experience. You don’t have to use gestures anymore, and there’s even touch sensory feedback in-game.”

“How is that supposed to work?” Luke couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s enthusiasm.

“Its cutting-edge technology, man,” said Ben. “The original VR headsets were just as mind blowing when they came out. So was the television, and the radio, back in the day.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true enough.”

The two of them headed to Ben’s house. Emily had left on the errands that she’d mentioned before, and Luke and Ben began unboxing the headsets in the living room.

“Whoa… this looks interesting.”

Luke held one of the headsets in his hand and took a careful look at it. On the outside, it resembled the previous model, but on the inside it was as though the entire headset had been gutted, the screens and tiny speakers replaced with odd-looking circular, sponge covered electrodes.

“I’ve seen a couple of crazy tech demos of what they can do,” said Ben. “They’re being used in therapeutic applications, like helping quadriplegics and people with locked-in syndrome live normal lives again.”

“What do you think it… feels like?” Luke turned the headset over again in his hands, touching it with the kind of reverence that a musician would afford an expensive new instrument.

“There’s only one way to find out!”

They each took a headset and walked upstairs to Ben’s room. Luke opened his laptop and connected all of the wires, finding it just as easy to set up the new model as it had been with the old one. He started up the Yvvaros launcher and made it all the way through the log in sequence, up to the black screen informing him that it was time to put the headset on.

“Ready?” He glanced over at Ben at his desk and saw him nod.

Luke pulled on the headset, pressed enter on the keyboard, and everything changed in an instant.

CHAPTER 20

It’s… real.

Luke blinked several times and took a deep breath, feeling the air actually rush into his lungs. The room smelt of fresh wood and dry sand and his body felt hot, as though he was at the beach on a summer afternoon. He stared down at his hand and flexed his fingers, feeling a chill run down his spine as he watched the wrinkles on his palm shift from the movement.

He was no longer in Ben’s room. He was in the guild hall, the same guild hall that he had worked to build up the day before, and there was nothing surreal or unconvincing about it.

“Ben? I mean, Silverstrike…?”

After a moment, Luke saw his friend’s avatar walk over to him from across the room. With the old headset, he’d noticed Ben’s mannerisms and body language bleeding through into his in-game character, but never to this extent. After a mild episode of cognitive dissonance that was only reconciled by pure strength of will, Luke nodded to his friend, accepting him as him.

“Come on,” said Silverstrike. “Let’s go outside.”

Luke felt unbelievably unnerved as he walked out of the guild hall and into the area surrounding their little oasis. His stomach felt on edge, but in the exact opposite of the usual way, as if it was threatening to take in what he was seeing rather than pushing it out.

The heat was dry and a bit oppressive. The sand sunk and shifted underneath his feet, and tiny ants scurried about a couple of feet away, more visible and convincing than they’d ever been before. Luke could hear the wind in the distance, and see the air wavering on the horizon to the south where the desert grew even hotter.

“This is… unbelievable.” Luke shook his head and looked over at Silverstrike, who was grinning from ear to ear. “This is real. This is no different from walking around in the real world.”

A mild feeling of claustrophobia began to build inside Luke’s chest, intensifying as a single thought began to echo inside his head.

What if I can’t log out? What if I can’t go back?

It felt like he was in a dream that he couldn’t wake up from, and even though it wasn’t necessarily a bad one, the lack of control added a sense of vulnerability to every second. Luke took another deep breath and looked back at Silverstrike, who didn’t seem to be sharing his concerns.

“This is perfect!” he cried. “Kato, let’s go check out the rest of the zone! Let’s go for a swim in the oasis.”

Kato… That’s who I am in this world.

Luke turned and made eye contact with Ben, Silverstrike. There was something shared with his friend’s eyes, a sense of understanding, mixed with acceptance. Silverstrike nodded to him, and then ran over to the oasis and climbed in.

Luke walked over to where he was and just stared. Silverstrike’s clothes were wet, and even though the water was not that deep, he let out a deep, satisfied laugh.

“Come on, get in!” Silverstrike smiled at Luke. “Trust me, you won’t regret it. We’re in the desert, and the water is perfect.”

We’re in the desert… We are, aren’t we?

Luke stepped forward into the clear pool, feeling the fresh water soak into his shoes. It was unreal but real. It was exciting and scary at the same time, Luke’s awe and unease began to fight for control as he moved to where Silverstrike was and slowly lowered himself into a seat beside him.

“This is too weird,” he said. “How much of this is… believable?”

“It all is,” said Silverstrike. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Silverstrike gestured to the sand and desert all around them and then slapped his palm flat against the water.

“This is a world just like ours, Kato. The only difference is the perspective we enter it with.”

Luke shrugged.

“It’s convincing, sure, but…” He looked into the water again. “It’s still just a game in the end.”

“Maybe.” Silverstrike leaned his arm back against the sand and watched intently as tiny grains of it stuck to the wet drops dripping from his skin. “This water we’re in right now… we need it, even in the game.”

Luke nodded, and he continued.

“I’m not sure if you noticed, but the small animals of the desert, the mice, the rodents, the hoppers, they need water, too. I’ve seen them come by the oasis before.”

That makes sense. They must also have stats, stamina bars to keep up.

“What’s your point?” asked Luke.

“I think we should be open to giving away the water in our zone.” Silverstrike paused, and for a moment Luke thought he was joking.

“Why in the world would we start doing that?” asked Luke. “Isn’t this what we just began a fight over?”

“We’ll do it because it’s a savvy political move,” said Silverstrike. “And we’ll do it because it’s the right thing to do. But we won’t give it away to just anyone.”

A small, scruffy looking mouse was approaching the opposite edge of the oasis from where the two of them were lounging. Luke watched as it slowly made its way over to the side of the water and began to drink.

“We should give water to solo players,” said Silverstrike. “And we should give water to guilds that are small, like ours.”

“It would certainly be a straightforward way to buy some loyalty,” said Luke. “I’m not opposed to that aspect of it.”

This is Ben, but he’s changed so much. He’s still Ben, but in-game, he is someone more than that. He’s Silverstrike.

“I’ve begun vetting some people for the guild.” Silverstrike looked abashed, as though he was concerned that Luke might get angry with him. “Don’t worry, the ones I’m considering will be an asset.”

I trust Ben, Silverstrike… Don’t I?

“Okay,” said Luke.

They would need more people to protect the guild hall. That was just a fact, and Luke didn’t dispute it. What clawed at the back of his mind was a growing sense of instability, pushing in between him and the new world just as he began to accept it.

We’re less than a week into this game, and we’re already fighting against other players. And the stakes feel as though they’ve been artificially raised to a level that’s beyond what Yvvaros should be capable of.

Something appeared in the corner of Luke’s vision and he instinctively flinched back. It was a tiny red envelope, the indicator that he’d received a new message. Luke climbed out of the oasis and began to dig through his bag. The contents were still somehow totally dry even though they had just followed him into a pool of simulated water. The message was from Tess.

Kato

Meet me in Stark Town. I found something you might be interested in.

Tess

Luke smiled. Silverstrike had walked back into the guild hall and was sitting at a table that Luke hadn’t seen before, scribbling away on a piece of parchment.

“Tess has got something for us,” said Luke. “You want to go check it out?”

Silverstrike shook his head.

“I’m setting up a preliminary guild meeting for later today,” he said. “There is another guild in the area, not the Rebels, but a friendly guild. They want to talk terms for the water.”

Luke nodded.

“You’re really taking to this diplomacy thing, aren’t you?”

Silverstrike didn’t look up from the parchment, but Luke saw the slightest hint of a smirk on his face.

“What can I say? There’s a lot of it to be done if we want to hold this zone.”

Luke left the guild hall and walked out into the dry, hot desert air. He could even feel his body sweating though it was hard for him to understand just why that had been included in the simulation.

I’m hungry, too. Or at least I feel like I am…

His stamina bar was down to a third of his maximum length. Luke walked over to the oasis, cupped his hands together, and scooped some water up to his mouth. It was cool and refreshing,  like the purest water he’d ever had in the outside world.

His stamina increased and he filled it even further by eating some bread from his bag, thick crusted and deliciously soft on the inside.

Alright, time to meet up with Tess.

Traveling in the game worked differently with the new headset on. Luke felt as though he had to pace himself as he moved across the desert, his feet sinking into the stamina sapping sand with every step.

Other players occasionally passed by and Luke would watch them, judging whether they were friendly or not by assessing them through their eye contact. It was much more revealing than it had been.

Stark Town was buzzing with activity, and the noise of a thousand different conversations created a vocal background hum. Luke felt like he was experiencing the city, actually experiencing it, for the first time. The sun was almost directly overhead, and it had the effect of creating a perfectly circular shadow from where Kantor blocked out the light above them.

“Kato!” Tess was standing next to a small merchant stall, holding what looked like a map. She waved to him and Luke hurried over.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s going on?”

Tess handed the map to him and smiled. Northern Stark Town was at the bottom of it, and the focus was on the area far to the north. It had been painted with watercolors. Luke could see how the light green of the Inner Plains slowly gave way to the white and blue of the northern mountainous regions and the tundra valley beyond them.

“This is the Blue Void,” said Luke. “Is that where we’re headed?”

He looked up at her and almost did a double take. The new headset had changed more than just how he saw the in-game world and felt the environment. Tess brushed a couple of strands of hair out of her face and smiled at him, not just with her beautiful lips, but with her eyes, too.

“I have to finish finding the crafting ingredients I need for the guild’s new carpet,” she said. “But I thought you might be interested in giving it a go.”

“Yeah, of course,” said Luke. “But what is it, exactly?

Tess stepped in closer to him. Luke could smell her scent, for the first time ever, and it was enough to make his heart start beating madly in his chest.

Calm down, it’s just Tess…

“There is a World Event taking place in the Blue Void. If you head through the mountain pass in between the Teeth of the North, you should be able to find it pretty easily..”

“What’s the event, though?” Luke scratched his head. “A snowman building contest? A sledding race?”

Tess laughed. The sound was sweet on Luke’s ears, like the ringing of a soft bell.

“They’re calling it, ‘The Winter Beast.' Some type of monster that has been making its way out of the blizzard zones in the far north toward the south. If you help fight it, you get a share of the bounty money for it, even if you don’t strike the killing blow.”

Luke smiled.

“That’s perfect. I’ll… get started right away.”

Contrary to his words, Luke stood right where he was for a moment longer. He couldn’t turn away, and it almost felt as though Tess’s gorgeous eyes were pulling him in. The area around them was crowded and full of noise, but the silence between them was powerful enough to drown all of it out.

Tess slowly leaned forward and into a kiss. Luke felt an explosion go off inside his chest. He let his hands rest on her hips, and he could feel the warmth of her body through her robe. She was soft and perfect.

“Tess…” He couldn’t keep from grinning as they parted.

“I need to shop!” Tess hopped backward and blew him a kiss. “I’ll see you later, Kato!”

This is amazing…

CHAPTER 21

The journey north took longer than Luke had been expecting. He bought some extra food on the way out of Stark Town, and then slowly began traveling across the Inner Plains to the north. There were some other players headed in the same direction, toward the same goal, and it gave him a sense of being a part an expedition.

Some of the zones that were right outside of the Inner Plains had been claimed, with guild halls similar to the one in Dunidan’s Rest.

Luke fought off a couple of Yvva Wolves as he went. These were the same creatures that had given him and Silverstrike so much trouble at the start of the game. Now the fights were one sided he didn’t even need to use any of his combat abilities.

A thin rugged forest marked the boundary between the end of the Inner Plains and the start of the Blue Void. The ground was coated with a thin carpet of pine needles. As Luke made his way deeper into the woods, the canopy overhead blocked out most of the sun’s light. Unlike the Msitu Wilds, the forest in the north felt much emptier, quiet and barren.

The trek through the forest was filled with interludes of silence broken up by encounters with aggressive creatures and occasionally friendly encounters with other players. After about an hour, Luke spilled out to the other side. The trees didn’t slowly taper off, but rather, came to a stop altogether, as though there was a line past which they could not grow.

The mountains that loomed on the horizon like strange, snow dusted pyramids were the Teeth of the North. It was suddenly cold, colder than what Luke had been expecting, and the ground underneath him was frozen and dusted with fine powdered snow.

This is the Blue Void. It’s remote, even by the standards of Yvvaros.

Luke could see another player who had thought the trip through further than he had. He was wearing snowshoes and making good time toward a small gap in between the nearest two mountains.

Luke followed the player, taking high steps through the snow as it began to grow deeper and more troublesome to move through. After a minute or two, he was hopping forward instead of walking, mimicking the gait of a snow rabbit as he did his best to keep from disturbing the snow with his movements.

As he passed into the mountains, snow began to fall from the sky. Luke would have found it fun and exciting if it wasn’t for how cold he was. Instead of marveling at the work the developers, his father included, put into creating the unique snowflakes, he cursed and rubbed his hands together for warmth.

I just need to get to this Winter Beast, help take it down, and then get back.

Luke’s stamina bar drained more quickly in the tundra, and he found himself grateful for the extra food he’d brought with him. He munched on some dried beef as he went, ignoring the missing sliver from his health bar that the cold had also drained.

Ben had explained to him that it was part of how the game was designed. Typically, the further you traveled from Stark Town and Kantor, the more difficult it became to survive. The enemies in the outer zones were higher level, and the weather conditions were much less forgiving.

But the outer zones offered valuable incentives to make up for it. The resources were plentiful, and any players or guilds that managed to claim one for themselves would instantly become trade powerhouses. As far as Luke knew, there weren’t any guilds that had managed to push out more than five or six zones beyond Stark Town’s borders, at least not yet.

The mountain pass sloped downwards and Luke was able to travel forward at a quicker pace. He found himself wishing that he could build a makeshift sled to take straight to the bottom, like a happy child on a snow day.

The winds were whipping walls of white at the lower part of the pass, but Luke could still make out the clearing below.

The Blue Void… The name fits the scene perfectly.

Nobody had made it all the way across yet. In fact, from the rumors that Luke had heard, many players suspected that it might be used by the developers as space for further world building or events.

He could just make out a semi-circle of players at the bottom of the pass. Luke began running toward them. As he drew closer, he was able to see what was happening through the veil of falling snow.

The Winter Beast…

The creature that he was staring at was huge, at least thirty feet tall. It was covered with white fur with an oddly reflective property, almost neon. Its eyes were a mixture of jet black and purple. Spikes adorned the top of its head, like a crown made of halberds.

WINTER BEAST: One of the legendary monsters of Yvvaros. If left undefeated, it will eventually traverse the mountain pass through the Teeth of the North and begin a rampage that ends in Stark Town. Similar to many creatures in the Blue Void, it has a strange interdependent relationship with the Ancestor Glacier.

It was swatting aside players left and right. Its massive size made them look like stick figures in comparison. Luke willed himself to move forward. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and made the scene feel like it was playing out in slow motion. Doubt pushed against his every step, licking away at his courage as he continued his approach. The beast was massive.

Calm down. It’s just the new headset.

It was more than that, and Luke understood it on a base and instinctual level. He could feel what happened in the game now. He could smell something humid and metallic on the air as he walked by the bodies of defeated players, all of them past the point of saving.

The group attacking the beast was organized around it into different rings of proximity. Closest to it, the fighters, warriors, and knights danced at avoiding blows, occasionally launching into counter attacks that got them killed about as often as they made contact.

The next ring was composed of the ranged offensive players. Mages and archers were hailing down a torrent of projectiles and magic. The Winter Beast paid about as much mind to them as it did to the falling snow.

In the middle were the healers, which the monster seemed to take a particular pleasure in dispatching. They were running from fallen body to fallen body, casting revival spells, buffs, restoration magic, and anything else they could manage.

Luke sprinted forward, crouching and drawing his sword as he passed over downed players. The beast was turned slightly away from him but he saw it shift its attention as he approached.

“Move!” A knight wearing heavy armor and wielding a two-handed sword yelled at Luke as he passed by.

Luke ducked and rolled, his instincts kicking in as the Winter Beast slapped its grotesque, ten fingered paw down at him. He gripped his sword tightly in his hand and launched forward into the air, flying toward the creature’s arm and managing to cut it in retaliation.

“Go for the legs!” Another fighter on his left rolled in front of him. Luke nodded and charged in, taking advantage of the beast changing targets.

This is life or death. I’ll feel it, at least some of it, if it gets a hold of me.

He managed to get close enough with Pierce Attack 2 to strike a meaningful blow to its knees. Immediately he realized why he’d seen the other players only warily moving into that same range.

With surprising speed, the Winter Beast spun and focused back in on him. It wrapped its hands around Luke’s chest before he could react and lifted him into the air.

Fuck!

The other players nearby immediately went into an all-out offensive for his sake. Luke could see that it was too little, too late. The Winter Beast’s health bar was still above halfway.

“Graaaaaaaahhhh!” The creature let out a roar directly into Luke’s face, close enough for him to smell its putrid and humid breath.

CONJURE SWORD 2

Both of the magical blades sprang forward as Luke threw his hand out in the direction of the monster’s face. With impeccable aim, they struck both of the creature’s unnerving jet black eyes.

Luke didn’t realize just how high up he was until the beast let go. He flailed uselessly in the air, falling for what felt like an eternity before hitting the ground. He cracked his head against the hard ice and felt sharp pain shoot through his skull as his health bar slipped down to a third of its maximum length.

The Winter Beast stumbled back and all of the players rushed in. There were at least a hundred, maybe even more, and Luke picked himself up in time to charge in a second after. The creature pulled the conjured swords out of its eyes with surprising dexterity and then swung its arm into the approaching fighters.

The screams were jarring. Players flew through the air all around him. At least two of them were literally pulled into pieces.

“We… we have to retreat!” A couple of archers ran by him, headed away from the fray. Luke tightened his grip on his sword.

Too many players will die if we run…

An idea popped into his head, and he had just enough time to start putting it into action as the monster’s ice cracking footsteps began to draw near.

ELEMENTAL INFUSION: FIRE

Luke’s sword started to glow bright orange and a spiral of flames surrounded it. The heat from it was enough to make his hand sweat and his palm sting, but he kept it clutched tightly.

I’m only going to get one chance. Let’s hope this new skill works.

A couple of the remaining warriors were preparing to make a charge. Luke waited until they were midway toward the creature, timing his offensive so that he could strike right when it was the most distracted.

It knocked away the players quicker than he’d been expecting. Most of the ranged offensive units had fallen back, and the healers were all either dead or too distraught to be of any use. The beast turned and locked eyes with Luke, with Kato, as he sprinted out the final few steps in his approach.

This is it… If I get hit again, I’m out.

The beast swung. Luke dodged, and then counterattacked. The flame from his blade spread slightly to the creature’s fur and it flinched, stumbling back.

PIERCE ATTACK 2

Luke flew forward and struck again knocking the beast back even more. He glanced quickly behind him and saw that once again the healers were reviving people.

There is hope!

He continued forward and didn’t realize until it was too late that he’d taken a step too far. The Winter Beast was fast, and before Luke knew what was happening, its fist was coming down on him. It collided with his head and he crumpled to the ground.

Unfortunately, he still had health left, and the creature knew that, too. Luke was lifted into the air again, this time without any magicka left to fund his combat skills. He screamed as the beast gripped one of his wrists between two of its grotesque fingers and began to pull.

“Ahhhhhh!”

The arm separated at the elbow, and Luke felt pain beyond anything he had ever experienced before. He stopped screaming, his lungs suddenly empty and inanimate.

The creature squeezed him tighter and tighter, and then it reached its free hand back over and began to squeeze Luke’s head. The pain was unreal, and suddenly his eyes moved in separate paths across his face as the inevitable happened.

The black interlude between when he died and when he respawned was only a fraction of a second. This was what happened when a player was killed in a way that would rule out resurrection. Experiencing it instead of just hearing about it was enough to make Luke feel sick to his stomach.

Oh god, I just…

Luke sat down on the white marble stone of the Temple of Rygon and forced himself to breath deep. It was unbelievable, even though he perfectly understood the mechanics of it. The fear and pain he’d felt had been overwhelming.

I’m never going to forget that, even if I try to. My head… what did that thing do to my head?

He felt uncomfortable and violated, as if something essential had been stolen from him. The thought of heading back through the mountain pass, even just heading into the Blue Void, caused his conscious mind to scream in terror.

Dying isn’t then end in Yvvaros… but it’s still dying.

CHAPTER 22

The experience had left Luke mentally exhausted and almost completely depleted his stamina bar. He ate to regain strength and then moved through the city in a daze. It felt as though his heart was still beating abnormally, left over adrenaline keeping him from being able to fully relax.

I’m not going to let myself be killed again. I’m not going to let Tess, or Silverstrike, die either.

Instead of heading straight back down to the continent through the rune circle, Luke walked over to the edge of one of the outer fences and stared off into the distance. The regions further out from Stark Town were full of danger. He’d known that even before encountering the Winter Beast, but the reality of it still took some getting used to.

I guess I’ll have to buy some new equipment. I’m about overdue for an upgrade anyway.

Luke headed to the one of the few weapon and armor vendors in Kantor and pushed his way in through the front door. Luckily, by the rules of the game, everything in his satchel, including his gold, was secure even after respawning.

“Welcome, welcome,” said the merchant. “I can take care of all of your equipment needs.”

A couple of minutes later, Luke was back outside. He’d upgraded his basic Leather Cuirass to a complete set of Level 9 Dunidan Scale Armor. The merchant had given him a discount after Luke had remembered the left over Dunidan teeth and spikes, trading them in and getting the best price he’d seen offered in-game so far.

Next time I should just find a player with armor or weapon crafting skills and see what they can do with the stuff.

His new sword was an Emerald Hilt Long Blade. It felt strange in his hand, lighter than either the basic one he’d been using since the start of the game or the one that Tess had given him. The pummel, true to the sword’s name, had an emerald embedded into it. Luke checked his character record and discovered that it did almost twice the damage of his old weapon.

I’m going to have to explain to Tess that I lost the sword she gave me. That’s not going to be a fun conversation.

A message icon appeared in the corner of his vision, and he fished the envelope out of his satchel. It was from Silverstrike, and Luke knew better than to waste any time before opening it.

Kato

I’ve set up a meeting with the guild I told you about before. I want you to come back to the base and be there for it. Don’t worry, they are reasonable and seem to need us as much as we need them.

Silverstrike

Luke folded the letter in his hand and tucked it back into his bag, thinking about his friend’s words.

They need us as much as we need them? What’s that supposed to mean?

He headed through Kantor and toward the rune circle. There were a couple of other players respawning at the Temple, at least one of which he recognized as another member of the Winter Beast assault team. Their faces looked shell shocked and weary as if their deaths had aged them by years in an instant.

Mine must look the same way.

Luke teleported down to Stark Town and immediately began heading south toward Dunidan’s Rest. As he passed by the merchant’s district, he saw Tess standing outside of a vendor stall, perusing through colored dyes.

“I’m a fan of the blue,” said Luke. “It matches one of the moons.”

Tess glanced back at him in surprise and then smiled.

“That’s actually exactly what I was thinking.” She leaned in toward him and crossed her arms. “How did it go with the Winter Beast?”

“It went, uh, a little different than I’d been expecting.” Luke swallowed hard. He felt a bit ridiculous at how affected he still was by the in-game death. It was the way someone might feel after an intense nightmare, even knowing that it had only been a dream.

“Luke…” Tess shook her head slowly.

“I sort of lost the sword you gave me, too,” he said, frowning. “I know, I know, I’m really sorry.”

“Oh no! Look, don’t worry about it. It didn’t cost me too much in the first place.” Tess reached her hand out and set it on his shoulder. “I just thought… Well, you’re the strongest member of our guild. You’re the toughest player I’ve encountered in-game so far. I thought you’d be the one to strike the killing blow.”

“Thanks,” said Luke. “It’s no big deal, really. Hey, I’m headed back to the guild hall to meet with Silverstrike and some of the players that he’s working out a deal with. Want to come with?”

Tess smiled at him.

“I would love to.”

The walk across the Inner Plains and over the border into the Sarchia Desert was exactly what Luke needed. He made small talk about nothing in particular with Tess, a back and forth exchange of words that was more for the sake of hearing the other’s voice than anything. It made him feel as though everything was just as it should be. It made him feel like he was returning home.

Dunidan’s Rest was unchanged from when he had last been there, save for a few unfamiliar players that were milling around outside the guild hall. As he drew closer, Luke spotted Silverstrike in the center, gesturing about something with his hands as he spoke.

“Here he is!” Silverstrike pointed toward Luke, and the attention of the entire group turned to him. “This is Kato, the co-leader of the guild. And behind him is Tess, another one of the founding members.”

“Hello, Kato.” The player standing next to Silverstrike was a tall, attractive woman, with platinum blonde hair. “My name is Katrina.”

Luke reached out and shook her hand. She was wearing tight leather armor, which hinted at one of the rogue subclasses.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said. “Silverstrike mentioned that another guild was looking to reach a deal with us. What is it that you need?”

The other unfamiliar players around Katrina were also female, and Luke began to wonder if that was a mere coincidence. Katrina was smiling at him warmly and stretched out one of her arms toward the oasis.

“I think our guild and yours can help each other in many ways. Have you had any dealings with a guild by the name of the Revolutionary Rebels?”

Luke nodded.

“Did Silverstrike fill you in on our background with them?” He glanced over at his friend, who shook his head slightly from side to side. “They came to us a couple of days ago and made it clear that they aren’t interested in being reasonable.”

“That’s what we took away from our encounter with them, as well,” said Katrina. “Our zone is just southwest of here, bordering the mud flaps.”

Luke felt a tug on his arm. He turned and looked at Tess, who was sending him a signal with her eyes that he couldn’t identify right away.

She looks worried… Maybe she’s picking up on something that I’m not.

“Let’s cut to the chase.” Luke walked over to the guild hall and positioned himself in front of the door of it, as though assuming the role of the diplomatic gatekeeper. “What are you asking for and what are you offering?”

Katrina smiled warmly at him. Luke could tell from her expression that she appreciated his straightforwardness.

“My guild wants the same thing that the Revolutionary Rebels want,” she said, “access to your oasis. We are not interested in taking it by force, what I’m suggesting is for you to let us set up an irrigation and farming project on the side of it.”

Luke thought about what Katrina was asking. Before he could respond, he felt Tess tugging more deliberately at his sleeve.

“We need to talk about this in private!” She pulled him toward the entrance of the guild hall, grabbing Silverstrike as they went by. “Wait here for a moment.”

Tess closed the door behind the three of them once they were inside. Luke had never seen her be so assertive before and found it a little intriguing.

“Tess, what’s up? Are you picking up on something that I’m missing?”

She let out a heavy breath and looked toward the window.

“Kato, I’m not sure if we can trust them.” She glanced over at Silverstrike, as though looking for backup. “They just show up out of nowhere, and make a case for why they should have access to our most valuable resource? This feels like a power play…”

“First off, they didn’t show up out of nowhere, and this isn’t a power play.” Silverstrike stepped in between Luke and Tess and held his hands out. “They control the zone diagonally to the southwest of us. The Revolutionary Rebels are directly to the south of us. This guild, Athena’s Wrath, is our natural ally against them.”

Athena’s Wrath?

Silverstrike saw the look on his face and continued.

“They’re a gamer girl guild,” he said. “No guys allowed, as far as I can tell. But they’re good people, and decent players. We need their help.”

Luke thought for a moment about what his friend was saying. Tess didn’t speak up, but he could tell from the look on her face that she had a lot on her mind.

“Alright, let’s bring their leader back in and talk this out.” He paused, seeing the look on Tess’s face. “We can give them a trial run. We’ll authorize them to set up a small base here in our zone, just one or two players. A number that won’t be a threat.”

Silverstrike clapped his hands together, a smile coming across his face.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking! The enemy of our enemy is our friend, and in this case, our enemy has us badly outnumbered.”

“Whatever,” said Tess. She turned toward the back of the guild hall and crossed her arms.

She’ll understand, especially once the situation comes to a head.

Luke walked over to the door and opened it and gestured for Katrina to come inside.

“We’ve come to a decision,” he said. “Your guild can set up a small-”

“The situation has changed.” Her voice sounded small and shaky, and Luke immediately felt concerned. “My guild… our zone… They’ve attacked it.”

“What?” Silverstrike moved over toward the eastern window of the guild hall, as though he expected to see a battle on the horizon.

“They struck while we were here meeting with you,” said Katrina. “We only have five players in our guild. Our base was undefended.”

For some reason, guilt began to sweep over Luke. He knew that it wasn’t his fault in any way, but his conscientious, moralistic side insisted that he take responsibility.

“You can set up a base here, whatever you need,” he said. “We’ll host you for as long as it takes for you to get your zone back.”

Both Tess and Silverstrike looked over at him in shock. Luke held his hands out toward them and furrowed his brow.

“Look, if they can take out a guild with five players that quickly, what do you think they’ll do to us when they get the chance?” He paused, and then looked back over to Katrina. “Let your guild members know that they can gather here.”

She lowered her head into a nod that was deep enough to be a bow.

“Thank you,” she said. “We won’t take more from the oasis than what we strictly need. And when the time comes, we will fight with you to protect it.”

Luke smiled.

“That’s all we can ask for.”

Katrina and the other members of Athena’s Wrath went outside and began scoping out a building site on the other side of the oasis from where The Consulate’s guild hall was. Luke went over to the water pool and stood next to it, watching the gentle breeze slowly waiver across the reflective surface.

“Are you sure about this?” Tess walked up next to him, wearing her skepticism openly on her face. “It might not be so easy to change our minds once they get set up.”

“I’m sure. Don’t worry.”

Luke felt an arm wrap around his shoulder as Silverstrike pulled both of them into a huddle.

“We’re getting exactly what we need,” he said. “This is perfect. This is huge.”

I hope you’re right.

Tess was not nearly as enthusiastic, and, in fact, looked even more distraught after hearing the opinions of her friends. Luke watched her as she began to walk back toward Stark Town, and after a moment, he pulled away from Silverstrike to go after her.

“Hey…” He had to jog at a decent pace to close the distance between them, Tess refusing to compromise her pace. “What’s up?”

She didn’t say anything. Luke matched her speed with his own steps and walked next to her in silence, letting the bright desert sun warm his face. After a couple of seconds, Tess sighed and looked over to him.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be dramatic. I just like it how it was. I liked that it was just… the three of us.”

“I can understand that,” said Luke. “You should know, though, that Silverstrike was already planning on expanding the guild with new members. This is no big deal.”

“Kato, there’s something I think I should tell you.”

Tess stopped walking. Luke looked at her and saw emotion flicker across her eyes.

“What is it?”

Tess opened her mouth, and then closed it and shook her head. She opened it again and then turned away from him.

“Never mind,” she said, “I… I trust you. And you can trust me.”

“I do trust you.”

Something is up.

Tess looked like she was biting her tongue, using all of her willpower to hold something back. She started walking again.

“Okay,” she said. “I guess we should… head back to Dunidan’s Rest.”

Luke took her hand, and instead of turning around he pulled her forward. The sun was slowly setting off in the distance and he began leading her toward it, to the west.

“Hold on,” he said. “There’s something I’ve meant to check out.”

Tess did not object. They continued across the Inner Plains until the sandy beaches and blue of the ocean came into view, the continent’s western coast.

“The Western Sea,” said Tess. Luke looked a little closer and saw the tiny islands that were scattered amidst the water.

The two of them walked forward until they were on the beach, looking out into an ocean massive enough to swallow them up. Waves along the western coast had carved smooth curves into the land, making the beach look like a long zigzag of inlets.

Luke looked over at Tess and smiled.

“It’s so beautiful here,” he said. “If I had been thinking clearly at the start of the game, I would have tried to take one of the island zones across the water.”

“You would have tried and failed,” said Tess. “Those are all high-level zones. Besides, it was me who roped you into heading south, and I like the zone that we ended up with.”

Luke met Tess’s eyes. The mist from the water was cool and wet on his cheeks. A rogue wave crashed a little further in against the beach and wet his shoes, but he still didn’t look away.

“Tess…” he said. “This game, what we’ve been doing. It means a lot to me.”

You mean a lot to me.

“We’ve spent all day in-game,” said Tess. “All day in a virtual world.”

She reached her hand out and gently slapped the sand, knocking grains of it askew along with a tiny ant.

“What does it mean for us to be taking it so seriously?” she asked, quietly. “It looks and feels so real! The people in it are real, the problems we face…”

She let her palm come to rest on top of Luke’s.

“The relationships we build…” she whispered. Luke smiled at her.

“It’s complicated,” he replied. “But I don’t mind.”

He leaned over to her and kissed her right as a bigger wave crashed against the shore. She tasted sweet, and her body was warmer than the ocean spray that splashed down against them.

“I should log off,” whispered Tess. “It’s probably later than I think it is.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Luke. “Tess…”

She watched him and waited for him to continue.

“This is real to me.”

Tess smiled and then disappeared. Luke reached into his own bag, pulled out the journal that doubled as an in-game menu, and signed his name, logging off.

CHAPTER 23

Coming back to reality was like being dropped out of a plane. Luke was suddenly aware of his entire body, flesh and blood, and all its needs. He was ravenously hungry and needed to use the bathroom. He could see that it was already night through the window, and felt as though he’d stepped into a time warp.

“Jeez, Ben, it’s already…” Luke looked over at his friend and saw that he still had his headset on. He sat at his desk limply, like someone who’d gone into a coma while studying.

Is that what we look like when we’re playing?

The new headset didn’t require Ben to move at all in the real world. He was frozen in the office chair, but in-game, Luke was sure that he was active.

It’s like having two bodies and transporting your control from one to the other.

Luke’s bladder pulled him away from the sight and across the hall to the bathroom. He could hear footsteps moving down the hall, and remembered that Emily was probably somewhere around.

When he came back into Ben’s room, he was surprised to see his friend pulling the headset off gingerly. Luke leaned against the door frame and shook his head.

“Did you hear me through the headset?

“Hear you… what?” Ben shot him a confused look and then pulled something out of his desk, which Luke realized, after a second, was his pipe. “I’m just topping myself off.”

Luke sighed.

“Come on man, when aren’t you high these days? Maybe think about giving it a rest?”

“Don’t give me that shit.” Ben pulled a bit of green bud out of a small jar and packed it into the bowl of the pipe. “You’ve been playing Yvvaros like a game addict. It’s no different.”

It is different. I know it is.

Luke didn’t put his thoughts into words, wanting to avoid pushing his friend too far. After Ben had taken a massive hit, he exhaled smoke and turned back to him.

“Besides, it helps me focus,” he said. “I’m putting everything I’ve got into preparing the guild hall, and you should, too. We’re fucked if the Revolutionary Rebels hit us before we’re ready.”

“Yeah, yeah man, whatever.” Luke leaned out into the hallway and absent-mindedly looked over at the stairs. “Hey man, I think I’m going to head home for tonight…”

Ben wasn’t listening. Luke turned to him and saw that he’d put the headset back on and returned to the limp, unresponsive state. It was as though he’d logged out of his real life body. Luke sighed and walked down the hall, and then down the stairs.

The downstairs bathroom door was shut, and the sound of the shower running was coming from inside of it. Luke figured that it was Emily, washing up before bed.

She was incredibly patient, letting us play for that long without making a fuss.

He headed back up to Ben’s room, packed up his computer and the new headset, and then headed out. The night sky was overcast, and it made the walk home a bit darker than usual. A couple of fireflies were out, and in the under-lit areas of the street, they shined with magnificent color.

Luke didn’t think twice about walking up the front steps of his house and heading inside. It was a Sunday night, and usually that was the one day of the week when his dad would head to bed early.

“You have school tomorrow.” Chris Smith was not asleep. He was sitting with a bottle of liquor in his hand directly across from the front door,.

“Oh, sorry dad,” said Luke. “I’m going to head straight to-”

The bottle crashed against the wall next to Luke’s face, spraying him with glass shards and disgusting smelling liquid. He flinched back as his father slowly stood up.

“What’s in the bag, Luke?” He knocked over the chair as he stepped forward. “Your computer? Your headset?”

He’s out of his mind…

“Dad, look, I was just-”

“Shut up!” His dad rushed forward, closing the distance between them and grabbing Luke by the shoulders. “You’re falling for it, Luke! Like the rest of the fucking morons that we built it for.”

“I’m not a moron!”

Luke tried to shrug off his dad’s solid grip and felt the man’s fingers dig deeper into his arm. He twisted away, and then suddenly felt something collide with the side of his head.

“You don’t understand!”

Another blow struck Luke in the stomach, this time from a fist. He gasped in pain and doubled over, and then felt another slap on the other side of his face.

The fucking bastard…

Forcing himself to his feet, Luke swung his own arm forward, his tightly balled fist striking a glancing blow on his dad’s neck. Chris Smith flinched back.

“Why you little…”

He pushed Luke back, and he fell to the ground tripping over a pair of shoes tangled against his foot. Another blow rained down on him, and then another, and another. Luke was furious, but all he could do was curl up into a ball, incapable of dealing with such an onslaught from someone taller, heavier and stronger than him.

I can’t fight my dad. Not like this.

It went on for a while, every second stretching out to an almost infinite array of horrible moments. Finally, his dad’s breathing became rough and exhausted, like a runner finishing up the last leg of a long race.

He’s tired from beating me. From beating his own son.

Luke was tired too. He was tired of it all.

“Luke…” His dad’s voice was still drunk and angry, but full of other conflicted emotions that made Luke hate him even more. “Don’t play that game. Please… don’t play it.”

He took a step back and turned to walk into the living room, knocking a lamp off a side table as he collapsed down onto the couch. Luke forced himself to stand back up, feeling the aches and pains of his body, feeling the blood dripping from his nose. He grabbed his bag, opened the door behind him and ran back outside.

Luke walked across the street, and then back toward his house, and then across the street again. He was confused, unsure of where to go or what to do. This wasn’t the first time that his father had struck him, but like every time, it had left him with emptiness, insecurity, and open wounds.

I can’t stay there tonight… Maybe the park?

He walked down the street and saw that there were people milling about by the park benches. Luke slowed his pace, and then remembered his phone.

Maybe I can call Ben, ask if I can crash at his place?

When he turned on the screen, he was greeted by a long list of unanswered text messages from Sam. He slapped his hand against his already painfully swollen forehead as he remembered what he’d promised her the day before.

Good morning.

Are you busy?

Hey, what’s going on?

Luke come on don’t ignore me.

Fuck you.

If you wanted to piss me off and destroy our friendship, then good job!

“God damn it!” It took all of Luke’s willpower to not spike the device into the ground. He sat down on the edge of a curb and tried to think of something, anything, that he could text back to make it alright.

I’m sorry, Sam.

Instead of calling Ben as he’d originally planned, Luke just headed straight back to his friend’s house. He was a mess, both physically and emotionally. All he wanted to do was lie down and bury his face in something, to hide away from the trouble he’d gotten himself into.

He knocked on the door as softly as he could to still be heard. It opened, and Emily stood behind it.

“Oh my god, Luke!” She took him by the hand and pulled him inside. “What happened?”

Luke just shook his head.

I can’t tell her about my dad.

“Here, sit down,” she said. “I’ll get you something for your face. Ben is still upstairs, working on the guild hall.”

“Thanks, sorry for just dropping in,” said Luke. “I-”

He paused in mid sentence as the implications of what she had just said hit him like a ton of bricks.

How does Emily know about the guild hall?

“Just be gentle with this and dab.” Emily handed him a wet washcloth. “I’ll get some Band-Aids out of the medicine cabinet.”

“Emily, wait.” Luke watched as she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, eyes full of concern and something very familiar. “How did you know that we were working on the guild hall?”

Emily froze.

“He… told me about it,” she said. “Earlier today.”

“He’s been in-game all day,” said Luke. “We haven’t done anything other than buying the headsets and playing.”

“Oh, well, it must have been yesterday then,” she said. “Yeah, that’s right…”

“Emily…”

Emily walked back over to Luke slowly, standing in front of him on the couch. She smiled, as though a little embarrassed about something, and then let out a defeated sigh.

“I’m sorry Luke,” she whispered. “I was going to tell you. I wanted to say something to you, earlier today.”

“Tell me what?”

Emily sat down next to him and put one of her hands in his.

“It’s me,” she said. “Tess.”

What… did she just say?

Luke shook his head in disbelief.

“It can’t be,” he said. “You… how can you be… Tess?”

Emily ran her fingers through her beautiful, light brown hair, and then shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s me,” she said softly.

“But… in game, we’ve…?” Luke felt his jaw drop open as he thought about the times they’d been alone, the times they’d kissed. Emily squeezed his hand.

“Yeah.” She looked away from him, toward the wall. “I didn’t realize it at first, either. It wasn’t until I started to get you know you better, and I picked up on the way Silverstrike, my brother, would speak and act. By then it was too late. I couldn’t change how I felt.”

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Of course! I really was, Luke.” Emily moved closer to him on the couch, and in the dimly lit room, it was suddenly hard for Luke to see her as his friend’s older sister. She was as much Tess as anyone in the real world could be.

“Emily…” said Luke. “Tess…”

She nodded and set her hand on his cheek.

“I know it’s weird, but this doesn’t have to change anything.” Emily paused, and Luke could tell that she was fighting her own inner conflict. “Or we can change things. We can stop seeing each other in-game, if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Luke shook his head. He leaned forward slowly, watching Emily’s eyes light up as she realized what he was doing, and then kissed her softly on the lips.

This is so wrong. She’s Ben’s sister… but she’s also Tess.

Emily let her hand slide down to his chest as the kiss ended. She had a strange smile on her face, as though she wanted what Luke wanted, too, but had her own unique hurdles to surmount to make it reachable.

“Luke… do you want to come up to my room with me?”

Luke nodded. He had never wanted anything so badly before in his life. At the same time, the thoughts rushing through his head were a chaotic mixture of confusion and doubt.

She’s seven years older than me. She’s my friend’s sister. And what about Sam?

The two of them stood up off the couch and quietly walked upstairs together. They walked into her room and Emily locked the door behind them. They kissed again, and then collapsed down onto her bed, letting the passion that had built to a boil in Yvvaros spill over into the real world.

CHAPTER 24

It was an entirely new realm for Luke, unlike anything he’d had the pleasure of experiencing before. When it was over, he lay next to Emily in bed, spent and even more confused than he’d been heading into it.

What did we just do?

He felt as though he’d betrayed Ben, committed the ultimate act of treachery right underneath his friend’s nose. Emily was running her hand through his hair, and he could tell from the way her fingers meandered about that she felt much the same way.

“These things just happen,” she whispered. “We can’t tell him about it, not ever. And I also… I think we should step back a little for a while. Both in the real world, and in-game.”

Luke nodded, though his heart ached at the implications of her words. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. He wanted to adventure with her in-game and sneak off with her outside of it. But he also understood that her suggestion was the only logical path, given the circumstances.

“Okay,” he said. “You’re right. I understand.”

Emily didn’t say anything for a minute as Luke climbed out of bed and began getting dressed. She sat up in her bed, keeping the sheets wrapped around her chest like a woman wearing a towel after taking a shower.

“Luke… did your dad do that to you?” Emily’s concern was evident in her voice as much as her words. “If he did, you can’t go back there tonight.”

“It’s okay.” Even as he said it, Luke knew that it was a lie.

Am I just afraid of admitting that I need help?

“It’s not fine,” said Emily. “Stay here tonight. Please.”

Luke looked over at her. Meeting her eyes was painful, and yet also somehow comforting and warm.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll just rest for a few minutes on the couch, and then head back.”

A few minutes of rest on the couch turned into a few hours. Before Luke knew it, the sun was shining in through one of the windows and pulling him out of his light sleep. It took him a minute to remember what had happened the night before and accept it as anything more than a dream.

Emily… I still can’t believe it.

He was in the midst of debating whether or not to leave before anyone else woke up when Ben made his way downstairs. His eyes were bleary and surrounded by dark circles, but they still opened noticeably in surprise when he saw Luke on the couch.

“Luke? What are you doing here?” Ben made his way into the living room and then looked even more surprised as he came closer. “Jesus, what happened to your face?”

“My dad…” Luke sighed and shook his head. “I couldn’t stay there. Emily let me inside late last night.”

Emily let me inside, and Emily is Tess.

“That’s fucking ridiculous!” Ben looked furious, and he clenched both of his hands into fists as he paced the floor. “He’s a fucking scumbag. We have to do something about this, man.”

What can I do? File a police report? I’d rather just get in-game, become Kato, and live in a world where none of this is an issue.

“I’m okay,” said Luke. “I just needed a place to crash for the night. It’s no big deal.”

“You’re my friend.” Ben put both his hands on Luke’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “It is a gigantic deal.”

Luke forced a smile and then shook his head.

“Just let me handle it. Anyway, it’s Monday. We’ve got school. You should just get ready.”

“I’m lending you some clothes,” said Ben. “They might be a little baggy, but it’ll be better than having to wear the same thing twice in a row.”

I hadn’t even thought of that.

“Thanks, Ben,” said Luke. “For everything.”

He followed his friend back upstairs, and the two of them began getting ready, hurrying through the process to make up for their late awakening.

Ben joked about how things were going in-game, about the new guild they were teaming up with, and what their next move should be. Luke knew that his friend was only doing it for his sake, but he didn’t care. It made all of the difference in the world.

He didn’t say anything when Ben pulled out his pipe to get high and preempt the day. He didn’t say anything when his friend took a shot from a bottle of vodka stashed away under his bed. Luke had come to terms with the fact that, as Ben had said, they all had their own demons to face.

Mine have taken on human form, apparently.

“I’m surprised that Emily still isn’t up,” said Ben. “Did she seem tired last night?”

“I uh, couldn’t really tell,” said Luke. “I passed out almost right after I came inside.”

“Come on, no time to waste.” Ben picked up his book bag and started for the stairs. “Let’s make it through today, and then we can swing by your place after school and grab what you need.”

“What I need?”

Ben furrowed his brow and nodded.

“Yeah. To stay with me for the next few days.” He clapped a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’ll let you go back to being in the same house as that psycho.”

He really does have my back. Do I have his, after what I did with Emily?

Ben did most of the talking during the walk to school. Luke wanted to say something, anything, to let his friend know that he was alright and put his mind at ease, but no words came to him. Instead, the urge to play Yvvaros, to be Kato instead of himself, began to pull at him.

“Hang in there, man,” said Ben. “Remember, we’re meeting up after school. Don’t take off without me if you get done early.”

They were walking through the double doors and into the locker-lined hallway. Luke pulled himself out of his thoughts and nodded.

“Yeah, I will,” he said. “Ben… Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Ben. “You can count on me.”

Ben headed off toward his locker, and Luke took a left up the stairs to the second floor. Loitering around his locker was, unsurprisingly, a group of jocks, including some of his regular tormentors.

“Jesus, guys look! It’s Slow Mo! He’s on time today, but check out his face.”

Luke ignored them as he began to spin his combination into the locker door.

This is nothing compared to what I’ve been through. This is a joke.

“He’s so serious,” said another jock. “What, you can’t take a joke, Luke?”

Luke didn’t say anything. His gut reaction was to do what he’d already done the other day, to punch one of them and offer up another reminder of what happened when he was pushed too far. But even thinking about making a fist reminded him of his dad. The thought of becoming more like that sad, controlling, violent man pulled him back.

“I’m not in a laugh out loud mood right now,” said Luke. “Sorry, guys.”

The jocks laughed at him but seemed to lose interest. He grabbed the books he needed and started toward his first class, already anticipating the end of the day.

“Luke…” A familiar voice came from behind him. “What’s your problem, Luke?”

Sam was standing with a textbook clutched against her chest. Her eyes were angry and sad, lacking their usual enthusiasm.

“Sam…” Luke bit his lower lip as he tried to think of a way to explain. “I’m sorry, I-”

“What happened to your face?” Sam reached out her hand and ran it across one of the cuts on his cheek. “Luke, who did this to you?”

“It’s complicated,” he said. “Look, I’m sorry that I didn’t text you back.”

“It’s not just about that, Luke.” Sam shook her head softly. “I feel like you’re changing. The second I started to tried to get closer to you, it’s like you started becoming a different person.”

“I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”

Sam stared at him for a moment, as if wanting more than just a simple apology.

“Do you even care about me? Do you care about anything?” She smiled cruelly at him. “Do you care about anything but that stupid fantasy world of dragons, or whatever?”

“Sam, why are you bothering?” Luke shook his head and sighed. “If you don’t like the way I’m living my life… if you don’t like me… why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Because I care. I care about you, Luke!” Sam was yelling loudly enough to attract the attention of some of the other students in the hall. “I care about you, and I left my boyfriend to be with you!”

“Sam, I’m sorry…” Luke felt like a broken record, and he could tell from the tears cresting in Sam’s eyes that his apology wasn’t enough for her.

“I don’t know why I even bother.” She took a couple steps backward away from him, not turning around at first. “I’m trying to reach you, Luke, and you’re too distracted by a fucking video game to even notice.”

She stormed down the hallway and Luke leaned back against the lockers on the wall before shutting his own.

I can’t make anyone happy. I’m not good enough.

The first bell rang, and he arrived at his class, as usual, a couple of minutes late.

The rest of the day went by in a walking daze. Luke endured more taunts and more jeers and anticipated the last bell as though it was the second coming.

His life was slipping out of his control, slowly but surely. The only things that he found himself feeling confident about were related to a digital world, and the knowledge that he had a second life waiting for him to escape to.

When the final bell did ring, he wasted no time heading for the hallway and outside. Ben was of a similar mindset and met up with him only a few seconds later next to the fence, still long before most other students had finished at their lockers.

“Come on man, let’s get going,” said Luke.

Ben nodded but fidgeted his fingers between each other as he moved forward to meet his friend. He looked preoccupied and a bit troubled.

“Luke…” He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “I read something today. An online article on one of the library computers.”

Luke had already started walking down the street and had to slow down a bit to give Ben time to catch up with his quick pace.

“What was it?” he asked. “It must have been pretty serious to put you in this kind of mood.”

“Yeah I guess you could say that.” Ben leaned toward Luke and brought his voice to a whisper. “There have been a few reports of people dying with the new Gamesoft headsets on.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Some kind of seizure thing from how it connects to the brain. It’s very rare, and Gamesoft has already promised to release a patch addressing the issue, but that’s not the part that’s crazy.”

Ben glanced over each shoulder, as though making sure that there was nobody around who could overhear him.

“In two of the cases, other players reported seeing the avatars of the dead running around, still continuing to, well, exist, afterward.”

Wait… what?

“Some kind of, I don’t know, glitch or something?” asked Luke.

“That’s what I thought. But I checked around on the forums and a couple of players are claiming to be in the same guild as one of them.” Ben swallowed and looked somber. “They say that he’s still alive in-game, and that he just can’t log out now.”

“Well, I mean, I guess that would make sense, given that his body…”

Luke trailed off as he began to realize the full implications of what he’d just been told.

He’d be in the game, for good, then. That would be his life, his real life, with no outside world to return to, or deal with.

“They’re calling it ‘going all in,'” said Ben.

“Going all in?”

“A couple of players on the official forums were talking about trying to do it intentionally.”

Luke didn’t say anything. They had arrived back at Ben’s house, and as they walked inside, the phrase continued to echo in his head, like a prophecy.

Going all in…

CHAPTER 25

Emily was in the kitchen when the two of them arrived, washing dishes and facing away from the door. She turned and looked at them as they walked into the living room. Her eyes met Luke’s for a brief moment, and he felt strangely awkward holding the gaze.

“Hey, Ben,” she said. “Hey, Luke.”

“We’ll be gaming upstairs if you need us, sis.” Ben started toward the stairs and then stopped and snapped his fingers. “Shoot, we forgot to grab your stuff from your place, Luke.”

Emily glanced over at him curiously, and Luke felt his face heat up a little bit.

Are things always going to be this weird between us now?

“We can head out for it later,” said Luke. “And I’ll have to at least check in with my dad at some point, make sure he doesn’t file a police report.”

“Luke…” Emily was drying a plate as she turned to face him directly. “You’re always welcome, here. Always…”

Why is she looking at me like that? And why is it so hard for me to look away from her?

“Come on, we need to get started,” said Ben. “There’s a lot for us to work on in-game.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Luke followed Ben upstairs and quickly set up his laptop and headset. He made himself comfortable on the side of Ben’s bed and then logged into the game.

He still wasn’t entirely used to the feeling of the new headset, the way it just flipped a switch and transported him into a different reality. He was at the last place he’d been the day before, the beach, where he had sat and talked with Tess.

Tess… who is Emily, my best friend’s sister.

Luke did his best to shake off the weird feeling that had taken hold of him and started heading back toward Dunidan’s Rest. His stamina bar was dangerously low. Instead of risking it and trying to get all the way through another zone to the oasis he stopped in Stark Town to buy some food.

One of the food merchants was selling fresh fruit, and he spent some of his dwindling gold supply on an orange and a banana. He walked through the town as he peeled and ate them, tasting it instead of just watching it disappear. As he walked, Luke listened to the hum of conversation around him.

“Only a fool would risk it.”

“Only a fool wouldn’t try!”

An argument was taking place between two players that were about the same level as Luke. They looked solemn, and he could tell even without having them say it that they were talking about ‘going all in’.

“We aren’t even sure if the people who’ve gone all in are really even themselves or not,” said one of them. “They could just be convincing NPCs!”

“Convincing NPCs? That’s ridiculous and you know it!” The other let out a derisive laugh. “No NPC in the game could match human level intelligence well enough to completely fool so many people.”

“Maybe we just haven’t seen the full extent of what an NPC can be, yet!”

“They have memories, and they claim to still be alive and conscious,” insisted the first man. “There’s no way to disprove their experience any more than there would be to disprove yours or mine.”

Luke took a step away from the two and had just started heading south through Stark Town when he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

“Hey…” It was Tess, and seeing her in-game made him feel a lot like seeing Emily out of game had.

“Tess… I mean, Emily…” said Luke. “Hey.”

There was an awkward silence, only alleviated by crowds of other players jostling and making conversation all around them. Tess looked a little distraught, as if above all, she didn’t want things to be uncomfortable between them.

“Look, I didn’t mean to change how things were,” she said. “I only thought… Well, I didn’t think it would make a difference to you who I was in the outside world.”

“It doesn’t,” said Luke. “I mean, it’s a little strange, but…”

But what? Do I tell her the truth? That the fact that she’s my best friend’s older sister means that it’s impossible for us to ever be together? She already knows that…

“You must have heard,” whispered Tess. “About the people who are disconnecting from the outside world.”

Luke nodded.

“Yeah. It’s insane stuff.”

“I don’t think it’s that insane.” Tess smiled at him, the same mournful smile that he’d seen so many times before, both in the game and on Emily.

“Tess, what are you saying?”

“You know what I mean, Kato,” said Tess. “Luke…”

Of course, I know what she’s saying, but how can she be saying it?

“Come on, let’s head back to the guild hall,” said Luke. “We can see how far along the other guild has gotten with their setup.”

Tess shrugged her shoulders.

“You’re changing the subject,” she said. “But that’s okay. I just want you to know, Luke… I’m interested in seeing what the results are with this, with people going all in.”

“So am I, Tess.”

I really, really am. More than I can readily admit.

The two of them made good time on their way through the Inner Plains, reaching the edge of the desert and their zone within a couple of minutes.

The fence that Luke had built days ago had been extended, including more of the area on the other side of the oasis that they had leased to Athena’s Wrath.

Katrina’s guild had set up its own guild hall, and it sat to the left of the oasis, within the fence. It was slightly smaller with a different architectural style than The Consulate’s headquarters.

Silverstrike was standing outside the double doors that led inside the walls, talking with Katrina about something in whispered tones. When he saw Luke and Tess approaching, he waved them over.

“Kato, we have a problem.” Silverstrike scanned the horizon and then leaned in close. “The Revolutionary Rebels are mobilizing to the south of here.”

“It’s true,” said Katrina. “They have already moved through my guild’s zone. Or should I say my former zone. They’ll be here in under an hour.”

Luke walked over to the wall and set his hand against it.

I should have spent more time upgrading our defenses.

“Alright,” he said. “We’re going to have to make a stand. Katrina, how many members of your guild can you have in-game in the next couple of minutes?”

“Everyone in our guild is already logged in.” She frowned. “Even with both of our guilds combined, we’re going to be outnumbered.”

“We can’t just abandon our zone to them!” Tess looked genuinely upset at the prospect.

“No. We can’t give up.” Luke pulled his sword out of its sheath and ran over to the edge of the wall so that he could look off into the distance to the south. There was no visible sign of the invaders, but that wasn’t enough to put him at ease. Silverstrike walked over and stood next to him.

“Do you have a plan?” he asked, in a quiet voice. “Because we’re sure as hell going to need one. The reports I’ve gotten from people who’ve encountered the Rebels put their numbers at around thirty. We don’t even have ten players between both guilds.”

“We can’t take them out in a head on attack.” Luke thought back to the struggle against the Winter Beast, and how the sheer imbalance of power in the assault had made it impossible to take down. “No… What we need to do is bring them inside.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Silverstrike’s jaw dropped open, and he shook his head back and forth as though Luke’s words had been blasphemy.

“We’ll send a message to them that we’re willing to meet their terms,” said Luke. “It’s the only way.”

A chill went down his spine as he thought about what his plan was going to entail for him personally.

This is going to be a hard sell.

Over the course of the next half hour, Luke managed to convince everyone, though Silverstrike held out until the very end. It was impossible for Luke to tell him exactly what was going to happen, and because of that, his friend remained stubborn, right up to the point when the Rebels appeared on the zone’s horizon.

“They’re coming!” yelled Katrina. Luke glanced over at Silverstrike, and then to the members of Athena’s Wrath, and to Tess, who were all waiting inside of the guild hall.

“Open the gates,” said Luke. “There’s no point in us committing suicide.”

The gates opened. Luke could see the surprise in the movements of the approaching invaders as they drew in closer. He looked over at Silverstrike, shooting him a look that leveraged all of the trust that had been built up between the two over the years, and then walked out of the compound.

As the Revolutionary Rebels closed the final distance to the guild hall, Luke recognized, Marcus, along with another familiar face. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Marcus in front of a force of around 30 players was Arex.

“Long time no see!” Luke smiled at him, despite himself. Marcus smiled too, but Arex’s expression was one of anger and loathing.

“I’m just here to repay the favor,” said Arex. “My new guild has been looking to expand, and I didn’t see any reason not to bring my old guild into the fold.”

“Quiet, Arex.” Marcus barked out the words and then stepped toward Luke, his hand extended cordially. “Kato, I’m glad to see that you have come to your senses. There is no reason why you can’t continue to operate in this zone if you’re willing to meet our terms.”

Am I really about to do this?

“Yes, well, we’re only interested in making peace, not war.” Luke paused and gestured to the second building that had been constructed on the other side of the oasis by Athena’s Wrath. “And for the record, we have recently accepted in another guild you defeated. They’ve agreed to go along with whatever compromise we come to.”

Marcus laughed.

“I’m sure they were eager to, after what happened to their old zone.”

There was a moment of silence, in which the only sounds heard consisted of the sand and crabgrass being blown about by the wind. Luke coughed into his hand and tried to ignore the intense, suspicious look that burned in Arex’s eyes.

He knows something is up. I didn’t plan for this.

Luke smiled as convincingly as he could manage.

“Come on, let’s head inside and discuss this in the guild hall.” He started walking without looking over his shoulder, praying that Marcus would act through his ego instead of through common sense.

Marcus, Arex, and two other guild members walked through the gates following Luke into the guild hall. It took all of his effort to keep his face relaxed and neutral. He saw Tess look warily at him as they walked inside, and then flinch back when Arex followed in after him.

“You…” Her voice was quiet but full of red hot, unbridled anger.

“Yes, me,” said Arex. “Careful. You’re not exactly in a position to be throwing tantrums over the past.”

“Shut up.” Marcus cut him off and then reached into his own satchel, pulling out a sheet of parchment that looked very similar to a guild contract. “Let’s hash out the terms of your fealty and be done with it.”

I just need to buy a minute more. Once Silverstrike and Katrina are in place, I can do what needs to be done.

“Of course,” said Luke.

“For starters, the zone and the oasis will now officially belong to us,” Marcus spoke like a man who was unused to getting anything other than his way. “Your people will need to find alternate sources of food and water. We will be checking the water level regularly to ensure that none of it is being siphoned.”

“Sure,” said Luke.

“Second, your guild and the guild you harbor will both be incorporated into the Revolutionary Rebels. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement, as our guild will soon be far and beyond any other on the server. You wouldn’t stand a chance against us in any way if you decided to fight.”

Luke glanced out the window. Silverstrike and Katrina were on either side of the gate, and the members of Athena’s Wrath, all armed with ranged weapons, were on top of the wall.

He looked back at Marcus and saw a man. Not a monster, but a man. From his perspective, it really was just an immersive game. There was nothing in the rules against being a bully, taking what he needed for himself and his guild.

There’s nothing in the rules against deliberate, cold-blooded murder, either, but that doesn’t make it right.

“Kato, are you listening?”

Luke nodded.

“Yes.”

He pushed his hand forward, directing his palm toward Marcus. The three conjured swords he’d hidden around the inside of the guild hall flew from the corners of the room and stabbed into the leader of the Revolutionary Rebels. Luke immediately launched forward.

CONJURE SWORD 3

PIERCE ATTACK 3

Luke’s plan had been audacious in its simplicity. Both guilds had pooled their money together to buy one vial of experience serum, which Luke had used himself to reach level 10 and gain the skill upgrades needed to stand a fighting chance in an assassination attempt.

The look on Marcus’s face was one of shock and rage. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as his health bar zeroed out, and Luke’s skin crawled at the nature of what he’d just done.

There is no time to feel guilt or shame. We aren’t done yet.

Arex let out a scream and began to charge up a spell, but Tess put her part of their plan into action. She used a slowing debuff on the remaining three enemy players in the guild hall, and it gave Luke the advantage he needed to stand a fighting chance.

He stabbed into one with Pierce Attack 3. One of the others struck a spear into his shoulder, but Luke was comparatively quick enough to pull himself free without losing more than half of his health. He whirled, striking three times in quick succession, dropping his third foe.

The debuff wore off on Arex right as Luke turned to finish him off. The Red Mage moved as though to take Tess hostage again, echoing what had happened in their last fight.

“No!” Tess cast another spell and knocked Arex back. The mage launched several ice blasts at Luke as he closed the distance between them, but only one made contact, and it wasn’t enough to stop him.

Luke buried his sword into his former ally and watched as Arex’s health bar dropped to zero.

I’m no different from him now, killing my enemies during negotiations.

Outside the guild hall, the gates to the compound had been shut, and the members of Athena’s Wrath were hailing down spells and arrows onto the enemies lurking outside. Luke was still concerned by the sheer number of foes they faced, but after climbing to the top of the wall and looking down on them, he could see just how disorganized they were without a leader.

“Silverstrike!” He yelled to his friend and then pointed to a group of three enemy players that was cut off from the whole. “Let’s clean this up!”

The two of them dropped down to the ground outside of the wall and moved to engage. Silverstrike used his stealth skills to take one of them out before being seen. Luke approached and attacked the remaining two, using his physical sword against one while dodging attacks from the other.

CONJURE SWORD 3

It only took one of his magical projectiles to drop the other enemy player.

He was only at level two… Most of these players are just here for show.

Silverstrike looked as though he was coming to the same conclusion. As he and Luke turned to go after a couple of other enemies that were easy pickings, the remainder of the Revolutionary Rebels began to retreat.

“We did it!” Katrina yelled to the two of them from behind the gate.

I did it… I stabbed a man in the back and saw the look in his eyes when he realized that he’d walked into a trap.

Luke tried to push the thoughts out of his head as he walked back into the compound. Silverstrike clapped him on the back and all of the members of Athena’s Wrath began cheering his name.

“Kato!” Tess was in front of him, staring into his eyes. She was the only one who could see what he felt. She reached out and squeezed his hand.

“You know why I had to do that, right?” Luke asked the question quietly so that only she and not the mass of celebrating players could hear it.

“I know,” she said. “And I’m glad you did, even if it was hard…”

I did it for you, Tess. I did it for us.

CHAPTER 26

“To our new found friends. To Silverstrike, Tess, and of course, Kato!”

Katrina stood in the glow of the bonfire next to the oasis, holding a gourd full of wine up in the air as she spoke to her guild and Luke and his friends. They’d spent the afternoon cleaning out the scene of the fight and preparing for a much-needed victory celebration.

Was Marcus wearing one of the new headsets? Did he feel some of the pain as the blades stabbed into him?

Luke was smiling, but it was just a mask concealing his real emotions. He was in the center of the group but wanted more than anything else to be alone with his thoughts.

Tess had been holding his hand for almost the entire night. It was one of the only things keeping Luke in good spirits, along with Silverstrike’s antics as he drank wine and slowly began to act inebriated.

“It feels like I’m really tipsy!” he yelled. “This simulation is too real.”

I agree.

Tess saw the look on his face and squeezed his hand.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Luke nodded.

“Yeah, I think I just need some air.”

He pulled away from her and walked over to the gates of the compound. A spell had struck them during the fray, and one of the members of Athena’s Wrath had spent the better part of an hour repairing it. He started to open up the gate when Tess pulled him into a hug from behind, her soft arms gently wrapping around him.

“Kato…” she whispered. “Luke. What’s going on?”

The stars and moons were out, lending enough light to the night to make her face visible even away from the bonfire. Unlike everyone else, Tess didn’t look happy. Moonbeams streaked across her beautiful pale face as she watched him with concern.

“Tess… I killed Marcus.” Luke let out a small, defeated sigh. “And yes, I know he’s not really dead. But I feel like I would have done the same thing, even if it had meant that he would have been.”

“Luke…” Tess stepped in closer to him and cupped his cheek in her hand. “It’s okay. I understand.”

How can you understand? I barely know it myself.

Tess brought her face close, not to kiss him, but to speak words that she spoke almost inaudibly.

“It’s because you live here now.” She had an intense, serious look in her eyes. “The outside world isn’t your home, at least not your real home. Not anymore.”

She’s… right.

“This is just a game, though,” said Luke, bitterly. “Or at least that’s the way most people treat it. And I still have to suffer through my life on the outside.”

“Luke… What if you didn’t have to anymore? What if neither of us had to?”

“…What?”

Tess kissed him softly on the lips.

“I’ve been through a lot in my life, Luke,” said Tess. “In the so-called ‘real world,’ I am my own worst enemy, the source of my own torment. It’s not like that for me here.”

“Tess…”

“And you realize it too! I know you do. It’s why you were willing to do what you had to do.” Tess rubbed her hand through his hair. “This game, this world, it’s beautiful, Luke. And I don’t want to have to let the beauty that I see here go.”

The group over by the bonfire broke out into raucous laughter. Luke felt as though he needed to take a break.

“I’m going to log out, Tess,” said Luke. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“I’ll log out too!” she said. “You’re at my house, remember?”

Luke smiled at her, and then after pulling his journal out of his satchel, disconnected.

It was dark, and taking off the headset gave Luke a mild headache. Ben was sitting at his desk, still in Yvvaros, still at the party enjoying himself. After packing up his computer and VR headset, he shouldered his bag and walked to the door.

I need to clear my head…

Emily was already waiting for him in the hallway. Looking at her felt different than it had immediately after he’d discovered who she was in-game. He saw his friend’s older sister, but he also saw Tess. They had merged into one in the same.

“Hey,” she said. “Is this helping, at all? You don’t have to force yourself to play if you really don’t want to.”

“I’m going to head home for the night, I think,” said Luke. He smiled weakly at Emily and turned away.

“You can’t!” She grabbed his hand as he started toward the stairs. “Luke, after what your dad did to you last night… it’s not safe.”

“I’m going to have to face him eventually,” said Luke. “It’s just another shitty part of my life.”

“You still don’t get it…” Emily stepped in closer to him, keeping her eyes locked onto his. “Luke, you can leave it behind. Your dad isn’t a part of your life in Yvvaros. He doesn’t know about the guild hall or Dunidan’s Rest. Your problems here don’t follow you there.”

Luke could see something in her eyes that was impossible to ignore.

She’s carrying so much pain on her shoulders, but from what?

“Is that why you like playing it so much, Emily?” Luke couldn’t stop the question from coming out. Emily looked away from him and then shrugged.

“Do whatever you need to do, Luke,” she whispered. “And I’ll do whatever I need to do.”

Luke watched her for a moment longer, trying to find words that would break the tense silence. None came to him, and instead, he walked down the stairs and out the front door into the street.

It was nighttime outside, just as it had been in-game. Somehow, that made the transition out of the digital world a little easier. He was still glancing around for his HUD indicators as he walked home, but at the very least he didn’t feel jetlagged as he often did.

His dad’s car was parked outside and he hesitated before going into the house, but Luke knew that he didn’t really have any choice.

He’s not going anywhere. Even if he is an abusive asshole, I can’t change the fact that he’s my dad.

Luke walked up to the front door and slowly opened it. The house was silent inside, and for a moment he thought his father might have already gone to bed.

“You’re back.” Chris Smith was sitting on the couch. His posture was unnaturally still. “I wasn’t sure if you ever would be.”

Luke swallowed his anger and forced himself to speak in a neutral voice.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back, either.”

His dad didn’t stand up.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

You’re sorry? That’s your apology? Just like that?

“There’s some food on the counter if you’re hungry.” His father gestured over to the kitchen, where a couple of fast food bags sat crumpled.

“I can’t stay here…” Luke was a little surprised by how heartfelt the words sounded as they left his mouth. “I’m not staying.”

Chris Smith sighed, and then stood up. He moved slowly, as though he was watching a deer or a wild animal that might spook easily.

“It’s your life to live, Luke,” he said. “I’m not…the father that I should be. But you need me now more than ever.”

I need you like I need cancer.

“No,” said Luke. “I don’t need you, dad.”

“Luke…” Chris Smith shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. “The game is not what you think it is. Yvvaros is not just an escape from the world… it is a world of its own.”

He’s actually…right, I think.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the news stories about people ‘going all in.' It’s not a game anymore.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Luke snapped back at him with a little more intensity than he’d intended. “Dad… some people don’t have the life they want in the real world. Of course, they’re going to be tempted by the prospect of living a second life.”

Chris Smith shook his head.

“They won’t be for much longer.” He sat back down on the couch and turned the TV on with the remote. “I’m not going to tell you not to play it. Soon, it’s not going to matter either way.”

What the hell is he talking about?

Luke watched silently as his dad flipped through a couple of channels, and then turned the TV off, as though he was looking for a distraction that he couldn’t find. He stood up and walked across the living room to the stairs.

“Goodnight, Luke,” said his father. Luke didn’t reply, and his dad disappeared up to the second floor.

Even though every fiber of Luke’s being was telling him to grab what he needed and go, he decided against it. There was something about his dad’s words that reverberated in his head, like a cryptic prophecy of what was to come.

It’s not just a game anymore…

CHAPTER 27

Luke stayed the night at his own house. When he woke up the next morning, his dad had already left, and he was thankful for it. It left him with the opportunity to take his time showering and getting ready for school without having to worry about another confrontation.

The sky outside was a depressingly overcast shade of gray. Luke walked quickly, feeling as though it could start raining at any time. Ben hadn’t texted him that morning and Luke figured that he’d already left as he passed by his friend’s dormant looking house.

He headed straight to his locker once he’d arrived at school. The process of dropping off his bag and picking out his books for his first class felt forced and artificial.

Why am I here, doing this? What’s the point?

One of the jocks that had a locker next to his said something that didn’t register in Luke’s awareness. He closed his locker and walked to his first class.

It was a Tuesday, and that meant he was in Mr. Hartman’s Computer Science class. For a change, he arrived a bit early and had a chance to log into one of the computers and get settled before the other students started milling in.

The classroom slowly filled up. Computer Science was the only class that Luke and Ben shared, and he waited a tad impatiently for his friend to walk in and take the computer next to him.

If he left early like I thought he had, he’d be here by now, wouldn’t he?

Mr. Hartman came into the room and closed the door just as the first bell began to ring. He started teaching in a monotone, unenthusiastic voice. Luke was completely tuned out.

He has to be back at his place. Is he in-game? Did something happen with the guild?

“Mr. Smith,” said Mr. Hartman, catching him by surprise. “Could you repeat back to me what I just said?”

“Uhh…” Luke heard chuckles coming from the rest of the students in the room. “No, sorry, I can’t.”

“Take a guess,” said Mr. Hartman. “That’s what you usually do in my class, anyway, judging by your test scores.”

Luke felt anger condensing in the bottom of his throat. He sighed, and then, unable to contain himself, he stood up.

I can’t be here right now.

“Mr. Smith, I didn’t give you permission to get out of your seat!”

Luke wasn’t listening. He didn’t even bother to log out of his user account. Instead, he just grabbed his books and headed for the door. All of his fellow students found it hilarious, and Mr. Hartman was more focused on calming them down and keeping control of the room than preventing him from leaving.

The halls were empty. Luke felt a strange, foreboding sense of urgency as he grabbed his bag from his locker and headed for the exit.

Ben would have told me if something was going on. He would have told me, even if something wasn’t, before just skipping out on school.

Luke hustled out of the parking lot and toward his friend’s house, walking at a pace that was fast enough to make his calves ache. He did his best to keep his thoughts in line, but at the edge of his mind, fear and worry swirled together, forming into worst case scenarios.

Ben’s house looked exactly as it had earlier that morning. Luke walked up to the front door and knocked on it softly, then again a little bit louder. Nobody came to let him in. Immediately his fears began to percolate as if all of the bad omens had been validated.

“Ben? Emily?” Luke called up to the second-floor windows of their rooms. “Hello?”

He waited for only a second longer before opening the door and heading in. There was no sign of anyone downstairs. The living room and kitchen were untouched from the night before. There were still shoes sitting on the foot mat and dirty dishes piled high in the sink.

“Ben? Hello?” Luke made his way upstairs, a growing sense of dread twisting his stomach into a knot.

When he reached the door to Ben’s room, he threw it open without any hesitation. His friend was in almost the exact same position he’d been in the last time Luke had seen him. Except now his pipe was out on the desk, along with the bottle of vodka, which was significantly less full.

“Ben!” Luke walked over and began shaking his shoulder.

He’s skipping school to play Yvvaros. That’s not alright… is it?

It took physically pulling the headset off of him to bring Ben back from his game induced trance. He let out a surprised gasp as the headset’s contacts left his scalp and kicked the inside of his desk as he flailed around in surprise.

“What the fuck?” He was breathing as though he’d just run a marathon as he swiveled his chair to see what was going on. “Luke? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” said Luke. “It’s 9 AM. Why didn’t you show up for school today?”

“That’s not possible. Emily would have pushed me out of the house if that were the case.”

Emily… Wait a second.

Luke stepped away from Ben and bit his lower lip. He walked out into the hallway and headed toward Emily’s room, toward Tess’s physical address.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Luke felt like he was walking through molasses. He struggled with an intense, sickening feeling that something was horribly wrong. He threw the door to Emily’s room open and froze.

She was lying on her bed with a VR headset on, one of the newest Gamesoft models, the same as what Luke and Ben had been using to log on with. The room’s metallic, copper smell was the first thing Luke noticed, followed by the dark red stains that coated the sheets on Emily’s bed.

“Fuck…” Luke shook his head and forced himself to walk over to her. “Fuck!”

She wasn’t moving. Luke fought against his emotions, along with the rock that had formed in his throat. He forced himself to check for her pulse and felt nothing but cold, clammy skin.

“No, no, no!” Luke let out a ragged breath and began shaking Emily desperately, wishing that there was something, anything that he could do.

“What… is this?” Ben was standing behind him in the door and wore his disbelief openly on his face. “Emily… has a headset?”

“Wake up!” Luke shook her even more vigorously. Her body felt disgustingly stiff. Tears were beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.

“Luke, how is this… possible?”

“She’s Tess!” Luke practically spat the words out, anger seeping into his voice. “She’s been with us from the start. She…”

He paused, and looked back at Ben, who appeared to be even more confused by his revelation.

“But… that means… you and my sister?”

“She just killed herself, Ben!” screamed Luke. “She… she tried to go all in…”

Ben shook his head and walked back toward the door. After a second, he began to take shallow, raspy, hyperventilating breaths.

“Luke… Tess was in the guild hall,” he said. “She was there ten minutes ago, probably is even still there.”

“…What?”

“If she was trying to go all in…” Ben looked as though he was thinking intently as he spoke. “I… I think it might have worked.”

Luke looked back at Emily’s body, feeling an intense need to confirm that she really was dead. Nothing had changed. His heart rattled against his ribcage like a rickety, rusty motor.

Without saying anything to Ben, without even expecting it himself, Luke turned and ran out of the room. The air tasted hot in his mouth as he ran to where he’d set his bag down in the living room, and within it, his gateway to Yvvaros.

“Ben!” Luke looked back up to the second-floor hallway at his friend. Ben was standing hunched, with shoulders pulled in and hands clutched together in a crumpled prayer.

“I’m going to… to check.” Luke felt his eyes and mouth scrunch together in an involuntary, anticipatory wince. “I need to know for sure.”

There is no way that it could be possible… could it?

He set up his laptop and headset right there in the living room, fumbling to plug into the power outlet and typed his password into the log in screen.

“Luke, we have to call 911!” Ben was down on one knee, still taking deep, shaky breaths like an asthmatic recovering from an attack. “Her body is still in there!”

“Ben…” Luke pulled the headset over his face, half in desperation, and half in an attempt to keep his closest friend from seeing the tears beginning to leak out of his eyes. “I have to see for myself.”

He pressed the enter key and transported himself into another world. It was late in the afternoon in Yvvaros, and the sun was a burning orange sphere on the western horizon. Further up, he could see the faint outline of the larger, azure moon. Luke’s heartbeat felt even more intense in-game, and for a second, he hesitated from lowering his vision down and over to the nearby guild hall.

Dunidan’s Rest…

Luke began walking over to the open door of the rustic, wooden building.

Tess and I cleared this zone together. All of us did.

He stared at the ground as he set his hand on the wood of the frame, the wood that he had chopped down himself, and then stepped inside.

“Hey, Luke. Miss me?”

CHAPTER 28

Tess was grinning from ear to ear, a style of smile that Luke had never seen on her before. She was radiant and gorgeous, and very much alive. A shiver went down Luke’s spine and he ran forward, even though the distance between them was too short for his speed to be practical.

“You…” Luke pulled her tight against him, his heart thumping in a way that he was sure she’d be able to feel through their bodies. “Why...?”

“You know why, Luke,” whispered Tess. “Or at least you know some of the why.”

Luke opened his mouth but found that his throat was paralyzed by emotion. His temples ached in rhythmic spurts, as though trying to match the pattern of his confused heart.

“Luke… Kato… I wasn’t happy in the outside world.” She smiled sadly. “And that’s putting it mildly. Yvvaros has saved me.”

“You could have just… kept playing it. Normally, I mean.”

“It’s not a game, Luke!” Tess’s voice rose to a yell. “It’s never been a game! And people are starting to realize it!”

“My dad helped design it, Tess.” Luke shook his head. “It’s not something mystical, it’s just…”

“It doesn’t have to be something mystical!” Tess glared at him. “You know what I’m talking about. It’s a world, Luke. Another world.”

All he could offer back was a weak shake of his head.

She isn’t wrong. I’m wrong.

“We always dreamed of fantasy and adventure. We wanted there to be a next step for mankind, but we never considered anything like this.” Tess set one of her hands on his shoulder. “It’s a digital world, a game, sure… but it can support us! The part of us that’s really us, our minds! Our thoughts!”

“Tess… what are you saying?”

“I’m not saying anything Luke, it’s already done,” said Tess. “I’m going to live here now.”

This is too much…

Luke could only shake his head, not as much in disagreement as in disbelief. He began to wonder what was happening with Ben outside the game, and about just how much time he’d have before the ambulance showed up and he’d have no choice but to…

To what? Go back to the real world, where Emily is dead? Where Tess is just a ghost player in an insignificant video game?

“Luke, listen to me… I’m still here.” Tess was holding his hands gently now, and crouching down to meet his sunken gaze.

“I… I know,” said Luke. “I believe you. I don’t know how, but you did it. You went all in.”

“The developers are aware of the people who have managed to do it. And they don’t like it.”

Luke blinked a couple of times, his mind so exhausted by the chaotic events that it took him a second to really hear her.

The developers? My dad?

“They’re increasing the difficulty on all of the leveled monsters,” said Tess. “I guess they think that if they press hard enough for a couple of days, they can make a stand and dissuade more players from trying it.”

“This is insane.” Luke took a deep breath and then set his hands on his head. “It’s almost like they’re trying to kill off-”

HARDCORE RULES: ACTIVE

PERMADEATH RULES: ACTIVE

GUILDCHAT: DISABLED

The messages flashed across Luke’s vision. He read them several times in a row before the full implications settled into his head.

“Jesus…”

Luke looked out the nearest window. The sand was shaking visibly, centered on a couple of points further out into the desert. The floor underneath them began to vibrate in the familiar manner of an earthquake.  A second later, four Dunidans exploded out of the ground a couple of hundred feet away.

“We can’t stay here!” Luke turned to Tess and saw fear, real fear, in her eyes.

“Oh my god,” she said, shaking her head. “Kato… there are too many of them.”

If we stay here, they’ll destroy the guild hall, and both of us along with it.

“We’re going to Stark Town!” Luke grabbed her hand and began pulling her toward the door. “I’m not going to let you die!”

Several members of Athena’s Wrath were standing outside, still within the wall of the compound. They waited a distance from the gate, looking surprisingly unconcerned.

“We have to move!” shouted Luke. “Permadeath means you die for good!”

“We know,” said one of them. A moment later, she disappeared.

“Just log out.” The other one smiled at him and then also became empty space. Luke looked over to Tess and rubbed his hand on her shoulder, feeling almost claustrophobic in how profoundly trapped he felt by the situation.

I’m not going to let Tess die, no matter what.

“Come on, we’re wasting time!” Luke pulled Tess forward hard enough to make her stumble. He ran up to the gate and threw it open, suppressing his fear as much as he could.

He didn’t stop running. He pulled her with him as the giant worms surfaced along either side of them, dolphining out of the ground and then back into it as near to them as the creatures could manage.

CONJURE SWORD 3

Magical blades materialized on either side of Luke’s head, though he knew that they would be little more than pinpricks against the mighty Dunidans. He didn’t slow his pace down, even though the distance across the desert and into the Inner Plains was intimidating enough to seem hopeless.

“Luke, it's coming!” Tess screamed in a louder voice than Luke had thought her capable of. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see what she was pointing at.

Luke launched two of his conjured swords forward. His goal wasn’t to take the beast out, or even deal impressive damage. He just wanted to get one of them into its grotesque, tooth crowded mouth.

Both of the projectiles flew at the Dunidan, aimed at the back of the creature’s gaping mouth. Both of the projectiles struck true, and the monster let out a cry that was more vibration than audible sound.

It crashed forward into the sand, not even close to defeated, but injured enough to be distracted. Luke and Tess didn’t slow down. The other worm twisted its path as it dove through the air, changing course and sliding across the sand toward them head on.

ELEMENTAL INFUSION: ICE

PIERCE ATTACK 3

Luke launched himself directly forward at the monster, his sword held in front of him like a jouster would hold a lance.

This is my biggest gamble.

Instead of leaping into the air and trying to attack the Dunidan from the most opportune angle, he charged forward into its mouth. Luke could hear Tess’s screams from behind him, the words twisting together into nonsense as time slowed down and his plan took hold.

At the last second, Luke turned to the side. He used his elementally infused sword as though it were a giant icicle, crushing it into the creature’s teeth. Just as the other one had, it began to close its mouth.

Permadeath... That means I’ll be out of the game, for good. My dad would be so proud.

“Slow!” Tess had her staff raised at the worm. Luke responded to what had happened before he completely understood it, pushing himself away from the deadly monstrosity.

As he rolled back onto the sand and into safety, the Dunidan moved in slow motion. It was the effect of Tess’s debuff. She was the one running now, and as she passed by Luke, she grabbed his hand and pulled him forward with her.

Their feet struck the ground in matching rhythms, neither of them slowing down even as their stamina meters began to dip down to dangerous levels. The sand slowly gave way to thin crabgrass, which grew thicker as they progressed into the relative safety of the Inner Plains.

Stark Town appeared on the horizon, and even from a distance Luke could see that it was more crowded than ever.

“Come on!” Luke looked over at Tess, who was running alongside him, her robe blowing against the wind. “We have to push our way inside!”

“Wait…” Tess slowed down as they both crossed the threshold into the town. “I hear… screams?”

They moved further in, watching the scene ahead of them with wary eyes. Chaos was breaking out in the settlement, and most of the players were in a dead sprint away from it, in the opposite direction of where Luke and Tess were heading.

“What’s going on?” shouted Luke. One of the players running past shook his head and gestured behind him with his hand.

“The Tymians are coming into Stark Town through the Underground!” The player yelled. “It’s a World Event!”

That… can’t be possible. Are they trying to kill everyone off?

Tess looked as though she could read his mind, and nodded solemnly.

“It’s only going to matter for the players who’ve gone all in,” she whispered. “For players like me. Everyone else can log out, or eventually make a new character.”

“Tess!” Luke grabbed her hand tightly and stared into her scared, vulnerable eyes. “I’m not going to let that-”

The world was suddenly wrenched out from underneath him, and Luke saw black. A spasm took hold of his stomach and for a moment, he thought he was going to throw up.

“Tell us what happened, kid.” A man was standing over him dressed in a police uniform, and Luke realized that he was back in Ben’s living room. “And explain just why the hell you’re playing a video game while you’re friend’s sister is dead in the other room!”

Because she’s still alive, in Yvvaros.

“Luke…” Ben was standing on the other side of the cop, watching him with concerned, desperate eyes. Luke nodded slightly and watched his friend’s expression shift to one of relief.

“You want to start talking?” The cop had his arms crossed and was frowning at him. A stretcher with Emily’s unmoving body was being wheeled out of the house behind him.

What is there to say?

“I… I’m still just in shock,” said Luke. “It’s hard for me to believe. To process.”

Damn it, I need to get back in-game! I need to save Tess…

The cop looked unsatisfied, but after a moment he shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Ben.

“You’ll have to stay somewhere else for tonight,” he said. “Technically, since you’re 18, it’s not our responsibility to track down someone to take care of you. I will call your parents and alert them to what’s happened, so you don’t have to-”

“Ben, we can head to my place!” Luke jumped to his feet as an idea entered his head. “Come on, let’s go!”

The police officer looked suspicious but said nothing. Ben started to walk toward Luke, who gestured for him to lean in close.

“Go get your headset,” he whispered.

“It’s not going to do me any good without my computer, Luke!”

He’s right…

Luke shook his head as he tried to think of a solution.

“Well, pack it into your sister’s car!” yelled Luke. “You have to get in-game and protect Tess!”

The cop had wandered back upstairs. Ben was still shell shocked and shook his head in confusion.

“What about you? You’re going to protect her too, right?”

“Yeah…” Luke smiled. “I’m going to use my dad’s computer to set things right.”

“…What?”

“He’s one of the developers! If I can figure out how to use his computer to get admin access in-game, then I can stop all of this.”

Ben stared at Luke, processing what his friend had just said. Luke didn’t waste any time and packed up his laptop and headset into his bag before rushing out of the house.

Can I make it in time?

CHAPTER 29

The sidewalk was mostly empty on Luke’s way back home. All of the kids and teenagers were still in school and it was easier for him to sprint along as fast as he could. His backpack swung from side to side with each stride and he did his best to keep it held steady.

The driveway was empty and Luke let out a sigh of relief. He ran in through the front door and headed straight for his dad’s room.

I just need to log onto his computer, and hopefully I can figure out how to get admin access…

Chris Smith’s bedroom was a mess, with empty liquor and beer bottles scattered across the floor. The bed was unmade, and there was a sharp looking hunting knife violently stabbed into the wooden nightstand next to it. Luke’s father’s laptop was set up on his desk, still powered up from its use the night before.

Alright, I just need to figure out his password…

The task had sounded much easier in his head than it turned out to be in reality. Luke began typing in everything he could think of, his dad’s name, his dad’s middle name, his mom’s name, Yvvaros, password, and dozens of other random guesses. The log in screen refused him every time, an unyielding gatekeeper.

“Fuck!” Luke slammed his hand down on the desk next to the keyboard.

I don’t have time for this! What would my dad use as his password?

Luke took a deep breath, and then had a sudden idea. He slowly typed his parent’s anniversary in and then hit enter. It was still the wrong password, as he’d expected. His mind began to buzz as another idea formed. Slowly, making sure each keystroke was exact, he typed in the day and year that his mother had died and hit enter.

WELCOME

“Yes!” Luke smiled, silently giving thanks for his luck. As the desktop came into view, he pulled his headset out of his bag and plugged it into his dad’s laptop.

“Luke?”

The voice came from the doorway behind him and caused him to jump with surprise. Luke turned around and saw the last person he would have expected.

“Sam? What the hell are you doing here?” It was impossible to keep his confusion and impatience from seeping into his voice.

I need to be helping Tess right now!

“You weren’t at lunch, and…” Sam looked visibly upset, as though she was on the verge of crying. “Everybody in your first-period class said that you just got up, and left. I’m worried about you, Luke.”

“I don’t have time for this,” said Luke. “I have to-”

“Luke.” Another voice entered the room. “You shouldn’t be in here.”

“I’m sorry, Luke!” Sam had her hands pushed together as if pleading for his forgiveness. “When I realized that you were skipping school I told the office, and they…”

“They called me.” Chris Smith took a step into the room. “I had to leave work over this.”

I can’t let him stop me!

“No, you don’t understand!” yelled Luke. “You’ve set people up to die!”

Sam look confused, but Luke’s dad just smiled.

“In Yvvaros, you mean.” He took another step into the room. “Luke, nobody is going to get hurt over the new conditions in a video game.”

“There are people who live in that world!” Luke gestured angrily with his hand. “People who will die for good if respawning stays turned off.”

“You're foolish,” said his dad. “Those aren’t people. Those people died when their real life bodies died. The other developers and I are just trying to keep more people from committing suicide.”

Luke took a step toward his dad’s bed. He still had the headset in one hand and was limited by the range of its cord, but managed to move far enough to take hold of the knife and pull it free.

“Luke…” whispered Sam. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” said Luke. “I don’t want to. Dad, just tell me how to turn off permadeath.”

“Is this a joke?” Chris Smith let out an incredulous laugh. “You’re this addicted to that stupid game? To the point of making empty threats?”

“I’m not making an empty threat.” Luke double clicked the Yvvaros launch icon, hoping that it would default to admin access. “I’m going to do whatever it takes.”

The log in screen popped up on the monitor. Unfortunately, his dad’s log in information was not saved in the username and password fields.

“Give me your headset!” shouted his father. “I’ve had enough of this.”

So have I…

Luke typed in his own login information quickly and took a deep breath. Sam and his father were both watching him. He didn’t want it to have to come to bloodshed, but it was clear that there was no other choice.

Saving Tess is the only thing that matters…

Luke positioned the knife against his stomach and slowly began to push it in.

“Don’t!” screamed Sam.

It’s too late…

He pulled the headset down over his head carefully and then leaned forward onto the desk as hard as he could. The pain of the blade entering his abdomen was excruciating.

And then he was inside Yvvaros.

CHAPTER 30

The pain of the knife was gone, transmuted into a strange emotional conflict that instantly swirled within Luke like a tempest.

I’m never going back, am I?

He felt his simulated heart beating with furious intensity as he looked around. He was in Stark Town, right where he’d been with Tess before he’d last been pulled out of the game. She was nowhere to be seen, and around him, other players shouted and fought against creatures in the streets.

Those are the same as the ones I fought at the start of the game. The Tymians, the main quest monsters.

It was the middle of the night. Kantor hung in the sky overhead, blocking out stars and glowing slightly along the edges like a gigantic solar eclipse. Both moons were out on either side of it, and the formation looked like a far off, celestial mobile.

Luke clutched his sword tightly in his hands and willed his legs to bring him forward. He looked from side to side as he went, first toward the various houses and buildings on either side of the street, and then at the players who’d been brave enough to make a stand.

“For Kantor!” screamed one of them, spinning and striking his Tymian opponent with a spear.

It’s a repeat of what happened at the very start of the game, but this time for real.

One of the creatures spilled out of an alleyway to the left, and Luke moved forward to engage it.

CONJURE SWORD 3

Luke was only at level ten, and it was clear that the monster was at least a few levels higher than him. He launched all three of his magical blades at it, and they depleted the Tymian’s health bar by about a quarter of its maximum length.

Fuck! It’s strong enough to one-shot me if it uses a combat ability.

The Tymian moved toward him head on. Luke sank to his knees and rolled to the side, dodging its claws as it took a swing. He pulled his blade back as the Tymian moved into a lunge, countering with an overhead strike. The creature turned faster than he’d been expecting and struck back, leaving Luke with no option other than to take the hit, his health bar draining by half instantly.

“God dammit!” Luke swung his sword and connected with its neck once, and then again. The Tymian fell back and he pushed forward, a fire burning inside of him, pushing out of his eyes.

This is my world. This is where I belong now.

There were patterns to the Tymian’s movements and he began to pick up on them as it recovered and tried to retaliate. Luke dodged and then struck twice more.

PIERCE ATTACK 3

The Tymian lurched and fell forward as Luke lunged into it, skewering it with the point of his sword. Luke knocked it off and kept moving.

I don’t have time for this. I need to find her.

He was headed for the one place in Stark Town that he knew would still have a gathering of players and he hoped, Tess. There were fights everywhere he looked, but rather than stopping to help the players, he reminded himself of the critical facts of the situation.

Tess can actually die. They can just log out.

The inn was a madhouse. Luke could tell even from the outside looking in. Swarms of players attempted to push in through the door, creating a traffic jam of epic proportions as their avatars did everything they could to reach safety.

Some brave players had set up on either end of the street, protecting the makeshift sanctuary against the Tymian onslaught. Luke scanned his eyes across them slowly, until he locked onto a familiar figure amidst the chaos.

“Tess!”

He ran toward her, ignoring the battles taking place all around. She was desperately casting healing spells, buffs, and debuffs, the glow from her magic giving her a bright, constant aura.

“Kato…” She smiled at him as he pulled her into a tight, protective embrace. “I was worried about you.”

“You don’t have to worry anymore, Tess.” Luke pulled back slightly and stared into her eyes. Realization dawned on Tess’s face before he’d even said anything more.

“You… how could you?” Tess shook her head and pounded one of her fists against his chest. “You had a life in the outside world, Luke!”

I thought she would be happy?

“So did you,” he replied. “Why are you so upset?”

“You… can die now, Luke,” she whispered. “You went all in, knowing that. You’re the one who needs to explain why.”

A Tymian emerged from a side street. Luke whirled to face it out of reflex, landing three quick slashes as he readied his combat abilities.

CONJURE SWORD 3

PIERCE ATTACK 3

Luke went forward with his real sword while the conjured ones kept it pinned down. The combination left him drained of magicka, but it was enough to subdue the creature.

“For you.” Luke stopped scanning the scene of the battle and looked at Tess. “I went all in for you.”

A large group of Tymians were moving toward the defenders from the north end of the street. Luke moved away from Tess and into the fray, feeling her cast a buff on him as he went.

“Force them back!” he yelled. The rest of the defenders looked a bit warier in their approach, but they followed him as he charged into danger.

They don’t have anyone to protect. They don’t understand that for some of us, this is life and death.

Luke fought with all of the ferocity of a wolf backed into a corner. He didn’t focus on one Tymian, instead slashing and hacking into as many different ones as he could as he moved around the battlefield.

His magicka was completely drained, and an overconfident step forward into the ranks of the Tymians cut him off from his fellow players. Luke swung his sword in a circular arc, but it wasn’t enough to push back the press of evil.

“Looks like I got here just in time!” Silverstrike disengaged from stealth mode beside him, appearing from thin air. Luke smiled at him and ducked low to allow his friend to take advantage of an opening to throw a dagger at one of the creatures.

“You always loved making a dramatic entrance.” Luke laughed, despite the hopelessness that still loomed all around. “Where did you set up your computer in the end?”

“The library,” said Silverstrike. He shook his head and looked concerned. “There was a huge commotion at your place, what happened?”

It’s not going to be easy explaining this to Ben, either.

The Tymians were falling back, and it left Luke and Silverstrike with a clear path back to the main group defending the inn. The human players were enjoying a temporary respite, but even with their best efforts on the line, they were slowly losing to the World Event mobs. Many had already logged out, or died and lost their characters permanently. Luke gritted his teeth in frustration.

“We have to push forward and go on the offensive!”

“Are you out of your mind?” One of the higher level knights spoke with his mouth full, a crusty, stamina restoring loaf of bread clutched in his free hand. “We would get slaughtered. We’re heading back up to Kantor, at least up there the Tymians can’t-”

A blood-curdling screech came from overhead. Luke turned to look at it and saw a massive flying monster, bigger than anything he’d ever seen before. It was dark gray with unnaturally bright red eyes. Its wings created a massive draft as it flew toward Stark Town from the west, blowing thatch from the roofs of houses and making the cloaks and capes of the defenders dance behind them.

“What is that thing?” yelled Luke. “It’s… headed up!”

WYLLITE: A flying creature that grows to massive size through feeding on floating clouds of Ylgae, floating miniscule bits of vegetation in Yvvaros clouds. An omnivore, it has been known to supplement its diet with anything small enough to be taken by its jaws. Tymians occasionally tame them and use them for transportation.

The creature’s destination was not Stark Town, not the stubborn players left defending the tiny outpost on the actual continent of Yvvaros. It was heading to attack Kantor, the safest place for a player that wanted to avoid the chaos, or needed to avoid it.

It’s almost like it can sense where the players who’ve gone all in would be the most likely to go.

Luke glanced over at Tess, who looked just as worried as he felt.

“We have to stop it,” he said, and then repeated louder, turning toward the crowd of fellow players. “We have to stop it!”

“It’s over at this point,” said a mage. “Permadeath is on. I don’t know what your plan is, but I don’t want any part in it.”

The mage suddenly disappeared, and Luke knew that he had logged out.

“I’m not just going to give up!” Luke climbed on top of a small crate that was set on the side of the street. “We can take back Kantor! We can put a stop to this!”

“Why should we bother?” asked another player.

He doesn’t get it. None of them do.

“Because they aren’t going to stop!” Luke jabbed his finger into the air, first pointing at the flying monster, still headed toward the floating city, and then at the sky itself, as though calling out god. “This is the world that we play in… the world that we live in. Are you really going to cede your control that easily?”

There was a murmur of agreement through the crowd. Silverstrike climbed up next to Luke and cleared his throat.

“I think a lot of you forget that this is a World Event, a onetime thing.” He nodded at Luke and then continued. “Sure, permadeath is active, but if we manage to defeat the Event Boss, we’ll get gold, experience, and possibly even rare items. You guys can pass on that if you want, but I’m not missing out!”

Luke watched as a change came over the group of players. Some of them logged out, but others began checking their supplies in their satchels, casting healing spells, and preparing themselves for what was to come. Luke looked over at Tess, who was watching him with admiration in her eyes.

“Alright,” he called out to the crowd. “If we’re going to do this, we need to do it right.”

CHAPTER 31

Luke stood in front of the rune circle in Stark Town with Tess on his left and Silverstrike on his right. Behind them was all of the manpower that remained after the town had been retaken.

The Tymians had not mounted a second attack, at least not on the ground. Luke and the rest of the players rushed to the connecting circle between Stark Town and Kantor, but the Wyllite had closed the distance to Kantor more quickly than they had been able to, depositing its Tymian passengers into the floating holy city.

“They’ll be waiting for us on the other side.” Luke spoke to the gathered group in a voice laced with confidence born of necessity. “I’ll lead the fighters and knights in first. Ranged attackers, rogues, and mages, will come through next.”

He turned to Tess, still speaking to the group, but making it clear that his words were really meant for her.

“Healers, don’t try to cross over until a minute or two has gone by,” he said. “We’ll focus on clearing the area around Kantor’s rune circle first.”

Tess stepped in close to him and grabbed his hand. Luke was still facing the group, but suddenly, it was an effort for him to keep his composure.

This could be it for us. We only get one shot.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” whispered Tess. Luke leaned in and kissed her.

“Alright, every second we wait is just more time for the Tymians to loot Kantor.” Silverstrike held one of his daggers up into the air like a battle standard. “Let’s get this raid started!

All of them joined together in a resounding battle cheer. Luke set his eyes into a determined glare, and then walked forward into the rune circle, leading an army behind him.

The transition from Stark Town to Kantor through the teleporter reminded him a little of putting the VR headset on, or taking it off. There was no time in between his departure and arrival, and the sensation was, as always, a bit unnerving.

The white marble, gold trimmed streets of Kantor were packed with activity from both players and Tymians. The screeching of the Wyllite was close enough to be painful now, and when Luke turned and looked at the creature, he was taken aback by its size.

It’s almost as big as Kantor…

A scream came from behind him. Luke looked and saw an army, several Tymians for every player he’d brought up with him. The creatures moved as a pack, slaughtering players as they went. The few remaining survivors were not fighting so much as fleeing.

Luke ran headfirst toward the pack.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the ground reinforcements flooded through the rune circle behind him. The nearest Tymian lacked no confidence in the way it made its way at Luke, gnashing its claws out in an attempt at intimidation.

CONJURE SWORD 3

Luke hung back, using the swords for defense instead of offense. The Tymians began attacking him in groups of two and three at a time. Luke met their strikes with quick counters, but the numbers were against him, against all of them.

Silverstrike was through the teleporter, and Luke could see him weaving his way through a crowd of Tymians just to get to him. Luke managed to knock one that had already taken damage from other players away from the pack, and the two of them fell on it with quick strikes, taking it out.

“Kato!” yelled Silverstrike. “There’s too many of them! We need to re-”

“No!” Luke turned to look at Silverstrike even as he continued to direct his conjured swords. He moved into a defensive position. As far as he could tell, Tess was still on the ground, but the healers were beginning to come up through the teleporter.

Giving up on this is the same as giving up on her.

“We can’t kill them.” Silverstrike swung his blade, forcing a Tymian that was quickly approaching to hop back.

“There’s got to be something…”

The clouds… they’re at eye level.

Luke felt two puzzle pieces click together in his head.

“We don’t have to kill them,” he said. “All we have to do is push them over the edge.”

“Push them over the edge…?”

Luke nodded.

“We lure them near one of the walls and get a couple of our mages to use wind magic to blow them over.”

Three Tymians in formation rushed toward them.

“Just go!” yelled Luke. “Get people coordinated for it. I’ll hold these guys-”

Claws whipped against Luke’s shoulder. A quarter of his health bar was taken away, but the larger impediment was the momentary stun it inflicted on his body.

The creature struck again, joined by others nearby. Luke’s health fell to precarious levels and then zeroed out.

Fuck!

Luke felt his screen fading to a strange, intermediary color. It wasn’t like the last time he had died, where the respawn was instantaneous. There was a pause that felt like a mixture of sleep and paralysis.

And then his eyes were open again. Luke was staring up at Tess, who was glowing with the familiar blue aura of the aftermath of a revival spell.

“Tess!” Luke stood up quickly, still hearing the sounds of battle raging all around him.

She was smiling, her face an expression of unbridled happiness, so out of place in the midst of the carnage of the sacking of a city. And, distracted by it, she didn’t see the claws as they approached her, just out of her line of view.

“No!” Luke screamed. She was too far away, and all he could do was watch.

The Tymian struck her down, and then struck again. Tess’s life bar was dropping just like Luke’s had, with the type of accelerating momentum of a ball thrown to the ground.

CONJURE SWORD 10

Luke used his combat ability and felt something tingle against the back of his head as swords began to materialize. Not one, or three, or any number that he’d summoned before.

Ten swords, like a small flock of birds, appeared and shot off at the Tymian that stood over Tess. All of them found their mark, and the creature fell backward.

“Tess!” He ran over to her, and then…

He helped her to her feet. Tess’s health bar was low, but not empty. She immediately cast another healing spell and brought herself back into safe territory.

“Jeez, that was close,” she said.

Luke swallowed hard and shook his head.

“Yeah,” he said. “It was.”

What the hell did I just do?

Silverstrike had put Luke’s plan into action across the city. Luke could see a small group of agile rogues and fighters running forward and carefully letting most of the massive Tymian pack follow behind them. Waiting ahead, a third of the way along the curved outer wall, were all of the mages, set in position to utilize their wind magic in the way that Luke had suggested.

“We might stand a chance!” he yelled to Tess. “We just have to-”

“Look out!” Tess moved to pull Luke back, managing to get him out of the way just in time. A spell exploded into harmless energy in the spot he’d been standing in. Luke followed its trail to the source and saw a different kind of enemy.

It was a Tymian, but larger than average and much better equipped. It looked more like one of the human players than an NPC, wearing a jacket of chainmail and wielding a glowing yellow two handed sword.

“This is it,” said the Tymian. “This is the end.”

It pushed forward past Luke and Tess, headed for a different target, the mages.

“Damn it!” He took off, running at full speed after the large Tymian. “We can’t let it reach them!”

“I… have your back!” Tess followed in his stead. Every fiber of Luke’s being wanted to tell her to get to safety, to not follow after him, but there was nowhere else she’d be protected.

If I die, she dies too.

The large Tymian wasn’t slow, but Luke was faster. He closed the distance and flew into action.

PIERCE ATTACK 3

He struck into the Tymian from behind. The blow wasn’t enough to take more than a sliver off the creature’s health or knock it down, but it got its attention.

The large Tymian had an amused expression on its face as it walked toward Luke. Instead of striking with the oversized sword, it held out a hand and used a spell.

Three large, magical arms, shot out in a triangle. Luke couldn’t move fast enough to keep them from dragging him in.

Damn!

The Tymian pulled him into range and lifted its sword into the air. Instead of bringing it down immediately, it hesitated, almost as though it had intended the strike as a threat.

“You’re a fool,” said the Tymian. “This should have never happened. None of it should have.”

“Luke, get ready!” Tess fired a gray colored spell at him that he didn’t recognize. When it hit, the magical arms disappeared and he had a chance to roll away.

“Just give up.” The Tymian was speaking to him again, this time directly, its eyes blazing with frustration and fury. “Just give up, Luke. You don’t have control here. You can’t win.”

…Dad?

Realization dawned on Luke like a brilliantly bright sunrise. He gripped his sword even more tightly.

“Get back!” Tess was moving forward, her staff infused with white energy in a similar manner to what Luke could do with his sword. He rushed after her, his heart sinking as he saw the Tymian raise its sword again.

“This doesn’t concern you!” The Tymian brought the weapon down, releasing a long range shock wave that knocked Tess to the ground like a rag doll.

“You bastard…” Luke glared at it.

Whatever you are… whoever you are… I‘m not going to let you dictate anything to me.

“I could have killed you several times over by now,” said the Tymian. “You’re lucky that I-”

CONJURE SWORD 10

Again, Luke brought more magical swords that he had realized that he was capable of into the world, shooting them off all at once at the Tymian. It blocked most of them, flinched back at the ones that snuck through, and was completely off guard for what came next.

ELEMENTAL INFUSION: FIRE

PIERCE ATTACK 3

In a cloud of flames, Luke flew forward at the monster. The point of his blade struck and broke through the first layer of chainmail. The fire did much more than that.

Luke was knocked through the air as the Tymian’s arm collided with his chest.

“You will learn!” The Tymian rushed at him, still smoldering and losing health. It swung its sword faster than Luke could dodge, and he felt his health bar begin to sink.

This is the end…

The Tymian struck him a second time, and the pain was enough on its own to let Luke know what the level difference between them must have been. It took an immense amount of effort just to keep his sword in his hand as his health again dropped to precipitous levels.

I can’t die! Not yet! Not until it’s safe!

He rolled away from a follow-up slice and jumped to his feet. The Tymian stood with its guard up for a moment and then let it down.

“Go ahead,” it said. “You can’t kill me. This is more than you know, more than you can even-”

The Tymian suddenly, and surprisingly, flew through the air. Tess was standing to the side of where he had been, aiming a rod that Luke had never seen before.

“It’s a Gust Rod!” She looked as though she would have smiled if the situation had been less dire.

Luke’s eyes followed the large Tymian through the air. The wall was only a few dozen feet away, and the rod had sent the creature up with a decent amount of speed.

Come on… come on.

The Tymian landed on its feet, just within the wall, unscathed.

“Damn it!” Luke took off in a determined sprint toward his enemy. “I won’t let you take this away from me!”

ELEMENTAL INFUSION: ICE

CONJURE SWORD 10

PIERCE ATTACK 3

Luke was capable of using all of his combat abilities at once, a feat that would have been impossible without one of the buffs Tess had inconspicuously cast on him during the fight. He flew toward the Tymian with superhuman speed, shielded by bright blue swords of ice.

Luke struck into the monster with everything that he had. The magical blades hit against it, followed by his real sword, and then followed by him. A thin layer of ice coated the Tymian, slowing it down just enough to make his grappling effective.

He wrestled it up and over the wall. It didn’t make a sound as it slipped off into the thin air, as if not even the prospect of dying was enough to unnerve it.

“Luke…” Tess was behind him, pointing at something across the city.

They… did it!

Using the battle strategy that Luke had devised, the main group of players was distracting the Tymians as the mages swept them over the edge with wind magic. There was even a player perched on the wall itself with a tiny telescope, peering down at the ground and confirming the kills from the fall.

“Come on!” Tess grabbed his hand and pulled him forward.

By the time they had closed in on the action, the number of Tymians left in Kantor could be counted on a single hand. The Wyllite moved from where it had been hovering, letting out another ear splitting screech before flying off into the clouds.

“About time you showed back up!” Silverstrike was waiting for them on top of one of the lower roofs nearby. “I was beginning to worry.”

He looked at Luke, and then at Tess, and then back at Luke again.

He knows that she’s his sister, now.

“So how long have you and Luke been… well, you know?” He asked the question with the type of awkward nervousness that would be expected from any younger brother toward an older sister on the matter. “Just since we all started playing the game?”

“Yes,” Tess said, smiling. “It’s… it’s what I want, Ben. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.”

Ben smiled and looked like he was fighting back tears.

“Hey, I’ll manage,” he said. “This beats you being dead, that’s for sure.”

The battle was over. Players from all around Kantor were making their way over to where the three of them were. Luke was confused by it for only a second.

They want me to say something.

He climbed up to where Silverstrike was on the roof before clearing his throat.

“We did it. This is exactly what we set out to do. But we paid a heavy price for it.”

He turned to Silverstrike, wishing that his friend would step up and help him out.

Damn it, you’re the one who is good at this kind of stuff, not me.

“We uh, need to never forget just how this happened to begin with.” Luke panned his head across what was quickly becoming a crowd of players. “The developers are not on our side.”

Thoughts of his dad briefly flashed through his head.

Was that really him?

“What Kato is getting at is that we’re not just fighting each other, but this world.” Silverstrike finally began cutting in. “It’s not just some silly in-game story, we really are going to have to fight to survive, and colonize the continent, bit by bit, if we want to avoid disaster.”

The crowd broke out into joyous applause. Luke only cared for one face among them all.

Tess…

He climbed down from the roof and walked over to her. Neither of them said anything, and instead pulled each other into a tight embrace.

“I thought you were gone,” whispered Tess.

“I’m all in now, remember?” Luke smiled. “I’m not going-”

His head suddenly hurt, and his field of vision was blurred beyond recognition. Luke could hear voices around him, and as he shifted his head, the unmistakably harsh glow of bright fluorescent lights pushed his gaze back.

CHAPTER 32

“He’s waking up,” said a female voice. “We can take the headset off now without worrying about his reaction. He should be stable.”

“Uhhh…” Luke couldn’t feel most of his body, but a sharp, throbbing pain was coming from his stomach.

From where the knife went in.

“I’m… still alive?” The question left his mouth as little more than a whisper, weak and unsteady.

“Shhhh… It’s okay.” Sam’s voice was a whisper too, laden with concern. “Luke… You’re okay now, here in the hospital. You weren’t yourself before.”

She ran a hand through his hair, and for a moment, Luke forgot about anything else and focused on the sensation. Then, he began to remember and to think about Yvvaros.

“I… I can’t stay here,” he said. “I have to get back inside.”

He looked across the room. His headset and his dad’s laptop were sitting on a chair not too far away from him, but the prospect of moving caused his body to rebel against the pain.

“The doctors were worried that you might not pull through.” Sam was smiling softly at him, though her expression was hard for Luke to make out through blurry eyes. “Your dad was actually the one that had them keep the VR headset on.”

My… dad did that?

“Where is he?” Luke looked around the room again. There was a nurse standing by the door, Sam, and nobody else.

“He left,” said Sam. She shook her head let out a shaky sigh. “Luke, what you did… it scared me half to death. Your dad, well, he couldn’t really believe it. I think being here might have been too hard for him.”

Or maybe he had another reason, something else that took priority.

“Sam…” whispered Luke. “You don’t understand.”

“You’re right. And I don’t think I ever well.” Sam leaned in closer to him, sliding partially up onto the hospital bed and up against him. “But I care about you, Luke. And I’m going to help you through this, help you figure things out.”

“I’ve already figured things out, Sam.”

She looked up at him with confused eyes, and Luke could pinpoint the exact moment that her hopes began to drop as she read his expression.

“What…” She shook her head. “Luke, what are you talking about? You almost died! You tried to kill yourself…”

Luke smiled.

“No, I didn’t,” he said. “I tried to step through a door and close it behind me.”

Sam squeezed his hand as though she thought that it would bring him back to his senses.

“Luke, what are you saying?”

“Sam, Yvvaros is just the start.” He locked eyes with her, making sure that she could see that there was no doubt, no hesitation in them. “The real world isn’t the only place for a person to exist.”

“It’s just a stupid game, Luke!” Sam threw her hands up in the air. “What happens when they decide to shut the servers down? What happens when a new game comes along?”

“Then we move along with it,” said Luke. “The same way that people have moved from their physical bodies into something greater. The same way I… tried to.”

Sam stood up and walked across the room. She turned away from Luke and took a deep, uneven breath.

“This isn’t about a game, or about a fantasy world, or about anything that can be summed up by the media in a thirty-second news story.” Luke sat up in the hospital bed as far as he could. “This is about transcendence, Sam. This is the next frontier, where humanity is headed next.”

Sam walked back over to him, still shaking her head. She sat down and laid one of her hands to rest on his chest.

“You’re… still delirious from the drugs they gave you.” She smiled at him. “It’s okay. We’ll both have a laugh about this once you’ve healed up. And then you’ll be able to head back to school and things… things will go back to normal.”

Luke smiled.

There is no normal, not anymore.

END

AFTERWARD

Thanks for reading. I want to take a moment to give credit to the litRPG pioneers for inspiring this work, most especially D. Rus and Reki Kawahara.

We live in exciting times. This is a novel that could be categorized as either fantasy or hard science fiction, depending on one’s perspective. I suspect that many of the technological and philosophical themes of this book will come to a head within the next twenty or thirty years, and that’s truly what pushed me to begin writing this series. The world I imagine within this text is not that far off from reality.

A special thanks to Olivia Wells for keeping me motivated and serving as my unwavering editor.

To hear about future litRPG releases from me, including the next book in the Yvvaros series, sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bxXzd1.

Alex