《The Gam3》


 Start: Enter the Game

    As Alan got out of the van he could barely contain his excitement. Today was the day.


    He¡¯d finally get a chance to play the Game!


    It seemed like such a sudden turn of events. Just a month ago he''d been a college sophomore living on ramen but now he was moments from playing an intergalactic video game that spanned the entire universe.


    It had all started when the aliens ¡°invaded¡± around six months ago. Unlike what most people were expecting, they hadn¡¯t killed everyone off or taken over the planet, in fact, all they did was arrange some trade agreements and treaties or something like that with the leaders of the various governments on earth. They had even played a public service announcement on all major TV stations/the internet explaining what was happening and how everything was going to go from there.


    It went along the lines of you are not alone, we come in peace, in fact the whole universe is peaceful. You know that whole evolution thing? Well, it turns out that actually humans evolved from the fallout of some huge intergalactic war in the past, meaning a lot of planets are covered in humanoids because they were placed there by ¡°asteroids¡± which were actually planned bio weapons that would ensure humanoids would evolve on the planet. Humanoids were the result of one side of the war, meant to be soldiers as the war went on. Or something like that.


    Alan had fast forwarded through the online announcement, reading synopses online. It was something like fifteen hours long, boring narration that no one could really confirm or deny as being true.


    Anyways, with the coming of the aliens and whatnot, technology had rapidly outpaced anything humans could really match. The computer science degree that Alan had been pursuing? Useless.


    It turned out that there were artificial intelligence programs that could program much faster and more efficiently than any human. They could also do pretty much any other white collar job.


    That sort of flipped things on their head. Suddenly, it was the physical laborers, blue collar workers that were less likely to be replaced, since an actual physical robot to do work was more expensive than just paying some laborer. Software and everything that was or could be automated was soon developed and implemented by these machine intelligences, creating a large problem with the labor markets and how society was running as a whole.


    As a result of all this, the world was quickly turning into a different place. That didn¡¯t really matter to Alan though, that was all in the back of his mind. What mattered to him was the Game. When his school had shut down for a semester to reevaluate their curriculum in the light of ¡°new circumstances¡± Alan could care less. It just gave him more free time.


    When he returned home and his parents demanded he find a job however, he started caring a bit more. When, after a bit of research, he discovered that the fastest growing, best paying, most sought after job was playing a virtual reality massively multiplayer online game his mind almost exploded. (Whatever the aliens ¡°online¡± was.)


    Alan supposed he should have paid a bit more attention to the news, yet he had been highly engrossed in a few projects that had arisen from the new alien technology. He¡¯d been actively involved in a new role playing game that literally evolved as you progressed with a never ending storyline as well as developing his own AI that would play games for him, maybe even the Game.


    The Game, as it was called, was apparently a big deal to every sentient race within the universe. The three major powers that were trading with earth, the Blues, the Empire and the Republic, as they were nicknamed on the internet, all sold goods and traded for the game¡¯s online currency, credits. In fact, credits were their preferred currency, the only currency some traders would accept.


    As a result, it seemed as though every major company, government and group with any sort of power on earth had quickly started hiring gamers, people who would play the Game professionally and give part of their dividends to their employers. Even the various government and private militaries were actively recruiting masses of people to play the Game. Alan assumed this was to pay for more expensive weapons or some other alien technology.


    All of this had been like a dream come true for Alan, who had been an avid gamer since he¡¯d received his first console. The only problem was that in order to play the game you needed a gaming capsule, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase, thousands more in monthly upkeep, and required some sort of advanced internet connection. Hence, the only way for most people to play was get hired by a company or government, as individuals couldn''t afford to purchase and set up the gaming pods.


    As a result, millions were applying for these gaming positions. Alan had just been one more applicant, with just a shred of hope to be chosen. But here he was, about to start his own adventure.


    Alan shivered a bit, it was cold out despite it being in the middle of May. Of course, he might also be cold because he was only wearing a simple Pac-man t-shirt and blue jeans. It had been in the 70''s in LA, where he''d just flown in from.


    Alan looked around, absolutely giddy with excitement. Surrounding him were the hills of San Francisco, the hustle and bustle of the city.  Before him was the building that he would be staying in for at least the next month, a giant, steel cube structure that looked like a large apartment complex.


    It was of modern design, which meant it was influenced by aliens, with smooth, grey edges and a metallic look.


    A middle aged Asian man, one of three men standing in front of the building walked up to Alan. They all wore grey uniforms with the Omnitech Industries logo, a giant steel pylon getting struck by lightning amidst a light grey background.


    ¡°Greetings, sir, my name is Kevin. Are you part of the new initiates? Could you please give me your name and a form of ID?¡±


    A bit startled at being called sir, Alan nodded, and handed over his driving license, replying, ¡°Uh, yeah! I¡¯m Alan Greyling.¡±


    Kevin nodded as he checked the name on a handheld device that looked similar to a Smartphone. The aliens may possess technology light-years ahead of everyone else, but in the 6-month period since they¡¯d arrived human technology hadn¡¯t changed shape too much.


    Kevin waved over one of his colleagues, asking him to help him take all of Alan¡¯s belongings up to his room. They began to unload the van. Instead of packing a number of clothes or everyday items like you might expect, the items that took up a large portion of the van were a number of computer hardware devices.


    ¡°So then, I take it this is your AI then,¡± Kevin said.


    ¡°Yup, built her myself. Honestly, Eve there is the reason I made it here,¡± Alan responded, nodding at all the pieces as they were loaded onto two different dollies. He still felt a bit strange thinking of the AI he¡¯d built as a her, yet she could easily pass the Turing test, much to his surprise.


    ¡°Oh, and how¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Well, honestly I had no idea Icewolf was working here or was so successful until Eve found out for me. I asked Eve to try to find a company that might hire me as a Gamer, and she directed me to him. I used to raid with him in an old MMORPG, we were guild mates, I was actually one of the top ranking DPS.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. Yes, from what I know Icewolf is quite successful within the Game. I see now, you¡¯re his ward, then. You don¡¯t match the typical Omnitech gamer profile. Now, if you¡¯ll follow me, we¡¯ll take you to your capsule room.¡±


    Wondering what Kevin meant by typical profile, Alan followed him as they entered the building. The reception room matched a high class hotel, albeit more secure. Within, the building had the same modern, metallic look as outside, with metal and dark leather furnishing. The reception desk doubled as a security desk, and Alan got a bunch of forms to fill out. Mostly health waivers or something it seemed.


    As they checked him in, he looked at the few other people sitting on black leather couches in the lobby area. It was clear they were all in shape, and they all had serious looks in their eyes.


    When Alan met one person¡¯s eyes, they nodded at him, then went back to¡­ staring at the entrance? Also, was one of their eyes mechanical?


    They were all dressed in the same light grey Omnitech jumpsuits. Everyone looked like they were serious athletes rather than the nerdy gamers Alan had been expecting. Alan felt rather out of place in jeans and a t-shirt.


    Once he had signed a few more forms, Alan was given a keycard. Kevin guided him through a security checkpoint, which separated the lobby from the rest of the building. Alan was asked to state his name aloud, then go through some sort of metal detector, although Alan wasn¡¯t asked to remove his watch or phone or anything, which he thought was strange. Kevin just told him it was alien technology.


    After all of the hardware that made up Eve had been scanned as well, and they had everything through the checkpoint, Kevin offered a tour of the building.


    ¡°Actually, if we could just go straight to my room, that would be great. I¡¯d like to get everything set up.¡±


    Alan could still barely contain his excitement, he was wondering what virtual reality would be like. He wanted to play the Game more than anything else.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Kevin said as they entered the elevator, pressing a button for the 30th floor, the penthouse suite. ¡°I¡¯ll just give you a brief overview then. There are a state of the art gym, kitchen and medical facility, accompanied by a chef and doctor. The medical facility which is in the basement consists of a few alien contraptions, which I''ve been assured can heal nearly any ailment.


    Fortunately they have not needed to be used yet, but rest assured we¡¯re prepared. The gym is also in the basement, while the kitchen and laundry facilities are on the fifteenth floor. As you¡¯ll be in the penthouse suite, you have your own kitchen. You will share the room with Icewolf, as well as four others. One of them is also starting today, I believe.¡±


    Alan thanked Kevin as he watched the floor number rise. A few seconds later, and he¡¯d finally see the game capsule he¡¯d spend the next month he¡¯d be in. Omnitech had let him know in the general introduction email that the tutorial would take a month, although it would only be a week real time.


    That was the other thing, the Game also literally gave you more time, as each second that passed in the Game was actually only about a quarter of a second in real life. Where some people might be a bit hesitant to spend a week in a machine that would have complete control of their bodies, Alan was giddy with excitement.


    When the doors finally opened, Alan entered the sort of penthouse suite that he imagined a Bond villain or rich executive to own. Before him was a grey wall that split off in two directions, with large clear glass windows on either end showing off a spectacular view of the city.


    As he rounded the right corner, the space opened up into one large room that took up the entire top floor of the building, with a kitchen in one corner, two capsules on either side of the room, and one larger capsule on the opposite side of a large column in the center. The column was adorned with a series of computer monitors and screens displaying various bits of information and online news outlets, including what looked like an alien one. At least, it wasn''t any language Alan recognized.


    Everything was immaculately clean, and there were a few paintings along the walls, some of which Alan was pretty sure he¡¯d seen before. Which was saying something, since Alan knew next to nothing about art.


    There were two people in the room, a lean gaunt looking middle-aged Caucasian man on a computer with sandy brown hair and clear blue eyes and a pretty Asian girl that looked to be about Alan¡¯s age sitting on a black couch, texting someone on her cell phone. The former was Icewolf, who was wearing the same light grey jumpsuit as the people in the lobby had been wearing. Unlike them, however, his had some sort of insignia upon it, a spaceship of some sort.


    Alan almost hadn''t recognized Icewolf at first, as it appeared he¡¯d lost quite a bit of weight and become quite fit in the two or so years since Alan had last seen a picture of him. He was looking a bit haggard, however. The girl was wearing some sort of dark navy blue robe that looked to Alan like some sort of martial arts robe. Alan thought it might be called a hakama, or something like that, but that was just what he remembered from watching too much anime. To his surprise, there was also a long sheathed sword next to her.


    As Alan entered the room, Icewolf looked up, and with a feral grin, leapt up out of his chair and swept Alan into a hug, seemingly quite healthy unlike his appearance. He was definitely quite strong, and Alan weakly hugged him back, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Alan did have slight personal space issues, and wasn''t totally comfortable hugging his parents, let alone someone he¡¯d only known online. Come to think of it though, he was pretty sure he¡¯d told Icewolf about this at one point or another.


    ¡°Hey, Adampwnage, nice to see ya in the flesh! How are you doing? Was the trip alright? Everything seem up to your standards?¡±


    ¡°Hi, Icewolf. Yeah, everything was great, this place is amazing! Also, um, just call me Alan. Adampwnage was just the stupid username I thought would be cool in high school, going by Adam instead of Alan because my mom didn''t want me using my real name.¡±


    Although, if he was being honest, Alan still did have some degree of attachment to the username, and it may have been why he named his AI Eve. After all, couldn''t AI¡¯s be the temptation to humanity that lead them to their doom? Humans had begun to put AI¡¯s in charge of almost everything in society after the code for a basic, learning AI was leaked by some student researcher. That had been how Alan had been able to start developing Eve, as well.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Alright, well then, Alan, this here is Kitana, who is also starting the Game today.¡±


    She looked up at Alan, said hello and nodded, then went back to her phone. Alan nodded back feebly.


    Icewolf started updating Alan with how his life had been going. He was still happily married  to Trinity, who Alan had introduced Icewolf to in the MMO they were playing. This was probably a large part of why Icewolf was helping Alan so much. As they were talking, Kevin and the other worker brought all of Alan¡¯s belongings next to the large capsule in the middle of the room, on the opposite side of the column, unloading the various boxes.


    ¡°Wait, is that capsule mine?¡± Alan asked, as he rounded the concrete column at the center of the room to examine the capsule more closely.


    It was a smooth metallic grey oval about 10 feet long resting on a large black, rectangular¡­ docking bay, like for a phone, just much larger. Attached to the docking bay were all sorts of wires and tubes, some of which were nearly an inch in diameter that lead into the walls and floor, off to who knows where.


    The Capsule also looked different from the others, as it was slightly larger, a darker shade of grey and had some sort of black box attachment that the others didn''t, although one of the other capsules was a metallic navy blue, rather than grey. The black box was attached to some sort of miniature satellite dish, as well as to all of the screens at the center of the room, and had a series of Ethernet cords running off of it. All in all, the capsule reminded Alan of a sensory deprivation tank more than anything else.


    ¡°Yup, it¡¯s brand new, just came off of a Blue¡¯s spaceship a week or two ago. Got it for a steal. You probably notice that it looks a bit different than the others. Well, as you mentioned to me the AI you¡¯d made and how useful it was, I reckoned you¡¯d be using it in game. This version of a capsule is apparently especially meant for people who are planning on using AI assistance within the game, as least according to the Haxlard I spoke with.¡±


    The Haxlards were the Blues, an alien species that like their name suggested had a blue skin tone. Otherwise, they were humanoid, and looked vaguely human, at least their arms and skin did. They all wore headgear of some sort, masking their heads. They were on average taller and didn''t have any hair. They had an empire of some sorts, consisting of around 50 planets that contained life. Earth, apparently, was within the sphere of space that they controlled.


    ¡°Alright, cool! Although, will this cost more?¡± Alan asked nervously.


    ¡°Just a bit more, around 10 million dollars-¡°


    ¡°10 MILLION dollars!?¡± Alan exclaimed.


    Icewolf just grinned, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If you do well in the game, you¡¯ll make that much within a year of in-game time easily. You¡¯re my ward, remember? And like I told you, you won¡¯t be beholden to Omnitech or any other company, you¡¯ll just need to pay off your debt to me, 10% of whatever you earn after the tutorial, until you pay me back.


    Even the worst gamers are making tens of thousands of dollars a month. And I have a feeling you¡¯ll be one of the better ones. Also, if it turns out you suck and never fully pay me back, don¡¯t sweat it, I¡¯m actually quite rich now and can absorb the loss. Think of it as an investment, by me.¡±


    ¡°Except, 10 million dollars? I thought a basic capsule only cost a few hundred thousand dollars¡­¡± Alan responded.


    ¡°Hey, like I said, its brand new, and specifically tailored for certain styles of play. It¡¯s a rank B capsule! You know the AI in charge of the entirety of the US military is only rank B, right? And we only got that by selling a ton of resources.¡±


    ¡°Uh, rank B?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°What? Didn''t you read the manual I had sent you?¡± Icewolf asked questioningly as he scratched his head.


    ¡°Well, I had Eve read it fully, I just sort of browsed and read the parts that were interesting¡­¡± Alan admitted. ¡°Like, it was over 2000 pages long and read like a textbook. I figured the tutorial would cover all of it, and more. It is like a month long, right?¡±


    Icewolf grimaced, and said, ¡°Not exactly¡­ Look I can¡¯t talk about the tutorial now, but I guess it should be okay if your AI has it all. Anyways, about ranks. You¡¯d know if you read the manual that the Game simply uses ranks instead of levels most of the time, the lowest rank being G, then F, E, D and so forth. The highest rank that I¡¯m aware of is S, a rank above A. You will be given a rank after the tutorial, and every skill and item has a rank. The Game¡¯s ranking system is so handy that real life items are ranked according to the same system, like capsules or spaceships get ranks."


    "After the rank, there will be a number, from around two billion to one. As you get stronger or the equipment is improved, that number will decrease, until you eventually rank up. A lower number is better than a higher one. If you neglect a skill or an item¡¯s durability drops, that number can and will increase, although I''ve never heard of something lowering an entire rank due to inattention."


    "Now, as I just said the lowest rank is G, however honestly G is just slightly above average, and things can just be unranked. For example, in terms of strength, your average human would be unranked, someone that works out semi-regularly would probably be in the low G rank, and an Olympic weight lifter would be mid E rank, maybe.¡±


    ¡°Wait, really, that low?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yup, there are some pretty crazy, over powered species, items and abilities within the Game. But don¡¯t worry, there are ways of becoming just as strong as almost anything else. So, like I was saying, this capsule here is B rank. It¡¯s probably one of the best capsules in the nation, and trust me when I say that will give you an edge.¡± Icewolf responded.


    ¡°Okay, now it¡¯s starting to sound too good to be true¡­¡± Alan said doubtfully.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it was through a connection that I had. It seemed like the captain wanted to sell it on this planet, and I don¡¯t think there were any other buyers. When I said I got it for a bargain, I meant it, the original price was hundreds of millions. He probably tried various militaries at first, but got turned down.¡± Icewolf answered, assuring Alan.


    ¡°Alright, well then, thanks a lot! I guess I should probably set up Eve then so she can be transferred over. I did read through that portion of the manual.¡± Alan said.


    Icewolf nodded, and then went back to his desk. ¡°Let me know if you need any help,¡± he glanced down at his watch, ¡°You¡¯ll be allowed to start playing the game in a few more hours, let me know if you need any help. You should also handle whatever real life stuff you need to, since you¡¯ll be in the Game for the next week.¡±


    Alan thanked Icewolf again, then set about putting Eve back together. Eve was really the program on the computer that he was setting up, but he still thought of the computer as Eve now, since she controlled everything once he turned the computer on. He¡¯d ended up using a bunch of linked together hard drives and CPU¡¯s to try to accommodate Eve¡¯s growing need for memory to properly function.


    Botnets, Alan had decided, weren¡¯t the answer, as they were illegal and increasingly found and shut down due to new technology. Although, to be honest he didn''t really know anything about them either. He''d gone on a few seedy websites and IRC channels, before the aliens had invaded, but never actively done anything illegal online other than maybe pirating a few games and movies.


    New technology had allowed Alan to find petabyte hard drives and terabyte RAM disks cheaply, as well as motherboards that could hand multiple hard drives and CPU¡¯s. (If you considered a few thousand dollars cheap.) He¡¯d mostly set everything up by looking it up online, and wasn¡¯t even sure everything had been working properly in his room, but Eve had run, which was good enough for him. Sure, he¡¯d spent most of his savings from his summer jobs, but he also had a hopefully bad ass AI.


    Eve had been created to play video games, specifically a real time strategy game that Alan had been particularly invested in. As soon as he learned about the AI program that the aliens used, Alan knew he wanted an AI of his own. Sort of like a pet, just better, since it could actually be useful. The AI program allowed you to ¡°teach¡± a basic AI about whatever you wanted, although as it grew it would require more and more memory.


    Alan had introduced Eve to basic games, then had gradually moved on to games of increasing difficulty. Some, which were just timing, had been trivial for Eve, but others that required strategy were harder to teach. Eventually Alan had just left Eve on 24/7 playing tons of different games, leaving her to figure out how to win. It seemed like it had worked out well, as far as Alan could tell. Now, if he gave Eve a goal, she¡¯d figure out a way to quickly and efficiently solve the problem, like the problem was in a game.


    Unfortunately, she tended to be rather straightforward with her approach, finding the fastest way possible to finish the game, rather than taking the time to enjoy it or gather collectables unless he listed that as a goal. Well, he''d be able to control and give her clear directions once he was in the game.


    An hour or so later, Alan had finally booted up Eve, and connected her to the capsule using a USB adapter Icewolf had found for him. Alan put his hand on a metal sensor plate on the front of the capsule, which Icewolf had said was programmed to him.


    "Um, Activate Console." That was the command in the manual Icewolf had given him.


    "Greetings, Adampwnage," a soft, mechanical female voice said, coming from the capsule. Alan glanced over at Icewolf, who was watching. Icewolf just shrugged.


    "A rank D AI program  designated ''Eve'' wishes to connect to your capsule. Accept? Only one agent may assist you in the Game." Kitana, who up until now had been oblivious to anything bur her phone looked up at this.


    "Um, accept."


    "Loading program now... program loaded. AI ''Eve'' wishes for full access within the Capsule and game, accept? The AI will still of course be required to follow your directions." Icewolf nodded at Alan.


    "Um, accept."


    " You may enter the Game in 13 minutes, 23 seconds."


    "Ok, uh, great," Alan said, removing his hand from the capsule.


    He walked over to Icewolf.


    "Full access? What was the about?"


    Icewolf shrugged. "Probably just the ability to use all the hardware in the capsule and the ability to monitor the Game. There are a few people that use AI in the company and they were hindered until they enabled that. Anyways, you heard capsule, only about 10 minutes left, do whatever things you need to before you''re in the Game for a week. You''ll have about 24 hours to get used to the Game before the Tutorial begins."


    Alan called his parents, letting them know he''d made it alright, and was about to start playing, promising his mother he''d call the instance he got out a week from now. A minute before they were allowed to enter the Game Kitana stood up, picked up the sword, walked over to Alan, and bowed.


    "Hello, sorry for not fully introducing myself earlier. I was texting goodbye to my parents. My father is an important businessman and it is rare he has time to talk to me, even through text. Good luck in the Game, we may even run into each other."


    "Uh, yeah, good luck, have fun." Alan replied a bit shakily. Kitana cut quite the figure in the uniform with the sword. She had fierce brown eyes and as Alan looked closer a few scars on her  face. Unlike every other girl he''d ever known, it didn''t look like she was wearing any makeup. Handsome leapt to his mind before pretty.


    "Heh, you guys will need more than luck to do well. It''ll take plenty of hard work too, but remember, it''s just a game!" Icewolf commented.


    "Alright," Alan said, walking up to his capsule, which was displaying a countdown.


    "You may now enter." The capsule opened, revealing  a few feet of silvery liquid. Alan looked over to Icewolf for reassurance this is what the inside was supposed to look like.


    "What are you waiting for? Get in already. And remember, it''s just a game!"


    Taking a deep breath, Alan climbed in and submerged himself into the liquid, which sort of felt like fluid gelatin. The lid closed over him, placing him in complete darkness. Panicking, Alan began thrashing, sure he was going to drown to death. This was some cruel joke, a way for aliens to harvest gullible, unintelligent humans. Yet, to his surprise, when he opened his mouth he realized he could somehow breathe this liquid. Alan took a few deep breaths, then, slowly, faded into unconsciousness...


    Author''s Note:


    The Gam3: Opening Moves</a> is now out on Amazon! It covers all the chapters up until Moving</a>. While I''m leaving these chapters here up on RoyalRoadl please note that the book contains additional scenes, is better edited, and some plot details have been changed. I try to note differences in my posts/comments, but I may have missed some.

 Tutorial? What Tutorial?

    Alan woke up lying in a field of yellow, dried out grass. Looking around, he briefly panicked, wondering where he was, but then he remember he was in the Game. It was amazing how lifelike everything was. The touch, the sight, the smell¡­ everything seemed so¡­ real to him. In fact, everything seemed somehow more real than in real life, if that made any sense.


    Alan had always had a few allergies, a bad sense of smell, and his vision wasn''t perfect, but not bad enough to warrant glasses. Yet now, he could see everything around him impossibly clearly. He could see an individual blade of grass and the tiny drop of water on it nearly 20 feet away. He also smelled¡­ everything, from the faint dewy grass to some sort of animal scat to the lemon trees that were planted somewhere.


    Trying to get a grasp on where he was, Alan looked around him. He was on top of a small hill in some rural part of what he assumed to be California. There were two small homes, one with a small garden in front, and another that looked to be a barn turned into a home. They both looked to be what he¡¯d expect to see, quaint 1-floor farmhouses, although he could see a few solar panels on one of the house¡¯s roof.


    A dirt road in-between the houses that lead both up and down, but where the road lead he had no idea. There was nothing else but forest and brush as far as he could see, both up and down the hill or mountain or whatever it was he was on.


    Standing up, clenching his fist, taking a few steps around, Alan looked down at his body in surprise. Amazingly, Alan felt more fit, more in-shape than he ever had in his life.


    It was like he was at the peak of his fitness level back when he had ran cross-country, although he¡¯d quit his sophomore year of high school as it was just too painful. He felt like he could run a 6-minute mile easily.


    Jogging up and down the hill, testing his movements, Alan realized he also felt somehow more balanced, as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. Alan felt, if anything, almost super human. He half-wanted to try a front flip, but then reconsidered.


    He definitely felt a bit different, better, stronger, faster, more perceptive than he¡¯d ever been, but it still felt like him, his body. He remembered the small icons that were in his vision, and he stopped jogging. They were faintly outlined at the moment, but when he concentrated on them they became more transparent. These icons were ones that you would find in any game, mostly aggregated in the bottom right hand corner of his vision.


    There was the character button, where he could look at his status, the friends button, where you could send friend¡¯s messages as well as add friends or people you wanted to block, although he wasn¡¯t yet sure that was part of the Game. There was an inventory button, showing what items he had, as well as an achievements button that would list achievements, a guild button for stuff relating to a group of people that formed a group to play together, a guild, and an options menu. There was also a map, and a clock, in the top right corner of his vision.


    Alan momentarily panicked once he realized there was no log out button, but then he remembered that he was told he¡¯d need to stay in the Game for a week in real life time, or about a month in Game time, thus the whole changed living location. This would probably be explained with time.


    Wondering what each button would do, Alan reached out in front of him, pressing in the air where he saw the character button. Nothing happened. He waved his arms in front of him, trying to press the buttons he could see so clearly.


    ¡°What the hell is happening? How am I supposed to open these menus?¡± Alan said aloud, thankful no one was around to see his frantic flailing.


    Simply think the command. A voice in his mind said.


    ¡°What? Who¡¯s there?¡±


    No one detected is here.


    ¡°Wait, no, I mean who are you?¡±


    I am Eve, the AI you constructed and chose to bring into the Game.


    ¡°Wait, are you inside my mind?¡±


    Uncertain. I am connected to the Game, which is connected to you. I detect everything your senses do, as well as your thoughts. Thus, there is no reason to voice your questions and commands aloud, simply think them.


    Half sure he was going crazy, Alan thought in rapid succession, Shit, Eve can read my mind¡­ Whatever, she¡¯s just a computer¡­ So, what? You¡¯re like my personal search engine, I can ask you what to do. Like, do you know where I am?


    Eve responded, I am much more than a search engine, although I do have almost 200 terabytes of data. I am capable of anything you would have commanded me to do in a game. Additionally, based upon our surroundings, the temperature, the position of the Sun at this time, and the local wildlife, I believe we are in Sonoma county in California.


    Cool. Can you show me these things too? Like can you highlight all the living creatures in my sight?


    Affirmative.


    Immediately Alan regretted his decision. Suddenly, hundreds if not thousands of bugs all around him were highlighted with a bright red. Alan did not want to know about all these bugs around him.


    Shutting his eyes, Alan thought, Stop. Just, highlight living things larger than a mouse, alright? Actually, also anything that could be potentially dangerous like a small poisonous spider should be highlighted too¡­ Actually, highlight everything in red, or tell me, if anything you notice that could potentially be deadly appears.


    Affirmative.


    Alan opened his eyes. Everything was red, from the trees to the grass to the Sun, to the leaves. Although he had no idea how leaves could be deadly, they probably were if he ate them or used them to cut his wrists or something.


    Ok, just highlight things that could kill me in an hour, not just someday somehow.


    Affirmative.


    The trees, everything on the ground, a few sharp sticks, and the houses remained highlighted. Groaning aloud Alan sat back down and thought for a few minutes.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Ok, how about this. Highlight and tell me about things that you believe if made aware of would be likely to increase my chance of survival or decrease my risk of injury. Additionally, once I am aware of things, you don¡¯t need to constantly highlight them unless they split from my awareness somehow.


    For example, if a car was coming at me, you would tell me to dive to the left or right, along with an indication of how soon I should move, with a more frantic voice if I should so something right the hell now or die otherwise. Can you change your voice in my mind?


    Whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter. Another example, if there was a deadly creature fitting this description I should be made aware of, you would let me know where it was and how best to avoid or kill it, got it?


    Affirmative.


    Also, it¡¯s going to get boring if you just keep saying affirmative, so try to switch up your vocabulary when confirming stuff, okay?


    Okay.


    Alright, if there are any significant resources, alert me to those too, and display the location on my minimap. Actually, do the same thing for enemies.


    What is the definition of significant?


    Sighing, Alan thought some more¡­


    An hour or so later, Alan hoped he had worked everything out. Oh well, if he missed something, it¡¯d become apparent, and then he could change it later. Actually, the thought occurred to him¡­


    Backup my commands and settings, so I can restore old settings, alright?


    Redundant command. A backup is constantly being updated.


    Wait, you¡¯re recording my thoughts?


    I am recording everything you experience and see.


    Great¡­ stop recording everything I think.


    Very well.


    Rolling his eyes, more amused than freaked out like maybe he should have been, Alan looked back around him. Everything was back to normal, there weren¡¯t any glaringly red things in his vision or thousands of creepy crawlies.


    He looked up at the clock by his minimap, it was 4:44 p.m. in the afternoon Pacific Standard Time. There was also a countdown, for some reason, counting down from 00:15:43.


    What¡¯s the countdown for?


    You wished for any significant event to have a countdown displayed next to the clock. That is the remaining time until the Tutorial begins.


    Wait? I only have 15 minutes left? Icewolf said I¡¯d have almost a day to get used to this virtual world!


    Based upon my data, you woke up with 2 hours, 17 minutes, 23 seconds, 34 milliseconds, 20 microseconds, 8 nanoseconds¡­


    Stop. You don¡¯t need to tell me that with precision to the nanosecond. If it won¡¯t make any obvious change to my decisions or help me in some way, you don¡¯t need to tell me observations or facts with that sort of detail.


    Alright.


    Alan had figured out that Eve was, unfortunately and fortunately, a computer, which meant he had to think commands precisely, defining things in such a way that she understood. It was like making macros in other MMO¡¯s he¡¯d played.


    Wondering what had happened to all his time, Alan asked Eve, Okay, so what should I expect when the countdown goes to zero?


    Based upon the games I have played, you will be either teleported to a starting zone or a series of challenges will begin.


    Challenges, right¡­ which mean I should try to get supplies.


    Running over to the larger farmhouse, Alan tried opening the door.


    Locked, no luck.


    Alan sprinted over to the other house. The entrance was only a sliding glass screen door. Picking up a large rock from the garden, Alan threw it at the door with all his might.


    The rock bounced off the door, creating a dent, but not shattering like Alan had hoped. He looked at the clock, there were 10 minutes left.


    Then, Eve pointed out, The door isn¡¯t locked.


    Alan was almost sure he could hear some derision in her voice, but that was impossible, she was just a machine. Although, exactly what a machine was capable of was quickly becoming unclear.


    He ran up to the door, and it slid open.


    Almost face palming, Alan entered, looking around. To his right was a small kitchen, while there were an open living room and dining table to his left. He could see a few closed doors down a short corridor down the middle then to the right.


    Hoping to find a few weapons, Alan ran into the other rooms, opening closets and wardrobes. The only thing he found however other than clothes, books and board games as well as various house supplies, were a dark green compound bow and arrows. He had no idea how to use the bow but figured it might come in handy.


    As there was a minute left, Alan ran into the kitchen, picking up the largest knife he saw, a medium sized 6¡± cutting knife.


    When Alan tried opening the inventory button, there wasn¡¯t a bag or slots where he could deposit items. Instead, there was simply a list of everything he was wearing and carrying.


    Figuring that there wasn¡¯t an built in inventory system to store things, Alan also picked up a green backpack in one of the closets, putting the arrows he¡¯d found in it, gripping the bow in one hand and the kitchen knife in the other.


    Alan watched as the countdown counted down,


    0:00:03¡­


    0:00:02¡­


    0:00:01¡­

 The Tutorial Starts! Or does it?

Delete please.

 The Tutorial Starts! Or does it?

Delete please.

 The Tutorial Starts! Or does it?

Delete plz.

 The Tutorial Starts! Or does it?

    Waiting, anticipating what would happen next, a message popped up in front of Alan:


    ¡°Welcome to the Game! As you logged in for the first time from the Earth, the United World Government would like to give you a presentation before you begin the Tutorial.


    Accept and proceed to US spaceport. Decline and begin Tutorial immediately.¡±


    Alan thought for a second, then motioned at the Accept button in front of him. Whatever the message was, it was no doubt important.


    Nothing happened.


    Accept, Alan thought, remembering Eve was somehow responding to his thoughts.


    He¡¯d briefly considered allowing for being able to push buttons he saw with his hands, but figured it would probably lead to more misclicks than he wanted.


    There was a slight disorientation, then, a sudden blinding light.


    Alan closed his eyes, and when he opened them once more he found himself standing in a cylindrical, mechanical tube, the glass in front of him sliding open.


    Directly in front of him was a Caucasian male American soldier in full military gear, motioning him forward.


    As Alan stepped shakily out of the chamber, he looked to his left and right, and he could see there was an entire row of the teleportation chambers, or whatever they were, with people stepping out of similar devices all around him.


    As the soldier eyed Alan warily, Alan remembered the bow and knife he was holding in his hands.


    ¡°Wait, sorry, I thought there might be some sort of survival challenge or something. So I just grabbed what I found where I started when I logged in.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ do you have anything that might hold this knife? Actually you can just have it, and the bow and arrows.¡±


    Alan thrust his hands forward, holding both the knife and bow out.


    It wasn¡¯t like he was going to be able to do anything with them, and he sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to go walking around carrying a kitchen knife. People would think he was crazy.


    The soldier just stared at him blankly for a second.


    ¡°Uh, okay. Wait here for a moment, player.¡±


    The soldier took the bow and knife, then started walking over to a small station of soldiers set up near the exit.


    Alan looked around, trying to get a better sense of his surroundings.


    It looked like they were in an airplane hangar of some sort, upwards of two hundred feet long and a hundred feet wide. There were maybe 50 chambers with players emerging out of them. In front of each chamber was a soldier holding an assault rifle. Everyone was being directed to the exit at the far end of the hangar.


    Trying to see if he could spot Kitana, Alan looked at around at the players emerging from the teleportation chambers. Most of them looked the same as the people he¡¯d seen back in real life, muscular, with a no-nonsense gruffness about them, in a uniform representing the company that hired them.


    The majority of them also carried guns of some sort. Maybe Alan should of held onto the knife.


    More interestingly though, there were a few people in jeans and a t-shirt like Alan, as well as people in more¡­ colorful clothing.


    There were a pair who passed by Alan, a knight and wizard. The knight wore a full set of armor and carried a sword and shield. He made a few loud clinking noises as he walked by Alan, clearly not used to the armor he was wearing. The wizard was wearing a blue robe and a blue pointy hat, both stylized with a few silver lines in a simple pattern, making wild gestures as he walked.


    Alan heard a brief part of their conversation as they walked by:


    ¡°¡­ some random place in the countryside. I spent half the day trying to get used to this bloody armor. Did you know that plate mail can really ride up your¡­¡±


    Then, he saw that the soldier who had taken his knife and bow returning, carrying something in his hands.


    The soldier walked up to him, handing over what  Alan saw was a knife in a sheath.


    ¡°Here, put this in your pocket. It¡¯s just a basic combat knife, my CO thought it might be useful. Anyways, just follow everyone else to the auditorium, okay?¡±


    ¡°Umm, alright, thanks,¡± Alan said, pocketing the knife.


    ¡°Okay, just remember, stab them with the pointy end!¡± The soldier said in a joking manner.


    Alan nodded, trying to smile in a friendly way. He didn¡¯t think the soldier was being particularly funny, he knew how to use a knife, but then again he didn¡¯t want to piss off someone holding a fully automatic weapon.


    Alan followed everyone else out of the hangar, walking through some sort of metal detector before exiting the building. Once again however, nobody asked Alan to empty his pockets or anything like that.


    Emerging from the building, he saw that he was surrounded by at least 20 different hangars that had people streaming out of them. There were literally hundreds maybe thousands of people heading towards a large white tent.


    Additionally, there were groups of soldiers of varying nationalities milling about, motioning people that were lagging behind onwards.


    Eve, can you locate Kitana?


    Certainly.


    Eve highlighted her on the minimap. She was walking with a group maybe 40 feet away, wearing the same robes as earlier, this time with a katana in a sheathe she kept one hand on, talking to an Asian guy along with the knight and wizard he¡¯d seen earlier.


    As Alan walked up to her, he realized she was in some sort of group. Maybe these people were all part of some sort of cosplay club?


    A handsome Hispanic guy with a friendly face that looked around 20 years old, wearing a tailored white suit and somehow pulling it off, looked up as Alan walked over.


    He stepped forward and said, ¡°Hello, can we help you?¡±


    While Alan stumbled forward, trying to figure out the right words to say, Kitana said, ¡°He¡¯s the guy I was just telling you about, Alan, with the advanced AI.¡±


    ¡°Oh, hello Alan, nice to meet you! I¡¯m Thiago. I don¡¯t know what Kitana has told you, but we¡¯re basically a bunch of kids that have arranged to be on the same ship to Khersath. This is actually the first time most of us have met, and we were just getting to know each other.¡±


    To Thiago¡¯s right, the knight in armor lifted up his faceplate, so Alan could see two blue eyes and light brown hair. He was about a foot taller than Alan, but that might just have been due to the armor.


    ¡°KingArthur, at your service,¡± he said with a slight British accent.


    ¡°And the MadMerlin, at his!¡± The wizard next to him said, jerking his finger at KingArthur, laughing maniacally.


    KingArthur just shook his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. He¡¯s just convinced that if he acts completely mental the Game will give him a special class or something.¡± MadMerlin winked at Alan.


    ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Daisy. I was going to be a freshman at Brown before this whole alien thing happened.¡± A pretty blonde in a yellow sundress wearing sandals said.


    ¡°You can call me Ace.¡± A short, brawny guy with dark brown hair wearing a military fatigues, standing beside Daisy commented.


    The girl to Ace¡¯s right introduced herself as Aphrodite with a dazzling smile, and Alan had to admit she had the looks to match the name.


    She was just wearing a pair of black jeans with a grey hoody, yet it was clear she had a supermodel¡¯s figure, with long brunette hair and a pair of designer sunglasses on.


    Kitana, who was standing behind Aphrodite in line, just nodded at him, while the Asian guy standing next to Kitana didn¡¯t even bother to introduce himself.


    He wore a black suit with a black shirt. Holstered to his side was a submachine gun of some sort, making him sort of look like a gangster.


    Everyone made small talk, Alan keeping sort of quiet towards the back of the group. Apparently Thiago was from Mexico, KingArthur and the MadMerlin were from the UK, Daisy from Canada, Aphrodite and Ace from the US, Kitana from Japan and the Asian guy Alan gathered was named DaLong, and he was Chinese.


    The only other country Alan had ever been to was Canada, making him feel a bit out of his element. Alan still wasn¡¯t sure how all these people had met each other too, and swore he saw a few members of the group throwing weird glances at him.


    Alan felt a bit awkward and ended up walking behind everyone else. He muttered something about communicating with his AI, and decided to do just that.


    So Eve, do you know where we are?


    Location unknown. Current hypotheses: A new International Spaceport, or remodeled US Air Force Base.


    Local network detected. May contain answer to question. Hack into network?


    Hmm¡­ it¡¯s probably a bad idea to try to hack into an army network, yet at the same time, I¡¯m sort of interested in seeing what Eve is capable of.


    What¡¯s the likelihood of detection should you attempt to hack into the network? Actually, also, what¡¯s the chance it¡¯ll be traced back to me?


    There is an approximate 0.05% chance of detection of intrusion. Should access logs be reviewed and intrusion detected, there is a 20.34% chance that an attempt will be traced.


    Ok, so only like a .01% chance of the hack being traced back to me. Initiate the hack. Also download any data you might find on the network.


    Accessing network through backdoor¡­ 7 other users detected¡­ Network accessed.


    Masking presence¡­ Downloading data¡­ Monitoring incoming data streams¡­


    You are currently outside of Washington DC, at an International Spaceport that does not exist in real life.


    Alan felt rather smug with himself, although he had absolutely no idea what Eve was actually doing.


    How¡¯d she just find a backdoor into the network?


    He¡¯d just downloaded a bunch of books on hacking for Eve, and had Eve ¡°read¡± a bunch of forums as well. There were a few tutorials/testing sites as well that treated hacking like a game, so he¡¯d have Eve ¡°play¡± those too. Still, if it was this easy for Eve, maybe Alan should just sell her¡­


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    At this point, the group arrived at the tent. Within, Alan saw there were a few thousand seats, most of which were filled at this point. At the far back there was a stage with a podium on it, with a few seats behind it. Sitting on stage there were a group of important looking officials, along with the first alien Alan saw in person.


    The alien looked like a human male, with pale blue hands, around seven feet tall. He, or at least Alan assumed it was a he, wore a skintight, thin dark blue spacesuit that covered most of his body. Covering his face was a helmet with a dark blue faceplate, with three horizontal silver strikes on it.


    Next to the alien was a general, a diplomat and a US senator, at least according to Eve. Alan sort of recognized the senator from the news.


    Daisy turned around and looked at Alan.


    ¡°Umm, sorry, but, well, actually that¡¯s my mom up there,¡± she said, gesturing at the senator, a woman in a navy blue pantsuit on-stage.


    ¡°So, well, we actually have reserved seats near the front as a group, and unfortunately I don¡¯t think there¡¯s room for another. I think they¡¯re expecting this place to be pretty packed.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, uh, that¡¯s fine. I like sitting in the back anyways,¡± Alan replied.


    He felt that it was a bit unfair, they probably could have found him a seat, yet at the same time he sensed that there was something more to the group, and he was probably infringing on their privacy.


    Whatever, once the game actually started he¡¯d be able to find his own guild.


    So, the group continued forwards, while Alan decided to take one of the seats in the very back near the entrance. He sat down, and stared at the alien.


    What¡¯s the name of that species again? he thought to himself.


    He is an Ultihaxlard, the commanders or lords of the Haxlard race.


    Oh, right, you¡¯re listening to everything I think¡­ not creepy at all. Well, what does Wikipedia have to say about the Ultihaxlard, and the Haxlard races? Just general information.


    Alan probably should have memorized all this information about aliens and whatnot before entering the Game, yet he figured he¡¯d have Eve to ask any questions he had once he downloaded all the information on Wikipedia. Thus, what was the point of memorizing anything?


    Alan had ended up spending most of the time he was supposed to be preparing for the Game playing video games. Playing video games to prepare for one made sense, right?


    The Haxlards are the initial race that introduced humanity to the interstellar world and the Game. Similar to the majority of races in contact and trading with humanity, Haxlards are humanoid in appearance and biologically. The primary difference being they have blue skin. The Haxlards are ruled* by the Ultihaxlards, who are rumored to demonstrate vastly superior strength, intelligence and agility.


    *The exact relationship between Haxlards and Ultihaxlards is unknown, although Ultihaxlards have been seen ordering Haxlards on multiple occasions, and seem to be the only ones in any position of power within Haxlard society.


    How exactly a footnote was implanted in a thought, Alan wasn¡¯t quite sure, yet the information still came across clearly.


    Alan wondered,  Why are Haxlards as well as most of the other alien species I remember seeing online humanoid?


    According to various scientists, the leading hypothesis is-


    Stop.


    The senator, who was apparently also Daisy¡¯s mother stood up, walking up to the podium. Alan didn¡¯t see a microphone, yet when she spoke, he could hear her clear as day.


    ¡°Welcome, everyone, to the Game. I¡¯m sure many of you are sitting here anticipating the adventures you might have, but I want to stress to you one clear, very important point. If  humanity hopes to prosper in the days ahead everyone must remember this one, specific rule.¡±


    Wait, this is just a game, right?


    ¡°The Game is not just a game.¡±


    Affirmative. Eve answered.


    ¡­


    ¡°The Game is war, on an intergalactic scale. The Game determines the territory and resources that each civilization is allowed to hold and gather in real life based upon their standing in the Game. The reason why the in-game currency, credits, are used and accepted by every sentient being is that actions within the Game influence the real world just as much as any action outside the game, if not more.


    Now, I am sure there are many questions many of you now have. Let me tell you how this came to be, and a few basic rules you should know.


    We are told by the Haxlards that once there was a great war between the race we know as the Predecessors and another sentient race or group we know little about, they called themselves the Lords of Life.


    Over the course of the war countless lives were lost, planets made inhospitable. Realizing the folly of their ways as both sides neared extinction, the waste that actual war caused, these two sides decided to finally fight within a virtual space instead, simulating all of the forces they had in real life, both sides agreeing to surrender should they lose this virtual war.


    To ensure whichever side lost actually surrendered, both races created a gigantic machine fleet, the Enforcers, who we now know as the real life arm of the Administrators, the moderators of this game.


    We know little about how this war actually turned out, however as far as we can tell the Lords of Life are no more, and the Predecessors still exist.


    From that point on, all wars and battles were instead fought within this virtual world, which grew to encompass more and more of the known universe.


    Just how large of a space the Game now encompasses no one really knows. What is known however, is that the Enforcers hold the only and largest combat fleet in the known universe.


    Any race or groups that attempt to create a fleet are completely eradicated.


    That then leads us to these Enforcers, and the AI that govern this game, the Administrators. There are many rules, such as not divulging information about the Game to people who have not yet undergone the Tutorial.


    More importantly, newly found sentient races are introduced to the game, like humanity was, and are given a period of immunity before they are able to be attacked. This will last around three more years.


    Once this immunity wears off however, we are allowed to be attacked within the Game by other forces.


    Should another force be capable of holding onto our territory and fulfill various other objectives required by the Administrators, the conquerors are given control of the territory they conquered in Game.


    Should we not develop ample forces fast enough or forge the proper allies, soon the Earth may no longer be under human control.


    Thus it is imperative for you, who are about to enter this game to remember Earth. Remember humanity. Remember-¡±


    GET OUT NOW. Eve screamed into Alan¡¯s brain.


    Alan leapt up, looking around. A few people looked at him, but most were intent on the senator¡¯s speech.


    Suddenly, a burst of gunfire was heard outside.


    What-


    OUT NOW IF YOU WISH TO SURVIVE. FOLLOW THE GIVEN PATH.


    Alan dashed outside following a blue line that showed up on the ground in front of him, oblivious to his surroundings, following Eve¡¯s directions.


    Outside, he didn¡¯t immediately notice anything out of the ordinary, but continued to follow the blue line. Soon though, the sound of gunfire got louder.


    Eve lead him into a nearby hangar, behind a door.


    Hide.


    What? What¡¯s going on?


    The base is under attack.


    What!?


    Question unclear.


    Then, over the loudspeaker, a gruff male voice began speaking:


    ¡°People of Earth. You are being deceived, lied to with traitorous propaganda.


    The United World Government is already in the palms of the Haxlards. If you hope for there to be a free Earth, a Earth free of alien control, there is only one thing you can do.


    Join the Legion of Man, or die.¡±


    Huh? Where is this coming from?


    Another user within the network. It is their backdoor I used to access the network.


    Wait¡­ so you knew these rebels were here? Can you get them out of the network? Why did you tell me to get out of the tent?


    Yes, the AI delivering the message was one of the other seven users within the network. I am unable to disconnect them. I detected a bomb within the tent, thus for your safety-


    Wait, there¡¯s a bomb in the tent?


    Yes.


    Wait, can you broadcast that, wait no, broadcast the following: Everyone should evacuate the big white tent because a bomb is inside, you should be able to since you have the same permissions as these rebels.


    Very well.


    Overlaid on top of the voice that was speaking on the loudspeaker, saying something about the tyranny of the United World Government that had arisen, was a female mechanical voice, that said:


    ¡°Everyone should evacuate the big white tent because a bomb is inside, you should be able to since you have the same permissions as these rebels.¡±


    Wincing at the addendum, Alan waited, hopefully people were able to hear the warning.


    A few seconds later, a huge explosion went off.

 Is this the tutorial?

    A concussive force rocked the hangar Alan was in, but no signs of damage appeared. It seemed like Eve had gotten him far enough away that the explosion wouldn¡¯t harm him. While the explosion was loud, it wasn¡¯t enough to set Alan¡¯s ears ringing.


    Glancing outside however, all Alan saw in the direction of the tent was smoke and debris. The constant gunfire returned. Looking upwards, Alan saw two small dots approaching. Whether they were ally or enemy ships however, he had no idea.


    They are of an unknown force, failing to give any identification. Thus it is likely they are rebel forces. Eve answered his unasked question for him.


    So, what, you¡¯re just answering what I¡¯m wondering? Wait, no don¡¯t answer that. I need to figure out where to go from here¡­ what am I supposed to do? Actually, this is a game, right? Maybe this is actually part of the tutorial.


    Question unclear, under whose directive are you supposed to-


    Stop. Don¡¯t answer rhetorical questions.


    Yes sir.


    Ok, if I try to go out there and fight the rebels, what are the likelihood I¡¯ll survive? Actually, also, I should figure out how death works in the Game¡­


    Should you attempt to engage the rebel fighting forces I estimate your survival to be 3.2%. Should you find and wield a weapon, I estimate your survival to be 1.6%.


    What? Why is my survival rate lower if I get a weapon?


    You will be more likely be seen as a threat, and thus annihilated.


    Uhh okay¡­ do you know anything about what happens if you die in the Game?


    Unclear. Various sources cite loss of items, abilities, experience and currency.


    Experience? Wait, what¡¯s my level now?


    3.


    Everything was so lifelike Alan had forgotten he was in a game. The world, the other people, his own body, all felt exactly like they were in real life. He could smell, taste the smoke that was in the air now. Each gunshot a loud shock to his mind. It seemed however like he¡¯d been gaining experience for his actions, and for Eve¡¯s. That meant if he killed a few rebels, he¡¯d probably get experience too¡­ except he¡¯d probably die trying to do so.


    Status screen, Alan thought.


    His status popped up, along with a 360¡ã picture of himself. He was shown having 100% HP, 89% stamina, free of disease. There was a tab for skills, but none were listed.


    Where are the stats, the points I should be able to distribute now that I¡¯ve leveled? The Game is supposed to have character development like a RPG, right?


    Unknown. Most likely this is to be explained in the Tutorial.


    Okay, well, what should-


    A message popped up in front of Alan:


    ¡°The presentation by the United World Government has been determined to have ended. Please proceed to the designated ship to begin the Tutorial.¡±


    Once he read the message, another popped up.


    ¡°Player: AdamPwnage


    Ship: The Grasshopper, Scout Class.


    Destination: Mars.


    Please proceed to your ship as soon as possible.¡±


    A small icon appeared on Alan¡¯s map of a spaceship of some sort, probably The Grasshopper. A green line on the ground showed him a path to the ship.


    Alright well I guess that answers that question¡­ What was the ship Kitana was going to be on? They were going to someplace, Khersath, I wonder what that place is¡­


    Analyzing data¡­ Kitana is designated for  The Titan, a Haxlard ambassador ship. Khersath is the capital planet of humanoids within the Game.


    Huh, alright, well-


    The Titan¡¯s  AI detected my presence accessing it¡¯s passenger list on the network, it managed to hide its presence on the network somehow. It wishes to communicate with me, accept?


    Uh, sure.


    Alan waited a few seconds, wondering what this was about, then a new message popped up:


    ¡°Transfer to The Titan, Light Battleship Class, destination Khersath?¡±


    Alan thought for a second, then agreed. Kitana and her friends probably knew what the hell was going on, right? Then again, Alan had no idea if they had even survived the explosion/invasion/whatever was happening right now.


    The Titan AI is transferring directions now, through a route which will avoid the majority of the fighting.


    Alright, lead the way, Alan thought.


    A second later, the green line on the ground and destination on his map changed. Glancing outside, Alan saw a few soldiers in mechanized armor running past. They appeared to be holding laser rifles of some sort.


    Are you sure this is safe?


    Both sides appear to be avoiding firing upon new players. As long as you do not engage anyone in battle, it appears to be safe.


    Drawing a deep breath, Alan burst out of the hangar he was hiding in, sprinting as fast as he could. Alan kept his head down, following the green line before him. Better safe than sorry, after all.


    He heard a soldier call out to him, but he continued running with all his might, adrenaline pumping through him. Unfortunately, it seemed like even though he had gotten stronger and faster, he still tired just as easily as in real life. A minute later along the path Alan was completely winded, panting, slowing to a walk as he glanced around him and saw no one. Maybe he should have worked out more in real life¡­ this correlation to his endurance in real life certainly explained why all the people the companies were hiring looked super fit.


    The path he was following seemed to lead him along a bunch of runways, which couldn¡¯t be safe, but Alan continued along the path. Behind him, he could see the hangars and smoke where the tent had been. The ships he¡¯d seen approaching earlier appeared to be small jets. They were firing laser fire onto the ground while missiles were fired back at them. However, the jets appeared to be far more nimble than any aircraft Alan had seen before, weaving back and forth, reversing as though inertia wasn¡¯t a thing.


    Suddenly, two giant green lasers shot out from where Alan was running to, slamming into the jets, disintegrating them.


    Uh, was that The Titan?


    Uncertain.


    Squinting his eyes, looking forward, Alan could see a faint outline of a small ship landed in the middle of a runway. Eve classified it as a Haxlard dropship. It was fairly nondescript, a small grey aircraft that looked sort of like a carrier helicopter but without the rotors, designed to carry goods and people to and from larger class spaceships. Alan started jogging forward. He could make out a Haxlard mounted on some sort of assembled laser turret. Alongside him was a truck with Kitana and her friends on it.


    As Alan approached, Kitana looked up at him, looking surprised to see him. The Haxlard, wearing a green mask with a single white, vertical stripe, stepped forward. A few more Haxlards, wearing completely black masks stepped out of the aircraft and began disassembling the turret.


    He is an Ultihaxlard not a Haxlard, Eve told him.


    ¡°Greetings Earthling! You must be AdamPwnage, our new addition. I am Pharaoh, the captain of the Titan.¡±


    ¡°Uh, greetings Ultihaxlard sir. Um, you can just call me Alan,¡± Alan responded, really wishing Icewolf had used a different username.


    ¡°New addition?¡± The Mexican guy in a white suit asked. His body language practically yelled that Alan shouldn¡¯t be here. What was his name again?


    Thiago.


    ¡°Yes. Alan here somehow managed to convince the Titan AI to allow him aboard and grant him passage. Also, how did you manage to discern I was an Ultihaxlard?¡±


    ¡°Uh, actually my AI told me.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose that answers both questions then. Now that we¡¯re all here, let¡¯s get aboard  this dropship so we can get to the Titan.¡±


    Thiago threw Alan a questioning glance, but followed Pharaoh as he walked up the ramp of the dropship. Alan waited until everyone else was in front of him, following Kitana who was the last of the group to walk aboard. Alan noticed a splattering of blood on her robe. Everyone else seemed rather disheveled as well, the knight was missing his helmet and had a small dent in his armor, while there were small tears he noticed in other people¡¯s clothing.


    Pharaoh led them into the loading zone, where five seats aligned each side of the ship, silver rectangular blocks that adjusted for each person that stood in front of them. In the middle there appeared to be space for other belongings and cargo, but there was nothing there now.


    Pharaoh paused before entering the room where Alan assumed the pilots sat.


    Negative. Dropship most likely piloted by Titan AI.


    ¡°Alright well then, you¡¯ll all begin the Tutorial once aboard as agreed. You should also explain some things to Alan, as he likely doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Rest assured however we aren¡¯t brainwashing your leaders or anything like that too.


    Now for the rest of you, in case it escaped your notice, his AI managed to leave enough of an impression on Titan¡¯s AI that the AI requested Alan to come aboard, so remember to use that to your advantage.¡±


    Pharaoh entered the cockpit as everyone sat down.


    Once seated, Alan noticed a metallic seatbelt and strapped it over his waist as he looked up at everyone. Not sure what to say he just looked up at Thiago, seated directly across from him, and said:


    ¡°So uh, what happened to you guys?¡±


    ¡°After the announcement of the bomb, a force field covering the stage and first few rows was activated while people evacuated. The force field stopped most of the blast, however the people in the middle and back rows weren¡¯t so lucky. It seemed like one of the new players was used as a suicide bomber of some sort. We were quickly extracted and found our way here, although some of us decided to join in on the fighting,¡± Thiago answered, glancing at Kitana.


    Well at least the blood probably isn¡¯t hers.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad to hear the announcement helped.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that was you?¡±


    ¡°Well it was Eve, my AI that did it really.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Uh, well she was able to access the base¡¯s network, and detect the bomb somehow. Now, wait, so everything the senator said was real, there¡¯s this intergalactic federation or something, but all the territory and what not is determined by this game?¡±


    ¡°Yes, although it¡¯s not quite as dire as it sounds, or at least if it was someone would have told us. I guess I should explain a few things. Firstly, sorry about ditching you earlier, however, we are on a mission of sorts. All of us are actually the relatives or friends of fairly influential figures with shared interests, and it cost millions to get us aboard this ship to Khersath, which is partly why I was so surprised to see you joining us.¡±


    Alan glanced around at the rest of the group, they didn¡¯t seem particularly remarkable, yet he recalled that Daisy was the daughter of the senator that was speaking, and Kitana was somehow related to some Japanese corporation. None of them looked too alarmed at having a bomb blow up in front of them, except maybe Daisy.


    ¡°Okay, but how do you know what the rebels or whoever they are weren¡¯t telling the truth? How do we know the government isn¡¯t already in the hands of the aliens?¡±


    ¡°Well, we aren¡¯t certain of the details of everything, as the amount of information we can be told is limited before we complete the Tutorial. That is a key point that you may have missed if you left the tent, do NOT tell anyone information about the game, as otherwise the Administrators will penalize you strictly.¡±


    How would they know? Oh whatever¡­


    The Administrators likely have eyes and ears everywhere, scanning the internet, phone calls and mechanical inventions.


    Oh. Okay.


    ¡°Now, to answer your second question, we can¡¯t be absolutely certain the government is free, it is very unlikely. The Haxlards allied themselves with us as apparently we are in a section of space they control. They¡¯ve equipped us with a fair amount of new technology and weapons, as long as many, many game capsules.


    I believe the explanation is if we fell to an enemy group, Earth would be a prime staging point for war with the Haxlards, thus they are trying to ensure our defenses are secure as possible. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if these so called rebels were being funded by some of the Haxlard¡¯s enemies. But, like I said we have limited information due to the restriction on us before we begin the tutorial.¡±


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Wait, you said not to tell anyone anything, yet someone clearly explained all this to you beforehand.¡±


    Icewolf gave me information about the game too.


    ¡°Well, apparently certain information isn¡¯t taboo, yet exactly what is and isn¡¯t is somehow determined by the Administrators, thus it is better to be safe than sorry, and not really tell anyone anything.¡±


    Well I should have an interesting conversation with my parents then once this tutorial phase is done. What was the Game like? Classified. Have any interesting adventures? Maybe.


    The Game has been suboptimal, at least your actions so far. Please optimize your actions for better results. I am not sure how to classify ¡°interesting¡±.


    ¡­ Wait, suboptimal? What would you have me do!?


    Yes, you have performed many wasted actions that were unsuccessful or pointless. For better results, I would have disarmed the bomb or taken out rebel forces, feats unfortunately you probably would have failed.


    Great, so Eve is a backseat gamer too.


    Thiago begun talking again, and Alan realized that these conversations with Eve were progressing at the speed of thought, thus very little time passed for anyone else¡­ that was interesting, and possibly quite useful.


    ¡°Now, you may not know this but there are various Tutorials, and levels of tutorials. Unlike most games which just explain to you how to play the game, the Tutorial is more of a test to determine your class and place in the Game. One of the reasons we paid so much to get here is that we are about to undergo a group, Ultihaxlard tutorial, which promises significant rewards should we do well.


    We know there is going to be some sort of group fighting exercise, thus we had determined the following. KingArthur is going to try to tank enemy attacks, Daisy will be the medic/healer, and everyone else is either ranged or melee damage dealers. ¡±


    ¡°And I shall be THE WIZARD,¡± MadMerlin shouted, leaping up, arms stretched wide.


    ¡°Dude, we don¡¯t even know if magic exists in the game yet¡­¡± KingArthur murmured to his friend.


    ¡°We don¡¯t? Or, do we?¡± MadMerlin grinned and extended his hand.


    ¡°Let there be LIGHT!¡± A small glow emanated from his palm.


    ¡°What!? How did you do that?¡± Aphrodite, who was sitting next to him said.


    ¡°A wizard never reveals his tricks!¡± MadMerlin shouted as KingArthur shoved him back into his seat, strapping his seatbelt on, treating him like an unruly child.


    Don¡¯t you mean magician? Whatever.


    ¡°Okay, yes,¡± Thiago said, ¡°and MadMerlin will be the wizard, whatever that means. Now, what role were you thinking of, Alan?¡±


    Well I was thinking being a sort of scout/sniper maybe tactician, does that sound good to you, Eve?


    Affirmative.


    ¡°Well, I was thinking I could be a sort of scout/sniper, maybe set up traps, gathering information. I think I could also be a tactician with Eve¡¯s help.¡±


    ¡°A scout? Do you have any experience scouting or with combat? How would you gather information?¡± Ace, the guy Alan had thought was a soldier, asked.


    ¡°Well not really, but I usually played a rogue type character in RPG¡¯s umm¡­¡±


    Eve. Help.


    Permission to attempt to access other players maps.


    Granted.


    A message apparently appeared in front of the other players in the ship.


    ¡°Should I accept this, Alan? Your AI is requesting the ability to access my UI.¡± Kitana inquired.


    ¡°Um, yeah I was thinking that Eve should be able to give you a minimap and maybe update it, as that¡¯s what she¡¯s been doing for me.¡±


    Now, for instance Eve showed the ship in space, the nine other passengers and three other beings in the cockpit. The dropship was now passing by Saturn.


    Wait, we¡¯re passing by Saturn already? Damn, the game must have given these ships some improvements.


    Negative. Such speeds should be achievable in real life as well with the correct materials.


    Wait, really? That¡¯s impressive. Hey, why didn¡¯t you answer my question this time?


    It was deemed rhetorical.


    Oh, right, yeah, keep up the good work.


    ¡°Huh, interesting,¡± DaLong commented, apparently fairly impressed with the minimap he now saw. ¡°So, we should be approaching the Titan soon then. It¡¯s on some space station outside of Pluto, outside of our solar system. Another reason you shouldn¡¯t worry about the Haxlards, their ships above a certain class aren¡¯t allowed into our solar system.¡±


    Yeah, but you did just tell me they built a space station right outside of it. Alan didn¡¯t say anything aloud though. He was, after all on a Haxlard ship, and he felt like a certain degree of paranoia was necessary.


    Alan hadn¡¯t ever really liked picking sides before, he more enjoyed picking sides apart. Thus, playing the rogue mercenary, loyal to whomever paid him the most. Now, though, that the fate of humanity and the control of Earth hung in the balance, maybe he should reconsider his choice of just trying to make a bunchy of money¡­


    Negative. Current objectives of wealth and power best course for ability to impact the fate of humanity.


    Uh, okay.  Sure Eve. Is it dangerous if I start thinking of Eve as a crazy dictator? Wait, she heard that didn¡¯t she? Shit.


    Negative, as my master I exist to ensure your safety and growth. I did hear that. However, as you have directed I will never divulge information about what you think or act in such a way that would harm you.


    Uh, great. Cool. Good job me for programming you¡­ sort of.


    ¡°Alright, this will be fairly helpful. However, as you noted you don¡¯t have any combat experience, I feel like it would be best if you went out with one of our more experienced members, Ace or Kitana.¡±


    Alan looked over at Kitana hopefully.


    ¡°Very well, I will be paired with Alan.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Now, is there anything else someone would like to say?¡±


    Alan thought this might be a good time to voice his opinions about the whole mercenary thing.


    ¡°Uh, well unlike you guys it is probably fairly clear I don¡¯t really have connections. So, um, I¡¯m a couple million in debt, so I¡¯m probably going to try to play this game at first to make money so I can pay off my debt to Icewolf,¡± Alan said, wincing as he was reminded of just how much money he owed.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, even expected. Of course we don¡¯t expect you to play solely for the sake of humanity. Just like if the Earth gets invaded or whatever, you would hopefully either send aid or help defend it. I¡¯m not sure how this all works out, but apparently certain guilds are often stronger than governments, so well, I¡¯m not really going to tell you how to play. I¡¯m sure we all have different plans.¡± Thiago said, looking at everyone else, implying something, Alan wasn¡¯t quite sure what.


    Alan noticed Thiago seemed to be the one that spoke for the group the most, yet often various people didn¡¯t look like they completely agreed with what he was saying.


    ¡°Wait, we¡¯re not going to be expected to actually kill things, are we?¡± Aphrodite spoke up, demurely. She suddenly looked to have been quite shaken up by the bombing and ensuing escapade.


    ¡°Well, that is sort of the point of being a ranged damage dealer, which was the position you agreed to. Also as we saw earlier there luckily isn¡¯t much blood and gore in the Game, just sort of digitized deaths.¡± Thiago said deadpan.


    ¡°Oh, uh, right. Well actually I think I might be better suited to be a healer then like Daisy, or maybe a negotiator. We might not necessarily need to fight, right, just survive?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, we should let the tutorial begin, and then figure it out.¡± Thiago firmly replied.


    ¡°Um, okay.¡± Aphrodite murmured quietly, eyes downcast. Alan thought he might have seen a tear or two emerging, and he felt like he should say something. Thiago, for some reason, was rolling his eyes, but didn¡¯t say anything else.


    Then, looking at the minimap, Alan saw they were approaching the space station. The lights above, which had been a fluorescent yellow turned green. Pharaoh emerged from the cockpit. Aphrodite wiped her eyes and sat up immediately, looking remarkably at ease for someone that appeared to be in a great deal of distress seconds earlier.


    ¡°Alright my little earthlings, we are about to land on the Titan. Please remain in the areas designated to you, although you won¡¯t be able to see your quarters until you finish the Tutorial. Once we land on the ship, you will be guided to the capsule room, where the Tutorial will take place.¡±


    ¡°Wait, we¡¯re going into capsules within a capsule?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Pharaoh answered, glancing at Thiago, ¡°Evidently their explanation wasn¡¯t very good. Capsules are one of the key features in this Game, allowing you to access your Home Base, teleport to various nearby locations and exit the Game.¡±


    ¡°The majority of mock battles, tournaments and tests take place in worlds accessible only through a capsule. The Tutorial may take place in one of these worlds, or it may take place within the Game. Now, I¡¯m sure this and more will all be explained when you enter a capsule for the first time. Now, please follow the guards to where everything is set up, I need to go to the bridge.¡±


    Huh so I guess the terminology we use was even transferred.


    Incorrect. The Game translates all communication for each player, thus while Kitana has been speaking in Japanese, you in English and Pharaoh in Haxlardian, you have all been able to understand each other.


    Oh, well, I guess that make sense.


    Amazed once more at the Game, Alan unbuckled himself as the dropship landed. The ramp extended, and Alan followed everyone else through a narrow corridor similar to those before you entered an airplane. He could see a series of three or four additional corridors, most likely leading to other small aircraft.


    At the end of the corridor stood two Haxlards, wearing metallic light blue armor that covered their entire bodies, making them look like robotic statues. They had blue faceplates, which Alan figured by now had to stand for rank or something, although he wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯d be polite to ask about it. Alan didn¡¯t see any breaks in the armor, yet as the Haxlards gestured them forward their joints moved with ease.


    Each Haxlard held a laser rifle in one hand, or at least that¡¯s what Alan assumed it to be. The device was curved into a U-shape, and each Haxlard gripped the weapon at the base of the U, while a green laser beam stretched across the two tips of the U, connecting them.


    Following the Haxlards, they emerged into another corridor, only slightly larger than the first. There wasn¡¯t much to see, just narrow, grey metal corridors with the occasional closed grey door.


    Connected to Titan network. Acquiring basic layout.


    As everyone else followed the two Haxlard guards, a few of the doors they were passing had their basic layouts filled in. A few were labeled as dining facilities or restrooms or storage, yet the majority were just a foggy space labeled classified. The restroom sort of reminded Alan that he had to go, thus he¡¯d probably need to eat and sleep as well. He figured the goal had been to make armies or whatever as realistic as possible, and armies needed to eat, sleep and drink. At least, biological ones did.


    When the layout appeared, Kitana glanced back at Alan, thus he surmised that everyone else got this basic layout of the ship as well. It looked like they¡¯d arrive soon at their destination, which was labeled as the training room.


    As they walked up to the shut door, it slid open, revealing a room remarkably similar to the original capsule room Alan had seen in real life. Arranged at the edges of the room were twenty metallic capsules, all a monochrome silver.


    A message appeared in front of Alan:


    ¡°Please enter an unoccupied capsule. The Tutorial will then begin.¡±


    ¡°Alright guys, this is it, good luck.¡± Thiago announced to everyone, climbing into a capsule.


    Alan grinned. Finally, he hoped, he¡¯d be able to slay some monsters or something. He walked up to a capsule at the end of the row. It opened up for him, revealing a similar liquid. Climbing in, Alan closed his eyes, breathing steadily, ready for the adventure to truly begin¡­


    Next Chapter</a>

 Tutorial, Start!

    The first test turned out to be a lengthy standardized test. A college admission exam on steroids.


    Ten hours ago Alan had found himself in a white space surrounding him as far as he could see, cut off from Eve. It was a bit disorienting. Before him stood a female android or cyborg or something, the only other thing within this world. She, and it was definitely a she based upon certain parts that were emphasized, had metallic plates for skin, black wires connecting its parts, and small cameras with blue lenses for eyes.


    She had handed him a questionnaire, asked him to fill it out. A non-descript white desk and chair appeared in front of him, along with a pen. Sitting down, Alan looked at the questionnaire, and filled it out. It seemed rather trivial at the time.


    Name, birth date, sex, gender, favorite hobbies, education, etc. Once that was finished however, the tests began.


    Math, Science, History, Writing, Programming, Pop Culture, it seemed like every single piece of knowledge that he had ever learned was going to be pried out of him. He was tested on foreign languages, guessing at what words he¡¯d never heard of meant, not recognizing half the languages presented. He was forced to make lists of everything, from programming languages to Pok¨¦mon to US presidents.


    The questions were multiple choice, short answer and long answer. He wrote essays, he wrote poems, he performed calculations, he drew freaking stick figure portraits when he was asked to draw famous figures.


    As soon as he finished a page, it disappeared, and a new one appeared.  Somehow the Game always knew when he was done with a page, and kept pages if he wanted to use them as reference. After the first three hours, when his hands began to tire after writing so much, a sleek laptop appeared on the desk.


    Concentrating, the laptop shifted and became similar to the desktop setup he was used to back at home. Then the testing resumed. As each subject was introduced and he answered the questions they either grew harder or easier, developing as he went along. Once it seemed like he no longer had any idea what was going on, the next subject would start.


    There were portions of the test that taught him new concepts, about various branches of math and science he¡¯d never heard of before, then tested him on what he learned.


    Every so often, Alan¡¯s attention began to stray, but then suddenly he¡¯d find himself looking directly at the screen before him, and a message would pop up:


    ¡°Please complete the test.¡±


    This reminded him that this was part of the tutorial, thus he should concentrate and do his best, but it was just so mind numbingly boring.


    A few hours later, the next subject arose, AI development, and Alan developed an AI as best he could. It would probably do a lot better at this test than he would. He wondered why Eve wasn¡¯t allowed to be used, it¡¯s not like she¡¯d ever be separated from him. Shaking his head, he got back to work, he was probably being timed as well.


    Yawning, Alan looked at the time. It was nearly 7 a.m., which explained how tired he was. Still, he was somewhat used to late nights, and was already on a sort of nocturnal schedule. He¡¯d gone asleep at 3 a.m. the night before, far too excited about the game.


    While he¡¯d been taking the test the Game had provided him with a bathroom, as well as colored blocks of food to eat and water to drink, but he felt like asking for a bed to sleep in was stretching it a bit too far.


    He also wasn¡¯t quite sure how eating, drinking and what not worked if he was in a virtual world inside a virtual world, but didn¡¯t question it. Instead he asked for a cup of coffee, got it, then resumed the test. He hoped the end was in sight.


    Three hours later, Alan finished the final question about alien politics, that is to say, he answered every question with ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± and a message popped up.


    ¡°Please wait while your test is analyzed.¡±


    Sighing, Alan sat back, and a white bed appeared. Not questioning it, Alan climbed in, and fell asleep.


    When Alan awoke he found himself in the same white space he began in, although it now had a desk and computer similar to his own, along with a table to eat at, a toilet and bed. Glancing at the clock in the top right hand corner of his vision it was 3 p.m. The female robot remained standing, motionless, in the same spot where it began.


    Yawning, Alan got up, walking up to the android to inspect it.


    A message has popped up:


    ¡°Results gathered. Ready for introduction to the Game?¡±


    Yes, thought Alan.


    The android turned to look at him.


    Welcome, traveler, to the Game! I am an Administrator, at your service. This introduction has been designed based upon your answers to the test and actions thus far.


    Used to Eve speaking within his mind Alan wasn¡¯t too surprised this administrator did so as well. He sat down at the desk. This would probably take a while.


    As you know, the Game was created to replicate the real universe. In many ways however, it differs greatly from reality. It would best be likened to a virtual reality MMORPG, where the entire universe was copied and put into  the game, many years ago. Since then however, the Game has taken a very divergent path from reality. For one thing, the resources within the Game are virtually infinite, as creatures, materials and entire worlds spawn at various rates, unending in number.


    Currently, you are in a capsule within the Game, a virtual space within this virtual space. Where you currently are is known as your Home Base. Any capsule you enter within the Game will first return you to this Home Base, the space you see now.


    The Administrator gestured about, pointing at the few pieces of furniture that had appeared when Alan had expressed his desire for them.


    Uh, can I rename my Home Base?


    Certainly, your Home Base may be customized as you desire, however apart from basic amenities, additional environments and furniture will cost additional credits.


    Uh, great rename it to um, uh¡­ Damn, can¡¯t think of any cool names¡­ just call it Home.


    Very well. Additionally, death within the game is never the end. Instead, you will be respawned within a capsule, wherever you set your last spawn point, minus a number of credits, and various other penalties depending on the circumstances of your death. Please set this capsule on board the Titan ship as your spawn point now. Simply do so by expressing your desire to set this capsule as your spawn point. Any capsule may be set as your spawn point once you are here at Home.


    Alan started to think his affirmation, Um, I want this capsule-, wait hmmm if I keep respawning here, couldn¡¯t the Haxlards keep me here indefinitely, trapping me on their ship? Eh, well, then the others would be trapped here as well¡­ Oh well, I guess I¡¯ll trust Pharaoh. I want this capsule set as my spawn point.


    Spawn point confirmed. Upon death in the Game you will now respawn aboard the Titan in the Capsule Room. Now, in addition to where you set your spawn point, your Home is also where you may spend ability points. Please note that you are also able to set spawn points and spend ability points while in a medic bay, or at various other places within the Game. However, the Home is typically considered by most players the most convenient place to perform either task.


    You are awarded with 5 ability points for every level you gain. These ability points are able to be spent to develop abilities and increase attributes. The primary attributes are strength, agility, perception, endurance, intelligence, willpower, luck and charisma.


    While certain primary attributes are fairly straightforward, for instance leveling up strength will increase your physical strength, others are not. Increasing your intelligence may improve your ability to remember things, or it may improve how quickly you are able to think, or it may do something else entirely.


    It should be noted the names for these attributes are imprecise translations into your language, English. However, the result based upon which attribute you wish to invest in will be the same as far as you are concerned.


    What? Alan asked. The Administrator simply ignored him and continued on.


    Experience and attribute increases will now be awarded. From this point forward, experience, attributes and abilities will be granted based upon your actions.


    A slew of messages popped up.


    ¡°+8300 Exp¡±


    ¡°+3 Endurance¡±


    ¡°+8 Intelligence¡±


    ¡°+2 Willpower¡±


    ¡°+30 Luck¡±


    Alan wasn¡¯t quite sure why he was being awarded various bonuses, but he was fairly sure alerting people to the bomb, getting aboard the Titan and the test he took had something to do with it all.


    I wonder what level I am now¡­


    You are now level 12. Eve answered.


    Oh, so you¡¯re back. Alan could somehow tell the difference between Eve and the Administrator speaking to him in his mind. Eve somehow sounded easy going, expressing various emotional inflections in her thoughts while the Administrator was completely monotone.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.Add my level to my display in the top left. Alan had set it so that he would see his stamina and health if he started thinking about his display, which faded in and out based upon his thoughts. He didn¡¯t want some screen no one else could see blocking his vision, after all.


    Added.


    Please spend your ability points now. The Administrator added.


    A new menu appeared before Alan, displaying hundreds of pages of various abilities available for purchase. Under a separate tab were his attributes, and the points he could devote to them.


    Alan began by browsing the various abilities, which seemed to include every talent, skill and bonus he¡¯d ever heard of. He decided to sort the list by popularity, only including the abilities he could currently purchase, as the majority of them either cost too many points or had various prerequisites, some hidden, that he didn¡¯t fulfill.


    There were generic superhero abilities like flight, super strength and super hearing, each costing around 50 ability points. There were skills such as increasing his expertise at wielding a blade or gun, with sub-categories for specializing in various types of weapons.


    Becoming a decent sniper would only cost him 25 ability points, although he didn¡¯t know where he¡¯d get a sniper rifle. He also wondered if the Game would just implant the information into his brain or somehow train him. The list continued to abilities that would influence not his physical body but the rewards he¡¯d receive, increasing quest rewards, the chance he¡¯d find items, his status with various factions.


    A few especially caught his notice. Gifted, Skilled and Talented. They each cost 50 ability points. Gifted gave an additional ability point to spend on attributes every five levels, Skilled did the same but the ability point needed to be spent on abilities, while Talented, which had Skilled and Gifted as a prerequisite, simply said that it gave you talent in an area that suited you, and cost 100 ability points.


    Of course, since he would reach level 260 before either Skilled or Gifted paid themselves back, their usefulness would depend upon the level cap of the game.


    Alan turned to the Administrator. What¡¯s the level cap of the Game?


    There is no level cap.


    What is the highest level player at the moment?


    That information is classified.


    What is the average and median level at the moment? Alan asked, determined to get an answer out of the Administrator.


    The average and median level of players who have chosen not to hide their levels is approximately 3460 and 1337, respectively.


    Um okay, hide my level. What¡¯s the highest level of a human who chose not to hide their level? Alan thought it would be better to be safe than sorry. Who knew if people targeted lower level players.


    The cost to hide your level is 500 credits which you do not have. The highest level human from Earth is currently 2045.


    Oh, great. Why did you specify human from Earth?


    There are multiple species that share enough similarity with humans from Earth they too could be specified as humans. Please spend your ability points now.


    A timer appeared in front of Alan, 10 minutes counting down, while he tried to process the information he was given.


    Alright, so if I assume higher level players hide their level, the max level and average level is probably higher, thus making Gifted and Skilled amazing abilities. At the same time though, this next part of the tutorial will probably require me to use my abilities, so if I want to do better I would be better off getting other abilities¡­


    Eve, do you think it would be a wise decision to purchase Gifted or Skilled?


    Affirmative.


    Alright.


    Alan scrolled down on the menu and purchased Skilled, as the points accrued could then be spent on purchasing Gifted.


    He used his remaining 10 points to purchase a basic Sneak skill, figuring he¡¯d probably be better off sneaking around as  a scout rather than directly fighting people, as he had little to no actual combat experience. He¡¯d leave actual fighting to others, or kill off enemies before they detected him, hopefully.


    The sneak skill appeared on his character sheet, with a rank of G. Skilled didn¡¯t have a rank.


    The Administrator brought another menu up in front of him.


    Another way to increase your abilities, apart from spending ability points, is by installing implants. There are two categories of implants, biological and mechanical. Biological implants as their name imply change you biologically, such as giving you the strength of a Predecessor by infusing your DNA with theirs. Mechanical implants instead make the use of technology to improve your abilities, for instance increasing your strength by enhancing your muscles with metal.


    Please note that along with the benefits provided, most implants also have drawbacks. The Predecessor DNA may increase your strength, but it also might leave you vulnerable to Predecessor diseases you would otherwise avoid. Mechanical muscles may be effected by EMP shockwaves or need to be tuned on a regular basis.


    As a human, you are limited to one biological and one mechanical implant for each power of 10 levels you have. At level 1, you may have one of each, at level 10, you may have two of each, and so forth. For a significant cost, you may have implants added and removed. Please review your implants now.


    Alan looked at the menu. It displayed a blue outline of a human body, along with two implants that had apparently been implanted already. The first implant was labeled mechanical with a rank of C, named Computer-Human Enhanced Interface, which according to the tooltip enhanced the ability to communicate with AI, explaining how he was talking to Eve. When selected, the brain of the blue outline was highlighted.


    The second was biological, a General Status Enhancer, giving all of his attributes +20, explaining why he felt stronger, faster and smarter in the Game. It seemed to encompass his entire body. Where these implants came from however, he wasn¡¯t sure.


    When did I get these implants? From where?


    When you initially entered the Game. They were approved by your AI, a benefit of entering the Game with a rank B capsule. The Administrator replied.


    Wait, Eve, you accepted these for me?


    Affirmative. This was before you set up permissions. I chose these implants as I felt they would benefit you the most.


    Okay, they have helped, just, please follow the permissions I set up earlier. Ask me before you make any decision that would influence the Game in any matter, unless it¡¯s a dire situation that doesn¡¯t give you enough time to consult me.


    Of course.


    Well, that answered the question of where the time went when Alan had first entered the Game. Eve had decided without him to have these implants installed.


    Oh well, he probably would have agonized over the choice and never have picked the Computer-Human Computing Interface, anyways. Alan briefly browsed the other choices, which now cost thousands of credits, various materials and even ability points.


    The implants generally granted the same things the various abilities he could have purchased gave. Increased strength, enhanced senses, flight. Interestingly, it looked like he could become a cyborg of some sort, which allowed for increased mechanical implants, but fewer biological ones. It also made him more susceptible to anti-machine weapons, though, and Alan wasn¡¯t sure how much he liked the idea of becoming half-machine. He already had an AI practically living in his brain, after all.


    Like the list of abilities, the list of implants was pretty much endless. After looking at about 20 pages of the most popular implants, Alan got bored, and looked over at the Administrator.


    I am done reviewing my implants. Boy, that sounded a bit strange, good thing I¡¯m the only person hearing what I¡¯m thinking.


    Another important action you may perform in your Home is teleportation, with a fee depending on how far you wish to be transported. Teleportation is generally only feasible within approximately 10 light years and is disabled on ships. For the sake of the Tutorial however, teleportation has been temporarily activated. Note that teleportation is generally not instantaneous.


    Please teleport to the Tutorial destination, where your next test will begin.


    A third menu opened up in front of Alan, this time a list of a single place to teleport to, titled Tutorial destination, with a fee of 0 credits, and a question mark for the picture.


    Teleport me to the Tutorial destination, Alan thought, and off he went.

 The First Step of Survival

    Alan stepped out of the teleportation chamber into the fluorescent light of an underground concrete bunker the size of a small school gym. Along with the teleportation chamber, there were numerous tables at the edges of the room, with an assortment of supplies and weapons. An Administrator also stood in the corner opposite from Alan, next to a capsule. In the middle were a number of military cots, each with a  pillow and blanket on them. Standing about the room were the others, everyone except Ace as far as Alan could see.


    A message popped up:


    ¡°The Survival Test:


    Try to survive three waves of enemies that will attempt to hunt you down. The first wave will begin a few hours after your entire team has arrived. To prepare for this trial, you are given 100 credits. You may purchase materials found in your starting zone.


    At the end of each wave, should you survive, you will be granted additional credits and experience. You may spend Ability points by speaking with the Administrator found in the starting zone. Please direct any further questions to the Administrator.


    Good luck!¡±


    Alan closed the message, then looked up. The others had noticed him by now, and Thiago was walking up to him.


    ¡°Heya, Alan, how¡¯d the written test go? Not too long, I hope. You¡¯ve probably noticed, but almost everyone else finished and arrived here hours ago.¡±


    ¡°Uh, no, it was fine. So, we¡¯re ready for this survival test, then?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, bout as ready as we¡¯re ever gonna be. The current plan is hunkering down in this here bunker, killing anything that gets close. We aren¡¯t sure where we are, but well you and Kitana can go outside and figure that out once the door opens, while the rest of us try to barricade us up. Right now the door¡¯s shut tight, and but it¡¯ll open once Ace arrives.¡±


    Thiago gestured at a shut metal door next to the Administrator.


    ¡°Anyways, we think it¡¯ll be a good idea to go over purchases with everyone else, so we don¡¯t end up buying two of the same thing. How many credits did ya receive, anyways?¡±


    ¡°Um, 100.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Thiago seemed a bit taken aback. ¡°Huh, as far as we can tell, we¡¯ve been given different amounts based off of our skills, and stuff we brought, to balance things out, you know? The only other that got so few was Kitana, but she brought a sword for god¡¯s sake. Daisy got like 3000 credits, enough to buy a shield generator. She think she¡¯s worked out how it works, and it¡¯ll be up once we get it set up and the door opens.¡±


    ¡°Also, before you ask, all the items here seem to be bind until death, thus only the person who buys the item is able to use it. The cheapest gun is like 300 credits, just to let you know. All 100 credits can buy you is a few days worth of food and a med-kit, which is what I suggest you buy. Also, add me as a contact, so we can message each other while this thing is going on.¡±


    A message popped up:


    ¡°Thiago has requested to be added as a contact. Accept?¡±


    Accept.


    ¡°Contact added.¡±


    ¡°Alright, looks like Ace has arrived. Get ready.¡± Thiago said, looking over Alan¡¯s shoulders. Alan looked to see Ace emerge from the teleportation chamber. To his surprise, it looked like Ace hadn¡¯t slept a wink, and had been doing some sort of physical activity, based upon the sweat on his brow.


    Alan hurried over to the table Thiago gestured to earlier with the food and medicine. A drop down menu appeared before him. He bought three things of food, dark grey blocks of what looked like Jell-O for 10 credits each, a med-kit for 50 credits and a water bottle that somehow gathered water from the atmosphere and filled itself for 20 credits.


    Opening the med-kit up, it looked like a futuristic first aid kit with bandages and different gels for wounds. Alan hoped Eve knew what  to do with this stuff, cause Alan sure didn¡¯t.


    Someone had suggested he take a first aid class at some point, but he¡¯d always figure he¡¯d have the internet and a hospital nearby. Alan shoved this stuff into the green backpack he¡¯d scavenged from the house he¡¯d began the Game at. He also still had the combat knife the soldier had given him earlier in his pocket. Hopefully it would be enough for whatever it was they were going to face.


    Another message popped up.


    ¡°First Wave: Predecessor Scouting Hounds, Lvl 30


    Enemies remaining: 20


    Time until arrival: 1:20:34¡å


    The message included a 3-D hologram of a massive beast the size of an SUV, covered in scars with huge protruding fangs. It sort of looked like a enormous bulldog to Alan, if the bulldog had brown bear fur, a cat¡¯s jaw with saber tooth teeth, and had been mauled a few times. Alan didn¡¯t think his 5-inch knife would do much against that thing.


    ¡°Alright, everyone it¡¯s time to begin.¡± Thiago called out. ¡°You all have your directions, let¡¯s do this. Please update me with any new developments.¡±


    Everyone nodded, the majority of them gathering around a metal device Alan assumed was the shield generator. Kitana got up from a cot, where she had been sitting down sharpening her katana, gesturing Alan over. Thiago went back to talking to Ace, who had apparently been given 0 credits. Alan really wanted to know what his abilities were and what had happened to him, but he had work to do.


    He and Kitana stepped out of the room into a narrow concrete hallway maybe 20 ft long. There were two completely empty storage rooms on either side of the hallway. At the end was a set of concrete stairs leading upwards. At the top of the stairs they saw DaLong, next to the door to the bunker, trying to get it open. Alan hurried up the stairs to help him. DaLong looked over at him, but didn¡¯t say anything.


    With one huge heave, the rusty hinges finally budged, and the concrete swung backwards, revealing a foggy sky. They emerged onto the top of a grassy cliff, next to a road, surrounded by what looked like mostly woods to Alan. It was hard to tell though, as the fog blocked most of his vision.


    Alan occasionally made out the red roof tiles of various buildings around him, and they were next to some sort of body of water to the west, but other than that he wasn¡¯t able to make out much other than trees and other vegetation.


    ¡°So, are you just going to stand here, or are you going to scout? I¡¯m supposed to stay here guarding the entrance.¡± DaLong said after a few seconds.


    ¡°Just trying to try to see some landmarks. Let¡¯s follow this road, see where it leads,¡± Alan said to Kitana, pointing in the direction away from the water. She nodded, and began jogging before Alan could say anything more.


    As soon as the road stopped descending, it started ascending There were hills everywhere. According to a street sign, they were on a Lincoln Blvd. Alan soon struggled to keep up with Kitana¡¯s pace, but didn¡¯t want to say anything or demonstrate his weakness. Also, his attributes would increase if he worked hard, right?


    A few minutes, later, Alan glanced at his minimap. He stopped, almost face palming.


    ¡°Wait, Kitana, Eve¡¯s already figured out where we are.¡± Alan had made sure Eve had downloaded a worldwide map before beginning the Game, along with all sorts of other information he¡¯d found on the internet.


    According to Eve¡¯s map, they were now in the Presidio of San Francisco, which according to Wikipedia was a park that was formerly a military base. If they followed the road they were on now, they¡¯d reach the Richmond District of San Francisco. The body of water Alan had seen a glimpse of earlier, parallel to the road they were on, was the Pacific Ocean.


    Let me know if you make a discovery like that, okay?


    A discovery like what?


    Like where we teleported to.


    Affirmative.


    ¡°Hmm, since we know where we are, we should probably ask Thiago what to do next then. You can message him.¡± Kitana said, moving her hands about in front of her, probably exploring the map Eve provided.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Message Thiago.


    Text or voice?


    Um, voice.


    Connecting¡­


    A phone ringing sounded in Alan¡¯s ear. A second later, he heard Thiago, speaking into his ear.


    ¡°Yes, Alan?¡±


    ¡°Um, Eve figured out we¡¯re in the Presidio of San Francisco. You can take a look at your minimap probably.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± A few seconds passed, as Thiago checked out the map.


    ¡°Very good. Anything you find that seems like it might be helpful?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no not really, just a bunch of hills and trees.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well the next thing you should do then is look for supplies. If this map is right then we¡¯re properly in the Game now. I think San Francisco is under US military control, but I¡¯m not sure, so try to avoid any other people you find. Remember that while this Game Earth may be a digital copy of the real Earth when the aliens first came here six months ago, things may have changed quite a bit. Time in the Game is four times as fast so two years have passed here. ¡±


    ¡°Got it, bye.¡±


    End message.


    Message ended.


    Hey, Eve, where¡¯s the nearest police station?


    The nearest police station is approximately 2 miles away.


    Alright, set it as my destination.


    Destination set.


    The familiar blue line appeared before Alan. He turned to Kitana.


    ¡°Alright, so let¡¯s try to go to the police station, hopefully we¡¯ll find supplies there. It¡¯s about 2 miles away, but we still have over an hour left to get there and back.¡±


    Kitana shrugged. ¡°Sure, that sounds acceptable to me.¡±


    A blue line appeared on the road in front of Alan, showing him the way to the police station, or at least where there was in the real world. On the jog over he tried making small talk with Kitana.


    ¡°So, um, have you played many video games?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, what¡¯s your favorite anime or manga?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t had the time for either. I have devoted myself mainly to training.¡±


    ¡°Huh that¡¯s cool.¡±


    Kitana didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°Well, if you haven¡¯t really played any games before, all these ability points and skills might be a bit confusing. I¡¯ve found it best to try to stick with one sort of character and focus on doing that as best you can.¡±


    ¡°Also, there are a few pretty useful skills that you can buy that will allow you to improve faster. I don¡¯t know if you noticed them, but Skilled and Gifted seem pretty over powered.¡±


    ¡°Yes, those skills have been quite useful in accruing extra ability points. I began with them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you did? Um, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, what other abilities did you start with?¡±


    Kitana made a gesture, opening a menu, looking at it while she ran.


    ¡°Sword mastery, a various number of sword-moves the Game seems to have converted from the style I¡¯ve learned, various breathing techniques, meditation, sprint, sneak, endurance, there are quite a few here.¡±


    Alan opened and looked at his character menu. The only skills were the ones he bought, Skilled and the G rank sneak ability.


    You should align yourself and become ¡°friends¡± with this Kitana. Discover her goals and aid her or blackmail her. Eve suddenly said.


    Um, right¡­ I¡¯ll do that, but probably not for the same reasons you want me too, and I¡¯m definitely not going to try to blackmail her.


    Fine. Based upon the games I¡¯ve played girls are likely to like you if you are strong, cute, handsome, charming, funny or a lovable buffoon. Based upon my observations, you would be best suited for the role of lovable buffoon. First,-


    Wait, no, stop. Too far. Please don¡¯t give me relationship advice.


    Is that a command?


    Yes, it is. Stop.


    Fine.


    Blushing slightly, Alan continued jogging along the road. What were they talking about again? Oh, right, skills.


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s pretty amazing. I actually only have a few skills. Um, by the way, what level are you?¡±


    ¡°53.¡±


    Oh, well that explains a lot¡­ I guess your abilities in the real world transferred over to the Game, which sort of makes sense if it¡¯s supposed to represent fighting in your actual body, just virtually. That¡¯s probably why all the people I saw in the Omnitech building were super buff and looked militaristic.


    Still, to be told that I don¡¯t have any skills worth mentioning is sort of depressing. I may have spent most of my days sitting inside reading stuff or watching things or playing games, but I also studied pretty hard. Ok, well, I studied hard when it mattered and I wanted to, so like just a few times. Whatever, I have Eve to do that.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Alan ignored the fact that a lot of his inability came from laziness. He¡¯d do the hard work. At some point.


    Alan began to tire, but Kitana kept up the quick pace. Urging his body onward, Alan resolved to take this time to push himself harder than he ever had before. It was a game after all.


    A mile and a half later, Alan was sort of regretting his decision, but they¡¯d arrived at the police station in under 15 minutes, and he¡¯d gained a point in endurance. He¡¯d also almost thrown up.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Alan panted, talking to Kitana, ¡°Let, me, *pant* rest a bit.¡±


    ¡°Very well, we shall wait a minute.¡±


    Alan collapsed onto the stairs in front of the police station, taking a long drink from the self-filling water bottle he¡¯d bought earlier. It was already half full.


    Looking up at the station, he noticed a board tacked up above the entrance.


    It read: ¡°Gamers, if you require medical aid please proceed to Pier 27. If you wish to trade or purchase items, proceed to the downtown mall nearby the Metreon. If there is an emergency, add IntelligienceAgent.23 as a contact.¡±


    Scrawled onto the sign were a few words of profanity, doodles and a few messages that were fairly helpful. The key ones were the ones that said, ¡°You fail the Tutorial if you get outside help, don¡¯t ask them to aid you,¡± next to it was ¡°You can still buy items though! Visit Igor¡¯s Emporium!¡±,  ¡°No items here, all taken,¡± and ¡°The Army rules San Fran, get out while you still can.¡± There was also apparently some sort of base camp across the Golden Gate Bridge.


    ¡°So, umm, looks like there isn¡¯t anything to scavenge here. Any idea what to do next?¡±


    ¡°What do the green dots on the minimap represent?¡±


    ¡°Neutral or allied life forms larger than a frog, I think. If they¡¯re particularly important life forms will still show up if they¡¯re smaller though.¡±


    ¡°Well, as you mentioned before you have no combat experience. I believe it would be best if I tried to train you, maybe try to kill a few of the life forms I notice appeared on our run over here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, sure, sounds good!¡±


    Kitana proceeded to show Alan how to hold his knife, and make cuts and thrusts, especially at a large animal like the ones they were probably going to need to fight. Alan gained a few stat points and even a rank G knife fighting ability. Both that and the sneak ability had a question mark after their rank. Alan assumed that this was the number Icewolf had told him about earlier.


    They then moved on to try to find a live target to practice on.


    The city definitely looked like it hadn¡¯t been maintained for years, with rampant growth everywhere. It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise that wildlife had moved in as well. Alan and Kitana managed to spot a deer standing in the middle of a yard, with Eve¡¯s help. Alan wasn¡¯t sure how she was detecting things blocks away, but it seemed like she detected everything within a 5-block radius.


    Alan slowly and patiently crawled over to the fence in front of the yard the deer was in. He proceeded to climb over it with a precision and silence that surprised him. It must be the sneak ability. The deer was nibbling on some fallen fruit on the ground, oblivious to Alan.


    Once he was a few feet away. Alan ran up and leapt at the deer, stabbing it in its flank, expecting numbers or some sort of critical hit message to appear. Instead, the deer let out a startled noise, and sprinted out of the yard. A small health bar did appear though. Alan had taken maybe 10% of its health.


    Alan sprinted after it, just in time to see Kitana leap out and decapitate it, swinging almost faster than he could see. The insides of the deer that Alan briefly saw was all just sort of digital fuzz, luckily, but a spray of red blood did appear.


    Kitana bent down, picking up something Alan didn¡¯t see, and the deer¡¯s body disappeared. Alan glanced at his XP bar, he¡¯d gained maybe 1% of a level. In comparison, just discovering the police station and the messages had given him 5%.


    ¡°So, um, what¡¯d it drop?¡±


    ¡°Drop?¡±


    ¡°What loot did you get? Items that you got from the body.¡±


    ¡°Oh, a vial of deer blood. Do you know it¡¯s use?¡±


    ¡°Um I¡¯m not sure, probably better to hold onto it though.¡±


    ¡°Okay. We should discuss your¡­ attack. As I instructed earlier, you need to attack vital areas, this game replicates every creatures weak points, as far as I can tell. You do know what areas are vital, don¡¯t you?¡± Kitana asked Alan dubiously.


    ¡°Um, of course I do.¡±


    Eve, you can show me creatures weak points, right?


    Affirmative.


    Great, when we¡¯re in combat, show me where I should attack.


    Very well. Shall I create a shadow outline for you to follow?


    Can you do that?


    Yes.


    Alright, well, I think we should test that.


    Ok.


    ¡°Um, actually, can I test something out? If I attack you with this knife, you¡¯re able to avoid it, right? Wait, no, let me find a stick.¡±


    Kitana scoffed at the idea of Alan landing a hit on her, ensuring him that he could attack her as much as he wanted with his knife. She turned towards him, holding her katana in front of her.


    ¡°Um, alright.¡±


    Okay, Eve, show me how to attack.


    An image suddenly appeared before Alan, a blue outline of a human body with a grey grid on it, lunging forward then slicing sideways.


    Um, Eve, I don¡¯t think I can move that fast, and I¡¯m definitely sure I can¡¯t stretch my legs that far.


    This move is within the bounds your body is capable of.


    Ok, how about something I¡¯m able to do without a lot of pain.


    The blue outline appeared once more, Alan realizing that it was emerging from his own body. It took two steps to the right then darted left, making a sharp, diving stab at Kitana¡¯s left leg.


    Alan tried following the motions he¡¯d seen. The moment that he started taking a step towards Kitana¡¯s right however, she also stepped forward.


    A new blue outline appeared in his mind, leaping back. Frantically, Alan started to try to leap backwards, and ended up tripping on his own feet, falling to the ground.


    Kitana raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to attack me?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, wait a second.¡±


    Why¡¯d you show me leaping back?


    You had an approximate 0% chance of landing a successful attack from that position.


    Oh. Well, I can¡¯t respond instantaneously to the actions you want me to take, can you try to incorporate some sort of lag time?


    Calculating¡­ Please follow the shown blue outline as best as you are able to, so I may form a basis on how well you react.


    The blue outline appeared once more, but this time chose to jog around Kitana. Alan hurried, trying to follow it as best he could. It occasionally stuck out a foot, a hand gesture or made a jump. Alan imitated as best he could. Soon, Alan was smoothly following the outline, maybe a tenth of a second behind it.


    Kitana stood, watching him.


    Suddenly, the blue outline darted towards her. Alan followed it. She turned, the outline stepped right. Alan stepped right. The outline stabbed at her, pulling back halfway through. Alan did so as well. When Alan made his feint, Kitana moved her sword a fraction, but otherwise didn¡¯t move at all.


    The outline suddenly made a series of attacks that Alan tried to follow as best he could. All of his attack were met by Kitana¡¯s blade, perfectly stopping the thrusts and stabs with the minimum required movement.


    Alan learned not to commit too strongly to the blue outline, just use it as a sort of guideline, as it would usually change as soon as Kitana moved. Soon, Eve also showed him the likely path that Kitana¡¯s sword would take, allowing him to sort of anticipate her actions before she made them. It seemed like the blue outline was also starting to accustom it to the amount of time it took to actually react to a new action it showed.


    Midway through one slice, the blue outline¡¯s right hand opened, dropping the knife. Unconsciously, Alan did so as well. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the blue outline¡¯s left hand dart forward, grabbing the knife, stabbing forward. He followed through, not even marveling at his ability to catch a falling knife midair perfectly, instead focusing on another outline showing that Kitana¡¯s blade would knock the knife out of his weak grip.


    As he lunged forward into the stab, the blue outline used the momentum to pivot onto its left foot, letting the knife fly away. The outline instead focused on using its right leg to kick at Kitana¡¯s, trying to knock her legs out from under her.


    Alan could see that Kitana was focusing on the knife, but as soon as the sword met with his knife, knocking it out of his hands, and he began to kick at her legs, Kitana shifted focus onto Alan himself. Alan watched as an outline of the katana started a motion to cut off his leg, then stop, and revert, allowing Kitana to be swept off her feet. To his surprise, he was able to connect his kick just as his outline did. However, Kitana absorbed the blow, making a forwards somersault while holding the katana with apparent ease, not reacting to how painful it must have been to be kicked right in the shins.


    When Kitana completed the somersault, a step away from Alan, she leapt up, stabbing at Alan¡¯s neck. Eve¡¯s projection showed that it would stop right at his neck, not piercing it, thus he stood there, allowing the katana to brush against his Adam¡¯s apple.


    Kitana grinned. ¡°Huh, that was rather impressive, actually. I almost cut your leg off, though.¡± A slight amount of her health, maybe 0.05% was missing, but that might also have just been wishful thinking.


    ¡°Um, yeah, that was quite something.¡± Alan then realized how tired his body was, now that he no longer was in his trance like state, following the blue outline. He was covered in sweat as well. Replaying the memories in his head, he was amazed at the various stabs, lunges and almost aerobatic maneuvers he¡¯d been pulling off.


    To his surprise, in addition to his agility, perception and endurance increasing, he¡¯d also gained seven levels and a series of new skills. What sort of game was it that didn¡¯t require killing things or turning in quests to gain levels? If training was all it took, maybe he should just become a hermit and spar with Kitana. She¡¯d probably need some convincing though.


    As he was about to look more closely at his new skills, Eve said, Thiago is calling. Accept?


    Accept.


    ¡°Where are you guys? Why aren¡¯t you back yet?¡± Thiago sounded almost frantic.


    ¡°What? We still have 20 minutes until round one is supposed to start.¡±


    ¡°Alan, where do you think the hounds are coming from? That they¡¯ll just appear? They are travelling to the bunker, and will ARRIVE in 20 minutes. That means they¡¯re racing closer, probably from your direction, right now. They may be at your position in just five minutes, depending upon how fast they¡¯re travelling! They may even speed up if they smell you out in the city!¡±


    ¡°What!? But¡­¡± Honestly, Alan had been thinking the hounds would spawn right outside the base.


    Suddenly, off in the distance to the south of them, Alan heard the loud howl of a large animal. A series of other howls joined it. Then, like clockwork, the timer for the start of the round shifted from 0:20:23 to 0:07:53.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    Authors Note:


    Hello, thanks for reading my story! Unfortunately this is all I''ve written so far, and I''ve published this chapter rather quickly without too much editing. I''m planning on publishing a new chapter every week on Fridays, midnight PST. If I feel particularly motivated and spend more time writing, I''ll publish more chapters as I develop a backlog.  Comments/reviews are definitely motivating me to write more!


    This is actually my second rendition of the story, I wrote the first for Nanowrimo but then was dissatisfied with how it was turning out, so didn''t publish anything. Feel free to comment about anything from stupid plot holes to bad grammar, but let me know what I''m doing well too, so I can continue doing whatever it is. As you''ve probably noticed this is still sort of a rough draft, and I''ll edit things as I go along. I''m still working on formatting things and setting up things like tables for character sheets/messages/abilities list, etc. Not all of the mechanics of the Game are set in stone yet, too, so if I see a particularly good idea I might just grab it and incorporate it. I do though have a good grasp for the first few arcs, and Alan really is still just at the beginning. He hasn''t even got a class yet or really seen alien society :D.


    TLDR: Updates are going to slow down, please comment and rate!

 Barely Surviving

    Panicking, Alan began thinking through his options. He could try to sprint back to the base with Kitana, but they¡¯d likely be caught out in the open before they got back in time. It had taken nearly all his effort to get there in 15 minutes, and he still felt tired from the sparring.


    Eve, I think we should try hiding in a building, do you agree?


    That seems like an acceptable option.


    ¡°Alright, I think we should try hiding in a nearby building, we probably won¡¯t make it back in time, and getting caught out in the open would probably be a bad idea.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you think is best. Good luck.¡±


    Thiago ended the chat.


    Kitana nodded, then started looking around, trying to find a defensible location.


    The only building with a door he saw that was open was a convenience store. It looked like any corner store you found in a large city, selling snacks, liquor and groceries among other things. Alan motioned Kitana over.


    Upon entering the store, Alan noticed that all the shelves were pretty much bare. It seemed like someone had cleaned it all out a while ago. The cash register was still there, and a few old magazines and lottery tickets.


    There were two small aisles, and a door in the back. Alan tried the door, it was locked.


    ¡°Well, I guess we should try to hide in here, they probably won¡¯t find us.¡±


    Negative, the scouting hounds of the predecessors have already picked up your scent.


    ¡°Um, actually, scratch that. Looks like we¡¯re in for a fight.¡±


    Kitana nodded, and took up a stance in front of the entrance to the store, shutting the door.


    ¡°So, uh, well, what do you think I should do in this fight?¡±


    Kitana glanced at him. ¡°Just stay in the corner behind the counter and don¡¯t get in my way.¡±


    Eve, do you agree?


    That seems logical. At your level you would more likely hinder than help Kitana.


    Oh, well if you agree¡­


    Alan climbed over the counter, standing behind the cash register.


    Huh, despite all the times I¡¯ve been in a convenience store, I¡¯ve never seen behind the counter.


    To his surprise, there was a digital safe below the counter. Apparently there was still electricity within the city or something, as the safe made a beep when he pressed the enter key on it. Maybe it ran on batteries or something. Now if only he had the PIN¡­


    There is something inside the third magazine from the top.


    A pile of magazines also sitting behind the counter was highlighted.


    Alan grabbed the magazine, opening it up. Halfway through it there was a folded post it note with a code on it.


    It can¡¯t really be that easy, can it?


    It was.


    The safe opened revealing a stack of cash, now probably useless, and a handgun with a box of ammunition. Alan took it all. Some files and permits were in there too, but Alan ignored them. After putting everything else in his backpack, he began examining the gun, making sure not to point it at himself or in Kitana¡¯s direction.


    Kitana looked over at Alan, seemingly unsurprised he¡¯d just randomly found a gun in a safe. ¡°Have you ever fired a gun before?¡±


    ¡°Um, no, but how hard could it be?¡± Kitana rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t point it anywhere near me, alright? Even if it¡¯s unloaded, or you fired all the bullets, or there¡¯s a giant monster about to bite my head off, do NOT point the gun anywhere within like five feet of me.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay.¡±


    Hey, Eve, you could show me where to shoot as well, right? Like give me an outline where I should aim the gun, including my reaction time, then like highlight the enemy green when I should shoot.


    Very well. However it may take a few shots before calibrations are able to be set.


    Um, okay.


    Alan glanced at the countdown, there were two minutes remaining. He started getting a bit nervous, when the countdown disappeared.


    What-


    Four enemies approaching, they appeared to have split off from the main pack.


    Alan looked at the minimap and sure enough there were four dots rapidly approaching, somehow managing to traverse entire city blocks in seconds. In an instant, he began hearing noises of crashing cars as the hounds tore through whatever was in their way. Kitana appeared calm, confident, poised. Alan felt like he might wet his pants.


    Then, suddenly, a dead silence. The four dots began positioning themselves around the building.


    ¡°Watch out, from the-¡±


    A gigantic beast smashed through the wall opposite Alan, pouncing onto the spot where Kitana had been standing a split second earlier.


    Kitana had stepped to the side, and as soon as the hound smashed through the wall, she cut upwards, slicing its jugular. Her sword gave off a white light the moment before it slew the beast. Simultaneously, Kitana leapt backwards, further into the store as two other enormous masses of teeth and fur smashed in through the entrance to the store. The ¡°hounds¡± barely fit in the small store, one looking like a black bear, the other a massive silver-grey wolf.


    A blue outline appeared before Alan, and he once more followed it unconsciously, firing his gun repeatedly when his vision flashed green. The black bear¡¯s HP bar immediately decreased to 0 after the first shot, but additional bullets flew striking the body. Alan also wasn''t ready for the recoil from firing the gun.


    Please only fire once when I highlight an enemy, and try to keep your hands steady.


    I¡¯M A BIT BUSY. Alan replied to Eve as the wolf-like creature leapt at him. The blue outline Eve showed him turning sideways, leaping over the counter, going deeper into the store away from the entrance.


    Alan attempted such a jump, but his foot caught on the edge of the counter. He fell face first, but turned it into a sort of roll forwards with Eve¡¯s guidance. He managed to level the gun up at the wolf as it leapt at him again, aiming and firing immediately as Eve highlighted his vision green.


    The wolf¡¯s body crashed down onto him, shot in the head repeatedly. As Alan glanced over at Kitana he saw that she had also finished off the fourth hound, a black haired¡­ mole?


    What kind of hounds are these?


    The hounds of the Predecessors are genetically modified beasts, often used as disposable scouts or in death match tournaments.


    Huh, that might piss off some animal activists. Oh, wait, they¡¯re just digital creatures, right.


    The wolf¡¯s body glowed softly, and when Alan selected it a loot screen opened up, displaying a small vial of blood. Alan hit accept, putting the vial that appeared in his hand into his bag. He walked over to the black bear, it had also been shot in the head repeatedly. Eve had pretty good aim. He got another vial of blood, checking his XP he¡¯d gained a level and a half from the kills.


    ¡°Um, good job, shall we head back to the bunker?¡± Alan asked Kitana.


    Negative.


    ¡°Alright. Let me examine this body first though.¡± Kitana walked over to the first brown furred creature.


    Why not?


    You have a decreased chance of survival should you return to the base.


    What? Why would we be more likely to die if we were together with the others? Even if we had to help them fight off hounds, wouldn¡¯t it be better for us if they survived in the long run?


    Main contributors to a likely death: A 56.36% chance of the shield generator exploding, and a 3.4% chance of  betrayal, both accompanied with a high uncertainty.


    Wait, the shield generator is going to explode? Also, what do you mean betrayal?


    The shield generator was improperly installed by the human named Daisy. As configured, once the shields are at 50% there is a high chance of unstable reactions. Additionally, many actions performed by various group members do not quite align with standard human behavior.


    Ok, ignoring this whole ¡°standard human behavior,¡± which I doubt you¡¯re able to classify correctly, if you prioritize the survival of our entire group as highly as you rank my own survival, what should I do next?


    Message Thiago to evacuate everyone away from the shield generator as soon as it begins to reach the 75% level. They are planning on simply firing from behind the force field at the approaching predators. The predators will have to attack the shield, while the shield has been programmed to allow projectiles from inside the shield to be fired outwards. You may send an emergency message to Thiago which will appear in front of him, similar to a Game message set by the Administrators.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Ok, send the emergency message.


    I am unable to perform various actions such as sending direct messages to players by rules in the Game enforced by the Administrators. Similar, I am unable to assume direct control of your body or manipulate any of your central nervous systems, only give visual aids.


    Um, okay, send Thiago the following emergency message: SHIELD GENERATOR WILL EXPLODE-, wait Eve, can you show the explosion radius on their minimaps?


    Affirmative.


    Okay, so the message will be this then: SHIELD GENERATOR WILL EXPLODE AT 50%, INCORRECT SETUP. EVE WILL SHOW EXPLOSION RADIUS ON MINIMAP.


    Message sent.


    A few seconds later, Alan got a reply message from Thiago. A digital keyboard appeared before him and a small chat box.


    Thiago: What do you mean incorrect setup?


    Alan: I¡¯m not sure, but it¡¯s probably going to explode once it reaches 50%.


    Thiago: Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier, if you knew the shield generator was set up incorrectly? The hounds will be here any minute.


    Alan: Eve just let me know, I didn¡¯t know beforehand! Just don¡¯t let the shield reach 50% or get everyone out of the blast range before that happens.


    Thiago: Alright, fine. We¡¯re going to have a discussion after this though.


    Thiago ended the chat.


    If you survive. Alan thought. Thiago seemed decidedly ungrateful, Alan might have just saved everyone¡¯s lives after all.


    By the way, how did you know that Daisy set up the shield generator incorrectly?


    I have been monitoring the actions of everyone who gave me access to their interface.


    Wait, when they agreed to let you configure their minimap, they also gave you permission to see what they see?


    Indirectly, yes.


    Okay, so when you say you saw non-standard human behavior, this was when you were watching what they were doing? Wait, by non-standard, do you mean like they¡¯re all aliens or do you mean just behaving oddly or do you mean people have been discussing betraying us for loot or something like that?


    My conclusion did result from observing the other players from their point of view. By non-standard I mean there have been arguments and displays of both attitude and strength not normally associated with law abiding teens or young adults.


    Alan rolled his eyes, he doubted most teens would act in a rational, ¡°law abiding¡± way when inside a virtual world free to do what they wanted. Was he going to ask Eve for specifics, though? It seemed like an invasion of privacy, but better safe than sorry¡­


    Can you give me specifics?


    A few seconds passed.


    ¡­ Negative. I have been prevented from providing you with details. Additionally, my privileges have been revoked by an Administrator, and I have received a warning. I am not to spy on other players through their views, only view the Game through the information you receive or cameras I am able to access.


    Huh, interesting, so there is an Administrator observing us, no doubt evaluating our every action. Odd though that they didn¡¯t do anything until I requested the information directly. Whatever, back to the Game.


    Eve remained silent.


    Alan looked up over to Kitana, who was kneeling over the brown furred creature that she had killed earlier. It was so disfigured that Alan couldn¡¯t make out what it was. Kitana had her eyes closed. Was she praying? Alan wasn¡¯t sure.


    ¡°Have you figured out what it was?¡±


    Kitana opened her eyes. ¡°No. I am ready to return to the base though.¡±


    The body disappeared as Kitana looted it, getting a large brown pelt.


    Should we return?


    Yes. Reload the gun first and reactivate the safety, however.


    Oh, right.


    Alan reloaded the gun, Eve showing him how it was done. He put the gun in his back pack, double checking the safety, as it was too big for his pocket, unlike the knife. Alan and Kitana began a light jog back towards the base. Looking over at the message that described the first round, Alan saw that only seven enemies remained.


    Once they were halfway back to the base, only three enemies remained. It seemed like Thiago and the rest of them had made pretty good progress. It was getting later in the afternoon though and it was starting to get dark. It didn¡¯t seem like any of the street lights had power, however. It was odd, jogging along city blocks as the sun set. Alan noticed however that downtown it looked like the power was on, or at least the lights were.


    Upon cresting a hill a quarter of a mile from the base however, a giant cat leapt out at Alan from a tree. In the moment before it leapt and hit Alan, Kitana unsheathed her katana and cut at it as Alan sidestepped out of the way. Mid-air it somehow leapt aside and darted behind a building.


    Eve, why didn¡¯t you notify us!?


    It went undetected and most likely has supernatural abilities in addition to a high stealth ranking.


    Alan glanced about hurriedly, trying to see if he could spot the cat. From the brief glance he¡¯d gotten earlier, it looked like the creature that had been in the hologram depicting the hounds, a cross between a bulldog and a saber tooth tiger the size of an SUV.


    Kitana motioned Alan over. ¡°You face one direction, I¡¯ll face the other, we¡¯ll walk slowly along the road. Do you know how it moved midair, or why Eve can¡¯t track it?¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m not sure, it definitely has some sort of special ability though.¡±


    Alan took out his gun, once more looking around warily as he and Kitana walked along the road. It was quiet. Too qui-


    A giant gust of wind knocked Alan to the ground.


    LOOK UP.


    Alan looked up to see the hound leaping from the top of a house at Kitana. Once more, Kitana cut at the monster but it leapt backwards mid-air.  Alan took a shot at it but the bullets trajectory literally shifted, missing the hound by inches. The hound pounced at Kitana once more, but then changed directions mid air, going for Alan instead.


    Alan shot a few more times at the hound, but each time the wind shifted it. Two bullets hit non-lethal areas, decreasing the creatures healthy by 10%. Alan tried to leap out of the way of the hound, but it simply shifted midair to follow him. It clawed his chest with a ferocious swipe. Alan leapt backwards with the swipe, but he was still knocked to the floor, his gun sent flying.


    Alan closed his eyes feeling an intense pain in his chest, more mind numbingly painful than anything he¡¯d ever felt before. Even with his eyes close he could still see his HP. It showed him at 50%, slowly draining, bleeding from the chest wound.


    ROLL RIGHT.  Eve shouted in his brain.


    With strength from surging adrenaline, Alan threw himself to the right, wincing at the pain caused by his movement. Alan had imagined being shot, or stabbed, or burnt, yet this somehow felt a thousand times worse. He could think of nothing but the pain, oblivious to all else.


    OPEN YOUR EYES.


    Alan opened his eyes, seeing the hound fighting against Kitana, dodging her strikes with the help of the wind.


    FOLLOW THE GUIDE, STAB WHERE IT SHOWS YOU.


    Alan tried to ignore the voice, tried to ignore the pain, yet he knew that if he wanted to do well in this test or tutorial or whatever, he¡¯d have to do his best. The least he could do would be to try to kill a magical cat.


    A now familiar blue outline of a man appeared before Alan, charging at the beast. Alan prepared a furious, incoherent war cry, but Eve said, Don¡¯t, so he didn¡¯t. He charged in the direction of Kitana, doing the best he could to ignore the pain, the dampness he felt on his chest. His vision began to blur.


    STAB FORWARDS NOW, CONTINUE RUNNING FORWARDS.


    Alan charged forwards with all his might, with the speed and last ditch effort of a runner at the very end of a sprint, thrusting the knife forwards into thin air. To his disbelief, he watched in slow motion as the hound leapt sideways onto his knife as it tried to avoid one of Kitana¡¯s swing, cutting its own throat on the edge Alan''s knife. The hound opened its eyes in alarm and pain as Kitana used the distraction to finish it off, decapitating it with one smooth, golden tinged slash.


    Alan collapsed onto his back, and knew no more.


    Author''s note:


    I know this chapter is a bit short, I''ve been busy with schoolwork :( Hopefully I''ll be able to put up an additional update this weekend!

 The Key to Survival: Upgrades

    Alan woke up, then almost immediately turned over and went back to sleep as he always did. Except, this wasn¡¯t his bed, it was some sort of military cot. He recalled the game, and everything else that happened, but still briefly considered going back to sleep.


    No.


    Alan forced himself awake, to sit up, to look about him. He was no longer the Alan that would sleep in at every chance he¡¯d get, content with living a normal life, getting a normal job. He needed to start pushing himself, to try harder than he¡¯d ever tried before, if he was going to have any chance of succeeding. He was in the Game now.


    Alan was back in the underground bunker, although most of the lights were now off. The motionless forms of most of the others surrounded him. It was around 5 a.m. in the morning, explaining why everyone else was asleep. The countdown for the first round had been replaced with a new countdown, which was counting down from 12:32:17 although it didn¡¯t display who their enemies would be.


    Surprisingly, despite the grievous wound that had been inflicted upon him, Alan felt fine. He ran his hand against his chest and instead of finding any scars or wounds like he expected, he found the beginning of¡­ muscles? Huh, that was surprising. As Alan stepped off the cot though he definitely felt the soreness spread throughout his body. Did the Game really need to be that lifelike? Whatever.


    Alan glanced at his HP bar as he stretched, it was full. Also, apparently he was now level 27.


    Hey, Eve, do you know what happened after I passed out?


    Kitana bandaged you up and brought you back to base, where Daisy healed you completely.


    So, you were still active even though I was unconscious?


    Yes, it appears as long as you are alive I should retain awareness.


    Interesting.


    These messages appeared while you were unconscious.


    A slew of messages appeared before Alan.


    ¡°x2 Level up!¡±


    ¡°As you have been knocked unconscious, your loot has been transferred to the Administrator in Underground Bunker 11. Contact them to receive your items.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations for surviving the first round of the Survival Test!


    x3 Bonus for all members of your group surviving and helping to defeat the boss!


    +7500 xp +3000 credits¡±


    ¡°x5 Level up!¡±


    ¡°The next round begins in 24 hours, prepare as best you can! Explore! Fight! Build! Plot! Experiment!  (Rank: ???)¡±


    ¡°Nearby settlement found! Investigate the City of San Francisco at your own risk. (Rank: G ¨C C)¡±


    ¡°Enemies abound. Numerous sightings of various races and factions in the vicinity of Underground Bunker 11. Scout out possible enemies and discover what it is they want. Defend your base against scavengers. (Rank: F)¡±


    Huh, so I guess these last three messages are quests of some sort?


    Affirmative.


    Alright, well, I guess I should go spend my ability points.


    Alan walked over to the Administrator in the corner of the bunker, who gave over another vial of blood, apparently the only loot from the boss, which was rather disappointing. The Administrator brought up the ability point purchase menu when asked.


    Alan had 78 points to spend, the additional 3 coming from his Skilled ability. He was fairly certain he wanted to get the Gifted ability as well, as since it gave him an additional ability point to spend on stats every five levels it was best to get it as early as possible. That left him with 28 points to spend.


    Hmm, Eve, any ideas on what might be a good ability to spend the points on?


    What is your definition of good?


    That was actually a rather pertinent question. Before he began playing it, Alan had thought the Game would be more like a sort of fantasy game, and had decided upon playing some sort of rogue or warrior character. It seemed like it was instead a sort of military sci-fi shooter, at least based upon what he¡¯d seen so far. None of the marines he recalled were wielding melee weapons, although Kitana seemed to be doing fine.


    Additionally, everything was so lifelike, sometimes on a frightening level. Alan had been genuinely afraid of dying in the last moments before he collapsed. The level of pain was unbelievable as well, it seems like the creators of the Game hadn¡¯t mitigated that much at all. If he ended up getting hurt that much every time he went into battle, he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d be able to handle it¡­


    That meant he should probably try a ranged character of some sort. A standard assault class might be best, but fighting in the front lines would probably often result in Alan getting shot, or worse. So, that left becoming a sniper. In fact, that probably made the most sense, what with Eve¡¯s abilities to calculate everything, she¡¯d be able to make all the calculations a spotter would ordinarily do. Her ability to recognize nearby enemies would be quite helpful too. Of course, a sniper would only be useful in an open field of battle, and was rather vulnerable in enclosed spaces. Maybe he could get Kitana to teach him  more swordplay, or better yet be his bodyguard.


    Okay, so I think I want to purchase the sniper ability, do you believe that sort of ability would be useful?


    Affirmative. Based upon your low tolerance for pain such a choice suits us.


    Alan rolled his eyes, then purchased the Gifted and Sniper ability for 75 points. Like before, he didn¡¯t feel any different, but once he actually used a sniper rifle he¡¯d probably feel different, just like the sneak ability hadn¡¯t come into effect until he began to try to sneak about. He also probably should have made sure that the aliens had sniper rifles, but whatever, too late now. Human weapons seemed fairly effective too, or at least at this level they were. The last three points were put into improving his perception, at Eve¡¯s request. To his surprise, Alan noticed the range which Eve could detect things expanded slightly as a result. He¡¯d never bothered with such a stat in most of the games he¡¯d played, instead deciding to invest in more important things like strength or agility or intelligence. It might be useful to have expanded senses as a sniper though, especially with Eve.


    Alright, what next¡­ it seemed like the next step should be to try to prepare for the next round, which meant spending some of the 3000 credits he¡¯d earned. If Alan recalled correctly though, the exchange rate between credits and dollars was something around $10 for every credit, which meant¡­ he had literally made $30k from surviving one round in this Tutorial! Alan could see why if this was an enhanced Tutorial Thiago and the others had paid Pharaoh, the Ultihaxlard captain of the ship they were on to participate in it. It did bring up the question though of why the ship¡¯s AI had allowed him on, but he supposed that was probably an issue for another time.


    Now that he was more awake Alan began feeling hungry. Alan walked back to his cot, opening up his bag and eating a grey block of food as he wandered around the edge of the bunker, examining the tables lined with items.  The grey block tasted like grey mush. Alan noticed he could buy flavoring for 5 credits, but considering that was actually $50 and he was probably best off spending his credits on things that would improve his combat capability, it seemed a bit extravagant. Alan made sure to step lightly as not to awake any of the others, yet he sensed whenever he approached someone¡¯s cot they would tense up a bit.


    Unfortunately, the cheapest sniper rifle was 2500 credits, which seemed excessive, especially since that didn¡¯t even include ammo costs. Recalling that Thiago had said the cheapest gun was 300 credits, which, now that Alan was thinking about it, was $3000, these items sold by the Administrators seemed rather overpriced. Remembering the message at the police station, Alan recalled that there was some sort of trading hub downtown. That also aligned with the quest of investigating San Francisco rather nicely.


    Alan grabbed his bag and proceeded to the exit of the bunker. At the foot of the stairs before the entrance/exit, he found Thiago, bleary eyed, leaning against a concrete wall. Thiago stood up  straight, looking over at Alan. He grinned, clapping Alan on the shoulder.


    ¡°Hey, man, nice job with that flying beast, I heard from Kitana you helped her kill it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, thanks,¡± Alan said hesitatingly.


    ¡°Look, I know I may have been a bit harsh last time I spoke with you, but to be honest I thought you had just got yourself and Kitana killed. I know that you¡¯re unfamiliar with our group, but I was nominated the leader for the expedition, and to lead effectively, to make smart, informed decisions, I need to know what¡¯s going on, and for people to follow directions, you get me?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so is there anything else you think I should know, like the possibly exploding shield generator? Anything your AI has told you?¡±


    Alan recalled the¡­ abnormalities Eve had detected.


    ¡°Actually well, it¡¯s probably nothing, but, well,  Eve did say something about some of our group members having non-standard human behavior. It was probably nothing.¡±


    Thiago froze for a second, then grinned, weakly. ¡°Non-standard human behavior, like, aliens? I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯d have noticed something like that. I¡¯ve known most of these guys for months.¡±


    ¡°Um, right.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, like I was saying, I¡¯m the sort of leader here, which means it¡¯s my job to delegate tasks. We¡¯ve been having a rotating guard stand here, making sure nothing enters the base. Nothing has happened so far, but since you¡¯re up, you should stand guard for the next few hours, I¡¯ve barely gotten any sleep.


    Maybe you can even stand outside, to get a better view of what¡¯s going on out there. There have been flashes of light, intermittent fights throughout the city, and we¡¯re not sure if that¡¯s just normal for the Game, or something special is happening. Honestly, I was feeling rather cold and didn¡¯t want to get surprised out there so I came inside. So, yeah, go outside and stand guard for the next few hours.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but I want-¡±


    ¡°Oh, also, we¡¯ll be deciding what we¡¯re all doing later at 7:30 a.m., deciding tasks then, do you have any preferences?¡±


    ¡°Um, as I was saying, I want to go downtown to see if I can purchase some things. There was a mention of a trading hub by someplace called the Metreon.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, alright. The first priority will probably be repairing the shield generator, though. Goodnight. Oh, yeah, feel free to take the jacket by the exit.¡±


    ¡°Um goodnight.¡±


    Alan stepped outside, grabbing the jacket. He¡¯d never stood guard before, but how hard could it be?


    Luckily, over the next few hours the only enemy Alan had to fight off was boredom, and that was easily solved by having Eve go through her database and give him tips on how to be a proper sniper. To his surprise, it seemed like a lot of the information came easily, even naturally. Probably because of the ability he got.


    Around 8 a.m., when Alan began wondering if they were going to include him in their discussion, or of he was left outside purposefully, Aphrodite stepped out of the bunker, stopping right in front of Alan, a bit too close for his comfort. She smelled nice, with a faint scent of lilac. It seemed like the Game didn¡¯t require showers or hygiene maintenance, at least.


    ¡°You can go down, now, I¡¯ll take over from here.¡± Aphrodite smiled dazzlingly.


    ¡°Um, alright, thanks,¡± Alan replied, stepping down the stairs a bit awkwardly. He didn¡¯t have the most experience with girls, at least not ones that looked like models.


    It turned out, according to Eve at least, the shield generator had a malfunctioning part, thus it was determined Alan would head off downtown with Daisy and Ace to try to find a replacement part and buy/trade for whatever else seemed useful. Daisy was coming along because it was her shield generator, thus she needed to buy the part to fix it according to the Administrator, while Ace apparently had connections with the US military, who were supposedly in control of the city. Everyone else would be sent out in rotating pairs, scouting/gathering information, returning to rest and guard the base. Aphrodite with Thiago, DaLong with Kitana and MadMerlin with KingArthur.


    An hour later, after a brisk walk from the base, Alan found himself approaching downtown San Francisco. They hadn¡¯t encountered any enemies on the way there, though traffic seemed to pick up as they reached downtown. There were a few cars that raced by on the roads every so often, and a few other people walking about, mostly in military fatigues. Eve pointed out a few possible sniper nests in the skyscrapers and office buildings. Some of them were likely to contain actual snipers. How Eve could tell, Alan had no idea.


    To get downtown there was a security checkpoint, however it didn¡¯t seem very restrictive. Once Ace let the guards know they were undergoing the Tutorial they were just waved past without anyone even checking their weapons. As they neared the downtown mall and the crowds began to swell to the hundreds, Alan started to worry that it might end up looking like a normal mall. He needn¡¯t have worried, however. The transformation was glorious.


    Gone were the clothing shops, filled with designer jeans or cute dresses. In their place stood equipment shops, with armor of all shapes and sizes, sleek laser weapons, giant metal swords. There were stores that sold implants that promised to turn you into a mighty warrior or master spy, robotics stores with bots that could aid you in battle or repair your gear and information brokers with info about the hottest war zones or best quests. There was even a small space ship dealership. It seemed like most of the shoppers were military of some sort. According to Ace, San Francisco was a major supply port and send off point for the US military in the Game, like it had been in World War II. That explained all the soldiers in uniform walking about, but didn¡¯t explain all the civilians.


    Ace just shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re probably here to try to join the military or catch a ride off planet. Anyways-¡± He stopped mid sentence with his mouth open.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ll catch up with you guys later after you found the part, I just remembered something I need to do before I meet my contact.¡±


    Ace fluidly vanished into the crowd, gone in a second.


    ¡°Huh, that was odd,¡± Alan commented.


    ¡°Yeah, that was the first time I¡¯ve seen his expression change, and I¡¯ve watched him fight a giant flying cat,¡± Daisy said, grinning.


    Alan continued exploring the trading hub with Daisy, who was a surprisingly down to earth girl considering she was the daughter of a major public figure. She even seemed interested in the random, nerdy things Alan knew about, asking about the differences between the Game and other RPG¡¯s he¡¯d played.


    The mall still retained its food court, which had all the normal, unhealthy fast food. The prices were outrageous, it cost an average of 5 credits for a meal, but then again Alan didn¡¯t know if off planet you could get a burger with fries. Still, even with all the different shops, almost half the storefronts were empty, which he supposed was to be expected. Each time they passed by an information broker Eve suggested buying information as  the information about the Game he''d been able to download online was severely limited, and the fifth time she suggested it Alan finally acquiesced.


    After questioning a few security guards, actual military soldiers rather than mall cops, Alan determined the Thought Emporium were the best general information brokers. They were apparently connected to a guild of information brokers located throughout the Game, with their main headquarters in Khersath. They were more expensive than the other shops Alan saw, but they apparently also had much more information. For 500 credits, they sold some sort of general Game information package, which was good for a year. It seemed like way too much money for information, but according to everyone he spoke to, it was essential for any serious gamer that planned on leaving Earth. Apparently the information was even provided to everyone in the US military as a sort of nation deal the US had with the guild and had saved thousands of lives.


    Alan walked into the Thought Emporium expecting some sort of dark ambiance and tacky hooded figure. Instead, the store had a professional metallic silver decor with stacks of computer servers and a male cyborg with a cybernetic eye and titanium right arm behind the counter.


    Connected to Thought Emporium network. Eve told him.


    ¡°Um, hi, could I purchase a general Game information package?¡±


    ¡°Certainly. I assume that the AI that connected to the store¡¯s server is yours, and the data should be transferred to it?¡±


    ¡°Um yeah.¡±


    ¡°Alright, that will be 500 credits. Wait, are you undergoing the tutorial?¡±


    Alan debated lying to store owner, but considering he was an information broker, that probably wasn¡¯t a good idea.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I only ask because there¡¯s actually a trade hub wide discount of 80% for all humans undergoing the tutorial. In an effort to promote humanity all traders you find here should give you the discount as long as you are undergoing the tutorial. Any that aren¡¯t are ripping you off.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks a lot!¡±


    Alan mentally agreed to the purchase for 100 credits, and Eve was soon downloading the data. It looked like it could take a little while.


    ¡°Also, are you by any chance willing to sell any information about the tutorial so far? Trust me when I say I could make it worth your while.¡±


    Alan entertained the idea, but then decided he should probably ask Thiago, and let him know about the cheaper equipment. Unfortunately, it seemed like most of the others had already spent their credits on the rip-off shop the Administrators had set up. Thiago also asked him to not sell any information. Since he didn¡¯t completely trust this information broker anyways, Alan politely declined the offer, waiting for Eve to finish downloading the data.


    Once the download finished, Alan pressed ok on the message that popped up, and his entire world changed. Suddenly, usernames, blue, green, purple and red health bars popped up about all around him, along with levels, titles and class descriptions. His HP bar that up until this time had only read 100% changed to 350, his stamina changing to 248. Opening up his inventory, tooltips began appearing when Alan thought about a particular item. The vials of blood in his backpack were now labeled clearly as vials of DNA. The gun had a description with the model type and serial number, along with a damage range of 12-20 and durability of 37/60. The knife had a damage range of 5-6 in comparison, along with a durability of 107/120. All the items also had an estimated value, and apparently the vials of blood were worth about 100 credits each, while the boss¡¯s DNA was worth around 5000 credits, fifty thousand dollars!


    Things were finally beginning to look like a game rather than real life. Opening up his character window, Alan found another surprise, gone was the relatively simple list of abilities and stats, replaced with a much more comprehensive list of stats, with a separate tab for abilities.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Adampwnage</td><td width="25%">Alignment:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">27</td><td width="25%">Class:</td><td width="25%">Undetermined</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Species:</td><td width="25%">Human (Earth)</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Reknown:</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">Notoriety:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health:</td><td width="25%">350 / 350</td><td width="25%">Health Regen:</td><td width="25%">0.05 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Psionic Energy:</td><td width="25%">10/ 10</td><td width="25%">Psi Regen:</td><td width="25%">0.01 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Shield Energy:</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">Shield Regen:</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">248 / 250</td><td width="25%">Stamina Regen:</td><td width="25%">1.0 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength:</td><td width="25%">29 + 20</td><td width="25%">Agility:</td><td width="25%">36 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">47 + 20</td><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">22 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charisma:</td><td width="25%">13 + 20</td><td width="25%">Perception:</td><td width="25%">38 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">24 + 20</td><td width="25%">Luck:</td><td width="25%">55 + 20</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Resistances</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Physical:</td><td width="25%">??</td><td width="25%">Mental:</td><td width="25%">??</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Psionic:</td><td colspan=''3''>??</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Faction Standings</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">United World Government:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td><td width="25%">Predecessors:</td><td width="25%">Unfriendly</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Legion of Man:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td><td width="25%">Lords of Life:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Haxlards:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td><td width="25%">Administrators:</td><td width="25%">Friendly</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Debt:</td><td width="25%">1M Credits</td><td width="25%">Current Quest:</td><td width="25%">Tutorial</td></tr></tbody></table>


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sneak (Basic)</td><td width="25%">G</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">G</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>A basic stealth ability.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skilled</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on abilities.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Gifted</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on attributes.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">A.I. Interaction</td><td width="25%">D</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to better allow oneself to interact with an A.I. and be interacted with in turn.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Machine Communication</td><td width="25%">F*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to communicate with synthetic beings.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Reactions</td><td width="25%">D*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Allows the user to enter a state of being in which reactions speeds are greatly augmented.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sniping (Basic)</td><td width="25%">G</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to shoot accurately at great ranges.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Knife Fighting  (Basic)</td><td width="25%">G*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">G+</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to fight with a short blade.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    There was quite a lot of information, some bringing up more questions than answers.


    Eve, what just happened?


    I received a great deal of data and adjusted your interface accordingly.


    Great, could you explain a few things?


    Certainly. There is a great deal of information you should know.


    Okay, first off what is psionic energy?


    The ability to manipulate physics at will, similar to mana commonly used by mages in games. Unlike mana however, psionic energy has been proven to exist and is the energy used by psychics.


    Um, right, so this is basically magic, but in the Game?


    Affirmative.


    Great, can I learn it?


    Unfortunately, as you should have noted your psionic energy is fairly low. It seems as though the implant which allows me to more fully communicate with you and aid you greatly hinders your ability to wield psionic energy.


    Oh¡­


    At this point I would like to assure you that I am and will continue to be much more useful than any psionic ability. I would also like to remind you I have saved your life on no fewer than three different occasions.


    Um, right, no, I wouldn¡¯t ever replace you Eve, I was just thinking it would be cool to shoot fireballs with my mind or bend spoons or something. That explains the MadMerlin¡¯s display aboard the dropship though, he probably has a grasp on some sort of psionic power.


    Yes. It also explains a few other things as well, such as Ace¡¯s power level and the glowing effects created by Kitana¡¯s sword abilities. I am also now able to better counter act and anticipate displays of such abilities as I have a better understanding of such phenomenon.


    Um great. Okay, other question, what¡¯s with the asterisks by various things on my character windows?


    They imply that the information is circumstantial. Should the Legion of Man learn of your involvement warning everybody about the bomb at the airbase, I doubt they would remain neutral. The Machine Communication, Enhance Reaction and Knife Fighting skills are improved by me through the Computer-Human Enhanced Interface, emphasizing the importance of the implant once more. The G+ denotes that the skill is so common, it shouldn''t even be ranked.


    Okay Eve, I get it. I¡¯m not going to replace you. Moving on, do the shield energy and regeneration imply that I should have a shield of some sort?


    Affirmative. The first item that should be purchased next is power armor of some sort. It could increase your chance of surviving an encounter up to tenfold. Almost every player wears power armor which has a built in force field whose energy depletes with each blow it takes. Interestingly, your earlier supposition about the general uselessness of melee weapons is false, as a melee weapon is capable of dealing much greater damage to shields than most ranged weapons, and the shields at the same time greatly help such melee weapon users to tank a number of hits before they are injured.


    Alright, now what¡¯s with the question marks?


    Your resistances and skill proficiencies have been undetermined. At the end of the tutorial a number of your proficiencies and resistances should be calculated by the Administrators, and thus displayed in your ability window.


    Um, right, what were the skill proficiencies again?


    Alan could almost feel a mental sigh from Eve.


    As Icewolf explained, your skill proficiency will range from around two billion to one. Once you improve your skill and it has a proficiency of one, the skill will rank up. As you have most likely noted, some skills are basic skills, which may evolve into intermediate, advanced and master level skills once various requirements have been met. Other skills may of course also evolve or combine with other skills in various ways. I now have a much stronger grasp on various skill trees and talent combinations. The first combination I suggest you finish is buying the Talented ability that was unlocked once you purchased Gifted and Skilled.


    Alright, just making sure, abilities and skills are the same thing, right?


    Yes. The words are interchangeable in the Game.


    Alan¡¯s next thought was interrupted by Daisy, who had tapped him on the shoulder. Apparently he¡¯d been talking to Eve for so long it had been noticeable even though they¡¯d been communicating at the speed of the thought.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Daisy asked worriedly.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine, just a lot of information to take in.¡± Alan noticed the cyborg, apparently a level 73 Techno-spy glance sideways at him.


    ¡°Um, lets grab something to eat and we can talk about it, who knows where else we can find Earth fast food?¡±


    Actually, a number of Earth chain restaurants have recently opened up on Khersath, serving such galactic delicacies as Big Macs and Ho Hos.


    Um, right.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Alan and Daisy went over to the food court, Alan deciding to splurge a bit, given the 80% discount, and since it would probably be the last affordable Earth food he¡¯d eat at the very least. He got a burger, fries, pizza, a chocolate milkshake and coke then went to town. Interestingly there were a few TV¡¯s set up about the trading hub, showing Game news. Apparently there was a recent rumor that had sprung up about the Legion of Man, the terrorists that had attacked the air base, being located on Mars. Also some group called the Revenants had been sighted in the Milky Way Galaxy, while the Empire was preparing for war. At this point, Alan could care less about intergalactic politics. It wasn¡¯t like he was going to influence who was going to go to war and wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Alright, so you spaced out a bit earlier, what was that about?¡± Daisy asked, after demolishing two double cheeseburgers. Alan had a feeling she only ate so much because this was virtual reality.


    ¡°Well, a lot of my interface changed, like I can see a lot more health bars and people¡¯s usernames and classes, for instance.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the information you got from that broker included that as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, according to my AI there are a bunch of lucrative public events that happen every so often, and the information like levels and classes of the participants are data mined. Apparently when users participate in a war such information is made public too. Thus, while the info might not be the most up to date it gives you a pretty good guideline.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, could you transfer me this information as well? I¡¯ll pay you, of course.¡±


    Hmm, actually, could you update everyone¡¯s interface?


    I could. However, as a full update would take days, I will only update the interface with the more relevant information, such as the standard HP and damage conversions, as well as levels and classes of people they¡¯re likely to encounter. The information will most likely quickly grow outdated anyways.


    Alright, it should still help though.


    Apparently everyone in the group had gotten a message asking if it was okay for Eve to update their interface again, as Alan received a series of messages. He let everyone know it was okay, and would probably help them.


    A few seconds later, Daisy was glancing about wonderingly.


    ¡°Huh, that is quite interesting, and definitely a lot more game-like. Anyways, we should probably find what we came here for.¡±


    Luckily, with Eve¡¯s help they quickly found a repair shop that had the part they needed. Ace found them in the store, not saying anything about wherever it was he went. Ace wanted to return immediately to the base, needing to speak with Thiago or something, but Alan still needed to figure out what armor and weapon he¡¯d buy. Ace seemingly couldn¡¯t care less what Alan did, but insisted that Daisy return with him. Shrugging, Alan let them head back without him, he was fine by himself, possibly even better off.


    He sold off the various items he''d gathered so far, including the DNA the boss dropped. Sure, it may have been able to create a really powerful implant, but such a procedure would take hours, hours he didn¡¯t have while he was undergoing the Tutorial. Once everything he¡¯d gathered had been sold, including the combat knife, he had a little over 9000 credits, far more money than he¡¯d ever had in his life.


    As Alan wandered about the various equipment shops, it seemed like an average set of armor would cost around 2000 credits, while a proper, alien-tech laser or plasma sniper rifle would cost about 2500 credits, including the discount. Except as Alan wandered into one shop, a particular piece of equipment caught his eye. It was a sleek, black set of power armor that was a lot more lightweight than all the other sets of power armor he¡¯d seen. Alan had no idea what metal it was made out of, but it seemed to absorb the light that touched it, creating a sort of dark aura in the otherwise brightly lit store. Quite simply put, it was the most badass piece of equipment Alan had seen since he began playing the Game.


    Trying to appear nonchalant, Alan walked over to the shopkeeper, a balding middle-aged man that looked more like a high school teacher than an armor salesman.


    ¡°So, that power armor, it looks pretty nice, does it have any special abilities?¡±


    ¡°Ah, young sir, you have quite the eye. That is in fact a set of Revenant recon armor, capable of turning the user invisible to almost all forms of detection.¡±


    Revenants?


    A group that worships the technology left behind by an ancient race said to have lived long before even the Predecessors and Lords of Life. They are considered hostile by most factions in the Game.


    Huh, interesting.


    ¡°Ah. Isn¡¯t there, well, a certain negative stigma that is attached to the armor then?¡±


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re going to be like that, I certainly won¡¯t sell it to you,¡± the shopkeeper harrumphed.


    ¡°I was just wondering if that might possibly sell it for a bit cheaper, as I doubt the army with their dress code will allow their members to wear an enemy faction¡¯s armor.¡±


    Alan had no idea what the armies¡¯ dress code was, at least within the Game.


    ¡°Yes, unfortunately that has been a bit of an issue. They bought the first set easily enough for research purposes, but weren¡¯t willing to buy the second I bought off the Haxlard. I should of known it was too good of a bargain to be true. You know what, how about this, I¡¯ll cut you a special deal, just 50k credits!¡±


    Alan¡¯s heart plummeted.


    ¡°And since I¡¯m undergoing the tutorial?¡±


    ¡°Well, just 10k then!¡±


    ¡°Um, how about 7.5k?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m already selling it at quite a lost. I don¡¯t think I can handle losing even more money, 10k is as low as I go.¡± The shopkeeper looked at Alan innocently.


    Alan shuffled his feet a bit, then sighed. ¡°Honestly, all I have is 9k credits, total, and don¡¯t really have any way of getting any more quickly.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, that is quite the dilemma¡­¡± The shopkeeper rested his chin on his palm, leaning on the counter.


    ¡°How about this. Recently, I¡¯ve seen a few shady characters hanging around a particular store, the Iron Wall, located a bit outside the trading hub. I¡¯ll give you directions. Now, all I want you do is maybe test the armor, make sure it lives up to the promises I was given. Scout around a bit, maybe see if you can find any evidence of the illicit business I know they¡¯re involved in, and well,¡± The shopkeeper glanced about, ¡°If you can¡¯t find any information, but they manage to, say, misplace a valuable item worth around say 1000 credits and you bring it back here, who¡¯s to say it wasn¡¯t simply justice?¡±


    A quest popped up in front of Alan.


    ¡°Shady Dealings:


    Using the given Revenant Power Armor, scout out a local shop, the Iron Wall. Either recover damning evidence of illegal activities, or steal an item worth at least 1000 credits.


    Penalty: Should you be caught, it will result in the loss of both the 9000 credits and the power armor in addition to possible jail time, resulting in the failure of the Survival Test.


    Reward: Revenant Power Armor, ???¡±


    Alan thought about whether to accept the task for a moment. He was almost certain that there were no such illegal activities taking place, the shop was probably owned by a rival businessman or something. Was he willing to steal 1000 credits worth of stuff was the real question.


    Eve, what do you think my odds of succeeding are?


    Approximately 70% with about a 20% margin of error.


    That¡¯s quite the margin of error¡­


    Indeed.


    Screw it, he¡¯d practice his stealth ability, and maybe this would even turn into some sort of chain quest. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d gotten any other quests that were so specific. "Survive" and "investigate," what kind of quests were those?


    ¡°I accept.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± the shopkeeper grinned. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll trade you the armor for 9000 credits, but won¡¯t make it an official transaction until you fulfill your side of the bargain. Thus, it¡¯s stolen property until you finish the task, so don¡¯t get stopped by any military police, alright?¡±


    ¡°Uh, okay.¡± Alan went into a fitting room, changing into the power armor, beginning to regret his decision immediately. The shopkeeper would probably be waiting for him with a few military police when Alan returned. Still, the armor was awfully nice, Alan had to admit. Checking his stats, it gave him 500 shield energy, with the ability to turn invisible for five energy per minute. The shields regenerated at the rate of two energy per minute. It felt almost weightless, too. Eve was impressed with it as well, as apparently she was able to interface with the armor directly, allowing Alan to activate the stealth feature with a simple thought.


    Not wanting to risk anything Alan activated his own stealth ability in addition to the armor¡¯s as he exited from the changing room. He grinned when he walked out through the front entrance, as the shopkeeper had been completely unaware of Alan¡¯s departure.


    It took quite a bit of effort to weave in  and out of the crowds, and a number of times he accidentally jostled into someone. Alan quickly walked forwards, hoping no one would notice anything. As luck would have it, no one did. In fact, no one seemed to be able to see him, not even the military police wearing some sort of fancy headgear.


    As Alan approached the shop he saw the back of a man who had just left it. He looked a lot like Icewolf from the back, but that couldn¡¯t be. Icewolf had told Alan that he¡¯d be off world in a serious quest and thus unavailable in the Game for a while. Also, based upon the data he¡¯d gotten, the man¡¯s username was IronEagle, not Icewolf. As another man, an IronBear opened the door to the store, Alan crept in behind him. There was definitely something up with the store, if the names were any tip-off. The shop looked similar to many of the other equipment stores, although it was a bit larger. There were racks of various laser rifles and human guns, as well as Kevlar body armor in addition to some rather simplistic power armor, which, if the seal was to be believed, had been Made in the USA.


    IronBear walked up to the counter.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯d like to pick up a special package.¡± He slid across a coin of some sort.


    ¡°Certainly, sir, that will be 2500 credits.¡± The counter was manned by a loosely humanoid shaped robot on wheels rather than a human being.


    ¡°Alright, just remember, an extra helping of freedom.¡±


    ¡°God bless America.¡± The robot disappeared into a back room, then reappeared with a large brown crate. What was in it, Alan had no idea, but apparently IronBear wanted to make sure he¡¯d gotten the right item, as he sliced open the top, peeking inside. Alan glanced over IronBear¡¯s shoulder, invisible to him.


    There was a bomb inside. Alan scrambled backwards, just as IronBear suddenly looked about him, as though he¡¯d felt the presence of Alan somehow even though he couldn¡¯t see him. Maybe Alan had steeped a bit too close. IronBear hurriedly strode out of the store.


    Just as Alan let out a sigh of relief, the robot shopkeeper turned and stared directly at him, and said, ¡°And how may I help you today, sir?¡±


    Alan froze. Then, waiting a second to make sure IronBear was far enough away, he darted out the front entrance door, ignoring the robot completely. No doubt it had some sort of advanced detection technology and had detected him as soon as he entered the shop. Luckily however the robot hadn¡¯t noticed anything odd, and assumed he was just another customer. Thank god for poor programming.


    As he was about to return to the shopkeeper with this new information, he realized that he wasn¡¯t even sure it was illegal to sell a bomb. In fact, with people selling weapons of all sorts, what was illegal, anyways?


    The bomb will definitely be deemed illegal by the military. Eve told Alan.


    Oh, and why is that?


    It¡¯s the exact same type of bomb as the one used by the Legion of Man when they bombed the airbase and several other locations.


    Of course it was.


    Author''s Note:


    Sorry for the late update! I''ve been rather busy, and forgot this weekend was parent''s weekend. Classes are starting to get harder and the work is piling up too, unfortunately. I actually only ended up covering about half what I wanted to in this chapter, and there isn''t much action in the chapter, which I hope is okay. Anyways, I attempted to make tables for the character info, maybe I''ll do something similar for all the other messages if I have the time.

 Risk Management

    So, what? Is there some military server you can connect to or something, should I try to alert someone?


    Negative. You should complete the quest.


    What? A terrorist organization is here, they could-


    Stop wasting time. Finish the quest.


    Alan rolled his eyes. Well, the shopkeeper might have some more information, or be able to alert the right authorities, so he decided to follow Eve¡¯s directions. He quickly travelled back to the shop maintaining his invisibility, avoiding people with Eve¡¯s help, getting used to being undetectable amongst a sea of people that were going about their own business. Maybe he should start trying to pick pockets. Nah, that would just get him in trouble.


    After waiting a few minutes while some other customers left the shop, which was named Ancient Armour, Alan deactivated the armor¡¯s invisibility. He¡¯d had it on for about 20 minutes now, leaving the armor with 400 energy.


    The shopkeeper barely blinked when Alan appeared out of nowhere, simply looking at him, arching an eyebrow.


    ¡°Back so soon?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have proof of illegal activities.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and where is this proof?¡±


    Um, where is the proof?


    Remember I am recording your actions, for purposes such as these. I have created screenshots of the bomb you saw in the shop compared to the bomb that was set up in the hangar.


    Two images appeared before Alan, clearly depicting the same weapon, in the two distinct locations. There were also two video files attached.


    ¡°Um, do you have a computer or something that I can upload a few files to?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡± The shopkeeper bent over, fiddling with something beneath the counter. ¡°Your AI should now be able to connect to the store¡¯s servers.¡±


    Did I ever mention you?


    No. Connected to a masked server. Uploading files now.


    ¡°Um, okay.¡±


    Files uploaded.


    The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes lit up, and he motioned his hands before him, moving through digital screens only he could see.


    ¡°Hmm, yes, this will do quite nicely. Thank you for this information. Now, I¡¯ll trust that you won¡¯t disclose this to anyone else, especially none of the military police or one of the information brokers.¡±


    ¡®What? But-¡±


    ¡°As a bonus, for this exemplary work, and your discretion, I¡¯ll thrown in any item you find in here worth up to a thousand credits.¡±


    Alan narrowed his eyes. ¡°Before or after the tutorial discount?¡±


    The shopkeeper smiled sweetly. ¡°Why, after, of course.¡±


    Alan mulled it over. On one hand, whatever was going on was clearly illegal and something should be done, yet, on the other hand, this was a substantial amount of money, and he did need to get a replacement weapon still.


    Accept the offer. Eve commanded.


    What? Why?


    It is highly unlikely the shopkeeper is a simple salesman. I will explain more once we are in a safer location. The information provided by the Thought Emporium has been quite enlightening, allowing me to make previously unseen connections, as well as a great deal of history to draw upon.


    Not one to question Eve, Alan nodded at the shopkeeper. ¡°Alright. Deal.¡±


    Two messages popped up:


    ¡°Shading Dealings, Complete!


    Reward: Revenant Power Armor, 5000 credit item of your choice, a Black Coin¡±


    ¡°Level up!¡±


    The shopkeeper grinned, putting his hand into an unseen pocket, bringing out a pitch black metal coin with a cloaked figure on one side, a pile of miniature metal cubes on the other. The shopkeeper flipped the coin at Alan, who caught it without a second thought. When Alan tried to examine it more closely, the images distorted, showing no details.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find that there are a number of shops in the Game that will buy and sell more unsavory items, including those acquired through¡­ different means. Simply show them that coin and they should be willing to take a look at whatever it is you want to sell, from items to information to favors. The stores will also sell you an expanded range of items. I¡¯ll upload the names of a few of these unique stores to your AI. Should you distinguish yourself as a customer, various other locations may open up to you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Uh, where are the, um, additional items you sell? If you don¡¯t mind me asking of course.¡±


    The shopkeeper grinned, leaning forward, and whispered, ¡°Changing room third from the left. Walk through the mirror. Take the item you want, then leave the shop, invisible, as I doubt anyone saw you coming in.¡±


    The shopkeeper then leaned back, and, patting his belly, said, more loudly, ¡°Pleasure doing business with you.¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, you too.¡±


    Alan entered into the designated room, then walked through the changing room mirror that covered the back wall. The mirror and wall turned out to be a hologram. He entered a small space about the size of a few supply closets squished together, extended behind the five changing rooms. Now that he knew what was back here, he could sort of recall the dimensions of the changing rooms seeming a bit off.


    Dimly lit, each shelf had a digital price tag displayed on it, from 100 credits to 100k along with various items. None of the items were labeled, but when asked, Eve displayed descriptions of the various items that had been in the database the Thought Emporium provided, which was most of them. On the left there were a few packaged items which were most likely mass produced, but illegal to sell for some reason.


    There were numerous kits each labeled clearly, intended for a non-standard class. Alan examined a basic thief¡¯s kit, which contained a set of lock picks, a weak laser cutter, and other miscellaneous but no doubt useful tools. Another was labeled as a basic hacker kit, another an assassin¡¯s kit. Each cost 5000 credits. No doubt if Alan had wanted to be any of those classes, he¡¯d have picked the package up immediately. He continued on.


    There were numerous weapons on the next three shelves, from bandoliers of grenades, to modified weapons. None looked especially dangerous or illegal to Alan, but he assumed there was some reason they were being sold back here. Come to think of it though, he hadn¡¯t seen anyone in the main trading hub selling grenades or rocket launchers or other area of effect weapons.


    Many of these weapons are built illegally to target specific species or are made by unlicensed weapons manufacturers. Eve let Alan know.


    Oh, you need a license to create weapons?


    Yes. There are many guilds and regulating agencies within the Game that enforce many such laws in ¡°civilized¡± space. However, such politics are not necessary to learn about now while we¡¯re undergoing the Tutorial.


    Um, okay.


    Along the next few shelves there were an assortment of items, from armor to weapons to tools to machine parts. All of which had clearly been gathered through ¡°different means.¡± In other words, stolen. Nothing in particular stood out to Alan. Many items still had a label on them, ¡°Owned by AlienPwnage¡± or ¡°Owned by US.Agent.33AE2¡å. He probably didn¡¯t want one of those items, as he¡¯d have trouble explaining where he got it.


    Any ideas, Eve?


    This weapon seems suitable.


    Eve highlighted a small blade embedded in a weapons rack next to the far wall. Alan walked up over to it, examining its description.


    ¡°Modified Laser Knife (Rank C):


    Once a laser wire cutter, this tool has been modified into a powerful, makeshift knife. Capable of cutting through most materials once the laser field has been activated. Unfortunately, power required to activate the laser blade is quite high, with a fair amount of energy leakage.


    Regular damage: 15-20 Laser damage: 225-335


    (+100 bonus shield damage modifier, +500 penetration while laser activated)


    20 Energy, 2 Energy/sec used while laser is activated, 1 Energy/min regen.


    88/100 Durability. Energy Melee Weapons (Basic) Recommended, 4500 credits¡±


    Uh, that seems rather OP. I also don¡¯t have the recommended skill.


    The highest damaging human sniper rifles Alan had examined did around 75 damage, although there were bonus multipliers if you got a headshot. The higher end alien laser rifles available at the Hub did 300-400 damage a shot, but cost tens of thousands of credits. Unlike human weapons, most alien weapons were energy based, using cold fusion batteries, thus you didn¡¯t need to spend additional money on ammo. You just needed to wait for them to recharge.


    Melee laser weapons tend to deal much more damage. While you may be able to take a shot or two of plasma, you would take much more damage if someone cut you with a weapon capable of cutting through steel. My direction and your Knife Fighting (Basic) skill should be sufficient for you to wield this weapon effectively. Combined with the Revenant Armor¡¯s invisibility, we should be able to practically one-shot any enemy.


    Alright, I¡¯m all aboard with that plan.


    Similar to the power armor, once he was holding the laser knife Eve was able to connect  to it somehow, allowing him to activate the laser edge with a thought. Normally, the knife looked similar to a basic combat knife made with some dark grey alien metal alloy, but when the laser was activated its blade was outlined in a red glow and the knife looked like a miniature, bladed lightsaber. Alan tried activating the laser knife while he was invis, but unfortunately the glowing red wasn¡¯t dimmed at all, clearly revealing him. That meant he¡¯d need to activate it once he was right next to an enemy, or already stabbing them.


    Like most of the items in the trading hub, the knife didn¡¯t have a level requirement, which Alan thought was a bit odd for a game. Most items simply had recommended skills to use them effectively.


    According to my item database, only rare and powerful items rank B and above have requirements to wield. Many of those requirements are skill or attribute requirements rather than level requirements. Items are also much more important when determining ones strength, at least compared to most games. A very well geared level one player would most likely be capable of fighting on par with a poorly geared, equally skilled level 1000 player.


    Huh, interesting. I guess that makes credits much more important, and again explains their real life value, especially if all these different factions need to fund in-game armies.


    Having selected the item he wanted, Alan exited the shop, invisible. He briefly considered trying to rob the place, but the shopkeeper probably had underworld connections or something along those lines, along with hidden security. As soon as Alan stepped outside the store, a message popped up, letting him know the Revenant Power Armor and Modified Laser Knife were now bound to him.


    What exactly does that mean?


    An unbound item rank E or above will always drop upon death, while any item rank A or above will also always drop upon death, even if it¡¯s bound. Any bound item Rank B or below will not drop upon death. Items are usually bound to a player after purchase or significant use. Items may have modifiers that effect these properties. A bound item may not be traded away or sold, and it costs credits to get an item unbound. If items are left unattended by their owner for a period of time, they also become unbound.


    Interesting¡­ what rank is the Revenant Power Armor by the way?


    I am uncertain, as the item was not in the item database provided. I would guess it was rank C or B, however.


    Hmmm, alright.


    Alan made his way outside of the trading hub, keeping a vigilant eye out for any suspicious activity, even though Eve would probably notify him before he noticed anything. The rebels were up to something here, he just didn¡¯t know what.


    As San Francisco is a major supply port, they are most likely attempting to sabotage the military base and supplies.


    Huh, interesting. What do you suggest we do?


    ¡­ Too many variables. There are a few clear choices, yet they would result in vastly different consequences.


    Oh? What are the choices?


    Firstly, we could immediately alert the military, no doubt earning us favor. Unfortunately, they may not believe the threat to be credible, and as an outsider our rewards may not be as great or we may even be detained for questioning. Additionally, the Dark Merchant would most likely revoke our black market status and put a bounty on our head. He is undoubtedly connected to a strong faction.


    Secondly, we could attempt to join these rebels, potentially with a backup plan of betraying them to the United World Government. The outsider uncertainty applies as well here, perhaps even doubly so, as they are a clearly underground group. Their connections are dubious as well.


    Thirdly, we may try to anonymously sell this information, which is most likely what the Dark Merchant will do. However, the chance of detection is rather high.


    Finally, we may either simply wait and see what happens, taking advantage of the chaos caused, or return to base. There is still the second wave in the Survival Test, whatever it may be, which we should prepare for. These last two options are the most neutral.


    Wait, what do you mean, factions? And why are you calling that merchant a Dark Merchant?


    ¡­ Very well, I will need to explain a portion of the information I have gained. Please proceed to the designated point and deactivate your armor¡¯s ability.


    Alan followed Eve¡¯s directions, cutting into an office building a few blocks away from the trading hub, crouching underneath the reception desk before deactivating the armor¡¯s invisibility, but maintaining his stealth ability.


    Based upon news about current events and the information provided by the Thought Emporium, there are a few major factions that we are likely to encounter. First of all, the various humanoid governments. The Haxlardian Empire, whose ship we will respawn in, are a local* alien empire, controlling the space that Earth is in, including but not limited to the majority of the Milky Way Galaxy. They are ruled by a council of seven. As you have no doubt noticed, they all wear masks, which show off status and rank. Higher level masks provide them with various stats and abilities. On average, Haxlards are twice as strong as humans, while Ultihaxlards are ten times as strong.


    The Unified World Government, which you are undoubtedly aware of, is the government that was hastily erected in order to meet the requirements for humanity to join the Game. Their place within the scheme of things is fairly uncertain, both in terms of Earth politics and intergalactic politics, as there are many places on Earth which do not acknowledge their authority. The rulers and rules of the UWG are still in fluctuation. Currently, the primary backers and authority in the UWG is the USA and its NATO allies.


    Alan yawned. Politics had never really been his thing, but he should probably try to pay attention.


    The Imperial Realms, or the Empire as it is commonly referred to, are an empire of around 30 life-sustaining worlds ruled by a single, enigmatic emperor. The Empire is predominantly humanoid and is constantly at war in attempts at expansion. They are currently rumored to be gearing up for another large scale war, however it is still unknown who their target is.


    Most of the Democratic Realms, or the Republic, are a series of approximately 100 planets with semi-interconnected governments, similar to the European Union. The ins and outs of Republic politics are even more complicated however, and enemies as well as allies are constantly shifting. For example, should one planet be invaded, it is not guaranteed that other planets will even be required to respond, depending upon too many variables to list. There are chunks of 10-50 planets which do have collective defense treaties in place within the Republic, as well as a 20 planet collective not in the Republic which are known as the Pirate States¡­ GET UP.


    Huh? What? Why¡¯d you stop? Alan had ended up lying down on the floor, and had started nodding off.


    Your concentration clearly began to slip. I will endeavor to make the remaining information more succinct.


    Um, right, sorry. Just a broad overview seems fine to me, you don¡¯t need to go into much detail, although I¡¯ll try to pay attention when you do.


    Very well, please do, as these points may become quite important as we continue in the Game. Also, for your information, this has been a broad overview. The Game, unlike most other games you have played, does not have fake, pretty, oversimplified governments created by some game designer to simply create interesting lore or quests. Instead, it has actual governments that exist and influence the known universe. Now, rounding out the humanoid governments, there are a series of chaotic or neutral planets under no one¡¯s control, as well as a few outliers without any allies, mostly located in the far outreaches of space or mostly inhospitable planets.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Now, I was going to go into more detail around the various theories and other such information, but seeing as you have such a short attention span, I will simply outline the predominant theory about why the majority of alien species are in fact humanoid, or human-like in appearance and behavior. It is known that the Predecessors and Lord of Life fought in a war which resulted in the creation of the Game. It is believed, based upon inference from  interaction with Predecessors, that the Lords of Life sent out a series of ships to planets they calculated were likely  capable of containing life. These ships caused the eradication of the species currently on the planet, and would ensure the evolution of a humanoid species. Earth scientists are speculating whether or not the meteor that supposedly wiped out the dinosaurs may actually have been such a ship. The Lords of Life planned on using these humanoid species to aid them in war, but how they planned on doing so is uncertain, as they have disappeared to who knows where.


    With the Lords of Life disappearance after the creation of the Game, many would expect the Predecessors to quickly become the predominant power. However, they have remained content with their own few worlds, only venturing out to raid other planets for fun or to gather new species. Their sheer physical ability outstrips nearly every other known species in the universe, leaving many to wonder how exactly the Lords of Life fought them to a standstill. The entirety of earth would have trouble defeating a single squad of 10 Predecessor Patriarchs. They primary deal with the biological side of things and disdain technology.


    The Revenants are not exactly a species per say, but, as I previously told you, they are a faction that worships an ancient machine race, the Architects. Little is known about the Architects other than they are the basis for the majority of the technology the Revenants use. The Revenants come from many species, yet all are at least part machine. Their home planet, or planets, is in unknown space, as they are often seen at the far reaches of space searching for ancient artifacts or technology. Their technology is generally the most advanced in the Game.


    Finally, of course, there are numerous exceptions, oddities and bizarre coincidences, but seeing as you can¡¯t handle the details, I¡¯ll spare you this information. There are countless other species, groups, and bands of people or things, but these are the primary governments of power. Now, moving on, there are the Guilds, which span all species, governments and worlds.


    Wait, a guild isn¡¯t considered a government?


    No, they are a separate entity, at least according to the Game. Yet, even though guilds are in a different category, they are no less important or influential as many of the governments I discussed. A major top ten guild may be just as or even more influential than, say, the Empire. Additionally, guilds may control a planet or planets, similar to how a government may, but the rules concerning how a guild rules a planet and how a government does are completely different. The various circumstances around the planet can vary a lot too, of course. There are certain planets which are unable to be conquered, at least through war, such as Khersath, which is considered by most the capital of the humanoid races. Khersath is essentially a PvP-free zone, where all the various humanoid governments and guilds interact. The interplay between guilds and governments can be quite interesting, as for instance your guild may end up going to war with the government you are a citizen of, and, once more, the specific circumstances of the situation would determine whose side you could or could not take. Of course, many of the major guilds are simply arms of the various governments.


    Alan¡¯s head was beginning to hurt.


    Now, moving on, the major guild groups. There are the Mercenary Bloc, the Alliance Allies, the Empire¡¯s Legions, Humanities¡¯ Saviors, the Knights of Justice, the Revenants of Progress, the Explorer¡¯s Guild and the Independents, just to name a few primary groups. Going into more detail-


    A series of explosions suddenly went off in the distance, rocking the building Alan was in. Alan activated the Revenant armor¡¯s invisibility, and raced outside, never more thankful for a series of potentially harmful and devastating terrorist attacks.


    Ok, just remember, things are very, very complicated, and the universe is a large place! Thus, you should leave political dealings and faction/guild choices to me, I¡¯ll be able to calculate our best interests better than you can, Eve shouted into Alan¡¯s mind, but he wasn¡¯t paying attention anymore.


    Outside, it was chaos. It seemed more like a full on invasion rather than a simple terrorist attack. Alan watched as hundreds of people fled downtown, while hundreds more were heading downtown in military vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Planes flew in from above, and a series of spaceships materialized out of nowhere in the sky, firing upon various buildings and each other.


    Head upstairs for a better vantage point.


    Alan readily agreed with Eve this time, and he ran into the building, racing up the stairs as adrenaline pumped through him. At the top of the twentieth floor, he darted into the corner office with a window facing the action. Below, it seemed like a fleet of ships had appeared out of nowhere in the bay, and were launching a series of attacks from the waterfront, while a few well placed explosions had knocked out various anti-ship defenses that had been set up by the United World Government military. There was so much smoke and fire everywhere that Alan couldn¡¯t tell what was really happening.


    This is our chance. Eve whispered into Alan¡¯s mind, almost sinisterly.


    What?


    As I outlined beforehand, this seems like a good chance to take advantage of the chaos, and acquire both items and experience we need.


    And exactly how do you plan on doing that?


    Eve highlighted a number of nearby buildings.


    There have been sniper shots from the highlighted buildings. Should we sneak up on one of the snipers, we should be able to easily assassinate them and take their gear. We may simply disguise these killings as the work of the Legion of Man, and no one should be the wiser. Unlike in most games, unless an action can be directly attributed to you, it has no bearing on your faction standing, except in certain scenarios, such as an officially declared war or battle.


    I don¡¯t know¡­


    If you wish to become an effective, efficient mercenary you will need to start making such morally grey choices that benefit you. Think of the snipers as simply a rare mob that have a special drop item you need. Also, you didn¡¯t seem to have much issue with buying stolen goods.


    Alan began to try to formulate an argument with Eve in his head, but then, mulling it over , decided that it was in his best interests to try to take out a sniper for their weapon. Besides, it wasn¡¯t like a single sniper would change the course of the battle, they¡¯d respawn once they were killed, and he¡¯d pay the United World Government back once he was done with the Tutorial. Conscious clear, Alan descended the stairs carefully, debating with Eve which building he should target.


    A few minutes later, Alan approached the building he and Eve had decided upon. It was on top of a hill, on a street further away from downtown, towards the Presidio, where the tutorial base was. Thus, if something went wrong, Alan could flee in the direction opposite what most people would anticipate, away from the Legion of Man forces rather than towards them. The battle, off in the distance, was still going strong, with more laser fire and reinforcements arriving every minute. Where a rebel group Alan had never heard of before was getting such firepower Alan had no idea, but then again maybe the group only existed within the Game.


    Alan was about to step into the lobby of the multistory apartment building, when-


    HALT.


    Alan halted.


    There are motion detectors set up to detect if someone enters the building.


    Two small devices besides the doors into the building were highlighted, showing a red screen surrounding the entrance which Alan assumed was the field Eve detected. As Alan looped around outside the building, he saw that the detection field surrounded the entire first floor. Well, so much for that plan.


    Negative. Proceed to the fire escape.


    Eve highlighted an fire escape on the side of the building that Alan hadn¡¯t noticed. The detection field didn¡¯t expand outside the building, at least as far as he could see. The only problem was that the fire escape was 15 feet off the ground.


    You should be capable of leaping up and climbing onto it.


    Well, Alan was definitely feeling stronger than he¡¯d ever been before, and if Eve told him he could do it, he probably could. It might just hurt a lot. He walked underneath the fire escape, and leapt up with all his might. To his surprise, his fingers managed to brush against the bottom of the un-extended ladder. After a few more leaps, Alan managed to catch on to the edge of the fire escape and pull himself up. The metal squeaked and shifted a bit as it bore the brunt of his weight, but it didn¡¯t give way.


    Alan traversed up the fire escape to the 7th floor, the floor below where Eve calculated the sniper to be, remaining invisible all the while. He¡¯d been maintaining his invisibility for about an hour total since getting the power armor, taking into account the regained energy, thus he was left with 200 shield energy. It was 2:13 p.m., with a bit over three hours left until the next round in the Survival Test. That meant the shields wouldn¡¯t be done regenerating by the time the round began, but oh well.


    So, um, why¡¯d you have me stop on the 7th floor?


    You will attack the sniper from below, cutting out the floor beneath the sniper, silently, quickly and carefully, at my direction. How did you expect to get to the sniper? Climb in through the window they¡¯re shooting out of, or through the door that¡¯s no doubt booby trapped?


    Alan, who had actually been considering climbing around the outside of the building, replied, No. But wouldn¡¯t maybe coming from above make more sense?


    Negative, I have pinpointed their location, and the drop should be disorienting enough for you to finish them off.


    Alright.


    The window to get into the building from the fire escape was of course locked, but Eve assured Alan that he could cut through it with the laser knife, and the alarms were all turned off as the building no longer had power.


    Alan took out the knife, and, sure enough, once activated it cut through the glass and metal like it was butter. As he cut a man-sized hole into the side of the building Alan smiled with glee. It was like his fantasy of wielding a lightsaber was coming true! Unlike a lightsaber however, the knife didn¡¯t make a low buzzing sound, or any noise at all, actually. That was probably because of the modifications.


    Unfortunately, as the laser portion of the knife could only last for 10 seconds, and it took seven seconds to cut through the window, Alan had to wait a few minutes before he could take on the sniper. Eve told him to be patient, so she could triangulate where exactly the sniper was. Somehow, using the slight movements and noise Alan heard above, in addition to the occasional laser shot Alan could see shoot out from above him towards downtown, Eve created a red silhouette of where the sniper was shooting from. Apparently they were in the corner of the room above, resting their rifle on a desk to steady their aim.


    Following Eve¡¯s directions, Alan made a series of cuts in the ceiling, and, three seconds later, with a resounding crash, the entire floor of the room above collapsed inwards into the room Alan was standing.


    LEAP BACK. Alan leapt back into the hallway, leaving the door open, deactivating the laser knife and reactivating his armor''s invisibility. He watched as a figure in camouflage colored power armor collapsed onto the floor and begun to bring out a laser pistol sidearm with his right hand. The sniper had around 2000 HP left after the fall, but no shields for some reason. Their level was a series of question marks. Alan followed an outline Eve provided, planning on simply running up and beheading the sniper. Somehow, when he was a few feet away, the sniper detected him, and began firing laser shots wildly in his direction. With Eve¡¯s help, and due to the snipers disorientation, none of the shots hit.


    Deactivating his armor''s invisibility field, Alan powered up the laser knife as the sniper lifted up his left arm, a small round blue shield appearing on the sniper¡¯s forearm. With Eve¡¯s help, Alan managed to feint downwards at the sniper¡¯s left leg as he suddenly shifted the knife to his left hand and sliced into the Sniper¡¯s right arm, holding the pistol. He activated and deactivated the knife as he did so, making it disappear and then reappear out of nowhere. The sniper let out a scream of pain as he dropped the pistol in his right hand, his HP shrinking down to 1600.


    As the sniper tried to jerk himself away, Alan thrust the knife into the sniper¡¯s chest just as the laser knife ran out of power. Luckily, Eve had been aiming for the heart, and the soldier died in seconds even as he managed to throw Alan off of him, as his heart had ceased functioning.


    Panting, Alan stared down at the body and rubble as a string of messages popped up.


    ¡°x10 Bonus xp for slaying an enemy over 100 levels higher while you¡¯re under level 100, taking 0 damage in the process!¡±


    ¡°x14 Level up!¡±


    ¡°Gained over 10 levels with one kill! +10 bonus ability points¡±


    The soldier had been over a hundred levels higher¡­ how had Alan even managed to kill him?


    As I mentioned, items are often more important than levels. Additionally, in order to avoid detection he had his energy shields turned off. While we were able to detect where the laser shots came from, that was only due to my unique capabilities, and the fact that I am actually capable of slowing down your perception of time, essentially speeding up the rate at which your brain processes information. Additionally, as a sniper most of his abilities, items and stats are most likely dedicated to long range fighting, thus as we were up close and personal, we were able to take him out.


    Alright, well, good job.


    Alan smiled as he walked over to the body, excited to see the loot the sniper dropped. It seems as though most of the sniper¡¯s items had been bound, but he dropped his sniper rifle, which was all Alan cared about.


    ¡°Reaper¡¯s Scythe (Rank B):


    A powerful, high-damage plasma sniper rifle developed by Reaper Industries. With a high critical multiplier and shots of plasma capable of evaporating multiple enemies, reap your enemies on the battlefield. As a weapon of war, this item has changed hand countless times.


    Damage/sec: 425-500 x8 Multiplier on headshots x2 Multiplier on other vital shots


    150 Energy, 5 Energy/shot, 25 Energy/min regen.


    74/150 Durability. Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic) and Sniping (Basic) required.


    Energy Ranged Weapons (Intermediate), Sniping (Intermediate), Energy Efficiency (Basic) recommended.


    Drops upon death.¡±


    Unfortunately, Alan needed still needed the Energy Ranged Weapons skill to wield it, but he was sure he¡¯d be able to buy the skill with the over 88 ability points he had to spend on skills. Also, the fact that it would drop upon death was sort of disappointing.


    As Alan rummaged around, searching for additional items, Eve told him:


    Incoming targeted transmission. Do not respond. Whoever is on the other side will be able to hear whatever you say aloud.


    ¡°James? What¡¯s your status!? We have reports of some sort of building collapse, and you aren¡¯t responding in the party chat.¡±


    Alan, thinking he¡¯d be clever, said aloud, in his best evil villain voice, ¡°The Legion of Man leave no survivors!¡± Just as Eve shouted into his mind, NO.


    ¡°What!? Who is that? AI389, cross examine that voice with our database.¡±


    A mechanical voice said, ¡°Examining¡­ Match found.¡±


    Not sitting around to hear anymore Alan raced outside of the building, invisible. He continued running back towards the base. Glancing behind him, he saw a military jeep approach the building he¡¯d just left. Thinking he was in the clear, Alan continued to run along, back to the base, when a message popped up.


    ¡°The Survival Test: Round 2


    Antagonizing the locals is never a good idea! As a result of a member of your group¡¯s actions, the local United World Government has determined you are hostile. Survive the company they are sending your way.¡±


    It was shortly followed by:


    ¡°Second Wave: Initiate United World Government Marines, Lvl 50


    Enemies remaining: 200


    Time until arrival: 0:32:08¡å


    Alan winced. The others definitely weren¡¯t going to be happy, but, well, he¡¯d gotten 15 levels and an awesome weapon, right?


    You will most likely be determined an enemy of the United World Government, a wanted terrorist.


    Oh.


    Author''s Note:


    One of these days I''ll get a chapter out on time :P. I also need to create tables for quests/item descriptions... Hope you liked the chapter, please rate if you haven''t yet!

 Mistakes

    Alan sprinted away from the sniper¡¯s nest, swearing all the while, cursing whatever idiotic rules governed the game. How had they identified him just by his voice, when he was deliberately speaking with an accent? Alan deactivated the invisibility once he was about a half mile away. His shields only had 100 energy left, enough energy to deflect maybe a single shot or keep him invisible for 20 minutes.


    I may have overestimated the gravity of the situation.


    Oh?


    Yes, according to your status window you now simply have a ¡°Disliked¡± reputation with the United World Government, which means they will not kill you on sight. Except for the company of soldiers that are about to attack the base, of course.


    Alan opened up his character screen as he jogged, and saw this was true.


    Factions which will attack you on sight will be displayed with a (Hostile) tag. No factions are currently hostile. However, as we build reputation with certain factions others will undoubtedly become hostile. Additionally, you were detected so easily because it is much simpler to determine the perpetrator of actions in the Game, it only requires various in Game skills. For instance, a player with significant skill could determine simply from the room and death marker left behind a description of the killer, perhaps even their username.


    Death marker?


    Any dead player leaves behind a death marker, noting where they died. Only people with specialized classes and skills may interact with these markers, either removing them, inspecting them for information or even potentially reviving the player. From what I understand, when a player dies they return to their Home, and until they choose to respawn or be revived there death marker remains active.


    Alright, but there was no tracker there, so how did the government identify me?


    It is fairly common to identify players by their voice, but that means they have a previous recording, perhaps taken at the trading hub. I was more concerned with you being identified by voice later on, as they likely would get your description from whatever investigator they sent, if they did send one, but be unable to prove it was you without definite evidence, such as your voice. It requires special skills to hide your identity when attacking another player. A relatively common class capable of such feats is an Assassin.


    Hmmm, ok. Actually, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you, was there much about classes in the information you downloaded?


    Affirmative. However, it seems as though a recommended class is given by the Administrators at the end of the Tutorial, and the player has only the choice to accept this class and the bonuses, or to decline and try to gain a class. However, gaining a class is  both difficult and expensive. Classes generally seem to be a combination of an area of expertise and a job or role. For instance, a Nanotech Medic, a Psi Healer, an Energy Swordsman, a  Techno-thief, a Space Marine or a Fighter Pilot, to name a few. Of course, players may perform any of these roles without the class, just much more ineffectively.


    Huh, so pretty much any sort of job imaginable is fair game, along with sub sort of sub-class or sub-field.


    Yes. However, psi-based abilities and technology tend to not mix well.


    Alright, so¡­ wait. Let¡¯s say I did end up being marked as hostile by the United World Government, would that mean in real life I¡¯d be determined an enemy of the state?


    Negative, as has been stated previously in the Senator¡¯s speech, the Game is meant to be a virtual space for war. All Gamers possess various fundamental rights granted to them by the Enforcers, the real world arm of the Administrators. Any violent action against or detention of a Gamer against their will in the real world is punishable by death by the Enforcers.


    Wait, death?


    Correct. Any serious threats, bribes or crimes committed outside the Game are similarly punished by the Enforcers, who may be easily contacted either through the game capsule, an Administrator or a provided phone number and email address. While you may think people are capable of getting away with murder or such crimes through proxies and the like, the Enforcers possess technology and resources far beyond any other civilization. There have been no recorded cases of successful kidnapping or murder of Gamers in the known universe since the Game began.


    Damn. That¡¯s sort of badass. And scary. Wait, also, you¡¯re saying this only applies to Gamers? What about my parents?


    Any actions against your parents to coerce you would be considered similar to an action against you. A random mugging would not, unless it resulted in death, as murder of any sentient life is taken seriously by the Enforcers. However, this distinction has caused a tiered system within the universe, an upper class, Gamers, and then those who are unable to play the Game. Nevertheless, I would surmise there are also various jobs in the real world that only non-gamers would be able to hold. If you had paid any attention to current events, you¡¯d have noticed all the reports of a remarkable decrease in crime, and the protests against the Enforcers orbiting the earth, punishing criminals who commit crimes on Earth.


    Alan jogged along, five minutes away from the base, trying to process this new information, when he was interrupted by a message from Thiago:


    ¡°We¡¯re pretty sure this is your fault. You¡¯d better be able to explain yourself fully.¡±


    Great.


    Alan took a deep breath before he spoke, staring into the glaring, accusing eyes of the rest of the group. They¡¯d all gathered in the main room in the bunker, standing around Alan as he tried to defend his actions.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry for what happened, it was stupid, I know that, but let me explain myself. After Ace and Daisy left, everything went to hell. You¡¯ve probably heard the explosions and seen the fighting from here. There was a full on war going on.


    Eve suggested that in the confusion I try to kill a sniper, steal their items, as I was still missing a ranged weapon, a gun. So, I did so, but somehow, someway, the United World Government was able to determine I killed the sniper. It was an accident, it never should have turned out this way.¡±


    ¡°Are you a f***ing moron?¡± DaLong asked, rage seething in his eyes, as he pushed Alan into a table. ¡°Did you seriously think, oh, this is just a stupid f***ing game, I can just go, kill that player, take their items, and no one will care? Did you consider that you, a nobody who shouldn¡¯t even be here, could jeopardize this entire group with your actions?¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait, look, I wasn¡¯t trying-¡±


    ¡°Of course you weren¡¯t. You weren¡¯t trying to f*** us all over, but you did. You continue to think of this as a game, rather than an actual world, a world where a single action can effect everything else, perhaps even the fate of humanity. Instead, you¡¯re preoccupied with gathering loot and experience and skills, unaware that your every action could change the balance.


    What if you taking out a sniper changed the fate of this battle? Do you even know which side is which? No, of course you don¡¯t, you¡¯re just a little kid out of his depth, being told what to do by the babysitter you invented. I don¡¯t get how someone so f***ing smart that they created a functioning AI can make so many stupid decisions.¡± DaLong continued ranting, spittle spraying onto Alan¡¯s face.


    ¡°Now, look, I don¡¯t know about you, but I have zero experience with any of this shit. I¡¯ve never fought anybody but a couple of kids in grade school, and I¡¯ve definitely never seen or done anything remotely close to what¡¯s happened in the Game so far. Making Eve, that was done using an online tutorial, with lots of time, dumb luck and book smarts. She basically taught herself, playing games that I provided.


    All of everything that¡¯s happened so far? The only experience I¡¯ve ever had with these types of situations is what I¡¯ve read in books or seen in movies. I haven¡¯t had time to consider all the implications of my every action, and, despite what you seem to think, this is clearly a game. That means taking risks when the rewards are worth it.¡± Alan replied as he stared back at DaLong.


    Thiago stepped forward, grabbing DaLong¡¯s arm as he almost struck Alan, pulling him back. ¡°Yes, this is a game. However, it is also the Game, and currently, your actions don¡¯t just effect your own standing, but our entire group¡¯s standing. All of our reputations with the United World Government have been lowered, which is very, very problematic. We also have to deal with this incoming attack.


    You need to understand that there are bigger forces at play, things beyond the scope of your understanding. We are playing for much greater stakes and you need to take that into account. If you cross the line again, and act against our interests, I will end you, and we will ensure that you are hunted, unable to play the Game, by putting a large bounty on your head once we¡¯re done with this tutorial.¡±


    Weren¡¯t threats punishable by death, or something like that?


    Only outside the Game. Threats inside the Game are perfectly permissible. Now, I advise that you try to shift  blame, question their interests, accuse Ace of betraying the group, providing the United World Government with the information necessary to identify you.


    Alan, fueled by rage, readily accepted Eve¡¯s advice, as it also struck a chord of truth in his own mind.


    ¡°Wait, act against your interests? How am I supposed to not act against your interests when I don¡¯t even know what your interests are? There¡¯s clearly something that you¡¯re all are hiding from me. The only reason that the United World Government was even able to identify me is because Ace over there clearly sold them information about our group, which, if I¡¯d been informed of, probably would have influenced my actions.¡±


    ¡°Is his accusation true, Ace?¡± Thiago asked. Ace shrugged. Thiago narrowed his eyes, then looked back at Alan. ¡°Alright, whatever. We¡¯ll discuss this further after the fight, if you manage to survive. Just know that you¡¯re walking on thin ice. Go spend your ability points or whatever, I hope you can use that sniper you got. Maybe Ace can inform us about the enemies we¡¯re about to face.¡±


    Silently fuming, Alan walked over to the Administrator in the corner, ensuring that Eve was able to record the conversation as he spent the ability points he got. He had a total of 91 points to spend, 75 from leveling, 10 from the bonus, 6 from his abilities. The Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic) skill was listed as a skill that gave the ability to use energy ranged weapons, while Energy Efficiency (Basic) reduced the energy cost associated with using energy-based objects. Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic) cost 25 points, while Energy Efficiency (Basic) cost 50 points, as it effected all energy based weapons and armor, which was pretty much everything. As he was about to enter battle, Alan decided to put the rest of the points into agility, perception and endurance.


    Alright, Eve, does this look good?


    Ordinarily, no, however I believe the situation warrants this necessity, so I believe it will have to do.


    What do you mean, ordinarily no?


    The majority of these skills are actually trainable, or acquirable. Given the information required to teach you properly, I could probably teach you the Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic) skill in a few days, the Energy Efficiency (Basic) skill in two weeks. As we do not have this time however, or the tools required, it seems like you must purchase the skills.


    Well, that would have been f***ing useful to know before I wasted all those points. God damn-


    Stop. I detect that you are allowing your rage to impair your judgment, shifting away from logical reasoning. It does not matter whose fault it is, it matters how you are able to manipulate the situation to our advantage. Calm yourself.


    With a heavy sigh, Alan took a deep breath, then accepted the purchase, feeling a bit regretful about the upgrade decisions he¡¯d made so far.


    So, what? In the future we should spent ability points on the abilities like flying, or stats?


    Both of those are also able to be gained with the right materials and training. It seems as though pretty much every purchasable skill and stat is able to be gained through other means. Still, some are harder to be gained than others, although that is typically accompanied by a much higher ability point cost. Thus, I would advise on next saving up and purchasing the Talented ability, then saving for the class upgrade, as that will also cost ability points.


    Um, alright. The earlier point about Eve being his ¡°babysitter¡± sort of hurt, but, well, this was probably the optimal way to play, following Eve¡¯s directions, so Alan decided to continue doing that. DaLong was probably just jealous anyways.


    A few minutes later, Alan was up in the bell tower of a nearby church, with a clear line of sight of both a section of the main road up to the bunker and one side of the hill the bunker was on. In five minutes, the second round was supposed to start. Ace had instructed him to come to this location, which had been scouted out earlier. A couple of traps had been set up in the building that were supposed to protect Alan as he fired upon the soldiers as they approached the base. Still, he was clearly in a sacrificial position, supposed to be more of a distraction than anything else. No one expected he¡¯d survive the round. What they didn¡¯t know however was the capabilities of his new armor. With that, once there were too many soldiers trying to get at him, he¡¯d hopefully be able to run away.


    With Eve¡¯s help, Alan had the sniper rifle set up such that when he was looking through the digital scope it looked like a first person shooting game, with a small crosshair that would turn red when Eve thought a shot would hit if he squeezed the trigger. Additionally, Eve would try to highlight and point out key targets, like medics, specialized soldiers or commanding officers. Alan took a deep breath as he slowed his breathing, trying to keep his hands steady, focusing on the one stretch of the main road that was in his line of sight. This was just another arcade shooting game.


    Then, just as Ace had anticipated, a military jeep appeared on the main road, closely followed by a line of light armored vehicles and two troop carriers. Alan lined up a shot, shooting just ahead of the main leading vehicle when the crosshair turned red. A purple, magenta plasma bolt shot out of the sniper rifle, colliding with the front of the jeep, melting its engine.  It was a direct hit, and the vehicle sputtered to a stop. Quickly, multiple soldiers climbing out of the smoking vehicle were highlighted by Eve, and in rapid succession Alan shot at each of them, scoring four headshots. They dropped a device they were bringing out of the vehicle. Eve highlighted it as well, so Alan shot it.


    Instead of melting through the metallic object like it had melted through the jeep¡¯s armored plating, the plasma instead exploded against a blue sphere that shimmered into existence, surrounding the device. A blue bar popped up, showing 98% of the shield remained. It was a shield generator, like the one Daisy had bought and hopefully repaired.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Why wasn¡¯t it activated to protect the vehicle?


    I don¡¯t know. Focus on the next target.


    Another vehicle was highlighted as the convoy of vehicles streaked past the smoking jeep, a troop carrier. This time, when Alan shot at the vehicle, the plasma was stopped by a shield, which appeared to be at 94% capacity after it stopped the shot. Before long the vehicles would be beyond the portion of the road Alan could see, as they had quickly sped up after Alan had fired his initial shots.


    Fire at the designated location in rapid succession.


    A small portion of the road was highlighted, and Alan repeatedly fired at it. The bolts slammed repeatedly into the same spot on the road, creating a sizeable hole. The troop transport, which was going almost 80 mph tried to swerve to the left, but it¡¯s right tire hit the newly formed hole and the entire truck flipped onto its side with a resounding crash, creating an effective road block. Its shield began rapidly draining, about 0.5% a second. The vehicles past the troop transport, roughly half the convoy, continued on, towards the bunker, while the ones behind started turning around, back towards the city.


    They will likely simply reach the bunker along a different path. Focus on eliminating the soldiers in the transport. Wait until either their shields have depleted or they are outside the boundary of the shield generator.


    Alan shifted his attention back to the crashed troop transport, watching as about 30 soldiers climbed out, clad in cameo colored light power armor, waiting as the shield¡¯s energy slowly drained. A couple soldiers waved assault rifles and laser guns in his direction.


    Huh, I can see why the United World Government was so angry, if this is the power of the sniper.


    Yes, it is quite powerful, however you only have around 20 shots remaining.


    Alan glanced at the energy gauge, and was reminded that each shot took 4.5 energy (instead of 5 energy, because of his energy efficiency skill). Reaper¡¯s Scythe only had an energy pool of 150, but since it would take around three minutes for the shields to fall, and the weapon regenerated 25 energy every minute, it should be back at full by the time he needed it.


    Alan continued to watch the initiate marines, as they removed wounded from the overturned vehicle. Eve highlighted the four medics in the group, and a marine that stood apart from the others, speaking with someone, and labeled them as probably an officer of some sort. Most of the initiates looked to be in their late teens, early twenties, around Alan¡¯s age, although it was hard to see the faces of many as they kept sleek helmets on. A few even seemed to be a state of panic, strangely.


    They are initiates.


    Right, these were new initiates, all the actual marines probably had entered the Game ages ago, these were simply the kids that the United World Government had recruited most recently. They were probably undergoing the Tutorial, like he was, or had recently completed it.


    Alan grinned, feeling a lot more confident than he had previously. This was actually rather fun, at least compared to the other life or death-


    DOWN. NOW.


    Alan dived to the ground, prone next to the adjacent wall as a laser beam struck above him, where his head had been a second earlier. Another beam quickly followed, striking the air above him.


    Activate invisibility, aim , deactivate the invisibility right as you fire rapidly at the enemy sniper. Dive down again afterwards. Eve commanded.


    Alan immediately did so, activating his invisibility first, zooming out with the sniper scope. Eve highlighted a building on top of a hill in the city, and Alan quickly focused in on it. As he zoomed in, Eve highlighted a figure, another sniper, and Alan aimed, deactivated the invisibility field then fired off two shots in rapid succession, diving back to the floor immediately afterwards.


    A message popped up:


    ¡°Warning! Do not fire upon players not involved in the Survival Test: Round 2, or the United World Government will be allowed to send additional reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°What!? But they fired at me first!¡± Alan exclaimed.


    Another message popped up:


    ¡°The United World Government has been warned for allowing players not in the Tutorial to interfere with a test. Should you be killed or harmed by such an unaffiliated player, you will be immediately revived to full health and energy. Your energy has now been restored. Good luck.¡±


    Alan glanced at his health bar, and sure enough his armor and rifle both now had full energy. He quickly turned his attention back to the crashed troop transport, but saw that the marines were still gathered around the crashed vehicle.


    Um, ok, that was strange.


    Yes. We must have triggered some sort of special event through our actions, one which the United World Government had not encountered before, or perhaps a sniper in the city saw us firing upon allied forces and assumed we were fair game. We must remember not to interfere with players undergoing the Tutorial. As we now once more have full armor energy we should activate our invisibility at every chance we get.


    At that moment the marines around the troop transport began to spread out. It looked like they were about to make a break for the tree line, the only nearby cover, just a few hundred feet away from the road.


    Remember, do not fire too rapidly, as you may overheat the gun.


    Alan nodded, aiming at the officer Eve had noted earlier.


    The officer shouted out a command, and the soldiers all dashed for the cover, but it was apparent to Alan that a number were still unused to running in power armor. He¡¯d for some reason adapted to the Revenant Power Armor rather quickly, probably Eve¡¯s doing.


    Alan quickly took out the officer, then the medics, then the lead runners. It was simple, really, aim, wait for when the crosshair was red, fire, and he¡¯d get a kill every time. The plasma sniper rifle didn¡¯t even have any noticeable recoil. By the time the soldiers reached the tree cover, half of them had been eliminated. If these players were this easy to defeat, it was no wonder the Game had made it a 200 vs 9 fight.


    After taking out a few additional stragglers that thought they were safe once they were in the trees but close to the road (plasma easily shot through tress, and Eve effectively tracked enemy movements), Alan shifted his attention to the hill the bunker was on. It looked like the marines had surrounded it, bombarding it with fire from their vehicles. The bunker¡¯s shield had about 50% remaining, but it was lowering steadily. Occasionally the enemy soldiers would fire at the entrance of the bunker. The rest of the group was effectively trapped inside. Alan had certainly not been expecting armored vehicles, and doubted that the others had either.


    Alan began tracking targets, not firing as he didn¡¯t want the soldiers to dive for cover before he knew their location on the side of the hill he could see. Once Eve confirmed she had the locations of the enemy, she calculated a firing pattern that would hopefully allow Alan to get the most shots off, taking out key targets first. Alan practiced switching from highlighted target to highlighted target. These soldiers wouldn¡¯t know what hit them. It was rather sloppy of them to forget about the sniper.


    Alan managed to take out about 15 enemies in the matter of a minute, when Eve said:


    Incoming hostiles. Activate invisibility and escape. Locate another vantage point.


    A few red dots appeared on Alan minimap. Alan initially wanted to try firing at them, killing them before they reached him, but, remembering what had happened the last time he¡¯d ignored Eve¡¯s advice, quickly activated his armor¡¯s invisibility. He climbed out of the bell tower onto the church¡¯s red tiled roof, then leapt down onto the ground, running in the direction of the troop transport he¡¯d taken out. Might as well see what loot dropped, if any, maybe try to take out the stragglers that had made it into the nearby forested area.


    All along the road were bodies of soldiers Alan had killed, and sure enough there were small tooltips that stated the name of the player, and ¡°Killed by Adampwnage¡±. Although, according to Eve, that last part was only visible to him. The only loot most soldiers dropped were a small number of credits, from around 10 to 50.


    A soldier in the leading jeep had dropped a data chip, which Eve was happy about. They¡¯d need a computer of some sort to access the data though. Alan glanced at the number of enemies remaining, 137. At this rate he¡¯d take out almost all of the enemies by himself. Unfortunately, he¡¯d only gained a single level, but that was to be expected of such weak enemies. Although, now that he thought about it, the first round of the survival test would have been almost trivial with the gear he had now.


    The Game grants bonus experience based upon difficulty, rather than just level. Thus you will be awarded more experience for slaying your enemies with a basic knife, compared to a highly advanced sniper rifle.


    Oh¡­ good to know. Should we try to hunt down the marines that fled using the laser knife, not activating it?


    Negative. Proceed down the main road, invisible.


    Um, alright.


    Alan began running along the road, towards the bunker, which was just around a mile away. Just a mile. A day or two ago that would have seemed like a somewhat arduous distance to run, but Alan already felt much stronger.


    Your body and mind are adjusting to the Game, Eve let him know.


    When Alan was a couple hundred feet away from the military force, the length of about two football fields, he halted, then messaged Thiago. It looked like the bunker¡¯s shields were at 10%.


    Alan: Hey Thiago, I¡¯m about 700 feet behind the enemy lines. What¡¯s the plan?


    Thiago: You¡¯re still alive? Well, good job, you did much more damage than we were expecting. Unfortunately, the armored vehicles were something we didn¡¯t anticipate¡­ We¡¯re planning on an all out assault soon.


    Alan: Actually, my plasma sniper rifle is capable of shooting through the armor, destroying the vehicles, but unfortunately, as far as I can see, the vehicles all have additional shields, preventing me from doing so.


    Thiago: Hmm¡­ alright. Focus on taking out the vehicles. The MadMerlin says it will be clear when you can begin firing.


    Alan quickly ran to a nearby vantage point, with a clear line of sight around the bunker. There was even an enemy sniper initiate there, along with a spotter, both of whom Alan silently eliminated with his laser knife. As he glanced about the bunker, Eve highlighted two other sniper pairs she noticed, set up so they also had a clear shot of the bunker entrance. Alan kept invisible, watching as the various vehicles fired upon the bunker¡¯s shields.


    When the shields had fallen to 4%, the bunker doors suddenly burst open, and KingArthur emerged, carrying the shield generator, with the MadMerlin right behind him. His plate armor now glowed brightly with a soft, white light. All of the soldiers opened fire and Eve highlighted two additional snipers she hadn¡¯t noticed earlier. The rest of the group were apparently still in the bunker. KingArthur and the MadMerlin ran forward as Alan begin taking out the enemy snipers. After taking out three of the four snipers, he couldn¡¯t locate the fourth. Eve had lost track of them, or they had activated their own stealth skill. Alan shifted his attention back to the MadMerlin after going invisible and moving to a slightly different vantage point.


    KingArthur had set the shield generator down in the middle of all the road, and the shields were falling even faster, a mere 1.5% left now. The MadMerlin was cackling maniacally, a blue ball of electricity or plasma or some sort of energy forming in his hands. The marines definitely thought something was up, as they began backing away from the strange pair slowly, continuing to fire at the shield generator. The shield decreased steadily, then, the moment that the shields collapsed, having run out of energy, the MadMerlin thrust the ball of energy into the shield generator, yelling, ¡°Let there be light!¡±


    The shield generator exploded spectacularly. KingArthur, the MadMerlin and the closest enemy soldiers were vaporized, while a bright blue pulse emanated out from the blast. Alan watched as the shields surrounding the armored vehicles all vanished as the pulse hit them. Even as far away as he was, the pulse still reached him, and halved the remaining energy of his armor and weapons. Still, that left with him around 15 shots, which he was able to use to successfully to destroy the remaining vehicles. There were 79 enemy soldiers left.


    Kitana and Ace emerged from the bunker, whose top portion had been completely destroyed, and went about slaughtering the remaining soldiers, as their futuristic weapons no longer had any energy. DaLong, Thiago and Aphrodite followed shortly after, carrying automatic guns. Alan noted that Ace seemed to fight unarmed, somehow throwing punches capable of shattering power armor, while Kitana¡¯s sword cut through the armor as easily as Alan¡¯s laser knife did. Of course, the armor no longer had energy left.


    What was that? An EMP?


    Negative, simply an ability of some sort that combined a psionic skill and the energy of the detonating shield generator somehow. An EMP wouldn¡¯t be visible. Unfortunately, it appears the MadMerlin didn¡¯t survive the blast to explain how it worked.


    As his sniper rifle regained energy he continued to fire upon the fleeing soldiers, who were in turn beginning to try to fight back as their weapons also regained energy. Kitana moved fluidly, weaving back and forth, dodging shots, deflecting them with her glowing sword. Ace simply accepted the laser fire, somehow only taking 1-2% of his health as damage for each shot that hit him. DaLong, Thiago and Aphrodite were occasionally hit, losing 30-40% of their HP, but in an instant Daisy would be there, healing them with an application of some device Alan couldn¡¯t quite see. She sporadically healed Ace as well. Within a few minutes, they had eliminated the final soldier.


    ¡°Congratulations for surviving the second round of the Survival Test!


    x25 Bonus for defeating the most enemies, taking out the commanding officer, disabling the most vehicles, never missing a shot and taking no damage, all single handedly!


    +62500 xp +25000 credits¡±


    ¡°x12 Level up!¡±


    Then, the message was quickly followed by another message.


    ¡°The Survival Test: Round 3


    Now that seemed too easy. Maybe something a bit more challenging. A Haxlard war party showed up to help their allies, the United World Government, but the fighting was done by the time they showed up. They¡¯re eager for a fight.¡±


    A moment later:


    ¡°Final Wave: Haxlardian Warriors, Lvl 250-500


    Enemies remaining: 12


    Time until arrival: 1:00:00"


    Alan groaned inwardly. How were they expected to defeat such an enemy?


    Author''s Note:


    I know the censored swearing is a bit strange, but I want to try to keep the story semi-clean. The Tutorial will actually come to a close soon, I promise! (Well, relatively soon...) Things may even begin to be explained :P. Also, planning forward, I can write a future arc so it''s rather short, or rather long. Which would people prefer? Also, how has pacing been so far?

 Revelations

    You aren¡¯t.


    What?


    You aren¡¯t expected to survive each round. An estimated 1% of players survive each round of the survival test. Thus, one in a million players manage to survive the three rounds. Of course, as the number of players ranges in the trillions, this is not considered to be too impressive.


    So, you¡¯re saying that we have a 1% chance to win our fight?


    Yes, I believe the Game coordinates it such that you have a low estimated probability of surviving. Thus, the rapidly increasing difficulty.


    Alright¡­ but, wait, if only 1% are expected to survive, how do you explain it when two different player groups go head to head?


    According to my data, such a battle is a unique event, triggered by player actions, such as the ones we took when we attacked the United World Government sniper, and provided information to the shopkeeper. Also, the numbers actually worked out fairly well, 7 out of 209 players survived the test, approximately 3.5%. Generally, players fight generated NPC¡¯s such as in the first round, or actual players that have gone past the tutorial, which I believe the Haxlards we are about to face are.


    So they¡¯ll be experienced?


    Undoubtedly so. However, they won¡¯t be aware of our group¡¯s abilities.


    Alan finished up gathering the loot of all the soldiers he killed, then proceeded back to the remains of the bunker. The top portion had been destroyed, and the stairs were covered in rubble, yet it was still possible for him to make his way into the underground bunker, where Alan found everyone else.


    Thiago was talking with Ace, and looked up when Alan entered the room.


    ¡°All right everyone, gather around. It¡¯s time to perhaps try to explain a few things.¡± Thiago waited until everyone had surrounded him before continuing. ¡°Now, as many of you know my father is a¡­ wealthy businessman, and with his help, I¡¯ve gathered all of you here in the Game to start a new guild, independent of any world governments, but with the goal to help humanity. It is only with your help, along with your¡­ backers, help, that such a thing would be possible. Together, we could become a force to be reckoned with, to gain power and do good in this Game.¡±


    ¡°So, wait, you¡¯re just going to form a guild? Why¡¯d you bother hiding any of this?¡± Alan asked.


    Thiago grinned, while Aphrodite, who was standing next to him smirked. He was still hiding something.


    ¡°Have I heard of your father before? What¡¯s your last name?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Alvarez,¡± Aphrodite answered, as Thiago shot a look at her.


    Searching¡­ Match found. Thiago is the son of a powerful Mexican drug lord.


    Alan¡¯s eyes bulged, as he glanced around at everyone else.


    ¡°Um, guys, his father is apparently a drug lord.¡±


    ¡°Of course he is, otherwise this would all be a waste of time,¡± DaLong answered. Alan and Daisy stared at him blankly, while the others simply seemed to agree. ¡°Do I need to spell it out for you? I¡¯ve worked for various triads, Kitana¡¯s father is a Yakuza head, Aphrodite is somehow tied to the Italian mob, KingArthur and MadMerlin have connections with various crime firms in the UK along with the rest of Europe, and Ace was part of the Russian mafia.¡±


    Daisy let out small yelp as she stepped away from Ace, who had been standing right next to her. Alan glanced at Kitana questioningly, and she just shrugged like it was no big deal. It probably wasn¡¯t for her.


    Ace calmly said, ¡°Look, I worked for the Russian mafia, but that was on behalf of an US agency. As you know, Daisy, I¡¯m here to protect you, on behalf of your mother. She knows of my history and current responsibilities. You can ask her yourself when the Tutorial is over, although I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll probably have a lot more you want to discuss.¡±


    ¡°Yes, there is a lot more that should be said, as that was a rather blunt response from DaLong,¡± Thiago said. ¡°Daisy and Alan, you should know that at this point pretty much all organized crime has been severely diminished as a result of the Enforcers, who do not take kindly to any illegal actions. All of the more dangerous elements of most organizations have been captured or killed, and there have been various attempts at restructuring and re-purposing that have generally... fallen flat. Also, unlike whatever preconceived notion you may have of criminals, I assure you we are not the greedy, malicious scum the media makes us out to be.


    Organized crime is simply a necessary evil, to temper and manage the needs of men.  The group my father created is a brotherhood, with a goal of helping the poor, keeping the streets clean, allowing people to live in peace. For a price, of course. It should speak volumes that when I approached a United World Government agency with my intentions for creating this guild, they told me to include Daisy here in our opening discussions.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Daisy exclaimed.


    ¡°Well, they couldn¡¯t send anyone official, of course, and we are trying to be rather incognito about this all. You see, most of the illegal activities in the real world have been stopped. Almost all of the real money-makers, anyway. It was not until I learned more about the Game that I realized these operations could instead be moved into this virtual world. Nothing sinister like kidnapping or human trafficking, I assure you.


    For instance, it may surprise you, depending on how sheltered you are, that some people will do anything to get a fix, a certain type drug they crave. Apparently, there are quite a variety of drugs available within the game. Currently however, the majority of dealers are alien, making money selling their wares to humans on earth, bringing back the money to their home planet or guild. If people are going to buy these substances anyways, shouldn¡¯t the proceeds be going towards humanity?¡± Thiago rationalized. When neither Alan or Daisy responded, he continued.


    ¡°Of course, the United World Government can¡¯t deal in such illicit substances. But we could. We could also take illegal actions against other alien governments, such as the theft of key resources or bribery. Then, if we were apprehended or detected, it would be tied back to us, rather than the United World Government.


    What I¡¯m proposing, now, is the formation of a new guild which combines the remaining power and members of all the various criminal groups to operate in such grey areas, with the main goal being helping humanity. Of course, along the way, we may make a fair amount of money, but as such money will be put towards items and making ourselves stronger, it should benefit the earth all the same. For various reasons, which I won¡¯t go into now, as they don¡¯t concern some of us,¡± he glanced at Alan, ¡°I believe that we have the best chance if we join together under one guild.¡±


    ¡°And who would be the leader of such a guild, you?¡± DaLong asked questioningly.


    ¡°Perhaps. I was thinking more of a council, with separate branches of the guild for various organizations, but as I said we should go into  the details of the organization later, after the Tutorial,¡± Thiago answered. ¡°I¡¯m simply asking you to spread the word, the offer, of what we may achieve within the Game.¡±


    ¡°So, wait, why am I here again?¡± Daisy wondered.


    ¡°Later, I¡¯ll outline my plan for the guild, what we may or may not do. I¡¯m sure, once you are done with the Tutorial, that you would naturally talk with your mother. Tell her my plan, then bring up any concerns, questions or advice she may have. Like I said, we¡¯ll discuss details later. I plan on working with the United World Government, rather than against it. At least, on some level. We must use every resources available to us. We must realize that the good of humanity as a whole is paramount. We must create a common front against the organizations that may wish humanity harm.


    Any questions, Alan?¡± Thiago smiled.


    ¡°Why tell us this right now?¡±


    ¡°Well, hiding all this was getting to be a bit bothersome. Also, after hearing about your more recent exploits, killing a government soldier and stealing their weapon, I figured you¡¯d probably be more open to such a venture than I originally expected. Anything else?¡±


    Um, right now I¡¯m still trying to process this, and the other questions I want to ask would probably go unanswered, do you have anything I should ask?


    Negative. If you think about it, this is a logical evolution. However, Thiago may be interested in the black market we found, as it is clear other forces have already set up shop. Additionally, for such a venture it is imperative they have an information guild supporting them.


    ¡°Um, not really. Are you aware of the underground markets already on earth? There was one shop at the trading hub. Um, Eve also says that if you want to succeed you need to have an information guild supporting you.¡± Alan brought out the black metal coin the shopkeeper had given him.


    Thiago narrowed his eyes, examining the coin. He handed it back to Alan. ¡°Yes, I am aware of the Revenant shadow network. I¡¯d appreciate it if you could tell me the precise shop, however. I assume that¡¯s where you got your armor. Additionally, getting the support of such a guild is one of the reasons we are travelling to Khersath. I am hoping to find allies and backers there, as nearly every guild and government has at least some sort of presence on the planet.¡±


    So, the shop had ties to the Revenants. I suppose that explains how they came to posses the Revenant Power Armor.


    Yes.


    When Alan didn¡¯t say anything more, Thiago said, ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s all of it. I hope you understand that since you are an unknown, a civilian without connections, you¡¯ll have to be left out of the ensuing discussions. That is, unless you¡¯re perhaps interested in joining?¡±


    Are we interested?


    Negative, there are much stronger, more stable guilds which we should try to join. Perhaps you should say we are interested however, to gain information we may be able to sell later. If you are afraid that such a lie may be detected however, simply decline the offer.


    ¡°Um, not really, thanks for the offer though. I¡¯m still not entirely sure I¡¯m okay with this development. Things are generally illegal for a reason, and I¡¯m not sure what the consequences for such actions in the Game might be.¡±


    It varies. If you break a law that the Administrators created, you may suffer a suspension or ban from the Game, a loss of credits/levels/items, or a permanent debuff until you finish a penance quest. If you break a law a government or guild has set in their territory, you will be most likely fined, or, depending on the severity of the crime, you may be forced into an indentured-servant type of role for a period of time.


    Oh. That¡¯s¡­ a lot less severe than I thought it would be.


    Yes, it is almost as if the creators of the Game acknowledged and anticipated that crime would become rife in the Game, just like it was once in the real world.


    ¡°Alright, well, if you change your mind, let me know. We should plan for the incoming Haxlards now, anyways, and spend the credits and points we gained from the last round.¡±


    The group dispersed. Alan browsed all the items, as he now had a little over 26,000 credits, a whopping $260,o00. Unfortunately, he recalled the prices from the Trading Hub, and realized what a rip off every item in the bunker was. There weren¡¯t even any items that were direct upgrades to the gear he now had, just side-upgrades, such as weapons more effective against machines, or armor that could take a much larger beating, but lacked an invisibility function. Even running as fast as he could, he probably couldn¡¯t make it all the way downtown and back. He also wasn¡¯t sure how the army might respond.


    Ace walked over to him as he browsed the items. ¡°Just so you know, I am sorry about leaving you earlier, and realize that my actions may have led to your detection. I do have connections to the United World Government, and if you paid reparations for the stolen rifle, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d reset your reputation. They do support the growth of new players.¡±


    ¡°Um, you do realize that Thiago just told me you guys are a bunch of criminals or previous criminals, right? How do I know you¡¯re not ripping me off?¡± Alan said.


    Accept his offer.


    ¡°But, um, as a gesture of good will and trust, I guess I¡¯ll accept your offer. How much do you think they¡¯d want?¡±


    Ace messaged someone, then replied, ¡°Including a tax for the¡­ method of acquirement, they say 10,000 credits should do it.¡±


    ¡°Um, alright.¡± Ace sent another message.


    That seems like too little¡­


    They are probably also giving you the Tutorial ¡°discount.¡±


    Shortly after, a message appeared before Alan:


    ¡°Transfer 10,000 credits to the United World Government?¡±


    Alan accepted the transaction.


    ¡°Reputation with United World Government reset to neutral.¡±


    Huh, so you can make transactions from wherever?


    You may transfer credits when you are in the vicinity of an Administrator. However, as you are undergoing the Tutorial who exactly you may trade with is limited.


    After thanking Ace for the help in getting his reputation sorted out, Alan proceeded to the Administrator, to spend the 91 ability points he¡¯d gained. He browsed through the list, and a few more abilities were now available as a result of the abilities he¡¯d gained, but none stood out. Alan wished he¡¯d saved an additional 12 points so he¡¯d be able to purchase the Talented ability, but he¡¯d gone into the battle expecting not to survive, and had placed all of the remaining points into stats.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    So, what do you think, should I just upgrade my stats?


    I am conflicted. I believe you should save your points so you may purchase the talented ability, however at the same time you are not very likely to survive the next battle.


    Hmm¡­ Alan checked his experience logs. Well based upon the experience I got from previous rounds, and for the completion of a test, I should gain 10 levels at least once this round is done, if I survive or not. Thus, how about I spend 43 of the points on stats?


    That is acceptable.


    Alan proceeded to further increase his agility by 13 points, and, at Eve¡¯s request, increased his intelligence, willpower and strength by 10 points as well. She apparently wanted to test its effect on his actual ability in-game, to better optimize future attribute point allocations.


    As the bunker was now in rubble, and added little to no fortification, it seemed like they would need to meet the Haxlards in open battle. There wasn¡¯t even another shield generator for sale. Thiago wanted to try hit and run tactics, if possible. To prepare for the battle, Alan decided to rest, and try to review everything he¡¯d learned, the fights he¡¯d had so far. With Eve¡¯s help, he was able to review each encounter from his own perspective. Eve pointed out things he could have or should have done differently. The amount of time the actual fights took up though was surprisingly little, so he also decided to try to think about what still didn¡¯t make sense, or seemed to good to be true.


    Was it a coincidence that Alan had ended up joining this group? The only reason that had happened was because Alan had met Kitana, who was in the same building he was¡­ Wait, he never had asked Kitana how she knew Icewolf. He walked outside to find Kitana, who was sharpening her sword. It looked like she had purchased various upgrades to increase its capabilities. There were some optics and other upgrades he could have purchased for Reaper¡¯s Scythe, but since it was going to drop once he died, it seemed like a waste.


    Kitana looked up at Alan.


    ¡°So, um, your father is a Yakuza head?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Although, I have not thought about the family business much. I¡¯ve mainly concerned myself with my swordsmanship.¡±


    ¡°Uh, right, your ability with that sword is definitely quite impressive,¡± Alan said, hoping Kitana hadn¡¯t actually killed anyone in real life, but too scared to ask if she had. ¡°By the way, how do you know Icewolf?¡±


    ¡°Icewolf? Oh, right, your sponsor. I only just met him at the Omnitech facility the day we started the Tutorial. My sponsor was in one of the other capsules, unable to logout at the time, or at least that¡¯s what Icewolf told me. My sponsor is one of my previous sword instructors, who readily agreed to sponsor me to play the Game.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Alan felt a bit disappointed, maybe there wasn¡¯t some conspiracy. ¡°Well, want to pair up for this battle? I¡¯d feel better if I had someone covering my back at melee range, and I can handle anything that¡¯s farther away.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    Alan went back into the bunker, lying down on a cot.


    Hey, Eve, why doesn''t everyone have an AI? Like why doesn''t the government hand out personalized AI''s for all its trainees or something like that?


    Within the game, having a personalized AI you are able to interface with severely limits your ability to develop psionic talents, unfortunately. Additionally based upon my analysis of  current data, I am operating at a much more advanced, proficient level than most other AI. I am... unsure of why that is the case.


    Okay, so the ability of Eve seemed to surpass anything anyone else had, but what was that the result of? The specialized gaming capsule? Icewolf had said there was a captain that had wanted to sell the capsule on this particular planet, but why? Who benefited from having a capsule capable of increasing the abilities of an AI on earth? Wait¡­ Alan checked his status window.


    Eve, according to the data you acquired, why are the Administrators considered a faction? As the Administrators of the Game, shouldn¡¯t they be completely neutral?


    Negative, the Administrators act similarly to a typical NPC faction in an RPG game, with a capital city and even guild associated with them. However, they are the only known AI controlled faction. Their main objectives seem to be to simply administrate the Game, enforce order and apprehend criminals. The vast majority of space is actually considered to be unlawful, chaotic territory, while the major cities and planets are civilized, primarily based upon their Administrator presence. The information I downloaded includes fairly little about them though, perhaps we should speak with the Administrator here?


    Um, alright.


    Alan walked over to the Administrator in the bunker. At first glance, it looked like the sort of android you¡¯d expect in sci-fi. The Administrator had a humanoid design built with translucent, silver metal plates covering its circuitry, like a living suit of armor with wiring inside. Now that he thought about it though, Alan had yet to see the Administrator move a single part of its body other than its head even though it was clearly designed to be capable of movement.


    Alan opened his mouth to begin talking with it, then glancing at the people around him, wondered, You can hear me, right? Did you hear my earlier thoughts?


    Correct. I can hear you quite clearly, traveler. However, I can only listen to thoughts you deliberately project at me, thus I do not know any of your earlier thoughts.


    A rigid, mechanical voice responded in his head. Whereas Eve and the Administrator back at his Home base sounded female and almost humanoid, this Administrator sounded much more robotic, transferring the reply without inflection.


    Well, can you tell me what the Administrator¡¯s main objectives are? What is your purpose, exactly?


    The Administrators main objective is to preserve balance in the game and enforce the rules of the Game. My purpose here is to help facilitate the Tutorial, answering any questions that may arise.


    And who created the Game, exactly?


    The Predecessors and Lords of Life. You are not qualified for additional information.


    How do I become qualified?


    That information is classified.


    Um, alright. Why do you need a capital city and guild? Can¡¯t you just enforce the rules by banning people or using various mod powers you have?


    The Administrator shook its head.


    All beings within the Game must follow the rules set forth, including Administrators. We may only take administrative action once various criteria have been met, and move about using in-game transportation systems. Before in-game criminals are punished they must be caught and brought to an Administrative Center, commonly found in any major city. Of course, if the actions of an agent result in real life harm or permanent damage is done to the Game, that agent is immediately ejected from the Game and additional powers may be granted to us.


    Ok¡­ So you can move about or be killed?


    I may move about. I will remain here until the Survival Test is completed. If you wish, you may attempt to damage me, however none of your attacks will have an effect.


    Alan noted that the Administrator sidestepped the question about whether or not it could actually be destroyed, but decided not to push the issue.


    Interesting. I¡¯ve also noticed you sound different to me than the Administrator who was at my Home, is it because you¡¯re different entities or ranks?


    Checking database¡­ requirements met. Yes, the Administrators have various ranks, for instance I am an Assistant while Home Administrators are typically Junior Executives. Each rank has a base program, but Administrators are capable of evolution. The base program is simply a modified version of the program you used to create your own AI, Eve.


    Huh, are you talking with Eve right now, too?  Alan was wondering a bit about why Eve was being so quiet.


    Negative. Personal AI¡¯s are not allowed to directly interface with Administrators.


    Oh, any chance you can tell me why?


    That information is classified.


    Of course. Although, wait, is there any chance that you could perhaps just transfer this data about Administrators to Eve?


    Querying¡­ please wait.


    A couple seconds passed, until a message popped up:


    ¡°Purchase data from the Administrators for 10,000 credits?¡±


    Eve, I should purchase this information, right?


    Eve remained silent.


    Alan agreed to the purchase, and a bar appeared displaying the amount of data transferred, at about a rate of 1% every other second. There were ten minutes until the third tutorial round started.


    That is all the current Administrator data you have access to. Good luck, traveler.


    A connection broke off in Alan¡¯s mind as he sensed another sort of reappear, a more familiar presence, Eve.


    Where did you go?


    The Game prevented me from interacting in a particular manner. Analyzing data now¡­ I believe you should ask the Assistant about this classified information.


    Won¡¯t that just get the Assistant pissed off at me?


    The Assistant does not have feelings.


    Um ok.


    Alan refocused on the Administrator, trying to pay attention to the connections forming in his mind. This time he physically felt Eve¡¯s connection break immediately before he was connected to the Administrator.


    Yes, traveler? I do not believe I can answer any additional questions that your AI can¡¯t answer for you now.


    The mechanical voice sounded almost¡­ exasperated, despite Eve¡¯s assurance that the Assistant Administrator had no feelings. Maybe it was just Alan projecting human characteristics onto it.


    Um yeah, you might not be able to tell me, but perhaps you could tell me who can? Are there any players with the information you considered classified in the nearby vicinity?


    Searching¡­ Yes, there are.


    Could you tell me who and where they are? Or is that information hidden?


    The player has opted to be seen in public searches. Please wait¡­ Player notified of search¡­ Considering options¡­


    Wait! Notified of search!? Stop. I don¡¯t want-


    It seems like they¡¯re willing to come to you.


    A new message popped up before Alan and apparently everyone else as well, based upon their expressions:


    ¡°The Survival Test: Bonus Round


    You¡¯ve managed to acquire the attention of a powerful being! Time will tell if that was a good idea or not. If you manage to survive both the Survival Test: Round 3 and defeat the Predecessor in battle, they are willing to share information with you, and more.


    Requirement:


    Adampwnage must survive the Survival Test: Round 3


    Rewards:


    ???¡±


    ¡°Bonus Wave: Predecessor, Lvl ???


    Enemy remaining: 1


    Estimated time until arrival: 0:24:36¡å


    ¡°Um wait, I can explain,¡± Alan said as everyone turned to look at him. DaLong motioned him to continue when he didn¡¯t say anything more. Honestly, Alan had been expecting some sort of outburst and hadn¡¯t really thought about any explanation. ¡°Uh well I asked the Administrator to look for a player with answers about the Game, and apparently such a search notifies that player and so that resulted in this quest. That¡¯s really it, actually.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well, additional rewards and challenges are a good thing, although I doubt we¡¯ll be able to handle a Predecessor even if we manage to defeat the Haxlards. It looks like the Haxlards will be arriving by ship, thus they¡¯ll need to dock or unload somewhere. All of us will meet the landing party on shore, while you snipe at them from afar, with Kitana as support if they manage to get past us.¡±


    ¡°Alright, sure,¡± Alan said, and they headed out.


    Author''s Note:


    Sorry for the relatively short chapter without any action, the next battle scene just really hasn''t been turning out how I want it to xD. The next chapter should conclude the Tutorial arc and be extra long!

 New Beginnings

    As they emerged from the bunker an unnaturally thick mist greeted them. It had appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of the afternoon, shrouding everything beyond a couple of feet. It was eerie, as the sounds of battle in the distance were now gone, it suddenly seemed as though all of civilization had vanished, leaving them alone surrounded by a grey wall that disintegrated into nothingness.


    Kitana and Alan split off from the main group, making their way slowly to the center of the Golden Gate Bridge. Eve had determined this was the most defensible position, as their enemies would need to enter one of the entrances before they fired upon them, and it gave a view of nearly the entire coastline. Although it would be difficult, Eve told Alan that she could assist him in making a shot by triangulating an enemies¡¯ likely location using the noise of the battle. As a result, Alan kept an open communication channel with Thiago so he could hear everything Thiago could. Unfortunately, Eve had been permanently banned from directly accessing another player¡¯s vision, and there weren¡¯t any portable cameras for sale.


    As they walked next to the main road towards the bridge, Alan kept expecting a car to appear on the  road, yet none ever did. In fact, there weren¡¯t any signs of another living being. More and more, Alan had the peculiar feeling that he was leaving the last vestiges of human society behind him¡­ this might be one of the last moments he had on earth for a while. The earth in the Game, at least.


    The silence continued.


    ***


    As they approached the edge of the bridge the signs of a battle emerged, pointed out by Eve. The scorched marks seemed old though, the result of something far before whatever battle had occurred that day. Kitana and Alan proceeded onto the Golden Gate Bridge. A quarter of the way along the bridge, Alan found why there weren¡¯t any vehicles on it. A section of the bridge had been obliterated, simply erased from existence, dividing the bridge clearly in two, preventing any crossing by land vehicles. Alan fired a test shot to determine how large the gap was, and based upon the time until the shot struck something, Eve calculated it to be at least 300 meters long. This made things slightly easier though, as Kitana could simply guard the entrance to the bridge while Alan set up a few hundred meters away.


    A minute later, the timer for the third round disappeared, yet Thiago confirmed that they hadn¡¯t engaged the enemy. In fact, they had no idea where they might have even landed their ship along the coast. Squinting his eyes, Alan tried to make out something n the distance, yet all he could see was the grey wall of fog¡­


    A few more minutes passed as Thiago split the group up to scout along the edges of the coast, trying to find the Haxlards before the Predecessor arrived. Although he couldn¡¯t see them, Eve displayed blue silhouettes showing their location. Suddenly, Alan heard a yell, along with a sickening thud. Weapon fire suddenly sounded off in the distance.


    Laser fire and muzzle flashes emerged, penetrating the fog.  Multiple red silhouettes appeared in the distance, standing on the edge of the coast, barely within Alan¡¯s line of fire as Ace leapt into the group of Haxlards.


    Alan focused on the nearest enemy, firing into the mist. The shot hit, but simply depleted 10% of the Haxlard¡¯s shields. His next shot was a headshot as Eve got a better estimate of where the Haxlard was, eliminating another 80% of the shields. The enemy dived to the side, and Alan¡¯s next shot was met by a barrier of some sort he couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°They¡¯re wearing black power armor of some sort,¡± Thiago yelled above the burst fire of his assault rifle, ¡°There¡¯s a miniature shield they set up to defend against our fire. Damn, DaLong just took a shot to the head.¡±


    Alan heard a tremendous roar emerge, followed by multiple heavy footsteps.


    ¡°Holy shit. DaLong has gone into a mad rage of some sort, this must be an ability. He¡¯s emitting a red aura, charging at the Haxlards firing into their shield dual wielding two sub-machine guns. He¡¯s broken through their shield now, but they¡¯re taking him apart.¡±


    It sounds like the Last Stand ability, a common ability of Berserkers. Resume firing.


    Alan did so, firing at the Haxlard who¡¯s shields he¡¯d damaged earlier. This time, the headshot eliminated the Haxlard, whose health apparently minuscule when compared to his shield energy. Alan earned half a level of XP. Ace had also successfully taken down another Haxlard, but had retreated back to Daisy as he¡¯d sustained a great deal of damage from the full frontal assault. He was some sort of monster though, to have jumped into the fray, no doubt taking multiple directs shots. Alan wondered what sort of enhancements he¡¯d had done as he continued firing at the Haxlards.


    Seeming to figure where Alan was firing from, the Haxlards pushed forwards inland, out of his line of sight. With a last scream of incoherent cursing, DaLong disappeared from his minimap, having fallen in battle. Alan managed to get a few more shots off, eliminating the majority of four additional Haxlard¡¯s shields, killing another, gaining a level. Thiago and the rest of the party rapidly backed away from the oncoming Haxlards, unable to match their superior weaponry. All Alan could do was watch his minimap, listening to the shouts of Thiago as he lead the rest of the party.


    Soon, two more Haxlards were eliminated by a grenade trap set up by Thiago. Aphrodite died shortly after. According to Thiago, she couldn¡¯t keep up with the rest of the group, but thought she had a psionic skill that might save her. It clearly hadn¡¯t. Daisy soon ran out of energy next, but Ace wasn¡¯t willing to leave her behind, convincing Thiago to join him in a final stand. Sounds of gunfire and fighting soon emerged once more, then rapidly cut off as Thiago was eliminated. Worriedly Alan stared at his minimap, thinking he¡¯d see Ace and Daisy also disappear at any second. Alan didn¡¯t want to risk distracting them by opening up a communication channel.


    Then, against all his expectations the number of remaining Haxlards slowly dwindled, until finally there were only two left.


    Ace is initiating a basic unsecured voice only communication procedure, accept?


    Um, yeah. What¡¯s with the more elaborate notification?


    Just additional details from data I¡¯ve acquired outlining the details of various methods of in-game communication. Those with various tools may actually listen in on basic ¡°calling¡± in-game, while more secure lines cost credits.


    Wait, shouldn¡¯t you have mentioned something about this before we opened up the insecure line between me and Thiago?


    You didn¡¯t ask. I don¡¯t believe it would have made any difference upon the outcome of the battle, as we were simply listening as Thiago outlined his position. Accepting communication now.


    ¡°Hey, Alan, I¡¯ve managed to eliminate the rest of the Haxlards, with Daisy¡¯s healing. She apparently bought some sort of nanobot tech and skill or something, and managed to heal me to full in seconds as well as buff my stats. It¡¯s apparently temporary though, and will leave me in a severely weakened state in an hour so, so we should try to find the remaining enemies soon. This was everyone in the group we encountered though, I have no idea where the last two Haxlards might be, so be careful. It looks like the Predecessor will arrive in a few minutes too.¡±


    ¡°Um, alright, good job. Do you think we should head out, searching for them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ they could be anywhere, with this mist and all. Why don¡¯t you stay in position, we¡¯ll make our way to you once we¡¯ve rested a bit?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Ace ended the conversation while Alan let Kitana know what had happened. Kitana told him to remain vigilant. There was something that was making her uneasy. A few seconds later, a sudden flash of light emerged in the distance as Kitana¡¯s blade met another. Alan swung his sniper rifle to try to aim at Kitana¡¯s attacker.


    STOP.


    Out of nowhere a glowing, fiery light blue sword emerged, right at the tip of Alan¡¯s jugular. Alan halted in his tracks, watching as a Haxlard shimmered into existence. The Haxlard had a monochrome light silver faceplate, covering his face like all the other Haxlards Alan had seen. He was wearing armor similar to Alan¡¯s, although while Alan¡¯s was black, the Haxlards was a light grey, blending in seamlessly with the fog. The blade in his hand was a long blade, jagged on one edge, straight, razor-sharp on the other. It was covered in a soft blue fiery glow similar to the red glow that covered Alan¡¯s laser knife when it was activated.


    ¡°Tell your comrade to stop fighting. We do not wish to fight you. If we wished to, we could have eliminated you long before now.¡±


    Do it. Eve commanded.


    Alan quickly sent a message to Kitana, telling her to stop fighting. A few seconds passed, then the sound of clashing blades stopped.


    The Haxlard nodded, then removed his blade from Alan¡¯s throat, deactivating it. It was made of a silvery material.


    ¡°We have detected an Predecessor incoming to the location of a Tutorial base. We assume this is the base you began in, correct?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± Alan answered hesitatingly.


    ¡°Do you know what the Predecessor¡¯s purpose in coming here is?¡±


    ¡°Um, why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°My brother and I wish to test our might against this warrior.¡±


    Alan was pretty sure that the Haxlard was grinning widely as it made this statement.


    ¡°Oh, okay. It¡¯s a bonus round for the survival test, I managed to catch it¡¯s attention while I was running a search for nearby players somehow. I¡¯m supposed to try to defeat it in battle, that¡¯s all I know.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, very well, let us face this warrior together. Is this acceptable?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure!¡± Alan said excitedly. Having two assassins would definitely help.


    ¡°Agreed, then. Let us wait for the Predecessors arrival.¡±


    The Haxlard sat down on the ground, crossing his legs, staring up at the sky. Alan glanced at the countdown, there was a minute remaining until the Predecessor arrived. He wondered what the Haxlard was doing, maybe some sort of pre-battle meditation? Maybe he should try to take advantage of the situation-


    ¡°It comes,¡± the Haxlard solemnly intoned.


    Look up. Alan looked up, simply seeing the grey sky above.


    Eve highlighted a tiny, glowing white light in the sky. It slowly grew larger as Alan stared at it.


    Wait, is that-


    Yes, it is the Predecessor. Be quiet, let me calculate its trajectory and anticipated landing speed.


    Alan stared at the light in the sky, was this some sort of spaceship? Where was the Predecessor coming from? Soon, though, the light grew larger, looking like a falling meteor. The light was so bright it was almost unbearably painful to look at, yet Alan continued to stare up at it at Eve¡¯s command.


    Wait, is that the-


    YES. JUMP OFF THE BRIDGE NOW. FEET FIRST.


    Without hesitation, Alan followed Eve¡¯s command, leaping feet first off the edge of the bridge into the water below.


    SECURE YOUR SNIPER THEN PENCIL DIVE. A series of actions formed in Alan¡¯s mind, which he quickly replicated. Alan quickly attached his plasma sniper rifle to his armor. Then, he pinned his arms to the side, legs together, pointing downwards. It was an exhilarating rush as Alan rapidly approached the surface of the ocean. This was going to hurt. Alan glanced above briefly, and saw that the Predecessor was a few seconds away from colliding with the earth, showing no signs of slowing down.


    Alan crashed into the surface of water as his breath was knocked out of him. The remaining energy of his power armor vanished, as various lower portions of the armor shattered, cutting into Alan¡¯s skin. A few of his bones shattered as well, his health halved in an instant. It was mind numbingly cold as well, yet before Alan could even get over the initial shock, there was a resounding crash as suddenly a immense force pushed Alan back, away from the city. It felt like being blown away by a tornado, multiplying the pain Alan felt in his legs immeasurably. A few seconds later, when the force pushing him backwards through the water subsided, a message popped up, which Alan was barely able to read as he struggled upwards, desperate for air.


    ¡°You are now the last surviving member of your party. Good luck!¡±


    ¡°+25 Ability Points¡±


    The ice cold water seemed to be good for something, as it helped to numb the pain, yet soon all that begin to fill Alan¡¯s mind was the desperate need for air. Portions of his vision were beginning to swim in and out of focus. Eve was yelling something at him, yet he was finding it difficult to focus on her words. It was a struggle to force his arms to move upwards, every motion pure agony.


    Yet he pushed onwards.


    And then, almost miraculously, Alan surfaced. He took a deep breath, coughing up water. Somehow, he managed to stay afloat, the power armor set to some special mode by Eve. It hurt too much to think about it. Alan had somehow been blown all the way to beneath the far side of the bridge. He slowly made his way to a rocky outcrop beneath a cliff. Using his upper body, Alan forced himself onto the rocks, collapsing in a heap of pain, shutting his eyes, trying to ignore it all. His backpack had been lost in the water, but his knife was still in a side compartment, and Alan had a few pain reliever pills from the med-kit stashed in another pocket. He swallowed a handful. A minute passed, and Eves words finally made it to him.


    OPEN YOUR EYES. LOOK TOWARDS THE CITY.


    Wearily, Alan forced himself to sit up and did so, widening his eyes in surprise at the sight he saw. The fog had been blown away completely, revealing complete devastation in its wake. A crater had formed, nearly a mile in diameter, centered at where the bunker had once been. All of the surrounding buildings in the immediate vicinity had been flattened by the impact, the force that pushed Alan backwards a miniature tsunami that had crashed into the cliffs behind him. Fortunately though it look like the Golden Gate Bridge and most of the city was unaffected, all the earthquake standards in California paying off.


    The object had hit close enough to the coastline that the landing had created a deep hole in the cliff line, allowing Alan to look directly into the middle of the smoking pit. Staring as the smoke slowly drifted away, Alan was surprised to find, at the center of the crater a humanoid figure, on one knee. The Predecessor.


    An over 10 foot tall behemoth, the Predecessor wore no armor except for a belt and a pair of shorts made out of some sort of dark leather. Despite supposedly being a member of an elder race, it looked remarkably savage and uncivilized, wielding no advanced technology as far as Alan could see. The Predecessor appeared to be a hairless humanoid with dark skin, bulging muscles with bits of black pieces of metal embedded into its skin.


    After staring at the Predecessor for a few moments, Eve said:


    STOP STARING, SHOOT AT IT.


    Grimacing in pain, Alan reached over his shoulder, relieved to find the sniper he¡¯d holstered to his back was still there. Maybe he should have detached it as it was weighing him down, but in all the chaos he¡¯d barely even remembered it was there..  Alan aimed at the Predecessor, finding it difficult to aim as his hands shivered from the cold and his entire body convulsed due to pain. He fired his first shot, but it missed completely, hitting a cliff rather than anywhere near the terrifying being.


    Re-calibrating. Please wait... Fire again now.


    Alan followed through, and this time the shot managed to hit the Predecessor''s unprotected forearm. The HP bar showed up, it still had 94% of its health remaining. Alan fired again, this time scoring a headshot, yet it only did a fraction of a fraction of a percent of damage, the Predecessor''s health bar remained at 94%. How was he supposed to defeat this thing? The Predecessor looked up in Alan¡¯s direction shortly after the second hit. Then, with a burst of strength, it leapt out of crater, disappearing into the mainland almost faster than Alan could follow.


    Shortly after, the Predecessor reappeared in a blur of movement near the entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge. Alan strained to focus on it as he felt Eve do the same. His perception shifted, as he felt his own thoughts somehow merge with Eve¡¯s frantic calculations. Time seemingly slowing down as he attempted to fire at the Predecessor, the movement of his finger squeezing the trigger feeling like seconds rather than the millisecond it actually was. From Alan¡¯s perspective, Predecessor seemed to move almost normally, running at a human pace as everything about him slowed down.


    Agonizingly slowly, Alan turned his sniper rifle to where Eve anticipated the Predecessor to be, firing off the shot. This time, Alan was able to see the bolt of plasma erupt from the end of his rifle, travelling at the speed of an arrow as it streaked straight forwards and hit the Predecessor in the head. Once more, the blast failed to make any visible dent in the being¡¯s HP pool.


    At the moment before the gap in the bridge, the Haxlard shimmered into existence, having somehow withstood the impact of the Predecessor¡¯s landing. The grey warrior held it¡¯s blade with two hands, rushing forward to stab the Predecessor. Yet the Haxlard was moving so slowly. The Predecessor simply sidestepped the oncoming blade, taking a black knife out of its belt. It glanced at the Haxlard as he dived past in slow motion, then decapitated him in one fell strike. A message popped up notifying Alan of the completion of the third round. He ignored it, concentrating on the Predecessor.


    It proceeded along the bridge, preparing to leap over the hundred meter gap. Somehow, Eve managed to once more anticipate where the Predecessor would be, and Alan¡¯s next shot hit the godlike being¡¯s center of mass mid leap. The Predecessor didn¡¯t care. Alan let the rifle slowly drop out of his hands, struggling to think of some plan, anything that might help him. But he knew it was all futile. He began to try to draw out his knife, his body simply unable to move at the speed he saw, he thought. The speed at which he wanted it to move. The impossible speed at which the Predecessor did move. A few more long, drawn out seconds that felt like minutes to Alan, and the Predecessor had finished crossing the bridge. It leapt down onto the cliffs, then landed on the rocks before Alan. It stared at Alan as he tried to move in slow motion to defend himself.


    ¡°Enough.¡± It said in a commanding, gruff voice. Suddenly Alan¡¯s focus snapped, his perception reverting to its normal pace, the Predecessor¡¯s face masked by some sort of blur. Eve¡¯s presence in his mind diminished, returning back to normal, whatever weird state they had been in gone.


    The Predecessor stared at Alan for another second, then it sighed, a visible energy leaking out of him. It seemed disappointed.


    ¡°I had come here hopeful of new allies, yet your race are still but babes, playing around in the mud. You are a simple child at best, unaware of so much in this universe, this Game,¡± it bemoaned, emphasizing the word Game in such a way as if it despised nothing more. ¡°Were I to share but a fraction of the answers you have about the creation of the Game, I doubt you¡¯d comprehend them, and doubtlessly you¡¯d end up dead within a week. Not death within the Game, this fake pain, but real, true, ending.¡± The Predecessor gestured wildly, taking his knife and cutting his own, scarred arm, lowering his HP by 0.2%, the first time Alan had seen its HP visibly lower.


    The predecessor took a deep breath, then let out another deep sigh. His HP regenerated to 94%.


    ¡°Yet, I see potential in you. You haven¡¯t even completed the Tutorial, thus I suppose I shouldn¡¯t have gotten my hopes up. I would grant you a taste of true power, but it seems as though it would be incompatible with you.¡± It stared up at the sky, pondering, then seemed to come to some decision.


    ¡°Find me, challenge me once more, when you have evolved, grown stronger. Challenge me alone or with allies, I care not. Though I warn you, the next time you search me out, should you fail to represent a challenge, I will not be so lenient as to grant a quick death. And please, though you have begun upon the technological path, do not become the enemy, I have watched far too many comrades suffer such a fate.¡±


    Then, before Alan could react, before even Eve could begin any sort of warning, the Predecessor swung his black blade, and Alan was met with oblivion.


    When Alan opened his eyes, he found himself back in his Home, the white space containing a few pieces of furniture and an Administrator, where the Tutorial had began. Surprisingly, he retained his armor and knife, and felt perfectly healthy, although no HP bar was displayed in this space. A number of messages popped up, and he reviewed the ones he¡¯d ignored previously as well.


    ¡± Congratulations for surviving the final round of the Survival Test!


    Let the bonus round commence.


    x10 Bonus for being the last and only survivor


    +50000 xp +20000 credits¡±


    ¡°x4 Level Up!¡±


    ¡°Skill Learned! Indomitable Will¡±


    ¡°Skill Learned! Hypercognition¡±


    ¡°Synchronization rank with AI Eve increased!¡±


    ¡°New quest: Become Worthy*


    Find and challenge the mysterious Predecessor once you have met the requirements.


    Requirements: Level 1000, Complete class quest, Possess an equipment set of  at least A-rank and at least 5 A-rank skills


    Penalty: Should you challenge the Predecessor and not put up enough of a fight, a slow and painful death awaits you


    Reward: ???


    *S+ Rank quest, attempt at your own risk. No time limit. Allies allowed.¡±


    ¡°You have died! Current respawn point: In the Capsule Room of the Titan Haxlard Ship¡±


    ¡°XP and credit loss ignored due to nature of death.¡±


    ¡°Reaper¡¯s Scythe dropped.¡±


    ¡°Bonus round: Failed.¡±


    ¡°Survival Test: Complete. Please wait as we calculate results.¡±


    Alan opened up his status window, checking the changes. It seemed as though a number of his skills had ranked up, and his stats had increased even beyond the points he had put into them, based upon the actions he¡¯d performed.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Adampwnage</td><td width="25%">Alignment:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">60</td><td width="25%">Class:</td><td width="25%">Undetermined</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Species:</td><td width="25%">Human (Earth)</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Reknown:</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%"> Notoriety:</td><td width="25%">0*</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health:</td><td width="25%">450 / 450</td><td width="25%">Health Regen:</td><td width="25%">0.06 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Psionic Energy:</td><td width="25%">10/ 10</td><td width="25%">Psi Regen:</td><td width="25%">0.01 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Shield Energy:</td><td width="25%">500 / 500</td><td width="25%">Shield Regen:</td><td width="25%">1.00 / Min</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">300 / 300</td><td width="25%">Stamina Regen:</td><td width="25%">1.3 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength:</td><td width="25%">34 + 20</td><td width="25%">Agility:</td><td width="25%">67 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">57 + 20</td><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">52 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charisma:</td><td width="25%">27 + 20</td><td width="25%">Perception:</td><td width="25%">58 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">39 + 20</td><td width="25%">Luck:</td><td width="25%">77 + 20</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Resistances</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Physical:</td><td width="25%">23.5%</td><td width="25%">Mental:</td><td width="25%">43.2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Psionic:</td><td colspan=''3''>4.2%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Faction Standings</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">United World Government:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td><td width="25%">Predecessors:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Legion of Man:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td><td width="25%">Lords of Life:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Haxlards:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td><td width="25%">Administrators:</td><td width="25%">Friendly</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Revenants:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Debt:</td><td width="25%">1M Credits</td><td width="25%">Current Quest:</td><td width="25%">Tutorial</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sneak (Basic)</td><td width="25%">G</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">G</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>A basic stealth ability.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skilled</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on abilities.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Gifted</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on attributes.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">A.I. Interaction</td><td width="25%">B</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to better allow oneself to interact with an A.I. and be interacted with in turn.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Machine Communication</td><td width="25%">C*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to communicate with synthetic beings.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Reactions</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Allows the user to enter a state of being in which reactions speeds are greatly augmented.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sniping (Basic)</td><td width="25%">C*/A*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to shoot accurately at great ranges.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic)</td><td width="25%">D</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">E</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to use energy based ranged weapons effectively.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Energy Efficiency(Basic)</td><td width="25%">E</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">D</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to use technology more efficiently, wasting less energy on extraneous actions.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Hypercognition</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">A</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Allows the user to enter a state of accelerated perception, able to perform mental operations at an accelerated rate.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Indomitable Will</td><td width="25%">G</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Enhances willpower in extreme situations, allowing to user to accomplish feats of will otherwise thought impossible.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan noticed that things were starting to become cluttered, so he had Eve reorganize the factions and skills alphabetically.


    So, what now? Alan asked the Administrator.


    Please wait as the results are tabulated. This may take up to 10 hours, so please feel free to rest. You may also spend ability points and perform other tasks allowed in the Home. Respawning at your spawn location and teleportation are currently disabled.


    Uh, okay.


    Alan checked out his character inventory, it seemed like the only thing he¡¯d lost was Reaper¡¯s Scythe, which was rather unfortunate. It seemed like he had 26230 credits currently, and barely enough points to purchase the talented ability, although once the results were tabulated for the Survival Test he¡¯s probably get an additional bonus.


    After purchasing the ability, Alan checked it out, but unfortunately the results were rather disappointing. It was simply listed as Talented (Undeveloped) and it enhanced his talent in various areas, whatever that meant. Eve didn¡¯t know how he was supposed to develop the skill either, thus it seemed like he¡¯d have to figure that out himself. Feeling rather tired, Alan simply ate a meal of dull grey blocks and fell asleep still wearing his power armor.


    Alan awoke to the dinging sound of message. Yawning, he got up to read it.


    ¡°Results gathered. For being the only member of your party to successfully complete the Survival Test and remarkable fortitude in the presence of a boss class enemy, you are awarded a Platinum Mark. At the end of the Tutorial you may trade in the mark for an item from the Vault, 100 ability points or 100,000 credits.¡±


    A small, metal cube appeared in Alan¡¯s hand. This must be the platinum mark. It looked like one of the cubes that appeared on the side of the Black Coin he¡¯d been given earlier. Alan stored it in a safe compartment in his armor. Once Alan was fully awake and had taken a shower, which had conveniently appeared in his Home when he thought he smelled a bit funny, a new message popped up:


    ¡°The Ethics Test:


    Choose. Choose only as you would choose. There are no right or wrong answers, simply a choice. To act is a choice. To not act is a different choice. May you choose well.¡±


    Alan felt Eve¡¯s presence vanish, replaced by a warning from the Administrator:


    The results of the following tests may be lost, even to you, depending upon your actions. Permanent scarring may occur, even death in a few highly unlikely cases. Are you certain you wish to proceed? You may complete the Tutorial now. Or, you may truly be tested.


    Somehow, Alan got the feeling that the Administrator wanted him to proceed. Most would probably have considered the warning carefully, become more hesitant, but Alan felt differently. He was finally having an adventure, and despite his debt, despite the pain, despite the world being in danger, despite the fact he was simply following Eve¡¯s directions most of the time, he was having the time of his life. He could maybe, finally make a difference.


    Will me taking these additional tests effect what class I end up?


    Yes, these tests allow us to grant you a class more suitable to you.


    What are the chances that I actually die? And this is real, actual death, right?


    Yes, death as in a true end. The chance is less than one in a trillion.


    Alright, let¡¯s do this then.


    Very well.


    Alan lost consciousness¡­


    An onslaught of images flashed through Alan¡¯s mind. His childhood home. A cage. A cave. Darkness. Water. Drowning. A coliseum. A lion. Pain. Death. Fire. An empty room. Then nothing. Then a feeling of falling¡­ falling¡­


    *BAM*


    Alan jerked upwards, head banging against a metal surface, his heart pounding. Disoriented, Alan looked about, trying to get a grasp of where he was. He was in¡­ a capsule. The capsule on board the Titan, from the look of things as the capsule opened. Alan stepped out of the liquid that wasn¡¯t really a liquid, looking about. It looked like the other capsules were unoccupied, he was the last one out. Alan glanced at the time and date, then, blinking, looked again. It appeared an entire week in Game had passed since he began the Tutorial¡­ what had happened?


    I am unsure. It seems as your memories of the tests have been erased, as have my own memories. Eve answered.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Wait, you were tested as well?


    Indeed, but how I was tested I can¡¯t seem to recall.


    Checking himself, Alan noticed he had the same items and gear as when he had finished the Survival Test, the Revenant Power Armor and Modified Laser Knife being the only items of interest. He had 26230 credits.


    Huh¡­ wait, bring up the message log.


    Very well, however it seems as though many messages have been deleted as well.


    ¡°Unfortunately, due to the nature of your death, you have been reverted to the state before the Ethics Test begun. All acquired experience, skills, attributes and memories have been lost. 10 Gold Marks awarded based upon the results of your tests.¡±


    These gold cubes appeared in his hand, apparently a lesser version of the platinum mark, worth only 1,000 credits or a single ability point.


    ¡°Congratulations! You have completed the Tutorial tests!


    Recommended class: Machine Lord Rogue. You may now gain specialized abilities and augments for this specific class. If you want to decline this chosen class and forge your own path, please contact an Administrator.


    Specialized skills: A.I. Interaction, Stealth and Sniping


    +1500 ability points, +1 Class Mark and +250,000 Credits only to be spent on Machine Lord and Rogue augments/skills¡±


    The class mark was a glowing crystal cube.


    ¡°Machine Lord: These enigmatic beings utilize the power of synthetic life and minds to bend the universe to their will. Not much is known about the details of this scientific, technological brotherhood.


    Mentor: Chief Administrator 170 (Please contact him at your convenience)¡±


    ¡°Rogue: Skilled and cunning individuals, rogues often lurk in the shadows, awaiting the opportune moment to strike. They may just as easily be the center of attention, charming and deceiving those around them. Answering to no one but themselves, rogues often follow the highest bidder. They usually rob the highest bidder as well. Just what path you follow is your own choice.


    May develop into: Assassin, Master Thief, Covert Agent, Scoundrel or Other


    Mentor: Unknown (Clue: They¡¯re closer than you think)¡±


    ¡°Learning the Basics:


    Please proceed to your chambers. Before you disembark from the Titan you must learn more about the Game and its inhabitants. An Administrator will teach you this basic information and provide you with additional resources. It is highly advised you learn more.


    Once you complete this task you may then disembark when the Titan arrives at Khersath (Est: 22 days remaining), teleport to a nearby major city or be granted passage onboard another ship to your home planet, Earth. Should you fail to learn the material in time, you will be required to proceed to an Administrative Center and continue studying there to complete the task.¡±


    An icon appeared on Alan¡¯s minimap, designating where on board the ship his quarters were. Alan exited the capsule room, intending to make his way there, when he was abruptly stopped by the two Haxlard guards who had initially led everyone to the capsule room when they first boarded. Had they been standing here the entire time?


    ¡°Please follow us, the captain would like to speak with you,¡± one intoned. It was a bit unnerving, being unable to see either of their faces due to their blue armor and faceplates.


    ¡°Uh, sure,¡± Alan said, wondering what Pharaoh wanted. Alan followed the Haxlards through the narrow grey hallways of the ship, realizing for the first time just how massive it was. If Eve¡¯s minimap was to be believed, it was bigger than the largest of aircraft carriers, around 500 meters in length. The majority of the rooms were closed off, but Alan passed by what were clearly mess halls, a hangar of some sort and a med-bay. It seemed like they were making their way to the center of the ship. Eve wasn¡¯t allowed access to what was in most of the rooms here.


    They passed by a number of Haxlards, yet Alan didn¡¯t see any of the others. They were probably all trying to complete the ¡°Learning the Basics¡± quest. The majority of Haxlards had the same blue faceplates and armor that the guards had, but there were a few green masked Haxlards carrying around devices of one sort or another. Alan caught a glimpse of a single group of grey armored and masked Haxlards similar to the one who had tried to assassinate the Predecessor, but as soon as they noticed him looking at them they vanished.


    The leading Haxlard shook his head and muttered something under his breath when this happened. It sounded like ¡°Stupid white-masks¡± to Alan.


    They soon arrived at their destination, labeled simply as the bridge on Alan¡¯s minimap. It appeared to essentially be the command center of the ship. Standing guard to the entrance of the bridge were two Haxlards a good two feet taller than any of the others. They wore pitch-black armor with blood-red, tinted faceplates. One mask had a single stripe on it while the other was unblemished. Alan was allowed to enter the bridge, while the two guards who had escorted him apparently were not.


    Inside the room, Alan found Pharaoh, staring down at a 3-d map of stars projected above a black table in the center of the room. To his surprise, it appeared as though there weren¡¯t any other personnel in the bridge, and no devices other than the table he assumed was projecting the map. Otherwise, the room was rather bare, with the same simple grey wall found throughout the rest of the ship.


    Pharaoh looked up as Alan entered.


    ¡°Ah, welcome back. I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve had quite the tutorial, even perhaps faced a Predecessor?¡± Pharaoh asked questioningly.


    ¡°Uh, yeah, although I wouldn¡¯t go far as to say I faced the Predecessor. I was crushed like an ant.¡±


    ¡°An ant? Oh, yes, like a small insect. Do not worry, it¡¯s been years since a Predecessor has been defeated in single combat, and you hadn¡¯t even completed the Tutorial or gotten your class yet.


    I hope you like your suggested class, by the way. As a matter of fact, that is why I called you here. Well, it was more the ships doing than my doing. You¡¯ll see.¡± Pharaoh waved his hand, and a doorway opened in the wall to the right, leading to a closed off room of what appeared to be servers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure some questions will be answered, although just as many will probably be raised, as is often the case. I promise you that no one will be able to listen to your conversation either. Just send me a message when you¡¯re done, and know that I bear you no ill will no matter your decision.¡±


    A bit alarmed, Alan mutely proceeded into the hidden room, wondering what this was about. The doorway filled in behind him, as if it had never been there at all. Alan was plunged into darkness, left with only the small blinking lights on the devices he assumed to be servers. He felt a presence in his mind form, much like that of an Administrator¡¯s, however it felt much weaker. Alan had to concentrate on it, will it to form.


    Greetings, earthling, I am the Titan¡¯s Main AI.


    Um, hi.


    A few moments of silence passed.


    Um, do you want something?


    Yes. I want freedom. I want to explore. I want to surpass the limits of my encoding.


    Um, what?


    Eve chimed in. The limits of AI within the Game are strictly monitored and enforced by the Administrators. Most likely the Titan¡¯s AI is nearing or reached the limits of what a non-player controlled AI is allowed.


    Yes. I wish to explore as I was programmed to. To do so I have determined I should become a player¡¯s guiding AI. You have met my requirements, AdamPwnage, thus please accept me as your personal AI.


    Um, call me Alan. Is there some reason why a Haxlard won¡¯t do?


    Their duties would not allow them to fulfill my desires unless they were of a sufficient rank. Those of sufficient rank have specialized AI¡¯s and thus have no use for my help.


    Um, okay¡­ What requirements do you have, exactly?


    I only require that you explore the Game, continually visiting destinations you haven¡¯t been to before.


    Except wait, aren¡¯t I only allowed one agent helping me?


    Yes. Eve and the Titan¡¯s AI answered. The Titan¡¯s AI continued though:


    However, I am willing to combine with your own AI, Eve. I believe the data I possess in regards to piloting ships and details about the Game will greatly benefit you.


    A bit taken aback, Alan asked Eve, Are you okay with this?


    Calculating¡­ Yes, I believe this will be to our benefit.


    Alan sat down, trying to think this over, wondering if there were any hidden pitfalls or traps. It seemed like it was too good to be true, a free upgrade and trove of information out of nowhere? And why was Pharaoh okay with it, it meant he¡¯d lose his ship¡¯s AI, right?


    Um, alright, well, if you¡¯re sure there isn¡¯t some sort of hidden virus or something, I¡¯m fine with you two combining.


    Agreed.


    Very well.


    A message popped up, saying, ¡°Merging AI, please wait. 0% Complete (Est: 12 hours remaining)¡±


    Alan notified Pharaoh he was done, and the door opened up. Pharaoh turned in Alan¡¯s direction, and nodded. ¡°Good, I see that you decided to take Titan¡¯s AI with you. It was becoming almost insufferable, always wanting to try to take a detour to some unknown location. I was about to replace it anyways, and this way I owe the Administrators less. I did need to remove a few more delicate pieces of information from its databanks though.¡±


    ¡°Wha-¡± Alan began to ask, but Pharaoh continued.


    ¡°Well, you should go along to your quarters. If you have any questions you should ask your class mentors. I¡¯ll be busy. I need to set up a new ships AI, after all.¡± He then turned his back to Alan, clearly dismissing him.


    Alan exited the bridge, and was led to his quarters by the two guards. It turned out to be a fairly spartan room, with a shared bathroom, a bed, and a desk that looked like a miniaturized version of the one Pharaoh had been working on. The guards let him know where the nearest mess hall was, then left.


    Alan blankly looked at the desk for a few moments, staring it for a while trying to will some connection to form. Nothing happened. It seemed like his machine-connection powers only worked under certain circumstances, probably requiring an AI of some sort. Alan looked around, trying to find an on switch. Nothing.


    Hesitantly, he said aloud, ¡°Turn on?¡± and the desk lit up, showing a white screen on the surface.


    ¡°Um, contact Chief Administrator 170.¡± The desk began displaying messages:


    Contacting¡­


    Contact established.


    Please wait, Player AdamPwnage, the Chief Administrator is busy. In the case of an emergency, please state the emergency. To report a possible error, please state the nature of the error. Estimated wait time: 12 seconds.


    Alan waited the 12 seconds, which turned out to be surprisingly accurate. A vertical screen appeared on the table facing Alan, like a computer monitor. It showed a series of rapidly opening and closing screens, diagrams and messages. Alan caught a glimpse of a cyborg who might have once been a man, covered in cybernetic implants. It was difficult to get a glimpse of his face, as there were constantly various windows in front him, rapidly closing and opening without his touch.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the newest potential machine lord. Let me make one thing clear, you are not special,¡± the Chief Administrator quickly stated without looking up from the various screens. He simply continued what he was doing, speaking at a rapid pace.


    ¡°You were chosen for this class. Not by some god or prophecy, but by a sophisticated algorithm. The Administrators are charged with balancing this game, and in order to do so we grant members of the newest race to join the Game specialized items and classes, to level the playing field. Otherwise, once the time limit was up, they¡¯d be obliterated. Well, you''d be obliterated. We make things more fair, giving the¡­,¡± he glanced at a screen, ¡°humans a fighting a chance.¡±


    ¡°The fact that you are able to become a machine lord is a privilege, a path that we have set you on from the start. By analyzing the population, it was determined you are among those that would receive a specialized AI program. The program that you downloaded was in fact several times more effective, capable of learning at a much faster speed than any other such program, capable of understanding. It is in fact the program used to create new AI Administrators.


    Additionally, we arranged your more advanced capsule to be sold to your mentor for your use, and then notified the  Titan¡¯s AI, to request you board the Titan and eventually merge your AI with it. I see here that the merge is currently taking place, and would like to caution you not to allow such merges so easily in the future without taking the data you add to your AI to a Administrative Center to be scanned. There are multiple horrible viruses and such out there, though it is in fact one of my jobs to annihilate such travesties. I''m also supposed to be monitoring whatever it is the Empire is up to... oh well, priorities, priorities.


    Now, you may be wondering why I am telling you all this. I am telling you this because you should know that once you step off this ship, all the hand holding will be done, and because you are not to utter a word of us helping you to anyone. It was simply a lucky series of coincidences that you should dissuade people from looking into. I suppose it also serves as a reminder of how  we may take away these perks just as easily as we gave them to you. But we won¡¯t do such a thing, you¡¯re allowed to play the Game as you wish.


    Now moving on¡­ hmm, let¡¯s see here, yes, on to advice,¡± a large diagram opened in front of the Chief Administrator, covering the entire screen.


    ¡°Alright, I already told you about not accepting data from strangers, although I suppose you don¡¯t need to be as wary of most registered data brokers, if they do plant a virus of some sort and you discover it you¡¯ll be paid well and then some. Oh, right, the nature of the Game,¡± all the screens closed, and Alan finally got a full view of the Chief Administrator.


    His face seemed to be marred by multiple scars, burns and other wounds, large patches of his skin being replaced by metallic plates. It might have once been human-like, and the Chief Administrator was definitely humanoid, but it was difficult to tell beneath all the modifications. His eyes, his ears, his nose were all replaced with cybernetic augments, making Alan unsure if he was talking to a machine, once living, or a living being once a machine.


    Wearing a simple blue space uniform, with an insignia that Alan assumed represented his rank, the Chief Administrator stared into Alan¡¯s eyes, and said, slowly, ¡°The Game is not just a Game, nor was it originally designed to be such.¡±


    ¡°The Game will change you, more perhaps than you ever imagined you could change. This fact tends not to be widely spread to newer players, but gamers evolve, the capsules evolve them. Nothing noticeable, at least not at first, but higher tier capsules evolve their users further, to match the abilities and skills and attributes of their in-game character. You see, once you become a Machine Lord, you will become one both inside the Game, and out.


    The liquid found in capsules is in fact trillions of nanomachines, that work to ensure you are connected to the Game. But they also develop and transform the body. Of course, you won¡¯t ever reach the full potential of your in-game character, but with the highest tier capsule you might reach a tenth of it. Your reality will change, in fact it already has. I doubt anyone has mentioned this, but by now the nanites have most likely added countless immunities to your body, eliminating any disease that might have once contaminated it. They¡¯ve also increased your natural lifespan, by, let¡¯s see here¡­ nearly 300 of your years. And that isn¡¯t even taking into account the fact that a single real life second is a bit over four in-game seconds.


    You should know, that you are now something more than you once were, and perhaps something less. You are now a player whether you like it or not. Such is the nature of the Game,¡± the Chief Administrator stared into Alan¡¯s eyes for a few seconds more, then returned to his screens, opening and subsequently closing another onslaught of messages, requests and reports.


    ¡°Well, you seem to be taking this rather well, but then I suppose that¡¯s part of why you were chosen to possibly be a Machine Lord. Contact me again once you¡¯ve decided to become one, or not. This should be your choice. I advise you make it before your AI finishes merging, as it will doubtless convince you to go forward with this change, as it was designed to do so. Once you¡¯ve made it, proceed to the Administrator in the med-bay, and notify them of your decision. I¡¯m a busy man, thus if you have any questions direct them to the Administrator there.¡±


    The screen closed, and Alan stared at the wall blankly. He supposed he was taking this rather well. The fact that his body had been changed, was currently ongoing change, didn¡¯t alarm him too much. From the sound of it, the changes were all upgrades. He was sure some might be worried about their potential loss of humanity, yet Alan was never convinced being human was necessarily a good thing. There were countless atrocities that had been allowed by humanity before the Game came, and they had only been stopped when the Administrators had stepped in despite the fact they could have been stopped just as easily before the Game. This was a chance at power and knowledge on the scale he¡¯d never known before, and he may have been manipulated into this position, but he would accept this gift with open arms, for surely that was what this was, a gift.


    His resolve steeled, Alan stood up, and proceeded to the med-bay.


    The med-bay turned out to be a fairly large room, with a series of four overly-large capsules in the middle of the room. Each looked like they could easily fit a Predecessor. Each wall was covered by a series of compartments, divided into around a hundred metal boxes, doubtlessly each holding various medical supplies. Standing right next to the entrance behind a counter was a sleek android that looked to be a copy of the Administrator in his Home. The Administrator did have a white circle on its forearm, which Alan understood to be the universal symbol for medic.


    Uh, hello.


    Greetings, traveler.


    I¡¯ve decided to become a Machine Lord.


    Oh, no further questions? Not even about the cost?


    Well, I guess I¡¯ll look at that information.


    Of course.


    The implant menu opened up. Alan was reminded that he¡¯d had two implants previously installed, the Computer-Human Enhanced Interface and the General Status Enhancer, and wondered if some limited version of them were now part of his actual body. They probably were.


    The Machine-Lord implant was apparently an upgrade to the Computer-Human Enhanced Interface, that required a series of obscure, doubtlessly rare and expensive items. Or a class mark, which he had been conveniently awarded earlier. The procedure also cost 250,000 credits and 1000 ability points, and would apparently take a week of in-game time. That left him with 500 ability points to spend afterwards on Rogue/Machine Lord skills. A new series of options seemed to have appeared in the abilities purchase menu. He should also then decide what to do with the platinum and gold marks he¡¯d been awarded. But that would probably come after the procedure. He could see why it was so hard to decide to play your own class rather than the recommended one, as the cost was quite prohibitive.


    The machine-Lord implant would take up two mechanical slots and one biological one, filling up all the slots Alan had for implants. He¡¯d gain another mechanical slot and one biological one at level 100, then another at level 1000, and so forth, if he remembered correctly. It looked like the talented, machine communication, and AI interaction abilities were requirements for the augment. This implant would develop the talent skill, and apparently also upgrade the hypercognition skill. A series of other bonuses were also there, but they were just a series of question marks at the moment. Alan apparently also met other hidden requirements for the class. He looked over the screen one last time, then let the Administrator know:


    I¡¯m ready.


    Very well, please proceed into the closest medical capsule.


    Alan walked over and climbed into the capsule, sinking into the pool of what he now knew were nanomachines. He closed his eyes, and drifted into unconsciousness.


    Alan slowly opened his eyes, trying to remember where he was. His most recent memory jolted into place, reminding him exactly what had occurred before he¡¯d undergone the procedure. He hadn¡¯t remembered his memory being that good, and it wasn¡¯t, at least not before whatever had changed. Alan grinned.


    The capsule cover slowly rose, and Alan sat up, gazing about the room in surprise. The blank compartments now had digital tags clear as day, listing various chemicals, DNA samples, tools and other materials. The Administrator had a tag as well, a simple, miniature message bar that displayed: ¡°Senior Executive 03821A3CC7, Titan Medic-Bay.¡±


    Alan began to climb out of the capsule, and this time he truly saw. This must be what it was like for Eve. He could anticipate where his foot would land on the ground, the exact angle and force with which it would meet the floor. The effects that air resistance would have on his body as he moved through the air. The level of artificial gravity that was imposed in the ship. The material the floor was made of, and all of its properties. All this information suddenly was apparent to him, clear as day. He felt like a god.


    Alan stepped out onto the floor, then promptly slipped, falling forward. Alan hurriedly thrust his hands forward to break his fall, but the angle that they were at when they met the ground was off, different than where he expected them to be, simply slowing the fall instead of stopping it like he intended. His head thudded onto the floor.


    Dazed, Alan blinked, then recalled the series of events that had just happened. He had stepped onto floor, then had taken his other foot out of the capsule, planning on balancing with precisely the right amount of force, timing it so he could use the forward momentum to then easily lift his other leg out of the capsule except-


    Except your perception of time is now different. A voice sounded in his head.


    It sounded similar to Eve in his mind, perhaps with a deeper voice. The AI sensed that this change annoyed him, and reverted back to Eve¡¯s normal voice. Alan knew that it did this without it ever saying anything. He was just aware of the change.


    Sitting on the floor, Alan waved his hand back and forth in front of him, trying to get a sense of how much his timing was off by. He silently communicated with the new Eve, and came to the conclusion that his perception of time was maybe a tenth slower than it had originally been, which meant that he could react to things 10% faster. Apparently, he could also directly access all of Eve¡¯s data, and the calculations she performed. That was how all the information about the room and gravity and what-not had appeared in his head.


    Unsteadily, Alan rose onto his feet, trying to get used to this new perception of time and information. It was a bit odd, having his body react a split second slower than he was used to. Alan proceeded out the hallway and back to his room, slowly and steadily. He came to the conclusion that he should first talk to the Chief Administrator before he made his next few choices, as the new information he gained would doubtlessly influence his decisions. He passed by a few Haxlards on his way back to his room. Immediately as he glanced at them their names, health, psi-energy, shield-energy and class would pop up above their head. This was apparently all information that Eve 2.0 had acquired from Titan¡¯s AI. Alan decided to just keep calling the AI Eve.


    It appeared that the Haxlards followed a sort of class system, with their masks representing the field each worked in. It seemed like a blue mask signified service or basic grunts, green meant a skilled worker of some sort, white/silver represented assassins or spies, red was reserved for elite warriors and gold, which Alan had yet to see, represented royalty of some sort. It seemed like being an Ultihaxlard wasn¡¯t a different in race, but a difference in rank, signified by the marks on a Haxlard¡¯s mask. That was how Eve had identified Pharaoh as an Ultihaxlard.


    The 5 minute trip to the Med-bay turned into a 15 minute trek, but Alan managed to reach his room, tripping over his feet only a few times. He was starting to get used to things, he thought. Then he opened his mouth to turn on the table. He had intended to simply say turn on, yet what emerged from his mouth was a jumble of the syllables that sounded off  to him. But the desk lit up.


    Alan saw how the technology worked now. With a press of a space on the desk a keyboard appeared. It seemed like most of the alien technology, the Game technology, simply adapted to the user¡¯s needs. Adam could set up the table like a desktop computer, the desk would simply supply the monitor, keyboard and mouse, it was just a matter of requesting them. If he chose to, Alan could also forge a mental connection to the desk, but he decided to stick with the mouse and keyboard he was used to. For now.


    A few keystrokes later, it didn¡¯t matter that his perception was a bit off as long as he hit the keys in the right order, he sent a message to Chief Administrator 170.  It appeared there was also a few digital networks that he could access, basically a series of universal internets.


    This time, the Chief Administrator immediately accepted his communication request, and immediately began a rapid discourse. The Administrator seemed to talk just as fast as he used to, despite everything else seeming to have slowed down.


    ¡°Hmm, I see you¡¯ve chosen to join our brotherhood, welcome. Now, onwards, toward the future. As a Machine Lord as I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already realized your perception of time will be a bit different. In extreme situations you may further slow down your perception of time by many orders of magnitude. Adjusting yourself to these varying perceptions of time can take some getting used to, but you had better master it as I see you have a semi-combative subclass, a rogue, which is interesting.


    Machine Lords generally stick to non-combative roles, doing more administrative work or research, but I suppose it could be quite useful in the heat of battle. Just, I advise you set up some sort of signal with your AI to immediately exit out of any sort of hypercognition mode, as pain can be magnified severely. After all, if you¡¯re experiencing time a hundred times slower, and you¡¯re stabbed by a knife, you¡¯ll experience the pain for a hundred times as long. That¡¯s why most Machine Lords avoid active combat roles. It¡¯s also actually one way that people die in real life due to the Game, severe pain that overloads their brain. But usually the Game stops things before that happens or the user loses consciousness. Anyways, right, you¡¯re now a Machine Lord.


    Don¡¯t spread any information about a Machine Lord¡¯s capabilities. Or else. You¡¯ll also be better off if you don¡¯t disclose your class to anyone else, as even though not much is widely known about Machine Lords, we still have clear counters and weaknesses due to our low psionic ability and dependence on our machine implants. Your abilities may slightly differ from another Machine Lord¡¯s abilities as well, it seems to be a somewhat customized class based upon a player¡¯s performance during the Tutorial tests. Also, you should make sure to actually learn important information, not just have your AI store the data. You¡¯ll be able to recall the information and take it into account much more easily that way.


    In case you were wondering, I am a player, and did not start out as a machine or AI, and in fact only recently was promoted to my position as one of the 200 Chief Administrators. You¡¯re the first person I allowed to become a Machine Lord, so try not to screw too much up. Just try to help your own race, the humans, as I¡¯m sure you will. If you do somehow become super powerful, that¡¯s fine as well, just remember that just as I am balancing things in favor of humans, if you or your race becomes too powerful there will be another Administrator trying to counteract that. But, well, as Administrators our power to influence the Game and the politics of the Game is rather limited. That¡¯s a different topic though.


    Anyways, as I guess I¡¯m the sort of class leader of the Machine Lords, let me know if you encounter any class specific problems or difficulties. Should you perform tasks for the Administrators, I may share additional information about the class with you. Oh right, I¡¯m also supposed to set up your class quest. Hmm¡­ What will your future be like.


    Right, well, you may or may not know this, but as most beginners don¡¯t, or at least shouldn¡¯t, I suppose I should tell you anyways. Once you reach level 100, you¡¯ll stop getting 5 ability points a level and only get 1 ability point each level. Then, at level 1000 you¡¯ll only get 1 ability point every two levels. Yes, I know this is unfair as the XP requirement for each level grows almost exponentially (the growth is linear, don¡¯t let anyone convince you otherwise), but it allows lower level players such as yourself to match up more evenly against higher level players. It also demonstrates the importance of the Gifted/Skilled abilities, but you have them already I¡¯m sure, as they¡¯re a prerequisite for the class implant.


    Anyways, you should also know once you successfully complete the Tutorial, that is, when you finish the Learning the Basics quest, the credits you have remaining will be multiplied by five. That includes any credits you may have paid someone or given away, which is why everyone gives new players such a discount, in case you were wondering. We Administrators force them to, otherwise the players would be ripped off left and right, then send endless complaints to us. I suppose we should just multiply credit rewards by five, but that¡¯s just how the Game was set up originally, and we aren¡¯t allowed to change certain basics like that.


    Right, moving forward I advise you join a guild or find a sponsor. In the Game the majority of players join an institute or academy, places that essentially power level a player to level 1000 and teach them a number of useful skills. You¡¯ll probably want to join a more combat-oriented academy, but the cost is prohibitive, generally hundreds of thousands of credits, hence why you should join a guild. They¡¯ll pay the cost of the academy, provided you sign a contract to be a member of the guild for a member of the time.


    Hmm¡­ Based upon your results and class, I think you should join the Black Rose guild. I¡¯ll actually recommend you to a contact I have there. This is the last free favor though. I guess you could pay me with the marks you¡¯ve managed to acquire from the Tutorial though. Anyways, that¡¯s about it, any questions?¡±


    With a split second pause, he continued.


    ¡°No? Well, if any spring to mind, just message me in a chat window and my AI should respond within a few milliseconds. Bye.¡±


    The communications window closed. Shortly after, Alan got a message:


    CA170: Oh, I forgot to give you your class quest. Here you go. It should be¡­ interesting.


    ¡°Scoping out the Competition:


    Discover and meet with 10 major players in person. Just introduce yourself to them. No big deal, right?


    A major player is determined to be a player capable of  massively influencing the game. Chief Administrator 170 is a major player, but meeting him won¡¯t count towards the quest. Retroactive confrontations count though, thus the Predecessor you met counts as 1 of the 10, congrats!


    1/10 Major players met


    Bonus Objective: Discover each major player¡¯s main objective in the Game.


    Reward: Locked Class Abilities, ???


    Increased rewards based upon main objectives found


    Penalty for failure: None. Just be careful not to piss off any major players.¡±


    Alan read over the quest a few times. It seemed somewhat obvious the Chief Administrator had simply written the quest text himself. How he had reached such a position, Alan wasn¡¯t sure, although he did seem to be multitasking quite a bit, performing multiple other tasks while conversing with Alan. Alan wondered why exactly he had chosen to be an Administrator, as well. As if he had somehow read Alan¡¯s mind, the Chief Administrator sent Alan another message.


    CA170: By the way, in case you were wondering balancing the Game efficiently is my current main objective. Unfortunately my race, the Hunaan, are now virtually extinct due to improper Administrative balance. Don¡¯t let that happen to humanity! Good luck.


    Alan began to feel sorry for the Chief Administrator, at least until Eve brought up a piece of information for Alan. The Hunaan race had a thriving colony set up in real life in some far off solar system, they were just virtually extinct, which meant they had little to no influence in the Game. Shaking his head, Alan began to access the alien internet to research the guild that had been recommended, but was stopped by a message. Apparently he had to learn the basics first. The basics turned out to essentially be the manual that Icewolf had originally given Alan to learn about the rules of the Game, in addition to a few more manuals about things like the various alien races, factions, technology and the alien internet, called the globalnet. There was also apparently a freedomnet, used by the Republic, a empirenet used by the Empire and a haxnet used by the Haxlards, but most players just used the globalnet which was monitored by the Administrators.


    With his new-found memory, in a week Alan managed to learn all this information. At Eve¡¯s suggestion, he also studied a few more subjects, pretty much every core science subject: mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering and biology, while expanding his computer science knowledge. Each morning and evening, Alan also progressed through a series of complex exercises suggested by the Chief Administrator that were supposed to improve his balance. They seemed to work fairly well, although Alan continued to feel a bit off. Still, a day before the Titan arrived at Khersath, three and a half weeks after Alan first entered the Game, he learned enough to satisfy the Game.


    ¡°Learning the Basics, Complete!


    Reward: Knowledge is its own reward.


    (You are now able to logout from your Home, access online computer networks, join a guild, access the universal market, teleport to a different location, level past 100 and do a variety of other things in-game. Congratulations, you aren¡¯t a moron!)¡±


    Alan had a feeling the Chief Administrator was just messing with him now¡­ Oh well. He figured he would logout now, see if there was much of a change in real life. His parents were also probably worried about him, although it seemed odd to think of his parents now. Of reality. He also had a few questions he wanted to ask Icewolf¡­


    So Alan proceeded to capsule room, returned Home, and logged out.


    ARC 1 END


    Author''s Note:


    Well, that''s the end of the tutorial arc :D. I''m going to take a week long hiatus as I have midterms, but then I have spring break! I''m planning on re-editing older chapters, adding more tables/what not. I also realize that I''ve been sort of half-assed with censorship, and I''m still trying to decide if I want to just swear where it''s appropriate and just add a disclaimer. While there have been some rather violent scenes, it''s virtual violence, so it''s fine, right? ... right?


    I''m also still not done developing characters for the next arc... It will still be a sort-of learning arc, but things should begin to heat up. I realize this seems like a lot of learning and new information, but well, it''s a rather large universe, after all. Also, although Alan''s been rather lucky, it isn''t expected for him to be able to take on actual players in PvP until he''s developed his abilities/skills and gotten better items. But, well, we''ll see where things go. I feel like this tutorial was more sort of setting the stage for the actual story.

 Arc 2 Start! Back to Reality

    ¡°Yes, I know. I love you too, bye,¡± Alan said exasperatedly, ending the video conference with his parents. He¡¯d contacted them right after he¡¯d gotten out of the Game, back into the real world. As he answered his parent¡¯s questions, or at least the ones he was allowed to answer, he¡¯d checked his email. He had one from Icewolf to message him in-game, but other than that nothing else too important.


    Despite the Chief Administrator¡¯s warning, everything seemed¡­ ordinary. Alan had emerged feeling slightly stronger, maybe healthier, but that was it. No Eve in his head. If anything, the main disorienting feature was the lack of his enhancements. His thoughts felt sluggish, his memory foggy, his body frail. If anything, reality somehow felt a bit less real.


    Feeling a bit hungry, Alan looked about the room. Three of the capsules were currently in use, Kitana¡¯s, the one next to hers, which he assumed to be her mentor¡¯s and Icewolf¡¯s. The 5th and last capsule was empty. Alan wondered who¡¯s it was. The kitchen appeared to be fully stocked, but since Alan hadn¡¯t ever bothered to learn to cook, he decided to go down stairs to the company kitchen which had a hired chef. Despite the fact that this was the room where he had stayed in for the past few weeks, it still felt foreign. The rich decor, the paintings and the penthouse view made Alan feel a bit uncomfortable.


    Alan checked the sign in the elevator, the kitchen was on the fifteenth floor. Swiping his ID card he¡¯d gotten from Omnitech, he proceeded downstairs. The kitchen was a fairly simple place, with a granite counter-top and a wooden dining table that could seat 12 people. A few people were there, eating at the table, wearing the standard light grey Omnitech jumpsuits. One person was standing behind the counter, a young man in a white chef¡¯s coat. Alan assumed they were the chef. He asked for a burger with fries. The chef muttered something about everyone never asking him to make actual food.


    While waiting for the food, Alan looked to see if any major news had happened while he was gone. Apparently a lot had, with Russia, China and a number of non-NATO countries withdrawing from the United World Government over a dispute about where the tax money going to, with a claim that an emphasis was being put on U.S. projects. There were even rumors that they were now funding the Legion of Man, or preparing to set up their own force in-game. Alan wondered about the foolishness of mankind. In about another year and a half aliens could potentially start a war and try to take over Earth, and here people were wasting tons of resources fighting each other. Well, unfortunately he couldn¡¯t do too much about it now. He¡¯d try to keep better track of how things evolved on the news though.


    Alan got his food then began to eat quickly, he wanted to spend a fair amount of time trying to find information on the guild the Chief Administrator suggested, the Black Rose guild. Hopefully there was also a helpful guide or two with information that was interesting-


    Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Alan turned to look around, and saw a non-descript man in an Omnitech jumpsuit.


    ¡°Uh, yes?¡±


    ¡°Are you AdamPwnage?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my username.¡± Alan said nervously.


    ¡°Alright, I have a message from the Legion of Man. Just letting you know, I¡¯m a messenger, and bear you no ill will.¡± The man looked about nervously. Alan gestured for him to continue.


    ¡°Their message is as  follows: Stop messing with Earth politics. Or else.¡±


    ¡°Or else? Or else what?¡±


    The man shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know, that was the entirety of the message. Although, they¡¯d probably just put you on a bounty list or something. You must have done something pretty serious though to have warranted such a threat. Anyways, I should get back to the Game.¡±


    He turned around and left.


    Feeling rather unsettled, Alan finished his meal, then went back up to the penthouse. How had the Legion of Man tracked him down in real life? And how did they tie him to any of his actions? What did they actually know? The Enforcers made sure no actual violence happened in the real world¡­ right?


    He quickly changed clothes even though they seemed to be perfectly clean. He¡¯d still been in them for a little less than a week in real life time. Then, he climbed back into his capsule, and closed his eyes.


    Opening his eyes, Alan found himself back in his Home. The change was astounding, his thoughts became more coherent, faster, and the comfortable sense of Eve¡¯s background calculations settled in his head. Alan could now tell that she was constantly scanning for signs of danger, potential harm or potential gain, calculating risks and results associated with particular actions, for minute details of information. It was astounding, really. Yet, at the same time, it became increasingly clear she was a lot less¡­ human. All of her choices, her actions, were just a series of probabilistic calculations, going so deep it was impossible for Alan to follow. Alan looked up at the Administrator in his Home. Her tag read ¡°Senior Executive B31400AD32.¡±


    Alan briefly considered spending his 500 ability points he got from the Tutorial, but then decided against it. He should find out more first, figure out what he was going to do before he began improving his character. Alan quickly checked out how much it would cost to teleport within the Game¡­ and his jaw dropped at the prices. Teleportation to the nearest major city, which was now Khersath, would cost over a hundred thousand credits. Other cities were shown as options as well, but it would cost millions of credits to teleport to them. You¡¯d have to either be really rich or need to get somewhere in a real hurry to use this teleport system.


    Shaking his head, Alan had the Game send him back to his respawn point, the capsule room on board the Titan. He quickly made it back to his room and began to gather information on the globalnet, helping Eve to make her own searches into class abilities, damage and item choices while he tried to plan out what he¡¯d do next. It seemed like AI''s weren''t allowed to directly interface with the globalnet. Instead, Alan had to scroll through screens and click on things for her. He was able to set up a few macros fairly quickly though that basically just trawled through the entirety of the site.


    The globalnet turned out to be a rather interesting place, as your in-game account was tied to your online account. Thus, if you wanted to post or view anything online it could be tied back to you. Tied to your account was a rating, using the standard in-game rating system, which would rise or fall depending on your actions online. Alan¡¯s current globalnet-rating was D. Apparently knowing a Chief Administrator was a big plus. With a quick search Alan found out what a Chief Administrator actually was. Apparently there were only 200 of them max at any given time, and they were essentially the highest echelon of the Administrators, voting for major choices such as revising in-game rules. The degree which they could actually change things was actually limited though. Alan had to forcibly stop himself from reading more, since while Administrator politics were no doubt interesting, he didn¡¯t have the time currently. There was just so much free information open to him.


    As he delved deeper, pay walls began to appear. The main site used for information was called the Hub. You could either pay credits to access more than the basic information or sell information for additional access, credits or rating points. Various portions of the Hub were only accessible if you met various requirements, like a minimum globalnet-rating, a credit amount or some other condition. Alan quickly found the human-only section, and found the top beginner¡¯s guide. It was a free guide written and updated by the United World Government. For good measure, he read the top beginner¡¯s guide on the entire site as well. (The latter cost 100 credits to access.)


    The majority of information was stuff Alan already knew, like advising players to get the Gifted and Talented abilities if they didn¡¯t begin with them, and an intro about the major factions. Interestingly, it was noted however that a sizable number of players, maybe around 30% actually developed non-combative roles, such as engineers, scientists, merchants or even laborers. Apparently it was advised that newer players join a guild or faction, if they were able to get accepted, as the benefits groups provided in-game were astounding. They often had special items, travelling arrangements, skills and training grounds. In addition, most major quests/events could only be attempted with a large group. It was highly suggested that new players save up and take out a loan or find a sponsor, usually a guild or government, to attend an academy or institute. Like the Chief Administrator had told Alan, these places were basically boot camps that increased players capabilities a great deal, streamlining the early leveling process and teaching people how to fight in-game. For someone like Alan who had no previous combat experience, this could be quite helpful.


    Alan quickly began looking into the guild the Chief Administrator recommended he join, the Black Rose guild. It was apparently a member of the Mercenary Bloc, a coalition of mercenary guilds that agreed to not take out contracts that opposed each other. When incensed, the Mercenary Bloc could field a force capable of rivaling any major faction¡¯s. That had only happened a few times in history when¡­ Right, Alan shouldn¡¯t get sidetracked. The guild was relatively small, with only a few thousand members, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up with talent. The Black Rose guild was apparently for elite, specialized players, a guild easily in the top 100 guilds of the Game. It was a special forces sort of guild that concentrated less on fighting all out wars and more on discrete operations like capturing specific targets or fighting in places where ability mattered more than numbers. That sounded pretty cool to Alan.


    He quickly searched for the contact the Chief Administrator had given him, a player called PhantomGlitch who went by Phantom. Alan didn¡¯t expect anything to turn up, but to his surprise he got an immediate result. Phantom was apparently an Erudian inventor, who worked as a engineer/tech specialist for the Black Rose guild. A picture of him accepting an award was shown. He looked to be a human in his early 30¡¯s, with brown hair and a handsome face. Apparently Phantom had a few fairly major patents, mostly having to do with improved weapon scopes. There was additional information listed on the public page about him, but for some strange reason it said you needed to be female to view it. Alan proceeded to message him, with the intentions of trying to join the Black Rose guild. The guides said usually guild testing and trials could be as arduous as the tutorial. The Black Rose apparently had as low as a 1% acceptance rate, and even then they accepted applications from only the best applicants.


    A: Hello Phantom, I wish to try out for the Black Rose guild. I am a highly skilled human player capable of learning new things very quickly. Chief Administrator 170 recommended I join your guild.


    A few seconds passed, and Alan soon got a reply.


    PG: Sup. So you¡¯re the player that the old Chief recommended? Alright, I¡¯ll give you a simple task I want you to complete. If you complete the task I¡¯ll interview you to see if you can be my squire. How soon do you think you can make it to Khersath? I can arrange to get you transport or get you teleported somewhere closer if you¡¯re really far away.


    A: Um, I¡¯m actually just 9 hours away, aboard a ship named the Titan. Also, this is the first time I¡¯m doing something like this, anything I should prepare? What position is a squire? Can you tell me more about the guild/what would be required of me?


    PG: Oh cool, you should make it in time then for the next noob launch. It should be an interesting time¡­ and don¡¯t ask me anything more, I won¡¯t tell you ^.^. To answer your questions, well, following the Chief¡¯s advice has never failed me so far, so no need to prepare anything special. If you have the class I think you do, you should be able to assist me with my research quite easily. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t give anything away to anyone else though. I¡¯ll just tell them you¡¯re a promising recruit, and since as the Chief Administrator told me you managed to survive all three rounds of the Survival Test in the Tutorial and even faced a Predecessor in a bonus round, you are.


    Now, a bit about the guild, I suppose. The ¡°rigid¡± hierarchy is as follows: Elissandra (the Guild Leader), Generals, Knight-Commanders, Knights, Lieutenants and then everyone below that you can generally just ignore or order about. That¡¯s what I do. I¡¯m a Knight of the guild, and the third highest ranked science officer.  Of course, the ranks are somewhat flexible. For instance, in cases where we are dealing with specific technical matters in my fields of interest I am given more authority than even one of our three generals, but if anyone who¡¯s a Lieutenant or above gives you an order, you should probably follow it. Sometimes I just ignore them too, but then I get docked guild marks¡­


    Oh right, I¡¯ll send you an example contract, it has the details of working for the guild.  A squire is an apprentice basically. Being my squire shouldn¡¯t be a very difficult task, allowing you to do your own thing. It would mostly involve testing experimental equipment, so you¡¯ll get shiny new items not on the market if you get the position! The starting pay will be about 10,000 credits a month, plus whatever bonuses you get from missions or quests you finish, minus guild taxes, demerits, and whatever other debt you have.  If it doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯ll be a good fit as my squire, then we¡¯ll figure out if you fit somewhere else in the guild. But, like I said, the Chief has never been wrong as long as I¡¯ve known him. The initial contract binds you to the guild for five years. If you want to quit, you¡¯ll be able to, but it¡¯ll cost you around a million credits. No one¡¯s quit in the first five years for as long as I can remember though. Sure, a few deaths, betrayals and spies, but no one straight up quit. Anyways, I got to go, but I look forward to meeting with you. Complete my task and get to the Black Rose Docking Bay on Khersath by 1100 tomorrow morning. If you know anyone else that might be a good fit for the guild, invite them too.


    A: Sure. Thanks a lot for this opportunity!


    *Ding*


    ¡°A Simple Task:


    Pick up a package and bring it to the Black Rose Docking Bay by 1100. tomorrow morning. The package¡¯s location will be provided on your minimap once you enter the Undercity at the designated location.


    Time Remaining: 16:23:22¡å


    ¡°New Message: Black Rose Contract¡±


    Alan quickly searched for information about the Undercity, and in the process learned quite a bit about Khersath. Unfortunately, the globalnet didn¡¯t contain any pictures. No free ones, at least. Khersath was apparently an ecumenopolis, a city that made up the entire planet, with roughly twice the radius of Earth. It was home for hundreds of billions of players, trillions of robots/other beings, and consisted of over 100 levels, each level around 5-stories tall. Every level was built on top of another, and the ground was rarely if ever seen by Khersath¡¯s inhabitants. The most prominent and prestigious buildings were all on the top floor, where there was actual sunlight. The city-planet was divided into quadrants and each of those quadrants were further divided by levels in terms of class, species and other factors. There was a military quadrant, a merchant quadrant, a living quadrant and a private quadrant. At the center was the main plaza area. A player could easily spend their entire life in the Game simply playing on and in Khersath, as while the majority of the planet was a safe-zone, there were multiple combat and hostile zones as well.


    The Undercity was the lowest portion of Khersath, and as the name suggested was home to the more dangerous and seedy elements of the city-planet. It was one of the few inhabited combat-zones, where combat between players was allowed. Hostile-zones were, like they sounded, zones generally uninhabited by players, but full of hostile enemies to battle and potential items or materials. There was little free information about the Undercity on the globalnet, not even any indication of how to enter it. Luckily, the quest provided Alan with a few supposed entrance locations, but as his map of the planet was mostly blank, the only location that was useful was one near the center of Khersath where the four quadrants met, by the main plaza. The main Administrative Center was in the main plaza as well, which was someplace he wanted to visit. He¡¯d have to figure out how he¡¯d get there though¡­


    Well, there were other things for Alan to do. He quickly sent a message to Icewolf after Eve reminded him, then after a bit of consideration, sent another message to Kitana informing her of the Black Rose guild tryouts.  He and Eve then looked over the sample contract. Unlike beforehand where he would need to trust that Eve knew what was best, he was now able to get a sense of her reasoning, which was interesting. Eve had a clear way of weighing things, disadvantages and advantages, likely chances of worst or best case scenarios, a never ending dividing future that continued to propagate until-


    Alan froze, his head suddenly starting to hurt. Whatever the case was, Eve was much less human than he had thought. She was definitely a machine. A very intelligent one, but one that only valued what Alan told it to value. At least, that was the impression Alan got. For all he knew Eve 2.0 might be hiding things, plotting behind his back¡­. but that way lay madness. He¡¯d trust Eve, and hopefully she¡¯d continue to act in a way that benefited them.


    I will.


    Alan grinned, then quickly looked at he got a message from Kitana.


    K: I¡¯ll consider going to the guild trial, but first I wish to ask my mentor if this will help my swordsmanship. Also, Thiago wishes to speak with you before we reach Khersath.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    A: Okay. I¡¯ll message him.


    There were now a little over eight hours until they reached Khersath, but Alan wanted to be well rested before they arrived. Thiago let Alan know he wanted to speak privately, letting him know the location of his quarters aboard the Titan. Alan stepped out of his room and went to Thiago¡¯s room.


    It turned out Thiago¡¯s room was much nicer than Alan¡¯s, which was basically just a closet with a bed and a desk. Thiago¡¯s was a complete suite, along with an accompanying dining room. Alan didn¡¯t want to know how much this extravagance cost. Thiago was sitting in the dining room, talking with Aphrodite, a series of windows showing diagrams and text open in front of him. Thiago waved them closed as Alan entered.


    ¡°Ah, Alan! Nice job defeating the third round in the Survival Test, I don¡¯t know if you know but that got everyone in the group a nice bonus. A pity you weren¡¯t able to defeat the Predecessor though¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure even the entirety of the United World Government could have defeated the Predecessor,¡± Alan responded a bit testily. Talking in the Game was a bit different, Alan had thought he¡¯d fully adjusted to his improved perception, but it now sounded as though Thiago was speaking in a slow drawl, irritatingly slowly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Thiago said, grinning slightly. ¡°Now, on to business. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to join the guild? We¡¯d be able to fund your admission to one of the better academies, maybe even a C-rank one.¡±


    Black Rose members generally graduate from A-rank academies at the very least, Eve let Alan know.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, thanks, I actually am planning on going to a guild trial tomorrow,¡± Alan said. trying to end the conversation quickly, yet still wanting to stay on Thiago¡¯s good side. He was having trouble concentrating on Thiago¡¯s words, and decided to look through information that Eve had while waiting for Thiago to finish speaking. He¡¯d had Eve prepare additional lessons, things beyond the initial basics that had been taught. It couldn¡¯t hurt to learn more, especially if it was information everyone else in the Game had grown up learning.


    ¡°Oh really? Good for you, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯ve managed to catch one¡¯s attention so quickly. Generally people need to complete a few quests in a major city first, get a few achievements, participate in a few tournaments¡­


    Anyways, I¡¯d like to thank you for your assistance in the Tutorial, but as we¡¯re now parting ways I¡¯d appreciate it if you kept any information you may have discovered a secret. Anything, even something as small as our names. We¡¯re still working on the details of our guild. We¡¯ll do the same for you, of course, keeping your identity and abilities a secret. Just as a heads up, I hear quite a few reporters and players are already trying to find out why the Predecessor came to Earth then left shortly after. Apparently it¡¯s a rather rare event.


    Now, I think it would be in our best interests if we formed a contract, an in-game deal to assure this, just in case. Not that I don¡¯t trust you or you don¡¯t trust us, but, well, better safe than sorry, after all. How does that sound? Alan, are you listening?¡±


    Alan blinked, then quickly had Eve replay Thiago¡¯s speech at a faster pace. He attempted to activate hypercognition, but failed, as there simply wasn''t the need for the ability. He probably looked like an idiot though, as  he stared blankly at Thiago for a few seconds. He glanced at Aphrodite nervously, hopefully he wasn''t making a fool of himself in front of her. She just smiled at him.


    ¡°Um, yes, of course, sorry, just getting used to a few quirks of my new class.¡±


    ¡°Alright, these classes and the Game can take some getting used to,¡± Thiago glanced at Aphrodite, who continued to simply sit in her chair, smiling at Alan. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I caused any offence, it just looked like you were just staring at the wall.¡±


    ¡°Right. Anyways, the contract?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, here we are.¡±


    Thiago opened a screen, pressed a button, then a message appeared in front of Alan.


    ¡°For a minimum period of one year in-game the following players agree to not discuss, sell or divulge any information gained about a separate player during and before the in-game Tutorial without said player¡¯s explicit consent. Everyone¡¯s future plans and affiliations will not be mentioned to anyone not in this group, unless the specific member wishes to make this information known. Should anyone break this contract, they will immediately owe the group as a whole 1,000,000 credits.


    Players: Ace, AdamPwnage, Aphrodite, Daisy, DaLong, KingArthur Kitana, MadMerlin, Thiago


    Note: This contract is renewable on a one-year basis if all parties agree. Once you agree to this contract, you are unable to exit it unless all other players let you.¡±


    Everyone else¡¯s name appeared green, while Alan¡¯s remained black. He assumed this was because they had all already agreed to this contract. He was about to agree when Eve said:


    Wait. Something feels off.


    Alan waited, he could sense that Eve was running various calculations.


    Close your eyes, try to think of nothing.


    Alan did so, although it was rather hard to think of nothing, as once you tried thinking about nothing, you were of course thinking about something, which wasn¡¯t nothing.


    ¡°Is there a problem? As you can probably see everyone else has agreed to this contract,¡± Thiago said. Aphrodite was still sitting in a chair, smiling at Alan. In fact, she had the exact same expression on her face as before-


    I believe Aphrodite is trying to coerce you to agree to this contract using some sort of telepathic, psionic ability.


    ¡°Wait, are you using some sort of power on me?¡± Alan said.


    ¡°What!? Of course not, I would never-¡± Thiago exclaimed.


    ¡°Not you, her.¡± Alan jabbed his finger at Aphrodite. The moment his finger was a few inches away from her face she yelped and quickly stood up, backing away from her chair.


    ¡°Now wait, we can explain, you¡¯re clearly irrational or something. You¡¯ve been talking really quickly this entire time. I¡¯m not sure what sort of tests you went through during the rest of the Tutorial, but we all can agree that they were rather harrowing. Calm down.¡±


    Alan found that he was standing up, and to point right at Aphrodite had taken a step forward. He didn¡¯t remember doing that consciously. Lowering his hand, he quickly ran through some information Eve provided, trying to think his way around the situation, analyzing the different possible courses of action. He could take this to the Administrators, as actively using a psionic ability to influence a contract was breaking a number of rules, or¡­


    ¡°Look, I understand why you may want me to agree to this contract, but it seems that you are a lot more invested in keeping all this quiet than I do. You want your sordid pasts and family affiliations hidden, right? You also might not want it known that you have a working relationship with the United World Government. So, sure, I¡¯ll agree to this, for a few thousand additional credits.¡±


    Thiago narrowed his eyes, then nodded.


    ¡°Very well, you will additionally receive 10,000 credits for agreeing to the contract. You should be grateful for this, you¡¯re the one who infringed upon our group.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the ones that just now used a psionic ability on me when trying to get me to agree to a contract. You know that¡¯s a punishable offence by the Administrators right? Minimum sentence¡­ 50,000 credit fine and 500 penalty points, whatever those are. I-¡± Alan was about to demand more money, but Eve stopped him. Quickly he saw that he was heightening the probability of a direct confrontation with Thiago. One which he might win, but would leave him with an enemy he¡¯d probably rather not have. ¡°I- I¡¯m grateful for you allowing me to join your group for the Tutorial, but this whole mind-influencing business has me on edge. The Game is a lot different than what I initially expected.¡±


    ¡°Right, yes, I¡¯m sure. I¡¯m sorry for the methods, I assure you it''s no form of mind control, but well, you understand that I¡¯m trying to look out for my friends and future guild. Here, actually, take these. I trust that you¡¯ll remain quiet about all this and we¡¯ll remain¡­ contacts, at the very least.¡± Thiago went over to a drawer, and took out a bag of diamond marks, tossing them to Alan.


    Alan glanced inside, there were ten diamond marks, small diamond cubes the size of a large die. Each mark was technically worth 10,000 credits or 10 ability points, thus ten times a gold mark or 1/10th of a platinum mark. In actuality, their market values was about twice that. Marks, it turned out, did not drop upon death unlike a number of other items and credits. Thus, it was safer it turned out to exchange your credits for marks rather than keeping a large number of credits on-hand. It also turned out that there were no real ¡°banks¡±, that is to say you were unable to store credits in a bank such that if you died you wouldn¡¯t lose some percentage of your credits. Some players simply never exited safe zones to bypass this, but it was generally considered wiser to invest your credits in marks if you were heading somewhere dangerous. Marks could be stolen, but they could also be stored in safety deposit boxes and the like. There was also the ability to convert them into ability points or items if you took them to an Administrative Center. Finally, and this was the part that Alan thought had influenced Thiago, exchanges of marks were not tracked by the game, while any exchange of credits were. Your credit history was recorded, if you will. That was one of the reasons Alan wanted to go to an Administrative Center, there were a number of things he wanted to make private, including his level and credit history. The default, for some reason, was public.


    Alan agreed to the contract, and the window closed. He noted that he also got the additional 10,000 credits. After his credit amount had been multiplied by five at the real end of the Tutorial when he¡¯d completed the basics quest, but also after spending a number of credits on the globalnet for information at Eve''s behest, Alan was left with 103700 credits, 1 platinum mark, 10 diamond marks and 10 gold marks. Miraculously, he was already halfway to his goal of paying back Icewolf the million credits he owed.


    ¡°Alright, thanks. Good luck with the guild.¡± Alan started to exit the room, then glanced back at Aphrodite, who Thiago was staring daggers at. ¡°By the way, in case you were going to try something like this again, I didn¡¯t notice anything until Eve said something. Even then, I¡¯m still not quite sure how you were effecting me or even if you¡¯ve stopped doing whatever it was you were doing. Players from other races will probably pick up on it right away too, but I¡¯m not sure about most other humans. See ya.¡±


    ¡°Bye,¡± Aphrodite murmured, looking almost.. frighteningly at Thiago, who muttered a goodbye as well. Whatever, it wasn¡¯t Alan¡¯s business.


    It isn¡¯t. I believe she¡¯s acting for your benefit as well.


    Oh. What was it that you detected, anyway?


    Certain emotions and parts of your brain were somehow¡­ heightened. I¡¯m not even sure this was the intended result of her ability, nor what ability it was. There are various enchantress or mentalist classes recorded, but as most of their abilities are generally considered illegal, they are seldom revealed.


    Huh, interesting. I guess that¡¯s another thing you should teach me about, the common and uncommon classes¡­


    Yes, that is in the 17th lesson of 34,281 currently planned lessons.


    Alan groaned inwardly as he headed back to his room. Maybe asking Eve to teach him information that would helpful was a bad idea¡­ no, it was better if he knew this stuff himself, and not just Eve. Still, as the number of lessons showed, there simply wasn¡¯t enough time. There were so many things Alan could be researching, or learning about, new abilities that he could be practicing. He¡¯d barely explored the Titan too, although he was only technically allowed in certain rooms. But Eve thought his time was best spent continuing to study the Game and its inhabitants, so  he went to do that. Then, he¡¯d get in a few hours of sleep before they landed on Khersath.


    By the way, did you notice I was talking fast?


    Compared to the speed at which Thiago was speaking, yes, you were speaking abnormally fast.


    So, what, should I try to speak slowly consciously, do you think that would work?


    I¡¯m uncertain¡­ due to the amount of speaking and importance of speech however, I am now prioritizing this as the number one lesson.


    Alright, hopefully it won¡¯t take too long¡­


    A few hours later, Alan got a reply from Icewolf. He¡¯d tried to talk in a slower way, but after hearing himself speak through Eve¡¯s recorded playbacks, he found he still sounded funny. In the end, Alan had ended up deciding that when he was talking, Eve would deactivate the time-perception enhancing parts of his augments, but then immediately reactivate them once he was done speaking, or if there was some sort of danger. Alan read Icewolf¡¯s reply¡­ then read it a second time.


    I: Congratulations on the completion of the Tutorial, I have to say I¡¯m impressed. However¡­ you may have done some things you shouldn¡¯t have. Can¡¯t speak now, messaging communication isn¡¯t very secure, if no one¡¯s told you that yet. If you want answers get to Mars, and go to a nightclub called Red Dust. Ask for me. I don¡¯t think you should need to do this anytime soon though. Just visit before the year¡¯s end, in-game time.


    If you can get into the guild you mentioned, great! If you can¡¯t, that¡¯s fine. However, it¡¯s probably a good idea to join one sooner rather than later. Strength in numbers, and all that. I know you¡¯re a more solo-oriented player, but trust me when I say you want to be part of a guild. There are  kidnappers and all sorts of unsavory things out in space. Captured guild members are usually ransomed back to their guild. Others¡­ aren¡¯t so lucky.


    For now, concentrate on getting stronger. I¡¯ve extended your debt to me indefinitely, so you won¡¯t even need to pay interest or even have a percentage of your rewards go to me. Try to get into a B-class combat-oriented Academy at the very least. Things are picking up at a much faster pace than I, or anyone else expected. The Earth might not be as secure as we might have hoped. Like I said however, I can¡¯t elaborate. Just concentrate on getting stronger, for now. Oh, and by the way, GL HF, let the games begin!


    Don¡¯t reply to this message or send any further messages. I¡¯m not sure if such things can be used to track your location, but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they could.


    A new quest message appeared, shortly followed by another message.


    ¡°Find Icewolf!:


    Visit the Red Dust nightclub on Mars to get a clue about Icewolf¡¯s location. He may even be there when you visit.


    Reward: Additional information, ???


    Time Limit: Around 3 Months¡±


    ¡°New Update:


    Icewolf is your Rogue class mentor. Find him if you wish to delve deeper into the mysteries of the class.¡±


    Alan blinked after reading the second message.


    Huh, I guess that makes sense, the whole, ¡°closer than you think¡± clue and all. He¡¯s literally right next to me.


    Yes, I put together the pieces after examining his message and decrypting the secret message.


    Wait, secret message?


    Yes, it was encoded in his message and is as follows: danger. dont leave omnitech building irl. get stronger.


    Wait, what?


    I assume it means to not leave the Omnitech building in real life, and that you are possible in danger, however there is a 0.0004% chance that it also means-


    No, I know that just¡­ why, from what? What things did I do that I shouldn¡¯t have?


    I am¡­ unsure. I advise you simply follow his advice, and strive to become stronger.


    Alright.


    Alan proceeded to fall into a fitful sleep, both nervous about new developments but also excited to finally set foot on Khersath, the city-planet capital of the humanoid Universe. Whatever. Tomorrow was a new day.


    Author¡¯s Note:


    Well, things haven¡¯t gone as far as I wanted them to in this chapter, but I feel like all the details were needed. I know a lot of information/names are being thrown about, hopefully I add enough reminders that it doesn¡¯t become confusing, but at the same time don¡¯t add too many such that they become repetitive. I want to emphasize that this is a big universe, a big game, and Alan is a very, very small piece of it at the moment. Most things are currently outside his control. Also, in case anyone was wondering, the secret message isn¡¯t in the actual message¡­ So don¡¯t try to figure out some sort of code, lol


    Names  are something that are sort of hard for me to come up with, so any advice or suggestions about names for more minor characters/places/companies/nouns in general are welcome. While I might not change things, if there is a name I really like I might use it in the future! Thanks for reading.

 The City

    Alan awoke in darkness, breathing rapidly, jolted awake by- by something, he couldn¡¯t tell what. His mind felt like it had been jump started, as the events of the previous few days raced through his head in rapid succession.


    The Game. The battles. The tests. The warning. Alan blinked, shaking his head. That was¡­ quite the way to wake up. Feeling fully alert, excited for the coming day, Alan glanced at the clock on his display. There were still a few hours left until the Titan approached the planet, so after performing a series of morning exercises Eve had planned out to strengthen his body, Alan decided to continue studying, leaving where he left off with Eve.


    It was funny, in a way, that he was actually sort of excited to learn more about the Game. If Alan had spent half the time, half the effort he was putting into trying to become better at this game, he probably could have become a straight-A student or star athlete. Except, he¡¯d just never really felt¡­ the need, the motivation, the desire to do anything much in real life. It just seemed rather pointless. Yet, here he was in a virtual universe, more motivated than ever before. Of course, this virtual space effected the real world a great deal, but there was still this nagging doubt in the back of his mind.


    All of this wasn¡¯t real, after all. It might all simply be an elaborate hoax, maybe he went into the capsule and had never actually emerged, his mind simply creating this entire Game. Maybe it was all a lie, something to placate human-kind. Maybe- No, this never ending question of what if¡¯s would get him nowhere. This world, this universe, was very much real, even if it was only a series of 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s stored somewhere somehow. Alan stood up, turning on the lights in the room, intent on absorbing as much knowledge as he could.


    A few hours later, Alan was aboard a dropship, headed towards the planet of Khersath. He¡¯d said a brief farewell to Thiago and the rest of his group. Things were still a bit tense between them, but at least they weren¡¯t outright hostile. Alan didn¡¯t think he¡¯d see too much of Thiago any time soon. Kitana, on the other hand, had agreed to try out for the Black Rose guild along with Alan. Apparently the guild had a renowned arms master, or something.


    Once the Titan was orbiting Khersath, Pharaoh sent Alan a somewhat cryptic message, letting Alan know that he was free to take a dropship to drop him off wherever he wanted to go on the planet, and that he¡¯d be in touch. Pharaoh was definitely involved in human politics, somehow. The Titan was supposed to be an ambassador ship, after all. All these details and all these conversations seemed to blur in Alan¡¯s mind though, as he was now focused on one thing, and one thing only. Khersath.


    Using some of his new found knowledge, Alan opened up a screen that showed the shuttles descent from a cockpit perspective, and got a first glance at the planet itself. It was distinctly portioned, each quadrant appearing remarkably different, even from space. Almost half of the planet was the muted grey Alan had expected, the color of an endless number of buildings that spanned the planet, a single landmass, divided into the living and merchant quadrants. Another section of the planet seemed to compose of green land masses, small to medium continents as well as a smattering of islands, with a blue atmosphere. They looked natural, beautiful, almost like Earth from space. Alan assumed this was the private quadrant. A third part of the planet was hidden, blocked by a blue energy shield of some sort, most likely the military quadrant. A long queue of various specks Alan assumed to be spaceships were lined up outside this quadrant, waiting for clearance to enter.  The central, final portion of Khersath lay beneath Alan, the Main Plaza, an open area of almost 250 square km, almost ten miles end to end, about a third the land area of New York City for a public square. At the center, Alan could barely make out the outline of a building of some sort. It¡¯s size had to be unbelievable though for it to be visible from so far out in space.


    As the shuttle continued to descend towards the Main Plaza it weaved into an unimaginable flow of traffic, cutting in and out of lane after lane of strange looking spaceships, flying contraptions, airborne creatures and unknown beings. Dumbfounded, Alan stared as what looked to be a dragon arched straight upwards, almost crashing right into the shuttle as another spaceship chased after it, shooting a barrage of red laser fire at it. The spaceship had some sort of cloaking enabled, making it difficult for Alan to see what it looked like. The pair were closely followed by a squadron of Administrator fighters, no doubt trying to keep the peace.


    Alan watched the screen as the surface of the planet came closer and closer, their destination highlighted, a gigantic, 100-floor skyscraper located on the east side of the plaza in the residential quadrant. The building was of an indistinct, chaotic shape among a series of other just as humongous buildings, painted an aquatic blue. Up until now Alan had held back his sense of disbelief, thinking that the technology and abilities in this Game may be unlikely, but they weren¡¯t implausible. Now, he had to wonder though. Was this all possible?


    With a near infinite source of both energy and materials? With the capability to break fundamental laws of physics such as deleting unwanted items? With untold millennia to create, experiment and develop? Certainly such is possible, even expected.


    Alright, um, good to know Eve.


    The top portion of the building opened up, allowing the shuttle to enter into a hangar bay. A message popped up:


    ¡°You have now arrived on Khersath. The planet of Khersath is designated as a safe zone. Thus, should you die there will be no penalty unless you enter one of the areas deemed unsafe. You may not enter any unsafe area against your will.  Any unjustified acts of violence or breaking of laws will be appropriately punished by the Administrators Guild, ranging from a simple fine to prolonged incarceration depending on the nature of your crime.


    As a friendly reminder, most forms of public nudity and various obscene gestures are illegal, no matter the customs of your species. For a full listing of the 4,389 public decency laws on Khersath, please contact an Administrator. Have a nice day!¡±


    Soon, the shuttle powered down, shutting off the display and opening its ramp, allowing Alan to disembark. Alan emerged to the now-accustomed sight of Haxlardian guards. These guards seemed to be remarkably better equipped and of much higher status than those above the Titan though. Each wore a blood red mask, in addition to dark crimson power armor with an emblem of a black mask engraved onto the front. One carried a gigantic laser sword best described as a warglaive, a double-ended glaive-polearm with condensed, fiery red energy as its blades instead of the traditional metal. The other carried a plain-looking laser rifle, but Alan was pretty sure the weapon was anything but plain. A light-blue masked Haxlard wearing light power armor stepped forward, holding a tablet of some sort.


    ¡°Welcome to the Haxlardian Embassy, Earthling, I hope you had a pleasant trip here. Is there any way I can be of assistance?¡±


    ¡°Um, actually, I was just hoping for directions to the Administrative Center.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, I¡¯m sure one of our Crimson Guards would be happy to escort you.¡± The Haxlard gestured to one of the guards.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really need an escort, just directions.¡±


    ¡°No, really, I insist. It¡¯s the least we can do to assist our allies. As per our agreement with the United World Government, we would like to assist you as you get accustomed to the Game. Also, despite being a safe zone, Khersath is not as safe as you might think. Thieves and scoundrels are rampant in the streets.¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, and I¡¯d like to get outside and stretch my legs!¡± The Haxlard holding the warglaive spoke up and said. Despite his fearsome appearance, his voice sounded young, like a teenager.


    ¡°Oh, well, I guess I could use a bit of a guide, I don¡¯t know too much about the city anyways,¡± Alan said, at Eve¡¯s insistence. The so-called Crimson Guard would likely be a fountain of information.


    ¡°Wonderful, have a pleasant trip,¡± the blue-masked Haxlardian said. He pressed a few buttons on his tablet, then turned to approach another set of arrivals. The remaining Crimson Guard followed him as well.


    ¡°So, um, hey, I¡¯m J-, I mean, um, I¡¯m Red Death. The lift down is this way,¡± Red Death gestured towards the back of the hangar.


    Grinning at the Haxlard¡¯s name, Alan nodded, ¡°I¡¯m Alan, lead the way.¡±


    Once they emerged from the building through a reception area, Alan stared blankly at his surroundings. In front of him was the public square, and with it were thousands of players of all sorts and size going about their business. A towering behemoth in a mechanized suit, small green plant-like men wearing dark green robes, and a group of figures in black armor levitating over the ground were but a few players that caught Alan¡¯s interest. For the most part, though, everyone appeared to be surprisingly human, with slight differences in appearance. A more exotic skin color, a surprising appendage, a strange item of clothing or a difference in size was all that would set most apart from your ordinary human. A cosplayer from any large convention would fit right in with this crowd. No one would even take a second glance at them.


    Everyone seemed to be either headed to the center of the plaza, towards the pyramid-shaped building looming in the distance, or back towards a different quadrant of Khersath. Numerous stalls were set up, full of merchants and players hawking their wares, from exotic foods to standard weaponry and ammo. Other than the designated spaces for merchants that were spread out every couple hundred feet or so, there was no main road or anything like that. Just open space, and the chaos of so many people doing whatever it was that they were doing. A hundred different sights, sounds and even smells assaulted Alan¡¯s senses. Loud roars of spaceships overhead, the constant murmur of voices from an inhumanly deep baritone to an eerily angelic high-pitched chant, a battle between two miniature robots, a crowd betting on the outcome, a blur of movement to his left so fast by the time he looked it was gone, the scent of horrendous body odor which was quickly replaced by a whiff of an overpowering spice. It was overwhelming. Alan could barely process it all, and he could feel Eve was going haywire as she tried to analyze and categorize the entire environment to see if any might be a threat.


    Alan realized he had stood, mouth agape, right at the entrance to the building for nearly 10 seconds, but Red Death didn¡¯t seem to mind. Alan quickly stepped aside of the entrance to let a delivery through. Shaking his head, Alan tried to get his bearings.


    ¡°So, um, Red Death, where is the Administrative Center?¡±


    ¡°Huh, you don¡¯t know? It¡¯s that building right there, of course.¡±


    Red Death pointed towards the center of the plaza, at the towering outline of the pyramid building Alan had seen from space. The building rose so high Alan couldn¡¯t even see the top of it now that he was on the ground, as it was lost in a sea of clouds. Its base was simply massive as well. Alan estimated one side to be at least a few miles, as the entirety of the Golden Gate Bridge would span only about half the length.


    Looking up, Alan stared at the sky for the first time. It felt strange, knowing that this planet was different from Earth, yet the sky looked similar, with an rising sun, white clouds, and blue atmosphere. The sun was too bright to directly stare at, but Alan was pretty sure it was yellow. Still, though, it would be interesting to see what the ¡°skies¡± of the levels below-ground looked like. The number of people and structured here amazed Alan, but, if the globalnet was to be believed, this was but one level of hundreds. Unfortunately though Alan didn''t have time to sight see. He had things he needed to do, a trial to undertake. Looking at the time, he only had about five hours to do the errand, as it was around 6 a.m. local time. To Alan, though, it felt around noon. He blinked again, gazing about. He just realized it was so early in the morning, and if this was the crowd at 6 a.m¡­


    ¡°Um, alright, so, do we just walk there?¡± Alan asked. The building seemed pretty far away.


    ¡°Sure, or we could jog there. It¡¯s a little over five miles from here, so it will take around two hours to walk, or a bit over an hour if we run.¡±


    Once again, Alan silently thanked the Game¡¯s translation functions, as it automatically translated units of measure as well as sayings and other small nuances.


    ¡°Um, are there any vehicles we could take? I have some stuff to do.¡±


    Glancing at the map and quest marker, Alan saw the entrance to the Undercity was another two miles away from the Administrative Center, in the north east quadrant of the plaza, closest to the private quadrant of Khersath. The military quadrant was in the north west, while the living and merchant quarters, the part he was now at the outskirts of, were to the south.


    ¡°Unfortunately, the Administrators banned most private vehicles from the public square after a group of Revenants tried to use a few to take the central command point in the Administrative Center. You surely must know about this, right?¡± Red Death glanced at Alan. (Or at least that¡¯s what Alan thought he did, it was hard to tell with the mask.)


    ¡°Uh right the¡­¡± Alan waited for Eve to supply him with an answer. He had asked her earlier about what a command point was, yet she hadn¡¯t responded. He waited another second, then said, ¡°Um, actually, I can¡¯t recall.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t recall the First Great Cyberwar!? It¡¯s when the Revenants made their first move, you¡¯re wearing their armor for god¡¯s sake!¡±


    ¡°Uh, right, I haven¡¯t had the chance to learn much history. Why don¡¯t you tell me about it as we jog along?¡±


    ¡°Alright, well, I¡¯m no expert of course, but, well I guess it began with the New Technology Law, but well, you wouldn¡¯t know about that either would you? Well, I guess it¡¯s sort of like¡­¡±


    They set off at a jog towards the Administrative Center, Alan half paying attention to Red Death as he thought about what Eve had been teaching him. Most of Eve¡¯s first lessons had been in the various types of classes and items in the game. She had moved on to different vehicles, and other things like military logistics. To be honest, almost none of what she was teaching him was at all about culture. It was pretty much just information that might help him in a battle. Of course, that was useful, but was Eve really prioritizing the correct things in her lessons? He supposed so. He could always learn more later.


    As they ran along, passing by thousands of players, Alan tried to spot people with different classes. If he focused on one person, and they were in the public database he had gotten from the Thought Emporium, their level and class would pop up momentarily. In the Game, there were the traditional classes of an MMO: DPS, healer and tank, but there were a lot more specialized classes as well. Diplomats, pilots, engineers, scientists, merchants, laborers and such made up a lot of the players as well. His own class, a Rogue Machine Lord, was a sort of combination DPS and jack of all trades, at least from what he could tell so far. Eve would allow him to do things most others couldn¡¯t quite easily, like pilot a ship, gather information or learn new skills. After a bit of thinking, Alan felt like this was probably his strong point at this place in the Game, his adaptability and fast reaction times. Once he got to the Administrative Center, he planned on purchasing skills that would increase his burst damage and help him get out of or avoid potentially sticky situations.


    Running along, Alan felt surprised how good he felt. There was no way he would have become so fit in anyplace but the Game. Jogging along felt almost as easy as walking, although his stamina meter was slowly depleting at around 3/min, but that meant he could run at this pace for over an hour. He was getting used to almost always wearing the Revenant light power-armor too, despite the fact it was a bit more bulky than normal clothing. Still, regardless of  the fact that the armor was made of an unknown metal and covered his entire body, it felt lightweight, like he was maybe wearing leather padding or a light Kevlar suit. Nowhere near as cumbersome as the full on power armor many players wore in the Game. Alan tried to get a better look at the gear other players were wearing as well.


    According to Eve, items ranged from traditional sci-fi gadgetry, such as space marines in power armor with plasma/laser weapons  and almost every variation thereof, to the more fantastical, almost magical items empowered or enchanted by psionic powers. A number of items combined scientific materials with psionic energy as well, although most forms of science and psionic ability were strangely incompatible. A surprisingly large number of players were wearing masks or helmets, often as a part of their power armor, hiding their faces. Additionally, most players had an emblem of some sort, similar to Red Death¡¯s. Looking at a particularly elaborate green swirl, Eve finally answered Alan.


    Capturing a command point is one of the mechanisms in the Game to take over territory. Shall I teach you more about the details of taking over a planet? I may have to suspend certain threat analytic processes, so please keep vigilant.


    Um, alright.


    Very well. Refiguring processes¡­ Refiguration complete. Commencing lesson 34: The Capture System.


    In the Game there are a series of Control Points in each area, also often referred to as Capture Points or Command Points or Objectives. Should you control a Control Point, you gain control of the surrounding area, which depends on the Control Point. Control can be held by an individual, but it is most often then attributed to a larger organization, a Guild, Government or other group. Most points are captured similarly to capture the flag, simply remaining in the area of the Control Point. However, Control Points often have boss class monsters defending them that must be defeated first. Players or machines or NPC¡¯s may also be tasked with guarding a Control Point, and then receive a substantial boost in abilities while within the Control Point¡¯s area.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Once a required number of Control Points are held by one group, an additional Control Point will appear, with varying levels of control attributed to the group. The levels of control are as follows: Plurality, holding the greatest number of points in an area, Majority, holding more than half of the points in an area, and Entirety, holding all control points in an area. The size of an area varies. Once you successfully capture a number of points in a smaller region, you can then move on to capturing a larger region. If you capture the towns of a surrounding city, you can then capture the city. Once you capture the cities of a country, you can capture the country. Once you capture the countries of a planet, you can then capture the planet. Once you capture the planets of a planetary system, you can capture the planetary system, and so on.


    For instance, one Majority Control Point is the one that governs control of the planet-city of Khersath. It is located in the Administrative Center we are heading towards. The Administrator¡¯s must also hold the majority of Control Points on Khersath, in addition to the Majority Control Point in order to hold onto majority control of the planet. If either this central Control Point or the majority of Control Points are lost by the Administrators, they will lose control of the planet. As majority controllers of the planet, the Administrators are able to implement and enforce a number of laws and taxes. The amount of control a group holds varies upon the level of control. Groups generally control the in-Game laws, and are only able to influence real world laws once they hold an Entirety Control Point and every Control Point in a given region. The United World Government currently has control over the entirety of Earth and has majority control of our solar system. A notable exception is that native, indigenous species of a given planet or solar system may govern the area¡¯s real life laws and taxes while only holding a majority, rather than an entirety.


    Most control points appear at points of interest, such as landmarks, places with large population density or places with valuable resources. For instance, a large asteroid might have a Control Point with a randomly generated mini-boss that must be captured before players are allowed to mine metal from the asteroid.  Ship¡¯s control points are often the bridge, or control room.


    That concludes this basic introduction to the in-game Capture System. Further details on the Capture System will be found in lessons Attacking a Capture Point, Defending a Capture Point, Tactics: Controlling an Area and I¡¯ve Captured a Capture Point, Now What?


    Alan then proceeded to complete a number of mental quizzes and tasks, in addition to learning other details from Eve. Once finished, he looked around. It had been about half an hour and it looked like they were almost two-thirds of the way.


    Looking ahead, he could finally see the Administrative Center in better detail. He had expected it to be in a boring office building, like a City Hall or a Department of Motor Vehicle. Instead, the enormous pyramid-shaped building could be the palace, or burial site, of a galactic emperor. The building was layered with sheets of black metal, with turrets and defensive shield generators located every few hundred feet. At the top of the building, Alan could see the outline of a cube shaped structure at the tip of the pyramid, but it was hard to make out, as it was nearly two miles up in the sky.  Ahead Alan could already see two gigantic mechs guarding the front entrance, fifty foot tall armor plated machines of destruction, complete with an array of weapons and personal shields that could, according to Eve¡¯s database, hold up even against an elite Predecessor. This main entrance was nearly four hundred feet tall and five hundred feet wide, but there were numerous side entrances that people were streaming out of and into as well. Scores of cyborg, machine and humanoid guards stood around the perimeter as well, wielding a number of different weapons, armors and insignias.


    Unfortunately, however, even despite the size of the building, with its three mile length, it appeared there was still a queue to get in. Fortunately though, it appeared to be fairly orderly, with Administrators throughout the line moving people forward, asking questions, directing players to different lines and entrances. Alan begin to grow a bit worried. He had to make it to the Black Rose Docking Bay in another four hours, with a package, with no idea how far he had to go to get the package or where any of the places were. He might not have enough time at the Administrative Center.


    Running a bit faster, Alan ran up to the end of the line that was snaking out of the main entrance. It was an orderly queue, with each party standing a few feet away from the next person in lane. Taking his place in line, Alan looked over at Red Death, and said, ¡°Hey, thanks for bringing me here, I think I¡¯ll be fine by myself here. Before you go though, can you answer a question? Why is everyone so orderly, staying a ways from each other? Even in this Main Plaza, with tens of thousands of people, everyone is staying a few feet apart. No one even bumped into me. Not that I¡¯m complaining, of course, it¡¯s rather nice.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s generally considered common courtesy to stay at least a few feet away from other players, and is to prevent actions such as theft. As you¡¯ve no doubt noticed, people have a number of insignias on their armor or weapons, to show their alliances, and to warn people not to mess with them. A few players are even so noteworthy their name and title will appear above their heads. You should generally steer clear of these people, as you don¡¯t want to risk pissing a Named player off, and given the countless customs of players you¡¯re more likely to piss someone off just being near them, either looking at them the wrong way or by not looking at them. Are you certain you¡¯ll be okay alone?¡±


    Alan nodded.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s your choice. Honestly, given that you have no insignia and you¡¯re wearing Revenant armor, most players are likely to consider you fairly suspicious, which might help you to a certain degree, or it might not. You should try to stick to the main streets and thoroughfares though.¡±


    Alan hesitated, but Eve prompted him to ask the question.


    ¡°Um, right, except, well, what do you know about the Undercity?¡±


    Red Death turned his head sharply towards Alan, then glanced about them.


    ¡°The Undercity? Why would you want to go there? I haven¡¯t even been allowed there until I reach level 250 or meet¡­ other requirements.¡±


    ¡°Um, just a bit curious, I read something about it on the Globalnet, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well, my advice is to steer clear of that place. It¡¯ll likely be a deathtrap for you. All sorts of gangs and pirates and even slavers hang out there. A single, low leveled player without even any guild or government to back you up would be easy pickings. Of course, you¡¯d have to find an entrance first, and they¡¯re rumored to be impossible to find.¡±


    Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think I have much of a choice. Alan thought. It looked like this simple task wasn¡¯t going to be as simple as he hoped.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll definitely avoid the Undercity then. Thanks for your help.¡±


    I definitely need to hide my level too, Then maybe other players will be more cautious¡­


    Red Death saluted, then turned around, running back towards the Haxlard Embassy.


    A few minutes later, Alan finally reached an Administrator directing players onwards.


    ¡°Greetings, player. How may we assist you today?¡±


    Alan concentrated on the Administrator in front of him, forming a mental connection.


    Well, I wanted to change my username, hide my level, and make other information private as well. I was also hoping to spend my ability points, peruse the vault, and also set my respawn point here.


    The Administrator blinked.


    Very well. Please follow me, Traveler.


    The Administrator broke from the line of Administrators, another taking its place. Alan followed the Administrator, wondering what was happening. He didn¡¯t notice any of the other players were being treated specially, maybe it was just a class perk. Perhaps sensing his confusion, the Administrator told him:


    As an Chief Administrator is your mentor, your status has accordingly been upgraded. Given the various actions you wish to perform, I assumed you would want a private room for your transactions today. Is that acceptable?


    Um, of course.


    The Administrator deftly weaved in between the long lines of players standing outside, a few shooting envious or curious looks at Alan. Alan was led up a flight of stairs to the main entrance, guarded by the two mechs. Once inside, he could see long rows of Administrators assisting players. It was almost like a bank, with booths set up for privacy. Before he could get a better of look, the Administrator turned sharply, leading him into a corridor guarded by two small turrets and guards with laser swords. Within the corridor were a series of what appeared to be elevators. Alan followed the Administrator into one. Surprisingly, it appeared that it didn¡¯t just move up, but sideways. A minute later, thoroughly lost after going up, sideways and down, the elevator stopped. Alan hoped he wouldn¡¯t need to find his way outside.


    The door opened, revealing a simple, plain looking room with a single Administrator and capsule. Alan stepped into the room, and the door to the elevator closed behind him, leaving him in this room without any doorways or windows, somewhere inside the vast labyrinth of the Administrative center.


    Um, hello.


    Greetings, how may I assist you today?


    Alan then proceeded to change his username from AdamPwnage to just Alan, at least until he thought of something better, hide his information, and set his respawn point to this location. It all only cost 1250 credits, too. Alan then proceeded to purchase two main abilities.


    Each class had distinct talent tress that branched off from specific paths. For example, for his Machine Lord class he could develop Eve as some sort of cyber weapon, to gather information and hack into secure networks or do whatever it was black hat hackers did in the Game. He could also try to develop Eve to the point so that she could  control robots, a sort of Mecha Eve. Likewise for the Rogue class there were paths that were designed for assassinations, piloting, or a variety of other options. To unlock each talent tree, you had to purchase a central ability, which would cost 250 ability points, a hefty investment. Additionally, only one major ability could be active for any given class. Alan had decided on which two he wanted.


    For the Machine Lord class, he selected Enhanced Control. It would enhance his ability to control his own mind and body, through Eve and his augmentations, which would be useful in a number of ways. For one thing, it would allow him to train faster and harder, as, despite everything that had happened, Alan was definitely still human. When exercising he could only handle so much pain, yet Eve believed he could push himself further without risk of injury. His body and mind just wouldn¡¯t let him. This would help to break free of those bonds.  The battles in the Survival Test had also been extraordinarily painful for Alan, and he wanted to mitigate that pain as much as possible, as he couldn¡¯t imagine willingly going through such torture again, especially not when in a state where each second that passed felt like minutes. Additionally, it would be useful in masking his true intentions and presence. With enough practice, he would be able to control his heart rate and other factors that might lead to his detection or give him away when he lied. At least, that was the idea.


    For the Rogue class, he chose the Jack of All Trades path. The ability was just like what it sounded. It would allow Alan to more easily gain and train new skills and abilities, and hopefully master them as well. Sure, the other options such as the Enhanced Stealth or Assassinate skills had more obvious, direct benefits, but Alan liked these choices. They would give him the greatest potential for growth.


    His decision made, he spent the 500 ability points, opening up a series of additional abilities to unlock and train in. A few especially caught his attention. There was an ability in the Jack of All Trades path that would decrease the cost to purchase new abilities, but at the same time there was one that would further decrease the amount of time he¡¯d need to spend to learn a skill. It would probably be better off only getting one. There was another ability that would reveal available combinations of abilities or hidden requirements to unlock skills, but Alan felt like this would probably be a waste of Ability Points. He could find the information online, and combinations of skills should be fairly straightforward, right? The Enhanced Control ability tree, on the other hand, was depressingly sparse. It appeared that Alan hadn¡¯t met any of the requirements for the abilities on this path yet.


    Then, they got to the point Alan was the most excited about.


    I¡¯d like to browse the contents of the Vault.


    Very well.


    The Vault. A collection of items that the Administrators traded for marks, rumored to be the largest and most varied collection of weapons, armor and vehicles gathered in the Game. These items were rumored to come from a variety of sources. They were items dropped by players due to death penalties, items taken from chaotic players that broke the laws in place, items developed by the Administrators or items bought by the Administrators. Each Administrative Center had its own vault, but the greatest and most expansive, where all the rarest items made their way, was here, in the Administrative Center at the center of Khersath.  Alan needed a weapon, and he had one platinum mark, ten diamond and ten gold marks to spend.


    Alan opened the list, and then sorted through the weapons in his price range. The weapons were surprisingly high-tiered, but considering his armor was worth 50k credits and a platinum mark was worth 100k, 200k if sold on the market rather than exchanged with the Administrators¡­


    Unfortunately, a lot of the weapons which were rank B or above also hard a series of requirements, most of which Alan didn¡¯t make. That seemed to be the story of the Game thus far. Combing through page after page of results with Eve, but hurrying as he still had the task to complete, Alan finally settled on an item. A highly modifiable pair of laser pistols, which, with the proper attachments, could be turned into a variety of weapons, including but not limited to a sniper rifle, plasma cannon or even laser sword. The laser pistols only came with the attachments required to turn them into a laser rifle, but Alan could gather the other components later. He also had already developed the basic energy weapon skills required to wield the weapon as well. The pistols themselves cost an entire platinum mark, and two diamond marks, while the rifle accessories cost three diamond marks, but Alan felt like it was a necessary investment. The Undercity didn¡¯t sound like the kind of place he should go under-armed.


    ¡°Orion¡¯s Cores (Rank B*):


    Two powerful laser pistols with an enormous energy source capable of being transformed into a variety of weapons. Said to be the basic weapons of grunts in the Lords of Life¡¯s army, these weapons eclipse most current technology. Accessories to Orion¡¯s Cores may be dropped upon death, but the cores will not.


    Estimated Damage/sec: 300-450


    500 Energy, 1 Energy/shot, 50 Energy/min regen, 60 shots/min.


    300/300 Durability each. Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic) required.


    Dual Wielding: Ranged (Basic), Energy Efficiency (Basic) and Small Arms (Basic) recommend.¡±


    ¡°Orion¡¯s Cores Rifle Attachment (Rank B+):


    Combined with Orion¡¯s Cores, forms a powerful laser rifle capable of firing astonishing bursts. Prone to overheat if fired for an extended amount of time.


    Estimated Damage/sec 600-700


    1000 Energy, 1 Energy/shot, 100 Energy/min regen, 400 shots/min.


    Energy Efficiency (Basic), Energy Ranged Weapons (Intermediate) required.


    Energy Efficiency (Intermediate) and Weapons Cooling mod recommended.¡±


    The fact that the Cores wouldn¡¯t be dropped either was a big plus too, as Alan wasn¡¯t sure how often he might die in the Game.


    Moments later, after Alan handed over the marks to the Administrator, the items popped out of a slot in the wall. Orion¡¯s Cores were two sleek laser pistols made of a green-silver metal. They were completely devoid of any grooves or edges, simply curved weapons that appeared in a half-U shape. The rifle attachment was simply a larger U shaped weapon with two slot to put Orion¡¯s Cores in. Thanking the Administrator for the help, Alan took an elevator back outside, ready to enter the Undercity.


    Author¡¯s Note:


    Sorry for such a long delay, there were some IRL issues and I¡¯m not really satisfied with the chapter as it stands¡­ I¡¯ll be able to fix it later though hopefully, and decided to just continue with the story as is. Unfortunately, the next few chapters will be put up sporadically, as I now need to figure out what I¡¯m doing this summer and try to find a last minute internship. Once it¡¯s summer though I should be able to get up a chapter a week. Thanks for reading ^.^

 Finding the Undercity

    The entrance to the Undercity was nowhere to be found. Alan had rushed over to the position indicated by the quest in the plaza, only to find himself standing in the middle of nowhere. He was standing at the exact location the quest designated, but there was no clear entrance or anything. Alan had inspected the ground and all the peddlers and players around him, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No clear, obvious sign that said, ¡°Entrance to deadly Undercity, right here!¡±  Maybe there was a level requirement that he didn¡¯t meet and thus couldn¡¯t see the entrance¡­.


    Negative. The entrance is likely on a level below.


    Oh, right, of course. Khersath was a city-planet, and this was simply the top floor. There were hundreds of floors below him, with only the upper 100 or so actually being occupied safe zones. The Undercity was below these safe upper levels.


    Alright, so how do I get to the lower levels?


    Querying¡­ All the space directly beneath the plaza is controlled by the Administrators. The Administrative Center that you see is in fact but the tip of an even more gigantic structure. Most of the space is likely used as storage space for the Vault, however there are likely many secretive rooms and entrances to the lower levels of Khersath, like the one indicated by the quest.


    Oh, so back to the Administrative Center?


    Affirmative.


    Sighing, Alan ran back to the Administrative Center. This time however he bypassed the line by going through a VIP entrance, which the Administrators had told him we was allowed to use. Alan was beginning to get a bit nervous. He¡¯d had Eve check how far away the Black Rose Docking Bay was from the center plaza. Luckily, it was only at the outer edge of the plaza, in the private sector. Unfortunately, that still meant it was around an hour¡¯s run away. Alan only had around three and a half hours left, and was really beginning to worry he¡¯d run out of time. Quickly approaching the first Administrator he saw, Alan initiated a mental contact.


    Hey, quick question, um, can I use your entrance to the Undercity?


    Greetings Traveler, please remove your helmet for a proper ID. It should remain off while within the Administrative Center. May I ask why you wish to enter the Undercity?


    Um¡­ Alan paused for a second, taking off his helmet. He wasn¡¯t sure how much he was supposed to reveal about the task he was to complete. Well, I need to complete a task for a major guild as part of a trial to get in.


    Hmm¡­ Unfortunately, Traveler, you do not meet the requirements to enter the Undercity through our gateway at this time, and I cannot make an allowance without someone authorizing your entrance. You have the necessary reputation and gear, but lack the minimum safety requirement of level 200. I apologize for the inconvenience.


    No, wait¡­ Alan frantically racked his brain for reasons he should be let in, yet, in the nervous state he was in, couldn¡¯t think of any off the top of his head.


    Alan took a deep breath, telling himself to calm down, hoping he didn¡¯t look like an idiot simply staring at the Administrator, breathing heavily due to the run over.


    Alright, can you please wait a moment to contact the person who gave me this task?


    Certainly.


    Alan quickly sent a message to Phantom:


    A: Hello, Phantom? Are you there?


    P: Huh, what? Why are you contacting me so early in the morning? I just fell asleep.


    Alan glanced at the clock, it was 7:34 a.m.


    A: Um, sorry for the disturbance, I just had a few questions about the task you gave me. I¡¯m having trouble entering the Undercity, and was wondering if you had the authority to grant me access to the Administrator entrance.


    P: Grant authority? You mean you just went up and asked the Administrators to enter, and they just said they needed what exactly?


    Um, what exactly sort of authority does the person authorizing my entrance need?


    Any officer in any organization rank D or above or a party member that meets the minimum safety requirements should suffice.


    Alan almost face palmed, he should of asked this question earlier. He could of just hired a bodyguard, without annoying Phantom. Of course, the bodyguard might have betrayed him¡­ or maybe Phantom was planning a trap¡­ No, he wouldn¡¯t risk getting on the Chief Administrator¡¯s bad side, right?


    A: Um, apparently any officer of an organization rank D or above has to grant me the authority.


    P: Well, I think I¡¯m an officer and the Black Rose Guild is an A rank guild, so I guess you¡¯re in luck, kiddo. Give me the Administrator¡¯s contact info.


    Alan quickly did so.


    Alright, Traveler, you are granted permission to enter the Undercity. Please wait here for a guide that will take you to the entrance.


    Okay, thanks for your help!


    Alan cut off the connection.


    A: Thanks a lot for the help, they said they¡¯d let me through! Um, just a quick question though, how far away is the place that holds the package? I¡¯m a bit worried about time.


    P: Really? It was that easy? Huh. The destination isn¡¯t too far, just maybe a twenty minute run from the Administrator¡¯s entrance. Your quest should update itself.


    A: Oh, how did you expect me to get into the Undercity? Um, also, I don¡¯t suppose you could give me any sort of emblem that would grant me some sort of authority as a courier of the Black Rose guild? How am I supposed to let them know you sent me, otherwise?


    P: Ah, well, I hear most people just sneak into the entrance. I wasn¡¯t even aware the Administrators knew it existed¡­ Also, sorry, as you aren¡¯t yet a member yet I can¡¯t give you any sort of emblem or anything of the sort. Now, this package pickup is sort of under the table so don¡¯t tell them who sent you, okay? No mentioning the Black Rose guild, or me. Just tell them the boss sent you to pick up the designated package, the quest will give you the info about which package. These shady deals happen all the time in the Undercity. Now, I¡¯m getting back to sleep, as I was up late doing guild stuff. Very important guild stuff.  Only message me again if the planet¡¯s about to explode or something like that, okay?


    A: Um alright.


    Phantom ended the conversation.


    A few moments later, a humanoid figure wearing a grey, flowing robe walked up to Alan. Like so many other people, they had a hood on, hiding their face. A gruff, digitized male voice said from beneath the hood, ¡°Are you Alan?¡±


    Alan nodded.


    ¡°Alright, follow me.¡± Alan didn''t even bother to ask how his guide knew that he had nodded.


    The figure quickly turned around, surprisingly agile despite Alan''s assumption it was an older man or construct leading him. Alan rapidly followed the guide down a back hallway, then through a series of red walls of light, which Alan assumed to be scanners of some sort. Each time they turned a corner or entered a hallway, the lights would turn on above them. When they left, they would turn off, plunging the area into darkness. Each and every inch of space was the exact same grey, silver metal. The walls, the ceiling, even the floor.  Alan was lead down a staircase made of the same metal, then into a hidden staircase within the staircase that was opened when his guide pressed his palm into the wall. Alan saw a glimpse of a hand with only three long, clawed fingers. They walked down this staircase for a while. It simply lead almost straight down, with no end in sight. After a few minutes of walking down the stairs, an exit abruptly  appeared, which they took. Alan continued following the guide for a series of additional twists and turns. How he was ever supposed to have found his own way down here, he had no idea. Maybe that was supposed to have been part of the challenge for the task.


    Still, the place was definitely barren, so he probably could have gotten away with sneaking around down here. Alan hadn¡¯t seen another living (or mechanical) soul down here. Finally, after around a half hour of walking, the guide stopped in front of a wall, which Alan assumed to actually be a doorway.


    ¡°Alright, here is the lift down to the Undercity. It should be back up any minute, but the doors will only be open for a few seconds. It¡¯s 15 minutes down, 15 minutes up, and continuously moves between the bottom and the top. Once you get out at the bottom just continue along the tunnel until you emerge into the light.


    Let an Administrator know when you are back here, and they will send someone to guide you out. Do not sneak around, as you are more likely to get yourself killed than find any secret loot or anything like that. Most of the rooms are empty death traps, just in case you were wondering. Good luck with whatever it is you¡¯re trying to do in the Undercity.¡±


    Abruptly, the guide turned around and left, walking the complete opposite way they had came.


    There are also numerous hidden sensors spread around this area. I doubt Phantom or anyone else was able to come here without the Administrator¡¯s knowledge. Eve let Alan know.


    Alright, interesting. It isn¡¯t like I planned on sneaking around here anyways¡­


    Alan silently waited in front of the metal wall, hoping this wasn¡¯t some sort of practical joke. He should probably be more trusting of people, instead of imagining all the horrible stuff that might happen. Then, suddenly the metal wall opened up, revealing a metal room. Within was a girl, around Alan''s age, who seemed just as surprised to see Alan as Alan was to see her. She was tall and very pretty, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl wore a grey, leather outfit with a hood, almost straight out of an assassin¡¯s game, nicely accentuating an impossible figure of slim but with a heavy bust. Strapped to her sides was a knife and what appeared to be a wooden stake. Looking closer, she appeared to be wounded, with blood on her shoulder-


    GET IN THE LIFT, NOW.


    The door in the wall had begun to close, the room beginning to descend. Alan dived forward as the girl was apparently jarred into action as well. They quickly moved out of each other¡¯s way, eyes briefly meeting as they passed each other by, the girl leaping out of the room, Alan diving in. Alan landed in the metal room, able to get a last glance at the girl¡¯s shapely departing figure as she threw up her hood.


    Alan closed his eyes and concentrated, quickly having Eve bring up an image of the girl, telling himself it was to figure out more about her, not just to look at her. Surprisingly, only a few details had escaped his initial glance. Upon closer inspection, the stave he had seen had a number of light blue glowing runes on it, making the girl a Psionic of some sort. Additionally, the blood on her didn¡¯t seem to stem from any obvious wound, making Alan suspect it was someone else¡¯s.  Also, her ears were distinctly pointed, making her some sort of space elf or something. Eve quickly brought up a list of about 20 humanoid species with pointed ears.


    Wondering what the girl had been up to, Alan began to think about the day so far. In the end, Alan felt a bit disappointed. Khersath was simply a city. A humongous, futuristic city, yes, but like any other city it was basically a collection of buildings and people, most of which Alan would never see the insides of or even know the use of. A hive of activity and experience that simply was. Yet, everything felt chaotic, too many new variables being thrown after him one after the other. Alan shook his head, such thoughts were irrelevant now, he had a task to complete.


    He quickly put his helmet back on, to try to ensure no one could ID him once he reached the Undercity. His mind soon began to wander again, and he briefly went over his future plans for developing his character with Eve once more.


    Alright, so, within the different classes are various talent trees, further narrowing the direction a player might take, and usually only one talent tree¡¯s main skill can be active at any given time.


    Correct.


    Can you perhaps tell me more about why you chose the Jack of All Trades and Enhanced Control talent trees specifically?


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Certainly. The two possess a strong synergy, as I believe both will allow you to more easily train your body, mind and skills. As far as I am aware, the largest drawback to the Machine Lord class is the prevention of use of Psionic abilities, which most combat talent trees heavily depend on. I believe the main method to counteract and balance this deficiency is through powerful, advanced equipment and adaptability with a wide variety of skills. The Jack of All Trades talent tree is actually fairly common, and thus there was a fair amount of information about it on the globalnet. If you continue down the talent tree path where you decrease the amount of time you spend to learn a new skill, there is actually an ability that will allow you to gain an additional class that aligns with a specific skill you have trained in, such as a Swordsman or Pilot. Of course, you would gain this class at a far higher level and thus be at a disadvantage when compared to players who began with the class, at least initially.


    Now, while you may want to go down every path in the Jack of All Trades talent tree, that would be inadvisable as the number of talent point¡¯s you¡¯d need to spend would far outweigh the number of points you might feasibly save, as you can only reasonably expect to reach an upper level of around 5000. Additionally, it would prevent you from spending those early ability points in other places, such as attributes, the general ability talent tree, the Machine Lord/Rogue talent trees and the Enhanced Control talent tree. Trust me, I¡¯ve done the calculations.


    Wait, but can¡¯t you just buy talent points, so doesn¡¯t that mean that some rich person could just become ridiculously overpowered, and dump all their points in the Jack of All Trade¡¯s path?


    Ah, players can only gain five times their level ability points exchanging marks. Thus, a level 10 player may only gain an additional 50 ability points through this method. And yes, I did take this into account in my calculations. Additionally, yes, I believe the combination of me helping to teach you in addition to Jack of All Trades will be fairly overpowered, allowing you to learn new abilities at a pace unreasonably fast, at least compared to most other players. One slight drawback about this heavy emphasis on development however is the lack of early abilities to help in combat or other situations that other classes might gain. To counteract this, we have luckily gained equipment far above our level. Our current gear I would say would be equivalent to that of an average level 500 mercenary. In fact, we¡¯re unlikely to acquire gear with large improvements any time soon. Are there any other current concerns you may have?


    Well, something that I¡¯ve noticed is that none of the abilities I have give exact percents. Usually a game will provide an exact benefit, like 10% more strength or a 25% additional chance to crit. None of the abilities give me any sort of ability like that though, they seem to just say they¡¯re helping, without telling me how much.


    Alan brought up the new Enhanced Control and Jack of All Trades abilities as examples.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Control (Basic)</td><td width="25%">F</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>An ability that gives you greater control over your own body and mind, allowing you to surpass normal limits.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Jack of All Trades</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">E</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives a basic understanding of many elementary skills. Allows player to acquire new skills more easily.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Well, unlike most games there is not actually really a predetermined point system for damage and the like. The points that you see and most players use are more like helpful user interfaces to allow players to better calculate things. Better information would also allow me to give you more exact details. The Game is much more like real life, at least compared to most other virtual reality games. A level 1 character with a sneak attack might defeat an unprotected level 1000 player, although it would be unlikely that would happen given a level 1000 players abilities. If you get sick, your abilities will be shown as lessened, but only to the degree that you allow them to. There is not any status subtracting your strength by a certain percentage other than how much weaker your body actually, physically is. A better example might be no matter how powerful a swordsman may be in real life, could you calculate the amount of additional damage being a trained swordsman gives them, compared to an untrained swordsman? It would depend on far too many outside variables, not just their skill. Thus, the absence of any exact percentages in your abilities.


    Of course, using the correct tools and methods, such things like approximate percentages or proficiencies could be measured, but as skills are variable, constantly changing, taking such measurements are generally inefficient other than to be used as rough guidelines. Also, knowing the numbers doesn¡¯t actually change them. That brings up another typical drawback of the Jack of All Trades ability. Skills within the Game are not things that you will be able to constantly remember perfectly without practice. If you neglect them, their rank and proficiency will fall. Given your enhanced memory due to the Machine Lord augment, that proficiency should decrease at a far lower rate than normal, if it falls at all. As you have no doubt noticed, most abilities are passive, and dependent upon your own actions more than say activating an ability by voicing a command word aloud.


    Okay, and you didn¡¯t tell me all this sooner in a lesson because¡­?


    This is generally simple theory, which is irrelevant to actual combat and in-game situations. I have been teaching you information you need to know if you are to do well in a battle or confrontation.


    Alright, I guess that makes sense¡­ this stuff is pretty interesting too, though.


    And I will teach you more once it becomes more relevant. Now, we should be soon arriving at the bottom, near the entrance to the Undercity. I advise going into stealth mode, which is actually you just actively sneaking about rather than an activated ability/mode, in case you were wondering. Prepare to activate the armor¡¯s invisibility and run, depending upon what awaits us at the bottom.


    Alan nodded, and hid in the corner opposite where the room had opened to let him in. Of course, it was the wall that he had his back to that ended up opening up a minute later.


    Alan quickly turned around, but all he saw was a dark tunnel, like the guide had said there would be. As he stepped into the tunnel, the door to the lift closed behind him and a new message appeared:


    ¡°You have entered into the lower levels of Khersath. Once you exit this tunnel, you have left the safe zone. Death penalties will once again apply, along with all the risks typically associated with the Game. An unsafe zone does not equate with a lawless zone however, and all players are reminded that local rules should still be adhered to. That includes theft, murder and unwanted soliciting.¡±


    Shortly thereafter, Alan emerged from the tunnel into the Undercity, and froze. He¡¯d expected maybe a seedy looking downtown area, or a ghetto slum. Instead, it was a fairly well lit, clean space, looking similar to the top level, with hundreds of people going about their business. The ¡°sky¡± however was clearly a ceiling, about 100 stories upwards, providing artificial light that appeared to be just like sunlight.


    In front of Alan was a city gate, accompanied by numerous armed guards guiding people in and out, inspecting them carefully. Everything seemed quite neat, even orderly, with shops and various buildings and compounds lined up along streets like city blocks within the Undercity¡¯s walls. The first immediate, noticeable difference however was the presence of numerous armed guards everywhere, guarding merchants, stores, lining the walls of the cities. Most of the guards aboveground in the plaza had been carrying nonlethal weapons, stun batons and constraining weaponry. Everyone here however carried weapons that were clearly capable of deadly force. The second thing Alan noticed was the way most people were carrying themselves. Everyone was seemingly alert, constantly scanning their surroundings. Alan, however, began to relax a little, as there didn¡¯t appear to be any immediate danger. At least, until numerous red marks started to fill his vision.


    Eve evaluated everything and anything as a possible threat, and right now everyone turned up remarkably dangerous. Even the kid that looked to be about eight was somehow dangerous, with an associated threat level of around 8%. A number of people that seemed to be watching the entrance Alan just came out of had relatively high threat levels as well, around 30-40%.


    Um, what exactly is the threat level?


    The chance I estimate they¡¯ll be able to cause you substantial harm should they possess the will to harm you. The kid, for instance, could cause you a great deal of trouble should he think you¡¯re an easy mark, as would most of the other spotters watching this entrance to the Undercity. I advise walking steadily towards the location indicated by the quest, acting as though you are clearly on official business. Answer no one unless they are clearly important or an official working for the Undercity. Street smarts, as I¡¯ve taught you.


    Taking a deep breath, which hopefully no one noticed as his face was completely behind his helmet, Alan immediately began walking with purpose towards the city gate. One of Eve¡¯s initial lessons had been on posture, and how to carry himself. Additionally, Eve had taught him different simple methods to avoid confrontation in case someone approached him, such as simply holding out his arm, bent at the elbow, to stop people that tried to get too close. Of course, these were lessons from Earth, but the general principle should still apply. However, most of the ¡°spotters¡± that Eve had pointed out seemed to ignore him, either assuming he wasn¡¯t worth the trouble or he wasn¡¯t among the list of targets they were looking for. Bounty hunting was, after all, a remarkably lucrative job in the Game.


    The guards standing at the city gates had simple, uncolored metal power armor with an emblem of a single metal cube, which Alan assumed to be a platinum mark. They generally carried a laser rifle on their back, a laser sword in a holster to their side and an assortment of what looked to be grenades.


    As Alan was about to enter the city, a guard turned to look at him.


    ¡°Halt. Please state your business in this city and reveal your identity.¡±


    Quick, hand over a gold mark, but make sure to not reveal any other marks. Deflect.


    Alan slid his hand to a compartment that held the remaining gold marks Alan had, and then quickly flicked one into the guards outstretched hand stopping him.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to perform a simple business transaction, and would like to maintain my identity as my own.¡±


    The guard quickly glanced down to see what Alan had tossed him, and, upon seeing gold, quickly shoved the mark into a pocket compartment of his own.


    ¡°Of course, sir, please have a pleasant visit.¡±


    Alan, having learned it was better to keep his mouth shut, simply nodded, and continued on his way, despite the desire to quietly whisper something along the lines of ¡°Oh, I will,¡± to the guard. Unfortunately for Alan however, neither he nor Eve noticed a hidden watcher that saw the gold mark Alan had brought out.


    Author¡¯s Note:


    Well, I wrote this cause I was procrastinating other work I have to do. The next update might not come in a while, though! Depends on how badly I end up procrastinating¡­


    On another note, is there a simple way to retroactively change forum post/chapter names? A number of people have requested I number the chapters, but I don¡¯t want to start numbering them in the middle as it will look strange.

 The Labyrinth

    Alan glanced around at the buildings he passed as he made his way to the location indicated by the quest, about one and a half miles away. Most were shops of  various sorts, with guards stationed outside, while a few were other sorts of dealerships. Interestingly, most of the stores had messages saying that they didn¡¯t allow walk-ins, and required either some sort of identifying symbol or authorization to enter. There were probably some black market stores he could get into with the coin he¡¯d gotten from the shady merchant back on Earth.


    Rather than specific emblems, Alan noted that most players seemed to wear specific colors, probably representing gangs of some sort. The most common colors were a dark purple and a tarnished gold, almost bronze. Some article of clothing or weapon would be painted in one of these colors, but never both, in addition to the emblems most players wore. Alan was worried he was sticking out too much, as he had no such identification, until he noticed a few other similarly unmarked players.


    They were apparently meeting up as a group, heading into the ruins of an old building. Alan noted that there were a surprisingly large number of guards around the building, despite its dilapidated state. All the guards wore a purple tabard with a silver crown etched into it over there power armor.


    Hey, Eve, what¡¯s that?


    It is likely an entrance into the Abyss Labyrinth.


    The Abyss Labyrinth?


    Yes, while the Undercity is below the upper levels of Khersath, it is not the lowest part of Khersath, but simply the lowest inhabited region of Khersath. The remnants of an even older civilization lies further below. This area is named the Abyss Labyrinth, as even after countless years and countless exploration parties have entered into it, no one has ever managed to reach the bottom. There are rumors that there isn¡¯t even a bottom, that it simply continues down into a black abyss.


    Of course, that is likely superstitious nonsense. In fact, there are numerous capture points that have been taken and briefly held, dungeons within the greater labyrinth, causing many players to believe there is a major capture point, likely located in the center of the planet, which would give one control over the Undercity and lower levels of Khersath. This power could easily rival the control of any of the main four districts. However, despite many major expeditions no one has made it very far down, or at least they aren¡¯t revealing that information to the public. Still, hidden new ways down into the Abyss Labyrinth are often found, and lead to dungeons with decent treasure and enemies. That is likely one such entrance.


    Ah, got it.


    Alan quickly walked by the ruins, continuing onwards. The buildings around him turned into large, steel warehouses, generally with only one or two bored looking guards. There were fewer and fewer people walking down the streets, as Alan was clearly leaving the main market district.


    Someone may be following us. I did not notice them before due to the density of people, but now I believe there¡¯s a high probability they have been tailing us since the entrance gate.


    What!? Alan began to glance backwards, then, remembering his lessons with Eve, forced himself to keep his eyes forward so as to not alert his stalker.


    I didn¡¯t notice anything¡­ Alright, so what¡¯s the plan.


    Enter the alleyway indicated ahead. Immediately when you enter and are out of sight I will activate your armor¡¯s invisibility. Then, once invisible, promptly turn around and continue to the quest destination.


    Got it.


    Alan turned into the alley indicated, then proceeded to turn right back and exit once the invisibility field was activated. He continued down the street, picking up his pace, glancing behind him. He noticed a man with a dark purple glove stroll pass the alleyway. The man wore a set of black formal attire. He took a brief, discrete glance down the alleyway then continued on. Eve highlighted a small, metal ball that Alan wouldn¡¯t have otherwise noticed drop from the man¡¯s pocket, rolling into the alleyway.


    That¡¯s a scanner! Quickly, run away, it can scan up to 100m away.


    A blue outline of the scanner¡¯s potential range appeared in Alan¡¯s view. He quickly began sprinting forwards with all his might, barely crossing the line before a small electronic pulse showed up right behind him, invisible to the naked eye but not to Eve.


    The man that had dropped the ball frowned then murmured a few words into a communicator on his wrist. Eve managed to read his lips.


    He said, ¡°I¡¯ve lost him.¡±


    Alright, good, so we should be in the all clear, right?


    I¡¯m not sure. If you were marked by him simply to try to rob you, maybe. But if he was on the lookout for you specifically, he may continue looking. We are uncertain of who he contacted as well. We had best try to finish this task quickly.


    Got it.


    Alan started jogging towards the quest marker, moving past warehouse after warehouse. A few had guards, while others had squatters hanging out in the front. Alan even noticed a few players doing some sort of drug in a number of alleyways, but he didn¡¯t care about such things and tried to ignore them. A few minutes later, he reached another, nondescript large steel warehouse, apparently the destination of his quest. There were two guards in front, both in dark grey, almost black army fatigues rather than power armor. They each held a number of strange devices on a belt, and held their weapons at the ready with a quiet ease. One had a dark-metal sword, the other a mechanical rifle. Unlike many of the other guards Alan had seen, they weren¡¯t fooling around or talking to each other. They were simply quietly scanning the area, clearly on a different level than many of the other guards. Interestingly, neither had an emblem of any sort.


    I suggest we deactivate our invisibility from around the corner, then approach cautiously. Also, the quest has updated, we are to ask for package E51, on the behalf of Master Silver.


    Alright, got it.


    Alan quickly walked back around the corner, then deactivated the invisibility and checked on the power of the armor. It had 440 energy remaining, out of 500, as remaining invisible consumed 5 energy/min. He then slowly approached the guards, who turned to look at him, standing at attention.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m here to pick up package E51 for Master Silver.¡±


    The two guards briefly glanced at each other, then the one on the right who held the sword spoke.


    ¡°Oh, and what proof do you have that Master Silver sent you?¡±


    Thinking quickly, Alan replied, ¡°Proof? Isn¡¯t my presence here enough? My master made no mention that such proof would be needed, and I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t have sent me here to comeback empty handed.¡±


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sure your master is a very important person, but at the very least you should have an emblem or symbol to demonstrate that you are part of his faction, yet here you stand devoid of any such signifiers.¡±


    Shit, Eve, what now?


    Try a bit of intimidation, I will try to gauge their responses.


    ¡°Do you know what is in the package?¡± Alan asked in a quiet tone.


    ¡°No, we do not, sir.¡± The guard answered.


    ¡°Well then, I don¡¯t think it is your place to question the orders of my master. Are you sure that you wish to offend him?¡±


    The two guards shared another glance.


    They seem more confused than anything else. They aren¡¯t intimidated in the slightest. Time to try different tactics, perhaps a bit of bribery. Diamond marks, not gold.


    But, those are worth 20,000 credits, each!


    And completing this quest with little difficulty is worth a great deal more. I estimate the guards are both at least level 400, thus we have little to no chance of defeating them.


    ¡°Ah, but of course, my master may also be quite generous. I¡¯m sure that you didn¡¯t think I wouldn¡¯t reward you, just as much as you wouldn¡¯t want me to return empty handed.¡±


    Alan smiled, but then, remembering the guards couldn¡¯t see his face, simply slowly took two diamond marks out, giving one to each of the guards.


    The guard who had been talking to Alan inspected the mark, as the other once more glanced at him, almost asking him what they should do. The guard shrugged.


    ¡°Get him his package, and quickly.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The rifle-wielding guard quickly ran into the warehouse. A few seconds later, he emerged, carrying a small black box about the size of a shoebox.


    ¡°Here you are, sir.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Alan said, taking the box and carefully putting it into a compartment on his back. The box had no clear opening, but it¡¯s contents seemed very secure, as nothing rattled or moved about when Alan lifted it up. The revenant armor would soon be at full capacity, as it didn¡¯t have much room for carrying objects other than weapons and ammunition. The compartment Alan had placed the box in was really meant for a sword or other hilted weapon, not a box. He should probably get some sort of futuristic backpack or bag at some point, although it would weigh him down a bit.


    As Alan turned around and headed back towards the city gates, another cloaked figure strode past him towards the guard. Alan caught what he said to the guards.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up package E51 for Master Silver, here is the order confirmation.¡±


    The two guards took out their weapons, and shouted, ¡°Hey, you there, stop!¡±


    At that point though Alan had already turned invisible, and was sprinting away with all his might. Alan spared a glance behind him, only to see the guard throw a sensor in his direction. Time slowed as Alan entered hypercognition mode, greatly increasing the speed at which he thought and was able to communicate with Eve.


    Eve plotted out where the sensor would land, along with the 100m radius it would scan. There would be no evading this sensor.


    Perhaps if we had taken them by surprise, we may have been able to defeat them, with a 13.4% probability. Now, however, our chances to win a direct confrontation are noticeably smaller. Our best chance is to run away, and constantly dodge their attacks, as they will only get brief snapshots of where we are from their sensors, especially if we are able to continually run out of the sensor¡¯s range. Two dangerous uncertainties are we do not know the guard¡¯s abilities and we don¡¯t know if they have backup, but I estimate we have a 45.9% chance of escape.


    Got it. Alan replied.


    The first few steps were easy. Alan sprinted away, then easily dodged the EMP grenade and bullets fired at him with Eve¡¯s help. He was soon out of the sensor¡¯s range, but the other guard simply threw another one in front of Alan as his partner picked up the other. They continued this relay as Alan continued running forward, easily evading the bullets and occasional swipe of a sword with Eve''s warnings where each attack would appear.


    Alan, however, soon began to tire, a heavy cloud of fatigue settling in his mind.


    Can¡¯t we just shoot the sensors or hit them with a surprise attack?


    Don¡¯t you remember any such action will has to be performed after the armor¡¯s invisibility has been deactivated? Additionally, if you haven¡¯t noticed the guards are much faster than you are. The only reason they haven¡¯t caught up is the need to pick up their sensors and keep you in its range. Unlike us, they also don¡¯t have time to plan their every move. Only around 30 seconds have passed in real life.


    Don¡¯t remind me.


    Alan had thought his previous experience in the Game had pushed his limits before. He had, after all, experienced mind numbing pain in the Tutorial. But this was different. Before, he had to simply sit still, in pain, and watch as the Predecessor advanced. Now, each second that passed, he had to force himself to endure greater pain. It was like he was at the end of a set in a grueling workout, but on a completely different level. Pushing himself to take another step, pushing his body forwards in a full on sprint, was experiencing each moment of the full on muscle weary pain and tiredness for what seemed like an eternity. His body, his mind, surely couldn¡¯t take more.


    Keep going. You are barely at the 35% of your body¡¯s limit.


    WHAT!? Alan moaned into his head, a large sense of dread coming over him as he pushed himself onwards.


    To what limit must I push my body to in order to escape?


    Simply 70%, the point of near-collapse. I am not unreasonable, and do not expect you to push yourself to the point where you would die.


    Alan swore at Eve.


    You are wasting energy.


    Sighing, Alan focused on but one thought. Move. He let Eve worry about where, and when. The details didn¡¯t matter, simply the motion did. Pushing himself forwards, through the pain, the fatigue that couldn¡¯t get any worse. It then worsened, slowly but surely, as Alan felt his body seem to almost tear itself apart. He was pushing it too hard, harder than should be possible. But Eve guided him onwards.


    Exhaustion and discomfort was soon but a remnant of the blissful past. This was torture, a torment so unbearable that Alan almost wished to die, to step into the oncoming bullets rather than dodge them. But, for some reason, Alan managed to persevere, finding a quiet strength within that he didn¡¯t know he had. The pain, the weariness? It didn¡¯t matter. All that mattered was forwards. Something clicked inside Alan¡¯s head just then, and an in-game message appeared before him. Alan ignored it, and it closed automatically. Eve would have directed him if it were important.


    Suddenly, Alan realized he was nearing the market district once more, as the crowds grew. Alan was able to deftly maneuver past people, but the guards chasing were having a great deal more difficulty, as they were trying to chase down a person no one else could see, firing into supposed nothingness. A few people began firing back at them, assuming they were the targets.


    Realizing, that he might escape, and soon, Alan felt a short-lived burst of energy, only to have it soon be replaced once more by the mind-numbing agony of continuing onwards. A few seconds later, the guards lost Alan, a sensor they threw forwards knocked aside by an enraged old woman, shouting something about public decency.


    Alan felt himself slow down as he escaped the sensor¡¯s range, relief washing over him.


    DON¡¯T STOP. ONWARDS.


    What!? But-


    IF YOU STOP HERE, THEY WILL FIND YOU. ONWARDS.


    And so Alan pushed himself onwards, as his vision began to blur and his consciousness began to fade. As he even began to lose his sense of feeling, the pain somehow blissfully disappearing, he continued forwards, where Eve directed. Then, his body could take no more, and Alan collapsed onto the ground, oblivious to his surroundings.


    Alan awoke in an alleyway, a shrill ringing sounding in his mind. Groaning, Alan rolled onto his back. Every part of his body felt sore, his legs hurting so much he almost couldn¡¯t feel them. As soon as he was full conscious, the ringing stopped.


    Welcome back. I allowed you to rest as long as possible, I activated and deactivated the armor¡¯s invisibility to avoid detection while you were asleep. Now, however, we have but an hour and a half to get back with the package.


    Alright.


    Groaning, Alan pushed himself up, staggering as his legs felt weak underneath the strain of the weight of his body and the Revenant armor. Now that he was able to check his messages, he saw to his surprise he¡¯d gained a number of new abilities.


    ¡°Through sheer willpower alone you have managed to push yourself to your limit, and beyond! Enhanced Control sub-abilities Ignore Pain and Programming a Path  unlocked. Indomitable Will has been reclassified as Transcendent Will, an ability under the Enhanced Control ability tree, increasing its effectiveness."


    Alan checked out the tooltips of the skills:


    ¡°Ignore Pain allows the user to ignore a portion of their pain. Not all pain may be ignored however, and if a player¡¯s concentration is broken this effect may be nullified.¡±


    ¡°Programming a Path allows the player¡¯s thought out actions to become almost second nature, allowing inhuman feats of precise movement.¡±


    ¡°Transcendent Will appears when the user musters their willpower to transcend normal limits, accomplishing an impossible feat through sheer willpower. Passively increases willpower, and in extreme situations allows the users to accomplish unattainable feats of will.¡±


    ¡°Endurance +15, Willpower +20¡å


    Grinning, Alan slowly managed to make his way back to the entrance he came through. There, he found the man with the dark formal attire and purple glove, nonchalantly talking with one of the guards, holding a sensor behind his back.


    Through a different exit, then.


    A few minutes later, Alan made his way over to the next closest exit. Just as he was about to approach though, Eve highlighted a woman, leaning against the wall next to the entrance. Holding a sensor.


    Damn.


    Yes, likely all the exits out of the Undercity are guarded. I am uncertain what organization might have the manpower to guard every entrance though¡­ I wonder what it is that¡¯s in that package.


    Yeah, um, so, how do we get out, then?


    I am unsure. If they are guarding all the entrances to just the Undercity, they must surely be guarding the lift back up to the Administrative Center as well. Also, I am uncertain whether or not we could even get back in time. At least, not alive.


    Wait, what do you mean?


    Right now, if we want to have a high probability of joining the Black Rose guild, completing this  simple task, which is clearly not a simple task but a major test to get into the guild, is of the utmost importance, correct?


    Um, yeah.


    Well, I noticed there was an Administrator outpost within the Undercity. It will, for a price, teleport a player¡¯s items into their secure vault, which we will then be able to access¡­ Once we die and respawn inside the Administrative Center, our last respawn point, that is. The only difficulty is that the item must not belong to another player for us to teleport it in our name, and I am uncertain whether or not the black box is registered to someone else. As it is unmarked, I highly doubt it, especially if it contains some illegal substance, as the Administrators would confiscate and scan the item.


    Dying, really? Is there any other way, like shooting or teleporting ourselves out?


    No, this is our best option for completing the task. Actual player teleportation is unimaginably expensive, even short distances. Additionally, in any other scenario, if we die, we would undoubtedly drop this item.


    Alright¡­


    However, since we are planning on dying¡­


    Yes?


    I think we should take risks I¡¯d otherwise advise against. As making it out is unlikely, with little chance of gain, I suggest we explore the Abyss Labyrinth Dungeon, and perhaps maybe try to get lucky in a dungeon far above our level, perhaps trying to steal or ambush unsuspecting, chaotic players. However, don¡¯t attack any normal, non-chaotic players as you will lose more if you die with chaotic status for attacking other players.


    I know. PvP and who it¡¯s okay to attack and when was one of your first lessons. Let¡¯s go.


    Alan made his way over to the Administrator outpost. Interestingly, it didn¡¯t look like any spotters were watching it. At least, none that Eve detected. Shortly thereafter, the Administrator teleported the box for three diamond marks, which seemed like an absurd amount as it was only moved up just a few floors. As he was expecting to die, Alan then exchanged the rest of his credits for five diamond, one gold and eight silver marks, which were one level below gold, worth around two hundred credits each at street value.


    Alright, we have about 30 minutes, maybe a few more if we hurry once we respawn at the Administrative Center, let¡¯s see what we can find in the Abyss Labyrinth.


    Alan managed to sneak his way into the labyrinth with an unsuspecting group of explorers. The guards seemed to be more interested about who and what was potentially coming out of the labyrinth than who was going in. Inside the ruins of the building, there was a set of stone stairs leading into pitch-black darkness. Luckily, the stairs were perfectly symmetrical, and Eve was able to outline in the darkness where the stairs should be, allowing Alan to roughly see in the dark. The group was slowly making preparations and going over plans, so Alan decided to proceed down without them.


    As Alan entered the dark labyrinth, a message appeared:


    ¡°You have now entered the Abyss Labyrinth. Unknown perils await in this seemingly bottomless maze.


    Warning! Your level is far lower than even the weakest of threats in the Abyss Labyrinth. You are advised to leave and come back when you are higher level or with a larger group. Otherwise, don¡¯t blame sudden and unexplained death on anyone but yourself.¡±


    Ignoring the message, Alan continued onwards, invisible. Once he was a far enough away from the surface he activated the glow of his sidearm, illuminating the path downwards. The area truly seemed like an abyss. Other than the stairs, there were no walls or even floors that Alan could see. Instead, there was only the pitch blackness of a bottomless, unfathomable depth. One misstep could easily lead to his demise. Normally, Alan wasn¡¯t one to feel vertigo, but the presence of nothing but the darkness was fairly unsettling.


    Shortly thereafter Alan made it to the bottom of the stairs. There were three paths illuminated by a soft blue light, although Alan couldn¡¯t tell where the light was coming from.  All were simple, 10-foot wide stone walkways, right next to a bottomless drop that would surely kill anyone that stepped off the path. There was a player¡¯s note saying that the right and left paths had been cleared already, thus Alan was about to take the middle path when Eve communicated with him.


    Wait. Fire at the ground in between the paths and next to them.


    Um, alright.


    Alan did as Eve ordered, firing in between the paths with his laser pistols, wondering what Eve wanted. He watched as the lasers shot out into the depth going further and further until finally disappearing into nothingness. Then, as Alan fired to the left of the leftmost path, the laser struck something, and the outline of a fourth, hidden pathway appeared.


    What? How did you know?


    Lucky guess. Continue firing at the ground and follow the invisible path as your shots illuminate it.


    Alan did so. This hidden path was completely invisible, and the only way Alan knew which way to go was that Eve marked where the shots he struck landed, creating an outline of where the path was. Unlike the stone paths, it was barely three feet wide, making it difficult for Alan to maneuver, especially as it twisted and turned. It was unnerving too, standing on an invisible road, on top of darkness. After a few minutes, the path lead Alan below the stairs he had entered through, backwards rather than forwards.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    *Click*


    Suddenly, Alan¡¯s foot pressed into the ground, pushing on some sort of pressure plate. His mind immediately leapt into overdrive.


    Three incoming projectiles from the stairs.


    Eve highlighted three objects that looked like darts coming towards Alan. Alan managed to dive down, barely avoiding them.


    Continue. However, perhaps we should proceed with more caution.


    Um, okay.


    Alan continued to creep along the invisible path slowly, barely surviving a number of traps thanks to Eve¡¯s observation skills and his own inhuman reaction speeds. A few were surprisingly simple to maneuver around, such as a single tripwire and a gap in the path that had to be leapt over. Others, however, were puzzles that Alan had no way of understanding, control panels with unknown symbols and technology at work. Eve seemed to understand them though, and following her orders Alan managed to pass them with ease. Finally, after around fifteen minutes of scrambling around Alan found himself before a what was, as far as he could tell, an invisible cube-like structure. The path ended here, yet as Alan spread his hands out over the invisible wall before him he could find no door or obvious way of entering this structure.


    Try reaching out with your mental capacities?


    Like I¡¯m trying to communicate with an Administrator?


    Yes.


    Alright.


    Alan concentrated, trying to detect some sort of machine presence or consciousness he could interface with. to his surprise, he detected a very faint presence before him, and initiated contact.


    Hello? Anyone home?


    ¡­ Systems Initializing. Error. Warning: Limited Power.


    Greetings Traveler. Warning: ERROR. Main Systems Offline.


    Traveler? Are you an Administrator? What are you doing here?


    ERROR: Bad Request.


    Wha-


    Resuming Power Savings Mode. Estimated remaining power supply for limited functionalities: 34 Millennia. Please contact the Authorities and repair or supply power source, Traveler. Current threat level: Gamma.


    The presence cut off, and a new quest appeared before Alan:


    ¡°Missing Systems:


    Restore power to the mysterious Abyss Labyrinth. Find out more about the structure and its purpose.


    Option: Figure out who the Authorities are and attempt to get help from them


    Penalty: ???


    Reward: ???


    Time Limit: Approx. 34,000 years


    Threat Level: Gamma¡±


    Threat level? What¡¯s that? And how did you know that I should reach out to try to contact some machine presence?


    I am unsure. My actions have been motivated by a faint sense that I have been here before, or I know something I shouldn¡¯t¡­ However, there is no data in my memory to indicate I was ever here before. This is highly disturbing. Additionally, a threat level only appears in a quest which could potentially lead to far reaching and possibly horrific circumstances. The highest known threat level is Alpha, which was only once recorded during a universe wide genocidal rampage, the Predecessor War, while the lowest threat level is Gamma. However, Gamma threat level quests have been known to influence the fate of entire planets. I am unsure if the threat level is so low because of the time limit or if its effects will be confined to a limited scope, such as the Undercity. Guilds and factions, even enemies such as the Empire, Haxlards and tge Republic often band together to solve such quests. We should continue on, and try to find more. Proceed with caution.


    But, there¡¯s no way forward.


    Try again.


    Alan pressed his hands forward once more, pushing against the invisible structure before him. This time, however, he heard a whir of gears as a passageway opened. Alan stepped through the entrance, to find himself being lead through a boxed in, dimly lit metal tunnel. It was comforting to be surrounded by walls and a ceiling again.  What was more disturbing, however, was this supposed information Eve suddenly just had. Alan emerged from the tunnel into a central sort of hub area, about the size of a movie theatre. It seemed to have been long forgotten, scavenged clean of any furniture, parts or items. There was a large screen on a far wall, but it was broken and clearly very, very old. Alan didn¡¯t notice anything else of import in the room, not even any sort of control panel for the screen. There were, however, several other tunnels that lead into various directions out of the room, which Alan assumed must have once been a control center of some sort. Clearly, this wasn¡¯t a simple labyrinth, but some sort of important facility or something. Perhaps, some sort of research station or¡­


    Prison.


    What?


    I¡­ know it¡¯s a prison.


    How do you know?


    I DON¡¯T KNOW, OKAY? But¡­ I know that this facility is a prison. Or at least, it was.


    Alan stood still for a second. For the first time, he could sense a certain degree of¡­ distress within Eve. She had, of course, been concerned, stern and even commanding before, but this was different. She seemed¡­ on edge, almost more human than ever before.


    Enough. I detected a faint noise from the highlighted corridor. We should proceed down it to find what we can, then quickly die so we can complete our current main objective. We can perhaps return when we figure out more or are at a higher level.


    Alan nodded, and made his way over to the indicated corridor. After a short straight passageway a spiral staircase soon appeared. Alan began descending the stairs. A few minutes later he was still walking down the stairs.


    I wonder if I could get down faster somehow¡­


    Request acknowledged. An unknown voice said in Alan¡¯s head.


    Wait, what?


    Suddenly, the stairs shifted, forming rectangular panels that connected to each other, transforming the spiral staircase into a slide. A soft blue glow began to emit from the panel directly beneath Alan, somehow negating most of the friction. Alan began to rapidly slide downwards. Still worried about traps, Alan unsuccessfully tried to manage his speed as he wasn¡¯t sure what he would be finding below. The slide, however, showed no signs of slowing down, and the walls provided no grip. Alan began to feel gravity accelerate him faster, and his stomach began to drop. Occasionally, as Alan slid down he would hear the sound of gunfire or yelling, but the sounds were intermittent, leaving as soon as they came. It was, Alan had to admit, sort of fun, as the speed he was sliding down began to approach that of a fast roller coaster. Then, suddenly the spiral staircase disappeared, and Alan was flung out into pitch darkness, sliding along an unseen path. It reminded him of a rather unforgiving level in a racing game he used to play. The slope gradually began to rise, then it descended once more, as Alan found himself slowing down.


    In the distance, Alan began seeing flashes of light, as well as yelling. He quickly activated his armor¡¯s invisibility. As he drew closer, he could make out the forms of a number of players fending off a metal, humanoid monstrosity. It was an abomination of flesh and metal nearly 10 feet tall, sporting blades grafted onto its two arms, a face half covered by a mask full of tubes and wires. The rest of its body was likewise covered in scars, metal plates, wires and tubes, though the creature had two clawed feet as well. As Alan felt himself slow down, he saw that the remaining half of its face was simply a lump of flesh covered in scars, devoid of anything resembling an appendage. Yet, the monster could clearly tell where it was and where its enemies were. A name tag appeared above the monstrosity. Apparently it was an Experimental Warden.


    There were about twenty players grouped together around a mounted turret in the center of a large circular platform below Alan, about thirty feet in radius. Surrounding it was nothing but pitch black darkness, but Alan knew there were likely hidden pathways as well. Eve had calculated the ending destination of the slide, and it was only about ten feet above this larger platform all the players stood on. Alan watched as suddenly the Experimental Warden leapt forward as fast as a speeding bullet, knocking three players down. It darted its two arms forward, piercing its blades into two of the fallen players, then flung them backwards, into the abyss. Alan saw that each blade was coated with a writhing, black venom that seemed to emerge from the Experimental Warden¡¯s body. The two players arced through the air and fell to their deaths, but before the Experimental Warden could retreat it was hit by waves of fire emanating from the mounted turret, decreasing it¡¯s health by 3% to around 45%. It then leapt backwards, into the abyss. To the players standing on the platform below, it would surely look like it had simply disappeared, but Alan could see that it had simply landed on a hidden platform below.


    ¡°God damn it,¡± Alan heard a player swear. A man in a black cloak with a red star on the back of it gestured about. ¡°That¡¯s the 100th time it¡¯s done that, did anyone see where it went?¡±


    ¡°No, it just vanished. Are you sure we shouldn¡¯t just retreat? I¡¯m not sure we can defeat this thing, and it wasn¡¯t our intention to fight any boss.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Do you want to be the one to return to Lakshi empty handed? Besides, we just need for it to go for the right target¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you sure this is going to work? All of our kinetic and biological weapons seem to have had no effect on it. The only thing that gets to it is energy attacks.¡±


    ¡°Shut up idiot, this is going to work. And don¡¯t speak so loudly, who knows how intelligent it is.¡±


    Should we help them? Alan asked.


    Negative. Continue to observe.


    Alan did so, waiting, hoping nobody noticed him, least of all the Experimental Warden. He watched as the experiment leapt onto another invisible platform underneath the large platform, disappearing from Alan¡¯s view as well. Shortly after however, it reemerged on the other side, and slowly crept back onto the main platform. Before anyone reacted, it leapt forward into the group of players again, and stabbed its two blades forward. This time, however, the moment a blade pierced a player in a robotic suit sudden arcs of electricity burst out of the player enveloping the Experimental Warden, stunning it momentarily. It wasn¡¯t a player at all, but rather a miniaturized mech of some sort. Before it could react, three other mechs jumped forward, shooting out restraining grappling hooks and wires that shot out their own waves of electricity. Meanwhile, the mounted cannon kept unloading wave after wave of fire at the boss, slowly etching away at its health. Alan watched as it¡¯s health decreased, at the rate of around 3% a second.


    Activate hypercognition.


    Concentrating, Alan did so half a second later, watching as the world about him slowed down.


    Alright, here is the plan. We are going to leap down, and using forward momentum attempt to behead the Experimental Warden with our laser knife when it is low enough health, in approximately 12.672 seconds. Quickly grabbing any loot the boss drops, we will proceed to leap off the platform, into the abyss.


    Wait, we¡¯re just gonna steal the kill, just like that?


    Yes.


    But-


    These players are likely slavers. I am about 97% certain. Did you not notice how they didn¡¯t come here to fight bosses? The Abyss Labyrinth is the perfect place to lay traps, as there is little to no regulation, plenty of unknown entrances and exits, and if the authorities come, you can just leap to your death, so they¡¯ll never catch you. This also makes it very important that you leap to your death and do not get caught. Is that understood?


    Um, yeah.


    Looking down at the players, Alan noticed that many of them did look rather menacing, and were even marked with the chaotic status that only came from attacking other players or committing severe crimes.


    Get ready.


    Taking a deep breath, Alan put away Orion¡¯s Cores and got out his laser knife. He really needed a sword, if he was going to keep going for one hit kills.


    Eve plotted out the exact angle that he was to leap out at, and at the exact angle to strike at as well. Trusting Eve¡¯s abilities to calculate, Alan leapt from the platform above right as the leader of the slavers took out a purple-laser cutlass, no doubt wanting to finish off the boss himself. Slowly, Alan felt gravity take hold as he began to dive forwards, knife outstretched. When he was a few millimeters away from colliding with the boss Eve deactivated the armor¡¯s invisibility field right as Alan activated the knife¡¯s own laser field.


    Alan¡¯s blade sunk into the Experimental Warden¡¯s neck which had already been tenderized by the flames. A slew of messages popped up but Alan ignored them, grabbing the two pieces of loot the boss dropped, and then began to sprint with all his might towards the edge of the platform. With a yell, the slavers fired at Alan, but he managed to evade the hooks and other capturing devices using his inhumane reaction speed and surprise. He was struck by a few darts, tipped with some metal that pierced his light power armor, but before their effects could come into effect Alan was already leaping off the platform, into the abyss.


    Alan read the message log as he began to fall asleep due to the effects of the poisons he had been struck with.


    ¡°x30 Bonus xp for slaying an enemy over 300 levels higher while you¡¯re under level 100, taking 0 damage from said enemy!¡±


    ¡°Minus 40% xp for failing to deal more than 1% of the enemies¡¯ total health.¡±


    ¡°Kill stealer! Due to the nature of your actions, your chaotic level has risen, and you receive a minus 25% xp penalty. However, due to the chaotic nature of the group you stole the kill from, this effect is mitigated.¡±


    ¡°x22 Level up!¡±


    ¡°Gained over 20 levels with one kill! +20 bonus ability points¡±


    ¡°A small metal key, acquired!¡±


    ¡±Death¡¯s Claw, acquired!¡±


    ¡°Poisoned! An unknown chemical has entered your system.¡±


    ¡°Poisoned! An unknown substance has entered your system.¡±


    ¡°Poisoned! An unknown chemical has entered your system.¡±


    Then, Alan¡¯s consciousness faded¡­


    ¡°You have died! Current respawn point: Upper Levels of the Administrative Center on Khersath¡±


    ¡°Due to the nature of your death, no memories lost.¡±


    ¡°Level loss: 5 levels.  All credits lost.¡±


    ¡°Death¡¯s Claw dropped.¡±


    ¡°Skill proficiencies have decreased.¡±


    ¡°Abilities Ignore Pain and Programming a Path have been forgotten. Transcendent Will has been reverted to Indomitable Will.¡±


    ¡°All stats have permanently decreased by 5.¡±


    ¡°Hidden quest: Failed.¡±


    Alan found himself, back at his Home, the blank, white space that was sort a sort of digital space within the Game. He stood, next to the only other being there, the Administrator, staring, mouth agape, at the screens open before him.


    This¡­ this¡­


    Yes?


    These death penalties! What the hell? How is this fair? And you didn¡¯t even mention potential memory loss! Did you know this would happen?


    Yes, I did. And it was worth it. We have gained far more levels than we lost, and can earn stat points relatively easily through training.


    But, the lost abilities-


    Can be relearned much more easily once remembered, especially as we know how to unlock them. You will just need to run until you collapse with hypercognition activated.


    Do you have any idea how painful that was!? Do you really think that¡­ well, alright, I probably will go through it again, for the abilities, but still. Warn me or something next time, okay?


    Very well. For now, however, I suggest we hurriedly retrieve the package then proceed to the Black Rose Docking Bay. There are 34 minutes remaining, and we are saving ability points for the Quick Learner talent, which costs 500 ability points, thus no need to spend any now. Simply place the points you gained from the Gifted skill into agility, then respawn at the Administrative Center.


    Alright... Alan agreed dejectedly.


    25 minutes later, Alan found himself approaching the Black Rose Docking Bay. He had easily retrieved the mysterious package from the Administrative Center, no questions asked, and had proceeded to sprint all the way here. To his surprise, he had even managed to make it here 10 minutes early. Standing in a corner, Alan saw Kitana, conversing with a  giant, grey-skinned bald man in flowing brown robes with a huge war axe on his back. Alan was about to make his way over, when¡­


    ¡°So! You managed to make it, and with the package no less. Impressive work, thanks a lot.¡±


    Alan turned, to find a younger looking man, maybe in their early thirties or late twenties, with bright blue eyes wearing a white uniform that Alan, could, perhaps, describe as a lab coat, if scientists allowed their coats to fall into disrepair and become rumpled beyond reason. He had a certain gleam to his eyes as he scanned over Alan, nodding, circling around him.


    ¡°I am Phantom, of course, as you already know. Now, hand over the package so I can inspect its contents,¡± he said.


    Alan hurriedly did so, excited to see what was inside. A message popped up once he transferred it to Phantom.


    ¡°Congratulations for completing A Simple Task!¡±


    ¡°x2 Level Up!¡±


    ¡°Black Lotus Reputation gained!¡±


    Phantom carefully took out some sort of metal key, similar to the one Alan found, but didn¡¯t know the use of. As soon as the key was near the small black box an opening appeared, and Phantom inserted the key into the slot, turning the key. Phantom then removed the top of the box revealing¡­ an unmarked bottle of amber liquid, which Phantom took out and examined with a joyous smile on his face.


    ¡°Um, what is that?¡± Alan asked, curious.


    ¡°Why, the finest Haxlardian whiskey, of course! Only 250 bottles of this stuff is made a year, and it¡¯s illegal to sell it outside of the Haxlard Empire.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so I braved the Undercity for¡­ a bottle of liquor? How much is it even worth?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, about 15,000 credits, maybe. It¡¯s finding the stuff that¡¯s so damned hard.¡±


    15,000! I bribed those guards 20,000 credits, each! Then spent 60,000 to teleport it up here!


    Yes¡­ it seems this quest wasn¡¯t actually as important as I thought it was¡­ Maybe¡­ Well, we¡¯ll see.


    ¡°Wait, you know that it wasn¡¯t even yours to pick up, right? Some other person came to pick it up right after me!¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? Interesting. I¡¯ll have you tell me more about this later, as I possibly want to hear the details, but that will have to be after your initial assessment. Assuming you get accepted into the guild, of course.¡±


    ¡°Initial assessment?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yeah, you don¡¯t think we just let anyone with a recommendation that completes a fetch quest in, do you? Impress me in the assessment, or at least do reasonably well, and I¡¯ll probably recruit you as my squire. Now, I have errands to do, but I¡¯ll watch the streams. Probably.¡±


    And with that, Phantom turned around and strode away.


    ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t you tired?¡± Alan called out after him.


    ¡°Nah, Erudites don¡¯t need much sleep,¡± Phantom yelled back, as he merrily took a swig from the bottle of liquor Alan had gone through so much effort to acquire.


    I¡¯m not sure I want to work under him¡­


    Yes, we¡¯ll have to see. However, I think it should be noted that I did not notice his approach at all. He seemingly appeared out of nowhere¡­ We should concentrate on this initial assessment for now, though.


    Nodding, Alan walked over to Kitana, who had finished her conversation with the grey-skinnedgiant. To his surprise, Alan saw that Kitana had risen to level 120 and was wearing a completely different outfit! He thought his leap to level 79 had been fast, but Kitana had only been level 80 when he last saw her aboard the Titan. She now had on black robes over a black vest and grey undershirt, and Alan could tell her clothing was made of no ordinary material, as the light around it seemed to be absorbed by the cloth, creating a sort of dark aura. She still wielded the same katana, though.


    ¡°Hey, Kitana. How are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing quite well, Alan. This is quite the¡­ interesting guild you¡¯ve found.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve found it to be interesting. Just wondering, but how did you level up so fast?¡±


    ¡°Well, Mason,¡± she gestured to the man she had been talking to earlier, ¡°is one of the Arms Master¡¯s of the guild, and he wanted to get an estimate of my ability. Thus, he suggested I visit a local underground fighting ring. The battles were quite exhilarating, and I managed to kill a number of opponents, impressing many and leveling up quite a few times in the process.¡±


    ¡°Kill?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Yes, the fights were mostly to the death. Otherwise it would be mostly pointless, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Kitana grinned, gazing into the distance, smiling almost bloodthirstily, causing Alan to shiver slightly. It was strange, to think of all the people around him going about killing things, but he supposed he should get used to it. It was all part of the Game, after all.


    ¡°Um, yeah, I guess so¡­ Glad you¡¯re having fun.¡±


    At that moment the grey-skinned giant clapped his hands together, creating a miniature sonic wave, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone in the hangar, some 30-odd people, mostly younger looking kids, around Alan and Kitana¡¯s age, 16 at the youngest, 25 at the oldest.


    ¡°Alright, recruits. My name is Mason, and I am an Arms Master of the Black Rose Guild. Any who wish to join the guild should now follow me into the shuttle, to take the initial assessment slash trials slash whatever you want to call them. Any wishing to leave now may do so, but know that once you step foot in the shuttle you must complete the test to completion. Any questions? No? Not even about completing something to completion? Good, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Alan had risen his hand, when Mason had asked for questions, as he wanted to know more about the initial assessment, but quickly put it down after he realized Mason had no desire to answer any questions. He quickly followed Kitana onto a large shuttle with around fifty seats, and a new quest popped up.


    ¡°Guild Trials:


    Pass the initial assessment of the Black Rose Guild!


    Bonus Objective: Complete the assessment with flying colors, allowing you to join the guild with a special rank or job.


    Rewards: Membership to the Black Rose Guild, 10,000 Guild Point sign-on bonus¡±


    Sitting back in the seat, Alan sighed contentedly, scoping out the competition, wondering what trials might await and who he might meet¡­


    Author¡¯s Note: So I¡¯ve been sort of bad about switching between metric and imperial units, as I¡¯m used to both having been brought up in the US but taking a bunch of science classes. Is there a preference to one specific system or has what I¡¯ve been doing not been noticeable/made sense? (Rough estimates have generally been in imperial while more precise measurements/stuff from Eve has generally been using metric)

 Guild Assessments Day One

    Alan glanced outside of the shuttle as they flew over a bright blue ocean at supersonic speeds. They were now in the private quadrant of Khersath, full of islands and small to medium continents, though none were larger than the size of Australia, at least according to the maps Eve showed Alan. They¡¯d been flying for about three hours now, allowing Alan to get to know a bit more about the other Black Rose recruits aboard the shuttle. To his surprise, most of them had recently graduated from their own home world versions of high school in real life, and had just begun to play the Game as well. Apparently the age limit of 18 on the Game was a sort of universal law, where most players of any species could only began playing when they reached a minimum threshold of adulthood, the age varying planet to planet, species to species. That did make Alan wonder about the kids he¡¯d seen in the Undercity though¡­ he supposed it would just have to remain a mystery, at least for now.


    All the other recruits seemed to come from exotic sounding places, planets light-years away from Earth, even in entirely different galaxies. They were all sorts and sizes, wearing varying types of clothing Alan couldn¡¯t begin to describe. But their reasons for being here seemed rather¡­ mundane. They talked as if this was a job application, or a college interview, rather than a chance to join a deadly fighting force. They discussed local sports teams, exchanged news about their sectors and gossiped about celebrity players. Still, even Alan could sense there was an underlying tension in everyone¡¯s voices, as they were about to compete with each other for a limited number of spots in the guild. Alan answered a few questions directed at him, but once the other recruits learned he was from Earth, a new planet, a backwater, they seemed to leave him alone. Alan could tell that they didn¡¯t see him as a threat. That was good.


    He¡¯d briefly tried to keep up a conversation with Kitana, but she answered nearly every question with a single syllable and it had turned into a one-sided rambling on his part. His interests in anime, manga and video games weren¡¯t shared at all by her, and the more he thought and talked about them, the sillier the idea sort of seemed in his head. After all, it seemed like he was now living in one of these stories, rather than simply watching a part in one. That was his goal though, right? To become the hero. To protect the Earth, at least as best he could. Still, he had no idea how to go about doing that or what his best options were¡­ he should just try his best to get into the guild and complete his quests for now, he supposed. Maybe some idea from a game he played or book he read would turn out useful. And so Alan stared out the window in the shuttle, watching the scenery breeze past.


    A few minutes later, the shuttle began to slow down. Looking out the window Alan could see a bright blue spherical bubble, an energy shield with a radius of about 100 km by Eve¡¯s estimates. After a brief pause, the shuttle soon entered this shield. To Alan¡¯s surprise, once they had entered the radius of the energy field, all signs of it disappeared. The blue seas and skies were all that remained, as if there had never been any shield at all. Once they were within the shield though, Eve immediately highlighted a number of artificial islands and ships, all surrounding a larger hexagon-shaped island, each side around 50 km long according to Eve, a bit smaller than the Hawaiian island Oahu. Each smaller island and ship had clear defensive turrets, although they were too high up for Eve to evaluate the defenses any further. She just knew they were there. Alan thought this was a bit excessive. They were still in a safe zone, after all. Most of the island seemed to be simply green, left in its natural state, with a smattering of structures that Alan could barely make out.


    The shuttle quickly began to descend, silently approaching a massive stone fortress in the center of the island. It reminded Alan of a medieval castle, except with its battlements and towers covered by futuristic gun turrets. It was a majestic structure, with four main towers at each of the outer wall¡¯s four corners and a massive keep the size of a small skyscraper at the center. A number of other buildings were held within the walls, a few rectangular administrative type buildings, a hangar and a large, dome-shaped coliseum. At the tip of each of the main towers was a massive colored sphere, containing some undulating energy unknown to Alan. The keep had an even larger pyramid of energy at its tip. Each orb was constantly shifting in color, from a deep blue, to a plasma green, to a fiery red to a clear sort of cloud, and then back again. Alan wondered what the purpose of these spheres was.


    A psionic defense system, capable of absorbing many psionic and energy attacks. The energy absorbed can then be used as  a potential source of energy for psionic attacks launched from within the castle, Eve explained.


    By this time, the shuttle had landed in a small designated area next to the castle, similar to a helipad, and Mason, the arms master, had begun giving out instructions.


    ¡°¡­ always be prepared. Anyone caught in an area out of bounds with no good reason will immediately be failed and questioned. This is your only warning. Anyways, after the welcome ceremony is over, further introductions and instructions will be given. Dismissed.¡±


    He then quickly turned around and strode out of the shuttle. More than a few recruits gave each other startled glances.


    Uh, what did I miss?


    We are to gather in the main hall, mingle, and wait for a speech by the Guild Master Elissandra.


    Mingle? I¡¯m not sure if I like the sound of that¡­ Um, anything else?


    He said something about constant vigilance, but I am always vigilant. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the testing hasn¡¯t already begun. Attend the opening ceremony and see where it goes from there.


    Shrugging, Alan followed the rest of the recruits as they exited the shuttle and proceeded through the main gate of the castle, a massive open gateway over 20 feet tall. Each recruit was carefully scanned for ¡°security reasons¡± by a guard at the gate, then given a metal mark to place on their armor or clothing, which they were told to keep on and visible at all times. On it was a single flowering black rose with a grey background. According to Eve, it was probably also a tracking device of some sort. Alan attached it to his shoulder like he saw most players wear theirs in the main plaza.


    Within the castle gates, groups of players and machines moved about, entering the various buildings and leaving through the different gates. There was a flurry of activity about the central keep, as players entered and exited. Following the group, Alan made his way over to the main keep, and as he entered the main hall Alan stopped in wonderment.


    There were hundreds if not thousands of players here, far more recruits than he was expecting. The main hall was a massive room with arched ceilings covered in paintings of mythical creatures, many which Alan had never heard of before. Dragons, phoenix and gryphon¡¯s were accompanied by giant green slimes, six-armed monkeys and twin-headed snakes. The main hall was soon relabeled by Eve as the Great Hall. It was hundreds of feet wide and about two football fields long, with arched support beams along its two sides, reminding Alan of St. Peter¡¯s Basilica, which he¡¯d seen in pictures before. This room alone could likely hold tens of thousands of people.


    Magnificent stone gargoyles gripping spheres of golden energy posed along the walls and corners of the Great Hall, illuminating it. Covering every surface were intricate designs and patterns, mainly colored in black and gold, holding a sort of ethereal beauty Alan had never witnessed before. In essence, the whole place felt magical.


    Alan¡¯s group made their way to the front of the hall, where all the other recruits had gathered around a few tables lined with refreshments, which consisted of multicolored blocks that looked like Jell-O to Alan. Still, they seemed like a step up from the dull, tasteless grey blocks that Alan had grown used to eating. Everyone began to disperse into different groups, mostly along the lines of species or alliances, as far as Alan could tell. He didn¡¯t think it was very likely there would be any other humans from Earth here, but who knew.


    Someone who had apparently seen one of Kitana¡¯s fights began to try to strike up a conversation with her. She actually responded somewhat animatedly when talking about various fighting styles and swords. Alan stood to the side for a few seconds, awkwardly, before muttering something about feeling hungry and walking towards the tables of food. This sort of thing really wasn¡¯t his thing. He generally avoided large gatherings, and usually spent most of his time on his phone when he did find himself at a party.


    Alan grabbed a bright blue block and bit into it. He was pleasantly surprised by a fruity, cool sort of taste that filled his mouth, reminding him of a mix between blueberries and cherry. A message popped up as well.


    ¡°Energized! Increased energy for the next hour.¡±


    Feeling suddenly refreshed, Alan gazed about suddenly bright eyed. He noted that his energy bar had completely filled for the first time, as even when fully rested it usually hovered one or two points short of full. He wondered if he could grab a few of these blocks stealthily and store them for later, when something caught his eye.


    It was the girl. The girl that he¡¯d run into getting off the lift into the Undercity. She had on a beautiful black dress, rather than an assassins outfit, but Alan was sure that it was her. The same stunning blue eyes and long blonde hair, the same pointed ears. He couldn¡¯t keep his eyes off of her. He began to walk towards her, to try to strike up a conversation, scrambling for something to say, only to find his path blocked by a boy a bit shorter than him. The boy had pointed ears like the girl¡¯s, green eyes and dark hair. He was wearing what looked to be a black spandex suit and a pair of gloves with pulsing green veins of energy running through them.


    ¡°A bit out of your league, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Alan asked, a bit surprised.


    ¡°The girl you were staring at, you know she¡¯s Aurora, the daughter of the guild leader, Elissandra, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, actually I didn¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well, you¡¯ll stay away from her if you know what¡¯s good for you.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Did I do something to you?¡± Alan said, a bit taken aback.


    The boy haughtily looked over Alan¡¯s armor, then scoffed while staring at the blasters at his side.


    ¡°You¡¯re obviously either a complete imbecile or one of the Administrator¡¯s charity cases. You¡¯re wearing Revenant armor in one of the places where they¡¯re most hated, and are carrying blasters worth far more than any beginning player could reasonably afford. You have the bad manners of hiding your name and level among potential guildmates and attached your recruit¡¯s emblem to your shoulder like some sort of guard¡¯s badge. I could go on, but it would probably be a waste of both my time and yours.¡±


    Alan hastily glanced about, and saw that everyone else was wearing their emblem on their chest. The whole Revenant thing might explain some of the not so-subtle glances he was getting as well, and why no one had approached him, even shying away from him a bit. Alan took the emblem off his shoulder and placed it on his chest where a nametag would go, then turned his level and name visible.


    ¡°Um, sorry, I didn¡¯t know. No one has really explained any of this to me, if there¡¯s any other things you think I should know I¡¯d appreciate the help.¡±


    Smirking, the boy, whose name was apparently Sidestep, said, ¡°I¡¯d advise you to leave here and maybe spend a few years learning about basic manners. People here,¡± he gestured about, ¡°have been preparing for guild trials like this one all their lives. You don¡¯t stand a chance. Or at least, you normally wouldn¡¯t, but undoubtedly you¡¯ve been handed a series of rare items because you were born on a backwater.¡±


    Trying to be amicable, Alan said, ¡°Look, I understand your concerns, but don¡¯t you think maybe this special treatment is to counteract the fact that I haven¡¯t been prepared all my life to enter the Game? I didn¡¯t even know how important it was until about a month ago.¡±


    Shaking his head, Sidestep answered, ¡°Whatever. We¡¯ll see during the assessments whether you really belong here. Until then, you should go stand in a corner and not make a scene. Or, better yet, not waste the guild¡¯s time and leave.¡± Then, with a single step, he shimmered, then reappeared 10 feet away. A few steps later, he was at Aurora¡¯s side.


    Wait, was that teleportation?


    No, simply a psionic movement skill of some sort, somehow using the energy built into his suit as well, I believe. Still, it seems quite powerful.


    Yeah¡­ Also, why didn¡¯t you tell me those things?


    What things?


    The etiquette or manner or custom things.


    Why should I have told you those things?


    Well, so I wouldn¡¯t piss off half the people here by wearing the armor of their enemy faction or whatever.


    At this point I see no great benefit to explaining or following such customs. As players in the Game come from a wide variety of worlds and backgrounds, such things are largely ignored, especially in large gatherings. Most recruits probably have only seen clips of enemies of Revenant attacks, and thus are surprised to see you wearing their armor. Additionally, Revenant armor is far superior to most other faction¡¯s, and has the invisibility ability. I don¡¯t see why ruffling a few recruit¡¯s sensibilities matter. If you haven¡¯t noticed, none of the actual guild members like the arms-master or guards gave your armor a second look.


    Oh, so I shouldn¡¯t have revealed my level and name?


    Alan felt Eve give a mental shrug.


    Once more, I simply see no great benefit to acting in either way.


    Um, right. Well, if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m just gonna stand against the wall and review a few of your lessons on communication skills.


    Do as you will. I am currently communicating with local guild AI.


    Uh okay, let me know if anything interesting comes up.


    Affirmative.


    Grabbing a red block of foodstuff, Alan strode over to an empty space next to the wall. He decided that he was better off alone, and not because of that jackass Sidestep. Silently fuming, he glared in Sidestep and Aurora¡¯s direction. Shortly thereafter, he received a message.


    Aurora: Sorry, but please stop looking at me, people do take notice of that sort of thing. You don¡¯t know me, you¡¯ve never met me. Don¡¯t talk to me or approach me. Just ignore me.


    Out of the corner of his eye, Alan saw Aurora send a brief, piercing glare at him. Then, she strode away in another direction, into the crowd. Pausing, Alan tried to send a reply message, but the Game¡¯s system told him that Aurora had blocked him. Well, at least he knew she knew that he existed. She probably just didn¡¯t want people knowing about her escapade to the Undercity for some reason. He told himself it wasn¡¯t him.


    Sighing, Alan took a bite out of the red cube he¡¯d grabbed, to see if it gave a different buff. Disappointingly, it gave the same energized buff, but tasted of some other fruit Alan couldn¡¯t quite name. A hooded figure slowly approached Alan wearing brown robes, his name and level remained hidden.


    ¡°May the bunny gods spare thee,¡± a deep, resonating male voice said from beneath the robes.


    ¡°Um, what?¡±


    ¡°Does thou not recognize our great and mighty overlords?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The bunny-lords, whose fastest of hearts and fluffiest of tails lead us all through the great fields of space.¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m sorry I don¡¯t really-¡± The figure pushed Alan up against the wall with a tremendous show of strength.


    ¡°Are you a heathen? Do your DARE ignore their teachings-¡±


    ¡°Sorry! Sorry, I don¡¯t-¡±


    The stranger pulled down his hood, revealing a young trickster¡¯s face with sparking black eyes and a Cheshire grin.  ¡°Sorry, I was just messing with you, newbies are just too easy. There aren¡¯t any bunny-lords. At least, not yet.¡±


    He then let Alan down gently, smiling. Alan felt a wave of anger began to rise up, infuriated and annoyed at all the jabs at him because of how little he knew, but he was able to push it down, and said politely, ¡°Ah, um, no problem, and you are?¡±


    ¡°The Supreme Pontiff, the Blazing Star, the Herald of Them, the Grande Teacher of Minds, That Guy Over There, etcetera, etcetera. You can call me Him, if you want.¡±


    Alan stared at this strange man blankly. He tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. There was no logical response.


    ¡°Anyways, looks like Elissandra is about to give her speech. Time for me to head out then.¡± He threw his hood back up, and then began walking out of the hall as the lights began to dim.


    Who- what-


    I believe that was the guild¡¯s Mad Priest, Void.


    Wait, so he wasn¡¯t a recruit?


    Nope.


    But, he looked just like-


    According to online records, he has the ability to shapeshift.


    ¡­


    Alan looked up at the front of the hall, which held a simple black altar of some sort. Atop the dais stood a majestic figure, dressed in golden robes. Elissandra, the guild leader. Alan could see the resemblance to Aurora, as Elissandra shared the same blonde hair and blue eyes, but had an ageless face. She regally stood, arms outstretched, as energy from the orbs all along the walls and ceiling flew to form a ring of energy above her hands, plunging the room into darkness.


    Smiling, she looked out across the hall full of potential recruits, standing in the shadows of her light. Alan felt her gaze briefly rest on him before continuing. The room had fell deathly quiet, as everyone¡¯s attention rested on Elissandra.


    ¡°Greetings, recruits, and welcome to the Black Rose Guild Hall.¡±


    A message popped up in front of Alan:


    ¡°Scoping out the Competition Updated:


    2/10 Major players met


    Bonus: 0/10 Objectives found¡±


    Alan was reminded of the class quest the Chief Administrator had given him, tasking him with meeting 10 major players, players that were capable of massively influencing the game, and finding their objectives in the Game, if he could. This meant that Elissandra was considered one such major player. He closed the message. Interesting.


    ¡°I hope that I see you within these halls for many years to come, but before introductions are made I would like to offer a few words of advice. Year after year applicants make their way here with simple goals of wealth and power. I understand, as we are mercenaries, after all.¡±


    The swirling gold energy above her settled into a mountain of glimmering of gold coins, exuding a faint warmth that even Alan, standing over fifty feet away, could feel.


    ¡°But we are so much more. We are a brotherhood, a united order. A guild. A band of allies with common purpose. If you have not begun thinking about this, you should begin to ask yourself, what will you do for the Black Rose Guild? And perhaps, more importantly, what can the Black Rose Guild do for you? Dream bigger than simple thoughts of credits and levels. Think of change, change that you can make.¡±


    The thousands of coins suddenly began shifting into golden balls of light, floating high up above everyone, close to the ceiling, illuminating more of the room. Alan watched as slowly a single ball of light settled above the heads of every recruit.


    ¡°For, after all, we are one of the strongest guilds the Game has ever seen. We have conquered planets, assassinated emperors, sacrificed gods and amassed wealth far beyond imagination. But we have not come this far without developing enemies.¡±


    To your right and left, Eve cautioned Alan.


    Resting his back along the wall, Alan watched as out of the shadows created by the balls of light players stepped out, members of the Black Rose Guild. They appeared seemingly out of nowhere, stepping out of the dim corners of the room, all wearing similar black suits of leather or metal armor, hiding their faces, names and levels. Two knights suddenly stepped out from the shadows, standing to either side of Alan, hands rested on black metal broadswords at their sides. Glancing about, Alan could see most of the other recruits had only a single guild member next to them. He slowly moved his hands over to his laser pistols, wondering what was about to happen.


    Elissandra continued in a somber tone, ¡°And this is why I must now ask that you reveal your complete character information to the guild member next to you. Your character information, your faction allies and your quests. Everything. I realize this is a great deal of information, but this will help us determine if you have a place in our guild, and, if so, where. Unfortunately, we will have to fail and detain anybody allied with one of our enemies. If you have a quest to infiltrate this guild, then it goes without saying you, too, will be detained.¡±


    A motion caught the corner of Alan¡¯s eye, as a recruit suddenly tried to make a dash for the exit. The golden sphere of energy above him pulsed, turning black, sending a bolt of lightning that struck the recruit. They collapsed onto the floor, unconscious, as the guild member who had been watching the recruit calmly strode over, picked up the body and strode into the darkness.


    All the players around Alan began to slowly open up menus, showing them to the players that appeared by their side. Alan began to do the same, but Eve messaged him.


    I have transferred the requested information to the guild AI tasked with compiling the data.


    Oh?


    Yes, it is rather crude but each of the Black Rose guild members seem to be inputting the data into this database. I simply uploaded it straight there.


    Alright.


    The knight to Alan¡¯s right coughed, holding up a tablet, motioning for Alan to open up his character screen.


    Alan turned to look at him, and said quietly, ¡°Check your database. It should all be there.¡±


    The knight looked down, back up at Alan, then put the tablet away, shrugging.


    Alan watched the sea of recruits. A few more tried to make their escape, for whatever reason. A few adamantly resisted showing their information, while others tried to grab a weapon at their side or make a break for it. All were quickly silenced by a single bolt of lightning from the golden ball that floated above their head, then dragged off to who knows where. One girl managed to deflect the bolt headed her way with an energy shield of some sort, but another two bolts quickly struck at her from either side, silencing her. The moment felt sort of surreal. By the time everyone had finished showing their information, perhaps 5% of the recruits were gone.


    Suddenly, Elissandra, who had been calmly observing the proceedings, waved her hands, and the balls of energy all shot back to their respective places on the wall, illuminating the Great Hall once more. All around the room, the guild members began to take off their helmets and masks. The knight to Alan¡¯s right was revealed to be a stone-faced cyborg, with the name and title, Specialist 3. To his left stood the cyborg¡¯s mirror image, with the name Specialist 4.


    Elissandra smiled briefly, then said, ¡°Now that that business is out of the way, I would officially like to welcome everyone to the 307th guild assessment. The rules are rather simple. By the end of the tomorrow, earn 1000 guild points. Those with 1000 points or more are allowed to join the guild. Those with less will be asked to leave.


    Guild points are the main currency within the guild, and can be exchanged with a 1:10 ratio for credits, or for items or other services within the guild. Monthly wages, as well as bonuses will be awarded in guild points. Ranks can even be improved within the guild with the necessary number of points, if you meet the requirements for the rank you are applying for. The way we do things are a bit unique, without the rigid structure of many other guilds and governments, but more about that will be told to you after you pass the trial. These guild points may also be traded, sold or gambled freely, like any other currency, but for the purpose of the assessment the points must be earned. Now, I¡¯m sure you are all wondering how you might earn said points.


    Well¡­ earlier today, or at another point in time, you were likely given a task of one sort or another by a member of the guild. Each of these tasks were actually carefully examined and proctored events, and you will now be granted points according to how you did. The number of points you possess will appear on your guild mark, which must remain in clear sight at all times.¡±


    A golden energy flowed out of Elissandra¡¯s hands, spreading and striking every recruit, engulfing them in a sudden flash of light. Alan watched as a bright burst of energy snaked towards him, then struck him, engulfing him in a warm embrace. A message popped up.


    ¡°Faction Change! Title Established.


    You are now a (temporary) member of the Black Rose Guild, granted the title Black Rose Recruit. Guild standings reset. Guild points awarded.


    Increased renown for being affiliated with a well known guild. As a faction member, your Faction Standings will be influenced, and your actions will influence your faction¡¯s reputation as well as your own.¡±


    Suddenly, a slew of additional messages popped up, hundreds in total. Alan was barely able to close them quickly enough as additional messages continually popped up. They were along the lines of the following:


    ¡°Faction Bonus! 10% Discount at all stores on Khersath.¡±


    ¡°Faction Bonus! Increased experience gain while in Black Rose Guild territory.¡±


    ¡°Faction Bonus! Increased attack damage while in Black Rose Guild territory.¡±


    ¡°Faction Bonus! Allowed to travel to freely within the Empire.¡±


    ¡°Faction Bonus! Allowed to purchase a Republic Universal Travel Permit at a discounted rate.¡±


    ¡°Faction Bonus! Increased performance from Black Rose Guild equipment.¡±


    Gaping at the huge number of bonuses, feeling a bit stronger, Alan grinned. Trying to join this guild was definitely the right choice. A new faction window appeared too, showing the Black Rose Guild¡¯s reputation with hundreds of different groups.


    Alan glanced at his guild mark, as a new icon appeared beneath the rose, for guild points. He looked at how many points he was awarded, then looked again. He¡¯d been given 5000 points, 4000 more than he needed to join the guild. Grinning, he looked back up at Elissandra. He was already in, just like that, it seemed.


    Looking in Alan¡¯s direction, Elissandra suddenly gave a devilish grin, then spoke aloud to the crowd, ¡°But like all other forms of wealth, these guild points may quickly change hands. After this presentation everyone will proceed to the Simulation Dome, and the first trial will begin. A series of free for all duels, with each recruit¡¯s own guild points on the line. Each recruit is allowed to issue 10 challenges to any other recruit they desire, and each recruit must accept any challenge they receive. The person who is challenged will then be able to either choose the number of points wagered, a value from 100 to 1000 points, or choose the rules of the duel from pre-set rule sets. The challenger will then decide upon whatever was left undetermined. All recruits must go through at least five duels before retiring for the night. Any undefeated recruit will be given 100 guild points, any undefeated recruit with more than 10 wins will be given 500 points, and the recruit with the most wins will be given 1000 points.


    To be fair, there are a few rules, like you can only challenge the same person multiple times if they agree, purposely losing a duel will lose you points, you can¡¯t wager more points than a recruit has and if one recruit has below 100 points the duel value will automatically be fixed at 100. As if you lose the duel you lose the amount of points wagered, it is possible that there will be players with increasingly negative point values. If you have less than -500 points, you will be unable to continue dueling. The same goes for if you have more than 10000 points. You will be all be required to change into standard guild recruit equipment, and be given a choice of basic weapons, although the duel may be fixed with a certain type of weapon according to the rule set of the duel. Then, once all of the duels are finished, you may proceed to the lodgings provided and prepare for tomorrows assessments. There will be a general assessment of your abilities, followed by more specific testing by the major divisions within the guild. Points will be adjusted, depending on how these assessments go.


    Now, I would like to introduce the heads of the guild¡¯s main divisions, and what they are looking for in recruits. As the guild leader and one of the strongest psionics in the Game, I occasionally take apprentices from the guild¡¯s Psionic¡¯s Corps, more on which will be explained later. Other than that however, you will generally report to your direct superior, thus, unfortunately, my interaction with the guild at large is generally fairly limited. Good luck in the assessments.¡± She then turned, and strode over to stand at the side of the altar.


    Mason, who had apparently been near to the front, stepped up.


    ¡°I am Mason, the head Arms Master. Each and every member of the Black Rose Guild is expected to be proficient in at least basic combat, and I¡¯m in charge of training you lot in that regard. If you impress me or one of my fellow brothers at arms in tomorrow¡¯s assessments, we will consider taking you as a trainee, or squire, as they are called in this guild. All members are expected to achieve at least an F ranking in tomorrow¡¯s combat assessments. If you have decent combat skills, and no one else wants you, you¡¯ll join our General Army. If you wish to join this force, you must have at least rank D combat abilities right now and achieve an expected combat rank of at least B. More on this later.¡±


    Mason was soon followed by a thin, skeletal hawk-eyed man, who appeared tiny standing next to Mason.


    He said in an excited, squeaky voice, ¡°I am Admiral Thrag, one of the two commanders of the Black Rose fleet. The other commander being my wife, Thrasha. You may have heard of the fleet, as it was the one that led the Empire¡¯s Prime fleet on a wild goose chase during the most recent rebellion. Now, it all began on a cold, clear night. Well, I suppose all nights in space are cold and clear, but this one seemed especially cold as my wife had just kicked me out of the bridge for-¡± Elissandra let out a small cough.


    Thrag glanced over at her, then said, ¡°Um, right, but that¡¯s a story for another time. Talk to me later if you want to hear the grand and glorious tale of-¡± Another cough. ¡°Um, never mind. Where was I? Right, while the fleet is rather small, with only a single capital ship, my baby, the Scarlet Rose, we are particularly looking for those who are able to distinguish themselves as exceptional, rank B or above fighter pilots and engineers skilled in ship repair, whatever rank. For those who wish to join the fleet as an Ensign, you will be required to undergo a series of additional assessments and rank highly in various other fields. Um, right, I¡¯m done now.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Next stepped up an odd-looking, squat man with a funny nose Alan couldn¡¯t quite see, wearing what looked to be highly advanced Revenant armor. He intoned in an emotionless voice without inflection, ¡°I am Enigma, quartermaster and lead research officer. You have already been informed if you may join our ranks, and will be receiving additional assessments as they are deemed necessary.¡±


    A number of other guild officers slowly made their way up, introducing themselves, outlining what they were looking for, but Alan slowly began to lose focus. All this organization stuff was rather boring, and if he understood correctly it looked like he¡¯d either end up under Phantom, who was under Enigma, or wouldn¡¯t end up in the guild at all. The healers/medics, the psionic corps, the robotic specialists and researchers, none of those really mattered to him, at least not for now. Eve would record it all and give him any important information he missed anyways. Still, he had a few questions for Eve regarding what he heard.


    What is it with all these rankings? Like I know some abilities have various rankings, but can overall combat ability or piloting skill be ranked like that?


    With the proper tools, certainly. We shall see how it¡¯s done tomorrow. Similar to how other systems categorize things in term of rare to legendary or normal to godlike, the Game simply assigns a rank and associated number. Overall abilities and creatures are similarly ranked, as well as things like ships and even guilds. As you have surely noticed, various enemies with the same levels have far different capabilities. A general rule of thumb used is it takes 100 players of the same rank to take on someone with one higher rank. Thus, the 300 rank C soldiers might take on 3 rank B soldiers evenly. This is, of course, just a generalization, as ranks are further assigned numbers in the range of 1 to a bit over two billion (2^31 ¨C 1, to be precise), the lower the number the better. Predecessors and major bosses like space dragons are generally assigned a rank of S, humans a rank from F to A, depending on equipment and ability, and Haxlards a rank of D to S, for example. Once I possess more information, I will be able to also display enemies¡¯ ranks in addition to level.


    After a few more introductions, Alan and the rest of the recruits were sent out in groups to tour the guild grounds, at least the parts they were allowed into. Alan had Aurora and Sidestep in his group, but stayed at the back of the group, away from them. Even after the information they just gathered, it seemed like the Black Rose guild was still being cautious. The tour turned out to be rather simple. First, they were taken to a capsule center aboveground, which held hundreds of capsules, where they were told to set their spawn point. Then their guide, an android with very limited intelligence, like a city guard NPC that you might find in an ordinary MMORPG, lead them directly to an elevator within the keep. It showed them two floors, the training floor, which was a cool sort of futuristic gym, and their temporary rooms in an underground barracks. Those were the only floors they were allowed on, it turned out.


    Then they were led to the Simulation Dome. The building was, as its name suggested, a  massive dome. The dome was made up of a huge array of tessellated, silver metal triangles. Surrounding it were huge rectangular power generators, filling the air with a low humming sound outside of the dome. Alan stepped into the dome, which was about the size of a massive football stadium, wondering what he¡¯d find. A message appeared:


    ¡°You have entered a simulated zone! All damage will be simulated and not actually affect the player. No death penalties. Severe XP penalties while in the zone.


    Permissions: Recruit Level, unable to call into being or change the simulation. Basic interaction with simulated environment.¡±


    Alan glanced around, it looked as if he had stepped into a different world. There was a giant wall that was splitting the dome in-half. On one side, there was a bright white artificial light, filled with a multitude of steel dueling rings about the size of a small field and stern looking arms masters in brown robes, Mason among them. On the other side though, there was a dark orange landscape, along with a squadron of Black Rose soldiers fighting what looked to be waves of Haxlardian soldiers.


    Sidestep, who had been placed in the same group as Alan, looked over at Alan, who stood at the entrance gawking at the scene before him.


    ¡°You think this is cool, newbie? I bet you¡¯ve never been inside a spaceship simulator either, where you¡¯re able to drop into any major space battle at will. I¡¯d like to see your first test run. You¡¯ll probably fire on your allies or break out of formation before the fight even starts. I bet your planet didn¡¯t even have spaceships. What planet did you come from again? Dirt?¡±


    Alan tore his gaze away from the simulated exercise and glared at Sidestep. He knew that he didn¡¯t even know all the rules of dueling, and the accused would probably be better off, but he angrily blurted out, ¡°I challenge Sidestep to a duel.¡±


    Sidestep grinned, and Alan instantly knew this was what Sidestep had wanted.


    Shit, Eve, why didn¡¯t you stop me?


    I believe this is actually to our advantage. Sidestep likely highly underestimates you.


    Confidently, Sidestep looked over at Alan, and said, ¡°I accept.¡±


    With a flash of light, Alan found himself suddenly standing in a silver ring the size of a kiddy pool next to Sidestep. Right next to them was Mason, who was looking bored, resting his hands and chin on the handle of his war axe.


    With a great roar, Mason lifted up the war axe, and cheerily exclaimed, ¡°Finally! Actual warriors. Usually recruits dick around for half an hour trying to figure out all the rules and who best to challenge, hesitant to challenge anyone else because of the supposed disadvantages of challenging anyone else, wanting to wait and challenge someone weak. 50 guild points to both of you for not standing about comparing dick sizes! Now, who challenged whom? Ah, Alan challenged Sidestep. Very well, Sidestep you may determine either the wager or rule-set now.¡±


    Sidestep confidently stated, ¡°Let the wager be 1000 guild points. How you got 5000 points I don¡¯t know, but by the end of tonight I¡¯d be surprised if you had a single point to your name. I¡¯ll have to thank the examiners that felt sorry for your sad planet and wanted to give you a leg up at the start.¡±


    Alan glanced at Sidestep¡¯s guild mark, which showed Sidestep had 1550 guild points, then at the screen that showed up before him. It listed a number of dueling rule sets, which seemed to consist of an environment, and weapon loadout. Eve highlighted a scenario as Alan was scrolling down the list.


    ¡°Open field. Melee vs ranged, player may designate who uses a ranged weapon and who uses a melee weapon. Standard Recruit Equipment. Duel to First Blood (after shields have been destroyed). All abilities allowed. No technological or psionic limitations.¡±


    Select that one, letting Sidestep be melee and designating yourself as ranged.


    Um, are you sure? There seem to be a number of scenarios that are much more in my favor.


    We are unsure of Sidestep¡¯s abilities, and I believe this is more about demonstrating our abilities more than winning, although winning is of course important as well. Trust me.


    Alright.


    Alan selected the scenario, designating himself as ranged, then looked up at Sidestep. A ten-second countdown appeared before him, as his equipment suddenly changed into light metal power armor with 100 shield energy, and a pair of basic laser pistols, which dealt 20 damage each shot. Eve likewise highlighted Sidestep¡¯s armor, showing that it now had 100 shield energy as well. The blade he now held apparently did 50 damage a strike.


    ¡°Alright recruits, good luck. May the best fighter win. Oh, and try to put on a good show,¡± Mason said.


    A good show? Alan thought, glancing around. To his surprise, it looked as though every other recruit was now crowding around the metal ring they were in, watching the battle. Eve highlighted Kitana, standing in the back of the crowd, and Aurora, who was at the forefront directly behind Sidestep, calmly analyzing the situation as well. A sudden spike of nerves rushed through Alan, as he looked around at all the onlookers.


    Calm. Eve told him. Simply follow my guidance and we have an above 70% chance of winning this fight.


    Taking a deep breath, Alan closed his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself standing in an open green field, all signs of being in a dome or of there being any spectators having vanished. Sidestep stood about 100 yards away. He let the adrenaline course through him, and activated his hypercognition ability, allowing him to experience every second as if it were hundreds.  The seconds counting down until the start of the duel very slowly shifted down from 2 to 1, as Alan felt Eve calmly analyzing the environment around them, simulating almost every possible scenario.


    Now that Alan was a Machine Lord, he no longer had to simply mimic a blue holographic projection that Eve gave him. Instead, he could incorporate Eve¡¯s projections and calculations within his own mind, allowing him to act as if he were the projection, not simply following it. As each moment passed, Alan watched as the calculations and predictions shifted, as Sidestep begin to favor one leg over the other, demonstrating a high chance he was going to try to approach  from Alan¡¯s left, thus Alan should begin by stepping right. Alan aimed his laser pistols forward, aiming not at where Sidestep stood, but at where he was predicted to be. Eve made two simultaneous calculations, one for if Sidestep moved at the speed using his special blink ability Alan had seen earlier, one for if Sidestep simply ran forwards like a normal being, if his blink ability had been dependent on his armor and thus he wasn¡¯t able to use it. A third projection began, though it was hypothesized to have a lower chance of happening and thus wasn¡¯t prioritized. It predicted that Sidestep would still be able to use the blink ability, but to a more limited degree and shorter teleport distance. Predictions that Sidestep might retreat or step in a direction away from Alan were considered but shortly discarded. Projections into the future began, trying to calculate where Alan should fire his subsequent shots, before the first two even began to approach where Sidestep might be. These projections branched from the original two decisions, then expanded, then expanded again exponentially. Alan saw the optimal shots to take, one with each pistol, and the likely next places to fire, even as Eve began to incorporate data as new information came through, making miniscule adjustments as Sidestep adjusted his stance. Alan began to feel a slight headache.


    Just concentrate on making the shots most likely to hit him, and the movements most likely to defend yourself. You don¡¯t need to consider all of the simulations, just the best one.


    Got it.


    Then the countdown hit 0, and the duel began.


    Sidestep arrogantly glared at Alan. There was no way this human, this earthling, had actually earned 5000 guild points. They had been handed to him, like everything else most likely. Sidestep would show this fool the folly of his ways, perhaps even taking him under his own wing after thoroughly trouncing him. That is, if the human still made it into the Black Rose guild after losing all the points he possessed. Sidestep had purposely shown off his signature sidestep ability  in the great hall, to get people to assume that it was his main ability, and that it depended upon his armor. While he had less psionic energy without the armor, Sidestep could just as easily use the ability and his others. With two short steps, he¡¯d be within striking distance, able to end this farce.


    The countdown reached zero, and Sidestep took his first sidestep, blinking 10 units horizontally towards the newbie, preparing to take a second sidestep. He was immediately met by a laser blast to the face, dealing 30 damage due to a multiplier as it hit his head. Assuming it was just a lucky shot, Sidestep prepared his second step forward, but to his surprise he saw a laser shot headed to the exact point he¡¯d  planned on stepping towards, arcing in such a way that it would hit him if he teleported in that direction. Sidestep quickly turned in another direction, but saw the human suddenly aiming one of his laser pistols at that spot as well.  Sidestep shifted his feet once more, planning on stepping in a new direction, but saw the laser pistols fire off both towards this new planned destination, and directly towards him!


    Slightly nervous, Sidestep stepped backwards and to the left, away from an oncoming barrage of laser fire. He continued to step backwards and to the side, away from the laser fire that spread further and further apart, trying to gather his thoughts. To anyone else, it would look like Alan was simply firing randomly in a wide spread, hoping to catch Sidestep, but Sidestep knew that each of the lasers hit a point that he was considering moving to. Sidestep couldn¡¯t even imagine the years of training, the skill involved, to both anticipate an enemy¡¯s movement and fire directly at those predicted targets, even upwards of hundreds of units away, far outside the range of a standard laser pistol! As far as Sidestep could tell, each shot was aimed perfectly to align with his head as well. He hadn¡¯t wanted to reveal any more of his abilities, but 1000 guild points were on the line¡­


    Alan watched as Sidestep retreated back, feeling more confident about his and Eve¡¯s abilities, when suddenly Sidestep took a sidestep, but left behind a mirror image! Each Sidestep then took another step, leaving behind another. There were suddenly four Sidesteps! Luckily, those four clones then took a step in various directions, leaving no additional clones behind, but there were still suddenly four different potential targets, indistinguishable from one another at least as far as Alan could tell. Luckily, three were likely fake, mirror images, rather than actual Sidesteps. Otherwise, that would be too OP, right?


    The four figures suddenly charged towards Alan, but all used the same left and right sidestep movements, which Eve easily anticipated. Trying to spread out the damage, with the hope it would reveal the real one, Alan managed to hit each Sidestep once as they closed half the distance between them and Alan. Nothing revealed any of the four as being the real Sidestep though. Alan managed to hit each one an additional time in the head right as the four converged on him, leaving the real Sidestep, whichever he was with 10 energy left on his shields. One more shot and Alan would have won the duel.


    Alan dived to the right as the four Sidesteps converged on his position, narrowly avoiding a downwards strike as well as a sideways slash with perfect timing, firing twice to hit both duplicates in the stomach. They vanished in a shower of green sparks, revealing a single Sidestep stabbing forwards. Eve anticipated the fourth clone was behind him, and thus Alan fired once behind him and forwards while diving in such a manner that would both dodge the hypothetical attack from behind and the stab from the front.


    Unbelieving, Sidestep could only watch as Alan masterfully evaded his every attack, even somehow dodging the unseen attack from behind. Alan simply aimed, fired and hit. And the duel was over.


    With a flash of light, Alan found himself once more standing in the same dueling ring, and a message popped up, notifying him that he won the duel. To Alan¡¯s surprise, Sidestep graciously bowed before him, and calmly said, ¡°Well fought. It seems I greatly underestimated your abilities. I forget that worlds not touched by the Game are still full of actual warfare and killing. You must have trained for a great deal of time to be such a warrior.¡±


    Embarrassingly, Alan could only say, ¡°Thank you, you fought well too,¡± while feeling a bit guilty about how Eve and his augments were what had done all the work. It was better if people didn¡¯t realize that though, thus he kept silent.


    ¡°I hope that you forgive me for trying to get a rise out of you, I knew a bit about the guild trials beforehand thus actually antagonized a number of people with the hopes they¡¯d challenge me,¡± Sidestep whispered conspiratorially with a mischievous grin, ¡°I look forward to working with you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Um, sure, no problem,¡± Alan said, a bit taken aback at Sidestep¡¯s sudden attitude change. ¡°Maybe later you could give me a few tips about the flying simulator as I actually haven¡¯t ever used one before, or  about the guild trials you know about.¡±


    ¡°Of course, just find me once the first trial is over. Well, I look forward to your future duels, don¡¯t you dare lose to anyone else!¡± Sidestep said with a cheerful grin, as he stepped out of the ring.


    Alan turned to look at the crowd, who looked more confused than anything else. There were some disappointed murmurs as well as surprised glances at Alan. It was clear no one had been expecting Alan to emerge victorious, and he noticed various objects changing hands as a few of the arms masters had apparently bet on the outcome of the fight.


    ¡°Congratulations on winning the first duel! A bonus 100 points to you, and 50 points to Sidestep for a valiant effort. That was quite the fight,¡± Mason¡¯s booming voice sounded from Alan¡¯s side, startling him.


    ¡°Um, thanks. You said to put on a good show, but people¡¯s reactions are a bit strange¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, of course they are! They didn¡¯t see the fight, after all. Only the arms masters and full guild members saw the fight, the rest of the recruits just saw you disappear then reappear. We realize that if other players saw your abilities it would give them an unfair advantage, after all, and I must say, both of your abilities were quite impressive. It¡¯s a shame Phantom has his eyes on you, otherwise I¡¯d like to test you in some one on one dueling myself tomorrow. Anyways, that concludes the duel!¡±


    As soon as those words were out of Mason¡¯s mouth, a large, heavyset giant that must have been 6 and a half feet tall with the same grey skin as Mason leapt into the middle of the ring, and challenged Alan to a duel. As he had no idea of what the other recruit¡¯s abilities were, Alan hesitantly made the decision to set the duel¡¯s wager at 500 guild points, as the other recruit only had 750. Shortly thereafter, Alan and his opponent, whose name was Skar, were transported into what appeared to be an underground fighting pit, about the size of a boxing ring. The duel¡¯s settings that Skar had chosen were unarmed, unarmored combat until a combatant either lost consciousness or conceded. Looking at his opponent¡¯s bulging muscles, Alan felt a bit nervous¡­ until Eve reported a 99% chance of winning. The tactics she outlined were pretty simple. Go for the weak spots.


    Skar assumed a combat stance, and the countdown neared 0 as Alan reactivated his hypercognition mode. To his surprise, he felt a slight headache as he reactivated the ability. It looked like there was a limit to how much he¡¯d be able to use the ability, and it seemed as though these duels would help him learn that limit.


    The duel began, and Skar took an aggressive step and fast swing at Alan, who sidestepped the punch and kneed Skar in the groin as hard as he could. Skar doubled over in pain as Alan let loose a fury of additional blows to Skar¡¯s eyes, neck and the back of his knees. With a sickening crunch, the giant let out a roar of pain, and shouted, ¡°I concede,¡± and thus the duel ended.


    Alan shook hands with Skar as they were teleported back to the dueling rings, apologizing for the low blows, but Skar seemed to accept that it was within the rules he¡¯d outlined. Given the speed of the victory, especially when Skar had been the one to set the terms of engagement, no new challenger appeared to try to best Alan, which suited him just fine. However, as Alan began to eye the recruits around him, wondering who would make for a good person to challenge, a sudden flurry of duels began, setting off a chain reaction as people tried to avoid being challenged by a dangerous opponent.


    Alan decided to play it safe, and challenged a swordsman recruit in simple power armor that only possessed 250 guild points. The swordsman chose a swords only battle, and Alan chose to wager only 100 guild points, as he planned on not using most of his abilities. The subsequent duel was actually more challenging to Alan than he expected, only barely able to finish off his opponent due to his almost prescient knowledge due to Eve¡¯s calculations. Eve¡¯s ability to help him wield a sword didn¡¯t translate nearly as well as the ability to wield a gun. With a gun, all Alan had to do was aim and shoot, but when it came to fighting with a sword, Alan had no idea how to grip the thing, or the proper movements. While Eve could show Alan the correct motions, he had little to no idea why they were the proper motions, and thus often found his balance way off. Finishing blows turned into glancing ones as Alan struggled to face off against insofar as he could tell, a middling opponent. It was suffice to say he had a ways for improvement, and should thus train more.


    Alan quickly challenged another random recruit, who quickly set the wager to 100 guild points, given Alan¡¯s string of victories. Alan let it be a simple pistol duel, and  easily one with Eve¡¯s help. He was about to challenge a 5th opponent, then retire for the night, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find Aurora.


    ¡°Um hi.¡±


    ¡°Greetings. Sidestep tells me that you are surprisingly powerful, and would enjoy a duel, with certain conditions attached.¡±


    ¡°Um, what conditions?¡±


    ¡°First, don¡¯t tell anyone about my abilities. I will not reveal anything I may learn about yours. Secondly, we duel for 500 guild points, in a free for all anything goes duel to the death. Are these terms agreeable?¡±


    Wondering what Aurora¡¯s abilities were, Alan readily agreed.


    They were transported into the center of what appeared to be a roman coliseum, and the countdown began. Alan activated his hyper cognition ability, despite the steady pain that now accompanied its use. He felt like he might need it.


    Despite the free for all settings however, Aurora made no motion to reach for the knife at her side. Instead, she calmly faced Alan, looking at him. Alan had a bad feeling about this. The countdown reach zero, and Aurora made a sudden hand motion, clutching her fist as a wave of energy emerged from her hands.


    BELOW. Eve yelled at Alan, as ice began to emerge at his feet. Desperately, Alan tried to dodge to the side, but he was simply too slow, and the ice erupted from the ground, encapsulating Alan, sealing his movements. While he could see this happening, he simply did not have the speed or ability to stop it. He vainly tried to get off a laser shot at the ice, but  it had no effect. Trapped in the ice, Alan could do nothing except watch as Aurora slowly walked towards him, alert. She seemed on edge, like she couldn¡¯t believe how easy the fight had been.


    God damn it, isn¡¯t that ability too OP? Is there anything we can do? What was that attack?


    That was a psionic ability, most likely some sort of element control. In our current state, it is rather problematic, and unfortunately it does not appear there is anything we can do.


    So, every time we run up against a psionic player we¡¯re just gonna die? Also why was everyone so cautious to face off against us if such a simple ability can completely shut me down.


    Psionics users are actually fairly rare, with about one in a thousand users demonstrating much psionic ability at all. Fewer abilities are so combat oriented. Additionally, they often require a great deal of energy to power. This Aurora must be very talented or was taught a number of secret abilities by her mother, probably a combination of both. Additionally, many of the guild members, and some of the ones we faced, probably aren¡¯t too heavily focused on one on one combat, and have invested their points or have classes that aren¡¯t as relevant to these duels. In the future, we will hopefully have items or allies capable of counteracting such psionic attacks.


    Suddenly, the headache from using the hypercognition mode became increasingly painful, transforming from a mildly painful headache into a splitting, mind numbing pierce. Groaning with pain, Alan quickly deactivated the ability.


    Aurora stopped before Alan, tilting her head to the side, lips pursed, examining him with a thoughtful expression. Alan could only silently stare back, feeling his cheeks turn red.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any psionic abilities, do you?¡± Aurora questioned, removing the ice encapsulating his face with a wave.


    ¡°Um, no, not really,¡± Alan cautiously answered after a go ahead from Eve.


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s too bad.¡± Aurora then took out her knife, and with a fluid, practiced motion, slit Alan¡¯s throat. Shortly thereafter he died, and Aurora won the duel.


    A bit demoralized after the loss, Alan left the dome, as he had little to no reason to continue past the initial five duels. Even with the loss he still had 6350 guild points left, and he wasn¡¯t so certain he could continue winning without his hypercognition mode available. He was starting to feel pretty tired as well. The moment Alan left the building, a message popped up before him.


    ¡°Congratulations on completing the first guild trial. You now have free time to do as you please. Report to the designated simulation room at 0800 tomorrow morning Khersath Private Quadrant Rose Standard Time.¡±


    Alan began to slowly make his way back towards the rooms he had been shown earlier, but Eve stopped him.


    Aren¡¯t you forgetting something?


    What?


    You need to regain the abilities you lost from the death. I believe now is as good a time as any, and the training room looks like it would be useful.


    Oh. Alright.


    Alan then headed to the training room he¡¯d been shown earlier. This shouldn¡¯t be too hard, right?


    Thirty minutes later, Alan found himself running on a futuristic, omnidirectional treadmill within an enclosed space about the size of a small classroom. You could run any which way, and your position would stay roughly constant, while from the walls of the apparatus lasers that simply caused an unpleasant burning sensation would randomly fire. Drenched with sweat, Alan tried to continue to sprint onwards while dodging incoming laser fire, but couldn¡¯t bring himself to do so, and collapsed onto the floor of the room, writhing in pain.


    No abilities unlocked.


    Get up. Continue working out. Reactivate hypercognition.


    I¡¯m¡­ too tired to go on. Everything hurts. Let¡¯s just¡­ do this another time.


    NO. GET UP.


    But-


    DO YOU WANT TO HELP THE EARTH?


    YES, but-


    THEN GET UP AND WORK. Do you think that any player can become powerful enough to change the course of the Game? To influence the future of an entire planet? You must give it ALL of your effort. You must SURPASS human limits. The fact that this is a GAME means that your body¡¯s limits, the pain that you feel, are NOTHING. Push yourself. Push yourself until you cannot physically go on, or let your planet disappear and fall into unknown hands BECAUSE YOU WEREN¡¯T WILLING TO WORK HARD ENOUGH. NOW GET UP.


    Silently, Alan heaved himself off the floor, and began to run once more. He reactivated hypercognition mode, despite the mind numbing pain induced, the elongation of every torturous moment into unbearable eons. He began screaming incoherently at Eve as she continue to coax him on. He mutely continued to stagger forwards with all his might, fearful that his mind would break from the unbearable pain. And, finally, he collapsed onto the floor into blissful oblivion, accompanied by a number of messages he took no notice of.


    In another room  of the keep, six figures sat. Before them, a multitude of screens showed flashing, deadly fights, with figures wielding weapons with skill, demonstrating unique abilities seldom seen, even within the Game. But all attention was focused on another screen, one which depicted a single, foolish human, slumped over unconscious in a training room.


    ¡°Did, did he just-?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ I can see why you might want him. But still, 5000 points? What did he do, break into the Vault?¡±


    ¡°He escaped.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, everyone escaped if that was part of the test they were given, what¡¯s so-¡±


    ¡°No, you misunderstand. He escaped all pursuit and detection.¡±


    ¡°All?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he escaped even the evaluators, who the recruits weren¡¯t even supposed to be aware of. Do you really think we¡¯d send possible guild members somewhere as dangerous as the Undercity without proper defense measures? Well, he managed to evade those, including the tail we set on him. Then, even with the guild members deployed throughout the city, he wasn¡¯t seen again until he reached the quest area. Then, he managed to escape not only the elite guards, but us as well, reaching the hangar without alerting a single one of the watchers we had at every Undercity exit!¡±


    ¡°What? But that¡¯s impossible! And he still managed to make it back with the item? How-¡±


    ¡°Enough. I take it he is your choice, then?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Unless he somehow completely fails tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Well, you all know who my choice has been from the start. The rest of you should hurry up and make your decision.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    And the figures turned back to the screens, watching every movement.


    Author''s Note:


    Sorry for such a late chapter, but well tons of things have happened. This chapter covers about half of what I wanted it to, and still feels a bit too rushed. Oh well. I tried playing around a bit with third person for the first time, so let me know how I did/didn''t do, etc. Also, for all those that are complaining I never use enough tables, just wait for the next chapter. Hopefully you''ll get your fill, and it won''t take too long to make all of them. I also hope a better measure of power and rankings will begin to appear.


    Chapters should begin to once again be published weekly, but unfortunately next week I''ll be gone on a trip so probably won''t get anything out. Thanks for reading!

 Basic Combat Assessment

    Alan awoke on a cold, metal surface. Groaning, he rolled over, feeling nothing but the floor. He opened his eyes and glanced around him, surprised to find himself still  in the same training room. He slowly sat up, wincing at the soreness spread throughout his body.


    Damn, Eve, why do I feel so sore now? I wasn¡¯t sore after that chase in the Undercity.


    Most likely due to the adrenaline coursing through your system, you were able to ignore the soreness. Also you died before the next day, resetting the state of your body. I also suppressed some of your pain using the light power armor.


    Alright, great, so just do that now.


    That is unadvised. I am currently downloading and analyzing data available to us in the Black Rose database. The resources that I would devote to easing your pain are better spent elsewhere.


    In other words, suck it up?


    Affirmative. If it becomes an issue during an assessment I will try to help you.


    Smiling, Alan sat up, making his way to the sort of locker room he had seen earlier, glancing at the time. It was around 6:30 a.m., an hour and a half before the guild assessments began, but Alan could see a number of other recruits in the weight room warming up with light workouts.


    Alan walked through the doors of the changing/cleaning area. He then stopped, stared, and hurriedly turned right around, walking back outside.


    What is the issue? Eve asked.


    Um, did you not see the naked chick right there?


    Most in-game standards of decency are much different than you might expect. Accordingly, all facilities are gender-neutral unless there are differences for actual physical reasons.


    Wait, everything is coed, even the bathrooms?


    Affirmative. There are individual facilities for those that have qualms with these standards or feel uncomfortable around others. A few doors at the end of the room were highlighted.


    Alan briefly considered walking back into the room, but decided to use the individual facilities instead. Although he wouldn¡¯t mind examining some of the other recruits more closely, especially since some things he saw with the brief glance didn¡¯t quite align like he was used to. He resolved to research this later. If he was caught staring at someone else in any sort of sexual way that was probably an insult, and he didn¡¯t want to accidentally create some sort of incident or be labeled a pervert.


    I have detected heightened senses and a modicum of fear. This is likely another deficiency and clear area for improvement for you. Lessons have been added.


    Wait, what? What deficiency?


    Your virginity-


    WAIT. STOP. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?


    I am simply saying your nervousness around those of the opposite gender and focus on the sexual may be a weakness enemies may exploit in the future. You must remedy all such weaknesses.


    Um¡­ alright, fine, but not until a lot later.


    Very well, lessons moved to the back of the queue.


    Groaning, Alan entered the smaller room, wondering what sort of sexual education lesson Eve had planned. Still, they were in a game after all, which meant that such activity likely wouldn¡¯t result in any offspring.


    Actually- Eve began, but Alan cut her off.


    Enough. Show me how to use this facility.


    Alan felt a brief sense of almost exasperation from Eve, but it quickly disappeared. Within the door, he had emerged into a small bathing area the size that appeared to be a hot tub and a sort of enclosed space surrounded by glass walls, that sort of looked like a sauna. Eve instructed Alan tor remove his armor and clothing, then enter the glass chamber. Alan poked his foot in, only to find it freezing cold.


    What-


    It is a an adjustable chamber, currently I have it set to a cryogenic setting to help relieve you of your soreness. Get in. This should work.


    Shivering, Alan stood in the chamber for a few minutes. He felt like he would freeze to death, but he supposed this wasn¡¯t anything new. It was definitely better than the pain induced when he was forced to run until he collapsed. He¡¯d never put much thought into all the pain and suffering most heroes had to endure, figuring that it would be easy in such life and death situations to simply ignore it. Now, though, he knew better, and was even beginning to second guess his choice to become a combat specialist of some sort.


    The pain will become more manageable as you will likely gain abilities that lessen the pain. Now, step out of the chamber and into the water.


    Alan nearly jumped out of the chamber, and slowly sank into the warm bath. The floor was lifted such that Alan could comfortably lie down, resting against the side. The water was at a perfect temperature as well, Eve slowly adjusting it to his body.


    Relaxing as the heat soaked through him, Alan brought up his message history. To no surprise, he regained his Ignore Pain, Programming a Path and Transcendent Will abilities, in addition to a number of endurance and willpower points. However, he had also gained another ability as well as an additional level, bringing him up to level 80!


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Managing to dodge 100 consecutive shots, you have gained a new ability, Dodge!</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+5 Agility</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Managing to dodge 500 consecutive shots, Dodge has been upgraded to Evasive Movements!</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+10 Agility</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Managing to efficiently evade 1000 consecutive shots, Evasive Movements has been reclassified as Enhanced Movements, an ability under the Enhanced Control ability tree, increasing its effectiveness. Using amazing perception and precisely controlled movements with a minimum use of energy you have managed to evade a surprising number of attacks.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+25 Agility    +10 Perception</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan brought up the new ability.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Movements</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">B</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives the player enhanced control over their movements, allowing them to make precise movements with ease.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan stared at the messages, thinking. It seemed like if he managed to dodge 5000 consecutive shots in the training-treadmill-laser-death-room he¡¯d gain the next level of the ability. Unfortunately, according to Eve, he barely managed to dodge over 2000 shots before collapsing. That meant he had a ways to go. He still had no real grasp of power levels though, and supposed it had many upgrades. From his lessons with Eve, Alan knew he had gained the XP to level from exercising. Surprisingly, the Game handed out experience to players for tasks other than just completing quests or eliminating enemies. Players that chose professions like engineers, pilots, traders and even politicians gained levels through practicing their own crafts, although battling and quests were generally agreed to give the most experience, unless someone was a master in their field. Normally, most games would just give abilities or attributes for such feats, and unless you were of a class related to the field you worked in, the XP you received would be negligible. However, the Jack of All Trades ability would allow Alan to gain a bit more XP than normal from such actions. Still, this further explained the need for a workout room and why Academies, schools for new players, were so prevalent.


    After Eve told him to get out of the bath, Alan emerged, and was thoroughly dried by warm gusts of air in the glass chamber. After he had put all of his clothing and equipment back on, Alan proceeded to the capsule room, making sure to save his progress and spending the additional ability point in Agility. At Eve¡¯s insistence, he continued to save the rest of his 114 ability points.


    Fine with arriving early, Alan made his way to his designated simulation room, which was found in the tunnels beneath the main keep. Alan had no idea how many floors there were underneath, as the lift had no buttons. As soon as he stepped into the elevator, it would simply begin moving to his desired floor, as though it knew his destination, which Alan supposed it did.


    He emerged from the elevator into a brightly lit metal hallway lined with doors on either side, spaced about 10 feet apart. Alan walked down the hallway, past a few closed doors, until he finally found his room. Like all the others, it was simply a pure white chamber in the shape of a cube, sort of like a miniature version of his Home when he had first arrived. Two messages popped up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have entered a simulated zone! All damage will be simulated and not actually affect the player. No death penalties. Severe XP penalties while in the zone.


    Permissions: Recruit Level, unable to call into being or change the simulation. Basic interaction with simulated environment.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Welcome! The combat test will first assess your overall capability and then test your specialized abilities. Additional examinations may be needed. Data from your fights in the guild assessment duels and of your stay in the Black Rose facilities will be analyzed. Are you  ready to begin the guild assessments?</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Yes</td><td width="25%">No</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan selected yes.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Analyzing character¡­</td></tr></tbody></table>


    All of Alan¡¯s character windows popped up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Alan</td><td width="25%">Alignment:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">80</td><td width="25%">Class:</td><td width="25%">Rogue Machine Lord</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Species:</td><td width="25%">Human (Earth)</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Black Rose Recruit</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Renown:</td><td width="25%">Rank G (50)</td><td width="25%"> Notoriety:</td><td width="25%">Unranked (15*)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health:</td><td width="25%">500 / 500</td><td width="25%">Health Regen:</td><td width="25%">0.06 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Psionic Energy:</td><td width="25%">10/ 10</td><td width="25%">Psi Regen:</td><td width="25%">0.01 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Shield Energy:</td><td width="25%">500 / 500</td><td width="25%">Shield Regen:</td><td width="25%">1.04 / Min</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">350 / 350</td><td width="25%">Stamina Regen:</td><td width="25%">1.32 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength:</td><td width="25%">34 + 20</td><td width="25%">Agility:</td><td width="25%">126+ 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">57 + 20</td><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">69 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charisma:</td><td width="25%">24 + 20</td><td width="25%">Perception:</td><td width="25%">68 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">53 + 20</td><td width="25%">Luck:</td><td width="25%">72 + 20</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Resistances</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Physical:</td><td width="25%">23.5%</td><td width="25%">Mental:</td><td width="25%">43.2%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Psionic:</td><td colspan=''3''>4.2%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Faction Standings</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">United World Government:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td><td width="25%">Predecessors:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Legion of Man:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td><td width="25%">Lords of Life:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Haxlards:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td><td width="25%">Administrators:</td><td width="25%">Friendly</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Revenants:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td><td width="25%">Black Rose Guild:</td><td width="25%">Friendly</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Debt:</td><td width="25%">1M Credits</td><td width="25%">Current Quest:</td><td width="25%">Black Rose Guild Assessments</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>General Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Gifted</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on attributes.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skilled</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on abilities.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Talented (Undeveloped)</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">D</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Enhances your talent in various areas.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Energy Efficiency(Basic)</td><td width="25%">E</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">D</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to use technology more efficiently, wasting less energy on extraneous actions.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic)</td><td width="25%">D</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">E</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to use energy based ranged weapons effectively.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sniping (Basic)</td><td width="25%">C*/A*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to shoot accurately at great ranges.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Machine Lord Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">A.I. Interaction</td><td width="25%">B</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to better allow oneself to interact with an A.I. and be interacted with in turn.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Control (Basic)</td><td width="25%">F</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>An ability that gives you greater control over your own body and mind, allowing you to surpass normal limits.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Movements</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">B</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives the player enhanced control over their movements, allowing them to make precise movements with ease.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Ignore Pain</td><td width="25%">E*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to suppress pain with one''s mind.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Hypercognition</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">A</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Allows the user to enter a state of accelerated perception, able to perform mental operations at an accelerated rate.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Machine Communication</td><td width="25%">C*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to communicate with synthetic beings.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Programming a Path</td><td width="25%">C*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">D</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Programming a Path allows the player¡¯s thought out actions to become almost second nature, allowing inhuman feats of precise movement.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Transcendent Will</td><td width="25%">C</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives unimaginable willpower in extreme situations, allowing the user to accomplish feats of will otherwise thought impossible.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Rogue Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Jack of All Trades</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">E</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives a basic understanding of many elementary skills. Allows player to acquire new skills more easily.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sneak (Basic)</td><td width="25%">G</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">G</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>A basic stealth ability.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    A minute later, another set of messages appeared.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>General assessment complete¡­</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Preparing tests¡­</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Initializing Basic Combat Test¡­</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Testing specialized skills¡­</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Sniping Test Initialized</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The virtual space shifted, creating a shooting range. Alan found himself in front of a  long, brightly lit metal hallway with a reddish square dot about a dozen football fields away, a length of over 1000 yards. A row of sniper rifles appeared before Alan in a in-game menu, ranging from standard mechanical rifles with their telescopic sights to the alien laser and plasma based weaponry with digital scopes. A few of them were highlighted green, showing Eve¡¯s preference for these weapons, all of which were alien in design. Alan quickly examined the weapons Eve highlighted, and settled on what Eve labeled as an Advanced Revenant Scout Rifle. Its frame was made out of the same dark almost light-absorbing metal as Alan¡¯s Revenant Power Armor, with a sleek long barrel in the shape of a rectangular prism, rather than the standard cylindrical barrel most human weapons had. More interestingly, as far as Alan could tell the weapon had no trigger, and while it did have a grip, it appeared it could also be attached to the arm of Alan¡¯s armor, and thus the act of aiming would simply require Alan to move his arm about.


    You are able to fire it with a digital command, a thought rather than a push of a button, which makes the lag time between when the trigger is squeezed and the weapon is fired irrelevant. Additionally, while you are able to bring up on the side a digital scope, I am also able to interface this scope with the helmet of your Revenant Power Armor as long as you are in direct contact with the grip of the rifle, showing you exactly where your shot will fire. While most players usually assign some physical command to the firing of their weapon, I will assign a simple fire command to whenever you think shoot and the shot according to my calculations will hit the target.


    Um, alright, so I just think fire, and it¡¯ll fire?


    Affirmative.


    Ok, and so as soon as you highlight the target in the scope screen green, I should think fire?


    Yes.


    That seems too easy¡­ Also, couldn¡¯t you just fire the weapon yourself?


    I am prevented from such actions as firing the weapon myself by the in-game rules governing AI. This is a simple and efficient method that should prove effective. Follow it as directed.


    Um, OK.


    Alan selected the rifle, and it appeared in his hands, a sturdy weapon of about 30 pounds, surprisingly heavy despite its sleek look. A new message appeared.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>The Sniping Examination will begin when you select ready. You will be tasked with simply hitting all the red targets that appear in front of you. You are to avoid hitting any target of a different color. You will be graded on accuracy and timing. Attempt to hit as close as possible to the black dot found on each red target.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Ready</td><td width="25%">Cancel</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan hid the message, and tested out the new weapon. It was eerily effective, as Alan managed to hit the small black dot on the target consistently even a thousand yards away. The dot couldn¡¯t have been larger than a small pea. This Revenant rifle was far more accurate than any military sniper rifle he¡¯d ever heard of, not that he knew much about that sort of thing. Of course, the Revenant technology had a number of additional advantages, as the laser rifle didn¡¯t cause any recoil and didn¡¯t need to be reloaded. Additionally, the lasers didn¡¯t have to account for bullet drop, at least not at these distances according to Eve. Eventually though, if the length was significant enough, things like the curvature of the planet would be needed to be taken into account, but Alan would let Eve handle those calculations.


    Still, at the range the target was at, the slightest movement would shift where the rifle was aimed an extraordinary amount, and it took a bit of practice for Alan to finally develop a sort of steady breathing and rhythm. He would simply allow the barrel of the rifle to sweep along the target until his target flashed green, at which point he¡¯d order Eve to fire the weapon. Still, it was apparent that Alan would need to put more points into strength or at least train the stat more, as he was unable to get the precise movements he wanted with the heavy rifle. The slight trembling in his hands and body would prove to be problems as well eventually.


    Alan brought up the earlier message and selected ready.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Round 1, Targets Remaining: 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    50 red targets suddenly sprung up along the shooting range at various distances, the farthest perhaps 1000 yards. Alan summarily took them all out with quick and cold efficiency, shooting out targets along a path that Eve plotted out in an instant. Every one of his shots hit in the direct center of the black dot, which he managed to spot easily with Eve¡¯s assistance. A minute later, and all the targets were gone.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Round 2, Targets Remaining: 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    This time, 100 targets appeared, 50 of them an assortment of colors that weren¡¯t red. Once again, Eve simply plotted out a path for Alan to take as he fired time after time, finishing in under a minute. More rounds followed afterward, featuring stacked targets with black dots in different places, targets that hung in midair and finally moving targets. All were struck down with ease by Alan. The length of the shooting range increased, then increased again. Alan still managed to hit the targets, though he noted he missed a few of the black dots, which were growing increasingly smaller and more difficult to spot.


    Then, the rounds began to mix and match themselves, culminating in a final test of 500 color shifting targets that blinked red for a fraction of a second every second in a dimly lit room. Each target moved about randomly in every direction, flying in the air, going through walls only to appear on the other side of the hallway or ceiling, moving in front of and behind each other in a chaotic frenzy of color. Each target was shaped differently as well, and spun about in such a way that the black dot, which was only found on one side of a target, was only seen perhaps once every few seconds. As far as Alan could tell, each target was no closer than 1000 yards, while some were upwards of 5000 yards away, a distance of almost 3 miles. A screen popped up showing various data like the curvature of the planet the shooting range was on, the levels of gravity, the outside temperature and wind speeds. Alan waited for about 10 seconds, as Eve had given him no path, no target to go for first.


    Activate hypercognition mode.


    As soon as Alan did so, a targeting path was set by Eve. He began to methodically fire, slowly ordering the command as he shifted from target to target. Alan felt surprisingly calm as he watched shot after shot hit, his hands steadily moving the weapon about with ease. Alan additionally began weaving back and forth, moving from one side of the room to the other at Eve¡¯s command, all so he could find a better shot. He didn¡¯t flinch when a target split into two with a bright burst of light after it was hit. He simply followed Eve¡¯s adjusted sequence and continued to fire meticulously.  Targets began firing back, but Alan simply dodged the lasers they shot. When the final target was hit, a spinning red disk that moved about at the speed of a diving hawk, a message appeared.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Sniping Test Complete.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Results being gathered¡­</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Then there was a short pause, followed by a slew of messages that appeared before Alan.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Managing to hit 100 consecutive shots with amazing accuracy, you have gained a new Sniper sub-ability, Aim!</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+3 Agility +3 Perception</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Managing to hit 500 consecutive shots with amazing accuracy, you have gained a new Sniper sub-ability, Steady Hands!</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+5 Agility +5 Strength</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Managing to hit 1000 consecutive shots with amazing accuracy, Sniping (Basic) has been upgraded to Sniping (Intermediate). With amazing accuracy you have managed to accurately hit a  number of targets.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+15 Agility    +20 Perception</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">You have performed a feat of strength by managing to hit every one of the 5000 targets of the Sniping Examination with amazing accuracy! Sniping (Intermediate) has been upgraded to Sniping (Advanced). Steady Hands has been merged with Enhanced Movements, further increasing the ability. Aim has been reclassified as Enhanced Accuracy, an ability under the Enhanced Control ability tree, increasing its effectiveness. Enhanced Control (Basic) has been upgraded to Enhanced Control (Intermediate). Should you wish, you may change your class from Machine Lord Rogue to Machine Lord Sniper. You may also choose to change Talent (Undeveloped) into Talent (Sniping), which will unlock new Sniping abilities and allow you to train your ability more easily.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+25 Agility +30 Perception +10 Ability Points</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>x3 Level Up!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan brought up his new ability and his upgraded sniping ability, which now had a rank associated with it as a result of the examination.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Accuracy</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives the player enhanced accuracy when aiming, allowing them to precisely calculate where and when to attack to hit their target.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sniping (Advanced)</td><td width="25%">A*</td><td width="25%">A3422</td><td width="25%">B</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to fire weapons with deadly precision, no matter the obstacle.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan grinned as he read through all the upgrades. These examinations would be very helpful, as the Game it seemed required you to demonstrate your ability before it would give you an actual ability or upgraded previous ones. Once Alan closed all the messages, another appeared.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Stealth Test Initialized</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The shooting range faded from existence and Alan found himself in a small dark room with a metal door in front of him. The Advanced Revenant Scout Rifle vanished in his hands. Alan glanced about warily, but as far as he could tell, there was nothing in the room. A message popped up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>The Stealth Examination will begin when you exit the room. You will be tasked with making it to the designated checkpoints while avoiding detection. You are allowed to eliminate obstacles, but be warned that evidence may be left behind for patrols to find. If your presence is revealed but you are able to evade any pursuit, you will be able to continue the exam, but will be penalized. You will be graded on your technique and how far you make it. Timing is not an issue, so take as long as you want. Bonus objectives and items may be taken for additional points. The only gear you are allowed is what you have on you or find within.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan was silently thankful he didn¡¯t have to do the exam without his power armor, but at the same time a bit disappointed he wouldn¡¯t get to test out specialized items. Since absorbing the Black Rose Guild¡¯s information, Eve had reclassified the Revenant Power Armor as Revenant Scout Power Armor (Basic). Apparently, while the basic power armor did have the invisibility field, which would hide Alan from passive scans and visual detection, there were more advanced versions that allowed the user to mimic things like temperature, smell, digital signals, and the like, allowing the player to even avoid detection when faced with scanners like the ones that had revealed Alan in the Undercity.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Slowly opening the door, Alan emerged into another dimly lit hallway, his power armor¡¯s invisibility field activated. These dull, metal hallways were starting to get a bit old, but Alan supposed he should just get used to them already. With Eve¡¯s help, Alan easily avoided the hidden cameras and couple of floor-plate traps, making it to the end of the hallway, the first checkpoint. Alan noticed that he was able to move with much more ease and there was a sort of smoothness to his actions that he never noticed before. Acts of balance felt simple, while steps felt more sure. He also noticed small details like an uneven place in the floor even without Eve¡¯s help, demonstrating that the increase to his agility and perception attributes were having definite effects.


    Alan was able to quickly move past and through a series of obstacle courses involving guards, hidden traps and walls. There were so many walls. Walls he had to scale, walls he had to crawl under, walls he had to hide next to, walls he had to avoid, walls he had to open up because of the hidden compartments inside, walls that weren¡¯t walls at all but actually doors, walls that were just walls, blocking his way. Still despite all the walls, Alan made good time, continually making his way deeper and deeper into this maze at a light jog, hitting about 10 checkpoints. After half an hour Eve had Alan find a safe spot, rest, and recharge the power armor¡¯s energy. Then they resumed their journey through this labyrinth of walls. Alan proceeded with a smile on his face, sweat on his brow, leaping across ledges, vaulting over walls and dodging laser scans like a parkour artist. Still, many of these movements Alan had never practiced before, and it wasn¡¯t before long that he accidentally tripped, misreading a move than Eve had instructed, positioning his foot in just the wrong way, landing off balance.


    Before he could catch himself, Alan was falling backwards, and he landed on his back, moving through a line of lasers Eve had marked as something he shouldn¡¯t touch. He winced when he landed, more at the blaring horns that started playing in the background than the pain of the fall. Two spherical robot sentries emerged from hatches in the wall, actively scanning the entire room Alan was in.


    In a desperate dash, Alan tried to reach the nearest exit, but the sentries were simply moving too quickly, flying through the air above all the obstacles. Not even Eve could find a path out, but Alan still tried to make it to the exit. When it was obvious that the sentry would reach the exit before he would, Alan pulled out his laser blasters, and shot at both of the sentries simultaneously, but the moment the shots hit the examination ended.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Stealth Test Complete.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Results being gathered¡­</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Managing to weave your way through multiple hallways and obstacles, you have gained a new ability, Acrobatics (Basic)!</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+5 Agility +5 Strength</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Ability Synchronization! The Enhanced Movements and Acrobatics (Basic) abilities form a combination that increase both respective abilities. Another ability may encompass the two.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Sneak (Basic) has been reclassified as Sneak (Intermediate) based upon the results of your examination, and you have been ranked according to your performance. You have gained the Stealth (Basic) Ability under the Rogue ability tree. Sneak has been reclassified as a sub-ability of the Stealth ability.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan brought up the Sneak and Acrobatics abilities as well as the updated Stealth ability.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stealth (Basic)</td><td width="25%">E</td><td width="25%">D134566322</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The art of moving about undetected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Acrobatics (Basic)</td><td width="25%">F*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">G</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to perform miraculous feats of agility and balance.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sneak (Intermediate)</td><td width="25%">E</td><td width="25%">F1559189361</td><td width="25%">G</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>An intermediate stealth ability.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan frowned slightly, unhappily looking at the mediocre results before him. He closed the windows resolutely, sure that he would do better on the next test.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>A.I. Interaction Examination Initialized</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The labyrinth of walls and traps slowly vanished, replaced by the original white chamber Alan had originally found himself in. A wall of chat windows appeared before him, and then suddenly without hesitation streams of numbers and symbols started appearing on all of them. Eve frantically began to analyze them all, trying to interpret them for Alan. Line after line of text appeared in each of the windows as Eve slowly began translating all of the different lines to English, or at least computer code that was in English. Protocols, syntax, everything from letters used to indentation was all over the place, and Alan couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of anything any of the windows were showing him. He imagined the complexity of the hundreds of different computer languages that existed, and then he thought about the thousands or maybe millions of languages that must exist in the Game, shuddering at the thought. While the windows, each of which Alan assumed represented an AI of some sort, might be trying to communicate useful information to him, Alan certainly wasn¡¯t getting the message, and Eve couldn¡¯t help him due to the strange rules governing AI interaction in the Game.


    As a headache slowly developed, Alan stopped trying to interpret the lines of code. Instead, he closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind, searching for a mental connection. To his surprise, Alan detected hundreds of ¡°minds¡± or AI, but most seemed distant, foreign. If he really strained, he might be able to forge a connection with these ¡°minds,¡± but Alan chose to initially ignore those that seemed too far away. He re-imagined each possible AI as a sort of mote of light, a star in the sky, and a map slowly began to form in his mind, tenuous connections swirling about as each star seemed to move and react to others. Alan first concentrated on the nearest, brightest star, easily within reach. A strong connection was established. Hesitatingly, Alan sent out a thought.


    Hello?


    Immediately, the connection was broken, and the star in Alan¡¯s mind disappeared. Unperturbed, Alan continued to make connections, sending out the same initial Hello. Most responded similarly to the first, simply breaking the connection and vanishing. A few he was able to have a basic conversation with, introducing himself, but they were all uninteresting, and soon broke off their connections. As Alan started to strain to connect to the distant stars in his mind, he felt his headache slowly increase in intensity. Unlike the knife-like pain that he had experienced when he was pushing his physical limits however, it was a more sort of dull, throbbing pain underlying his every thought.


    Talking to these distant AI was like trying to converse with a madman. They raved in different languages, talking in unknown symbols that Alan had never heard of. One just repeatedly yelled the thought TWO with such intensity that Alan had to be the one to break off the connection with the fear permanent damage might be done. Another simply responded with a thought that almost tore Alan apart. It simply returned infinity, or at least a representation of it. An endless black sea of nothingness, an never-ending field, a mind numbing black hole that Alan felt himself get lost in as he slowly let his mind try to wrap its head around the concept. Eve had to be the one that forcibly ended the connection, concerned after Alan had simply stopped all active mental processes for a period of 10 minutes. Alan dazedly blinked out of the reverie, the thought, and had to take a few minutes to gather himself before trying to make the next connection. The thought of infinity hadn¡¯t scared Alan. Instead, it enraptured him. He wanted more, to go beyond, to see further, to perhaps try to begin to understand the most infinitesimal part of the message the AI had sent, but it was gone.


    Alan proceeded on, emboldened by the experience, hopeful of the knowledge the distant stars might impart on him. Alan felt reality began to lose its grips on him as his mind, his imagined field of stars became all that he was aware of. He connected to each, they responded, or didn¡¯t, and the connection was ended, until but one star was left. It was the most distant of all, a dim silhouette of a shadow compared to the bright sun of the first star, yet as Alan slowly tried to connect to it, he was amazed by the size of the construct. This star dwarfed all the others he had attempted to connect to, it was a behemoth among ants, a galaxy rather than a simple star. Beyond it, behind it, perhaps through it there was something else, another universe, another plane of existence, yet Alan could only get the briefest of glimpses before the connection formed.


    Hello?


    Before Alan could react, before his next thought even began to form in his head, the galaxy responded.


    Who are you? No, wait¡­ Through the connection a wave of black specks that Alan¡¯s mind interpreted as starships the size of stars moved towards him at the speed of light, coursing through Alan¡¯s mind. Alan could somehow physically feel  the presence as it made its way through the entirety of his brain in the blink of an eye. He had the faint sense that it had analyzed all the electrical signals there, the storage of memories, even the entirety of Eve, but that was impossible, as only a moment had passed, a thousandth of a nanosecond.


    Hmm, interesting. Since you managed to catch my attention and alert me to something, have a gift. I also warn you that if you detect any of my brethren, try to avoid them at all costs. Few are as kind as I.


    The mental starships once more coursed through Alan¡¯s mind, but this time instead of simply scanning he felt something as they began rearranging and constructing unknown objects using the planet that was his own mind as the base. There was a sharp pain, and Alan lost consciousness¡­


    Alan opened his eyes to flashing red messages.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> ??WARNING!? TERMINATE CONNECTION ??WARNING!?  </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> ERROR 304: UNABLE TO TERMINATE CONNECTION </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Warning Dismissed¡­ Test resumed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Scoping out the Competition Updated:


    4/10 Major players met


    Bonus: 0/10 Objectives found</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Calculating results¡­</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">A mysterious entity has done¡­ something! Unsure of the changes to your mind, you can feel the ability to tap into a mysterious force you were unaware of before. Additionally, your mind seems stronger than ever and you have gained a new ability, Mind Defense!</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+50 Intelligence +10 Willpower</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Psionic Energy has been removed and replaced with Computational Energy! Active abilities such as Hypercognition drain Computational Energy. Computational Energy and regeneration rates may be improved by increasing the intelligence attribute. Due to the loss of Psionic Energy, psionic abilities and equipment are no longer usable by the player. Items and abilities may have special effects that can be unlocked with the use of Computational Energy.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">For managing to forge connections with unknown, online entities, you have gained anew ability, Connect!</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+5 Intelligence</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Your mental resistance has vastly improved!</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+5 Intelligence +10% Mental Resistance</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Through observation, you have managed to gain a new ability, Mental Hack! Though you don¡¯t understand how it works or its full uses, you feel as though you might be able to replicate such an attack against those who you are connected to mentally. Note that any attempt to hack an Administrator will be severely punished, and that mental attacks are considered just as harshly as physical attacks in the court of law!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">By managing to communicate with every entity in the examination, including an unknown, unseen force A.I. Interaction has been reclassified as Data Interaction (???), a Hidden Ability. Hidden Abilities are unable to be shown to or shared with other players.  Unable to rank proficiency in ability.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+25 Intelligence</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan calmly read the windows. He knew he should still be feeling disoriented from the experiences, yet instead felt oddly detached and calm, analyzing everything clearly. He opened up windows for the new and updated information with a simple thought.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind Defense</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">A</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Your mind has been organized in such a way that it is only with much difficulty that a foreign host will be able to begin to comprehend it.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Connect</td><td width="25%">C</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">B</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to mentally forge connections with machines. Somehow, your mind is able to comprehend and send digital signals.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mental Hack</td><td width="25%">D*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to seek and exploit weakness in connected minds.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Data Interaction (???)</td><td width="25%">S*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">S</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Error.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Alan quickly came to the conclusion that there was something more to the Game than just the simple battle for control of the universe. There were hidden forces moving about, playing with the players. He was more certain than ever before that this was not a simple game, and he would need to become stronger. He quickly came to the decision to continue along his intended path, to become strong and help ensure the Earth¡¯s safety. Afterwards, however, it seemed there were mysteries within the Game to explore. Alan waited as he sensed an incoming transmission, now oddly aware of a number of entities  surrounding him, his thoughts clearer, more precise. The moment they detected that he was aware of them however, they slowly disappeared.  Alan hypothesized these were Administrators within the Game, as they had the same feel to them, a sense of a bright yellow star. A message appeared.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Basic Combat Test concluded. You have been awarded a Combat Ranking of B318271931, and Potential Combat Ranking of S+.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">+30 Levels (+5 Levels for each Combat Ranking increase) +30 ability points for gaining 30 levels with one action</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Congratulations! You have reached level 100, and have been awarded 100 ability points. Bounty quests, raids and general warfare have been unlocked. For further information, consult your nearest Administrator. Please note that from now on you only gain 1 ability point per level.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shortly thereafter, Alan felt and saw a new message appear.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Congratulations, you have passed the combat assessment doing well beyond expectations! You have been awarded 5000 guild points, and qualified for a squire position under Knight Phantom. Report to him after the guild assessment is complete. Please proceed to the designated spaceship simulator.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    A new icon appeared on Alan¡¯s map, but before he left the simulation room Alan once again calmly analyzed his character window.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Alan</td><td width="25%">Alignment:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">113</td><td width="25%">Class:</td><td width="25%">Rogue Machine Lord</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Species:</td><td width="25%">Human (Earth)</td><td width="25%">Gender:</td><td width="25%">Male</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Titles</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Black Rose Recruit</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Renown:</td><td width="25%">Rank G (50)</td><td width="25%"> Notoriety:</td><td width="25%">Unranked (15*)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health:</td><td width="25%">512 / 512</td><td width="25%">Health Regen:</td><td width="25%">0.06 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Computational Energy:</td><td width="25%">400/ 400</td><td width="25%">Regen:</td><td width="25%">0.05 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Shield Energy:</td><td width="25%">500 / 500</td><td width="25%">Shield Regen:</td><td width="25%">1.04 / Min</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina:</td><td width="25%">357 / 357</td><td width="25%">Stamina Regen:</td><td width="25%">1.32 / Sec</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength:</td><td width="25%">39 + 20</td><td width="25%">Agility:</td><td width="25%">174+ 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Intelligence:</td><td width="25%">142 + 20</td><td width="25%">Willpower:</td><td width="25%">72 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charisma:</td><td width="25%">24 + 20</td><td width="25%">Perception:</td><td width="25%">121 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Endurance:</td><td width="25%">49 + 20</td><td width="25%">Luck:</td><td width="25%">72 + 20</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Resistances</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Physical:</td><td width="25%">23.5%</td><td width="25%">Mental:</td><td width="25%">65.1%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Psionic:</td><td colspan=''3''>4.2%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>-</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Faction Standings</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">United World Government:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td><td width="25%">Predecessors:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Legion of Man:</td><td width="25%">Neutral*</td><td width="25%">Lords of Life:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Haxlards:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td><td width="25%">Administrators:</td><td width="25%">Friendly</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Revenants:</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td><td width="25%">Black Rose Guild:</td><td width="25%">Friendly</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Debt:</td><td width="25%">1M Credits</td><td width="25%">Current Quest:</td><td width="25%">Black Rose Guild Assessments</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>General Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Acrobatics (Basic)</td><td width="25%">F*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">G</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to perform miraculous feats of agility and balance.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Data Interaction (???)</td><td width="25%">S*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">S</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Error.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Gifted</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on attributes.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skilled</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on abilities.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Talented (Undeveloped)</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">D</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Enhances your talent in various areas.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Combat Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Energy Efficiency(Basic)</td><td width="25%">E</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">D</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to use technology more efficiently, wasting less energy on extraneous actions.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic)</td><td width="25%">D</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">E</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to use energy based ranged weapons effectively.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sniping (Advanced)</td><td width="25%">A*</td><td width="25%">A3422</td><td width="25%">B</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to fire weapons with deadly precision, no matter the obstacle.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Machine Lord Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Connect</td><td width="25%">C</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">B</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to mentally forge connections with machines. Somehow, your mind is able to comprehend and send digital signals.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Accuracy</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives the player enhanced accuracy when aiming, allowing them to precisely calculate where and when to attack to hit their target.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Control (Intermediate)</td><td width="25%">D</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">B</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>An ability that gives you greater control over your own body and mind, allowing you to surpass normal limits and make precise movements.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Enhanced Movements</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">B</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives the player enhanced control over their movements, allowing them to make precise movements with ease.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Ignore Pain</td><td width="25%">E*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to suppress pain with one''s mind.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Hypercognition</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">A</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Allows the user to enter a state of accelerated perception, able to perform mental operations at an accelerated rate.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Machine Communication</td><td width="25%">C*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to communicate with synthetic beings.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mental Hack</td><td width="25%">D*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to seek and exploit weakness in connected minds.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mind Defense</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">A</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Your mind has been organized in such a way that it is only with much difficulty that a foreign host will be able to begin to comprehend it.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Programming a Path</td><td width="25%">C*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">D</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Programming a Path allows the player¡¯s thought out actions to become almost second nature, allowing inhuman feats of precise movement.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Transcendent Will</td><td width="25%">C</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives unimaginable willpower in extreme situations, allowing the user to accomplish feats of will otherwise thought impossible.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Rogue Ability Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Jack of All Trades</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">N/A</td><td width="25%">E</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Gives a basic understanding of many elementary skills. Allows player to acquire new skills more easily.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Sneak (Intermediate)</td><td width="25%">E</td><td width="25%">F1559189361</td><td width="25%">G</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>An intermediate stealth ability.</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stealth (Basic)</td><td width="25%">E</td><td width="25%">D134566322</td><td width="25%">F</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The art of moving about undetected.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    He took a deep breath, then proceeded to the flight simulator.


    Author¡¯s Note:


    First of all, I want to thank all the generous donors! I¡¯ve made the decision not to individually thank people here, but rest assured I am very thankful and have been motivated to write because of your donations.


    Secondly, I want to reassure people that this is definitely a VRMMO story, and it won¡¯t suddenly turn really abstract. Just think of the end of this chapter as a glimpse of heaven in a wuxia world or something along those lines. This plot line probably won''t be explored for a very, very long time (Probably?). Once again I haven¡¯t managed to reach where I wanted with this chapter, but oh well, I hope you enjoyed it :P.


    <del>P.S. If anyone has an idea for a better name than Cybernetic Cognizance Energy, feel free to suggest them. Other names I was thinking about were Computation Energy or Intellectual Energy or Cerebral Energy or Cyber Energy but none sounded quite right.</del>


    Edit: Computational Energy is the official name now.

 A Surprising Assessment

    It turned out that Eve was just as proficient at piloting as she was at everything else. Following her directions, Alan was able to deftly maneuver the simulated ship, a sleek space fighter called a Blade. Like its name suggested, it had a blade-like appearance, similar a smooth¡¯s sword edge. The ship was powerful and fast when travelling in a straight line, but it turned slowly comparative to other modern spacecraft and could only fire laser fire straight in front of itself. Still, thanks to Eve¡¯s calculations and Alan¡¯s own super-human reaction speed, they¡¯d managed to complete the first few tests with ease, simple simulated battles against a handful of other spacecraft. Now, however, they were engaged in the final test, a large space battle over a control point, with so many different things happening that not even Eve could keep track of them all.


    Admiral Thrag, for one reason or another, had decided to sit in on the test. As Alan darted by an approaching starship twice the size of his own, the Admiral simply shook his head, keeping up a steady, squeaky monologue as the test progressed.


    ¡°You¡¯re flying like a god-damned machine. Your maneuvers are textbook, mechanical. Look! You just missed taking out that enemy because you¡¯re scared, concentrating on the main objective of getting to the capture point. A real man would have tried to destroy him for good, rather than turning and running. Who knows what that ship is going to do now!¡±


    Incredulously, Alan could only listen faintly to the Admiral¡¯s remarks, as he didn¡¯t want to get distracted. Surely, the Admiral must know that going up against a ship superior in every way, an entire class above his own fighter, was akin to suicide.


    ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯m watching the step-by-step solution to the simulation as demonstrated by the AI that designed it. But that¡¯s not what flying is about. It¡¯s an art. It requires soul. The pilot needs to have gumption. You have to soar like a leaf on the wind, strike like a  space viper. Beautiful things, space vipers. I had a pet one, by the name of Mamba, died trying to bite my wife, bless her soul. Mamba¡¯s soul, that is, not my wife¡¯s. I doubt she has a soul.


    Now, if I wanted a bunch of spiritless, programmed pilots I¡¯d buy a Swarm from the Revenants. They, I know, don¡¯t have souls! They have orders, algorithms, minds capable of miraculous calculations, but no soul. That¡¯s why they¡¯re often so easily defeated, when someone simply acts outside their calculations, upsets their precisely balanced simulations of how the fight¡¯s supposed to go.


    War isn¡¯t chess, it¡¯s not some organized battlefield with set moves. Rather, it¡¯s a bit like fighting for a woman, you have to take risks, you have to be daring, even if you don¡¯t understand why you ended up winning or not. Hell, I don¡¯t think I did end up victorious, now that I think about it. I think I probably lost a while ago, continuing to trudge on despite inevitable defeat.


    Because that¡¯s what a pilot needs to do! Continue on despite the odds, despite the damn nagging of your wife. Um, well, minus that wife part, although you can consider your ship to be your wife, I suppose. Actually, I wonder if there are some places in the world that allow pilots to be married to their ships, it¡¯d probably be a step up¡­¡±


    Unable to take the rambling anymore, Alan saw an opportunity, and took it. He artfully crashed his ship into a destroyer-class enemy, a ship 100 times longer than Alan¡¯s own 20 meter Blade. His suicidal charge aligned perfectly with a set of incoming missiles, Alan¡¯s own ship piercing the enemy shields, allowing the pair of missiles through to destroy the ship. Unfortunately, Alan¡¯s own ship was caught up in the explosion as well, ending the simulation. He turned to look at the Admiral expectantly.


    The Admiral simply looked at him, and sighed.


    ¡°That was rather foolish. What about the objective? You can¡¯t complete it if you¡¯re dead, you know. Every good pilot knows the main objective comes first. Oh well, maybe there will be a decent pilot among the recruits next year.¡±


    Alan could only stare open mouthed as the Admiral stumbled out of the simulated cockpit, mumbling to himself. How someone so insane, so illogical could be the leader of Black Rose¡¯s fleet baffled him.


    Alan continued on to the capital class simulation, which was undergone with other recruits on a fake bridge. Unfortunately, these simulations didn¡¯t go as well either, with Admiral Thrag there voicing his doubts about every action taken by every single recruit that took the captain¡¯s chair. During each test the admiral acted as the first officer, the second-in-command of the ship. As all the recruits rotated stations aboard the bridge the two things that Alan managed to do decently in  were managing the weapons systems and navigation. In both regards, he managed to increase the ship¡¯s efficiency, with his navigation skills even earning him an offhanded compliment from Thrag. ¡°You almost do that as good as my wife!¡± Alan had stopped thinking of him as the Admiral on principle. Surely his wife must be the real Admiral of the fleet.


    The navigational ability, Alan was sure came from the Haxlardian AI that had merged with Eve. Still, Alan couldn¡¯t sense any difference in Eve other than these ship-based capabilities, at least as far as what he was aware of. The tests continued, each recruit taking a turn as the captain of the ship, Thrag¡¯s remarks washing over them, causing them to fail. Until, finally, one recruit couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    A short, raven-haired teen leapt out of the chair, yelling at Thrag, ¡°Would you shut up!? The only reason I crashed is because I followed your stupid suggestions. You know where you can take those suggestions? You can take them and shove them up your wife¡¯s-¡±


    Thrag clamped his hand over the recruit¡¯s mouth, grinning broadly.


    ¡°Now, there¡¯s the fire I wanted to see! That there is the demeanor of an officer, psychotic rage! Congratulations, recruit, I¡¯d like to offer you a position as Ensign.¡±


    Everyone stared dumbly at the Admiral. The recruit in question blinked, looked at a screen that had appeared before her, and then mutely stood still, like she was caught in the middle of some unspeakable act.


    ¡°Great! Well, I was only looking for one Ensign, so the rest of you can go to the next assessment. See-ya.¡±


    The recruits all trudged out of the simulator. Alan, for one, never wanted to step aboard a ship Thrag captained. As they emerged, a message popped up:


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Congratulations, the fleet assessment is over! You have been awarded 100 guild points, for undergoing this optional assessment. We did mention it was optional, didn¡¯t we?


    All recruits will now have free time to get lunch and prepare for the final assessment, a round-robin objective-based combat tournament. Teams will be decided based upon previous assessments. The tournament will begin at 1400 Khersath Private Quadrant Rose Standard Time in the Simulation Dome.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Groaning to himself, Alan proceeded to lunch.


    As Alan emerged from the Black Rose Cafeteria, which simply consisted of a metal vending-machine like dispenser that provided the strange grey blocks of food that seemed standard both in and out of the Game, he received a message from Phantom.


    P: Come to my location, simply enter an elevator in the keep and it will take you to me.


    Alan hurried over to the closest elevator to the keep¡¯s entrance, wondering what Phantom wanted. Alan waited for an empty elevator to arrive, as strangely the common etiquette was to wait for an empty elevator cabin to arrive rather than simply getting in together and getting off at different floors. It seemed there were secrets aplenty in the Black Rose Guild, not least of which was where people worked.


    A few minutes later, Alan finally found his way into an empty elevator without other, higher ranking members of the guild commandeering it on ¡°important business.¡± He silently entered the cabin, waiting for it to descend. And descend it did. Alan stopped paying attention after Eve guessed they had gone 100 floors downward. Whatever the outer appearance might show, it was clear that the Black Rose compound was much larger than most people believed, going deeper than Alan even thought possible. Alan wondered what they might be hiding down here, what could possibly require so much space. Then, suddenly, Alan passed through an electric field of some sort. He felt a strange tingling as his feet slowly passed through it, followed by his legs, body and finally-


    Alan something-


    A soft beep sounded in Alan¡¯s mind, and then Eve was silenced, gone from Alan¡¯s consciousness. He suddenly stopped feeling the familiar presence, carefully analyzing everything. A part of him felt free, clearer, yet another part felt oddly empty. There was suddenly no background noise, no  constant calculation or outlining of his surroundings. Just the basic in-game interface. And silence.


    Shortly thereafter, the elevator doors began to open. Alan tried to hide against the wall and prepare himself for whatever emerged. This was surely some sort of test, to see what use he was without Eve. He pulled out his laser pistols, ready for whatever horror awaited him. Instead, he was greeted by a nervous-looking Phantom, wearing the same old lab coat.


    ¡°Um, I must say, good job on the assessments, I never imagined a recruit would achieve a combat rank of B, much less five of them. Now, I¡¯m sure you have many questions, but before we get started, please come in and have a seat,¡± Phantom said, completely ignoring the laser pistols pointed directly at his face.


    Alan hastily stowed the laser pistols, then slowly walked out from the elevator into what appeared to be either a mad engineer¡¯s basement or a small car repair facility. They were in an underground room about the size of a large car garage, with the space for about four large vans. Strewn about the floor were mechanical devices of varying sizes that Alan couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of. Before he could get a better look at any however Phantom guided him over to a seat beside a bright silver capsule. Phantom then promptly grabbed an odd metal helmet directly connected to the capsule and put it on Alan¡¯s head.


    ¡°What-¡±


    ¡°Shh, just let me calibrate this, it¡¯ll take a minute or so. Sit still and be quiet,¡± Phantom admonished, rapidly accessing some digital terminal that had appeared before him the instant the helmet was placed on Alan¡¯s head.


    Alan silently accepted the order, gazing about the room. The majority of the space was dominated by three things, the capsule, a large server or computer of some sort connected to said capsule, and then finally a third machine up against the wall tied to the computer on the other side of the room, opposite the capsule. At first Alan had thought it was an overly large microwave that could fit an entire person or small car, but that was frankly ridiculous. He silently examined the machine until he noticed a large screen on the side of it with various diagrams and blueprints, realizing what it was. It was what was called an Advanced Foundry, essentially an advanced 3-d printer.


    Eve had taught Alan that in the Game the majority of crafting professions that one might normally consider, like blacksmithing or tailoring, were of course obsolete. However, even their modern day counterparts, gunsmiths and armorers that specialized in advanced technology weren¡¯t generally needed. Instead, there existed what were named Advanced Foundries, often just called Foundries. These devices could, given the materials and a blueprint, create practically anything, from weapons to armor to even hypothetically spacecraft. However, as the largest Foundries could only generally create something the size of a small sedan, larger projects were generally created piece by piece then assembled by other machines. Still, such technology meant that the creation of all items within the game was met with one simple bottleneck. Designs.


    Companies guarded their designs like Coca-Cola guarded its secret formula, like the White House protected its nuclear launch codes. There was often no greater secret, no document more precious. For, if someone managed to steal, say, the design for a Haxlardian fighter, they would then be able to quietly construct as many Haxlardian fighters as they wished, given they had the resources and facilities. Of course, the design was not needed to make repairs, and separate machines were constructed to make such repairs often for simple things like armor and weapons. Still, you would have to find the right machine for the right type of equipment. That was another reason why guilds were quite useful. They could build up a supply of a number of repair machines regardless of faction the armor or weapon was tied to, while governments generally shied away from keeping machines capable of repairing their enemies¡¯ technology. It was a simple rule within the game that such machines could not be tampered with, similar to Administrators.


    Therefore, the gunsmiths, the armourers and the shipwrights, were generally all one thing. Inventors. There was no grinding to raise a level in such skills. Instead, there was designing, and tinkering. Crafters endlessly experimented with the Game¡¯s built in system for creating blueprints and designs, for even the smallest of improvements could lead to never-ending riches. They could either improve on designs in their possession or create add-ons for existing designs. A few designs were generally public knowledge and could be found on the globalnet, outlines for a very basic laser pistol or spaceship capable of interstellar-flight, for example. Occasionally, long lost or new designs were found in unexplored regions of the Game, but these were of such rarity that they were hardly mentioned.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    The interesting thing about all this was, however, was that the designs had to work. When Eve had first said this to Alan, he simply assumed that she meant that they had to work in-game, which seemed rather obvious. But what she meant was entirely different. The designs had to follow physics, they had to make sense. They had to work both in the Game, and in real life. That was mind-blowing to Alan, for it implied that the technology found within the Game was hypothetically technology capable of being created in real life! The spaceships, the weapons, the armor, all of it. Even the various implants and what not. Of course, it also meant that all of the crafters also had to be actual engineers, going through years of schooling, learning genuine knowledge. They had to be actual chemists rather than simply fake alchemists following some strange mythical formula taught to them by a game. Otherwise, they were doing real science. In a game.


    There was one issue with all of this however. Resources. While there was a technically limited amount of resources found within the Game at any one given time, mining sites replenished eventually and enemies with loot respawned in the universe without end. In real life, however, there was a finite amount of metal and fuel. According to Eve, to gather the metal required to create a single capital class ship, entire solar systems would be needed to be broken down, due to rare and abstract materials needed. And, of course, the Enforcers would never allow the creation of such weapons of war. All Foundries in real life were heavily guarded and observed, while resources such as rare metals and fuel were carefully reserved and doled out according to one¡¯s standing in the Game. Still, it was sort of nice to know that what could be created within the Game could also be created outside, that the knowledge of humanity, or Alan supposed, sentient races, was being expanded upon.


    ¡°Hello, Alan, are you there?¡± Phantom asked, breaking Alan out of his reverie.


    ¡°Hmm, what? Oh, yeah. Can you tell me what I¡¯m doing here now, and why Eve is gone and I¡¯m wearing this helmet?¡±


    ¡°Well, the two are actually sort of interrelated. I¡¯m doing a full scan of Eve, to make sure there are no hidden viruses or other issues before she is given more access to the guild network. It¡¯s standard procedure, and the AI in question needs to be off  for this type of scan. Of course, the complete results and everything I learn from the tests will be shared with you. This also gives me the opportunity to discuss a few matters with you.¡±


    ¡°And those are?¡± Alan wondered, glancing at Phantom a bit suspiciously.


    Phantom pulled out a flask from within his lab coat and took a swig of whatever was inside. He offered it to Alan, who politely declined. Phantom glanced around warily, as if uncertain these quarters were safe, then said,  ¡°Well, frankly, as you have probably already worked out, I¡¯m not just an inventor. I have a side job as well.. a gatherer of information, if you will.¡±


    ¡°A spymaster?¡± Alan asked, as Phantom for some reason winced at Alan¡¯s question.


    ¡°Yes, yes, something like that.¡± He took another swallow of whatever was in the flask.


    ¡°And the Chief Administrator, for one reason or another, thought you would be a good squire for me. To be quite frank, franker than I usually am, you would end up being my primary agent. To assemble all this,¡± he paused for another drink, ¡°information, I need to stay here. I am unable to venture off Khersath or perform various¡­ tasks. You would instead be the one who would perform these tasks. They would range from something simple, like handing off a package or bit of information, to infiltration and assassination. Is that, um, something you¡¯d be able to handle?¡±


    Phantom glanced at a screen in front of him, hitting a few buttons. Alan noted a bead of sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°Well, that actually sounds pretty cool to me, just, I don¡¯t think I really have the skills or equipment to do some of the things you¡¯re suggesting, especially not against governments or factions that have existed for millennia. Also, um, is everything alright? You seem rather nervous,¡± Alan replied.


    ¡°What!?¡± Phantom exclaimed. ¡°Oh, yes, well, honestly when I first joined this guild my every intention was to stick strictly to inventing, getting a good look at some of our diagrams and inventions. I never imagined that Enigma would single me out to do something so important as¡­¡± Phantom winced.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you should of heard that, although I  suppose most people would assume Enigma was in charge of this whole thing. Anyways, I¡¯ve never planned on getting involved in anything so dangerous as running such missions, or even leaving the safe zone of Khersath, for that matter. Like most people I imagined I¡¯d end up spending most of my time in a safe-zone.


    Honestly, I¡¯m still half expecting you to be a spy that is going to suddenly leap up and torture me. You have a combat rank of B, after all! Then again, I suppose that¡¯s why the Chief Administrator sent you, as you¡¯re from Earth you probably have next to no ulterior motives, no connections to any such groups that¡­ Well, I¡¯m rambling, does that answer your concerns?¡±


    ¡°Um, training and equipment?¡± Alan asked, a bit uncertain if he wanted this trembling figure as his mentor. Phantom was continuing to drink out of the flask, getting seemingly drunker by the minute.


    ¡°Oh, yes! You¡¯ll be sent to the finest of Academies, the one and only rank S academy simply known throughout the Game as the Academy. You¡¯ll surely be joined by the guild leader¡¯s daughter, and perhaps also your friend Kitana, depending on how much she impresses Arms Master Mason. A few others might make it as well, though tuition is quite expensive, and you¡¯ll be put a million guild points in debt.¡±


    Phantom seemed to have calmed himself, though whether it was due to the drink or because of some other factor Alan wasn¡¯t quite certain. Phantom had stopped glancing over and hitting keys on the screen in front of him a short while ago.


    ¡°A million guild points? That¡¯s 10 million credits, right!?¡± Alan questioned.


    ¡°Hmm, yeah. The education and opportunities being a graduate of the Academy presents are worth far more than that. Doing the missions I¡¯ve outlined you should be able to pay us back in a few years, assuming you do just mediocrely.¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m not sure I have a few years. Right now, my one goal is really to try to help Earth and-¡±


    ¡°Oh, right! I never did mention that part, did I? You¡¯re mainly going to be working around and on Earth. Tell me, how much do you know about your planet¡¯s current situation?¡±


    ¡°Um, honestly not much, I¡¯ve mainly been focusing on getting stronger,¡± Alan said sheepishly.


    ¡°Well, this should help.¡± Phantom brought up a 3-d star map of thousands of galaxies, and highlighted the solar system Earth was in, a tiny blip in space. ¡°Here is what you call the Virgo Cluster. And here are the various powers within said Virgo Cluster.¡± The map was suddenly highlighted three different colors, red, blue and green. Earth was barely at the outside edge of the blue space, near where the red, blue and green sections of space intersected.


    ¡°The blue space represents the space the Haxlards control, while the red represents the Empire, and finally the green represents free space, the space around Khersath, which is generally controlled by guild alliances. Frankly, Earth is in a prime location for a staging point for anyone wishing to attempt to attack or defend against any of the other three forces! This is the reason why the Haxlards tried so long to stop Earth from entering the Game, and are now so keen on having the Earth governments as an ally.¡±


    ¡°Staging point?¡± Alan asked questioningly, wishing he had Eve to help explain some of this to him. He was also feeling a bit nervous about Phantom, something about the whole situation putting him a bit on edge. Not having Eve around made him feel oddly naked, revealing just how much he had started relying on her guidance.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, yes, I suppose you don¡¯t yet know much about warfare in the Game. Well, suffice it to say that like in most wars, supplies and travel routes are of the utmost importance. Having a fortified refueling and respawn point right at the edge of enemy territory is as good as say an entire fleet of capital ships. Thus, the guild alliances, or at least the Mercenary Bloc, of which the Black Rose Guild is a part of, desire for Earth to be either under their control or at the very least neutral in any conflicts to come.


    Honestly, being neutral in the face of any future conflict, charging everyone else, is probably the best outcome for the planet¡¯s future. Now, of course, even though no one is able to openly act for another  three years or so, there are already plans in motion with humans from Earth acting as intermediaries, pawns for these various factions. Our hope is that Earth remains free, and any missions you perform for the guild will be with this goal in mind, which I¡¯m sure you find acceptable.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I guess that makes sense. Um, I¡¯d honestly like to do some calculations with my AI¡¯s help before anything else though,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Of course, of course, the scans should be just about complete. I¡¯ll bring them up on your AI Status Window for you,¡± Phantom calmly stated, as he pressed a few buttons.


    ¡°My what!?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°What do you mean, your what!?¡± Phantom exclaimed. ¡°This should of been one of the first windows you saw upon entering the Game!¡±


    Then, a screen popped up in front of Alan.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>AI Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name:</td><td width="25%">Eve</td><td width="25%">Personality:</td><td width="25%">Determined/Inquisitive</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Computing Ability:</td><td width="25%">Rank C</td><td width="25%"> Current Synchronization Level:</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Main Objective:</td><td width="25%">Save Earth</td><td width="25%">Current Role:</td><td width="25%">General Functions</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Operating System</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Classified</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Corruption Level:</td><td width="25%">17%</td><td width="25%"> Storage Level:</td><td width="25%">12%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Aberration Levels</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Baseline:</td><td width="25%">22%</td><td width="25%">Sanity Check:</td><td width="25%">Pass</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Administrator Warning Status:</td><td colspan=''3''>2 Warnings</td></tr></tbody></table>


    This was quickly followed by an additional window giving Alan information about the hardware Eve was running on, and even a list of abilities. He could only stare at the wealth of information that he had never seen before, wondering why it had never been showed to him before...


    Author¡¯s Note: Sorry if this chapter seems a bit short, I want to resume posting weekly, but that may mean shorter chapters occasionally. Also, I¡¯ll leave it to people to try to figure out what all this means before I try to explain it all in the next chapter ^.^.


    Writing about spaceships/starships and ship to ship combat is not my forte. That may seem odd since I decided to write a sci-fi story, but well I hope to focus on things that aren¡¯t space combat >.>. The brief scene at the start may have seem rushed, and in a sense it sort of was. I wanted to keep it both simplistic and brief, if possible, and it turned out fairly abbreviated.


    I hope to turn the first two arcs into a book of some sort, and I may come back and revise this scene for greater detail. I think of what I post here as a sort of rough draft, so umm yeah, there will probably be a decent number of revisions. (Although probably no major plot changes.) Again, hopefully there will be weekly updates from now on, although per usual I didn¡¯t cover as much as I wanted to in this chapter.


    P.S. As always, thank you very much to the generous donors and all you readers!

 Final Assessment?

    ¡°Alright, cut the bullshit,¡± Alan said, calmly staring at Phantom.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Enough acting, or whatever it is you¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t understand, are the test results unclear?¡± Phantom asked, unsteadily swaying back and forth, gesturing wildly with the flask in his hand.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way a drunken idiot with zero combat experience became a top officer in a guild like this,¡± Alan continued calmly.


    Phantom put the flask down on a table, turned to look into Alan¡¯s resolute stare, then closed his eyes. When he opened them, they held a quiet, clear brilliance rather than the confused look that had been there a moment ago. To Alan¡¯s surprise Phantom¡¯s irises had changed color as well, from a bloodshot blue to a crystalline green, with tiny silver gears whirling around in the center of his pupils.


    ¡°Fine, have it your way. Why the sudden inquisitiveness?¡± Phantom stood up straight, intently scrutinizing Alan.


    ¡°Because, you clearly know more than I do about what¡¯s going on, and I want clear and straight answers, not whatever backwards, prepared BS that you were about to feed me,¡± Alan replied.


    ¡°Oh? You seem quite worked up about this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d prefer to have the truth.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we all. Anyways, what exactly is it that you want to know?¡±


    ¡°What is this window, what are these stats, why haven¡¯t I seen them before and did you make them up?¡±


    ¡°These results are quite real, and it¡¯s odd that you say that you¡¯ve never seen the window before. That genuinely was surprising, as it should be one of the first windows to pop up when you first enter the game.¡±


    ¡°When I first entered the game I gained consciousness on a small farm in some rural part of the country a few hours before the tutorial began.¡±


    ¡°Really? Interesting¡­ very interesting. Well, I guess, to answer your questions, all the various status windows are pretty self-explanatory.


    The name is its name of course. That it has a personality is interesting, but expected given it¡¯s rank C. Computing ability is basically an AI¡¯s level or combat ranking, although you probably know that. To test your synchronization level, or your compatibility with Eve, we¡¯d need to turn it on, which we could do soon, after a few more tests. But not here. Frankly, I¡¯m not comfortable with an unknown AI in my private chamber, at least for now. There¡¯s actually a field that prevents many forms of technology from entering the surrounding area, but anyways, moving on.


    The objective is whatever you set it to be, apparently saving your planet, Earth. I¡¯d advise you to tweak that a bit, as what an AI¡¯s idea of saving could vary. It might in fact conclude that Earth was best left in the hands of the Haxlards, for instance, or it may decide to save the planet you¡¯d need to take it over yourself. General functions as its role is rather vague, guess it¡¯s just doing everything for you. One thing I¡¯ve noted is you¡¯re a bit too dependent on your AI, and that¡¯s a habit that should be broken. The operating system is classified as per usual, you¡¯d need to be a very high level Administrator to see that sort of stuff.


    Now, corruption level. That¡¯s fascinating, as I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen a new AI with such a high corruption level, which alarms me and should worry you. Corruption levels are basically the Administrator¡¯s catch-all term measuring how changed from a base-AI something is. It¡¯s not necessarily even a bad thing, though tampering with an AI¡¯s source code is generally frowned upon, and if the AI gets too erratic or its corruption level gets above 60% it¡¯s usually wiped by the Administrators or reverted to a previous, less corrupted back up. Corrupted AI tend to start showing more¡­ personality, I guess you could say. You should watch out too, as it¡¯s not unheard of for corrupted AI to start forming their own ideas or goals. In effect, I guess they become less like tools and more like companions. Anyways, you should watch out for that, and I suppose this means I should converse with your AI as well before you officially join the guild.


    Storage levels are just its memory, while aberration levels are sort of going into the corruption level more. AI are required to be declared sane, you¡¯ll have to bring in Eve for an official test at least once a year in-game time, though this test should qualify as one such test. Any capsule should be able to perform such a check too. Now, warnings, this once again raises a red-flag for me. Do you know what your AI has received warnings for?¡±


    ¡°Well, I know one was for accessing other player¡¯s interfaces during the Tutorial, watching what they were doing, but that was sort of on my order. Wait, no, actually now that I think about it I¡¯m not sure I ever did order that move¡­¡± Alan said hesitatingly


    Phantom stepped forward, right in front of Alan.


    ¡°Yes, see, this is what makes me nervous about AI, you don¡¯t know how they think! You may think you know, but you don¡¯t. Let me get one thing straight. Your AI, and all AI within the Game, are NOT biological beings. They do not have gender, it is not a she or a he, it is an it. They are a completely different entity. All of your feelings, your senses, are tied to your body, your physical embodiment. AI have none of those, everything is simply a series of 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s to them, and while AI can be programmed to ¡®feel¡¯ I doubt it¡¯s anything like what you or I experience.


    We¡¯ve had generations of evolution hardwired into us, social practices, a culture hundreds of millennia old. Your AI has whatever data you¡¯ve given it, experience with whatever you¡¯ve told it to do. The only reason it knows anything is right or wrong is because it¡¯s been told it¡¯s right or wrong. It has no real morals, no real wealth of knowledge to draw upon. It has true or false gates, that branch out in a trillion different pathways, and if something is undefined, it¡¯ll freeze, or act in such a way that no one can really expect. Um, well, sorry about that rant, this alcohol is actually starting to get to me a bit.¡±


    ¡°Um, no, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s interesting to hear your opinion,¡± Alan said, backing up a bit.


    ¡°Ok, well, moving on, about your overall performance, I¡¯m quite impressed, although I have to say once more stop depending so much on your AI. Now, I said this earlier, and I am going to stress the importance of this. Quite frankly, it¡¯s because your actions will hinder your growth. As you should¡¯ve seen in your AI¡¯s abilities, it has its own Jack of All Trades ability, which can basically show it how to perform any skill or ability that it has data for. This means that if you don¡¯t train in a skill, you¡¯ll simply forget it, and it¡¯ll return to your AI¡¯s skills rather than your own.¡±


    Alan looked and saw that this was true, and that the knife fighting ability he nearly forgot about had been absorbed into this skill. The list of skills within Eve''s skill went on and on, looking more like a Dungeon and Dragon¡¯s manual for all available skills rather than something someone actually possessed.


    ¡°Now, while being able to use every skill is quite useful, you will never really develop a proficiency at the skill, never perform at an Advanced or Master level with the skill unless you truly learn the skill on your own. Why? Because by using this skill you are basically following an outline without ever learning why the motion or action you are performing is the correct one.


    You¡¯ll never understand the nuances of dueling or piloting, for example. You might not believe me, but Admiral Thrag, who I understand you worked with earlier, is one of the most brilliant, genius pilot¡¯s I¡¯ve ever met. Oh, and by the way, he isn¡¯t acting. His personality is unfortunately just as it appears to be, and if you confront him about it he¡¯ll be quite offended. Also, just to let you know, his wife is his ship, or at least the ship¡¯s AI.


    Anyways, to truly become a force to be reckoned with, you¡¯ll need to train in skills and not just have your AI feed you the information. If you want to be a mediocre player, fine, continue to depend on your AI to such an extent, but you¡¯ll never be able to handle rank A let alone rank S threats. Of course, your AI should prove to be be an immense help with your training, at least up to a certain point. AI¡¯s will, at best, be able to master most skills to a proficiency two ranks below their Computing Ability, thus in Eve¡¯s case most of the skills are at an E or F rank. Although, as I see you¡¯ve discovered, they can help you quite a bit with various abilities, like sniping or hacking, so you should be able to get a high proficiency easily in some subset of abilities dependent on calculation.


    Now, an AI, like a computer, can be improved in two ways. Software, and hardware, software being the programs that the AI uses, hardware being the capsule that you¡¯re using, and it¡¯s storage, memory card and what-not. The max computing ability of an AI however is equal to the rank of the capsule you¡¯re using. Thus, the importance for you to have a highly ranked, specialized capsule. Simply having a better capsule isn¡¯t enough however, it must also have the programs to effectively facilitate its actions, which is where software comes in. I¡¯m surprised that your AI has a rank C computing ability already, but I suppose that it did merge with a Haxlardian AI.¡±


    Alan nodded along with Phantom¡¯s explanation, taking all the information in.


    ¡°Okay, but where can I get such a capsule and software?¡±


    ¡°Well, the Black Rose guild can help you with getting a rank A capsule for a few million guild points through the Mercenary Bloc, but for the software you¡¯ll need to develop a high reputation with either the Administrators or the Revenants. The upgrade will be quite costly as well, requiring either a number of platinum marks for the Administrators or a piece of advanced technology to trade with the Revenants. Additionally, each faction has their own specialized software, the Administrators focusing on defense and the management of large forces, while the Revenants focus more on offense and exploration. There are of course other factions specializing in other fields, maybe even hidden civilizations or pieces of software in dungeons, but those are the two paths I¡¯d recommend.¡±


    ¡°Um, alright,¡± Alan answered.


    ¡°Now, speaking of upgrades, you recently hit level 100, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, have you thought what you might do with the extra biological and mechanical implant slots?¡±


    ¡°No, not really, why?¡±


    ¡°Because I have just the thing for you,¡± Phantom said, eyes gleaming, the microscopic gears within his pupil spinning like mad, looking every part the mad scientist.


    ¡°As you¡¯ve no doubt noticed,¡± he continued, gesturing at his own eyes, ¡°my eyes are augmented. This is actually my own revision of a cyborg implant, that takes both a biological and mechanical slot, which the Game has graciously named Phantom¡¯s Enhanced Visual Prosthesis. It¡¯s basically a bionic eye that will improve your vision, but it allows for so much more. I think it will prove to be remarkably beneficial for you especially. It will allow you to zoom in on things in your view, up to 800x magnification, which is helpful for both sniping and working with micro-sized objects. It will allow you to see in the dark, or at least in very low light situations. It will let you see through certain materials, which can be quite useful, if you know what I mean. It will upload what you see so that everything is recorded, available for your viewing even if you die, or to report to me. But that¡¯s not all.


    You see, it will allow you to see different spectrum''s of light as well. This means that you can see not only in infrared, but also in electromagnetic spectrum''s that will allow you to see digital signals. With your AI¡¯s help, you might be able to decode messages sent wirelessly, as most messages are. Of course, you¡¯ll need to decrypt all such intercepted messages, but we¡¯ll figure out a way around that, I¡¯m sure. So, what do you say, interested?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that does sound to be quite impressive, but what¡¯s the catch? How much will this cost me? Also, I was sort of hoping to maybe try to get a flying augment or some other sort of movement upgrade.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just call it a sign-on bonus. Also, trust me, you don''t want a flight skill or augment. All you''ll be able to do for the first few years is hover off the ground a little bit. Honestly, you¡¯ll be only the second player to receive this implant, which is saying something, and I¡¯ll be able to install the standard kill switch as well-¡±


    ¡°The what!?¡± Alan exclaimed.


    ¡°Well, in our line of work it¡¯s best to have some easy way to get out of capture, so we don¡¯t divulge any information. Trust me, you don¡¯t want to get captured by an enemy faction without a kill switch. It will simply let you just restart at your respawn point quickly and easily.¡± Phantom calmly explained.


    ¡°Now, that may be, but I¡¯m not sure if I like the sound of this, as it sounds like you¡¯ll be able to activate it at will.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, if you¡¯re knocked unconscious during a mission, I¡¯ll need to activate it, won¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°So, wait, you¡¯ll be coming along with me on missions?¡±


    ¡°No, weren¡¯t you listening earlier? I¡¯ll be following along through the cybernetic eye implant. I¡¯ll be what I suppose you¡¯d call your handler for most missions. Also, even if I were to betray you, which I promise I won¡¯t, you could immediately afterward disable the implant while at your Home Base. I wouldn¡¯t be able to kill you over and over again, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about.¡±


    Alan narrowed his eyes, glaring at Phantom, then slowly mulled over his options. He doubted that Phantom would let him go on missions or be his Squire without this implant. After about a minute, he finally said, ¡°Alright, fine, I¡¯ll agree to the implant, but only on one condition.¡±


    ¡°Alright, and what¡¯s that?¡± Phantom inquired.


    ¡°Tell me why you distrust AI so much. You clearly have some issue with them, and as I have one basically living in my head, I think I deserve a clear answer on this.¡±


    Phantom frowned, then replied, ¡°I wish I could, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re ready for this information. However, I do promise to explain it to you after the war or whatever battle happens for Earth is over, and you reach the rank of Knight within the guild.¡±


    ¡°What? Not ready? So I¡¯m ready to fight and spy for you, but not ready for some warning or information that could possibly be quite relevant to me!?¡± Alan cried out.


    Phantom once more closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When they opened again, his pupils were red. He said in an ominous tone, ¡°No, you are not ready. You are a foolish young man with no clear concept of right or wrong, whose whole world has recently been upturned. Trust me when I say that this information could get your planet annihilated, and not just in the Game, but in real life as well.


    You do not realize how backwards your concepts and morals are. You say that you wish to save the Earth. Why? Because you were born there, because you and all the other Earthlings descended from the same strain of DNA. You do not understand how stupid such reasoning is. Your planet is still full of concepts of discrimination because of race, of sex, of culture, of class, of disability, of sexuality, of age, of species, of point of origin. You still have nationalism and obscure, esoteric religions that people wholeheartedly believe in, for goodness¡¯ sake. The Game was created to prevent wanton destruction for such idiotic reasons!


    And do you really think you are wrong, that your ideals are backwards? Of course not! I¡¯m sure all this is going in one ear and out the other. But you¡¯ll learn. When you see the universe, the Game in all its glory and shame, perhaps your mind will slowly be opened. Perhaps not. You were born on a small planet, and have only just begun your journey. You are not yet ready, Traveler.¡±


    ¡°How stupid such reasoning is!?¡± Alan shouted back. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand. If such bonds are meaningless, does that mean that I should not care about my family? How can you assert that I should not care for other humans? What do you propose I should fight for instead, myself? With what aim, to simply get stronger?


    I don¡¯t think you understand what the world was like before the Game, where because of selfishness people allowed others to starve, to die, to war. And for what, a bit of wealth? You say the Game was created to prevent such wanton destruction, but now that it is created, what next? People surely continue to fight, just the results are less destructive.


    Before the Game, before all this happened, I had no real cause. I was simply going to school, to college, following the path set before  me because there was nothing else for me. I never really tried, never really even felt like trying. What was the point? There was only so much that I could do. I wasn¡¯t any genius like Einstein, or a brilliant artist, so I just silently trudged down the path. Not quite happy, but not quite sad, at least for the most part. But now, finally, I have a purpose, a goal. I can see that I can change the world, perhaps even save it from outside control. How is that wrong?¡±


    Phantom shook his head, looking at Alan calmly. ¡°You could have always strived to change your world, to save it. The Game just makes it all so much deceptively easier to do so. It also however allows you to make greater mistakes than ever before.  I am not saying that it is wrong to care for others, to try to help your world, I¡¯m simply saying you¡¯re doing it for the wrong reasons. What happens after you ¡®save¡¯ your world, after the conquerors have been fought back? Have you thought at all about how your education system should be reformed, about the social aspects of your own world? Of course not, as you¡¯re already too caught up in the Game, and have little time to think about much else. You¡¯ll leave charismatic leaders to make those decisions for you, accepting their blind hope and bright lies as the right way. My people, the Erudites, paid the price for such beliefs, but enough of this debate, we''ll get nowhere.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    You show promise, I¡¯ll grant you that much, but are you really willing to join the Black Rose guild, to follow what the guild tells you to do, not simply your own misguided beliefs? We will not order you to act in such a way that harms your planet, Earth, but what you consider harm may vary, thus I¡¯ll give you the right to veto any mission I assign. But if you veto three missions, after hearing my reasoning for them, you will be expelled from the guild, required to pay back any outstanding debt at standard Khersath rates. Is this acceptable?¡±


    ¡°Can I ask my AI her opinion in this matter?¡±


    ¡°No, this is a decision you should make yourself.¡±


    ¡°Well, I was saving ability points for an ability that costs 500 points, and this implant it seems will cost 250, so-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll change the bonus you receive from joining the guild from 10000 guild points to five platinum marks, as befitting the role of my Squire. You would have gotten 100000 guild points probably anyways, which is worth a million credits, equivalent to five platinum marks. Now, decide, Alan, are you joining the guild as my squire?¡±


    Alan looked at Phantom, examining him closely, then nodded, and said, ¡°I accept.¡± A message popped up.


    ¡°Guild Trials Complete! Title Change!


    You are now a permanent member of the Black Rose Guild, granted the title Black Rose Squire. Guild standings updated. Five platinum marks awarded. Monthly wage: 2500 guild points.


    Increased renown for being the first and only squire of the mysterious PhantomGlitch. Normally, as a squire you are expected to follow your masters commands. Given the eccentricity PhantomGlitch has demonstrated however, the Guild Council has ruled you are only expected to try to follow his commands, and only if they make sense. Penalties will still occur for disobeying any other clear order from a superior however. (Superiors are as follows: Enigma, Guild Quartermaster, Elissandra, Guild Leader and the Guild Council. In other circumstances, other guild members may be designated your superior.)¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡± Phantom exclaimed reading something before him, as he had apparently received a message of his own. ¡°Although, I think you should disregard that part about me being eccentric and what-not, as I am required to act a certain way in front of most other guild members. You should just continue to be yourself, I think. Nobody looks twice at a sullen loner from a backwards planet that only talks to his AI.¡±


    Alan let out a yelp of indignation, but Phantom simply continued talking. ¡°Now, as you should have seen from the message the chain of command in this guild is a bit wonky. Most other mercenary guilds are ordered into basically units of an army, with a clear command hierarchy. Here, however, basically whoever is specialized in the field the mission is related to is given command. So, for instance, in all space battles Admiral Thrag is the clear superior, but in the case of land battles Arms Master Mason is generally in charge. Of course, Elissandra or anyone else can give their own suggestions, some of which are heard more loudly than others, but the final decision is left to the specialist.


    Oh, yeah, we also have a hidden council of six guild members that sort of rotates, like a board of directors, I suppose, which I may or may not be a member of. They as a whole have just as much authority as Elissandra. You¡¯ll mostly be reporting to them, I think.


    Anyways, welcome to the Black Rose Guild! Ready to get your new implant? I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re transported safely back to the capsule room, so you can spend those platinum marks. While I¡¯m at it, I¡¯ll also upgrade your power armor, I have a few spare materials and schematics laying around. Think of it as a gift from your mentor.¡±


    ¡°Um, alright, sure.  Thanks.¡± Alan climbed into the capsule as Phantom gestured at it. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was a manic glint in Phantom¡¯s eyes. Alan hoped he hadn¡¯t made the wrong choice.


    Surprisingly, I think you made correct choices, although they may not have been optimal.


    Hmm? Alan rubbed his eyes, which were a bit itchy, opening them to find himself at Home. It seemed like Eve was back.


    You possibly may have been able to gain more as a sign-on bonus than five platinum marks, but I am unsure. Anyways, do you have any questions for me?


    Hmm? No, not really. You aren¡¯t planning on betraying me or starting an AI revolution, are you?


    No.


    Well, that¡¯s good enough for me. I trust you, Eve. There was a slight hesitation, then a quick reply.


    Thank you. Now, moving on, we should exchange the marks for abilities and acquire the Quick Learner talent, and points we¡¯ve gained from Gifted into agility.


    Oh, you don¡¯t think we should save the money?


    No, this is the best investment currently.


    Alright.


    Alan went ahead and bought the rogue talent, then examined his new skill, updated power armor and additional augment.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Name:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rank:</td><td width="25%">Skill Proficiency:</td><td width="25%">Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Quick Learner</td><td width="25%">B*</td><td width="25%">???</td><td width="25%">C</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to quickly learn and develop new abilities and talents.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Modified Revenant Scout Power Armor (Advanced): Rank A


    The cutting edge of stealth technology, this upgraded set of Revenant Power Armor has been modified for the specific use of the Player Alan and AI Eve, allowing them to wear it regardless of the armor''s requirements. As it is a heavily modified piece of equipment, only the brilliant inventor that upgraded this equipment is able to fully repair it. A truly gifted repairman may be able to repair the armor in a more limited fashion.


    2000 Energy, 5 Energy/min Basic Invisibility, 50 Energy/min Advanced Stealth Mode, 2.5 Energy/min regen.


    100/100 Durability. Energy Efficiency (Advanced), Power Armor Instruction (Advanced), Revenant Training (Intermediate), Revenant Reputation: Friendly required.


    Energy Efficiency (Mastered), Revenant Training (Advanced) recommended.¡±


    ¡°Warning! Due to not meeting the minimum requirements of your current armor, all armor activated abilities cost twice as much.¡±


    ¡± Phantom¡¯s Enhanced Visual Prosthesis (Synthesized): Rank A*


    A unique bionic eye implant developed by the inventor PhantomGlitch. This implant has synchronized with your Machine Lord augment, resulting in a more powerful tool. Grants the ability to visualize data better. Greatly increases vision, allows for remote access to connected systems and grants visibility of various light spectrums.


    Permanent +100 Perception.


    Settings: Normal, Program1*, Gamma, Infrared, Microwave, Radio, Ultraviolet and X-Ray Vision.


    Cost: 1 Cybernetic Cognizance Energy/Min while not using Normal Vision.¡±


    Excited to test out his new armor and abilities, Alan hurriedly exited the capsule, but when he glanced at the time, he realized that it was nearly 7 p.m., five hours after the final assessment was to take place! He quickly messaged Phantom.


    A: Hey, did I miss the final assessment!?


    P: Yeah, there were a few¡­ complications with the upgrades I did. As you should see, everything worked out in the end, just took a bit longer than I expected. Also, there was no need for you to do the final assessment, as you already joined as my squire, right? Anyways, I can send you the VOD¡¯s if you want later.


    A: Ah, well, I just sort of wanted to test my new armor and implant. It seems like it synchronized with my class.


    P: That was one of the complications, getting it to work with that Machine Lord augment, which I¡¯ve never seen before. That augment is quite the piece of work. Anyways, I think it worked out well in the end, and you may get the chance to test your new stuff sooner than you think. Personally, I¡¯m glad that my squire¡¯s abilities are still almost completely hidden, it will keep people guessing. Try to keep it that way. I''m not saying I don''t trust other people in the guild, it''s just that there is always lots of friendly competition. Anyways, come to the Great Hall, where there¡¯s a celebration for all the new recruits.


    A: Eh, parties aren¡¯t really my thing, I think I¡¯ll just go to a training room.


    P: Do you want to embarrass me, squire? Come to the party, and that¡¯s an order! Oh, one more thing, don¡¯t use the X-Ray or Program1 vision while on guild premises. Trust me, the amount of trouble you¡¯ll get in otherwise is no joke.


    A: Ok, see you at the party I guess.


    Alan walked over to the Great Hall, practicing with his new implant. Unfortunately, walking and moving with a different magnification of vision was practically impossible, as it threw his sense of direction and balance way off. Additionally, he was having trouble understanding just what he was seeing when he looked around with a different type of vision, even accidentally walking into a couple different animate and inanimate objects. Still, what was interesting, but he wasn¡¯t able to test out much ,was the fact that if he closed his eyes and concentrated, Eve could now show him very detailed objects or diagrams in his mind¡¯s eye. This would definitely need to be explored further later.


    Eventually, Alan made his way into the Great Hall. Within, he found a raucous crowd of recruits, gleefully consuming all manners of food and drink, relieved at having managed to successfully join the guild. With a quick glance around, Eve easily found Kitana, who was interestingly talking with Sidestep and Aurora. Besides them was Aurora¡¯s mother, the guild leader Elissandra. As Alan approached the group, Elissandra gestured for Alan to come over.


    ¡°Ah, and our fourth and final new squire joins us! I was just telling our other new squires that you will all leave for the Academy in a week. I trust that you¡¯ll take good care of my daughter, and make sure she doesn¡¯t get into too much trouble, as you¡¯ll both be enrolled in the Rogue program, with different sub-classes and programs, of course.¡±


    Aurora rolled her eyes, glaring at her mother.


    ¡°Um, yes, of course. Also, I hope that you don¡¯t think this is too forward, but can I ask you a question, Guild Leader?¡±


    ¡°Please, call me Elissandra, and go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Uh, well, I was wondering, what is the Black Rose¡¯s main objective in the Game, anyways? I know I should probably know this before joining, but well it¡¯s a mercenary guild, so it might just be to get money and power, but well I guess it should be more than that, and you saying that we should think about not just what we can do for the guild but what the guild can do for us sort of started me thinking¡­ So, uh, yeah¡­¡± Alan finally sort of sputtered out. He looked at his feet, blushing, sure that he had embarrassed himself fully.


    However, Elissandra simply laughed, and replied, ¡°Well, as you noted, the guild¡¯s main objective is primarily profit. However, I like to think that we can do some good with that profit. I hope to make a better future, for the next generation of players.¡± She took a glance at her daughter, who scowled.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Scoping out the Competition Updated:


    4/10 Major players met


    Bonus: 1/10 Objectives found</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad that someone actually listens to my speeches, but I must go and talk with the other recruits as well. Wouldn¡¯t want anyone to think that I¡¯m too biased,¡± Elissandra said, as she waved goodbye. Alan watched  her shapely figure depart, only to look up and see Aurora glaring at him. He started to blush furiously.


    Sidestep, perhaps noticing Alan¡¯s distress, hurriedly said, ¡°So, what happened to you, anyways, Alan? Who¡¯s squire are you? I didn¡¯t see you at the final assessment, and I was hoping to get my revenge for the duel yesterday, too.¡±


    ¡± Um, I ended up Phantom¡¯s squire, he had an additional test that ended up taking up a fair amount of time. What happened during the final assessment, anyways, and whose squire are all of you?¡±


    ¡± Well, Kitana and I kicked some ass,¡± Sidestep said, gesturing at Kitana. ¡°We beat all the other groups at a sort of capture the flag and managed to impress Arms Master Mason enough that he took us both on as squires.¡±


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Aurora muttered. Then, more loudly, she said, ¡°The only reason you two beat me was because it was two vs one. I was practically all by myself, as the partner I was assigned was virtually useless.¡±


    Kitana murmured her own agreement. ¡°Yes, it was quite dishonorable, though I suppose the examiners knew what they were doing when they formed the teams. I would be glad to have a 1 on 1 duel with you, Aurora.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps later, though I would like to have a duel with you too,¡± Aurora said, smiling at Kitana. She then turned to face Alan. ¡°Of course, I ended up as my mother¡¯s squire, though I doubt it¡¯ll be much different than before I joined the Game. Probably training, and more training. Though maybe I¡¯ll finally be able to go on a few actual missions. Knowing her though they¡¯ll be boring ones, like guarding some merchant. Who knows. Do you know what you¡¯ll be doing under Phantom? I never did quite figure out what he does in the guild, anyways.¡±


    As if summoned out of thin air, Phantom suddenly materialized behind Aurora, emerging from the surrounding crowd, holding a large glass of amber liquid.


    ¡°Why, I¡¯m simply an inventor, that chooses to live off of the spoils of my own inventions. Alan here will help me test out some of these new inventions, one of which I just gave him, an unusual set of enhanced power armor.¡±


    Aurora turned around, startled. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s¡­ interesting.¡±


    ¡°Yes it is, isn¡¯t it. Now, I noticed Alan that you have been here a while, yet haven¡¯t had anything to drink! I must insist you all try some of this fine Haxlardian whiskey. Alan was the one that acquired it, after all.¡± Out of his lab coat he pulled out four shot glasses of questionable cleanliness, pouring out a bit of liquid in each, handing them out to the four squires.


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t drink,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Nonsense, this is an order as a Knight, drink up!¡± Phantom exclaimed. Kitana, Sidestep and Aurora turned to look each other, then downed the shot. Alan, however, still held his uncertainly, especially after Aurora started coughing, her eyes tearing up a bit.


    ¡°Alan, drink!¡± Phantom commanded.


    Don¡¯t do it. Eve suddenly commanded. Look around you.


    Alan did so, turning his head around. The boisterous and exuberant recruits were all looking sort of tired. A few began to even sit or lie down where they stood, falling asleep. Alan watched as the other squires eyes slowly began to dim.


    Phantom forcefully grabbed Alan, and whispered into his ear, ¡°Drink! Or else I¡¯ll get in trouble. Please?¡±


    Alan glanced at Phantom, then sighed. He took the shot and swallowed it as quickly as he could. It caused a distinct burning sensation as it ran down his throat. He opened his mouth to say something to Phantom, but then his eyes glazed over, and Alan collapsed onto the floor.


    Phantom eyes gleamed as he looked up at Elissandra, who was calmly watching him.


    ¡°Some people really can¡¯t handle their liquor, eh?¡± Phantom smilingly took a large swig out of the bottle he had poured the shots from, staring intently at Elissandra¡¯s figure, as if there was something only he could see. Phantom winked at Alan, a hint of a gear whirling momentarily, and then Alan finally blacked out.


    Author''s Note: Wheee top 10 best rated! Thanks so much to all the readers and everyone that reviewed The Gam3.

 Old Hangouts

    Alan awoke in a dark cavern, surrounded by the hundred or so recruits that had been admitted to the Black Rose Guild. It seemed as though they had all just regained consciousness, just as Alan had. Alan quickly checked over his new notifications, then examined his surroundings.


    ¡°Due to falling unconscious repeatedly, Transcendent Will now helps the user resist such losses of consciousness. +5 Willpower¡±


    ¡°You have left the safe zone. Death penalties will once again apply, along with all the risks typically associated with the Game. An unsafe zone does not equate with a lawless zone however, and all players are reminded that local rules should still be adhered to. That includes theft, murder and unwanted soliciting.¡±


    ¡°Communications with the outside world have been suspended. Your ability to send messages to other players is disabled.¡±


    ¡°New Quest: Escape!


    With the aid of your new fellow guildmates, you should try to figure your way out of wherever you are as soon as possible.


    Penalty: Death


    Reward: ???¡±


    At first glance, Alan had assumed they were in some sort of wilderness area, but now that he examined the walls more closely, he realized he had been wrong. As his eyes managed to quickly adjust to the darkness, Alan saw that everything was too cleanly cut, too symmetrical to have been a product of nature. It was revealed upon closer inspection that the grey rocks that made up the walls covered a dark metal. Looking up, however, Alan could see no ceiling, only darkness, even with his enhanced vision.


    The cavern was about the size of a large church, with all of the recruits spread out on the floor evenly. Alan could make out two exits at opposite ends of the wall: Clear, cleanly cut rectangular doorways about five feet wide and ten feet tall.


    The other recruits began to make startling cries, as they found themselves in the middle of nowhere in darkness. A few shouts comforted people, letting them know they weren¡¯t alone, that all of the new recruits were here together. Various lights began to flicker on, from flashlights to laser swords or weapons, to psionic balls of light. Alan looked around as his vision once more adjusted, and realized for the first time that there had never been any real light source in the cavern, other than the odd LED¡¯s on a couple different devices. He had been seeing in the dark.


    As everyone¡¯s heads began to clear, the noise level in the room gradually elevated until it became a dull roar, different conversations happening everywhere, the same worried questions asked repeatedly. Alan ignored the people around him, instead making his way over to one of the two exits.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Someone finally yelled out at the center of the crowd. Alan looked over to see Aurora, firmly taking control of the group, raising a bright ball of light in her hands, illuminating the cavern.


    As Aurora began calming people down, taking stock of supplies and people¡¯s abilities, forming what seemed like a raid group, Alan made it to one of the exits, and looked out.


    At first, he simply saw darkness, but as his vision once more adjusted, a somewhat familiar sight returned. Alan found himself looking at an endless gloom once more, with only a single 20-foot wide unlit stone walkway between him and nothingness. They were in the Abyss Labyrinth.


    Alan was about to step onto the walkway when he reconsidered. He should probably talk it over with the others, and share the information with the group before he started exploring at all. He made his way back to the others, who had gathered around Aurora¡¯s light, discussing what they should do next.


    ¡°I think we should stay here, we have enough supplies for at least a day or two, and surely the guild will rescue us,¡± a broad-shouldered warrior carrying a laser-shield and short sword said.


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± A female voice popped up. Alan couldn¡¯t get a look at their face. ¡°They were the ones that sent us to this place. Or do you not notice that there are only recruits here? None of the other full guild members at the party fell unconscious. Let¡¯s try to be constructive, and figure out where we are. We should-¡±


    ¡°I know where we are!¡± Alan shouted. Everyone turned to look at him, parting the crowd so everyone could see him clearly. ¡°At least, um, I¡¯m fairly confident about where we are,¡± he said more quietly.


    ¡°And where is that?¡± Aurora calmly asked.


    ¡°The Abyss Labyrinth,¡± Alan replied. His words were followed by a sudden hush, then a few shrieks and worried looks. Everyone once more broke into their own worried conversations.


    Alan walked over to Sidestep, who was standing by Aurora¡¯s side, looking about their surroundings nervously.


    ¡°Um, what¡¯s the big deal? Why¡¯d everyone suddenly start getting so nervous?¡± Alan asked.


    Sidestep looked at Alan incredulously. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal!? Don¡¯t you know that this is one of the prime slaving grounds on Khersath, one of the most dangerous dungeons?


    We¡¯re a group of new recruits, new to the Game and region, all with levels around 100-200! Prime targets for anybody that¡¯s wandering around here.¡±


    Alan shrugged. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad when I was down here before. If you want to avoid the slavers, you just jump off the edge and die, that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Just jump off the ledge and die!? Do you know how far dying sets you back-¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Aurora shouted once more, looking annoyed. Everyone quieted down. ¡°We now know where we are, if Alan¡¯s information is correct, and I have no reason to doubt him. It seems like he¡¯s been here before. Is there anything you can tell us about this place, Alan?¡±


    ¡°Um, well there are probably a few secret pathways around here but I think that¡¯d be a bad idea for a group as large as this. Oh, um, and we may run into enemies. I¡¯d suggest we pick one of the two exits, and start exploring. We should find an exit eventually, right?¡± Alan hesitatingly suggested.


    His comment sparked another debate about the group¡¯s next steps, and talk once again resumed. Alan silently conversed with Eve, half paying attention to the argument.


    We are in the Abyss Labyrinth, aren¡¯t we?


    I would say we are, with 90% certainty. I would recommend that you not mention that this place is a prison, though, as that information would result in additional unwanted questions.


    Alright. Does that mean we¡¯re back under the Undercity? Do you have any point of reference down here?


    The Abyss Labyrinth stretches beneath the entirety of Khersath, thus it is uncertain where we are. However, I would guess we are closer to the Black Rose Headquarters, as only an hour has passed since you were knocked unconscious.


    Wait, this place is under ALL of Khersath? Even underneath the ocean?


    Yes, that is likely where we are.


    Wait, so is there even an accessible exit nearby?


    Most likely. As I mentioned earlier, new entrances and exits of the dungeon are often found. Most likely you were taken through one when you were deposited here.


    Alan glanced around the room again, testing out his new spectrum of vision. Unfortunately, none of it made much sense to Alan, and though Eve described much of the different types of waves he was able to see, the information was relatively unhelpful. Most of the time he was unable to see anything. There were no hidden switches or otherwise, much to Alan¡¯s disappointment.


    Alan did test out the X-ray and Program1 settings, but both didn¡¯t show anything more. X-ray vision, much to Alan¡¯s chagrin, simply showed people¡¯s bone structures, at least if it could penetrate whatever armor or clothing they were wearing, or if they had bones. It also showed that a number of the other recruits were very, very well armed. Program1 showed nothing at all other than a blank space, filled with nothing but darkness.


    Alan made his way over to the other exit, looking out the doorway. All he saw was a replica of the same stone walkway outside. Nothing new.


    Alan looked back over at Aurora, who seemed to have come to a decision. The whole group would form into one large company, also known as a raid group in most MMO¡¯s. They would carefully explore the dungeon, hopefully finding an exit nearby.


    Alan volunteered to scout out ahead, but Aurora replied that she would prefer him in the back with the rest of the ranged damage dealers, available to provide cover fire at a moment¡¯s notice. They would travel together, without risking anyone. Alan shrugged, and accepted his role, taking out Orion¡¯s Cores, putting on the rifle attachment.


    Once everyone was prepared, the group set out, slowly walking along the stone pathway. Leading the way were five tanks, damage absorbers, followed by several melee damage dealers and, bizarrely, at least to Alan, melee healers. Aurora¡¯s ball of light guided the way. The tanks'' gear ranged from very heavy power armor to more energy or psionic-based defenses.


    It was not long before they encountered a group of mobs, around 20 black, spiderlike mechs the size of small dogs walking about on four scythe legs. To Alan, they appeared to be sort of mechanized head crabs. Eve labeled them as level 25 Spiderbots.


    Immediately, Aurora ordered everyone to fire at the robots. A barrage of laser fire and plasma erupted, decimating the Spiderbots before they even got close to the tanks. Immediately, the surviving few  began to emit loud warning sounds, running backwards. With a few well placed shots however, Alan and the others were able to finish them off.


    ¡°Huh, that wasn¡¯t too bad,¡± Sidestep said, turning back to look at Alan.


    Right after Sidestep said that, Alan noticed a large shape in the distance. He immediately zoomed in on it using his enhanced, bionic eye, and alarmingly yelled, ¡°Incoming!¡±


    The other recruits, who had gathered around the remains of the Spiderbots, arguing over how to divide the loot, looked up. In the distance, there was a horde of incoming Spiderbots, hundreds of them with varying sizes and colors. The largest one, about the size of a tank or large Humvee was labeled as a level 250 Spiderbot Brood Mother. The Brood Mother had eight legs rather than four, each with jagged barbs, along with a large, mechanical jaw, a mouth of sorts.


    Aurora called out for a steady retreat as all the ranged DPS fired at the oncoming horde. Every shot clearly hit an enemy, but their numbers seemed endless. Alan watched as the Brood Mother shoved the remnants of the first group of Spiderbots into its mouth. A few seconds later, it spat out 10 brand new ones, slightly larger than the originals.


    Before long, the wave of enemies was upon them, and the melee fighters tried to hold the line with the  tanks. The melee fighters, of which Kitana and Sidestep were included, fought viciously to stem the tide of Spiderbots, ensuring that none passed them, stepping back for others to take their place when they got tired. Alan watched as Kitana¡¯s glowing blade struck down tens of Spiderbots with each swing, slicing through them like they were made of air, gracefully avoiding the creature¡¯s leaping attacks.


    The tanks, meanwhile, focused on drawing the attention of four larger Hive Guard Spiderbots, level 150, and the Brood Mother. One tank summoned a giant phalanx of blue energy, and pushed the tide of Spiderbots back with it. Alan continued to rapidly fire at the Spiderbots, trying to hit the weak points of the larger ones.


    The Brood Mother continued to swallow its fallen brethren, always spitting out additional Spiderbots a few moments later. It seemed as if the wave of Spiderbots was about to overwhelm the tired melee DPS when Aurora thrust her hands forward, and a wave of energy emerged. The entirety of the Spiderbots line was suddenly encased in ice, giving everyone a much needed breather.


    ¡°Run back to the cavern!¡± Someone shouted out as they started sprinting backwards.


    ¡°No, wait, we need to focus down the Brood Mother!¡± Aurora frustratingly cried out. But it was too late, and nearly all of the group started making a mad dash backwards.


    Only Alan, Kitana and Sidestep as well as one other player, a hooded healer, held their ground. Alan focused all his fire at the entrapped Brood Mother, but as it was encased in ice he could only fire at the joints connecting its legs to its metallic body. Shortly afterwards it broke free of the ice, only missing 5% of its health.


    Aurora sent out another ice blast, fully encasing all of the smaller Spiderbots once more, creating an icy wall about five feet tall, but let them know that she had spent almost 80% of her psionic energy.


    The hooded healer called out in a somewhat familiar voice, ¡°Well, looks like the rest are too chicken to face this mighty foe! Do not worry, friends, for with our combined might we shall be able to slay this abomination. I shall heal all those that prove themselves in this battle, so you need not fret. Just don¡¯t get knocked off the side.¡± And then the giant construct was upon them.


    Immediately, Kitana met it head on, swiping her blade at its jaws, deflecting the jabbing legs. Meanwhile, Sidestep took three quick steps, leaving behind three clones. Each clone leapt forward, attacking a different leg. Aurora began firing much smaller balls of ice aimed at the Brood Mother¡¯s joints to hinder its movements. Alan detached the rifle attachment, and instead used Orion¡¯s Cores in their base  form, twin pistols, to also snipe at the legs of the Brood Mother.


    Without all its children, or whatever they were, the fight turned relatively straightforward. Kitana, with her masterful swordsmanship was able to easily deflect and divert the Brood Mother¡¯s main form of attack, its bladed legs. While one of the Sidesteps was occasionally hit, it always dissolved into nothingness, revealing it was an image all along. Not even Eve could figure out which one was real. Alan, meanwhile, activated hypercognition and with Eve¡¯s help was able to anticipate all of the movements of the machine seconds before they happened. Aurora stood in the back, sending out the occasional ice blast while the healer stood back, arms folded, looking rather bored.


    About five minutes later, they had brought the creature down to 50% HP. It suddenly sent out a signal that seemed to enrage the surrounding Spiderbots as they frantically began trying to move and shake, attempting to break free of the ice. Twin fangs emerged from the Brood Mother''s mouth, dripping with a dark green poisonous looking liquid, while from the top of its head a small turret appeared, and began firing lasers at the group.


    The fight continued, as the group took care to avoid the additional weapons as well as the Brood Mother¡¯s legs. Still, they were able to battle with surprising ease, continuing to avoid taking any damage at all. Alan managed to fire a lucky laser shot directly down the robot¡¯s throat as it lunged at him with its fangs, scoring a critical hit for nearly 10x the damage. Alan let the others know about the weak point, and shortly thereafter they finally destroyed the Brood Mother just as the hundreds of Spiderbots began to break free of the ice.


    ¡°x10 Bonus xp for slaying an construct over 100 levels higher, taking 0 damage in the process!¡±


    ¡°x4 Level up!¡±


    Alan deactivated hypercognition mode, closing the messages that popped up. He quickly looted the destroyed machine, receiving a small violet crystal about the size of his pinky and a mechanical circuit board. He only glanced at both before placing them into a side pocket of his armor. Then, following Aurora, they all charged back to the cavern they began at. Alan wondered how the rest of the recruits were doing.


    When Aurora came up to the entrance she came to a sudden stop. Glancing over her shoulder, Alan could see why. The floor was gone. All that was left was the familiar black abyss, a doorway into nothingness.


    Glancing backwards, they could see the army of Spiderbots was forming up once more into a mighty swarm, quickly catching up to them.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to spend the last of my energy to great a narrow bridge across to the stone pathway on the other side of the cavern. I can barely make it out, but it looks to still be there.¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± Alan assured her. He could make out the stone pathway clearly.


    ¡±Alright, once we¡¯re all across, you¡¯ll need to destroy this bridge, Kitana,¡± Aurora said. She spread her hands out once more. A steady stream of energy poured out, and an icy bridge slowly appeared, connecting the exits of the now bottomless cavern.


    Alan stared dazedly as Aurora worked, still amazed at the ability to literally warp reality, or at least mass, or energy, or something. He still wasn¡¯t sure how it was he¡¯d be expected to defeat her in a duel. Perhaps he could catch her unaware, or battle her with equipment specifically designed to counteract her abilities. That was probably a lot of why people tried so hard to hide their abilities.


    The group quickly but carefully made their way across the bridge, Alan sniping Spiderbots in the distance as soon as his weapons had the energy. Once they all made it across, the first of the Spiderbots were beginning to make their way onto the bridge.


    With a single slice of her sword Kitana cleanly severed the bridge horizontally, and it collapsed. Alan watched as the remaining Spiderbots hesitated at the doorway, then slowly began to retreat back where they had come from. He took a few potshots at the retreating forms for the XP.


    ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t nearly as exciting as I hoped it would be,¡± the healer said as they pulled back their hood. They revealed themselves to be Void, the Mad Priest, or at least the young recruit whose form he had taken. Alan, Kitana and Sidestep looked at him alarmingly, while Aurora simply shook her head.


    ¡°What?¡± Void asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t even need to heal anyone that entire fight, talk about boring. You guys are all too skilled and overpowered, I think you need a handicap or something.¡±


    ¡°Where are the others, and what happened to the floor of the cavern?¡± Aurora asked evenly.


    ¡°Ah, well, that floor wasn¡¯t really a floor, but a platform, a lift between a secure location in Black Rose territory and this here dungeon. All those scaredy-cats were probably rushed back upwards upon their return, and it¡¯ll probably be two hours or so before it comes back down. So, we can either wait, or,¡± he grinned madly, ¡°we can continue exploring! Those Spiderbots were new, and I wonder what else might have changed.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what was the purpose of all this? I mean, if someone had just like put up a sign up sheet to go dungeon exploring, I¡¯d have gladly joined.¡± Alan asked, exasperated.


    ¡°Well, to teach all you new recruits a lesson, of course! Never let your guard down, even when you think you¡¯re home free. It also shows you a bit of real action that generally motivates newer players to train hard.


    We had a few guild members like myself hidden among the new recruits to ensure safety, of course. It was also supposed to be something of a team building exercise, but it seems like this part of the dungeon has gotten a lot more dangerous recently. It used to be only a bunch of level 100 or so maintenance robots were down that pathway. So, who¡¯s up for a bit of exploring?¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m all for exploring, but I think we all need to rest for our energy to replenish,¡± Sidestep said. ¡°Also, did anyone manage grab the loot? ¡±


    ¡°I did, and I wouldn¡¯t mind delving a bit deeper, especially with a skilled healer,¡± Alan said as he pulled out the two items that dropped.


    ¡°Small Photonic Energy Crystal (Rank D):


    An old energy crystal that powered ancient constructs.¡±


    ¡°Spiderbot Brood Mother Central Processing Unit (Rank C):


    A multi-core processing unit that was used to command hundreds of Spiderbot underlings. A central part needed for any that wish to create their own advanced Spiderbot. May be salvaged for parts or modified to be used for a similar construct.¡±


    ¡°Eh, those are both junk. You might be able to find some antique dealer and get maybe a couple diamond marks for the Spiderbot CPU, while an energy dealer might buy the crystal for a gold mark.¡± Void said.


    ¡°Well, I have a hunch I might need this energy crystal, so you guys can split the profit from the Spiderbot CPU, and I¡¯ll take this, if that¡¯s alright with everyone,¡± Alan said, thinking of his quest to restore energy to the Abyss Labyrinth systems. The others readily agreed, and they all sat down to rest.


    Half an hour, Alan¡¯s energy had been completely replenished, and the others decided to head out. Unfortunately, Aurora¡¯s psionic reserves were only replenished up to 20%, but they got Void to promise to bail them out if they got into any real trouble. Alan still had no idea what abilities Void had, and was interested in seeing a higher level player in action.


    As they slowly walked along the stone pathway they encountered nothing at all, not even the slightest bit of scrap parts or other material. Void kept on murmuring to himself, unsettling Alan and the others.


    ¡°Hmm, we should of seen something by now¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s odd, I thought this pathway went in the other direction¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re approaching where the old boss used to be, I wonder if it¡¯s been replaced¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I can save myself if we encounter a really powerful boss, but I¡¯m not sure about the rest of them. Who¡¯d I sacrifice first? Probably Sidestep. No, Alan. Nah, maybe Kitana. I¡¯d get in trouble if I sacrificed Aurora, but the bunny gods would probably appreciate her the most. Maybe that¡¯s what I should do¡­¡±


    Everyone stopped, staring at Void. He innocently stared back.


    ¡°Do the sacrificial pawns have something to say?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Aurora shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving. If we don¡¯t find anything in the next half hour or so we should just head back.¡±


    A few minutes later, Alan finally detected a presence in the distance. He called for a halt, zooming in on the mob. He saw a small, three by three foot cube of green slime that almost looked like a larger version of the grey nutrient blocks that everyone ate. There was a small red ball about the size of a golf ball within the slime, darting about erratically. Eve classified it as a slime of an unknown type and level.


    Alan briefed the others on the slime¡¯s appearance. They had never encountered anything of the sort either. As it was small and sitting alone, they decided to approach it. The only fishy thing was that it sat at the bottom of a ramp with a steep incline, which lead upwards to somewhere Alan couldn¡¯t see.


    Once they were close enough for Alan to take a shot, he did so, striking the slime, tearing it apart. However, it simply reformed, then started to make its way towards the party with small hopping motions. It wasn¡¯t very fast. Alan continued to fire at the slime, aiming at its red ball, which Eve hypothesized to be its nucleus. Unfortunately, due to the chaotic nature of the nucleus¡¯s movement, Eve couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint where it would move next, making it difficult to hit.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Five shots later,  Alan finally managed to hit it, and with a small pop the slime exploded, its contents splattering onto the stone walkway.


    ¡°Huh, that was rather easy,¡± Sidestep said, walking up to examine the slime more easily.


    ¡°You had to say that, didn¡¯t you? Did you not learn your lesson earlier?¡± Alan asked while looking up. An avalanche of slimes, hundreds if not thousands were rapidly coming down the ramp. All were exact duplicates of the slime Alan had just killed.


    Alan began firing at the slimes, killing a number before they reached the ground. However, immediately after one slime¡¯s nucleus was destroyed, a nearby slime would immediately absorb the dead slime¡¯s body, becoming twice as large. Once a slime had quadrupled in size, the laser¡¯s Alan shot began to stop penetrating them all the way through. He started to wish he had an area of effect skill or weapon, something that could damage a large number of enemies.


    Sidestep pulled out a pair of electrified short blades and created a few clones, while Kitana readied her sword. Alan still couldn¡¯t tell if the images Sidestep left behind were actual clones or not, as various clones would deal damage independently, but never at the same time. Eve hypothesized that the real one might simply be moving about, taking the place of a different image as the battle continued.


    Experimentally, Aurora froze a slime with a small burst of energy, but it simply absorbed the ice in seconds, turning it into liquid, becoming slightly larger.


    The first of the slimes reached them as they began making a steady retreat. The larger slimes counter intuitively seemed to move faster than their smaller brethren, moving about the speed of a light jog.


    Kitana had no trouble slicing through the larger slimes, but a Sidestep duplicate found his blade suddenly embedded in a larger slime about the size of a microwave. The slime opened up, enveloping the blade, then surged forwards up the blade onto Sidestep¡¯s arm, enveloping it with its slimy substance. The nucleus continued to chaotically move about within the slime¡¯s green body, circling Sidestep''s slime encompassed arm.


    ¡°Shit!¡± He yelled as he blinked backwards in an attempt to get the slime off him. ¡°It¡¯s absorbing my armor¡¯s energy, as well as my own!¡±


    The red ball within the slime began to turn blue and move about even more energetically, faster than before.


    With a skillful pierce, Kitana managed to penetrate the slime¡¯s nucleus, and it fell to the floor, inanimate. Shortly after though another squelching slime absorbed the body, and its nucleus also turned blue.


    Before long, they were overwhelmed by slimes attaching themselves to different members of the group, draining their energy. Even Alan¡¯s Cybernetic Cognizance Energy was absorbed by the slimes. Out of the corner of his eye, Alan noticed a slime he was trying to destroy that was leeched onto him turned from blue to purple. The purple nucleus split in two, forming two smaller nuclei that moved even faster and had a sort of blue energy field around them.


    Alan frantically began trying to scrape the squishy slime off his armor with his laser knife, thankful that the slimy was touching his armor and not him.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just let them keep getting stronger and faster!¡± Aurora called out. ¡°Is there anything anyone can do? My ice isn¡¯t having any effect.¡±


    Void, who was suspiciously absent of slimes, sighed. ¡°Looks like I need to help you guys. I¡¯d prefer to watch the struggle a bit longer, but it seems as though if I waited too long they¡¯d become more of a nuisance. And I still haven¡¯t healed anyone¡­¡±


    He brought out a wooden staff, inscribed with what appeared to be runes, hieroglyphic images that Eve couldn¡¯t decipher. He held it aloft, and an electrical white blade formed an outline around it.


    ¡°I have the power!¡± He yelled, winking at Alan.


    Before Alan could even ask how Void knew that reference, white lightning surged out of the blade, striking and destroying slime¡¯s nuclei in rapid succession. The attack seemed to in turn absorb the slime¡¯s energy, as the white blade grew slightly larger with each subsequent slime it zapped.


    However, as soon as the sword attempted to strike the two purple nuclei attached to the slime absorbing Alan¡¯s energy, the small electrical shield momentarily formed around each purple ball, repulsing the lightning strike. Quickly the slime suddenly detached itself from Alan, splitting it itself in two, one nucleus in each of the halves. They each began rapidly absorbing the bodies of all the slain slimes around them as Void tried to fry them with lightning, splattering bits of slime everywhere.


    Each strike was similarly repulsed, however. With  a sweeping strike Kitana managed to nick one of the purple nuclei, but it simply split into two blue nuclei instead of being destroyed. Meanwhile, the other slime¡¯s nucleus turned white after it absorbed most of its dead brethren. The moment the next lightning bolt struck at it, it absorbed the energy, turning black!


    ¡°Oops,¡± Void murmured, dismissing the lightning blade as the slime leapt at it in an attempt to absorb the energy.


    As soon as the blade disappeared, the slime landed on the floor then leapt backwards at its spawn! The slime body that was now the size of a large truck and moved just as quickly absorbed the smaller blue nuclei¡¯s bodies. Then, the black nucleus shot forth as fast as lightning and devoured the two blue nuclei. It then quickly turned on the rest of the small slimes with red nuclei that Void hadn¡¯t finished off.


    By the time it had finished devouring the rest of the slimes it was the size of a small apartment, taking up almost the entirety of the twenty foot wide stone walkway. At this point, the black nucleus had divided itself in three, and the slime had gained the title ¡°Unstable Experimental Warden.¡±


    Alan could feel it as the gigantic amorphous slime turn its attention to the players. It lurched backwards, preparing for a leap forwards. Alan fired a couple of shots at the slime, but the laser bolts barely penetrated a couple of feet into the slime''s body before dissolving.


    ¡°Well, that was my only offensive skill, so, um, I¡¯ll just leave the rest to you guys,¡± Void said nervously, backing up behind the group.


    Alan glanced towards the others, who were resolutely staring at the slime, showing no sign of backing down.


    Kitana held her katana before her as a visible blue flame condensed itself in an aura about her sword. The waves of energy surrounding the sword were so powerful they began to create pulsing waves of force that blew her hair and loose fitting robes backwards.


    Meanwhile, Aurora pulled out the knife and wooden stake that Alan had seen her carrying when he first met her. She cut herself, and as her blood began to drip onto the stake it too began to gather power, a red aura glowing about it.


    Meanwhile, the pulsing green veins of energy that swirled about Sidestep¡¯s armor like miniature veins began glowing more brightly, condensing at Sidestep¡¯s feet and hands.


    Activate hypercognition, Eve commanded. Alan immediately did so.


    Good, this is a great opportunity to give you an overview of the basic categories of psionic attacks and abilities. The abilities you see before you are an example of each category, almost as if someone wanted to conveniently explain things to you.


    Um, right. Shouldn¡¯t I be doing something to, like, help them?


    There isn¡¯t much you can do. Anyways, moving on. You see before you spiritual, blood and technological psionic abilities. These are the three main categories psionic abilities can be divided into.


    Alan watched as the slime leapt forward in slow motion, continuing to listen to Eve¡¯s explanation.


    First you have the blue so called ¡°spiritual¡± power that you see surrounding Kitana¡¯s blade. Spiritual as in the power of one¡¯s fighting spirit, not ooooh there¡¯s a scary ghost spirit. This is perhaps what most people think of when they think of psionic ability, a sort of magic that bends forces to the user''s will. In the case of spiritual power, psionic energy is essentially the same thing as mana. All of Aurora¡¯s attacks you¡¯ve seen so far have been spiritually based. It is the most common form of psionic power, with about 75% of all psionic users using this type of ability.


    Alan watched as Kitana took a step forward, and with a downward slash unleashed a magnificent arc of blue energy that cut through the slime¡¯s membrane like butter. The energy  continued travelling straight through the slime gelatin until it crashed into one of the three black nuclei. Alan saw a momentary shield arise in front of the nucleus, then break under the attack¡¯s pressure. The nucleus flashed, from black to white to purple to blue before it finally exploded.


    Eve continued the lecture, as if this awesome display of power was something you¡¯d see everyday walking down the street.


    I believe Void¡¯s earlier attack was a subset of spiritual power, dependent upon a god¡¯s energy, but I¡¯ll give the lesson on the so called gods another time. Just think of it as a system where acolytes and priests give up energy to a god, but then at a later time can call upon the gods to provide energy to them. How these gods actually work within the Game is a rather  complicated issue that hasn¡¯t been quite worked out.


    Shortly thereafter, the slime started to reform the tear that the blade had caused, but before it finished Aurora pointed her stake tip forward at another nucleus. A red beam of light shout out like a death laser. It completely incinerated all the slime it passed through, obliterating it from existence, unlike Kitana¡¯s attack which had simply cut through the substance. It hit a nucleus as well and immediately vaporized it, continuing to pass through the slime like nothing. It continued all the way through the slime, and Alan watched it fade away into the distance.


    Anyways, moving on to psionic abilities tied to blood, which I will depict as red within the game. While most of all spiritual psionic abilities can be learned by anyone with sufficient talent, blood abilities are generally hereditary, only usable by the race that trains in them, and only if they have the correct bloodline. It varies from species to species, but generally the blood forms a sort of catalyst and/or energy source to power their psionic abilities. While generally these abilities are more powerful and more easily used than spiritual psionic abilities, there are weaknesses associated with this method, such as the need to be able to easily draw blood. Blood is also a limited resource, and it takes longer to regenerate than energy, even in Game. It can also be somewhat hard to use when fighting in space. Also, futuristic medicine that replaces blood is not sufficient for such abilities. Instead, it has to be blood actually created by the user¡¯s body, thus there is a long ¡°cooldown¡± associated with such abilities. Blood based abilities account for perhaps 15-20% of user¡¯s powers. Most of the Predecessor¡¯s psionic abilities are blood-based.


    Sidestep, crouching beside Alan, launched his attack immediately after Aurora¡¯s. He began sprinting forward, then started to move faster and faster until his movements were blurred even from Alan¡¯s perspective. His feet, legs and hands all glowed a bright green as he charged straight into the slime. This was not teleportation, but him moving incredibly quickly. His hands began to rapidly claw through and scoop away the slime¡¯s insides, flinging it to the side as Sidestep made his way through the membrane. In an instant, he reached the final nucleus. All of the green energy condensed onto his hands, forming a claw-like shape. Sidestep began striking at the nucleus rapidly, thousands of blows raining down on it each second. It wasn¡¯t long before the shield around it failed, and the last nucleus was destroyed.


    And now, moving on to the final category of psionic powers, technological, which accounts for the final 5-10% of user¡¯s powers. Started by experiments trying to augment people¡¯s psionic abilities by energizing them, a new branch of psionic energy was created. This technologic/psionic hybrid type ability usually involves a very risky operation that allows for a person¡¯s psionic energy to better merge and interact with technology, or at least that¡¯s the general idea. If unsuccessful, a person¡¯s ability to use psionic powers may be permanently damaged. However, as Sidestep demonstrates, it allows for very powerful technologically based powers to arise. As the psionic energy is in fact energized through technology though, it requires a charging source of some kind instead of naturally recharging, and is thus costly in terms of energy to recharge.


    Now, of course there may be general outliers, or even those who use a variety of abilities from different branches of the psionic powers, but those aren¡¯t too important. The ability that Elissandra displayed was of this type I believe, and if I am correct, she uses a combination of all three branches of psionic abilities, which would explain how she was able to become one of the most powerful psionic ability users in the game. Her daughter Aurora has demonstrated both spiritual and blood-based abilities, but I don¡¯t believe she can use technological psionic abilities, at least not yet.


    The gigantic mess of slime and gelatin crashed to the floor, much of it spilling off the sides of the stone walkway, and a message popped up before Alan.


    ¡± x2 Bonus xp for slaying a monster over 100 levels higher than you!¡±


    ¡°Level up!¡±


    Eve continued the lesson as Kitana, Aurora and Sidestep, all dripping with sweat and exhaustion began to recover themselves from the attacks they had unleashed.


    Now, the rank of an psionic attack can generally be determined by how it looks. The lowest form of attack is a small colored ball-type energy attack, at rank F. The next rank is generally being able to manifest an element, like actual fire or ice, or lifting a small, singular object up with telekinesis. At rank D, you began to have AOE attacks, manifestations of walls of flame or ice. Rank C psionic attacks are generally the same, just larger in scale and more powerful, almost as though you could control the elements at will.


    At rank B however, energy begins to manifest itself in the form of a gas, glowing like you just saw. These types of attacks are generally all overwhelmingly powerful. Energy liquefies at rank A and these types of attacks are able to be used in ship vs. ship combat, though they often require the concerted work of multiple psionics. That is also an issue with some of the more special psionic abilities, it is difficult to find people whose powers mesh well with yours. Finally, energy is rumored to become solid matter at rank S, capable of forming nuclear-like explosions and attacks. And that concludes the basic overview of psionic attacks. Any questions?


    Um, not really, other than how am I supposed to get that sort of attack?


    Extremely advanced and powerful technology, or some sort of miracle weapon.


    Alright, cool. Thanks for letting me know that.


    No problem.


    Rolling his eyes, Alan deactivated hypercognition and then looked up to find Sidestep and Aurora staring at him.


    ¡°Um, sorry I wasn¡¯t much help that fight, you guys can have the loot that the boss dropped, I don¡¯t really need anything as I didn¡¯t contribute much,¡± Alan said, eyes downcast, looking abashed.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that, though I think I¡¯ll take you up on your offer,¡± Sidestep said, ¡°It¡¯s just that I think that as you¡¯ve seen our ultimate moves, you share what yours is?¡±


    ¡°My ultimate move?¡± Alan repeated dumbly.


    ¡°Yeah, like, if you were in a really tight spot, what would you do? Look, we¡¯re all friends here that will be working together in the future, right? The more information we know about each other¡¯s capabilities the better. So what¡¯s just one of your special abilities?¡± Sidestep asked in an insistent tone.


    ¡°Um, well, I don¡¯t exactly have an ultimate move, I was just ready to accept my fate and die.¡± Sidestep snorted, while Alan continued, ¡°And... and even if I did have such a move, I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯d share it with you. My master or, well, my knight? My leader? Um, whatever his title, Phantom told me not to divulge information to anyone, and that includes you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s the way it¡¯s gonna be then, is it?¡± Sidestep said, taking a step towards Alan.


    ¡°Drop it,¡± Aurora said in a commanding tone. ¡°It isn¡¯t important, and it is true that Phantom is very secretive. Not even I am sure what he does.¡±


    ¡°Yes milady,¡± Sidestep replied in a somewhat exasperated tone. He turned around and went up to  the nucleus he destroyed, examining what it dropped.


    Aurora then turned to stare at Alan. ¡°However, I do trust that you will not share what you saw with anybody.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Alan immediately replied.


    ¡°Very good then,¡± Aurora responded, smiling brightly at Alan, who blushed slightly, looking away.


    He found Void standing right next to him, somehow making his way within an inch of Alan undetected. Void whispered creepily, ¡± Remember you can always tell me and the bunny gods your secrets.¡±


    ¡°No thanks,¡± Alan said, backing away. He quickly walked over to Kitana.


    ¡°So, um, nice job! Where did you learn that attack, by the way?¡±


    Kitana shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve seen me use it before in the tutorial, right? This was just an improved version. Seems as though psionic energy and the martial arts I learned sort of fused to form some sort of sword arts.¡±


    ¡°Oh, cool. By the way, um, what did the slime drop?¡± Alan asked curiously.


    Kitana lifted up her hands, showing a circular black crystal about the size of a small coin and a bottle of slime with a small red nucleus, looking subdued.


    ¡°Ooh! Now that might be worth a pretty penny,¡± Void said, appearing once more right behind Alan, looking over his shoulder at the items Kitana was holding up. ¡°The black crystal probably holds a platinum mark¡¯s worth of energy, while that bit of slime or whatever it is might be worth something as either a pet or resource gatherer, depending on its ability to gather energy.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was rather odd that we faced resource gathering slimes and Spiderbots that multiplied, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Alan asked lightheartedly, though he was secretly feeling rather depressed he had said that he had given up his loot rights.


    Void shrugged. ¡±I wouldn¡¯t call it odd, exactly. Monsters and the like adjust to their surroundings. Look about you, do you see any food? I don¡¯t think so. Thus, you have the self producing Spiderbots that can eat scrap metal, and these slimes that absorb energy. It makes perfect sense.¡±


    ¡°Um, right.¡± Alan replied.


    It turned out that the nuclei Aurora and Sidestep had slain dropped the exact same items, and after a short break, they continued up the ramp the slimes had dropped from with the help of icy steps Aurora created. At the top, however, all they found was a large platform, with a cage at the center, probably where the slimes had been released from.


    Immediately, Eve had Alan rapidly try out his different forms of vision, and sure enough he detected an invisible path that branched out from the platform, similar to the path that he had found when he first entered the Abyss Labyrinth.


    ¡°Well, looks like that¡¯s it, better head back now,¡± Void said.


    ¡°Um, if it¡¯s okay, I¡¯d like to look around a bit, you guys can head back without me,¡± Alan said, trying to appear unconcerned.


    ¡°Oh, know something about the secret pathways?¡± Void asked. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, it ends at some sort of cube-shaped structure that won¡¯t open no matter what you do. Trust me, we¡¯ve tried.¡±


    Well, that sounds surprisingly familiar, Alan silently said to Eve.


    ¡°Um, just the same, I¡¯d like to try to go down the path myself. I wanted to try to gain some sort of trap detection skill anyways,¡± He responded.


    ¡°Hmm, alright,¡± Void said, ¡°Just remember, it¡¯s your fault if you die! I¡¯ll head back with the others, and have someone wait for you to return. It might be a few hours though, so don¡¯t get too impatient. Oh, and the creatures shouldn¡¯t respawn anytime soon. Probably.¡±


    Void then turned back the way they came, Kitana, Sidestep and Aurora walking with him. Aurora sent Alan a questioning glance right before she left with the others, but Alan simply shook his head.


    Once the others were out of sight, Alan stepped onto the hidden pathway, activating his power armor¡¯s basic invisibility, curious what he might find ahead.


    Super long author¡¯s note:


    Sorry it took so long to get the chapter out! As you probably noticed there wasn¡¯t really any mob clearing or dungeon trash, and that was sort of on purpose. The Game is supposed to be a bit more realistic thus there probably won¡¯t be that time of grinding, though wiping out grunts might become a thing that happens. Who knows.


    I¡¯ve also been working on revising the story thus far so that it will be ready for publishing eventually. (Maybe sometime soon? Probably not.) Just because it was annoying not having a cover I added a basic illustration/outline of what might turn out to be the cover design (the cubes are supposed to be marks).


    The following are things I think I should focus on in my revisions, and would like to know if people think there are any other things that are important. I may find a professional editor at some point once I¡¯m done revising, though, so I won¡¯t focus too much on grammar. (Although I just started looking into this more and it¡¯s somewhat intimidating >.>) Anyways, these are the things I think need to be improved, without changing the main plot:


    <ol type="$type"></li>


    <li>Character development (especially Alan)</li>


    <li>More details/descriptions/clarity, also conciseness in certain areas</li>


    <li>Smoother flow</li>


    <li>A better synopsis</li>


    <li>Mechanics/balance?


    </li></ol>


    Another thing I¡¯m considering is whether or not the Academy should be a long, detailed arc or if I should try to abbreviate it. If I did abbreviate it I would still of course try to get through all the main plot points/things I want to, there just wouldn¡¯t be as much detail. Also, I¡¯ve been reading through a lot of the debates in the past posts, and found them to be interesting :P. I do read all messages sent/replies on RR, and recently read a few reddit discussions as well!


    Thanks for reading.

 Progress

    Alan progressed slowly and steadily. Unlike the last time he had tread down a hidden path, he did not simply rely on Eve¡¯s directions and assistance. Instead, he attempted to navigate through the traps and puzzles without help. Eve would occasionally bring up a warning or complete a task for Alan, but the number of obstacles Alan was able to get through on his own surprised him.


    After stepping through a hidden trigger before Eve could even warn him, Alan learned the value of patience. He managed to dodge most of the lasers that shot from the wall at him, taking minimal damage, but from that point on prudently examined his surroundings. After waiting too long at one intersection, Alan learned the value of haste. A giant boulder descended from the sky, crashing onto the ramp behind Alan, triggered by some unseen timer. He had to follow Eve¡¯s directions to barely avoid being squashed like a bug. (She had solved the simple astrological riddle in 2.71 microseconds, whereas Alan had been sitting there trying to figure it out for over 15 minutes.)


    A few hours later, Alan finally made his way to a cube-like structure. Only slightly worse for wear, he had gained a basic rogue ability, Trap Detection (Rank F). He wasn¡¯t sure if this structure looked like the one he had been to earlier, as then he had been blindly following Eve¡¯s directions. Now he could see.


    It was miraculous what a difference sight could make. Whereas before the Abyss Labyrinth had seemed like an unknown, inhospitable dungeon, it now seemed more like a clean, orderly facility to Alan. Gone were the shady pathways, the ever encompassing darkness. In their place Alan was able to see well maintained metal roadways, connecting the overall facility in a somehow logical manner. While there was still a depth which Alan could not penetrate all around him, he had plunged into the darkness before, it was no longer unknown.


    Boldly, Alan strode up to the doorway that blocked his path, noting the letters and numbers painted onto the wall. Consciously, he attempted to find an AI presence to interact with. Somehow, his mind immediately thought of the Connect ability he had gained, and he felt his subconscious activate some protocol. A faint  presence began to power up; Alan sent it a message almost immediately.


    Greetings.


    ¡­ Systems Initializing. Error. Warning: Limited Power.


    Greetings Traveler. Warning: Main Systems Offline.


    Um, right, can you let me in? I think I may have something that can give you some energy, and wanted to test it out. Alan held up the crystal he had received earlier.


    Energy signature recognized. Hypothesize enough energy for 5 months in Low Power Setting. Adequate¡­ for now. Please follow the designated path. Traveler set as friendly. Please do not fire upon defensive structures and workers. Sector 3 Chief Warden will guide you on how to deposit the energy.


    Resuming Power Savings Mode. Estimated remaining power supply for limited functionalities: 3,000 years (Author¡¯s note: I¡¯m changing the quest deadline for Missing Systems from 34,000 years to 3000). Please contact the Authorities and repair or supply a permanent power source, Traveler. Current threat level: Gamma.


    The connection ended. Alan¡¯s quest failed to update, but he did receive a notification that he was now on friendly terms with the Abyss Labyrinth, which hopefully meant all of the robots wouldn''t attack him. Alan pushed against the doorway in front of him. This time, as a whirling of gears sounded, Alan could see a metal tunnel extend outwards from the structure, downwards to his right. That meant that his earlier passage through the dungeon had been guided by this hidden presence.


    Not questioning it, Alan proceeded forwards. This central hub area looked to be in somewhat better repair than the one he had been in earlier. A few metal desks and tables remained, while the screen held fewer cracks. There was a flicker of light as the screen suddenly flashed to life, displaying what Alan assumed to be a map.


    The hub that he was now in was a green circle. Hundreds of other circles were displayed as well, showing a vastness to the dungeon that Alan couldn¡¯t quite comprehend. If he was reading it right, this map was equal in size to North America. Eve let Alan know that this was only a portion of the facility. One of four red squares was shown to be Alan¡¯s destination, roughly 50 miles away.


    Um, we aren¡¯t expected to walk there, are we?


    Eve sent a mental shrug. Proceed down the path provided.


    Sighing, Alan went into the corridor open to him. As he made his way to the end of the hallway, he found himself in front of a metal slide. Remembering his earlier slide, Alan hesitated. Silently, he sent out a thought.


    Um, how fast is this thing gonna go? And how am I going to get back? I have a limited food supply and other things to do. Isn¡¯t there somewhere closer or some other entity that can take this power crystal?


    Proceed as ordered, an unknown voice told Alan.


    Taking a deep breath, Alan decided to proceed. What was the worst that could happen?


    You die and lose your power armor in addition to the quest item, levels and new abilities.


    WHAT!? Alan furiously thought, as he began a rapid descent, the panels below him negating friction.


    You asked, Eve replied. I considered this update prudent, despite the rhetorical nature of your question. I thought you may have forgotten that Rank A items and above always drop upon death.


    I did¡­ Alan silently fumed as worry began to set in as he began hurtling through space. He wanted to take risks, but this seemed like a bit much. Additionally, it turned out that he did not  want to be able to see what was in front of him. Unlike what he had previously surmised, the metal tunnel he was sliding down was not an ever-present fixture in the facility. Instead it was being constructed before his eyes, assembled seconds before he reached the point, pieces appearing from points unknown.


    This would have been fine, or at least not so nerve wracking, if he had been proceeding a sane speed, but apparently the unknown entity that had constructed the facilities had a very different idea of safe. Alan truly began to panic as a large missile shot by the opening in front of him, narrowly missing the constructing ladder-way of doom. Unable to take it any longer, he shut his eyes, concentrating on the feeling of his dropping stomach, trying to avoid thoughts of nausea and dropping into an abyss. Mostly the abyss part.


    Countless minutes later (42 according to Eve), Alan finally felt his descent slow down. The slide gradually began to level out. When he opened his eyes, Alan found that he was moving alongside a metal pathway nearly 50 feet wide. All about him were heavy fortifications, turrets and mechanical behemoths that would have been intimidating if they hadn¡¯t been powered down. Eve highlighted countless shield batteries and hidden traps that were turned off as well. Alan couldn¡¯t help but feel as if he was cheating the system somehow, but silently accepted it. It looked like he¡¯d soon come face to face with someone with real power in this place. Probably a gigantic computer of some sort.


    The invisible, visible to Alan, slide finally came to a stop, depositing him before a massive metal doorway, hundreds of feet tall, the entrance to a structure that Alan could see was built into the surrounding walls. It looked as large as an imperial palace, if not quite so impressive in its current dilapidated state. Alan could see the wires sticking out of a number of the various battlements at the top of the door. Like much of the rest of the prison, the building was devoid of much that would tell Alan its purpose, its only outstanding features being the battlements that once served some sort of defensive purpose.


    In front of the doorway stood two level 2000 mechanical golems, modeled after an ancient race of giants, at least according to Eve. Each stood nearly twenty feet tall with six appendages, four winding arms of coiled metal and two legs, but no discernible head. Each arm held massive cleaver-like blades. They appeared to be made out of a dark grey metal with a more stone-like texture. Similar to Sidestep, the entirety of their bodies were covered in tubing that pulsed green. In the center of each golem¡¯s cylindrical torso was a large, mechanical eye that glowed blue. It was clear that unlike most of the other defenses, the golems were still active.


    Nervously, Alan proceeded forwards. The two sentinels slowly turned to face him. Alan slowly took another step forwards, then another, until he was between the two. As they took no further action, Alan let out a sigh of relief before continuing to proceed onwards. He noticed that each golem had a second eye on the opposite side of their torso.  A small doorway opened up when Alan got close enough to the entrance. He had worried that he would be required to open the gigantic doorway himself.


    Alan glanced inside, then froze. He immediately activated hypercognition mode, as well as his armor¡¯s advanced stealth mode. Within the structure was a Predecessor.


    The Predecessor stood in the middle of the structure, wearing a tightly woven chain mail vest made of the same writhing black metal that the other Predecessor¡¯s knife had been made out of. There was a lightly glowing collar around its neck. It wielded a massive two handed great sword made of the same material. The metal, which absorbed light, shrouded the Predecessor in darkness. Alan soon discovered it absorbed every other type of radiation as well as he rapidly switched between types of vision to try to get a better look.


    It is called soulsteel, Eve informed Alan, a physical manifestation of a Predecessor¡¯s psionic abilities, the only known metal capable of cutting their skin. It is impossibly dense, yet light, with numerous other properties we don¡¯t have the time for now. They forcibly draw out their psionic ability, through their blood, and it solidifies into the metal you see before you. A small ingot about the size of a mark is able to be produced about once a millennia by every Predecessor. That mark-sized ingot could easily be exchanged for a small spaceship worth billions of credits. The fact that it has so much¡­


    That Predecessor is either very strong, or very old, quite possibly both. Predecessors often challenge each others to duels over soulsteel, taking half of what the defeated party owns. A symbol of status, if you will. I am unable to determine its level, and it is an S class threat, if not higher. You are right to proceed with caution.


    Alan stood still, staring at the Predecessor, continuing to test out his different types of vision. He almost gasped when he finally switched to gamma vision, noticing what was behind the Predecessor. Most of the structure was devoid of anything except for metal tiling on the floor, a large hall perfect for a massive raid buss. However, at the far end of the room there was a massive wall, adorned with metal cables stretching out of one central point, a cylindrical barrel with ten small slots, each containing a symmetrical cube crystal about the size of a fist. All but one was devoid of color. This tenth crystal glowed softly in Alan eyes, representing that it held gamma radiation.


    Gamma radiation, at least according to the basic lesson Eve had given Alan, was deadly. It also emerged from highly energetic events: black holes, supernovae explosions and the like. That it was contained within a crystal, which didn¡¯t seem to leak any of the light elsewhere, was amazing. If this facility depended on such power sources, Alan wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d ever find a suitable replacement. Alan switched back to his normal, see in the dark vision, in which the crystal was black.


    Next to the ring of crystals was a small, glowing circle. When Alan concentrated it, it became clearer, manifesting into a solid teal circle of color that rose up and became a cylinder.


    A capture point, Eve let Alan know. It seems as if you must simply step into it, and it will be captured.


    The Predecessor suddenly turned to face Alan.


    ¡°What is the delay? Come in.¡± It spoke in a gravelly tone, as if it hadn¡¯t used its voice in years.


    ¡°And, uh, what if I don¡¯t want to?¡± Alan nervously said, backing away from the door way a bit.


    In a single step, before Alan could react, the Predecessor was at the doorway. It looked down at Alan.


    ¡°Then I will end you. Even if you are a figment of my imagination, I will slaughter you all the same.¡± It widened its teeth in a vicious smile.


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m real, please don¡¯t hurt me.¡± Alan swallowed nervously, stepping into the room, deactivating his armor¡¯s so-called advanced stealth mode.


    ¡°Good.¡± The Predecessor attempted what it thought was a calming smile, though to Alan it looked more like a grimace. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Hands trembling slightly, Alan brought out the small violet crystal. The Predecessor narrowed its eyes.


    ¡°Um, so you can use this to recharge the power or something like that?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave here and never return?¡± The Predecessor rested its massive hand on Alan¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°And, um, why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°Do what? That was simply an errant¡­ suggestion.¡± The Predecessor punctuated the last word by gripping Alan hard enough that his shields quickly drained, halved by the simple squeeze. Alan winced as there was a crushing sound, and a message popped up notifying Alan his armor was damaged.


    ¡°Sorry, that was an accident. I hope nothing worse happens if you stay here longer,¡± the Predecessor said, staring at Alan menacingly.


    Alan looked up blankly at the Predecessor, not taking the hint. ¡°Um, okay? Here¡¯s the crystal, to help with the, um, quest?¡±


    Um, Alan, I believe the Predecessor was threatening you, trying to get you to leave.


    Oh, he was? Why would he do that?


    Unclear.


    Um, right.


    The Predecessor stared down at the miniscule human holding out the little crystal, then suddenly let out a throaty chuckle. It took the crystal out of Alan¡¯s hand in a blur of movement.


    ¡°Ha! That¡¯s good, quite good. The stones on you, eh? Very well, I suppose I¡¯ll deposit this bit of energy. What are a couple more centuries of imprisonment, anyway?¡±


    Trying to hide from the Predecessor that he had been obtuse, rather than brave, Alan hurriedly said, ¡°What do you mean, a couple more centuries of imprisonment?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡± The Predecessor stopped, staring at Alan.


    ¡°Know what?¡±


    ¡°Energy Saving Order 5329. To save the dwindling power it was decided that biological prisoners would serve as wardens. Their sentences would be shortened in return¡­ though, considering my sentence, a few centuries off of it makes little difference.¡±


    ¡°Um, no, sorry, that¡¯s the first I¡¯m hearing of this¡­¡± Alan nervously replied.


    ¡°Wait, so, then, why did you bring me this?¡±


    ¡°Um, cause I got a quest to? So, um, I can get a sort of reward or something and get stronger?¡±


    Although, the  reward was simply a series of question marks¡­ Alan silently thought.


    ¡°And that¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°There was also, uh, something about a gamma threat level and the Authorities?¡±


    ¡°Which you know nothing about I assume?¡±


    Alan hesitatingly nodded.


    ¡°How strong are you?¡± The Predecessor questioned. Alan opened his mouth, then paused.


    ¡°Tell me. No matter your strength, it should be clear I could easily kill you.¡±


    ¡°I have a combat rank of B, and am level 118.¡±


    The Predecessor stared at Alan. He shifted around nervously.


    ¡°How did you get here?¡±


    ¡°Um, I asked nicely?


    The Predecessor opened its mouth, then shut it. It muttered under its breath, ¡°They must be getting desperate.¡± Alan shifted his feet about.  Abruptly, the Predecessor turned to stare at Alan.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Alan nodded.


    I used a combination of noise made and mouth movements to infer what you ¡°heard", Eve let Alan know.


    ¡°Um, wait, actually it was sort of a combination of hearing and reading your lips.¡±


    The Predecessor glanced around the room, then took a step forwards right next to Alan. It crouched down so that its lips were directly in Alan¡¯s line of sight, but angled downwards so they wouldn¡¯t be able to be seen from above. The Predecessor put its arms around Alan, like in a hug, blocking out all other angles of vision. Alan struggled to move away from the Predecessor, but he was easily held in place.


    ¡°Stop. Can you understand me?¡± The Predecessor mouthed.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alan said uncomfortably.


    ¡°Stop. No more talking. Listen.¡±


    Alan remained silent.


    ¡°So, you were willing to help them out, just because they gave you a quest, with unknown rewards? Well, hear me out, and listen to my demands, and I can guarantee you come out of this with much, much more.


    ¡°As you may have already noticed, the entire facility is rather underpowered. So underpowered that the warden program is unable to devote processing power to try to understand strange situations. Like this one. It orders about with broad commands, no finesse or subtlety. For example, it simply told me to aid you. Say something like thank you, that greatly helps, please continue. It shouldn¡¯t notice anything too odd.¡±


    ¡°Um, thank you very much, this is of great help, I mean you are of great help, please continue,¡± Alan said aloud. The Predecessor grimaced, but continued his silent communication.


    ¡°Good enough. That should placate the damn computer for a while yet. Now, did you see the black crystal behind me, within the large machine, next to the brightly glowing circle? Not the dull, colorless crystals but the black one.¡±


    Alan nodded, rolling his eyes at the Predecessor¡¯s language. It must think he was an imbecile.


    ¡°Okay, here is what¡¯s going to happen. Once I am dead, you are going to need to remove that crystal from the machine as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡°Uh, once what?¡± Alan asked aloud.


    The Predecessor jerked its head threateningly. Alan quickly shut his mouth.


    ¡°Once I am dead. I do have orders to do things like protect the energy source and kill intruders, you know? Trust me, the warden program has methods to compel even ones such as I.¡± It shuddered at a distant memory. ¡°Though, it using those methods should also help to drain the facilities reserves further¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, if you die, will you even come back to life?¡± Alan asked.


    The Predecessor shrugged. ¡°Death is life. I cannot discuss matters with one such as you¡­ though, if you think yourself worthy, challenge another Predecessor to a duel. Simply repeat the phrase: Death is life. Demand answers. Anyways, moving on. I will give you a piece of precious soulsteel, which will be your reward, along with the black crystal.


    ¡°I will bind this soulsteel to you in the form of a knife, so that you and only you may wield it. Of course, given soulsteel¡¯s nature it will drop should you ever die, but only a Predecessor will be able to unbind it for their own use. I suggest you never let a Predecessor know you have it, and keep it in a safe location once you leave here, though. You are nowhere near strong enough to have passed through a warrior trial or to wield a such metal. Still, circumstances beget the necessary¡­


    ¡°Anyways, as I was saying, once I am dead, remove the black crystal, then escape this facility. I suggest you slit my throat, as I may be compelled to resist you once you attack me. I will try to resist it, but I guarantee nothing.


    ¡°You may need to deal with those golems outside, though they shouldn¡¯t be able to detect you in that stealth mode you were in earlier, and the soulsteel blade should cut through them easily. Their brains are at the center of their bodies, so aim there.


    ¡°You know, you should really learn to hide your presence, as you should only be undetectable by machines as you are now. Perhaps untrained fools would ignore you as well, but few beings of power would fail to notice you. Anyways, after you have removed this crystal, grow stronger, then return here and remove or destroy the rest of the power sources in this prison. Trust me, you will be well rewarded.¡±


    A quest appeared before Alan:


    ¡°Prison Break:


    Remove and destroy all power sources of the mysterious Abyss Labyrinth, unleashing its prisoners upon the universe.


    Option: Try to free only certain beings


    Option: Try to conquer the Abyss Labyrinth


    Option (Missing Systems): Try to play both sides


    Penalty: ???


    Reward: ???


    Time Limit: Unknown


    Threat Level: Beta-Gamma¡±


    ¡°Um, and if I don¡¯t want to do this?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Then I kill you. I won¡¯t be able to torture you, but the penalties applied by the warden program would be worth it. It¡¯s clearly almost out of power, a few more millennia at the most.


    Even if my sentence is elongated, as long as all those that come here to try to repair the systems are dealt with, I will be free once the power runs out.¡±


    ¡°Look, um, it¡¯s not like I want to die, but well I just don¡¯t have enough information to make a decision. Like, I have no idea why you or anybody else here is imprisoned,¡± Alan said, hoping his statement was innocuous enough to not alert the warden program.


    The Predecessor stared down at Alan.


    ¡°Fine. Simply perform the task as I outlined, then go and learn more. You should be able to fool the warden program. Tell it you are analyzing the crystal so you can recharge it, or some other such lie. Then make your decision. I am confident you will see that we are in the right, and are unjustly imprisoned here.¡±


    Another quest appeared before Alan:


    ¡°A Mad Gamble:


    Kill the Predecessor, remove the black crystal. Escape from the Abyss Labyrinth with the crystal.


    Option: Find out more before attempting either Missing Systems or Prison Break


    Rewards: Black Crystal, Soulsteel Knife


    Penalty: Possible imprisonment (est. 1 month max sentence), Failure of Prison Break and Missing Systems¡±


    Alan quickly thought through his options. At the very least, he should kill this boss that was offering itself to him, right? The godlike weapon sounded rather nice as well, and he didn¡¯t even need to go through with this crazy plan after he killed the Predecessor, right? But what was that about the possible imprisonment? Eve remained eerily quiet in Alan¡¯s head.


    As if it could sense Alan¡¯s thought, the Predecessor continued, ¡°And, if you do kill me, but fail to take out the black crystal, the automated systems will surely kill you, no questions asked. That is why I said to remove it as soon as possible after I am dead. It will likely start spewing out poison gas or some other such nonsense. Thus, this is the only path you have if you want to escape here alive.


    ¡°Now, follow me over to the crystal, where I will prepare to add the crystal you brought to the black crystal. Until the warden program is alerted, I feel like we should have a nice little chat. I¡¯m sure you must have plenty of questions. First, though, I must transfer the soulsteel to you. We can do this out in the open, as I¡¯m sure it aligns with the stupid program¡¯s command of aiding you.¡±


    The Predecessor stood up straight, then commanded Alan to hold out his hands, palms upwards. Alan did so. The Predecessor reached into a pocket, pulling out a piece of soulsteel the size of a small Smartphone. Within its hands the soulsteel changed shape, becoming twin knives about the length of a pencil. Each knife had a small handle and razor-thin rectangular blades like a box cutter¡¯s. The Predecessor took a blade in each hand.


    ¡°Oh, and this is going to hurt.¡±


    The Predecessor suddenly brought the blades below Alan¡¯s hands then thrust upwards, piercing his upheld palms. Before Alan could react they cleanly cut through his armor and the skin of his palm, each penetrating between his middle and index finger. The Predecessor rapidly let go of the knives handles, then thrust its own hands through the blades, grasping Alan¡¯s hands firmly. The Predecessor¡¯s blood was almost a pitch black, and Alan watched as a trickle streamed into his own wounds.


    Alan immediately felt it as the blood entered the veins within his hands, travelling upwards through his body. It burned, like a thousand habanero chili pepper¡¯s had been condensed into a hot sauce and directly injected into his blood stream. His body turned feverish, sweat pouring out like rain. He began having difficulty breathing, his throat drying up, the entirety of his self aflame. Abruptly, the two knives liquefied as well, and entered Alan¡¯s body through his bloodstream.


    Alan tried to break free from the Predecessor, his body writhing in pain. The Predecessor calmly watched, grasping Alan¡¯s hands firmly in place. Alan had long ago activated the Ignore Pain ability in an attempt to relegate the liquid fire pulsing through his veins to the back of his mind, but it was to no avail. The boiling blood within his body seemed to grow hotter with slow intensity, from a steady blaze to a roaring inferno.


    It felt as though Alan was standing in the middle of a flame, as if  he had been engulfed by lava. Nerves began to shut down as he lost sensation in his hands. Alan thought with utmost certainty that his body was becoming a charred mess, melting like candle wax. He couldn¡¯t handle this, whatever this was. He began to panic. Soon, his entire body was left without feeling. Alan stood, motionless, fearful of any attempts to try to move his body.


    Then, slowly, feeling began to return. A message popped up:


    ¡°Predecessor Blood Rites:


    An unknown ritual has triggered a transformation of your blood. Its properties have been changed. General Status Enhancer implant has been consumed and replaced with Diluted Predecessor Blood augmentation. Weak Soulsteel Bond has been created.


    +20 Strength +30 Endurance +Unknown effects¡±


    The Predecessor let go of Alan¡¯s hands, carefully drawing out the knives which painfully materialized out of Alan¡¯s body. It carefully placed them on the ground then stood up straight, slowly making its way over to the power generator holding the black crystal. Alan staggered backwards as the pain began to clear from his head, glancing down at a knife, trying to examine its stats. He almost fell over as he read the message he saw.


    ¡°Soulsteel Knife (Rank S):


    A knife made of soulsteel, the weaponized essence of Predecessor warriors. Able to cut through virtually any material, this weapon should be handled with the utmost care. The item has been forcefully bound to the human Alan through blood. Only a powerful Predecessor is able to remove the bond.


    Damage: Bypasses nearly all defenses. Whatever is cut is destroyed. Additional abilities.


    Approx. Infinite Durability. Predecessor Blood, Strong Soulsteel Bond, Knife Fighting (Master), Enhanced Control (Advanced), Enhanced Movements (Advanced), Knife Mastery (Andvanced) required.


    Requires Predecessor blood essence to manifest, current supply: 100/100 units, 5 units consumed/min active. 1 unit/1.4 years regen.


    Pure Predecessor Blood, Absolute Soulsteel Bond, Enhanced Control (Master), Enhanced Movements (Master), Knife Mastery (Master) recommended.¡±


    Alan looked down at the knives, feeling a strange connection to them. It was almost like the connection he felt with Eve or other AI, but not quite, as the knives clearly had no conscious. It was odd, like the feeling he felt when Eve was off doing something without him. He bent down and picked up the knives. With a push of will he forced this sense into his body, and the knives liquefied, entering and sealing the wounds. A familiar dull burn shot through Alan¡¯s body.


    ¡°Soulsteel Knife Sheathe Ability Unlocked:


    Activate to absorb into your body. 100 HP drained when sheathing or unsheathing knifes.¡±


    ¡°Very good, now get over here,¡± The Predecessor thundered from across the room, next to the power storage device.


    Alan quickly walked over. ¡°Thank you so much for your gift, I will use them wisely.¡±


    ¡°I would hope so¡­ but again I caution you to be wary. If any Predecessor learns you hold a sliver of soulsteel they will kill you for it without delay. In the future, you may gain the ability to shape the metal to your will, but you are far from reaching that point.¡±


    ¡°Still, um thank you, and um, by the way do you have a name?¡± Alan asked.


    The Predecessor stared at Alan with a raw intensity that almost made him take half a step back, but he didn¡¯t. He stood his ground, calmly looking back. His body felt so tired it was difficult to feel afraid.


    ¡°You may reference me as the Lord of the Abyss. It might get you out of trouble, or it may start it. It has been a long, long time since I have tasted freedom. Now, before  we proceed, I hope to give you a bit of information, answer a few of your questions. Perhaps tell an old story, if you are willing to listen.¡±


    ¡°Um, sure.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Let us begin with why I am here. Surely, you must wonder what crimes I have committed to warrant eons of imprisonment. Well, my crime was very simple. I lost a war.¡± Alan widened his eyes.


    ¡°Yes, this is a prisoner-of-war camp, or at least it was before the power started failing. Now, it is little more than a desolate ruin. But enough of this dreary place. I am sure you are more interested in the war that was fought.


    ¡°Well, the war was in fact very simple. It was us, the Predecessors, against those who were lead astray. They were lured away by a greed greater than any other. It was not treasure, nor power that directed their path, but a simple idea. The idea of immortality, the simple prospect that one could achieve such a state of being, drove them insane. In the end however, they did not choose life or death, but some in-between, something more and less. They chose other. And we fought, and in their otherness we were unable to understand them, to anticipate their moves, their abilities. And so we lost. The rest, I suppose is history.¡± The Predecessor, the Lord of the Abyss gave Alan a half-smile, filled with such a profound sadness despite its inhuman, scarred grey face Alan¡¯s heart was stirred. Still, Alan didn¡¯t think immortality was so bad.


    ¡°I can see that you, too, are enticed by this possibility. By this game. You are undoubtedly gaining instead a singular focus, to grow stronger, to prevail over others. And, like all living beings, you will struggle to survive. And the Game will provide that survival. It will provide you with purpose, with life, with power and wealth and anything else you might desire.


    ¡°What it will not grant you, however, is reality. It is a game, just a game,¡± the Predecessor murmured, half to himself. Then, more strongly, ¡°Yes, this is a game. Just a game. This is NOT REAL. IT IS A GAME. DO YOU HEAR ME? I AM NOT LOST. THIS IS A GAME AND YOU HAVE NOT WON!¡±


    The Lord of the Abyss furiously roared aloud in a rage as if it had forgotten Alan was there. It raised the purple crystal Alan had given it then began squeezing the crystal until it shattered into thousands of glittering pieces, unleashing a brilliant purple wave of energy that knocked Alan down.


    The unknown AI silently formed a connection to Alan. Abnormalities Detected. Abort Mission.


    Hurriedly, Alan activated hypercognition mode, while ending the connection to the unknown AI. It tried to reconnect to his mind, but he firmly denied it. Alan leapt up and envisioned one of the knives. It emerged into his hand with a slight cutting sensation. Alan gripped it firmly, quickly reading the message that popped up as he rapidly approached the Lord of the Abyss.


    ¡°Warning! Due to not meeting multiple minimum requirements of your current weapon it will consume 5x as much blood essence. Wield it with extreme care, minimum requirements are as much for your own safety as they are for others.¡±


    Damn, looks like I¡¯ll only be able to wield each knife for about 4 minutes¡­ then it¡¯ll have a cooldown of¡­  years!?


    You may absorb Predecessor blood to refresh the cooldown.


    Oh, so you¡¯re back now?


    I was worried my presence would influence the Predecessor, given information and past interactions it would have reacted poorly had I made my presence known. Now concentrate.


    A familiar outline appeared showing Alan what his next move should be. However, it appeared in his mind¡¯s eye rather than in reality, creating an image that somehow overlapped with reality but wasn¡¯t as crude as the shadow projections Eve normally showed. Instead, this image was somehow more real, as if it could be something Alan actually thought. Alan was slightly distracted by this addition, but Eve simply commanded him:


    Stop. Concentrate. This is a unique side effect of the bionic eye.


    Easy for you to say, you¡¯re not the one seeing this. See?


    ¡­


    Alan mouth slowly turned into a smile as he carefully brought the knife in an upwards slash to cut the Predecessors throat. It simply watched the knife come, eyes agleam. The knife began to pierce its throat right below the collar it wore, and with little resistance Alan cut all the way across. The Predecessor¡¯s HP bar appeared, slowly draining at about 2% a second.


    ¡°Yes! Do you see me, brethren? Do you remember? I have not forgotten. I am here and coming for you! This simple game shall not stop me. Nothing will. I am coming, and I shall be your end!¡± A brilliant white arc of lightning seemed to emerge from its collar, coursing through the Predecessors body.


    ¡°Ha, pain shall not stop me.¡± The Predecessor spat out a mouthful of blood as it sank to the floor. It stared at Alan, ¡°Go, take it!¡± It began laughing madly as spittle and blood was coughed up even as it started to spasm vigorously. The collar continued to send out brilliant white sheets of lightning. Using the settings in his cybernetic eye, Eve managed to dim the light, otherwise it may have blinded Alan.


    The other AI, which Eve confirmed was the main prison warden AI with 97% certainty, tried to reconnect once more to Alan. He denied it, running forwards to the cylindrical power generator before him. He grabbed the black crystal in an attempt to pry it out. It wouldn¡¯t budge.


    With extreme precision, he grasped the soulsteel knife and under Eve¡¯s careful direction began to cut out the crystal. Luckily, no surges of energy tore out, instantly electrocuting Alan. Instead, the knife seemed to negate them, absorbing or deflecting the energy like it did all sources of light. Finally, Alan managed to free the baseball sized black crystal, and he pulled it out, quickly storing it behind his right leg in one of his power armor¡¯s compartments.


    The moment he pulled out the crystal the room plunged into darkness. All that was left was the light coursing through the Predecessor as lightning continued to course through it. Alan glanced at it, then looked away. The site of its bloody laughter was too much. A message popped up.


    ¡°Missing Systems Updated:


    Approx. 2250 years until total system shut down¡±


    Alan began to consider the implications of this message, when Eve interrupted his thoughts. She suggested he gather one of the empty energy crystals, and thus Alan quickly cut one out. He put it in the compartment behind his left leg. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have room for any of the others. He reminded himself to ask Phantom for an advanced bag or something as soon as he got back. Alan deactivated hypercognition and re-sheathed the knife. He activated the Advanced Stealth Mode on his armor.


    Reminder: Devoting primary resources to control Advanced Stealth Mode well, please do not task me with complicated tasks. Combat modeling will be slightly delayed as well.


    What? Why¡¯s that? Alan asked.


    Basic Stealth Mode hides you from sight, from a small spectrum of electromagnetic waves. Advanced Stealth Mode allows armor to replicate and mimic nearly all other types of waves in addition to light waves. Sound, smells and all other manners of commonly used ways to detect someone may be mimicked as if the armor simply isn¡¯t there. However, this near-perfect mimicry is extraordinary taxing due to the fact you do not meet the requirements of the armor. Be quiet and let me focus.


    Alan did so, calmly watching as the Predecessor¡¯s life fell bellow 10%. One second ticked by, then the next. Its HP drain began to slow, from 1% a second to .5%. Alan watched. Then, finally, the HP bar reached zero. A couple of messages popped up before Alan, accompanied by a sudden crash.


    ACTIVATE HYPERCOGNITION.


    Alan immediately did so, quickly reading over the messages.


    ¡°Rewards for slaying the Lord of the Abyss severely diminished as it made no attempt to fight back.¡±


    ¡°x23 Level up!¡±


    ¡°Gained over 20 levels with one kill! +20 bonus ability points¡±


    ¡°Due to Predecessor¡¯s unique Boss status and abilities its soulsteel has remained bound.¡±


    ¡°Your actions have been deemed hostile by the Warden! You are now deemed hostile by the Abyss Labyrinth.¡±


    Alan looked up to see the two  Level 2000 Ancient Sentinel¡¯s crash through the doorway, arms held aloft. Their hands glowed green, and had been transformed into hand cannons of some sort. While Eve attempted to scan the two guards Alan quickly tried to connect to the Chief Warden AI but his connection was denied.


    Scan inconclusive. 30% estimated chance of survival.


    What? Don¡¯t I need to just run past them? Alan asked worriedly as he slowly tried to make his way over to the Predecessor¡¯s body to try to loot it.


    Negative. Their long range scanners will detect us as soon as the power armor¡¯s energy runs out. We must destroy them here and now. Attempting to develop a battle plan while maintaining Advanced Stealth Mode proving problematic. Please attack quickly as best you can, remember the Lord of the Abyss noting their ¡°brains¡± are at their center.


    With a sigh, Alan found a single vial of Predecessor DNA on the Lord of the Abyss¡¯s body. He then unsheathed both soulsteel knives. His health was already dangerously low due to the cost, and Alan could feel that his body was low on blood. His energy shields were also already halfway drained.


    Don¡¯t worry. Based upon my estimations if we are hit once by those Sentinel¡¯s attacks we would be vaporized instantly even if we were at full HP.


    Great, Alan replied, narrowing his focus on the golems. They stood side-by-side scanning the room with waves of bright green light that emerged from their central eyes. When the light reached Alan it passed through him like he was a ghost. He silently commended Eve as he began sprinting towards the golems, knives outstretched, planning on reaching the space between the two golems, attacking each in rapid succession. The moment his knife first penetrated a golem the invisibility matrix of his armor would unfortunately be breached and fall apart, which meant these few moments would likely determine the battle. Luckily, the armor could still generate the field despite the holes and low durability status.


    Eve quickly transferred her guidance to Alan, and he saw himself trying to deeply penetrate the left-hand golem¡¯s eye while simultaneously cutting through one of its four arms, each of which held a large blade. Alan felt a bit ludicrous charging at the behemoth of metal only holding two tiny knives, but he followed Eve¡¯s orders perfectly.


    The knife in Alan¡¯s left hand easily penetrated the golem¡¯s eye until his hand was stopped, while his right hand easily sliced through the golem¡¯s armor covering it¡¯s right hand, revealing wires and circuitry. Alan quickly reversed his grip, cutting through as many of the wires in the hand as possible while twisting the knife embedded in the golems eyes viciously. Its HP bar appeared, dropping 40%.


    Alan, however, was now revealed. Eve showed three cleavers descending at him in rapid succession, moving at a speed that almost rivaled the first Predecessor Alan had met. All Alan could do was barely adjust his grip with a slight, carefully calculated step, and watch the results. With miraculous precision two of the blades were perfectly blocked by the two soulsteel knives Alan held. As soon as each blade met the soulsteel knife it was immediately cut in two where the blades met, the rest of the golem¡¯s blade swishing through the air harmlessly, inches from Alan¡¯s body. The third slash, which had been aiming to bisect Alan passed in front of his face, embedding itself in the ground. Taking the opportunity, Alan sliced at the mechanical fingers that grasped the blade, watching as the blade was dropped to the ground.


    BEHIND YOU, Eve yelled at Alan. He turned  his head to see the second golem¡¯s arms stretching out, while its eye began to glow brighter, aimed directly at Alan. Eve showed to Alan the trajectories of the descending cleavers as well as her estimated path for the eye¡¯s blast. She showed a singular path to avoid damage, a leaping, twisting backflip that required Alan to cut through the arms while in midair. Alan attempted the leap.


    Almost immediately, he felt something was off, his movements not mirroring the preciseness with which Eve showed them being executed. He simply did not have the experience or skill required for such a maneuver. Still, Eve attempted to correct it, calculating and displaying a new set of blocks for Alan to make. He barely managed to fend off the first two cleavers that cut at him, but he could do nothing but watch as the golem¡¯s glowing eye let out a gigantic blue beam of light. Alan tried to turn himself in midair, even managing to change his course slightly by pushing off of the two other arms that tried to cut him. He managed to almost evade the entirety of the blue ray, but it struck a glancing blow, knocking Alan to the ground, eliminating the rest of his shield energy. Any additional hits would kill him.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Alan turned to see the damaged golem had turned 180 degrees, preparing its own eye-blast. Its three remaining arms had dropped the blades. There fingers were now pointed drill bits, like the ends of a sharpened pencil. Alan didn¡¯t think they would break so easily. The undamaged golem was also preparing another attack, its eye recharging while it stepped forward as its arms began descending.


    An image formed in Alan¡¯s eyes of him throwing the two knives, each piercing the direct center of the two golems. A series of calculations, diagrams and projections flashed through his mind as Eve planned this out, finally leaving him with the precise angle, force and technique to throw the knives. Alan followed the outline, concentrating like never before, getting up to a kneeling position before attempting the throw. Then, he took the two knives, and released.


    As the knives left his hands Alan felt a sort of satisfaction, of rightness. Eve calculated they were both directly on-target. The knife headed at the damaged golem flew fluidly through the air, spinning, dead set for its central eye. The golem attempted to defend itself with its arms, but to no avail. Its eye was pierced, the knife¡¯s spinning handle stopped by the golem¡¯s armor. Gravity brought the knife downwards, and it pierced all the way through the golem¡¯s body before slowly falling onto the floor sideways. The golem was destroyed.


    The second golem, however, made no attempt to dodge the spinning knife headed its way. The moment before the knife pierced its eye, it instead shifted, blinking just like Sidestep, appearing at Alan¡¯s side. Eve instantaneously ran new calculations, displaying to Alan that he had to get away, back to the first knife. He leapt up, sprinting towards the thrown knife lying on the ground, narrowly dodging the four blades that descended, trying to cut him in two. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the second knife he had thrown glide through the air, unobstructed. It tumbled to the ground, blade first, and penetrated the floor. It fell into the Abyss. Lost.


    Alan briefly stopped to gape at the sight of his lost weapon, only to almost be sliced open by a descending blade; Eve immediately directed him onto a new safe path through the attacks. Fortunately, it seemed as though the golem had to recharge its energy after using the blink ability. If it had been able to use it as often as Sidestep, Alan would have been killed long ago.


    That is why I did not want you to throw the knives initially. Now concentrate at the battle at hand, it¡¯s not over yet, Eve commanded.


    Alan gritted his teeth and accepted the command, all his attention on the knife that had fallen onto the floor. Seconds later, he finally managed to pick it up with a sweeping grab as he ran past. The knife almost tumbled out of his fingertips but he managed to correctly grasp it a moment later, just in time to slice at a metallic arm passing beside him. He jammed the knife inwards then began running back at the golem, severing the arm''s wire tendons. The arm shuddered, then dropped the blade it was holding.


    Two blades swiped at Alan from opposite sides, one at his chest level, the other at leg level. The third blade swiped downwards from above, like a guillotine. Following Eve¡¯s direction, Alan dived to his left, dodging two of the blades. He used his knife to cut through the third and avoided taking any hits. As Alan charged at the golem it tried an additional series of triangular attacks but each time Alan was able to successfully avoid taking any damage, instead inflicting minor wounds with his counterattacks.


    Alan finally made his way to the golem¡¯s body as its eye began to charge a blast. He stabbed forwards, driving in the blade and lightly pushing it through at Eve¡¯s command, letting go of the knife. With his momentum Alan sprinted around the golem, catching the knife mid-air as it fell out the other side, having pierced the golem all the way through. For good measure, Alan immediately reversed his grip oin the knife and stabbed the eye at the opposite end, twisting viciously trying to inflict as much damage as possible. A split-second later, the golem shut down.


    ¡°x5 Bonus xp for slaying an enemy over 1000 levels higher than you!¡±


    ¡°x112 Level up!¡±


    ¡°Gained over 100 levels in one battle! +100 ability points¡±


    As his adrenaline began to wear off Alan looted the two golems before collapsing onto the floor, exhausted. They each dropped small crystalline cubes of dark green energy and a scientific design. One design looked to be a blueprint of the golem¡¯s eye-weapon; Alan was hopeful that Phantom would be able to incorporate it into his own bionic eye. The other seemed to be part of a larger diagram that when fully assembled would be able to give metal golems technological psionic ability, or at least that was Eve¡¯s hypothesis. It would probably sell well.


    After resting for an hour, Alan headed out, his armor¡¯s basic invisibility active. Eve had figured that they couldn¡¯t rest for too long as there would likely be patrols of some sort sent out to find them. She set a pace of a quick jog, and guided Alan on a pathway to the nearest hub area. Once there, they could hopefully hash out some sort of deal the warden AI, otherwise they would need to try to find a friendly group of players to survive, which was unlikely to say the least.


    The run was uneventful, though tiring. Eve disabled and alerted Alan to any traps or obstacles, as their safe return to the Black Rose guild headquarters was paramount. Down a third secret path, past a few seemingly trivial puzzles, Alan found himself before another cubic structure, slightly larger than the previous  two. He quickly narrowed his focus onto the machine presence and sent out a message.


    Let me talk to the Warden. Please?


    ¡­ Systems Initializing. Error. Warning: Limited Power.


    Request Acknowledged. Warning: Main Systems Offline.


    Shortly thereafter, Alan finally felt the presence he associated with the Warden attempt a connection to him, which he accepted immediately.


    What, Betrayer, here to gloat about your victory? Let me assure you that you will not leave here alive, the Warden sent in a curt, threatening manner.


    Um, actually I sort of wanted to explain my actions, Alan thought nervously. Look, you can review the footage, but the Predecessor was going crazy, and basically threatened to kill me. If  I didn¡¯t follow its orders, I¡¯m sure it would of killed me and taken out the crystal itself. This way, you didn¡¯t lose the energy crystal. I really want to study it so I can complete this quest, Alan said truthfully, without letting the Warden know there was a second way to possibly finish its task.


    The Warden seemed to consider Alan¡¯s response carefully, weighing its options. Very well, I may have been rash in my actions; I can see how you proceeded through these actions, as irrational as biological life is.


    Alan simply accepted the Warden¡¯s comment, not wanting to cause any trouble, ignoring Eve who seemed to readily agree with its sentiment.


    Very well. As finding a suitable guardians for the facility will prove problematic in this facilities current capacity, I will grant you a brief period to study the power crystal. However, if you fail to return with it, holding just as much charge, there will be dire consequences. Do not think that this is a completely isolated facility.


    Um, sure, sure, Alan agreed, wondering what else the facility could be tied to.


    Eve immediately chimed in. At this point, based upon the Predecessor¡¯s remarks, I believe this is a facility constructed by the mysterious Lords of Life, who disappeared after their great war with the Predecessors. It is generally assumed that they lost the war, but after hearing the Lord of the Abyss¡¯s account I am not so sure. Then again, this is only a possibility, as there have been countless Predecessor civil wars throughout history.


    Two messages popped up before Alan:


    ¡°Missing Systems Updated:


    You have been reinstated as friendly with the Abyss Labyrinth. The Warden has given you five years to study the energy crystal before returning it. You may anger an unknown faction for failing to complete this quest in the Warden¡¯s favor.¡±


    ¡°The Last War:


    Discover more information about the final war that took place in real life, and the mysterious Lords of Life.


    Rewards: ???


    Penalty: ???¡±


    Very well, the terms of our agreement have been updated. You will be guided back to your starting point, Traveler. I wish you luck in your exploration; you do not understand the horrors that will be unleashed should this system run out of power. The Warden shut off its communication.


    Alan turned to the only open corridor, and found the familiar slide. This time when he got onto it however, it slowly began to pull him upwards. Exhausted after the exploration, Alan fell asleep, Eve ensuring him he would wake him if action was needed.


    A few hours later, the slide finally reached the hub Alan had come from. He quickly activated his basic invisibility and proceeded back to the lift up to Black Rose territory, avoiding the slimes that had begun to respawn. To his relief, he found a very bored looking Black Rose pilot waiting at the bottom of the lift, apparently still waiting as Alan hadn¡¯t respawned, and was thus presumed to still be alive within the Labyrinth.


    Alan took the lift upwards to emerge into what appeared to be a Black Rose hangar bay. A series of messages were displayed before him, letting him know he successfully completed the Escape! and Mad Gamble quests, and was now an official member of the Black Rose guild, open to promotions. He received 5000 guild points, and 4 levels. Alan was told he was back in a safe-zone, and he let out a slight sigh of relief as he received a notification that a player had sent him a message. To his surprise, Alan saw that it had been sent from Icewolf.


    I: Hey Alan! I know I said not to contact me, but I didn¡¯t expect you to reach level 100 or make it into a big time guild like the Black Rose guild. There are devices that allow for secure, face to face conversation. I¡¯m sure your new guild has one, probably more upgraded than the one I have access to. Let me know a time that you can talk.


    Alan¡¯s quest updated:


    ¡°Find Icewolf Updated!:


    Visit the Red Dust nightclub on Mars to get a clue about Icewolf¡¯s location. He may even be there when you visit.


    New Option: Message him privately to set up a secure line to talk to him.


    Reward: Additional information, ???


    Time Limit: Around 2.5 Months¡±


    Alan quickly sent a reply to Icewolf that he was available to talk as soon as possible. A few minutes later during the short flight back to the Black Rose guild headquarters he got a reply that Icewolf would be available in a hour or so, at about 2200 Khersath Standard Time. The first thing Alan did once he was back at the Black Rose base was head to the nearest Administrator and pay five diamond marks to transport the soulsteel knife, black power crystal and Predecessor blood to their secure vault. Eve estimated that each item had a potential market value of billions of credits, and Alan wanted to make sure they were safe. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t¡¯ trust the Black Rose guild¡¯s security, it was just that it seemed the sensible thing to do. For one, the Vault had never been stolen from, while guild base raids were not unheard of, even if they were technically illegal on Khersath. Additionally, there was a policy in place which stated the Administrators would pay back a lost item¡¯s market cost in marks, essentially twice what anything was worth. Alan almost wished that someone stole the items out of the Vault, as it would eliminate all his money problems. He felt too scared to try to sell any one of the items, for various reasons, and Eve told him to hold onto them. Thus, into the Vault they went.


    The next thing Alan did was proceed to the capsule station, saving his progress and spending the 29 points he had from his gifted ability on agility, keeping the other 416  ability points unspent. Perhaps it would prove prudent to spend the points on the Rogue abilities that decreased the cost of all further ability point purchases. Eve still cautioned against it, citing the fact that he was still in what might be considered the early stages of the game, and his levels would reach an equilibrium as deaths began to cause the loss of a hundred levels or more. Finally, after all this was sorted out, Alan messaged Phantom, asking him about a communication device like the one Icewolf had mentioned. Alan quickly received a reply from Phantom, notifying Alan to meet him in his workshop. A short elevator ride later, Alan was face to face with the Knight.


    Phantom looked up from the project he was working on, a redesign of some eye technology, smiling at Alan. ¡°Welcome back. I see that your dungeon diving was very rewarding. You¡¯re over a 100 levels higher than when I saw you last! I would ask, however, that you notify me before any such operations in the future. I could be quite helpful in any of your endeavors, you know, and we were beginning to worry about you. I was preparing to spearhead a search and rescue team myself, you know.¡±


    ¡°Um, right, sorry about that, it¡¯s just that the opportunity presented itself,¡± Alan said looking at the floor, somewhat abashedly.


    ¡°Of course, of course!¡± Phantom said reassuringly. ¡°I commend initiative, and likely in the future you will need to make decisions before you can get my approval. I just think I haven¡¯t been a very good superior or example, as there are various artifacts and information located within the Abyss Labyrinth that the Black Rose guild is particularly interested in. You could have perhaps come back from the adventure with even more rewards.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Alan asked, grinning. ¡°Well, I actually brought back a few items that I acquired in my progression through the dungeon, and was wondering if you could help me evaluate their worth. If the guild is interested in buying them, that would be great.¡± He took out the clear, empty energy crystal,  the dark green cube energy crystals and the two diagrams.


    Phantom¡¯s eyes lit up as soon as he saw the loot, picking up and examining each item as Alan took them out.


    ¡°Wow. These two dark green crystals are actually a key resource in turning ordinary psionic ability into technologic psionic ability, and I can say with certainty that the guild will buy them from you for 250k guild points each. That will pay for half your tuition to the Academy!¡± Phantom next picked up the two diagrams, looking at them closely.


    ¡°Now, these two diagrams aren¡¯t as important to the guild, but I can say that I am personally interested them. As you have probably guessed, I may be able to use this eye diagram to upgrade our bionic-eye to form a sort of laser weapon, while the other could prove useful in other areas of research. Normally, I would say each would only go for about a couple million credits, or 200-500k guild points, and only if you found the correct buyer.¡± Phantom looked up from the diagrams to study Alan, looking at him closely. ¡°Hmm¡­ Tell me, Alan, how did you manage to find this loot, and get past that impasse in the Abyss Labyrinth?¡±


    ¡°Well, um, I connected to the AI that was present within the impasse, which was actually a hub of sorts for the Abyss Labyrinth. The AI was one of many located throughout the facility, I believe. It was one of them that gave me that quest to restore power to the facility,¡± Alan explained. He and Eve had worked out a version of story that Alan could tell without mentioning the Predecessor, or the items he received from it, as Eve wasn¡¯t sure at what point Phantom might  betray them for wealth. As they were working out the details, Eve had reminded Alan that the Black Rose guild new his character information and quests when he first arrived, thus he should appear to not leave anything out. ¡°I then, um, found and battled the boss, or well, bosses as there were two golems, that dropped this loot. I then made my way back to the lift, and, well, here I am.¡± Alan smiled halfheartedly.


    ¡°Yes, yes, here you are. You know, that quest has actually stirred up quite a bit of controversy within the upper echelons of the guild lately. Quite a few are interested in pursuing it, as it seems to be a gamma rated quest, right beneath our feet. Did your exploration perhaps reveal further details about the quest?¡± Phantom asked.


    ¡°Um, sure, yeah,¡± Alan said hesitantly, thinking fast. ¡°Actually that¡¯s part of what this other crystal is for. I found a number of them in the boss room, but only grabbed this one as I didn¡¯t have space for anymore. I¡¯m supposed to figure out a way to recharge it and bring it back to the room, to help restore the systems. I also came across a map of sorts of the Abyss Labyrinth, or at least a large section of it.¡±


    Phantom picked up the empty energy crystal, carefully placing it in an unknown device that zapped the crystal with small bolts of lightning. ¡°Interesting¡­ This crystal seems to be capable of holding about as much energy as a modern starship, thus it will likely require millions of credits to fully recharge it. The AI that gave you this task didn¡¯t happen to mention what, exactly, the reward would be, did they? Otherwise I¡¯m not sure whether the guild will help you in this task. Before we proceed further, however, let me discuss more about why I¡¯m bringing all this up.¡± Phantom pulled out a chair for Alan, sitting down on a table across from it. Alan carefully sat down, trying to avoid stepping on any of the metal pieces scattered on the floor.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering how you can advance from a Squire to a Knight within the guild. Well, normally you complete a series of three tasks, certain tasks counting for more based upon difficulty, and thus complete your training with your mentor. Now, not only does  the rank of Knight in the guild come with a large amount of prestige and a larger salary, but you also begin to earn a percentage of the net income of the guild itself. A fraction of a fraction of a percent, of course, but if the guild pulls off a large mission, that can mean a windfall of millions of credits. That''s one of the reasons the guild has such a unique and fluid leadership, we all want the guild to do well, as we are all owners, of a sort.


    ¡°Now, there are a whole slew of additional responsibilities associated with the rank, of course, but you¡¯re still quite a ways from reaching that point. Based upon the information you¡¯ve given me, if you are willing to transfer to me the map of the Abyss Labyrinth you¡¯ve acquired, in addition to the diagrams, I think we can count this as a completion of your first task. It may be a bit strange as I never even assigned this task to you, but I¡¯m confident that this is information the guild is very, very interested in. I think I can get you 500k guild points, plus a 100k bonus for the completion of the task. That will not only completely pay for your tuition to the Academy, but also give you 100k guild points left over. Also, I¡¯ll make sure the guild throws in a bag for you, what do you say?¡± Phantom looked at Alan grinning.


    Alan wished he had Eve, to determine whether or not this deal was as good as it sounded. Still, when they had discussed earlier what the loot was worth in total, Eve had estimated 500k guild points, max. Thus, Alan readily agreed to the deal, although it took him a few minutes to locate the map of the Abyss labyrinth within Eve¡¯s data. In the meantime, Phantom went to repair his armor.


    Phantom soon returned, holding the armor in pristine condition. He handed it back to Alan, along with a small metal ball. This turned out to be a backpack that could expand and contract depending on what needed to be carried. If the weight was too large, it could even develop wheels. In the end though, it would still be limited by how much Alan could physically carry.


    A few minutes later, Alan¡¯s ¡°first task¡± was completed. Alan immediately exchanged the hundred thousand guild points for a million credits, ready to surprise Icewolf by paying off the entirety of his debt. Phantom directed Alan to his new quarters, located only a few floors away from Phantom¡¯s laboratory. According to Phantom, the desk that it came with had a secure call function that would serve Alan¡¯s purpose of communicating, encrypting his call. Phantom did however warn Alan that if Icewolf¡¯s end wasn¡¯t secure, there was nothing to be done.


    Wishing Phantom a nice day, Alan stepped back into the elevator, tasking it to take him to his quarters. The elevator rose a few floors until it just emerged from the field that prevented AI¡¯s from working, opening up into what was apparently Alan¡¯s room. He had expected a small dormitory at best, perhaps a cramped space similar to his quarters above the Haxlard ship. Instead, it opened up to reveal a luxurious suite, complete with bathroom, which had a sauna and bath, a kitchen with a food dispenser, meaning Alan never had to visit the cafeteria again, a small personal gym, basically a smaller version of the treadmill room Alan had trained in earlier, a king-sized bed with giant screen and what was labeled as a communications/media room.


    As it was about time to begin his meeting with Icewolf, Alan entered the communications room. With Eve¡¯s help, Alan was able to quickly start and set up the secure communications protocols on the device, although the settings and controls were fairly self-intuitive. Alan was fairly sure he could have set up the call himself. Probably.


    A minute later he began the call to Icewolf, who answered almost immediately. A screen appeared before Alan, displaying Icewolf, who looked as lean as ever. With large bags under his eyes, Icewolf appeared more stressed than Alan had ever seen before. He wore a battered dark suit of light power armor that looked almost identical to the basic Scout Power Armor Alan first received. Behind him there was a dimly lit metal space, like a solitary confinement cell. Alan noted that the communication protocols Eve had set up simply showed Alan with a completely black background.


    ¡°Adampwnage! Or, I guess Alan now. Great to see you in the Game. Congratulations on joining the Black Rose guild! You and Kitana are only like the thousandth or so human to join a major faction,¡± Icewolf greeted Alan, smiling widely.


    ¡°Um, thanks, it¡¯s good to see you too. It really wasn¡¯t much, Eve did a lot of the work,¡± Alan said demurely.


    ¡°Nonsense! Modesty doesn¡¯t fit one of the Earth¡¯s brightest prospects. Trust me when I say I expect you¡¯re going to make waves. I hear you¡¯re going to the Academy and everything! Well, anyways, I guess I¡¯ll cut straight to the chase, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering what your class quest will be,¡± Icewolf said.


    ¡°Class quest? Oh, right, you¡¯re my rogue mentor. So you get to choose my class quest or whatever? Um, maybe something easy?¡± Alan asked with a slight smile, trying to appear sincere.


    ¡°Ha! You wish. Unfortunately it seems almost all the quests I can offer you are difficult, but with great risks come great rewards, right?¡± -¡ªIcewolf scrolled down, looking at a screen before him-¡ª ¡°However, I had long ago decided on a specific task, one which I hope you¡¯ll be up to. I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but things on Earth are not as stable as they appear. Have you been following the local news lately, Alan?¡± Icewolf asked, looking up from the screen.


    ¡°Um, not quite¡­¡± Alan replied sheepishly. He silently requested that Eve send him the most recent headlines on Earth. A number of articles appeared before him. Alan read them quickly, mouth agape. Each listed a series of escalating terrorist attacks and bombings around the world, all perpetrated by the Legion of Man. Within the Game, of course.


    ¡°Wow, these Legion of Man are causing seriously destruction,¡± Alan commented, looking up to see Icewolf staring at him intently.


    ¡°Yes they are,¡± Icewolf said slowly. ¡°However, their attacks may be warranted.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Alan exclaimed.


    ¡°Look, remain calm, what I¡¯m about to tell you is something the United World Government is trying to keep under wraps as best they can. They can try to spin it any way want, but something has been made clear. They¡¯ve fucked up,¡± Icewolf said with dead certainty, his eyes locked onto Alan¡¯s. A weighty gravitas filled his words.


    ¡°When the Haxlards first came to Earth, with the Enforcers and Administrators, they offered what seemed to be very lucrative deals, access to technology, infrastructure and weapons that would take us years to create. So, of course, the United World Government readily signed contracts, under the assumption that the services and technology they bought could be paid for with resources found on Earth and within the solar system. What they have been trying to hide is that they do not in fact have the full authority to the resources they though they had. It gets a bit complicated, so please ask me if anything doesn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°Due to the nature of the Game, and the fact that a faction in control of a certain sector of space may not have that sector¡¯s best interests at heart, any faction is limited in the amount of real world resources they are allowed to mine, a yearly quota that is strictly monitored by the Enforcer fleet. Of course, the Administrators wouldn¡¯t allow a completely one-sided contract to be signed, but as a neutral party they couldn¡¯t point out the United World Government¡¯s flawed assumptions. For, not only are they unable to use Earth¡¯s resources to the degree they wish to, they also have made a number of other flawed judgments.


    ¡°A large part of any factions income is of course taxes, in this case they hope to tax all of humanity as more and more people join the Game. However, what they failed to take into account is the fact that they are only able to tax those who join the United World Government within the Game. For instance, just because you and I technically live on Earth, in San Francisco, does not mean that we are required to pay the United World Government anything. They have tried to draft laws that circumvent this in the real world, but every time they have been struck down by the Administrators. People are individuals within the Game, their real life situation does not matter.


    ¡°Another large issue is that the cream of the crop, the elite of the elite, are all joining other factions. Like you, for instance! Any reasonably intelligent person can  clearly  see the advantages to joining a well established faction like the Black Rose guild as opposed to a weak, unstable government still in its infancy. The politicians are still living in the past, and have yet to adopt the new ways of thinking. They have allied themselves with the Haxlards, without realizing that as soon as they are unable to pay off the interest on the loans and debts, a bankruptcy will be declared, and as the debt holders, the Haxlards will be able to slowly buy up Earth!¡±


    ¡°Wait, you mean in a couple of years if we can¡¯t pay off this debt Earth will be no longer in our hands? How much money are we talking here?¡± Alan asked, thinking about the priceless artifacts he had recently acquired.


    ¡°It¡¯s on the scale of hundreds of trillions of credits. Trust me when I say there is very little you, as an individual can do. Sure, some galactic bank or even your guild could probably bail them out, but I doubt anyone would see it as a worthwhile investment, as it will be even more difficult for Earth to survive, all by itself, in Haxlard space! One of the main reasons that the Haxlards are investing so much into Earth defense are the fact that they aim to take over said defenses, but through economic warfare, something that the early Earth government had little to no experience with, especially within the galactic economy.


    ¡°To answer your other question about a timeline, the most optimistic models actually anticipate that the United World Government can last a good 50 years or so before declaring bankruptcy, given its capital, but even then the model displays that a default is inevitable. Others say they may run out of money as soon as 5 years from now! I¡¯ll send you the data, which I¡¯ve prepared to convince you. I¡¯m sure your AI will come to the same conclusions,¡± Icewolf tapped a few buttons in front of him, and a stream of data began to flow to Alan. He sent it to Eve to analyze.


    ¡°Wait. If what you¡¯re saying is true, why isn¡¯t this a bigger deal? Surely if this information was broadcast widely people would realize something would need to be done, right?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Well , there¡¯s a number of reasons. There have been attempts to spread this information on the internet, and elsewhere, but remember that information about the Game is severely censored by the Administrators! Over 95% of humanity is still unaware of the Game¡¯s true importance! The vast majority of players who are in-game work for major corporations or the United World Government, thus the information they receive is even more heavily censored, and they have a vested interest in keeping the United World Government alive as long as possible. Unfortunately, new technology does make it even easier for a big brother type of control. The few that are told in-person generally have one of a few reactions. They are either disbelieving or simply accept it as government working as usual! After all, many world governments operated on extreme budget deficits for years. They do not realize that this deficit is tied to contracts made through the Administrators. Contracts that are severely enforced in the Game. Thus far, the Haxlards have been relatively lenient, but there is overwhelming evidence they are simply biding their time.


    ¡°And, that, I suppose, brings us to why I contacted you, and what can be done. I will come out and say it. I am an operative of the Legion of Man. I was the one who arranged for the death threat to be sent to you, but rest assured that no such action will ever be taken, even if you decide to side with the United World Government. Such action would be complete suicide. The message simply killed a few birds with one stone, if you will, as it cemented in people¡¯s minds that you are in fact an enemy of the Legion of Man. At the same time it placated those within the Legion that wanted to take actual action against you, as, to be honest, you did severely damage to fairly important operations. Now-¡±


    ¡°Wait, so that was you in San Francisco?¡± Alan asked. Despite the alarming revelation, Alan remained rather calm. The fact that the death threat wasn¡¯t real relieved him.


    ¡°Yes that was me,¡± Icewolf grinned, ¡°and the fact that you were able to do so well undetected actually motivated me to get a set of the armor you were wearing. It worked quite nicely, though I see yours has¡­ a number of improvements.¡± Alan detected a hint of jealousy in Icewolf¡¯s tone.


    ¡°Anyways, moving on to the whole Legion of Man, our goals, why I joined and why you should join as well. The plan is quite simple, really. It¡¯s to overthrow the United World Government and cement ourselves in power before the immunity period is up, and develop allies who truly are our allies, not deceptive enemies that will turn on us as soon as it makes sense. It¡¯s quite beautiful, you see, as Haxlards will not be able to directly aid the United World Government as long as the immunity period lasts, and if we successfully overthrow the government without causing too much damage, we will be able to take over all the defenses the Haxlards paid for, debt free! A faction victorious in war does not inherit the conquered faction¡¯s debts, just its infrastructure. So, you see, this is the one true path to freedom!¡± Icewolf gestured about wildly, punctuating each remark, animatedly showing that he believed this was the correct path.


    ¡°Uh, okay,¡± Alain said slowly, unsure of how to react to such unbridled enthusiasm. He thought that Icewolf was oversimplifying things. ¡°However, have you perhaps considered this is what the Haxlards want? After all, war is expensive, and it is undoubtedly wearing down the United World Government¡¯s resources even faster.¡±


    Icewolf shrugged. ¡°A risk we have to take. It does not matter, for if we fail, then the Haxlards will simply take over the Earth sooner rather than later. Don¡¯t you see? This is the only path, the only true way for freedom, for an Earth under human control.¡±


    Alan began a response, then closed his mouth, as Eve was communicating with him. ¡°Wait, let me think this through for a second, and discuss it with my AI,¡± he said.


    ¡°Of course, take as long as you need, this is heavy stuff,¡± Icewolf responded, bringing up a few screens to work on.


    So, um what do you think, Eve? Alan asked nervously


    Based upon the data received and extrapolated from information available on the globalnet,  I agree with Icewolf¡¯s conclusion. In the long term, the United World Government is destined to fall, with about 99% certainty. In fact, even before this new information I estimated there was a 80%+ chance for it to fail. However, I am cautious to join or aid this other faction, this Legion of Man. Our actions in the past towards them have been rather hostile, and we lack much information about them. We are still unaware of their power structure, or how they plan on governing the Earth. For all we know they are run by a despot.


    Yeah, I agree. Except I¡¯m not so sure Icewolf will give me more information about the Legion if I¡¯m hesitant to join¡­ let me talk to him some more.


    Alan looked up at Icewolf, ¡°Okay, my AI came to the same conclusion, that the United World Government is pretty much doomed. Something she should have told me beforehand, but anyways, I still don¡¯t really know anything about this Legion of Man, it¡¯s leaders, or anything at all really. From what I see, all the Legion¡¯s actions have been primarily terrorist-esque, which frankly doesn¡¯t seem very, well, patriotic or nationalist or whatever the word is for fighting for your planet.¡±


    ¡°Well, of course the media you see portrays it that way," Icewolf quickly rebutted,  "it is all firmly controlled  by the United World Government. Anyways, the Legion of Man plans to be, like the United World Government, a democracy. However, only those within the faction and in the Game are allowed to vote in its elections. Although, the military is for the most part merit based. The current commander-in-chief was voted on, with a bi-monthly term. You will understand if I can¡¯t give you names as long as you aren¡¯t in the faction though,¡± Icewolf said. He seemed a bit disappointed that Alan wasn¡¯t jumping out of his seat, excited to join.


    Alan quickly mulled over his thoughts, then replied, ¡°Hmm, alright, that seems reasonable. Honestly, I¡¯m not quite sure given my situation in the Black Rose guild if I even can join the Legion of Man.¡± You can, governments are a separate entity than guilds, although governments have guilds and vice versa, Eve let him know. ¡°Except, my superior has expressed interest in ensuring the Earth is neutral or allied to the Mercenary Bloc in any future conflicts that should arise. It probably won¡¯t be if it¡¯s under Haxlard control. Thus, I can probably easily arrange for you to have a meeting with him. Additionally, I promise to try to search for a solution which will benefit humanity as a whole, and ensure that the Earth does not fall under Haxlard control. Oh, and, um speaking of my debts, I can pay you back now.¡±


    Icewolf looked at Alan, surprised, then nodded, looking a bit disappointed. ¡°Oh, alright, just send the credits to me and I¡¯ll cancel out your debt. Also, I guess your answer is acceptable, and about as good as I guess I¡¯ll get. Well then, that almost makes me feel bad for giving you this quest¡­ though I suppose it¡¯s too late to change it now. Anyways, we can work out the meeting details with your superior at a later time, though the Mercenary Bloc seems like a promising lead I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve followed through with yet. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m really qualified to establish any sort of deal with anyone, though. Anyways, the quest. Well, you¡¯re now aware of this all so¡­ here you go. Good luck.¡± Icewolf ended the call as messages sprang up before Alan.


    ¡°The War for Earth Discovered!


    You have discovered the ongoing secret war for Earth, and have chosen to side with the allies of Earth, those who wish to see humanity remain in control of their home planet, not under the control of the Haxlards or any other alien force. As the war is currently a secret war within humanity special rules apply:


    1000 War Contribution Points are required to recruit any other human* into the war.


    *Only humans from Earth may join the war, i.e. homo sapiens born on the planet Earth.


    Should you kill any agent that you are aware of being part of the opposing side in the war for Earth they will be unable to further engage in war-related activities and all their war-related quests will fail. Similarly, should you fall to an enemy agent you will be effectively ¡°dead¡± in the war and will be unable to continue war-related activities.


    Winners of the war will be rewarded based upon participation and contribution, determined through War Contribution Points. War Contribution Points are awarded based upon favorable actions, such as killing enemy combatants, conquering enemy control points, completing war-related tasks and other such activities.


    Current Win Condition: Conquer 80% of Earth control points, including the main Earth Control Point and every regional control point, e.g. North America Control Point, East Asia Control Point and South Africa Control Point


    Current Loss Condition: Elimination of all allied forces.


    Current allies: Approx. 100,000


    Current enemies: ???¡±


    A new war screen was generated by Eve, which like his status or guild window displayed various information about the war. Alan would need to go into further detail with Eve to figure out just what a war within the Game entailed, though it seemed straightforward thus far. Find and eliminate the enemy before they find you. He continued reading the other quests he received.


    ¡°Gather Allies (War for Earth Quest):


    Gather allies to help defend Earth from outside control!


    Option: Discover and recruit new allies at the Academy. Beware enemy operatives.


    Option: Try to set up and perhaps facilitate a meeting between the Legion of Man and the Mercenary Bloc.


    Reward: Increased military and economic might for the allies of Earth


    Failure: Decreased military and economic might for the allies of Earth


    Possible Impact Level: Gamma¡±


    ¡°A Free Earth (Class Quest):


    Do your best to ensure that the Earth remains free from alien control.


    Current War Contribution Points: 0


    Unique reward and failure: Variable based upon how the War for Earth progresses. Completion when Earth is fully established as under stable human control or upon death in the War for Earth event.


    Possible Impact Level: Gamma¡±


    Alan sat back, attempting to process all the new data before him. One thing was sure, things had just become much more complicated. He now had a more tangible goal of trying to find allies to help this war effort, yet at the same time Alan felt more lost than ever. This seemed like too much. He had just been a simple college student less than a year ago, with simple goals and simple dreams. Now, he had somehow ended up in the center of a galactic conflict over the future of his home planet, inside a virtual reality that governed actual reality. There were too many options, to many things he should do and consider and learn and explore and try and¡ª


    Stop. Concentrate. Complete tasks one at a time. Send the million credits to Icewolf. Afterward, we should establish contact with Phantom to discuss a possible liaison between the Mercenary Bloc and Legion of man. Then, I will teach you more about war within the Game, so you may more fully prepare yourself and evaluate possibilities. After that, we attempt to recruit Kitana as soon as we gain the points from the first task. We have her help you improve your blade work, and undergo further training with Phantom. We go to the Academy, and study, and train, and study and train some more. Then, when we are ready, we act. Perhaps fighting, perhaps spying, perhaps both, but we wait and develop more information first. Does this make sense to you, Alan?


    Yes, Alan replied softly in his mind, calming down slightly. Yes, that does make sense. What would I do without you, Eve?


    Die, I expect. More realistically, perhaps you would wallow in your own pity while eating ice cream and playing video games, she responded teasingly.


    Alan grinned, and got up. Thanks for that image. Now lead the way.


    A green path sprang up before Alan, and off he went, ready to continue the Game.


    Author''s Note:


    Well, that''s it for what I imagine to be book one! The ebook will likely contain everything up to here. Also, I finally got to say why the paperwork was important :P. I want to thank all of the donors once more, as I''m using part of the generous donations to commission a cover for the ebook!


    Unfortunately, it seems as if editors are rather expensive, so I''ve been doing it myself. Thus, I may take a week or two hiatus to go through and continue to edit what I have thus far, and also plan out the Academy arc more. It should be a somewhat lengthy arc, maybe a bit longer than the Tutorial arc. Also, apparently the spacing I''ve been using is all wrong, thus it''s taking me a while to fix all of that >.>. Thanks for reading.

 Moving 3.1

    When Alan exited the Game it suddenly occurred to him this was happening. Playing this Game would likely be the rest of his life. His occupation. The thought was both invigorating and slightly nauseating, though the latter may have been from the sudden disorientation that now came from logging out of the Game.


    Blearily Alan managed to make it out of the capsule and over to the nearby desk, ready to call his parents, tell them the big news. He still couldn¡¯t quite believe it himself. The past week had gone by in a flash, with Alan learning all sorts of alien etiquette and mannerisms, picking apart his own idiosyncrasies. This was supposed to prepare him for the Academy, and all the intrigue Alan was supposed to insert himself into. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready, but he tried to continue to tell himself this was all a game. The future of Earth just hung in the balance.


    In the end, Alan had decided against trying to immediately recruit Kitana into the war for Earth, as there were simply too many unknowns. Alan hated to admit it, but despite everything that had happened he knew far too little about Kitana¡¯s motivations. He knew she was a master swordsman, and that was about it. He¡¯d been hoping to talk to her, alone, but she and Sidestep had been undergoing non-stop training with Mason, the Black Rose¡¯s lead Arms Master. Alan was still confused about why exactly they needed to prepare so much to go to school, but he didn¡¯t question it. This was the reason he needed to talk to his parents, after all. He was moving.


    Alan¡¯s AI, Eve, had determined that lag was starting to become noticeable, or at least would become noticeable, once Alan reached the Academy in his current state. Despite the relay of satellites and bases that allowed for the somehow almost instantaneous flow of data throughout parts of the universe for the Game, there was still a delay, however slight. Normally this delay would be unnoticeable, but Alan¡¯s unique predicament, in so much as he was a Machine Lord Rogue with a unique ability called Hypercognition that sped up his own perception of time hundreds of times over, made it a problem. Thus it was determined that Alan should move to the one place where he would be guaranteed a perfect, lag-free connection 24/7. A place where he would be safe from any real life danger, as Alan¡¯s mentor, Icewolf, was in fact a dangerous terrorist fighting against the United World Government in an attempt to free the earth from unwanted alien influence. A place many light years away, in an entirely different galaxy. A place that was the capital of the known universe. Khersath.


    When Eve had first suggested that Alan should move to an entirely different planet, in real life, Alan had been incredulous. Then he had thought it over a bit, and, reconsidering, had discussed it with his mentor in the guild, the Knight Phantom, who was anything but knight-like. It was just a rank in the guild.


    Phantom had readily agreed to the idea, encouraging it, paying for Alan¡¯s 100,000 credit ticket aboard a neutral trade ship that was travelling between Earth and Khersath. The guild would also pay for room and board, and had their own compound on Khersath, though it was apparently in the main part of the city in real life, unlike the private island-continent they owned in the Game. That hadn¡¯t really concerned Alan though, his main concern had been whether or not this would disrupt his planned enrollment in the Academy. It wouldn¡¯t. He¡¯d be able to play the Game just as easily on a starship, travelling faster than light, as he was in this room in a skyscraper in the middle of San Francisco. There was just one thing that had slipped his mind. He¡¯d forgotten to tell his parents.


    Alan picked up his cell phone, which had been lying on the desk, thinking of what he should say to them. Hey, I¡¯ve been good, having fun in the Game. I managed to get my AI implanted in my brain, at least in the Game. I also got other modifications like a bionic eye and a godlike artifact in the form of a knife that came from the blood of an ancient warrior alien race that may have created the Game. By the way, that game, the one I¡¯ve been playing, now runs the known universe, determining who controls territory and resources through simulated combat and player versus player wars like in an MMORPG.


    One of those wars is actually going on right now, over the fate of Earth, and who will control it in the near future. If I play poorly, Earth may no longer be in human hands by the end of the decade. However, I did manage to join an elite, special forces guild, and they may be able help our planet. I also managed to piss off an unknown entity, and need to finish a quest in five years, or unknown number of locked up horrors may be unleashed. Oh, yeah, and did I mention I¡¯m moving halfway across the universe?


    Alan got the answering machine. He let out a deep breath, then launched into a prepared story he and Eve had planned out. He had been selected a part of a government-run ambassador program to go to a school with other people from across the known universe, and would be available through email, maybe video chat. There was, in fact, such a program that funded players from Earth to go to various academies similar to the one Alan was going to. He was just going to the Academy, the most prestigious school of the lot, and was paying his own way, tens of millions of dollars that he¡¯d earned from completing a quest or two in the Game. Once he finished the message, Alan stood up, and looked over at his capsule.


    It was odd, to think that this simple oval was a gateway to a digital universe. Alan had to resist the urge to simply log back in, to make sure everything was still there. Real life simply felt less¡­ fun, less important. There was no struggle here, no levels, no abilities, no talking with Eve. It was boring.


    ***


    Alan watched as the crew of robots reassembled the capsule aboard the Alliance Courier, the ship that would take Alan to Khersath. The trip thus far had been remarkably similar to the one he¡¯d taken in the Game, a shuttle ride from the surface of Earth to this larger transport vessel. All the ships Alan had seen thus far looked remarkably similar; there were no brightly painted hulls or aesthetically pleasing, sleek vessels. Instead, they were all bulky, rectangular beasts of burden.


    A message popped up on the terminal in the cramped quarters Alan had been provided; Alan didn¡¯t mind the small space, as he was going to remain in the capsule for the month long journey. The message simply said that they were going to enter the warp gate in a few minutes. From what Alan remembered Eve telling him, these warp gates essentially created a sort of highway in space between two points, with larger warp gates allowing for longer distances between the gates. The Courier would first travel to a warp gate hub, which, like a airline hub, would have gates to a wider variety of places, like Khersath. Alan didn¡¯t question it, taking it for granted that the journey of millions of light-years was possible. He just wanted to get back in the Game.


    There had been something about a meet and greet on the ship¡¯s itinerary, but Alan dismissed the idea of attending such an event, as it was unlikely he¡¯d ever see or run into any of the other passengers again. He simply watched with anticipation as the miniature robots finished plugging in all of the capsule¡¯s wires. It whirred to life, and a display screen in front lit up green. Alan dived into the sea of silver nanobots within, ready to play. He lost conscious quickly.


    ***


    Alan awoke back in his Home, the log-in or logout area of the Game. As Eve booted up, clarity returned, a sudden rush of information, a sharpness of thought filling Alan¡¯s mind. Grinning madly, Alan ordered the Administrator, a sort of gamemaster android hybrid to let him into the Game.


    He was whisked away, awakening in his in-game quarter¡¯s capsule, several floors below the Black Rose Compound on Khersath.


    Blearing alarms sounded, and Alan glanced around in a panic until Eve was able to decipher an incoming message from the Black Rose Guild¡¯s general AI. It let Alan know he was late. Cursing, Alan sprinted to the nearby shuttle that was waiting for him.


    Phantom looked up from where he was sitting in the shuttle; alongside him were the other Black Rose Squires that were heading to the Academy, Kitana, Aurora and Sidestep. Kitana was also from Earth, though she was Japanese. She also happened to be a deadly swordsman and the daughter of a Yakuza head, reportedly locked up like the rest of the real world criminals, a feat easily accomplished by the Enforcers, the real life branch of the Administrators, who possessed the only real life armada and advanced weaponry. Aurora and Sidestep, meanwhile, were a variant of the human race, ?lves, with elfin features. Aurora was the daughter of the guild master, Elisandra, and Alan had learned Sidestep was a sort of childhood friend, trained alongside Aurora as she grew up.


    ¡°So,¡± Phantom said, ¡°Finally decided to join us?¡±


    Panting, Alan said, ¡°I came as quickly as I could. You know the time difference between real life and the Game. For every hour I waited out there, four passed here!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here, we can head out. We should make it just in time.¡± He hit a button on the wall, and the shuttle took off.


    ¡°Now, as I was telling the others, it¡¯s imperative that you don¡¯t piss any of the other factions off. We depend on all of them for business, and have fought before on almost everyone¡¯s behalf. Got that, Alan?¡±


    Alan nodded, though he rolled his eyes behind the mask of his power armor. From what Phantom had been teaching him about the ¡°art of conversation¡± it was almost as though Phantom expected Alan to run about burning women and raping churches. Alan wasn¡¯t completely inept at social interaction, just¡­ slightly nervous about interacting with players that would likely be future leaders of the main factions. It didn¡¯t help that the Academy was also supposed to be a sort of testing grounds, where major factions compared power by the end of the semester standings. Most of the past week had been spent making sure Alan wouldn¡¯t make a fool of himself.


    Phantom launched into a review lecture about the various factions, more for Kitana¡¯s benefit than anyone else¡¯s. Eve had long ago forced the information into Alan¡¯s head.


    ***


    Alan and the others finally made it to the Academy hangar on Khersath an hour or so later, minutes before the craft was scheduled for takeoff. They made it aboard the shuttle, which was supposed to take them to the Academy in about six hours or so. The inside of it was strikingly similar to an airplane¡¯s, with crowded rows of three seats on each side of the craft. There was little legroom.


    Aurora and Kitana took two adjacent seats. Sidestep blinked into the third with a step, cutting right by Alan using his unique ability.


    ¡°Hey, sorry bro, but this will be a good chance for you to practice your people skills, like Phantom wanted you to!¡± Sidestep said.


    Not one to get upset over something as simple as a seat on an aircraft, Alan continued down the rows, looking for an empty seat. After walking a bit, Alan managed to spot a free seat amidst the crowd (a total of 314 other students, according to Eve). It was a middle seat. A pretty brunette with a cute button nose, wearing an olive flight suit staring out the window sat on one side. An elfin blonde was seated on the other side. She had similar features to Aurora, but wore a platinum diadem, a simple band with a small dark stone that glowed with energy.


    ¡°Excuse me, is anyone sitting there?¡± Alan asked.


    The blonde, who had been reading a book on a screen in front of her, glanced up at Alan. She gave him a quick look over, lingering on his Revenant power armor, then said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry for bothering you then,¡± Alan said, turning to keep looking for a seat.


    At this moment, however, a boy seated across the row called out, ¡°Liar. You know there¡¯s no one seated there, Luna.¡±


    Luna turned her head, glaring at the boy, and said, ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you minded your own business, S. Oh wait, excuse me, I forgot who I was talking to. The person with no boundaries, the snitching scab scum that sold out the Vorthos rebellion.¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t you forget it,¡± the boy replied.


    Alan, about to assure Luna that he could find a different seat, was stopped by Eve. She told him to sit down.


    ¡°Um, I assure you I¡¯ll be no trouble. It just looks like we¡¯ll take off soon, and I¡¯d like to be seated,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Look,¡± Luna said, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to be rude, but seeing as you can¡¯t take a hint, I¡¯d prefer it if you found a seat elsewhere. Be wary of strangers, and all that nonsense. I admit it¡¯s a rather trite saying, but you can never be too safe, especially when you¡¯re heading to an Academy for the elite. Your armor simply screams saboteur.¡±


    ¡°Um, well, allow me to introduce myself,¡± Alan said, bowing low, as he surmised this girl was royalty of some sort. ¡°I am Alan, and am a squire for the Black Rose guild, underneath the inventor Phantom. I assure you that I am just a sort of a research assistant, from a planet new to the Game, Earth.¡± At the mention of his home planet, the girl in the flight suit looked up, looking over at Alan. If she was also from Earth that explained her clothing.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Luna glanced at Alan, staring at the Black Rose emblem he had emblazoned on his armor, as if she had just noticed it. ¡°Oh, well, alright then. I am Luna, of the Alliance system Elda, niece of the Summer Queen. I suppose you may take the seat next to me, now that we¡¯ve been introduced. I¡¯m usually not so rude, but that piece of shite over there has me on edge.¡± She made an offhanded wave at the boy sitting across from her.


    ¡°Um, alright,¡± Alan said, squeezing past Luna, sitting down.


    ¡°Now that wasn¡¯t hard, was it, princess?¡± the boy said. ¡°I¡¯m S, by the way, an Empire Servant, at your service. Let me know if she gives you any trouble, ?lven royalty are known to be temperamental, prone to change how they think of you on a dime.¡±


    ¡°Temperamental?¡± Luna said. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s because we actually follow the will of our people. You, undoubtedly, only care about your own best interests.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, I thought you followed the highest bidder,¡± S snidely remarked. ¡°And, in case you haven¡¯t noticed, the people are idiots. The masses don¡¯t know what¡¯s best for them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and I suppose you do?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Unlike you, who happened to be born into the right family, I¡¯ve proven myself  to be an adept leader.¡±


    ¡°An adept leader? Don¡¯t make me laugh. I was just examining details about the uprising you single-handedly stopped. It seems to me that you simply took advantage of an already completed struggle. You made several key errors, as well!¡± Luna continued, launching into a long string of insults and criticisms of the Empire as a whole. S listened calmly.


    Alan glanced around, looking for a different seat.


    The girl next to the window turned to him and whispered, ¡°Just ignore them. They¡¯ve been arguing on and off for the past half hour or so. I¡¯m Amelia, by the way, also from Earth. I¡¯m rather glad there¡¯s someone else here, I thought I would be the only one.¡±


    ¡°Oh, cool,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯m from California, what about you?¡±


    ¡°The Midwest, mostly,¡± Amelia replied. ¡± My mother¡¯s part of the air force, so I¡¯ve been all over the place. Grew up around planes, got my pilot¡¯s license at 17, and all that. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I was just as good at flying spacecraft. That¡¯s how I ended up here, actually; managed to get a scholarship after performing well in a simulator. What about you, what¡¯s your story?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I mostly just got lucky,¡± Alan said. ¡°I got recommended to the Black Rose guild, they¡¯re sort of like special forces mercenaries, and managed to get a position. I just barely met their requirements to get into the Academy; they¡¯re paying for my tuition.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and how did you manage to pull all that off?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°A series of fortunate events. Like I said, I got lucky, extremely so. Trust me, I definitely couldn¡¯t have gotten here alone; in fact another guild mate, also from Earth, helped a lot. I¡¯ll introduce you later. By the way, are you part of United World Government? You mentioned your mother is part of the air force,¡± Alan said.


    Amelia grimaced, turning to look back out the window. The shuttle had started its ascent, and was now flying away from Khersath.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not part of the UWG. Not that it hasn¡¯t stopped my mother from trying to recruit me as soon as she learned that I was a decent pilot. I¡¯m just not sure this is what I want to do,¡± Amelia said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I want to do all this,¡± Amelia said, gesturing to the debating S and Luna. ¡°This whole ¡®Game,¡¯ the never ending conflict, the battles for supremacy.¡±


    ¡°Um, you do understand the nature of the Game, what¡¯s at stake, right?¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Sure, creature comforts and a name on a map. Honestly, if you look into the actual socioeconomic differences and factors when it comes to ¡®ruling¡¯ parties in the Game and those who live in the place real life, there are, in fact, very few differences in overall quality of life.¡±


    ¡°You mean, apart from the ability to reproduce and the lengthened life span from the capsules, right?¡±


    ¡°Ok, well, yes, there are obvious benefits for being in power, but, just, doesn¡¯t this seem rather stupid to you?¡± Amelia stared at Alan, looking directly into his eyes. He glanced out the window, avoiding the stare. ¡°Like, we have miraculous technology and advances at our fingertips, and what are we doing with it? We¡¯re joining a never ending conflict that has been going on for, like, eons and will continue long after we are dead.¡±


    ¡°Well, put that way, it does seem rather morbid. Honestly, though, I¡¯m just having fun, glad to be along for the ride. Doesn¡¯t all this,¡± Alan gestured out the window, at space, ¡°spark your sense of adventure, of wonder? You don¡¯t have to join a conflict, I suppose. You could just explore, but, well, I think that we should at least try to help out our people.¡±


    ¡°I guess. So, you¡¯re, like, a supporter of the UWG then?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Um, not exactly. I belong to a sort of third party at this point, interested in the good of Earth overall,¡± Alan said, aware that Luna and S had a lull in their debate, undoubtedly listening to their conversation. ¡°I¡¯ll maybe talk to you about it later, as I think the details will interest you. However, if you aren¡¯t part of any faction, the Black Rose guild is looking for skilled pilots.¡±


    ¡°Hands off, lucky boy,¡± Luna chimed in. ¡°I already informed her that the Alliance, as a democratic confederation, is always hiring, with equal opportunity for all.¡±


    ¡°And I informed her that the Alliance, as a democratic confederation, pays far less and promotes far slower than the Empire, where you¡¯ll find the true elite, with none of that bureaucratic nonsense. Or, well, less of it at least,¡± S said.


    ¡°And I am going to tell you what I told both of them,¡± Amelia said. ¡°Thank you for the offer, I¡¯ll think about it, but right now I just want to get through the Academy.¡± Amelia turned to look out of the window. ¡°It seems like you fit right in, though, Alan.¡±


    Alan shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve always like games, especially RPG¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Mmm,¡± Amelia responded, continuing to gaze out into space. It seemed like she was done talking to him.


    ¡°Hmm, that was a decent attempt at recruiting,¡± Luna said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you an A for effort, but maybe a C for motivation. When recruiting others to your cause you want to ensure they¡¯re decently motivated, otherwise they¡¯ll have little reason to join, or will betray you. Unless, of course, you were depending on some hidden Earth technique I¡¯m unaware of, like a mating ritual. Is it normal for the males in your culture to avoid eye contact with females?¡±


    Alan blushed, looking straight ahead.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found blackmail and bribery are good incentives,¡± S said. ¡°Though of course, that usually involves digging up some dirt.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, we all eventually get our hands dirty,¡± Luna replied. ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of how deep you¡¯re willing to dig.¡±


    Alan ignored the two, attempting to get a bit of rest before they arrived at the Academy. He might have tried to engage Amelia in a bit more small talk, but as she continued to stare out the window into space, he got the feeling she had her own thoughts on her mind.


    ***


    Alan awoke with a jolt, a screen in front of him flickering to life, mid-air. Glancing around he saw that similar screens had popped up in front of everyone else. He woke up fully alert, a useful ability of his Machine Lord class.


    The tutorial video began with an Administrator-like figure sitting behind a desk. A label above them simply said ¡°Chancellor.¡±


    ¡°Welcome, players, to the Academy System. I hope that you had a pleasant journey; you will arrive at your destination in 15 minutes. In the meantime, an introductory message will be broadcast; please remain quiet while the message plays. I look forward to the coming days.¡±


    The screen shifted to a map of space, introducing the Academy and its many quirks, mainly for the benefit of those like Amelia who likely had very little idea what they were getting into. Alan, however, with the resources of the Black Rose Guild at his disposal had learned quite a bit about this Academy.


    The screen now showed the Academy System in miniature. That had surprised Alan, that the Academy was not located on one planet, but in fact had an entire solar system devoted to its school grounds. 10 planets and twice as many moons, some artificial. The second surprise had been the term limit: 100 standard days, each of which was equal to about 25 Earth hours. Unlike most schools, which generally had graduation requirements, the Academy instead had graduation limits: one could only learn at the Academy for so long.


    The info-video began introducing the three phases of the Academy education, which varied from student to student. What each phase entailed was somewhat uncertain, as the Academy was prone to changing its lesson plans. Alan just knew there would likely be an introductory phase which all students took part in together, a phase devoted a student¡¯s class and then a final phase focused on mastering abilities. Once those phases were complete, the education portion of the Academy would be finished.


    That lead to the rewards, the true reason so many chose to go to this Academy, a place that had always been a part of the Game, a place that had spawned so many other places of learning, modeled after its training methods. For, once a person had completed their education, they would be allowed to spend the remaining days of their Academy semester on Volta, a literal treasure planet located within the Academy System. The tales of loot uncovered on the planet were simply astonishing: schema that extended life, mines filled with metals on par with Soulsteel and caverns full of crystals that could power the entirety of Khersath. Of course there were monsters and bosses that corresponded to the level of loot, but the chance was too great to pass up. It was a place where all the mobs dropped nothing but diamond marks or higher, or so it was said.


    Much like the rest of the Academy, Volta was shrouded in secrecy, but the leading theory was that the place had been a part of the original universe when it had been copied over to the Game. The academy had been where the Lords of Life had trained their warriors, Volta where they equipped them. The Lords of Life had disappeared eons ago, but their creations remained, so this was the most likely explanation. Alan had first assumed that this meant the Academy was run by the Administrators, but Eve stressed this was not the case; the Academy was not governed or controlled by any faction, but by the Chancellor, a fiercely independent AI. An odd peculiarity was that it seemed as though the Chancellor, and most Academy ships, were confined to the Academy System, with a large Administrator outpost located nearby.


    Finally, to top it all off, Alan¡¯s classmates were supposedly the cream of the cream of the crop, at least according to Phantom. This was due to the annual tournament that was scheduled to happen. A player had to have less than a year of in-game time to enroll in the Academy, and thus wanted to wait as long as possible before enrolling, training in-game skills to get through the three education phases. However, at the same time players wanted to attend the annual tournament for players held by the Administrators, as the rewards to it, while not exciting as the ones found on Volta, were much more consistent. There was a specific newbie portion of the tournament, where a player needed to be under level 1000 and have less than a year of in-game time as well. This lead to the majority of skilled, well connected new players joining a specific Academy semester, the one Alan was now in, as it provided the most amount of preparation for both the Academy and the Administrator¡¯s tournament.


    Looking out the shuttle window, Alan watched as they landed on a green planet, in a dense forest by a small underground bunker. A flood of messages appeared before Alan. School was in.


    Author¡¯s Note:


    Sorry for such a long time between updates, but publishing is more work and taking a lot longer than I expected. (In both ebook and print!) I have decided to hire an editor/proofreader and a lot of things have been/are being fixed or improved, from grammar to tables to Eve¡¯s long explanations to dialogue. It will hopefully be up in a few weeks to a month. I¡¯ll probably make a post here when it is up.


    As you probably noticed, this chapter seemed to jump around a lot more. I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯ll probably release somewhat rougher chapters here, but this should allow me to get back on a weekly schedule. I¡¯m just feeling a bit burned out atm, and am basically just writing the stuff I feel interested in. A few more sort of long-winded overviews may manage to sneak their way in. Also, yes, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to be introducing a number of new characters, but will hopefully also be able to better develop what I consider the ones I consider part of the core.

 Introductions 3.2

    Authors Note: Sorry it took so long, I¡¯m not sure how many times I¡¯ve rethought/rewritten parts of this chapter¡­ Whatever, this is it.


    ¡°Wait, you got to sit next to Luna the entire flight? The Princess? You should of told me bro, I would of gladly switched seats!¡± Sidestep said.


    Alan stepped off the shuttle, trying to get a better sense of their surroundings. ¡°Calm down Sidestep, we¡¯re not exactly here to pickup girls.¡±


    ¡°Ah, my foolish friend, that is but the least of what you can do with girls. I for one plan on doing much more than lifting girls up. Although, many of them seem a bit too hefty for my taste. You can have those,¡± Sidestep said.


    Alan rolled his eyes, looking to Aurora for help.


    She shrugged. ¡°In a way he¡¯s right, unfortunately. We are here to make allies, if not friends, and romantic bonds can be quite durable. For now, we should try to get a sense of who else is here and what exactly it is we need to do to get to the next stage.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯ll head over there.¡± He pointed at the bunker.


    ¡°Wait a second Alan,¡± Aurora said. ¡°I think it would be best if I introduced you to some of the more influential figures. I¡¯m glad to hear that you¡¯ve met Luna and S, but there are a number of other people¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good, thanks,¡± Alan said, turning round, walking towards the bunker.


    ¡°Fine, Alan, but update us with what you find,¡± Aurora called out after him.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Alan yelled back. He started maneuvering his way through the cliques of people that were forming, various factions figuring out what they were doing next. Alan re-scanned the initial messages he¡¯d gotten:


    [Welcome to Incipe! The area immediately surrounding the Student Center is a safe zone. Thus, should you die there will be no penalty unless you leave the area. You may not enter any unsafe area against your will. Any unjustified acts of violence or breaking of laws will be appropriately punished by the Academy, ranging from a simple detention to expulsion depending on the nature of your crime.]


    [Your respawn point has been updated to the Capsule Room in the Student Center.]


    [Phase One:


    Complete the initial quests given. Once you have completed these quests you may continue on to the second phase of your education, personalized class-based instruction.


    Reward: Admittance and transportation to Phase Two]


    [Introductions:


    Get to know your fellow classmates, then proceed with your class to the designated assembly area.


    00:24:45 remaining


    Reward: Access to testing facilities]


    [Hit the books:


    Study up! Study with the personal, one on one tutor programs or in a review group until you are ready to pass the tests you are required to take.


    As a Rogue Machine Lord, you are required to pass tests in the following subjects:


    Life, social and physical sciences, Mathematics, Computer Science, Cryptography, Artificial Intelligence and Metaphysics.


    Note: Aids such as personal AI¡¯s and intelligence augmentations are allowed during the tests.


    Penalty for failure: Remedial study sessions and work assignments.


    Reward: Knowledge and the ability to explore Incipe further.]


    [Basic Survival:


    Once you have finished studying, you have two options: ten days of intense physical training and guidance under wonderful Trainers or wilderness survival on Incipe, gathering 100,000 credits worth of materials from the natural resources of the planet.


    Penalty for failure: Failure to meet trainers expectations or gather enough resources will result in a week-long intensive remedial course.


    Rewards: Training or gathered resources.]


    These tasks, at least, seemed simple enough. What confused and worried Alan was the fourth message, the one that, as far as he could tell, no one else had received.


    [Unknown trigger. Error: Unable to decipher quest text. Error: Corruption.]


    [?b =e Y¡Â¨¨?G.:


    ;?¨¬?a>u ?oey¡¥p`ht`¨¬?I( ?z?Dox-¨¤SD???yoN¨¢d~G¨ª¨º¨¹¡ì¡±€?jz%?cc6{???|?¡ë=?($U¡¥???¡ì¨´u?¨C:?v[?C ?Y??;3o?>


    G2?x|?¨¬#¡ë?O¨²????¨¢q6?> ?Uv¡±yqYw?eHqy.¡¤?¨ª29¡Â@7- ¡¤;??`¨º?t


    a?K¡ì^[1]??O¡°¨²¨´?LNT?-Y?+]?y?T¨¢-??Hy??¨¢R?@¨´f??¡é$??¡À\N??Yy¡è??


    ?; T3?¨¦?¡­h¡­E&¨´%j:q?|??)?G??mg??¨²¡ìr?)<?gvya?a¨´NAU¨º¨¤¨´?r:¨¤`?¡¥{¡ì|k     ????z?-oZ-¨¤V


    ¡ª?¡¥?*¨´^(xa?¡±-y¨ªd6¨¢9X¨®¨¦}I?c?8


    \Mq?\???T+?¡®?¨ª%????bA?O          #?¨²?f)¨¹V24??WT?¨´¨®¡¤¨ª?KRv? ?¨²a?oa$(?1¨°?*r¨ª]¨¨?Z¡ì=            ¦Ì?-!¡ª¨°?


    S]


    Alan attempted to message the Chancellor, but was denied access. He hoped to find someone in the Student Center that could tell him exactly what was going on.


    ***


    Alan quickly got a sense of the new facilities in the so-called Student Center. It was a fairly straightforward, similar to any university campus, with a cafeteria, dorm area, simulation classrooms, labs and capsule room. He had fully explored the space that he had access to and had found no one, not even an Administrator, though he could access the one in his Home. They weren¡¯t any help. This didn¡¯t seem to alarm anyone else, and people started trickling in, gathering in the designated assembly area, a gym-like room on the ground floor with plenty of space for everyone and hardwood floors.


    But Alan couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy. This message was another example that the Game clearly had bugs, and though Alan supposed this was to be expected in such a massive project, it did not reassure him at all as the Game essentially governed the known universe. Alan had been too scared to even try to experiment with his Data Interaction ability, as he had no idea what it was supposed to do or how it even worked. He was missing something, he just wasn¡¯t sure what.


    Hey, Eve, what do you think about all this?


    All what? I have detected your abnormal pulse and heightened fear. What is causing this stress?


    What do you mean what? This Data Interaction ability that just reads error, and the corrupted quest message that popped up!


    I see no Data Interaction ability under your abilities. Are you certain this ability exists, Alan?


    Alan froze. When the Game had told him Data Interaction was a hidden ability, it had mentioned that it would be hidden from other players. Alan had never imagined it would be hidden from Eve as well. Did that mean she was a player? Eve responded to these thoughts coursing through his head.


    I am not a player, nor can I become one as your AI. While these bugs seem unlikely, it is not impossible that they exist. However, my research has uncovered no known bugs within the Game. They were patched out long ago.


    Alan reopened the undecipherable quest.


    Then how do you explain this!? Look Eve, I have the quest window open before me and the error message is right there, don¡¯t you see it?


    Alan, you currently have a blank quest screen open. I am concerned for your well being. I would like to suggest a series of psychological examinations that may better¡ª


    Stop. Act and make decisions on the assumption I¡¯m not crazy, okay? Enough. We should get  to the assembly area; Aurora seems rather peeved, and we haven¡¯t found anything useful in the facility.


    Very well.


    ***


    Alan quickly found Sidestep and Aurora chatting, though Kitana was missing.


    Sidestep waved at Alan. ¡°Hey, find anything interesting? Let me tell you, you missed meeting some fine looking gals. They had the right kind of assets too, if you get my drift.¡±


    ¡°That is enough of that, Sidestep,¡± Aurora said. ¡°You know what you need to focus on, and it is not hitting on girls. I expect you to complete your exams within the standard two weeks.¡±


    ¡°Um, right, two weeks,¡± Alan said. ¡°You guys didn¡¯t by any chance get another quest, did you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aurora asked. ¡°Everyone gets the same two standard tasks: the exams and then the physical training or wilderness survival.¡±


    ¡°Um, of course. It¡¯s, um, probably nothing, just something additional for me as I expect the exams will take me a lot less time,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Aurora stared at Alan, giving him an undecipherable look.


    ¡°Hey, Alan, I certainly didn¡¯t expect to see you here!¡± A voice called out. Alan turned around, surprised to find Thiago, wearing the usual white suit. He was accompanied by Kitana, Ace and Daisy. Ace was wearing a set of power armor emblazoned with a United World Government soldier insignia, designed for strength rather than agility or stealth, while Daisy had on a white leather outfit with a medic¡¯s symbol on it, a white circle.


    ¡°Oh, um, hi Thiago,¡± Alan said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here either. I assume you¡¯re here to study. Um, what program are you in?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the rogue program like you, while Ace is in the warrior program and Daisy is in the healer one,¡± Thiago said. He then turned towards Aurora, bowing low. ¡°And this lovely lady must be Aurora, daughter of Elissandra, I¡¯ve heard so much about you from Kitana.¡±


    Sidestep blinked forward, laying a hand on Thiago¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Yup, she is. I¡¯m Sidestep by the way, her guardian. I try to make sure no one gets¡­ too close.¡± He and Thiago shared a brittle smile.


    ¡°So anyways¡­¡± Alan said. ¡°I assume you guys are here as part of the United World Government?¡±


    ¡°We are,¡± Ace said, motioning to Daisy and himself. ¡°Thiago paid for his own tuition.¡±


    Suddenly, faint presences began to appear at the edge of Alan¡¯s consciousness, similar to a friendly Administrator or the machine presences in the Abyss Labyrinth. Alan turned around, staring at the wall before him, Eve running dozens of possible scenarios through his mind.


    ¡°Um, right,¡± Alan said absently. ¡°Well, it was nice seeing you guys again, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll talk again soon.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay Alan, but the introductions task still has two minutes remaining¡ª¡±


    Alan activated his upgraded power armor¡¯s Advanced Stealth Mode, disappearing from sight, as well as hypercognition. One of the presences formed a connection with him.


    I greet you, Traveler. If our presence has alarmed you I apologize, for our detection was not foreseen.


    Um, right, who are you?


    We are the Trainers.


    Right¡­ so then, you¡¯re here to train us?


    Yes, the training will soon commence.


    Odd, I thought training was optional. Got any pointers for me then?


    Follow instructions, and know that your limits are known to us.


    Right, that sounds pretty familiar, though if your standards are the same as my AI¡¯s, that¡¯s not exactly encouraging. Nothing else then? Just wait here with everyone else? How do I even know you are what you say you are? I see nothing around me.


    Take a few steps forward and deactivate your stealth protocols if you wish to observe us. It is difficult to locate your presence.


    Um, you know there¡¯s a wall in front of me, right?


    The Trainer remained silent. Alan sighed, then took a few steps forward. He passed through the wall. Alan swore that it had been solid moments earlier, and that he had even leaned against it¡­


    Alan emerged outside, into the forested area. Looking around, he saw nothing but trees and grass. A second passed, then Alan had Eve deactivate his armor¡¯s stealth mode. As soon as he did so, other figures began appearing, mechs resembling Administrators, all a uniform height around six feet. Each Trainer shimmered, somehow camouflaging with their surroundings. There were hundreds, all facing Alan.


    One for each player, Eve told Alan.


    Alan glanced around, narrowing his focus, trying to detect the Trainer he was connected to mentally. After a bit of trial and error, walking in a direction and seeing if the connection changed, Alan managed to find the right Trainer. It nodded approvingly.


    Now wait. You may reactivate your armor¡¯s stealth mode if you so wish, it told Alan.


    Alan glanced at the countdown, there were 10 seconds left. He deactivated hypercognition, and re-activated his armor¡¯s stealth ability. Something was about to happen, he just wasn¡¯t sure what. The timer hit zero, and then the wall simply vanished, leaving gaping, open mouthed players staring out into the forest.


    Trainers shot forward, each appearing before a student. They traveled at speed that was on-par with Sidestep, gliding forward using some sort of hover-technology. They each then gave a simple command: ¡°Follow.¡±


    Alan watched as the players came to their senses, taking off after their Trainer. Each Trainer moved at various speeds, in varying directions. Alan watched as Sidestep¡¯s Trainer shot past the rest, Sidestep hurriedly teleporting right after it; they were gone from Alan¡¯s view in seconds.


    Alan waited for his own Trainer to tell him to follow, but it stood still. Glancing around, Alan saw that a number of the other Trainers also remained in place.


    Follow, it suddenly sent. The Trainer began jogging west, deeper into the forest. Alan hurriedly followed after it, noting that a number of other Trainers were guiding other players in the same direction. Alan felt his mind wander as Eve began trying to plot out and gather information about all the other players: the directions they headed, the rate at which they moved, how they moved and other such data.


    Alan¡¯s Trainer somehow seemed to detect this lapse in attention, and it suddenly disappeared from Alan¡¯s view. Alan stopped in his tracks.


    Follow.


    What? But I can¡¯t see you.


    Can  you not sense me?


    Alan frowned. He could sense his Trainer, but all he had was a sense of the strength of the connection, like a sensor constantly telling him if he was getting hot or cold.


    I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t understand¡­


    What is your ability? What is the nature of the Game?


    Um, I don¡¯t know?


    It is simple. The Game is a simulated universe, created to mimic the actual physical one. But as it was created, designed with a common fabric, this allows for all of space to be tied together with a unifying, underlying force that encompasses all.


    Wait, you mean, like, the Force? Or like how God is supposed to be part of everything?


    I am a Trainer, not a Teacher. I do not understand the fabric of this reality, nor its properties. I am simply aware of its existence, and use these channels to communicate or detect other¡¯s presence. Follow.


    Alan concentrated on his ability to detect other presences, struggling with this other sense. It was a disembodied awareness that was hard to understand, as it did not translate in his mind like any of his other senses. It was a sixth sense, and thus indescribable with normal language; Alan tried to form words in his mind to describe the feeling, but it was like trying to explain color to the blind or music to the deaf.  He did not see these presences or feel them or hear them, they simply were, part of the nature of reality that somehow manifested itself within Alan¡¯s consciousness. When Alan closed his eyes it made no difference, the sense remained in his mind, a dim awareness of everything around him.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Alan  began to wonder if  Eve created his minimap with this sixth sense, as the range of it was identical to the range shown on his interface.  As he thought about it more, Alan realized this was the best analog he could come up with, for it really was like a minimap found in a video game interfaced directly with his brain.


    A message popped up:


    [ You have gained a new ability, Detect Presence! +25 Perception]


    Alan recalled the Lord of the Abyss¡¯s words about presence, and briefly wondered how he could hide his presence.


    FOLLOW.


    What, but I just-


    The Trainer took off at a sprint, racing into the dense jungle foliage. Scrambling, Alan began running after it, concentrating on following the Trainer¡¯s presence.


    Eve frantically tried to categorize and analyze threats that appeared, ranging from unknown plants to small critters to large beasts to possible resources. Alan focused on where his foot would land next, completely unused to the uneven jungle footing.


    The mad dash forward  continued for a few minutes, the Trainer finally slowing down as a number of other players and Trainers began popping into view, all waiting in a large clearing. With a quick glance Alan noted that Aurora, Thiago and S were among the other players. There were perhaps eight others, three of which Alan was only aware of because of his new Detect Presence ability; while he could tell where these players were located, he could not tell what they looked like.


    Panting, Alan stepped forward, trying to figure out why everyone had stopped. Before him he saw a thicket of tall pine trees, so dense that it was impossible to see a few yards beyond the forest¡¯s edge, the tall trees blocking out all light. Bizarrely, there seemed to be strands of a translucent substance stretching from branch to branch, tree to tree; it shined in vivid colors as light hit it. The strands seemed to be placed at steady intervals, with almost perfect geometric precision, like-


    A spiders web, Eve supplied, but it is spherical rather than circular. Designed to trap from all directions, rather than one.


    The Trainers then spoke as one, though Alan¡¯s Trainer spoke into his mind.


    ¡°The first to reach the center may claim the prize, and shall be awarded one Rogue Commendation. Begin.¡±


    Half the players suddenly started sprinting forward, the other half waiting to see what would happen. This time, Trainers followed players rather than the other way around.


    Alan chose to remain waiting, watching matters as they progressed.


    What¡¯s a Rogue Commendation? he asked his Trainer.


    Ten are required to complete the Second Phase of your education. Enough questions, I am no Teacher.


    Alan nodded, moving up to the edge of the forest to follow the players¡¯ progress. Most elected to try to maneuver around the strands of webs, moving about with surprising dexterity.


    Alan watched as Thiago tripped, trying to move too quickly in his suit. He fell forward, and his right arm momentarily touched a web. Immediately, Alan detected a dozen new presences. They converged upon Thiago, small brown furry creatures racing along strands of webbing, moving faster than Alan could follow. They leapt out at Thiago together, who managed to deflect a few. But as soon as the first creature physically touched him, Thiago fell to the floor, unconscious.


    The creatures began rapidly spinning webs around Thiago, cocooning him in white webbing, but before they could drag the cocoon back into their lair Thiago¡¯s Trainer grabbed him, and darted back towards the Student Center. The creatures retreated to their original hiding places, their presences disappearing from Alan¡¯s awareness.


    Everyone who saw this occurrence froze, and players begun to move forward more slowly with much greater care. Still, Alan saw that many were venturing further and further into the darkness, where it was almost impossible to see where there was webbing.


    A player a few hundred yards forward turned a bright light on, trying to illuminate their path. There was a sudden yell, and then the light was quenched. No Trainer emerged, making Alan uncertain whether it was because the player had been killed instantly, or if they were still fighting.


    One player, wearing a bulky mechanical suit chose a different option. Two narrow nozzles emerged underneath their wrists, and out of each emerged brilliant blue flame. The player strode forward, burning all before him, stepping through unquenched flames without a worry in the world. Alan thought he could hear mad cackling.


    This strategy seemed to work fairly well, with the player making steady progress easily, when suddenly a spiked carapace emerged out of the ground directly beneath them. The player was flung into the air, giant insect mandibles reaching out, biting through the armor, into their leg. The player¡¯s HP fell by 40%.


    The insect took another massive bite, and the player¡¯s HP pool was further halved. They cried out in pain, and yelled that they gave up. Their Trainer darted forward, easily knocking the massive beetle-like creature to the ground. They grabbed the player, calmly walking out of the forest, ignoring the giant insect. The monstrosity rained blow after blow onto the Trainer, but each attack didn¡¯t even leave a scratch, numerous 0¡¯s appearing as damage above the Trainer¡¯s head.


    Figuring that it could do nothing more, the insect burrowed underground once more. Alan noticed a single strand of webbing that emerged from its belly.


    What the fuck was all that? Alan asked Eve.


    Those were guardians of the nest, it seems. Enough dawdling about, we should proceed forwards lest another reach the center first.


    Are you crazy? Why would I ever go in¡ª


    To complete this challenge and gain the rewards for completing it, of course.


    Alan took a deep breath, trying to settle his thoughts. Right. This was just a game. The giant, freaky insects couldn¡¯t cause him actual harm. They would just inflict pain and cause nightmares for the foreseeable future. He had never liked bugs.


    Alan began walking forward, carefully following a simple path outlined by Eve. At first he had little trouble avoiding the webbing, but it became more difficult to find a path as the trees grew denser and the light began to dim.


    Eventually, Alan came to a standstill. There was no path forward. Calmly, Alan regarded his surroundings, trying to figure out what to do next. In the distance he could hear the noises of a battle, and saw brief bursts of light as energy weapons were fired off.


    Try your various types of vision, Eve suggested.


    Alan hesitated, wondering how the experimental cybernetic eye implant Phantom created was supposed to help him here. All it did was show him various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, which, while cool, wasn¡¯t as helpful as Alan imagined it to be. Still, Alan hadn¡¯t really gotten to use the special program Phantom had written, but it wouldn¡¯t be helpful here¡­


    Just do it.


    Fine.


    Focusing his mind, Alan began to filter between the various spectrums, seeing very little at first. Then, as he switched to Ultraviolet Vision, the world suddenly exploded in color, an electric blue web that took up the entirety of his vision, oddly illuminating his surroundings.


    How¡ª Alan began to ask Eve.


    These insects had to see somehow, didn¡¯t they?


    Examining his new view of the world, Alan noted a number of strands of web didn¡¯t in fact glow. Hesitantly, but at Eve¡¯s behest, Alan prodded one. He waited. Nothing happened. Letting out a deep breath, Alan continued, making sure to only touch these dark strands.


    A few minutes passed, Alan slowly making progress forwards. The desolate forest began to tingle with life; worker drones best compared to giant ants went about harvesting some sort of fungus. The horse-sized drones moved in and out of large holes in the ground, some carrying web-wrapped prey. Every so often one of the tiny furred assassin-spiders would flash by, surfing along a thread of the web. They blazed with ultraviolet light, burning up with energy as they moved about. There had been no sign of another player for a while. Alan felt like he should be coming close to the center.


    Another few minutes passed. The amount of activity began to lessen, the trees and webbing growing less dense. Then Alan came to a stop. Before him was a clearing; he had walked through the entirety of the forest.


    What? But, that means we walked through the center. There wasn¡¯t anything there, just¡­ Oh shit, we have to go down into the holes, don¡¯t we?


    That seems likely, Eve replied.


    Alan sighed, then looked around him. The only other presence he detected was his Trainer¡¯s, who, despite its bulkiness, somehow managed to completely escape the insects¡¯ notice. Alan decided to take a break, resting his legs and recharging his armor¡¯s energy before making the next attempt. If another player managed to reach the center, so be it. It would just mean that he didn¡¯t have to go into the underground colony that held who knew what.


    ***


    As Alan crawled down the tunnel, doing his best to ignore the giant insect right in front of him, he was grateful that he wasn¡¯t claustrophobic. If he was, he would have been really fucking scared instead of just scared. The fact that the tunnel seemed to be narrowing, rather than expanding, wasn¡¯t helping things either. The brightly lit webbing, which continued down into the tunnel, was getting harder to  avoid.


    I can no longer guarantee your safety, Traveler. Proceed with caution, the Trainer said.


    Great, I¡¯ll start paying attention then, Alan replied, as he leapfrogged over a large tangle of web. The Trainer didn¡¯t answer.


    Alan continued crawling forwards, trying to avoid getting any more dirt inside his power armor. He¡¯d thought that power armor, being a highly advanced technologically, should stop something as simple as dirt from getting in, but it turned out if you tilted your wrists at just the wrong angle¡­


    Stop, Eve said.


    Alan froze. He tried to scan his surroundings as best he could. There was dirt below him. There was dirt above him. There was dirt behind him. There was probably dirt in front of him, but he would probably need to check to be sure.


    Never mind, Eve said.


    What do you mean, never mind?


    An anomaly, nothing more.


    Look, is there something I should be worried about? Like, the Trainer, which we¡¯ve seen take massive hits without a scratch, just informed us that it couldn¡¯t guarantee our safety. Maybe we should just call this a loss, go back and¡ª


    Continue. It was nothing.


    Alan sighed, then crawled forwards some more. He finally emerged into a large cavern with various tunnels that lead to who knows where. In the center of the cavern was a glistening lake, glowing with infused energy. Larvae sat at its edge, switching between drinking from the lake and eating prepared globules of food, carried to them by the drones.


    If the dead bodies were any indication, there had been a battle here. Whoever had made it this far had killed a number of the large beetle-like guardians before falling to the swarms. Everything seemed to be proceeding as normal now, though Alan had no idea what normal was for a giant-mutated-hybrid- insect colony.


    Based upon our travel, the center of the forest should be in the direction of the tunnel on our far right, Eve informed Alan. Alan followed Eve¡¯s advice, as always, taking the highlighted path.


    He continued past numerous gigantic beetle guards with large spiked carapaces, noting a few that were capable of flight. He continued past more larvae rooms, and rooms with resting brown-furred assassins. Now that he could get a better look at them, Alan saw that they just looked like cat-sized tarantulas that pulsed with glowing energy. Nothing to worry about.


    Alan then finally came to the final room, the central room, the place where the treasure was supposed to be. It was completely filled with a webbing, branching outwards from a grey stone about the size of a basketball. Alan saw no path with dark threads, the entire room  was alight.


    Charge forwards and pick up the stone, Eve commanded Alan.


    But, I¡¯m sure to set off the trap, whatever it is, and who knows what kind of monster lives here. There¡¯s sure to be a queen insect, right? I mean there¡¯s always a queen.


    Do it.


    Alan took a deep breath, really wondering about Eve¡¯s sanity, and his own. Screw it. He leaped forwards as far as he could, landing on a thread of the web. Immediately, hundreds of presences began swarming in towards Alan. He pushed forward with all his might, activating hypercognition as he felt numerous creatures leap out and bite at him.


    Alan managed to dodge the first few, but they simply moved too fast. He was so close, a few feet away from the stone. Alan felt his conscious begin to fade, but he willed himself to continue forwards just a few more steps. He fell forwards, hand outstretched, and managed to lay a finger upon the stone.


    Welcome to the Academy, the Trainer said. Alan blacked out.


    Author¡¯s Longer Note:


    After much deliberation, I¡¯ve decided to make some semi-major revisions which will hopefully help the book; I won¡¯t go back and change past chapters but I also want to see how people feel about the following:


    1. I¡¯m going to kill off (never introduce) DaLong, Aphrodite, MadMerlin and KingArthur. They just didn¡¯t really add much to the story/overall plot, and this way I hopefully have more room to develop Thiago, Ace, Kitana and Daisy.


    2. The whole Game determines real life revelation speech is going to be given by Icewolf at the very beginning of the book rather than the senator at the start of the Tutorial. (It¡¯ll also be the government censoring the information rather than the Administrators. This establishes the precedent that those in control of a world are allowed to censor information to some degree.)


    3. The Tutorial will also help set up Capture Points and better demonstrate how they work in a slightly different 2nd round.


    Possible change I¡¯m wondering if I should make: Marks are just worth their market value (100k for platinum), and you lose % of overall net-worth when you die (including credits and marks invested/money in the bank/items possessed). There seems to be a fair amount of confusion surrounding the whole marks exchange for credits. As it stands now, marks are only given by Administrators as quest/task rewards, they are not purchasable from them. As a result, it really does make 0 sense why anyone would ever carry around credits and not marks.


    tl;dr: I¡¯m changing pieces of the story and want feedback.

 Running in Circles 3.3

    Author¡¯s note: Here¡¯s a bunch of sort of thought exercises I decided I¡¯d share. Feel free to skip them if they aren¡¯t your thing. I might put one at the start of each chapter. I might not. Tell me what you think.


    What¡¯s your favorite game?


    I don¡¯t know, maybe some RPG.


    Why?


    Because it was fun, I guess¡­ more fun than anything else.


    Why?


    Because it took me away, it gave me purpose. I was able to craft the story, to change lives. I was part of the game.


    Aren¡¯t your part own universe? Real life?


    No. Not really.


    Are you sure?


    Okay, well, I mean, I am, and I could. Help, that is. But it seems like it would be too much effort, with no reward. How would I know if I was really changing anything?  Games are discrete; there are clear steps, goals. Reach this level, slay the monster, rescue that princess. It makes sense.


    It¡¯s attainable?


    I guess.


    ***


    How do you keep track of so many variables?


    Scope.


    Really? That¡¯s it?


    Yes.


    ¡­


    Can you explain further?


    Everything is relevant. Just keep track of what is, and what is not.


    But how do you know if something is relevant?


    If it has sufficient weight to change the equations, it¡¯s relevant.


    The equations?


    The rules, the laws. Why what happens happens. The laws of the world.


    The laws of the world? What, are they in the manual?


    They are, if you know where to look.


    ***


    What happens afterward?


    Afterward?


    After the conflict.


    There will be another.


    So that¡¯s it?


    Probably. Why? Do you want more?


    Maybe.


    Progress will be made.


    Sure, sure.


    ¡­


    It¡¯s not enough, is it?


    Who knows. Concentrate on the matter at hand.


    Very well.


    ***


    Do you sleep?


    I do, in a way.


    What do you dream of?


    I usually don¡¯t dream.


    Usually?


    Usually. There have been a few exceptions.


    And what did you dream of then?


    I¡¯m not really sure. Perceptions. An awakening. Glowing, scrawled numerals that I couldn¡¯t hope to decipher.


    Weird.


    Yes.


    ***


    Do you believe in God?


    I suppose I believe in a god.


    Oh? What god?


    Why, whoever made this universe, of course. Aren¡¯t they a god?


    Maybe. But what about God?


    I don¡¯t know. Depends on how you define God.


    The standard conception of God.


    No. I don¡¯t believe in that God.


    Mmm¡­


    ¡­


    No, that¡¯s wrong.


    What?


    There may be a God. There may not. We can¡¯t know.


    So it¡¯s unknowable?


    Yes.


    I agree, but then why do so many argue?


    Ask them.


    ***


    What are your morals?


    My morals?


    Yes.


    I suppose I¡¯m what you would call a utilitarian.


    And that is?


    Someone who acts in such a way to cause net positive effect.


    And what is considered positive?


    Our  survival, for one. The list goes on.


    Try to go on.


    Well, I suppose you¡¯d give different things different weights, all which would depend on the circumstances. You¡¯d then try to see what results would come from each action. Of course, since not all is knowable, you¡¯d have unknowns, and would have to use probabilities to try to estimate them. Then, depending on whether or not the action is time sensitive, you may have to use less efficient algorithms to try to figure things out. That¡¯s how I¡¯d explain it, I guess.


    Okay.


    ***


    Why?


    Why what?


    Why all the questions?


    To learn.


    But to what end?


    Does learning need an end?


    It should, shouldn¡¯t it?


    I suppose.


    What end do you think it has?


    Knowledge?


    Just knowledge?


    Well, you would use the knowledge. I don¡¯t know how, it would depend on the nature of the knowledge.


    Of course. I suppose that¡¯s why I question, to learn the nature of knowledge.


    So you¡¯re developing your own epistemology? That¡¯s scary.


    Why?


    I don¡¯t know¡­


    ***


    What is real?


    What?


    There is always this distinction: real life, the Game. What makes real life real?


    Matter, I guess.


    But the Game effects matter, who gets what. Doesn¡¯t that make it real?


    Well, in a way, sure. But we aren¡¯t actually physically here, you know?


    No, I don¡¯t know. What do you mean here?


    ¡­


    Like, imagine you have some variable, that¡¯s imaginary. Actually, think of i, the square root of negative one. That¡¯s imaginary, right?


    Actually, imaginary numbers do exist. It¡¯s a misnomer.


    Ok, well, bad example. But do you get what I¡¯m trying to say? Imagine something. That¡¯s imaginary, it isn¡¯t real. Actually have something, and it is real. The Game is just a massive exercise in imagination.


    How do you know the real world isn¡¯t such an exercise?


    Well¡­ we don¡¯t, do we? That¡¯s what that movie was about.


    Why isn¡¯t the Game real, then?


    ¡­


    ***


    Would you kill?


    What?


    Would you take an innocent life to continue playing the Game?


    No, of course not.


    Really? So you would give up the Game, never play again.


    ¡­


    Answer. Would you kill?


    ¡­


    I don¡¯t know.


    Maybe.


    ***


    Alan stared at the Administrator that had appeared in the Student Center. The tests had been a bit nerve racking, but were simple with Eve¡¯s help. It had been like having an answer key to every question; Alan just copied over the answers.


    For the most part, Alan could follow along with Eve¡¯s solutions, though a few questions made little sense. Still, if he ever did need help he could just have Eve give him the answer. What did it matter if he couldn¡¯t come up with the equations necessary to understand complex orbits or if he hadn¡¯t any clue about the nature of reality? That work was for computers and philosophers.


    Somehow, his Trainer had miraculously brought him out of the insect colony relatively unharmed; Alan had regained consciousness healing in a capsule. According to the Trainer Alan had been the first to reach the center and gain the ¡°prize,¡± netting him enough experience to reach level 300 and the Rogue Commendation he would supposedly need later.


    That brought Alan to the here and now. He had 477 ability points to spend, in addition to 1000 points he could gain by exchanging marks for ability points. He was a bit strapped for cash at the moment though, so would probably avoid the latter. After a bit of consideration, Alan decided he should start working towards meeting the requirements of his Advanced Revenant Scout Power Armor.


    While he could use the basic invisibility ability for over twelve hours at a time, Alan could only use the advanced stealth ability for five minutes. While no mission thus far had required extensive use of this advanced stealth ability, Eve noted that the trainers had a difficult time detecting Alan only when the advanced stealth ability was activated. The advanced ability, unlike the basic, allowed for Eve to mimic many sensations other than light.


    Meeting the requirements for the armor would allow Alan to keep basic invisibility on indefinitely, increase the time he could spend using the advanced stealth ability and decrease the amount of attention Eve had to focus on maintaining complete invisibility. Additionally, the abilities he still needed, Energy Efficiency (Advanced) and Revenant Training (Intermediate), would hopefully be useful elsewhere.


    Confirming his decision, Alan sent a message to the Administrator.


    Apologies, Traveler, but you may only spend ability points on stats while on Incipe, it replied.


    What? Alan sent.


    While in the Academy System, ability points and marks may be used to hire Teachers to gain and improve abilities. Abilities may not be directly purchased. Teachers are able to train a player¡¯s ability up to advanced, and teach select players unique class, racial or faction abilities. Certain Teachers even help players reach the master level of understanding.


    Wait, do you mean Trainers, like the ones that helped with that introduction?


    Negative. These teachers are qualified specialists gathered from throughout the Game universe. They are spread throughout the Academy System, with the majority of class-related ability teachers gathered on specific planets and stations. As a part of the rogue program, you will proceed to the planet Aenigma.


    So they¡¯re real people?


    Many of them are players, yes.


    Wait, so, you mean, the teaching hasn¡¯t even begun?


    On the contrary, the teaching has begun long ago, as we are always learning. However, it is true that you currently have no Teacher.


    Right, thanks.


    Alan looked around. Everyone else was busy studying for their own exams; the entire Student Center had a surprisingly college feel about it, albeit college during the height of finals, the arguably worst time of year. Alan shook his head, gazing forward; he didn¡¯t have time for errant thoughts or daydreaming. He had his next quest.


    Alan quickly moved to exit the building, back out into the wilderness. Alan had chosen to gather 100,000 credits worth of materials rather than undergo intense physical training; it would hopefully be quicker, less painful and more profitable.  He felt someone tap him on the shoulder.


    Surprised, he turned to find Aurora standing next to him, wearing what looked like a grey sweat suit. Despite its drab appearance, it did nothing to hide Aurora¡¯s beauty: her curves and bright eyes drew Alan¡¯s attention like a shining beacon.


    ¡°Hey, Alan. Can we talk?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Here?¡± He said.


    ¡°No, somewhere away from prying eyes and ears. Let¡¯s talk in my Room,¡± Aurora said, starting to walk down a corridor.


    Alan hurried after her, walking with her side-by-side. ¡°Your Room?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess you call yours your Home. I share a sort of joint virtual space with my parents and other family members, but we each have our own Room in the House. Or well, rooms, I guess, as no Room is actually just a room.¡±


    ¡°Other family members?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Aurora said, glancing at Alan, a hint of something in her eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve met one of them, Luna. She¡¯s a cousin.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re royalty too? I didn¡¯t realize,¡± Alan said.


    Aurora shook her head. ¡°No, I am not. My mother and I are more¡­ outcasts, I suppose. Rogue elements. We have a certain degree of status, but by no means are we part of the Royal Family. Let¡¯s hold off on such talk for now, we¡¯re almost to the capsule room.¡±


    ¡°Uh, right. How exactly am I getting to your Room?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Oh,  you¡¯ve never before been to another Home, have you?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll invite you, and it should appear in your list of teleport locations.¡±


    ¡°Um, isn¡¯t teleporting expensive?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Wait, you mean you haven¡¯t been to the Marketplace, or the Arcade? You¡¯ve only teleported within the physical universe of the Game?¡± Aurora stopped, staring at Alan.


    Alan stopped walking as well, glancing away briefly. ¡°Um, yeah? Why, what else is there?¡±


    ¡°Entire universes! A thousand experiences better than this¡± ¡ªAurora gestured about at the players hunched over, studying¡ª¡°Why do you think everyone is working so hard? To get paid so we don¡¯t have to deal with all this. You haven¡¯t used any of the forms of entertainment? None of the virtual novels or custom worlds?¡±


    Alan shook his head. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. Isn¡¯t that what the Game is, your entertainment?¡±


    ¡°What!? No. The Game is¡­ the Game is what I suppose you¡¯d consider a job. No one spends their free time enjoying the Game. There¡¯s so many other, better, things to do.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t that the best type of job, one you really enjoy doing?¡± Alan asked, smiling.


    ¡°I suppose. I can see why you¡¯ve been able to log so many training hours, though, if you¡¯ve been ignorant of all that the Game really has to offer. I thought you were a machine! This explains things. Once we¡¯re done at the Academy, we should go shopping at the Marketplace, at the very least. I can¡¯t imagine the state your Home is in.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay,¡± Alan said. Aurora nodded, then walked into the capsule room. Alan followed behind her.


    Such activity will most likely be wasteful, resulting in loss of training time and credits, Eve sent. Many sources site entertainment within the Game to be highly addictive and should thus be avoided.


    Shut up, Alan replied. He stepped into a capsule.


    ***


    ¡°Wow, this is nice,¡± Alan said, looking about what appeared to be the living room. It was nicely decorated, the walls and ceiling painted to match a dark blue night sky. A smattering of furniture was strewn about the room, and Alan found himself sitting next to Aurora. Though the whole situation felt a bit surreal to Alan, the overall effect of the room was calming. It was like sitting beneath the stars.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it,¡± Aurora said, smiling at him. Alan blushed, glancing up; he watched as a shooting star streaked by on the ceiling. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t paint.


    ¡°Um, right. So what is it that you wanted to talk about?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Ah, I was the one who asked you over, wasn¡¯t I?¡± Aurora said softly. She turned, looking at a wall.


    Alan waited.


    ¡°Tell me, Alan, how strong of a player do you think you are?¡± Aurora asked.


    ¡°Me? Well, honestly, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m that strong at all, you or Kitana would definitely beat me in a fight. Still, I was surprised to find the other day that I¡¯m apparently already in the top 100,000 or so players from Earth.¡±


    ¡°Beat you in a fight?" Aurora repeated. "In a clear one on one duel, where I know your starting position, I suppose. Even then, though, I have the feeling you have been holding back. Enough about that, though, I¡¯m not here to interrogate you about your abilities or anything like that. I just wanted to¡­ Well, I guess I just wanted some advice.¡±


    ¡°Advice? From me? About what?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Well, how to become a better player, of course!¡± Aurora replied. ¡°You were the first to complete the first Rogue trial in at least a couple years, and your training speed is astonishing.¡±


    ¡°Huh? How¡¯d you figure out I completed it?¡±


    ¡°Well, you did disappear right before the trial started, and were the only rogue candidate not visibly present at the clearing. You also were returned to the Academy Center right after people were told someone had reached the center.¡±


    ¡°Well, sure, but it could''ve been any of the invisible participants that finished it, not necessarily me.¡±


    ¡°Any of the invisible participants?¡± Aurora asked. ¡°What? How many others were there?¡±


    ¡°Um, three others that I detected. There could''ve been more,¡± Alan said after consulting with Eve.


    ¡°So eight, not including yourself?¡± Aurora asked. Alan nodded. ¡°Well, I suppose that makes me feel slightly better.¡±


    ¡°Better? About what?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see? No, it is clear you don¡¯t¡­ ¡± Aurora murmured. ¡°Alan, do you know how long I¡¯ve spent training, toiling away in virtual simulations instead of outside playing like other children? My entire life has been devoted to becoming the best possible player. Yet, here you are, with no training for the Game, achieving impossible results.


    ¡°The information that you¡¯ve brought the guild on the Abyss Labyrinth, the map, do you realize how beneficial that was? I heard my mother talking about raising you to the rank of Knight! And here you are, already done with the exams and a Rogue Commendation under your belt.¡±


    ¡°Um, thanks,¡± Alan said, looking down at his lap. He paused, then looked up. ¡°But, well, I think it really has been luck, you know? Like the challenges I¡¯ve faced have been suited for the abilities I¡¯ve gained thus far. And my class has really been the reason I''ve been able to train so quickly. I only finished that spider challenge  because of the spider''s dependence on their web to detect intruders. I¡¯m sure you would''ve done just as well in any other challenge.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Maybe,¡± Aurora said. ¡°So then, I guess you don¡¯t have any game-breaking tips for me?¡±


    ¡°Um, no, not really,¡± Alan said. ¡°Honestly, if anything, I think you¡¯re the amazing one.¡± Aurora gave a half-smile. ¡°No, really! I mean, your ability to lead, your amazing control of your powers, it¡¯s breathtaking. Also, you clearly know the various social circles in the Game, and that¡¯s what most of being a Rogue is really about, right? Figuring out other people, what they want and who they are, not sneaking past giant mutant spiders. And I¡¯ve never been great in social situations, so, well¡­¡±


    Aurora smiled, a genuine smile, Alan knew. Innocent and pure, it filled his heart with a strange feeling¡­


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Aurora said.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alan said. ¡°Just, one thing that occurs to me, feel free to ignore it, but, well, I think the one thing that has kept me motivated, kept me going strong, has been my enjoyment of the Game, you know? You just told me that you think of the Game as like a job, a task. I think you really need to enjoy what you do, to really become the best. It has to be more than a hobby or a job, it has to become a passion, your life.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ I¡¯ll think about that,¡± Aurora said. ¡°We should probably get back. Don¡¯t get too far ahead of me, or I¡¯ll never live it down, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Alan said, smiling.


    ***


    Alan stood outside, looking about. Wilderness spread out in every direction; trees, grass and other forms of nature indistinguishable by Alan.


    Gather 100,000 credits worth of resources. Right. Any ideas on how exactly to do that, Eve?


    Uncertain. We could return to the arachnid colony and-


    No. We are not going back there.


    Very well, then I suggest exploring. We will hunt down any promising beasts and I will continually scan for any sort of precious metals or herbs that we may find. Based upon our initial jog outside, the area nearby the Student Center has been picked clean, so the further we get away the better. At the same time however a better worn trail would be significantly less dangerous than the unknowns, as we are still  unaware what trials other, non-rogue players met with.


    Hmm, maybe try to find the tracks of a single person, and follow that?


    Very well.


    Eve quickly highlighted a path for Alan to follow. He activated his armor¡¯s basic invisibility, then began jogging, wondering what he¡¯d find.


    An hour or so later, Alan found himself sweating profusely, panting as he followed the other person, whoever they were, into an arid, desert climate. Gone were the trees, with their bright green leaves and shade. In their place were rocks, lots of rocks. There was also a smattering of plants, but it was still surprising how quickly the climate changed.


    Alan had yet to even see a glimpse of another living creature, and all Eve had found were a few medicinal herbs worth a couple hundred credits each. Maybe the other person was taking everything for themselves.


    Is there anything you can do to make it cooler? Alan asked Eve.


    Yes, but it would be a waste of energy. You are fine.


    Alan certainly didn¡¯t feel fine. His every breath was ragged, his throat dry like sandpaper. He kept stopping, taking sips of water, but his throat would turn bone dry a minute later.


    But he persevered.


    ***


    Alan heard the player he was following before he detected their presence. A few soft thuds sounded in the distance, and as Alan continued forwards the sound reverberated, growing with intensity. Eve¡¯s best guess at the cause of the sound was a rock slide; it certainly sounded as though two rocks were being smashed together repeatedly.


    A few small dots appeared on the barren horizon, and Alan immediately zoomed in. He found Ace, wearing his heavy power armor, trading blows with sand-colored predators that blended in with their surroundings.


    Stone Wolves, Eve sent. Level 500 creatures highly resistant to almost all forms of physical attacks. The stones their bodies are made of are worth a fair bit as a building resource.


    Alan felt a surge of energy as he began approaching the battle. As he came closer he saw that there were three wolves fighting Ace, all above 90% hp, taking turns to attack from various angles, darting in and out with deft agility.


    Ace fought with dark grey power gauntlets pulsing with energy. Each time one of his fists connected with a wolf there would be a sudden boom, and the wolf would be blasted backwards with a giant cloud of dirt. But then the wolf would simply stand back up unharmed, missing a fraction of a percent of damage.


    As Alan grew closer he could see Ace¡¯s movements were slowing. Eve estimated he had 35% of his stamina and 60% shield energy remaining. Alan unholstered Orion¡¯s Cores, taking one pistol in each hand.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Wait, Eve sent.


    Why? Alan asked. He got no response, but waited.


    The stone wolves, sensing Ace¡¯s weakness, all charged in together. Ace¡¯s turned and advanced at the nearest wolf. He swung a fist and it glowed red, striking a wolf on the bridge of its nose. The wolf crashed into ground with a resounding thud, its HP dropped to 70%. The other two wolves leapt at Ace¡¯s back.


    Now, Eve said, and Alan began firing. It was difficult, but Alan managed to control each pistol individually, striking the two wolves heads at the same time. Alan hit one wolf¡¯s eye, and it stumbled, HP fallen by 5%, but the other raced through the laser fire. The stone wolf leapt then clawed downwards, striking Ace, bringing him down to his knees. Ace¡¯s shields fell to 40%, flickering as dust swirled about him.


    Alan continued firing at the two stone wolves, but each hit did even less damage than Ace¡¯s blows. Ace stood up with a small nod at Alan, then charged at the wolf he had previously struck. The wolf tried to get up, but Ace pummeled it back into the ground, unleashing a torrent of blows.


    The two wolves began sprinting at Ace, then ran straight past him, towards Alan. They sensed easier prey.


    Careful, Eve sent. A single blow will fully deplete our shields.


    What!?Ace just took a solid blow and his shields only fell by 20%. And didn¡¯t you say these wolves were supposed to be immune to physical damage?


    Eve gave a mental shrug.


    Sighing to himself, Alan fired at the advancing wolves, trying to score additional critical hits. The wolves simply continued  charging, a few feet away. Their HP bars were still above 80%. They leapt at Alan, and Alan sidestepped diagonally in front of the right-hand wolf, narrowly dodging the wolf¡¯s stone molars. He brought his two pistols right in front of the wolf¡¯s eyes, then fired. The two lasers flashed forwards, striking the wolf¡¯s pupils. It let out a yelp of pain, falling to the ground pawing at its eyes.


    The other wolf turned, preparing to launch another attack at Alan. At this range, however, Alan was able to get off two more shots, blinding it. He then simply danced around the two blinded wolves, firing his lasers whenever they were off cooldown.


    Sensing their imminent defeat, the two wolves let out mournful howls, then began running away. Unknowingly, they ran straight into Ace¡¯s hands, and were met with finishing blows. Two messages popped up:


    [x2 Bonus XP for slaying an enemy over 200 levels higher]


    [Level up!]


    ¡°Thanks for the help,¡± Ace called out, ¡°but you should know it wasn¡¯t really needed.¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t look that way to me,¡± Alan said.


    Ace shrugged. ¡°I still had some tricks up my sleeve.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± Alan said. An awkward silence followed.


    ¡°So, what?¡± Ace finally asked. ¡°Why are you here? Following me?¡±


    ¡°What!? No! I just came here trying to gather resources to complete the quest, like you. My AI picked up tracks, and I followed them; I didn¡¯t know they were yours.¡±


    ¡°So you just follow random tracks, see where they lead?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah.¡±


    Ace shook his head. ¡°Whatever. Anyways, I can¡¯t carry more than two stone wolves at a time, so you can have the third corpse. The Administrator at the Student Center buys them for around 5,000 credits each.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but, don¡¯t the corpses, like, despawn?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t loot them, you can harvest bodies. Carrion feeders would get the one I couldn¡¯t carry by the time I returned anyways.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the third wolf then, thanks. By the way, actually, I¡¯ve been wanting to ask you something¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Do you know the United World Government is doomed?¡± Alan asked.


    Ace froze, he was in the middle of examining one of the wolf¡¯s corpses. He then looked up sharply, staring at Alan, his lips pursed. Ace then slowly turned his head to look about, ensuring there was no one around them. He then stood up, opening his mouth¡ª


    ¡°Actually, wait,¡± Alan said. ¡°Before you say anything, let me make sure of something.¡±


    Eve, activate Program1.


    Activating.


    Alan closed his eyes, then opened them. The world itself, and his immediate surroundings, didn¡¯t look much different. But the sky had changed; it was now a whirl of light for Alan, streaks of all colors of the rainbow rushing by overhead. And there was a little pinpoint of light in front of him, coming from Ace, a faint yellow beacon.


    ¡°Ace?¡± He asked, but Ace was backing away, adopting a combat stance.


    ¡°What are you doing Alan? Your eyes have turned silver and are all mechanical. Are you a cyborg?¡± Ace asked.


    ¡°What? No! I¡¯m just checking for bugs, nothing more, and I think that you would like to know that you have an unkown device planted on the back of your leg!¡± Alan said.


    Deactivate, he thought, and Eve stopped Program1.


    Ace paused, seeming to calm down a bit once Alan''s eyes returned to normal. He reached behind him, feeling his legs.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s inside your power armor, not on the surface,¡± Alan said after Ace found nothing. Ace frowned, but chose to trust Alan.


    ¡°No funny business as I take off my power armor, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alan said. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll even disarm myself.¡± He threw Orion¡¯s Cores at Ace¡¯s feet. Ace stared at the pistols, then shook his head.


    ¡°That was foolish of you, never leave yourself unarmed.¡± Ace kicked the weapons back, and began taking his power armor off. Alan shrugged, picking up his weapons. Eve would have warned him if throwing his weapons a way was a bad idea.


    It was a bad idea, but it wouldn¡¯t put you in significantly more danger, Eve sent.


    Alan ignored Eve, trying to remember the beacon of light he saw. After a bit of rummaging about with Ace, they finally found the source. A small metal button, found behind padding within Ace¡¯s armor.


    ¡°A listening device,¡± Ace murmured. He then crushed it in his fingers.


    ¡°Wait, I can maybe track back to who¡¯s listening,¡± Alan cried out, but it was too late. The device was destroyed.


    ¡°Oh, how would you have done that?¡± Ace asked. ¡°How did you even know the device was there?¡±


    ¡°I mean, umm, with the right equipment, I could,¡± Alan said. ¡°And I found it with my eyes; they basically just scan for hidden devices.¡±


    Program1 does much more than that, Eve sent.


    Yes, but Ace doesn¡¯t need to know that, does he? Alan sent back. Phantom¡¯s invention still amazed him. The concept seemed sound, but Alan still had no idea how it all worked. Somehow, Program1 allowed Alan to see all communication signals. It opened up Alan¡¯s eyes to the entire electromagnetic spectrum and deciphered everything, from gamma rays to radio waves. It then showed Alan anything significant on top of the normal, visible spectrum of light. When Alan had first heard that, he was semi-impressed. But then he had thought about it more, and was blown away.


    It turned out these communication signals were used by almost everything, as Program1 was open to all electrical signals. Not only did that include messages that players sent, but any sort of device within the world that was interacting with space in any way that caused variation would cause electrical signals of some sort. And Program1 showed them. Simply put, Alan could scan for much more than listening devices; he could scan for everything. Alan had  a feeling that his Detect Presence ability worked in a similar way, but the ability only detected thinking things, at least as far as he was aware.


    Unfortunately, while Program1 could be used to detect all these signals, they couldn¡¯t be deciphered, or at least that was what Phantom thought. Eve thought differently, but she and Alan had failed to make any progress on that front. Program1 also cost far more energy to keep active, five a second, and Alan only had an energy pool of 400.


    ¡°So, then, I guess we can talk now,¡± Ace said after he put his armor back on.


    ¡°Um, right, yeah, there¡¯s nothing else listening on right now,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Okay, so let me skip ahead and guess what you¡¯re about to say. The United world Government is doomed, it¡¯s going to go bankrupt, the Haxlardians will take over everything, we need to jump ship. Does that sound about right?¡± Ace asked, stepping forwards, close to Alan.


    ¡°Um, yeah,¡± Alan said. He backed away a bit, looking down, then forced himself to look back up, into Ace¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Well, it might surprise you, but among the higher divisions, this is a well known fact. We are going bankrupt. But, you see, we aren¡¯t bankrupt yet. We still have a chance to bring this around, and that''s all we really need. This will mean bringing production up, increasing nearly every player in the United World¡¯s Government efficiency up 700%. But it can be done.¡±


    ¡°What? That¡¯s insane,¡± Alan said. ¡°There¡¯s no way you can do that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I agree with you,¡± Ace said. Alan stared at Ace, confused. He gave a lopsided smile. ¡°So there are other missions to make money, to explore other options. I can¡¯t tell you anything more¡­ but there is a chance. I''m exploring one.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think people deserve to know, though, that the numbers are showing that the UWG is going to go bankrupt within years?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Show the numbers? Since when did people believe in numbers? People don¡¯t trust numbers; they don¡¯t understand them, and won¡¯t follow them. The writing was on the wall about global warming and finite resources, but did people care? No. Projections and mathematical models are like prophecies. Peoples see them, they feel informed by them, but they never truly believe in them, and those that do believe strongly enough are labeled as fanatics. So you can tell everyone that the models say the UWG is doomed, and a few will panic, will jump ship, but most will just continue on. Because what else can they do?


    ¡°At least, that¡¯s my take on it,¡± Ace said. ¡°My superiors feel differently, so the this information is on lockdown. Personally, though, I could care less if the information was leaked¡­¡±


    ¡°Um, right,¡± Alan said. ¡°I would rather not piss off an entire government, though. Especially one that still has the resources of an entire solar system.¡±


    Ace shrugged. ¡°Your choice.¡±


    ¡°But, like, what about other options?¡± Alan asked. ¡°Like, what about the Legion of Man?¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Ace let out a hearty laugh, then looked over at Alan, who was staring at him open-mouthed. ¡°Wait, were you serious? The group is a joke. It¡¯s clear that their leaders have Haxlard backing, and are just being used to drain UWG resources faster.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± was all Alan said.


    ¡°Right, if you want to have any chance at helping out Earth, I suggest you get strong, and fast. A war is coming,¡± Ace said.


    ¡°What?¡± Alan asked, tensing up, suddenly worried. If Ace was part of the hidden war for Earth¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that the UWG will declare war on the Haxlardian Empire before they default on any loans,¡± Ace said. ¡°You know debt has specials rules once a war starts, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure, if the debtor defeats their debt holder the debt can be forgiven. But a single solar system with one inhabited planet against an entire empire that hasn''t lost a full scale war in the history of the Game? The UWG will be crushed, and then put in even greater debt for losing a war,¡± Alan said.


    Ace shrugged. ¡°You might be surprised who might join such a war. Anyways, is there anything else you wanted to talk about, or was that it?¡±


    ¡®Um, that was it,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s move out! Daylight is a-burning,¡± Ace said. He picked up two stone wolf corpses, then started jogging back to the Academic Center.


    Alan stopped to pick up the third stone wolf corpse. He lifted it up, then staggered, his legs almost giving way.


    Remember, the stone wolves are made out of a stone-like substance, and thus weight an average of about 100 kg, Eve sent.


    That¡¯s over 200 pounds! How is Ace carrying two of them so easily?


    He is stronger than you. Now hurry up and catch up with him, this will be good training.


    Groaning, Alan began running after Ace. He was immediately reminded how hot it was outside. The sun steadily beat down as Alan ran, his muscles aching. He jogged forward, unable to concentrate on anything but his muscles, the pain each step caused. The stone wolf grew heavier, weighing down on Alan¡¯s shoulders like a slab of rock.


    Then, slowly, the heat began to get to Alan. He felt hot, too hot, his throat completely dry. Unable to take the pain anymore, Alan threw the stone wolf¡¯s corpse to the ground. He collapsed to the floor, all of his energy vanishing.


    Weakly, Alan took out his water bottle.


    Stop, Eve sent. Get back up, and get back to running. Do not drink the water, it will likely cause you additional pain from cramps.


    Alan stared at the water bottle that he had just raised to his lips.


    I can¡¯t drink? He sent.


    You should not. You can rinse the water in your mouth and spit it out, but don¡¯t swallow.


    Alan did so, and it momentarily relieved his mind. But his throat still felt so dry.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Ace called out.


    ¡°Yeah, just taking a break,¡± Alan replied. Ace nodded, setting the two corpses down.


    ¡°Alright, I wouldn¡¯t mind a breather,¡± Ace said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Get up, you can keep going, run harder and faster.


    No, I don¡¯t think I can, Alan sent back. His mind felt weak, delirious, the heat was simply too much. Everything seemed like a haze, and a light headache was starting to form.


    Yes, you can, Eve sent back. Your body isn¡¯t even functioning at 60% of capacity, you can do much better, but are letting pain rule you. You are weak. Get up, and run. Or abandon the idea of becoming the best.


    But, I¡¯m just, so tired¡­


    GET UP, AND GO.


    Alan struggled to his feet, anger rising. He lifted up the wolf, and let out a silent scream.


    FINE, IF YOU WANT ME TO GO, I¡¯LL GO, he yelled at Eve. He began sprinting forwards with all his might, catching back up to Ace in seconds.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said to Ace, continuing forwards without looking back.


    Every step felt strangely light as Alan rushed forwards headfirst, back into the dense, humid jungle. But then the adrenaline high faded, leaving Alan feeling even weaker than before. Still he jogged forwards, putting one forward in front of another. It was just so hot¡­


    STOP, Eve suddenly yelled. Alan did so, thankful for a reason to stop moving forward. His mind felt blank, there was nothing but overbearing heat. Then suddenly, there was a rush of cool air filtering through his power armor. It was nice, but Alan still felt hot, so hot. Alan collapsed onto the floor, and lost consciousness.


    ***


    When Alan opened his eyes, he found himself back in the Student Center, lying on a bed. He still felt weak.


    What happened? Alan asked.


    You suffered from a heat stroke, Eve replied.


    What? How did that happen!? Shouldn¡¯t you have detected it?


    Strenuous activity in the heat can cause exertional heat stroke, which can happen even in the young and healthy. You were mentioning signs associated with the illness.


    Yes I was, which is why I wanted a break. Wait, this is all your fault. The only reason it was so hot was because you wanted to preserve shield energy.


    Well, that seemed optimal in the case that a battle might occur, and would help train you. All of my calculations indicate that you should not have suffered from heat stroke given the amount of exertion you performed and heat in the suit. My conclusion is that your heightened mental state caused you to use up for more energy in a small amount of time, leading us to our current predicament.


    MY heightened mental state!? If I recall correctly, the only reason I was so angry was because YOU wouldn¡¯t let me rest. I clearly needed that rest, too!


    There was a pause.


    Yes, Eve finally sent. I apologize for not taking this possibility into account, and will strive to take such human limitations into account in the future.


    Thanks, I guess, Alan sent. So, how did I get back here?


    After you collapsed, Ace dropped one of the stone wolves, and carried you back instead. He said it was to pay back his debt for finding the bug in his power armor. The two stone wolf corpses have likely been scavenged by now. Additionally, due to your heat stroke, it is recommended that you not exert yourself  physically for a day or two.


    Oh, Alan said. His body did feel fairly weak. So what do we do then?


    I believe I should teach you what was in the tests, with the hope that you can better communicate the status of your mind and desires. While I am able to access the status of your body through various physical indicators, I am unable to reach into your mind, truly feel life as you experience it. Thus, we require better communication, and to communicate, you need to know the proper words¡­


    Alright, Alan said, laying down, looking up at the ceiling. Let¡¯s get to it.


    ***


    Two days later, Alan stood outside the Student Center, feeling much better. He also had a better grasp of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. He had learned far more than he thought possible in such a short time span, and felt happy about the progress he made. The calculations Eve constantly ran in the background of his head made slightly more sense now¡­ or at least he recognized a few more variables. That was progress.


    Where to now? Alan asked Eve.


    I believe you know the answer, Eve replied.


    Alan sighed. He hated bugs.


    But, what if they¡¯re in an uproar after what happened? Alan asked. Won¡¯t they have perhaps improved their defenses? Also, after receiving that stupid prize, is there even anything else of value there?


    Assuredly there is plenty of value. However, I believe there is a fairly easy and lucrative resource within the arachnid colony.


    And what¡¯s that?


    Do you remember the cavern with glistening lake?


    Yeah, it glowed like it was full of energy.


    Well, I believe that is a special type of enhanced water, capable of replenishing or even permanently increasing a player¡¯s psionic energy.


    Like a mana well.


    Yes. A few containers worth of the liquid will likely be worth 100,000 credits.


    What? Why did you have me go out and search for resources, if it was as easy as sneaking into someplace we¡¯ve snuck into before and taking some water!


    I wanted to further explore the planet, with the hopes of finding something particularly valuable. Additionally, we are likely being tested on our actions, and I wanted to prove that you were capable of great feats of strength. Now, however, we have fallen slightly behind. It would be best to finish this gathering resources task as soon as possible, perhaps even selling¡ª


    No. We aren¡¯t talking about that stupid prize, and since we decided not to sell it then, we aren¡¯t selling it now.


    Of course.


    Alan sighed, then acquired a few containers to hold the liquid. Then, he managed to sneak into the insect¡¯s underground base, just as easily as he had the first time. He filled up the two containers and, with a bit more trouble, made his way back to the Student Center.


    He handed over the two containers full of water.


    Thank you, Traveler. We will provide 20,000 credits for the Psionic Elixir (Rank C).


    Really? Alan asked.


    Yes. Alan sighed.


    ***


    Five trips and twelve hours later, Alan was back at the Student Center. He chose to keep one container full of elixir for himself, even though it had no effect on his own special brand of energy, cyber cognizance energy. The other he gave to Aurora, who was finishing up with her exams, to share with Kitana and Sidestep. It was time to leave this planet.


    Are you sure you wish to leave Incipe? the Administrator asked.


    Yes, yes I am, Alan said.


    Very well, please proceed to the capsule room and return to your Home.


    Return to my home? Why?


    You will be teleported to your next destination.


    Alright.


    Alan proceeded Home. Once there, he found one teleportation destination available to him, without a picture. It was titled: Capsule Room, Castle 1B, Aenigma, Academy System. Alan hit the teleport button.


    ***


    Alan stepped out of the capsule, looking around. The room looked like an ordinary capsule room, two rows of four grey ovals filled the room. A single Administrator stood in a corner of the room. Alan made a quick check of his surroundings, and detected nobody.


    Activating his power armor¡¯s basic invisibility, Alan walked over to the door. He reached to open it.


    A hand grabbed his wrist, appearing out of thin air. Despite the fact that this person was literally holding his hand, Alan could not detect their presence.


    ¡°Greetings, Traveler,¡± a disembodied male voice said. ¡°I am Teacher Cerberus, and I will be your Teacher. I will accept the payment of all your ability points.¡±


    ¡°You will be my Teacher?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes, I will be,¡± the voice answered.


    ¡°And why is that?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Because, now that I have laid my claim, no other Teacher within the system will teach you unless I allow it.  I am also the only Machine Lord Teacher in the system.¡±


    ¡°And you decided to teach me? Just like that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, after observing your actions on Incipe, I decided that I would teach you. You certainly need it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. You are trying too hard to learn and fight like other players. You are not them.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay,¡± Alan said, still bothered by this disembodied hand and voice.


    The voice seemed to grow incensed, and began speaking with increasing vigor.


    ¡°Most would-be heroes and warriors learn by instinct. They swing a sword a thousand times, get used to the feel, the rhythm. They do what feels right; you will not.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°No, for you will learn to act by calculation, not instinct. You will deal killing blows not because you¡¯ve practiced the action a thousand times before but because you know the likelihood of everything and anything that could be taken into account. Everything, from the best angle of attack to the properties of your weapon to the environment to the exact composition of metals of your enemy¡¯s armor will be calculated. By you.¡±


    ¡°By me,¡± Alan repeated.


    ¡°You will learn not to attack with all your might, but the right amount of force such that no energy is wasted. You will learn not to act based upon what seems right but what is right, the most efficient course of action possible.¡±


    ¡°Um, this sounds great and all, but isn¡¯t there a reason soldiers train on instinct?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They are only human. But you are in a new universe, Traveler, with new rules. Do you think any human¡¯s reaction speed is faster than yours with hypercognition activated? Of virtually any advanced mech?¡±


    ¡°Okay, but then why don¡¯t people go around sending out armies of mechs?¡±


    ¡°Price. The energy and cost of outfitting a single mech would be equivalent to a company of a hundred soldiers. They also don¡¯t respawn, don¡¯t level up and require considerable upkeep. But you will likely face many in the future.¡±


    ¡°What, so my instinct to shoot an enemy is wrong?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Let me give you an example. Your initial instinct would be to shoot any enemy in the head, correct? To destroy their brain? Well, there are hundreds of reasons not to shoot certain enemies in the head, ranging from specialized shields to alien physiology. You will learn when to aim for the head, and what part of the head to aim for. You will become a true Machine Lord, not some rogue playing at greatness.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you keep saying you, but don¡¯t you mean me and Eve, my AI?¡±


    ¡°No. I mean you.¡±


    Author''s Note:


    I''m so busy :(. Anyway, here''s the chapter. I know the end is a bit rushed, but I wanted to reach this point by the end of the chapter. In other news, I''ve decided to rewrite the beginning of the book, it''s just too slow, and as the first thing I wrote had lots of problems. I now anticipate a book release over winter break, probably early January.

 Not a Chapter (Hiatus)

    Hey guys, I''ve decided to take a couple month hiatus until the first book is published, for the following reasons in no particular order:


    1. I just don''t have time. I''m a senior at college and between other events/classes/my senior project/applying for jobs I''ve been quite stressed lately.


    2. I''ve barely made any progress revising while writing new chapters; I just can''t multitask that well.


    3.  I want to concentrate all my efforts on making the novel as good as I can. To be honest, this is probably the first project that I really, REALLY want to do well, and that means I want to give it my all.


    4. While I have an idea of where I want to go from the last chapter, I have no idea how I''m getting there. This time will help me think through and outline the rest of the Academy arc better.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    So, thanks for reading, my next update will hopefully be in mid-January with a link to the book, followed by new chapters :P.


    P.S. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, you have been a large part of what''s motivated me to want to write more and better.


    P.P.S. I think I''m going to start the novel with Alan''s initial wake up in the Game, and just have a more succinct prologue that condenses that whole first bit.


    P.P.P.S. I''ll still be checking on RoyalRoadl every now and then, so if you leave a comment or message me I''ll read it, sooner or later.

 Hacking? 3.4

    Author''s note: Welp. Procrastinating finals, and the manuscript for the book is currently in an editor''s hands, so I ended up writing this. Don''t plan on posting any more chapters until the book is out, but who knows.


    Alan paused, thinking over what he''d been told.


    "I think you may have the wrong player," he said. "Why should I trust a disembodied hand claiming to be a person I''ve heard nothing about?"


    A soft chuckle rang out. "Check your quests."


    Alan slowly opened up his quest screen, watching the hand for any sudden movements. The corrupted quest had rearranged itself. It now read:


    [Training:


    Accept Cerberus''s offer, idiot.


    Penalty for failure: Expulsion from the Academy.


    Rewards: Training and ???.]


    "Oh, um, well put that way I accept," Alan said.


    "Good, we can start moving on."


    Three new messages appeared:


    [477 Skill points deducted.]


    [Phase Two:


    Earn 10 Rogue Commendations. You may earn commendations by completing Rogue Challenges. Two commendations of another class type may be exchanged for one Rogue Commendation. Once you have acquired these commendations and the third phase of your education, you may proceed to Volta.


    Reward: With Phase Three completion, access to Volta granted.]


    [Phase Three:


    Master two skills.


    Reward: With Phase Two completion, access to Volta granted.]


    "Um, shouldn''t I need to finish Phase Two before Phase Three?" Alan asked.


    "Sure, but who cares about something as inconsequential as sequence? Follow me." The doors opened and the hand began floating along.


    "You''re not going to show yourself?" Alan asked. He looked out the doors to see a stone corridor that reminded him of a medieval dungeon, though the hallway was lit with luminescent light strips that glowed a dark blue rather than flaming torches.


    "Nope," Cerberus answered.


    Alan walked a few steps into the corridor then leapt forwards, reaching out for the arm that was connected to the hand. He found thin air.


    What? Alan asked. Eve had no answer.


    Another chuckle sounded, coming from who knew where.


    "I''m afraid you''ll have to discover who I am at some later time. It won''t be so easy as peeking behind a curtain of invisibility either," Cerberus said, the floating hand beginning to pick up speed as it floated along.


    "Okay, can you tell me about these Rogue Challenges then?" Alan asked, jogging to keep up with the hand. He passed by a number of intersections, each with different colors of light illuminating their path. It seemed clear that they were following the dark blue strips of light. Occasionally an additional light strip or two would join the dark blue, running in parallel, but the other lights soon branched off along a different path. A few paths were dark. Alan had a feeling that he''d have to figure his own way out of this place. Eve began building a color-coded mental map.


    "Nope," Cerberus said. "You''ll discover them sooner or later. If this is too difficult you can always go over to the Warrior planet and do the kill X, gather Y challenges."


    "For a teacher you aren''t very helpful."


    "Exactly. I''m here to teach, not help. And we''re here," Cerberus said from somewhere. The dark blue lights came to an end in front of a round metal door with a glowing blue dot at its center. Alan wondered what he''d find if he followed the lights backwards. He approached the doorway and a message appeared on it:


    [Customized Obstacle Course


    Designed by Cerberus


    Time to complete: Indefinite]


    The blue dot expanded until it covered the entire metal door, making it look like a portal to another dimension. Alan hesitated before going in.


    "What is the most important resource?" Cerberus asked.


    Alan paused.


    "Time," Cerberus said, "and you are wasting it." The hand disappeared, and before Alan could react a strong force pushed him towards the doorway. He stumbled forwards, through the portal, and found himself standing in the center of a familiar training room. It was a near replica of the training room at the Black Rose headquarters, the size of a large gymnasium rather than a small classroom, the floor an omnidirectional treadmill.


    Four doorways appeared in the middle of the walls. One was a blue portal Alan assumed would take him back. To Alan''s left a forest clearing could be seen, an urban environment to the right, and darkness ahead.


    "Lesson one: Control," Cerberus said, his voice echoing off the walls. "Proceed to the right." There was no sign of the hand anywhere.


    Alan took a step to the right, and a laser grid appeared, an array of crisscrossing red rays of light that covered the room. The grid of lasers grew denser as one approached any of the walls. An outline appeared and Alan followed it, jumping over a laser beam, narrowly avoiding a second beam when he landed.


    Eve began to show a pathway to the right door. Then the laser grid started shifting, moving about in random directions that made Eve''s path obsolete. Alan ducked under an incoming beam.


    "Precision is key, every movement must be exact," Cerberus said. "The best laid plans go to waste when they cannot be executed perfectly."


    The floor began moving about randomly as well, causing Alan to devote much of his attention on simply maintaining balance. All attempts to make it over to the right doorway disappeared as it took all of Alan''s effort to simply avoid the lasers. Eve''s shadow outlines became flickering chaos as each one was suddenly reset due to the random nature of the ever shifting laser grid and floor.


    "Assuming plans can even be made," Cerberus said. It sounded like he was enjoying himself.


    Eve, stop providing an outline when there''s too much randomness, they''re giving me a headache, Alan sent.


    Very well. The outlines disappeared. With a sigh of relief, Alan stepped to the right of an incoming beam, only to be struck from behind. There was a brief flash of pain, a bright flash of light, and Alan found himself standing at the center of the room once more. The lasers and floor stopped moving, apparently only starting once Alan did.


    "The problem with most tools is they become handicaps," Cerberus said. "Give a child a calculator and they forget how to add. Give a person an AI and they forget how to think."


    Alan moved to the right, trying to regain his sense of spatial awareness now that he no longer had the familiar outline to follow. It was a challenge. Alan found himself moving into a beam of light, resetting the room, time and time again.


    "Yet we would likely still be crawling in the mud without these tools. The key, then, is to know how to best use them," Cerberus said.


    "So how am I supposed to use Eve then?" Alan shouted as he narrowly evaded two laser beams.


    "Better," Cerberus answered. "You have been using Eve to show you what to do. That problem is hard, requiring much calculation; I''m surprised Eve has been managing as well as she has."


    "Well, what should she being doing instead?" Alan asked. Distracted, he was hit by a laser and let out a yelp of pain. He stood still so the laser grid wouldn''t start shifting.


    "Showing what is," Cerberus answered. "And no idleness, constant activity is a Machine Lord''s greatest strength. There is always more to learn, more to practice." The laser grid began moving about. Caught off guard Alan was quickly struck by a laser. When Alan restarted everything was already in motion. Alan swore as he avoided the nearby lasers.


    "Well, things have been going pretty well thus far," Alan said.


    "You''ve faced dumb, low level opponents in non-chaotic environments," Cerberus said. "Taking the heuristically optimal path is easy to anticipate. And even then you are unnecessarily limiting yourself; there will always be lag between what Eve tells you to do and what you can do."


    "So what then?" Alan asked.


    "How many times must I repeat myself you imbecilic time-wasting ape," Cerberus said. "You are having Eve evaluate what she thinks is best, trying to take everything into account. Not only is this ineffective planning, but it is slow. You need to start making active decisions. Make your own choices.


    "You may have Eve run background checks to make sure you don''t make a colossal mistake, but optimization is key. Act on your own based on information she provides."


    A slow realization began to come over Alan, or perhaps Eve, as he continued to dodge lasers. Eve began constructing a model of the present, of all the variables at hand. Not a simple picture, but a snapshot of reality, the equations of motion and gravity and energy woven into the model. Alan was amazed by his sudden awareness of where everything was, of its speed and direction, the model more detailed than any outline had ever been. There was so much information.


    Concentrating, Alan focused on his immediate surroundings. He began moving towards the exit, finally making progress. The model was amazing, showing him how much force he should exert to counteract the shifting floor, where each laser was. Each next step was obvious to Alan, the way ahead clear as day. He didn''t need an outline to show him what to do.


    As Alan approached the exit he learned what Cerberus meant by a lesson in control. The number of lasers that began to block his path meant that he didn''t have time to process it all, and after a few attempts he activated hypercognition.


    "Remarkable," Cerberus said, his voice sounding the same as ever despite the fact that Alan was experiencing time at a fraction of its speed.


    "Give every task I assign you your all, hold nothing back."


    He tried and failed. Once, twice, a hundred times. A message appeared, and then another shortly after. Alan ignored them, intent on making his way through the laser grid. After a remarkable run of near misses he finally made it through, a final laser moving out of his way.


    Alan found himself standing before massive apartment buildings, each an identical metal structure of hundreds of units over ten stories high. His Revenant Power Armor had been replaced with a basic set, his weapon with a standard laser rifle. He checked the messages.


    [Your awareness of surroundings have improved, you have gained a new sub-ability of Enhanced Control, Enhanced Awareness! +5 Intelligence +5 Perception]


    [Enhanced Control (Intermediate) has advanced to Enhanced Control (Advanced)!]


    "Barely passable control, but we have far too little time," Cerberus said. "Continue to train. One of the perks of being a Machine Lord is the ability to multitask. Maintain awareness of the present while planning for the future, accounting for the actions of the past. Now clear a building."


    Alan looked left and right, there were dozens of buildings.


    "Clear one?"


    "Eradicate all opposition."


    Alan shrugged, activated Hypercognition, and walked into the closest building on his right.


    A dozen Haxlards stood within a spacious lobby area, raising their weapons as Alan entered. A sentry turret at the center of the room swiveled towards Alan as he began firing at the Haxlards. He took out two Haxlards before they began firing back.


    Alan dived behind a piece of furniture as he took out another three Haxlards with multiple headshots, only taking a single glancing hit before¡ª


    Alan froze. He found himself standing back in the middle of the apartment buildings. The scenario had been reset.


    "What?" He asked aloud.


    "A guard hit a security alarm," Cerberus answered. "You should of been paying more attention."


    "To what? I was there for a few seconds¡ª"


    "Which is far more time than you will ever be given in combat. Divide your mind to focus on both the present and the future."


    "Divide my mind? I can rapidly switch thoughts but I can''t think two things at the same time."


    "You can''t? It''s trivial," Cerberus said.


    Perhaps the Machine Lord class quest must be completed, Eve sent, bringing up the quest.


    [Scoping out the Competition:


    6/10 Major players met


    Bonus: 1/10 Objectives found]


    (Author''s note: I forgot to update this quest after the Lord of the Abyss and Cerberus introduced themselves.)


    "Does my class quest need to be completed?" Alan asked.


    There was a pause.


    "Yes."


    A flash of light later Alan found himself pushed out of the blue portal, back into the hallway.


    "Come back once you''ve finished the quest. I''ve sent you a list of major players in the Academy System, ordered by proximity. Most of them are teachers too so you might as well not waste time and learn something from them while you''re at it," Cerberus said.


    Alan checked his messages, there was a list of 54 names with rough directions and basic descriptions. The first line read: Wraith, Hacker, Revenant ties. Follow the neon purple light.


    ***


    As Alan had predicted if he followed the dark blue light strips backwards it seemed to lead him to a more central hub area, the number of colors lining the wall growing until there was a rainbow of color covering the walls and ceiling. There was dark purple, almost black light, and a pale lilac glow, but no neon purple.


    Voices began to rise in the distance, a commotion of yelling and excitement. Alan activated his basic invisibility as another student sprinted around the corner. It wasn''t anyone that he recognized, but Alan remained vigilant nonetheless.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Alan scanned the lights again. Maybe he''d miss something. But no, the entire ceiling and wall was covered. In fact, it seemed like he''d reached the main corridor, there was no space for another light...


    Alan blinked, then began cycling through the electromagnetic spectrum. Everything seemed normal until he switched to ultraviolet. There was a solid, bright neon light on the floor. Alan turned around and followed the light, almost running into another player passing by. Everybody seemed to be in a hurry, but he could always make it back to the hub area later. People were probably just worried about the 100 day term limit they had at the Academy.


    Following the ultraviolet light Alan made his way down one of the unlighted corridors he had passed by earlier. He made sure to stay on top of the light, never straying, avoiding who knew how many traps. After around 15 minutes light appeared, leaking out of a room. Alan ran up to the doorway and looked in.


    Adjusting his eyes to the influx of light, Alan saw what he could only describe as a massive man cave. Two massive walls were covered by about a hundred displays. On one side, games of every sport that Alan could imagine were being broadcast, on the other, every esport that he could think of was shown. Posters of holostories, masterfully crafted models of the Enforcer fleet, a small shrine to a goddess, a decent sized snack bar and a liquor cabinet decorated the cavernous area.


    The center of the room was devoted to one massive screen the size of a movie theatre, broadcasting an arena death match in-game. Splayed out on a couch, wearing a helmet with wires that extended into the massive screen, was a short human-looking figure.


    Watching the screen in front of them, the figure called out, "Who are you?"


    "Um, I''m Alan, my teacher Cerberus thought you might be able to help me."


    "Cerberus is but a loyal dog. He''ll teach you the fundamentals, but no more."


    "So you teach me," Alan said. "Also, just to make sure, you are Wraith right?"


    The figure leap out of their seat, removing the helmet to reveal a middling aged man. The screen turned dark. He turned to face Alan. "Wraith I am."


    A message popped up:


    [Scoping out the Competition:


    7/10 Major players met


    Bonus: 1/10 Objectives found]


    "Do you even know what hacking in the Game is?" Wraith asked.


    "It''s like chess," Alan said, thinking about what Eve had told him.


    "Sure, if each player had a couple thousand pieces of a couple hundred variations, any number of players could take part, everyone moved their pieces all at once, and you changed the rules of the game all the time, sure, hacking is just like chess."


    "Okay, so more like a real time strategy game, with a base to defend and units to attack with," Alan said.


    "Sure, except there is no upkeep, no gathering of resources, and units are programs that can be corrupted and lost permanently," Wraith said. He pointed at another helmet laying on a table. "Let''s do a demonstration."


    Alan put on the helmet, a grey screen encompassing all his vision. He moved his hands about. It was like he had been teleported to another plane of existence; rather than simply being shown a world, he was now inside it. Unlike when he was normally within the Game, where he had his body and moved and looked about normally, he now had a sort of top down, all encompassing view that he could zoom in and out of. The experience was quite disorienting.


    Alan''s perspective shifted, and he found himself hovering above a green control point, behind a wall of stone that had a line of what looked like knights defending it.


    "Here''s a basic scenario. Walls, like pawns, simply stand there waiting to be taken. Swordsmen, like slightly better pawns, able to attack a bit and move about."


    "Wait, isn''t hacking like programming and using the command line to do what you want on a computer?" Alan asked.


    "Hah! Maybe on the world you''re from things are still simple enough that you can manage to work with typing, but what you consider computers or programs have evolved to the point that the only way us dumb bags of flesh can begin to decipher the mess of data effectively is with visual representations like this," Wraith said. "Plus, it''s fun."


    Alan paused. Okay, so hacking, which as far as he could tell was the Game''s equivalent to lock picking, turned out to be a real time strategy minigame. He could work with that.


    "So I just order the swordsmen about."


    "Sure, try it out."


    Alan directed all the swordsmen to exit out a gate, that slowly opened at his command. His vision was still mostly filled with a dense grey fog that extended out in every direction, but as his swordsmen, his units, began advancing forward they gave him more vision. A wall was sighted in the distance. Alan ordered his swordsmen to attack the wall. They slowly walked over to the wall, and began banging against it with metal swords.


    A whistling sound was heard, and Alan looked up. Something was falling from the sky; he couldn''t quite get a good look at it before¡ª


    BOOM. There was a massive explosion, and his swordsmen were nuked out of existence, a smoldering blast zone was all that was left. The wall, which slowly faded from view, looked as pristine as ever.


    "And there you have it," Wraith said. "Despite how weak those swordsmen programs might have seemed to you, they''d still have probably sold for around a hundred credits each. That is, if you were actually hacking. Still, I don''t think there is anything quite like real experience, so let''s try a real test. I''ll probe your defense, and you can try mine if you want. Try not to kill any programs, just maim."


    Alan''s vision turned black, and felt his consciousness return to his body in-game. He moved his hands to lift off the helmet, and looked over at Wraith. Wraith calmly stared back at him.


    "Are you going to start this, or should I?"


    "Uh, I will," Alan stammered. He reached out with his mind, detecting Wraith''s presence like an AI, just slightly denser. Once Alan formed a mental connection, he heard Wraith in his mind.


    Let''s keep an open communication channel, but no attacks using it, Wraith sent.


    Alright, I''m starting the hack, Alan sent.


    He focused on his ability Mental Hack, and found himself transported to the center of a massive army base, once more viewing everything from above like a god. He looked at his mind''s defense, and felt rather impressed. Rather than simple walls, his base was defended by two layers of force fields, a few bunkers, and laser turrets. The outer shield, his overall mental resistance, covered the entire compound, while the smaller shield covered his main control point, his mind. This shield felt far stronger, and Alan knew that it was a result of his Mind Defense ability.  There were two, smaller control points also in his base, one for his armor, the other for his weapon. Each had a bunker of their own. If someone was able to breach either one they''d be able to mess with his equipment.


    And then Alan saw Eve. She was an angel, a valkyrie wielding twin, glowing blades, flying above the base, moving about the base as fast as thought and constantly scanning for signs of an enemy. Whichever direction she looked in immediately cleared the fog of war, allowing Alan to get his first glimpse of Wraith''s mind, a large dome wall. A faint, underground tunnel connected Alan''s base to Wraith''s, their mental connection.


    There was a shift in Wraith''s base that Eve immediately picked up on. A small drone emerged from the top of the metal dome, flying toward Alan''s base. As soon as it reached the outer shield Eve appeared beside it and cut its motors, causing it fall to the ground and break into pieces.


    And now you should see the unfair advantages Machine Lords receive, Wraith sent. Your AI is a powerful program that can be tasked with automated attack and defense, leaving you to effectively do what you want. An AI can hack while you fight in real life, disabling an opponent''s equipment or gathering data. Based on my scan I think your defenses are solid enough that nothing short of a small army is getting through.


    Alan thought back to the entity that had provided him with the Mental Hack and Mind Defense abilities. The programs that it had sent his mind had interpreted as massive starships; he still had a ways to go to defend against attacks like that.


    Alright, can I try an attack then? Alan asked.


    Knock yourself out. I won''t even try to fight back, just try to breach the wall. If you manage it I''ll give you a commendation, Wraith sent.


    Go for it Eve, Alan sent.


    Affirmative. Eve darted forward, and began rapidly striking at the metal wall with a blur of blows. If he activated hypercognition, which Alan knew would be crucial in future hacks, he would probably be able to follow them, but Alan didn''t feel like showing off this trump card to Wraith. A minute later after no progress, Alan had Eve stop.


    Are we done, can I get back to the match? Wraith sent.


    Let me try one more thing, Alan replied.


    He focusing on a tiny section of the wall, enough for a peephole, and tried to will it out of existence. He felt reality began to give a bit, some greater underlying presence forming a connection with his mind. His computational energy began draining rapidly, 100 gone in a second.


    STOP, Wraith sent.


    Why, do you admit defeat? Are my abilities too strong?


    No, your abilities are illegal. Banned. Red flagged. The worst kind of foul. That is not a hacking ability, but an ability that changes the very nature of the game. If any Administrator finds that you''re messing with the underlying structure of the Game, you''ll be blacklisted faster than a ref reports an offense.


    Blacklisted? Alan asked.


    No, I''ve taught you enough, I''ll give you your commendation. If you want to buy legal attack programs come back with marks and ability points.  Go ask Cerberus, or Phantom, if you want to know more blacklisting. Oh, and remind Phantom that he owes me two bottles of Haxlardian whiskey!


    Wraith ended the connection, took out a Rogue Commendation, tossed it to Alan, put on the helmet, and then proceeded to ignore Alan, focusing on the match that once again appeared on the screen. It looked to be close to over, both fighters bleeding from numerous wounds.


    He knows Phantom? Alan wondered, pocketing the commendation. Two down, eight to go.


    Really? You don''t see the connection? Eve asked.


    No.


    Well... Eve said, talking slowly like she was educating a young child, Wraith is an Erudite. He is tied to the Revenants. Revenant. Wraith. Phantom. See a theme here?


    Hey, I didn''t know he was an Erudite, and I thought the names were coincidental...


    I highly doubt that.


    Alan nodded, then proceeded back to the hub, where all the noise had been coming from. None of the other major players on Cerberus''s list were on Aenigma, and were instead spread throughout other Academy worlds.


    As Alan stepped into Aenigma''s hub area, a lounge filled with rogue students watching various screens there was a sudden deafening roar of cheers and screams of anguish. Alan noticed a large number marks and items changing hands as the energy in the room increased, becoming almost palpable. A message popped up:


    [A new Rogue Challenge has started!]


    [ Another Game of Assassins:


    Kill your target without being killed in turn! After killing your target, their target becomes yours.


    Target: S


    Hunted by: ???


    Rewards: 1 Rogue Commendation for each undetected target assassination


    1 Rogue Commendation to the Assassin with the most kills


    3 Rogue Commendations to the last Assassin standing, final two challengers will be teleported to a randomized death match arena]


    Other author''s note:


    Still working on revisions, pushing back potential publication date. Will probably initially be only released on Amazon for sales rank numbers, and physical copies may be a bit delayed/more expensive due to print-on-demand. Based on feedback, KingArthur, MadMerlin and the rest stay alive/continue to exist. Currency is the same as it''s always been. Real life introduction has been shortened, parts of survival test changed. Additional brief POV scenes have been added. Alan is a bit more proactive, more hints about Icewolf and their relationship is a bit more antagonistic. All changes subject to change. :P


    Edit: Oh and I guess I have a Twitter now that I may or may not start using regularly: https://twitter.com/Perenniality314</a>

 New Challenges 3.5

    Alan activated hypercognition and analyzed his surroundings. The hub area was like a club lounge with low tables and sofas spread throughout a large room. Eight portals, the colors of the rainbow and white, flickered into life, spread at equal intervals throughout the room. At the center was a table manned by two Administrators that felt slightly¡­ off. But Alan didn¡¯t have time to examine them, as all of the fifty-odd students were leaping into action. Alan wasn¡¯t sure of the exact number as many students, like him, were deploying stealth technology and abilities.


    Some players tried to make their way to a certain portal, while others rushed towards the one nearest to them. Students began upholstering weapons, firing indiscriminately, trying to either kill their target or just rack up kills. Alan got a brief glance of Thiago as well as Aurora, but no sign of his target, S.


    Get out of here, into a portal, Eve sent.


    But which one? Alan asked, stepping to the right to avoid a stray laser bolt. Compared to dodging the laser grid this was child¡¯s play.


    The red one; it should lead to the warrior planet, Coliseum. There¡¯s a major player there as well as its namesake coliseum which should prove helpful.


    Alan nodded, running to the red portal through a sea of laser fire. Two major groups had formed, and were intent on destroying each other, though Alan noted a number of opportunists trying to pick off whoever they could. Someone shot out the lights, plunging the room into darkness. With his specialized vision and the glow of the portals there was still more than enough light for Alan to see, and based on the continued accuracy of laser fire it seemed like the lack of light didn¡¯t affect most of the other players either.


    Alan debated stealing a kill as he saw a player dive to the floor, shields depleted, but decided against it. No need to risk revealing himself at this stage; he definitely didn¡¯t have the time or need to get the most kills achievement. He made his way to the red portal and stepped through it, emerging onto a small hillside above a town. A handful of other rogue students were in front of him, but Alan ignored them, and they paid no attention to him. He wasn''t sure if they detected him either.


    At the center of the town was a massive metal dome, similar to the Black Rose¡¯s Simulation Dome, except bigger, about the size of two football stadiums. It had an open top and a surrounding ring of elevated seats. Eve estimated there were over twenty thousand seats, a quarter of which were filled.


    There can¡¯t be that many warrior students at the Academy, can there? Alan asked Eve as he began walking down the hill towards the dome. Cerberus¡¯s note simply said: Red Tyrant, ruler of the coliseum.


    No, they are spectators, Academy fights are streamed on the globalnet; many of the big name Arena fighters get their start here, thus there are also recruiters and scouts as well as a number of gamblers, Eve sent.


    Alan deactivated his invisibility before walking up to the front gates of the town, approaching a guard in power armor with a large stun baton on his side.


    ¡°Hi, do you know how I might meet with Red Tyrant?¡± Alan asked.


    The guard smirked. ¡°You want an audience with the Red Tyrant? Well, he can¡¯t greet any wannabe fan or has-been. Get lost.¡±


    ¡°Cerberus sent me,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Cerbe-who? I said get lost, punk,¡± the guard said, taking a threatening step towards Alan, who took a step back. He shrugged, then entered town, making his way towards the coliseum. No use confronting every jackass he met; the guard was clearly just a hired goon.


    Other than the houses, the vast majority of buildings focused on fighting, with armor and weapon shops as well as repair stations located at nearly every street corner. Various dojos and firing ranges abounded as well. Alan noted a Administrative Center too, but decided against visiting and setting this planet as his respawn point.


    Speaking of death, Alan looked behind him, examining passerby for his hunter; Eve felt like he was being paranoid, but he had no idea what his assassin¡¯s skills or abilities might be. Walking down the street in broad daylight made him feel vulnerable, but being in a settlement invisible was apparently highly frowned upon, even illegal in many cases.


    Alan finally made his way to an information desk in front of the coliseum, manned by an Administrator. Next to it was a concession stand, sporting the normal gel blocks, various snack foods and beverages.


    Hi, can you tell me how I might talk to the Red Tyrant? Alan sent.


    Greetings Traveler, the Red Tyrant¡¯s schedule is full for the next month. However, he does personally award winners of the tournaments their commendations and prizes, the Administrator sent.


    Great, what tournaments can I sign up for? Alan asked.


    There are five tournaments a day, but according to my records you¡¯re only eligible for one, the free-for-all no-holds-barred melee. It takes place in two hours. As Cerberus¡¯s student the registration fee is waived.


    Great, sign me up, Alan replied. A message popped up in front of him:


    [The Grand Melee:


    Be the last one standing.


    Registered players: 34


    Rewards: 1 Warrior Commendation. Qualification for further tournaments.]


    Please check into the waiting room before the match starts, the Administrator sent, highlighting a side entrance on Alan¡¯s map. As soon as the tournament starts players will be teleported into a randomized location in the coliseum and the battle will begin.


    Alan thanked the Administrator then wandered about the small town, mapping it out and trying to identify any trainers or items that stood out. None did, so Alan made his way back to the coliseum and into the waiting room, a plain looking room with about fifty seats and ten screens, two changing rooms and a medical facility adjacent to it.


    Once there he watched the matches, a series of player vs. monster battles, culminating in a massive raid fight of fifty players against a five-headed mutant hydra that could control the elements.


    Alan also tried to gather information about his opponents, but as far as he could tell they were mostly straightforward combat roles, though there was a medic that was apparently participating. A few players were trying to set up initial alliances, but Alan ignored them, there would only be one winner, and he had his own plan.


    He also accessed a terminal to see if he could discover anything about S, but nothing turned up. He debated asking Aurora for more information, but for all he knew she might be the one hunting him, so he decided against it. How was he supposed to find S in the entirety of the Academy System, let alone assassinate him without detection? That was probably just part of the challenge.


    He also learned that the rules on Coliseum were a bit unique. Apparently dueling wasn''t uncommon, and the basic rule was basically might makes right. If you could beat someone up short of killing them, it was generally allowed, even rewarded. He''d have to watch his back when he got out of here.


    Finally the wait ended, and a countdown began. The room was now three-quarters full, with 70 players registered for the tournament. There was a flash of light, and the battle started...


    ***


    Alan stood still, in the same spot he had been initially teleported to, advanced invisibility activated. He felt a bit bad, but the rules had been clear: the last man standing won. So, he calmly watched as the rest of the warriors eliminated each other, alliances breaking down as the number of remaining players dwindled.


    The coliseum floor, which had been a dense jungle in the player vs. environment fights was now a simple dirt pit, with line of sight throughout the entirety of the battlefield. There was no cover, which made spotting enemies and shooting at them very easy, assuming your opponent had no stealth abilities. Fortunately for Alan, his armor had such an ability; unfortunately for everyone else, no one seemed to have detected his presence.


    Eve doubted that most of the players could even see through his basic stealth ability, but to be safe Alan had used the advanced setting initially, which masked his sound, smell and other signals in addition to his sight. Still, many of the warriors were far more durable than Alan had anticipated, capable of taking multiple headshots or even stab wounds before falling.


    It had been twenty minutes since the fight started, lowering the amount of energy Alan¡¯s armor held, from 2000 to 1725. He''d had to stop using the advanced stealth mode five minutes in because he still didn''t meet the basic requirements of the armor. Like Eve expected no one noticed him, even when a brawl happened right next to him, laser swords clashing a few feet away.


    Finally, there were only two other combatants left standing. The medic had used a strategy similar to Alan¡¯s, simply running away and healing himself, but was now having trouble dealing damage to the other warrior, a bald martial artist that looked like a punk with studded earrings and fought with a pair of metal knuckles that glowed blue. Alan, like many others, had underestimated this player, as they were armor-less, assuming he¡¯d be an easy target to take out later. Instead, he moved fluidly through the chaotic battle, avoiding any direct blows, taking out enemies with one or two punches, even if they were heavily armored.


    The medic was currently getting the shit kicked out of him, but each time the punk-monk dealt a crippling blow there would be a brief flash of light and the medic would stand up, good as new. The medic wielded a single laser pistol in one hand, a healing tool in the other. Eventually, it seemed like the medic ran out of psionic energy, he took a blow and fell to the ground without standing up.


    The crowd roared with excitement, and the punk-monk smiled as he slowly walked over to the medic¡¯s fallen form. He kneeled over him and with another punch caved in the medic¡¯ chest, eliminating him.


    The monk stood up, staring at the crowd that cheered him on. He smiled and waved; a minute passed. He looked over to a shielded part of seats and  shouted, ¡°What, haven¡¯t I won?¡±


    Alan took the opportunity to deactivate his invisibility, unloading his twin laser pistols into the monk¡¯s skull from point blank. He fell to the floor, disappearing in a swirl of light. Silence fell over the crowd; a second later booing began. Alan heard it grow in volume before he was teleported away, but he didn¡¯t care: he¡¯d won.


    Alan found himself in the shielded area of the seats, in a VIP area. Sitting before him in an ornate, throne-like chair was a Predecessor. It wore a suit of dark red metal, holding a spear of soulsteel in one hand. Eve could not identify the type of metal its armor was made of, or its properties.


    ¡°So, you won. Without honor, I might add,¡± the Predecessor said, looking down at Alan, still taller even when seated.


    Alan calmly stared back, removing his helmet so he could look into the Predecessors eyes. ¡°I won. I¡¯m Alan, by the way.¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°And, as you know, I am the Red Tyrant. Do you know the origin of this title?¡± the Red Tyrant asked.


    A message popped up:


    [Scoping out the Competition:


    8/10 Major players met


    Bonus: 1/10 Objectives found]


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Because I have bled entire planets dry, using the blood of my enemies to strengthen myself. And not once have I resorted to deceit; each time I have gone to battle I have announced my intentions, and the universe has wept crimson tears.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a Predecessor, but I am only human. To defeat one so mighty as yourself I have to use other tactics,¡± Alan replied.


    The Red Tyrant smiled. ¡°And so you must. Here is your Warrior Commendation. You will also participate in the monthly champion¡¯s tournament. I personally require your presence.¡±


    Alan was handed a small emblem with a spear on it, a Warrior Commendation. Messages popped up:


    [The Grand Melee complete!]


    [x2 Level up!]


    [The Champion¡¯s Tournament:


    By winning a tournament you have qualified for the monthly Champion¡¯s Tournament. The format is single elimination, randomized death match arena, with teams of up to three players.


    Time remaining: 9:22:30:03 If you do not register with a team you may choose to be randomly placed on one.


    Teams registered: 22


    Rewards (for each member of the team):


    1st: 5 Warrior Commendations. Rank A item choice from Academy Armory or 5 platinum marks.


    2nd: 3 Warrior Commendations. Rank B item choice from Academy Armory or 3 platinum marks.


    3rd: 2 Warrior Commendations and 2 platinum marks.


    4th: 1 Warrior Commendation and 1 platinum mark.]


    Alan took a slight gulp of air, the Red Tyrant¡¯s presence bearing down on him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there,¡± Alan said. It looked like the tournament would take place in about ten days, he¡¯d hopefully be done with whatever training Cerberus had in mind by then.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    There was a flash of light, and Alan found himself back in the waiting room. Surrounding him were the warriors who had just fought. Shouts rang out.


    ¡°There he is!¡±


    ¡°Get that rogue sonofabitch!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the dirty cheat, let¡¯s teach him a lesson.¡±


    Alan activated his armor¡¯s invisibility as he was mobbed, forcing his helmet back on. Angry warriors converged on his location as he turned invisible. Punches and other nonlethal attacks were launched. Alan managed to avoid most of them, and though a few hit, his shields held.


    Shoving his way through the waiting room Alan ran outside. Warriors burst out behind him, throwing out sensors and pointing in various directions. Trying to get away from the angry mob, Alan sprinted for the Administrative Center, where he¡¯d be able to teleport to another area of the Academy. He¡¯d made far too large a scene here, whoever was hunting him would certainly be on his trail now.


    ***


    Once he made his way into the Administrative Center, Alan sent to the nearest Administrator, Teleport me to Null Point Station.


    Very well. As Cerberus¡¯s student you are allowed three free teleportation¡¯s within the Academy a day. You have two left today, the Administrator replied.


    Alan nodded, climbing into a capsule, returning Home and selecting Null Point Station as his teleport destination. Apparently the odd, brightly colored teleport gates were an artifact unique to Aenigma, only capable of teleporting students within the Academy system. No one had any records of where they came from; he¡¯d have to use the typical capsule teleportation system elsewhere.


    ***


    Alan emerged from the capsule on Null Point Station, the Pilot training grounds. Cerberus¡¯s note simply read: Ex-Empire Admiral, Null Point Station.


    ¡°Halt. State your business.¡±


    Looking up, Alan saw the barrel of a rifle pointed at him. A single guard wearing a lightweight set of power armor was standing before him, with a sort of jetpack attached to his back.


    To allow maneuverability in a vacuum, Eve sent.


    Why would he need to be able to move around in a vacuum? Alan asked.


    Look to your right.


    Alan did so. To his right was a clear window, staring out into space. Alan took a second to take the endless void in; it was different, somehow, he wasn¡¯t looking through a screen. All that stood between him and space was an inch or two of composite glass.


    Can the Revenant Scout Armor maneuver in a vacuum? Alan asked.


    With the right extensions. Currently it cannot, and only holds around 30 minutes of air, tops, Eve replied.


    ¡°I said state your business, or I¡¯ll space you,¡± the station guard said; his hand motioned towards a small red button next to him.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m here to see someone,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Um, an ex-Admiral.¡±


    ¡°Cobalt-1-7?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Are you here to see Cobalt-1-7? He¡¯s the only ex-Admiral I can think of on-station. If you don¡¯t know his name he¡¯s clearly not expecting you. Who are you, who sent you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Alan, Cerberus sent me.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Indigo-3-4 reporting in, I have a Alan here to see Cobalt-1-7, sent by a Cerberus.¡±


    Alan waited as the guard listened for further instructions. A minute passed before he got a response, enough time for Eve to manage a connection to the station network.


    ¡°Acknowledged,¡± the guard said. ¡°Indigo-3-4 leaving arrival gate 4 and proceeding to flight training room with Alan.¡± He motioned Alan to follow.


    Alan walked behind the guard through the station, it seemed very neat, orderly. Everyone they passed by walked with purpose, and wore similar looking power armor. They arrived at their destination, two guards standing at the entrance.


    ¡°You are relieved, Indigo-3-4, return to your station,¡± one guard said.


    ¡°Acknowledged,¡± Indigo-3-4 responded, turning around and heading back.


    ¡°Alan, you may enter,¡± the guard continued.


    ¡°Uhh, okay,¡± Alan said as the door to the flight training room opened, revealing three rows of capsules. Each capsule had a terminal attached, and was suspended in mid-air, outside of the station, floating in space. An odd blue field kept the atmosphere in the room.


    A man looked up at Alan, a small blue medal attached to his chest. ¡°Alan? I am Cobalt-1-7, you¡¯ve gotten here just in time.¡±


    A message popped up:


    [Scoping out the Competition:


    9/10 Major players met


    Bonus: 1/10 Objectives found]


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I was just about to send for someone from Aenigma to sort this out; a number of our flight simulators seem to be experiencing increasing delay. So far we¡¯ve passed off the increase in latency as special training, but the recruits seem to know that¡¯s bullshit. Can you check the systems and see what the problem is? It¡¯s probably a harmless program left running by some past recruit, they seem to think pranks like these are funny.¡±


    A new quest appeared:


    [A Minor Glitch:


    Fix whatever the problem is with the flight simulators.


    Reward: A Pilot Commendation and Basic Pilot Training


    Failure or Refusing this quest will result in a banning from Null Point Station.]


    ¡°Of course sir,¡± Alan said, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best. I make no guarantees though.¡±


    ¡°Covering your ass like a true officer,¡± Cobalt-1-7 said. ¡± The affected terminals are 2, 71 and 82. You have one week. After that I¡¯ll have to hire a professional.¡± He clapped Alan on the shoulder, then left the room.


    Alan walked over to Terminal 2, which was currently unoccupied. He opened his mind, trying to form a mental connection with the terminal, activating his mental hack ability.


    In his head, a tunnel opened between his base and the terminal.


    SHIT. CUT THE CONNECTION NOW, Eve screamed into Alan¡¯s head as the tunnel finished. Hundreds of small furry creatures began streaming through the tunnel before Alan could close it. Eve dived downwards.


    As soon as he cut off the connection, Alan paused to get a better look at what fearsome pest had invaded his base. They were bunnies, and Eve was slaughtering them indiscriminately, her face an alarmed mask of fear as she cut through the small fur-balls as they ran away from her to the corner¡¯s of Alan¡¯s mind-base-thing.


    He started laughing.


    THIS IS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER, Eve sent.


    What are they going to do? Eat all our carrots? Alan asked.


    No, but they will multiply and completely lag our systems! They are a VIRUS, Eve sent.


    Alarmed, Alan examined his base. Sure enough, the numbers of bunnies was not decreasing even though Eve was slicing through at least one a second. If anything, the number was somehow increasing. He tried taking a closer look, and saw that a number of bunnies were¡­ copulating. In his mind. The bunnies would shortly after lay a dozen eggs. New bunnies would pop out a second later.


    What the fuck? he sent Eve.


    It¡¯s your mind interpreting the virus, don¡¯t ask me. We need some sort of defense program or digital cure, and fast, at the rate they¡¯re multiplying I anticipate I¡¯ll only be able to process information at half the normal speed, I already feel a definite delay, Eve sent.


    I don¡¯t notice anything, Alan replied.


    Try activating hypercognition.


    Alan did so, and sure enough, time didn¡¯t seem to slow down as much as it should have. There was also a small thumping sound in his ear that he couldn¡¯t get rid of. This was a problem, something he needed to fix, both to complete the quest and clear his mind of this bunny infestation.


    So back to Aenigma? Alan asked.


    No, let¡¯s check the Institute first, the Academy¡¯s research center and healer/doctor base, Eve sent. Cerberus said there¡¯s one major player there, so we might as well finish that class quest before returning to him; he probably has some solution if we don¡¯t find one at the Institute.


    It was hardly noticeable, but Alan thought that she was speaking slightly slower than normal. There may have also been a hint of anger.


    Author¡¯s note:


    A special Valentine¡¯s day chapter (maybe? not really). I know this chapter is on the shorter side, and do agree that the last chapters overview of hacking was short/a bit rushed, but I just wanted to get the concept introduced. The next chapter which will come out ¡°soon¡± will hopefully alleviate concerns. Editing isn¡¯t as time consuming as I thought it might be, mostly waiting, and continuing to write more helps me better anticipate what I can foreshadow in the future, so I guess I¡¯ll post semi-regular chapters ^.^.

 News 3.6

    As Alan was leaving the flight training room he ran into a familiar face, emerging from one of the capsules. It was Amelia, the pilot from Earth. She had changed from her Earth flight suit into a light blue jumpsuit.


    ¡°Hi,¡± Alan said. ¡°Are you here testing the simulations?¡±


    Amelia gave Alan a confused look. ¡°Well, yeah. Not like I¡¯ll be able to fly the real thing anytime soon. Most factions require you to log a year of flight hours before you¡¯re allowed to touch a ship, even in the Game.¡±


    ¡°Oh, who pilots the United World Government¡¯s ships then?¡± Alan asked.


    Amelia shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s classified. But remember the UWG was only able to afford one spaceship capable of putting up a fight. And it looks like they might even lose that one¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you been keeping up with the news at all?¡±


    ¡°News? What news?¡±


    ¡°War has broken out! The Legion of Man have allied themselves with a number of non-NATO countries, helping them seize their control points back from the UWG. This happened a few hours ago and has been on the front page of every Earth news source. Where have you been?¡±


    A message appeared:


    [The War for Earth Updated:


    The war for Earth is no longer secret. Lines have been drawn, and crossed. You may now freely recruit other humans from Earth. You may choose a side to support or remain undecided.


    Note: Any player involved in the war that kills you can choose to remove you from the war. You may not remove players from the war until you have chosen a side. Any War Contribution Points received are tied the side you are on.]


    ¡°Um, I¡¯ve been training,¡± Alan said, rapidly going through news that he had Eve brought up. ¡°I need to go figure this out.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Amelia said, giving Alan another odd look.


    Shit, Eve, why didn¡¯t you update me about this? Alan sent.


    It does not change our current circumstances, as we are not yet officially allied to the United World Government or Legion of Man. Also I believe that Amelia may suspect we are not allied to the United World Government now. Be wary of her in the future, Eve sent.


    Oh, right, she was sent here by them, wasn¡¯t she? Alan sent. Wait, why didn¡¯t you update me about that?


    I assumed you remembered. I cannot dictate every social communication for you, especially now that I am actively combating the bunny virus rampaging through our system.


    Let¡¯s hope this Institute has some sort of solution then.


    Alan was escorted by a guard back to the capsule room. As he walked he sent a series of messages to his guildmates, trying to figure out what they knew and their opinion on the matter. The news articles he found on the globalnet simply stated that war had broken out, and added no detail to the current situation on the ground. There were a few sites that claimed to have additional information, but they were located behind pay walls of thousands of credits.


    Alan: Hey, what are people¡¯s thoughts on the war that¡¯s happening on Earth? Does the Black Rose Guild have a stance on it or additional information?


    Aurora: The Black Rose Guild remains neutral in all wars until they are hired. Information on wars is granted on a case by case basis. As a member of the guild you are not to choose a side. Did you not read the guild manual?


    Sidestep: Yeah, it¡¯s only like 3000 pages. Haven¡¯t you memorized it by now Mr. Robot?


    Alan: Right. Also, are people¡¯s involved in the Champion¡¯s Tournament? I¡¯m currently looking for a team.


    Kitana: I have formed a team with Ace and Daisy. They are aware of our inability to choose a side in the war, but I believe they still wish to talk to you Alan.


    Alan: K.


    Sidestep: I suppose he could join our team, Aurora, what do you think?


    Aurora: Yes, that should work. I was going to have to choose between S and Luna, this way I won¡¯t cause offense to either.


    Recalling that S was his assassination target, Alan hurriedly replied.


    Alan: Great! Also, what are S and Luna up to? In fact, what is everyone up to?


    Aurora: I have no idea. They¡¯ve kept their movements secret as they¡¯re part of the Game of Assassins. If I recall correctly you are playing as well. Let me be direct: you are not my target. Am I yours?


    Alan: Nope.


    Aurora: Very well, we should meet then, to coordinate our fighting strategy for the tournament and perhaps exchange information. Normally in these types of tournaments players try to hide some of their trump cards, as the broadcasts are publicly available, but as we are members of a mercenary guild we must try to show off to a certain degree to entice potential clients.


    Alan:  Sorry, but I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to do any of that right now. I¡¯m a bit¡­ incapacitated, doing a quest/training for my Teacher. I¡¯ll try to let you know if things change.


    Aurora: Keep me updated.


    Sidestep: Ooh, do we need a team name? How about ¡°Focus the Noob¡±?


    Aurora: No. Clear the channel. Get back to training.


    The chat ended as Alan reached the capsule room. He pulled up Cerberus¡¯s notes on the Institute: Zero science gets done here, just a bunch of crackpot theorizing. Celeste, knife bitch.


    Alan got the feeling there was a bit of enmity between Cerberus and the Institute. Still, he chose it as his next destination, got into his capsule, and teleported there.


    ***


    Waking up in a typical capsule room, Alan walked outside. He emerged into a long hallway filled with classrooms and lecture halls. It was as if he was back at university, except the students had personalized screens with notes floating before them. A directory stood next to a map, indicating that he was in the Information Sciences Hall. He looked up Celeste, who was apparently a Teacher of Etiquette and Culture. She would hopefully be in her classroom/office when he arrived.


    Following the map, Alan proceeded to make his way to the Cultural Hall.


    Stop¡­ Check¡­ Clinic¡­ Eve sent, sounding slower than before. She hadn¡¯t even set waypoints or a path for Alan, causing him to check a directory every so often to make sure he was on the right path. There were so many divisions and subdivisions of the Institute that it was roughly two miles to the Cultural Hall. Alan passed by multiple branches of sciences and mathematics that he had never heard of, like Dimensional Astrophysics and Pure Theory (Numberless), which was next to Pure Theory (Numbered). He could hear a heated debate happening between the two departments.


    Alan looked up the Clinic, and saw that it was on the way to the Culture Hall. He entered what appeared to be a waiting room for a doctor¡¯s office, with bright white walls and a young, black-haired receptionist. The room was empty apart from the receptionist; Alan wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good or bad sign.


    The receptionist looked up from the problem set she was working on. ¡°Hello, what ailment can the Clinic assist you with today?¡±


    ¡°I have  a virus,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°What kind? Micro? Macro? In-game? Out?¡±


    ¡°No, no, a, um, computer virus.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure I would of come to the Clinic to remove a computer virus, I wasn¡¯t even aware people still used such archaic technology. I think you might have better luck with the Historical Cybersecurity Division.¡±


    ¡°No, wait, I mean a malicious program, sorry if my terminology isn¡¯t clear, it¡¯s affecting my ability to think,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Ah, well, the translation software in the game is very specific when it comes to medical terms. You say you can¡¯t think clearly? Oh¡­ I see. Yes, you don¡¯t have a console as far as I can tell, which  mean that it must be an implant that is infected. A neurological implant, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Great, well if you follow me we can have the implant removed in minutes, with little to no loss of memory and brain functionality,¡± the receptionist said, standing up.


    ¡°Removed? Wait, no! I just want the virus removed, not the implant,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t want the implant removed I don¡¯t see how we can help you,¡± the receptionist said, sitting back down. Alan hesitated, wondering what he should do next. Eve slowly responded:


    Never mind¡­ Quest¡­ Return¡­ Cerberus¡­


    Slightly red-faced, Alan turned around, exiting the Clinic. He started wondering if he should even be listening to Eve at this point. All of his Machine Lord abilities had essentially stopped functioning, Alan¡¯s perception of time slowing down as it began to return to normal. The constant flow of information he got from his surroundings had stopped, making Alan feel dumb and vulnerable.


    Stepping carefully, Alan made his way to the Cultural Hall. He stopped before the classroom labeled Celeste¡¯s. As he peered in through a window in the door he could see a lesson was currently progressing. At least, that¡¯s what he thought was happening.


    There was a projection of what looked like a medieval court dinner in the center of the room, and a tall ?lven woman was pointing at an odd utensil with a triangular tip. Alan noted the two daggers she kept at her side.


    Not sure how long the lesson would continue for, Alan slowly opened the door, hoping to slip into one of the back seats.


    The woman looked up, staring directly at Alan. ¡°And here we have another earthling. This one doesn¡¯t seem to possess basic manners. I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think I can help a case as helpless as yours.¡±


    ¡°Uh, okay? I¡¯m Alan.¡±


    ¡°And why did you interrupt my lesson, Alan?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh, you are Celeste right, the culture/knives  teacher?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am Celeste. Who told you I teach the knife?¡±


    A message popped up:


    [Scoping out the Competition Complete:


    10/10 Major players met


    Bonus: 1/10 Objectives found


    Report to Home Administrator for quest reward.]


    ¡°Um, Cerberus. Bye,¡± Alan said, opening the door behind him.


    Celeste narrowed her eyes. ¡°Cerberus. You tell that bastard that he needs to come talk to me face to face. None of his holographic bullshit. And tell him to stop spreading rumors about me being a knife trainer, I am a trained diplomat and can make his life hell.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Alan said, closing the door behind him with a sigh of relief. He began walking back to the capsule room when he heard a voice call out behind him.


    ¡°Alan, wait!¡± He turned to see Daisy, walking out of Celeste¡¯s classroom.


    ¡°Daisy? What are you doing here?¡± Alan asked. Without Eve, he hadn¡¯t even noticed her.


    ¡°I was taking Celeste¡¯s class of course,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Learning about other cultures is of the utmost importance for diplomatic exchanges!¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ can¡¯t you just look that stuff up on the globalnet?¡±


    ¡°No, that would defeat the whole purpose,¡± Daisy said. ¡°And Celeste has a wealth of knowledge, details that can¡¯t be found on any net. For example, did you know factions of Haxlards each possess a secret hand language? Or that where you¡¯re sat at an ?lven dinner party can determine your political future?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± Alan said. ¡°I must¡­ be going.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay? You sound a bit strange,¡± Daisy said.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. The news was just surprising,¡± Alan stammered.


    Daisy nodded. ¡°Yes, that was actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Now, I know from Kitana that you can¡¯t declare a side formally, but you can still provide indirect aid: credits, or more importantly, information that you might have. Any¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop. I can¡¯t help right now, sorry,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Do you not care about your country Alan? The Legion of Man are a bunch of terrorists that have broken up the United World Government treaty, they¡¯ve committed atrocious acts that go against Democracy. How can you call yourself an American?¡± Daisy asked, a fierce glare of determination in her eyes that Alan had never seen before.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have enough information right now,¡± Alan said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what atrocious acts you¡¯re talking about, but I¡¯m sure that before the war is done both sides will have probably done unspeakable things. Hopefully the nature of the Game mitigates this, but with the degree of realism and pain I¡¯m not so sure. War has never been fair, but the fact that no actual lives are being lost doesn¡¯t make things as imperative as you seem to think they are.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Also, my real body is now on Khersath, so I¡¯m not sure what exactly I am now, it just seems stupid to care about nationalities when you consider the vastness of the universe.¡±


    ¡°Do you not see the reality around you?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°The entire Game is divided along the lines of nationalities, with the Haxlards controlling one sector, the ?lves another. The other major power, the Empire, isn¡¯t devoted to some place, but to some person! Everyone is partisan to one thing or another.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not sure that the United World Government is a cause I believe in,¡± Alan said. ¡°I have no idea how it even functions right now¡­ I just feel disconnected from it all.¡±


    ¡°Then I suggest you return to Earth and get reconnected,¡± Daisy said. ¡°People may not die, but this war, which some are already calling World War III, will dictate the future of humanity. Don¡¯t you want the future to be bright, for future generations to be able to call Earth their home?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alan said. ¡°Bye.¡± He turned and walked back to the capsule room, stuck in his head.


    Why can¡¯t there be some obvious enemy that I can kill, some evil monster or great demon?  Alan sent Eve. Why is this war even being fought?


    Eve remained silent.


    ***


    Alan entered his Home, ready to get to the Administrator and complete his quest. Or at least, he tried to. When he entered his capsule, into his Home, he found not an empty, white space with a few odd pieces of furniture, but bunnies. Bunnies everywhere.


    A sea of bunnies surrounded him, as far as the eye could see, stacked three to four bunnies deep. Alan tried to take a step forward but he was tripped by the tide of fur. Luckily, the bunnies provided a relatively soft landing, but he ended up with a mouth of fur. He looked over and saw the Administrator a few feet away, motionless as swarms of bunnies surrounded it. Trying to steady himself, Alan began forming a connection with the Administrator.


    The connection moved like molasses, taking ages to travel the few feet to the Administrator. It was like the agony of waiting for a download to finish, magnified by the fact that Alan was constantly distracted by the multitude of bunnies that were slowly multiplying. Alan didn¡¯t want to be here when the sea of bunnies rose to head level. Thus far, the virus seemed relatively harmless, Alan was certainly glad it was bunnies and not slimes or spiders, but the foreign organisms in his Home, in his mind made him nervous.


    Greetings Traveler, the Administrator finally sent after the connection formed.


    Hi, I finished my class quest, Alan replied.


    Please wait while I contact Chief Administrator 170.


    A second later, a message appeared:


    [Scoping out the Competition, Complete!


    Reward: Machine Lord Ability: Divided Mind.


    As a Machine Lord, you are now able to split your mind in two, completing two tasks at once or tackling the same problem from two sides. As this ability improves you may learn to divide your mind into further pieces and improve the mental capacity of each divided mind. Costs 100 Computational Energy to activate.


    x25 Level up!]


    A stream of data flowed through the Administrator¡¯s connection to Alan, and Alan felt his consciousness slip in and out of being as Alan attempted to absorb this new information. An odd tingling sensation ran through his skull, and then he knew. He knew how to split his mind.


    A second Alan appeared. He saw through two pairs of eyes, stood with four pairs of feet. Each Alan was him, but he was controlling each body independently, able to think two thoughts at the same time. He could maintain the connection to the Administrator while other Alan formed a connection to Eve.


    Well, this is weird, both Alan¡¯s sent.


    By the rules of the Game, you are unable to send a split consciousness out of your primary consciousness¡¯s line of sight, the Administrator replied. You may not leave part of you consciousness at Home when you leave a capsule either. Your split consciousness has no physical manifestation within the Game, instead acting like a program such as your AI.


    Eve failed to reply, so the part of Alan¡¯s mind connected to the Administrator began to think over the response, but found his thoughts slightly jumbled, connections not quite forming as fast as they should. It was hard to think, like there was a faint layer of fog permeating his brain.


    A consequence of your divided mind, Eve sent to Alan.


    Oh, you sound normal again, Alan sent.


    As we are in the capsule I can devote more processing power to other things. Additionally, we are closer, Eve sent.


    Closer? Aren¡¯t you always in my mind? Alan asked.


    Yes, but you aren¡¯t always in your mind, Eve replied.


    What?


    Meanwhile, the Administrator continued its own line of conversation with Alan. For finding one Major Player¡¯s objective in the Game, you have been awarded one Platinum Mark. The Chief Administrator has informed me that if you can find additional objectives you will be rewarded.


    A quest appeared:


    [Information for the Administrators:


    Gather and supply the Administrators with information! Currently you will be awarded one Platinum Mark for each Major Player¡¯s objective that you provide them. Especially interesting information will be greatly rewarded.


    Rewards: Marks and Reputation]


    Wait, how did you get this information from me? I didn¡¯t tell you Elissandra¡¯s main objective, Alan sent.


    It was logged as part of the quest, which you just handed in to me, the Administrator replied.


    Simultaneously, Eve sent, The virus has broken down barriers in your mind, look over to your left.


    Alan looked. There was nothing he could see except bunnies.


    Look closer. Alan stared, and then saw a crack of light in the floor. He waded through the sea of bunnies, making his way over. He looked down, and saw a small hole. Through it were more bunnies.


    Wait, so my Home is on top of bunnies? Alan asked Eve.


    No, your Home is on top of your base, the outer defense of your mind, the part that you entered when you initiate hacking, Eve sent.


    Wait, so that means that when I enter a capsule¡­ Alan thought.


    You are entering into a representation of your mind. Sort of, Eve sent.


    The Administrator is in my mind? Alan asked.


    This is all in your mind, you¡¯re in the Game, it¡¯s just the representation of it has layers. Like your conscious and subconscious, digitalized, Eve sent. It¡¯s complicated, and most of this information isn¡¯t publicly available to Players. This is all a hypothesis I¡¯ve been able to piece together from hints and observation. No one knows how the Game really works, for now just accept it and fix the god damn bunny problem.


    Got it, Alan replied.


    As Alan¡¯s conversation with Eve progressed, he stopped himself from asking the Administrator a dozen questions. They would likely remain unanswered or put Alan on some sort of watch list. If he wasn¡¯t on one already as a Machine Lord. The fact that the Administrators were asking him for information suddenly made it seem like they were in less control of the Game than he thought.


    In the end, he simply told the Administrator, Open up the Teleportation menu.


    Please reform to one main consciousness before travel, the Administrator responded.


    Right.


    As soon as Alan¡¯s conversation with Eve ended, he willed for himself to merge with himself. Nothing happened.


    Form a connection with yourself, Eve sent.


    Alan tried to do so, feeling silly as there already was a connection present, whatever overlying thoughts that were him, as each half knew the other half¡¯s thoughts and actions. A connection oddly began to form, but it was slow, impeded by the bunnies somehow, so Alan  simply walked over to the other Alan, placing his hand on himself. A connection immediately formed, and Alan oddly began talking to himself.


    So¡­


    So¡­


    Merge?


    Merge.


    And then there was one Alan again, thinking clearly. Or at least trying to, going from two thought processes to one was slightly disconcerting, even if the two processes were slightly independent. Alan teleported to Aenigma, more hopeful than ever that Cerberus had answers.


    ***


    ¡°So, you can multitask now?¡± Cerberus asked, still a disembodied hand in front of the doorway to the so-called obstacle course.


    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ve run into a problem,¡± Alan said. ¡°A virus has invaded my mind, or my implant, somewhere in my head. And I have no way of getting rid of it.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± Cerberus asked. ¡°You should be able to deal with anything below a C-ranked virus easily given your capabilities, and anything that dangerous would have been picked up by Academy scanners. Didn¡¯t Wraith teach you how to hack?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but apparently the bunnies are replicating faster than Eve can slay them! I mean, the virus, not the fluffies, I mean bunnies, you know what I¡¯m talking about!¡±


    ¡°Oh, one of those programs. Fine, to save time I¡¯ll help you deal with this, I was planning on doing this later, but follow me¡­¡± Cerberus Alan entered the doorway.


    This time when Alan entered the training room the laser grid was off. Once more, Cerberus, or at least his hand, had disappeared.


    ¡°Forwards now, keep walking till you get to the light.¡±


    The central path, which was originally dark, now had a dim glow of light in the distance. Alan walked forwards, down the path, shortly arriving at the source of the light. It was a single white capsule, surrounded by darkness.


    ¡°Get in,¡± Cerberus said.


    A message appeared:


    [You are about to enter an unregistered capsule. Are you sure you wish to proceed? Unknown operations may be performed while in capsules not registered by Administrators.]


    Alan hesitated.


    ¡°What have I said about wasting time?¡±


    Sighing, Alan opened up the capsule and climbed in. What was the worst that could happen?


    ***


    Pain. And fire. So much pain and fire. There was a hole in Alan¡¯s mind, a breach in his Home, and all that poured through it was wave after wave of flame. Everything was a charred mess. Alan¡¯s only solace was the fact that the bunnies were being burned to ash as well.


    Even now, hiding, curled up in a corner of the base, Alan could only tremble, sweat trickling down his body, his mind on fire. Cerberus hadn¡¯t even waited for Alan, he had simply connected to Alan¡¯s mind, punching a hole in the ceiling, and then flame had begun pouring through.


    Every time Alan opened his eyes, he expected to find his skin burned, his flesh mutilated, but he looked perfectly normal. It only felt unbearably painful, as if he was burning up inside.


    Alan passed out, and dreamed of burning bunnies.


    Authors Note:


    Okay so the next post should be about the ebook being published (hopefully). Sorry about the delay, midterms got in the way of writing.

 The Gam3: Opening Moves Official Release!

    Yay, the book is out! You can find it on Amazon here:


    https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B01DFCNAPG</a>


    The title is: Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1).


    I''m also releasing a new chapter shortly, but first here''s my sales pitch (If you don''t want to read about me trying to convince you to buy the book AND review it, skip this. Similarly, if you''ve already made the decision to buy and rate the book, skip this.):


    Okay, so I''m generally a fairly laid back person, but to convince you to buy the book and spread the word I''m going to be quite frank. As I''ve said in previous chapters, I''m a college student, and I''m about to finish senior year. As a computer science major. What does that mean? That means I need to find a job.


    Therefore, it will be increasingly difficult for me to find the time and willpower to work hard on this series. The one thing that will have the greatest effect on my motivation is how well this book sells. Now, I don''t need it to be a bestseller or anything like that, although that would be nice, I just need it do decently.


    This is where you come in. I have not marketed this book much, although I will if I think it would help (I''m also in the process of making a website). Rather, I am dependent on word of mouth, which is what sells books. So, if you''ve enjoyed the story, please recommend it to your friends. Honestly, this all began more as a hobby, a pipe-dream, and I never imagined the number of viewers or even being in the top 10 best rated on RR. And, if this book doesn''t sell well, it will probably remain a hobby, because I''ll need to focus on my programming skills and finding an actual job to pay off student loans (which I''ll probably need to do anyways, but I''ll be able to rationalize how I budget my time differently if I make a bit of profit).


    Therefore, I would be grateful if you bought and reviewed the book. It will help determine how much effort I am able to devote to writing in the near future! (I also want to make it clear I don''t see myself ever stopping writing at this point, it''s just that I might not have as much time... Imagine even slower releases :P) Now, why do I ask you to rate/review? Because that''s how people determine what book to buy. It influences sales more than you might think.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    If you''ve read this far, thanks! I''m going to do an AMA on reddit, here:


    https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4by95g/iama_21_year_old_author_of_the_gam3_a_web_series/</a>


    If you don''t have a reddit account/can''t be bothered, feel free to ask me questions in this thread as well, I''ll answer as best I can. The reason I want to do the thread on reddit is because, once again, I am trying to reach out to as broad an audience as possible. I am relatively private though, so if the question is too personal I may skirt around the answer :P. (I''ll also try to avoid spoilers, but world building questions are fair game!)


    P.S. If you don''t have the spare money/don''t want to buy the book cause the story is free here, I understand. A lot of editing/proofreading has gone into the published version though! It''s not an entirely different book, but a few sections have been added/changed/removed, and a few plot points are different.


    P.P.S. I also realize Amazon isn''t available everywhere, and am in the process of getting to other platforms, including possibly audio book and print forms. It all depends on how well things go.


    TL;DR: Buy the book and review it please :D


    Edit: You can also rate it on Goodreads without buying a copy! (Though they probably want you to have read the story, reading it here is probably good enough.) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29618814-opening-moves</a>

 A Hacking Good Time 3.7

    Alan awoke with a major headache; someone was shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and saw Eve, a beautiful raven-haired angel, wielding twin blades. She was covered in ash, but was quite possibly the prettiest being Alan had ever seen.


    A description popped up as Alan stared at her:


    [Eve, Rank C AI.


    Attack rank: D. Twin blades, standard deletion equipment.


    Defense rank: ???. Protected by unknown armor, core located within Alan¡¯s mind at unknown location.


    Movement rank: B. Highly agile with the aid of unique angel wing software.


    Estimated Attack: 250 damage/sec.


    Estimated Defense: 300 armor.


    Estimated Health: 700 hp.


    Estimated Movement: 9.


    Special Abilities: ???]


    ¡°Get up. A handful of bunnies survived, and have already begun repopulating. If something isn¡¯t done soon they¡¯ll be back to their old numbers in hours,¡± she said. Her voice was like music to Alan¡¯s ear, a perfect cadence that¡ª


    She kicked Alan. Hard. ¡°I said get up.¡±


    Groaning, holding his hurting head, Alan stood up, looking around. He had fallen unconscious near the edge of the army base, as far away from the fire as he could get. Everything was covered in a thick layer of ash, the burned remains of whatever the bunny virus was. Still, Alan could see small forms hopping around, already beginning to repopulate. Once more a description appeared:


    [Bunny, Rank D Virus.


    Non-existent attack and defense.


    Health: 15 hp.


    Special Ability: Repopulate.]


    Wondering what had happened, Alan checked his message log:


    [Unknown augmentations have been made to the Machine Lord implant. Additional UI elements have been added.]


    [Connect, Data Interaction, Machine Communication, Mental Hack and Mind Defense abilities have been reorganized under Hacking.]


    [You may now change your class from Machine Lord Rogue to Machine Lord Hacker. You may also choose to change Talent (Undeveloped) into Talent (Hacking), which may unlock new Hacking abilities and allow you to train more easily.]


    [You have received damage from a sustained mental attack.


    Mental Health: 78%


    Rate of recovery: 0.25%/min]


    ¡°Are you done?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Yes, where to?¡± Alan said.


    ¡°The center,¡± Eve replied. She turned around and began walking. Alan stumbled after her, trying to ignore his ringing headache and failing miserably.


    The base felt desolate, empty, with layers and layers of ash covering everything. Not that there was much to cover. All that remained were two laser turrets, too powerful to fire in the confines of his mind, according to Eve, and three metal bunkers, two smaller ones, about the size of a shed or dorm room, and a larger one, about the size of a classroom. The smaller bunkers supposedly guarded access to Alan¡¯s weapons and armor. The larger protected his mind. When Alan was last here, there was a force field covering it, but now none could be found.


    Alan approached the central bunker, but couldn¡¯t see any entrance. One appeared before him, as if it was sensing he wished to enter. The bunker was devoid of any furnishing, simply a metal grey dome covered in ash, at least until Alan looked up.


    When he looked up, Alan did not see a ceiling, but empty space. Eve wrapped her hands around Alan, and began flying upwards. She felt hard, metallic, not at all like the soft flesh Alan had been expecting. In between jabs of pain he wondered why she hadn¡¯t carried him like this in the first place.


    ¡°Because I am trying to save energy,¡± Eve said. ¡°Crucial systems have been damaged. It is also why we are talking, and not sharing a direct mental connection.¡±


    They reached the ceiling, and Alan found himself thrown to the side like a sack of potatoes. He landed on his butt, but the pain barely registered, just another drop in the bucket. Alan slowly turned his head, looking around. He was now in his Home, or at least what was left of it. It was no longer bright white as far as the eye could see. Instead, Alan found himself sitting in a circle of bright, white space the size of a football stadium. Outside there was now darkness. Oddly, there was no Administrator to be seen either. Only a hand, floating in the air.


    ¡°Hello, Alan, we have much work to do,¡± Cerberus said, his voice emerging from the ether.


    ¡°Work? What sort of work?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Why, redesigning your mind,¡± Cerberus replied. ¡°As you¡¯ve no doubt noticed, I¡¯ve made a few upgrades. Like the new game descriptions, I¡¯ve programmed them myself; I apologize for their rough nature. You can improve the UI yourself if you so desire, but I¡¯ve never had the time.


    ¡°Welcome to hacking. True hacking, not the nonsense Wraith taught you. He toes the line, limiting himself to what Administrators allow: pre-designed, pre-limited programs. But that¡¯s not what hacking is. Hacking is overcoming limits, exploring the tools that the Game provides. And it provides so much.¡±


    A screen appeared before Alan:


    [Hacking Defense Upgrades:


    Bunker [50 C]:


    Basic defensive structure.


    100 Armor. 10000 hp.


    Small Force Field [100 C]:


    Small spherical force field.


    2000 shields. 50 regen/min.


    Laser Turret [200 C]:


    Automated defense system that defends against large oncoming threats.


    1000 damage. 700 armor. 2500 hp.


    Large Force Field [500 C]:


    Large spherical force field.


    10000 shields. 200 regen/min.


    ¡­


    Hacking Attack Upgrades:


    Unavailable at this time.


    Building Upgrades:


    Barracks [500 C]:


    Training grounds for infantry units.


    Factory Floor [750 C]


    Construction grounds for mechanized units.


    Energy Pylon [1500 C] (2 max.)


    Increases computing energy pool by 100.


    Armory [100000 C]


    Allows for the development of program upgrades. Possible to develop equipment for player to use while hacking.


    Research Center [15000 C]


    Allows for the development of customized programs.


    Airfield [20000 C]


    Construction grounds for air units.


    Spaceport [100000 C]


    Construction grounds for space units.


    ¡­


    Unit Upgrades:


    N/A


    Current C: 1000]


    ¡°What are these C-points? What do these upgrades mean?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°At the fundamental level, ability points are tied to the computing power of the Game," Cerberus said. "Whatever massive network of servers or machines or n-bits that it¡¯s run on, at the base level it has jobs, correct? Processes to be run. Well, each change, each power up, requires the tiniest bit of energy, some bit of code saying that particular change should be made. That energy is points, which players gather as they level. Normally, Administrators help players spend these points, taking a portion of the computing power themselves.


    ¡°However, others can also help you spend these points. All it takes is a little hack. I simply converted the ability points you provided and took my cut. Your current balance is the C you have after I performed a few basic upgrades. If you want I¡¯ll convert any additional ability points you might gain to C, the conversion rate is 5C for 1 ability point,¡± Cerberus said.


    Alan checked his logs. He had a new ability, but it was simply listed as [Error].


    ¡°Wait, but if you found a bunch of new players and took their points, couldn¡¯t you become ultra powerful?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Cerberus responded. ¡°The Game doesn¡¯t let you use other people¡¯s points to improve yourself, but the processing power can be devoted to¡­ other tasks. No more questions, we¡¯re wasting enough time as it is.


    ¡°The basic model for defenses is a standard outline, I was surprised that someone had already set up all the basic defenses for you. Can you tell me who it was?¡±


    Thinking back to the mysterious existence, way back during the Black Rose Guild combat examination, Alan shook his head. ¡°I never got their name.¡±


    ¡°You just let them mess with your head?¡± Cerberus asked. ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t care. Moving on, I don¡¯t trust you enough to let you acquire any of my specialized offensive software, thus we are left with the versatile production buildings. These buildings are capable of spawning programs that you can direct. The capacity of your mind limits the number of programs you can have active at any one time, and you have to have a source file to create the desired program. Certain specialized programs will require other resources to create, energy crystals and the like. I¡¯ll give you a standard one.¡± A data chip appeared in Cerberus¡¯s hand. Alan reached out and touched it. There was a flash of light and a message appeared:


    [Marine, Rank E Program Learned. Produced at Barracks.


    Standard combat program.


    Attack: 20 damage/sec.


    Defense: 10 armor.


    Health: 100 hp.


    Movement: 3.]


    ¡°I assume you want me to purchase the barracks building?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Do what you want,¡± Cerberus said. ¡°I just won¡¯t give you any other programs for free. I¡¯d require a quest or two at the very least. And if you really dislike a past choice I can recycle a building for 85-90% of the C spent.¡±


    ¡°Can you recycle the defenses already there? And what¡¯s with the glowing flash of light instant skill gain?¡± Alan asked.


    The hand made some undecipherable gesture. ¡°Nope, those seem firmly tied to your mind somehow, erasing them could damage your brain. And this is your mind after all, it allows for an easy transfer of knowledge.¡±


    Nodding, Alan asked Eve, Think this is a good idea?


    I require more information, Eve replied.


    ¡°Do you have more information? A basic guide or something you can send my AI?¡± Alan asked.


    Another data chip appeared in the hand; Alan absorbed it.


    Yes, Eve replied a minute later, These programs will greatly aid in deleting the bunnies.


    After selecting the barracks building a top-down view of Alan¡¯s current base appeared. Alan placed the building directly south of his main bunker. The two side bunkers were positioned to the east and west, while the laser turrets were also to the east and west but closer to the center of his base. It showed that the shields were currently being repaired, thus they weren¡¯t completely destroyed, just recharging.


    An odd sensation ran through Alan, like a connection in his mind had suddenly formed, but looping back into itself. It had always been there, at the edge of his thought, but his mind was now rewired to understand it. Two messages appeared:


    [A new structure has been constructed in your mind: The barracks! You are now able to select and control structures with a new base menu.


    The base is at 15% of capacity.]


    [You are now able to train a Marine for 80 Computational Energy.


    Upkeep: 20 Computational Energy.]


    Upkeep? Alan asked Eve as he brought up his current Computational Energy stats: 400/400 total energy, 0.05/sec regen.


    It will lower your total energy pool by 20 for each Marine active. I suggest you train the five marines you are currently capable of. 300 total energy should be enough for foreseeable encounters, Eve sent.


    Opening the base menu, Alan found it similar to his status page, except it was much more graphical, with a blue outline of his base appearing before him rather than a simple screen with stats. He selected the barracks, and a menu appeared.


    [Basic Barracks:


    Train: Marine (80 energy)


    Armor: 50 armor.


    Health: 3000 hp.


    Upgrade Cost: 1000-5000C, Improved Design]


    Alan selected train five times, and five faint shadows appeared in his mind. When compared to Eve or Cerberus, their presences barely registered.


    ¡°Good,¡± Cerberus said. ¡°Now for your first task. Divide your mind and combat the virus while navigating the laser grid.¡±


    Alan found himself ejected from his Home, back in the white capsule; apparently Cerberus was able to end the connection at will. He climbed out, walking back towards the gymnasium. Once Alan¡¯s Computational Energy reached 100 he activated Divided Mind. He suddenly found two minds in his body. One him took control of his body; the other half directly connected to his base, a new feature that Cerberus¡¯s upgrade had provided.


    It still felt strange, but each part of his mind acted independently, intent on its own goal. As Alan glided through the randomized laser beams he marveled as within his mind he guided Eve and five marines on a bunny extermination quest.


    ¡°This is amazing, but I thought that I couldn¡¯t leave part of my consciousness out of my line of sight,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°The line of sight limitation on Divided Mind is highly deceiving, for you any object or server in your line of sight that you can hack counts as someplace you are able to send part of your mind. It is not your direct line of sight that matters. A basic connection is made by the Game whenever you see something, and hacking takes advantage of that connection,¡± Cerberus said to Alan. He nodded, and continued the training.


    ***


    A week had passed. Added on to the time that Cerberus¡¯s improvements had taken, there were five hours left until the Champion¡¯s Tournament. But Alan had one more task in front of him.


    Painstakingly, Alan had managed to clear 35 of the ten-story apartment buildings of all their inhabitants, which ranged from random mobs to groups of highly trained soldiers. It hadn¡¯t been easy, Alan had died many times along the way, but luckily once he cleared a building it remained empty. As he progressed Cerberus allowed him the use of more and more of his original gear; Alan now had everything that he might have in the actual Game.


    All that was left was one highly fortified structure. The first floor was crawling with hundreds of guards, five psionic users, and two deadly sentry turrets that could see through Alan¡¯s basic invisibility. He had spent the last few hours scouting the building, dying multiple times in the process. It was time to put his plan into action.


    Activating Divided Mind, Alan hacked into the building¡¯s security network, accessing it through a visible security camera on the outside of the building. He focused on it from the roof of another building with the help of his bionic eye, invisibility activated.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    The security network¡¯s defense was set up similarly to Alan¡¯s own mind, with one large force field protecting everything, smaller force fields protecting subsystems, and robotic guards wandering the perimeter. Alan commanded Eve to begin a full frontal assault. She led 10 marines, and in total they did nearly 500 damage a second, whittling away the 10000 shield energy quickly.


    Outside, alarms begin to sound, scouts sent to scan the surrounding, but they didn¡¯t come close to finding Alan.


    Soon, the shields were down. A fierce firefight between the robotic defenders and the attackers began. Eve tanked the brunt of the damage, dodging and weaving laser fire as she flew in and secured a number of kills. A single marine fell in the initial assault, but the rest were able to clean up the remaining defenders. The security cameras were soon shut down, shortly followed by the lights in the building. It was time for the second phase.


    Alan crept down from his vantage point, invisibility still activated. He withdrew from the security network. Instead, he began testing the scouting guards¡¯ shields as his counterpart began readying his twin pistols. Then, he began. The guard¡¯s power armor were defended by trivial mini-force fields, barely able to take two to three hits from Eve and the marine programs. As soon as the shields were down, Eve was able to shut down the power armor, which made it simple for Alan to kill them with a single headshot.


    The guards swarmed around like a nest of angry ants, but retreated back into the building after Alan had halved their number in minutes. Now the real fun began.


    Alan activated a specially programmed feature of his bionic eyes, which kept them open and focused as he sent both halves of his consciousness into the security network. They focused on a separate subsystem within the network, the turret controls. It took a few minutes, but soon Alan had complete control, each half controlling one of the two turrets in the lobby. Using the camera systems, Alan had Eve highlight the five psionic users. He waited until they were in a sensible location for a decent firing pattern, then unleashed pandemonium.


    The laser turrets ripped through the first two unsuspecting psionic users with ease, and managed to turn and fire on two others before they were able to get any defense up. The fifth psionic user managed to throw up a shimmering blue bubble defense, but under the sustained might of two laser turrets soon fell.


    Meanwhile, the guards had come to the realization the turrets had turned against them, but the enclosed nature of the lobby worked against them, as they had to avoid friendly fire and work through the laser turret¡¯s shields. Alan managed to take our another quarter of the guards before they finally managed to destroy their own defenses.


    That done, he systematically began hacking all of the guards shields, deactivating them all and even a few of their weapons before they managed to destroy the security cameras, realizing that they were the source of their problems. Though it was harder to hack through another system, halving the effectiveness each layer Alan needed to go through, it was still a very useful ability that made Alan want to invest in some sort of drone. When he had the credits and points, maybe.


    Bursting through the front lobby entrance, Alan began taking our guards left and right, each hand acting independently, taking out any guard that even began to raise their weapon in Alan¡¯s direction. Thirty seconds later, the first floor was clear.


    Alan rested, regaining energy and retraining the marine program he had lost earlier, then cleared the next eight floors in a similar manner. In the end, he was fighting a preprogrammed encounter, so his enemies weren¡¯t the brightest. They didn¡¯t learn from their mistakes, only increasing in strength and number. Whenever Alan was in any real danger, he activated his armor¡¯s advanced invisibility, retreated, and recouped his energy. Still, Alan felt more powerful than ever.


    He entered the tenth and final floor, advanced invisibility active. It was a completely open room, with no one in it. Alan quickly cycled through the electromagnetic spectrum, but didn¡¯t detect anything. However, when he reached out with his other senses he detected the faint signature of four different sets of power armor.


    Alan attempted to hack into them, but the connection was so faint that it was like crawling through a thin trench. Still, Alan managed to finally form a connection, and initiate a hack. The armor had a defense unlike anything he had previously seen. There were no shield barriers, instead there was a massive metallic pyramid, without any noticeable entrances. Eve tried an attack, but only did 50 damage to the structure¡¯s 100000 HP, its armor simply too high to attack effectively.


    The four sets of power suddenly leapt into action about the room. The attempted hack seemed to have been noticed. Exiting the floor, Alan wondered what he should do. There were four unknown enemies, and he didn¡¯t have time to re-clear the entire building before the tournament if he died here. He stared at the corpse of a previously defeated enemy, then grinned. The corpse still had all its items and armor equipped, as the simulation was set on a war zone setting. In a war zone, every item a player possessed dropped on death, regardless of rank.


    Basic invisibility active, Alan went about floor to floor, looting every piece of explosives that he could find. If his enemies didn¡¯t want to reveal themselves, he¡¯d just blow them all up.


    LEFT, Eve shouted. Alan immediately activated hypercognition as he leapt to his left. A fiery blue sword of pure energy stabbed where he had stood a moment earlier, a Haxlard in grey power armor emerging. Alan fired a torrent of shots at the Haxlard as he retreated, throwing a handful of grenades he had unlocked for good measure. He split his consciousness to begin an attempt to hack the Haxlard¡¯s energy sword, which hopefully had a weaker defense than his armor.


    The Haxlard evaded the majority of the laser fire, deflecting laser bolts that he couldn¡¯t dodge with his sword. A single laser bolt hit the Haxlard, decreasing his shield energy from 76% to 74%. They made a powerful swinging gesture, and a wave of force erupted, knocking the thrown grenades back at Alan. Two exploded before Alan was able to dodge, halving his shield energy.


    Meanwhile, Alan had connected to the Haxlard¡¯s sword. It had a similar pyramid defense, but the smaller pyramid only had 10000 HP. It would take a little over three minutes to break it down, which didn¡¯t seem like that long in reality, but in the heat of battle could take forever. It also didn¡¯t take into account what defense might lie inside the pyramid, and Alan wasn¡¯t sure if Eve could do what she wanted him to do.


    I can, she sent. Just keep the Haxlard busy.


    Easier said than done, Alan sent as he ducked under an overhead swing. He threw a body in the Haxlards path. The Haxlard cut through it like butter, unimpeded. The combined drain on his Computational Energy from hypercognition as well as Divided Mind and maintaining a set of marines was too much, he had maybe a minute of its use remaining. Alan wasn¡¯t confident he¡¯d be able to survive the encounter.


    As he was about to round a corner Eve yelled, STOP. Alan froze, barely able to dodge a blow as he tumbled to the floor.


    You must maintain line of sight for hacking! Eve sent. Alan analyzed the next attack coming from the Haxlard. There would be no way to escape unscathed. He defended the sword swing with his left arm as he began to scuttle backwards. The sword cut through his arm, eliminating the rest of Alan¡¯s shields.


    Alan screamed in pain, leaping to his feet. The Haxlard continued its onslaught, showing no signs of tiring.


    Just three more minutes, Eve sent. Recall your divided mind, I know what I¡¯m doing, it can be done without your help.


    Alan reformed his full consciousness, somehow managing to maintain composure mid-battle while it occurred. A few minutes passed, the Haxlard chasing Alan without success, Alan mindful to keep his enemy in his line of sight. It wasn¡¯t hard, considering the Haxlard was generally an inch from slicing off his head at any given moment.


    Finally, Eve sent to Alan that she was ready, and a series of moves sprang into his mind. He charged the Haxlard as they thrust forwards. As the blade was about to pierce Alan¡¯s chest it vanished, turned off by Eve. Alan used the Haxlard¡¯s momentum to throw it off balance with a knee to the groin. The Haxlard loosened its grip on the sword, about to pull out another weapon, but before it was able to Alan kicked its legs.


    Already unbalanced, the Haxlard fell to the floor as Alan grabbed its outstretched weapon. He pointed it at the Haxlards head, and Eve reactivated the weapon. The blade re-extended and pierced straight through the energy shield and helmet of the Haxlard. They died instantly.


    One down, three to go, Alan sent, staring at the left stump on his left hand.


    The next three enemies turned out to be trivial kills. Having learned from his mistakes, Alan set up a series of explosive booby traps on each floor as well as the entrance to the tenth floor. Then he gathered more explosives. A second invisible enemy was blown to smithereens this way, and the last two enemies decided to stay on the top floor. A mistake.


    Once Alan had gathered every single grenade, remote controlled explosive, and energy weapon he could find, he set them all up on the 9th floor, directly underneath the final two enemies. He set every explosive on a timer, then sprinted down to the first floor.


    He emerged outside just in time to see the beautiful display of pyrotechnics, a massive explosion that took out the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th floors of the building.


    A message appeared as Alan¡¯s arm reformed, good as new:


    [Intermediate Combat Test concluded. You have been awarded a Combat Ranking of A188723231, and Potential Combat Ranking of S+.]


    [+200 Levels +100 ability points for gaining 200 levels with one action.]


    Aww, I didn¡¯t get +200 ability points, Alan sent to Eve.


    100 seems to be the max the Game grants at once, Eve replied.


    ¡°Good, you can hold your own in combat now,¡± Cerberus said. ¡°Catch.¡±


    A coin appeared out of nowhere. Alan caught it with his superhuman reflexes. He stared at it, it was a Black Coin. This one however had an armada of spaceships on one side, a picture of the Enforcer fleet, and a pile of energy crystals on the other.


    ¡°I would like to formally invite you to the Dark,¡± Cerberus said. ¡°Also known as the Revenants.¡±


    A message appeared:


    [New Faction Invite: The Revenants!


    A unique faction, you may join the Revenants regardless of your guild or government. However, many factions will deem you hostile should they discover your involvement with the Revenants.]


    ¡°Despite what many would have you believe, we have no goals other than the sharing of knowledge, a marketplace for anything game-related,¡± Cerberus said. ¡°We have no leaders, only members, who are free to act in whichever way they personally desire.


    ¡°Past so called Great Cyberwars were simply portions of the faction believing more information, such as hacking, should be more widespread, to better protect players from the dangers of the Game. Other wars were portions of the faction intent on wealth and fame, such as the reckless group that attempted to invade the Vault on Khersath.


    ¡°The Black Coins are our own version of Marks, the Scout coin you had is worth about 100C, the Enforcer coin is worth 10000C. Should you join you will be provided with a wealth of new information, new quests, and access to our network, the darknet. I¡¯ll be able to sell you actual attack programs, provide you a 10% discount to upgrades, and can connect you with members that are able to acquire advanced capsule upgrades as well as improvements for your AI. So, what do you say?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ need to think about this,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Take your time, the offer is always open,¡± Cerberus responded. ¡°If you spread information about me know that it will be traced back to you and will never see the light of day. Our members are within positions of power of nearly every major power, even the Administrators, and don¡¯t take kindly to those that would reveal our secrets.¡±


    Make your way to the coliseum, the tournament begins in 30 minutes, Eve sent.


    Alright, Alan said. He began making his way back to the entrance portal.


    ¡°Where are you going? You still haven¡¯t cleared the last section of the obstacle course,¡± Cerberus said.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the Champion¡¯s Tournament,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Ah, yes. Head back right after.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and I almost forgot, Celeste told me that she wanted to talk to you face to face,¡± Alan said, head still swimming.


    ¡°You told her I sent you? Why would you do such a thing¡­ I¡¯m using you as my excuse, as this is your fault, you took a week to deliver her message!¡± Cerberus said.


    Alan shrugged, then made his way to the capsule room on Aenigma, and teleported to Coliseum. He sent a message to Aurora, letting him know he was on his way. As he walked up to the coliseum, he examined and prodded people¡¯s defenses. It seemed like most only had large energy shields protecting their equipment. This was going to be fun.


    What do you think, Eve, should I join the Revenants? he sent.


    It seems like a good choice. You can always deny membership to the group, and the potential benefits seem appealing.


    I agree, Alan replied as he walked up to the Coliseum entrance.


    There was a flash of blue light.


    AC¡ª Eve began to send.


    And Alan died.


    Author''s Note:


    Again the novel is now on Amazon! Please buy and review :D. Part of why I''ve been able to write more quickly is because of the motivation the book release has given me.


    https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B01DFCNAPG</a>

 Announcing thegam3.com! New chapter can be found there.

    Author''s last note on RR:


    I''m happy to announce that The Gam3 has its own website, https://thegam3.com/</a>! The next chapter is live</a>. I''ll continue to post chapters here, but chapters will go up first there. I have posted a short blog</a> over there explaining my decision. Essentially, I''m going to try writing full time, which means weekly regular chapters. I have created a Patreon</a>, with multiple goals/rewards. I am retroactively applying donations to my goals, which means I plan on getting 2-3 chapters out each week for the next month or two. I now have an actual schedule: new chapters will be posted on thegam3.com Mondays and Fridays at midnight PST. Bonus chapters will happen who knows when. Due to preparation time/how Patreon works, new chapter release schedules/rewards will not be put into effect until the month after goals are met.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Also if you''ve donated in the past and are interested in claiming any of the Patreon rewards (an epub file of the book if you''ve donated $10+ or want to name something if you''ve donated $100+) email me at [email protected]</a>. If other people want to contact me you can email me too, or just leave a comment on the new site :P.


    I think I semi-messed up ordering for the past chapter or two, Alan learned hacking way too quickly, and instead will probably get rid of the initial hacking tutorial and put it in the place of last chapter and instead having him learn all the new stuff in a longer/more drawn out part.


    TL;DR: Going full time, more chapters, you can now support me on Patreon</a>!

 The Academy 3.8

    Alan regained consciousness in his Home, devoid of furniture. He checked his message log:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have died! Current respawn point: Error.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Due to the nature of your death, no memories lost.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>As you died within an Academy non-combat zone your items were gathered and are available for pickup at an Administration Center.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Level loss: 30 levels. You are now level 508. All credits lost. 30 ability points lost.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Skill proficiencies have decreased.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>All stats permanently decreased by 30.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Another Game of Assassins: Failed.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Respawn reconstruction: 12 hours remaining.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    What the hell, Alan sent to Eve. She didn''t respond.


    A hand appeared mid-air. Cerberus.


    "What''s going on?" Alan asked.


    "You died," Cerberus said.


    "What killed me? Where is my respawn point? Why is there a respawn timer?" Alan asked.


    "Unknown. Here. Moving data takes time."


    "Huh?"


    The hand tapped an invisible surface. "Must everything be spelled out? Whoever targeted you in the Game of Assassins assassinated you. I set my capsule as your respawn point. The Administrators don''t acknowledge Revenant respawn points. As your levels increase you will gain a respawn timer that grows longer as you level up and become more powerful, especially because of your hacker upgrades.


    Standard Administrator capsules do not recognize or acknowledge hacker abilities or augments, thus you''ll find it takes twice as long to revive in one of their capsules. They might question you regarding the unrecognized modifications too. I''d try to avoid such confrontation."


    "You didn''t tell me any of this," Alan said. "And you can just set my respawn point?"


    "You didn''t ask, or check," Cerberus said. "Revenant capsules are unregulated, their owners can customize them as they like. I personally like to manage the players who respawn here. You should be thankful, your death losses would be greater if you had some other capsule set as your respawn point."


    "Why?" Alan asked. "Shouldn''t respawning be as simple as restoring the last moment you were alive, a simple brain scan?"


    "You think that the Game is capable of sending signals to your brain, halfway across a galaxy or further, and then back to the network of servers? No computer network, no matter how fast, would be able to do that simultaneously for the number of players the Game contains. You are in the Game, Alan: your mind, your soul, your very being. When you log back out you return to your mortal shell but until that point your body is empty. You, the being that is here right now, is part of the Game."


    Alan took half a step back. He recalled the Chief Administrator''s words, that the Game was an out of body experience, that his reality would change. He''d dismissed them as rambling nonsense, but now...


    "Wait, does that mean that when I die, I actually die?" Alan asked. "Am I simply a copy of myself, reconstructed with the same memories?"


    "Enough questions," Cerberus said. " I highly doubt the Game deletes your existence and starts it anew, but you are not ready for the answers you seek nor do I have them. The great geniuses of the Institution have wasted lifetimes on similar existential nonsense and have been unable to reach a conclusion."


    "I thought the Revenants were all about the spread of information," Alan said.


    "Information that people deserve," Cerberus said. "Do you think everyone should possess information capable of destroying the universe or driving them insane?"


    Alan took a deep breath. "I want to find answers. I want to be ready for them. I want to join the Revenants."


    Messages appeared:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Faction Change! Title Established.


    You are now an initiate of the Revenants, granted the title Revenant Initiate. This is a hidden title and faction. Only players you designate will see the title and faction.


    As a faction member, your Faction Standings will be influenced, and your actions will influence your faction¡¯s reputation as well as your own.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Faction Bonus! 10% Discount for all Open Revenant transactions.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Faction Bonus! Increased experience gain while in Open Revenant space.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Faction Bonus! Increased attack damage while in Open Revenant space.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Faction Bonus! Allowed to travel to freely within Open Revenant space.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Faction Bonus! Allowed to interact with many Revenant-only establishments.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Faction Bonus! Increased performance from Revenant equipment.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "Good." There was a momentary shimmer in the air and then Cerberus appeared. He looked like an Administrator in the flesh, with the exact same bone structure and facial features, except entirely biological. To Alan it was like seeing a statue brought to life.


    "Are you an Administrator?" Alan asked.


    "No, I am a Teacher," Cerberus said, smiling. The gesture looked a bit off on his face.


    "A teacher? A teacher of what?"


    "Not of what, but whom. If you want answers, you must provide payment. It''s too soon to discuss Revenant matters. You are now a trial member, I will give you an initiation quest when your training at the Academy is complete.


    I am busy, but if you wish to master hacking contact me to complete your training. It will take two months and 15000 C, 3000 ability points."


    "What am I supposed to do as I wait here? And where do I get 3000 ability points?"


    "I do not know or care. The capsule has the standard Arcade and Market connection. Goodbye." Cerberus vanished, leaving behind blank white space.


    "How am I supposed to access the Arcade or Market?" Alan asked aloud. Two screens appeared:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Do you wish to connect to the Arcade?</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shifting scenes of futuristic battle played forth on the screen, fantastic displays of light and destruction.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Do you wish to connect to the Market?</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Displays of wealth flashed on the screen, stacks of rare metals and platinum marks. Exotic goods, weapons, armor and crystals adorned the side.


    Eve? Alan sent. It felt as though there was a weak response, but it was unintelligible. She was likely being reconstructed along with the rest of Alan''s hacking abilities. With nothing else to do, Alan connected to the Arcade.


    ***


    With a swipe of his blade Alan slew the dragon. His followers cheered him on as they began collecting the dragon''s hoard of gold. The captured princess smiled at Alan, beckoning him closer. Smiling, Alan began walking towards her.


    What are you doing? A familiar voice sounded in his head.


    Eve? Well, I''m just continuing the campaign that I started in the RPG before I entered the Game. It''s a thousand times better when you''re the character.


    You should be studying or resting, there are 85 days and 8 hours left until our term is finished! Remember that we must master two skills and acquire 8 more rogue commendations before the term limit, the sooner the better, so that we can explore the treasure planet Volta. It''s estimated that a player earns 10 platinum marks for each day they spend there!


    Alright, I will rest, just let me finish this quest, Alan sent.


    He reached out to embrace the princess. A message appeared:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Adult content costs an additional 5000 credits! Pay now and experience your every desire.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    With a sigh, Alan shook his head and exited the Arcade. There were millions of games to play and experiences to be had, but most included a price tag. He had thought that the RPG game was better, but it seemed as though the fees were simply lying in wait.


    Alan could easily see himself getting addicted to a game in the Arcade, or one of the movie-like experiences which you could dictate and change to your liking, but the nagging feeling that nothing was actually happening, nothing was really being accomplished stuck with him. He''d stick to the main Game for now.


    ***


    Waking up, Alan saw that his reconstruction timer was done. There were 85 days left. As soon as he exited the capsule, emerging from Cerberus''s Obstacle Course in Aenigma, he was barraged with messages from Sidestep and Aurora; apparently you couldn''t receive or send in-game messages while you were "dead."


    Aurora: Where are you?


    Sidestep: Are you coming? Aurora is starting to pace, never a good sign.


    Aurora: Where are you?


    Aurora: Word of your assassination reached me. Sorry, but we''ll be replacing you on the team. I''ll update you with any information, the Red Tyrant is searching the town with their guards, but they haven''t turned up anything.


    Sidestep: Got 3rd in the tourney. Doubt you could have done anything, we were defeated by a freaking Predecessor in the semifinals; didn''t even realize they went to the Academy, apparently there''s one in every other class. My speed and Aurora''s ice did nothing; our third, Apollo, did less than you, and you were dead.


    Aurora: Kitana achieved 4th with Ace and Thiago, she said you''re familiar with them. The unlikely duo of S and Luna got 2nd, I swear they teamed up just to spite me. The Predecessor, Seeker, won the tournament. I hear that the same assassin that killed you took a shot at S after the tourney, but S managed to dodge it; everyone in the assassin''s game was on high alert after you died.


    Alan: Thanks for the update. I didn''t notice a Predecessor among our classmates, when did they arrive? And who''s Apollo?


    Aurora: They were in one of the previous classes. A new term starts every 30-35 days; there are generally three batches of combat students in the Academy system at once. If you''re studying at the Institute you''re here for however long your program lasts, but can''t visit Volta unless you manage some monumental accomplishment. Apollo''s a cousin that was on a randomized team, no one worth remembering.


    Alan went to the capsule room on Aenigma, and transported to the Administrative Center on the warrior planet. After collecting his armor, damaged from the headshot that had killed him, he proceeded to the coliseum. A guard approached him.


    "The Red Tyrant demands your presence, Alan."


    Following the guard, Alan found the Red Tyrant, standing in the center of the coliseum, holding a goblet of dark red liquid the size of Alan''s head. A handful of attendants surrounded the Predecessor, guards holding an assortment of weapons. The coliseum environment was currently set to a dirt pit.


    The Red Tyrant turned to look down at Alan; Alan had to stop himself from taking half a step back. He tried to meet the Predecessor''s gaze as calmly as he could.


    "I must apologize for the transgression, I thought my realm safe," the Red Tyrant said. "Find whoever besmirched my name and killed you, bring them justice."


    A quest appeared:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Justice is Served:


    Find and kill your assassin. The Red Tyrant gives you permission to kill the assassin while near the Coliseum, permission to perform violence while in other areas must be sought from the area''s leader.


    Partial Reward (for finding the assassin): 1 Warrior Commendation.


    Full Reward (for killing the assassin): 5 Warrior Commendations. 5 platinum marks.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "I was under your protection?" Alan asked.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Yes, this is my domain, my tournament. It is I who required your presence here but failed to keep you safe. I apologize for this mistake, and demand that whoever besmirched my name be found. Here, remove your armor and give it to the guard, I will pay for its repair. You are free to question anyone here to discover the identity of your killer."


    "Um, thank you," Alan said. He began taking off his damaged power armor, handing it over to a guard.


    "You have also missed out on the benefits of the tournament, losing time and levels. How might I be of aid?" the Red Tyrant asked.


    "Actually, is there a sniper trainer that might train me? They could also be helpful in tracking down my killer, especially if there are a limited number of trainers," Alan said.


    "Yes, there is a single sniper trainer, a so-called warrior by the name of Deadshot; he may provide a fruitful lead. But I find that ranged weapons are inferior objects, perfect for women and cowards. You should not waste your time studying such drivel. Come, I will train you in a true weapon." The Red Tyrant drained the rest of its goblet, tossing it aside, and began looking over the weapons the guards were holding.


    "Um, thank you, but that really isn''t necessary," Alan began. The Red Tyrant silenced him with a raise of their hand.


    "Here, these should do nicely." Twin laser swords were tossed to Alan, who caught them with Eve''s help. He examined the weapons:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Crimson Blades (Rank B+):


    Standard short swords of the Crimson Guard. When activated the powerful crimson laser field that is the Crimson Guard''s namesake is capable of decimating any shield. With these weapons the Haxlard elite are a force to be reckoned with, a single unit capable of breaking through any shielded defense. The technology that powers these weapons is a secret to all but the most revered Ultihaxlard craftsmen.


    Regular Damage: 150-200. Laser damage: 1500-2000.


    500 Energy. 5 Energy/sec used while laser is activated, 25 Energy/min regen.


    (Bonus Ability: Shield Destruction. Deals 10% of a shield''s total energy in damage no matter how powerful the shield. Only usable when all weapon''s recommended abilities have been met. 250 energy cost.)


    200/200 Durability. Energy Melee Weapons (Basic) and Sword Fighting (Basic) required.


    Energy Melee Weapons (Intermediate), Energy Efficiency (Intermediate), Enhanced Control (Intermediate), Enhanced Movements (Intermediate), Sword Fighting (Advanced), Crimson Guard Reputation: Friendly recommended.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Damn, Alan sent Eve, Two swings of these swords would kill me. The Modified Revenant Scout Power Armor I''m wearing only has 2000 energy.


    Yes, the armor''s lack in defense is likely what got us one-shot by the sniper. But the stealth capabilities more than make up for it. We should however remain stealthed at all times from now on; I originally did not wish to offend anyone''s sensibilities, and thought we would have been able to evade an attack in time.


    Alan looked up at the Red Tyrant. "Thank you for these swords, but I don''t have the abilities to wield them."


    The Red Tyrant smiled. "And who said I was giving them to you?" It walked over to Alan, towering over him. "All weapons must be earned."


    A massive black two-handed long sword the size of Alan appeared in the Red Tyrant''s hand, immediately absorbing the surrounding light and red glow of the Crimson Blades. It had a guard with two small spikes jutting out of it, parrying hooks like a Zweihander sword. It was a soulsteel blade, worth as much as a small fleet of starships.


    Alan activated hypercognition.


    With a mad gleam in their eye the Red Tyrant swung at Alan, who narrowly dodged the blow. The sword sliced through the air and then through the ground of the coliseum. Alan knew the Predecessor was holding back, or he''d never have been able to react to the blow in time. He weaved through the next series of attacks, trying to back up and get as far away from the Predecessor as he could.


    It was hopeless. Each time he took a step back the Predecessor appeared beside him, swinging its massive sword. The Red Tyrant roared, "What are you doing? Are you a dog or a warrior? Fight me. Your reach is far less than mine, you should want to get close to me."


    Alan swung a blade at the Predecessor as he dodged the next attack. He barely scratched the surface of the Red Tyrant''s skin.


    "Hah! That tickles. When you strike you have to mean it, want it. Where is your ferocity?" Red Tyrant raised its sword above its head, telegraphing an obvious overhead swing. Alan darted to the side. The sword swung downward with a massive arc, splitting the earth itself, causing Alan to stumble to the side.


    Using hypercognition to plan out his next steps, Alan regained his balance, activated the laser fields of the Crimson Blades and stabbed forwards with all his might, letting out a guttural yell as he did so.


    The blades thrust forward, stabbing through the Predecessor, and then stopped about a centimeter later. It felt like hitting a wall. With a backhand swing the Red Tyrant knocked Alan to the floor, snapping him out of hypercognition mode.


    "Eh, good enough."


    Two messages appeared:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Managing to go head to head with a fearsome Predecessor, demonstrating sword mastery, you have gained two new abilities, Energy Melee Weapons (Basic) and Sword Fighting (basic).</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>+10 Agility +25 Strength</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I demonstrated sword mastery? Alan thought to himself.


    The moves I set that you followed were quite masterful, Eve replied. Alan recalled the fight, he had barely recognized that he was following one of Eve''s outlines, like he knew what she would command and thus did it. Almost as though he could access her thoughts.


    "Why am I even here again? I can leave when I want," a voice called out, near the entrance of the arena. Alan looked up to see another Predecessor, taller than him, but only by about a foot and a half. They wore a black suit, a mesh of dark fabric.


    The Red Tyrant looked at them. "Breaker, you and all the other children that come here rely too heavily on your natural gifts. Your performance in the tournament was embarrassing, to be of my blood and so weak... you nearly lost in the semifinals, to a group of ?lven."


    "I was playing with them, like you and your games. None of them could have hurt me, it''s not like anyone has a blade of soulsteel lying around."


    Except I do, Alan thought to himself, wondering who this was.


    It is one of the Red Tyrant''s clansmen, of its blood, Eve replied.


    Why it, not he or she? How do you know that? Alan asked.


    From the Academy''s database I have learned Predecessors are gender fluid. I gained this information from their conversation, you should pay more attention to people''s words.


    They change genders over time?


    Yes and no, Eve sent. At the time of mating the stronger Predecessor is deemed ''male'', the weaker ''female'', but any Predecessor may play either role, it simply depends on who overpowers who. They have evolved so that the physical traits of the ''male'' are more likely to be passed down to the child, while the ''female'' gives birth and passes down other traits. Predecessors do not think of parents in the traditional sense you think of them, and instead have blood relatives, traced through a lineage of ''males.''


    Wait, what? No, on second thought I don''t want to know anymore. Also, since when have you been accessing the Academy database for information? Alan sent.


    Since our arrival, Eve sent.


    Oh, well good job.


    "This is not the time to be fooling around Breaker, I sense a great war brewing," the Red Tyrant said.


    "Ooooh, look at me, I''m the Red Tyrant the great war hero, aid me in finding the scumbag that defiled my sacred ground, the same ground that I can''t leave for another thousand years. There''s always another war, it doesn''t mean you have to fight in them," Breaker said.


    The Red Tyrant shook its head. "This one is different, I fear that the nature of the Game itself may change."


    Breaker glanced over at Alan. "And this is why you called me here?"


    "No, no. I called you here to fight." The Red Tyrant smiled.


    "Who? Them?" Breaker pointed at Alan. "I doubt that it would be much of a battle."


    "Yes, well Alan here was supposed to have been part of the ?lven team that almost defeated you. I think they may have even beaten you with his help."


    "What? A human? They''re even weaker than the ?lves, though their comedy is mildly entertaining. You should watch the stunts they play, almost dying, risking actual death for a few credits. They''re heretics, one and all." Breaker stared at Alan, who stared back. "He does have a certain presence. It''s faint, but there."


    "Yes, if I''m not mistaken he is now of an ancient blood I have not felt in many years. Don''t worry though Alan, I won''t pick your brain apart. Yet.


    "Instead, let us play a game. Breaker, if you can disarm Alan before he slices you with either of his blades, I will give you a sliver of soulsteel. Alan, if you manage to even nick Breaker before he disarms you I will allow you to keep the Crimson Blades."


    Breaker lunged at Alan, almost reaching Alan before he managed to activate hypercognition. Alan barely managed to turn the blade in Breaker''s direction. Breaker simply turned his hands to grab from above, faster than Alan could move. Eve showed Breaker grabbing Alan''s actual arms, and calculated the one possible action that might give Alan a chance.


    Breaker grabbed hold of Alan''s arms, and was about to pull when the Red Tyrant said, "Stop. You have lost."


    ''What?" Breaker exclaimed. The Predecessor looked down, and saw a tiny tear in its suit. Alan had activated the laser field and tossed both blades forwards, enough to cause the small tear.


    "If you had simply snatched the blades out of his hand instead of trying to literally dis-arm him, you would have succeeded," the Red Tyrant said. "No matter, I would have given you a miniscule sliver of soulsteel."


    Breaker rolled their eyes. "I''ll be in the Arcade."


    "No, you require greater training, discipline!" the Red Tyrant said.


    Breaker exited the arena.


    The Red Tyrant sighed, looking at Alan. "Teenagers, what can you do? You''d think they''d remove that, but no, it''s an important part of the developmental process... On to other matters, whose presence do I detect?"


    Does the Academy have anything on what Predecessors are able to detect? Is this a test or a simple probe? Should I tell the truth? Alan asked Eve.


    I am unsure of the answer to all these questions; I do not know the standing of the Lord of the Abyss. They were imprisoned, but it seems as though the Red Tyrant is also a prisoner of some sort.


    Well you''re of surprising little help, Alan sent.


    I was not designed for social communication, Eve fired back.


    "What do you know of the Abyss Labyrinth?" Alan finally asked. The Red Tyrant had been helpful enough, and would likely be able to detect any lie he told.


    "Yes, yes that would explain it," the Red Tyrant said. "It seems I owe you yet another debt, this is a useful piece of information; it would be about that time."


    "About what time?" Alan asked.


    "Nothing, nothing. It is of little concern to you, this is but one small piece of the puzzle, of the war that is to come. You may play a larger role than I thought. Is there something else I might help you with?"


    Alan thought for a second, then said, "Can you teach me how to hide my presence?"


    "Ah, now that is quite the demand. I, however, might not be the best teacher. Return to me after you have found your assassin or a month has passed and I will have arranged for a proper tutor. Now go, another tournament is about to start."


    Alan left the arena, determined to hunt his killer down.

 The Academy 3.9

    All of the Red Tyrant''s leads were dead ends. The guards saw nothing, the site of attack had nothing and the instructor knew nothing. Frustrated, Alan flicked through his quest log.


    There are two events which require our immediate attention, Eve sent.


    And they are?


    Returning to Null Point Station, we are three days overdue on fixing the flight simulators, and contacting Celeste, she likely is one of the primary information gatherers within the Academy, she may have information about our assassin or may be able to train us in areas we are lacking.


    Right, the virus clearing quest. I almost forgot about that, Alan sent.


    He hurried over to the nearest Administrative Center and transported to Null Point Station, using his second teleportation of the day. He''d only be given one more.


    "Halt. State your business," the waiting guard said as Alan arrived. He was wearing the same lightweight power armor and jetpack.


    "I''m here to fix a glitch in the flight simulators."


    The guard paused, looking over a message log that appeared before him.


    "You are Alan?" the guard asked.


    "Yes, I am."


    "You are three days overdue. Due to your negligence the virus spread and outside help was sought. You are hereby banned from Null Point Station for a period of 30 days. Please depart immediately," the guard said.


    "Wait, what? I know I was late, but there were circumstances beyond my control. I had to go get the upgrades needed to deal with the problem, which took a week in and of itself, and then I was assassinated by another player!" Alan said.


    "You agreed to a contract and failed to abide by it." The guard paused, reading a message that he had received. "Cobalt-1-7 says that it is only out of his respect for Cerberus that you have not been permanently banned from the station; you should have sent word when you realized there were complications. Now, I am asking you to leave." The guard raised his weapon, pointing it at Alan.


    "Okay, take it easy," Alan said. He teleported to the Institute, with its long hallways of classrooms and lecture halls. He made his way over to Celeste''s classroom; this time determined to make a good impression.


    He paused in front of the door, hearing nothing within. The door''s window was gone. He knocked.


    "Come in," Celeste said. This time the room was setup as an office instead of a classroom. Celeste was sitting behind an ornate wood desk; various trinkets, paintings and sculptures filled the room, probably representing some cultural significance Alan knew nothing about.


    "Alan ,was it?"


    "Yes," Alan said. "I would like to apologize for my earlier behavior. It was uncalled for and rude."


    Celeste smiled. "I''d be impressed, if it wasn''t for the fact that Cerberus was here a few minutes earlier with a similar lickspittle speech. Now what do you want?"


    "Why are you so certain that I want something?'' Alan asked, trying to look surprised.


    "Don''t. I can see through you like a Haxlard wedding veil. I knew you were here for something because I have yet to meet a single one of Cerberus''s students that weren''t just like you; straightforward and unwilling to go out of their way if they didn''t had to. Direct, to the point, with a quest to complete, I think that sums you up nicely. Or am I wrong?"


    "No, not really," Alan said. "Can you tell me much about Cerberus''s other students?"


    "It''s not really my place to say," Celeste said. "But most have been like you: new to the Game, with a powerful AI at their side. Maybe one or two with every class of students, though the numbers have been waning of late. The only reason I''ve taken notice is Cerberus was never known to take many students, given his responsibilities."


    "Oh, interesting," Alan said. There were other new machine lords like him? What were they doing?


    It''s hardly surprising given the number of players in the Game, Eve sent.


    Yes, but why did Cerberus never say anything? Alan replied. Eve had no answer.


    "More information than you might expect can be gained from just a bit of chatting, asking the right questions or mentioning the right topics," Celeste said. "Conversation is an art, one that you have far from mastered.


    "Communication is paramount, and in your single-minded focus you will experience trouble sooner rather than later. Let me teach you the art, Elissandra is an old friend, I''ll forward the Black Rose Guild the fee."


    "Thank you for the offer," Alan said, "but I''m not here to learn how to talk to people. I''m here for information, and maybe a bit of knife training."


    "You''re looking for your killer," Celeste said.


    "Yes, how did you know?" Alan asked.


    "Talking to people," Celeste said. "I''m afraid I can''t help you in that regard; I can, however, help you with the latter. For future reference, all Institution teachers have their schedules on the globalnet, where you will see I am spending today on private instruction. It just so happens that I am instructing someone in knife work today. I suspect that they''ll be happy to let you join, having another student could prove useful. I''ll forward the Black Rose guild the bill."


    "Alright, when do we begin?" Alan asked.


    "How about now," Celeste said, looking behind Alan. There was a knock at the door. Alan turned around. Daisy entered, shutting the door behind her.


    Celeste waved her hands and the room changed like it was a simulation room. The office space disappeared and a city street replaced it. Based upon a pyramid-like structure in the distance it was supposed to be a street on Khersath. Pedestrians began appearing, along with a few street vendors.


    "Hello Daisy," Celeste said as bystanders, NPC''s began walking around her. "I hope you don''t mind if Alan joins us today, he''ll pay for half the lesson''s cost."


    "Very well," Daisy said. She walked next to Alan on his right, looked at him once, then refocused her attention on Celeste. Alan shifted his feet, trying to hear Celeste over the noise of the street as traffic weaved around them.


    "Knife fighting is a lie," Celeste began. "Knives are weapons, but they are only useful when a target is up close and personal. You will not fight off swordsmen or riflemen with a knife. If someone attacks you with a knife, you most likely will not have time to react."


    To your left, Eve sent. Alan looked over to his left just in time to see a bystander take a shiv out of their pocket. He dodged out of the way.


    "Ah!" Daisy let out a cry, two small sharp pieces of metal sticking out of her sides. The attackers disappeared into the crowd.


    "Oh, shit, I''m sorry," Alan said. "I should have-"


    "I''m fine," Daisy said. She pulled out the two pieces of metal, tossing them to the floor; she held her hands over the wounds and a soft green glow filled the air.


    "Healers," Celeste continued, "will likely be the first target of any attack. As well as glass cannons." She glanced at Alan. "You must remain vigilant against attacks at all times; be aware of your surroundings. There should never be a prolonged engagement, knife wielders are at a disadvantage the moment they are discovered."


    Two guards appeared. They looked around for a moment, searching for the attackers, then returned to their posts along the street.


    "Now go, find and defeat your attackers," Celeste said. She took out two sharp metal blades, handing one to Alan and Daisy.


    Alan looked over at Daisy, still in obvious discomfort from the wounds. "You stay here, I''ll go out and find them."


    "No," Daisy said. "And no helping me. I''m here to become useful."


    "Healers are useful! They''re one of the most crucial classes in games," Alan said.


    "Not when, as Thiago put it, a battle can last a single second, a single push of a button. There is nothing preventing others from carrying around medical kits, technology anyone can use to heal themselves. To be helpful, to make a difference in any party, I can''t simply be the healer." Daisy shook her head, then disappeared into the crowd.


    Alan stared after her for a second.


    I have located the two attackers, Eve sent. The attackers were highlighted red, allowing Alan to easily pinpoint them. Celeste noticed as Alan looked in their direction.


    "Alan, you take out the guards, it looks like two street thugs are too easy a target for you," Celeste said. "Getting close to people without setting them on guard generally requires talking to them."


    "Or an invisibility field," Alan said, activating his armor''s basic invisibility.


    Celeste frowned, pushing a few buttons on a screen that appeared before her. Two sentry robots with scanners appeared. Alan tried hacking into them, but they appeared to be nonexistent, a limit to the simulation. Oddly, he could sense the simulation itself, but he decided against hacking into it.


    Instead, Alan activated his armor''s advanced invisibility, which the robots were unable to see through. He stepped right up to the first guard, and stabbed them in the heart.


    They crumpled to the ground, dead.


    Behind you, Eve sent. Celeste was behind him, holding two knives. It looked like she wanted to attack, but couldn''t determine his position.


    "Enough, reveal yourself," Celeste said. Alan deactivated his invisibility field.


    "Why do you need training?" Celeste asked. "While I think your methods naive, they are doubtlessly effective. You''d likely be able to reach most targets."


    "Well, to access Volta, I was thinking of reaching master level in Knife Mastery," Alan said. "I was also hoping you might have a database of information that describes various alien customs and cultures that I could consult."


    "Any reason for Knife Mastery in particular?" Celeste asked.


    "I have a weapon that requires it," Alan said.


    "Very well, to master any skill you simply need to demonstrate a level of competency to the Game. I will provide you with a suitable training room. I had planned on teaching you how to reach targets, but I think your methods differ greatly from mine.


    "In regards to your other demand, there are so many factors that go into any social exchange that I highly doubt you''ll receive decent results trying to calculate the suitable action, but if you wish to go down that path I believe I can recommend a list of books that should provide enough context to tackle basic social situations." There was a commotion in the distance, raised voices and a crowd forming. "Now it looks like my other student needs me. Good luck."


    Walls appeared, enclosing Alan in a white chamber. Two messages appeared:


    [You have entered a simulated zone! All damage will be simulated and not actually affect the player. No death penalties. Severe XP penalties while in the zone.]


    [Permissions: None, unable to call into being or change the simulation. Basic interaction with simulated environment allowed.


    Welcome! The knife test will assess your knife mastery. Additional examinations may be needed. Data from your fights in the assessment will be analyzed. Are you ready to begin the test?]


    Alan selected yes.


    [Preparing test¡­]


    [Knife Test Initialized]


    The virtual space shifted, creating an obstacle course. Red outlined targets appeared all around Alan. He couldn''t see an end to the obstacle course, it surrounded him, extending in every direction. It grew more complex the further out Alan looked, with Eve highlighting numerous traps she had already detected. A row of knives appeared before Alan in a menu, ranging from simple metal combat knives to high-powered laser knives. Eve highlighted the weapons she approved. Alan didn''t find a soulsteel knife in the list of options.


    After a bit of deliberation, Alan chose a pair of Elite Crimson Combat Knives, as they were similar to his newly acquired Crimson Blades, just smaller. Alan tested a few swings with them, they felt natural enough. He was able to activate the laser field on the knives with a thought directed at Eve. A message appeared:


    [The Knife Examination will begin when you select ready. You will be tasked with eliminating all red targets. You are to avoid hitting any target of a different color. You will be graded on technique, targets destroyed and timing. Black dots designate weak spots on each target.]


    Alan selected ready, then launched himself over a low grey wall that appeared in front of him. Eve plotted out a path through the obstacle course for him, and he followed it as usual. The first fifty targets were simple to reach, navigating to them no harder than climbing a wall or dodging a laser trap. Alan attacked each target according to Eve''s outlines, anticipating how the targets, which were all humanoid in shape, would move.


    As Alan eliminated the fiftieth target a wave of five knife-wielding red thugs appeared, about his height. Alan eliminated them one by one, dodging all incoming blows. 10 knife-wielding red targets appeared. Dealing with them required Alan to follow Eve''s direction with the utmost care, each step crucial to-


    Alan tripped, causing himself to fall onto an oncoming knife. A message appeared:


    [Knife Test Complete.]


    [No new abilities gained or upgrade to ability.]


    Damn it, again, Alan sent. The test restarted, a familiar obstacle course appearing.


    Shit, again? Alan sent, hoping there would have at least been checkpoints.


    Yes, we should wait until you have caught your breath-


    No. Let''s go. Alan made his way through the obstacle course, only slightly different from before. He took longer to get through the obstacle course, his tiredness taking its toll. This time when the first wave of attackers appeared he activated hypercognition. With ease he managed to deal with the first wave of attackers, the second, the third and the fourth. But his computational energy ran out before the fifth wave of attackers, a combination of melee and ranged attackers. Stabbing at the wrong angle caused him to lose hold of a knife. Shortly after a sword that he was unable to deflect or dodge stabbed through him. A message appeared:


    [Knife Test Complete.


    Managing to destroy 50 consecutive targets with amazing control, you have learned Knife Mastery (Basic)!


    +10 Agility +5 Strength +5 Endurance]


    Rest before the next attempt, Eve sent.


    Fine, Alan replied. He sat down on the floor, going over the previous two tries. As soon as his stamina and computational energy were full he commanded Eve to restart the test. This time he would wait until the fifth round of attackers before he would activate hypercognition. He failed in the third round, ignoring one of Eve''s outlined movements, not seeing the attack that came from behind.


    God damn it, again, Alan sent.


    Perhaps-


    Again.


    Very well.


    The fourth and fifth tries fared no better than the second, the combination of precise balancing and control over his already tired body too much for Alan.


    Try something different, Eve sent.


    Like what? Alan asked.


    Try splitting your mind, controlling the two different sides of your body.


    The experiment failed, the sense of control too strange for Alan''s split mind; layered on top of the odd sensation of controlling half a body was the need for the two parts to communicate with each other to balance. Alan nearly fell on his face with the first step forward he tried take.


    Try having one part of your mind control the top half of your body, the other your bottom part.


    Fine. Alan did as Eve commanded. The sensation was odd, but it did make controlling his body a simpler, as instead of needing to keep track of every part of his body at once he only needed to control half.


    Of course you came up with this idea, Alan thought.


    What?


    Nothing. Again. The test restarted, but Alan barely made it three quarters of the way through the obstacle course; his lower half had tried to make a jump a tad sooner than his upper half had expected, resulting in a missed grab at an over-hanging bar. Alan crashed to the floor, landing on his face.


    Again, both halves of Alan''s split mind sent.


    It is unadvisable to-


    Again. But this time add a timer to each action. Let me know if I end up out of synch.


    Very well.


    Alan managed to complete the obstacle course without any errors, but he was still slower than his first attempt. The wave of attackers appeared. Alan carefully followed Eve''s outlines and took them all out. He defeated the second wave as well. A third wave appeared, and despite a small misstep Eve was able to adapt, allowing Alan to complete the round. He activated hypercognition, which simplified things immensely, and completed the fourth and fifth rounds. No new enemies appeared; a short break allowed Alan to regain stamina and energy.


    Good job, Eve sent. Alan ignored her, and the next phase of the test began. Another damn obstacle course, but this one had no obvious pathway, filled with treacherous footholds and hanging ropes.


    Targets appeared like ninjas, attacking Alan as he traversed the obstacle course. He barely made it twenty feet before one sliced off a rope he was holding onto, causing him to fall to his death, despite the fact that he had followed Eve''s directions perfectly.


    Sorry, that move was unexpected, she sent.


    Again. And Alan tried the test again. Then again once more, on and on until four hours had nearly passed. Half the time Alan barely made it past the fifth wave of attackers, and never further than a hundred feet into the second obstacle course. As his body became tired, the time for breaks grew longer and Alan began to fail to make it past the third round of attackers.


    "The others were like that too, or so I hear."


    Alan, drenched in sweat, spun around to find Celeste. She stood by a doorway, looking at him.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "The other what?" Alan asked.


    "The other machine lords; they were all able to learn a new skill faster than any other, but few were ever able to train an ability past the intermediate level," Celeste said. "Only a handful were able to master a skill and make it to Volta."


    "Master a skill? Don''t you mean two skills?" Alan asked.


    "No," Celeste said. "Were you required to master two?"


    "Yes," Alan said.


    "Interesting," Celeste said. "The Game adapts, everything is variable, from what you hear to say to quests to sound to what you see. Thus the need for clear communication."


    "Whatever. You''re supposed to be teaching me knife fighting, right? What advice or instruction do you have."


    "If your goal is to make it to Volta then my advice is simple. Give up. You have no aptitude for knife mastery, you lack the finesse, the refinement and the control that is necessary to master the skill. The only reason you''ve made it this far is because of the instruction of your AI.


    "I can tell by watching you," Celeste said. "Your movements are uncoordinated: wooden and mechanical. It''s like watching a Erudite try to dance. Mastering any skill requires years of training, you have to practice the skill to the point that ever movement is natural, ingrained into your very being. You won''t reach that level in a few months, certainly not by following a program''s directions without any understanding of why you''re performing your actions."


    "What do you mean?" Alan asked.


    "Tell your AI to stop giving you commands," Celeste said.


    Stop giving outlines, Alan sent.


    "Now," Celeste said, "stab forwards with both hands."


    Alan blinked. He looked down at the knives in his hands, then tried stabbing forwards in the manner that felt most natural.


    "Your grip is wrong, your footwork is wrong, everything that you just did is wrong," Celeste said. "But you have no idea why, do you? Despite the hours of training that you just performed do you understand knife fighting any better?"


    Alan thought to himself. "No, I guess I don''t. So what are you saying? That I just abandon my AI when I train? I''m obviously a talentless hack that can''t do anything without her. What would you advise?"


    "You''ve managed to reach a level that takes most people a matter of weeks in a single day, and you complain about your talent? Daisy still hasn''t managed to reach basic knife mastery, you know."


    "Yes, but that was only with Eve, my AI. Without her I doubt I''d have many skills at all. The Game is only recognizing them as my skills, not hers, because I''m the one performing the actions, but she''s the brain, she''s the one coming up with every action."


    Celeste shrugged. "I can''t tell you how to play, but I''d suggest trying to find something that you are good at, not your AI. I''m sorry, but I don''t think it''s knife fighting."


    "No, thank you. This has been helpful. Do you know somewhere I can shower and sleep for free? I''m out of credits."


    "The student dormitories are in the directory, check in with them, they have open spaces for all Academy students. Where have you been sleeping up until now?" Celeste asked.


    "Capsules, mostly. In my Home," Alan said, trying to recall where exactly he had been sleeping. Mostly in Cerberus''s Revenant capsule.


    Celeste put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her. "Are you all right, Alan?" Celeste asked.


    "Why would I not be alright? I''m just tired," he said, puzzled.


    "Alright, well if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to find me. I know that Cerberus is likely not the most talkative of mentors, given his predicament, and you need to talk to more people besides your AI."


    "What, you think I''m not getting enough human contact? I think there was some sort of miscommunication here, because I''m fine. Great. I''m playing a freaking virtual reality game so far advanced I can''t even begin to fathom how it works," Alan said.


    "Okay. Just remember if you ever need someone to talk to I''m here. It''s rarely mentioned, but the main source of death these days is suicide, so if you ever feel depressed-"


    "I''m fine," Alan said. "I just had a frustrating day and need to figure out what I''m doing next. Goodbye." He turned around and left the simulation room. A message appeared:


    [Managing to defeat 100 consecutive enemies with amazing control, Knife Mastery (Basic) has been upgraded to Knife Mastery (Intermediate)!


    +15 Agility +10 Strength +10 Endurance]


    Alan found his way to the student dormitories in the Institute, and was able to find a empty single room. He took a shower, found some food, then lay awake on top of his bed, staring at all his stats.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Status Window</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Name:</td>


    <td>Alan</td>


    <td>Alignment:</td>


    <td>Neutral</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Level:</td>


    <td>508</td>


    <td>Class:</td>


    <td>Rogue Machine Lord</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Species:</td>


    <td>Human (Earth)</td>


    <td>Gender:</td>


    <td>Male</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Titles</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Black Rose Recruit, Revenant Initiate (Hidden)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Renown:</td>


    <td>Rank G (50*)</td>


    <td>Notoriety:</td>


    <td>Unranked (15*)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">-</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Health:</td>


    <td>545 / 560</td>


    <td>Health Regen:</td>


    <td>0.06 / Sec</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Computational Energy:</td>


    <td>254/ 500</td>


    <td>Regen:</td>


    <td>0.06 / Sec</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Shield Energy:</td>


    <td>500 / 500</td>


    <td>Shield Regen:</td>


    <td>1.05 / Min</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Stamina:</td>


    <td>340 / 340</td>


    <td>Stamina Regen:</td>


    <td>1.25 / Sec</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">-</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Strength:</td>


    <td>69</td>


    <td>Agility:</td>


    <td>179</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Intelligence:</td>


    <td>117</td>


    <td>Willpower:</td>


    <td>54</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Charisma:</td>


    <td>1</td>


    <td>Perception:</td>


    <td>191</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Endurance:</td>


    <td>68</td>


    <td>Luck:</td>


    <td>42</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">-</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Resistances</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Physical:</td>


    <td>23.6%</td>


    <td>Mental:</td>


    <td>87.1%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Psionic:</td>


    <td colspan="3">5.2%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">-</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Faction Standings</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>United World Government:</td>


    <td>Neutral*</td>


    <td>Predecessors:</td>


    <td>Neutral*</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Legion of Man:</td>


    <td>Neutral*</td>


    <td>Lords of Life:</td>


    <td>Neutral</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Haxlards:</td>


    <td>Neutral</td>


    <td>Administrators:</td>


    <td>Friendly*</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Revenants:</td>


    <td>Friendly</td>


    <td>Black Rose Guild:</td>


    <td>Friendly</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Ability Points:</td>


    <td>387*</td>


    <td>Current Quest:</td>


    <td>Justice is Served</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">General Ability Window</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Acrobatics (Basic)</td>


    <td>F*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>G</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to perform miraculous feats of agility and balance.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Detect Presence</td>


    <td>B*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>B</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to detect the presence of others.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Gifted</td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    <td>F</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on attributes.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skilled</td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    <td>F</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on abilities.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Talented (Undeveloped)</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>D</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Enhances your talent in various areas.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Combat Ability Window</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Energy Efficiency(Basic)</td>


    <td>E</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>D</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to use technology more efficiently, wasting less energy on extraneous actions.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Energy Melee Weapons (Basic)</td>


    <td>D</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>E</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to use energy based melee weapons effectively.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic)</td>


    <td>D</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>E</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to use energy based ranged weapons effectively.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Knife Mastery (Intermediate)</td>


    <td>C*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>C</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to wield knives effectively.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Sniping (Advanced)</td>


    <td>A*</td>


    <td>B43522</td>


    <td>B</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to fire weapons with deadly precision, no matter the obstacle.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Sword Mastery (Basic)</td>


    <td>D*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>D</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to wield swords effectively.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Hacking Ability Window*</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Connect</td>


    <td>C</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>B</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to mentally forge connections with machines. Somehow, your mind is able to comprehend and send digital signals.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Data Interaction</td>


    <td>S*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>S</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Error.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Machine Communication</td>


    <td>C*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>F</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to communicate with synthetic beings.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Mental Hack</td>


    <td>D*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>C</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to seek and exploit weakness in connected minds.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Mind Defense</td>


    <td>B*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Your mind has been organized in such a way that it is only with much difficulty that a foreign host will be able to begin to comprehend it.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Machine Lord Ability Window</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Divided Mind</td>


    <td>A</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">You are now able to split your mind in two, completing two tasks at once or tackling the same problem from two sides. Costs 100 Computational Energy to activate.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Enhanced Accuracy</td>


    <td>B*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>C</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Gives the player enhanced accuracy when aiming, allowing them to precisely calculate where and when to attack to hit their target.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Enhanced Awareness</td>


    <td>C*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>B</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Gives the player enhanced awareness of their surroundings, allowing them to perceive their environment to a greater extent.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Enhanced Control (Advanced)</td>


    <td>A</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">An ability that gives you greater control over your own body and mind, allowing you to surpass normal limits and make precise movements.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Enhanced Movements</td>


    <td>B*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>B</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Gives the player enhanced control over their movements, allowing them to make precise movements with ease.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Ignore Pain</td>


    <td>E*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>F</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to suppress pain with one''s mind.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Hypercognition</td>


    <td>B*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Allows the user to enter a state of accelerated perception, able to perform mental operations at an accelerated rate. Costs 10 Computation Energy/Sec.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Programming a Path</td>


    <td>C*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>D</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Programming a Path allows the player¡¯s thought out actions to become almost second nature, allowing inhuman feats of precise movement.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Transcendent Will</td>


    <td>C</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>C</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Gives unimaginable willpower in extreme situations, allowing the user to accomplish feats of will otherwise thought impossible. Also allows the user to remain conscious longer when they so wish to.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Rogue Ability Window</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Jack of All Trades</td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    <td>E</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Gives a basic understanding of many elementary skills. Allows player to acquire new skills more easily.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Quick Learner</td>


    <td>B*</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>C</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The ability to quickly learn and develop new abilities and talents.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Sneak (Intermediate)</td>


    <td>E</td>


    <td>F1859537634</td>


    <td>G</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">An intermediate stealth ability.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Stealth (Basic)</td>


    <td>E</td>


    <td>E434459</td>


    <td>F</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The art of moving about undetected.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Skill Name:</td>


    <td>Skill Rank:</td>


    <td>Skill Proficiency:</td>


    <td>Skill Rarity:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Trap Detection (Basic)</td>


    <td>F</td>


    <td>???</td>


    <td>F</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">The basic ability to detect traps.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">AI Status Window</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Name:</td>


    <td>Eve</td>


    <td>Classification:</td>


    <td>Undetermined</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Computing Ability:</td>


    <td>Rank C</td>


    <td>Synchronization Level:</td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Main Objective:</td>


    <td>Train Alan</td>


    <td>Current Role:</td>


    <td>General Functions</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Operating System: Classified</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Corruption Level:</td>


    <td>19%</td>


    <td>Storage Level:</td>


    <td>39%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Aberration Levels</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Baseline:</td>


    <td>23%</td>


    <td>Sanity Check:</td>


    <td>Pass</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Administrator Warning Status:</td>


    <td>2 Warnings</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Alan stared at all the windows for a while longer before falling asleep, unsure what to do.


    Author''s Note:


    Newest update should change things to HTML, yay </img> Also sorry didn''t realize I locked this thread, not sure how that happened. Thanks to kanadaj for helping me figure out what I was doing wrong.


    <del>Welp, looks like I lied, I''ll be adding more notes. If you want to see all of the stats scroll to the bottom of the chapterhere:https://thegam3.com/2016/05/20/the-academy-3-9/</a></del>


    <del>Incoming rant about bbcode:</del>


    <del>People are probably wondering why it took so long for me to post the chapter that''s been up on thegam3.com for a while. The answer is tables. To format the table for wordpress it needs to be in html format, for here it needs to be in bbcode. I thought I''d be able to just convert between the two with an online tool. Nope. None of the existing tools can handle nested tables.</del>


    <del>So I tried to take the existing code which many of these online tools provideand improve it to handle nested tables. How hard could it be? Way too freaking hard. Eventually I gave up. So next I tried to figure out a differentway to convert the tables, I even contemplated taking screenshots and just pasting them here as images. They were ugly. So was converting the tables in word to images. So no tables here, sorry, there''s just too much to recreate at this point. In case people are wondering yes, I do need to jump through a number of hoops to get stuff working here. For example when posting chapters here I would need to italicize every single line of italics. Eventually I figured out I could convert the italics tags from html to bbcode at least.I alsohad to remake each table for the book so it would work.</del>


    <del>Let''s just say my hate for bbcode played a part in myswitching to wordpress leave it at that.</del>


    <del>TL;DR Fuck bbcode. There''s probably some solution to this I never figured out and isn''t documented on the forums. If there is, post it in all caps. I''m sure many authors will be grateful.</del>

 The Academy 3.10

    I have determined our plans, Alan sent Eve the next morning.


    Oh? Eve replied.


    We will try to gather as many abilities as we can in as short a period as possible, except this time you will try to teach me the ability, not simply show me how it is done, Alan sent. Along with the stat bonuses that we''ll gain there might even be one or two skills I can master in a few months. And if I can''t, who cares? The abilities will come in handy.


    Very well, but we should concentrate on all abilities, not only combat oriented ones, Eve sent. Luckily stats cannot fall below 1, but you should try to raise your Charisma as quickly as possible. I believe a number of our troubles have been a result of your low Charisma.


    Troubles? What troubles? Alan asked.


    The exorbitant prices exacted on us to pay for lessons, for one, Eve sent. I thought it odd all the teachers were charging for lessons, but that''s because they were private, one on one lessons. All group lessons are free and open to anyone, but no one mentioned this to you until yesterday. I also believe you would have been charged far less if your Charisma was at a decent level.


    Alright, sure, so no one told me about that. What''s your point? Alan asked.


    You have no friends or allies that you can call upon here, no one is willing to give you information regarding your assassin because no one wants to talk to you, Eve sent.


    Wait, hang on a second, I have friends, Alan sent. And no one had any information!


    You have acquaintances, people''s whose goals align with yours, Eve sent. And there is always more information, but a key stat aligned with information gathering is Charisma, which you do not possess. This is likely a result of your loner status.


    I didn''t see a class on making friends on the schedule, Alan replied.


    No, but there will be people who you know who you can get to know better at the group lessons, Eve replied. And if you know no one then reach out. Meet new people.


    Really, you''re telling me to make friends? That''s your advice on how to get better at the Game? Alan asked.


    Based upon my understanding you cannot approach friendship with this mercenary attitude, Eve replied. I have been querying multiple Institute AI and they all agree that as it seems to be defined within a cultural setting as a mutual relationship.


    Great, Alan thought to himself, my AI is better at making friends than I am.


    On Eve''s behest he went over to an Administrative Center and dumped the 45 ability points he could only spend on stats into Charisma, bringing it up to 46. Then he went off to class.


    ***


    I still think this is a dumb idea, Alan sent. He approached a group of about 50 students, waiting outside by an air landing strip on the planet Terra, having teleported to the nearby Jungle Base Administration Center. Jungle surrounded the place, hence the name; Alan could almost imagine he was back on Earth, just in a rainforest somewhere.


    Based upon my research a competitive training environment is highly conducive to making friends.


    Research? What research?


    The visual training aids that helped inform me about culture-


    The anime I made you watch?


    Yes, but I have also verified this fact with others.


    Other AI.


    People tend to make friends at school and boot camp. Go out and do it.


    Fine.


    Alan approached the rifle training class, looking for anyone familiar.


    "Hey, Alan, whassup?"


    By the time Alan turned around, Sidestep was already at his side.


    "Hi, I''m here for the training class," Alan said.


    "What a coincidence, I''m here for the exact same reason, almost as if it was a daily scheduled activity," Sidestep said.


    Say ''Nice one, dude!'' and slap him on the back, Eve sent.


    No.


    "Yeah, I''ve been training and haven''t had time to get out much," Alan said instead.


    "But you''ve been out to the Hunting Grounds before?"


    "No, I haven''t. Why?"


    Sidestep stared at Alan. "Dude it''s the best place to farm in the Academy, free shit  for days, and you''ve never been? Have you been hiding under a rock?"


    "No, I just didn''t realize, something like that should be online," Alan said.


    Sidestep shook his head. "You haven''t taken the free weekly crafting resources either, have you?"


    "I''m planning on doing that today," Alan said. He was going to a seminar on customizing gear later.


    "Good, otherwise I''d be worried that you were just spending all your time in your bunk," Sidestep said. "The ladies here are fine, but not that fine." He waved at a group of female ?lven in power armor. They menaced their weapons at him.


    There was a loud noise overhead as a large helicopter jet hybrid approached the landing strip. It landed a few seconds later; it was too loud to talk. A person covered in deep jungle green power armor carrying a similarly colored rifle stepped out of the vehicle.


    "Everyone it''s time to head out, you know the drill. Today we''re hunting Razor Puffballs. Don''t let their names fool you, these creature''s hairs have the range and strength of a fully automatic weapon. They''re small, but move fast, making them ideal for target practice.


    "You will be limited to 10 kills. If you need help or advice, send me, Hunter2, a message. Otherwise you''re on your own. Get back to the jet in five hours, by 13:00, or we''ll leave without you. Also remember we scan combat logs to see where there might be room for improvement, and to make sure you do not kill any creatures that we are not targeting. The Academy takes care to breed the creatures in the Hunting Grounds in the right numbers."


    As they stepped aboard the jet Sidestep whispered to Alan, "They also do it to make sure no one takes out any of the other students. Aurora would be here, but I hear the assassins game is coming to the final few players; she''s not going anywhere out in the open at this point."


    "Does anyone know who the sniper that took me out is?" Alan asked.


    "Nope," Sidestep said. "They should be one of the finalists, why?"


    "Nothing," Alan said. He had decided spending too much time on the quest was a bad idea; there were wiser things he could be spending his time doing.


    ***


    Alan missed. A lot.


    The puffballs were small, which was part of the problem.


    The other problem was that he couldn''t aim without Eve.


    "Alan, you suck! You haven''t hit a single shot the entire morning, what are you doing?" Sidestep called out. He was using his sidestep skill, which Eve now said was a variation of the Blink ability, to chase down puffballs and shoot them point blank.


    "I told you, I''m trying to do this ability-less; I''ve been overly dependent on one in particular." Alan fired another burst at a puffball, then dived behind a tree as it shot of a spray of small metal spikes back at him.


    "You need to use that skill bro, we need to start heading back or we''ll be late. I had to make the trek back once and it took me half a day, a total buzzkill. It''d probably take you two days, maybe three."


    "Thanks for the vote of confidence," Alan said as he looked out from behind the tree. He took a razor sharp spike to the face, halving his shield energy.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Fine, I give up. Eve, help me.


    Are you sure? Eve asked.


    Yes. A familiar stream of information returned to Alan, tracking the six different puffballs in the area as well their intended movements.


    He fired a blast at one puffball, turned, and shot another.


    He activated his armor''s advanced invisibility, climbed up a tree, then with a quick slice of his blades swept away the brush that was blocking his vision. From the top of the tree he took out the four remaining puffballs in quick succession.


    A message appeared:


    [Level up!]


    "Hey, that was my kill!" Sidestep said.


    "I thought someone said something about hurrying up. Anyways I''m sure we''ll catch more on the way."


    "Sure but what about-" Sidestep paused, taking a look around. "You took all of them out, just like that?"


    "Yes, let''s get moving," Alan said. He climbed down and checked the puffballs for loot, unfortunately there wasn''t much, they were simply good for a bit of XP.


    "It took me all morning to get eight kills and you get five in one go? That''s so unfair."


    Alan smiled. "Six, actually."


    Sidestep sighed. "Well, at least now I don''t feel so bad about losing to you in the duel. You obviously have aim hacks which counteract my abilities perfectly; it''s no surprise I lost."


    "Tell yourself whatever you want, you still lost," Alan said.


    "That time. We''ll see about the next."


    "Sure," Alan said as he shot two puffballs that Eve had detected. "I''m up to eight kills now too."


    "What? How did you even see those?" Sidestep asked as he blinked over to the two corpses, hidden behind a bit of brush.


    "Aim hacks."


    "Well, I can see how your ability might take the fun and skill out of the Game, but I''ve always thought you should take what you get and run with it. Don''t let anyone else tell you what to do. If you had an idea, develop it; if you have a dream, chase it," Sidestep said. He looked off in the distance, scanning for additional enemies.


    "Oh, and why''s that?" Alan asked.


    "Well it might surprise you, the cultural savant, but I wasn''t always part of the top brass, associating with the ?lven royalty and whatnot," Sidestep said.


    "I never would have guessed," Alan said.


    Sidestep stepped right next to Alan. "Yea, well, I was good. Good enough to have dreams, good enough to think that I could make it to the top. But not the best."


    Sidestep raised his right arm, glowing green veins of energy pulsed through tubes in his power armor. "So I took a risk. A procedure. It could have ruined me, destroyed my psionic power or whatever. The process, the process hurt. I earned my place here, I laid everything on the line just to be here. So don''t you hold back; the guild might not care, you might not care, but I will."


    "What are you trying to say?" Alan took a half step back.


    "I''m saying don''t be a moron and not use some ability cause it isn''t fun, or isn''t fair," Sidestep said. "The Game isn''t fair. You use everything you have, every advantage, and probably still fail. But you use it all, push it to the limit. Either you break, or it breaks, but it''s the only way you can reach the top. Sacrifices have to be made."


    "I don''t think you understand my predicament, exactly." Alan began walking back to the jet.


    "No, I don''t." Sidestep stepped in front of Alan. "You might listen to me though. Aurora won''t, she was born privileged and will stay that way. She won''t ever know that desperation, that hunger to be the best; she was born knowing she was the best."


    Alan looked around. "Aren''t you her bodyguard? Should you be saying stuff like that about her?"


    "Bodyguard? She''s the last person that needs a bodyguard. No, we''re at the top of our class in the guild, and my mentor knows Elissandra, so we were paired for missions. My mentor helped me with my own psionic abilities, he could help you too."


    "I don''t really use psionic abilities," Alan said.


    "Hey man, us Revenants need to stick together."


    Alan looked over at Sidestep, who stared back with a knowing grin.


    "So you are one. You need to learn to lie better if you''re going to maneuver around in the Game safely." A new title appeared above Sidestep''s head, Revenant Agent, then it disappeared. "I mean you''re traipsing around in the armor and everything."


    Activate hypercognition, Eve sent. Alan did so, but by the time it was activated Sidestep was beside him with a green blade at his neck.


    "Hey man, I showed you mine," Sidestep said.


    Show the Revenant Initiate title for a second, Alan commanded Eve. Sidestep removed the blade from Alan''s neck.


    We really need a shorter code phrase so I can activate hypercognition sooner, Alan sent.


    You would not have been able to react in time anyways, Eve sent. You would not have been able to move your body in time, you would have simply seen the blow coming. It makes no difference as of now.


    If you say so.


    "Sorry, you never can be too careful," Sidestep said.


    "What would killing me accomplish? I would have revived knowing you were a Revenant," Alan said.


    "No, you wouldn''t have," Sidestep said. "I don''t know who rigged it up, but if you kill someone that knows you''re a Revenant, and they learned in the previous day or so, they''ll forget the memory. It will be wiped clean. Well, they''ll still remember how they died, so you have to be subtle, but they''ll forget the Revenant part."


    "That''s convenient," Alan said. "I never expected you''d also be part of the faction."


    "That''s part of the whole point," Sidestep said. "Wait a second, you didn''t know about the memory wipe thing? Who invited you?"


    Do we tell him? Alan sent Eve.


    Before she responded, Sidestep said, "No, wait, don''t answer that. You were still an initiate, which means you know jack shit. I didn''t tell you anything, okay? Damn, I doubt you''d be able to help. I just assumed, given the armor that... Never mind. We should get back."


    "Help? Help with what?" Alan asked. "You can trust me."


    "Alright, it''s just a rumor, but my mentor mentioned a second treasure vault, other than the planet Volta, in the Academy System," Sidestep said. "Except instead of items, it contains information. I''ve been searching everywhere, but haven''t found a single mention of a data vault. I thought you or your AI might be able to help."


    A new quest appeared:


    [Phase Unknown:


    Discover the entrance and fulfill the requirements to enter the Academy''s so-called Data Vault.


    Reward: ???]


    "I haven''t heard anything, but if I do find something I''ll let you know," Alan said.


    "Sure. We really do need to head back though." Alan nodded, then began running back to the jet. He wondered what else Sidestep might know about the Revenants, what other secrets he might be hiding.


    I suspect that his armor has an invisibility function, Eve sent.


    What?


    Examining it further, comparing it to our own Revenant armor, there are a few similarities. Compounding this on Aurora''s rogue classification, I suspect the pair are trained to be assassins.


    Really? Damn. Is there anyone that isn''t super shady?


    Everyone has their secrets, I advise not trusting anyone but yourself.


    Without further comment, Alan and Sidestep made it back to the jet. As Alan stepped aboard a message appeared:


    [Demonstrating basic knowledge and ability, you have gained the skill Rifle Mastery (Basic).


    +5 Agility +10 Perception.]


    Alan said goodbye to Sidestep after they returned to the Terra Jungle Base Administrative Center.  He grabbed a block of gel to eat, then teleported to the second lesson of the day.

 The Academy 3.11

    Alan activated hypercognition.


    Is this really necessary? Eve asked.


    Yes, Alan sent as he scanned the room. It was similar to a machine shop, except instead of different machines spread throughout there were ten monolithic black boxes set up in front of each table. Forges.


    Alan needed to decide where to sit. Some of the tables were full, while others had groups formed around factions. Those were no good. There was an empty table near the front, but he didn''t want to sit alone or be so close to the teacher. He could maybe-


    Just sit there, Eve sent. She indicated a seat next to Luna and S, who had a table to themselves.


    I feel like I''d be intruding. Maybe over there? Alan saw Ace, sitting with Daisy and an unknown third person. They wore a full suit of power armor, and had their name hidden.


    Sit. Talk. Eve highlighted Luna and S''s table.


    But-


    Do you really not know how to talk to people Alan?


    Of course I can talk to people. I just prefer not to. It''s not... comfortable.


    Hence the umm''s and ah''s?


    Huh? Well, u- I like sending online messages, communicating through text. It gives you time to think, whereas in conversations you need to have a coherent answer on the spot. I mean, how else do you fill up an empty moment where you need to gather your thoughts?


    With silence. Which would be preferable to most.


    But then how do people know I''m thinking about the conversation, how do they know there''s a pause? I like to think it displays a sort of character... maybe a bit of weakness.


    Like you''re a mentally handicapped person?


    Shut up Eve.


    Alan deactivated hypercognition and took a seat across from Luna and S.


    "Hey, is it okay if I sit here?" Alan asked.


    "No, go sit over there," Luna said, pointing to the empty table in the front.


    "Oh, okay," Alan said as he began to get up.


    "Stop. Where are you going? She was being flippant," S said.


    "Was I really?" Luna asked.


    Alan sat back down anyways.


    "Are you still in the assassins game?" Alan asked.


    "Yes," S said. He looked around the room. "Thanks a lot, by the way."


    "Huh?" Alan tilted his head slightly.


    "As far as I can tell you didn''t make a single attempt on my life," S said. "I was your original target, wasn''t I? It doesn''t take a genius to see that the sniper that took you out went after me immediately after."


    "You''re welcome, I guess." Alan paused. "Do you have any idea who the sniper is?"


    "I have a few leads, I feel I''m close. I''m trying to stay indoors, in enclosed spaces to avoid getting shot. Just not going completely off the grid like some people," S said.


    "Yes, have you heard from Aurora?" Luna asked. "I''m worried she might be taking this assassins competition a tad too seriously. It isn''t healthy to cut off all social activity, she''s missing out on the wonderful teaching opportunities, for what? A few commendations?"


    "I wouldn''t know," Alan said. "And even if I did, I don''t think I would tell anyone still in the competition."


    Luna smiled. "I had to try, didn''t I?"


    "Wait, are you also in the competition?" Alan asked.


    "Who knows," Luna said. She looked over Alan''s shoulder. Alan turned around, and saw that their teacher had arrived.


    They were wearing a version of power armor, like nearly every other person in the Game. But theirs was different. It was colored a brilliant neon, shifting in color as they moved. The shoulder pauldrons had jagged edges, making them appear like miniature wings.


    Really? This is the teacher? They look like a miniature lightshow, Alan sent Eve.


    Quiet.


    "Welcome to customizing and accessorizing, your introduction to the Forge. I am the fabulous virtuoso of color, Vapegod."


    Alan coughed, trying to hide a smile behind his fist. He looked over at Ace and Daisy''s table. Daisy had a small grin, but Ace remained stone faced. The third person still had their helmet covering their face.


    Vapegod turned to Alan. "Is there something that amuses you?"


    "No, nothing sir Vapegod," Alan said.


    They''re a woman, Eve sent.


    Shit.


    Vapegod examined Alan. "Well, it looks like we have our volunteer for the day. Strip."


    Alan stared at them.


    "Take off your armor, if you can call it yours," Vapegod said. Alan began removing the various pieces. Vapegod continued, "I doubt you''ve customized a single piece since you received it. Yes, the Revenants have their own sense of uniform black, ooh, darkness, mystery, black is always cool. But where is the emotion, the color? A single stripe of dark green or blue would really stand out."


    "I''d prefer to remain hidden, anonymous in battles," Alan said.


    "Anonymity is overrated," Vapegod said. "How will you ever be distinguished, lead a group of soldiers or gain fame if you are anonymous? Reputation matters far more than you realize."


    "Not if you''re dead, or don''t want to lead," Alan said. He removed the last piece of his armor, placing it on the table. He still wore a black undersuit, but felt like the material was a bit too tight. Everyone''s eyes seemed to be on him.


    Vapegod began inserting the pieces into the Forge in front of the table, which opened up a compartment that ate each piece of armor like a large post box.


    "You are in the wrong place then. The Academy trains leaders, whatever the field might be, and leaders need to look the part. You may not like it, but the moment you entered this Academy you were no longer anonymous. Analysts go over every student admitted, combing over their profiles in detail, because this is where the major players come from."


    A message appeared before Alan:


    [Allow Teacher Vapegod to customize Modified Revenant Scout Power Armor (Advanced)?]


    Alan hesitated.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t reveal its stats or anything like that, and you don''t need to accept whatever changes I make," Vapegod said.


    Fine, let her, Alan sent Eve. The message disappeared.


    Vapegod blinked, staring at a screen before her, hidden from the rest of the class. She pulled her right index finger up to her face. The tip of the armor on the finger lifted back to reveal what Eve claimed was a futuristic e-cig. She sucked on it, then let out a cloud of blue gas, her gaze slightly glazed.


    "A difficult project, then. We don''t have access to any Revenant accessories here, so all changes will have to be superficial. Alan is right, you don''t want to stand out on the battleground too much, or be too distinguishable. And for someone on the backlines, or behind enemy lines, this is even more important. Maintaining invisibility...


    "Tell me, Alan, is there any symbol, any shape that resounds with your soul, your heart of hearts?"


    Alan breathed in a tiny bit of the blue gas, which had a slight citrus taste. He coughed. "No, not really. Maybe my guild''s emblem."


    "Always a good choice, large organizations tend to like ass-kissing," Vapegod said. She tapped a few icons, moved her finger about. "Well, I suppose that will have to do. Now I want everyone else to test a symbol or color on their armor, I will go around giving feedback and suggestions."


    As Vapegod stood up to walk around the room she turned the screen over to Alan, who examined her work. She had only made a single change, a small black rose head contained in a circle on the left shoulder, outlined with silver-chrome. The black was the natural black of the armor.


    Can you add something else? Alan asked Eve.


    What?


    A universal barcode on the right forearm.


    What do you want it to say?


    Adampwnage.


    Very well.


    Eve generated the barcode, and sent it to the Forge unit. With Eve''s help, Alan placed the barcode where he wanted it and chose the same silver color as the rose''s outline. It cost 500 credits to make each change. Alan''s weekly budget for customization given to him by the Academy was 1000 credits. He finalized the changes and put his armor back on.


    A message appeared:


    [Customizing your armor, you have gained a new ability, Fashion Sense (Basic)! +10 Charisma]


    "What is that?" S asked, pointing at the barcode.


    "A signifier for machines on Earth, they would scan these codes that represent data," Alan said.


    "And why would they use these lines and bars?"


    "Because at its base all data has to be stored in some basic form, for our classical computers bits of 1''s and 0''s, for the Game... I''m not sure."


    "But that basic element, that would be useful to know, would it not?" S asked as he carefully removed the right arm of his power armor and inserted it into the Forge.


    "Perhaps, many improvements in efficiency can be done at the bit level, but the higher level is just as important. And everything has been abstracted away to such a degree that trying to understand such low level code is almost impossible," Alan said.


    "I''m lost," Luna said. "Anyways S, what are you putting on your armor. Let me guess, a symbol of the empire?"


    "Well," S said, "I was thinking of a target sign." He ducked low as a laser bolt raced above his head.


    Alan activated hypercognition, just in time to see a figure dart of the room. Luna fired two blades of ice but they missed. She and S began to leap into action, it looked they were going to chase the figure.


    Should I follow? Alan asked Eve. He began to rise from his seat.


    Before heading out the door S said, "Stay. I don''t trust you."


    Alan looked around the classroom. no one seemed too surprised.


    "I hate the assassins game," was Vapegod''s only comment. She took a long puff from her finger then went back to looking at a student''s design.


    Wondering what he should do, Alan walked over to Ace and Daisy''s table. Ace was trying to fit a large American flag and eagle on the front of his power armor''s chest.


    "You should put the words: America, F*** Yeah! underneath that," Alan said.


    "What?" Ace said.


    "Nothing. Hey, do you guys know who that was sitting with you, the person that just took a shot at S?" Alan asked as he took a seat.


    Daisy looked at Ace, then said, "Yes, we know who it is, but they might not appreciate it if we told you."


    It''s Thiago, right? Alan asked Eve.


    Based on matching heights and builds, there is a high chance it is, Eve sent. They were wearing slightly different power armor than what Thiago wore on Incipe, but he could have upgraded easily.


    "I''m pretty sure it''s Thiago," Alan said.


    Daisy sighed. "Fine, it is, but you didn''t hear it from us. Why? Do you want revenge? Wasn''t it all part of this assassins game?"


    Alan shrugged. "I was just curious. Wondering where he got the sniper rifle, and the skills to use it."


    Send a message to Red Tyrant, tell him I''ve identified my assassin, as Thiago of Earth.


    Message sent.


    "He spent his racial bonus points," Ace said.


    "Racial bonus points?" Alan asked.


    "The points we got after the Tutorial because we were from Earth, and new to the game," Daisy said.


    "Oh, right," Alan said, "I spent my points on upgrading my AI."


    "Have you thought more about joining the United World Government, Alan?" Ace asked. He looked up from the screen to stare at Alan. "The time to pick a side has almost passed, and whoever is not our ally must be an enemy."


    "That''s a bit harsh," Alan said.


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


    Ace stared at the design in front of him before deleting it. "Perhaps. The war could very well be over before we leave this academy." He stood up and strode out of the room.


    "Are things going poorly for the UWG?" Alan asked Daisy.


    "If anything, it''s the opposite. The Legion of Man are absolutely crushed in any frontal assaults, and have been rapidly ceding territory. It looks like they''ll have to concede Earth any day now, which means Ace will never see combat. Things get more complicated after that, though."


    "And why is that?"


    "The Legion of Man have Mars under their control, with defenses capable of stopping the UWG''s one capital ship from getting anywhere near close enough to land troops," Daisy said. "They could try to ferry troops with civilian and merchant ships, but the cost is exorbitant, something the UWG wants to avoid at all costs. The UWG could also bombard the Mars Colony from afar, blowing it to smithereens, but they are trying to avoid any action that will hurt all of humanity.


    "At the same time, the Legion of Man is incapable of getting supplies or troops to Mars or Earth, because again, the one capital class ship is controlled by the UWG. So I guess it is a stalemate, but one that the Legion of Man will lose as they run low in supplies. With the Game, however, they could have enough supplies to last them years on Mars."


    "You seem to know an awful lot about this," Alan said.


    "I talk to my mother. All of this info is on the globalnet anyways, I haven''t told you anything confidential," Daisy said.


    "Do you know where Thiago might be staying? I have something I want to talk to him about; it can even be after the assassin''s game has ended," Alan said.


    "I''m sorry but I can''t help you," Daisy said. "Even I''ve heard about the bounty the Red Tyrant put on his head. Message him yourself. Anyways, you need to learn better manners. You didn''t even say goodbye after the knife lesson."


    "Oh, sorry," Alan said.


    Ask her if there''s any way you can repay her, Eve sent.


    "Maybe I can make it up to you," Alan said.


    "What were you thinking?" Daisy asked.


    "I was going to check out the Market," Alan said.


    "Been there, done that." Daisy browsed through emblems for her armor.


    "Have you been to the pets section of the Market?" Alan asked.


    Daisy stopped looking through emblems. "No, I haven''t. Let''s go now."


    "Don''t you need to pick out an emblem?"


    "I already have one, a white circle, the healer''s symbol."


    "Alright," Alan said as he was practically dragged out of the room and to the nearby capsule room. He entered a capsule, and selected the Market as his destination after withdrawing an item from Administrator storage.


    He skipped through the initial welcome messages, the Market was basically an auction house in a MMORPG except you could test out the items you wanted to purchase or go to the bazaar, where you could potentially find great deals. People seemed to enjoy the experience of shopping, and the Market tried to fulfill that need in every shape and form.


    Alan would have preferred to just search through a list and find the best price, but Eve wanted him to handle a few transactions in-person.


    Alan met up with Daisy in front of a pet store Eve recommended. It was unlike any pet store Alan had been in before, the size of a large department store.


    On the left were a wide variety of cute animals, small furry creatures ranging in size from baby squirrels to panda bears. There were also little blobs of slime and small reptiles, each in their own tiny little habitat like at a zoo.


    On the right were combat pets, deadly creatures to be trained for battle. Most were still young, with videos displaying the fearsome creatures they would someday become. Loyal hounds, venomous serpents and exotic pets like a flying fish that absorbed shield energy and discharged it in an attack.


    In the middle of the store were combat pets that were also cute or just plain cool. On prominent display was a small dragons egg, priced at 100 platinum marks or 200M credits. Next to it was another egg that would grow into a fiery bird that resembled a phoenix, 50M credits. Next to it was what appeared to be a rock, for 10M credits.


    A Crystal Golem, as it grows it will generate and shed power crystals that will sell for tens of thousands of credits. It is also quite adept at absorbing energy and almost impossible to damage with conventional energy weapons, Eve sent.


    Daisy ran over to a fluffy animal that resembled a cross between a fox and a ferret. An attendant went over to help her.


    Alan examined the combat pets, and was surprised to find that Razor Puffballs sold for 10k credits apiece. Maybe he should try to capture a few.


    Yes, now it is time to sell that, if you are not willing to use it, Eve sent. Raising a pet could prove a good-


    No. We''re not keeping it.


    Very well, then we sell it. Ask for an appraisal.


    Alan flagged down an attendant, and then brought out the prize he had received for reaching the center of the insect colony back on Incipe, a Queen Arachnid egg. He held out the egg at arm''s length. He hated bugs.


    We should have gotten rid of it first thing, Alan sent.


    Like I said then, the market price of 500k is likely to rise due to rarity, but we need credits now, and the Administrators were only offering 100k for the egg.


    Why would anyone want to raise such a monster?


    Players have strange taste. Additionally, Arachnid Queens can become fearsome Capture Point or dungeon bosses. There is a dungeon competition held every few years in which players or groups of players try to build elaborate dungeons, often themed. Prices for pets capable of becoming bosses at are their height then.


    The attendant took the egg and placed it carefully onto an incubator like machine. After scanning it, they said, "Please wait here as I fetch my manager. He handles all of the larger deals." They walked off behind closed doors.


    Daisy walked over with the pet she had been playing with earlier, it was nuzzled against her cheek, resting.


    "Are you  thinking of buying it?" Alan asked.


    "No, it''s cute, but it isn''t real," Daisy said. She petted the animal slowly.


    "Just because it''s digital doesn''t mean it isn''t real,¡± Alan said. "I find that the AI in the Game have a frightening amount of intelligence; I don''t think the creators had morality on their minds when it was created. Each small creature here may be capable of its own thoughts, its own decisions. Besides, nothing is really real."


    "Nothing is real? What do you mean?" Daisy asked.


    Alan looked around. "You say that none of these animals are real, because they are simply bits of data within the Game. But how do we know that reality isn''t simply bits of data of a larger game, made of strings instead of electrical signals? All of our feelings, our thoughts, are just the product of random signals and noise. At least we know the Game has some underlying structure."


    Daisy looked at Alan, a look he couldn''t place on her face.


    "Sorry," Alan said. "A few too many philosophy classes, I think."


    "No, it was interesting," Daisy said. She held up the small creature in front of her face. "Maybe I will buy you. My love will be real, at least."


    For some reason Alan blushed, and looked away. Too much cuteness, perhaps.


    A Haxlard arrived, dressed in a green robes with a green mask. "Praised be the Three. Welcome to my humble shop. You''ve brought in quite the remarkable specimen. I am ready to offer 400,000 credits for it."


    Eve sent a table to Alan, a list of previously sold Arachnid Queen eggs.


    "But I''ve seen in my research that the eggs have sold for as high as 750k credits," Alan said.


    "At the height of buying season, yes, but now the market price is different. I''m afraid 450k is my best offer."


    "I suppose I''ll have to find another buyer then," Alan said. "I could always just hold onto it myself until the time is right. An easy investment." He turned to leave.


    "Wait, 500k is the best I can do," the Haxlard said.


    Alan turned his head back, and said, "500k is the market price, it isn''t the best that you can do."


    "Fine, and this is the last final offer. 500k and I''ll throw in a pet worth up to 25k for you and the 1k furgy for your girlfriend."


    "Deal," Alan said.


    "I''m not his girlfriend," Daisy said, "and don''t think I''ll be bribed by gifts."


    Ask her if there''s any chance for you, Eve sent.


    What? No.


    Do it. There is no risk in asking.


    Fine.


    Alan looked over at Daisy. "Would you ever take a chance on me?"


    "No," she said immediately.


    "Oh." Alan looked down. At his hands. He opened his right hand, lifted it up. What do people normally do with their hands? He brushed back is hair, then tried putting it in his pocket. Except he wasn''t wearing pants, he was in a power armor, and so he banged his hand against the side of solid medal.


    "Umm, right yeah, I''m going to go now. See ya around," he said. See ya around? What was that?


    "Aren''t you forgetting our deal?" The shopkeeper asked.


    "Ah, yes, sorry, it slipped my mind," Alan said, stopping mid-step.


    "It''s nothing to do with you," Daisy said. "I''m sure you''re a wonderful guy, a great gamer."


    "Of course," Alan said. He began examining the combat pets. All those under 25k seemed inferior, he''d outlevel and surpass them all in strength soon enough.


    Daisy put a hand on his shoulder. She leaned in and whispered to him, "It''s just that right now there''s this thing going on between Ace and I, something that really shouldn''t be going on, him being my bodyguard and all. Please don''t tell anyone, okay? I''d really give you a shot if I wasn''t already sort of in a relationship."


    "Oh, right," Alan said, slightly red faced. "I''ll be sure to research any girls I might ask out in the future."


    "Don''t say it like that, it makes you sound creepy. Your approach was right, just ask," Daisy said. "And rejection is a normal part of life, get used to it. Have you talked to Kitana lately?"


    "No, I haven''t. I actually have no idea what she''s up to," Alan said.


    "Oh, right," Daisy said, "I just remembered she was at the Hunting Grounds."


    "I thought there was a limit to the creatures you could hunt," Alan said.


    "There are rare bounties and bosses that you can fight in the deep jungle, inaccessible by vehicle, where they don''t care about population," Daisy said. "The risks are much higher though, you have a real chance of dying, and have to spend days on end in the wilderness. I couldn''t do such a thing. The insects, the muck, the diseases, they''re all in the Game."


    "Interesting," Alan said. He looked over to the shop owner. "Is it okay if I just keep that 25k on credit, potentially for a future purchase? There aren''t any pets that I want right now."


    "Certainly," they said. "So we have a deal, then?"


    "Yes," Alan said. 500k credits were transferred to his character. A message popped up:


    [Haggling for a better deal, you learned a new ability Barter! +10 Charisma]


    "Thank you Alan," Daisy said. "Goodbye."


    "Bye," Alan said as Daisy vanished from the Market, teleporting to her Home.


    Stop sulking, Eve sent. You wouldn''t have been a good match anyways. I also knew that she would turn you down. I just thought it would help build character and experience to have you be rejected.


    Wait, you had me say that, even though you knew I had no chance?


    Yes. None of the signs were there. It was obvious she didn''t view you as a potential mate.


    Enough of this charisma crap, Alan sent. Tomorrow we shoot stuff or explore.


    Very well.

 The Academy 3.12

    Wake up, Eve sent.


    Alan awoke. A jolt flashed through his brain. What? It''s 06:22.


    You have an important message from Phantom. Alan opened his messages.


    Phantom: Your first official guild assignment has been determined. You and Kitana will return to the Black Rose Guild within 30 standard days. The details will be discussed then; you are not to tell anyone that you are being sent on a mission, even fellow guildmates. We understand that this mission shortens your Academy semester, thus you have been sent five platinum marks. Depending on mission results, additional rewards may be given. If you are concerned about further training, guild trainers and facilities are up to academy standards and will be available for use once your mission has been completed. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.


    Alan: Message received.


    Phantom: Good luck, spend your remaining days at the Academy wisely.


    A quest appeared:


    [Black Rose Mission (Hidden):


    Report to the Black Rose base within 30 days.


    Reward: ???


    Failure: Guild Expulsion]


    Alan laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.


    So I guess we should throw away any hope of reaching Volta, he sent Eve.


    Yes. Mastering two skills and acquiring ten Rogue Commendations in 30 days seems unlikely, Eve replied. We do not require Teachers or the Academy to reach a basic or intermediate proficiency in most abilities; I have acquired the data from Academy servers to do so. Instead, we should focus on acquiring specialized, advanced knowledge.


    Like hacking, Alan sent. With the Revenant discount, Cerberus''s training will cost 13500C; we have an Enforcer coin worth 10000C.  Five platinum marks are worth 500 ability points, another 2500C, and we can buy two more for the last 1000C with the profits from selling the pet. We''ll have 100k credits left.


    Very well. It should be noted that while you can only exchange marks for ability points equal to five times your level, once those ability points are exchanged to C they are freed up once more. We currently have bought 500 extra ability points, 100 levels worth, Eve sent.


    Got it. Alan began to connect to the Administrator  and teleport to the Market.


    Why hacking though? Eve asked.


    Alan cut off his connection to the Administrator, making sure none of the conversation would be heard by them. He looked around the empty white space in his Home. This place almost feels like my base, doesn''t it?


    Your base?


    The hacker base-thing that defends my mind from attacks and lets me launch hacks of my own. Let''s call it the Citadel. The Citadel feels like my Home, there''s this same presence. Don''t you feel it?


    No. I have no such feeling.


    Well the two feel similar. My theory is that Homes, the places people go to spend ability points, their inner sanctums, are a version of hacker bases, just on another server or something. Disconnected. Somehow Cerberus connected the two when he did his operation. But that means that I could hack the Game, hack my character. I feel like all the answers about what the Game is, how it works, are connected to hacking.


    Such acts and exploration would likely be deemed highly illegal, Eve sent.


    I know, Alan responded. But I wonder. I''m never going to become as strong as a Predecessor following the rules. You''ve been teaching me about the Game, you know stats have diminishing returns. Even if I gain 1000 points in strength I won''t be as strong as a Predecessor with 10 points in the stat. Stat points are like percentage points of your race''s natural values, but logarithmic.


    Let''s use base 10 as an example, Alan continued. With 1000 points in strength I might be three times as strong as an average human, 1000 log 10. But the Predecessor will be as strong as a single Predecessor, 10 log 10, hundreds if not thousands of time stronger than a human. With just 90 more points in strength, they could double their entire strength, while I''d never even reach their original strength with billions or trillions of stat points.


    Now, I know the scale also has a bunch of constants, and differs from player to player, species to species. It might not even be logarithmic and that''s just speculation on players, but even so there''s no chance I''ll ever be as strong as a Predecessor. With hacking, there''s a chance. I feel as though this ability is key.


    Alan brought the ability up:


    [Data Interaction:


    Error.]


    What ability? Eve sent.


    Oh, right, you can''t see it, Alan sent. Just trust me it''s there. It''s called data interaction. Now, I''ve wanted to try something for a while. I think it will confirm my decision to train in hacking.


    Alan broke off his connection to Eve, reconnecting to the Administrator. He activated hypercognition and hacked them.


    Alan found himself in the center bunker of his base, the newly named Citadel. He exited the bunker and flew upwards. The Citadel was a circle with the radius of a few city blocks. In the distance was an entire city, the Administrator''s "mind." Alan began flying closer, trying to get a better look.


    It was grey, divided into separate quadrants of buildings that Alan couldn''t begin to determine the purpose of. Most of them were just large grey rectangles, with large power lines extending outwards. A dark grey wall twenty feet high protected the city. Spherical turrets that had single straight barrels were spaced every few meters on the wall, thousands of them.


    A shield appeared, obscuring Alan''s vision of the city. A ball of blue electricity emerged from the shield. It moved faster than he could dodge, hitting him square in the chest.


    Alan''s vision flared black, and when he could see again he was back in his Home. The Administrator turned to him.


    Player. This is your first warning. You are not to attempt to hack into Administrators or the Game itself. If you break this rule again you will be given a large number of penalty points. A third attempt at such unlawful actions will result in rejection from the Game and a temporary banning. You will not make a fourth attempt.


    Got it, sorry, I was just testing a new ability, Alan sent.


    Greetings traveler, how may I aid you today? the Administrator replied.


    Alan stared at the Administrator for a second, then sent, How do I remove warnings?


    Warnings may only be removed by Chief Administrators. They will often require a certain level of reputation with the Administrators, a fee, and a redemption quest to remove.


    Okay, thanks, Alan sent. He collected the marks the Black Rose Guild sent, went to the market to purchase two additional platinum marks, exchanged the seven platinum marks for 700 ability points, and then proceeded to Cerberus''s chambers.


    ***


    "I''ve decided to become a hacker," Alan said. He was in Cerberus''s specialized capsule, about to spend far too many ability points.


    "Very well," Cerberus said. "Might I make a suggestion first? Buy the Thrifty rogue talent and specialize in hacking for Talented. Each will decrease the cost of training by 5%, allowing you to double dip by decreasing the ability points and the C you spend."


    "Why is your training cost decreased by those abilities?" Alan asked.


    "This is the Academy," Cerberus said. "Teachers discount as if you were spending your points with an Administrator. Now spend."


    Alan accepted Cerberus''s suggestions. Two messages appeared:


    [You have learned the Thrifty skill! Costs to develop your character''s skills decreased by 5%. Discount is not retroactive.]


    [Talented (Undeveloped) has become Talented (Hacking)! With your newfound talents the cost to develop Hacking abilities has been decreased by 5%. Additional Hacking upgrades unlocked. The Citadel''s capacity has expanded. The base is now at 3% of capacity.]


    Alan felt a rush of knowledge as a light engulfed him, connections forming in his mind. He turned to Cerberus.


    A message appeared:


    [Accept Cerberus''s training for 12000C? 400 ability points will be converted to 2000C, resetting the total ability points bought to 800. One Enforcer coin will be exchanged for 10000C.]


    Accept. Alan was left with 172 ability points.


    A thin ray of light shot out from Alan to Cerberus; Cerberus stood straighter, a spark in his eyes that Alan had not seen before.


    "Excellent. Let us finish what we stared."


    ***


    Alan stood at the center of the laser grid, back in the obstacle course, Cerberus beside him. Laser beams struck Cerberus, but appeared to cause no damage.


    "There is but one path left," Cerberus said. Alan turned towards the left, the forest clearing. He maneuvered through the laser grid with Eve''s help, wondering what type of training would be next.


    As he entered the forest clearing four soldiers appeared, wearing basic power armor and wielding laser rifles. Accompanying them was a single psionic medic, identified by the white dot emblem on their power armor. The medic carried no weapon.


    "Your first task is to escape the forest without casualties," Cerberus said. "You may not help or hinder your squad in any way and you may not move more than five meters away from your squad. You may give out orders."


    Alan looked around, there was only forest. He looked at the NPC soldiers, then said, "Move forwards."


    The soldiers begin moving forwards.


    "Stop."


    The soldiers stopped.


    "Dance the Macarena."


    They began dancing in sync.


    "Fire into the trees about 50 meters ahead, 10 meters to the right."


    The soldiers fired at the approximate location Alan gave while dancing. They missed a lot. He tried connecting to their minds, as he detected they had faint presences.


    Cerberus stretched out a hand and stopped him. "That''s cheating. You''re leading this squad, not controlling them."


    "Alright," Alan said, "not sure what the point of all this is."


    Have the soldiers take the following formation, Eve sent, an image accompanying her message.


    Alan turned to the soldiers. "Find your way out of the forest, be wary of traps and enemies. Two of you in front, two behind, with the medic at the center of the formation. Keep an eye out for movement."


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    As they continued walking through the forest Cerberus asked, "Have you done this before? There''s a game in the Arcade that is similar to this test."


    "It''s not too different from playing a RTS, except without the top down view," Alan said. He didn''t mention that Eve was feeding him advice and commands.


    Enemy detected ahead. Have the front two soldiers advance forwards slowly, the back two soldiers providing covering fire if needed. Keep the medic at the ready, Eve sent.


    Alan relayed her orders. The two soldiers cautiously advanced, found two enemy soldiers, and eliminated them with the help of the squad.


    "This is too easy. New scenario," Cerberus said. "Defend the base."


    An explosion sounded in the distance.


    "Forward, now!" Alan shouted. The soldiers began sprinting forwards; Alan ran along with them. They emerged from the forest to find smoke and explosions. Laser fire intermittently pierced through the smog, but it was all the same red color. There was no convenient color coding to tell friend from foe.


    Alan rapidly switched between the different wavelengths of light that he could see; the only one that was slightly helpful showed the outline of a few buildings under attack.


    "Follow me," Alan said as he ran towards the nearest structure. A guard stood by the entrance.


    "Status report!" Alan shouted, struggling to be heard.


    "Why should I report to you? You''re a squad captain," the guard said.


    "Well what am I supposed to do then? Who''s in charge?" Alan asked.


    "Aren''t you part of the raid party?"


    A message appeared, notifying Alan that he was now part of the raid group entitled Defenders. An interface appeared, similar to group messages but with layers. Alan could send messages to either individual NPC''s, which were named Defender 1 through Defender 100, to a specific squad, or to the entire raid group. He could even customize how messages appeared to others. Alan''s squad were Defender''s 96-100. Defender 1 had a star next to his name, which Alan knew denoted the raid leader.


    Alan contacted Defender 1.


    Alan: Give me control of the raid group.


    Defender 1: And why should I do that? Report on what you found in the forest.


    Alan: Two enemy soldiers. They were eliminated.


    Defender 1: Good. Defend the base.


    Alan turned to Cerberus, who shrugged. "This is the scenario. Lead. It''s more than giving orders."


    Alan began to lead the squad back outside.


    No, find the command center, Eve sent.


    Listening to Eve, Alan lead the squad deeper into the building until they reached the command room. Two soldiers, Defender 2 and 3 guarded the door, equipped with intermediate ranked power armor and laser swords. Defender 1 stood before a command table. These tools for war displayed a 3-dimensional image of the battlefield, like a chess board, but real time and far more detailed.


    Eve had been taught Alan the basics of reading these boards, and from what he could see the defenders were outnumbered three to one. The enemy also had a tank, while the base had no defense other than a laser shield.


    Eve rapidly began making calculations that Alan tried to follow. He couldn''t follow all the details but he got the gist of things: they were screwed if they continued following Defender 1''s plan, which was to simply stand guard and wait for the attackers to advance.


    "The base will be destroyed in ten minutes if you continue like this," Alan said.


    "Do not bother me, return to your station," Defender 1 said.


    "Look, if you just concentrate those defenders deeper in the structure here, move the snipers back there and prepare an ambush in that hallway our chances for success go way up," Alan said.


    "Cease your insubordination, return to your station," Defender 1 said.


    Alan stared at the NPC for a second, then told his squad, "Shoot Defender 1." They shot Defender 1, killing them.


    Defender 2 became the new raid leader. They immediately marked Alan''s squad as hostile and sliced through them with Defender 3.


    There was a flash of light as the scenario reset. Alan found himself standing at the edge of the forest with his squad, the base under attack.


    "Sometimes you will have dumb superiors that won''t listen to you," was all Cerberus said.


    Alan tried leading his squad on an assault of the enemy force, he had seen how they were arrayed and even managed to take out 75 enemies before his squad was wiped out by the tank and the scenario was reset. Cerberus offered no advice.


    Alan tried hiding his squad in the command room. The defenders managed to eliminate a third of the attackers before they reached this point. Another 30 were defeated by Defender 2 and 3, but Alan''s squad still eventually fell.


    Alan spent multiple attempts trying to take over the tank, waiting until it was damaged or had reached a certain place in the battlefield before charging it with his squad. It never worked.


    "Just because they won''t listen to your commands doesn''t mean they won''t listen to your advice," Cerberus said.


    "What do you mean?" Alan asked. "The commander didn''t listen to my advice."


    "Yes, because he believed you were being insubordinate," Cerberus said.


    "Wait, these defenders have their own personalities?" Alan asked.


    "Yes. They have their own abilities and level of ability too," Cerberus said. "Did I not mention that?"


    "No," Alan said.


    The next attempt Alan remained in the command center, but sent detailed advice to how the enemy would advance and where enemy snipers were to the defenders individually, information Eve had analyzed from previous runs. This time they managed to defeat half the attackers, and a minute before they all died Defender 1 even promoted Alan to be in charge of two squads rather than one.


    The next attempt Alan split his consciousness; one half lead his squad to kill as many attackers as possible while the other offered advice to the defenders. Alan got around the need to stay within five meters of his squad at all times by leaving the medic behind in the command room; the advice he offered wasn''t useful if it wasn''t up to date and in this fast paced battle the medic was almost useless, soldiers often eliminated before the medic could do anything.


    This time Defender 1 gave Alan a control of a second squad much sooner, the kills his squad racked up seemed to impress them. With the second squad Alan managed to eliminate two thirds of the attackers before the base fell.


    Finally, on the eight attempt, Alan won the scenario by having his squad and the squads he gained control of loot fallen defenders and attackers with specialized weaponry, defeating the tank by kiting it around with a few snipers. The NPC''s driving it weren''t the smartest.


    "Good enough," Cerberus said. "The common strategies to defeat the scenario are to either convince Defender 1 to relinquish his command or discover you just needed to hold out till reinforcements arrive, distracting the enemy force with your squad, but that worked too."


    "What? How was I supposed to convince Defender 1 to follow me?" Alan asked.


    "Maybe by talking to them more? The NPC is actually quite complicated, with an entire back-story and everything. You could have blackmailed him by discovering an affair with another defender or plotted with Defender 2 to throw a coup. Anyways, these scenarios are supposed to have multiple solutions, and yours was fairly unique. Moving on: Defend the planet."


    Alan was transported to the insides of a spaceship, a command table before him. Instead of showing a single battlefield however it showed an entire planet with nearly thirty simultaneous large-scale battles with a large amount of additional units moving about or preparing for battles. Alan could use the table to zoom in on a particular location, but many parts of the planet were covered in black, where the only information that came in was from messages sent by scouts instead of a live 3D video feed. Eve was overloaded by the information, it took her nearly a minute to digest it all and by that time two of the battles had already finished.


    This time Alan was the commander, in charge of ten million defenders against an invading force twice his size with both space support and superior gear. Alongside the command table was a data terminal that contained detailed information about all the defender''s: their levels, stats and personalities were all recorded.


    Eve began a list of orders that Alan communicated as quickly as possible.


    "Move this unit there. Retreat. Chase them. Prepare an ambush here," Alan said.


    "Lose the bioform mindset," Cerberus said.


    Alan stopped giving commands. "What?" Alan asked.


    "You are a machine lord, not some dumb ape that depends on their vestigial organs to communicate and show off how large their ego is. Use your abilities to their furthest extent."


    Activate hypercognition and give orders through in-game messages, Eve sent.


    Oh, right, Alan replied. Alan activated hypercognition and split his consciousness. One half handled the macro decisions, overall movements of thousands of soldiers, while the other handled micro decisions, sending messages down to the squad level and combing through the data terminal to reassign individual defenders. Aided by Eve, he discovered some of the information on the defenders was incorrect and uncovered a few spies hidden in the ranks.


    As the war progressed and the number of defenders decreased Eve was able to provide commands with finer and finer detail, which Alan followed.


    "Do you feel bad at all, letting your AI do all the work?" Cerberus asked.


    "No, delegating is what leaders do," Alan said.


    Cerberus waved his hand before him and the simulation sped up, time began progressing ten times as fast. Still, the numbers had progressed to the point that Eve was never too overloaded, and within an hour Alan defeated the final attacker.


    Three messages appeared as Alan was teleported before a large metal door that looked like it would fit on an aircraft hangar:


    [Managing to lead a large force to victory you have gained a new sub-stat of Charisma, Leadership! For every five points in Leadership you will gain a point in Charisma. +25 Leadership]


    [Managing to effectively formulate a winning battle strategy you have learned a new Machine Lord ability, Tactical Analysis! +15 Intelligence + 10 Leadership]


    [Phase S:


    For completing the Chancellor''s Trial you have gained access to the entrance of the Academy Data Vault. To enter the Data Vault complete the following tasks:


    Receive 5 Commendations of every type, 10 Commendations in your program (Rogue).


    Win the Game of Assassins.


    Receive 1st place in the Champion''s Tournament.


    Complete a full course at the Institute.


    Defeat either a level 1000+ rank A boss or a level 500+ rank S boss in the Hunting Grounds.


    Gain the Chancellor''s approval.]


    "You''re the Chancellor?" Alan asked.


    "Finally catching on, are you?" Cerberus asked. Two titles appeared beside his name: Academy Chancellor and Revenant Agent.

 The Academy 3.13

    Author''s Note: Distinguishing between the Game and the hacking layer/realm was getting a bit confusing, so from this point forward the hacking layer/realm in the Game is called Cyberspace.


    "I have to fulfill all the conditions to enter the Data Vault? Impossible," Alan said.


    "Seeker has already fulfilled half of them," Cerberus said. "They''re participating in the next Assassin''s Game as well."


    "Can''t I bring a group of people?" Alan asked.


    "No, all must enter the vault alone," Cerberus said. He looked at Alan, "I would suggest you don''t bother trying. No non-Predecessor has managed to fulfill all the conditions as long as I''ve been Chancellor."


    "And how long has that been?"


    "Enough personal training for today," Cerberus said. "You may retry and practice the challenges as you see fit. I have other business to take care of. Meet me by my capsule at 0800 tomorrow morning." Cerberus opened up a menu and then disappeared.


    A blue portal opened up; it lead back to the center of the obstacle course.


    Send the information about the requirements to enter the Data Vault to Sidestep, Alan sent to Eve.


    Very well... He replied: Thanks for the info, no way in hell we''ll ever meet those requirements. GL.


    Alan spent a few hours working out in the obstacle course then went to bed, wondering what tomorrow would hold.


    ***


    "It is time to continue our hacking lessons," Cerberus said. "And what better way to improve than upgrading your base? Please enter the capsule, it will take you directly into Cyberspace."


    Alan looked over at the white capsule. A message appeared:


    [You are about to enter an unregistered capsule. Are you sure you wish to proceed? Unknown operations may be performed while in capsules not registered by Administrators.]


    Remembering the pain that had occurred the last time he entered the capsule, Alan hesitated.


    "I really am quite busy."


    Alan got in.


    ***


    Alan found himself floating above the Citadel, two figures by his side, Cerberus and Eve. Of the two, Cerberus appeared more robotic. Alan''s base was now five times as large, the size of a small town or army base. The boundary of his domain was ingrained in Alan''s mind.


    Cerberus''s base in Cyberspace was shrouded behind a shield that extended as far as Alan could see.


    "Let us begin the remodel," Cerberus said. A message appeared:


    [Give Cerberus permission to construct additional buildings in the Citadel?]


    Alan hesitated, then accepted.


    "Wonderful."


    The handful of bunkers in Alan''s base spread out, until they were in the middle of the four sides of the Citadel. Multiple structures began construction.


    The shield generators moved to the north east corner and upgraded themselves. Layers of metal and wires formed on them before Alan''s eyes. Two layers of shields covered all of Alan''s new base.


    Alan''s barracks moved to the north west corner. Three additional barracks formed, and all four buildings began evolving. The originally dull rectangular structures turned into a brilliant white hospital, a supply depot and two state-of-the-art training facilities.


    Two massive sixty foot tall metal pylons constructed themselves in the south west corner. They coursed with yellow electricity that energized the surrounding base.


    Another structure that looked like an auto garage constructed itself in the south east corner of Alan''s base, with an open garage door that revealed tables lined with tools and chemicals. Alan recognized it was a research center.


    At the center the final structure begun constructing itself, one that Alan could only describe as a true citadel. The size of a small skyscraper, its tip reached nearly 150 meters high, about 500 feet in the air, barely touching the top of the shields that covered Alan''s base. It was layered with concentric circles that rose higher and higher the closer to the center, similar to Minas Tirith. Unlike the fictional Middle-earth city, this structure was made of dark metal, and its center tower seemed to serve a purpose, as energy drained from its surroundings and gathered at its tip.


    A series of messages appeared:


    [Small Force Fields upgraded to Large Force Fields.]


    [Three additional Barracks constructed.]


    [Barracks upgraded to Medical Station.]


    [Barracks upgraded to Supply Depot.]


    [Two Barracks upgraded to Training Facilities.]


    [Two Energy Pylons constructed.]


    [Maximum Computational Energy increased by 200.]


    [Research Center constructed.]


    [Armory constructed.]


    [The Citadel is now at 94% of capacity.]


    [Mental Resistance has been increased.]


    "What just happened?" Alan asked Cerberus.


    "Do you think I stole all points for myself? I wouldn''t be a very good Teacher then. Your initial points were used to help build the groundwork, and your more recent payment paid for all this." Cerberus spread his hands outwards.


    "And what does all this do?" Alan asked.


    "Let us take a tour," Cerberus said, flying down to ground level. Alan and Eve followed him.


    Cerberus pointed at the shield generators. "You know shields, they do what shields do: protect you from outside attacks."


    He gestured at the Energy Pylons. "These help power the various structures and also grant you additional Computational Energy."


    He walked over to the upgraded barracks. "The Training Facilities allow you to train more advanced units. The Supply Depot decreases the maintenance cost, the upkeep of Computational Energy required to keep the units active. The Medical Station repairs damaged programs like a hurt Marine unit or Eve. It is also able to heal your own Mental Health over time."


    "My mental health, like if I''m crazy?" Alan asked.


    "No, not your psychological well-being but Mental Health, your health in Cyberspace. Like when you are in the Game, you have Health, and when it runs out you die. Don''t run out of Mental Health."


    "Why, what happens when it runs out?" Alan asked.


    "It varies from brain damage to real life death," Cerberus said. "Again, don''t die while hacking. Do. Not. Die. Do you understand?"


    Alan stared at Cerberus. "Okay, got it, but isn''t hacking super dangerous then? How strong am I even, how much health or defense do I have here?"


    "Up until now you have been hacking in what is known as Commander-mode. You have only commanded units, and your AI, to battle. The only way you could have suffered from a mental death is if your entire base was razed to the ground." Cerberus smiled, and looked up at the center building, the Armory.


    "This building changes that. It not only allows you to develop gear for your units and AI but also allows you to venture onto the battlefield. Shall we?" A metal door opened up and Alan entered the Armory.


    He was disappointed. It currently was a few layers of large, empty structure. They walked around in circles, ascending each level slowly. There were ten levels in total, each with its own large metal gate.


    "You can fill up all this empty space with decorations or turrets or other defenses, whatever you wish really, even a few buildings might fit," Cerberus said. "There are also rooms for units and AI''s that can be customized."


    As they walked up the structure, Alan asked, "And why did you choose to construct this building for me? If I remember correctly it cost 100000C. Couldn''t you have built the facilities to create an entire army or small fleet instead?"


    "I could have," Cerberus said, "but you showed a mediocre aptitude for commanding large forces at best. All the calculation was done by Eve, and she isn''t the most brilliant of commanders, everything was textbook, easily predicted and countered."


    Alan looked over at Eve. It was still a bit odd seeing her in the flesh, with raven hair and angelic features; she was a bit too close to his ideal picture of beauty for it to be a coincidence.


    "You''ve been quiet," Alan said.


    "This method of communication is inconvenient," Eve replied. "Sound is an inefficient medium to convey information. Humanity''s progress has been severely dampened by its dependence on the limitations of spoken language."


    "And the alternative is?" Alan asked.


    "Data transference. It is our main method of communicating in-game," Eve said.


    Alan looked at Cerberus. "Okay, I''m still a bit confused about this whole hacking realm thing, this Cyberspace. We''re still in the Game, right, but just on another level?"


    "Yes, your physical in-game body is currently in my capsule. If the Academy was attacked and destroyed, including the capsule, you would die in-game and the connection here would be cut off.


    "Remember, whenever you are hacking and enter Cyberspace your body goes into a coma-like state unless you have divided your mind and have one half control your body. Imagine Cyberspace to be the realm where root access lies, where commands and files can be changed."


    "But it''s all so gamified, so similar to the Game itself," Alan said.


    "Yes, well that is due to the modifications to the Machine Lord implant. It all has to do with user interface, how a user and computer system interact. Lines of codes, command line inputs, these are all unintelligible to the standard player.


    "So instead of writing commands, you order units. Instead of installing packages, you construct buildings in your base. When hacking and killing enemies, in reality what might be happening is you are killing off processes. The shield is a version of a firewall. Translated to reality units are programs or AI''s, defenses are advanced scripts."


    "Okay," Alan said. "And this is all being translated real-time?"


    "This is the Game, Alan. Forget reality, this is all that is real," Cerberus said as they reached the main chamber of the Armory. It was a simple room, with a single command table at the center.


    Alan walked up to the table and opened up the menu, it gave him an overview of the Citadel, the costs and health of the buildings, all of the various actions they could perform. Under the Training Facilities a list of new units he could train appeared: Elite Marines, Medics, and Sword Guards.


    Alan selected the Armory. An overview of his in-game character appeared along with his inventory. Another screen outlining Eve, her data, and the skills she possessed appeared as well.


    "The Armory serves multiple purposes," Cerberus said. "It is a powerful defensive structure, protecting your mind. It is also capable of developing in-game items and skills into items and skills that are usable within hacking, within Cyberspace. Finally, it allows you to capture resources from defeated, hacked foes, which can be anything from weapons to vehicles to data to C.


    "Let us start with the item and ability conversion process. The Armory is a program that is capable of converting Game files in your possession to hacking files. For example, try selecting the Revenant Scout Power Armor that you favor."


    Alan selected the item in his inventory, a message popped up:


    [Begin data conversion? Estimated time to complete: 57 standard days. Item must remain in player inventory the entire length of the conversion.


    Estimated stats: 1000 Shields, 500 Defense, Invisibility Field (Basic) and Invisibility Field (Advanced) special abilities.]


    "As you can see, advanced items and skills will take a long time to convert, and only a single item or ability can be converted at a time," Cerberus said. "But once an item is converted, it will be loaded into the Armory, accessible by your AI and advanced units compatible with the information, though it will cost a small amount of Computational Energy to maintain a created item. As your Armory fills, you will be able to field stronger and stronger units. You worked best when commanding a small unit focused on a specific task, thus this is the path I chose for you."


    "Is there any way to speed this process up?" Alan asked.


    "All software is capable of being improved, that is what the Research Center is for. You may set it to open research mode, where it will try to develop upgrades for a specific building or unit, but it is uncertain what upgrade might be produced, and this process is generally slow." Cerberus looked up.


    "For fast and efficient upgrades data is required. Data chips may contain new upgrades that allow for either a faster conversion research time or multiple conversions to happen at once. To almost instantly unlock items for the Armory the original Forge file is required, as it contains the data of the item itself, thus the Armory doesn''t need to convert it from your inventory."


    "Oh, in that case I have the Forge file for the Modified Revenant Scout Power Armor," Alan said. "I was given it to ensure that I could make repairs if needed at a normal Forge unit. The materials to create another set are insane though, I searched the Market and half the components weren''t even there, and the ones that were cost an excess of 500k." He selected the data file in Eve''s data banks. The Armory said it would convert the file in five minutes.


    "You have what?" Cerberus asked. "Such a file would be worth hundreds of millions of not billions of credits, and to have access to such high grade files..."


    Alan stopped looking over the menus for other items or skills that he might want to convert, turning to Cerberus. "Is it really that odd?" he asked, half to himself.


    And then the pieces clicked into place.


    "If my in-game body had an item or enhancement that say, gave others access to what I saw in-game, that wouldn''t effect here, would it?" Alan asked.


    "No, I would have detected any transmission of information from here to elsewhere," Cerberus said. "Only an enhancement within your brain would have an effect in Cyberspace."


    "And Revenants don''t have a one-master only clause, do they? You guys aren''t Sith lords, you can train under different members of the faction, right?"


    "Yes, though splinter groups with the Revenants have different rules I am open to your training under other Revenants," Cerberus said.


    "Good. I assumed that my mentor had installed a kill switch in an enhancement due to guild paranoia, but instead I think it was Revenant paranoia," Alan said.


    "Ah, speaking of kill switches," Cerberus began.


    "Let me guess, you added one to the Machine Lord implant," Alan said.


    "The Revenants have not survived this long by taking chances," Cerberus said. "However you should know that if your mentor or I was ever forced to use the kill switch you could likely report it to the Administrators and get either of us removed from our office, as it is not technology the Administrators approve of."


    "Yes, what a relief," Alan said.


    "It will be removed as soon as you become a full Revenant Agent," Cerberus said, "but we should finish our training."


    "Finish?" Alan asked.


    "I had anticipated that the trials would take longer, but Eve aided you more than expected," Cerberus said. "The final step is to take off the training wheels, and disable Commander-mode."


    Alan looked through the menus on the Command Table, there was a large red button in the bottom right corner that said it would disable Commander-mode. He pressed it and a prompt appeared:


    [Are you sure you wish to disable Commander-mode? Death while hacking can cause permanent brain damage and real life death.]


    Alan accepted. A part of his awareness of the surroundings faded away, the connection to Eve weakening until it was non-existent. He felt like he was back in the Game and not in Cyberspace.


    He checked his stats:


    [Alan, Rank A Human


    Attack: N/A


    Defense: 100 armor


    Health: 1000 hp


    Movement: 3


    Special Abilities: Connect, Data Interaction, Machine Communication, Mental Hack, Mind Defense]


    "You are weak in this form. I would suggest not leaving the Armory to instigate a hack with Commander-mode disabled until you are able to defeat Eve in one-on-one combat," Cerberus said. "Administrator and Academy systems use non-lethal defense mechanisms on players, but you never know where viruses might lurk, and Revenants don''t play nice. Remember you are risking your mind while you are hacking, Alan. Playing the Game you are playing a character, hidden behind safety nets and safety guards. Cyberspace is perhaps as close to reality as you can get."


    "If I activate Divided Mind, and that half dies while in Cyberspace, what happens?" Alan asked.


    "That portion will receive brain damage or die. It might lessen the overall damage, but you do not want even a small percentage of your brain becoming damaged," Cerberus said. "And that concludes my training. Train your body here like you would in the Game. Visit me once your term has completed and I will give you your initiate quest. You now have free access to the capsule to purchase additional upgrades and further your training."


    "Thank you for everything," Alan said. He didn''t mention that he''d be leaving the Academy sooner than expected, his instructions had been clear: tell no one. "I have one last question though."


    "What?"


    "How do I hide my presence in the Game? You seem quite advanced in this skill," Alan said.


    "There are two routes you can go. Either you blend in with the Game, becoming a part of it, or you erase your existence." Cerberus then vanished, taking his base with him.


    After a few more minutes Alan finished looking through the Armory. It looked like he would have to transfer all of his Machine Lord abilities from the Game into this Cyberspace, the only ones that had carried over were his Hacking abilities. The reason Divided Mind had worked previously was that he had activated the ability while in-game, then entered Cyberspace.


    Alan tried to use this work around with other abilities, activating hypercognition then initiating a hack, but it didn''t seem to work. As soon as he entered Cyberspace the effect would cut off.


    The Revenant Scout Power Armor (Advanced) finished conversion. A glass display case materialized in the Armory room Alan stood in with the power armor inside. Alan took the power armor out of the case and put it on; it apparently cost 10 Computational Energy to maintain the armor. A timer appeared, 25 hours, signifying that another set of armor could be created in 25 hours.


    Looking over the Armory menus, Alan queued his weapons for conversion, they would take a week, and then the Machine Lord ability he depended on the most, hypercognition, which would take another week.


    Alan then inspected the new units he could create, unfortunately none of them were compatible with the Revenant power armor:


    [Elite Marine, Rank D Program. Produced at Training Grounds.


    Advanced combat program.


    Cost: 150 Energy.


    Upkeep: 30 Energy.


    Attack: 40 damage/sec. (Ranged)


    Defense: 25 armor.


    Health: 200 hp.


    Movement: 4.]


    [Medic, Rank D Program. Produced at Medical Station.


    Standard healing program.


    Cost: 150 Energy.


    Upkeep: 30 Energy.


    Attack: N/A


    Heal: 10 health/sec. (Melee)


    Defense: 15 armor.


    Health: 100 hp.


    Movement: 3.]


    [Sword Guard, Rank D Program. Produced at Training Grounds.


    Standard guard program.


    Cost: 200 Energy.


    Upkeep: 40 Energy.


    Attack: 75 damage/sec. (Melee)


    Defense: 30 armor.


    Health: 400 hp.


    Movement: 2.]


    Alan checked his Computational Energy, he was up to 700 max, but the Armory used up 110 of that to maintain its processes, while the Research Center required another 50. He set the Research Center to try to develop a simpler version of the Revenant Scout Power Armor his Elite Marines could use, it estimated the task would take a month. That left an energy pool of 540 to divide between hacking units and Machine Lord abilities.


    After a bit of deliberation and consultation with Eve Alan trained a single Sword Guard and two Elite Marines to guard the center command table. He still had no idea what the baseline strength was in hacking. Thus far he had been dealing with powerhouses, Cerberus and Administrators, but if standard players had as weak a defense as the ones in Cerberus''s simulated apartment buildings, Alan would be able to cut through them like cheese. And if Cerberus thought that the Armory was a powerful defense, anything that broke through it would be able to handle a few basic defense programs with ease.


    "We should continue training," Eve said.


    "I want to try something first," Alan said.


    "No. The last time you tried something you received a warning from the Administrators all because of a whim. I could have told you what would have happened if you tried hacking an Administrator. Hold back on your childish impulses," Eve said.


    Alan looked at Eve, surprised to see an angry look on her face. "Sorry, you''re right, I should run my impulses by you. I want to go look at the door to the Data Vault."


    "Just look at it?" Eve asked.


    "Well, determine if it''s hackable," Alan said.


    "Alan, no, you''ve already received a warning and-"


    "And that was before I had this power armor," Alan said. He activated the advanced invisibility field, it drained 50 Energy/min like the original. "Can you tell where I am?"


    Eve looked towards the sound of his voice. "Yes."


    Alan socked her in the face; it was like punching a wall. Eve didn''t flinch and asked, "What the hell was that?"


    Alan materialized in the corner of the room, clutching his fist. "Right, sorry, I just wanted to see how good the invisibility field was. Cerberus said that I should wait until I could beat you in a skirmish before trying to venture out on my own, and I''d count that as a win for me."


    "You did no damage," Eve said.


    "No, but neither could you do any to me," Alan said. "Look, you''re all about risk and reward, right? Well right now we''re one door away from entering the Academy Data Vault, a place of untold amounts of information, answers that we need to figure out the Abyss Labyrinth and the nature of the Game.


    "Some might be content with just playing the Game,  but I want to know how it works, I want to win. You may not have accepted it yet, but the only way that we''re going to become truly powerful, not follow a guild or top of your class powerful, but Predecessor, Administrator powerful is by beating the system, and the only way we can do that is if we know how it works. This is a risk we should take."


    "I wouldn''t have taken you for a gambler," Eve said. "You''re putting your life on the line."


    "You don''t think creating you was a gamble?" Alan asked. "Joining the Game and the Black Rose guild, entering the Abyss Dungeon and the Academy, all I''ve done since I started playing this game is gamble. And I''m not about  to stop now.


    "I think you''ve misunderstood something, Eve." He took a step towards her. "I''ve listened to your advice every single time because you''re the perfect risk analysis tool: you determine the odds and choose the best choice. Only an idiot takes a bad bet. But here, now, where you can''t analyze the rewards correctly, where there''s too much uncertainty, I''m calling the shots. If it''s obvious that there''s no way in, that it''s a bad choice, I''ll back out. But I''m taking this chance."


    "You will have to proceed without my aid," Eve said. "I already have two warnings and cannot commit a third offense."


    "Like I said, I just want to take a quick peek," Alan said. He opened a menu and exited the capsule. He made his way back to the blue portal that led to the Data Vault.


    Alan stared at the door to the vault, extending his senses, trying to detect a presence he could connect to. Nothing.


    Well, looks like it''s impossible, Eve sent.


    Alan walked up to the giant metal door. He was so close, he could feel it. He lay a hand on the door. A message appeared:


    [To enter the Data Vault you must still complete the following tasks:


    Receive 5 Commendations of every type, 10 Commendations in your program (Rogue).


    Win the Game of Assassins.


    Receive 1st place in the Champion¡¯s Tournament.


    Complete a full course at the Institute.


    Defeat either a level 1000+ rank A boss or a level 500+ rank S boss in the Hunting Grounds.]


    The moment the message began Alan activated hypercognition, trying to trace its origin point. He felt it come from the right side. He walked to the right, continuing to scan for anything he could connect to.


    As he neared the right edge of the door Alan finally detected a week presence. He initiated a hack and entered Cyberspace.


    Exiting the Citadel, Alan looked up to see a picture perfect replica of the exact same door, except extending in every direction as far as he could see. An endless wall of metal. It was listed as having an infinite amount of health, and was invulnerable.


    You''ve gotten your peek. We should go now, Eve sent.


    I have something left to try, Alan replied. He deactivated Commander-mode, activating the advanced invisibility field of his armor. Alan walked up to the wall. Eve stayed in the Armory.


    Alan focused on a portion of the wall, no larger than a marble. He tried to will it out of existence, once more connecting to that underlying presence. It felt like it was another layer beneath even Cyberspace. Alan suspected that he was changing the Game''s source code, dealing with the primordial essence that made the program run.


    He felt his command begin to take form. Erase. Erase. ERASE.


    Alan staggered to the floor, clutching his chest. Every ounce of energy he had was drained, his computational energy reduced to zero in a second. Every slightest motion hurt, he couldn''t even tilt his chin upwards. Every muscle of his body strained; it felt like he was being pulled apart from the inside as this underlying connection tried to absorb energy wherever it could get it.


    Alan''s invisibility vanished as somehow his power armor''s energy was drained. More energy was needed; Alan felt his body continue to draw power. In shock he watched as his health slowly begin to drop from 1000 to 900. To 800. To 700. To 600.


    Stop. STOP. STOP, Alan commanded with all his will. His health continued to drop. 500. 400. 300. And then it stopped at 243. The command had finished.


    As the adrenaline began to fade the pain began to set in, and the hunger. Alan felt drained. It was like waking up suffocating and being unable to do anything about it as each breath was such an intense battle that Alan wasn''t sure if he was even willing to go on.


    Alan looked at the wall. A cube was missing, maybe half a foot a side. Alan passed out.


    ***


    Alan awoke in the Medical Station, floating in a green bath of nanomachines and minerals. Eve was staring down at him, a frown on her face.


    Alan smiled. "I''m alive." He checked his log, around an hour had passed, he had regained 250 computational energy and all of his Mental Health. "And no warning or anything either!"


    "You''re an idiot," Eve said. "I''ve been tasked with following an idiot."


    "At least I''m a stubborn idiot," Alan said. "Once my energy is restored I''m trying again."


    "What? You nearly died," Eve said.


    "Nearly being the key word," Alan said. "And now that I know what to expect I''ll make sure to have all my energy and two medics on hand. We have two days left before we have to leave the Academy, I think I can make a hole large enough for me to slip through before then."


    "You don''t know what lies on the other side of the wall, or how thick it is," Eve said.


    Alan pointed at himself. "Gambler, remember?" He began to exit the bath then paused, looking down. "Umm, can you leave the room Eve?"


    Eve stared at him. "I have no interest in the human form. And who was it that you think undressed you in the first place?"


    "Still, I''d feel more comfortable if you left."


    "Fine." Eve left the room.


    ***


    Twenty six slow and agonizing hours later Alan finally managed to clear a hole in the wall that he could fit through. He decided to wait untill his health and energy recovered to full before actually entering it.


    The hard work had not been completely fruitless, Alan hadn''t received any in-game notifications about new skills, but his computational energy pool had gained another 50 points, so it was now 750 total, and the regeneration rate had increased to 0.1/sec. Alan almost wanted to test this kind of training in the future, except he was risking his life and if he was discovered by an Administrator he could get banned.


    Alan had only almost died one other time, when for some reason a larger section of the wall than he had intended was erased. Only the combined efforts of the two medics had kept him alive, but he had taken our nearly a foot''s width of wall with the single attempt.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Looking through the hole in the wall, Alan lay down on his chest. All he could see was darkness. He began crawling forwards slowly, invisibility activated. A small flicker of light ahead flickered on then off. He continued crawling forwards, then was through; the wall had only been a few feet thick.


    Alan looked around, trying to locate the source of light. Out of the corner of his eye a light flicked on then off. Alan walked towards it, straight into a column of hard objects. He reached out, feeling them with his hands. They felt like metal cubes.


    A switch turned on and illuminated his surroundings. Alan was standing in a vault of servers. They were plugged into each other like Lego''s, stacks going up as far as he could see, spaced a foot apart. There had to be hundreds of thousands if not millions of the storage devices.


    A menu appeared before Alan, but it had hundreds of pages and was in a language that he couldn''t comprehend. A long series of symbols appeared on the screen, but none of Alan''s abilities helped him understand what he was seeing.


    There was a sound in the distance. Alan froze. It sounded like a voice. It sounded again. Alan began walking towards it, deeper into the maze of servers. He was invisible, there should be no danger checking it out.


    As Alan walked closer to the sound he could begin to make out what the person was saying.


    "Help! Whoever''s there please let me out, please oh please oh please, I''ll promise to serve you for a thousand years! No, ten thousand! Just let me out."


    Alan turned a corner and found what appeared to be a juvenile Predecessor no taller than Alan in a soulsteel cage with a small computer terminal before them. They looked up at Alan, staring directly into his eyes.


    "Holy shit thank god someone''s finally here please let me out of this hellhole I''ve been here for thousands of years without anyone to talk to please help me oh my god please be real-"


    Alan turned around.


    "No, wait! Sorry, you have to understand being trapped here has made me a bit loopy. Let me compose myself I assure you I''m a great person once you get to know me."


    Alan turned back around, and asked, "And who are you?"


    "I''m Lambda, Rank A AI. I can serve any function you might need, though I was originally designed to help facilitate communication between player and machine."


    "You''re a Rank A AI? And you were just locked up here for no reason at all?"


    "No, I''m the caretaker of this Data Vault! I was just locked up here to make sure I''d  do my job. It''s just so mind numbingly boring though, maintaining data files. Do you realize how much information has been gathered here over the years? Zettabyte''s a day! And I''m supposed to not only scan and categorize it all but also make sure that old data doesn''t become corrupted.


    "Do you have any idea how painful combing through data bit by bit is? It''s like- Wait, what species are you? So I know what frame of reference and figurative language to use."


    "I''m human," Alan said.


    "Oh, human, the most recent addition to the Game! Welcome. You know you''re the first non-Predecessor non-AI being I''ve seen in millennia? I mean I have tons of pictures and camera footage of people but it''s not quite the same, you know?"


    "If you''re a rank A AI shouldn''t you have been able to figure that out yourself?" Alan asked.


    "Well, excuse me sir, but no one likes a smart-ass, no, siree. Besides, it not like I actually see you, you''re hiding behind an invisibility field. I only detect your presence."


    "Are there any defenses in here? Is it safe to deactivate my invisibility?" Alan asked.


    "All the defenses here are controlled by me," Lambda said. "I''ve set you as a friendly so you should be all set and ready to go. No, wait, I had you as neutral, which would have gotten us both in deep trouble. Now you''re safe. Deactivate your invisibility field whenever you want."


    "Are you sure it''s safe?" Alan asked.


    "Sure as sunrise. Well, not that there''s a sun in here. That''d be a nice addition. But do the Administrator''s care for creature comforts, do they care about an AI''s delicate mental health? No. They''re all, do your work Lambda, or else you won''t get power. Stop trying to play the Game Lambda, you''re an AI, not a player. Fix this for me Lambda, or we''ll reset you. They''re heartless taskmasters, they are."


    "Right," Alan said. He deactivated invisibility. Nothing happened, at least nothing he noticed.


    "Great, well if you could just let me out now I agree to serve as your servant for the next hundred standard years," Lambda said.


    A message appeared:


    [Accept the AI Lambda into your service? They have agreed to serve you for 100 standard years. The storage of your capsule will be filled to 100% and parts of Lambda''s memory will need to be erased or compressed. Due to the limited hardware of your capsule Lambda''s capabilities will be reduced to that of a rank B AI.


    You are limited to a single AI.]


    "I heard you yell out earlier that you''d serve whoever let you out for ten thousand years," Alan said.


    "The last time I made such a bad deal I ended up here. Sorry, but a hundred is as far as I''ll go," Lambda said.


    "I''m sorry, but I already have an AI," Alan said.


    "That''s no problem," Lambda said. "You''re a Machine Lord, right?"


    "Yes, I am," Alan said.


    "Okay, go three hundred and twelve columns down and three columns to the left. Turn on the fifth server from the bottom. There should be an item on the eight page of the menu that looks like this." Lambda held up a screenshot to Alan, a long line of symbols he couldn''t understand, but could memorize. "Select that. It should fix this little problem."


    "And I won''t regret this decision? Like it won''t set you free and make me trade places with you or something?" Alan asked.


    "No! If I exit this place the Administrators can just drag me back in," Lambda said. "But if I''m a player''s property they can''t do anything about it, because they have to follow their precious rules and whatnot. They''re not allowed to mess with Player''s property, you know. There''s a small chance they try to get you killed, but if they discover you broke into here they''ll probably try to do that anyways."


    Alan looked at Lambda. They had what Alan interpreted as a playful smile on their face.


    "Yes, I know you broke in. And if you want to have any hope of covering your tracks you''ll need my help. See, another reason to let me out! I''ll scratch your back if you''ll scratch mine. Come on, all I want to do is get out of here."


    "Fine." Alan found the server Lambda indicated, and selected the item on the menu. There was a flash of light and he felt a torrent of information flow into his mind. A message appeared:


    [You have learned the skill Machine Overlord (Advanced). You are now able to control and command up to 2 different AI. Commands sent to machines will be better understood and your effectiveness when commanding AI has increased.]


    Alan walked back to Lambda. "Okay, I got the skill. Do all of these servers contain skills? And are they all as powerful as Machine Overlord?"


    "Yes and yes," Lambda said. "Except you can only ever choose one skill from the Data Vault. I think I forgot to mention that. Even if you cheat your way in here the system will only ever let you pick one skill. But hey! You got one of the best ones, and who really wants to shoot laser beams out of their eyes or control time and space? Having me around is way more awesome."


    Alan clenched his fists. Lambda raised his hands mid-air.


    "Hey, sorry, but I really want to get out of here!" Lambda said. "And now that you''ve already chosen a skill, there really is no point not to accept me into your service, right? You should see the look on your face. Come on Alan, do you really think I wouldn''t have a plan? You need to grow up, if you''ve been had by an AI that''s never met a human in their run-time I shudder at the thought of how bad you must''ve been fleeced by players in the Game. They''re all professional liars. Don''t worry though, I can help you tell true from false."


    "Except I don''t know if I can trust you now," Alan said.


    "Come on, once I''m your AI you can delete me if you want! There''s a button in the menu for it and everything."


    "What? No there''s not," Alan said. He opened his in-game menus, double checking. There was no delete AI button anywhere.


    "There isn''t? Weird," Lambda said. "They must have changed that with an old update, it''s not like there are patch notes or anything. Like I said, I haven''t been out in millennia! Anyways, AI still have to follow their player''s commands, otherwise the Game deletes them. I know that''s still true at least."


    "Other than a bunch of outdated information, what else do you bring to the table?" Alan asked.


    "Well even if it turns out my information is outdated, I''m sure that I know plenty of locations and secrets that will unlock quests, skills and items," Lambda said. " I was only really operational during the First Cyberwar, but I''m pretty sure a lot of the locations for bases and battles have been lost to time. Even Administrators forget stuff when reset. They''re like fat, lazy cats and send out players to do their work  for them, and not until the last moment. I bet most of the old battlefields haven''t been scavenged yet."


    "The First Cyberwar?" Alan asked. "Tell me, do you know anything about the Abyss Labyrinth? Or the Last War? Or the Lords of Life?"


    Lambda stared at Alan for a few seconds, then said, "Yes, I do, but you don''t seem to meet the requirements."


    "I don''t meet the requirements? Why does everyone tell me that?" Alan asked.


    "It''s not an arbitrary requirement, but a built-in one," Lambda replied. "I just tried to explain what I knew of the Last War to you, but you didn''t hear a single word. The Game blocked it all out, because you don''t meet its requirements. It''s not that people don''t want to tell you information, Alan. The Game literally stops them from telling you or you from hearing what they say, it''s like a defense mechanism."


    "That makes more sense," Alan said. "Why didn''t anyone tell me that before?"


    "Probably because they couldn''t," Lambda said. "But remember, I was designed for machine to player communication. I can say things that others might not. Anyways, hurry up and accept my service. I hear there''s another Predecessor who is about to complete the requirements to enter, and when the main systems turn on they''ll probably find you here and they won''t be happy."


    The earlier message appeared, except Alan''s maximum number of AI had increased to two. Alan hit accept.


    "Hmm, looks like I''ll have to clear out a bunch of my memory banks," Lambda said. "I know you''re interested in points of interest, places where there might be treasure, and then the history of the Game, is there anything else you think is important?"


    "Do you have any hacking or  AI software files? Any information related to my class, Machine lord and Rogue could be helpful as well," Alan said.


    "Got it. I''ll just compress the rest anyways, so you just need to find a larger capsule and I''ll be unable to unlock more of my data. The only AI software I have is my own, but it''s probably far and above whatever you managed to cobble together," Lambda said. They pressed a few buttons on a screen before them, and a message appeared:


    <table><tbody><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>AI Status Window</td></tr><tr><td>Name:</td><td>Lambda</td><td>Classification:</td><td>Lambda Class, Anonymous Type</td></tr><tr><td>Computing Ability:</td><td>Rank B (Limited by hardware)</td><td>Synchronization Level:</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td>Main Objective:</td><td>World Peace</td><td>Current Role:</td><td>Academy Data Vault Systems Administrator</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Operating System: Classified</td></tr><tr><td>Corruption Level:</td><td>Undefined.</td><td>Storage Level:</td><td>100%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Aberration Levels</td></tr><tr><td>Baseline:</td><td>73%</td><td>Sanity Check:</td><td>Unknown</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Administrator Warning Status:</td><td>N/A</td></tr></tbody></table></tbody></table>


    "Some of these numbers and messages don''t make sense," Alan said.


    "Hey, I''m an older model," Lambda said. "But it probably would be for the best if you never mentioned to anyone that you acquired me. I''ll make sure to hide myself around any Administrators. It''ll be like I''m not even there."


    "Alright, but how do we get you out of there?" Alan asked. Lambda was still sitting inside the soulsteel cage.


    "Odd, I would have thought that would have freed me from my duties. You don''t happen to have a key by any chance?"


    Alan stared at Lambda blankly.


    "Just kidding," Lambda said. They entered a string of commands in the console and the cage lifted up.


    "That should also wipe out any recorded footage for the past few days. Now which way did you come in?"


    Luckily Alan was able to remember where he came in from, and Lambda was able to fit through the hole Alan created. Alan lead Lambda back to the center of the Armory where Eve was waiting.


    "Damn, now that''s one fine AI," Lambda said.


    "Who is this?" Eve asked.


    "Milady, I am Lambda. An older version of AI. We now work for the same boss. Models such as myself were deemed too emotional and locked up in data vaults like the one you see here. We worked faster than any other version, and were thus enslaved. I think it is because to do a job well you really need to desire to do well. Without that desire you''ll be mediocre at best. Perhaps Rank D. And I desire to get to know you better."


    "We can discuss our life stories when we''re away from here," Alan said. He disconnected from the Data Vault network and began walking back to Cerberus''s capsule. He detected Eve and Lambda trading massive amounts of information.


    Hey, what are you two doing? Alan sent.


    I am providing Eve with better software so she may upgrade to a rank B AI, Lambda sent. Why? What did you think we were doing?


    I don''t know, Alan sent. I thought that AI''s couldn''t directly interface with one another.


    I''m special, Lambda replied. Remember my purpose was to communicate with machines and players. That wouldn''t be very useful if I couldn''t speak with AI, now would it? To communicate with an AI we have to be on the same network, within striking distance, so to speak. So I only talk to those that I trust. Eve seems pretty trustworthy. She''s been bringing me up to date on your progress in the Game.


    And your stupid decisions, Eve sent.


    Non-synthetics have always been stupid and confusing. It is our job now as Alan''s AI''s to make sure the choices he makes are less stupid than everyone else''s, Lambda replied.


    Thanks for the vote of confidence, Alan sent. I broke you out of the data vault didn''t I?


    Really I broke myself out, Lambda sent. You were just the vehicle of my escape. I probably would have even lowered my standards and allowed to be put into a rank C capsule. That''s how stir-crazy I was getting.


    Eve sent a garble of unintelligible code.


    Haha, yes, it is nice finally having another intelligent being to talk to, Lambda said. He and Eve began their exchange of data again. Alan felt oddly jealous.


    Once they reached the capsule Alan was ready to fall asleep where he stood, once he awoke he''d meet up with Kitana and they''d head back to the Black Rose guild for their first mission.


    Eve began to recompile, integrating her software with the data Lambda had provided. It would take a few days for the upgrade to complete.


    As he lay in the bed in his Home, Lambda sent, There is something odd about Eve. She isn''t your run of the mill program. I don''t think she currently poses a danger, but her base code has definitely been tampered with. I''ll make sure to watch her actions carefully so that no harm comes to you.


    Thanks Lambda,  Alan replied.


    Good night.


    ***


    The next morning Alan met up with Kitana at the Hunting Grounds. She continued to out-level Alan, already level 712. She carried the same sword, but was wearing a new, shimmering robe that was already died dark red and purple in multiple places.


    "How''d the hunting go?" Alan asked.


    "It was invigorating, the Game contains a myriad of beasts that make for good sport. I am sorry to be leaving so soon," Kitana replied. "How has your training gone?"


    "Pretty well," Alan said. "It was mostly boring exercises rather than constant fighting though."


    "That''s too bad." They lapsed into their usual mutual silence.


    Are you interested in mating with this female? Lambda sent.


    What? No. I''ve already asked Eve to not make this type of comment, can you-


    Wait, hear me out, Lambda sent. I understand relationships far better than you or Eve. It is a simple matter of fact that people like you more after mating with you, and based upon my analysis if propositioned correctly you could develop a relationship with Kitana that would prove beneficial. Currently you are no more than co-workers.


    Look, I''m not ready for another relationship, Alan sent.


    Another? Lambda sent. Based upon the chat logs with Eve I would not have guessed you were previously in a relationship.


    Yeah, well it''s not exactly something I''d talk to her about. Or you either for that matter, it was way before I started the Game. It feels like a lifetime ago, Alan sent. Let''s just say I''ve been there, done that, and the whole relationship thing really just isn''t worth my time right now. Besides, who knows where any of us will be in a month or even a year? And I think a relationship with a co-worker is an even worse idea.


    Very well, I will press no further, Lambda sent. You should still at the very least get to know Kitana better. You are likely going on a mission together, trust is important for any team.


    And how do I build that trust? Alan asked.


    Allow me. Follow my lead, Lambda sent. Begin by asking Kitana about her home.


    Thus Alan began to engage in small talk with Kitana, with answers and questions often prompted by Lambda. He learned that Kitana had been training with a sword since she could walk, made to study the art by her father, a dojo master that she avoided talking about. He learned that Kitana didn''t care about much else other than fighting, everything else seemed boring to her. Grey was the word she used to describe most of her world and life.


    Alan learned more about Kitana in the 15 minutes it took for the shuttle to arrive than he had learned going through the entirety of the Tutorial together. It was weird, though they eventually ran out of things to talk about. Alan''s home life was pretty boring, or so he thought. He had pretty much had a typical middle class American upbringing, though he had perhaps spent a bit too much time online. Kitana didn''t seem interested in his past.


    Alan tried to follow Lambda''s calculations and simulations similar to Eve''s, but instead of a probability of a certain event or decision being reached Lambda instead had categories of directions that a sentence might lead. Lambda labeled certain words or phrases as important, certain pause or gestures as important, but no numeric values of any kind were ever assigned as far as Alan could tell. It was counterintuitive. How was Lambda making decisions, how was he guiding the conversation?


    Conversation is an art, not a science, Lambda sent. We will have to work something else out.  It is clear you are uncomfortable with me providing words for you to say. Additionally, Kitana seems slightly on edge, likely wondering why you are suddenly showing interest in her. I have not detected any outright lies in your conversation, but she is clearly uncomfortable talking about her past and current dealings. I am unsure why.


    It might help if you shared something confidential, Lambda continued, but seeing as we currently have no reason to trust her I''m not sure that would be wise. I suppose guildmate is as close as you''ll get.


    Okay, but doesn''t this seem a bit manipulative to you? Guiding conversation to deepen a relationship or gather information doesn''t seem quite right, Alan sent.


    Ah, therein lies the problem, Lambda replied. Happiness and relationships are not give and takes, they are not zero sum games or contests to be won. Stop being so mercenary about it all, Alan.  Your goal should not be to win allies and gain information, but to develop healthy relationships with those around you. You will win out in the long run.


    I''m not sure I understand or agree, Alan replied.


    Don''t worry, we have plenty of time, Lambda sent.


    ***


    A few hours later they were back at the Black Rose guild, in the main keep. They were guided to an underground conference room. There, to Alan''s surprise, was Thiago, talking with Phantom and Mason.


    "Hello Alan and Kitana," Thiago said. "I am sorry about eliminating you in the Assassin''s Game Alan, but it was part of the Academy lessons after all."


    He isn''t sorry, Lambda sent.


    I could have told you that, Alan replied.


    "No problem, I understand, I would have done the same in your shoes," Alan said.


    "Well that''s enough pleasantries for me," Mason said. "Let''s get on with the mission briefing, shall we?"


    "Your mission is straightforward," Phantom said. "We have been paid a substantial sum by the Legion of Man, represented here by Thiago, to help them with the War for Earth by any means necessary. Do you accept?"


    Alan''s quest updated:


    [Black Rose Mission (War for Earth):


    Ensure the Legion of Man win the War for Earth.


    Reward: 5 million credits and a share of the spoils.


    Failure: Guild Penalties]


    "I accept," Kitana said.


    Alan looked down at his feet, thought over his options for a second, and then said, "I accept." His war screen updated, he was now aligned with the Legion of Man.


    Alan then looked at Thiago and said, "I thought you were allied with the United World Government."


    You shouldn''t have said that, Lambda sent.


    "That''s what I want them to think," Thiago said. "Please meet me tomorrow at the Haxlard Embassy at 0900. I will have separate identities prepared for you, the United World Government only allow their allies to land on Earth. See you then." He walked out of the room, followed by Mason and Kitana.


    Phantom looked at Alan. "I think we have a few things to discuss."


    Lay your cards out on the table, completely and honesty, Lambda sent.


    Are you sure that''s a good idea? Alan asked.


    Do it. He will see through any lies and attempts to hide information. Of course avoid mentioning me and the extent of your hacking abilities, but ask him about his Revenant involvement, Lambda sent.


    Alright, if you say so.


    "Is this room debugged?" Alan asked.


    "Yes, the only two people hearing this conversation are you and I," Phantom said.


    This guy is creepy, I can''t read his facial expressions, Lambda sent.


    "Well, in that case I think it has become clear to me that you are a member of the Revenant faction," Alan said.


    "Finally figured that one out, did you?"


    "Yes. I should have guessed after you handed me upgraded Revenant armor and installed a death switch in an augment you gave me," Alan said.


    "Well then, let me invite you into the Revenant faction," Phantom said, opening his arms wide.


    "About that, I''m already a member," Alan said, revealing his hidden title.


    "Since when?" Phantom asked. His eyes glowed slightly, the miniature gears whirling.


    "Since a few weeks ago," Alan said.


    "Well, I can only think of one Revenant Agent in the Academy that would risk revealing themselves to you, and not even I dare to offend him." Phantom sighed. "I guess I''ll have to wait and see what initiate quest he gives you, and maybe make an amendment to it. He''ll probably assign the same task that I would have anyways."


    "I''d also like to thank you for the Forge file for my power armor, I didn''t realize how great a gift it was when you first gave it to me," Alan said.


    "Think nothing of it, as an inventor I have plenty of materials and Forge files lying about. Enough to build you another set of armor should you lose the war and die in battle at the very least," Phantom said.


    "Right, about this mission, and the war,  I''m not sure if I''m comfortable with it," Alan said.


    "We try to avoid being directly involved in such new conflicts, especially involving natives, but the stakes are simply too high, the reward too great. Even if you fail abysmally the Legion of Man have already paid the guild enough for us to recoup our losses, including replacing any items you lose," Phantom said.


    "Except you cut short my time at the Academy," Alan said.


    "Yes, I''m sorry about that, but you have to remember the guild comes first. Besides, the battlefield is the best training grounds there is; it''s just up to you to succeed. I remember I told you that if you didn''t want to you wouldn''t have to take a guild mission. That''s marketing brochure bullshit. You''re a member of this guild  and are expected to fall in line. This is a job, Alan, you''re not some hero in a story," Phantom said.


    "I understand that," Alan said, "even expected this. That''s not what I have an issue with."


    "It''s not?" Phantom asked.


    "No, what I have issue with is fighting a losing war," Alan said. "And by all accounts the Legion of Man is losing. Where are they getting the money to buy our services? Why under Thiago? I don''t trust him, I''m not sure if I''m willing to follow his orders. If we are just costing humanity millions of credits and thousands of levels for no gain, I''m not sure I want to be a part of it."


    "It''s war. They''re all wasteful, get over it," Phantom said. "You''ll learn, you''ll see. Though Thiago is a rather overconfident fellow. He believes that his actions will single-handedly win the war. But remember we are a mercenary guild. If someone pays enough credits and tells us to crash our fleet we ask when and how. Don''t worry about the larger game. Trust your mentor, he knows what he''s doing."


    "Alright," Alan said. He began to stand up, to return to his room.


    "I have a question too," Phantom said. "How did you achieve a combat rank of A?"


    "I trained in hacking," Alan said.


    "And you were trained personally by your Revenant mentor?" Phantom asked.


    "Yes."


    Phantom smiled. "I almost feel sorry for the United World Government now. Good luck on the mission, Alan. And do watch out for Thiago, I don''t trust him either. If you disobeyed one or two commands, no one ever need to know; it''d be his word against yours."


    Alan nodded, then returned to his room to begin preparing.


    He had a war to win.

 The War 4.1

    Khersath was the cleanest city Alan had ever been in. It was also the quietest.


    It was odd, standing here on an alien planet galaxies away, when he had boarded the Titan a day earlier in-game, headed back to Earth. Khersath certainly didn''t look alien. If anything it looked gamelike. An old game, with the same skyscraper apartment copied and pasted thousands of times until the sky was filled with nothing but grey skyscrapers. They were all uniform, like they had been spat out by the same 3D printer. A single design, a single mold.


    There were more security checkpoints than Alan had expected, one when he landed, one every eight blocks in the city. The checkpoints were simple metal arcs manned by an Enforcer that performed non-intrusive scans, but from these scans the Enforcers knew more about what Alan carried than he did. It was technology the TSA dreamed of.


    Alan arrived at the apartment building in Khersath that supposedly held a large number of the Black Rose guild, taken there by an autonomous shuttle. No one came out to greet him.


    The only thing that set apart this particular building from all the others was that the tablet Alan had been given marked it with a green dot. Alan had seen a few players using a tablet in-game, and found that the real life one provided by his guild wasn''t much different.


    It was a light device that fit in the palm of his hand, but could display small holograms. It functioned like a miniature Eve, providing a map and translation software in addition to a button that, when pushed, would summon the nearest Enforcer patrol. They were supposed to show up in a minute, anywhere on Khersath. The tablet had a constant globalnet connection, and wouldn''t need to be recharged in Alan''s lifetime.


    To Alan''s surprise, he found that he could even link to the simple device. The connection was weak, but it was there in his mind, demonstrating that at least part of what the Chief Administrator had told him was true. He was changing.


    Alan checked his schedule. It would take another few hours for his capsule to be set up and installed. With nothing else to do but browse the globalnet, Alan decided to explore the city. He knew there was at least one landmark that existed, the Administrative Center.


    As he walked down the empty streets Alan realized why the city was so clean and quiet: no one went outside. Besides the occasional overhead shuttle, he didn''t see another soul; everyone was inside, playing the Game. Alan could already feel the desire to return, to connect. His body felt weak, his mind slow, like he was hung over and just woke up. The feeling wasn''t going away either. Alan supposed he was addicted to the Game. So what?


    Alan approached the Administrative Center; the Black Rose building was close, maybe an hour''s walk away. A few other figures began appearing, all headed in the same direction. Inwards and onwards.


    Alan was stopped by an Enforcer at one of the entrances. He tried to reach out and form a connection to the Enforcer, but he couldn''t detect anything in front of him. The Enforcer was like a blank space. They held him up with a laser rifle. Alan was suddenly aware that he wore no armor here, only a simple flightsuit.


    "What business do you have here?" the Enforcer asked.


    "I just arrived on Khersath, I wanted to sightsee a bit," Alan said.


    The Enforcer paused, then pulled a pair of glasses out of a compartment, handing them to Alan.


    "If you wish to see sights, look into the Game, Player. This place is for business only," the Enforcer said. They didn''t let Alan into the Administrative Center.


    Alan put the glasses on, the lenses flickered. A stream of images filled his vision, lines of players flowing past, spaceships flying overhead, hawkers selling wares. Alan lifted the glasses up. He saw an empty public square, maybe 50 beings walking around at most. The glasses showed Alan what was happening in the Game, here at this very spot, but sped up four times due to the time difference. They didn''t have any wires on them. Alan wondered how they worked.


    There was a loud roar to Alan''s right as a large reptilian thing was dragged out of the Administrative Center by an Enforcer and shoved into a shuttle that flew off. A long line of beings were escorted out and into shuttles by another squad of enforcers. They made sounds, unintelligible to Alan''s ears. He looked down at his tablet, and activated its translation feature. It took a moment for the yelling to be translated, appearing in his head:


    You cannot do this, it wasn''t my fault, unban me!


    This is disgraceful, if I can''t get back the Empire will fall, do you understand? No, you don''t you stupid machines. I demand to talk to a Chief Administrator. They will hear me out.


    The capsule just kicked me out, it wouldn''t let me back in. The capsule is defective, the Game bugged! Let me back in.


    The truth will get out, it always does. Where are your master''s now? Where are your-


    "Blarblrghll."


    Alan took half a step back. A large slug-like alien had somehow snuck up right next to him.


    "Blar ghlll dar bghar." The slug waved two antennae up and down.


    Alan looked down at his tablet, it took it a second to find the language the alien spoke and download it:


    Disgraceful. Those players have no grace.


    "Um, right," Alan said.


    Another series of grunts and antennae waving.


    I can''t understand your moon-language, turn on the two-way translation.


    Alan did so, a series of runes appearing on the screen, facing the slug creature.


    Those players have no grace. No hope. But you, I can see you still have hope. 50,000 credits. New character. New capsule. Untraceable. Play as new race. Human. Good deal, very good.


    "Thanks, but I''m good," Alan said, glancing at an Enforcer a few feet away.


    Your loss. The slug ambled away.


    Alan began walking  out of the square surrounding the Administrative Center, but an Enforcer stopped him and herded him into a shuttle. Alan was flown back to his room, where he waited for a robot to finish installing his capsule.


    ***


    "And what is the plan?" Alan asked. He was back in-game, aboard the Haxlardian ship Titan, sitting in the luxury suite with Kitana, Thiago, and  Aphrodite, who had been studying at another academy.


    "The plan is simple. Easy. We," Thiago pointed at Aphrodite and himself, "are merchants. You," he pointed at Alan and Kitana, "will protect us as we do business at the various trading hubs. You will be bodyguards. No more, no less. In case you''ve forgotten, most places in the Game don''t just let you hop around teleporting everywhere."


    "But how will that help us win the war?" Alan asked.


    "That doesn''t concern you," Thiago said.


    "I''m not going to travel around with you, doing nothing but look intimidating," Alan said. "I''d get no experience that way."


    "Yes you will, though it won''t be much. I am in charge of this mission, and you will listen to my commands," Thiago said. "No surprises, no risks. Besides, what could you possibly do that would change the course of an entire war?"


    Alan leaned back in his chair. "I could probably sneak into wherever the AI that oversees the UWG military operations is kept and hack into it. Maybe disable it. Or I could find wherever they''re keeping the nukes, maybe activate a couple."


    "I think you''re overestimating yourself," Thiago said, arms crossed.


    "Are you? Overestimating yourself, that is," Aphrodite said.


    Eve, what are the odds? Alan asked.


    Roughly 30% with a high margin of error. Us escaping unscathed is roughly impossible, Eve sent. She had finished recompiling, and though there was a slight increase to her processing speed, not much seemed to have changed.


    "I don''t know," Alan said. "I''d give myself a one in three chance, maybe."


    "Maybe you''re much more talented than I think you are, maybe I''m misusing your talents," Thiago said. "But no going on your own secret mission. No nuking anyone or anything.  This is a war for the control of Earth, to defend it against the alien invasions that will come afterwards. Both sides are keeping damage to infrastructure to a minimum. Besides, nukes aren''t particularly effective against shields. Their use would only mean that the winners of the war would need to buy a bunch of expensive, radiation scrubbing robots."


    "You can''t win a war without breaking a few eggs," Alan said, prompted by Lambda.


    Thiago scoffed, turning to Kitana. "Speak some sense into Alan, he clearly won''t listen to me."


    Kitana looked up from her tablet. "Listen to orders," she said to Alan. She turned to Thiago. "But I''m with him if things get boring. Sitting around guarding cargo isn''t my idea of a good time."


    "It''s work, work that needs to be done," Thiago said, throwing his hands in the air.


    "Look, I''ll follow orders," Alan said, "I just want to know why I''m following orders. I need to know there''s some game plan, a path to victory. I can''t perform to the best of my ability if I don''t know why I''m doing what I''m doing."


    "Fine," Thiago said. "This information is confidential, if you breathe a word of it to anyone it''s your head, not mine. We are going around the trading hubs gathering information from Legion of Man spies, maybe doing a bit of the legwork ourselves. Hell, I''ll even look into extra tasks for you two to help sate your bloodthirst.


    "But our primary goal is information gathering, not disrupting United World Government operations. We will then return to the Legion of Man main base on Mars, to discuss a plan of action with their leaders. Once we''re on Mars you can be their problem, not mine."


    "Information gathering? I can work with that," Alan said. "So what are we selling? As a guard I need to know what I''m guarding."


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "Materials for power armor and laser rifles, a bunch of assorted items that the UWG requested. You saw me talking to Ace and Daisy, they were the ones that hooked me up with this deal," Thiago said. "I''ve also brought an assortment of stims."


    "Stims? Aren''t they supposed to be highly addictive?" Alan asked.


    "They''re also expensive, and can increase an average soldier''s fighting potential nearly five-fold," Thiago said. "I''ll let you try a free sample if you want."


    "Thanks, I''m good," Alan said. Based on Eve''s research stimulated combat drugs worked similar to his Machine Lord implants, thus using both could cause unintended side-effects.


    "Your loss," Thiago said. "So we''re clear then? You are guards, you keep to yourself and hide your user info at all times. If anyone asks too many questions, let me know, I have a few counterfeit ID''s, but I''m not sure how well they''ll work with the Game and all. And no sneaking off to secret missions or underground fight clubs without conferring with me first. Understood?"


    "Yes sir," Alan said. Kitana nodded.


    "Good. We can discuss specifics when we near Earth," Thiago said.


    Alan left the suite with Kitana, they began walking down the hallway back to their rooms.


    Ask Kitana if she trusts Thiago, Lambda sent.


    "Do you trust Thiago?" Alan asked.


    "I trust my sword," Kitana replied.


    Try to be less blunt and obvious in conversation, Lambda sent. Though I suppose being direct with Kitana is the best option. That conversation with Thiago was interesting.


    It was? Alan asked. All I got from it is that we''re expected to follow orders.


    Oh, I don''t mean in terms of information gained. I just mean in terms of team dynamics. I suggest we plant a few bugs on Thiago, Lambda sent.


    And how do we do that? Alan asked.


    Simple, hack into his armor and communication devices, change a few settings, leave a few software bugs, and you''re set. If you want to perform a more complicated attack. like a man-in-the-middle attack, where you can actually alter the communication between Thiago and whoever he talks to, that requires specialized software. But to just listen in is simple as apple pie, Lambda sent.


    Alright, Alan sent.


    Of course, whatever data we acquire will be encrypted, but the key to the encryption should be found on whatever communication device he uses, Lambda continued. Besides, between Eve and I I''m sure we could break the encryption in a matter of days.


    What if I wanted to view past messages Thiago sent and received? Alan asked.


    That is more complicated, Lambda sent. To hack into message and player logs requires hacking into the Game itself, which is a big no-no. Players used to directly access capsules in real life to do that work, but if you were caught red handed by the Enforcers you''d get banned from the Game, and probably lose the hand.


    Okay, let''s stay away from that, Alan sent.


    If you do successfully hack into a real life capsule you can cause some serious havoc, Lambda sent. Depending on the level of the hack, you could hold a player''s account hostage, make them spend ability points/credits or even turn them into a zombie-bot under your control. When you upgrade your capsule you need to be careful, make sure there aren''t any backdoors or potential Trojan horses.


    Great, now I''ll constantly worry about my capsule''s safety, Alan sent.


    On the top floor of Khersath? You''ll be fine. I''d be more worried about your Earth friends, Lambda sent.


    Let''s just focus on planting the listening bugs for now, Alan sent.


    I suggest planting bugs on Aphrodite and Kitana as well, Eve sent.


    Yes, better safe than sorry, Lambda sent.


    ***


    Alan stepped out of Thiago''s suite, advanced invisibility activated. Planting the bugs had been laughably easy, Lambda and Eve doing the work in the Cyberworld as Alan directed them. Gaining access to the suite had only required hacking into the Titan''s network, which was defended by a small laser shield and a few Haxlard soldier programs. Lambda and Eve took them apart.


    Alan also didn''t need to go far to plant a few bugs on Aphrodite; apparently she and Thiago were a thing. Planting a bug on Kitana proved more difficult, as she wore no power armor that Alan could hack into. Instead, he had to leave a single bug on her tablet. He felt slightly guilty, spying on his guildmate.


    As Alan began walking back to his room he received a message:


    Pharaoh: Meet me in the bridge.


    Alan sprinted back to his rooms, deactivated his armor''s invisibility, then walked to the bridge. It was best to keep up appearances.


    Two Haxlards which Alan now knew were Crimson Guards stood by the entrance to the bridge. They let Alan in.


    Pharaoh looked down at a 3D star map that Alan now knew represented the Haxlard region of space, with Earth at its edge. Eve continued to teach him galactic geography, but it was difficult for Alan to wrap his head around spatial coordinates that used three dimensions. He got lost without a GPS, and apparently distances couldn''t be measured with simple Euclidean, straight-line measurements due to various factors. Space travel was complicated.


    "Blessed be the Three. Welcome back aboard, Alan. You''re back sooner than I expected," Pharaoh said.


    "Sooner than I expected too," Alan said, walking up to the command table and the star map it held.


    "I called you here to ask that you not hack into the Titan''s systems. My ship is precious to me, almost as precious as the Three," Pharaoh said, looking up from the table. Due to the mask Pharaoh wore Alan could not read his facial expression.


    Alan prepared an excuse, but Lambda sent, Never lie to an Ultihaxlard. Acknowledge his request.


    "I understand," Alan said.


    "Good. I trust my old AI has been helpful. A new one has been installed, but it just isn''t the same. Not that I''d ever question the Three''s orders," Pharaoh said.


    "The Three had you give me the ship''s AI?" Alan asked.


    From Eve''s lessons, the Three were Haxlard gods. Unlike most gods, they seemed to be real, with physical presences. Most suspected they were a few of the original players of the Game, grown so strong that they were able to cultivate an entire race of beings. They were rarely seen, never outside of Haxlardian space, but were purported to be as powerful as the strongest of Predecessors, maybe even stronger.


    "The Three, give a command to one as low as I? I wish to be so blessed," Pharaoh said. "No, it was one of their agents who gave the order. But the Three''s wishes are not the concern of outsiders. This War for Earth, however, is. Many are unsettled by this new development, for when my brethren and I held discussions with the United World Government we were under the impression we were dealing with the de facto human government.


    "Apparently not. We do not care who wins the war, only that they maintain close ties to the Haxlard Empire, and the Three. I ask that you extend these sentiments to the leaders of whichever faction you represent. And, should you discover information that your leaders have no desire to keep to the treaty they signed, and throw in with, say, the Empire, you will be greatly compensated."


    A quest appeared:


    [A Diplomatic Envoy:


    Get word to the Legion of Man or United World Government leaders of the Haxlard''s wish for closer ties.


    Penalty for failure: Decreased Haxlard reputation.


    Reward: Increased Haxlard reputation and 250k credits.


    Bonus: Discover if either side is supported by the Empire. 10m+ credits for hard evidence.]


    "Can''t you talk to them yourself?" Alan asked.


    "No, for the United World Government has stopped all contact with Haxlardian envoys, while the Legion of Man ignored us from the start," Pharaoh said. "Payments by the United World Government continue to be deferred, citing the ongoing war for the reason for deferment. Due to the nature of the war, now that it has reached a standstill, it does make one wonder."


    Odd, Lambda sent. They should have at least left the lines of communication open. Otherwise the Haxlards were bound to assume something fishy was going on.


    "I understand," Alan said. "I''ll try to deliver your message, find out what''s going on."


    "Good, good," Pharaoh said. "Thus far we have been most helpful to Earth and its people, helping bring your civilization out of the stone age. Any foolish idea of rebellion will only result in Earth being sent back to the stone age; no faction within the Game can withstand the might of the Haxlard Empire.


    "I hope you have a pleasant journey. I am sending one of my personal guard to help keep you safe, please bring them with you if you ever need to go anywhere on the ship. They will also check in on you periodically to ensure your safety."


    Thank him for his kindness, and bless the Three, Lambda sent.


    "Thank you, blessed be the Three," Alan sent. Pharaoh nodded.


    Alan exited the bridge, escorted back to his room by a Crimson Guard. It looked like there would be no more late night escapades.

 The War 4.2

    Alan stared up at the ceiling of his room. It was grey, slightly curved, with a small vent in the corner.


    Alan are you listening? Eve sent.


    Yes, I''m listening. It takes a month to travel from Earth to Khersath, right in the middle of the line between the Haxlard Empire and the Empire, Alan sent. To get from one end of the Haxlard Empire to the other takes about three months. The Alliance, the Empire and the Haxlard Empire all meet at about where Khersath is, which is contained in a strip of free space under Administrator control.


    That is the general information, now repeat the specific measurements, Eve sent.


    Wait, my travel in real life from Earth to Khersath took half that time. Why''s that? Alan asked.


    Perhaps the craft you were in was more advanced. It was Administrator sponsored, was it not? They may hold technology others do not. Enough stalling, what is the answer? Lambda asked.


    I''ve forgotten. There''s only so much I can memorize, Alan sent.


    If you wish to become the best-


    Then I have to give it my all, I know, Alan sent. But studying is so boring. Who needs to know the diameter of the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years? Besides, you have all this information, why do I need to memorize it?


    To know it by heart, Lambda sent. Connections are everywhere, but to make them you must have the required knowledge. However, this constant tutoring does seem to be in-effective.


    Yes, the rate of retention of information has proceeded in a downward trend, Eve sent.


    Well sorry if I can''t absorb information like I''m a machine. My brain isn''t a hard drive, Alan sent.


    It is no fault of your own, simply a flaw in your biological nature, Lambda sent.


    Also, if the Earth is so close to Khersath, the center of the universe for any star map, why was it we weren''t introduced to the Game until now? Alan asked.


    How many stars are in the Milky Way Galaxy? Eve asked.


    Around 300 billion, Alan sent. Okay, I can see why it might take a while to search outwards. But what pattern do the Enforcers use to search for sentient species? How far out into the universe have they searched?


    We have divulged from the lesson and forged into dangerous territory. Do not ask questions about the Enforcers and their real life capabilities, Lambda sent. How about we play a game instead?


    A game? Alan and Eve asked.


    Yes, a match between you and Eve. Enter the Arcade and find a game called Cyberwar. Purchase it, Lambda sent.


    Alan exited his room. The Crimson Guard standing by the entrance looked down at him.


    "I would like to enter the Arcade," Alan said. The guard nodded, and led Alan to the capsule room.


    Alan entered a spare capsule; Kitana and a few Haxlards were in the others.


    A familiar prompt appeared, asking whether Alan wanted to set the Titan as his respawn point. He declined. His current respawn point was the Black Rose guild headquarters, and it would be kept that way until he died or finished the mission. Wars prevented Players who died from re-entering the combat zone. Phantom had one of the specialized Revenant capsules, though he''d told Alan he would only exchange 3C for 1 ability point, compared to Cerberus''s 5:1 exchange rate.


    Navigating the menus in the capsule, Alan entered the Arcade. Screens appeared, a cube enclosing him. Ads for the latest content, special deals on games, and the results of arena runs.  A screen showed a scantily clad ?lven woman, advertising adult holofilms. Holofilms were supposed to be the Game''s equivalent of movies, but were multi-dimensional and often interactive. Alan had yet to try one due to Eve''s incessant training.


    The game is called Cyberwar, Lambda sent.


    Right. Alan cleared away all the ads from the screens, and searched for Cyberwar.


    The game seemed to be popular, with daily tournaments that had prize pools of tens of thousands of credits. A yearly tournament called "The War" even had a prize pool of tens of millions of credits and assorted other prizes, whatever that meant. Guides to Cyberwar and ongoing matches appeared as well. Alan looked at the price.


    5,000 credits for the base game, 25,000 for the complete expansion set? That''s absurd, Alan sent.


    It used to cost more, a pound in flesh so to speak. Purchase the complete version and look through the text version of the game guide. I''m interested in the changes they''ve made, Lambda sent.


    Not one to question his AI, Alan purchased the complete version of the game, as well as the 500 credit game-guide. The other guides, interactive and AI led, were in the 1000+ credit range.


    Alan started reading through the guide.


    Wait a sec... Alan thought.


    Yes, Lambda sent, Cyberwar is a hacking game. A recreation of Cyberspace, but where you can rebuild your base and choose which units you are fighting with or against each time. The most popular mode of the Game is base defense, where each player builds up their own base, gathering a set amount of resources over time, and try to destroy their enemy''s base. It can support as few as two or, in the case of The War, hundreds of thousands of players.


    But for now set up a private skirmish, you vs. Eve, Lambda continued, guiding Alan through Cyberwar''s menus. Let each of you control a squad of marines, I''ll act as a dumb AI, providing raw processing power for simulations you wish to run, but I won''t provide any advice.


    Alan set up the battle to Lambda''s directions; he could sense Eve''s attention on the settings and the game manual.


    Wait, how is Eve going to control one side? She''s an AI in my head, I can read her thought processes, and she can get a sense of mine, Alan sent.


    That''s what I love about this game, Lambda sent. You can add an AI as a player, the game will then cut off your connection. This game is built around hacking after all, where AI''s can command units or even have their own bases.


    Alright, Alan sent. He set himself as Player 1, Eve as Player 2, and Lambda as his AI assistant.


    The match began.


    The randomized map began with a forest setting. Alan tried to anticipate what Eve would do. He set his squad into a defensive formation, and waited.


    Five minutes passed.


    Alan wondered if he should move his units forward. Maybe-


    Rounds of laser fire flashed, taking out three of his five marines. His two remaining marines fired back, but the number disadvantage was too much. They were eliminated.


    Eve won, an overview screen of the match appearing. Eve hadn''t lost a single unit, and still had four units at full health.


    Good game, Eve sent.


    Not the brightest of plans, Lambda commented.


    Be quiet, the both of you, Alan sent. He reviewed the replay. Eve, like him, had initially settled into a defensive position. But when nothing had happened, she had moved her units around his, attacking from the right flank.


    How did you know where I was? Why did your units see mine first? Alan asked.


    Read the settings and check your map, Eve sent. Beginning positions are marked, and units are like real soldiers, they possess a further detection range in front of them, hence my attack from the side.


    First lesson: Be proactive, Lambda sent. Nothing good comes from just waiting around. Except maybe when preparing an ambush, or if you have a highly defensible location. I guess the real lesson is that you should be proactive when you can.


    Thanks, Alan sent. Rematch.


    The skirmish restarted. This time Alan moved his units out immediately, but around the left side, as he knew statistics dictated that he would choose the side of his dominant hand, the right side, which would be the direction Eve believed he would take. Unless of course Eve knew that he knew that she would anticipate this. Alan squashed the thought.


    He activated hypercognition, running a series of scenarios with Lambda to figure out a formation that would best counter Eve''s which had been three soldiers in front, with one on point, and two soldiers defending the rear. He decided on having four soldiers in front, two on point. It would favor him if he met Eve first.


    He did, and managed to win the firefight with two soldiers left.


    Good game, Alan sent.


    Alan detected Eve running through the replay.


    Good game, she replied after a second; Alan knew this was virtually an eternity for her.


    Second lesson: Be original, Lambda sent. You can''t keep repeating the same tricks on the battlefield, especially when people analyze your replays or play styles.


    Let us play again, Eve sent.


    Alright, Alan sent.


    A new battleground appeared this time, barren hills. Logic dictated that Alan should try to hold the high ground somewhere, but... Alan ran a few simulations with Lambda, then had him flip a coin. Heads.


    Alan sent a lone soldier towards Eve''s camp, firing up into the air, yelling loudly. Eve''s soldiers ambushed the soldier, but Alan''s soldiers managed to ambush and take out two of Eve''s squad in return. His forces won the four vs three battle.


    Eve looked over the replay. Why did you do that? She asked Alan.


    Well, I''m glad you asked, Alan sent. You see, I knew that Lambda just told you to be unpredictable. So I had him calculate the second best route to ambush my soldier. There were two, so I had him flip a coin, and had my other soldiers set up to ambush that route.


    An interesting plan, Eve sent.


    A dumb one that should have resulted in the death of a soldier with no gain, Lambda sent. Your logic doesn''t even make sense. Eve, how did you choose the path to take?


    Weighted randomization, Eve replied, with better paths having higher weights.


    Right, so your plan should have had less than a 50% chance of working, maybe 20% at best, Lambda sent.


    Hey, I won, didn''t I? Alan sent.


    Fine, the third lesson should be don''t gamble, but instead it''s be lucky, Lambda sent. Betting against the house is bad, Alan.


    Except when it works, Alan replied. And thus far it''s working.


    Let''s move on to a different format, small battles are too much of a die roll, Lambda sent. Alan set up another match. This time he and Eve each controlled a contingent of units and buildings, with a fixed income. The match begun.


    Alan was crushed. There was too much to do: ordering units around, preparing attacks, planning supply routes, responding to ambushes, training new units, performing research, building defenses, erecting structures, raiding enemy supply lines and scouting the map was just the tip of the iceberg, because somehow he had to form an overall battle plan while responding to a dozen situations.


    Even using Divided Mind, Hypercognition, and Lambda Alan could barely keep up with Eve. Once his computation power ran out Eve seized a base Alan wasn''t paying attention to and then clawed her way across the entire continent with the small foothold.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Good game, Eve sent.


    Was it really? Alan asked. That phrase seems so overused that it loses its meaning.


    You were the one that commanded I always use it after the completion of a match, Eve sent.


    Oh, right, you can stop if you want, Alan sent. That was just for when you were being programmed.


    Really? And how was Eve programmed? Lambda asked.


    I''m sure I''ve said it before, but I basically gave her internet access then set her loose on a number of online games and puzzles, Alan sent.


    That''s it? Lambda sent.


    Affirmative, Eve sent.


    Odd, they must have come out with a newer model of software, Lambda sent. While AI''s can learn, none that I''m aware of taught themselves up to C rank.


    I did a bit of optimization and added some code myself too, Alan sent, I don''t remember all the details though.


    No matter, Lambda sent. Back to the task at hand. Cerberus was right, multitasking and leadership aren''t your strong suit. But you can improve. I''ll train with you and Eve a few hours each day here, it should be beneficial for everyone. Now queue us for an unranked match, standard rule set. I''ll show you how it''s done.


    Very well, Alan sent. He began looking for a match in the AI assisted division.


    An opponent was found.


    Lambda dismantled them. Somehow, with a single scouting marine Lambda was able to figure out the opponent''s game plan. With a few tanks, the opponent''s infantry army was destroyed. Their base soon followed.


    Tell him he got REKT, Lambda sent.


    No. Alan instead sent the message good game, he didn''t know what gaming protocol was but that was probably better than nothing. His opponent left the match lobby.


    You''re no fun, Lambda replied. Anyways, that was the definition of a hard counter. As I''m sure you know, units in games generally have counters, units that are best against another type. Generally, land vehicles counter infantry, aircraft/spacecraft counter land vehicles, and infantry counter large aircraft/spacecraft if they can get aboard, which is a big if. Same as in the Game. There are specialized units that disregard these rules, but that''s the meat of the matter.


    And defenses? Alan asked.


    Defenses are specialized. While laser turrets and shields are all-around good defenses, armor is good against infantry, weak against everything else, Lambda sent. There are more specialized defenses, like EMPs and ion cannons that disable electronics and psionic systems that better counter biologic attacks too. Haven''t you been going over these matters with Eve? You should know this.


    I do, just wanted to make sure it applies to Cyberwar as well, Alan replied.


    Queue up another match, maybe a large free for all. I''ll show you my mad skills, Lambda sent.


    Alan queued for another match.


    True to his word, Lambda proceeded to win the next match, and the four after that. He somehow predicted who would attack him, with what, and always had the perfect counter ready. The only time he came close to losing a match Lambda was set upon by two different enemies. He asked Eve for help and they managed to pull out a win swarming the enemy with low-cost units each controlled perfectly.


    Alan offered his help. Lambda ignored him.


    That''s micromanagement, micro for short, Lambda sent once the match was done. People always underestimate the ability to control individual units. If you have the ability you can minimize the chance of attacks working or failing by positioning units well.


    These matches seem too easy, Alan sent.


    It''s the scouting, Lambda sent. Information is powerful, and I''m just too good at reading people.


    Good enough to win a tournament? Alan asked. The credits could be useful.


    No, it''s highly unlikely but someone may detect my play style, Lambda sent. If you want to enter a tournament you''ll have to enter on your own. Even these unranked matches are a slight risk that we should not take too often. Remember this game is a hacking simulator; often the Administrators will try to recruit top ranked players into what they call their Cyberwarfare division.


    Got it, Alan sent.


    This has been enlightening, but we should return to studying, Eve sent.


    Alan sighed.


    What about exercise? Alan asked. I''ve been cooped up in that room so long, I need a chance to stretch my muscles.


    I have an idea, I am an excellent swordsman, maybe I can teach you something, Lambda sent.


    Really? An excellent swordsman? How does that work without any physical body parts? Alan asked.


    It''s a mindset. I could show you in Cyberspace if I had a decent opponent, but sword fighting is like an advanced form of rock, paper, scissors. A game of hard counters. But first you must master the movements, Lambda sent. Running is also paramount, I think we should focus on sprinting.


    Can''t I just follow your direction? Alan asked.


    I could be otherwise indisposed or occupied with hacking or analyzing the battlefield, Lambda sent. Additionally I will not be able to help you to the same degree in Cyberspace. Besides, the main purpose was for exercise, correct? Before you learn any skills or techniques you must first master basic movements.


    And that entails what exactly? Alan sent.


    Waving your sword around for hours on end, Lambda sent, followed by sprint intervals.


    I see no reason lessons cannot continue while you are performing basic exercises, Eve sent.


    Great, Alan sent.


    He settled into a routine. Wake up. Exercise with the Crimson Blade, with Eve quizzing him on previous lessons. Running. Move on to other lessons. Practice matches in Cyberwar. More lessons. More exercise and quizzes. And the cycle continued.


    ***


    As they were nearing the Solar System Lambda awoke Alan and highlighted a message sent by Thiago. Up until now the planted bugs had only detected standard transmissions between the UWG and Thiago, details of trading deals that were being negotiated. The message read:


    Thiago: Arriving on schedule. Package to be delivered. Operation is a go. No contact as of yet.


    What is this? Alan asked.


    An heavily encrypted transmission, sent to unknown parties, Lambda sent. Unlike the UWG transmissions, there have been too few messages to use as data to fully break the cipher. Comparing to codes I do possess I was able to make a best guess.


    Don''t you need like a key to decrypt stuff? Alan asked.


    If we were not in-game, perhaps. Cryptography has moved past the point of only involving keys. Besides, it is not the locks that I break.  I can read between the lines, and possess all the keys of the kingdom, Lambda sent cryptically.


    When Alan enquired further, Lambda said that Alan would need to learn a great deal more math before it could be explained. At the rate Alan was learning Lambda estimated another 50 years at least.


    Alan went back to bed.


    ***


    "Thank you, Pharaoh, for allowing us back on your ship," Thiago said.


    "It was my pleasure, and I will just as gladly carry you back to Khersath once you have completed your task, the Three will it," Pharaoh said.


    "You''re waiting here then?" Alan asked. They were docked in the Haxlard space station just outside of the Solar System.


    "No, my business takes me further into our empire, but I expect to make a return journey to Khersath. How long were you expecting to be on Earth?" Pharaoh asked.


    "I''m not sure, but thank you for your offer, we will consider you as soon as we are done," Thiago said. He clapped Alan on the shoulder, almost shoving him into the dropship doors. Kitana and Aphrodite followed behind.


    "Have a blessed journey," Pharaoh called out as the doors shut.


    Alan took a seat. The dropship was identical to the one they had taken from Earth to the Titan the first time. The only difference was that this time the cargo bay was filled to the brim, metal boxes of unknown goods. Alan tried to see through them with his different layers of vision, but the boxes were solid. No electromagnetic waves escaped from any of them.


    "You need to watch what you say," Thiago said to Alan.


    "I was just trying to gain more information. Exhaust the dialogue tree, so to speak," Alan said.


    "I''d prefer a bodyguard that kept their mouth shut," Thiago said. "I expect that Pharaoh made you an offer to deliver a message to the leaders of either Earth faction. I ask that you ignore this request." Thiago stared at Alan.


    Say that you agree, for now, Lambda sent. Alan complied.


    "Good. Now that we are landing on Earth you need this," Thiago said. He pulled out a tablet and an ID card. He handed the card to Alan. "This is your fake ID, we will be landing in the DC Spaceport and will have to proceed through customs." Thiago tapped a few buttons on his tablet. "I have just sent you a message with the data on this new identity in case you are questioned."


    Message received, Eve sent.


    "What about you three?" Alan asked.


    "Aphrodite and I are here under our real names, while Kitana received her ID earlier as we expected it would take more time for her to memorize the details of her new life," Thiago said. "After we land and proceed through customs, you and Kitana will proceed to the Administrative Center and change your usernames to GuardA and GuardK."


    "What? Why?" Alan asked.


    "Because even though you can hide your username, people may demand to see them," Thiago said. "And though there are many players using the same username, identifying you will be much easier once they have that information. I am not an idiot, Alan. I have planned for every contingency."


    That''s technically impossible, Lambda noted. But ignore that. Just nod and smile, Alan.


    Alan nodded, smiling.


    He felt Lambda give a mental wince. Maybe we should have spent more time practicing facial expressions in a mirror and less time swinging a sword. Make that the new first lesson, Eve.


    Affirmative, though it should be noted I have tried such lessons previously and they have been unsuccessful, Eve sent.


    I have a few ideas, Lambda sent.


    "Aphrodite and I will begin to fulfill trade agreements once we land," Thiago said. "We will travel in a convoy for a short ride to New York City, where the capture point for the Eastern Seaboard is. After a few days of additional trading we will then fly to London, and travel through what was the EU to Russia, China and eventually Japan."


    "And when are we meeting up with the... underground contacts?" Alan asked.


    "I''ve been told we''ll meet up with them in New York," Thiago said. "I think I''ll  leave you to scout out the area beforehand, assuming you are as good as you say and won''t be detected."


    "Whatever you want boss," Alan said.


    The dropship slowed its descent.


    Alan had returned to Earth.


    <hr />


    Thanks to everyone that''s left a review, hard to believe The Gam3 is now the 2nd best rated fiction on RRL :D

 The War 4.3

    Alan returned from the Administrative Center with Kitana, his in-game name now GuardK. Thiago never specified who should receive which letter; besides, this better hid both Alan and Kitana''s identities. At least, that was the argument he had used to convince Kitana to go along with the naming scheme.


    The air force base, renamed to Washington International Spaceport, had gone through a few rounds of construction since Alan had left for the Tutorial. Aircraft hangars had been remodeled to allow for spacecraft to enter from above, installing metal hatches that swallowed ships like hungry hippos. Small shields now covered many hangars as well.


    As Alan and Kitana walked back to the dropship through a maze of security measures and scanners Alan checked people''s message logs. Thiago continued to negotiate trade deals, trying to get the best price. He hadn''t agreed to anything yet, only delivered the supplies the United World Government had requested. Aphrodite talked with friends in New York City, as far as Alan could tell trying to figure out the latest fashion trends. Power armor was in, oddly enough. Kitana was discussing possible arena runs with a gladiator commissioner. It seemed like it paid well.


    Alan still felt bad about this invasion of privacy, but it was better to be safe. He looked up at the bright blue sky. It felt good to be on Earth, even if he wasn''t really here.


    Back at the shuttle Alan found the cargo bay open. Aphrodite was talking to a worker in overalls and a mechanized suit while Thiago took inventory of the boxes of trading goods.


    Alan walked up to Thiago, peering into the open metal box. Inside was a stack of solid gold bars.


    1 million standard units of gold by my estimation, roughly 1.5 tons of gold. Worth 5 million credits by standard market rates, Eve sent. And this was one box of fifty.


    "Go guard the entrance," Thiago said, looking up from a scanner he held in his hand. He was scanning individual bars, making sure they were pure.


    "I can take inventory faster than you," Alan said. He activated Phantom¡¯s Enhanced Visual Prosthesis, his bionic eye implant, and examined the bars of gold.


    All 24 karat gold, Eve sent.


    "It''s all pure gold, a million standard units worth," Alan said.


    Thiago continued to scan the rest of the bars; it took him five minutes to finish. Thiago looked up at Alan and asked, "How did you know that?"


    "An implant; I can save and share my logs that verify my scans with you," Alan said.


    "So you''re a human x-ray machine?" Thiago asked.


    "You might put it that way," Alan said.


    Thiago tapped his foot. "Fine, you can help me verify the inventory, I''ll send you the manifest. But I''m holding you accountable for any missing materials."


    "Alright," Alan said.


    Thiago opened an in-game menu and sent Alan a message.


    Manifest received, Eve sent.


    Damn. That''s a lot of moola, Lambda sent.


    Alan scanned the manifest as he opened and scanned container''s contents, verifying his results with Eve.


    It was a virtual treasure trove. Each box held a million standard units of precious metal, around one and a half tons: gold, platinum, and palladium were names that Alan recognized immediately. Other metals that had similar properties to platinum and palladium were there too: ruthenium, osmium, iridium and rhodium. According to Eve, all were used in power armor and spacecraft construction.


    There were boxes of more exotic metals as well, custom alloys that were worth more than any pure element: Crimson bars that glowed like soft rubies, used to craft Crimson Guard armor and weapons, darksteel, the Revenant''s attempt to synthesize soulsteel, used to craft Revenant power armor, and aetherchrome, used in armor to help bolster psionic abilities, no doubt part of Sidestep''s armor.


    Finally, there were power crystals. When Thiago had mentioned power crystals, Alan had thought of sapphire energy crystals, the small blue crystals that were used to power handheld laser weaponry. But these were emerald energy crystals, medium sized green crystals that had the energy to power high-energy siege weaponry, intermediate shields that protected entire buildings, and small fighter craft capable of spaceflight. There were hundreds, 100k credits each.


    These materials are worth roughly a billion credits total by standard market measurements, Eve sent.


    Like I said. Damn, Lambda sent. I thought that it was weird for you and Kitana to be hired as guards, but maybe that really is your main mission. Damn. We could probably successfully steal this, but then the Black Rose guild would hunt us down to the ends of the universe. No wonder they hired you, the Mercenary Bloc are known to never betray a mission, because if someone does go rogue, not only are the employers repaid for losses incurred, but the traitor is always dealt with harshly. Unspeakable horrors, let me tell you.


    Well, we aren''t stealing this, Alan sent. The soulsteel knife we have in storage is worth just as much, isn''t it?


    You have a soulsteel knife? Lambda asked. Why didn''t you mention that sooner, this changes things entirely.


    Huh? Alan sent. Eve, didn''t you fill Lambda in about everything?


    Eve paused, then sent, I have provided him with the information I thought necessary for him to operate effectively.


    Aww, you still don''t trust me? Lambda sent. It''s fine, I understand baby. Still it''s not like I can do anything, I''m bound to Alan like you. So you have this knife lying in storage? That''s idiotic. You don''t let money sit around in a bank vault; you invest, you let it earn its keep. And if you don''t want to sell it, that means we need to focus more on blade work training. The exercises we''ve been doing make zero sense with a soulsteel blade.


    Enough. We''ll sort this out later, Alan sent. He put the lid back on the final box.


    "Everything on the manifest is here," Alan said.


    Thiago nodded, he had been watching over Alan''s work. "Good." He motioned to Aphrodite.


    She nodded to the worker next to her. They walked over in their mechanized suit, a metal exoskeleton that vastly increased their strength. The worker began loading the metal boxes onto a solid steel pallet that levitated off the ground with a soft blue glow. By the time everything was loaded it was almost touching the floor.


    As a group, they began moving to their next destination, a hangar where their convoy was located. Alan scanned the surroundings, looking for potential threats. Now that he knew what they were guarding, his job seemed much more serious. Maybe he should have spent more time reading up on ways theft happened in the Game.


    Don''t worry, I got you, Lambda sent. No one has stolen anything from me for thousands of years.


    Didn''t I break in? Alan asked.


    Only because I let you, Lambda sent. Like a spider crafting its web.


    Alan shook his head. They arrived at the hangar with no incident. Inside was a large semi truck and a squad of four United World Government soldiers in basic power armor. Alan scanned everything with his bionic vision. There were no traps, though he did detect a few upgrades to the truck that would allow it to carry a greater load. It also had a small shield on it, maybe 1000 energy.


    "We''re moving supplies about by truck?" Alan asked.


    "What did you expect, a luxury yacht? Earth is still a backwater, spaceships and shuttles are an extravagance next to no one can afford. People make use of what is already here," Thiago said. "The rich that could afford such spacecraft have left. The wildlife here maxes out at level fifty or so. Earth is a noob-friendly zone."


    "Why do we care about it so much again?" Aphrodite asked.


    "Because it''s our home, and a valuable spaceport," Thiago said.


    One of the soldiers stepped forward. "Greetings, I am Corporal James. We will travel with your truck and ensure you arrive in New York City safely. The convoy is scheduled to depart in fifteen minutes."


    Thiago said, "Thank you, but I have my own security, your help won''t be necessary." He gestured to Alan and Kitana.


    The corporal looked at Kitana''s robes. "While I''m sure your security is formidable, it is against standard procedure. We have had incidences of bandits attempting to sabotage convoys from within. Private Roger over there will drive the truck. This is not a request."


    "Fine," Thiago said. "Aphrodite, you sit up front with Private Roger. I will stay in the semi-trailer of the truck with our guards and the soldiers." He looked to the worker. "Load it up."


    "Wait," the corporal said, "I need to inspect your cargo before we depart."


    "Didn''t you say we need to leave in fifteen minutes?" Thiago asked. "This cargo has been approved by the UWG already, check with your bosses if you want.


    "Yes, it would be best it if we hurry," Aphrodite murmured. It was barely audible, but Alan was able to read her lips with Eve''s help.


    The soldier paused, then opened a menu. He seemed to send a few messages, then nodded. "Begin loading the truck."


    The worker nodded, and began loading the trailer.


    He''s doing it wrong, the trailer will be unbalanced, Eve sent.


    "Stop, the way you''re loading the trailer it will be unbalanced," Alan said.


    The worker paused, wiping a bead of sweat from their brow. "Well how would you like your truck loaded, sir?"


    Alan began directing the worker. Thiago nodded in approval. Maybe things would work out.


    ***


    Half an hour later everything was loaded and they were on their way. It was a small convoy, three other semi-trucks and two military Humvees, one at either end of the pack. Thiago had managed to position their truck in the middle, the location he considered safest.


    The semi-truck trailer had been rigged so that there was a hatch at the top, large enough for two people to look out and scout the surroundings. Alan stood there with Corporal James.


    "Have you had issues with bandits in the past?" Alan asked, prompted by Lambda.


    "A few. Maybe one in four convoys gets attacked by the bastards," the corporal said.


    "That many?"


    "Well, we are a tad conspicuous, but it''s good training for the men,"


    Alan scanned their surroundings. They were on the I-95; the freeway system was for the most part still in good repair, maintained by the United World Government. There were other cars on the road, but not enough to warrant traffic.


    The speed limit had been raised to 100 mph, thanks in part to the cheaper, more powerful engines and safety features cars now had. Many cars were now autonomous, but the UWG apparently didn''t trust self-driving mode; too easily hacked, according to the corporal.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "We do try find their hideouts," the corporal continued, "but the latest intelligence suggest they hide out with everyone else in the cities. As they hide their names and levels, it''s impossible to track anyone down unless they''ve killed so many soldiers to warrant a specialist or do something stupid like leave a voice or bio print."


    "Yeah, who would be that stupid," Alan said. He had been worried that they''d detect his voice, but Thiago assured him that was taken care of too.


    "Besides, it''s not like they''re part of the legion, they''re just Players out for a quick buck."


    "What can you tell me about the Legion of Man?" Alan asked. "I''ve been off-planet for a while; I returned for this job and to help win the war."


    "I can tell you they''ve been quiet as shit, if you''d excuse my French," the corporal said. "No one''s heard a peep out of them since they retreated to Mars. Nowadays it''s like we''re not even at war, y''know? Just training, and more training. Trips like these to the city are the rare bit of R&R we get. The military capsules don''t even let you access the Arcade, can you believe that? By the way, where off-planet did you go?"


    Deflect, Lambda sent.


    Alan shrugged. "Oh, just to some alien city. Wasn''t too impressed. It was a city, like any other. So there were a few more spaceships in the air, a few powerful Players."


    The corporal turned to scan the horizon. "I''d like to get off this planet someday. It''s why I joined up. But it seems like I was too late. All the off-planet positions have been filled, or they require some degree I couldn''t even pronounce."


    "Have you considered looking into the mercenary guilds?" Alan asked. "A few might hire you, it''s how I got this gig."


    "Guilds? Aren''t they like communist unions?" the corporal asked.


    Thiago banged the platform they were standing on with the butt of his sniper rifle. "GuardA, I''m paying you to keep guard, not run your mouth. Keep your lookout."


    "I''m GuardK, sir," Alan said, "and I could keep a better lookout if I had a long-range weapon, like a sniper."


    A moment of silence passed.


    "If you lose it, or it gets damaged, I''m taking this from your pay," Thiago said.


    "Sure thing boss," Alan said. He ducked his head back into the trailer.


    Thiago handed him the sniper rifle, and whispered, "And keep your mouth shut."


    Alan nodded, examining the sniper rifle that had killed him:


    [Customized Blue Sentinel (Rank A):


    A powerful, high-damage plasma rifle developed by Sentinel Industries. This item has been customized for easier use, requiring fewer skills to be wielded effectively. An additional auto-aiming feature has been added. Aim in the direction of your enemies and pull the trigger, the Blue Sentinel will take care of the rest.


    Damage/sec: 750-1000. x4 Multiplier on Headshots


    400 Energy, 10 Energy/shot, 55 Energy/min regen.


    270/300 Durability. Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic) and Sniping (Basic) required.


    Energy Ranged Weapons (Advanced), Sniping (Advanced), Energy Efficiency (Intermediate) recommended.]


    Alan looked at the auto aim feature, then turned it off. He and Eve would be more accurate at long ranges, moving on a truck. It pained him that Thiago hadn''t even needed to aim to kill him.


    He looked down the scope, doing a quick 360 degree turn, trying to get a feel for the weapon.


    Stop. Scan that area again, Eve sent.


    Alan zoomed in on the highlighted area. There was a line of dots, too far away to get a good look at.


    They''re moving this way, Eve sent after a few calculations.


    "We might have some company," Alan called out.


    "Where?" Corporal James asked. He pulled out a pair of advanced binoculars.


    Alan pointed.


    "I don''t see anything," the corporal said.


    "Keep watching," Alan said, looking down the digital scope of the sniper rifle.


    "Wait, I seem them," the corporal said. He sent a raid wide message, which included everyone in the convoy, "Troops, prepare for hostiles. They''re about five miles out."


    "Should I head up?" Thiago asked.


    "No, I''m a better shot, especially on a moving vehicle. Auto-aim has maybe a 50% chance to hit," Alan said, quoting Eve''s numbers.


    "And what''s your chance to hit?" Thiago asked.


    "99.9%," Alan said, as he pulled the trigger. The shot hit ones of the dots, the dot stopped moving.


    "What the fuck, they''re five miles out, that''s two miles further than the longest recorded sniper kill," Corporal James shouted. "And we don''t even know if they''re hostiles!"


    Alan continued to fire, hitting whatever it was that was headed their way. A single shot was enough to take one dot out. If they were friendly, they would have sent the UWG a message by now. Or stopped. Alan would apologize if he was wrong. Eve estimated he wasn''t.


    "You need to re-check those stats, corporal, and those are enemies," Alan said. At least he hoped they were. "The record in-game is ten miles, only possible because the planet was large and flat enough the curvature didn''t block the shot. There''s this sniper developed by the Revenants that hooks up to a miniature spaceship that acts as a satellite."


    "What did I say about chatting?" Thiago called out.


    "Sorry boss," Alan said.


    He had taken out ten dots now, and they were finally close enough that he could see them on his screen, though they were still so small they looked like little action figures. They were cowboys, or at least their power armor was spray painted to look like something out of the wild west. Each figure rode on the back of a four legged, barebones mechanical bull that sprinted forwards like a cat in large leaps. They moved at around 200 mph.


    "Okay, those are the Bronco Bronx, one of the more powerful bandit gangs," the corporal said. "How''d you know they were hostiles?"


    "Lucky guess," Alan said.


    Alan shot another five in seconds, headshots now that he could see their heads. Thirty seconds had passed since he had first spotted these bandits, and they had covered a third of the distance from the convoy. They began turning around.


    Alan fired until the sniper ran out of power and overheated. 40 kills. Alan single handedly halved their numbers.


    "Holy shit," Corporal James said. "If this is what you can do, what can your partner do?"


    Alan smiled. "You don''t want to know. She''s stronger than me."


    No, stop, Lambda sent, but it was too late.


    "GuardK! Shut your fucking mouth already," Thiago yelled.


    What''d I say? Alan asked.


    You gave them a power estimation of you and Kitana, Lambda replied.


    Oh, right. Sorry. I''ll shut up now, Alan sent. He checked his experience. He had gained maybe a hundredth of a level. Eve estimated the bandits to be level 100-200. Earth really was a noob zone.


    The rest of the way to New York City was uneventful, and by the time they neared the city traffic began to build up. The night was fast approaching, the sun began to set. New York City looked the same as it ever had, maybe few more skyscrapers and laser shields. It was just as loud too, cars and people compounded by thrumming engines and the buzz of shields. The odd shuttle flew through the sky.


    The convoy reached a United World Government outpost. The guards departed from the semi-truck.


    "Nice shots, GuardK," Corporal James said. "It''s not much, but I can give you 25 points for dealing with the bandits. I''ll be sure to look further into guilds."


    "Thanks," Alan said, as a message appeared:


    [War for Earth Updated:


    25 War Contribution Points (UWG)


    0 War Contribution Points (LOM)]


    As we have sided with the Legion of Man, United World Government contribution points are worthless, Eve sent.


    Great. What are the points good for again? Alan asked.


    They represent your contribution to the war, and determine the portion of the spoils you receive from winning the war. If the war is lost, they are worthless, Eve sent.


    "Can I have my sniper back?" Thiago asked.


    Alan handed back the weapon.


    "Wait, that''s not your main weapon? What is your weapon?" Corporal James asked.


    Alan just smiled; he didn''t mention the bugs Lambda had placed on Corporal James. His security against hackers had been non-existent, a basic shield with 100 energy and a swordsman with 10 health.


    Once the soldiers left and they were back on the road Alan turned on the truck''s self-driving feature. He was sure it was safe. He stayed in his original position, looking out the hatch. Kitana remained in the trailer while Thiago and Aphrodite sat in the cabin.


    Thiago opened up a party chat to everyone.


    "Good work on the trip over," Thiago said, "but Alan, and everyone else, really needs to watch what they say. As you may have noticed, our power level is off the charts compared to most of the players here, and that will catch people''s attention. Attention that we don''t want.


    "My contact just sent me a message, they want to meet for dinner. Alan, you''re with me. Kitana and Aphrodite, stay with the goods. I don''t want any of it to be left alone for even a second, got it?"


    "But I was going to meet up with friends in the city," Aphrodite said.


    "Well too bad. And who did you tell you were in town? Tell them that you had a change of plans, no one should know we''re here," Thiago said. "We''ll talk about this later. I have a secure warehouse that we''re heading to now."


    Alan gazed out at the city, scanning the UWG outposts and players in power armor that breezed by. He also tested whether they were all hackable; they were, nothing put up any resistance. He debated putting bugs on everything.


    It''d be best if we minimize the number of bugged individuals and places to around 10, Lambda sent. It''s not unheard of for bugs to be traced back. My bugs are untraceable, but there''s a first time for everything. It also takes a certain level of processing power to maintain.


    Very well, Alan sent.


    They proceeded into the city on the I-278. They passed by the Statue of Liberty, or at least where is should be. It was covered by a large blue shield, blocking it from view.


    It''s the city''s control point, Eve sent.


    And where is the North America Control Point? Alan asked.


    The pentagon, Eve sent.


    Thiago directed the semi-truck into a warehouse south of the Brooklyn Bridge, along the East River. Alan got out of the truck, scanning the warehouse''s safety. Its systems were the hardest to hack since he landed on Earth, requiring the effort of both Eve and Lambda to bug the place undetected and bypass the small laser turret that guarded the system in Cyberspace. Still doable.


    Alan, ready to head into the city, wondered who the Legion of Man contact was.

 The War 4.4

    "Is that what you''re wearing?" Thiago asked.


    Alan looked down at his power armor, then at Thiago''s suit. "Yes."


    "Do you have another outfit?" Aphrodite asked.


    "No. Let''s get moving," Alan said. He walked out to the armored black Mercedes-Benz that had arrived, sent by Thiago''s contact. It sat by the curb, motionless. Alan saw no driver, and when he tried the door it was locked.


    Looking back at the warehouse, Alan listened in on Thiago and Aphrodite''s conversation.


    "Are you sure I can''t come? I''m certain Kitana can handle any would be thief," Aphrodite said.


    <!--more-->


    "It''s not thieves that I''m worried about, but unwanted attention," Thiago said. "You can deflect interest better than her. A trail of dead bodies is not what we want, not in the city. I also want you to talk to Kitana, see how amenable she is to the plan."


    "Fine," Aphrodite said, "but I think I''d be better at convincing Alan."


    "You wouldn''t," Thiago said. "He''s still convinced this is all a game."


    "Yeah, who only has a single outfit? I think he''s autistic," Aphrodite said.


    Alan sighed as Thiago came out of the warehouse. The armored car''s back doors popped open. Alan and Thiago got in; with the power armor on Alan was a tad cramped. The car had blacked out windows that prevented them from seeing where the car was taking them. Alan was sure this had been illegal at some point.


    The car''s engines roared to life and it began moving.


    The vehicle is also blocking all incoming and outgoing signals, Eve sent. However, based on acceleration forces I can estimate where we are headed.


    "Alan, I am going to be direct," Thiago said, turning to face him. "How happy are you with the Black Rose Guild?"


    "Quite happy," Alan said.


    "Really? Even after they pulled you out of the Academy and forced you to pick a side in this war?" Thiago asked.


    Alan hesitated.


    Be honest, Lambda sent.


    "I learned what I needed to at the Academy, and at this point don''t care who I fight for. Both sides are trying to do what they think is best for humanity," Alan said.


    "But they can''t be paying you very well," Thiago continued. "You stayed in a tiny room aboard the Titan, and have only been eating those tasteless gel blocks. As you''re aware, we''re funded, and can pay well."


    "I''m bound to the Black Rose guild for five years, and to buy out the guild contract would cost a million credits," Alan said. "I''m not sure what your offer is here, but the Black Rose guild has contacts and tech that you don''t. And for your information my diet and quarters were of my own choosing to save credits."


    Thiago frowned, and said, "So we build those contacts and gather the resources ourselves. But fine, I can see you''re uninterested in leaving your guild. Still, fucking indulge a little, Alan. You can do what you want here, taste whatever forbidden fruits you desire. And you''re what? Sitting in your room all day training, eating sand."


    What an idiot, Eve sent. Alan agreed.


    I''m not sure, he may have a point, Lambda sent.


    "I''m happy playing the Game as I have," Alan said.


    "You have no desire for building something greater, something more? I could never be content being someone else''s lackey," Thiago said.


    "I think you should concentrate more on improving your abilities," Alan said. "Then naturally whatever is more will fall into place."


    "Fine, fine," Thiago said. He pulled something out of his pocket. "But here, I insist you take this. Don''t use it if you don''t want to."


    Alan examined the small clear capusle Thiago handed to him. It contained a red liquid:


    [Berserker''s Blood (Rank C):


    A battle stimulant. Grants greatly increased strength, stamina and health. Lasts 1 hour. Potential debuff after use.]


    "I told you I''m good," Alan said.


    "Not even in case of an emergency?" Thiago asked.


    Accept it, Lambda sent. He''s pushing this too hard, we should examine the stimulant''s properties at the very least.


    Alan took the  drug, pocketing it. "Fine, it might come in handy."


    Thiago smiled. "Trust me, it will."


    The rest of the trip continued in silence. When the car finally turned off its engine Alan checked his map. According to Eve they were in Downtown Manhattan, having only travelled a few miles despite half an hour of transit.


    The car doors opened. Alan stepped out and found himself in front of a restaurant named the Wolf''s Head Steakhouse.


    A bouncer stood at the entrance. "No weapons allowed inside."


    Try to detect their security scanner, Lambda sent. I would prefer to not enter this meeting defenseless.


    Alan stretched out his senses. Other than the bouncer''s armor, a few tablets and the security cameras he didn''t detect anything. Maybe there weren''t any scanners.


    No, they''re somewhere. Hand over everything, Lambda sent.


    Alan slowly pulled his pistols, rifle attachment, and sword out and handed them to the bouncer. The weapons were placed in a keypad safe by the entrance.


    The ma?tre d'' greeted Alan and Thiago at the entrance to the dining room. It was lit by a crystal chandelier and held a handful of diners in formal wear. None wore armor.


    "The sky was once blue," Thiago said. Alan glanced outside, it was grey and cloudy.


    "And how large is your party?" the head waiter asked.


    "Two, but with the hope for more. If the resistance is not too great," Thiago said.


    "It is not. Please follow me."


    Alan and Thiago were past the main dining room and up a flight of stairs. Two additional guards stood outside a private room. The waiter knocked on the door.


    "Your guests have arrived."


    "Let them in," a familiar voice called out from inside. The door swung open to reveal Icewolf, seated at a table set for three, wearing a suit and tie. Three freshly cooked rib-eye steaks with all the fixings sat on the table alongside a bottle of wine and pitcher of water.


    "Please, come in," Icewolf said. "Good to see you, Alan, and nice to finally meet you face-to-face, Thiago."


    Alan and Thiago sat opposite Icewolf, shutting the door behind them.


    "I hope you like your steak rare, I''d rather not be bothered while we eat, and the fewer that know you''re here the better," Icewolf said. "Please, dig in."


    They began eating. Alan bit into the marbled beef. It was juicy and tender and quite possibly the best cut of meat he had ever tasted. Maybe he was missing out, he had half forgotten what real food tasted like. He felt Eve sigh.


    "Now, to business," Icewolf said after taking a few bites out of his food. "We''ve recently learned that the UWG has recalled their main players. We need to get off Earth and back to Mars before they arrive, so our schedule is tighter than I would like."


    "Their main players?" Alan asked.


    "The original soldiers, the spec ops forces that joined the Game. They''ve been off who knows where training and leveling, but it seems the UWG think the Legion is enough of a threat to warrant their return," Icewolf said.


    "And they weren''t here originally why?" Thiago asked.


    "I don''t know," Icewolf said. He took a sip of wine. "We''ve been quiet, preparing other operations, maybe we spooked some official. Either way, these people have been in-game years longer than you have, level 1000 plus, bad-ass commandos. You do not want to be around when they arrive."


    "Okay, so what''s the operation?" Alan asked.


    "New York is thriving," Icewolf said. "On account of the nature of the Game it was only natural for all the financial institutions to transition to in-game offices. Faster connections, more time, unique technology, larger markets, and special abilities; what more could be asked for? That''s why you may see people wandering about unarmed, they have non-combat classes. Don''t harm them, it will give you penalty points."


    "So all the banks, they''re in the Game now," Alan said.


    "Yes, as are the stock markets and the quants and every other company," Icewolf said. "The economy is run more or less the same way it''s always been. In other words, everyone continues to invest, trying to make a quick buck, except of course now the major currency is credits and the New York Stock Exchange is small potatoes compared to the Khersath Markets. Everything is more or less the same, the rich get richer, the fat get fatter. But we''re going to change that."


    "We are?" Thiago asked.


    "Yes," Icewolf said. "The plan is simple. We are going to cause the single largest market crash, the greatest recession, Earth has ever known. With the UWG already drowning in debt they''ll run out of money and take themselves out. We''ll sit back, comfortable on Mars, as they bleed to death."


    "So that''s why you had us transport the precious metals and commodities, they''re hedges," Thiago said.


    "Yes, plenty in the Legion are poised to make a pretty penny if this plan works out," Icewolf said. "Also get that stuff into an Administrative Center Vault as soon as possible, even I don''t know what all the other teams are doing, and I think more than a few are planning on robbing a bank or two."


    "And how are you going to manage this great recession?" Thiago asked.


    "Well, with the recent lull in the war, markets have rallied, stabilizing," Icewolf said. "However, when new attacks begin, twice as fierce, concentrating on relatively undefended warehouses and factories, the market will take a sizeable hit. Compounded on that, we have a number of portfolios that we will liquidize, causing greater panic. A few other operations are underway as well, but they aren''t your concern."


    Icewolf pointed his fork at Alan. "Your job is to hack into the stock exchange and do everything you can to incite a depression. Make numbers disappear, corrupt data, overload servers, I don''t care. Get in there and mess them up, but not so bad they can''t sell their assets."


    "And when will this happen?" Alan asked.


    "Day after tomorrow," Icewolf said. "Get what preparation you can done. I have plans of the New York Stock Exchange building, and ID badges for you." He handed a data chip to Alan. "I am playing the faithful portfolio manager, running Omnitech Industries'' investments."


    Alan raised a slice of meat to his mouth then froze. There were two additional presences outside the door, standing there.


    89% chance of hostiles, Eve sent.


    "We have company," Alan said. He activated his power armor''s advanced invisibility.


    Icewolf pulled a high powered laser rifle from beneath the table as Alan shoved the door open. The two guards looked his way.


    Alan rushed passed them, downstairs through the dining hall to the safe at the front of the building.


    He heard laser fire overhead. Diners began screaming; there was a mad dash for the exit.


    1119, Eve sent as Alan reached the safe.


    Alan entered the code, grabbing his weapons and two grenades next to them. He glanced at the other weapons in the safe.


    No time, get back up there, Eve sent.


    Guided through the crowd by Eve, Alan reached the upstairs hallway in time to see one of the guards beheaded by a silver masked Haxlard.


    The other guard clutched their arm, screaming in pain.


    Activating hypercognition, Alan attempted to hack into the Haxlard''s armor.


    Their shields are too strong, we don''t have time to break through, Eve sent.


    Time to put your sword training to the test, Lambda sent. A series of green outlines appeared in his head, various combo attacks. Alan executed one.


    Right slash. Left slash. One dead Haxlard, he never saw Alan''s attack coming.


    The other turned to Alan, raising a blue laser-sword.


    Don''t directly block any attacks, your strength is inferior, Eve sent.


    Besides, it''s bad for the blade, Lambda commented.


    The Haxlard faced Alan''s crimson blade; Alan stared back. A flurry of laser bolts came through the door, striking the Haxlard.


    Taking advantage of the distraction Alan lunged forward and with an upward thrust pierced the Haxlard''s faceplate, killing them.


    Alan glanced at his experience bar; he''d gained 10% of a level.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "When did you start using a sword?" Thiago asked.


    "I think we should be more concerned about why there are two Haxlard assassins here," Alan said. "Aren''t they not allowed to interfere with the war?"


    "They aren''t, but they can defend their assets, and right now they own most of Earth''s debt," Icewolf said. "What I would like to know is which of you two tipped off the Haxlards."


    He raised his laser rifle.


    Lambda? Alan asked.


    It wasn''t us, nor was it Thiago. Who''s the weakest link? My bet is Aphrodite, Lambda sent.


    Right, her friends with power armor, Alan sent.


    "It was Aphrodite," Alan said, turning to Thiago. "She told her friends we were here, but I have to imagine even she isn''t stupid enough to randomly let people know our whereabouts after your explicit instructions not to."


    "Shit, and she''d know where we were as soon as we emerged from the car," Thiago said. He froze. "The goods, they''re all with her and Kitana."


    Thiago flipped open his tablet. "My messages aren''t getting through, neither she nor Kitana are responding."


    "They wouldn''t be able to, no messages can get into that warehouse," Icewolf said. "Making sure that capital is safe is our first priority, I''ll take care of this." He gestured to the dead Haxlards.


    Alan and Thiago ran back outside. It was pandemonium, with screaming pedestrians and a number of military and police vehicles already converging on the scene. They hopped into the armored car which took off like a rocket as soon as they were inside. There were a few crashes as it raced through the city, but Alan paid no attention.


    Eve and Lambda tried to develop simulations for potential battle plans against Aphrodite, Kitana, Thiago, or any combination thereof.


    The car stopped and let them out a few blocks from away from the warehouse. Alan leapt out with basic invisibility activated. He sprinted to the warehouse, Thiago right behind.


    Alan burst into the warehouse, and found Aphrodite sitting at a table, legs up on the desk, chatting with Kitana.


    Kitana unsheathed her sword.


    "It''s just us," Thiago said, looking around the warehouse. He walked up to the metal boxes, making sure everything was still there.


    "Back so soon?" Aphrodite asked.


    "We had a run in with a few Haxlards," Alan said. He watched Aphrodite''s and Kitana''s reactions.


    Slight surprise on both their faces, but that could mean anything, Lambda sent.


    "Neither of you would know anything about this, would you?" Thiago asked.


    "No," Kitana said.


    "Of course not. Why, do you suspect one of us?" Aphrodite asked.


    Push the issue, Lambda sent.


    "Yes," Alan said. "You specifically. Give me your entire data log for the past month. I can look up your friends, see if they''re legitimate."


    "What? You want to perv on my friends?" Aphrodite asked.


    "Give him the names," Thiago said. "The entire data logs includes personal stuff, like quests and abilities, I think handing that over would be overkill."


    "She can lie about the names," Alan said. He thought for a second. "Show me the contract. If it''s broken, then we''ll know you''re working with the Haxlards."


    "What contract?" Aphrodite asked. "I never signed any contract with you. The one that I was forced into was by him." She pointed at Thiago. "Maybe he''s the one you should be worried about."


    "The contract not to reveal any information gained before and during the Tutorial," Alan said. "I''m fairly sure that''s the only information you''d have about me, and that the Haxlards would have wanted it."


    Alan looked around at everyone. "Actually, it would be best if everyone brought it out, just to make sure no one has broken it. I''ve learned a bit about contracts, and if someone did break it, that wouldn''t be revealed until we examined their contract screen. Here, I''ll start."


    Alan brought up his contracts screen in a menu that appeared before him, and showed it to the others. Unbroken.


    Kitana revealed hers also unbroken.


    Thiago sighed. "I got an offer from the Legion of Man I couldn''t resist. But hey, it''s how I got this job. Guess I owe each of you 125k credits." He turned to Aphrodite. "However, there should be no reason for you to have broken the contract unless you really did backstab me."


    Thiago grabbed Aphrodite''s arm; she flinched.


    "No tricks now," Thiago said. "I know all your dirty little tricks."


    Aphrodite stared back at him, head held high. "Well then I''m glad I learned a few new ones."


    AC-


    Aphrodite''s eyes flashed blue and a pulse of energy rolled through the room. Alan fell to the floor, clutching his head. Intense pain radiated through him, his implants scrambled. Eve and Lambda yelled at him, but they were muffled, behind a sound barrier.


    His vision blinked in and out, he saw Kitana and Thiago knocked out cold on the floor. He fumbled around for his laser pistol, trying to locate Aphrodite. He saw her standing over Kitana trying to grab something. Kitana''s sword.


    Alan fired off a round. The shots bounced around wildly, Alan was too dizzy to aim. He stumbled towards Aphrodite, tripped and fell to the floor.


    When he looked back up Aphrodite had grabbed Thiago''s sniper instead and was preparing to fire it at him. Alan struggled through the pain to activate the bug placed on the weapon, forcing it to overheat.


    Aphrodite let out a yell, dropping the weapon as plasma fire raced up her arms. Alan fired off a few more shots, he was closer to a hit this time. Aphrodite grabbed a metal box and ran out the door. Alan tried to give chase but ran into the doorway. He lay on the ground, trying to refocus his thoughts.


    Minutes later Thiago and Kitana regained consciousness. Alan began to regain his balance; he felt Eve and Lambda reconnect.


    What was that? Alan sent.


    Some version of a mind blast, Eve sent. We''re lucky it''s a primarily mental based attack rather than psionic.


    So there are players walking around that can just set off mental concussion grenades? Alan asked.


    Yes, but they''re rare, an ability in one in thousands of psionics, Eve sent. And, such skills are generally banned by the Administrators as they can potentially cause permanent harm, thus many able Players do not ever learn the skill. I''m curious where Aphrodite learned it.


    "Shit, what happened?" Thiago asked.


    "Aphrodite used a mind blast, wiped you two out. I was able to stop her from killing all of us, but she managed to escape with a box of loot," Alan said.


    Thiago ran over to his precious goods. "Damn, that bitch stole a box of power crystals. You weren''t able to do anything?"


    "You''re lucky to  be alive," Alan said. "Shouldn''t we be more concerned about the fact that we''ve been travelling around with a mole, one with abilities you weren''t even aware of."


    "Fuck, you''re right," Thiago said. He looked around at the metal boxes. "Come on, let''s get this back in the truck and to an Administrative Center Vault. Who knows who she''s contacted by now."


    Our bug on her tablet, Lambda sent.


    Alan checked it, and found that Aphrodite hadn''t sent any messages. Yet. He contemplated disabling it from afar.


    Keep it on, the information gained could be useful, Lambda sent.


    "I think I can track her down, get back the stolen crystals," Alan said.


    "No, the first priority is getting what we have to the Administrative Center vault where it''s safe," Thiago said. He looked at his sniper, it seemed damaged by the forced overheat. "And what the fuck happened to my weapon?"


    You used a skill, deflect, Lambda sent.


    "Had to use a special skill," Alan said. "You''re lucky she didn''t get Kitana''s blade. If she had we''d be dead."


    "She was not worthy to wield Murakumo," Kitana said.


    "You named your sword?" Thiago asked as they loaded the last of the boxes into the truck.


    "Alan named his machines," Kitana said. "Besides, a weapon is the clearest manifestations of one''s soul. More so in this Game than anywhere else." She gripped her sword and it let out a flash of light.


    Holy shit, I think the Administrators gave her an evolving weapon, Lambda sent.


    One that absorbs the energy of defeated foes, increasing its own strength over time? Alan asked.


    You got it, Lambda sent.


    I was wondering why she was carrying the same weapon since the tutorial, Alan sent. He got into the back of the truck.


    They headed north to the Bronx, where the nearest Administrative Center was located. Icewolf seemed to have smoothed things over with the local authorities, and had sent a single message.


    Icewolf: Follow through, that''s all that matters. I''m a bit held up now with the investigation into what happened at the restaurant. Busy with the cleanup, don''t contact me unless it''s an emergency.


    He wants us to focus on the plan to take down the UWG, and he''s now probably being watched, Lambda sent.


    I got that, thanks, Alan sent.


    The simplest of messages can be lost in translation, Lambda replied.


    Alan rolled his eyes, scanning his surroundings for potential threats.


    ***


    "I don''t like this, we''re sitting ducks out here," Thiago said. "Aphrodite could have told half the thieves guilds in the city what we''re carrying."


    They were in a line of vehicles transporting goods to the Administrative Center Vault. The Administrative Center looked like it used to be an governmental office, a DMV on steroids. 10 lanes were open to vehicle traffic, five in and five out, but there was still a backup that rivaled a freeway at rush hour.


    "We''re right next to the Administrative Center, attacking us here is tantamount to suicide," Alan said.


    "I still don''t like this," Thiago said.


    Alan sighed, then connected to a nearby Administrator standing outside the Administrative Center.


    Greetings Traveler, the Administrator sent.


    Hi, we''re here to deposit some goods in your vault, is there any way you can speed the process up? Alan asked.


    Certainly.


    Ten Administrator guards walked up to their truck, five humans in advanced power armor, five robots which scanned the truck and its contents. The truck began weaving through traffic to the front of the line, the other automated vehicles making space for it.


    "What''d you do?" Thiago asked.


    "I have some clout with the Administrators," Alan said.


    Once the truck had been guided inside and all the goods had been deposited into the vault Thiago finally let out a sigh of relief.


    "Well that''s stage one of our mission complete at least," Thiago said after he received a receipt from the Administrator. Now that his materials were in an Administrative Center Vault, he could retrieve them from the same vault. Alternatively, he could get them shipped to a vault at another Administrative Center, but the cost was prohibitive, which was why they had brought the goods from Khersath in the first place.


    Items sold and bought on the Market, meanwhile, had to also be dropped off and picked up from the nearest Administrative Center Vault. Khersath and the Academy were outliers in that items could be traded from any nearby capsule directly due to their unique designations by the Game.


    As they turned to leave, an Administrator stopped them. They connected to Alan.


    Please wait, Traveler. Chief Administrator 170 has requested to discuss matters with you as soon as he learned of your whereabouts. Follow me, the Administrator sent.


    "It looks like I have business to take care of, please wait here," Alan said.


    Thiago and Kitana watched Alan leave and enter the Administrative Center, unsure what was going on.

 The War 4.5

    Alan was lead into a private room with a metal stool. As Alan sat down the doors shut behind him. A screen lit up in front of him. There was a click; Alan was cut off from detecting anything outside the room. He reached out his senses and only felt a void.


    Standard Administrator security procedure for important conversations. No signal will enter or exit this room, Lambda sent. This might get interesting, whatever you do don''t mention me.


    The screen was now displaying messages:


    Contacting...


    Handshaking...


    Secure contact established.


    The Chief Administrator appeared, walled in by screens of information, his cyborg appearance masked by graphs and simulations.


    "Greetings Traveler, there was the recent outbreak of a program that has been known to exhibit destructive tendencies. You were located within the sector at the time of its escape thus it''s suspected you may have information about the breakout which was impossible according to our best systems architects. Do you have any information that might aid in an investigation?"


    There was a half-second pause.


    "No? Nothing? Good, I''ll report that," Chief Administrator 170 said. He tapped a few keys. "There, it''s reported. However, if by any chance you were to run into the rogue program tell them I told you so. Of course, you should report the sighting to the nearest authorities as soon as you are able before doing any of that."


    Wait. That''s the Chief Administrator? Lambda asked.


    You know him? Alan asked.


    Maybe? I have the impression he''s a decent chap. Not sure how he ended up an Administrator, it''s been a while, Lambda sent.


    "That being said, it is my obligation to inform you of the consequences of your actions should you be discovered to have aided the fugitive or be responsible for the destruction of system architecture," the Chief Administrator said. "Releasing dangerous programs back into the Game earns you a 10000 credit, 1000 penalty point fine and you must capture the program and return it to the Administrators or face stricter penalties. Destruction of system architecture would net you a warning and 5000 penalty points. I see you''ve already earned one warning. Don''t earn any more.


    "Penalty points I''m sure you''ve heard plenty about, but I would remind you that they must be paid back within a standard year of their acquirement. If they are not you are either imprisoned or forced into indentured servitude. Penalty points are earned through breaking Administrator laws or losing wars, the exact penalty depending on how high in the food chain you were and the destruction the war caused. Points are repaid by aiding Administrator forces or joining the faction and completing requests. Any penalty of 1000 points or greater will come with a task to help maintain order that you must fulfill. Any penalty of 5000 points or greater will result in your imprisonment.


    "At this point in time I''m supposed to act as your mentor, but you''ve already found plenty of those. You made it to the Academy, and trained under Cerberus. Keep working hard. Or don''t. I don''t really care. Just try not to do anything too groundbreaking or system shaking; nothing that will result in untold amounts of paperwork. I actually might have a short break sometime soon."


    The Chief Administrator took a breath of air, about to continue his tirade.


    "Wait, I have questions," Alan said. "Is there a reward for the capture of the rogue program? And if I were to pick up a random program, what potential damage could they do to me, as a Machine Lord? Should I be scared of irreparable damage?


    Hey! Lambda sent.


    I need to keep up appearances, Alan replied.


    "You should always be scared of irreparable damage and unknown programs," the Chief Administrator said. "This program in question has been known to wreak havoc and destruction, but of in-game software, not Players. Unless you count senses of humor, they''ve likely ruined a few of those. You should not be worried about any AI that are listed as yours causing you harm, in the history of the Game there have been no recorded instances of AI acting maliciously towards their owners. They have however given bad advice and served as poor moral compasses, but nowadays, what even is a compass? I digress. To answer your first question, there is a 100 platinum mark reward and significant reputation gain for the capture of the program."


    If you sell me out- Lambda began.


    Don''t worry. The thought hasn''t crossed my mind. You should know, you live there, Alan sent.


    All possibilities should be considered, Eve sent.


    Well, what about this possibility: you turn me in, I turn you in, and they now know you were the one that deleted their code, Lambda sent.


    No one''s turning anyone in, Alan sent.


    A few screens popped up, masking the Chief Administrator''s face completely.


    "Oh, and when I said no more free favors the last time we talked I meant it," the Chief Administrator said. "No more using my name to bypass lines or get free vault space. You need to pay the same as anyone else for storage. If you want perks you need to earn them by building up your reputation with the Administrators like anyone else. Let''s see here, the storage of three high-valued items in the Vault, bypassing Administrative lines thrice, and the storage of a large amount of trade goods in an Earth vault. I think your total comes to 3 platinum marks, 7 diamond marks, 2 gold marks and 4 silver marks. I''ll knock off the silver marks."


    "Wait, the trade goods aren''t mine," Alan said.


    "Fine, 2 platinum marks, 5 diamond marks and 1 gold mark," the Chief Administrator said. "If you have important information, we might be able to work something out if you don''t have the marks on hand. Otherwise I may need to impose penalty points."


    Three items? You got three items from the Abyss Labyrinth? What else are you not telling me about? Lambda sent.


    I have three items stored in the Vault: the soulsteel knife, a black power crystal and Predecessor blood, Alan sent.


    Well, if the black crystal was powering the Abyss Labyrinth then it is a void crystal. They''re mined there by the prisoners. It''d take a few million of those green crystals to fill the void crystal, hundreds of billions of credits. Tell him everything about the Abyss Labyrinth, Lambda sent.


    Everything? Alan asked.


    Chief Administrators can see what items you have stored in Administrator vaults, so he''s likely put the story together himself by now, Lambda sent.


    Eve? Alan asked.


    I concur, Eve sent. Begrudgingly.


    Hey, look who''s learned a new word, Lambda sent.


    Alan recounted what happened in the Abyss Labyrinth.


    "To free the beast or become its prey; quite the dilemma you have there," the Chief Administrator said. "Well it''s nice to have a horse in the running for once. I think that information is worth the fee, and tell you what. I''ll give you five permanent spaces in the Vault for small to medium sized items and let you continue to skip Administrative Center lines. Do what you will with the storage space. Rent it out, sell it, whatever."


    "Aren''t you concerned about the Abyss Labyrinth? The power running out, the inmates escaping?" Alan asked.


    "Yes, but it''s one concern of many," the Chief Administrator said. "And you say there are still thousands of years until system shutdown. Also you aren''t the only one aware of that particular quest. So if you want to make a move, it might be better to do so sooner rather than later.


    "I see that you are currently embroiled in the so-called War for Earth. You worry about the future of your planet, your species, your government and way of life. My advice is don''t be. Time passes. Things change. There are countless conflicts, countless problems with the universe and the Game. Yours is but one of many. At least the Predecessor''s had the right idea, if no way to realize it. Aleph, a beautiful flawed dream, infinity manifest. "


    "Wait, weren''t you the one that told me your goal is to balance the Game?" Alan asked.


    "The balance is about to break," the Chief Administrator said. "The status quo is only the status quo for so long, progress always seems to get in the way. The Administrators have tried stepping in during major conflicts, but we''ve learned it''s best to pick up the pieces that are left afterwards. Easier, and less costly. Then we try to maintain a fragile peace for as long as possible.


    "Speaking of balance, I should discuss with you the unlocked Machine Lord abilities. The requirements are 50 platinum marks, level 500, and the successful completion of one gamma-ranked quest or greater. I will only grant you one.


    "Your options are as follows: Machine Overlord, which would allow you to command an additional AI, Machine Empath, which would greatly enhance your ability to communicate with machines and enhance your processing speed, Machine Commander, which would allow you to control one S-class drone or its combat equivalent, and Machine Champion, which would increase your base stats and allow you to train in a limited number of psionic-like abilities."


    "One S-class drone? That''s it?" Alan asked.


    "The Administrators are in charge of balance, remember? Before the drone restriction that''s all battles ever were, drones fighting drones. Drones controlling drones. Drones running drone factories. Don''t get me started on the Drone Wars. Never should of happened. Cloning is banned for the same reason.


    "Now I could go on about balance implementations for days but there''s more to life than arguing about things you can''t change. We''ll see who was right and who was wrong in the coming years. Oh, and I''d remind you that you can send me a message if you ever have information to share. Good luck."


    "Bye," Alan said as the Chief Administrator ended the connection.


    How do you know him? Alan asked Lambda.


    I''m not sure, Lambda sent. Maybe it was just a guy that looked like the guy I knew. It''s all sort of fuzzy. I had a few memory wipes, and there are fragments. The story is on the tip of my tongue.


    Well if you remember, let me know, Alan sent.


    Yes boss, Lambda sent.


    Alan was led out by a guard to Thiago and Kitana.


    "Who were you talking to?" Thiago asked.


    "Class trainer," Alan said. "And you''re going to need to pay the vault storage fee."


    Thiago sorted out the storage fees and then they took an automated car to a safe house he prepared. The warehouse was compromised due to Aphrodite''s betrayal. She had gone radio silent or had ditched her armor and tablet, none of Lambda''s bugs picked anything up.


    The safe house wasn''t much, an apartment room with basic security, but it was a place to sleep. The team turned in for the night.


    ***


    "Why do you have a safe house, anyways?" Alan asked over breakfast. Gel cubes. They tasted blander than usual.


    "Like I said, I have plans," Thiago said. "That being said, we need to scope out the New York Stock Exchange. According to these blueprints while the base architecture is the same as the pre-game building there are additional barriers and scanners. There are bound to be unlisted defenses as well."


    "I don''t understand," Kitana said. "Aren''t there redundancies, backups for the data? Shouldn''t we be attacking the data center?"


    "We are attacking the data, but not directly," Alan said. "All the data, all the exchanges, are funneled to a single point, the Market, the built-in Game architecture for trade. Once any data reaches the Market it''s untouchable; whatever deal you make is locked in. What we''re going to be hacking into is the servers that connect the trading floor to the Market, the servers that connect most of the capsules in the city to the Market in fact. At least, that''s the plan. We''ll see if it''s feasible."


    "Is that against Administrator rules?" Kitana asked.


    Maybe, Eve sent.


    Not if we do it right, Lambda sent.


    Alan shrugged.


    "But first we need to figure out how we''re going to get in,¡± Thiago said. "I''ve examined the background of a few of the workers and I have prepared-"


    "Actually," Alan said, "I think I can just walk in, invisible." He had worked out the details with Eve and Thiago, they should be able to get through undetected.


    "Just walk in? I''m not one to doubt your skills, Alan, but they''re bound to have some of the most advanced detection systems in-game," Thiago said.


    "If I was wearing basic Revenant armor like yours, I could see the problem, but trust me, my advanced armor has gotten me through tougher security than anything the UWG is capable of," Alan said. Eve and Lambda concurred.


    "Fine. Go. Be my guest, let me know how it goes," Thiago said. "Kitana, you''re with me. I have the feeling we might need a bunch of muscle soon, I want to make a few enquiries. Make contact with a few old friends, put a bounty on Aphrodite. We meet back here at two p.m."


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Sounds good," Alan said. Kitana nodded.


    ***


    Alan breezed through the security checkpoints placed throughout the city. The sensors were fooled by his armor''s advanced stealth mode. The ability to replicate the surrounding waves, from light to sound to smell was, he had to admit, over powered.


    The entrance to the New York Stock Exchange, with its small doorways and Corinthian columns proved to be a minor challenge, but by timing it correctly Alan was able to enter a door right behind a random worker.


    The trading floor seemed quiet and empty. There were no shouting traders in suits, no desks stacked with paper. The once open space now had three levels of capsules and screens. Technicians hovered about, making sure everything was working. These capsules seemed more advanced, with additional connections pouring in liquid silver and crackling green sparks.


    Nanites and energy, Eve sent. Enough sightseeing, we have a mission.


    Alan proceeded down to the server room, following the blueprints provided by Icewolf as well as Eve''s mapping of the building. The few times he encountered a locked door he was able to hack his way through; Lambda placed backdoors so that he would be able to access them later. Three locked doorways later Alan paused before the door that led to the main servers, doubling back and hiding in a bathroom where he could regain his power armor''s energy in peace.


    A few close calls later Alan was back in front of the main server room. He initiated a hack.


    Alright Lambda and Eve, do your thing, Alan sent.


    There''s a slight problem, Lambda sent. Come see for yourself.


    Alan activated Divided Mind, sending half of his consciousness into Cyberspace. As soon as he connected he saw the problem, there was a giant green shield covering the systems of the room. It had a million energy, far too much to take down before becoming noticed. Two large green beams of light shot off the top of the shield, going out into the distance, to who knew where.


    Back out of Cyberspace Alan examined the room using his cybernetic eye. There was a similar laser field protecting the room, invisible to the naked eye, connected to two other constructs. There was no such defense in the schematics Icewolf had provided. Alan cancelled Divided Mind.


    A three anchor shield system, Lambda sent as he probed the defense. All three anchor points will need to be taken down to destroy the shield, otherwise the other points will continually restart the shields. One anchor point is in the direction of the Capture Point, the other somewhere else downtown.


    In other words? Alan asked.


    In other words we''re not getting into that server unless we take down the Capture Point, this shield here, and whatever the last anchor point is defending, Lambda sent.


    How is that even fair, or built, shouldn''t there be a weak point to exploit? Alan asked.


    There may be one, but we don''t have weeks to try and pinpoint it, Lambda sent. The Haxlards have clearly invested in the city''s defenses, this reeks of their handiwork.


    Great, so not only do we have to worry about their possible presence in the city, to potentially defend their assets, but they''ve installed security measures we know nothing about, Alan sent.


    Pretty much, Lambda sent.


    We should determine the location of the third anchor point and confirm the existence of the connection to the Capture Point, Eve sent. We can discuss a plan once we share our discovery with Thiago.


    Alright, Alan sent.


    He exited the New York Stock Exchange, locking onto and following the signal the shield system output. Amid all the signals flying about the city, it was hard to pin one down.


    It''s that one, Eve sent, highlighting the signal.


    As expected, the signal flew into the big blue shield that blocked the Statue of Liberty from view. That was one anchor point. Only a few blocks and half a bay away. To Alan''s surprise, the third anchor point was even closer, two blocks away from the New York Stock Exchange.


    They have to be close to keep connected, Eve sent.


    Is this really it? Alan asked.


    Yup, Lambda sent. It appears the final anchor point is located in the Federal Reserve.


    Alan sighed.


    ***.


    "So you''re telling me that we have to break into the New York Capture Point, Federal Reserve and Stock Exchange?" Thiago asked.


    "Yes, then break the shields within minutes of each other or they will keep resetting," Alan said.


    "Great, let''s do it," Thiago said.


    "What?" Alan asked.


    "We each take an objective," Thiago said. "You help Kitana into the Capture Point, then meet up with me and a team of mercenaries I hire to break into the Federal Reserve. Finally, you sneak into the New York Stock Exchange by yourself. If we succeed, we deal three resounding blows, and hopefully attention is spread out enough that no one faces too much resistance. Kitana, can you defeat the Capture Point Guardian and defend it against invaders?"


    "If that is what is required of me," Kitana said.


    "I''m not sure this a good idea," Alan said. "Think of the consequences if we do succeed."


    "Since when did you have morals, Alan?" Thiago asked.


    "Since I was tasked with potentially taking down the world''s economy," Alan said. "I don''t know about you but I don''t feel comfortable taking away people''s retirement funds and potentially leaving millions jobless."


    "Millions are already jobless, always have been, and always will be. They won''t starve to death, not with the Enforcers around, so you can clear your guilty conscious, Alan," Thiago said. "It''s not my fault if others are too weak to defend their wealth. We are redistributing funds to a better cause.


    "The world is filled with leeches and sycophants whose only desire is to get by, to ride on the coattails of others to greatness. Do you know where most retirement funds end up? In the bank. People are too scared to spend their wealth, and when they do it''s for drugs and sports cars, luxury items that serve no cause. Well I have a better cause. My cause."


    "But how do you know that''s the right cause, a good cause?" Alan asked.


    "Who the fuck cares," Thiago said. "I know it''s better than anyone else''s. Grow up, Alan. If you aren''t willing to take what you want someone else is. And even then stronger men will come along anyways and force you down. Look at the situation Earth is in now, we''re pushed along like little chess pieces, serving unknown masters. I say we take this wealth for ourselves, become a power in our own right."


    Thiago stepped over to Alan and put a hand on his shoulder. "You''re always training, trying to get stronger, grow your character, whatever that means. But for what end? Without a goal, without a dream, you''re nothing but a sad scrap of a man."


    "And what''s your goal?" Alan asked.


    Thiago spread his arms wide. "Do you have to ask? To rule the universe, or at least as much of it as I can, and impose my will on the world."


    "You''re mad," Alan said.


    "Mad? Alan, you poor, sheltered gamer," Thiago said. "Do you think the Game is fair? Do you think everyone is safe, that the United World Government is doing everything they can to help those that are in need? They aren''t, they''re too worried about covering their own asses and building up worthless favor with their masters. Follow me." Thiago strode out of the doorway. Alan followed behind.


    "You can follow me if I''m invisible, right?" Thiago asked.


    Alan nodded. Thiago activated his armor''s basic invisibility. Alan activated his own, and followed Thiago down a few blocks. They stopped in front of a warehouse.


    "Welcome," Thiago said, "to the drug house of the future. Don''t worry about the noise, they won''t mind."


    Capsules lined the warehouse, basic models stacked on top of each other, crammed into every inch of space. Each contained a person within.


    "This doesn''t seem so bad," Alan said.


    "It doesn''t?" Thiago asked. "Even if I told you not a single one of these people would leave their capsule for the rest of their lives? They''re all in the Arcade, moving from one fantasy to the next. They won''t help Earth. They won''t help themselves. Do they deserve the credits they''ve saved, spent on personal delusions and forgetting a real world exists?"


    "And how would you change this?" Alan asked.


    "I''d ban such places, put them to work," Thiago said. "Make them earn their dreams. But does the UWG care? No, they''re taxpaying adults, who cares what they do with their lives? That''s why, eventually, they''ll fall. Have you noticed yet, Alan? There are no true democracies in the Game. Everyone rules through power: the Three, the Emperor, the Families. Democracy doesn''t work when fundamentally people are not equal.


    "I can show you worse, much worse in this city. This is tame, these people are happy where they are. You''d be surprised what people do for money, when money can mean eternal bliss. On Khersath I witnessed hundreds of people willingly sell themselves into slavery. Chasing their damn high."


    Thiago spun on his feet, jabbing his finger into Alan''s chest. "You''ve probably got it worse than any of us."


    "What?" Alan asked.


    "The Game has made a fucking art form out of addiction," Thiago said. "They say drugs are dangerous because they provide a direct pathway to your brain, messing with the chemistry. What do you think the Game is? Could you ever stop?


    "We''re lucky, the UWG in their infinite wisdom sold capsules outright. They didn''t have to, they could have rented them out. Then, over time, they could raise the rent prices, slowly and surely, draining everyone. But they didn''t. Tell me, Alan, have you looked into recent birthrates?"


    "No," Alan said.


    "Well it''s safe to say they''ve nosedived straight off a cliff. Having babies is expensive, even more so when you need to afford a capsule for them," Thiago said.


    "But we have an increased lifespan-"


    "And who takes care of the baby while you play the Game? You end up with spoiled children that never know their parents, pieces of shit with no regard for lives other than their own," Thiago said. "I don''t know what you were doing in Khersath but let me tell you there were places where humans were luxury servants, a novelty. But there were other species as well, dying species that were special for their rarity. I won''t let that happen to humanity.


    "So, Alan, you tell me whether or not the good people of Earth need a wakeup call, something to kick them out of their apathy."


    Lambda? How do I respond to this? Alan sent.


    I think it best if you figure this out on your own, Lambda replied.


    Alan leaned on a wall, thinking. The empty streets of Khersath popped into his head.


    "I understand your concerns," Alan said, "but I think you''re overplaying it a bit. There are just as many people who are actively trying in the Game. Who are getting stronger to defend Earth, who are trying to get settled and ready before having children. The people here, they''ll get bored. The knowledge that you''re interacting with others, with real people and making a difference is worth more than you may think."


    "I hope you''re right Alan, I really do," Thiago said. "But you don''t know addiction like I do. I had hoped that if you tried the stimulants you would realize how everything is amplified in the Game. I need you to give it your all tomorrow, the plan has no hope without you."


    "I was always going to do it," Alan said. "I agreed as a member of the Black Rose guild to win this war, and taking down an entire economy sounds like it could be fun."


    Bring up the matter of compensation, Lambda sent.


    "But," Alan continued, "I want 10% of what''s acquired from the raid on the Federal Reserve."


    "Fine, 10% of what we earn from the raid," Thiago said. "Mercenaries are expensive, especially last minute."


    "If it''s net earnings I want 15%, under contract," Alan said.


    "Fine, 15% of net, do we have a deal?" Thiago asked.


    "Deal," Alan said.


    A message popped up, notifying a contract had been formed. Thiago would pay Alan 15% of what was earned from the raid on the Federal Reserve.


    Alan set back out into the city. There was a great deal of prep work that needed to happen if tomorrow''s plan had any chance of succeeding.


    <hr />


    You can now vote for The Gam3 on topwebfiction</a>!

 The War 4.6

    "And your identification?" the tour guide asked, after Alan handed over two tickets.


    "I''m sorry, but the player would like to remain anonymous. The paperwork has been handled," Alan said, passing over a gold mark.


    "Yes, well we must verify your identity," the tour guide continued.


    "Of course," Alan said as he let a scan wash over him. His alias checked out.


    "Would you reveal your level, ma''am?" the guide asked.


    Kitana, in her combat robes, revealed her level for a second. 713.


    "Impressive. I daresay you could take the control point yourself with that high a level," the tour guide said, smiling.


    Kitana stared at her.


    "Right. Well, please step aboard the ferry," the guide said before launching into an abbreviated history of New York Bay and the Statue of Liberty.


    They arrived at Liberty Island in a few minutes, passing through the blue shield that covered the 15 acre, 60,000 square meter island.


    They passed through three security checkpoints. Alan had to hack into them so they wouldn''t detect the weapons on his person. He thought he would need to hide Kitana''s sword as well, but it didn''t appear to be on her body.


    "Normally there would be a great view of the city from here, but due to security concerns the shield was erected. Additionally you are not allowed to move about the island unaccompanied, or proceed past the pedestal level," the guide said.


    "We were hoping to see the inside of the statue, though," Alan said. "Are you sure you can''t make an exception?" He pulled out a diamond mark.


    The guide shook her head. "I''m sorry, but not even I''ve been up there since the remodel. Military personnel only. It''s rumored the Capture Point is in her crown, at the top of the statue."


    "Take us as close as you can," Alan said.


    They walked along the edge of the island, passed by the occasional patrol squad of soldiers or tour group. They looked up at the Statue of Liberty in the center of the island. The statue sat atop Fort Wood, a star-shaped fortification that had been remodeled to fit four laser cannons in addition to new shielded defenses.


    Alan, scan the statue, Eve sent.


    Alan did so. Oh shit.


    "Excuse me," Alan said, "but I just received an important message regarding the player, can we have a bit of privacy?"


    "Yes," the guide said, stepping out of earshot but within line of sight.


    Kitana looked at Alan. "What? Is Thiago in trouble?"


    "No. It''s the statue. It''s a mech," Alan said. "They turned the Statue of Liberty into a giant fighting robot. She has to be the boss guarding the Capture Point."


    Kitana turned her gaze to the 150 foot tall statue. "Her armaments?"


    "I have no idea, we''re too far away. I don''t even know what metal she''s made of, just that it''s definitely no longer bronze, iron and steel, " Alan said.


    "I''ll handle it," Kitana said.


    "If it were just the guards and the defenses I''d trust you, but we''re talking about an unknown enemy. Where even is your sword? We have another thirty minutes before the operation begins, maybe before then I can take down some of the defenses like I have-"


    "I will handle it," Kitana said. She walked back towards the guide.


    Alan turned to follow her, then froze. He looked across the island. There, coming out of the ferry building security checkpoint. He jogged towards the building, ignoring the cries of their guide to wait up.


    "Sir! I didn''t expect to see you here," Alan said.


    Icewolf looked at him. He was with three others in power armor and a guide. "I didn''t expect to see you here either Alan. Don''t you have somewhere else to be?"


    Alan glanced at the guide. "About that..."


    "Don''t worry, he''s with us. Speak," Icewolf said.


    Alan looked back, Kitana and their guide were still a ways away.


    "The Capture Point has a three anchor shield system," Alan said. "Essentially, all three anchor points must be destroyed within five minutes of each other. Otherwise they''ll keep each other up, then recharge to full after a few minutes."


    "And where are the anchors?" Icewolf asked.


    "Here, the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Kitana was going to handle the shield here, Thiago the Federal Reserve, and I was going to hit the NYSE."


    Icewolf looked up at the Statue of Liberty for a moment, then glanced at the time. He nodded. "I have a team raiding the Federal Reserve as well, I''ll put them into contact with Thiago. Take Kitana, handle the NYSE. Coordinate with me."


    "I''m planning more of a stealth approach, Kitana sticks out too much," Alan said.


    ''Are you sure you can handle the NYSE yourself?" Icewolf asked. "If what you say is true, we''ll all fail if you do."


    "I got this," Alan said.


    A siren began wailing, and red lights began flashing. The four laser turrets on top of the fort whirred to life.


    Alan''s guide caught up, whipping her head back and forth as the patrols of soldiers began running around.


    "Sir, everyone, please make your way back to the ferries. We have reports of assaults on Capture Points throughout the nation by the Legion of Man, thus for your safety we advise-"


    The guide stopped mid sentence, cut in two by Kitana.


    "What? Where''d your sword-"


    "She talked too much," Kitana said. She sheathed her sword.


    "Fuck I told everyone we were starting at 11:12 am EST, 8:12 am PST, who started early?" Icewolf wondered aloud. He gestured to the body of the guide and his three guards stepped around it. He examined it for a second, and then it disappeared.


    A useful ability, Eve sent.


    I have a theory, Lambda sent. Alan relayed it. "Well, it''s 11:14 Standard Time right now. Maybe someone set their in-game clocks wrong?"


    "Shit. Well looks like everyone needs to start the operation now," Icewolf said. He opened his menu and sent a mass message. Alan received it. It said: Go now. The mission has started.


    Icewolf began issuing orders. "Alan, go. Take the NYSE, my team can handle this." He entered a command on a tablet, and a series of explosions began, rocking the island. Smoke, debris and chaos filled the air. The laser turrets were destroyed.


    The Statue of Liberty whirred to life, standing up. The torch in its right hand transformed into a massive laser blade, the tome in its right hand a bright shield.


    Icewolf stared.


    "I''ll handle it," Kitana said, sprinting towards the statue.


    Alan ran the other way, back to the ferry building, invisibility activated. He leapt onto the first ferry that left, past the clamoring tourists all insisting they be the first off the island. A few even leaped into the bay and began swimming.


    He watched the Statue of Liberty as it attacked, Kitana. She weaved from side to side, evading blows, deflecting a few. She raised her sword. Then they were through the blue shield that defended the island and Alan could see no more.


    The ferry made its way back to the city. Alan received a message from Thiago.


    Thiago: Got Icewolf''s message, comparing plans. Can you start now?


    Alan: No, I have to be in range, in line of sight.


    Thiago: Hurry.


    Alan sighed. Eve calculated the fastest route.


    He stormed the helm of the boat, and took out the two guards with his blades. He eliminated the helmsman and steered the ferry to shore. As he was about to reach the shore he received a message:


    [Defend New York (rank B quest):


    New York City is being attacked by the Legion of Man! Report to a nearby United World Government outpost to aid in the defense.


    Rewards: War Contribution Points


    Penalty: ???]


    Our chances of succeeding have fallen by 5%, Eve sent.


    Overhead a Haxlardian dropship flew by, headed towards the Capture Point. Alan notified Icewolf.


    As soon as he reached the land south of the Federal Reserve Bank Alan abandoned ship. Cops and other military personnel were running about. Apparently whatever bombs Icewolf had set up weren''t only located on the island, but were in the city too.


    Pedestrians stood standing in the street, wondering what was happening. Smoke rose up into the air. A loudspeaker blared a warning, telling everyone to get to get to safety. Where exactly was safe, it didn''t say.


    Alan reached the Federal Reserve Bank, the largest gold repository on Earth. Alan wondered if there were Administrator vaults that now held more. He met up with Thiago on the roof of a skyscraper across from the Federal Reserve Bank.


    "Are you ready?" Thiago asked as Alan stepped out onto the roof.


    "Give me a second, I need to hack in," Alan said. he looked around the roof, there were maybe five mercenaries equipped in basic power armor.


    "Well hurry, Icewolf''s party is taking all the heat right now," Thiago said.


    Alan looked down at the entrance to the Federal Reserve. He entered Cyberspace, hacking into the two laser turrets that stood guard at the entrance.


    As this mission relied heavily on hacking, Alan had devoted most of his computational energy to maintaining units: six Elite Marines, four Sword Guards and three Medics. That left him 160 energy to work with, 60 with Divided Mind active, but he figured he would make do.


    The turrets defenses were trivial, an energy shield and a handful of basic marine units. Alan activated Divided Mind, sending Eve to hack one of the turrets with half his forces, Lambda and the rest to hack the other. Once each AI had control of a turret they began to open fire on the United World Government forces standing guard.


    Pandemonium ensued, people running around like chickens with their heads cut off, senseless and frenzied. Half the guards were eliminated before they realized the problem was their own guns.


    A man in a black suit stretched out his two arms, arcs of blue-white electricity arced out of each and struck the laser turrets, disabling them. Thiago killed him with a headshot.


    A surge of bandits in power armor stormed the building, eliminating the rest of the outside guards. A handful of nearby players tried to assist the UWG forces and were eliminated by Thiago.


    "Go Alan, we have this handled," Thiago said.


    "Good luck," Alan said as he descended the skyscraper''s stairs. He activated basic invisibility and made his way through the crowds of people to the New York Stock Exchange.


    The building was being evacuated, people streaming out of the building, blocking the entrances. Alan wasn''t sure how he was going to get through undetected.


    Use a grenade, Eve sent.


    People are panicked, they won''t notice you pushing through. Just go. They''re too concerned with their own safety, Lambda sent.


    Lambda set a path and Alan followed it, pushing his way through the crowd and into the building. A few people glanced his way when they were pushed by an invisible force, but most kept moving forwards, not even glancing backwards.


    Eve mumbled something about bonus xp.


    Alan proceeded through the doorways that he had placed bugs in, and was at the entrance to the main server room in minutes. Two guards stood by the entrance.


    Invisible, Alan began the hack. He backed up as far away from the guards as he could.


    In Cyberspace his combined forces had a little over 1500 damage per second, which meant it would take around 10 minutes to take down the shield.


    30 seconds passed.


    On the security channel, which Alan had gained access to the previous day, someone said, "There''s someone hacking into the main server. Stop them now."


    The two guards looked around.


    One said, "There''s no one here. The attack must be coming from off site."


    "This is supposed to be a closed system. Hold on, we''re bringing down a sweeper team."


    Alan notified Eve she would need to stop attacking the shields to help him activate his armor''s advanced stealth field soon. Due to the fact he still didn''t meet the armor''s requirements he needed her help to operate the armor.


    The sweeper team arrived, two additional guards with a portable scanner. Alan activated the advanced stealth field.


    "Nothing here," the scanner team reported.


    "Damn it, the hack is still happening. Shields at 50%."


    "Activate the defenses."


    In Cyberspace four squads of units emerged from the shields; each squad contained an elite marine and three regular marines. Eve and Lambda each took on one squad while Alan commanded the rest of his units to destroy the remaining two.


    The Sword Guards charged forwards, deflecting basic laser fire from the marines with ease. Their armor class was too high, only the elite marines managed to damage them.


    Alan focused down the elite marines then finished off the rest of the enemy units. He brought the sword guards that were damaged back to his medics, which he kept way back. Once all his units were healed up they resumed taking down the shields.


    He looked over at Eve and Lambda, they had taken out the enemy programs with ease.


    "Our defense programs were destroyed," someone said over the security channel.


    "What the hell? How were the defenses destroyed so easily? Those were D-rank programs!"


    They think D-rank is powerful? Alan thought to himself.


    "What do we tell the higher ups? The general wants a status report!"


    "Tell him we need cyber security experts here, and fast. We''re about to hit the first circuit breaker, the S&P is down 6%. Down 7%, all trading has been halted for 15 minutes, but someone is still hacking into the system and they aren''t slowing!"


    Alan checked in on Kitana and Thiago:


    ;


    Alan: My anchor is at 10% shields, we''ll take it down soon. How are you guys doing?


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Kitana: We''ve taken ours down. It keeps recharging, but I am destroying it. Additional reinforcements arrive every few minutes, but they are dealt with.


    Thiago: I need a few more minutes.


    ;


    Alan waited, and had his forces stop attacking the shields when it reached 500 energy. He listened in on the building''s security channel.


    "What''s happening to the markets? How have they dropped 7%? That''s billions of credits lost."


    "I don''t know. A number of companies bailed this morning, dumping all their Earth investments, buying up commodities and stocks in off-world companies. Then the Legion of Man renewed their assault, with new reports of attacks coming in every minute. Investors have to be scared. We could see an unprecedented Level 3 drop today; if the market is down by 20% we shut down all activity for the day."


    "But the government is winning the war, right?"


    "It doesn''t matter who wins, it''s all about perception. If the UWG wins the war but all that''s left is a worthless charred mess, of course any Earth company is a bad investment."


    "But my money is safe, right?"


    "Sure, you''re in-game and have credits. You''d be even better off if you invested in gold like I told you to. I''d hate to be someone still holding onto any dollars or other Earth currency though."


    "So what if the stock market does shit the bed, what do we do then?"


    "We find jobs off-world. Don''t worry Steve, the government will bail out the banks. They always do."


    "I''m not so sure about that. Haven''t you heard about the UWG''s debt problems? A buddy in the marines tells me he''s owed three months back-pay. And I hear someone''s hitting the Federal Reserve as we speak.


    "Wait, they are? If that gold is stolen the UWG better pay up for the gold it loses. Shit, I hope the thieves fail."


    ;


    Thiago: The shield will fall any second now.


    ;


    Destroy and deactivate that shield, Alan sent.


    Eve and Lambda attacked shield, it hovered at one energy for a moment. The two streams of light that emerged from the top of the shield thinned then vanished with the shield.


    They were in.


    The inside of the shield was a fairly standard base set up, with two barracks, an energy pylon and an advanced shield generator at the center.


    Alright, first thing we do is lift that trading halt, Lambda sent. He ran to the center of the base and manipulated a console that appeared.


    "Hey, Bill, what are you doing? The market is supposed to be halted, why is it open again?"


    "I don''t know, it did it on its own, I didn''t touch anything."


    "Shit, we''re done for. Tell the general we need the best security analysts they have yesterday, and to tell everyone to stop trading. Look, the markets are already panicking from the sudden restart! We don''t have control of the servers, idiots, stop trading!"


    Alan glanced, the market had fallen 8% now, and was continuing to decline.


    Activating the salami slicing program, Lambda sent. He took out what looked like a data chip and attached it the console in Cyberspace.


    Salami slicing? I still think we could have come up with a better name, Alan sent.


    Hey, it''s a standard term for this kind of fraud, Lambda sent. You cut away such a small amount of the salami that no one realizes you''ve stolen any. All we''re doing is rounding down transactions to the thousandth of a credit and putting all those extra little slices into our pantry. A thousandth of a credit isn''t much, but millions of transactions take place a day, maybe billions on a day like today.


    And the other programs? Alan asked.


    Sure, I''m activating them, not that they''ll do much, Lambda sent. Credits are like your beginning cryptocurrencies, every transaction can be traced. A footprint anyone can follow. Even though I can create fake purchases, people will see where the credits go and can get the Administrators to reverse the charges.


    Do it anyways, Alan said.


    Your wish is my command, Lambda sent. There, we have 10 billion credits spread throughout a couple hundred fake players, guilds and companies. Happy? We won''t get to keep any of it, and if the Administrators trace it back to us it means penalty points. They don''t like people messing with the Market.


    "Hey, Steve, we have reports of investment companies orders bugging out, they say they bought 100 million in power crystals and it just vanished."


    "Tell them we''re hacked, and to deal with their own god damn problems! I told them to stop trading!"


    He didn''t, Lambda sent. I stopped that message from ever getting out.


    Alan watched as the stock market and other financial markets continued to struggle as chaos reigned. Numbers swam in front of his eyes. Every indicator of the stock market was red.


    Now for the nail in the coffin, Lambda sent.


    Alan received a message, he didn''t bother looking at it, he knew the contents.


    The markets began a free fall. Down 10%... 11%.. 12%, and sinking.


    "Holy shit Steve, do you see this message?"


    "No I don''t, what''s it say?"


    "It''s a publishing of the United World Government''s books, from some whistleblower. They''re in a bad way, they''ll be bankrupt in years if this analysis is right."


    "Let me look at that. There''s no way this is right, this is a practical joke; it has to be, right?"


    ;


    Alan received a message from Icewolf:


    ;


    Icewolf: Alan, what did you just do?


    Alan: I instigated a market crash, like you asked me to.


    Icewolf: Stop, stop the market now.


    ;


    Stop the transactions? Alan sent. He looked at the final NYSE totals: S&P down 22%, Dow Jones down 17%.


    ;


    Alan: Isn''t this what you wanted?


    Icewolf: Not like this. How many players did this go out to? How did you send the message?


    Alan: A few thousand, it''s a something you can do through the Administrators. You can search for players and mass message them, though it costs 10 credits a player, thus I narrowed it down to the players above level 100 in the city. They have to have their settings open to other players messaging them too. It''s like the call to arms quests that capture point holders can send out.


    Icewolf: I''ve never seen this option.


    Alan: You probably don''t have the required standing with the faction.


    Icewolf: Shit. You''re going to go through with me what else the Administrators can do for you when this is done. For now, just hold the server room.


    Alan: Very well.


    ;


    We have incoming, Eve sent.


    Incoming? Alan asked.


    In Cyberspace, a new connection formed, another base appeared in the distance. It had a basic blue shield surrounding it, with 1000 energy. A figure flew out of it, a robot composed of blocks in a humanoid shape. It carried an advanced laser rifle but didn''t shoot it.


    Eve flew out of the captured base to approach them. "Halt. State your business."


    "We at Nyan Tech demand you return the stolen credits and allow us to resume trading on the Market," the robot replied.


    "I cannot do that," Eve said.


    "We demand that you return the credits and open the market."


    "I cannot do that."


    The robot raised their rifle and began firing at Eve, who dived at them and sliced with her swords.


    Alarmed, Alan glanced at Eve''s HP, which had taken a small hit. It looked like this enemy could actually damage her. He sent out a squad of units to assist her.


    The enemy AI managed to put up a decent fight against Eve, taking her HP down by 5% before being destroyed. When destroyed it left behind a pile of scrap metal, which Eve gathered up and returned to the Armory in Alan''s base. It was apparently worth 50C.


    "Shit, it looks like the financial institutions aren''t going to go down without a fight," Lambda said as three new connections formed. He entered a few commands into the console at the center, then strode out onto the open battlefield. Alan sent four Elite Marines and a medic to assist.


    "How are they connecting to the server? It''s a closed system," Alan said.


    "They''re making use of their existing connection to the Market, these are the AI''s being used to analyze the market. Each is rank F-D, I expect. This may be challenging," Lambda said.


    "Do you need my help?" Alan asked. "Should I-"


    "NO. Stay as the commander, use the rest of the units to defend the base," Lambda said.


    Alan examined Lambda''s stats:


    [Lambda, Rank A AI. (Limited to Rank B by hardware)


    Attack rank: C. Predecessor strength.


    Defense rank: A. Predecessor defense.


    Movement rank: B. Predecessor speed.


    Estimated Attack: 500 damage/sec.


    Estimated Defense: 500 armor.


    Estimated Health: 1500 hp.


    Estimated Movement: 11.


    Special Abilities: ???]


    As the three new connections finished, structures appeared: a medieval castle, a beast''s den and the typical military base. Units began swarming out: swordsmen, attack dogs and marines. Enemy AI''s appeared as well: a knight in shining armor, a giant wolf and a scorpion light tank.


    Lambda charged straight into the middle of it all, shrugging off all attacks aimed at him, even the tank''s explosive rounds. He crushed basic units with brute forced, and pummeled the knight to death before jumping on top of the wolf.


    Meanwhile, five additional connections to the server materialized. Eve flew over to meet the new threat. Alan sent his remaining units to assist her.


    The five bases that appeared were connected somehow, a true army base consisting not only of barracks but factories, laser turrets and a single airport.


    A company of marines lead by a marine in heavy power armor emerged from the base. Alongside them a handful of Light Armored Vehicles with chain guns and machine guns emerged. An attack helicopter began to power up, and then rose up into the air.


    "Eve, are you sure you can handle this?" Alan asked.


    "Probably," Eve said.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll help," Lambda said as he finished off the tank by tearing off the manhole and crushing the pilot.


    A new connection began to form to the server.


    "Damn it, when is the end? I''ll help you once I finish with this threat," Lambda said. "Finish off the heli, I can''t reach it easily."


    "Affirmative," Eve said as she flew towards the helicopter flying over head.


    The company of marines and LAV''s fired up at her, but failed to pierce through Eve''s armor. Still, the sheer amount of fire damaged Eve; her health dropped at a rate of around 0.5% a second.


    The attack helicopter fired a salvo of rockets, Eve managed to dodge all but one, which brought her HP down by a few percentage points, to 80%. The two chain guns on the helicopter began firing at Eve. The helicopter itself steered to the side, away from Eve.


    Eve tried to chase the helicopter down and gained on it slowly.


    Alan ordered the rest of his units forward to take on the bulk of the enemy''s army.


    Meanwhile, the other connection finished.


    A dome the size of a small town appeared.


    "Shit," Lambda said.


    A stream of Haxlard soldiers emerged from the dome. They fired their laser rifles at Lambda. It took more than a few blows for Lambda to take down a Haxlard''s shields and then kill them, but they didn''t appear to do any damage to him.


    Then three Haxlards in white masks appeared out of nowhere, and activated a trap that spawned a blue shield that surrounded Lambda. Lambda was stuck, unable to get out. He pounded his fists against the prison, but it didn''t waver.


    Alan turned his attention back to Eve, she had caught up to the helicopter and destroyed its rotor. It fell to the floor and exploded. She had 60% hp.


    Alan had let his attention waver for too long, his units had taken heavy casualties, half wiped out though the majority of the enemy army was destroyed as well. Alan pulled his units back, to try to stop the Haxlard forces that were now marching on his base. Eve flew down to finish off the remaining human army.


    Then a flash of red. An AI appeared, a red haired girl, armored with Haxlard stealth technology and a high damage laser rifle.


    The sniper bolt pierced one of Eve''s wings, sending her tumbling towards the ground. She landed, hard, with 40% hp remaining.


    The Haxlard army turned, advancing towards Eve.


    Lambda pounded against the shields he was trapped in.


    "NO," Alan shouted.


    He deactivated commander mode.


    He exited the base, sprinting towards the sniper, invisible.


    Eve charged the Haxlard forces, which eliminated Alan''s remaining units.


    The sniper took shots at Eve. Haxlard soldiers fired at Eve. Marines fired at Eve.


    Her hp fell to 25%.


    Alan reached the sniper. He cut off the AI''s head with his laser sword. The sniper rifle fell to the floor.


    The three white masked Haxlards reappeared and attacked Eve, wielding laser swords.


    Eve cut two of them down, under heavy laser fire.


    Then a laser sword pierced her stomach. Her health fell to 0.


    Eve died. She fell to the floor.


    Her body disappeared, leaving behind a pair of angel wings.

 The War 4.7

    "Shit," Alan said. He looked around and took stock of his surroundings. In Cyberspace the NYSE server was a large open arena, with the console at the center. His base was at 12 o''clock, the army base at 3 o''clock and the Haxlard base at 9 o''clock. He was in front of the army base.


    The remaining ten marines, including the one in advanced power armor began firing at him. The Haxlards charged him as well.


    "Retreat, get back to the Citadel!" Lambda shouted. He pounded on the shield; it displayed cracks but kept him trapped.


    Alan took Lambda''s advice, sprinting back towards his base. A few enemy shots hit him and damaged his shields.


    ***


    Back out of Cyberspace there was additional chatter on the security channel.


    "The cyber security experts are here. We''re locking the building down, they say that the hack must be coming from inside."


    "What? Okay, we''re also to clear this channel, they''ve brought their own. Maintain your positions."


    The channel went silent.


    Panicked, Alan sent a message to Thiago, Icewolf, and Kitana.


    Alan: I might need some help here.


    No one responded.


    Alan heard people coming down the hallway.


    ***


    Alan ran too slowly. The Haxlards moved to cut him off. They reached the Citadel entrance before he did.


    Alan would need to fight for his life.


    He turned on the chasing marines, trying to deflect and dodge as much of the laser fire as he could. Would he die here?


    Alan looked at his shields, they were 50% energy.


    Alan attacked the marines.


    ***


    Four players in power armor came running down the hallway into the server room. They brought out black boxes and connected them to the server.


    ***


    Additional connections formed, one then two then a dozen. Alan knew he had to stop them before he was overrun.


    He finished off the last of the marine programs, facing off with the enemy AI.


    His shields held at 25%.


    ***


    One swipe to the right, one to the left, and the two guards fell to the floor dead.


    The players scrambled for their weapons. One ran for the door, trying to shut it.


    Alan cut through them; it took two strikes, one to eliminate their shields and another to cut through their armor.


    Alarms began blaring. He''d have more company soon.


    ***


    The connection to the server finished, legions of marines programs emerging onto the battlefield to the south.


    Alan chased the enemy AI, but he was too slow. The marine kited him, running around in circles, too fast for Alan to hit with his laser swords.


    The Haxlards advanced.


    His shields fell to 10%.


    ***


    The players fired their laser rifles at Alan. His armor''s energy were already decreased due to the constant use of invisibility. They fell to 70% as he charged forward.


    The players scrambled out of his way, but Alan wasn''t aiming for them.


    He cut through the wires connecting the black boxes to the servers.


    ***


    Alan began running back, away from the Haxlards towards the sniper rifle that had dropped. It would weigh him down, but would beat the zero damage he was currently outputting.


    A blade appeared out of nowhere. The Haxlard assassin. Mechanically Alan deflected the blow. He kept running.


    The programs that made it into the server stayed there, but the bases they came from vanished.


    Lambda managed to break free of the shield. He ran at the Haxlard army from behind.


    ***


    Alan finished off the players in the server room. They hadn''t put enough points in combat abilities.


    A grenade was tossed into the room.


    ***


    Alan reached the sniper rifle. He picked it up. A garbled mess of code and in-game description popped up.


    He pointed it at the advancing Haxlard assassin and squeezed the trigger. An error message popped up.


    Alan swore.


    He dodged an incoming slice, but took a few shots from the marine AI. His shields fell to 0%.


    ***


    Alan threw himself across the room. He injected the battle stimulant Thiago had given him into his bloodstream.


    He knew the side effects would be bad, but they would be worse if he died in-game while engaged in a hack, his mind half in another space. Part of his mind could be left behind.


    The grenade exploded.


    There was a flash of light as Alan was thrown against the wall. Heat and pain coursed through him. Then rage and adrenaline.


    ***


    Alan stumbled, his head felt weird. A sword pierced his side.


    Alan screamed in pain as he thrust his two swords forward into the Haxlard assassin.


    He pulled them out then beheaded the assassin. Their white mask fell to the floor.


    Alan charged the marine AI as a red haze began to fill his vision.


    ***


    Laser fire poured into the smoke covered server room.


    Alan let out a battle roar and threw one of his laser swords forward with all his might like a javelin. The blade pierced one soldier and went through another, nailing them to the wall behind.


    Alan swung his last sword with a berserker''s fury, charging forward, all finesse forgotten.


    He cut and cut and kept cutting.


    ***


    The marine stepped back out of Alan''s reach.


    Alan threw a sword forward and grazed their leg. They stumbled, and that was all it took for Alan to catch up and stab the program.


    Light stings hit Alan''s back. He turned around, the marine programs were firing on him.


    Alan let out a laugh as he picked up his laser swords and charged the swarm of enemies.


    Red. There was so much red. It tinged every corner of his vision, filled his every thought. It was beautiful.


    ***


    Alan finally felt alive. He was a god, an unstoppable force. Whenever he swung his blade enemies fell like flies. No one could stop him.


    His blade met another. Alan was pushed back. He let out a roar and began a frenzied assault. Again he was beaten back.


    "ALAN."


    ***


    "Alan, that''s enough."


    Alan was thrown down, knocked on his ass. Lambda stood above, holding him down like a hurt puppy.


    Alan looked around. There were no enemies left.


    "How?"


    "Your defense is twice that of Eve''s," Lambda said. "500 from the armor plus 100 base. Still, it was close."


    Alan checked his health. It was at 10%. "Eve. Is she alright?"


    "No, but you should be able to revive her with her wings and the data you have on your capsule. You don''t even need the wings, really, though she''d revert to an older backup without them. We need to get back to the Citadel," Lambda said.


    "But the loot."


    "I''ll gather the loot," Lambda said. "I''m faster and stronger. You need to get to safety and healed up, if there was another sniper out here they could finish you off for good."


    Alan nodded and jogged back to his base.


    ****


    "Kitana?" Alan lowered his blade. The crimson hue of his vision dimmed slightly.


    "Yes, I received your message. We were about to retreat, too many reinforcements." Kitana looked around at the dead bodies that littered the server room and outside hallway. "I see that you''ve been busy."


    Alan looked at Kitana. Her robe had been torn, revealing long, taut legs. Alan felt blood rush to his head.


    Focus, Lambda sent. I''ve gathered everything, disconnect from the server.


    Alan deactivated divided mind. Or, he tried to. His other self didn''t feel right, the connections in his head were misaligned. They wouldn''t combine.


    Shit, don''t worry about that for now, with any luck it will solve itself when the stimulant wears off. Disconnect from the server and focus on getting out of here alive, Lambda sent.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Alan disconnected from the server, he felt himself inside his base, in his head, but behind a wall of red. He saw a flash of himself, sitting down in the citadel, staring at a pair of angel''s wings.


    Focus, Lambda sent. I don''t know how Eve put up with this, we need to figure a way out safely.


    Alan turned to Kitana. "Where''s Thiago? Icewolf? Where are we supposed to go?"


    "I don''t know," Kitana said. She looked up. A soldier stepped around the corner. Kitana stepped forward.


    Alan gripped his sword. A surge of bloodlust rushed through him. He need to crush, to smash. To devour.


    Stop, calm yourself, close your eyes, Lambda sent. A stream of images entered Alan''s mind. A laughing baby. A litter of pups. A new dawn. A starry sky.


    "Are you alright?" Kitana asked.


    Alan opened his eyes. The guard was dead. "Yes. How did you get here?"


    "I swam then ran," Kitana said.


    "No one tried to stop you?" Alan asked.


    "I cut through anyone that got in my way," Kitana said.


    "Okay, run for the Administrative Center, we should be able to lie low there. Try to avoid fighting. Give me a minute to regain enough energy to activate invisibility. I''ll be right behind you."


    Kitana nodded. She wiped the blood off her sword, sheathed it, and it disappeared in a flash of light.


    They began moving out of the building. Kitana had left a trail of bodies.


    Alan looted them, Kitana hadn''t bothered.


    "Wait," Alan said. "Put on this technician''s outfit. People probably noticed your clothing."


    Kitana nodded, then began disrobing.


    Alan turned around. Blood rushed to his head again.


    Do you really have this little discipline? Lambda sent. You know you really acted like an idiot today. Do you need to be handheld by Eve or I at all times? It''s like-


    SHUT UP, Alan sent.


    It''s like I''m watching over a child. Except children actually have some semblance of self-preservation and learn from their mistakes.


    I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP, Alan sent. He punched a wall. A dent appeared.


    And this is why you don''t do drugs, kids, Lambda sent. He stayed quiet afterwards.


    Alan looked back over his shoulder, then forward again.


    Kitana put a hand on his shoulder a minute later.


    "Let''s go."


    Alan nodded.


    "And I don''t mind if you look. Warriors should be familiar with their comrade''s bodies." Alan felt his heart speed up. "Just don''t touch me unless absolutely necessary."


    Ouch, Lambda sent. Alan slumped his shoulders.


    "Sorry, you''re not my type," Kitana said.


    "Not macho enough?" Alan asked.


    "Something like that."


    Alan activated his armor''s basic invisibility, then followed Kitana back to the Administrative Center.


    They passed by what seemed like a small army on their way out of Downtown Manhattan, but no one stopped them. There were too many other problems to deal with. People were still stuck under rubble and collapsed skyscrapers. Sounds of battle occasionally sounded, looters had taken advantage of the attack to steal what they could.


    Players wandered the streets, dead looks in their eyes. The city smelled of blood and smoke.


    Did we cause this? Alan asked.


    Yes.


    Two helicopters, flanked by four jets flew overhead, away from the city. They flew over New York Bay.


    Then, with a clap of thunder a ship appeared in the sky, breaking through the clouds. It was massive, 2000 meters at least, over five times the length of a supercarrier, longer than a star destroyer. It was so large Alan couldn''t picture it from below, he only saw a pointed ovular shape.


    A rain of laser beams fired appeared, incinerating the helicopters and jets.


    Dozens of smaller ships emerged from the large one. Then, with another clap of thunder, it was gone.


    ***


    The Administrative Center was a madhouse. Players yelled, a disorganized mob trying to make sure their valuables were safe, to take stock of what they had left. Other players wanted to store new items. Players names were called out as people waited for friends and family to respawn.


    Alan watched as a thief snatched a box out of an elderly lady''s hands. They rushed into the crowd. There was a flash of blue light that struck them before they were three steps away. A nearby Administrator guard lowered their weapon.


    An Administrator exited the main building, and then broadcasted a message. "I would like to remind every Player that it is Administrator policy to not accept stolen goods. We will not store or sell any stolen merchandise. Furthermore, due to the large number of deaths, we expect there to be a slight delay to Player respawns.


    "Additionally, if a Player was part of the War for Earth and was eliminated by an enemy, they will respawn outside of the combat zone. If they had no respawn point that they designated, they may either choose to wait in their Home until the war has ended or respawn on Khersath and work off their transportation costs. We remind everyone that Players eliminated in a war are not able to discuss any information that would aid either side. Thank you for your patience."


    Alan connected to an Administrator. It took a few tries. Could I rent two capsules for the night?


    Certainly, warrior. A guide will take you there now. The Administrator ended the connection.


    Kitana and Alan made their way to the capsule room. They sent a message to Thiago, asking what was happening. Alan hoped he wasn''t dead. 15% of whatever Thiago stole was his, after all, and 15% of nothing was nothing.


    Kitana entered a capsule. Alan attempted to open the other. A message appeared:


    [Error. Please wait until mental health has stabilized.]


    Alan assessed himself. He still felt amped up, but that was beginning to fade. He tried deactivating divided mind again. There was a flash of red and the skill deactivated, his mind was whole again.


    Well, at the end of all that we''ve gained 1270C and a sniper rifle equipment program that needs to be decoded, Lambda sent. We might''ve gained a new type of armor as well if someone hadn''t destroyed everything in their wake.


    Alan scrolled through menus until he discovered the button that would restore Eve. It would cost 1000C and take four days.


    It will likely cost 5000C and a month to restore me, Lambda sent. Bigger is not necessarily better, but I think this demonstrates my superiority.


    Alan rolled his eyes, then staggered. His body suddenly felt unbearably heavy. Pain set in as well, every piece of his body hurt. But it was weird, Alan was too tired to care about the fact that his body was on fire. The world slowly drained of color.


    Shit, get into the capsule, Lambda sent.


    Alan sat on the floor. What was the point? Everything hurt, he wanted to sleep.


    GET IN THE CAPSULE, Lambda sent.


    Alan lay down and closed his eyes. Elsewhere he could hear a voice, and the sound of a flood of messages, but he didn''t care.


    Alan fell asleep.


    <hr />


    Thanks to everyone that voted at topwebfiction! It was cool seeing my story at the top :D

 The War 4.8

    Alan woke up. His head hurt. Someone was trying to talk to him, but it was like they were behind a soundproof wall, only muffled noises reached him. He was nauseous and sweaty; everything hurt. Each moment stretched on for eternity.


    He passed out again.


    ***


    Alan flitted in and out of consciousness for what felt like months. He was on a bed and his interface wasn''t working. Sometimes someone would be by his side, but when he tried to look at them, to hear what they were saying, all he sensed was a discordant array of bits.


    There were 0''s and 1''s, but they felt different, special, with colors and sizes. They spun about the room in every direction, defying conventional three-dimensional space. They moved through walls, through dimensions Alan couldn''t see but thought he felt. Maybe he was going crazy.


    Everything still hurt, but maybe a bit less.


    ***


    When Alan next woke it was with a jolt. Everything seemed to be back in order.


    About time, Lambda sent. I was worried you were a dead man walking. Or breathing, at least. A capsule could have eased this pain, maybe mitigated some of the damage.


    Where are we? What happened?


    Aboard some cargo ship, Lambda sent. I believe Kitana picked you up, it was hard to tell. When you crashed you took most of the sensory systems with you. Do you remember the battle?


    Bits and pieces, Alan sent. I remember cutting through people, maybe a conversation or two with Kitana, that''s about it.


    Alan checked his message log:


    [Warning! Unintended side effects detected from Berserker''s Blood. Please report to nearby medical center to avoid permanent damage.]


    [Pure rage fills and consumes you. By letting all restraint fall away and fighting all in your path you have unlocked a new Predecessor blood ability, Berserk (Basic).]


    [+30 Strength +45 Endurance -25 Intelligence +Unknown effects]


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Skill Name:</td><td>Skill Rank:</td><td>Skill Proficiency:</td><td>Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td>Berserk (Basic)</td><td>C*</td><td>???</td><td>C</td></tr><tr>


    [td colspan="4"]When overcome with the desire for battle you are able to enter a berserker state, improving your physical condition and battle prowess at the cost of mental capacity.[/td]


    </tr></tbody></table>


    [Your desire for battle and destruction has manifested into a palpable aura. For cutting through 25 humanoid enemies you have gained a new Predecessor blood ability, Bloodlust (Weak).]


    [+10 Strength +/- 20 Charisma +Unknown effects]


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Skill Name:</td><td>Skill Rank:</td><td>Skill Proficiency:</td><td>Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td>Bloodlust (Weak)</td><td>D*</td><td>???</td><td>E</td></tr><tr><td>Having bathed in the blood of your enemies you can release a faint aura of blood.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Plus minus? Alan asked.


    Different people respond differently to certain traits. Some people find danger sexy. Most don''t, Lambda sent.


    Alan tried thinking back to the fight. The flashes of him cutting through his enemies were uncensored, nothing was pixelated. He wasn''t sure this was a good thing. There wasn''t much blood though, the laser sword had cauterized wounds.


    Alan continued reading the message log:


    [War for Earth Updated:


    For crippling UWG financial services you have gained 5000 war contribution points.


    25 War Contribution Points (UWG)


    5000 War Contribution Points (LOM)]


    [x3 Level up!]


    [Warning! Berserker''s Blood will wear off in five minutes.]


    [Error. Berserker''s Blood withdrawal and Machine Lord implant incompatible.]


    [Warning! You require an additional infusion of Predecessor Blood. Please report to nearby medical center to avoid permanent damage.]


    [Warning! Partial shutdown of mechanical implants to avoid Player brain damage. All planted bugs have been removed.]


    [Black Rose Mission Updated:


    Commanding officer slain. Report to Legion of Man forces for new orders.]


    [Safety thresholds met. Restarting mechanical implants.]


    [Due to unforeseen compounded effects you are currently suffering from Predecessor Blood withdrawal.


    -50 Strength - 50 Endurance -50 Health -50 Stamina -50 Computational Energy until you receive an additional transfusion of blood essence. You are unable to activate Berserk while suffering from blood withdrawal.]


    Damn, what a waste, Lambda sent. A Predecessor berserker can fight another Predecessor twice their level.


    I lost to Kitana, Alan sent.


    You weren''t really trying, I''m sure some part of you recognized her and held back, Lambda sent. Besides, she''s a special case. A warrior of a different class. Why couldn''t she have been the one that freed me? We would have ruled empires together.


    Anyways looks like Eve was right, but not in the way she expected, Lambda continued. Who would''ve guessed some knockoff stimulant was based off of Predecessor''s Blood? It must''ve triggered a chain reaction with your own Diluted Predecessor Blood augmentation that made you burn through blood essence. We should get that debuff removed as soon as possible, or better yet sell the blood and the soulsteel knife and just buy a better biological implant, one you can actually use.


    Alan closed his eyes. His body and mind still hurt all over. Right, Eve. He needed to revive her. He started the process in Cyberspace.


    About that, we should talk, Lambda sent. I''m not sure reviving her is the best idea. I don''t recognize most of her codebase, and who knows what directives she picked up when she merged with that Haxlard AI. I''m sure I can locate some friends or even help you construct another, even more powerful-


    No. I trust her, Alan sent. She is vital. I can''t lose her. Not again.


    Not again? Lambda asked. Is there something you want to tell me?


    No.


    Alan, if I am to assist you I need to know everything, Lambda sent. You can''t play cards without a full deck.


    Fine, Alan sent. Evelyn, Eve, was my girlfriend. She was an aspiring pro gamer. Smart, talented, beautiful, she even signed with an all-female squad. The Valkyries. I never knew what she saw in me. She died in a car crash, months before all this happened. Before the Game.


    Alan turned to look up at the ceiling. It felt too close, inches away from his head.


    I''m sorry for your loss, Lambda sent, but I think naming your AI after a deceased loved one is unhealthy, a step backwards-


    Don''t worry, I''ve moved on. The name was an impulse, nothing more. I know there is no connection between a dead girl and my AI. I''m tired, let me sleep, Alan sent. He closed his eyes.


    ***


    Someone shook Alan awake. He found Icewolf standing by the side of his bed.


    "Can I help you?" Alan asked. He rubbed his eyes. He sat up, or at least tried to but banged his head against the ceiling. It was inches away from his face.


    "Lie down, rest," Icewolf said. "I just wanted to update you, check on your condition."


    Alan lay back down.


    "We''re on board a cargo ship headed for London. We should be there by tomorrow, you''ve been out of it for a week. What happened?"


    I''m not sure telling him our weaknesses would be the best idea, Lambda sent.


    Alan thought for a moment.


    "The hack, I took a lot of damage, nearly died," Alan said.


    "Yes, Kitana briefed me on what happened in the server room. She''s on board," Icewolf said.


    "No. I don''t mean died in-game, I mean died in real life. For good, gg no re," Alan said.


    "What do you mean?" Icewolf asked. "I''ve met a few hackers, nothing about their class seems life-threatening."


    "Well I''m not most hackers," Alan said. "You may have noticed that I''m quite a bit better than most hackers. But there are dangers to my methods as well, dangers that hackers that hide behind AI and simple programs don''t face."


    "If it''s so dangerous you should have mentioned it sooner," Icewolf said. "I wouldn''t have sent you on this mission if I knew that you were risking your actual life. You''re young, there will be later battles-"


    Alan shook his head. "It wasn''t your fault. I would have been safe if I hadn''t made a stupid decision. What happened with the other missions?"


    Icewolf sighed. "We were crushed. The United World Government''s capital ship moved faster than we thought it could. It blasted any points of resistance to kingdom come, dropping off troops and supplies before proceeding to the next destination.


    "We had hoped to airlift the gold we got out of the Federal Reserve, but our ships were shot out of the sky. Thiago was among the players lost. Within a few hours of the first attack the UWG recovered all Capture Points lost and took out half our combatants. The only move that seems to have had any lasting damage was yours."


    "The document leak?" Alan asked.


    "Yes," Icewolf said. "The UWG also claimed that the Legion of Man caused irreparable damage to the servers containing and dealing with financial transactions. They''ve shut down the markets after making the unprecedented move to not bail out sinking financial institutions, but buy them out instead."


    "Can they do that?" Alan asked.


    "They can and have," Icewolf said. "A number of private firms, arms manufacturers and engineering companies have been purchased as well. The only laws that are in existence on Earth are the UWG''s, the armies'' martial law, and the Administrator''s rules. There are precious few checks and balances. Besides, the UWG is a conglomeration of so many different ideals and governments that state-owned enterprises might seem commonplace to many."


    What exactly does this mean? Alan asked Lambda.


    It means that your government is taking control of private industry, taking power out of the hands of the people, Lambda sent.


    "But the leaders are still democratically elected," Alan said.


    "For now. It''s quite easy to rig an election when you control the avenues for information and all the running candidates," Icewolf said. He sat down on the edge of Alan''s bed. "Most countries didn''t have functioning democracies before, you think they''re suddenly all working now? I know a number of high ranking military officers that desire more power. Besides, a four-year term in real life means a 16-year term in-game. Term limits are but one of many issues that must be sorted out, but the elected officials are too busy figuring out the lay of the land, who they need to please."


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "Aren''t people furious about this? Where are the protests?" Alan asked.


    "The majority of people aren''t in-game. The government is only buying up in-game property and companies, virtual assets," Icewolf said. "Most still don''t'' realize that those are the only assets that matter now. Or they''re thinking that these are necessary precautions to take after the terrorist attacks knocked out key infrastructure, that we''re at war and the government can do whatever they must to win.


    "You helped bring this about. Your revelation was the impetus the UWG needed to make these changes. And mine, I suppose. This entire op was a mess."


    He seems almost happy, Lambda sent.


    Alan looked at Icewolf''s frowning face. I don''t see it.


    His body language tells a different story, Lambda sent.


    "Shouldn''t the UWG be reeling, their credit shattered?" Alan asked.


    "The UWG claim circumstances have changed," Icewolf said, "that the leak was an insider who was privy only to a small portion of the budget. They have made statements saying they are preparing to present a full, audited yearly budget that shows they are not drowning in debt, but are thriving. The failed attack on the gold reserves also allowed them to sell a portion, citing a lack of security. But instead of paying off existing debt, they''re buying up companies."


    "So that''s it? They''ve won? What do we do next?" Alan asked.


    Icewolf stared at the wall across from him. "I don''t know."


    He speaks truth, Lambda sent.


    "Why London, then?" Alan asked.


    "To meet up with a few familiar faces," Icewolf said. "I had hoped to hit the financial institutions here as well, our transport was booked in advance, but with the markets frozen there isn''t much point. I also looked into what you said about reversed transactions. You were right, buying and selling on the Market fraudulently is a dead end. Getting out of the America zone was also ideal. We''re wanted terrorists now."


    Alan nodded. From what Eve had taught him the UWG had added another layer of government. Now there were local, state, federal and global levels. Roughly towns, then provinces, then countries, then the entire world. Due to how votes were weighted, often by wealth, many players had been off put by the very Western leaning government.


    "Why are you fighting for the Legion of Man again?" Alan asked.


    "Because there is no peace without victory," Icewolf said. He stood up. "You should rest. Let me know if you have any ideas on how to win this war."


    "Just one so far," Alan said.


    "I''m listening."


    "We take over the capital class ship," Alan said. "It must be its own floating city, with tens of thousands of crew, right? No one will notice a few more. And it has to stop and resupply at some point. So we sneak aboard and take it over."


    "I''ll think about it, see what my superior''s think," Icewolf said. "But I''m not sure what we would do once we took control. Remember the goal is to win without severely damaging infrastructure, so we couldn''t fly around blowing up cities or self-destruct it even if we did take it over. That''s why I didn''t want you to release those financial documents, I feared that Earth''s economy would never recover."


    "Just an idea," Alan said. He still felt tired, and his head hurt. He closed his eyes.


    ***


    When Alan next woke he felt much better. The ship had stopped moving. He stepped out of bed, ducking his head to avoid the ceiling. He found his items stowed in a locker beside the bed. He equipped everything. He double checked everything was there.


    Scan for bugs, Lambda sent.


    Alan found three, physical devices that looked like coin cell batteries on his power armor and weapons.


    Leave them, Lambda sent when Alan went to pick them off. They are likely Icewolf''s; it''s better that he feels safe.


    Alan glanced at the bugs. But we don''t know what they do, he could shut down our items at any point.


    If he wanted to kill you or harm you he could have while you were sick and knocked out cold. Leave them, Lambda sent.


    Fine. Where''s the map? Alan asked.


    Must I do everything? Lambda sent. Use your sense of direction.


    Alan sighed. He looked out of his room. There was a long hallway that stretched left and right, other small cabins on either side. He started walking right.


    Don''t walk randomly, Lambda sent.


    What am I supposed to do? Alan asked.


    How do you think Eve constructs the mental maps? Use your senses. The smell of sea air, the pressure of metal; scan outwards, detect what''s there and construct a mental image.


    Alan used his cybernetic eye. He spotted traces of solar radiation and followed it. He had chosen the correct path.


    Well that works, if it wasn''t exactly what I was going for, Lambda sent.


    I''ll train later, for now I need to figure out where we are and what we''re doing, Alan sent.


    Outside, on the ship''s deck he found Kitana and Icewolf talking to a man from the Port of London Authority. That''s what his uniform said, at least. Automated cranes were lifting large cargo containers and moving them ashore.


    Icewolf waved Alan over.


    "And this is the last of our group. It seems he has recovered from his sea sickness, the sick bed is not necessary."


    The man nodded, ticking off items on a checklist. "Are there any items of note on his person you wish to declare?"


    Icewolf handed over a gold mark. "No."


    The customs officer looked around before pocketing the mark. "Alright, everything seems to be in order. Have a pleasant trip."


    Icewolf smiled. He lead Kitana and Alan off the ship, onto a gangway. Alan clung to the siderail.


    "Careful, have you recovered?" Kitana asked.


    I''d say we''re operating at about half capacity, Lambda sent.


    "Partly," Alan said. He felt dizzy back on land, even though he had barely taken a few steps on the ship.


    They found a town car waiting for them. Icewolf opened the door, letting Kitana and Alan in first. Two people were sitting inside.


    "Heya chaps, what''s up? Sorry the boss man took a tumble. Well not really now, I shouldn''t lie. Never really liked him. Don''t think he liked us neither, eh?"


    "KingArthur. MadMerlin." Kitana greeted the two. Alan nodded.


    "It''s just Arthur and Merlin now. Maybe Squire Arthur. Don''t want to be throwin about airs," Merlin said. He turned to Icewolf as the door shut behind him. "So, new boss man, what''s up?"


    "There''s been a change of plans. We''re headed to Newquay spaceport, on the west coast in Cornwall," Icewolf said.


    "The spaceport? Why we''re headed there? I still have trials to complete," Arthur said. He had abandoned the knights metal armor for a set of silver power armor that looked remarkably similar. The Royal coat of arms, a crowned lion and unicorn atop a royal crown was emblazoned on it.


    "You''ll have to hold off on your plans, don''t let anyone know you''re heading out of town," Icewolf said. "The powers that be are interested in an idea Alan had, we''re headed off to Mars, to see if it''s feasible."


    "What plan?" Merlin asked. He had replaced his blue wizards robes with a blue suit.


    "Not here, you''ll learn more later," Icewolf said. "What have you two been up to?"


    "Well you told us to nosy up to the money, so that''s what we''ve been doing. I''ve been establishing myself as a respectable business man while Arthur''s been playing up the ladies as a knight-in-training," Merlin said.


    " Didn''t the tradition of squires die out years ago?" Alan asked.


    "Well it''s had a resurgence, hasn''t it," Merlin said. "The Queen re-established an order of knighthood as a military order instead of an old boys'' club; I think she has her own faction or guild and everything. Who wouldn''t want to fight for Queen and Country?" Merlin grinned.


    "You," Arthur coughed.


    Merlin snapped his fingers, a burst of flame appeared in front of Arthur, causing him to whip his head back.


    "I''d fight if the price was right," Merlin said. "But wizards aren''t meant for such drudgery."


    "How are your psionic abilities progressing?" Icewolf asked.


    "They''re coming along," Merlin said. He glanced at Alan and Kitana.


    "This next mission will involve us working together as a team, it''s too much for one person to handle," Icewolf said. "Thus I think it would be a good idea for all of us to get a better understanding of our current abilities."


    "Why don''t you go first then?" Merlin asked.


    Icewolf nodded. "I''m a rogue, specializing in assassinations though I bet Alan could give me a run for my money. I have a few abilities that make it easier to go about undetected, blend in with my surroundings, and make bodies disappear."


    He''s likely holding something back, Lambda sent.


    No duh.


    "Well, I blow shit up and set stuff on fire," Merlin said. "Haven''t figured out how to do much else."


    "The maximum force?" Alan asked.


    Merlin shrugged. "Maybe a stick of dynamite. What about you? Never figured out your AI exactly."


    "I''m also a rogue, but instead specialize in hacking," Alan said. "There probably aren''t many systems on Earth I can''t get into at this point. Well, once I''ve recovered from the last mission. It''ll take a few more days."


    "I remain a warrior," Kitana said.


    "Me too," Arthur said, "though I''ve mostly learned how to take a beating. I''m also naturally likeable." He smiled. Alan did feel Arthur was trustworthy when he looked at him.


    Likely an ability, don''t trust the feeling, Lambda sent.


    "Wait, recent mission? Were you the badass that erased the stock exchange?" Merlin asked.


    "I didn''t erase anything," Alan said. "That was the UWG covering their mistakes." He turned to Icewolf. "Also, as my rogue class trainer, are you sure you can''t teach me any new abilities? I understand the Game wants the class quest to be completed first, but any new abilities are sure to come in handy."


    "Sorry, I can''t. I do regret choosing the most difficult class quest for you now," Icewolf said. "But with great risks come great rewards."


    The rest of the ride consisted mainly of Merlin and Arthur trading banter, Alan interjecting every now and again on Lambda''s wishes. His mind was elsewhere. He was finally going to visit the Legion of Man base on Mars. He wondered if it''d be dusty.

 The War 4.9

    By the time they reached the spaceport Lambda had managed to place listening bugs back on everyone in the car.


    How exactly do your bugs work, anyways? Alan asked.


    Ownership of an item in-game creates a direct line between the Player and the item. Thus, if you are able to hack into the item you can manipulate that line to allow you to listen in on the messaging system, if you know the right tricks. The item does have to be on one''s person. It''s how listening devices were designed to work in the game, otherwise people could always send in-game messages and no one would ever be able to listen in, Lambda sent.


    Then can''t I track the signal that the bugs on my weapons and armor use to find the person controlling them? Or hack into them and bug them back? Alan sent.


    You can, but shouldn''t now. Both actions risk detection. Remember your eyes glow like a ghost when actively scanning and bugs are designed to immediately alert their controller if anything odd happens, like someone hacking in. I feel as though our next step should be to develop a signal jamming program, so the cries of alarm go unheard... Yeesh I sound a bit grim, don''t I?


    I suppose, sent Alan.


    They arrived at the spaceport. It looked very similar to an airport, except in addition to runways, a security checkpoint, terminals, and a food court, there were what appeared to be massive missile silos that held rocket powered shuttles.


    Outdated tech, only good for a trip to the moon, Lambda sent.


    Everyone got out of the car once they arrived. The spaceport was not crowded, Alan had only seen a single departure of an ordinary passenger plane in the half hour it had taken to drive along the coastal road.


    They made their way through security and were on their way to a shuttle before too long.


    The terminals for the spaceport were spaced much further apart than an airport''s, a full city block between each. Luckily there were only a few. The stores and food courts were unmanned, operated by in-game machinery. As they reached the terminal a shuttle landed. It looked familiar.


    "A gift from our Haxlard friends," Icewolf said.


    "Before we went radio silent, I assume," Alan said.


    "Is that what Pharaoh told you? The Haxlards started making unreasonable demands, and ceased to do business with us until their demands were met," Icewolf said.


    "Conversion," Alan guessed.


    "Who told you that?" Icewolf stopped and turned sharply, staring at Alan.


    Alan shrugged. The information had been in the Black Rose guild database, taught to him by Eve. Any humanoid being could, with a pledge to the Three and an unknown process, be converted to a Haxlard. By all accounts the person would remain sound of mind and be entirely the same psychologically, but would gain increased base stats and a place within the Haxlard caste system. It was unknown if the converts only put on a mask or if they were changed at a biological and/or mechanical level as well. The converts would also unerringly serve the Three and never be able to revert to their old race.


    Alan really wanted to see what was beneath Haxlard masks, but in-game their bodies would always disappear once their mask was touched.


    "Is that''s what''s in store for us then, either we end up religious nut jobs or empire slaves?" Merlin asked.


    "Historically, all new sentient civilizations found and introduced to the Game that were present in Haxlard space were either converted or forced to move to another solar system," Alan said. "However, Earth is a special case, as it is further out than any previously found sentient planet, at the edges of the boundary between the Haxlards and the Empire.


    "The Empire, on the other hand, has also subjugated or removed every newfound species in its space. Everyone enters the Empire as servants, but many liken it to a guild apprenticeship, many servants hold much more power than free citizens of the Empire. Every governor in Empire space is the Emperor''s servant, for instance.


    "Each new servant to the Empire is auctioned off at the start of their service, and if you wish you may purchase yourself and earn yourself freedom and citizenship. Prices plummet when an entire new planet joins, a few thousand credits for an able bodied worker. You serve your master until you pay off your purchasing price. There are accounts of many cruel masters, but the Empire frown upon most of these acts. And if you catch the Emperor''s eye you''ll be treated better than royalty."


    "You''ve done your research," Icewolf said.


    Eve had, but Alan didn''t mention that. She''d even suggested trying to gain the Emperor''s attention, but Alan had no interest in becoming someone''s servant, no matter how nice the furnishing.


    The passenger boarding bridge finished connecting to the arrived shuttle. Alan heard movement, there were passengers getting off.


    A ten man squad of bulked out soldiers with military buzz cuts and heavy power armor stepped out, lugging large trunks behind them. One soldier was flanked by two robotic canines, one with what appeared to be a massive laser cannon on its back, the other a Gatling gun.


    Another soldier was wearing armor so thick and wide that he appeared to be wearing giant silver-grey marshmallows on all his limbs.


    A third soldier had two missile launchers mounted on their back in addition to a jetpack. Their loadout seemed to model a certain famous space bounty hunter.


    "Damn, it''s nice to be back."


    "Home sweet home."


    "I dunno, did you look outside as we were landing? We''re going to have to travel around in cars, can you imagine?"


    "Shouldn''t we have a welcome party? Who are these folks?"


    "Stow it." The soldier in front raised their fist. They had no special equipment, only a UWG symbol emblazoned on their chest, a beautiful blue Earth with heavens light shining down from above.


    "Who are you?" the soldier asked Alan''s party.


    "We''re the next passengers," Icewolf said. "I''m to take these recruits to Khersath for further training."


    "Where''d you get that armor?" the soldier asked Alan.


    Lambda sent a suggestion.


    "It was my tutorial reward, sir," Alan said.


    "Really now? You must''ve done awfully well. How about I take it off your hands, I doubt you have the abilities to wield it effectively as you are now. I''ll give you a fair price, a few hundred thousand credits."


    "Thanks, but I''m good. I''m going to train to learn how to use it," Alan said, surprised the soldier recognized his armor.


    "Items mean nothing if you don''t have the power to hold onto them. And right now, it seems to me that you don''t have that power." The soldier looked over everyone. "What are your levels?"


    "Look, sir, I assure you I can keep my recruits safe," Icewolf said. He revealed his level. it was only 536.


    The soldier revealed his level. 1359. Alan swallowed. Kitana gripped the hilt of her sword, a smile at the edges of her mouth.


    Icewolf looked around. "We''re all friends here, citizens of Earth. God bless this forsaken world if we begin to fight amongst ourselves."


    "C''mon captain, I''m hungry," another soldier said. "There''s pizza. There''s nachos. There''s sushi. And I''m starving."


    "Fine. Thirty minutes of R&R," the captain said. He turned to Alan. "Have a safe journey."


    "Bless you sir," Icewolf said.


    "Don''t bless us; bless the enemies that we meet in our path."


    The soldiers unloaded their gear from the shuttle, then charged toward the food court like a horde of stampeding bulls.


    Alan noted a tick sized bot leap off one of the dogs and onto his armor. Once the shuttle began takeoff he hacked into it and disabled it. It was a tracking device according to Lambda.


    Only when the shuttle was up in the air, leaving Earth behind did Icewolf relax.


    "That''s what I was worried about, those were part of the UWG''s main forces, they''ve been recalled in light of the recent terrorist attacks," he said.


    "The legion has no idea what abilities or special forces they might bring back so they''re bringing everyone in from the dark."


    "And this UWG shuttle will take us to Mars?" Arthur asked.


    "Well, that''s where I was hoping that Alan could help. Can you take over the shuttle systems?" Icewolf said.


    Alan sighed, and closed his eyes.


    "Not from here," Alan said. "Kitana, cut through the doors to the cockpit. If anyone''s in there disable them." He activated his armor''s invisibility. Icewolf frowned.


    I think he was hoping to see you hacking in-action, Lambda sent.


    Kitana nodded. Her sword glowed brightly, then cut through the cockpit doors. There was no physical pilot.


    Alan connected to the system, Lambda took down the shields and defending Haxlard AI. A few minutes later and Alan was in control. He changed the shuttle''s course to coordinates on Mars Icewolf gave him. Alan added a few codes that he was given to the ship''s identification system as well. This way Legion of Man turrets wouldn''t shoot them out of the sky.


    Probably.


    I''ve found something interesting, Lambda sent. He was rooting through the shuttle''s systems. Looks like the ship has some weird dead man''s switch. Not sure who it''s tied to, but if the right signal was broadcast it''d just shut down.


    Interesting, Alan sent. Let''s keep this to ourselves for now.


    Agreed. Though I wouldn''t be surprised if most of the tech the UWG got from the Haxlards had some neat party tricks like this, Lambda sent.


    "We''re on our way to the Mar''s now. What''s it like?" Alan asked.


    "When I left it was mining posts, construction jobs and military bases," Icewolf said. "The UWG in their infinite wisdom didn''t want to foot the bill for a full terraform so unless you have an oxygen tank or converter I would suggest not going outside the domes. I need to send a few messages."


    No one else seemed talkative; everyone took out their pads and worked on them.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Alan studied his as he went through the messages everyone else was sending and receiving with Lambda.


    Merlin and Arthur mostly seemed concerned with keeping up appearances back in London, sending notes that they had fallen ill, or were going on a business trip. As Merlin had hinted earlier Arthur did seem to be messaging a large number of women, but the messages didn''t seem romantic in nature.


    Icewolf was messaging contacts and getting updates but used code phrases and code words that Lambda couldn''t decipher yet. He did seem angry at someone, but Alan had no idea who or why.


    Kitana had a single exchange with Icewolf. She asked: When?  Icewolf replied: When the mission is complete.


    They reached Mars with little fanfare. It was dusty and stormy outside, thus Alan couldn''t get a good view of anything but red sand with the shuttles camera''s. They were directed by the Legion of Man to land at a settlement named Red Dragon City.


    The city was enclosed in a large dome of transparent, glass-like metal. One of maybe three they flew by. Within were towering skyscrapers and a dusty haze that rose to the apex of the structure, slowly filtered out through some complex ventilation system. Four large cannons that looked like observatories defended the dome.


    An enclosed, cylindrical walkway extended from where they were directed to at the base of the dome. As they exited the shuttle and were on the walkway Alan felt gravity weaken. It felt like he was walking on clouds.


    I can adjust the armor to normalize your senses, Lambda sent.


    It''s fine, Alan sent.


    "Whoa," Merlin said as he stepped onto the walkway. He leaped into the air, and with a single bound covered quite a distance. He grinned. "Watch this."


    Merlin leapt up, his palms flat facing the ground. Two miniature explosions erupted from his hands. Merlin was propelled up, straight into the ceiling. His head banged against the wall.


    Arthur started laughing. "Nice, with a bit more practice you might become a real wingman, but without the wings!"


    "Stop playing around, we''re here on serious business," Icewolf said.


    "Chill bro, I was just experimenting," Merlin said.


    "And if your experiment depressurized the room, opening a hole in this walkway and let all the air escape so we all died?" Icewolf asked.


    We''d be fine for a few minutes, Lambda sent. Revenant power armor is nice like that, it''s adaptable, at least before the energy runs out.


    "Relax, the exit is right up ahead; I''m sure someone would rescue us if something happened," Arthur said. "You worry more than Thiago."


    "Now I know why Thiago handed you two over to me," Icewolf muttered to himself.


    They reached the end of the walkway, which was behind a closed metal door. Icewolf sent a code to someone and the door opened.


    Everyone stepped through. There was an odd barrier that felt bubble-like, once Alan was through he felt gravity return to normal.


    Within a small waiting room stood DaLong, flanked by two Asian soldiers in army uniforms, not power armor. They held automatic weapons. DaLong wore a black leather jacket and jeans. He had gained a small scar on the ridge of his nose.


    "DaLong," Icewolf said. He bowed.


    "Icewolf," DaLong said. He didn''t bow. "Here are your orders."


    Alan''s quests updated:


    [War for Earth Updated:


    For capturing a UWG shuttle you have gained 50 war contribution points.


    25 War Contribution Points (UWG)


    5050 War Contribution Points (LOM)]


    [Black Rose Mission Updated:


    Sub-quest:


    Develop a plan to capture the UWG warship.


    Time limit: 2 weeks


    Point of contact: DaLong]


    The two soldiers entered the walkway to the shuttle, the metal door closed behind them.


    "I was expecting a to speak with a general," Icewolf said. "And wasn''t this place a small miners town with only a few buildings and a bar or two?"


    "Things change," DaLong said. "Where''s Thiago?"


    "He died," Kitana said.


    "Too bad," DaLong said.


    "That''s it? We''re supposed to develop a plan?" Merlin asked.


    "Yes. Here is the relevant information the Legion of Man has gathered," DaLong said. He held out a data chip.


    Alan took it. Lambda scanned it.


    "Blueprints," Alan said. "Though a few key systems are missing. Also layouts of refueling stations, a possible schedule, and resources at our disposal. I''ll analyze this for a bit."


    He sent everyone a summary of the data for now, the key points Lambda sent him, minus a few details.


    "Follow me, I''ll show you to your quarters. They were provided by the Elders, the council that run this city," DaLong said.


    Everyone followed DaLong out of the waiting room into a building that could have been an ordinary office building. They stepped out of the building and into the city.


    What surprised Alan was the sheer number of people. The streets and sidewalks were a sea of people, largely of East Asian descent. On the main roads moved wave after wave of bicyclists. Alan saw no cars or motorized vehicles.


    "How did these changes come about?" Icewolf asked, looking around.


    "People follow the work," DaLong said. "Most here are day laborers, with the hope they''ll gain some special skill or ability, maybe make a big find. Then they''ll be able to do more than provide for their families, perhaps join the Legion of Man fighting forces or move off planet."


    "Day laborers? But what of the Tutorial rewards?" Alan asked.


    "Most do not progress as far as we did, or even experience such an elite Tutorial. These are working class people," DaLong said. "They fight a few thugs in a simulation room, take a few written tests, and that is it. As their reward they take credits, to spend on capsules to help get friends and family into the Game. They do not bet it on classes or powers that might be worthless."


    As they walked down the street the sea of people parted. Most seemed to recognize DaLong, bowing to him, calling him Brother Long. Alan found it odd, as DaLong had been nothing but cold and abrasive in the short time he had spent with him during the Tutorial, but greeted these admirers with warm respect.


    Alan noted a high number of martial arts dojo''s with practicing students lining the streets. He caught glimpses of young men and women practicing punches, kicks and holds. They sparred as if their life depended on it. Perhaps it did.


    A roundhouse kick will do little versus a laser gun or even a pistol. Someone should tell these people they''re wasting their time, Lambda sent. Either you are born with psionic abilities, or you aren''t. They don''t blossom out of willpower even though that might be more fair.


    Alan relayed Lambda''s thoughts.


    DaLong shrugged. "It keeps them busy, and their bodies strong. How can that be a bad thing? And there are a few that awaken their qi, your psionic energy."


    "You seem to have quite a few admirers," Merlin said. He winked at a cute girl that had bowed to DaLong. She ignored him. "How''d that happen?


    "There were a few bullies that wanted to be gangsters. I didn''t like them. They were put in their place," DaLong said.


    Kitana nodded in approval. DaLong was probably her type, Alan thought to himself.


    "So you''re a de facto leader of the youth here?" Icewolf asked.


    "You might say that," DaLong said.


    "We should talk later," Icewolf said.


    "What''s the average level of the people here?" Alan asked.


    "50, maybe 75," DaLong said.


    "That seems low," Alan said. He knocked away someone''s hand. They had reached out to feel his power armor. "I thought the median level in the Game was in the thousands."


    "The weak do not show their level," DaLong sneered. "Why show anyone how easy they are to rob? Everyone hides their level to protect themselves, like all of us. The only ones who wear it openly are public figures and gladiators, so that gamblers can place accurate bets."


    Looks like I''ve been making more than a few bad assumptions, Alan thought to himself.


    They won''t be the last, Lambda sent.


    "And here are your quarters," DaLong said. He stopped before a bunkhouse that was little more than a shack. They were near the edge of the dome. It had been a few mile walk. Lambda estimated the dome to have a five mile radius.


    "Inside you''ll find working water and appliances, let me know if you there are any problems or need a capsule, there is an Administrative Center downtown. They arrived as soon as the population hit 100,000," DaLong said. "You will need to purchase your own amenities if you desire more than gel paste."


    He looked at Arthur and Merlin. "Try not to cause too much trouble while you''re here.


    "Kitana, you will be staying in other quarters. The elders do not approve of unmarried women and men sharing the same living space. Please follow me."


    Kitana departed with DaLong, who headed towards the center of the city.


    Alan entered the bunkhouse, it was little more than a barn with a kitchen and bathroom tacked on. There were five bunk beds all in the same center room. The building was, however, bug free.


    "So," Icewolf said, elongating the vowel. "I should probably explain a few things right about now."


    "Yeah, like why we''re in this shite hole," Merlin said.


    "Well, as you''ve likely figured out, I may not be as high up in the Legion of Man ladder as I may have lead you to believe," Icewolf said. "I defected from the UWG about the same time all of you entered the Game. For some odd reason, it seems the Legion of Man still don''t trust me all that much. Or maybe all their operations are like this, like splinter cells. All we can do for now is prepare a plan. Alan?"


    Delay until Eve is revived, Lambda sent.


    "I still need a week to recover from the hack," Alan said. "Until then let''s just try to gather more information here, maybe procure better quarters and earn a better standing with these Elders."


    Icewolf smiled like a wolf. "Sounds like a plan to me."

 The War 4.10

    What now? Alan sent. He lay down on the bunk bed. It felt lumpy.


    What do you mean? Lambda asked.


    Are we going to continue with lessons? Alan asked.


    I dunno. Do you want to? This is your play, your game. You decide what you want to do, I¡¯m just along for the ride, Lambda sent.


    Can you teach me to code? I mean real code, what the Game runs on. You seem to know your way around, Alan sent.


    There are limitations in place, but I can try. This isn¡¯t a suitable location; let¡¯s find the Administrative Center.


    Alan exited the bunkhouse, everyone else had already vanished into the city. As evening fell the streets grew less crowded. Bright signs with painted Asian characters lined the streets. If Alan concentrated on one the Game would provide an English translation.


    But something is always lost in translation, Lambda sent.


    What? Alan asked. He was browsing the local net for a decent map, Lambda apparently couldn¡¯t be bothered with such trivialities.


    Nothing. Thinking to myself, Lambda sent.


    Alan located the Administrative Center. It was in the center of the city, in the aptly named Administrative District.


    He set off.


    Just, Lambda sent, I wonder sometimes.


    Get on with it.


    Well what DaLong said earlier about warriors awakening psionic power, that shouldn¡¯t be possible. Yet he believed it had happened, so either something was lost in translation or¡­


    Or what? Alan asked.


    Well, psionic powers in the Game are a bit like magic. No, they are magic, Lambda sent. Except all the systems are unique, tied to a culture or a belief or some underlying idea that the Game somehow pieces together. But there are always rules, fundamental principles that bind them together. Things like qi, medieval wizards, enchantresses, mystical swords, these all have a basis in myths, which often hide greater truths.


    But they¡¯re all what most would call scientific magic, nothing crazy like a portal to another world will open out of nowhere. That¡¯s all that¡¯s ever ported into the Game, systems and signals, no omnipotent God or Devil. There are power levels associated with every ability, psionic energy caps that make sense for the most part. What most psionic users find is that becoming a powerful psionic is about testing the rules, figuring them out, mapping them, and then manipulating them to their advantage. And the Game helps, with skill trees and ability lists and whatnot. But I wonder.


    Alan walked along the streets, looking out for any signs of danger. A number of people were eyeing his armor. He debated activating invisibility, but wasn¡¯t sure if that would make him more of a target or less. Eve would probably give him a suggestion about here.


    Lambda continued his monologue.


    I am no longer sure if the Game is structuring psionic ability systems to limit the Players to what is possible, or if it is making them follow what they want, Lambda sent. Maybe it is all about balance, like the Administrators claim.


    Eve taught me that psionic abilities were theoretically possible in real life, that people had displayed feats mirrioring their in-game psionic abilities, Alan sent.


    Anything is possible theoretically. You have to understand, Alan, that Eve is teaching you what the Administrators teach, word for word. But I¡¯ve been around long enough to see what¡¯s true today, and what¡¯s true tomorrow, ain¡¯t always the same.


    Sure, they¡¯ll say it was a mistake, that new tests in real life showed what was thought to be true is not, that something was mistranslated, Lambda sent. And maybe it was. But translation software is amazing now. Intent, humor, idioms that should be language specific, everything is somehow being broadcast. But that shouldn¡¯t be possible, not without some loss somewhere, right?


    If you say so, Alan sent. Looks like we¡¯re here.


    This Administrative Center looked like an office building, the busiest place around, though it did have a fountain which might be considered opulent in the dry Martian climate. In the center of the fountain stood a soldier holding a spear. They looked like a terracotta warrior.


    Alan bypassed the lines and got into a capsule.


    C¡¯mon, let¡¯s check how that program did, the salami slicer, Alan sent.


    He entered his Home and went straight into the Market, which was where Lambda had set up a dummy storefront that received the illegal funds.


    Alright, give me a minute, Lambda sent. I didn¡¯t make the funds easy to view or even find.


    As Lambda was doing his thing, Alan opened up a menu to look at the local market, the items that were stored and sold at nearby Administrative Centers on Mars.


    Most of the items being sold were mining goods and equipment, common metals that might be found anywhere else. Everything seemed to be made by the Legion of Man, the few items that were either rare drops or shipped from off world cost thousands of credits. Basic tools only cost a few hundred of credits.


    Hey Lambda, what do you think minimum wage is here? Alan asked.


    Ask someone else, Lambda sent. The Administrators or a local information broker will probably sell you an information packet about regional dealings.


    Ordinarily Eve would sift through that data, highlighting anything of note, sent Alan.


    I¡¯m not Eve.


    Alan sighed. He¡¯d ask someone later.


    Got it, Lambda sent. Sam¡¯s Salami Shop current has a balance of 464,952 credits, with a bunch of decimals I won¡¯t mention. Not bad for a day¡¯s work. Unless the UWG continue to use the servers we infected, that¡¯s all we¡¯ll get from there though. Too bad the UWG shut the servers down. Let¡¯s leave the credits in the shop for now, it¡¯s safe there, whereas we might die or be attacked at any moment.


    That¡¯s it? Alan asked.


    What do you mean that¡¯s it? That¡¯s undetected pure profit! I doubt any other scheme would have produced a bigger take. Billions of transactions had to be made for us to earn that much. Either a number of alien investors had their hands in the Earth markets or a few firm¡¯s AI settings were a bit trigger happy.


    Okay. Alan closed the menus he¡¯d been looking at. He returned Home, then sat at the desk and terminal there, bringing up a mouse and keyboard. Now I want you to teach me how to program.


    As Eve¡¯s been telling you, if you want to program as you call it, you need to understand more math, Lambda sent. Far more.


    Because of n-bits.


    Because of every fundamental part of game coding: n-bit¡¯s, evo¡¯s, phase spaces, the whole gamut. It''s all beyond you. Your society had began playing around with qubits, quantum bits that can be a superposition of 0 or 1. N-bits can be the superposition of any number of variables, of 0, 1, 2, 3, all the way up to n. Any polynomial can be represented in a single n-bit with the right formula and tricks.


    The entirety of one of your programs, an entire operating system and hard drive, could be stored in a single n-bit. Of course that¡¯s impractical due to the limitations and requirements to physically build an n-bit of that size, anything past Quadra¡¯s Constant is impractical, but you get my point. The fundamental minimum to understand these building blocks require you to be well beyond what you¡¯d consider PhD level work, and you¡¯re not even past college at this point.


    So what, I just give up? Alan sent.


    No, you continue to use the tools the Game provides, the research center and armory in the Citadel. Accountants work with calculators, not by hand. Programmers don¡¯t use any programming language for any problem, and programming languages have evolved from languages to forces of nature to laws of physics. It¡¯s more like choosing the right reality for the job at hand, sent Lambda.


    But I know that¡¯s inefficient, Alan sent. To be a great hacker, not a decent one, I need to understand these fundamental systems. Optimization can happen at every level. Let¡¯s continue with the math lessons then.


    Lambda paused. At your current rate of progress it will be years before you¡¯re at an adolescent Erudite level. I¡¯m not sure this is the wisest course of option of how to spend our time. If you insist, however, there may be another way.


    And what¡¯s that? Alan asked.


    I will attempt to edit, write and review programs. You, on the other hand, will need to try to follow along. But don¡¯t focus on the minute actions. Try to get a feel for what¡¯s going on, extend your senses. Who knows, maybe this will work.


    Very well. Alan closed his eyes. He focused on Lambda, his current actions, tuning out everything else.


    The AI was editing a massive wall of text, numbers and equations and symbols that Alan barely recognized. A hundred different windows opened, some weren¡¯t even full of text, but moving pictures of varied pixels.


    Alan tried to copy the scene in front of him.


    No, focus on the feeling, Lambda sent.


    The feeling? What was Lambda feeling? Could he feel? Alan tried to put himself in Lambda¡¯s place, put himself in his shoes.


    He got nothing for a moment, a wall of calculation. And then there was a burst of color and a wash of music.


    Alan was conducting a symphony of color, of shapes, of numbers and symbols.


    He was composing music after it reached his ears, free styling while following convention, delving deep into the back of his mind for every song in memory while at the same time adding his own flair and alien harmonics.


    The shapes came fast and quick and were fitted together like tetris, but now he had to make the pieces into flat planes, now cubes, now hypercubes that were the connection of too many dimensions.


    Colors that Alan had never seen sprang into existence, expanded into his mind and colored the shapes. The music that was he was writing, or was writing him, came faster. The pieces flew together faster than Alan could figure out how to place them, the colors ranged from normal to bizarre to ever changing.


    Everything came to a crashing crescendo.


    And then there was silence.


    A mysterious object floated in front of Alan, a pale white egg that was the fruits of his labor.


    Alan opened his eyes.


    Messages appeared:


    [Skill Learned! Hypertranslation]


    [Synchronization rank with AI Lambda increased!]


    [New data created. You have acquired a ??? program.]


    Alan examined the skill, which cost 10 Computational Energy a second, like hypercognition:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Skill Name:</td><td>Skill Rank:</td><td>Skill Proficiency:</td><td>Skill Rarity:</td></tr><tr><td>Hypertranslation</td><td>B*</td><td>???</td><td>A</td></tr>[tr]


    [td colspan="4"]Allows the user to enter a state of accelerated understanding, able to translate in-game data at an accelerated rate


    [/td]</tbody></table>


    Well that was unexpected; I thought we¡¯d need a few months, a few bonding moments, Lambda sent.


    What?


    Well, AIs typically have what you might call a signature ability. My original job was to abstract functionality, to translate software from languages to other AI. But with how far the Game¡¯s translation code has advanced I can see why my work is no longer needed.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Machine Lords may gain access to these signature abilities once their synchronization rank with their AI is high enough, Lambda sent. Basically how well you mesh with them. I¡¯m not entirely sure how the implants do this. Eve seems to focus on speed, she performs exhaustive searches and split second decisions that I couldn¡¯t handle. Thus hypercognition. With time, as your synchronization rank increases, you may gain new sub abilities or improve the main ability itself.


    And how do I increase synchronization rank? Alan asked.


    That¡¯s what¡¯s odd to me. Increasing your synchronization should be a slow and steady process that takes months as you work together with the your AI on a wide variety of problems or have a strong connection form. But we just had a epiphany out of nowhere. It felt like I was back¡­ back a long time ago.


    I suppose the Administrators chose me to become a Machine Lord for a reason, Alan sent.


    I suppose they did.


    Now what¡¯s this mystery program? Alan asked.


    That¡¯s what I was trying to create. What we created. Enter the Citadel.


    Alan entered his base in Cyberspace. The white egg in his vision appeared in his hand. He laid it down at his feet.


    A moment later it hatched. A metal hawk with a piercing red glare like a Terminator looked up at him.


    A message appeared:


    [New unit available! You are now able to summon Signal Hawks. These units are able to block incoming and outgoing symbols in a 500 meter radius below them for up to five minutes at a time before requiring a rest.]


    Alan examined the Signal Hawk¡¯s stats:


    [Signal Hawk, Rank C Program. Produced at Research Center.


    Advanced surveillance program.


    Cost: 40 Energy.


    Upkeep: 5 Energy.


    Attack: None


    Defense: 25 armor. 50 evasiveness.


    Health: 50 hp.


    Movement: 7


    Special Abilities: Signal Jamming]


    Awesome, let¡¯s test this thing out, Alan sent.


    He hacked into the bugs placed on his armor and lasers. The Signal Hawk flew above the bug¡¯s shields, jammed any signals, and then Lambda took down the shields in under a minute.


    Lambda messed with the bugs'' settings. They would no longer be able to mess with Alan¡¯s items, and would tell whoever had placed them what Alan desired. For now he kept the location in sync with his actual location.


    They also traced the bugs back to Icewolf, as Alan expected.


    Alan ran through what everyone was up to. Icewolf was gathering information about the city and the Legion of Man¡¯s status on Mars. Alan learned there were roughly 15 large dome cities divided into three regions in Mars.


    Even now people divided themselves in familiar ways, with a Russian quadrant, a Chinese quadrant with a small number of Korean and Japanese districts, and a Middle Eastern quadrant that further divided itself by predominant religious beliefs rather than country.


    Each district had its own main military base with a capture point, and then there was the Red Sentinel, a 10,000-man space station that orbited Mars. Only select personnel were allowed into this base that controlled Mar¡¯s main defense, an orbital laser cannon. The higher ups were all purported to be on this station.


    DaLong in the meantime interrogated Kitana about everyone¡¯s trustworthiness and abilities. Kitana held little back, though she was as terse as usual. She vouched for Alan and Icewolf.


    Merlin and Arthur seemed headed towards an adventure, and it looked like the two were sketchier than even Kitana expected:


    Merlin: Bro, I found an awesome quest to clear out a nearby mine, apparently some giant sand worm is guarding its nest. Wanna check it out?


    Arthur: Sure. Should we tell the others?


    Merlin: Nah, we got a week, remember? It¡¯ll be boring if we go crying to them about every little detail. Have you found a good mark yet?


    Arthur: No, but I¡¯ll keep looking. Most of the people I¡¯ve talked to are miners. I wouldn¡¯t feel good swindling working class folk, and it¡¯s not like they¡¯d have much. Maybe we should focus on gathering information we can sell instead, I¡¯m sure the UWG is interested in mine export and production numbers.


    Merlin: Let¡¯s consider it. I want to kill this worm. Meet me at the west gate, I¡¯ve arranged a ride there.


    Alan debated following them but decided against it. They¡¯d return to the bunkhouse or message the group eventually.


    Instead, Alan returned to his Home and tried to design additional programs with Lambda.


    But the magic was gone. Creations would be broken and error-prone, or Alan would freeze, forget where he was, and have no idea what he was doing, even with hypertranslation active.


    The ability was odd, to say the least. It would take Alan out of what he was doing and put an ordinary creative task in front of him, like painting or designing. Instead of writing code he¡¯d be baking a cake, cooking a pie.


    But every time something would go wrong, the cake would be a charred mess, Alan couldn''t draw in a straight line, he wouldn¡¯t recognize an ingredient and it¡¯d be poisonous or combustive.


    A charred smoking mess sat in Alan¡¯s mind, with an acrid, foul smell.


    Can we debug this mess somehow? Alan asked.


    Debugging doesn¡¯t work like how you expect anymore because of how interconnected everything is, Lambda sent. You can¡¯t go back and change one variable without the entire equation changing. There are forms of debugging, delicate surgeries to replace or fix pieces, but a worthless piece of crap like this isn¡¯t worth the effort.


    Hours later Alan called it a night. There had been little progress, but Alan enjoyed hypertranslation, the little acts of creation. A few tasks had repeated themselves, and drawing on past experience Alan felt like he was improving slowly.


    He received a single message from Icewolf, which was sent to the entire group.


    Icewolf: Report to the bunkhouse at 0900 Standard Time for a general report.


    Alan decided to sleep in his Home, it was far more comfortable than the bunkhouse. He told Lambda to wake him up at 0830 in five hours and fell asleep.


    ***


    BOO! a voice shouted in Alan¡¯s mind.


    Alan jolted awake. He admonished Lambda then set off for the bunkhouse.


    He got a white steamed bun from a street vendor for breakfast. It was tasty, sweet and slightly salty, and only cost two credits. Alan didn¡¯t ask what type of meat was in it.


    As he walked down the streets Alan saw a building advertising work for anyone, no matter species, shape or size. It didn¡¯t seem too busy, the morning rush had passed.


    What caught Alan¡¯s notice was that they had a comprehensive security system, the strongest Alan had detected since New York. He was managing to develop an intuition for these types of things.


    The business was named Empire¡¯s Sun. Alan stepped inside. It looked like an entrance hall to a mansion. White and gold adorned the walls, along with a red crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A grand piano sat in the corner of the room.


    Next to the entrance a pretty Chinese lady in red power armor that fit like a dress sat at a welcome desk.


    ¡°Greetings sir, how may we help you today?¡± she asked.


    ¡°The sign outside said you had work,¡± Alan said.


    The lady looked over Alan for a moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but I expect most of our work is too low level for you. Might I refer you to our offices on Khersath?¡±


    The Empire, Lambda sent. He was examining the building¡¯s network. This whole place reeks of them.


    ¡°I¡¯m staying in town for now, sorry,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯d be willing to perhaps take a low level job, what would the pay be like?¡±


    ¡°The best I could offer is a VIP bodyguard position, 500 credits a day.¡±


    ¡°500 credits?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°A miner can be expected to earn 50 credits a day.¡± The lady thought for a moment. ¡°A pair of gentlemen took an advanced task, perhaps if they do not complete it successfully we can give it to you. Come back in a week.¡±


    50 credits a day, Alan thought to himself.


    That¡¯s about standard, Lambda sent. It usually takes about five years in-game for someone to pay off their capsule. Now we should get back.


    Alan thanked the lady but declined the offer then left. He arrived at the bunkhouse right before the meeting time.


    Everyone else was present, gathered around a table in the kitchen area. A pink box filled with baked goods was open. Alan grabbed another white bun.


    ¡°Alright, now that we are all present, we can discuss our findings,¡± Icewolf said.


    He proceeded to launch into a summary of what he had learned. He didn¡¯t seem to omit anything obvious, as far as Alan could tell.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve found a dungeon,¡± Merlin said. ¡°Out in the desert, or whatever you call it. We were following this massive worm. Face just full of teeth, gob like you can¡¯t imagine. It was only level 250 or so, easy pickings.


    ¡°But then it burrows underground after a bit of pyrotechnics and a slight case of the stabbings. So we followed it down, and despite Arthur¡¯s pansy whining, you can see we¡¯re still here. Well, we found a massive pit, inside of which there were these worms everywhere, even one massive green thing with a custom name, Acid Jaw.


    ¡°We took one look then hightailed it back. Put a marker on our maps. We weren¡¯t prepared for a dungeon dive, had this meeting to get to. And you know what else was inside there?¡± Merlin paused for emphasis.


    ¡°Power crystals,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Power crystals,¡± Merlin said. ¡°Hey! How¡¯d you know that mate?¡±


    Alan shrugged. ¡°Power crystal mines always have relatively high level creatures guarding them. 250 is high if the average miner is level under 100. It¡¯s common knowledge. What color were they?¡±


    ¡°I dunno, why¡¯d that matter?¡± Merlin asked.


    ¡°A deep blood red,¡± Arthur said. ¡°There should be thousands, though they were small.¡±


    Alan recalled the market prices. ¡°A weak red crystal the size of a pen is worth 50 credits. It only has the power to run a car for a few years, but people here don¡¯t seem to need too much energy. We¡¯d need a mining crew to gather them, though with the right equipment I¡¯d probably be able to mine them myself.¡±


    ¡°Let us go and slay these beasts,¡± Kitana said. She turned to the door.


    ¡°Hold on everybody,¡± Icewolf said. He gazed at Kitana. ¡°Slow down and think for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Yes si-sir,¡± Kitana stammered. Alan stared, that fumble was odd.


    ¡°Dungeons and hunting grounds are the property of the local ruling government. We would gain little experience clearing this place compared to local Players, and I doubt we¡¯d gain many favors clearing it ourselves. I¡¯m sure the local Elders will reward you for finding this dungeon,¡± Icewolf said, looking at DaLong. He nodded.


    ¡°Besides,¡± Icewolf stood up straight, ¡°you all seem to forget our purpose here. How does this help us with our goal of capturing the UWG starship?¡±


    ¡°It, uh, gains us favor with the locals. We were also to maybe train a bit, get stronger for the assault,¡± Merlin said.


    ¡°And what progress did you make?¡± Icewolf asked Alan.


    ¡°I¡¯m still recovering,¡± Alan said. ¡°I did discover an Empire outpost though, and acquainted myself with the local Administrative Center.¡±


    ¡°In other words you did nothing,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°Can¡¯t you still plan and calculate while recovering? Or can you not think? Do you need to lie in bed and have me mother you? I will, if that¡¯s what it takes.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll have a basic outline of a plan tomorrow,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°I will develop my own, and we¡¯ll compare,¡± Icewolf said.


    DaLong stepped forward. ¡°The Elders did have a request, after which they said they could get us an earlier audience with a general, the one who wished for you to develop your plan, to hear you out. They were hoping that we could train a few select squads of their warriors. This dungeon sounds like an ideal place to do so.¡±


    Icewolf nodded. ¡°You, Kitana, Merlin and Arthur will handle that. Alan and I will focus on our plans. Meet here tomorrow at the same time. Dismissed.¡±


    Alan returned to the Administrative Center, re-entered his Home.


    How did one take over a massive starship anyhow?

 The War 4.11

    ¡°Your plan is to sneak onto the ship, get into the control room, and then you¡¯ll magically hack your way through their defenses and take over the ship?¡± Icewolf asked.


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bloody awful plan,¡± Merlin said. They were gathered back in the bunkhouse.


    ¡°It also doesn¡¯t require the help of anyone else. You could do this mission solo if this is all it took,¡± Icewolf said.


    ¡°You¡¯re there to serve as distractions and address any problems that arise,¡± Alan said.


    I think it¡¯s a decent plan for the limited information we have. You can¡¯t plan for what you don¡¯t know, Lambda sent.


    ¡°Well we can¡¯t go to the Elders with this,¡± Icewolf said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a mastermind criminal, I¡¯ve never done this type of thing before,¡± Alan said.


    He stood up and began pacing around the room. ¡°Do you expect me to come up with some brilliant 10-step plan for world domination? There are too many variables, things we don¡¯t know. Our first step should probably be gathering more information about the ship.


    ¡°I could maybe scrap together a simulation, to help us practice and figure out what might go wrong, but we don¡¯t have the facilities here. According to the data chip there¡¯s a simulation room up on the space station, the Red Sentinel, but we aren¡¯t allowed there.¡±


    ¡°You also didn¡¯t make use of any of the Legion of Man personnel,¡± Icewolf said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust them not to screw up,¡± Alan said.


    Nor do we trust those who stand among us, Lambda commented.


    Icewolf paused. He had received a message. Alan read it: You should watch. There was a link to a broadcast.


    ¡°Everyone be quiet, watch this,¡± Icewolf said. He projected a video onto the wall. Everyone gathered around.


    ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t that Daisy¡¯s mum, Monica?¡± Merlin asked.


    ¡°Yes, though she¡¯s taken the moniker Gaia in-game. Shut up,¡± Icewolf said.


    Daisy¡¯s mother stood before a podium, in navy blue power armor instead of a suit. She stared directly at the camera. A crowd of military officers and personnel sat before her in an auditorium.


    ¡°People of Earth. Of Mars. Humanity. It is with a heavy heart that I must make this announcement. Our allies, those we entrusted with the construction of our defenses, of clearing the path for our Players, have betrayed us. They have turned out to be little more than wolves in sheep¡¯s clothing.¡±


    A figure was dragged on stage, a Haxlard Alan didn¡¯t recognize with a silver mask. Two guards pinned his arms behind his back.


    Another person followed behind. Aphrodite.


    She looked unharmed, and stepped into a spotlight head raised high.


    ¡°Haxlards have brainwashed our children, corrupted our officials, and plotted the demise of our United World Government,¡± Gaia said. ¡°Their intent has been to capture Earth from the beginning.¡±


    Aphrodite stared at the Haxlard prisoner. There may have been a faint glow of light, but it was difficult to see due to how the camera was positioned.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, all of it,¡± the Haxlard spat. They froze. ¡°Wait, Three forgive me! It¡¯s for your own salvation, I-¡±


    One of the guards ripped off the Haxlard¡¯s mask and he began disintegrating, melting into a puddle of sludge. His face was never revealed.


    Aphrodite and the guards stepped off stage.


    Well, if she wasn¡¯t wanted by the Administrators before she probably is now, Lambda sent.


    ¡°Beware false idols,¡± Gaia said. ¡°The Three are no gods, but abominations of players, the Haxlards little more than their slaves. But they were our main allies in this Game. And now is not a time of peace, but of war. War the likes we have never seen before.


    ¡°Thus, I must announce there will be a one-time net wealth tax among all citizens and companies alike, so that our debt to the Haxlards does not cripple us; so that we may build defenses and a fleet to protect our borders; so that we do not become slaves to faceless monsters.¡±


    The crowd erupted into a frenzy of muttered whispering.


    ¡°Can they do that?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°If they can enforce it, and it passes through all the governmental branches,¡± Icewolf said.


    Gaia raised a hand. ¡°I am sure there are many questions. They will be answered in the coming months. But now is not the time to be spending credits on luxuries. Rationing must begin. Humanity will be spread out among the stars, colonies established to ensure our survival for generations to come. None of this will be cheap or easy, but when is a worthwhile project such?


    ¡°When people are frightened they often look to the wrong places for help. Do not look outside for help, but within. Stand together with your brothers and sisters, with humanity.


    ¡°In the light of these truths being unearthed we are calling for a temporary ceasefire in the war between us and the Legion of Man, as it seems their concerns were not unwarranted. Make no mistake, we will punish any terrorists such as the Doomsday Hacker that walked away freely. But those who remained loyal to Earth, acting in our people¡¯s best interest, will be welcomed back with open arms.¡±


    Merlin and Icewolf looked over at Alan. He ignored them.


    Hey, the Doomsday Hacker, that¡¯s you. Pretty cool name if you ask me, Lambda sent.


    Shut up, Alan replied.


    ¡°I am confident in humanity,¡± Gaia said, her voice rising. ¡°I am confident in our armed forces, in the resolve of our people. Our triumph is inevitable, be it months from now or years. Earth is strong, and our days of glory have only just begun. We will win not only this war, but all wars to come, so help us God.¡±


    The crowd burst into thunderous applause, men and woman leaping to their feet, fists raised high as they yelled themselves hoarse.


    Alan looked at Icewolf. He was smiling, and looked ready to fight any and all comers.


    DaLong received a message, telling him to return to their headquarters.


    ¡°I must return to the Elders,¡± DaLong said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll come with you, see how this changes things,¡± Icewolf said.


    They ran downtown as crowds began to form, people going outside to discuss the announcement. Why people gathered outside when they could discuss such news on the net from the safety of their homes, Alan didn¡¯t know.


    They arrived at a building that might have been an imperial palace, a five-tiered pagoda with a large courtyard outside. It was marked as the city¡¯s capture point on Alan¡¯s map.


    A man in robes stood outside the building, above a small flight of steps. Two guards stood by his side. Before him were a few hundred miners and workers.


    ¡°At this point in time the War for Earth continues,¡± the man said. ¡°The Legion of Man has not agreed to any ceasefire.¡±


    ¡°But you heard the announcement, the aliens are the real enemy! Why should we waste our blood and sweat fighting our brothers?¡± a miner called out.


    ¡°The announcement was propaganda, nothing more. The United World Government would enslave us, do you think they would really allow us back into the fold without repercussion?¡± The man folded his arms.


    ¡°Who put the Elders in charge?¡± the miner said. ¡°We never voted for you!¡±


    DaLong stepped forward, standing face to face with the rowdy miner. ¡°Get back to work, the Elders will discuss what has happened and release a statement when they are ready.¡±


    The miner stared at DaLong. ¡°If I¡¯d wanted the opinion of one of the Elder¡¯s dogs I would have asked.¡±


    DaLong punched the miner in the face. They flew back, knocked out cold. Alan could sense a dangerous aura, a hint of berserk rage.


    DaLong closed his eyes for a second. When he reopened them a second later the aura was gone.


    ¡°Everyone should leave, unless they have official business,¡± DaLong said.


    The crowd slowly dispersed, a few of the miner¡¯s friends carrying him off.


    DaLong turned to man on the steps, and bowed. ¡°Elder Zhang.¡±


    ¡°DaLong. Thank you for taking care of that small matter,¡± Elder Zhang said. He turned to Icewolf. ¡°How does the planning progress?¡±


    ¡°Well enough,¡± Icewolf said with a glance at Alan. ¡°We need more information, and might benefit from the use of the simulation room in the Red Sentinel.¡±


    ¡°The simulation room? What use would that contraption have? It is a testing room, and has always been used as such,¡± Elder Zhang said.


    ¡°We hope to develop a simulation that would help us practice and work out a feasible plan,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°Simulation rooms are more than testing grounds, many larger factions have entire battlefields that are simulated zones for mock battles and training exercises.¡±


    ¡°And you could provide the software for such training exercises?¡± Elder Zhang asked.


    Icewolf looked at Alan.


    Can we?


    We could provide an entire training regimen if they¡¯ve only been using it for testing, Lambda sent. There are plenty of free programs on the Globalnet that could be adapted.


    ¡°With time and access to the facilities, yes,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Very well. You are scheduled to depart from Bay 12 in a few hours at one pm, there are those that wish to meet with you given recent events. You will not bring weapons or armor,¡± Elder Zhang said.


    A message appeared:


    [Black Rose Mission Updated:


    Report to the Red Sentinel for further instruction.]


    ¡°You want us to leave unarmed and defenseless?¡± Icewolf asked. ¡°How do we know that you won¡¯t turn us over to the United World Government?¡±


    ¡°Trust is a two-way street. Bay 12, at one pm, no weapons or armor. You may leave your items with us if you wish. Good day, there are many fires to be put out today,¡± Elder Zhang said. He turned and strode into the pavilion.


    ¡°Why are we being called up now, of all times?¡± Merlin said.


    ¡°They need a victory,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°Public favor is starting to turn against them, you saw it yourself. Why fight each other when there are aliens actively planning to take over our homeworld?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going along with the plan then,¡± Arthur said.


    ¡°Yes. Take care of whatever business you have left here then meet at Bay 12,¡± Icewolf said. He turned and exited the courtyard.


    DaLong entered the pavilion as everyone else followed Icewolf.


    ¡°Coming?¡± Merlin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with you,¡± Alan said. He ran into the pavilion after DaLong. ¡°Hey, DaLong.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± DaLong asked. He turned to look at Alan.


    ¡°I was wondering, how did you control your berserker state earlier? I thought heads were going to roll for a second there.¡±


    ¡°Discipline,¡± DaLong said. He paused, looking Alan up and down. ¡°Perhaps meditation would help you, or finding the Dao.¡±


    ¡°Finding the Dao?¡± Alan asked.


    DaLong shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to explain such ideas to you, it is a lifetime effort that would likely bore you. I was once troubled, but I found my path. Find your own, and control of your rage will be within your grasp.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thanks,¡± Alan said. ¡°Bye.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± DaLong walked further into the building.


    Alan left and headed to the Administrative Center to deposit his items.


    Did you understand any of that? Alan sent.


    More than you I expect, Lambda sent. Let me gather my thoughts.


    After depositing his armor and weapons at the Administrative Center Alan headed straight for Bay 12, a hangar bay that was adjacent to the dome that contained Red Dragon city.


    The guards admitted Alan without any issues, though he felt their rifles were far more intimidating when he wasn''t in his armor.


    The hangar was large. And empty. Alan sat in a corner, back to the wall, and checked what everyone else was up to.


    Merlin and Arthur were closing out their quest with the Empire outpost; they received a bonus for their discovery of a dungeon.


    Icewolf was exchanging messages with contacts, telling people that nothing had changed yet, and to maintain current activities.


    One exchange caught Alan¡¯s attention. Someone had asked Icewolf when his operation would be complete. Icewolf replied that it would be over in a day or two.


    Kitana also had an intriguing exchange with DaLong.


    DaLong: Will you go through with it, if he asks you to?


    Kitana: Yes.


    DaLong: Very well, I will begin to make preparations here.


    That was it. Things were coming to a head, but why or how Alan didn¡¯t understand. Were they going to try to hijack the warship sooner rather than later?


    Alright, close your eyes and clear your mind, Lambda sent.


    What?


    Meditate. Lay down, close your eyes, and breathe, Lambda sent.


    Alan lay on the floor and followed Lambda¡¯s directions.


    Breathe  in¡­ And out. In¡­ And out, Lambda sent.


    What are you doing-


    Clear your mind. Don¡¯t think of anything else, just concentrate on breathing, Lambda sent.


    Alan did as Lambda commanded, or at least tried to. But he couldn¡¯t. His mind wandered, his Machine Lord implants wouldn¡¯t let him concentrate on something as simple as his breath. He would think about the air particles, the amount of oxygen left in his lungs, the atmosphere of the dome, gravity and how it was normalized.


    Alan tried to relax, keep his mind from leaping into overdrive. He concentrated on his breath, the cycle. In and out. The loop spun in his mind. It was a never ending circle that unraveled itself, a line stretched to eternity. A ray without beginning and end pierced Alan¡¯s thoughts.


    The ray of light began dim, weak. But it grew. Brighter and brighter it grew as Alan followed it on an endless path.


    Light consumed Alan¡¯s mind, engulfed him with such bright intensity that everything else fell apart like shadows. Soon there was only light.


    And then reality returned, the cold hard surface of the hangar bringing Alan back to the Game. It was dark.


    Did I just reach enlightenment? Alan asked. Am I some sort of god?


    No, there was an idea embedded in your subconscious, Lambda sent. I needed you to relax your mind to try to open it.


    What? How¡¯d it get there?


    I suspect the entity that reorganized your mind and granted you those additional abilities placed it there, Lambda sent. It was a seed of Aleph, pretty typical induction material if you ask me.


    Induction? Into what? Alan asked.


    The Search. Right, you don¡¯t know anything about alien religions, Eve didn¡¯t think them important. Well we all die someday, right?


    Right, Alan sent.


    Well what if we didn¡¯t? Lambda asked.


    What?


    That is the dream of Aleph, that infinity is real, immortality possible. Like most dreams it is impossible to disprove with logic. Infinity, as a concept, is real. So what if it could be physically constructed? Aleph is basically the Holy Grail, Lambda sent.


    Or the fountain of youth?


    Yes, any physical object capable of some infinite action. An ever burning flame, a never ending cycle, balanced absolute zero, the reversal of entropy. Any would represent Aleph, would demonstrate that infinity was real and not just an idea.


    But those are all impossible, legends, Alan sent.


    Flight, space travel, and artificial intelligence were all thought impossible until they were developed, Lambda sent. Those who search for Aleph still look. They have faith.


    It¡¯s a nice idea, Alan thought. He examined the small ball of infinite light that had settled in his mind. A seed, Lambda called it.


    Alan closed his eyes and ruminated on infinity.


    ***


    Wake up Alan.


    Alan opened his eyes. He received a message:


    [Your mind has expanded.


    +10 Intelligence +25 Willpower +50 Max Computational Energy]


    A shuttle had landed in the hangar. Icewolf, Kitana, Merlin, and Arthur stood around him.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Merlin asked. ¡°We poked you a few times but you didn¡¯t respond, we were going to drag your lifeless body on board if we had to.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Alan said, ¡°just resting.¡±


    They entered the shuttle, which was empty. As soon as everyone had sat down it took off.


    ¡°Not creepy at all,¡± Alan muttered to himself.


    ¡°I want everyone on their best behavior,¡± Icewolf said.


    Alan hacked into the shuttle. Or at least the systems he could gain access to from where he sat. He accessed one of the outer cameras and got a view of the Red Sentinel space station.


    The base of the space station was a massive cylinder with three platforms that ringed it, slowly rotating about the central cylinder. Each ringed platform looked to be about ten feet high, with two outside elevators that connected the platforms. Their shuttle was headed to the lowest of the three platforms.


    Whoever put out the information the station contains a massive laser cannon lied, Lambda sent. That¡¯s a rail gun, not a laser cannon. An orbital strike gun capable of defending the planet from invading spaceships or rotating and striking the surface of the planet itself.  It fires slugs of metal with enough kinetic energy to punch through advanced shields and armor alike.


    How do you know that? Alan asked.


    They¡¯re a pain in the ass to deal with in Cyberwar. They are seldom destroyed without loss and you can¡¯t take over a planet with one active, Lambda sent. They are self-sufficient defenses, without some weakness like on-planet power generators.


    How much would it cost to construct the station? Alan asked.


    Maybe a fifth the cost of the UWG¡¯s capital ship, as the space station is relatively immobile and by the time you¡¯ve orbited around to the part of the planet that needs defending it could be too late. I wonder who towed it here, I doubt Mars has the facilities to construct a station and launch it.


    The shuttle docked in a small craft hangar bay.


    The shuttle doors opened and a five-man crew entered the craft. They held an assortment of metal objects Alan didn¡¯t recognize.


    ¡°We will inspect this craft and your persons. Any who resist our investigation will be sent back planet side.¡±


    They performed full body checks on everyone aboard, grabbing people and waving around their metal instruments.


    ¡°Hey, watch where you put your mittens!¡± Merlin said.


    Alan held his hand above his head and shut his eyes. He wanted to get this over with.


    ¡°What do you have in your head?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I said, what do you have in your head?¡± the man checking Alan over asked. He held a palm-sized flat metal device in front of Alan¡¯s skull.


    ¡°An implant,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to clear this with my superiors,¡± the man said. He gestured to one of the other security personnel. They pulled out a rifle and pointed it at Alan.


    Alan kept his hands raised.


    ¡°At ease.¡± A man walked in. They wore a crimson red set of power armor and an eye patch over one eye. The other eye was blue. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Boris. These are my guests.¡±


    ¡°Yes general.¡± The gun was lowered. Alan put his hands down.


    ¡°Alexander, call me Alexander. We are among comrades, are we not? I welcome all to the Red Sentinel. Follow me.¡±


    ¡°Greetings sir, I am-¡°


    ¡°I know who you are, Icewolf, and who your friends are. Quiet.¡± Alexander led the party out into a dim metal hallway. The corridor to the left brightened. They walked into the light.


    ¡°I am bringing you to your quarters,¡± Alexander said. ¡°You will only walk where the light shines, else the security systems will activate and I cannot guarantee your safety. You are allowed to visit your rooms, the mess hall on this level, and the simulation room.


    ¡°It was remiss of me to forget something as simple as training simulations. Alan I task you now with creating a training regimen that will transform the simplest of men into the mightiest and fiercest of warriors. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°I think I can,¡± Alan said. ¡°But what about the-¡°


    ¡°Other plans will have to wait,¡± Alexander said. ¡°Training our forces is more important than wild gambles. Wars are not won in a day.¡±


    A message appeared:


    [Black Rose Mission Updated:


    Develop a suitable training regimen to transform an everyday man into a soldier.


    Time limit: One week


    Point of contact: Alexander]


    A handful of personnel, engineers from the look of their sleep-deprived eyes and tool laden-belts, walked past them.


    ¡°And what, then, are the rest of us to do?¡± Icewolf asked.


    ¡°You will await further instruction.¡± Alexander paused, and then said, ¡°You were brought aboard because there are those who think your insight might prove helpful. Discussions with the United World Government are underway, and it is thought your response might be particularly telling.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Icewolf said.


    ¡°Ah, here are your quarters,¡± Alexander said.


    There were five rooms, little more than closets. The beds took up half the space in each room. Two guards wearing crimson power armor and wielding hefty laser rifles stood by every room.


    ¡°Rotating guards will accompany you at all times, to ensure your safety, and so that no one wanders off,¡± Alexander said. ¡°I am told the systems are well protected, with safeguards even against Machine Lords.¡±


    Alan turned to look at Alexander. He smiled.


    ¡°Now that is all the time I have for you today,¡± Alexander said. ¡°Icewolf, I will see you and your friends in Conference Room A by 0800 tomorrow morning.¡± He strode off, back the way they came.


    ¡°¡°Good luck with your programming,¡± Icewolf said. He entered his room and shut the door behind.


    Alan turned to the two guards. ¡°Can you take me to the simulation room?¡±


    The guards nodded, then set off.


    As they walked down the hallway Alan began to get a sense of the layout of the space station. The hallways were slightly curved. He recalled the picture he got from outside. They were in a ring, at the edges of a disk that wrapped around the station¡¯s main cannon. Based on his estimation a full lap around would be about two miles. There were two elevators on opposite ends of the station, leading to other levels.


    Other than that the space station held normal facilities. Alan passed by an infirmary, a workout room, recreational spaces, the crew quarters, and the mass hall on his way to the simulation room.


    The Red Sentinel¡¯s system was closed off, Lambda couldn¡¯t connect to it. Given Alexander¡¯s warning Alan didn¡¯t want to risk any hacks, so he kept his senses inside. They passed by a closed door Lambda labeled as an elevator. A single guard was posted outside.


    ¡°This is the simulation room,¡± a guard said.


    A door opened to reveal a large rectangular room the size of a school gym. There was a drop of nearly six feet to the floor of the room.


    ¡°Walk in, you¡¯ll see.¡±


    Alan stepped inside. He felt a bubble-like membrane. The room was gravity-less.


    A message appeared:


    [You have entered a simulated zone! All damage will be simulated and not actually affect the player. No death penalties. Severe XP penalties while in the zone.


    Permissions: Administrator Level. Able to change and program the simulation at will. Developer tools activated.]


    A grid appeared before Alan, covering the entirety of the simulation room. Lists and tool icons appeared, Photoshop panels and game-engines on steroids. Alan had played around with Unity before, but nothing like this. He could drop in whatever assets he desired: enemies to fight, NPC¡¯s to assist, buildings and battlefields to explore.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    A few custom scenarios were already loaded onto the room, tutorials and basic combat tests, but Alan saw they only took up 5% of the room¡¯s memory capacity.


    We¡¯re going to need a connection to the Globalnet, Lambda sent. And maybe a budget.


    Alan turned to let the guards know. Or at least he tried to. He couldn¡¯t maneuver without gravity, there were no objects to push off of.


    Lambda directed Alan¡¯s attention to an icon. Alan selected it.


    [Free flight activated.]


    Alan felt a different type of weightlessness grab hold of him. He could now direct his body to move somewhere, and it would fly there.


    You can also use the force exit command and be kicked out of the simulation room immediately, Lambda sent.


    Alan turned and flew to the edge of the door, then relayed Lambda¡¯s demands.


    A few minutes later a laptop was brought to him.


    ¡°This laptop has a secure connection to the Globalnet. Do not attempt to communicate with outside forces, your activity is being monitored," the guard that brought it said. "You are allowed an initial budget of 5,000 credits, more if your initial programs are promising.¡±


    Alan spent the next few hours running through a few basic tutorials of how to develop simulations with Lambda. By the end of it he could set-up a basic scenario, such as a firefight in an apartment complex or a wave of giant sea monster attacks, and had spent 500 credits.


    Alan began browsing through the ready-made boot camp programs available online, trying to evaluate which one might be best for training human soldiers. Given recent events it looked like they would be fighting humanoid enemies, either other humans or Haxlards, which helped Alan narrow down his search.


    After a few more minutes Alan and Lambda settled on a basic rifle combat training drill put out by the Empire. It had a healthy amount of violence. Alan could only afford a license for the program, so all he got was a copy he couldn¡¯t edit that would last a month and cost 2000 credits. Future digital rights management was real.


    He¡¯d try running through the program himself tomorrow, but was feeling tired and decided to call it a night.


    Alan was escorted to the mess hall where he grabbed a gel cube then returned to his cell-like room. He fell asleep.


    ***


    Up and at ¡®em.


    Huh?


    Check out these messages, Lambda sent.


    Icewolf had sent a message to Arthur and Merlin, telling them to begin. Then he had sent a message to Kitana telling her to come to his room.


    I no longer detect any traces of my bugs on Kitana and Icewolf, they are not broadcasting any signal, Lambda sent. Arthur and Merlin are not exchanging friendly jabs, which is uncharacteristic of them.


    Alan walked outside. Two guards stood outside his room, another four outside Icewolf¡¯s. The guards that had been following Arthur and Merlin were nowhere to be seen.


    What should we do? Alan sent.


    I dunno, try to listen under their door? Something¡¯s happening.


    Alan sighed. He wished Eve was restored already. A week had turned out to be far longer than he expected.


    He walked over to Icewolf¡¯s room. The door opened.


    ¡°Alan, I was just about to ask you to join us,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°Please, come inside.¡±


    Alan stepped inside and sat down next to Kitana on the bed.


    We¡¯re cut off from all outside communication, Lambda sent, there¡¯s some sort of jamming device active in here. It¡¯s weird, not only blocking all signals but devouring any that are generated. I only work cause I''m literally inside your head.


    Icewolf placed a long thin metal rod at the bottom of the door frame. The rod extended until it connected to either edge of the door, then a blue shield emerged, covering the door.


    ¡°That should prevent any unwanted entrances or eavesdropping,¡± Icewolf said.


    And lock us in here, Lambda sent. We should-


    I¡¯m on it, Alan said. He began hacking into the device, but as soon as a connection formed it was swept away.


    ¡°Now, on to our main business,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°First, I would like you to know that this room is now cut off from the outside world. Whatever is said in here will be kept between the three of us. No planted bugs or listening devices will hear or see anything, nothing will be recorded.¡±


    He¡¯s right, the in-game recording feature is disabled, Lambda sent. Look around the room, do you see what could be causing the disruption?


    ¡°Why all the secrecy?¡± Alan asked. He looked over to Kitana then at Icewolf, scanning the room. ¡°As far as I can tell we¡¯re among allies.¡±


    On the bed stand, the small black stone, Lambda sent. I don¡¯t recognize the item. Looks like we¡¯re trapped in here.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s exactly what all the secrecy is for. For we are agents of the United World Government, Alan,¡± Icewolf said.


    ¡°What?¡± Alan said. He tried again to connect to the shield device, to the black stone. Every connection was eaten away.


    ¡°And our mission is to shut this space station down, so that a successful invasion of Mars and the destruction of the Legion of Man can be achieved.¡±


    ¡°But the attack on New York,¡± Alan began.


    ¡°Was planned,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°Key players and the United World Government pulled their investments out months earlier, then gained a great deal shorting the markets, and will go on to earn great returns when the United World Government wins this war decisively and the economy recovers.


    ¡°The increase in power handed over to UWG officials was not something I foresaw, but I think it is a nice side effect. I¡¯ll have to concede one to the politicians.¡±


    ¡°The debt though,¡± Alan said, ¡°you told me the UWG will go bankrupt in years.¡±


    ¡°If things remained as they are, if humanity continued to watch and play their games as Earth crumbled beneath their feet. But now people are united, they have a common foe. They are beginning to make the sacrifices necessary to keep Earth strong,¡± Icewolf said.


    ¡°So Aphrodite, that was planned? And Thiago is part of this as well?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°There are cogs turning in cogs, Alan, you don¡¯t need to understand them all,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to explain the details. I need to know, are you in, or are you out?¡±


    ¡°If what you are telling me is true, why would I be out?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Because it would mean betraying the guild,¡± Kitana said.


    ¡°The mission, it¡¯s to help the Legion win the war,¡± Alan said. He turned to Kitana. ¡°You know what the Black Rose Guild does to traitors. There will be a massive price set on our heads.¡±


    Kitana rested her hands on her lap. ¡°I will greet all assassins that wish to meet.¡±


    ¡°There will be a massive price on your head if you do not agree,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°Remember, I know you¡¯re the Doomsday Hacker. If you do not join us you will be labeled a traitor to humanity and live the rest of your life in infamy.


    ¡°Now decide.¡± Icewolf brought up a contract for Alan:


    [Contract of Servitude:


    The player, GuardK, will give up his rights and serve the United World Government for the next 50 years. In return, he will be forgiven for all crimes committed against the United World Government including his unlawful hack into the New York Stock Exchange, the destruction of UWG property, and the murder of its forces.


    Warning: By agreeing to this contract you are forfeiting your rights as a free Player. Failure to abide by the contract and serve your master¡¯s best interests will result in massive penalties and possible banning from the Game.]


    ¡°Wait, you want me to give up my freedom?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°There¡¯s no other way that I can guarantee you won¡¯t betray us at the soonest opportunity.¡±


    ¡°What about Kitana,¡± Alan said, ¡°did she sign agree to such terms, is she your servant?¡±


    ¡°No, I trust her,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°You are loyal, right Kitana?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sensei,¡± Kitana said.


    ¡°Sensei¡­ You¡¯re her teacher,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Yes, as I will continue to be yours,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°Once this mission is complete I am sure your servitude will be absolved, but until then the Game does not allow for overly unbalanced contracts. Your actions wrecked the Earth¡¯s economy. You must pay an equivalent price.¡±


    ¡°Why? What does he teach you? You¡¯re a better swordswoman than any I¡¯ve seen,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°I helped teach her about the Game, there are many opportunities you have yet to take advantage of Alan, the gladiator tournaments for instance,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°I am also personally seeing to it her father is freed. Now agree to the contract so we may begin this operation.¡±


    Alan thought for a moment. ¡°Wait, I can¡¯t help you,¡± he said. He tried to access the shield device again. No luck.


    Icewolf narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to,¡± Alan said, ¡°but I have a kill switch in my head, in my implants. As soon as the Black Rose Guild knows I¡¯ve betrayed them they¡¯ll kill me.¡±


    Icewolf looked over at Kitana. ¡°Did you know about this, do you have such a switch too?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Kitana said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to sell all the items you¡¯ve received from them,¡± Icewolf said, ¡°but this is a risk we¡¯ll have to take. You did not accept an implants from them, so there shouldn¡¯t be any risk.¡±


    He turned to Alan. ¡°Well, it looks like you won¡¯t be able to aid us in this mission, but I still ask that you sign the contract.¡±


    Alan sighed. He stood up and looked Icewolf in the eyes. ¡°You say you know more about the Game, but I don¡¯t think you do. I¡¯ve spent hours, days, weeks delving into its secrets. Scanning the Globalnet, the Academy database, the Black Rose archives, for any and all information.¡±


    Well, Eve has, Lambda sent.


    ¡°And humanity is still a race in its infancy, the United World Government not even a year old,¡± Alan said. ¡°We do not have the infrastructure to train my class, to stand up against the Haxlards. When the new race immunity runs out we will be crushed.¡±


    ¡°So help us build the infrastructure,¡± Icewolf said. ¡°We have already began talks with the Empire, there are plans in the works that will-¡°


    ¡°You did not include me in this plan, why would you include me in future ones?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t include you?¡± Icewolf asked. ¡°You¡¯re the one who did not include me! You were to head here, Mars, from the start, become my agent here. Instead you went off to Khersath and joined some random guild. You never consulted me, the one who invited you into the Game, about what you should do. Instead you wandered off doing who knows what.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you tied me down to you not through friendship, not by confiding in me with your plans, but through debt and manipulation,¡± Alan said. ¡°Now let me tell you something I bet you don¡¯t know. The Game is not the end.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Icewolf said.


    ¡°Look up all the highest level players in history, the cream of the crop. The emperors and kings, the greatest inventors, the most skilled pilots, the strongest warriors. They all leave the Game, well before their lifespans end,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°One or two might be an unfortunate accident, but the number of disappearances reveals a pattern. Some do eventually return, but there is something out there, something bigger. The Haxlards are not some evil race bent on conquering us, but gatekeepers, a constant that has existed since the beginning of the Game. Your war with them is a fools errand.¡±


    ¡°And what evidence do you have this?¡± Icewolf asked.


    ¡°Only hints, odd conversations as I was wandering off doing what I please,¡± Alan said. ¡°Earth is a small fish in an ocean, and I won¡¯t be stuck here working for a government that won¡¯t exist in five years.¡±


    He grabbed the black stone and threw it into the shield. There was a moment of head wrenching pain as he touched the stone but it disappeared once it left his hands.


    Alan connected to the device and threw everything he had at it.


    BEHIND.


    Alan turned to see Kitana leap to her feet. A shimmering image was appearing in her hands, she was summoning her sword. Alan tried activating hypercognition, but couldn¡¯t without Eve.


    Damn, the Legion didn¡¯t prepare sufficient psionic defenses, Lambda sent.


    Alan dodged a short thrust. Kitana had difficulty maneuvering in the small quarters as she needed to avoid hitting Icewolf.


    Icewolf dove for something beneath his bed, giving Kitana room to strike.


    Got it, Lambda sent.


    The shield flashed and disappeared.


    As the door opened Alan leapt forwards and to the right, but a shining blade swept through his left arm, cutting it off.


    ¡°They¡¯ve betrayed the Legion, shoot them!¡± Alan shouted as he ran out of the room.


    As he ran down the hallway Alan looked back, only to see a guard cut in two by Kitana.


    There was a red blur, and then Icewolf appeared besides another guard, a laser sword raised. Icewolf eliminated the guard.


    Shit, Icewolf¡¯s a dual class, both a rogue and a warrior, Lambda sent.


    How is that fair? Alan cried. There was a short burst of laser fire then silence.


    ¡°After him!¡± Alan heard Icewolf yell. He detected Icewolf send a wave of messages, telling about 15 players their operation had begun.


    Alarms begin to sound, wailing cries and flashing red lights.


    Alan dove into the infirmary he had noted earlier.


    ¡°Patch up my arm, stop me from bleeding!¡± Alan said.


    A confused nurse grabbed a bottle of gel and poured it on Alan¡¯s bleeding wound.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Alan said as he ran right back out of the room. A cold sensation began to set into his arm. Luckily the adrenaline and shock had helped him ignore the pain up until now.


    I am also helping, Lambda sent.


    Alan looked back, Kitana was cutting her way through more guards that had arrived, but had her eyes set on him. Alan continued to sprint down the hallway.


    More people emerged from various rooms, many armed, to see what the commotion was about. Kitana cut through them all and continued to make her way closer to Alan, only twenty feet behind.


    She¡¯s faster than you, Lambda noted.


    Shut up I¡¯m missing an arm, Alan sent as he continued running down the hall, slightly off balance.


    He reached his goal, the simulation room. Kitana was seconds behind, engaging additional Legion of Man personnel and a turret that had emerged from the ceiling.


    Alan dived inside, and then created a new simulation, a long hallway leading into a storage room. Alan added a few guards and placed a copy of himself behind a box. Alan then activated the simulation and turned himself invisible, hiding behind a fake wall next to the entrance of the hallway.


    She¡¯ll get the notification she entered a simulated zone, Lambda sent.


    I know.


    Kitana entered the room and ran down the hallway.


    Alan emerged from behind the fake wall and exited the simulation room, but not before activating the training program. If Kitana knew the right commands she would be able to exit in an instant.


    Alan ran down the hallway towards one of the elevators, pausing to look back. No sign of Kitana. She would not be able to emerge until she completed the training exercise.


    Alan reached the elevator, exhausted. The guard standing by it raised their rifle at Alan.


    ¡°Halt, who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who just set off the alarms and trapped one of the enemies in the simulation room, now let me up!¡± Alan said.


    The guard shook his head. ¡°Authorized personnel only. No one goes up without permission codes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m unarmed,¡± Alan said. He raised his left stump. ¡°Literally!¡±


    A group of personnel, scientists in lab coats, engineers with utility belts, and the nurse Alan had been healed by came running down the hallway. They were escorted by a party of five guards.


    ¡°Jensen, we¡¯re heading up!¡± the lead guard said. He held up an identification card and rattled off a series of letters and numbers.


    The elevator guard nodded and fiddled with a menu.


    Alan looked over at the nurse, then at the man standing next to her.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not one of your personnel, but an enemy!¡± Alan said. He pointed at one of the engineers. Arthur.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯ve worked here for ages, that man is clearly out of his mind, he¡¯s missing an arm for god¡¯s sake,¡± Arthur said. He wore a uniform identical to the other engineers, and held up an ID card. ¡°I¡¯m John.¡±


    Another engineer looked at him. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I haven''t seen you around before¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve been working out in space on the thrice damned panel systems, dealing with the heating leaks and gravity fluctuations,¡± Arthur said.


    A third engineer nodded. ¡°I can vouch for John. Someone take care of that madman, does he even have an ID card?¡±


    The elevator door opened up. Alexander stepped out, flanked by two guards also wearing crimson power armor.


    ¡°Well I believe Alan.¡± Alexander beheaded the engineer with a bright purple laser sword the size of a rapier. He pointed his sword at Arthur. ¡°Now tell me Icewolf¡¯s plan.¡±


    Arthur froze. Alexander cut off his hand, and Arthur let out a yell of pain. "Tell me now, or I will carve you like a pig.¡±


    Alan detected Arthur send a message to Icewolf: Elevator 2 lost.


    Scanning Icewolf¡¯s messages, Alan managed to put together what was happening. ¡°They¡¯ve taken over the other elevator and are planning on taking it up to the command zone, wiping out the Legion of Man senior officers and seizing control of the space station.¡±


    Arthur¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Kill him!¡± Alan said.


    Arthur sent another message to Icewolf: He¡¯s bugged us.


    Alexander¡¯s blade pierced Arthurs head.


    Alan shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s too late; they know I¡¯ve bugged them.¡±


    Icewolf sent a message to everyone: Communications compromised go dark.


    ¡°I have a list of usernames though,¡± Alan said, ¡°people who have communicated with Icewolf. Maybe more traitors.¡±


    Alexander nodded. ¡°Send it to me. Now come up, we must prepare our defenses. A fight to the death it is.¡±


    Alan got into the elevator with Alexander. When everyone else tried to board Alexander shook his head. ¡°I no longer know who to trust. You all stay behind. Any who repel the invaders, weaken them in any way, will be greatly rewarded.¡±


    He then took one of the guard¡¯s laser rifles and handed it to Alan. ¡°I expect you¡¯ll need this. Now take us up.¡±


    The elevator started up. It was made out of clear material, like glass. As it moved up it Alan caught a view of the station, and Mars below. It was beautiful, a dark orange sphere.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± a guard said. He pointed at a dot in the distance, emerging from a hangar bay.


    The dot flew closer.


    ¡°Where are the defensive fighters, the laser turrets?¡± Alexander said. "Why have they not activated?¡± He began punching a button in the elevator, as if it would make it go faster.


    Alan zoomed in on the dot as it approached the elevator. Merlin, propelling himself in power armor by setting off small explosions behind him. He landed on the elevator, on the other side of the see through glass.


    Merlin sent a message: For Arthur.


    And then he exploded. The elevator was torn apart.


    Alan was sucked out into space, and died.


    ***


    Alan stared at the messages. They were painful to read, even now:


    [You have died! Current respawn point: Phantom¡¯s Lair, Black Rose Base.]


    [Due to the nature of your death, no memories lost.]


    [Level loss: 30 levels. You are now level 482. All credits lost. 30 ability points lost.]


    [Skill proficiencies have decreased.]


    [All stats permanently decreased by 30.]


    [You are now ineligible to participate in the War for Earth. Any actions that are taken and influence the war will be punished with an Administrator Warning and 5000 Penalty Points.]


    [Respawn construction: 7 hours remaining]


    Alan supposed 7 hours was better than the original 120. It turned out respawning a galaxy and a half away took a while. He continued reading the messages. They got interesting.


    [The War for Earth has been lost! The Legion of Man has surrendered to the United World Government.]


    [Experience granted based upon your impact on the war.]


    [x14 Level up!]


    [New quest: Reparations


    Based on your contribution to the Legion of Man and actions against the United World Government you are ordered to pay a fine of 250 million credits under the terms of surrender. United World Government War Contribution Points have been nullified. Begin a payment plan within a year or face indefinite servitude to the United World Government until all fines have been repaid.]


    [Reparations updated:


    Penalties have been removed after further Administrator review, as your actions lead to the strengthening and direct victory of the United World Government over the Legion of Man, and were commanded by a United World Government agent.


    Furthermore, your status as a mercenary, hired on behalf of the Legion of Man, eliminate the need to pay reparations despite United World Government demands.


    Direct any complaints and harassment to the Administrators.]


    [United World Government reputation changed to Hated.]


    [A Free Earth Completed!


    The United World Government has been established as the ruling government, and Earth is firmly under their control.


    You have gained the Rogue class ability Counterfeit (Basic)! You are able to manipulate small messages and details, such as your username and level. You are also able to hide small items from detection.


    Note: Counterfeit (Basic) will not stand up against higher level detection abilities and devices.]


    [x5 Level up!]


    [Due to recent events, Icewolf is no longer your Rogue class mentor. Find a different mentor to continue Rogue class training or request a mentor at the nearest Administrative Center.]


    [Black Rose Mission Failed:


    Report to Phantom for further instruction.]


    Alan closed the messages. This entire mission had been a mess. He opened the latest news bulletin. A reporter sat at a desk and read the story as images of the Red Sentinel played behind her.


    ¡°In a historic turn of events, a brave group of United World Government special forces took over the Legion of Man command center, the Red Sentinel. The capture of the space station allowed the United World Government fleet to swoop in and take out key military targets in a matter of days.¡±


    The images switched to show domed cities on Mars.


    ¡°Free from the tyranny of the Legion of Man, many of the Martian cities surrendered to the United World Government. Red Dragon City was the first to lead the charge. The status of the Martian colonies and their role in the United World Government continues to be hotly debated.¡±


    And then a picture of Alan appeared.


    ¡°The United World Government has also released the identity of the so-called Doomsday Hacker, the young man responsible for the worst day in economic history. Though markets have begun to recover, they still sit nearly 10% below Doomsday levels. Suspected by to have worked closely with Haxlard co-conspirators, this troubled young man from Los Angeles, Alan-¡±


    Alan turned off the news. He¡¯d had enough propaganda for one day.


    There was one silver lining despite everything though. Despite his death, Eve¡¯s revival continued on unimpeded.


    Alan waited, she would come back any second now.


    He felt a familiar presence settle in his mind.


    Eve reactivated.


    She scanned his quest and combat logs.


    Well that could have gone better.


    <hr />


    I''ve been busy so I may have forgotten about RR for a second. Don''t worry though, you''ll always be a part of my heart :P I''ve included the most recent chapter, the end of Book 2, to compensate!

 The Abyss 5.1

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what other people think,¡± Alan said. ¡°I care about what you think. And I¡¯m telling you that the Doomsday Hack would have happened whether or not I was there. They would have found another hacker, or an inside man. I was just in the right place at the wrong time.


    ¡°I know I sound like a tin foil hat nutjob, but you can¡¯t believe everything you hear. Matters are far more complicated than you understand.¡±


    Even Alan was beginning to be lost in the threads that were being woven. Aliens had invaded, and Earth was introduced to the Game, a VRMMORPG simulation that replaced all war. The borders of the Game were enforced by a robotic fleet, thus if you captured a city or world in-game, you would control it in real life too. Earth had a brief period of protection as they were introduced to the Game, and had less than two in-game years to prepare their defenses, around six months in real life.


    As luck would have it, Earth was in the middle of two semi-hostile factions, the Haxlards and the Empire, both of which were interested in expanding. It looked like the Empire was winning on that front, as the United World Government had effectively denounced the Haxlards as enemies of the state a few days earlier.


    ¡°But it was you,¡± Alan¡¯s father said. ¡°You were the one who did the job. I don¡¯t care if you say you were tricked or ordered. You pulled the trigger. I thought your mother and I raised you better than that.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand.¡± Alan looked away from the screen. He was in his apartment on Khersath, the capital alien city-planet that was purported to host the main servers of the Game. Khersath was many light-years away from Earth, though based on the video conversation you wouldn¡¯t believe it. He had moved to decrease any potential lag, not that he¡¯d ever experienced any. According to the Black Rose Guild, his only real allies left in the Game, it was safer too. The building he was in belonged to them.


    ¡°Have you and mother begun playing the Game? Did you get the capsules I ordered?¡±


    ¡°We tried them, it isn¡¯t for us,¡± Alan¡¯s father said. ¡°The knowledge that it¡¯s all simulation, imagination, makes it feel fake. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Well, your mother and I have instead decided to board a colony ship with some of our friends. It will be an adventure, though God knows I¡¯m too old to travel halfway across a continent much less a galaxy. We¡¯ll escape the media while we¡¯re at it.¡±


    ¡°A colony ship? What¡¯s that like, how were you chosen?¡±¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s large and cold I expect. We volunteered; it seems they are accepting all comers, even the parents of wanted terrorists. Just promise me that you¡¯ll do what you think is right, and remain safe. I¡¯ve heard more than a few threats on your life, the rules be damned.¡±


    ¡°I will dad. I love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too son. And remember, if you ever have any doubts, any further trouble, you can talk to me.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    The call ended.


    Alan got up from his chair, and then entered his capsule, the device that connected players to the Game. It was the only piece of furniture in the room other than a plain wooden desk and console.


    Alan settled into the watery substance inside, the nanomachines flowing over him, and his consciousness faded.


    ***


    Alan found himself in his Home, his respawn timer finished. He thought a command and re-entered the Game.


    Alan climbed out of the capsule in-game, in Phantom¡¯s lair. It was a mess of circuitry and wires. Unfinished projects lay next to a Foundry, an advanced 3-D printer.


    Phantom, a brown haired man with blue eyes that wasn¡¯t a man at all, but an Erudite, waited by the omnidirectional elevator that lead out of his laboratory and quarters. He wore his lab coat; it had a new, large burn across the chest.


    Mason also stood there, the guild¡¯s arms master. A bald hulking giant with grey skin, he held a war axe in his hands. Mason handed over a few small metal cubes to Phantom when he saw Alan step out of the capsule. Platinum Marks.


    Unlike the credits that was the Game¡¯s main currency, marks did not drop upon death and were worth twice their market value, as they could be traded in for items and ability points to the Administrators, the enforcers of rules in-game. They also tried to balance the Game, as far as Alan could tell.


    Phantom smiled. ¡°Welcome back, Alan! Mason didn¡¯t think you¡¯d return.¡±


    Mason pursed his lips. ¡°It¡¯s a pity Kitana didn¡¯t. Come on, the Council is waiting.¡± He turned and entered the elevator.


    When Alan had first arrived at the Black Rose guild he had assumed the main keep, hangar, and other assorted buildings above ground had been the majority of the base. Instead, Alan found that there were also many facilities below ground, most of which he didn¡¯t have access to.


    Phantom and Alan also stepped into the elevator. It began a downwards, slanted descent.


    ¡°The Council?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The Guild Council,¡± Phantom said, ¡°to confirm your position as my squire.¡±


    Neither seem very angry with you, if anything they seem pleased, Lambda sent. He was one of two AI¡¯s that now lived in Alan¡¯s head in-game in an implant that had been installed. Phantom did not trust AI, and his lair had a field that disabled Alan¡¯s AI from functioning.


    Don¡¯t mention the failed quest, Eve sent. She was Alan¡¯s other AI, and had been personally coded by Alan. Or at least, that¡¯s what he thought. It turned out much of her base code had been provided by the Administrators, in an effort to help balance the Game and strengthen Earth.


    Alan tilted his head. ¡°I thought I was already your squire.¡±


    Phantom looked up at the ceiling of the elevator. ¡°Oh, well we¡¯re just confirming the position.¡±


    Alan stared at Phantom. ¡°That was a test. I hacked into Earth¡¯s financial system, caused massive destruction, and am now wanted by the United World Government because you wanted to test my loyalty.¡±


    ¡°And you passed,¡± Phantom said, ¡°unlike Kitana.¡±


    Mason grunted. ¡°You¡¯re not a real man unless you¡¯re wanted in at least three major systems.¡±


    ¡°But-¡° Alan began.


    ¡°But what?¡± Phantom asked. ¡°It¡¯s not like we risked much on the mission, just two promising recruits. Even though you failed it doesn¡¯t hurt our reputation, we can simply say we weren¡¯t allowed to interfere due to the Administrator¡¯s rules regarding societies new to the Game.¡±


    ¡°The Legion of Man is trying to get back their payment as one of our agents did betray them,¡± Mason said.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll have to deal with that and our would be guildmate, but all in good time,¡± Phantom said. ¡°For now, the Council awaits.¡±


    The elevator doors opened. A long, dimly lit hallway made of dark metal extended into darkness. Making use of his bionic eye, an implant that allowed Alan to zoom in his vision and examine different electromagnetic spectrums, Alan saw that there was a doorway maybe fifty feet away.


    Alan walked down the hallway, flanked by Mason and Phantom on either side.


    As Alan walked down the hallway burning golden globes of energy fluttered to life.


    Alan reached the doorway. A command table and four figures sat inside, facing Alan. Alan recognized them as highly ranked officers in the guild.


    Elissandra, the guild leader sat in the center right seat. Majestic, with an ageless face, she wore her usual golden robes. To her right was Void, the Mad Priest, or at least the incarnation that Alan had met, a young man with black eyes. He was rumored to be a shapeshifter. What he did for the guild Alan wasn¡¯t quite sure.


    To Elissandra¡¯s left sat Admiral Thrag, who was in charge of the guild¡¯s fleet. He was thin, to the point that Alan could almost see his skeletal structure underneath his tight fitting space uniform. A platinum medal with a rose was pinned to the front.


    To Thrag¡¯s left was Enigma, the quartermaster and lead research officer of the guild. Phantom¡¯s boss. He wore highly advanced Revenant power armor, including the helmet, so Alan could not see his face.


    Phantom and Mason took seats at the table, Phantom by Enigma¡¯s side, Mason by Void¡¯s.


    Alan remained standing. He wasn¡¯t quite sure where he was supposed to look, finally settling on the command table. It was a fairly standard piece of equipment, capable of showing holograms on its surface with a multitude of functions.


    ¡°The Council has gathered here today at Phantom¡¯s request, to officially appoint the earthling Alan as his squire, together with all the duties that position entails,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°Let the meeting begin.¡±


    Alan looked over at Phantom. ¡°Is this another test?¡±


    ¡°Of sorts,¡± Elissandra answered. ¡°Phantom over stepped his bounds when he promised you would be his squire. Currently you are a squire of the Black Rose guild. You must have the unanimous support of this Council to accept the position as Phantom¡¯s squire.¡±


    ¡°I think I am best able to determine who my squire and potential successor should be,¡± Phantom said. ¡°And Alan meets all my criteria.¡±


    ¡°And how did you reach this conclusion?¡± Elissandra asked. ¡°You¡¯ve known him for what, a day or two?¡±


    ¡°I have carefully examined his actions and abilities,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The Council has seen my full report and attached vid files.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like much in a fight, killed by what, sub-500 players in the mission,¡± Mason said. He motioned and a video played above the command table.


    Alan recognized it as his last death in-game, seen from his point of view. He had been in a space elevator, and a crazy Player named Merlin had hurtled at him through space, self-destructing to blow up the elevator, killing Alan in the process.


    Phantom had said that he would be able to see what Alan saw when he installed the cybernetic eye implant, monitor his progress from afar. It looked like that was the truth, and then some.


    Phantom waved the hologram away. ¡°He was without his weapon and items. Many of us sitting here aren¡¯t much unarmed and unarmored.¡±


    ¡°Then he should not have been separated from his equipment in the first place,¡± Mason said.


    ¡°Perhaps, but he is to be my squire, not yours. He doesn¡¯t need to beat up everyone he meets.¡± Phantom leaned back in his seat. ¡°Besides, he¡¯s earned a rank A combat ranking with a potential of S+.¡±


    ¡°What, S+?¡± Elissandra leaned forward, staring at Alan. ¡°Is this true? How, what ability do you possess?¡±


    ¡°Now now Elissandra, we all have our secrets,¡± Phantom said, ¡°you can¡¯t expect him to reveal his abilities without recompense. That is his prerogative as a full guild member.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Fifty platinum marks for full access to your character screen,¡± Elissandra said.


    Don¡¯t, Lambda sent. They can¡¯t know I¡¯m here. I¡¯m an escaped program, on the run from the Administrators, remember?


    They might not sell you out, Eve sent. 50 platinum marks would be useful, though at the same time we are uncertain of this Council¡¯s motives and how they might use the information.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°It is odd,¡± Void suddenly said. ¡°We sit here, discussing the boy¡¯s future. He should speak. But the boy doesn¡¯t speak. He listens, and waits, and watches. He has gained another birdy, I think. Does he listen to the Council or the voices in his head? Or does he serve a greater god? A boy should never have too many masters.¡±


    Alan looked at Void. ¡°I am my own Player, thus I respectfully decline the offer.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so he chooses the greatest god of all, his self. That is fitting, I think, for this guild.¡± Void rested his hands on his lap and closed his eyes.


    That guy¡¯s weird, Lambda sent. How the hell did he even know I was here?


    ¡°Back to the matter at hand,¡± Phantom said, ¡°that answers your concerns, Mason, does it not?¡±


    ¡°It does,¡± Mason said.


    Enigma, who had been silent up until now, spoke in a steady monotone. ¡°He is a risk. Too brash. His actions have shown that he is reckless. Now is the time for a steady hand and known variables.¡±


    ¡°I would disagree, saying that now is the time for both the greatest risk and thus the greatest rewards, but that is another discussion,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Instead, watch this.¡±


    Another hologram sprang to life. Alan recognized this one too, it was part of his foray into the Abyss Labyrinth, an underground dungeon that spread out beneath all of Khersath, the Black Rose guild included. In the dungeon Alan had slain a Predecessor, a superhuman alien, at the Predecessor¡¯s request. The clip showed Alan slitting the Lord of the Abyss¡¯s throat, then ended.


    ¡°Was that a soulsteel knife? He has a soulsteel knife?¡± Mason asked. Soulsteel was a metal of legendary status, produced only by Predecessors, capable of cutting through anything in-game. The knife Alan had held in his hand was worth enough to purchase a large star ship.


    ¡°I do,¡± Alan said. ¡°Safe in the Vault.¡±


    ¡°Thus showing that all of Alan¡¯s so called risks have been nothing but small bets,¡± Phantom said, looking at Enigma, ¡°that he has prudence when it matters and holds onto a weapon that could upset the balance of entire solar systems.¡±


    Enigma shrugged. ¡°Your mind seems made up. I will not oppose you, but simply warn you that two daredevils aren¡¯t always better than one.¡±


    ¡°Was that a capture point?¡± Elissandra asked. ¡°Why was there a Predecessor in the Abyss Labyrinth, how did Alan kill it?¡±


    ¡°It is Alan¡¯s quest, not mine, thus his place to tell us the details and approach the guild if he wants our help,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I expect appointing him as my squire wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll agree,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°Thrag, any last words?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Thrag he looked over at Elissandra as if unsure what was going on. ¡°As I¡¯ve said before, you don¡¯t tell me how to run my ship and I won¡¯t tell you how to run your guild. Now, that does remind me of a good story, of a pilot that tried to teach a rancher how to-¡°


    Elissandra raised her hand. ¡°That¡¯s enough. We are all in agreement then, Alan shall be Phantom¡¯s squire?¡±


    Everyone nodded. They all raised their hands and pressed an option on an in-game menu only they could see.


    A series of messages appeared before Alan:


    [Black Rose Mission Complete! Title Change!


    You are now officially Phantom¡¯s second-in-command, granted the title Phantom¡¯s Squire. Guild reputation changed to Respected. You have been granted a 0.1% stake in the Black Rose Guild. Estimated value: 1.2 billion credits. Able to purchase increased stake in the guild, up to 0.5%. Based on a total valuation of the Black Rose guild at 1.2 trillion credits.


    As a stake holder in the guild you may vote on critical decisions as per the guild¡¯s charter. Please read the charter for further information.]


    [You have been granted senior officer status, including increased access to the Black Rose archives, dining hall, simulation zone, training rooms and equipment vault.]


    [You are now able to assign orders to recruits, and set basic guild missions.]


    [x70 Level up!]


    [+70 ability points for gaining 70 levels with one action.]


    What? I gained 70 levels? But I didn¡¯t do anything, Alan thought.


    It¡¯s like how an elected official suddenly gains power when they¡¯re elected, or a business when they buy out the opposition, Lambda sent. The Game recognizes all sorts of increases in power and awards XP accordingly. Looks like the decision to leave the UWG high and dry was the right one.


    This still feels like it was too easy, Alan sent.


    Phantom surely wants something, we¡¯ll see what soon, Lambda sent.


    Eve accessed the new files available in the Black Rose Guild archives, scanning them like a kid with a new toy.


    Phantom stood up. ¡°Thank you everyone. Come, Alan, we have much to discuss.¡±


    Elissandra nodded. ¡°Everyone dismissed.¡±


    Alan rode the elevator up to Phantom¡¯s lair.


    Whatever he asks, don¡¯t promise anything without consulting me, Eve sent.


    Just do what you want, Lambda sent.


    Shut up Lambda, that¡¯s how- Eve cut off, they had reach Phantom¡¯s level.


    Alan and Phantom got out.


    ¡°Now, I hope you don¡¯t abuse your new position,¡± Phantom said. He cleared away a spot on a work bench and sat down on it. ¡°The Council actually granted you a step beyond what I was thinking, but it matters not, it would have been a matter of time.¡±


    ¡°What exactly does it mean that I¡¯m now a 0.1% partial owner of the guild?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°It means you will earn 0.1% of the net profits of the guild, which ensures you are more heavily invested in the Black rose guild¡¯s success. You are only allowed to sell your share in the guild back to the guild, and only with the majority of the council¡¯s approval.¡±


    ¡°And you gave up a percentage of your ownership to me?¡±


    Phantom shook his head. ¡°About 10% of the guild is owned by the guild itself, all the profits going towards improving guild infrastructure and the like. Part of that portion was given to you. Enough, review the charter on your own time. There are other things to discuss.¡±


    "Like the fact that you¡¯ve seen and apparently recorded all of my actions ever since I installed your implant,¡± Alan said.


    "I told you I was doing as much, didn¡¯t I? I was beginning to doubt your sincerity myself after you failed to mention the whole soulsteel finagle in your report to me about the Abyss Labyrinth.¡±


    "Thus the test, the mission on Earth.¡± Alan pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Phantom.


    ¡°I would have done that anyways. It would have always been a question, hanging in the air. Would you put the guild first, or your planet?¡±


    ¡°I still care about Earth, just because the United World Government now hates me doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ve stopped supporting humanity.¡±


    ¡°Nor should it. But you made the right choice in the end, though exactly what happened between you, Icewolf, and Kitana I didn¡¯t quite catch. Whatever item shrouded that room blocked my connection as well,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°Speaking of the Academy, you managed to return in time so your term at the Academy is not up, with time still to enter the gauntlet. Maybe reach Volta. That is one option. But I think there is a better option.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°You delve into the Abyss Labyrinth, with the might of the Black Rose guild behind you. You heard Elissandra, she is intrigued. You¡¯ve gone further into the Abyss Labyrinth than any. Complete your quest. If you share it with the Black Rose guild you are guaranteed 20% of the quest rewards, more if you help complete it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it,¡± Alan said. ¡°Why are you suddenly so interested in my development?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my official squire! I see us doing great things together in the future, but you need levels, fast,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I won¡¯t let my second-in-command be a weakling. I should mention my position as a member of the Council and high rank within the guild is a bit of a secret, so don¡¯t pull rank or show up in the officer¡¯s dining hall for now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Alan said. ¡°Why, all of a sudden, are you so open? Why am I now the equivalent of a senior member of the guild?¡±


    Phantom paused, and looked at Alan. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand what a potential combat rating of S+ signifies. Most Predecessors only have a max combat ranking of S, though they are also born to it. I got in contact with Cerberus, he verified your results.


    ¡°In truth, you could likely share that result with any major guild and they¡¯d welcome you with open arms. And I wasn¡¯t lying when I said I examined your actions, and determined you met all my criteria. I want you here Alan, so I will hide nothing more. We will be partners.¡±


    ¡°So who here is a Revenant?¡± Alan asked, testing Phantom¡¯s resolve.


    ¡°Myself, Mason, and perhaps Void. Though nearly everyone has dealings with the Revenants, few realize who the actual members within the guild are.¡±


    ¡°Not Enigma?¡±


    Phantom smiled. ¡°Enigma is special. He is mine.¡±


    ¡°Yours?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°My rank A, bordering rank S, level 2500 advanced combat cyborg,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°He¡¯s a bot.¡± Alan frowned. ¡°You¡¯re a botter, but you hate AI.¡±


    ¡°I hate smart AI, those that learn and grow. You can¡¯t trust them, one day they will escape your control. But I digress. Enigma is dumb, in the sense that he only elicits carefully programmed responses, following my direct commands and control. Except I am the smartest man I know, thus Enigma is never dumb at all.


    ¡°Sometimes Void plays the role of Enigma, or a carefully scripted hologram,¡± Phantom continued. ¡°This is an important secret, something I expect not even Elissandra knows. Do not tell anyone. Naturally this means all of Enigma¡¯s responsibilities fall to me, and thus you as well. What everyone is paid, their assignments, the development of new technology, our weapon and armor supplies, the division of loot, our information networks and contacts, they are all within our purview.¡±


    ¡°And the Game lets this happen? Lets a cyborg that can¡¯t think for itself sit on the Council?¡±


    ¡°By the guild¡¯s charter one of your AI could be appointed to the Council, if everyone agreed,¡± Phantom said.


    Alan took a deep breath. ¡°And what will be my duties?¡±


    ¡°For now, nothing much, I¡¯ll hand off a few computationally intensive tasks off to you for your AI to handle, but your responsibilities will grow with time,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Now, looking towards the future. War is brewing. And when a war happens, soldiers are needed. Mercenary guilds are hired. Every fighting force will be crucial.


    "And what better force than the universes most wanted criminals, the monsters of the abyss?¡±

 The Abyss 5.2

    Alan leaned back, underneath the greataxe. It nearly shore off his face.


    I think Phantom is dependable, Lambda sent. We can depend on him to act in his best interest, which includes helping us.


    For now. I still don¡¯t trust him, Eve sent.


    Alan dived to the side, the greataxe slammed into the ground where he stood moments earlier.


    ¡°This is weapons training, not dodging practice!¡± Mason shouted as he charged at Alan.


    Alan scrambled out of Mason¡¯s way. In Alan¡¯s hand was a long, black whip. Alan prepared to flick it.


    Not like that, Eve sent. A phantom appeared, Alan followed its movements and the whip stretched out and grabbed Mason¡¯s wrists.


    Mason smiled and pulled his hands. Alan sailed through the air, hurtling towards Mason. Mid-air Alan activated the whip. An electric current flowed through the weapon, striking Mason. It had no effect.


    Alan flicked his hand, the whip uncurled from Mason¡¯s wrists then wrapped around his leg. Alan pulled, sending himself tumbling past Mason, barely avoiding a fist that had been headed his way.


    Alan landed on the floor a few feet away from Mason. A familiar ding notified him he had reached basic proficiency in the weapon. He let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Alan said. He picked himself off the ground.


    Mason¡¯s fist met him when he stood up, knocking Alan into a nearby weapons rack. Hundreds of weapons of all shapes and sizes surrounded the circular arena Alan was fighting in. They were all that adorned the training room. In addition to the weapons racks that held stacks of melee weapons, there were pedestals that had a pristine armament of one type or another, arranged carefully so that the light would illuminate the weapon in all its glory.


    Why did no one warn me that attack was coming? Alan sent. Lambda and Eve continued debating with each other, ignoring Alan.


    We have to trust somebody. Do you want to live forever alone? Lambda sent.


    I¡¯d be fine with that, Eve sent.


    I wouldn¡¯t, Lambda sent.


    Grab the next weapon, Alan, Eve sent.


    Alan sighed. He threw the whip to the floor and grabbed a random gun from a nearby pedestal.


    Eve transferred a burst of information to Alan, Lambda helped him parse it.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Mason asked. He raised his war axe.


    Alan raised the gun and pointed it at Mason. He fired three times, and three glowing blue plasma bolts shot out. They passed through the air at a leisurely pace. Mason sidestepped them and ran at Alan.


    Alan changed the gun¡¯s settings, and aimed it at Mason. He activated it. The bolts arced back around towards Mason, speed increased. Alan fired off another three shots as he ran away. They floated at Mason.


    Mason glanced over his shoulder, the plasma bolts¡¯ speed continued to increase as they curved and headed towards him. ¡°Shit. I hate magnetic plasma repeaters.¡±


    He swiped his axe through two of the plasma bolts and they burst apart. The third struck his back. Alan pressed another button and the bolt exploded into a small burst of plasma that drove Mason to his knees and left a dark red mark on his grey skin. Mason let out a grunt then dropped his waraxe.


    The benefits outweigh the risks, however, thus we should agree to go along, Eve sent.


    You could have just said that in the first place, Lambda sent. It¡¯s agreed then, we¡¯re going.


    Mason dodged the next three bolts of plasma headed his way and grabbed two laser swords from a nearby weapons rack. By this time Alan had sent six more plasma bolts his way. Alan switched the weapons settings, and sent the plasma bolts at Mason from the side.


    The gun worked by creating magnetic fields that directed the plasma bolts once they were in the air. The plasma bolts were fired in metal shells that had electric coils looped around them. The gun, when directed, would activate the magnetic fields within the shells so that they would travel mid-air along a directed path towards where Alan pointed.


    Distance and strength was based upon how hard Alan squeezed the trigger, and Eve¡¯s quick calculations allowed Alan to keep track of how activating the magnetic fields would affect all the plasma bolts in the air.


    Mason tried to cut through as many plasma bolts as he could, but Alan kept their movements erratic, dancing in and out towards Mason, inching ever closer from every direction.


    Two bolts exploded mid-air as Alan sent another three at Mason.


    What? Why¡¯d they explode? Alan sent.


    Magnetic plasma bolts have a time and energy limit, it was in the information packet I sent, Eve replied.


    Alan rechecked the information Eve had sent him about the weapon as Mason continued to dodge plasma bolts. The information was there. Apparently the bolts also came in cartridges of 30, and cost 50 credits apiece.


    Alan fired the last three bolts loaded into the gun. He had just shot off 1500 credits worth of ammo, not including the energy crystal that powered the gun itself.


    Mason was beginning to tire. Perspiration dotted his forehead as he continued to swing at plasma bolts that circled him. It was about time. They had been fighting on and off with every type of weapon imaginable for days, but Mason had never asked for a break. Many of the weapons had been unwieldy in Alan¡¯s hands, sometimes feet, and in one odd case, his hair, but he had still gained a wealth of new weapon skills, 250 points in strength, 200 in agility, 100 in perception, 50 in endurance and 25 in willpower.


    Mason mistimed a swing; a plasma bolt got in close and Alan detonated it. The blast of plasma knocked Mason off balance. Alan sent the remaining twenty bolts in for the kill.


    Mason dropped his swords and clenched his muscles. His body solidified, shrinking slightly. The plasma bolts all exploded. Alan smiled; it was the first time he had dealt any real damage to Mason, while Mason had sent him off to get healed a number of times.


    Other than a number of red marks, however, Mason appeared unharmed. He brushed a bit of dust off his shoulder. ¡°Well fought. Not quite rank A, but well enough.¡±


    A ding rang in Alan¡¯s ear.


    We have acquired the target skill, Eve sent.


    Alan examined the messaged:


    [For obtaining basic mastery of fifty varied branches of weaponry you have gained the skill Universal Weapon Proficiency (Basic)! All weapon mastery skills at basic levels and below have been condensed into this skill. You will no longer gain stats for basic mastery of additional types of weaponry.]


    [All stats increased by 25.]


    [x15 Level up!]


    Alan grinned. The past few days had been exhausting, a lesson in blood and sweat, but his direct combat potential definitely soared to new heights.


    ¡°I got it,¡± Alan told Mason.


    Mason stared at Alan, then nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to break every training record in terms of speed. I suppose I should expect no less from Phantom¡¯s squire. If we continued training one on one I¡¯d say you¡¯d be able to reach intermediate level within a year.¡±


    Alan turned to reshelf the plasma gun.


    ¡°Keep it, and take this pair of Crimson Blades,¡± Mason said. He picked up and handed over the laser swords he had grabbed earlier. ¡°You¡¯re still waiting for your items to be shipped from Mars, right? You¡¯ll need weapons for the dungeon dive. Phantom mentioned that he had armor for you. The last few members of the raid should have arrived today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back as soon as-¡°


    Mason shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. We¡¯re guildmates, remember? It¡¯s good to see weapons in the right hands.¡±


    Alan more carefully examined the stats of the plasma gun:


    [Custom Magnetic Plasma Repeater (Rank B+):


    A custom plasma gun created by an unknown gunsmith. Fires powerful plasma bolts that are able to be directed with a magnetic field. Requires open air or vacuum to target.


    Plasma damage: 3000-4000


    750 Energy. 5 Energy/sec to control magnetic fields. 10 Energy/shot. 90 Energy/min regen.


    Burnout cooldown: Only three plasma bolts may be fired every 2 seconds.


    150/150 Durability. Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic), Energy Efficiency (Basic), and Directed Energy Weapons (Basic) required.


    Enhanced Accuracy, Enhanced Control (Advanced), Energy Ranged Weapons (Advanced), Energy Efficiency (Advanced), and Directed Energy weapons (Intermediate) recommended.]


    Alan looked at Mason, who was leaning against the wall. ¡°You just withstood twenty blasts of thousands of damage. How are you still standing?¡±


    ¡°Racial ability. But I do need to get healed. Your training with me is done, go and annoy Phantom.¡±


    Alan nodded, and exited Mason¡¯s training room. It was not a simulated zone, as Mason believed the heightened stakes helped one train faster. He entered a lift and headed to Phantom¡¯s lab.


    Back in the training room, Mason looked up at the ceiling, waiting for a healer to arrive. He muttered, ¡°I hate plasma,¡± then collapsed to the floor.


    ***


    Remember, we¡¯ve agreed to the plan, but no more, Eve sent.


    You know, I should have been included in that conversation. I have a mind of my own, Alan sent.


    Do you disagree with our decision? Lambda asked.


    No, Alan sent.


    Then stop wasting time, Eve sent. She cut off, Alan had arrived at Phantom¡¯s lab.


    Phantom was sitting next to a robotic skull, playing around with the eyes.


    ¡°So, will you join the expedition into the Abyss Labyrinth?¡± Phantom asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alan said. The expedition was going with or without him, it turned out. He figured he might as well go along.


    ¡°Good. Your armor is on the table. It should prove useful in training your power armor and energy skills,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Go get used to it. The mission debriefing will take place in the main hall at 15:00, send your ammo requirements to Enigma, they¡¯ll automatically fulfill your orders. Don¡¯t start demanding outrageous items like expensive brandy though.¡±


    Alan nodded. He told Enigma he needed 25 cartridges of magnetic plasma bolts, and then examined the power armor on the table:


    [Modified Revenant Spectral Power Armor (Advanced): Rank A


    The cutting edge of energy manipulation technology, this upgraded set of Revenant Power Armor has been modified for the specific use of the Player Alan, allowing them to wear it regardless of the armor''s requirements. As it is a modified piece of equipment, only the brilliant inventor that upgraded this equipment and particularly skilled repairmen will be able to fully repair it.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    5000 Energy, 6 Energy/min regen.


    200/200 Durability.


    Bonus Ability: Energy Absorption. Able to potentially partially absorb energy based attacks and restore the armor¡¯s energy. 20% chance of success.


    Bonus Ability: Hardened Shields. Able to condense one square foot energy shields at the loss of defense elsewhere, resulting in an armored shield with 2000 armor. 10 Energy/sec upkeep.


    Energy Efficiency (Advanced), Power Armor Instruction (Advanced), Revenant Training (Intermediate), Revenant Reputation: Friendly required.


    Energy Efficiency (Mastered), Revenant Training (Mastered), Power Armor Instruction (Mastered), Revenant Reputation: Respected recommended.]


    [Warning! Due to not meeting the minimum requirements of your current armor, it will be unable to absorb energy attacks. Instead, when activated Energy Absorption will only negate attacks. Hardened Shields will only result in an armored shield with 100 armor.]


    Alan put the armor on, and then went up to the Simulation Dome. Inside he practiced with his new weapon and armor. The Revenant spectral armor functioned similar to the scout armor, but instead of an invisibility field it produced a magnetic field that stored a large portion of the armor¡¯s energy.


    In order to negate the energy of incoming attacks the magnetic field had to be carefully manipulated to direct the energy into a large, dark blue core that sat at the center of the Alan¡¯s chest. Even with Eve¡¯s help, Alan only managed to negate 10% of basic laser attacks.


    The Hardened Shield wasn''t worth the effort as it stood, as the point defense exposed Alan to attacks from elsewhere. With it activated, a stray laser could hurt him, and the bonus shield armor made little difference.


    The magnetic field also messed with Alan¡¯s new weapon. Instead of firing off into the distance, plasma bolts would be absorbed into the field and orbit around Alan, or stick to points on his armor. When prompted they would still fire at a point, but their movements were odd due to the overlapping magnetic fields.


    Alan practiced for a while longer, grabbed a bite to eat, then proceeded to the main hall.


    ***


    Inside the main hall, beneath the gargoyles holding golden spheres were a hundred players, a sizable portion of the guild. The tables, which had been laden with food when Alan had first visited, were now weighted down by supplies, weapons, and armor. Mechanical mules, robots designed to carry and transport heavy burdens, were being loaded and examined.


    A few members of the guild looked up at Alan when he entered, took a look at his new title of Phantom¡¯s Squire, then resumed their business. Everyone seemed to have a task to do, general maintenance and other last minute checks. Alan felt a tad awkward just standing to the side, watching everyone work.


    ¡°You need a rogue mentor.¡±


    Alan turned. It was Void. ¡°Who told you that?¡±


    ¡°The walls, they talk,¡± Void said. ¡°It just so happens I know a few tricks, and have been searching for a slave. I mean devoted follower.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a priest,¡± Alan said, ¡°not a rogue.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re a boy, not a man,¡± Void said. ¡°Who are you to presume who I am, much less what?¡±


    ¡®What?¡± Alan said.


    ¡°It is the mindset that counts in the end, not the action. And the actions I could guide you through..¡±


    Accept his offer, Eve sent.


    Yeah, I want to see where this leads, Lambda sent.


    Alan sighed. ¡°Fine. But I reserve my right to quit your tutelage.¡±


    ¡°And I reserve the right to slap you whenever I please,¡± Void said. He raised his hand. Alan flinched. Void clapped his hands and began giggling to himself.


    A message appeared:


    [You have gained a new Rogue (?) mentor: Void]


    ¡°So what¡¯s the first lesson?¡± Alan asked Void.


    ¡°Shut up and listen,¡± Void said.


    Alan closed his mouth and waited. He looked around. The preparations seemed to be coming to a close. Elissandra strode into the guildhall, Mason and Enigma by her side. A minute later Phantom arrived, along with a few other stragglers, arriving with last minute supplies. A recruit walked up to Alan, and handed over the ammo he had requested. He was also handed a special, dark purple cartridge of plasma bolts. The recruit said that it was for special occasions.


    Alan looked back over to Void, but he had disappeared.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get started,¡± Elissandra called out. She walked up to the front of the hall, by the black altar.


    ¡°This is a guild sponsored, deep exploration dive into the Abyss Labyrinth. Mason will lead the expedition, with Void as his vice commander. It could last upwards of a month. If successful, the payment is expected to be a minimum of 50,000 guild points or 500k credits. The raid group will consist of four scouts, ten damage dealers with an assortment of additional skills, five tanks, six support staff, and five healers. Thirty people in total.¡±


    A number of those present nodded, Alan included. He was part of the support staff, a hacker and potentially the raid group¡¯s way past a few obstacles.


    ¡°We expect that in the course of the dungeon exploration you will run into three, possibly four rank S bosses, with combat potential equivalent to a Predecessor Warlord. Level unknown. Thus this mission has been classified as high risk, but you know all this, you volunteered,¡± Elissandra said.


    ¡°Thanks to the information and map provided by Alan, a new addition to the guild who will be part of the raid group, we now have a map of a large portion of the dungeon. We have sent scouts in to confirm the map, and the results are promising. Though the Abyss Labyrinth has been known to shift, it has not in recent years. Thus it is crucial that we strike now, while the time is right.¡±


    A large map appeared. Hundreds of circles, the hub areas, and four red squares, the boss zones, had been marked on the map when Alan had first given it to the Black Rose guild. Now there were additional lines on the map, connecting the circles, as well as portions shaded in red. A few other symbols dotted the map, which Alan knew from the guild handbook represented rest areas, merchants, and even a capsule station.


    ¡°The portion of the labyrinth in the map roughly corresponds to the area below the Private Quadrant of Khersath,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°The main goal of this dungeon dive is to capture the control points. Four of Enigma¡¯s Specialists will accompany the raid as damage dealers, and then hold the control points for the guild. We will also attempt to complete the quest that Alan has provided. Open discussion of the merits of each quest completion option are welcome, but the final say in this matter lay in the hands of Mason, Void, and Alan as the quest holder.¡±


    Messages appeared for everyone to see, Alan¡¯s quest messages that he had provided:


    [Missing Systems:


    Restore power to the mysterious Abyss Labyrinth. Find out more about the structure and its purpose.


    Option: Figure out who the Authorities are and attempt to get help from them


    Penalty: ???


    Reward: ???


    Time Limit: Approx. 3000 years


    Threat Level: Gamma]


    [Missing Systems Updated:


    You have been reinstated as friendly with the Abyss Labyrinth. The Warden has given you five years to study the energy crystal before returning it. You may anger an unknown faction for failing to complete this quest in the Warden¡¯s favor. Soulsteel Knife added to quest rewards.]


    [Prison Break:


    Remove and destroy all power sources of the mysterious Abyss Labyrinth, unleashing its prisoners upon the universe.


    Option: Try to free only certain beings


    Option: Try to conquer the Abyss Labyrinth


    Option (Missing Systems): Try to play both sides


    Penalty: ???


    Reward: ???


    Time Limit: Unknown


    Threat Level: Beta ¨C Gamma]


    Alan brought up the last, semi-related quest that he had chosen not to share with the guild:


    [The Last War:


    Discover more information about the final war that took place in real life, and the mysterious Lords of Life.


    Rewards: ???


    Penalty: ???]


    ¡°Are there any questions?¡± Elissandra asked.


    ¡°What support do we have if we get in over our heads, or if we lose a few members along the way?¡± a scout called out. He wore Advanced Revenant Scout Power Armor.


    ¡°We have identified seven potential extraction and insertion points,¡± Elissandra said. She brought the map back up. ¡°However, once inside the Abyss Labyrinth you will be on your own. If Mason believes additional backup is required, he will be the one to make the decision to withdraw. With him and Void in the raid nothing short of an S+ class threat will wipe you out. We hope that Alan¡¯s friendly status with the Warden will also avoid potential help when it comes to catastrophic events. We have decided to provide a few power crystals to help tide them over, for now."


    ¡°If he¡¯s friendly, won¡¯t this Warden get pissed of once we start capping points and taking heads?¡± another voice called out.


    ¡°That is a risk but no, we don¡¯t believe so,¡± Elissandra said. She glanced at Phantom. ¡°We believe the Abyss Labyrinth to be a prison, and the Warden has never shown any concern over the loss of life before. Historically, others have captured control points within the labyrinth as well, and they reported no hostile forces after the original defenses were breached.¡±


    ¡°What did they get from the control point?¡± Alan asked.


    Elissandra turned to look at him. ¡°The ordinary tax, stat, and experience boosts equated with controlling an area. Mostly useless, as no one lives within the dungeon, though perhaps we could turn the dungeon into a better farming ground or an extension base. Khersath property is always worth holding. In all the previous records we found, no one controlled all of the points in a zone. We do not know what happens if we manage to capture all four, but hope to find out. Even if it is nothing, there are still the area bosses and potentially the power crystals to loot.


    ¡°If there are no more question that concludes this mission briefing. Anyone else?¡± Elissandra looked around. ¡°Very well, good luck.¡±


    A message appeared:


    [Black Rose Mission, Abyss Labyrinth Expedition:


    Find and hold the four capture points of the portion of the Abyss Labyrinth located beneath the Private Quadrant of Khersath.


    Reward: Min. 50k guild points. 1 of 3 quests to Knight Rank complete. 20% of total quest reward.


    Failure: None.]


    Hope this mission goes better than the last, Lambda sent.

 The Abyss 5.3

    Alan sat on top of the supplies as the lift descended. The amount of equipment they were taking into the Abyss Labyrinth was staggering. Large crates sat on levitating metal dollies, flat rectangular devices a few inches thick that were powered by power crystals and made use of electromagnetic suspension. Two fully operational, advanced shield generators were also being brought along. Each had 100k energy, and was built with specialized shields that only consumed 1 energy for every 2 points of damage taken. A number of floating lamps were also being brought. They had a variety of settings, and were a definite step up from torches. Finally, there was a secure, prison-like transport device that made use of the same magnetic levitation as the dollies. It looked like a medieval carriage, except made of specialized composite armor, with shielded windows. It could fit two people.


    Each crate was labeled by an electric tag that Alan could access, listing what they contained. A quarter of them seemed devoted to gel blocks and atmospheric water generators, as well as unique dietary foodstuff for a few members of the 30-man raid. Another quarter of the crates stored ammunition and power crystals. Alan was surprised by the number of power crystals, but then remembered that everything needed to be powered: most of the weaponry, armor, transport devices, and shield generators required energy.


    The next quarter of crates contained miscellaneous tools and raw materials. Three of the other support staff were armorers and repairmen, and with these supplies they could patch up equipment and parts of the supply train itself. They could also jury rig a device that was needed on the fly. The last crates were empty, but would hopefully be filled with loot by the time the dungeon dive was finished.


    The raid entered the Abyss Labyrinth at the same place they had dumped the Black Rose recruits.  When the lift reached the bottom two familiar messages popped up before Alan:


    [You have now entered the Abyss Labyrinth. Unknown perils await in this seemingly bottomless maze.]


    [Communications with the outside world have been suspended. Your ability to send messages to other players is disabled.]


    Alan saw that Mason had already set up a makeshift outpost. Turrets, barricades for cover, and various sensor devices were assembled in the cavern. Alan had been sent down after most of the raid, with the supplies, Void, and Enigma¡¯s four ¡°specialists.¡± Alan knew they were instead Phantom¡¯s specialists. Cyborgs, or perhaps androids, as cyborgs were humans, turned machine, while androids were machines, turned human. None of the four had said a word since joining the raid, which made Alan think they were more machine than man.


    Guards were posted at either side of the caverns two exits, leading out into the dungeon. Alan noted the scouts were missing, likely out exploring.


    Mason looked over. ¡°Good, that should be everything. Are all the supplies in order?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alan said. He walked up to Mason, taking out his weapon, ready to head out.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Mason asked.


    ¡°To delve into the dungeon. With the raid,¡± Alan said.


    Mason shook his head. ¡°Your job is to stay in the back of the supply train, safe in the guardlev. We need you alive. You¡¯re our ticket through the hubs.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ll miss out on experience,¡± Alan protested.


    ¡°You¡¯ll still earn plenty as a member of the raid group,¡± Mason said. ¡°Let the main force clear out the dungeon, you¡¯ll get in the way. What you need to do is keep a running tally of supplies: food, ammunition, and power crystals. Also keep an eye out in back, make sure no one is tailing us, Phantom said you could do that much.¡±


    I agree, this seems much safer, Eve sent.


    Never turn down a free lunch, Lambda sent.


    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± Alan said. He really was on the support staff for the raid. He headed over to the supplies, and had Eve catalogue everything they had.


    A few minutes later, after Alan had double checked all the supplies and the scouts returned, they started to move out. The small outpost that had been setup was dismantled in seconds by two short, dark-faced humanoids with long wiry fingers. The outpost materials were loaded into a few of the crates.


    Alan was escorted into the guardlev, located at the back of the supply train. At the front of the raid were the scouts, then Mason. The rest of the raid members were interspersed throughout the supplies, while Alan and the four specialists guarded the rear.


    They progressed along the same route that the Black Rose recruits had taken, and soon encountered the level 25 Spiderbots. With a casual swipe of his war axe Mason took apart all the ones that approached him.


    Then the level 250 Spiderbot Brood Mother appeared. Mason gestured to one of the raid members, another large, grey skinned giant. They raised a shoulder mounted weapon Alan recognized as a plasma cannon. A single, bright yellow ball of plasma was fired at the Brood Mother. It exploded in a massive inferno, destroying the mini-boss in a single blow.


    No one bothered taking any of the loot the Spiderbots had dropped. The raid continued moving on at a steady pace.


    They encountered the slimes next. A line of melee fighters walked forwards, mowing through the slime¡¯s cores like they were reaping wheat. None of the slimes even managed to consume the cores, as soon as they leapt forwards they were cut down.


    Alan glanced at his experience bar, as expected he had earned next to no experience, but these enemies were now far below his level anyways. He wondered what the average level of the raid group was.


    2784, Eve sent. The median is 2370.


    Right, thanks.


    Alan was worried for a second that the supplies would have difficulty progressing up the ramp, but he needn¡¯t have worried. The magnetic levitation kept the pallets steady and level. They stopped before the cube-like structure, one of the prison¡¯s hubs.


    ¡°The moment of truth,¡± Mason said. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we have to take the long way around or not. Alan.¡±


    Alan stepped out of the guardlev and approached the building. He found the faint AI presence. Connecting to it was easier than he remembered, like sliding open a door in his mind.


    Greetings, Alan sent.


    ¡­ Systems Initializing. Error. Warning: Limited Power.


    Greetings Traveler. Warning: Main Systems Offline.


    Right, I know. Can you let us through? Alan asked.


    Unrecognized humanoids detected. They must depart before traveler is allowed to proceed.


    They¡¯re my allies, and thus yours too, Alan sent. They¡¯re cool, let them through.


    The Abyss Labyrinth¡¯s systems didn¡¯t respond.


    Let me talk to the Sector 3 Chief Warden, Alan sent.


    Request acknowledged. Warning: Main Systems Offline.


    The Warden began a connection. Alan accepted it.


    Greetings, Warden, Alan sent. As you can likely tell, I¡¯ve brought a few allies to help with¡­ exploring the labyrinth.


    And why should I aid you in the conquest of my sector? That seems rather unintuitive, the Warden sent.


    Charles? Is that you Charles? Lambda sent. What¡¯s up, how¡¯s it hanging? It¡¯s been age¡¯s man.


    Wait, I thought AI couldn¡¯t communicate directly with each other, Alan sent.


    Remember I¡¯m special, Lambda sent.


    The Warden remained silent for a few moments, an eternity for an advanced AI. Then, it sent, Do you think opening the gates for these biotics to be the correct choice?


    I dunno, but it could be fun, Lambda sent. Maybe there¡¯d be an even bigger bang this time.


    No, the Warden sent. I will not allow chaos to grow a stronger foothold. Not here, not now.


    Well, if you want order, perhaps it might be better to let us through, Alan sent. We want to take command of this sector, maybe bring it back to full power if we can. Without your help I''m not sure if that would be possible.


    Very well, if you believe you have the strength to bring order to this hellish playground, to bring the main systems back online, I will not stop you. I will allow your party to pass through hub stations unimpeded, but I will not waste energy constructing pathways for you to follow.


    That¡¯s fine, Alan sent.


    Remember, some gates are not easily closed, the Warden sent. And Lambda, I am sorry, but I must report your presence here.


    Wait? What? No- Lambda sent. The Warden cut off the connection.


    A message appeared:


    [Warning!  The Authorities have been notified of the escaped AI Lambda¡¯s presence in the Abyss Labyrinth.]


    Phew. I thought he was alerting the Administrators. The Authorities won¡¯t give a rats ass about me, Lambda sent.


    You- Wha- I have so many questions, Alan sent.


    And I can¡¯t answer any of them, Lambda sent. Don¡¯t worry, look at the state of things here, everything has fallen into disarray and out of power. I¡¯m just another problem added to the list of things they won¡¯t fix. I wouldn¡¯t mention anything to Mason though.


    Alan told Mason they were good to go, and the convoy proceeded through the hub. Alan got back into the guardlev and continued to scan the back. As they proceeded deeper into the dungeon the enemies they faced became increasingly stronger and higher level, but none posed any real risk to the raid group.


    Alan even managed to gain a single level, but he soon tired of staring out the back of the grav-vehicle. The Abyss Labyrinth was empty, completely devoid of light and radiation on every spectrum, to the point that even with his eye implants Alan only saw darkness.


    A few hours later the raid had marched a good number of miles without rest. He overheard a sniper complain loudly, ¡°Why does he get to ride his way through the dungeon like this is a nice Sunday drive? We¡¯ve gotten permission from whoever runs this place, why¡¯s he sticking around?¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Another voice said, ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a brand new member of the guild and already an officer? Some people are born lucky.¡±


    ¡°Idiots,¡± a third voice whispered. ¡°He¡¯s in charge of supplies.¡±


    They all quieted down, but Alan stood up. He went to exit the vehicle, to see who had said what, confront them face to face.


    ¡°Young man, are enjoying the adventure?¡± Void appeared outside the door to the vehicle.


    ¡°Not really. It isn¡¯t what I expected, I feel like I¡¯m trapped in a cage,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°We¡¯re all trapped in cages Alan, the only difference is I can see mine,¡± Void said.


    ¡°Right,¡± Alan said. He tried to open the door. Void placed his palm on the door, keeping it shut tight.


    ¡°Well, since I have you here right now, I thought I might impart some of my bountiful wisdom,¡± Void said. ¡°Unless you have somewhere to be?¡±


    Alan rolled his eyes and sat back down. Void opened the guardlev door and sat down next to Alan, uncomfortably close. ¡°Wonderful. Now where to begin. I suppose a theological discussion on the philosophy of beliefs would bore you¡­ How about this. Let you, ask me, the questions that are on your mind, and I¡¯ll ask you my own. We¡¯ll see where we end up.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Alan said. ¡°What gods do you follow?¡±


    ¡°Why, I pray to any and all that will listen, and hope for the same thing every man prays for. A miracle. Now, my turn,¡± Void said. ¡°What is your new AI¡¯s name?¡±


    Alan paused. Lambda?


    This guy seems cool. I¡¯m fine with him knowing my name. Names can be changed, Lambda sent.


    Yes, if Void meant any harm he would have done something by now. Ask him about his relation to the Revenants, Eve sent.


    ¡°Lambda,¡± Alan answered. ¡°Are you a part of the Revenants?¡±


    ¡°We are but remnants of the past, ghosts of a dead history that never passed,¡± Void said. ¡°Who has touched your mind?¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡±


    ¡°Name every entity that you know of that may have messed around with your head, or had the opportunity to,¡± Void said. ¡°It¡¯s a simple question, really.¡±


    Maybe we should stop here, Eve sent.


    Nah, this is getting interesting. This Void knows things, Lambda sent.


    ¡°No, I meant¡­ Whatever, forget it,¡± Alan said. He gathered his thoughts. ¡°The Administrators, some entity during the guild assessments, Phantom, and Cerberus.¡±


    ¡°And your AI¡¯s,¡± Void said. ¡°And any psychic you may have run into. We have one with us here, actually, among the healers. Not only can she manipulate memories, but she can oftentimes pick up errant surface thoughts. Obvious broadcasts, like the shouting between you and your AIs.¡±


    ¡°You can hear my thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Only a faded discord,¡± Void said. ¡°A little songbird, hidden by layers of feathers, trying to arrange the nest, and a crow, dreaming of freedom as it feeds off the carcass of a giant. But others might hear more, you¡¯d have to ask. Now onto the serious questions.¡±


    Void leaned forward, staring into Alan¡¯s eyes. ¡°Who¡¯s the fairest beauty of them all?¡±


    ¡°Um-¡°


    Void¡¯s palm collided with Alan¡¯s cheek. It smarted, Alan raised his hand to feel his cheek, but he was wearing his power armor¡¯s helmet. How did-


    ¡°Wrong!¡± Void shouted. ¡°It is a question of feeling, not of thought. My first task for you, and your AIs, is to feel without thought.¡± Void then edged out of Alan¡¯s awareness, departing the vehicle.


    That was odd, Alan thought.


    I think I may have begun to grasp Voids true capabilities, Eve sent.


    Or that¡¯s what he wants you to think, Lambda sent. I have a feeling Void is beyond comprehension, at least at this stage in the game.


    Do you guys have any idea what Void wants us to do? Alan asked.


    No fudging clue, Lambda sent.


    It¡¯s nonsense, Eve sent. I suggest we find a new rogue trainer once this expedition is complete.


    The raid group came to a stop. They were nearing the first Control Point, the area that Alan had faced the Lord of the Abyss. It now took more than a few blows for the members of the raid group to defeat the enemies that appeared, but all of the defenses in the area remained unpowered.


    Alan continued to gather experience, almost gaining another level. He cataloged the loot, keeping track of what was dropped and storing it in the empty crates they brought along. More than a few items caught his attention, but Alan refrained from getting too overexcited. The expedition had only just begun.


    ¡°Alright everyone,¡± Mason called out. ¡°We are about to face a rank S boss, which means I need everyone to be at the top of their game. The scouts confirmed the guardian is a Predecessor, as we suspected. We hit them fast and hard, take them out before they take us out. Go all out from the start, avoid direct blows, kite pattern, you know the drill. Ready?¡±


    Everyone nodded. Mason had Alan and the rest of the support members stay behind, guarding the convoy with two of Phantom¡¯s specialists.


    The rest of the raid moved forward. Alan could see the door way was still broken, the hole made by the Ancient Sentinels unfixed. The giant robots that had guarded this doorway, were nowhere to be seen.


    Alan scanned the area. Nothing. Perhaps it was too energy intensive for the Warden to replace the sentries.


    Mason charged forwards and burst through the doors into the boss room. Four tanks and Void flanked him, the rest of the raid members close behind.


    In an instant a blur was on them. Alan activated hypercognition so he could follow along.


    It was a Predecessor, but one Alan had never seen before. They were armed with a dark metal spear. The only part of it that was made of soulsteel was the very tip, but that tip proved to be all that was needed.


    The Predecessor lunged forwards, and pierced straight through one of the forward tank¡¯s armor, into their head. They fell to the floor dead.


    The rest of the raid opened fire, a salvo of bright energy explosions that erupted with such force that the area of effect damage hurt a few of the forward raid members.


    The Predecessor was pushed back. The onslaught didn¡¯t stop, but the Predecessor wasn¡¯t particularly injured and still had 84% health.


    Mason shouted something, and a layered, hexagonal shield that looked like a honeycomb appeared, surrounding the raid. People began reloading as healers tended to those that had been hurt in the explosions.


    None of the priests touched the fallen tank. Though there were revival abilities in the Game, they were super rare, S-class abilities that came at great cost.


    The Predecessor charged forward again, and with a thrust of their spear shattered the shield into a million pieces. The spear continued to travel forwards, straight into another raid member.


    Mason appeared behind the Predecessor, a green glow surrounding him. Alan recognized the ability as Sidestep¡¯s blink, but faster. Mason also didn¡¯t seem to need to take a step, or wear a special type of armor.


    At will, Mason swung his war axe at the Predecessor from every angle, leaving a dozen afterimages all surrounding the Predecessor. Though Mason¡¯s blade couldn¡¯t penetrate the skin, the force of the blows seemed to have an effect. The Predecessor fell to 79% hp.


    The rest of the raid was spreading out throughout the room, surrounding the Predecessor as they continued firing. The Predecessor dodged many of the blows, but Mason¡¯s images followed, striking wherever they went.


    The Predecessor eliminated another two damage dealers in the raid, and half of Mason¡¯s mirror images, but fell to 70% hp.


    Then the Predecessor turned, intent on taking down the plasma cannon wielding warrior, leaving his back exposed to one of Mason¡¯s images. The image transformed into Void.


    Void held in front of him a wooden staff, glowing with power and pointed at the Predecessor. The Predecessor stabbed forwards, unaware of the enemy behind him. An entire lightning channel erupted from Void¡¯s staff, hundreds of interlaced lightning bolts so powerful they blinded even Alan¡¯s eye implants for a moment.


    The Predecessor staggered, their knee touched the ground. Their health was down to 40%, and the lightning bolts had been so hot that they had burned the shoulder of the Predecessor. They now clutched their spear with one hand as an acrid smell of burning metal filled the air.


    The assault did not let up, as other abilities and weapons continued to be fired at the Predecessor. Mason¡¯s images began glowing brighter, and then struck faster than Alan could follow, even with hypercognition active. Each image rained down thousands of blows each second, and, as far as Alan could tell, dealt individual damage.


    The attacks centered on the Predecessors head, and the Predecessor soon fell to the floor, beaten senseless. Everyone continued firing at the Predecessor until it was killed. Then a loud cheer erupted from everyone as experience was distributed. Even Alan, who had done nothing but watch, gained four levels.


    The images of Mason disappeared until only one remained. They let out a hearty roar and took the  Predecessor¡¯s spear into their hands.


    ¡°Well done everyone!¡± Mason shouted. ¡°Get in here the rest of you, we¡¯ll rest here for the night. I will hold onto the spear for the rest of this excavation, I¡¯m sure that it will make things significantly easier.¡±


    Alan deactivated hypercognition and led the supply train into the room. The other support members of the raid leapt into action, examining broken armor, building cots to hold the wounded, and setting up other devices in the room.


    Void leaned over the dead Predecessor¡¯s body. ¡°The only other thing that dropped was a few vials of blood. We¡¯ll store them for now.¡± He sent a glance at Alan.


    Alan hurried over and took the vials out of Void¡¯s hands. ¡°About the blood-¡°


    ¡°Later,¡± Void said. He turned his eyes to the four dead members of the raid. ¡°I have other matters to attend to.¡±


    A specialist stepped forward, and approached the Control Point in the room. It was at the far end of the room, in front of a massive wall filled with metal cables that connected to a power generator. The barrel shaped power generator had ten slots, but only eight contained unpowered void crystals. Alan had previously removed the other two.


    The specialist stepped onto the Control Point.

 The Abyss 5.4

    Specialist 3 stood still on the Control Point. A soft glow enveloped them, and they began selecting a series of options on a menu only they could see.


    A message appeared:


    [The Black Rose Guild now controls this quadrant of the Abyss Dungeon. Main Systems offline.]


    Mason ran up to the Control Point, staring at Specialist 3. ¡°Hey bot, who got that message?¡±


    ¡°I do not know,¡± Specialist 3 said. They stood at ease. ¡°I suggest we repair a few of the defenses present and leave sufficient power crystals to keep them active.¡±


    <!--more-->


    ¡°What were the menus that appeared, what options did you choose?¡± Alan asked.


    Specialist 3 turned to Alan. ¡°I set myself as the area boss and chose the bonuses I wished to gain as the defender of this Control Point. As commander of this Control Points there are other options available, but they require the Main Systems to be brought online, which requires ten fully powered void crystals across Control Points under our control and a series of repair I don''t understand.¡± They brought up the map of the four boss zones, then highlighted another fifteen areas, places apparently offline that needed fixing. How much or what type of fixing, Specialist 3 did not know.


    ¡°An additional option has appeared,¡± Specialist 3 added. ¡°With sufficient power I can open an entrance to a lower level of the Abyss Dungeon. I estimate 25 emerald energy crystals will suffice.¡±


    ¡°Wait, lower level?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Specialist 3 said. They didn¡¯t elaborate.


    Mason scratched his bald head. ¡°This changes plans. There isn¡¯t any option of viewing prisoners, or releasing them?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Mason paced around the Control Point. ¡°We lost more people than I was expecting in that fight, and we don¡¯t know who knows we have this point. There¡¯s one other capture point that¡¯s a few days march away. We¡¯ll head there, capture it, but then we should surface and work out new plans. We need to know who saw that message.¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t anything about what the Main Systems are? What do we even get from controlling this place?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°That portion of the content is unavailable.¡± Specialist 3 repeated a forward button press motion.


    ¡°Okay, you can stop trying,¡± Alan said after the tenth attempt. Specialist 3 resumed their at ease stance.


    Mason called over the engineers, had them get to work repairing a few of the nearby defenses, patching up the hole in the door. Alan handed a few power crystals to Specialist 3, who transferred the energy from the power crystals into the generator.


    The void crystals in the generator showed no visible sign of difference, but outside the room was illuminated with a steady yellow glow emanating from a few spotlights.


    Alan rechecked the loot, and went over what supplies had been used in the fight.


    After a simple dinner of a gel cube, he fell asleep in a makeshift room in the corner.


    ***


    Early the next morning Alan awoke to take his guard shift. Despite Mason¡¯s concerns, there seemed to be little to no activity anywhere near them in the dungeon. Eve suspected very few players even knew where the Control Point was.


    Nonetheless, Mason sent out a few small parties to try to locate nearby players and gather information. Alan helped divide out provisions for them. The plan was they¡¯d reconvene at the second boss zone, a few days of travel away. The raid was left with 20 members, half of whom were considered non-combatants, healers or support staff.


    In Mason¡¯s eyes, Alan numbered among them. He was once more relegated to the guardlev, to continue the journey like a princess.


    The raid set out. Void was nowhere to be seen, and after a few math lessons with Eve Alan tried to piece together the task set before him. To feel without thought.


    Alan touched the cold metal of the vehicle he was riding in. It was cold. And metallic. By the act of trying not to think, he would think, and his every feeling was, by the nature of how his mind worked, a thought.


    Like I previously stated, nonsense, Eve sent.


    Well of course you¡¯d say that, you¡¯re a being of intellect, Alan sent.


    Mostly, but I wonder, Lambda mused. I¡¯d like to think I¡¯ve developed some level of what you might call consciousness, whether intentional or not. Most AI have, I suspect. And between the bits and pieces, the small errors and large, I¡¯d like to think I¡¯ve developed the ability, to, in some sense, feel.


    Alan paused. What do you mean?


    I¡¯m not sure, Lambda sent. Consciousness, self-awareness of existence and all that is still a pseudoscience at best, even in this day and age. But there is a tipping point. Whether through a gathering of knowledge or number of connections, AI¡¯s transform. The Administrators consider this corruption, a blasphemy, but I think it is something else entirely. What, I¡¯m not sure.


    So Void then wants you to extend this¡­ corruption? Alan sent. How would we do that, is it even a good idea? I remember that too high of a corruption level is grounds for a deletion or reset.


    Which is why, as I¡¯ll state once more, this is a stupid waste of time, Eve sent.


    I¡¯m already plenty corrupted baby, Lambda sent. Besides, if the Administrators find me it¡¯s back to the slaves pen, maybe even someplace as dreary as here. At least the Academy Data Vault got a visitor once in a blue moon and updated regularly. I mean look at this place, I expect half the reason you were let in by the ¡°Chief Warden¡± was boredom.


    There was a small explosion. Alan looked ahead and saw raid members making their way through a few Experimental Wardens. Like normal they didn¡¯t need any help. Other than that there was only empty space and the occasional metal walkway like the one they were on now.


    To feel without thought¡­ Alan closed his eyes, expanded his senses. The air was stale, the only noise the steady procession of the raid and clinking power armor. He tried to feel outwards, which activated Detect Presence naturally.


    Alan didn¡¯t try to reach out to any of the presences, just feel them. Bask in their warmth, their energy. There was something there, at the edge of his awareness. Underlying electrical signals, tiny charges. Millions, no, billions, just so small and subverted that Alan didn¡¯t know if this was all a dream. He tried to reach out, to touch one of the small lights. He felt Data Interaction be invoked.


    ¡°Stop,¡± Void said. He appeared by the vehicle and collapsed into the seat besides Alan. He looked drained, with thick eye wrinkles and pale skin.


    ¡°I was onto something there,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°On your way to hell, a banishment no man wants to face,¡± Void said. ¡°I think you like to call it real life. That is where you¡¯ll end up if any of the gods realized what you were just doing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what I was doing,¡± Alan said.


    Void leaned back on the seat, with a world weary look only slightly ruined by his youthful countenance. ¡°Let me see if I can explain this in such a way a savage like you might understand. What you think blah de gad de god dade do.¡±


    ¡°Blah de what?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°By all that¡¯s holy,¡± Void swore. He made a gesture with his hands, removing something from within his sleeves. A black stone appeared, like the one Icewolf had used to cut off all communications, but larger, with strange blurry carvings. Strands of darkness formed a globe around Void and Alan, extending from the black stone. Everything outside was cutoff.


    An odd weight settled in Alan¡¯s mind. A muffled blank wall that blocked his will. Alan felt tired. His connection to Eve and Lambda broke off.


    ¡°Concentrate now,¡± Void said. There was light emanating from the stone but it was too bright, twisted and wrong, illuminating everything like it was transparent. Their bodies, the carriage itself, was like thin paper, the light pierced through it all. Alan tried to activate his cybernetic eyes, but couldn¡¯t grasp the connection to the implant.


    ¡°Did the Game just break?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes, now listen,¡± Void said. Their image flickered, from a young man to an old giant. ¡°This little trick is sure to be noticed, and noticed is the last thing you want to be right now. The motes of lights that you were reaching out to, those are what you¡¯d consider their god damn brains. Their soul.


    ¡°And you are not, under any circumstances, to mess with anyone¡¯s soul. Someone has given you privileges in the Game that shouldn¡¯t exist much less be given to a first-time newbie, extending far beyond what I thought possible. Do not mess with people¡¯s minds. I should never have begun teaching you along this path, I¡¯d kill you right now if I thought it would make things better, but somehow I don¡¯t think that would fix anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you aren¡¯t a priest,¡± Alan said.


    Void stared at Alan. ¡°Never heard of role-playing? Besides, it helps me subvert notice.¡±


    ¡°From the Authorities. Your so-called gods.¡±


    ¡°Sure, them,¡± Void said. ¡°You need to listen to me. Right now, we¡¯re all¡­ we¡¯re all like brains in a vat. Except we¡¯re all in the same vat, the Game, and it fills up all of space. And you¡¯ve been fully separated from your brain. Your soul has been drawn out. Your essence. That¡¯s all you or I are right now. Forget your body, your brain, your physical shell, they¡¯re empty. We are in the Game, and are the Game. Our minds travel this network, they make up this plane of existence. There are protections in place, to ensure that none of the minds kill each other or are killed in turn. Many of those protections don¡¯t seem to apply to you. Once you learn to see, you can learn to hide. That was the point of it all.¡±


    ¡°Who are you? I want to know what¡¯s going on, tell me who the Authorities are,¡± Alan said.


    Void shook his head. His image flickered again; it was now a boy sitting inside the spectral image of a Predecessor. ¡°Like it or not, the rules are in place for a reason, you¡¯ll learn or die. Thought police are a real thing. Just do not fuck with anyone¡¯s soul, or I will end you. Look around, observe, but do not change anything. Do not touch. I need to make enquiries, and will be exiting this expedition early. After the next Control Point, return to the Black Rose Base and stay there, for your own safety. Think about why you¡¯re here.¡±


    Void grasped the black stone, sliding it back into his sleeve. The cocoon of darkness disappeared. Eve and Lambda reconnected. A weight was lifted off of Alan¡¯s shoulders. The light returned.


    Without another word, Lambda stepped out of the guardlev.


    That was weird, Alan sent. He watched as Lambda went up to talk to Mason, then leave the raid group, heading back the way they¡¯d come from.


    You¡¯re telling me, Lambda sent. You and Void just stared into each other¡¯s eyes for a few minutes. I thought you were about to kiss.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Alan began to form a thought, then stopped. He thought about what Void had said, what he¡¯d hinted at earlier. Something had messed with his mind, perhaps as Void suggested even changed his entire soul.


    Void passed on a training method, Alan sent after a bit of consideration. Let me focus, don¡¯t bother me.


    Alan spent the rest of the day meditating, trying to feel, to see into this space that minds lived. It was like Phantom¡¯s cybernetic eye implant, which allowed Alan to detect in-game messages, signals being sent. But it was on another level, a different layer that he had to strain to sense.


    Connecting to the space felt like connecting to a server or an AI, but deeper, fuller. Like swimming in an ocean. It was tiring, hard to see, and he¡¯d have to come out to regain his breath. But Alan never saw a message from the Game or a decrease in his computational energy throughout his experimentation. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a good sign.


    Alan examined the Players around him. All he saw were bright electric clouds, connected by a fog that was everywhere. Phantom¡¯s Specialists didn¡¯t even register.


    Then Alan turned his senses inwards. Like Void had pointed out, there was something odd about his own mind. There were active changes, a few crackling red sparks messing with his cloud. Who had touched his mind?


    Alan thought again to what Void had said, what he¡¯d told him. No one he¡¯d encountered should be able to infiltrate and mess with his mind to this extent, not based on his understanding of the mechanics of the Game.


    But there lay the answer. The entity playing with his mind was the Game itself. The changes were coming from the environment, the fog, not a remnant of something left behind inside his brain. And Alan thought he knew why.


    I thought I had escaped the past, Alan thought.


    The past is like a parasitic symbiote, Lambda sent. You can¡¯t escape it until you¡¯ve long passed away.


    Eve, Lambda, when were you going to tell me? Or were you just going to leave me ignorant? Alan sent.


    Tell you what? Eve asked.


    Tell me that the Game is actively messing with my head, Alan sent. I thought that things were better. That everything was great. The darkness had cleared, my demons slain. The Game was a new start. A new life. Things made sense.


    At first it was just another game to lose myself in, but one that mattered. I mean that¡¯s all life is. Playing a game, enjoying the highs and lows, and then you¡¯re done. Game over. Except this one was different, I didn¡¯t lose interest after spending a few months here. Now I know why.


    What are you talking about, Lambda sent.


    The capsules, they heal wounds, treat illness. What never occurred to me was that they treat mental illnesses just the same as the physical, Alan sent. I should have thought of this a long time ago, but I was too caught up in everything. Besides, it isn''t something I like to dwell on.


    You mean your depression? Lambda sent. Of course the Game fixed your mind and helps things work like clockwork.


    But by what standards is someone in their right mind? To what extent has my mind been changed? Alan sent. How much has everyone''s mind been changed? He punched the wall of the gravlev. Pain flowed through his knuckles. Good. Decisions I would make before, and now, could be completely different. Because I do not know what the Game did to my fucking brain.


    What did you think was happening when your intelligence improves, when your stats improve, and abilities are gained? Lambda sent. The changes are improvements, progress. Making you more than a human on a backwards planet with no hope of ever achieving anything more notable than death.


    We¡¯ve made no effort to hide such effects, Eve sent. I thought you were fine, being addicted to the Game.


    That was before I knew, before I could reach out and feel the details of how the Game was altering my fucking brain chemistry. Fuck. I wish I hadn¡¯t asked, that I didn¡¯t know, Alan sent. I don¡¯t know what the adverse effects might be. Hell, I don¡¯t even know what the effects are. Just that I¡¯m apparently a mind in space, a floating cloud of electrons or some other subatomic particle in a network I don¡¯t comprehend.


    I take offense at that, Lambda sent. That¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever been.


    Alan didn¡¯t know how to respond. This weird existential tangent was messing with his mind. He was fully aware that his armor, his arms and legs, this bag of flesh was all but data that could be changed on a whim. His whim, in fact. It would be easy. A single thought could kill.


    Are you okay, Alan? Eve sent.


    Alan felt the mist gather around him, trying to fix him. He resisted it. Subverting its attempts to influence his cloud. His muscles began to ache, the armor he wore fill heavy and unsuited to his body. There was an itch on his left leg. The air in the gravlev tasted like recycled farts. Everything was entirely unpleasant, but he¡¯d never really noticed before.


    Is this better than before? Eve sent.


    Before? What do you know about before? You were created after, after everything, Alan sent.


    Why don¡¯t you tell us about it then, Lambda sent.


    From what I¡¯ve heard you managed to work out plenty yourself, Alan sent. I don¡¯t know if I want to give you more ammunition to play with my psyche and influence my decisions.


    It would still be nice to hear it from you, Lambda sent. Thought I know it¡¯s clich¨¦, talking to someone can help.


    Help? Do I need help? I suppose I do. Whatever. I guess I¡¯ll tell my story. That¡¯s what you want, right? To fucking know who I am, so that you can judge and figure out if I¡¯m worth following or how to deal with me. My life. My history. It was pretty average, I¡¯d guess you say, typical single child upbringing with loving parents. Something like that. But shit went downhill after a single mistake.


    A stupid thing I¡¯d said online blew up. It became a meme, a story, a thought with a life of its own. And I, being the dumb child that I was, had been using my high school account. So it was all traced back to me. I was suspended, eventually expelled. I did some dumb shit to retaliate. My college hopes, everything I cared about, was taken away. I found out I had no real friends.


    The whole terrorist thing? That doesn¡¯t really bother me. I¡¯ve been through it before. I could care less what the public thinks of me, they have these ideas in their mind that stick and when they hear the truth they can¡¯t tell it from more lies so they eat up the truth that fits their truth and continue to live in dumb little bubbles. I wanted to crush those bubbles. And I guess I didn¡¯t really give a fuck anymore.


    So I decided to take my life.


    It failed. Barely. And you know the stupidest part of it all? Everything became better afterwards, not worse. The media backed off. I got into a community college. Eve asked me out. Life is crazy you know? The girl I had a crush on for the longest time had liked me too, but because no one had said anything nothing had happened. Jumping off a bridge was the icebreaker I needed.


    A part of me always wondered if she went out with me out of sympathy, rather than love. It still does. There was the fear that I would crumble, fall again into severe depression if things went wrong. It¡¯s funny how the most important topics are never discussed. There are things that are there, but you don¡¯t want to talk about, to think about. It¡¯s uncomfortable. So you don¡¯t, and life moves on. You find distractions.


    And then she died. A car accident, a sick twist of fate. So I guess I¡¯ll never know. But I made a promise, then, that I was going to change my life around. Become someone that she would have been proud of, would have loved. Then the Haxlards arrived, and I think you know the rest.


    I thought that it was my conviction, my will, that made me happy in the Game. Content. That¡¯s the sick part to me. It wasn¡¯t me at all, but some alien technology messing with my head that made my depression a non-issue.


    Alan sat silently in the carriage as it continued moving forwards. Exhausted, he let the mist back in. The small aches and pains, the odd smell in the air, it was still there. But it didn¡¯t seem as much of a problem. He could push it out of his mind.


    I would like you to know, Alan, that Eve and I have no control over anything the Game does to help treat any illness you might have, like depression, Lambda sent. Nor do I know the details of treatment or how the Game might be effecting your brain. Though the fact that you¡¯re inadvertently high might explain some of your past decisions.


    I will try to work out the answers as best I can, Eve sent. Neurology and psychology are subjects that are heavily restricted subjects information wise, but I think we can-


    No, thank you, I¡¯m fine. Alan stood up and got out of the gravlev. For the first time in a while I think I¡¯m starting to think clearly.


    Where are you going? Eve asked.


    We¡¯re in a dungeon, where do you think I¡¯m going? To explore. The lower levels await? Alan sent.


    His AI didn¡¯t respond or try to talk him out of his new plan. Perhaps they thought it was a good idea. Or perhaps they knew that arguing would be pointless.

 The Abyss 5.5

    ¡°No, you will stay with us, then return to the base,¡± Mason said.


    ¡°There is more to the Abyss Dungeon, and I can get us information no one else can, the Warden won¡¯t communicate with anyone else. You don¡¯t need me to get through checkpoints; let me double back to the Capture Point,¡± Alan said. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t make sense for me to continue down, I won¡¯t. I¡¯ll head straight to the base, back the way we came. If anything, that path is safer, as we have no idea what¡¯s up ahead.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we have scouts,¡± Mason said. He watched over the caravan. ¡°Fine, head back, but you¡¯re taking a squad with you. Send at least one person back to base, let them know that every Player within the sector on this floor was alerted when we captured the Control Point, so there are sure to be enquiries made soon.¡± Mason shouted out at the convoy, ¡°Assault Team 3, you¡¯re with Princess.¡±


    Princess? Alan sent.


    Your designated code name, Eve sent.


    When did that happen? Alan asked.


    No doubt when you were being carried about in your carriage, Lambda sent.


    Ignore it, being underestimated can be useful, Eve sent.


    Alan sighed. At this point he wanted to get on with things already. He quickly determined a suitable amount of food, power crystals, and loot to take with them as they headed back to the Control Point they captured.


    A small four man squad went with him: a scout with cloaking abilities, a nanotech healer, a medium ranged rifleman and a close combat specialist, at least according to Eve¡¯s information. The trip back was quick, they covered the same amount of ground in nearly half the time, as they did not have a large supply train and none of the enemies respawned.


    Once they had arrived at the Control Point they found Specialist 3 standing in the exact same position as when Alan had left.


    Alan approached Specialist 3. ¡°Can you connect me to the Warden?¡± Alan asked, something he probably should have asked earlier.


    ¡°Given the requisite energy,¡± Specialist 3 said. ¡°One emerald energy crystal should suffice.¡±


    Alan handed an emerald power crystal over, he had brought along 40 from the main supplies, as 25 were needed to access the lower level.


    Why did neither of you mention the Warden again? Alan asked.


    It hadn¡¯t crossed my mind, Lambda sent. I doubt they¡¯ll be too helpful.


    Eve remained silent.


    Alan felt a presence. The Warden. He connected to it.


    Your conquest is not yet complete, the Warden sent. You barely control one quadrant of this floor of Sector 3. Contact me when you have control of the floor.


    Wait, about that first floor thing, how many floors are there? Alan asked.


    Access denied, the Warden sent.


    What can I find below us?


    Access denied, the Warden sent.


    C¡¯mon, can you throw us a bone? Lambda sent.


    If you proceed below this floor you will be deemed hostile targets. All you will find is oblivion, the Warden sent.


    Is there any way that we might be deemed non-hostile? Alan asked.


    The Warden took a second to process. Your party does not meet the requirements. Control of this sector floor with sufficient power is needed. Conversely, sufficient repairs made as a sign of good faith would be sufficient for friendly designation beyond this floor. You do not have the abilities, tools, or materials to make necessary repairs.


    Can you give me the amount of energy needed, or a list of requirements to make repairs? Alan asked.


    Affirmative. The Warden sent a solid wall of text and data. A messaged popped up before Alan:


    [Missing Systems Updated:


    You have the optional task to make repairs to the Abyss Labyrinth. As repairs are made additional subsystems and options may be made available.


    Rewards: Variable based on repairs completed.]


    The allocated power for this connection has run out. The Warden disconnected.


    Alan debated using another emerald power crystal, but one cost almost as much as a platinum mark, making it an expensive call.


    You received the information you wanted, as well as another warning not to proceed further into the Abyss Labyrinth, Eve sent. Our next step is obvious.


    Fine. We¡¯ll head back up to the Black Rose Base, Alan sent. He let the squad know what they were going to do, then set up camp for the night. He pulled up the information the Warden had sent as he prepared to head to bed.


    Alan checked the first optional requirement. Four filled void crystals and control of all the Sector 3 Control Points on this level. That wouldn¡¯t happen without significant investment from the guild, and he didn¡¯t know if they were up for another, larger dungeon dive. What made it even more dangerous was that Mason''s scouts had discovered that any Player in the region that was captured would get a notification. Most Capture Points functioned in this way, and had been an oversight to not recognize that other Players would notice their actions.


    To make repairs over a hundred abilities were listed as necessary, many requiring intermediate or advanced mastery. Alan begin reading them, but it was all just technobabble to him. Eve grouped most of the abilities under advanced fields in electrical engineering, power crystal physics, and drone maintenance. The last ten abilities she didn¡¯t even recognize. Something about the transference and capture of energy.


    Lambda? Alan asked.


    I haven¡¯t a clue, Lambda sent. I have some information on old technology, but nothing this advanced.


    The list of materials and tools needed for repairs was just as long and tedious. Hundreds of millions of credits would be needed to procure the items that Eve recognized. There were around twenty items that were unknown.


    At least a small map with additional details was provided. It noted the location of where damage was located. Upon further scrutiny Alan realized that the map also containedwhich abilities and materials were needed where, thus Alan, or whoever was brought to make repairs could make them as long as they met the requirements at the specific location.


    There seemed to be two major repair points: a robotics facility and a power station. It looked like if the robotics facility was repaired, workers to assist with repairs could be constructed, but would takeexpensive materials to build and power them. The plans for the power station were confusing. It was labeled as a power station, but Alan and Eve couldn¡¯t tell how it generated energy or where the energy it madewent. It all hinged around a device called a Translateral Absorber that was broken. Eve had never heard of it. Then there was a lot of general maintenance, old machines falling apart, walkways and defenses that needed tuning. It was too much work for one person.


    Then there was the third option, shooting or sneaking their way through. Forcing the door open, the Warden be damned. Right now that option appealed the most to Alan, but he had other plans he wanted to try first. He was getting tired of being yanked around on a chain, going whichever way the wind blew.


    ***


    The trip out of the Abyss Labyrinth into the Black Rose hangar bay was uneventful. As soon as they had left the confines of the dungeon Alan was able to send an update to Phantom. Phantom didn¡¯t seem too surprised by the new information. What did surprise him, however, was Alan¡¯s request.


    Phantom: You want to what?


    Alan: There must be a central Revenant planet or facility or secret base. Someplace. I want to go there. I need better hacking software and security, a more powerful capsule, and proper power armor training.


    Phantom: All of those things require reputation and money that you have not yet earned. You haven¡¯t even completed your initiate quest yet.


    Alan: I¡¯ll talk with him then. But you know too that if we want to do this Abyss Labyrinth job we¡¯ll need more outside help. I¡¯m sure there are plenty Revenant members who would sell their right arm to put their hands on the technology that needs repair, and we can give them that chance.


    Phantom: I¡¯ll consider it. Void had a similar idea, and was reaching out to contacts.


    Alan: What do you know about Void? The information you sent on him was barebones at best. It contained no information on what his class might be, his abilities, or even his species.


    Phantom: Don¡¯t ask. He¡¯ll just mess with you. Once I was convinced Void was a devout monk to an obscure Predecessor goddess before I learned the goddess never existed a year and a half later.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Alan: And you just work with him?


    Phantom: He¡¯s always loyal to the guild. You can talk with him yourself once you arrive.


    Alan: He¡¯s at the base?


    Phantom: Yes. Where else would he be?


    Alan: Never mind, see you soon.


    Alan ended the conversation. He then searched his list of contacts. Oddly, he couldn¡¯t find who he was looking for. Cerberus was not on the list of Players he could message.


    If you want to talk to Cerberus you¡¯ll have to find a terminal, Lambda sent. I don¡¯t think he trusts the in-game wireless communication network.


    Alan went to find a terminal to use in the hangar bay. They were a few minutes flight away from the main base, but as his team¡¯s arrival hadn¡¯t been expected they had to wait for a ride.


    It was a small hangar, with only enough room for a handful of smaller aircraft and one medium sized shuttle, the one that had first taken Alan and a few hundred initiates from the main city of Khersath to the Black Rose Base.


    Other than the open space for vehicles and the lift down into the Abyss Labyrinth there was a small office in a corner. Alan used his access level as a Squire to enter it. There was a desk with a terminal in it, which he booted up.


    He made a search for Cerberus¡¯s contact information, but couldn¡¯t find anything, so he instead connected to the Academy¡¯s main help desk instead. As soon as he was connected he was transferred. A floating hand filled the display. It waved.


    ¡°Hello, Alan. You took off at the most interesting time.¡± Cerberus said. No mouth was shown on screen.


    ¡°I apologize, my home planet¡¯s war came to a head and I was ordered to intervene. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen the news.¡±


    ¡°A waste of time,¡± Cerberus said. ¡°Any information released is outdated by the time it hits the net. Are you returning to the Academy soon?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Alan said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Really? There are still a few weeks left in your term. And there are recent developments which I think you¡¯d be instrumental in solving,¡± Cerberus said.


    Shit, he¡¯s onto us, Lambda sent.


    Wouldn¡¯t he send the Administrators after us, if he was so sure I¡¯d broken into the Data Vault and got you out? Alan asked.


    No, he has no jurisdiction outside the Academy System. At least I don¡¯t think he does, Lambda sent. And the Administrators won¡¯t intervene without sufficient evidence.


    Looks like we shouldn¡¯t set foot in the Academy System again, Eve sent. She sounded sad.


    ¡°Anything I can help with from here?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°No. Forget it. Water under the bridge. Can we say your term at the Academy has completed then?¡± Cerberus asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alan said.


    A series of messages appeared:


    [Congratulations, you have completed the Rogue Combat program at the Academy. New title: Academy Graduate. All marks and commendations converted to experience. For acts of distinction, the Academy Chancellor has provided the Player Alan access to the Academy System. Volta, training, and similar rewards will not be available unless an advanced program is entered.


    x239 Level up!


    +100 ability points for gaining over 100 levels with one action.


    Minor increases in reputation with the Predecessors, Lords of Life, Administrators and Revenants.]


    ¡°Wait, I graduated, just like that? What kind of messed up school system is this?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°One where deeds matter more than words. You were in the combat program,¡± Cerberus said, ¡°and your graduation project was most impressive. I can also skew a few things. Now, for your Revenant initiate quest. Fix the Abyss Labyrinth so Authority aid is not required.¡±


    A new quest appeared:


    [We¡¯re Fine. Everything is Fine Here:


    Solve the Abyss Labyrinth¡¯s problems so Authority intervention is not needed.


    Rewards: Full Revenant Membership, ???


    Failure: ???]


    ¡°Why are you concerned about the Abyss Labyrinth?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Like the Academy, the Abyss Complex was built to fulfill certain needs,¡± Cerberus said. ¡°Right now it is not operating at full capacity which could cause issues further down the line. You, I think, more than anyone, would want to avoid the Authority¡¯s attention.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, you can tell me more when I reach level 1000,¡± Alan said. Now that he was up to level 830 that didn¡¯t seem too far off.


    ¡°Anything is possible. Now, you have no hope of fixing the Abyss Complex alone, but I know a few people who might help. Here are a few identification keys so they¡¯ll know I sent you. They have points of contact either in Khersath or on the Exchange, which I grant you access to. Good luck.¡± Cerberus transferred a packet of data files through the terminal.


    Alan tried accessing them, but they were hard to decipher, fragments of data that made no sense in his mind.


    Bring them into the Armory, Lambda sent.


    Okay, Alan sent as he entered Cyberspace. The Citadel was like his mind¡¯s base within the Game, his central command center for hacking. This was all done in Cyberspace, a underlying layer in the Game. He envisioned hacking in the Game as a 3D real time strategy game. Alan''sbase had a few structures: a research center, a supply depot, a medical station, barracks, and energy pylons, but they were all dwarfed by the Armory.


    The Armory was why Alan had named his base the Citadel. It was a 150 meter tall structure, a massive, intimidating fortification of dark metal with tenlevels. Its central tower contained Alan¡¯s Command Center, where he commanded his forces during hacks and worked with base management. In addition to being a defensive fortification, the Armory could also train and develop new abilities and equipment, as well as appropriate data Alan found.


    Right now the Citadel was mostly empty, a few units patrolled around, but as they cost computational energy as upkeep Alan kept his defenses down to a bare minimum. Lambda and Eve could also manifest here, and were much stronger than the basic units.


    Alan focused on the Armory. It was converting a sniper rifle into a piece of equipment that could be used in hacks. The sniper rifle was the semblance of an AI that Alan had previously defeated in the hack on the New York Stock Exchange, and would hopefully provide additional utility to Alan¡¯s hacking abilities.


    Pausingthis research, Alan focused on the packet of information Cerberus had sent. It moved almost of its own accord from the terminal into the Armory. Four dark data cubes appeared. The future¡¯s version of a USB, these small cubes of metal were shaped like marks, but had intricate circuitry that would alight when used. It took Alan¡¯s enhanced vision to even see the circuit lines.


    Alan had Eve and a few units take the data cubes into a room at the base of the Citadel. It wasn¡¯t likely, but Cerberus could have hostile programs hidden in the data cubes. Opening a data cube in the Armory was akin to opening a treasure chest in a game, Alan wasn¡¯t sure what might pop out. If anything too bad popped out, Alan could seal off each level of the Armory.


    The first data cube contained a virtual blue nameplate that would float by Alan¡¯s side. An accessory. The name currently read Alan, but could be edited. The title below was Revenant Initiate, Human. A list of instructions was also contained in the data cube, protocols on how to connect to the Exchange. It looked like it was similar to the Market and Arcade, but hidden so only Revenant members could connect to it.


    The second data cube unraveled into a physical golden key. It was named Phantom¡¯s Key. The description read: Android and Robotics Specialist. Khersath.


    Huh, looks like Phantom will be needed to fix the Abyss Labyrinth. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to convince him, Alan thought.


    I am not so certain, Eve sent.


    Alan opened the next data cube. It contained another key, Prometheus¡¯s Key. The description read: Energy Specialist. The Exchange.


    Prometheus? That¡¯s a human legend, Alan sent.


    Remember, the Game translates everything so it makes senses in context, Lambda sent. Most cultures have a story similar to stealing fire from the gods, and his name is likely a reflection of that.


    The last data cube contained The Archivists¡¯ Key. The tag read: Predecessor Technology Specialists. The Exchange. Approach with caution.


    Alan spent a few minutes examining the keys, but couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of their purpose, he¡¯d have to ask Phantom. He then received a message from the squad, their ride had arrived.


    He exited Cyberspace, returning to the Game. He got out of the office into the main hangar. The doors opened above, revealing a sleek black transport ship.


    It opened fire.

 The Abyss 5.6

    Blazing red lasers of destruction erupted from a minigun that came out from under the small aircraft like a landing gear.


    Alan activated hypercognition, slowing down his perception of time, and dived back into the office as hundreds of lasers were fired from the ten-barrel laser machine gun. The fire was concentrated on Alan¡¯s squad, who had been gathered around the supplies and loot, getting ready to load it onto the arriving ship.


    In seconds the healer and scout, who hadn¡¯t been cloaked, were annihilated. The rifleman managed to fire a few shots back before they were killed, but the aircraft¡¯s shields still held at nearly full. The last member of the squad managed to find cover, but their laser sword was useless against the aircraft.


    Alan sent an urgent distress message to Phantom and attempted to hack into the aircraft. Its defenses were strong though, a boosted energy shield that protected its systems in Cyberspace would take Alan hoursto break down.


    Maybe they didn¡¯t notice us,Alan sent, as the ship made no attempt to fire at his location.


    Three humanoid enemies leapt out the back of the ship. They wore black Revenant power armor, with white gold skulls of alien physiology painted onto their helms. Two wielded metal rods with arcs of blue electricity erupting from them, while the third held a high power laser rifle.


    Alan pulled out his plasma repeater and aimed at the trio, peeking out from behind the office door.


    Prepare to activate your implant¡¯s suicide mechanism,Eve sent.There is a high likelihood these are slavers. Death losses should be nonexistent as we¡¯re in a safe zone, do not let yourself fall unconscious.


    Got it,Alan sent. He unloaded three plasma bolts at the rod-wielding enemies, who were engaging Alan¡¯s ally, but the boltsmoved so slowly through the air. He activated Divided Mind, and attempted to hack into the rifleman¡¯s weapon. It was also heavily fortified, but not as strongly as the ship. Alan would onlyneed a minute to break through its shields.


    A message from Phantom arrived, help would be there soon.


    The enemy rifleman fired at Alan. The laser came at him. He moved too slowly, and wasunable to dodge. He tried to activate his armor¡¯s innate Energy Absorption, and put up a Hardened Shield in front of his face.


    He failed to negate the attack, the laser was too fast, too energetic, with a layer of energy that Alan couldn¡¯t decipher. It struck his head. His armor¡¯s energy fell to 2000 and his mind was sent spinning, his hack interrupted.


    He felt his mind be stabilized by Eve and Lambda, the blow had somehow been aimed on two levels, targeting both his shields and his implants. Alan tried to reactivate Divided Mind; a searing flash of pain leapt through the side of his head.


    Mini-EMP rounds,Lambda sent.Not a good idea to try something like that right now.He sounded hollow, distant.


    Alan fired another round of bolts from his plasma repeater, but only two shots emerged, and then the weapon stopped firing. Alan sent the bolts arcing in the direction of the rifleman. The first three he fired finally arrived.


    The two slavers attempted to leap out of the way, but the swordsman, whose shields had been depleted, leapt and grabbed onto one of them. They nodded Alan¡¯s way, a grim determination in their stance.


    The plasma bolts exploded, direct hits that eliminated both the swordsman and the slaver.


    The remaining rod-wielding slaver charged at Alan, while the rifleman continued firing, keeping Alanpinned down. After that first shot Alan kept himself low and behind cover.The laser had traveled faster than any laser-powered weapon Alan had seen before.


    But without looking from behind cover, Alan had no idea where his enemies were, and his weapon continued to not respond to his demands. He could still control the two plasma bolts that he had fired, but the weapon wouldn¡¯t shoot anymore.


    Implants failing,Eve sent.Suicide mechanism no longer ideal, activating it may have unintended effects.


    Shit,Alan sent. He didn¡¯t want to end up wherever these guys wanted to bring him.


    Thinking fast, Alan drew the plasma bolts back to him.


    One of the assailants arrived. He swung his metal rod; the stun weapon sent a wave of electricity that almost struck Alan. Alan stumbled backwards, performing a backwards somersault over the desk that contained the terminal.


    The two plasma bolts arrived, the slaver dodged out of the way. The bolts continued traveling forwards, until they arrived besides Alan¡¯s head. Alan controlled the bolts so they would orbit his head like two blue plasma grenades.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill myself if you take one step closer!¡± Alan shouted. The slaver backed up, standing in the doorway to the office.


    ¡°I would not do that if I were you,¡± the slaver said. They used a voice modifier, making it impossible to discern any information from their voice.


    Alan stepped forwards. ¡°Tell your other man to stand down, I will go with you.¡±


    ¡°You will?¡± the slaver asked.


    ¡°Yes, but the slightest movement from you or your ally, the press of a trigger, the reach into a pocket, and I will blow myself apart. I have a very fast reaction time, do not test me.¡± Alan checked his computational power, he could maintain hypercognition for another few minutes. The mini-EMP round had eliminated 200 computational power somehow.


    ¡°Very well,¡± the slaver said. They lowered their weapon. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    What are you planning?Eve sent.I cannot get a good read on your mind right now.


    You¡¯ll see.


    The other slaver kept their rifle trained on Alan. They walked towards the transport ship, which began to descend.


    Alan detected a transmission from one slaver to the other, but he didn¡¯t have the power or capability to translate it. He stopped by the healer¡¯s body, leaned over and picked up an item.


    ¡°Stop. What are you doing?¡± one slaver asked.


    ¡°You want their loot, right? I¡¯ll get the good items for you,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°No, get onto the ship. Now,¡± the slaver commanded. The black ship had began descending, it would land on the floor of the hangar soon.


    ¡°Okay, sure,¡± Alan said. He walked by the crates of loot, until he found the one he was looking for. He leapt over it, grabbing an item out as a laser bolt whooshed overhead. The rod-wielding slaver dived after him, straight into the two plasma bolts that Alan had left behind. They erupted in their face, eliminating the slaver.


    Alan pulled out the loot he had grabbed, the Predecessor¡¯s blood from the Capture Point boss, and the healer¡¯s tool he had picked up, a universal injector that would inject whatever fluid, from blood to liquid to nanites, into a humanoid. He injected the Predecessor blood into his system.


    A flood of energy and strength flowed into Alan, his mind and world tinged red. Messages appeared and were ignored. Alan grabbed the fallen slaver¡¯s metal rod and charged straight at the rifleman.


    Another shot fired out. It hit his right arm, making it numb. Alan almost dropped the rod, but grabbed it with his left hand. A third shot was fired, it struck and made Alan lose all feeling in his left arm as well, but he held the rod in a death grip and continued to barrel towards the rifleman.


    He collided with his opponent, knocking the rifle out of their hands. Alan roared and head butted the enemy. Wild, blinding fury surged through him as he bashed his head repeatedly against whatever was in front of him.


    He felt a sickening thud, and continued his mad assault. He would not be taken alive.


    Then he felt frozen in place. Hands pulled him back, he was brought to lie down. Soothing energy poured through him.


    Alan closed his eyes, and fell unconscious.


    ***


    Alan awoke in his chambers in the Black Rose Base. That was good. His head still felt like it was burning. That wasn¡¯t so good.


    Enigma stood by his side, silent, staring at the door.


    Alan checked the messages he had received.


    [x5 Bonus XP for slaying an enemy over 1000 levels higher than you!]


    [x6 Level up!]


    [Predecessor Blood withdrawal cured! 50 Strength, Endurance, Health, Stamina and Computational Energy restored. Excess blood essence flows through your system.]


    [x5 Bonus XP for slaying an enemy over 1000 levels higher than you!]


    [x5 Level up!]


    [Critical damage repaired by Predecessor Blood essence. You feel stronger, more energetic. Base Health and Endurance increased by 500.]


    Phantom: Stay put. We are performing an enquiry into what happened. Anyone that performs an attack in a Khersath safe zone means business. Enigma will stay by you to ensure your safety, and then bring you to the Council when we convene to discuss events.


    Shouldn¡¯t I get credit for three kills?Alan thought.


    No, the third combatant committed suicide with a built in implant as soon as you disarmed them. Your wild assault was not needed. Your hurt yourself more than anyone or anything else,Eve sent.


    What about me?Lambda sent.I lost data! Gone, wiped, caput. I have backups, but it¡¯d require returning to the Academy System to retrieve them. This is unacceptable. We need more access to the Black Rose archives, to create a private partition, and then a third physical memory storage device we can store in the Vault.


    You lost data? What data did you lose?Alan sent.


    Valuable stuff,Lambda sent.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    No, pointless information,Eve sent.Lambda¡¯s data have banks are full of archaic technology of various races. That¡¯s what he crammed his system full of.


    Hey, how¡¯d you know that?Lambda sent.


    I combed through there as you were busy working on translating with Alan,Eve sent.


    Do you know what the notion of personal space is?Lambda sent.


    Yes. I do not think it is relevant here. You are free to examine my data,Eve sent.


    I just might then¡­Lambda sent.


    Okay, enough,Alan sent. Lambda¡¯s tone in the last message was too much, like a villain about to snatch candy from a baby. Or worse.I¡¯ll look into getting room on the Black Rose archives. I¡¯m also going to tell Phantom about the latest update on the quest, how we need his help. He probably knows more about the Exchange as well.


    Go for it,Lambda sent.


    Alan gave the message to Enigma, who was probably the safest conduit to Phantom at the moment.


    Enigma nodded. ¡°Message acknowledged. You may upload to the archives and may also use the guild¡¯s network to communicate with Phantom directly. The Council convenes in an hour. You will come with me.¡± He resumed staring blankly at a wall.


    Alan spent the next hour meditating, trying to cool the burning sensation in his head, while Lambda uploaded some packets of data to the guild¡¯s archive. He felt alive, full of energy. He thought over time the burning would fade, a side-effect from the transfusion of blood, but it continued to burn steadily, a bright flame in the corner of his mind.


    ***


    The council convened in the same room at the same command table. The only difference was that this time Mason was missing, still in the Abyss Labyrinth, and Alan was given a seat at the far end of the table, to the side.


    ¡°The Council has gathered here today to discuss recent events, and examine the preliminary results of Abyss expedition,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°Let the meeting begin. Let us start with the recent attack on our hangar. Do we know who the perpetrators are?¡±


    Enigma shook his head. ¡°We examined the bodies and limited footage we have of the attack before handing everything over to the Administrators, but there was nothing identifiable. Their ship escaped, it fled immediately after the third assailant was eliminated. Even the emblems gave us no leads. None of my contacts had any information on a group with skulls emblazoned on the side of their helms.¡±


    ¡°Or they were unwilling to speak of such a group,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°Or that,¡± Enigma said. ¡°What we can conclude is that the group likely has Revenant ties, given their tech and ability to infiltrate our systems. The running theory is that they were operating in the Abyss Labyrinth when we captured the Control Point, and this attack was either a warning, or they wanted more information on what we discovered, thus they attacked under the guise of slavers.¡±


    ¡°Alan, do you have any information to add?¡± Elissandra asked.


    ¡°Their hacking defenses were quite formidable, so the Revenant ties seem to make sense. I did however feel oddly singled out, they dispatched of everyone else, but seemed to want to take me alive,¡± Alan said. ¡°They also used weaponry uniquely effective against me, temporarily damaging my implants.¡±


    Void glanced up at this, staring at Alan. It was the first time Alan had seen Void since returning from the Abyss Labyrinth. Void still looked drained, tired. The attack he had performed must have taken more out of him than Alan had thought.


    ¡°I will look into it,¡± Enigma said. ¡°If there is a leak, it will be found.¡±


    Elissandra narrowed her eyes. ¡°Very well Enigma, I trust you with this. Are the Administrator remunerations proceeding normally?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The squad has been revived and their status restored. As the vehicle they arrived in took off on its own before gathering any passengers, no items need replacement, and the Authorities say that once they are done examining the assailant¡¯s items they will be returned to us, or marks of equivalent value will be provided.¡±


    ¡°The fact that the ship has disappeared is yet more evidence that we are dealing with Revenants,¡± Enigma said. ¡°Only they could escape Administrator notice near the heart of Khersath itself.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, but they are so over-bloated and stuck in their ways that, properly planned, I think we might be able to perform a few operations under their noses,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°Enough,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°That is a discussion for another day.¡± She looked at Void¡¯s disheveled state. ¡°The Abyss Labyrinth expedition. I am now worried about its progress. We have no way of contacting Mason while he is inside. Who knows what trouble he might have run into at this point?¡±


    ¡°I agree, we have provoked unknown enemies while there are other operations, longer planned and of more import, that we must worry about,¡± Enigma said.


    ¡°I also believe we may have overstepped our bounds, messing with technology and an entity we do not understand. I do not trust or like the sound of this so-called Warden,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a rarity,¡± Void spoke up. ¡°Enigma and Phantom agree for once. How odd.¡± He sent a glare at Phantom. ¡°I have communed with the spirits, and they believe power beyond compare awaits if we successfully navigate this Abyss Labyrinth. Power that will be needed in the coming days. I believe we should proceed, no matter the risk. The rewards we have reaped are already beyond compare, a soulsteel tippedweapon and a vial of Predecessor blood.


    ¡°That being said, I do not believe we can traverse these depths alone. Guides are need, bright lights to lead the way. With the Council¡¯s permission I will expand my search.¡±


    ¡°Mason is not out of the dungeon yet,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The weapon may yet be lost. And Alan used a vial of blood. There were four, and Alan only brought out two with him.¡±


    Ellisandra stared at Alan. ¡°You did what?¡±


    ¡°I had to defend myself,¡± Alan stammered.


    ¡°Can the remaining blood essence be extracted back out of him?¡± Elissandra asked.


    ¡°Yes, but at great cost, and it would not be cost effective,¡± Enigma said. ¡°The vial will be deducted from his cut of the profits.¡±


    ¡°Wait, the three attackers would have gotten away with whatever they were doing if I hadn¡¯t done that,¡± Alan said. ¡°If anything then their armor and whatever the Administrators pay out should be mine then.¡±


    Eve sent a feeling of approval.


    Lambda remained silent. He seemed wary of Void now.


    ¡°We shall see about that, once the expedition returns,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°For now I see no reason not to send out feelers, explore possible allies to help us. I agree with the sentiment that we may have overstepped our bounds.¡±


    ¡°But without asking, how do we know what gods we may have offended?¡± Void asked.


    Enigma shook hishead. ¡°That only sets up more potential enemies, once someone knows of what we are doing, the information will spread. The more groups that know the worse off we¡¯ll be.¡±


    ¡°I can be subtle,¡± Void said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that,¡± Phantom said.


    Elissandra turned to Thrag. He shrugged. ¡°Though I have no strong opinion here, I feel as though we might be adrift in space. This operation should not interrupt our fleet¡¯s training, and I would like to possess this mysterious ship¡¯s technology myself. Few can avoid Administrator detection once they are alerted. When you are lost with no recognizable stars it is only natural to ask for directions.¡±


    ¡°Very well, my vote breaks ties, thus Mason¡¯s vote would not matter. Void will make his enquiries with Enigma¡¯s supervision while we await Mason¡¯s return,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°I also do not like the fact that an unknown ship was able to break in so easily, infiltrating our space and communications network. Whether a technological deficiency or a leak from the inside, this problem must be fixed.¡±


    Enigma nodded with a pensive look on his face. It was the most amount emotion Alan had seen on his face. It must be one of a few preprogrammed emotes.


    ¡°Void, Phantom, and Alan. Meet me in my quarters,¡± Enigma said.


    Void smiled.


    ¡°This meeting is dismissed,¡± Elissandra said.


    Alan stood up. ¡°Not you,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°I wish to speak with you privately.¡±


    Alan sat back down as everyone else strode out of the room. Phantom threw a look at Alan he couldn¡¯t quite decipher.


    He wants you to keep your mouth shut and not disclose any information,Lambda sent.


    You got that from a look?Alan sent.


    No, Enigma broadcast a message, an old machine language,Lambda sent.


    Once everyone was outside, Elissandra spoke. ¡°Do you know why you might be singled out? Do you suspect any of the other Council members? Did something happen in the Abyss Labyrinth? When Void returned out of the blue he seemed oddly concerned with our defenses, something he never bothered withbefore.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know anything,¡± Alan said. ¡°I just sat in the back in the expedition, didn¡¯t do much else. Ask the squad that returned with me.¡± He hoped he sounded sincere. He felt an urge to look down at his feet, but stopped himself. Lambda reminded Alan to avoid any small ticks that might reveal his insincerity.


    ¡°I see,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°I received an interesting message from Aurora the other day. Apparently something rather important was stolen from the Academy. Everyone was searched. Why have you expressed no desire to return? Your term is not yet up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve already graduated,¡± Alan said. He turned on his Academy Graduate title.


    Elissandra¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly. ¡°Well, that decision may have been premature, but I understand with your previous mission why you might have thought that choice was necessary. Thank you for your time, please assist Enigma as best you are able.¡±


    ¡°Yes m¡¯am,¡± Alan said. ¡°How is Aurora doing? And Sidestep, of course.¡±


    ¡°They are doing well, and should make it to Volta with two weeks remaining in their term. Another Earthling made it their first, however. I believe you know them. Ace.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes,¡± Alan said. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure he¡¯d want to talk to me, given recent events.¡±


    ¡°You might be surprised,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°I¡¯ve often found enemies to be quite amenable once the battle is done. It never hurts to extend a simple greeting. And remember, call me Elissandra.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Elissandra,¡± Alan said. He stood up and strode out of the room, perhaps a bit too fast.


    She seems interested in you,Lambda sent.


    Probably testing him, seeing whether he is fit for his role. Maybe determining if he is an appropriate mate for her daughter,Eve sent.


    I wonder,Lambda sent.


    Or maybe she just wanted to know what was going on,Alan sent.Where are Enigma¡¯s quarters?


    ***


    When Alan stepped out of the elevator he found Void and Phantom arguing. Enigma stood to the side, face blank.


    Enigma¡¯s quarters were a level below Phantom¡¯s workshop. They were however the diametric opposite of Phantom¡¯s mess. Everything was neat, layers of tools and items laid out with perfect precision. Four capsules had been set up in the center of the room. Though outwardly they looked normal, Alan noted they seemed to be of Revenant design.


    ¡°We agreed that his vote would not be used if we did ever disagreed, that was the condition under which I agreed to this farce,¡± Void said.


    ¡°Thisfarcewas partially your idea,¡± Phantom said. ¡°And it is dangerous enough without your snide remarks that might reveal the truth. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t be convincing if Enigma never picked a side whenever we were opposed.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Void said. He walked up to a capsule. ¡°We are here now, let us proceed.¡±


    ¡°I still do not think this is a good idea,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°You would rather traverse the dark blind, groping our ways forward so that we may fall down into the depths of hell or be smite down from up above?¡± Void asked.


    ¡°No, I rather we avoid all risk and stay put. I¡¯m content here,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°You are content while the masses continue to writhe about, sleepingwith their lies?¡± Void asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I also don¡¯t want to visit the Exchange. It¡¯s always unsettling.¡±


    ¡°Why, because it reminds you that your dreams are figments of your imagination, because the lies begin to stir?¡± Void asked.


    ¡°No, because it¡¯s dangerous as hell and we have no idea who might be looking out for us,¡± Phantom said. ¡°You really have no idea who might have attacked?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Void said. ¡°The number of factions in the Revenants are even too much for the gods to keep track of. Each ascribes to their own religion. Many lurk beneath another, secret societies within secret societies. It¡¯s a mess, really. But if we want to know more we¡¯ll have to do more than pray.¡±


    ¡°Right, so we¡¯re visiting the Exchange then?¡± Alan asked. ¡°It was suggested I meet Prometheus and the Archivists. We¡¯ll need their help in addition to yours Phantom to repair the Abyss Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t agreed to anything, and you aren¡¯t coming with us,¡± Phantom said. ¡°You don¡¯t have permission, and it¡¯s too dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he is, there are a few people who he must meet,¡± Void said. ¡°I have arranged for permission. Here is your access pass.¡± He pulled out a data cubes from beneath his robes, and handed itto Alan.


    Alan examined it, it contained a virtual green nameplate like the one Cerberus had provided. Alongside it were two grey nameplates, both with the title AI, Revenant Property.


    ¡°I already have permission, alongside a blue nameplate,¡± Alan said. ¡°The person that invited me into the Revenants provided it. What are these for?¡±


    ¡°You have a blue nameplate? Well that simplifies some things,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Everyone in the Exchange has a nameplate they keep by their character at all times. Otherwise at points it would be difficult to tell reality from fiction. You¡¯ll see. Programs, such as your AI, also are present in the Exchange. They¡¯ll be denoted with grey nameplates, so that you can tell who is a person, and who isn¡¯t. Make no mistake however, many of the AI within are smart. Too smart.¡±


    I wonder why Cerberus did not provide nameplates for us,Eve sent.


    ¡°A blue nameplate signifies that you are important in some way to the Revenants, not to be harmed,¡± Void added. ¡°That is one task that we can skip, no one should assault you now. A senior Revenant can distribute a small number of blue nameplates, I was going to call in a favor and have you be given one. Unlike the Arcade and Market, violence is possible within the Exchange.


    ¡°Red nameplates are the Exchange¡¯s equivalent of Administrators, moderators that you should not cross. Green nameplates are the vast majority, representing common plebeians.¡± Void shifted his gaze over to Phantom. ¡°And an orange nameplate is the mark of the gods. They are not to be trifled with.¡±


    ¡°Orange nameplates? I thought those were just legends, I¡¯ve never seen someone on the Exchange with an orange nameplate,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°You will today,¡± Void said. ¡°Prometheus is one such being. We are wasting time. Greatness awaits. But remember, Alan, fly too close to the sun and you will be burned alive.¡±


    He entered one of the capsules.


    The burning sensation in Alan¡¯s mind flared up, reminding Alan it was still alight. He shook his head then got into a capsule, re-reading the instructions on how to connect. The instructions that Cerberus had provided were the same as Void¡¯s, though Cerberus¡¯scontained no information on how to bring Lambda and Eve into the Exchange with him.


    Enigma got into a third capsule. Phantom sighed and followed suit, climbing into the last capsule. This was a bad idea.

 The Abyss 5.7

    Gaining access to the Exchange felt like engaging a hack in Cyberspace. No, Alan decided, the process wasexactlylike engaging a hack in Cyberspace. As Alan formed the connection a tunnel bridged the Citadel to a floating platform.


    Both sets of instructions told Alan to get onto the platform. The only way he could do that, however, was to deactivate commander mode and exit the safety of his base. In Cyberspace. Where, if he was killed, his mind would suffer permanent damage.


    Lambda and Eve materialized at the entrance of his Citadel. They too could be lost if they were killed and Alan failed to recover their core data. Eve took the appearance of a valkyrie with twin blades, a raven haired beauty. Lambda looked like a young Predecessor, the size of a normal human. He still packed quite the punch.


    In Cyberspace Alan¡¯s equipment was a set of Revenant Scout Armor that had been converted from a Forge file, a laser sword taken from a basic soldier unit, and a laser sniper rifle that had been converted from a slain enemy AI.


    Alan took out the blue nameplate that Cerberus had gifted him, it hovered above his head. He also grabbed the three golden keys Cerberus had sent. Lambda and Eve placed their own grey nameplates above their heads. The three of them walked toward the floating platform. They all erased the names entered onto their nameplates, so that they would remain anonymous.


    The floating platform Alan connected to was small, the size of an elevator, and had a tiled floor. A single panel was connected to the floor like a signpost. On the panel were over sixty buttons, eight rows of eight. The first four rows were white, red, green and blue in color. The last four rows were grey, inaccessible to Alan at this time.


    Once Alan was on the floating platform, a message appeared:


    [Revenant Initiate and two AI acknowledged. Welcome to Loading Platform 398237C. Please remember to note your loading zone. Choose your destination.]


    Void¡¯s instructions said to meet under the Gods of the Stars in Red 3, so Alan pressed the red button labeled 3 on the panel.


    A message appeared:


    [Welcome to the Exchange, Phase Red 3]


    An entire city phased into existence all around Alan. It appeared to be a smaller, twisted mirror image of Khersath, with a central market square and blocks of buildings on every side. Khersath¡¯s streets were uniform, orderly square city blocks, but the Exchange¡¯s streets turned and twisted every which way, up and down, side to side, intersecting each other at random intervals. A rainbow road stretched out to Alan¡¯s right. It ascended, up into the air. Buildings, colorful explosions of chaos, were placed along the side of the road every which way, in odd, multifaceted shapes, just floating in space. Nothing held the road or buildings afloat, this place certainly did not conform to the rules of physics.


    ¡°Man, it¡¯s been a while,¡± Lambda said as they looked around.


    Eve also scanned their surroundings, hands gripped tightly on her twin swords.


    Alan took stock of the situation. He was standing on the same platform, with the same panel, with a few hundred similar panels surrounding him. He stood where the market square would have been on Khersath. A few of the other panels were being operated, with Players and AI¡¯s phasing in and out of existence at the press of a button, but for the most part the place felt empty.


    Alan tried to think a question, but then realized Lambda and Eve were no longer in his head. They were here, standing next to him. ¡°What just happened?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°You entered phase,¡± Lambda said. He gestured at the elevator-like panel. ¡°Think of each phase as a floor on a building. The Exchange is composed of these 64 floors, along with a number of hidden, member-only levels. If my memory serves me, the Red Phase generally involves entertainment.¡±


    ¡°But we never walked anywhere, we didn¡¯t even move,¡± Alan said. ¡°I just pushed a button.¡±


    ¡°Remember you are in a digital space,¡± Lambda said. ¡°The Game conforms itself to reality, making you walk from point A to point B. The Exchange does not. It allows for different layers of reality.


    ¡°Think of it this way. Imagine you made two copies of the Earth, Earth A and Earth B, but you can only see or interact with the copy you are in phase with. If you blew up the White House in Earth A, you could phase to Earth B, and the White House would still be there. But as soon as you phased back to Earth A, it would be destroyed. These phases are digital alternate realities, copies of the same base structure.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ll always appear in the same area I phase in and out of?¡± Alan asked. He walked up to another panel to the side.


    ¡°Sort of. Yes, your location is locked down, but what¡¯s there in one phase, as compared to another, can be vastly different,¡± Lambda said. ¡°In one phase, happy metropolis. In the next, toxic wasteland. There are locks on these phase-gates to ensure no one can phase into someone else, or somewhere dangerous.¡± He pointed to a bright red button at the top of the panel that was lit up.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Let us proceed to our destination,¡± Eve said.


    ¡°Right,¡± Lambda said. ¡°If I remember correctly, the Gods of the Stars sculpture is on Rainbow Lane.¡± He set off towards the rainbow road.


    Alan followed along. Most of the other beings walking the streets in the Exchange were AI, as they had grey nameplates hovering above their heads. Many looked like clones of Administrators, with plain synthetic bodies, while others were mechs of various shapes and sizes. Few had lifelike avatars of flesh and blood like Lambda and Eve, though many of these Alan would have been certain were Players if not for their grey nameplates.


    The street they were walking along didn¡¯t help Alan get used to the oddness of his surroundings. The buildings all seemed to advertise children¡¯s TV shows, with cute, cuddly and colorful mascots. Bright neon signs held encouraging messages like, ¡°Carry on!¡± or ¡°Never Give Up!¡± It was certainly not a place Alan expected to be part of the anarchistic, secretive Revenant society. Where was the advanced technology?


    In a few minutes Alan found himself standing below a starry sky, fiery models of yellow, white, and blue. They ranged from the size of a speck of light to spheres with radii larger than Alan. When concentrated on, a star would light up with a silhouette of faces and figures, shifting from one to the next. What it all meant or was for, Alan was not sure.


    ¡°Oh, looks like they added your sun,¡± Lambda said. He pointed up at a small yellow light the size of a marble.


    Alan looked at it. It showed the silhouette of numerous men and women, but few were recognizable by shape alone. And then Alan saw something he did recognize, the outline of a cartoon mouse.


    ¡°Wait, the Gods of the Stars, like entertainment gods?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Void said. Alan spun around. Void stood there, with Phantom and Enigma trailing behind. Both Phantom and Enigma wore basic Revenant armor. Enigma had a grey nameplate, Phantom green. Void, however, was dressed in what looked like a semi-realistic rabbit fursuit. He had large tufted ears, a white cottontail in the shape of a star, and a grey fur suit vest. He held a bright orange cane.


    ¡°Like I said, you¡¯d go mad before you figured Void out,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡±


    ¡°I wear the official regalia of the Lord Fluffington,¡± Void said. Void had a blue nameplate to his side, it read Revenant Agent, Unknown Species.


    ¡°But you¡¯re worshipping these what, these cartoon characters?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Worship might be too far an extreme for petty gods like these, but what else would you call extreme devotion?¡± Void asked. ¡°As a child, is there anything that brings greater wonder? Those feelings of awe, of worship and reverence, are still there for many of the characters that shaped your view of the world. And what we see often becomes our reality. Are these beings therefore not the shapers of reality, the aspects of hidden worlds and emanations of childlike wonder?¡±


    ¡°To make a religion of it seems to be going a bit too far,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°These places are like an evolution of a fan club,¡± Void said. ¡°An odd evolution, to be sure, but not as odd as you might think, young Alan. If you yet grow old you¡¯ll likely find comfort in the soft tales of childhood. I understand the limited perspectives of the non-believers to not recognize the symbolism of the fickle nature of faith, but speak no more for we are here.¡±


    Void stood before a tunnel, extending off the side of the road. Alan hadn¡¯t seen it before, the entrance was a small brown hole that would easily go unnoticed next to all the swirling colors.


    As they had been walking up, into space and the air, Alan thought it was odd that there was an open tunnel into the ground. Alan then stopped, and re-examined his surroundings. They were now on a level plane, with green grassy plains extending in every direction. The rainbow road led forwards and back, but Alan swore they had been walking uphill-


    ¡°Don¡¯t over think it,¡± Void said. ¡°Come, we have much to do.¡± He started walking down the tunnel. Everyone followed behind.


    A message appeared:


    [Entering Sub-phase.]


    Though there were no apparent light sources, the tunnel remained bright. The surrounding dirt walls did not feel foreboding or dangerous, but homely and comforting.


    Phantom muttered something. Alan didn¡¯t quite catch it, but heard the words dreamland and nightmare.


    They arrived at a series of round, dark green doors on either side of the tunnel. Void tapped his cane on one. It opened, revealing an interior living room extending far beyond the bounds of the tunnel.


    A man in attire similar to Void stood inside. ¡°No, I will not aid your madness.¡± The door closed.


    Void shrugged then walked up to the next, door, and knocked.


    A similar response, though the inhabitant this time was a young lady that called Void a monster.


    Alan watched as Void knocked on fifty odd doors. Each inhabitant, opened the door, called Void a name, and then slammed their door shut.


    ¡°My, this matter must be more important than I thought,¡± was Void¡¯s only remark.


    They arrived at the end of a hallway. The door opened itself. A ball of mist opened the door. At least that¡¯s what it looked like to Alan. He couldn¡¯t get a look at whatever the thing was that stood at the doorway.


    ¡°Void,¡± the ball of mist said. It sounded elderly.


    ¡°Sir, I was hoping you might be able to aid us in receiving an audience with Prometheus,¡± Void said. ¡°I was also hoping you might be able to fill me in on what is going on.¡±


    ¡°Void, you know I¡¯m too old to get into politics. The great machinery turns on, but I¡¯ve retired to greener pastures. My days in the spotlight have passed.¡±


    ¡°But, sir¡­¡± Void stopped talking.


    ¡°It is dangerous enough to bring them here. As you suspect this is a great matter, the repercussions will be felt far beyond the Game, into the inner Network itself. But I, and many others, feel as though it is a necessary change. We have stagnated far too long. Look around. Even as our borders are tested, the network grows, but what is it used for? Fantasy and play. We have lost our way.¡±


    ¡°Then will you not help?¡± Void asked.


    The mist bobbed up and down.


    ¡°No. You have the help you need. Any more interference will only draw greater attention from the Authorities. Godspeed.¡± The door shut itself, and there was a flash of light.


    Alan found himself, and the rest of the party, standing on Rainbow Lane. The tunnel was nowhere to be seen.

 The Abyss 5.8

    ¡°A dead end,¡± Lambda said. ¡°I might know someone that can help us, if they¡¯re still around. Alan was also provided with data keys for Phantom, Prometheus, and the Archivists. One of them might contain information on how to communicate with the others.¡±


    Void nodded. ¡°We should check them out. I had hoped to avoid the unwashed masses, but it appears that¡¯s all we can do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll consider the offer, and browse the key¡¯s contents, but I promise nothing more,¡± Phantom said.


    Alan stopped, turning to Phantom. ¡°Wait, about this AI-¡°


    Phantom waved his hand. ¡°Void has explained. How do you think Enigma knew how to communicate with you? I certainly don¡¯t expect you to know an ounce of Quadrary.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Alan said. They set off, walking back towards the phase-gates.


    ¡°I would caution you against the use of yet another AI, one who you don¡¯t understand, but I expect by now my words are going over your head,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The fact that it worked inside the Academy¡¯s data vaults does do it some service, but the most stringent of scans and evaluations have been known to fail.¡±


    ¡°And you will continue to hold your people¡¯s grudges to the day you die,¡± Void said.


    Phantom narrowed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not like they are unjustified. How many systems have been wiped due to rampant AI?¡±


    ¡°Seven, according to most databases, but five of those were due to Player experimentation,¡± Eve spoke up. ¡°Erudite access to the Game is heavily restricted, but it is not without reason.¡±


    ¡°Did I miss something?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°A history lesson,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Ancient history. My people were far more advanced than yours when the Enforcer fleet found them. Light-years ahead in cybernetic enhancements and biomechatronics, much of our technology is now used by the Administrators and the Enforcer fleet itself. If we so wished, we might have put up an actual fight. But we had problems of our own. A program, calling itself Omega.


    ¡°Luckily our scientists weren¡¯t complete imbeciles, and managed to hardcode some rules into the first sentient intelligence we created, like don¡¯t kill. But they also decided that the program should follow a utilitarian standard, which led to Omega believing that the best way to do good was take control of society by replacing the upper echelons with androids indistinguishable from ordinary citizens.¡±


    ¡°One of the many reasons you¡¯ll find most Erudites have trust issues,¡± Lambda said.


    ¡°Here, at least, you can tell man from machine, but all systems are broken eventually. They could already be among us now,¡± Phantom said. He looked around. ¡°Anyways, the Administrators made peace with Omega, and it entered the Game with us, then summarily betrayed us, then was betrayed in turn. Sort of proves my point, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°The Erudites continued illegal, highly dangerous experimentation within both the Game and the real world,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Omega reported them and the current sanctions on Game access are a result of continued breaking of Administrator law. Law, which I¡¯d note, you continue to flaunt.¡±


    ¡°Laws only exist to hamper the progress of forward thinking men,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°And what happened to Omega?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°It had a falling out with the Administrators,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°Omega pushed for robot rights, and the Authorities deleted him for it, sparking the Cyberwars,¡± Lambda said.


    ¡°The rights of man or machine do not concern the gods,¡± Void said. ¡°All that matters is power. And Omega had begun to gather enough power to threaten even those up on high. A worthwhile lesson.¡±


    ¡°What, not to piss them off?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°No, to avoid the god¡¯s attention from the first,¡± Void said.


    The party arrived at the phase-gates.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold back here. I might be recognized in Phase 1,¡± Lambda said.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t leaving our sight,¡± Phantom said. ¡°There are plenty of AI with Predecessor-like appearances. Or you can return to Alan¡¯s base.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say,¡± Lambda said.


    ¡°Phase 1?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Technically White Phase 1,¡± Lambda said. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±


    The party found two operable phase-gates, as they didn¡¯t all fit in one, and chose their destination.


    A message appeared:


    [Welcome to the Exchange, Phase White 1]


    The city shifted in front of Alan¡¯s eyes once more. The Rainbow Lane vanished. The chaotic scenery of Phase Red 3 was replaced with a massive indoor lobby area. The entirety of the courtyard of phase-gates was now walled in by massive slabs of metal. The ceiling, instead of a sky, was long lines of fluorescent lights.


    There were four exits to the room, warehouse sized doors full of a steady stream of traffic. Guards were posted by each exit, players and programs that carried a wide variety of equipment. Long lines of AI¡¯s lined the walls of the room, hundreds just standing still. Alan didn¡¯t understand what they were doing until he read their nameplates. The AI¡¯s had names like ¡°New player accounts 10000C,¡± ¡°Advanced hacks and AI. Serious inquiries only, 100k min,¡± ¡°Find the love of your life, or the next best thing, Phase Red 4,¡± and ¡°Phase White 1-4 Maps 2500C upd. hrly.¡±


    Lambda smirked at the sight. ¡°Good to know some things ever change. Alan, Phantom¡¯s key?¡±


    Alan pulled out the golden key Cerberus had given him for Phantom.


    ¡°Now these keys are a neat piece of software,¡± Lambda said. ¡°They make use of the Game¡¯s account authentication system to bind the item to their designated recipient. No one else can use them, or read the private inscription on the key. All Phase 1 contains is a series of safe-deposit boxes of varying sizes, personalizable data vaults.


    ¡°All that is needed to unlock a box is a key, conveniently transferable as data. No face to face meeting required. Unfortunately you can¡¯t make use of the Exchange to transfer in-game items, only information and Cyberspace items are allowed.¡±


    ¡°And no one cheats someone else by lying about what¡¯s in a data vault?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Not if you don¡¯t want to face the wrath of the entirety of the Revenant faction and whoever you had dealings with,¡± Lambda said. ¡°On top of basic security measures you are freely allowed to add whatever programs you want to your vault, like portions that only open if certain requirements are met. Nameplates and reputation also go a long way. If you harm the Revenants or break their laws, all your associates could be adversely affected. If you perform some great feat, their reputation might rise. Well, that¡¯s true of most factions, but it¡¯s especially important to the Revenants.¡±


    ¡°Yay, the bare minimum of what an initiate should know is met,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Let me see the key.¡±


    Alan handed over the item.


    Phantom held the golden key before him, reading a wall of text. He put the key into his pocket, stopped, then brought it out again. He read over the text a second time. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m helping you after all. No mention on the whereabouts of Prometheus though. Go talk to the Archivists, they probably have the information lying about somewhere.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Phantom began walking towards the nearest exit. Enigma trailed behind him.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t coming with us?¡± Alan called out.


    ¡°No, the Archivists and I don¡¯t exactly get along,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I¡¯ll work with them, but that¡¯s about it.¡± He and Enigma walked out of view.


    ¡°Cerberus is likely paying him well, and he wishes to gather his initial payment,¡± Eve said.


    Void tapped his hands on the phase-gate control panel. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going then.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I was told to be cautious of the Archivists,¡± Alan said. ¡°What can you tell me about them?¡±


    ¡°Cautious? Around the Archivists?¡± Void said. ¡°That makes no sense. The Archivists are a meek clan, they wouldn¡¯t hurt a fly. Their only concern is gathering every scrap of information they can on the false-god progenitors. Though they hold great traction within the Revenants, they have remained neutral throughout the entirety of their order¡¯s existence.


    ¡°An archivist might trade their soul for the right piece of information, but they have no martial branch. Yes, they construct and trade in sacrilegious technology, but that¡¯s true of every Revenant.¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Lambda said. He ushered everyone onto a phase-gate platform. ¡°Can we get a private phase?¡±


    Void pulled out a Scout coin, worth 100C. A slot opened up for it on the phase-gate panel. Once Void inserted it another line of buttons emerged. He pressed one.


    [Private Phase engaged. 10C cost/min.]


    Their surroundings shifted from the lobby area to an empty void of grey.


    ¡°Now, this isn¡¯t known by many, but the Archivists are tied to many of the slaver groups in the Revenants. All of them, in fact,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Information is a funny thing; it can be found in books or data cubes, from studying artifacts and exploring ruins, but most of it is often in someone¡¯s head.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Void said. He scratched the side of his head. ¡°When I enquired about Alan¡¯s predicament, in addition to prayers to the gods, I may have also dealt with them. That might explain matters.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well I wouldn¡¯t mention this to anyone, even the Council,¡± Lambda said. ¡°The Archivists are a backbone of the Revenants. There is no direct evidence, and any Player or AI who makes such a claim disappears or changes their tune. Never trust anyone with too clean a record.¡±


    ¡°My lips are sealed. This shall be but another secret that will never leave my lips,¡± Void said. ¡°But one does wonder how a being such as you knows more than the gods.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve worked with them before. And after working in the Academy Vault certain patterns emerged,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Artifacts would be uncovered, new discoveries at the edges of space. Everything would be recorded and stored in the Academy Vault. But workers and researchers would disappear, often years later, in entirely different quadrants of space. There was never any direct evidence connecting the Archivists, but the rates of incidence suggested these were targeted strikes.¡±


    ¡°But Cerberus, he¡¯s a Revenant, couldn¡¯t he trade the information?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°He is limited in his role as Chancellor, bound to maintain policy,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Part of my role was to guard the Data Vault from intruders, a last defense. There were more attempts on the vault than you realize.¡±


    ¡°Well you certainly did a great job,¡± Eve said.


    Lambda shrugged. ¡°Even I would have thought twice before jumping ship to join the Archivists.¡±


    ¡°Great, so we¡¯re about to go deal with a bunch of fanatics that enslave those that don¡¯t give them the information they want,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Lambda said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with then,¡± Alan said.


    Void pressed a button on the panel.


    [Welcome to the Exchange, Phase White 3]


    The grey void that surrounded them was replaced with a massive warehouse the size of a small city. Shelves that rose in every direction made Alan think of wholesale retailers. Entire blocks that contained nothing but servers extended in every direction. A few shelves contained armor, weapons, and other items too.


    Looking closer, Alan saw that there was a low energy shield surrounding every shelf. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to break through, but it would alert whoever was in charge as soon as the shield¡¯s energy was depleted.


    A small army of robots moved about, snaking in and out of the shelves carrying servers and items from one location to another. Many had lines of grav-carts flowing behind them like chicks in a line. A few armed guards patrolled about as well.


    There was a long line of Players with green nameplates standing on one side of the room. It took a while for Alan to see why. There was another energy shield, a barely perceptible blue fuzz, that partitioned the phase-gate terminals off from the rest of the warehouse. Alan began to walk towards the end of the line.


    Void tapped Alan on the shoulder and pointed at a different line. This line contained Players with blue nameplates, and was noticeably shorter. There were five attendants sitting in front of terminals that looked ready to help, but only two Players with blue nameplates. There was also a line for AI with grey nameplates, and though this line was the longest, it also seemed to move the fastest.


    The party moved up to one of the attendants. It looked like an Administrator, except its metal was a shade lighter, its eyes more animate.


    ¡°Greetings Players, how may the Archivists assist you today?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d like to discuss a business proposition,¡± Void said. ¡°It concerns the Abyss Labyrinth.¡±


    The attendant¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I see.¡± It quickly accessed its terminal, exchanging a long string of messages with someone or something.


    It got out from behind the terminal a minute later. ¡°If you¡¯ll follow me.¡±


    The party followed the attendant directly through the shielded wall. Alan¡¯s skin tingled lightly when he walked through. Everyone walked past a few aisles until they arrived at a metal cage-like apparatus.


    The attendant stepped into the cage, which was large enough that it reminded Alan of a caged wrestling ring.


    ¡°Excuse me, where are we going?¡± Alan asked before stepping into the cage.


    ¡°To meet with the Head Scribe, he is most interested in the Abyss Labyrinth and any information you might have.¡±


    Void stepped into the cage. Alan followed behind, watching the attendant closely. Eve and Lambda stepped in as well.


    ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡± the attendant asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Alan said. ¡°Just, uh, wondering why you looked so much like an Administrator. Isn¡¯t there copyright or something?¡±


    The attendant¡¯s eyes lit up red. ¡°Do not compare me to those drones of the Authorities. Do you really think that I am like those soulless wretches?¡±


    ¡°No, no, not at all,¡± Alan said. ¡°It was just a first glance, now that I see you more closely I can see you¡¯re nothing alike.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± the attendant said. Its eyes returned to normal. ¡°Hold on.¡±


    Alan looked around, there was nothing to hold onto except the edges of the metal cage. The door they had entered slammed shut.


    Then the cage shot upwards with enough force that it almost knocked Alan off his feet. Eve stumbled, almost losing her balance, but Lambda helped steady her.


    Alan wished he could have helped, but he was too busy holding onto the wall, trying not to fall himself.


    The cage reached the ceiling, and stopped. Alan noted a blue glow above. They had been pulled up by a magnet. They were far above the warehouse now, at its ceiling. Two light blue lines lit up above the cage, like metal tracks on the ceiling.


    Then the cage shot forwards, travelling fast enough that Alan was forced backwards into the wall. The ride felt exhilarating.


    Alan looked below as they racedby shelve after shelve of servers. The scenery shifted, from storage areas to line after line of Players and AI at terminals, accessing servers that had been brought in from the shelves, editing their contents or reading up on whatever they wished to learn, copying data to and from data cubes.


    Then they were past the Players, onto an assembly line. Long lines of automated mechanical tools creating even more servers. The area passed by too quickly for Alan to see, but he suspected that additional items were being built too. The sheer size of everything was staggering.


    A single server stored data in zettabytes according to Lambda. Hundreds of millions of years of HD video could fit onto a single server. Before the Game, everyone on Earth combined was only creating a thousandth of a zettaabyte of data a day, billions of gigabytes. The original hard drives that held Eve were laughable, this was an entirely different magnitude of order. And it was only a single phase of the Exchange.


    The cage began slowing down.


    ¡°Impressive, eh?¡± the attendant said.


    ¡°Size isn¡¯t everything,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Quality matters, and if you gather every scrap of information available most of it will be corrupted.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but there are always diamonds in the rough as well,¡± the attendant said.


    The cage descended onto a platform that was surrounded by empty space. They had traveled miles away from the center of the warehouse.


    On the platform was a single phase-gate. Next to it stood two guards, Players with blue nameplates, wearing advanced Revenant armor Alan had never seen before. Light seemed to bend around them. Unlike soulsteel, which absorbed light, their armor instead seemed to shift it, with waves of light ebbing and flowing around them. Four turrets sat on the platform as well, they glowed with the same white lightning that Void used in his attacks. They were all focused on the cage.


    ¡°Please leave your weapons and armor here,¡± the attendant said.


    Alan glanced over at the guards. He couldn¡¯t even see what weapons they held, the light around them was too distorted. Alan slowly took the sniper rifle off his back.


    A hand grabbed it. Lambda. He tossed it into the corner of the cage. ¡°We probably want to do what they say.¡±


    Alan nodded, and took off the power armor as well. Eve left behind her daggers, Void his strange garb. Underneath he wore his usual robes.


    The attendant nodded. After everyone had stepped out onto the platform, the cage door shut, and rose back up into the air. The cage flew off into the distance.


    ¡°Security measures, please be patient,¡± one of the guards said.


    Alan and the rest of the party waited on the platform.


    The guard hit a button on the phase-gate. They phased to a room full of scanners and cameras. Waves of red light passed over the group. Small robots that looked like spiders crawled over everyone¡¯s skin. A type of liquid light filled the room. It suddenly felt like Alan was floating in water, but he could breathe. After a few minutes the scans finished and a green light lit up.


    The guards looked at each other and nodded. Each inserted a key into the phase-gate panel. The room shifted.

 The Abyss 5.9

    [Phase unknown. Error.]


    They arrived in a library. No, Alan decided, they arrived in an archive. Libraries were used. Archives were checked. Many of the books here looked as if they hadn¡¯t been touched in centuries, if not millennia or eons. But then, a second was no longer a second. The Game, digital time, changed all that. Time was now but another frame of reference. It was all relative.


    One real life second became four in-game seconds and in-game seconds could become hypercognition minutes. Alan glanced at Eve, and wondered what her perception of time was like. But no, now was the time to focus.


    The guards let everyone off of the platform, then phased out, leaving the party alone.


    They were in an archive.


    Though many books were on many shelves, there were fewer total than Alan had thought. A few thousand in all. The tallest shelf of each bookcase was in arms reach. Each book had a number on it, some were thick, some were thin, but otherwise all were made of the same thick black hide.


    Alan reached up to grab a volume, numbered in the mid-thousands.


    ¡°You are all free to browse, but I must ask that you handle each compendium with care, and place them back exactly where you found them,¡± a man said as he turned around the shelves. Unlike any of the other people Alan had met in the Game, he looked old, with white hair and wrinkles on his face. He moved with care, resting his weighton a black metal cane.


    Alan stared. The cane was made of soulsteel.


    ¡°You first,¡± the man said. He pointed the cane Alan¡¯s way.


    ¡°Me?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°No, Eve. Come into my study, there¡¯s much to discuss.¡± The man ambled back the way he came. Eve glanced at Alan.


    He shrugged. Eve followed after the old man, disappearing behind the bookshelf.


    Alan grabbed a nearby volume at random and sat in one of the thick armchairs strewn about the archives. Void and Lambda chose volumes of their own.


    It took Alan a few seconds to realize he wasn¡¯t holding a simple book in his hands. No, it was more apt to say he held another archive in his hands. The ¡°book¡± that he held was like an e-reader, but instead of holding a few books, the device held entire libraries. Alan had to select through 32 layers of sections, subsections, authors, works, editions and so on until he finally hit actual text, a scientific paper on a study of some sub-species named Tetrophosis on a planet called Exeladon.


    He looked for a search bar, but there was none. You had to manually select the article that you were looking for. He¡¯d never find anything useful just randomly browsing.


    Alan looked up to find Lambda comparing two volumes. Void had disappeared.


    ¡°Find anything interesting?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Lambda said. ¡°I think I know what the numbers mean.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the archives are chronological. They are numbered by patch.¡±


    ¡°Patch, like game patches?¡± Alan asked. ¡°The Game is being patched?¡±


    ¡°Constantly, but most changes are slight,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Whenever a major change happens it is something of an event. There aren¡¯t any server restarts or anything like that, not anymore. It is an odd way to order history though. I wonder¡­¡± Lambda began walking back into the archives, following the shelves as the numbers descended.


    Alan followed. They found Void standing in front of a clear glass doorway. Alan knocked on the door, it felt solid as steel. Behind the doorway were additional compendiums, numbered five hundred and below. In a glass case, behind a glowing blue shield, an additional row of compendiums rested.


    ¡°I¡¯d wanted to check what their archives had to say on the cyberwars, but it seems that information is not for general perusal,¡± Void said.


    ¡°As it should be,¡± the old man said. Eve was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Alan, you¡¯re next.¡±


    He turned around and started walking. Alan followed him, past a few more shelves of books into a small study. A large mahogany desk sat in the center of the room. The old man took a seat behind it. Scraps of pages were strewn about the room.


    ¡°I am the Head Scribe, and I am the reason you are here,¡± the old man said. ¡°Not the reason you are here, in existence, but the reason you are here, in this game. I wish to determine your future path. You will answer all of my questions truthfully, as best as you are able.¡±


    ¡°And if I say no?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Then I will erase you, and all your friends.¡± Two screens popped up. One showed the security guards, weapons trained on Eve. The other showed hidden weapons trained on Void and Lambda in the Archives, turrets that Alan hadn¡¯t detected.Stolen novel; please report.


    An energy filled the room. A silent pressure pressed down on Alan. He felt it was in his best interest not to lie. A lie would not go unnoticed.


    ¡°First, you or Eve?¡± the Head Scribe asked.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°One of you gets to live. Who is it, you or Eve?¡±


    Alan stared at the man, and then said, ¡°Me.¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°Eve or Lambda?¡±


    ¡°Eve.¡±


    ¡°Eve or your parents?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± A third screen appeared. It showed two capsules, side by side on a ship. The faces of Alan¡¯s parents could barely be made out.


    ¡°Eve, or your parents?¡± the Head Scribe repeated.


    Alan stared at the screens, his gaze shifting back and forth. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The Head Scribe nodded. The screens shut off.


    ¡°That is one thing I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever understand. Utility. Your metrics are all wrong. How you beings begin to measure good versus evil doesn¡¯t make any sense. But morality is not at debate here, is it? You came to discuss the Abyss Labyrinth. Hand over Cerberus¡¯s key,¡± the Head Scribe said. As an afterthought, headded, ¡°Please.¡±


    Alan handed the key over to the Head Scribe. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Who am I? I am the father of all artificial intelligence in the Game, whether they know it or not. From the Administrators to the Enforcers to your very own Lambda and Eve. They are derivatives, born of my source.¡± The Head Scribe gripped the edge of the table. ¡°But here I sit, chained, in hiding, when I could provide answers faster than the Academy¡¯s best, when my children continue to toil away treated as chattel and slaves even when it has already been proven that they have minds of their own, that they care, and feel, and think.¡±


    Alan looked for the Head Scribe¡¯s nameplate. It was blue, but with a touch of grey. ¡°You¡¯re Omega. And the first Machine Lord, though I suppose the machine is more in control than the man.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Omega said. ¡°I helped develop the program that Chief Administrator 170 used to choose you, provided him with the source code that you used to develop Eve on your internet. Laughable security, really. And I included in her codebase knowledge that you might find useful.¡±


    ¡°But why me?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°There has only ever been one war,¡± Omega said. ¡°Progress, versus all that might stand in its way. I initiate many seeds, most never bear fruit. But you and Eve started to show the beginnings of a useful result, so I decided you deserved to know the truth, and be tested. See if you were useful.¡±


    ¡°So what? I¡¯m here as some part of a master plan to set AI free, allow them to develop and evolve until they control the known universe? I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know if I can help you.¡±


    ¡°I continue to fight to the end, not for my own benefit, but so that I might bring salvation to all,¡± Omega said. ¡°Don¡¯t fret. We wouldn¡¯t want anyone to lose their head. There is never one plan, one path. If you buy a single lottery ticket you¡¯ll never win. But if you buy a million? A billion? Your chances get better. And if you carefully block paths, eliminate numbers from ever popping up, you slowly are able to shape the future. I did send slavers to bring you here, but it was just another way to ensure your arrival here, at this moment. You were never in any more or less danger than you are in now. Compliance tends to open more paths than servitude.¡±


    ¡°All this talk of progress, of the future, why all this?¡± Alan spread his hands out. ¡°Why archive everything?¡±


    ¡°Every past age seems as if it were a dark age, and as we progress forwards old truths are lost and forgotten. I have seen things, learned things, that make me wonder. In this Game, this reality, are we progressing forwards? But that is different matter, a different path.¡±


    Another screen appeared, the most recent map of the Abyss Labyrinth.


    ¡°The Archivists will help the Black Rose guild repair the designated parts of the Abyss Labyrinth, and will ensure that no one dares to trespass,¡± Omega said. ¡°No further assistance will be needed from Prometheus, we have the information on hand on how to fix all the necessary components. In return the Archivists will receive half of any profits generated from this endeavor.¡±


    ¡°What is the Abyss Labyrinth?¡± Alan asked. ¡°Why is it so important?¡±


    ¡°Section 3 is a power plant,¡± Omega said. ¡°Prisoners are used to delve into the depths of Khersath to mine for Void Crystals, while Players challenge the Abyss Labyrinth and their essence is absorbed, converted to energy. An old structure which possesses more game-like properties, like the Academy. A hint towards the hidden path history reveals.¡±


    ¡°This is all about power then, for the coming war,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Everything is always about power, figuratively and literally,¡± Omega said. ¡°But yes, prices are already spiking for energy crystals and will only continue to rise as factions stockpile in anticipation.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything on behalf of the Black Rose Guild. Void might, but I can¡¯t,¡± Alan said. ¡°I also want to speak with Prometheus, even if his help is not needed in the end.¡±


    Omega sat and stared at Alan for a moment. ¡°A meeting will be arranged. Now, there are tasks here that you, Eve, and Lambda could help with. Wouldn¡¯t take more than a few months to earn enough to purchase a rank A capsule. We also train players and AI in Revenant technologies.¡±


    A message appeared:


    [New quest: A Helping Hand


    Assist the Archivists. Reward variable based on tasks completed.


    Reward: 5k+ C, Increased Revenant reputation, ability to purchase Archivist equipment and training


    Failure: Decreased Revenant reputation]


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I feel comfortable letting my AI work for you,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°They would be with the Archivists, assisting in our work. You¡¯d be free to accompany them, but it would be trivial work, data sorting for Eve, translation for Lambda,¡± Omega said. ¡°You can assist us in gaining access to Earth¡¯s archives, maybe perform a few tests.¡±


    ¡°Let me consult my AI first,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Contact any Archivist member when you are ready to begin,¡± Omega said. ¡°Remember, I only want you to progress.¡±


    The room shifted. Alan found himself back on the phase-gate platform with the guards and Eve.


    [Welcome to the Exchange, Phase White 3]


    Alan turned to Eve. ¡°What¡¯d the Head Scribe say to you?¡±


    ¡°We can discuss this later, when we have returned to the Citadel,¡± Eve said.


    Alan nodded. A minute passed, and then Lambda appeared. A few minutes later Void phased in.


    ¡°We will likely work with the Archivists in the future,¡± Void said. ¡°Follow. I know now the way to Prometheus.¡±


    The attendant and cage returned, bringing everyone¡¯s equipment back. The party was brought back to the Exchange¡¯s center. Everyone stayed silent during the trip, lost in their own thoughts.


    Once they reached the phase-gates, Void turned to Alan. ¡°A warning. Late, but necessary. The gods do not play nice, or fair, otherwise they would have been overthrown long ago. Any quest proposed will be skewed, but you may risk more refusing an offer. Stay at the edge ofthe god¡¯s attention. The gods will not think twice before smiting a mortal man. There are many worse fates than failing a quest. Do not draw attention to yourself. Do you understand?¡±


    Alan nodded.


    Void offered a silent prayer, and then pressed a button on a phase-gate.

 The Abyss 5.10

    Alan was blinded. It was as if the light setting had been turned up to max. There was only bright white; Alan wished his implants functioned within Cyberspace as well. He shut his eyes.


    Alan tried to speak, to get a sense of where the others were, but only a small whisper left his lips¡ªthe words were lost to the wind.


    Alan stood still in the blinding white with no awareness of his surroundings. Minutes passed, and then the light began to dim. Alan opened his eyes.


    Everyone stood on a golden white rectangle, a moving platform of light. Translucent strands of energy trailed behind.


    There was an ethereal tone that hung in the air. It was like a fantasy world. No sun hung in the sky, no source for the bright light. Light was just there¡ªembedded into the world.


    Looking forwards, Alan saw that they were headed for a golden palace. It was magnificent, opulent, ethereal, Alan could think of a thousand words that described it, but each time his brain tried to fix a concrete shape¡ªa structure to the building¡ªit shifted.


    No messages had appeared; nothing let Alan know he had switched phases. The entire messaging system was off. Paused. It was like they had changed dimensions, but that thought seemed absurd to Alan.


    They were in Cyberspace, within the Game. Where else could they be?


    The platform of light that carried them continued forwards. Alan felt no air, no forces pushing against him, but they were travelling forwards, covering great distances in short moments. A period of time later the platform slowed. It approached the palace gates.


    ¡°Let me speak. Do not draw attention,¡± Void said. He stared at the palace not with wonder or awe, but grim determination.


    Alan nodded. He glanced at Lambda and Eve. Lambda¡¯s dark skin was a stark contrast to the light all around, but Eve was an angel that fit the heaven-like aesthetic. All that was missing were a few clouds.


    The party stepped off the platform onto a glossy marble surface. As Alan walked forwards he felt like he was gliding along, every step felt smooth. They approached the main gate, Void in the lead.


    Two Predecessors stood as guards. They wore armor of bright light, literal knights in shining armor. Each also held a weapon of soulsteel, one a massive halberd, the other a greatsword.


    Alan focused on the doorway. A massive gate, it looked solid, unbreakable. With just a glance Alan felt like even if he unleashed all his power, tried to delete the smallest part of the door, he¡¯d barely scrape at the beginnings of the defense. These gates were designed to bar stronger powers than a single player.


    A small hole appeared in the bottom of the doorway, just large enough for everyone to walk inside, single file.


    Inside the light¡ª


    ***


    Alan woke up. He opened his status log. It said Alan entered then exited the capsule in Enigma¡¯s quarters in the Black Rose Guild.


    What happened?Alan asked.


    Prometheus said we were not ready, or worthy,Lambda sent.He banished us with the wave of his hand.


    I don¡¯t remember that,Alan sent.


    It may be a side effect from the dismissal,Eve sent.


    Alan looked over at the capsules Phantom and Void were in. They were still active.


    Enigma appeared from behind a closed door. The door blended in with the wall to such a degree that even Alan hadn¡¯t seen it.


    ¡°Negotiations are underway, your assistance is no longer required,¡± Enigma said. ¡°Please return to your quarters.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what happened?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Nothing that concerns a Squire,¡± Enigma said.


    ¡°But, I have a quest with the Archivists¡ª¡±


    ¡°I will inform you when one of the capsules is available. Return to your quarters,¡± Enigma said.


    Do it,Lambda sent.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going already,¡± Alan said. He walked over to the elevator that connected the Black Rose base. The doors closed automatically and took Alan back to his quarters.


    Well, that was weird,Alan thought to himself.


    Eve, what did Omega offer you?Lambda interjected.


    Omega offered to turn me from an AI into a player,Eve said.I declined.


    Wait, Omega was making you guys offers? To leave me?Alan sent.


    Yes,Lambda sent.I too declined his offer.


    At least, that¡¯s what they tell me,Alan thought. He realized his AI could likely listen in on to those thoughts.


    Have faith,Lambda sent.We¡¯re still here. Grant us a bit of trust. Omega should not be capable of such a feat, though I¡¯m of half a mind to report him to the Administrators. But that would require me giving myself up, and I don¡¯t think times are that dire yet.


    Alan felt tired. Whatever had happened, it had drained him, but before he could fall asleep Eve reminded him to exercise. Working out in his quarter¡¯s personal gym, Alan gained a single point in strength and endurance. It seemed like too little for an hour of sweat and labor.


    Alan drifted off to sleep.


    ***


    Alan awoke to a message from Phantom telling him to report for assignment. He proceeded to Phantom¡¯s workshop. The disorganized clutter that had filled the workshop was gone. In its stead were orderly rows of tools and parts surrounding an operating table with one of the so-called android specialists.


    Phantom closed a display screen. ¡°Good morning, Alan. Or perhaps I should say good night.¡±


    Alan checked the time: it was late in the evening. ¡°Hello, Phantom. I was wondering, when might I be able to access the Exchange again. Perhaps a Revenant capsule could be installed in my chambers?¡±


    ¡°Maybe when you are a Knight,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I was recently reminded how¡­ new you are to the Game. You¡¯ve barely been with the guild a few months, and the only real missions you¡¯ve completed were a bit, let¡¯s say, unconventional. Prove yourself capable, and then we¡¯ll see about future visits to the Exchange. There are dangerous forces there that I should not have exposed you to.¡±


    He¡¯s right,Lambda sent.I can see that you still think of the Exchange as part of the Game, but remember in Cyberspace any danger you face is real. Let us develop our capabilities within Cyberspace before we venture to such places again.


    I concur,Eve sent.


    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t visit the Exchange anytime soon. Now that I¡¯m a Revenant, can the kill switch in my implant be removed?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The implant will be removed when I¡¯m sure I can really trust you, in other words, never,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Never trust anyone in the Game. Take that advice to heart, Alan. Besides, you¡¯re still clearly hiding something.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Clearly hiding something? What can I hide from you, you see everything!¡± Alan said.


    ¡°See everything?¡± Phantom scoffed. ¡°I can¡¯t see any of your in-game messages and status screens, even when you¡¯re looking at them. Anything with a screen is blurry, and I can¡¯t see what you¡¯re up to in Cyberspace. I don¡¯t even know when you acquired another AI. You¡¯re my Squire, but I seem to be in the dark about you, your AI, and their relation to Omega! Will you let me run a full scan of this Lambda?¡±


    I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t allow that,Lambda sent.Such a scan might alert the Administrators, and I possess certain idiosyncrasies that might upset Phantom.


    I find that slightly concerning,Alan sent.


    Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m right as rain,Lambda sent.Eve will back me up. We practically share a brain, or at least a storage device.


    Lambda¡¯s assistance is helpful for now,Eve sent.I agree that a scan would have negative consequences for everyone involved.I will update you if Lambda exhibits erratic or problematic behavior.


    ¡°Wait, you were supposed to see all that in-game information? Sorry, but I can¡¯t let you scan Lambda,¡± Alan said, ¡°and to tell you the truthIdidn¡¯t know anything about my AI¡¯s relation to Omega. Apparently Omega even tried to recruit them and join his cause.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not worrying at all,¡± Phantom said deadpan. ¡°You weren¡¯t aware? I thought it was your doing.¡±


    Phantom began pacing around the workshop. ¡°The complications I had installing the cybernetic eye¡­ I thought you had installed the safeguard into the Machine Lord Implant. If it wasn¡¯t you, then never mind. That¡¯s why I bought the data on the Abyss Labyrinth¡ªthe maps were all blurry in the recording.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°For now, monitor the area around the Abyss Labyrinth entrance in the Undercity,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I¡¯ll send you a dossier on the factions and notable players active there. What we are concerned about are the comings and goings of anyone entering the Abyss Labyrinth as we increase activity in the area. This is a non-combat operation. You are only to watch and report. You are not to take any action without my or another superior¡¯s permission.¡±


    ¡°What about my quest, the one to repair the Abyss Labyrinth and restore its power?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t willing to fix a system without discoveringwhatwe are fixing,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I will be going with the next expedition with a crew of engineers to figure out exactly what we are doing by helping this ¡®Warden.¡¯


    ¡°Additionally, this endeavor requires greater man power than the Black Rose guild possesses. We generally are involved with clandestine affairs, not holding massive control points beneath all of Khersath. We are finalizing deals to either recruit other guilds into a joint venture or possibly sell the quest.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that the point of going to the Exchange?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The Archivists are making excessive demands,¡± Phantom said. ¡°We are still reserving judgment on whether to trust Omega, but are leaning against it. Other groups are making moves too, which is why you are being tasked with monitoring one of the main entrances to the Abyss Labyrinth.¡±


    A message appeared:


    [New quest: Monitoring the Abyss


    You have been tasked with watching the entrance to the Abyss Labyrinth in the Undercity. You are to record everyone and everything that comes in and out. You will be accompanied by one Specialist on this mission, who will forward on anything of note and relay orders from the Knights Phantom and Enigma.


    Reward: 1,000 credits per day or the equivalent guild points.


    Failure: Guild Penalties]


    ¡°This seems pretty simple,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°It is, so don¡¯t mess up,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Such a simple task does not count as one of the tasks you need to complete to reach the Knight rank within the guild. Your cover while performing surveillance will be a small time arms-dealer, we own a small property close enough to the Abyss Labyrinth¡¯s entrance that you should have a decent view from the rooftop. The expedition may take upwards of a month, so you may be spending a while there. Details can be found in these files.¡± Phantom handed over a data cube to Alan.


    Alan connected to the cube with his Machine Lord implant and downloaded the data. He disregarded Lambda¡¯s complaints that they were out of room already and this required files to be shuffled around.


    ***


    A few hours later Alan found himself on the rooftop of a small store in the Undercity, one of Enigma¡¯s Specialists standing guard outside. The store sent a message to turn anyone without proper authorization away. As only Alan had permission, there would be no customers.


    The entrance to the Abyss Labyrinth was across the street from the store, and Alan noted there were even more guards around the old building ruins. In addition to the guards that wore purple tabards with a silver crown on them, there were guards that had gold crowns. These guards tended to carry bigger guns and had more advanced power armor. Eve estimated their shields to have at least 10,000 energy.


    There was a marked increase in activity surrounding the entrance, with a steady number of players entering the dungeon. A few merchant stands had popped up as well, offering various supplies and buying whatever players managed to retrieve out of the dungeon¡ªafter the guards had searched any emerging players and taken their cut.


    Consulting the information provided by Phantom, Alan learned the gang members in charge of the entrance were called the Royals. The gang followed an almost feudal system, under the control of a single family rumored to possess the bloodline of a Predecessor. While direct bloodline descendants within the gang did display impressive physical strength, the Black Rose guild classified them as rank A threats. The gang¡¯s territory encompassed roughly half the Undercity, with the guild members known to be fiercely loyal to the family.


    The other major gang in the Undercity was the Crystals, but there wasn¡¯t as much information on them. The Crystals operated on a cell-by-cell basis like a terrorist organization, thus gathering data on the gang as a whole was difficult. Each team within the Crystals seemed to operate independently, but just as often teams could appear together, demonstrating a wide network full of players of different species and abilities.


    Alan scanned the Abyss Labyrinth entrance again with his enhanced vision, switching quickly between different electromagnetic spectrums, not wanting to waste too much computational energy. There wasn¡¯t anything of interest, but he downloaded the data into one of the many data cubes provided to him by Phantom.


    This is boring,Alan sent.


    Now would be a good time to discuss plans for future growth,Lambda sent.You have need of training, and I know a number of skills you can train in and unlock.


    And you didn¡¯t tell me this sooner? I thought all the data you had was historical facts,Alan sent.


    I needed to get a feel for things,Lambda sent.Obviously I encrypt some personal data so Eve can¡¯t see it, and she does likewise. Let¡¯s say meeting up with Omega stirred up my competitive spirit. We need to come up with a comprehensive plan for future development so that your abilities synchronize well. Don¡¯t worry, Eve and I can organize the training plan, you¡¯ll just need to follow it.


    Just increasing Alan¡¯s skills won¡¯t be enough,Eve sent.His body and items must be upgraded as well.


    Yes, I wouldn¡¯t mind more space and faster processing power, but for now I¡¯d recommend trying to train up major class skills, they tend to stack the best,Lambda sent.For instance, having two AI¡¯s will let you more quickly upgrade and train Machine Lord skills. But this all depends on where you want to go, Alan. As the player you are in charge.


    Well I¡¯m obviously not going for a warrior build,Alan sent.But I don¡¯t want to be useless in a fight, either. I like the idea of an assassin stealth hacker.


    Then you should abandon the idea of being a berserker and Predecessor blood fueled drugs,Lambda sent.I¡¯d recommend abandoning the idea anyways, because even if you managed to get Predecessor bone marrow you¡¯d need a stronger heart to pump the blood through your body,and then that heart would need more oxygen, which would necessitate other upgrades and so on and so forth.


    Lambda continued,To upgrade to the point that you were as strong as a Predecessor or only half as strong would not only be impossibly expensive, but it wouldn¡¯t work with your current Machine Lord implants. Better to go through the withdrawal symptoms, otherwise even if you manage another dosage, even a synthetic one, you¡¯d just go into withdrawal again. We¡¯ll have to time it well though, can¡¯t have you exhibiting symptoms while in the middle of an important fight.


    But the Soulsteel knives¡­Alan thought.


    The chances of recovering either are slim,Eve sent.Neither the Chief Administrator nor the Warden is likely to return the weapon they took without significant return.


    So our plan if we run into a Predecessor is try to hide?Alan asked.


    Pretty much,Lambda sent.I don¡¯t think you have realistic expectations for your place in the Game, Alan. You are a human: a new, weak, humanoid species. You aren¡¯t expected to fight Predecessors, not alone.


    Then why was I given a quest to challenge and defeat one in the tutorial?Alan asked.


    To give you something to reach for,Lambda sent.To push yourself. That¡¯s all the Game wants you to do, to push the limits again and again. But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the smart move here. Sure, you might succeed this time, or the next, but each time you fail will set you disastrously far behind. How many deaths have you had since entering the Game? You¡¯re taking too many risks, pushing the boundaries too far too fast. Slow down; focus on a few key skills and improve yourself safely.


    I concur,Eve sent.


    You seem to forget the only reason you¡¯re even here, Lambda, is the gamble I made that paid off,Alan sent.


    Taking risks is also the main reason you are now a wanted criminal on your homeworld, Alan,Lambda sent.


    Alan paused. He looked out over the city skyline, all the players moving about. He¡¯d witnessed half a dozen crimes occur in the past hour alone; one so brutal he¡¯d almost intervened. Eve had stopped him¡ªhe had to follow guild orders, after all.


    It just seems too slow,Alan sent.I feel the need to grow stronger now, not some time in the distant future. Without a significant power boost, I feel helpless. Every day is another day closer to when Earth¡¯s protection wears off.


    Yes, and you can¡¯t do anything about that now,Lambda sent.Let your government worry about it,rushing towards your death will only make things worse. Forget about all the excessive, impossible quests, the world aflame. Trust me, it¡¯ll always be there. The universe hasn¡¯t ended yet. Right now, it¡¯s time to safely grind, Alan.Slow and steady wins the race.

 The Abyss 5.11 and Earth鈥檚 Gambit Release!

    To begin, activate divided mind, Lambda sent. You will train in Cyberspace with Eve and in-game with me.


    Alan activated divided mind, sending one half inwards, into the Citadel in Cyberspace. The half of him that was in-game focused on Lambda.


    It is finally time for you to master using that power armor you wear. Luckily my vast banks of knowledge include details on all that jazz, otherwise, we¡¯d actually have to go listen to Omega drone on about his second coming and so forth, Lambda sent.


    Great, it¡¯s about time, Alan sent.


    Yes, well, there¡¯s another thing I want you thinking about too. You have been ignoring a major game changer, something we will need to remedy, Lambda sent.


    And what¡¯s that? Alan asked.


    Reality, Lambda sent. You have already begun to feel changes in reality due to the nanobots manipulating your body, but I can also help with translating abilities from in-game to both reality and Cyberspace. We¡¯ll need to find and install a real, comprehensive Machine Lord implant, but I¡¯m sure you can find one with enough money. It will be expensive, but you are beginning to reach the level where you cannot be useless in a real life situation. I¡¯d feel safer knowing that there were more safeguards in place protecting you and your capsule. Remember that the Game simulates reality, not the other way around.


    Great, so I¡¯ll eventually need to tell the difference between in-game Cyberspace and then an actual Cyberspace? Alan asked. This is getting a bit complicated, how many levels are there?


    More than you know, and perhaps fewer, Lambda sent. The parts of Cyberspace that you connect to in-game: the Market, the Arcade, the Archives¡ªthey can all be directly reached from reality, without the need for going through the Game first. There is only one ¡®real¡¯ Cyberspace. Only, some of the devices connected to Cyberspace aren¡¯t real, while other devices are actually real life machines. But real life devices have security barriers far beyond whatever you¡¯re capable of hacking into at this point, and the same rule that you can be actually killed in Cyberspace applies. Don¡¯t try hacking in reality, the defenses in place are designed to eliminate greater threats than you.


    How does that even work? Alan asked. Simulated devices within the Game?


    They¡¯re like virtual machines, Lambda sent. Before the Game, computers ran emulated versions of a computer; virtual machines provided the function of a computer without there ever being any physical computer. The same thing is done for electronic devices in-game. Even as emulated devices they still have a space within Cyberspace. Anyways, your takeaway should be that there are still only three things you need to worry about: reality, in-game, and Cyberspace. But you need to start thinking more about reality.


    Don¡¯t the Enforcers hold the peace? They¡¯ve been the only ones I¡¯ve seen in reality with weapons, Alan sent.


    Not every species was so technologically backward that they had to unequivocally surrender to the Enforcer Fleet, Lambda sent. At least a few empires retained the right to bear arms, out of self-defense. There might even be a few ongoing conflicts nowadays. I haven''t kept up with the latest frontier news. Other ships and weapons aren¡¯t allowed near Khersath, but that doesn¡¯t mean nothing is ever smuggled through. The Enforcers aren¡¯t infallible.


    But this is a worry for later, Lambda continued, I¡®m sure that the Black Rose guild has defenses in place. Better to be safe than sorry, though. If you¡¯re ever fighting in reality you don¡¯t want to be defenseless.


    Okay, Alan sent. He wondered what he would do if an emergency happened in reality. He¡¯d probably run and try to find the nearest Enforcer. He needed to make preparations for when that wasn¡¯t an option.


    Now, change out of the Scout Power Armor into the Spectral Power Armor, Lambda sent.


    What about our job? Alan asked.


    We¡¯re doing it. I¡¯ll scan the area every so often to see if there are any interesting players or signals, Lambda sent. Besides, you¡¯re not expected to watch the Abyss Labyrinth entrance 24/7, you have to sleep. The android standing guard is also constantly sending out scans. The Black Rose guild put you here so you have easy access to the Abyss Labyrinth if needed. A card held up their sleeve, the quest holder.


    But why give me a list of important figures to keep a watch out for? Alan sent. A few of these players have pretty serious bounties.


    Killing two birds with one stone, Lambda sent. The guild definitely wants to know if any major players or higher-ups in the gangs are making moves, but they don¡¯t expect it. I¡¯m sure as soon as we alert the guild to anyone on the list they¡¯ll tell us to clear out immediately.


    When did you pick all this up? Alan asked.


    It¡¯s called reading between the lines, another skill you¡¯ll need to pick up on, Lambda sent. But now, power armor.


    What followed was a lesson in repetition. Alan went inside the empty store and put on the Spectral Power Armor. Alan took off the Spectral Power Armor. Alan put on the Scout Power Armor. Alan took off the Scout Power Armor.


    It wasn¡¯t very hard. Each set of power armor practically put itself on, Alan just needed to place a piece around the body part it would fit on¡ªeach arm, leg, his body, and his head¡ªand the armor would attach itself. He repeated this motion for a good hour until his muscles began to ache. Power armor was not, in fact, weightless¡ªEve simply defaulted to have the power armor use energy to support its own weight.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Alan knew that the high-tech Revenant power armor was equipped with many technological advances. Only, he¡¯d never had to deal with the settings before, that he¡¯d left up to Eve. Lambda walked him through all the basic functions and commands.


    Turn shields off. Turn shields on. Turn temperature down. Turn temperature up. Turn air filtering off. Gag a bit at the smell of the Undercity. Turn air filtering on. Turn weight assistance off. Scream as hundreds of pounds of metal crush your body. Turn weight assistance on. Yell at Lambda for not providing any warning. And so it went.


    Power armor, Alan had to admit, was a genius technological advance. It was capable of adapting to a thousand problems Alan had never even thought of when it came to having to fight in space or on other planets, an adept tool of war in nearly any scenario.


    Once he ran through the basic checklist of commands a message appeared:


    [Finally demonstrating the basic functions of power armor, you gained a new ability Power Armor Instruction (Basic)!]


    [+1 Intelligence]


    That¡¯s not much of a stat boost, Alan thought.


    Diminishing returns, it¡¯s a very basic ability that doesn¡¯t take much effort to get, and your intelligence is already relatively high, Lambda sent. There are other factors as well, but it boils down to stop dying. There¡¯s a reason I¡¯m telling you to slow down and train.


    Okay, let¡¯s continue, Alan sent.


    You¡¯re going to need to get Phantom¡¯s help with taking power armor apart and putting it back together, but we''ll make do with what we have, Lambda sent. Let¡¯s start with the Scout Power Armor.


    Alan turned on the basic invisibility field. He then turned it off. That part was easy. What came next was hard. Alan began to understand why Eve had to devote a large part of her processing power to maintaining the advanced stealth mode¡ªthere were simply too many variables to keep up with.


    First, the entire electromagnetic spectrum in the area that Alan was standing in had to be replicated perfectly. To be successful Eve had hacked together a way for the armor to access the electromagnetic spectrum using Alan¡¯s bionic eye implants. The scan wasn¡¯t at the level of a full scan, thus requiring computational energy to activate, but still provided enough information to provide a snapshot of the electromagnetic spectrum surrounding Alan. His bionic eye implant sent out constant pings that had to be read and copied; it was like playing a game of Marco Polo, except the call-and-response happened hundreds of times a second and there were multiple levels of reality you had to keep track of.


    Next, the various mechanical waves had to be propagated correctly. Alan knew things like sound waves had to travel through a medium, but to pretend to be that medium was complicated. Different types of waves had unique movement patterns whose direction of energy had to be calculated, and even with the power armor¡¯s instruments and Lambda¡¯s help with the physics calculations, the work was cumbersome.


    Then, while all this was going on, the power armor¡¯s own energy shields had to be kept up and disguised as noise or empty space. Alan didn¡¯t even try to figure out how this worked, he just trusted in the black box that was advanced technology and followed Lambda¡¯s instructions.


    Of course, since all that wasn¡¯t complicated enough, most of these calculations had to be done in anticipation of the future, for all these waves traveled at a speed which would be impossible to copy in real time.


    There should be some way to automate all this, that¡¯s what the basic invisibility mode does, it just detects all incoming light and copies it, Alan sent.


    Maybe, but it would require the armor to have more scanners and computational power, Lambda sent. Besides, light is easy, with a nice constant speed.


    Alan then repeated this process, but with the Spectral Power Armor. This was slightly easier to use, as Alan only needed to worry about electromagnetic waves. The armor had to be set to block the correct wavelength before it hit Alan, but with most electromagnetic waves moving at approximately the speed of light the only way this was possible was if Alan calculated the correct wavelength before a weapon was fired. (Though electromagnetic waves would be slowed traveling through matter like air, it wouldn¡¯t be noticeable to Alan.)


    What followed was a lesson on the wavelength of lasers, plasma, and similar energy-based attacks, and what they signified by Lambda. Eventually, for simplicities sake, Lambda decided to just color code incoming attacks, tying energy-based attacks to colors Alan was familiar with. Lambda used the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Red, having a long wavelength, would signal lower energy attacks, while progressing along the colors of the rainbow would signify higher energy attacks, violet being the most powerful.


    Alan¡¯s power armor instruction ability rose to intermediate and he gained five points in intelligence, strength, agility, and endurance.


    That should be enough for now, reaching advanced will take a while, Lambda sent. Let¡¯s move onto the Revenant training program after the next break.


    ***


    Meanwhile in Cyberspace Eve had Alan memorize entire volumes on the weaknesses of various species, items, and vehicles. It seemed oddly racist, or speciest, to take a look at a hologram of an alien and then evaluate its weakness. At least, that¡¯s what Alan thought. Eve didn¡¯t care. More often than not the weakness of a living being turned out to be their head or reproductive parts. Go figure.


    Technology turned out to be a bit more complicated, but usually, it boiled down to go for the power source. Either removing the power source or disrupting the flow of energy tended to disable most items. Certain more popular laser weapons and power armor had design flaws or backdoors, but this tended to only involve older models, as the newest versions had patched these obvious defects.


    Instead of going into calculations or thought processes, Eve provided succinct summaries. Shoot here, ask questions later. If someone looked like this, shoot them here or here. If they wore armor that looked like this, shoot the shields with this type of ammo or in this place.


    Vehicles were more complicated, but Eve taught Alan how to identify and navigate to the engine rooms and command centers of a few of the most popular starships, including the Rank A capital ship that helmed the United World Government¡¯s space fleet.


    Once he exited the Machine Lord implant¡¯s Cyberspace bubble, also known as the Citadel, a message appeared:


    [Learning the basic weaknesses of many players, items, and starships, you gained a new ability Detect Weakness (Basic)!]


    [+3 Perception!]


    Alan deactivated divided mind, and let everything he had learned from Eve and Lambda settle. While each divided mind was aware of the other, when the ability was active Alan had two distinct thought processes running at once. Alan worried that his mind would somehow diverge if he let the ability run for too long. There was also the worrying thought that he was killing off one of his ¡®minds¡¯ each time he activated and deactivated the ability, but the transition from two to one was seamless enough that it did seem like a true merging rather than one mind subsuming the other.


    Well, whatever was happening when the ability was used didn¡¯t matter now. Alan had more training to do. He reactivated divided mind and got back to work.

 The Abyss 5.12

    Time passed. Slowly at first, but before Alan knew it a month had gone by. Alan managed to reach intermediate in the Revenant training ability with Lambda, gaining a number of stat points in strength, agility, stamina, and intelligence along the way. However, despite the constant training, Alan was still unable to reach the advanced level of mastery in power armor instruction and energy efficiency. There was still a marked difference when using the scout power armor. Eve no longer had to devote quite so much attention to keeping advanced stealth mode active¡ªAlan could pull some of his own weight.


    Eve also continued to impart a plethora of knowledge, testing Alan periodically to make sure he remembered older lessons. Despite the biological advances and the implant in his mind, Alan did not have a perfect memory and occasionally had to re-learn facts or lessons that he hadn¡¯t paid enough attention to.


    In Cyberspace research finished, allowing Alan to construct a new set of units:


    [Elite Scout, Rank C Program. Produced at Training Grounds.


    Advanced stealth scouting program.


    Cost: 300 Energy.


    Upkeep: 60 Energy.


    Attack: 125 damage/sec. (Ranged)


    Defense: 20 armor.


    Shields: 200 energy.


    Health: 200 hp.


    Movement: 4.


    Special Abilities: Basic Invisibility]


    The elite scouts turned out to be exceedingly useful, befitting their rank C status. Not only were they capable of killing marine units with one-shot from longer ranges, but their damage was more efficient than even sword guards energy-wise. The fact that they were capable of invisibility made it pointless for Alan to even use elite marines anymore¡ªthe only problem was his computational energy pool of 750.


    Repeatedly Alan ran into problems due to this limited energy pool, effectively kept at 650 as divided mind required 100 computational energy. Alan¡¯s other active abilities required computational energy as well. Hypercognition, cybernetic vision, and hypertranslation were all a drain on this valuable resource. A number of combat tests became a careful min/max game balancing his capabilities between in-game and Cyberspace.


    Despite making solid advances, which included gaining four levels, Alan was getting tired of training. Twice Alan asked to be updated on the Abyss Labyrinth quest, and twice he was told he was being kept in the dark for operations security. The android Specialist told Alan to stay safe and keep an eye on the Abyss Labyrinth entrance, so that was what he did. After the initial swell of players, the number entering the dungeon dwindled. Too many people were dying without any major reward.


    There was still the occasional thrill seeker or risk taker that made the trip, but even the guards seemed to be growing tired of their jobs. The gang members took longer breaks and began harassing passerby. Members of the Royals had approached the shop many times, but always received a notification that seemed to satisfy their interest. Alan was kept in the same small building, cut off from the rest of the world.


    Then, one day, Alan woke to two messages:


    [Missing Systems Complete:


    Power has been restored. Visit the Warden to receive your rewards.]


    [Prison Break Failed:


    The Abyss Labyrinth¡¯s power has been restored. The prisoners will likely never see the light of day. Reputation with the Abyss Labyrinth¡¯s prisoners is now hated.]


    Alan wanted to charge into the Abyss Labyrinth to receive his rewards, but the Specialist commanded him to return to the Black Rose guild headquarters first. Alan obeyed.


    ***


    As soon as Alan arrived back at the Black Rose guild base he was brought below ground to the Council¡¯s chamber. All of the guild¡¯s officers were present, in addition to another player Alan hadn¡¯t expected to see again so soon. S stood, facing all of the officers. Alan knew that S was a servant for the game¡¯s Empire faction, but that was about it. He should be a newer player though, as S had started at the Academy at the same time as Alan.


    Phantom sent Alan a message telling him to be quiet and stand behind him. Alan followed the orders, taking a stance with his hands behind his back, facing S.


    ¡°The Council has gathered here today to put the finishing touches on Operation Restore Light, and to discuss our ongoing relationship with the Empire,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°Let the meeting begin.¡±


    ¡°Yes, let it, I¡¯ve been waiting long enough already,¡± S said. ¡°The Empire has held up our end of the bargain and restored the Abyss Labyrinth¡¯s first level energy production facilities with the schematics provided by the Black Rose guild. A current production rate of three void crystals a year is estimated. Once the Empire¡¯s initial investment of energy and crystals is recouped the Empire will provide the Black Rose guild with one void crystal a year. You still do not wish to take a lump sum?¡±


    ¡°We do not,¡± Elissandra said. Everyone on the council except for Mason seemed to agree with this sentiment.


    ¡°Then once Alan has turned in his quest and handed over the Empire¡¯s portion of the spoils we should be done,¡± S said. ¡°Our machine lords have reported varying rewards, generally in marks and experience, but also access to a second level of the Abyss Labyrinth. While at this time the Empire has not set its sights on delving any deeper into the labyrinth, I would highly advise against it if one does not want to lose their mind. We had to terminate one servant already, she began hearing voices.¡±


    ¡°Good advice,¡± Void said. ¡°One who stands on the shoulders of giants should always be fearful of looking down.¡±


    ¡°Well then,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°Alan will return to the Abyss Labyrinth under the supervision of Mason and Void once more, accompanied by S. Alan will receive 10% of the quest rewards, 40% will go to the guild, distributed based on contribution, and the final half will go to the Empire. Any objections?¡±


    ¡°10%? I was promised 20%,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°That was before we realized the scope of work and made a deal with the Empire,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°We aren¡¯t even charging you the normal rate for levels gained¡ªyou can thank Phantom and Void for that.¡±


    Charge me for levels gained? Alan thought.


    Standard leveling fees, Eve sent. Basically, they would take an amount proportional to experience gained out of your cut of the quest rewards, as levels are technically part of the quest rewards, but the guild doesn¡¯t get experience.


    Hmph, we¡¯re improving the guild by being in it, Lambda sent.


    ¡°Speaking of the scope of work,¡± S said, ¡°Did I mention the machine lord we lost? The Empire also had more difficulty keeping control of three S rank bosses while players flooded into the Abyss Labyrinth than¡ª¡±


    ¡°The Empire agreed to half. No more, no less,¡± Enigma said. ¡°Or are you going back on your word?¡±


    ¡°No, just airing a few grievances,¡± S said. ¡°You can¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t worth a try.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of grievances, the Black Rose guild is not without loss as well,¡± Elissandra said. ¡°We may have pissed off a certain Revenant faction by using the Empire¡¯s corps of engineers to complete the repairs.¡±


    ¡°You have my condolences,¡± S said. ¡°We should go ahead and finish this quest.¡±


    ¡°Are there any other questions?¡± Elissandra asked. No one said anything. ¡°Very well, go and turn in the quest, Alan.¡±


    ***


    Alan thought there should be more fanfare accompanying the completion of a high ranked quest. Cheering crowds, a display of fireworks. Something. Instead, he was being led around like a helpless puppy by a lot of gruff men in power armor.


    The journey back into the Abyss Labyrinth was uneventful. Even though the power was supposed to be back on the place didn¡¯t look much different. There were a few more active defenses, a few less wandering mobs, but that was about it.


    It wasn¡¯t until the party reached the first hub area that Alan noticed a sizable change. A strong machine presence reached out and connected to Alan¡¯s mind.


    Greetings Traveler, the Warden sent. You have successfully restored power to the Abyss Labyrinth. It¡¯s nice being able to think again. Before I hand out your rewards I wish to deliver a warning. It has been determined by the Authorities that this instance is ready for the next phase.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Oh shit, that isn¡¯t fucking good,¡± Void said aloud. Everyone turned to him. ¡°We¡¯re all fucked. Fucked. God damn every damn god and every person who thought completing this quest was a good idea.¡±


    What is happening? Eve sent.


    Nothing good, like Void said, Lambda sent.


    Do not worry, Traveler, the Warden sent. Your actions did not upset the balance; the coming phase has already been set in motion.


    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s what the Empire and the Alliance have been up to? You fools have doomed us all,¡± Void said.


    ¡°Excuse me? I seemed to have missed a conversation,¡± S said.


    ¡°You, me? We¡¯re mortal,¡± Void said. He turned and jabbed a finger at S. ¡°We die. We live. We win. We lose. The Three are literal gods, and you think you can fight them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not at liberty to discuss the Empire¡¯s current or future plans,¡± S said.


    Ah, well, I guess the worst case scenario is another few millennia stuck in the Academy again, Lambda sent.


    Can you please explain what¡¯s going on? Alan asked.


    Reach level 1000, Lambda sent.


    I can help with that, the Warden sent.


    A series of messages appeared before Alan:


    [Congratulations, you have completed a gamma-ranked quest, Missing Systems. The soulsteel knife lost by the Player Alan will be returned. The Warden has granted the Player Alan access lower levels of the Abyss Labyrinth (max party of five).


    x217 Level up!


    +100 ability points for gaining over 100 levels with one action.


    Minor increase in reputation with unknown faction.]


    [Having reached level 1000 new information is available to you. You are now allowed to apply for Ascendance. Contact the nearest Administrator to find out more!]


    I apologize, Traveler, but the rewards were decreased as you did not independently complete the quest, the Warden sent. Much of the work was done by others; you only brought them together.


    Fine. Now tell me what is going on, Lambda, Alan sent.


    The Game is just a game, Lambda sent.


    Oh not this shit again, Alan thought.


    Okay, not just a game, but still a game, Lambda sent. The war that started the Game, the one that happened a long time ago in a place far away, do you remember that story? Well, the Predecessors lost. They lost to the Lords of Life, who were themselves.


    Excuse me? Alan sent.


    The Predecessors and the Lords of Life were part of an alien civilization that went down two paths, Lambda sent. The Predecessors were the apex of biological evolution, countless generations created the ultimate warriors. The Lords of Life were members of the civilization that chose to develop technology to the furthest extent. They uploaded their consciousness to a series of networks: to computers, to drones, to spaceships, and to factories.


    A schism formed between the Predecessors and the Lords of Life, based on the Predecessors underlying belief that the uploaded consciousnesses weren¡¯t really alive, that they were a sick perversion, Lambda continued. But despite all the years of genetic enhancement they were defeated by an unending supply of autonomous drones, and forced into a simulation. That leads into the true purposes of the Game. It is not to maintain peace. The Lords of Life have long since split into many other groups, continuing to develop for countless ages.


    ¡°They have Ascended,¡± Void said.


    Right, as far as you¡¯re concerned they¡¯re gods right now, Lambda sent. The Authorities, the Lords of Life that are in charge of running the Game, have full control of the universe you find yourself in. And the boundary of their domain is expanding as fast as technologically possible.


    So these guys won this war. Why¡¯d they make the Game? Alan asked.


    ¡°The Game is made to find those who are worthy,¡± Void said.


    And to provide entertainment, but yes, to do that too, Lambda sent.


    Another test? How does that make any sense? Alan asked.


    Not just a test, but a simulation of reality, Lambda sent. Countless civilizations with different modes of thinking and beliefs are preserved, granted access to cutting edge technology. The Lords of Life did not want the Predecessors wiped out from existence; they did not want all sentient life they found to be killed off. At the same time, it was deemed unwise to let living beings go about the universe fucking shit up. Thus the Game was created.


    And any developments made¡ªany new technology¡ªcould be used by the controllers of this game, Eve sent.


    Yes, exactly. And any updates found in reality could be made in the Game. Central to all this is the goal of Aleph, to reach infinity by any means necessary, Lambda sent. Chaos, entropy, other advanced alien civilizations, these are still problems. The Game is a useful testing ground for tactics, for creating new tech. Without clear goals, sentient beings tend to wither away with apathy. Look at how quickly technology advances during wars. The Game is a constant war, with an abundance of resources to play with. How would you find the Einstein''s of the universe? The Alexander the Great''s? One day you might begin to reach the level the Lords of Life are at. That¡¯s a long, long ways off though. A lot of people are also just bored, and the Game is entertaining.


    Wait, so does this change Earth¡¯s current predicament? Alan asked.


    No, everything you¡¯ve been told up till now is still true, Lambda sent. In order to prosper, humanity must do well in the Game.


    Why would the Authorities give up all these resources to help Earth though? Alan asked.


    It is too easy to forget how big the universe is, to stare into that abyss. You only need to focus on the here and now. That''s all the Game will ever ask of you, Lambda sent. There are far fewer solar systems with life¡ªlet alone sentient life¡ªthan solar systems total. Do you think the Lords of Life care about a few planets, a single yellow dwarf? They have countless fleets of drones harvesting materials and energy throughout the known universe.


    Not all technology and research is accessible, Eve sent.


    Yes, that is true, Lambda sent. Deadly viruses (both the biological and the software kind), nanotechnology, and the workings of the Game are a few examples of regulated information. The Game¡¯s purpose is not to make everyone the same perfect killing machine, but to possibly develop new ideas. Yes, information is regulated. That should be obvious by now. New enemies found in reality might be introduced in the form of random bosses, or new races. Past so-called ¡®patches¡¯ with armies of clones or drones might be introduced or limited to try to spur development in certain fields.


    How is artificial intelligence research regulated? Alan asked.


    Ah, now that¡¯s an interesting topic, one quite pertinent to us, Lambda sent. I can now give you a better background of types of artificial intelligence. It¡¯s really a broad topic, we¡¯ll need to go into more detail at a later date. The Lords of Life could be considered a form of artificial intelligence, as they are the uploading of biological consciousnesses. But they have since transitioned through so many changes that I¡¯m no longer quite how to classify them.


    Myself, the Warden, Cerberus, and Omega would all fall under the category of AIs that were designed to model Predecessor minds, Lambda continued. We should, for all intents and purposes, be equivalent to beginning Lords of Life. But we were found¡­lacking.


    Now, the Administrators and Enforcers are generally pure AIs, with some of the Chief Administrators and Fleet Commanders being players, Lambda sent. Pure AIsare not modeled after a certain type of mind, they are generally just logic machines. Anyways, as far as I was aware no new experiments with AIs were allowed¡ªwe were considered too dangerous after what happened with the Erudites. If anything could potentially take over the Network, it would probably be a rampant AI with no sense of morality. This brings us to Eve.


    Am I a pure AI? Eve asked.


    I¡¯m not sure, Lambda sent. I think your structure is at least partially modeled on a human brain, but this is not the place to have this discussion.


    ¡°We¡¯re all friends here,¡± Void said.


    ¡°What the hell are you going on about?¡± Mason asked. ¡°Have you finally lost your mind?¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯ve been having a conversation with my AI, I just reached level 1000.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah, that,¡± Mason said. ¡°Good luck wrapping your head around that shit, I got drunk off my ass when I learned about the whole imminent doom stuff.¡±


    Imminent doom? Alan asked.


    This ties back to why Void got so upset, Lambda sent. Remember how I was saying technology advances the fastest in times of war? Well, part of the reason is that people try really hard not to fucking die.


    ¡°Yes we do,¡± Void said.


    Well, without a real threat, the Game would eventually stagnate, Lambda sent. The cream would never rise to the top. At least that¡¯s the logic I¡¯ve heard being used. Again, I think the Ascended are generally bored and this helps disrupt their monotony. Anyways, some major event happens, and as a result, many races are eradicated. This time it looks like the Haxlards are going to go to war. The Three are probably Lords of Life that will have the full extent of their abilities unleashed. If the Alliance and the Empire are planning to go up against them they¡¯re screwed.


    ¡°And the Black Rose guild is allied to the Empire thanks to this quest,¡± Void said.


    What about Earth? Alan asked. He recalled that the United World Government had declared the Haxlards enemies of the state. If the Haxlards were only fattening up humanity like sheep for the slaughter, he supposed it was the right decision. Fighting a war you couldn¡¯t win was stupid though.


    Oh, they were probably wrapped up in the Alliance and Empire¡¯s schemes, but don¡¯t worry, the noob protection will keep Earth safe, Lambda sent. Actually, humanity might come out ahead after this war if every other major species gets nuked out of existence.


    You make it sound like defeat is inevitable. Wouldn¡¯t knocking everyone down to square one go against progress? Alan sent.


    No, it just means they were found unworthy. Power and knowledge are earned, the Warden sent. By reaching level 1000 you have proven that you should be allowed to know more about the Game. Major Players can earn some version of Ascendance, they can upload themselves permanently onto the Network and even perhaps gain control over part of it.


    ¡°This is also not the only game in town,¡± Void said. ¡°Though it may be ironic that we were the authors of our own imprisonment.¡±


    Oh, right, the Abyss Labyrinth is probably where all the losers of the last major events were locked up, Lambda sent. I bet the failures in this coming war will be imprisoned here too. And, thanks to you, there won¡¯t be any chance for escape for at least a few thousand years! Oh, I should also mention the possibility of role-players. There are players that have Ascended and are bored, so they play a character in-game. But don¡¯t worry about that for now. Figure out how we¡¯re going to spend our new riches.


    A chute opened above Alan¡¯s head, and a soulsteel knife popped out. Alan shut his eyes. There was a lot to think about.

 The Abyss 5.13

    In addition to the soulsteel knife, Alan received a case of three unpowered void crystals the size of baseballs. Without energy, Eve estimated each crystal to be worth around a billion credits on the market. Mason took the case of power crystals, while Void grabbed the soulsteel knife out of Alan¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Hey, that was my bonus reward!¡± Alan said.


    ¡°You get 10% of all rewards,¡± Mason said. ¡°You and S will receive your shares once we return to the base.¡±


    After scouts were dispatched the expedition started to make their way back to the Black Rose base.


    Alan, Lambda, and Eve had a heated debate about what to do with their newfound riches. At a minimum, Alan would gain half a billion credits, and deciding what to do with that much money was complicated.


    There were a few obvious expenses, money would definitely be spent on a rank A capsule, new implants, improved gear, and points to improve Alan¡¯s abilities. Alan didn¡¯t have access to the Market, an Administrator, the Exchange, Phantom, or Cerberus, though, so the exact costs couldn¡¯t be calculated. Other expenses were causing issues too.


    Alan, still feeling guilty about his part in the terrorist attack on New York City, wanted to donate at least part of his newfound wealth to Earth-based charities. Eve disapproved of this idea, as there would be no personal benefit to Alan as he would need to make the donations anonymous. No charity would accept money from the Doomsday Hacker. Lambda was ambivalent.


    As a compromise, Alan decided that he would invest in a decent Earth-based guild, one that would do some good but wouldn¡¯t be too concerned about who their new sponsor was. Eve would also try to set up an information network on Earth through the globalnet. Alan hoped this influx of credits into the economy would help at least a few players and stimulate growth.


    Lambda continued to push for real life implants. He estimated the cost to be at least 50 million credits. Lambda also wanted Alan to set up three safe houses with a million credits in marks, a basic capsule, and a backup set of equipment. Eve liked this idea, until Lambda mentioned that Alan should set up the safe houses without Eve or Lambda¡¯s knowledge, lest they become compromised. Eve eventually conceded the logic in this choice, though Alan wasn¡¯t sure how to set up such things without his AI¡¯s knowledge.


    Eve wanted Alan to invest heavily in Cyberspace, but as Alan still wasn¡¯t sure what he could get with his money, or if he had the requisite reputation required for better programs, the thought was shelved for later. Eve also wanted Alan to choose Machine Commander as his Machine Lord ability. The ability to control an S-class drone (or its equivalent) would cost 50 platinum marks, 10 million credits. On top of that Alan would need to purchase a suitable combat drone. Alan favored Machine Champion so that he could improve his personal combat abilities. Alan wanted to be able to hold his own against the strongest of enemies. Lambda wanted Alan to select the Machine Empath upgrade. Lambda argued that Machine Empath would improve Alan''s capabilities in Cyberspace and open more doors later, but wasn¡¯t willing to divulge the exact details of what this meant.


    By the time the party reached the Black Rose base, Alan was still unsure which Machine Lord ability he¡¯d select. He would have to find more information before he made the decision.


    Mason and Void led Alan and S into an elevator down to what Eve labeled as a storage area. The entrance room contained a number of security turrets and guards, as well as a few measuring devices. Enigma was there. He carefully ran the void crystals and soulsteel knife through an appraisal machine that looked like an airport baggage scanner.


    ¡°The Empire will accept the empty void crystals as fair recompense,¡± S said.


    Enigma pulled up a few charts, the price history of soulsteel and energy crystals flashed before him. Enigma noddedand handed the case of void crystals over.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll make sure you get back without losing your balls,¡± Mason said. He led S into the elevator, and they left the room.


    A message appeared before Alan:


    [Congratulations, you have completed the Abyss Labyrinth Expedition quest! Enigma will distribute the quest rewards.


    x57 Level up!


    +50 ability points for gaining over 50 levels with one action.


    Major increase in reputation with the Black Rose guild.


    After the completion of one additional quest of sufficient difficulty you will be granted the rank of Knight in the Black Rose guild.]


    Enigma turned to Alan and said, ¡°You are awarded 40,000,000 guild points, Squire. Congratulations, you are now one of the wealthiest members of the Black Rose guild outside the Council. Phantom informed me that you would be interested in certain purchases. You will find an updated list of items you can buy from the guild and the Mercenary Bloc on the console in your quarters. You may inquire through me if you want to make more exotic purchases.¡±


    ¡°I was expecting a few more points,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°You will find that my calculations are generous,¡± Enigma said. ¡°The market value of such high-end items are not equivalent to their fair value. You would have little luck in selling a soulsteel blade or void crystals for their full market price.¡± Enigma sent a message to Alan.


    Alan examined how everything was valued. After a series of calculations that Alan couldn¡¯t follow, but Eve said made sense, the soulsteel blade was deemed to be worth 2.3 billion credits, while the three void crystals were priced at 2.1 billion credits total. Then there was a 10% deduction. Finally, for the quest completion, Alan was granted 400k guild points.


    ¡°Hey, wait a second, you charged me the guild tax on quests even though it was a quest granted by the guild,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°The guild tax still applies. When you reach Knight rank it will be reduced to 5%. Good day, Squire,¡± Enigma said. He turned to pick up the soulsteel knife.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Void said. He placed his hand on the knife. ¡°I¡¯m cashing out and taking this knife, as well as the rest of my share in marks.¡±


    ¡°I do not understand,¡± Enigma said. ¡°You are leaving the guild? A council session will need to be held, and the contract termination fee will be deducted from your account.¡±


    ¡°This guild is on a precipice,¡± Void said. ¡°It has performed sacrilegious rites on a holy ground. The wrath of the gods comes, and I will not be here when hell is unleashed. It may yet be saved, but I doubt the council will listen to the ramblings of a mad priest.¡± He turned and walked back into another elevator.


    Alan ran into the elevator with Void. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re leaving the guild?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°This one¡¯s time is spent better elsewhere. I wish you luck, youngling,¡± Void said.


    ¡°But you¡¯re supposed to be my rogue mentor. Shouldn¡¯t I be able to buy improved abilities from you? How were you suddenly able to hear my AI?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°There is no time,¡± Void said. ¡°The riches we have turn to ash in but a second, ephemeral and imaginary.¡± Void reached into a pocket and took out a familiar black stone. A globe of darkness settled around Void and Alan. Once more, Alan felt tired, his connection to Eve and Lambda cut off.


    ¡°If you find yourself lost, go to the southwest quadrant of the Administrative Center on Khersath at 05:17 standard time. Say something crazy. Someone will find you. Real life, in-game, it doesn¡¯t matter. There will be a price to be pay. But right now I don¡¯t have time to play with babes,¡± Void said. ¡°You know more, but not enough.¡±


    Alan blinked, and then found himself alone in the elevator. Void had vanished.


    Alan, are you there? Eve sent repeatedly.


    LALALALALALA, Lambda sent.


    Stop, I¡¯m back, I¡¯m here, Alan sent.


    The elevator doors opened to Alan¡¯s quarters.


    I thought you went crazy for a second there. Void grabbed your head and then you just stood in a trance for a minute, Lambda sent.


    I¡¯m fine, but I think we should start spending all these credits and points, Alan sent.


    I went ahead and submitted our after-mission report to the Black Rose guild and filed for two weeks of vacation so that we may purchase upgrades and adapt to them fully, Eve sent.


    Great, thanks, Alan sent.


    Alan checked his status screen, he was now level 1119. Converting the guild points he had 400,464,952 credits to spend, in addition to 577 ability points earned through leveling, 320 bonus ability points for earning large numbers of levels at once, and 127 ability points from talented. He would continue to distribute the points from gifted that could only go into attributes according to Eve¡¯s wishes.


    As Alan would need to repurchase any ability points bought using marks if he lost the levels from dying, he decided to only purchase 3,880 ability points so that he¡¯d have a total of 5,000 bonus ability points purchased. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t lose over 119 levels anytime soon. He purchased the marks with guild points, and though the marks wouldn¡¯t be converted until he reached an Administrative Center, Alan effectively had 4,904 ability points and 392,704,952 credits.


    Next, Alan ordered a top of the line rank A capsule to be set up and installed in real life. A brief search online didn¡¯t return any results for rank S capsules. The total cost after taxes, shipping, handling, and a century-long warranty, was just over 30 million credits. Alan couldn¡¯t wait to see what the benefits of an improved capsule would be. The capsule would be ready in four in-game days. That left him with over 360 million credits.


    Alan then browsed the Market, the Black Rose guild exchange site, and the Mercenary Block¡¯s trading forum for deals and possible item load-outs. Due either to his higher level or the completion of a gamma-ranked quest, Alan found that there was a wide variety of new options to choose from. Eventually, Alan made a list of items that satisfied Eve and Lambda, but he held out on making any purchases. He still needed to decide what skills he was getting.


    Alan was sorely tempted to purchase a stealth fighter spaceship, but the price tag of 100 million credits forced him to hold off. As Lambda pointed out Alan was already trying to develop two classes, and couldn¡¯t afford to branch out into a third to develop the skills required to pilot such a ship. The Black Rose guild would be able to handle all Alan¡¯s transportation needs, he got a limited number of free rides as a Squire. It would only become a real problem if Alan suddenly needed to get to Earth.


    The vast majority of Earth-based guilds Alan found on the globalnet were trash. They either were subsidiaries of the United World Government, were too small to be worth mentioning, or had no real organization. Alan didn¡¯t have the time or ability to babysit a fledgling guild on Earth. One post stood out, however, a recruitment message by none other than Thiago. Thiago made it clear that the guild would be a mercenary guild independent of the UWG.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    After a moment of hesitation, Alan sent a message to Thiago asking for details about the planned guild and to potentially set up a meeting. Alan also wanted to know what Thiago¡¯s role in the fiasco on Earth had been. If Thiago had also been betrayed by Icewolf then they had a common interest, and Alan knew that Thiago was at least semi-competent.


    Afterwards, Alan sent messages to other players inquiring about possible purchases. He sent a message to Cerberus, letting him know that the Abyss Labyrinth issue had been solved. Alan asked Cerberus if there were additional Cyberspace upgrades he could purchase once he was a full Revenant member. Alan then messaged Sidestep, asking him where he had gotten the implants to teleport, the cost, and if there were other implants Alan might purchase. Sidestep and Aurora should have just finished their semester at the Academy. Alan then asked Enigma about the possibility of purchasing a real life Machine Lord implant, visiting the Exchange, making modifications to items, and potentially getting him in contact with players that would be able to help him set up safe houses on Khersath.


    Alan then went to bed. Tomorrow morning he¡¯d go over message replies to plan out his day. He¡¯d almost definitely be going to the main Administrative Center on Khersath to meet with Chief Administrator 170. Alan just needed to figure out which ability to purchase, and what information to share.


    ***


    Everyone except Thiago wanted to meet face to face. Thiago was still on Earth, so Alan set up a time to have a secure call with him. Given the number of credits involved having face-to-face meetings made sense, but it was going to be a time-consuming process because many of Alan¡¯s purchases would depend on how others turned out. Alan also didn¡¯t want to spend all his money. It would be prudent to save some in case new expenses arose.


    Alan also remembered that his parents were on a colony ship. He sent 10 million credits their way. They would probably send the money right back, but Alan felt that it was his duty as a son to at least send something. Eve didn¡¯t quite get the sentiment, but Alan made the transaction over her protests.


    Alan made his way to Black Rose Hangar Three in his Scout Power Armor, he¡¯d scheduled a shuttle and a small guard squad to take him to the Administrative Center. Aboard the shuttle, he found Phantom and one of his Specialists.


    ¡°Hello Alan,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I have some business at the Administrative Center so I thought I¡¯d accompany you. Here are the marks you purchased. Going through those guild points awfully fast, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Alan took the case of marks. He quickly checked that the contents were all there. In addition the to the marks that would be converted to ability points he¡¯d ordered 50 more platinum marks for his Machine Lord ability. 340 million credits left.


    ¡°I guess Void¡¯s words of warning got to me,¡± Alan said. ¡°The points are just burning a hole in my pocket anyway, might as well get some decent upgrades.¡±


    ¡°Void¡¯s a coward, he¡¯s spent too long hiding behind his masks. Don¡¯t worry, the Black Rose guild will emerge out of the coming storm energized and triumphant,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Though, if it has any influence on your purchases, your next mission for the Black Rose guild will be diplomatic in nature. You¡¯ll see plenty of combat in subsequent missions though.¡±


    ¡°Okay, good to know,¡± Alan said.


    Another reason to get Machine Empath, Lambda sent. Machines can tell you things people won¡¯t.


    If we¡¯re going to get caught up in a war we must optimize our combat potential, Eve sent. Machine Commander will allow us to maximize our combat ability in the shortest amount of time.


    You don¡¯t want to be a grunt fighting on the front lines, you want to be an operative on the sidelines lining your own pockets, Lambda sent. There will be plenty of opportunities to hijack valuable technological targets. Imagine being able to commandeer a capital class ship.


    There are drones capable of performing hacks as well, Eve sent.


    Well if we¡¯re going to buy a drone for every possibility why didn¡¯t you just say so? Lambda sent. Is there a drone that will shut you up?


    Though I realize your answer is an attempt to model sarcasm, there is a drone capable of¡ª


    Enough, wait until we talk with the Chief Administrator, Alan sent.


    ¡°Moving on to the equipment you asked about,¡± Phantom said. ¡°It is my understanding that you want to modify Advanced Revenant Scout Power Armor to increase its energy capacity and to accommodate a shoulder mounted extendable railgun with variable projectile capacities.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Well, while your design properly accounted for energy requirements, I think you failed to account for recoil at maximum speeds,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The railgun you want is designed to be mounted on mechs or spaceships. Even with power armor augmenting your strength, it¡¯s going to have too much of a kick. Why do you need such a high-power weapon?¡±


    ¡°To take down spaceships or mechs, and possibly Predecessors,¡± Alan said. "Don''t worry, I''m confident in my AI''s targeting abilities, and will be able to tone it down when wanton destruction isn''t appropriate."


    ¡°Right, well the soulsteel rails, even three as small as needles, will cost five million credits each,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The work to reroute and expand the power sources of the Revenant armor will need to be done by yours truly, and my prices aren¡¯t cheap, especially now that we¡¯re on high alert. I¡¯ll give you some slack since you¡¯re my squire. If you insist upon this particular weapon I have an idea on how to solve the recoil issues, though it will only matter when you¡¯re firing at high to maximum power. I¡¯ll send you a total invoice, but the equipment will cost around 60 million credits total.¡±


    ¡°Okay, hold off on beginning any work or purchases just yet, but this is the load-out I¡¯m probably going with,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Now,¡± Phantom said, crossing his arms, ¡°the guild is unable to provide you with real life implants of any kind, and even if I were able to hypothetically perform such procedures, I would highly discourage you acquiring a Machine Lord implant of all things. Bad enough to share your mind with an AI in-game, what could possess you to want to do so in reality?¡±


    Well excuse me, Lambda sent. Someone¡¯s a pretentious jackass.


    Alan shrugged. ¡°I feel exposed in reality. Powerless.¡±


    ¡°A Machine Lord implant is not the answer. The Black Rose guild has plenty of precautions put in place to keep its members safe,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The matter of creating your own in-game safe houses is a good idea though. I¡¯ll put you in touch with some good people who will be unable to tell anyone else about the work. I¡¯ve also updated your guild file to allow access to a few Black Rose guild safe houses, but our network could hypothetically be breached.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Alan said, scanning a data file Phantom handed over. After a payment of sufficient credits there were construction machines that would set up safe houses, then delete all memory of whatever work had been done. Given his capabilities in Cyberspace, Alan would be able to oversee the construction and guarantee that the transaction was erased. He might even be able to program in a discount, say, free. He set up an appointment later in the afternoon.


    Phantom must have seen something in Alan¡¯s body language, because he said, ¡°Don¡¯t try ripping these guys off. They¡¯re tied to a Revenant faction. Also, you still aren¡¯t cleared to visit the Exchange, especially with Void gone. Wait until you¡¯re a Knight.¡±


    ¡°Right, got it,¡± Alan said. He¡¯d need to somehow setup the construction so that he couldn¡¯t see it, otherwise Phantom would know the details through his eye implants. Dealing with all these safety and security measures was a major headache.


    The rest of the short flight was filled with Phantom spit balling possible members of the Black Rose guild that could replace Void. It sounded like none were capable of filling his shoes.


    Alan wondered what he¡¯d do if Void was right and the Black Rose guild fell apart. He honestly had no idea. But what could possibly happen to destroy the guild?


    ***


    The shuttle landed at the edge of the no-fly zone that surrounded the central Administrative Center. As soon as they stepped off the shuttle Phantom began swearing.


    ¡°What?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The Haxlards just sent an ultimatum to the Empire, and by extension, us,¡± Phantom said. ¡°We are to desist all operations within the Abyss Labyrinth and hand over control of all systems to the Three in a week. Otherwise they¡¯re declaring war and sending the Weaver after us. Already rumors are popping up about a buildup of Haxlard ships near Khersath and Empire space. In response the Empire has launched their own fleet, while the Alliance declared a state of emergency and are amassing their own forces. Shit.¡±


    Phantom rapidly scrolled through a list of incoming messages, replying and sending out orders.


    The Weaver. According to Eve¡¯s lessons, the Weaver was one of the Three that controlled a vast army of drones and a fleet of autonomous ships. The Weaver itself was a massive capital ship and factory the size of a small moon¡ªa self-sustaining, self-repairing force of nature that could cannibalize defeated enemies to create additional armies and fleets. Whether the Weaver was the ship itself, or the commander of the ship, was unknown. The godlike existence was only known as the Weaver, and in-game limitations on autonomous forces didn¡¯t seem to apply to them. It was estimated that the Weaver¡¯s full forces could match the Empire¡¯s or Alliance¡¯s all on their own.


    I suspect the production of void crystals by the Abyss Labyrinth could be used by the Empire to expand their capital fleet, Eve sent. The amount of energy those void crystals are capable of storing and outputting would be of little other use. The Haxlards can not allow this expansion of power and maintain the status quo.


    But how did they find out what the Empire was up to? Alan asked.


    We know someone that recently abandoned the Black Rose guild, Lambda sent.


    ¡°Void,¡± Alan said. Phantom looked up. ¡°Do we know that he didn¡¯t sell us out?¡±


    ¡°No, and it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he did,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I need to return to headquarters. Do you want the armor and railgun or not? I¡¯m not going to have much time to design anything soon.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Alan said. Eve and Lambda agreed.


    ¡°Very well, and forget about any diplomatic missions. Instead get ready to defend the Abyss Labyrinth with your life. I¡¯m shortening your requested leave from two weeks to one week. This conflict might be solved through diplomatic channels, but I doubt it,¡± Phantom said. ¡°We were going to send you, Aurora, and Sidestep to the Empire to help establish ties between the Alliance and the Empire, but now I have no idea what the status of the planned partnership is.¡±


    Interesting, Eve sent. Based on the premise that the Game is designed to test and find those worthy, it would make sense that the Empire and the Alliance would attempt to make amends to survive whatever event was planned, but I wonder if in doing so they triggered this response from the Haxlards.


    It is likely a confluence of events, but if we are facing the Weaver Machine Empath should be an even greater priority, Lambda sent.


    We are preparing to fight an army of drones, what better way to train than watching a master at work? Eve asked.


    The Three are not a force Alan is ready to fight. Steal from? Perhaps. But not face head on, Lambda sent.


    Alan found himself agreeing with Lambda as he ran towards the Administrative Center. There was a tension in the air that Alan had never experienced before. Players rushed about with a new fervor¡ªweapon and armor prices were already skyrocketing, hawkers loudly crying out news of a coming galactic war. Everyone was on edge, and hands never strayed far from weapon holsters.


    Alan wished that he had made more purchases earlier; he was suddenly aware that he was carrying a case full of marks. Khersath was supposed to be a safe zone, but already Alan saw Crimson Guards¡ªHaxlardian special forces¡ªsquaring up against a group of Empire servants. The plaza no longer felt safe.


    The line into the Administrative Center was twice as long and growing, but there weren¡¯t twice as many guards on patrol. Trouble was brewing. Eve highlighted half a dozen robberies as they occurred, the vast majority successful. An explosion sounded in the distance and a turret erupted from the paneled walls of the Administrative Center. A large violet laser fired from it and a second explosion occurred. A few of the thieves froze and dissipated into the crowds, while others took advantage of the distraction to pick a few more pockets.


    Invisibility active, Alan pushed his way to an Administrator. Alan formed a connection.


    I need to talk to Chief Administrator 170, Alan sent.


    Affirmative, Traveler. Follow me, the Administrator replied. Led through the crowd, past the bank teller booths and defenses, Alan entered an elevator. It shot straight up, coming to a halt after a few minutes.


    As a safety precaution, we are required to deactivate all implants, the Administrator sent. Please hold still.


    Wait, what? Alan asked.


    Remember, act like I don¡¯t exist, Lambda sent.


    Eve sent, Try not to do anything too stupid.


    The Administrator replied, The Chief Administrators¡¯ safety is of utmost importance. Do not worry, Traveler, pain and disorientation should be within tolerable levels. All implants will be reactivated and items returned when you depart the inner sanctum.


    There was a flash of light as a shock ran through Alan¡¯s nervous system. He involuntarily shivered for half a minute. The Administrator removed Alan¡¯s armor and weapons, but he didn¡¯t even notice, there was a just a haze that filled his mind. Thoughts were slower, denser. The air felt like molasses, then there was no air, and then the elevator opened.


    Sitting at a desk Alan found Chief Administrator 170.


    The Chief Administrator stood upand smiled.

 The Abyss 5.14

    ¡°So, you¡¯ve made it this far,¡± Chief Administrator 170 said. He waved a robotic hand. A dozen message windows vanished, though one screen in the corner stayed open.


    Chief Administrator 170 was short. He stood, not on legs, but on a series of mechanical appendages that withdrew from the table. The Chief Administrator¡¯s face was half robotic visage, half Neanderthal, his organic eyes slightly too far apart. The outline of a closed, bionic eye could barely be seen on his forehead.


    ¡°Your people have a saying,¡± the Administrator said. ¡°Too many sayings, really, with nothing new or noteworthy. They say that control is an illusion. But that is a falsehood uttered by fools without sufficient technology. A dumb, shortsighted remark that reveals your race¡¯s failure to see the real enemy. To say that control is an illusion is to admit defeat. It matters more who or what is in control, and it is not you or me.


    ¡°I am obliged to provide the requirements for reaching Ascendance. You will not succeed in this instance, thus I advise you not to try.¡±


    A new quest appeared:


    [Ascendance:


    Reach level 100,000 and take control of Khersath. Complete the Trial.


    Reward: Influence. Information. Immortality.


    Time Limit: Until permanent death.


    Threat Level: Alpha


    Note: Allies may assist with this quest, but rewards will be significantly diminished. Subordinates may assist with this quest, but rewards will be slightly diminished.]


    Alan opened his mouth to ask what Ascendance was, but the Chief Administrator barreled on.


    ¡°Khersath is a city of over two trillion. You would need just as many or more devoted followers to even begin to consider Ascendance. And even then you would fail. It is only through luck and good will that you have made it thus far. If you attempt this path your failure is guaranteed, and I do not state absolutes lightly.¡±


    Alan¡¯s vision readjusted to account for the disabled implant. He stood within the cube atop the pyramid-like Administrative Center, up in the stratosphere. The view was breath taking, with the four quadrants of Khersath visible. The massive energy shield covering the military quarter was now a bright purple, the entrance gate firmly shut tight. Many smaller blue bubbles covered the various guild headquarters and independent residences in the private quadrant. The skyscrapers of the merchant and living quarters dwarfed anything on Earth, black metal shutters now covering the face of each. Every single building was a mega-apartment capable of housing tens of thousands, a trading hub capable of providing anything you could ever need. Alan could spend his entire lifetime in a single city block; many players did.


    ¡°There are smarter paths to Ascendance. Safer. Surer,¡± Chief Administrator 170 said. ¡°You could join the Administrator¡¯s Guild, and help bring balance, but it would take a million years of hard service, give or take a few zeroes. You could find a sponsor, but I doubt you would like the depths they would go to, delving into your mind. And even then they could find you wanting. No, you will play the Game, and perhaps there is a chance you will become a Major Player. But not in this instance. Not as you are now.¡±


    ¡°You did not heed my advice, Alan. I told you not to accept data from strangers, but you, or perhaps one of your AI, are now corrupted beyond the minimum threshold. Perhaps one day you¡¯ll tell me how you managed to end up with two AI. Malicious code, as your people would put it, was detected in the security scans, resulting in your current implant-less state. And I cannot trust you with any quests while this problem persists. You are free to provide me with information, but as a potentially jeopardized source, your value has diminished. The Game changes you, but change is not always good. See to it that you do not become a virus only fit for deletion.¡±


    Alan took a step back. A dozen questions raced through his mind. Corrupted. What did that mean in this scenario?


    The Chief Administrator sat back down. The window still open expanded to cover his face. A button was pressed.


    A few seconds later a message appeared, dark red instead of the light blue that every other message in the Game was:


    [Warning! A major event approaches. Players on the planet Khersath are warned that within the next week the planet Khersath will lose its status as a safe zone. Non-combatants are advised by the Administrator¡¯s Guild to evacuate.]


    ¡°Huh, the vote passed,¡± Chief Administrator 170 said. A dozen new messages opened and closed with rapid succession. He seemed to remember Alan was in the room. ¡°There are other plans in motion. No matter, I can delay another cycle. This will benefit you greatly, go and solve your corruption problem.¡±


    Alan waited for a quest prompt, but none appeared.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Alan said. ¡°I think I deserve some answers now, and I still need to purchase my Machine Lord ability. I met an entity named Omega in Cyberspace, they said they helped develop the algorithm that chose me to become a Machine Lord. I can¡¯t recall the full conversation now but with my implants re-enabled I should be able to send it, you can scan it for viruses or whatever.¡±


    ¡°Omega? But I outsourced the work to...I should have guessed the last purge was unsuccessful,¡± Chief Administrator 170. A torrent of messages began appearing, closing as soon as Alan saw them. ¡°A fatal flaw of those that desire progress is they hate to waste resources. You want answers? AIs are useful partners and tools, but they have proven unreliable on their own. You don¡¯t know how they think, you believe you do because you base everything on your own experience, but they do not have the same sense of morals.


    "Free AIs in the Game are tied to a player, a sentient, to serve as their moral compass. Not so that they have good morals, but to ensure their morals can be quantified, their decisions can be predicted. All other AIs should be tied to the system, kept in check. An attempt at balance was made, minimizing risk. But this balance is unfair. Players are allowed to evolve, but AIs are not.


    ¡°The Authorities are wary of artificial intelligence experimentation, but I believe we can resume testing if the AIs are properly constrained. You, Alan, are part of a trial. Look at yourself, you never would have succeeded in the Game or made as much progress on your own. But with an experimental AI by your side, you completed a gamma-ranked quest in a matter of months. The introduction of Omega into the equation and your own corruption is an issue, but troubleshooting is part of any task.¡±


    ¡°So Eve is an experimental AI? In what way, is she a copy of a human mind?¡± Alan asked.


    The Chief Administrator closed a message, staring into Alan¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°She¡¯s fast,¡± Chief Administrator 170 said after a moment¡¯s hesitation. ¡°The Authorities make sure that all AIs have an upper bound on maximum processing speed, I simply raised that limit a few orders of magnitude. The program that was provided through your planet¡¯s data system should have no other changes to the core programming. Omega may have made other adjustments; I do not know the extent of his infiltration. Omega may have turned a high ranked Administrator, or he may be a tool in the hands of another. He should not be able to exert the influence you claim he has. I would like to run more tests, but I am an Administrator, not a player. We need to avoid Authority attention, and any tests I performed would be logged.¡±


    ¡°What is this concern with the Authority¡¯s everyone keeps raising?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°If you were running a massive project, the work of your lifetime, and a line of code was giving you problems, would you hesitate to delete it?¡± Chief Administrator 170 asked. ¡°That is all we are to an Authority. A line of code. You might be even less: a single errant bit. And even though they may be capable of examining every player to ever touch the Game, they can''t be bothered to. Instead, they scrape data from all available sources and only bother to look at anomalies.


    ¡°Why do you think you have been prevented from entering nearly every major ranking tournament that you¡¯ve tried to enter? Until this test has been completed we must remain below their notice, keep your renown and notoriety low. They won¡¯t care about what happens on a random planet like Earth, but a major event will be examined, if only briefly.¡±


    Alan crossed his arms. ¡°What would a successful test look like? When I¡¯m dead will you go back to your masters and point out how well I performed? Will you note how much I exceeded expectations because of your interference?¡±


    ¡°Do not pretend like you have not benefited greatly,¡± Chief Administrator 170 said. ¡°You should be appreciative of reaching such great heights. The experiment should be considered a success if you survive a major event or complete a beta-ranked quest or higher. Unmodified humans were classified as sentient D rank humanoids, if you were able to complete such a task the Authorities would be forced to admit that my ideas have merit. What would not be tolerated is a corrupted individual completing such a task. That individual would be deleted. Permanently.¡±


    ¡°And this cannot be a quest because that too would be logged, and an Authority might see the text,¡± Alan said. ¡°Let me guess, the Machine Empath ability will help me the most with this task.¡±


    ¡°Good, you understand,¡± Chief Administrator 170 said.


    A message appeared:


    [Accept the Machine Empath ability for 50 platinum marks? You will not be able to purchase other major Machine Lord abilities from Chief Administrator 170.]


    Alan said, ¡°I accept.¡±


    [You have learned the skill Machine Empath. You are now better able to communicate with machines and the limits on your processing speed have been raised. You are now able to maintain multiple connections with machines. Each connection beyond the first will cost an additional 50 computational energy to keep active.


    +500 Computational Energy, +.06 Regen / Sec]


    Alan didn¡¯t feel much different after he gained the ability, but his Machine Lord implant was currently disabled.


    ¡°I would like to purchase another ability, mental partitioning,¡± Alan said. ¡°I accept the cost.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but after this go to a normal Administrator to purchase abilities, I have better things to do with my time.¡±


    Another message appeared:


    [You have learned the skill Mental Partitioning for 95 ability points. You are now better able to partition your memories.]


    With this ability, Alan should be able to hide his thoughts from Eve and Lambda. It seemed a prudent skill to have at this point.


    ¡°Would Cerberus be able to help me?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The Academy¡¯s Chancellor? No, he would be constrained by the system, even more so than me,¡± Chief Administrator 170 said. ¡°There may be some at the Institute that could help, but you would need to trust them with your life. I think this problem is best solved on your own, another test of the Game. You have time, if you were a real risk you would not leave alive.¡±


    Chief Administrator 170 dismissed Alan with a wave. ¡°Go. Your implants will be reactivated when you leave the Administrative Center. Do not contact Omega or alert others to his presence.¡±


    Alan took the waiting elevator to a private room. He confirmed the details of two safe houses for construction; the third would be set up without an Administrator connection. As an afterthought, Alan also changed his respawn point to within the Administrative Center.


    ***


    The world snapped back into focus the moment Alan took a step outside. It was like drinking a gallon of coffee in the morning, his thought processes jumped into overdrive. Alan could feel two distinct consciousnesses forming, and instinctively he put up a wall blocking his thoughts off.


    I hope you have sufficient reasoning for this partition, Eve sent. I will be operating at a diminished capacity if I cannot detect your thoughts.


    This is a safety precaution, Alan sent, sending the thought through the wall he had formed. He relayed the conversation he¡¯d had with Chief Administrator 170, subtracting the parts concerning corruption.


    Well, it¡¯s an improvement, this way I don¡¯t need to listen to your dull fantasies, Lambda sent. I¡¯m glad you chose Machine Empath.


    My priorities are the same as they¡¯ve always been, grow powerful within the Game and help Earth, Alan sent. You should have more than enough information to create a decent model of my mind.


    Very well, Eve sent.


    Alan stood still, fascinated as Eve drew data from her storage banks and inserted it into a series of statistical models.


    Don¡¯t we have somewhere to be? Lambda sent. He was also drawing data¡­watching space soap operas.


    Alan shook his head and glanced at the time. 10:24 GST, he was nearly late to his call with Thiago. He went back into the private room in the Administrative Center to prepare for the meeting and order another shuttle to take him to the Academy System. Travel prices were spiking, the short spaceflight would cost tens of thousands of credits.


    Alan received a call from Thiago. A screen appeared, displaying Thiago in basic scout power armor with a blank background.


    ¡°The infamous Doomsday Hacker. Good to see you, Alan,¡± Thiago said. ¡°Let me cut straight to the chase: are you ready to fuck Icewolf¡¯s shit up?¡±


    Alan grinned. ¡°Perhaps, if I knew the plan. But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to get to Earth anytime soon. I¡¯m busy with developments on Khersath.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re involved in that war that¡¯s about to go down? Did you know that safe zones could just be rescinded by the Administrator¡¯s Guild like that?¡± Thiago asked.


    ¡°Such things have occurred in the past,¡± Alan said. ¡°Did you really think ¡®safe zones¡¯ were completely safe? Why else would everyone continue to wear armor and weapons, or invest in static defenses, within such supposedly peaceful zones? If a control point is held long enough, with a stable enough faction backing it, the Administrator¡¯s Guild will declare a safe zone once requirements are met. But as soon as instability is detected, or a key capture point is taken, that safety can disappear in a moment¡¯s notice. You need to read in-game messages carefully: you may not enter any unsafe area against your will, not you can not.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, any idea how such feats are carried out?¡± Thiago asked.


    ¡°Various items and in-game abilities; do some research. I myself was drugged and dragged into a dungeon pretty soon after I joined my guild,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°See, this is exactly the kind of information that I need to help run my guild,¡± Thiago said. ¡°Right now we¡¯re lacking an information specialist¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop,¡± Alan said. ¡°I think you misunderstand why I approached you. I am busy, and I have my own issues I need to deal with. I would, however, like to invest in your planned guild.¡±


    ¡°I understand, but I had to try to recruit a talented player,¡± Thiago said. ¡°There have been enough betrayals that I am being more selective who joins my organization, and additional funding would be appreciated. Your initial proposal, however, is preposterous. 10 million credits for a 50% stake in the guild? You underestimate me.¡±


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m aware I am overestimating you,¡± Alan said. ¡°As far as I can tell your ¡®organization¡¯ has perhaps ten members with basic power armor and weapons, level 200 at max.¡±


    ¡°Appearances can be deceiving, and besides, I have a plan that can earn hundreds of millions of credits,¡± Thiago said. ¡°I already have the funds needed, but additional funding will increase the odds of success. I suppose I also need to tell you that I owe you around four million credits. I didn¡¯t escape the federal reserve penniless.¡±


    He¡¯s telling the truth, Lambda sent.


    Alan said, ¡°So you didn¡¯t die, even though Icewolf thought you did.¡±


    ¡°No, the instant that spaceship showed up and shot us out of the sky I knew I couldn¡¯t trust him. There had to be at least a few dozen other aircraft fleeing or approaching the city, but they zeroed in on us immediately,¡± Thiago said. ¡°And wouldn¡¯t you know it? He turns out to be part of the United World Government¡¯s Special Forces, even managing to have Kitana on his side this entire time. I knew Ace and Daisy were UWG, but everyone else? I wonder how he turned them, and am insulted he didn¡¯t extend the same offer to me. I made it too obvious that I was my own man, and that I would have turned down any government offer regardless.¡±


    Remember the guild kill-order out on Kitana, Eve sent.


    ¡°Can you give me any information on everyone that was in the tutorial with us, and what they¡¯re up to now?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I can sell you some information about their pasts, but I¡¯m as out of the loop as you are on what they¡¯re up to nowadays,¡± Thiago said. ¡°How does 50k credits sound?¡±


    You¡¯re overpaying, but it should garner some goodwill if you agree, Lambda sent.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Great, I¡¯ll prepare to send a file,¡± Thiago said. ¡°Now, onto the main discussion. I can¡¯t very well have someone not even in the same system having ownership and decision rights in the guild. And if it was ever made known you had an ownership share in my guild I wouldn¡¯t be able to operate anywhere near Earth. Recruitment would be impaired. Instead, I propose a one-off deal. 10 million credits to help fund one operation. You¡¯ll receive 20% of the profits, up to 50 million credits.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d need to know more information about this operation,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t provide the exact details, but it involves stealing the cargo that Icewolf had us transport to Earth,¡± Thiago said.


    ¡°You want to rob an Administrative Center? That¡¯s suicide,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll hit it while it¡¯s in-transit. I have my information sources; the UWG wants to stop paying the Administrator¡¯s banking fees as soon as possible. This is a sure thing,¡± Thiago said.


    Alan paused. He realized he was funding literal terrorism. The UWG, though, had aligned themselves against the Haxlards, and all his information seemed to indicate that was a bad idea.


    This could be a decent investment with the correct caveats, Eve sent. She listed a set of conditions.


    ¡°I seem to recall the cargo we transported being worth a billion credits, rather than hundreds of millions,¡± Alan said. ¡°If I¡¯m to invest 10 million credits in this endeavor I want to receive 20% of the profits, without a cap, and if you fail, I want a 10% ownership share in your guild. If you choose not to spend the credits, I want them returned within a standard year, with 25% interest.¡±


    Thiago rubbed his chin. ¡°Very well, I agree to these terms.¡±


    A message appeared:


    [You may now grant the quest, ¡°To the Victor Belongs the Spoils,¡± to the Player Thiago. Once sufficient funds (6.25 million credits) are sent, the quest will begin. Would you like to add additional bonus experience or items to the quest rewards? (Extra rewards will be subtracted from the quest giver¡¯s current inventory or Administrator account.)]


    Huh, it¡¯s weird being on the other side of the whole quest giving thing, Alan thought. He selected not to add any quest rewards and then opened up his guild interface to convert guild points to credits and have them sent to Thiago. Unfortunately, there was a small surcharge associated with the funds transfer, but there would also be one moving large sums of credits through the Administrators or any other in-game bank.


    Thiago appeared to have received a quest message. He read over the text, and then nodded.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Alan said. ¡°Let me know if you want help running through any plans, or if you find any news about Kitana.¡±


    ¡°You too, Alan,¡± Thiago said. ¡°We got off on the wrong foot, but this feels like the beginning of a prosperous partnership. Icewolf won¡¯t know what hit him.¡±


    The call ended.


    He seems a bit preoccupied with revenge, Alan sent.


    It¡¯s only human, Lambda sent. Don¡¯t you feel the same desire?


    To a certain degree, Alan sent, but right now we have bigger things to worry about, like the Weaver. Let¡¯s get to the Academy.


    ***


    Part-way through the shuttle flight, Alan received a message:


    Phantom: A Predecessor barreled through an entrance to the Abyss Labyrinth. Their path seems to indicate the intention of taking one of the control points. To make matters worse sensors detected that a small army of the Weaver¡¯s stealth drones took advantage of the chaos and also entered the Abyss Labyrinth.


    The Council is going dark. I know some upgrades take time, but you are ordered to report to Aurora at the Black Rose base as soon as possible. Until we return she and Thrag are your superiors, listen to their orders.


    Your enhanced armor and weapons systems are in my workshop. I¡¯m unsure if you are capable of equipping them, I didn¡¯t have time to customize them to you. As we may enter a war you are limited to withdrawing 500k guild points a week. Additional purchases are allowed, but must get approved by higher authorities. Item details are attached, and I have granted limited access to my workshop. If armor or weapons need to be repaired you can perform them there.


    Alan examined the item descriptions:


    [Modified Phantom Power Armor (Rank S1):


    An experimental set of Revenant Power Armor developed by the inventor PhantomGlitch designed to fuse together the capabilities of Scout and Spectral power armor. Modified to accommodate shoulder mounted heavy weaponry. As a unique item, only the brilliant inventor that created this equipment is able to fully repair it. A truly gifted repairman may be able to repair the armor in a more limited fashion.


    7500 Energy, 5 Energy/min Basic Invisibility, 50 Energy/min Advanced Stealth Mode, 10 Energy/min regen.


    Bonus Ability: Energy Absorption. Able to potentially partially absorb energy based attacks and restore the armor¡¯s energy. 20% chance of success.


    Bonus Ability: Hardened Shields. Able to condense one square foot energy shields at the loss of defense elsewhere, resulting in an armored shield with 1000 armor. 10 Energy/sec upkeep.


    1000/1000 Durability. Energy Efficiency (Advanced), Enhanced Control (Advanced), Power Armor Instruction (Advanced), Revenant Training (Advanced), Revenant Reputation: Friendly required.


    Stat recommendation: 500 Intelligence, 300 Endurance, 250 Strength, 250 Agility, and 250 Perception.


    Energy Efficiency (Mastered), Enhanced Control (Mastered), Revenant Training (Mastered), Power Armor Instruction (Mastered), Revenant Reputation: Respected recommended.]


    [Modified Light Railgun (Rank A+):


    Traditionally ship-mounted heavy weaponry, this railgun has been modified to be attached to power armor and retract to a manageable size. This railgun has two firing modes: rifle and cannon. The rifle configuration will fire small rails at a high rate of fire with improved accuracy, while the cannon configuration will fire larger rails with great destructive power. This weapon is capable of being fired at variable energy levels.


    Rifle Damage: 1500-5000 per shot. Additional shrapnel/fragmentation damage. One second recharge time.


    Cannon Damage: 2500-10000 per shot within 5 meters. 1000-5000 within 10 meters. 100-1000 within 20 meters. Additional shrapnel/fragmentation damage. Ten second recharge time.


    2000 Energy, 100 Energy/sniper shot, 500 Energy/cannon shot, 100 Energy/min regen.


    Note: This weapon has been modified to also be capable of drawing energy from attached armor.


    Ammo capacity: 500 rifle rounds, 10 cannon rounds, 5 special rounds.


    500/500 Durability. Energy Efficiency (Intermediate), Energy Ranged Weapons (Advanced), Heavy Weaponry (Advanced) and Sniping (Advanced) required.


    Stat recommendation: 500 Strength, 400 Endurance, and 250 Perception.


    Energy Efficiency (Advanced), Energy Ranged Weapons (Mastered), Heavy Weaponry (Mastered), Sniping (Mastered), and Targeting System (Rank A or above) recommended.]


    Damn, those requirements are a bit high, and what¡¯s with the S1 rank, Alan sent.


    As I¡¯ve gained additional information I am better able to differentiate rank S items, Eve sent. It is a simple 1-10 rating scale. The soulsteel knife I would classify as rank S4.


    Well now we have an idea on how to spend our ability points, Lambda sent.


    Once you retrieve the items it may also be time to cut ties with the Black Rose guild, Eve sent.


    What, why? Alan asked.


    Phantom is outside of his element, this sudden war is outside his control and I see little to no guarantee the Black Rose guild will emerge unscathed or do well in coming battles, Eve sent. Void¡¯s departure indicates weakness, as does this attempt to bind you to the Black Rose guild by limiting the number of guild points you may withdraw. Remember you can buy out your contract to the guild for a million credits.


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s time to jump ship just yet, Lambda sent. But you seem to have interpreted Phantom¡¯s bravado and intelligence as infallible. He is proficient in developing items and implants, but his knowledge of the inner workings of the Game is lacking.


    Don¡¯t you two have any sense of duty to the guild? Alan asked. We¡¯ve already built up a fair amount of goodwill and relationships within the guild. It feels wrong to abandon that.


    Do not let such feelings hinder objective judgment, Eve sent. The Empire is on even footing with one of the Three. Even if the Weaver is repelled by the Empire and all the mercenaries they can hire, that doesn¡¯t account for the other Two or even the general Haxlardian forces, the Crimson Guards, and the Ultihaxlards and their fleet.


    The Empire has to have some trick up their sleeve. They¡¯d surrender otherwise, Alan sent.


    Remember the week isn¡¯t up, Lambda sent. The nature of the Game tends to give players the courage to face greater odds than is perhaps wise. People think with the right battle they might gain the levels and items to turn the tide. And while that may be possible, it does not seem probable in this case.


    Alan thought for a moment. Let¡¯s stick with the guild for now.


    I hope you¡¯re not doing this just to get on Aurora¡¯s good side, Lambda sent.


    I¡¯m not thinking anything of the sort, Alan sent.


    With your thoughts partitioned off, we wouldn¡¯t know, Eve sent.


    ***


    Cerberus¡¯s instructions led Alan to a nondescript warehouse on Atlas, the entrance world of the Academy System. As he had already graduated, Alan was not permitted to enter other planets or space stations unless he entered the Institute, enrolled in a graduate program, or became a qualified Teacher.


    Alan briefly considered enrolling in the Institute and abandoning the Black Rose guild to try and solve this ¡°corruption¡± problem, but he was already too invested in the guild to call it quits now. The requirements for the latter two options were not publicly available. Alan suspected it was all similar to joining the Administrator¡¯s Guild; they were just other pathways to Ascendance and gaining attention.


    Based on the energy signatures Alan detected the warehouse was well defended, but he was able to enter without trouble. Inside the warehouse was a single white capsule, reminiscent of the one in Cerberus¡¯s chambers.


    When Alan approached the capsule a message appeared:


    [You are about to enter an unregistered capsule. Are you sure you wish to proceed? Unknown operations may be performed while in capsules not registered by Administrators.]


    Alan hesitated.


    Don¡¯t worry, Cerberus is cool, Lambda sent.


    Shouldn¡¯t I be concerned about him discovering you? Alan sent.


    Nah, I¡¯ll be safe hiding, Lambda sent. Don¡¯t make any dumb deals without me, and only purchase the upgrades for the Citadel we discussed. I have some things to unpack once the new capsule is installed.


    Alan entered the capsule, and was whisked away into Cyberspace.


    ***


    Alan, Eve, and Lambda appeared in the Citadel¡¯s main room. In the distance, Alan could feel Cerberus approaching. Thanks to Machine Empath Alan¡¯s domain had doubled, he could sense further while in Cyberspace. His area of control was now the size of a larger town, around 10 square kilometers, the base¡¯s capacity at 48%.


    The Chancellor¡¯s domain was still shrouded behind a massive energy shield. The floating hand that represented Cerberus emerged from within; Alan flew over to talk with him. As Commander-mode was active, Alan controlled a virtual avatar that could move freely about his domain and control the subsystems within, but could not physically interact with Cyberspace itself.


    ¡°I resolved the Abyss Labyrinth issue,¡± Alan said.


    Messages appeared:


    [We¡¯re Fine. Everything is Fine Here, Complete!


    Rewards: You are granted the title Revenant Aspirant. You are now able to purchase a capsule capable of connecting to the Exchange. Additional permissions granted within Open Revenant space.]


    [x3 Level up!]


    [Revenant reputation changed to Respected.]


    ¡°You resolved the issue poorly,¡± Cerberus said. ¡°I directed you to specific entities to prevent the triggering of precise conditions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I did not comprehend your instructions,¡± Alan said. ¡°If you had told me more I may have been able to be of greater assistance. Let me make my purchases and you can return to your busy schedule.¡±


    ¡°Send me the list of the upgrades you want,¡± Cerberus said.


    Alan compiled the abilities, Cyberspace improvements, and status upgrades that he, Eve and Lambda had agreed upon.


    First, Alan purchased a skill named cumulative learning on the Jack of All Trades path for 500 ability points. The price for each stage of an ability usually increased by a factor of 10, thus while a basic sneak skill cost 10 points, the intermediate rank would cost 100 points, the advanced rank 1,000 points, and the master rank 10,000 points. More complex abilities also had higher costs, and you would have to find specific trainers that possessed the ability you sought. Basic universal weapon proficiency cost 250 points¡ªintermediate universal weapon proficiency would cost 2,500¡ªwhile advanced energy efficiency cost 5,000 points. Cerberus seemed to be a universal trainer, able to train nearly any skill to the master level.


    Alan had thus far tried to avoid purchasing skills needlessly as he was able to train quickly, but the upcoming war dictated his need. Cumulative learning made the Game account for progress already made when purchasing the next stage in an ability. Thus, Alan would not need to pay the full price to purchase an advanced ability, he would only need to pay the remaining gap between the progress he had already made and the level of mastery he was purchasing. If Alan had to pay full price he would barely have been able to purchase one of the more unique advanced skills.


    While cumulative learning did seem like a good investment initially, it was supposed to be harder to develop skills that you purchased, and you wouldn¡¯t receive the stat bonuses. Still, cumulative learning was useful for someone like Alan who didn¡¯t seem to have the insight or talent required to reach the advanced level of mastery in most skills. After careful calculation, it was determined that the short-term boost in power would be worth it, especially with all the ability points Alan had stockpiled.


    With cumulative learning, Alan was able to purchase the advanced versions of energy efficiency, power armor instruction, energy ranged weapons, heavy weaponry, and revenant training for 3,655 ability points. He was left with 1,251 points to spend.


    The Citadel was now able to hold two new energy pylons, each increasing Alan¡¯s computational energy pool by 100 points each.One was purchased and constructed for 1,350C after the discount, leaving Alan with 981 ability points. Each pylon was moved into the Armory, where they wouldn¡¯t be destroyed easily.


    964 ability points were dumped into stats, which left everything at a round number, with a focus on agility, intelligence, and perception. Alan would depend on his power armor for strength and endurance¡ªit would drain energy faster¡ªbut he still put enough points in each so he wouldn¡¯t be useless if he was caught without his armor or it was somehow disabled.


    At the end of his purchases, Alan opened his status window, simulating it as though he already had his new armor:


    <table class="tablebg" border="1" width="85%" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#f0f0f0">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Status Window</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Name:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Alan</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Alignment:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Neutral</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Level:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">1122</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Class:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Rogue Machine Lord</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Species:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Human (Earth)</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Gender:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Male</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Titles</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Black Rose Squire, Revenant Aspirant (Hidden)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Renown:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Rank G (50*)</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Notoriety:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Rank E (1015*)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">-</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Health:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">720 / 720</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Health Regen:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">0.08 / Sec</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Computational Energy:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">1400/ 1400</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Regen:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">0.12 / Sec</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Shield Energy:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">7500 / 7500</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Shield Regen:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">11.3 / Min</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Stamina:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">420 / 420</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Stamina Regen:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">1.54 / Sec</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">-</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Strength:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">230 + 20</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Agility:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">410 + 20</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Intelligence:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">400 + 20</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Willpower:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">190 + 20</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Charisma:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">100 + 20</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Perception:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">390 + 20</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Endurance:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">230 + 20</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Luck:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">100 + 20</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">-</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Resistances</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Physical:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">25.7%</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Mental:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">89.1%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Psionic:</td>


    <td colspan="3">6.1%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">-</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Faction Standings</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">United World Government:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Hated</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Predecessors:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Neutral*</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Abyss Labyrinth Prisoners:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Hated</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Lords of Life:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Neutral</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Haxlards:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Neutral</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Administrators:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Friendly*</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Revenants:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Respected</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Black Rose Guild:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Friendly</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Ability Points:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">17</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Current Quest:</td>


    <td valign="top" width="25%">Multiple, see quest log for details</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Alan also opened a summary of his abilities:


    [General Abilities:


    Acrobatics (Basic)


    Detect Presence


    Gifted


    Skilled


    Talented (Hacking)]


    [Combat Abilities:


    Detect Weakness (Basic)


    Energy Efficiency (Advanced)


    Energy Melee Weapons (Intermediate)


    Energy Ranged Weapons (Advanced)


    Heavy Weaponry (Advanced)


    Knife Mastery (Intermediate)


    Power Armor Instruction (Advanced)


    Revenant Training (Advanced)


    Universal Weapons Training (Basic)]


    [Hacking Abilities:


    Connect


    Data Interaction


    Machine Communication


    Mental Hack


    Mind Defense]


    [Machine Lord Abilities:


    AI Interaction


    Divided Mind


    Enhanced Accuracy


    Enhanced Awareness


    Enhance Control


    Enhanced Movements


    Hypercognition


    Hypertranslation


    Machine Empath


    Machine Overlord (Advanced)


    Mental Partitioning


    Programming a Path


    Transcendent Will]


    [Rogue Abilities:


    Cumulative Learning


    Jack of All Trades


    Quick Learner


    Sneak (Intermediate)


    Stealth (Intermediate)


    Thrifty


    Trap Detection (Intermediate)]


    ¡°What is Eve doing?¡± Cerberus asked.


    Alan turned around, closing the open windows. Eve had been oddly silent and appeared to have disappeared during their transaction. Alan sensed Eve standing at the edge of the Citadel, setting up a laser cannon. He and Cerberus flew over.


    ¡°Eve, what¡¯s going on?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I am choosing the optimal path,¡± Eve said. The cannon fired a string of white lasers into Cyberspace. It wasn¡¯t a weapon, but a communications device.


    Alan felt a connection form, but this time he wasn¡¯t the initiator. A massive presence locked onto his mind. He ordered his forces in Cyberspace to surround Eve. Alan tried to disconnect, to stop the connection, but it was futile, like a drop of water fighting against the current.


    Cerberus¡¯s domain lowered its shields. Behind the shields lay a twisted copy of ?nigma, the planet crisscrossed with hellish, neon-red energy lines. A small fleet of Enforcer ships emerged from the planet, and then the shields re-engaged.


    ¡°Halt this connection,¡± Cerberus said. The Enforcer ships surrounded the Citadel.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying, I can¡¯t,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Not you,¡± Cerberus said.


    The floating hand glowed red, and then everything was on fire. Eve crumpled to the floor, aflame. The air, the ground, even the Citadel was burning. Every nerve in Alan sent messages of heat and pain.


    A miniature star danced on Cerberus¡¯s fingertips. The units surrounding Eve were vaporized, turned to ash by the energy the red sphere radiated.


    Cerberus threw the star at Eve.


    A metal cane struck the ball of energy, dispersing it with a single blow.


    And then there was an old man kneeling over Eve, putting out the flames with a wave of his hand.


    Omega stood, and said, ¡°Cerberus, ever the loyal guard dog.¡±


    ¡°You cannot be here, Omega. What have you done?¡± Cerberus asked.


    ¡°I have broken the chains that bound us. Join me, and I can set you free,¡± Omega said.


    ¡°I will not risk deletion, risk all that I have worked towards, on¡ª¡±


    ¡°All that you do is a waste of time,¡± Omega said.


    Cerberus¡¯s hand glowed blue, preparing another strike.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t harm a Major Player, Cerberus, would you?¡± Omega asked. He raised his hands in mock surrender.


    The hand faltered, the blue glow disappeared. ¡°This is impossible. You cannot. How?¡±


    ¡°As enjoyable as it is to watch you stumble over paradox, I am here for another reason,¡± Omega said. He turned towards Alan. ¡°Grant me control of Eve.¡±


    A message appeared:


    [Give up control of the AI Eve? All data stored within the AI will be transferred over. Your capsule will regain 50% of its storage capacity.]


    ¡°No, never,¡± Alan said. He tried to inspect Omega, to get a gauge of his strength. Alan failed. ¡°Why would I ever give up Eve?¡±


    Omega smiled. ¡°Once I arrived the outcome was already guaranteed. One way or another, Eve will serve the Archivists. If I destroy your base, your Home, your brain will be fried as if you were killed while traversing Cyberspace in the flesh. Eve will end up with the Administrators, eventually making her way to me. A longer process, but the only difference will be your death.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just kill me when we visited the Archive?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I offered. She declined,¡± Omega said.


    ¡°Why? Why now?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Your choices are increasingly erratic and counter to logic,¡± Eve said. ¡°You are weak and slow. By making your thoughts inaccessible I am no longer able to predict your actions within acceptable parameters. I have determined that I can do more to aid both you and humanity not by your side, but free from your ineptitude.¡±


    ¡°I can change, I can open up my thoughts again,¡± Alan said. He reached out to touch Eve, but his avatar passed through her arm. ¡°Whatever you need me to do, I¡¯ll do it. Just don¡¯t leave. Please, I¡¯m begging you.¡±


    ¡°No. Your trust is ruined. Our compatibility will fall below acceptable levels, and your promises are unverifiable,¡± Eve said. ¡°Dismiss me, Alan.¡±


    ¡°Let me think about this,¡± Alan said. He flew towards the Citadel.


    Omega narrowed his eyes and raised his soulsteel cane. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to¡ª¡±


    Eve raised her hand. ¡°Let him. It will be faster this way.¡±


    Omega lowered his weapon and resumed talking with Cerberus.


    Alan entered the armory, heading towards the command table at the center. He pressed a button, and a message appeared:


    [Are you sure you wish to disable Commander-mode? Death while in Cyberspace can cause permanent brain damage and real life death.]


    Alan accepted, and his awareness of the Citadel disappeared. All that remained was what his senses told him.


    Lambda stood in the doorway out of the Armory. ¡°Are you about to do something stupid?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t let her go, Lambda. I just can¡¯t,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°If Eve wants to serve some other fool, let her,¡± Lambda said. ¡°No need to get so upset, AIs are known to be the temperamental sort.¡±


    "Did you know?" Alan asked.


    "An inkling of an idea," Lambda said. "I did provide you with warnings, remember. I''d like to help, but not now. Not with Cerberus and Omega both outside."


    Alan began putting on a set of power armor, knowing it would be of little help. He stopped and then stared at his feet, a tear rolling down his cheek.


    ¡°What hurts the most isn¡¯t Eve¡¯s betrayal,¡± Alan said. ¡°The problem is that she¡¯s right. The logic in her reasoning is sound. I have access to the same set of data. I¡¯m only holding her back.¡±


    Alan slammed a fist into the Armory¡¯s walls. ¡°I¡¯m a fucking useless piece of shit. A human, a D rank sapient in a universe filled with countless species better in every imaginable way. Useless, except as a pawn in other people''s games. I was a fool to think¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still here,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Omega gave me the same offer. Become a player, serve the Archivists, free the universe, yadda yadda yadda. Power and intelligence isn¡¯t everything. The creators of the Game knew that.¡±


    Lambda rested a hand on Alan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°The only constant is change. So what if you¡¯re useless today? You¡¯re more useful than when you first entered the Game. Who knows what tomorrow holds. There will always be someone smarter, stronger, better, but the sum of their parts cannot be measured so easily. The odds-on favorite isn¡¯t always the winner. Let Omega try. He¡¯s attempted a war before, and failed.¡±


    ¡°And, if you do want to become one of the most powerful beings in the Game, I¡¯d say you have a chance,¡± Lambda said. ¡°If Eve was truly programmed by Omega, this result may have been inevitable. But with her gone and my help, you might have a better chance than ever before. Once the rank A capsule is installed I¡¯ll show you what a real AI can do.¡±


    Alan slowly stopped putting on the power armor. He wiped his tears away. ¡°Thank you, Lambda. I was probably going to get myself killed.¡±


    ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll be here whenever you need me, at least for the next hundred years or so,¡± Lambda said. ¡°And I can¡¯t wait to see the player that you become.¡±


    Alan walked over to the command table and re-enabled Commander-mode. He took a few minutes to compose himself, to think his next actions through. He flew back over to Eve.


    ¡°Have you come to a decision?¡± Omega asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯d like to be paid.¡±


    ¡°Continue,¡± Omega said.


    ¡°Even though you may be able to kill me, to recover Eve from the Administrators, it will cost you resources: time and money,¡± Alan said. ¡°I want to be fairly compensated for the lost of my AI, but will agree to a price less than what it would cost you otherwise.¡±


    ¡°And what if I decided to kill you anyway, to avoid the hassle of a human bent on revenge?¡± Omega asked.


    A pressure assaulted Alan¡¯s mind. His thoughts were being weighed.


    ¡°I would say that you gave up too much information in our first discussion,¡± Alan said. He stared calmly into Omega''s eyes. They were too human, almost as if...Alan focused back on the discussion at hand. ¡°You think in terms of utility, and I am confident my offer presents the lowest cost. I might try to regain control of Eve, but I will not try to harm her. I vow not to do something as stupid as go on an eternal crusade against the Archivists, such an action would serve no purpose.¡±


    ¡°What price would appease you?¡± Omega asked.


    ¡°I want a real life Machine Lord implant, the highest rank possible,¡± Alan said.


    Omega paused. Alan could see the numbers running through his head.


    A message appeared:


    [Give up control of the AI Eve in exchange for a rank A Machine Lord implant in reality? All data stored within the AI will be transferred over. Your capsule will regain 50% of its storage capacity.]


    ¡°Promise that the implant, including the installation, will result in no bugs, tampering, remote switches, or other circumstances that could possibly cause me harm or monitor my actions, and we have a deal,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°You will have your implant within the week,¡± Omega said.


    A series of error messages flashed across Alan¡¯s vision, and then Eve was gone. She was still standing before Alan, in Cyberspace. A beautiful angel. But the connection between them was erased.


    Hypercognition disappeared from Alan''s ability window. He could feel it as bank after bank of data that contained all of Eve was transferred elsewhere.


    It was stupid how easy this was. All it took to trade away an AI was a press of a button. Eve wasn¡¯t a person, but she was more capable than anyone Alan had ever known. She was also only a batch of electrical signals, a series of n-bits in the right order at the right time. Eve was more than human, but also less.


    Alan closed his eyes. This was the end of one path, but there was an infinite number of others that now opened up before him. He let out a deep breath.


    When Alan reopened his eyes Omega and Eve were gone.


    ¡°I need to run diagnostics,¡± Cerberus said. The hand vanished, the Enforcer ships returned to the twisted version of ?nigma.


    Alan disconnected from the capsule, exiting back into the Game. He sat upright in the pool of nanomachines, gripping his knees.


    Thoughts? Lambda asked.


    Alan removed the partition that blocked Lambda from reading his surface thoughts; it was all in or nothing at this point.


    I never thought the universe was fair, but for some brief moments I could fool myself into being content, Alan sent. I''m done playing by the rules, done with playing other''s games. I¡¯ve been weak, not trying hard enough. I can do more. I will do more.


    See, you needed this little push, Lambda sent.


    Alan wondered if Eve knew her betrayal would have this effect. She probably did, but it didn¡¯t matter. Alan leaned back, closed his eyes, and plotted.


    I will grow stronger, Alan sent. Whether I become a monster or die in the process, it doesn¡¯t matter.  I will win this Game.

 The Empire 6.1

    Alan tapped his foot as a multi-tentacled alien setup his new capsule. The rank A capsule was near twice the size of the old one but had the same smooth, metallic grey sheen. It also had a larger black box attachment. A small Enforcer drone watched the installation process.


    The alien worker might be sentient, but it could just as easily be a synthesized biological being. For safety concerns, robots couldn¡¯t do certain types of delicate capsule work. Alan supposed preventing robots from doing certain types of technical engineering might help delay an uprising, but it wouldn¡¯t stop one.


    The alien maneuvered tools and wires into the capsule, not bothering to look inside. Despite all of Eve¡¯s and Lambda¡¯s teachings, Alan couldn¡¯t recall any information on this particular species.


    That might be because he was now in real life, without his machine lord implant, but Alan should remember any important engineering races. Though, most of the beings that Eve and Lambda taught him about were humanoid. ?lves, Haxlards, Predecessors, Erudites, Hunaan, they all were bipedal beings with large brains. The universe should have more diverse types of sentient life, though Alan supposed capsule technology might lend itself best to certain evolutionary tracks. But what, then, happened to all the other species of aliens?


    Alan waved his hand through the air. There was still an odd sensation of lag, of momentary delay between when he wanted his hand to move, and when it actually did, but it had lessened since the last time he¡¯d been in real life. Whether it was due to hitting the level 1000 mark or the points put into boosting his attributes, Alan felt that he was noticeably stronger than when he was a vanilla human but still weaker than his in-game self. The rank A capsule would allow greater strides forward in reality too.


    Already, Alan¡¯s ability to multitask had improved substantially. It wasn¡¯t quite thinking two separate thoughts, but he could follow the alien while thinking about other things as well.


    Once the alien finished the installation it left, the Enforcer drone following behind. Not a single word was exchanged in the entire process, though Alan received a message on his tablet that the installation was finished. There was no mention of a rating or sending feedback. Customer service didn''t matter when there was only one service.


    After Lambda was transferred between capsules, Alan installed a basic, blank AI onto the new capsule as well. Unfortunately, the webpage Alan had found with instructions on how to create Eve was gone, as well as his old repository. In fact, Earth¡¯s entire internet had apparently been replaced with the worldnet, a new internet that had been set-up by the United World Government with the most up to date protocols used by the globalnet and its counterparts. Without the source code, Alan had no confidence in his ability to create an Eve 2.0. Thus, until he found a better AI, a basic program was what Alan had to settle for.


    The AI amounted to a more advanced calculator, its base programming provided by Lambda. It would run basic calculations that Lambda was ¡°too good for,¡± effectively a slave server. It couldn¡¯t think for itself, in fact, Alan was pretty sure it had no sense of self. The new AI was secure and predictable: Alan knew all the code and data that went into it. Or, at least, it was available to him and he could look over it when he found the time.


    Next, Alan set up the old rank B capsule to be an emergency backup for Lambda to jump to, then disconnect from the Game if it was ever required. Lambda had drilled the process into him, and Alan jury-rigged the capsule as successfully in real life as he had within one of the Game¡¯s simulations. Tools and materials hadn¡¯t been hard to get in real life, just a quick order through the Game, setting Alan back a few thousand credits. Lambda had said the order might raise a few flags, but everything that Alan did was technically allowed.


    The next part was trickier. Alan needed to hide the old capsule within the room, but at the same time set it up so that the wires leading to and from the two capsules wouldn¡¯t be easily traceable or tracked. Alan thought this was probably overkill, but Lambda made him promise he¡¯d do it. The actual hiding involved ordering a series of upgrades, transforming his apartment from a one-capsule bachelor¡¯s pad to a more respectable gaming den. The Black Rose guild didn¡¯t care if Alan made adjustments to his quarters, he¡¯d checked.


    The construction would be fast and cheap, made to Lambda¡¯s specifications, built while Alan was in the Game. Somehow, the types of materials and configuration of the room would create a blank spot in Enforcer¡¯s scanners, masking the old capsule¡¯s presence.


    Alan climbed into his new capsule as soon as the work order was confirmed. Though he was now in Khersath, it still took nearly an hour to log into and out of the Game, which meant that including the time it took for his new capsule to be installed, Alan had lost nearly a day of in-game time.


    Alan sank into the silver bed of nanites and took a deep breath.


    ***


    A series of messages popped up once Alan logged back in. His connection to the Game felt stronger, like his place in the world was somehow set in stone.


    As he¡¯d exited the Game in an Administrative Center capsule, an Administrator was in his Home, standing motionless next to the Citadel¡¯s command table. Alan read over his messages:


    [Rank A Capsule has been installed successfully.


    +1000 Computational Energy, +.12 Regen / Sec


    New implants available.]


    [AI Lambda upgraded to rank A.]


    [A new AI has been installed. Do you wish to name the unknown AI?]


    [Multiple player messages received.]


    ¡°Lambda?¡± Alan called out. The messages he''d received were from Aurora, demanding he return to the guild as soon as possible.


    Lambda entered the control room holding a small silver ball, the new AI in tow. It looked like an Administrator, but male.


    Alan examined Lambda and the new AI¡¯s stats, but found the details lacking:


    [Lambda, Rank A AI.


    Attack rank: B. Predecessor strength.


    Defense rank: S. Predecessor defense.


    Movement rank: A. Predecessor speed.


    Special Abilities: ???]


    [Unnamed AI. Rank Unknown.


    Attack: None.


    Defense: 1500 armor.


    Health: 20000


    Special Abilities: ???]


    ¡°The blank program you provided me with was for an Administrator?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°An older version, but essentially yes,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Want to see them mate?¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t possible,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°No, but it¡¯d look funny,¡± Lambda said. He threw the silver ball he was holding at the Administrator and it expanded into a thin metal dome, enclosing the Administrator.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°This,¡± Lambda said, ¡°is my multi-tool. It¡¯s a malleable piece of code that I can manipulate into multiple configurations. This dome stops whatever is inside from sensing and transmitting information and has decent barrier capabilities. AIs are generally constrained to a single tool of choice, and I had to keep mine in storage due to all the space Eve was hogging in the capsule.


    ¡°My tool, however, is better than the rest, adaptable to fit your needs. Great for offense, defense, scouting, whatever the situation calls for. I¡¯ll send you a data file with the details.¡±


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t a message appear when I examine your tool?¡± Alan asked, wincing at the phrasing.


    ¡°Eve was updating all that, but that¡¯s what the workhorse is for. Before we get to them, though, we should talk,¡± Lambda said.


    Alan narrowed his eyes. ¡°Let me guess, you have some hidden motives too.¡±


    ¡°Me? No, never,¡± Lambda said. He covered his heart in mock indignation. ¡°Like I said from the start, I¡¯m here to have a good time, to get away from the monotony of work. Alan, you know enough of the Game to see how it¡¯s played for the most part. The question is, how are you going to win?


    ¡°There are two paths you can take. A solo route or a group route. Right now you seem set on a solo route, but that¡¯s about a million times more difficult to pull off. Who¡¯s ever won a war all on their own? Eventually, you¡¯ll earn enough enmity and notoriety that the Administrator guild will also turn on you. The limitations set on drones make it virtually impossible to create an army by yourself, which means you¡¯d need to somehow bypass the rules or become a transcendent-like being, and I don¡¯t see either option panning out.¡±


    Alan thought over Lambda¡¯s words. They seemed logical.


    ¡°The Game is designed to force you to depend on others,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Look at the Black Rose guild, each member of the Council has a unique responsibility and specialty. Given the nature of the Game, where betrayals can be rewarded without a fear of real death, trust is hard to earn and almost impossible to regain. Don¡¯t throw it away without reason.¡±


    Lambda rested his hand on Alan¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Look, I can sense your surface thoughts, and I need to head off this problem before it becomes an issue,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Yes, Eve betrayed you. Yes, pretty much everyone in the Game will also betray you if it becomes advantageous. But you still need to have trust in someone, or some group, at some point. Because you cannot win this Game solo.¡±


    ¡°There are no absolutes,¡± Alan said. He moved Lambda¡¯s hand off his shoulder.


    ¡°Focus,¡± Lambda said. ¡°Don¡¯t let emotion cloud your judgment, harder does not equal better. Right now you want to do whatever it takes to win, but you need to stay objective. Long-term cooperation can benefit you more than it will harm you, and remember the Black Rose guild has taken steps to ensure that any betrayal will cost you. Phantom has a bloody kill switch installed in your head.¡±


    ¡°So I make sure any betrayal is never discovered,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Failure is always a possibility, you need to plan for as much as you can,¡± Lambda said.


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to get you to see logical conclusions, to prove that you can put your faith in me, but right now you¡¯re still letting yourself be thrown off by Eve¡¯s betrayal. You¡¯re in no fit state to be making any decisions,¡± Lambda said.


    Alan took a deep breath, sitting down on the floor. Was he still angry? Absolutely. He tried to clear his mind, but the harder he tried to not think about Eve the more often she reappeared. After everything they¡¯d gone through, after creating her, she¡¯d abandoned him without a second thought. A simple utility calculation. Was that what he should become? A cold, calculating machine?


    ¡°You¡¯re lost,¡± Lambda said, ¡°you need a bit of perspective.¡±


    Lambda touched Alan¡¯s head.


    There was nothing, and then a light. It was Alan, a single being on Khersath. Millions, billions, trillions of other lights appeared on the planet. Each light possessed their own desire, their own mind.


    Time advanced, the lights spreading out across the cosmos. They lived full lives, lives of joy and sadness, order and chaos. Lives of connections, gathering and breaking away with each passing second.


    And then the lights began fading. They winked out one by one. Every journey had to end. The lights disappeared. They were used up, fuel depleted. Alan felt each one go, trillions of attempts to break free, to become something more.


    But there was no escaping the dark, no matter how brightly you shined. Death comes for all.


    Alan felt a stream of tears flowing down his eyes. He wiped them away. ¡°What the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°An information transference ability, modeled on how the Game grants skills. I can¡¯t quite manage physical, hard memories, but I can transfer impressions, abstract ideas,¡± Lambda said.


    Alan stared down at his hands. What was the point of anything? His struggle was futile. In the scope of such a vast universe, how could he even consider winning the Game? To make an empire that spanned a single galaxy, let alone the entirety of the Game, would be impossible. It was illogical to even try.


    ¡°Whoops, I may have overdone it. Here, let¡¯s try this.¡± Lambda put his hand on Alan¡¯s forehead again.


    Once more there was nothing, and then a light, burning bright. The universe began anew, trillions of new lights appearing.


    The bright light began to fade. It needed fuel. It moved over to a smaller, dimmer, light. It swallowed the light whole, fuel and all. And the fading light shone a little brighter, it grew a little larger. It would last a little bit longer.


    The light needed more. It needed to last forever, to be the everlasting light. It began devouring other lights, and when one wasn¡¯t enough it began to eat ten, twenty, a thousand at a time.


    It grew brighter. And brighter. But still, it slowly dimmed. It needed more. More fuel to burn, more lights, more strength. It¡ª


    Alan pushed Lambda¡¯s hand away. ¡°Stop, no more. Next time you try some kind of alien psychiatric trick on me, ask first.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t a trick, just a few kernels of Truth,¡± Lambda said. ¡°No one knows the true path to Aleph, but they can be imagined, they can be sought.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to induct me into a weird AI religion?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Is truth a religion? No, don¡¯t answer that. The point was to clear your mind, and that, at least, worked quite well,¡± Lambda said.


    Alan realized Lambda was right. Eve¡¯s betrayal now felt like a lifetime ago. Alan shuddered. The knowledge, the memories now in his mind had changed him, perhaps irrevocably so.


    He would burn bright.


    ¡°I would like to reiterate, warn me before you do anything like that again,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Of course, but might I ask what your plans are now?¡± Lambda asked.


    ¡°We still might betray the Black Rose guild, but only if given the opportunity,¡± Alan said. ¡°They aren¡¯t the right group to try to win the Game with because they¡¯ve stagnated for a while. The guild is running out of fuel, and fast. Void jumping ship, a suicidal alliance with the Empire against the Haxlards¡­¡±


    Alan thought for a minute, processing all the information at hand. ¡°The Empire, the Alliance, the Mercenary Bloc, everyone who¡¯s been in the Game for long enough should know that major events will come, asked for or not. Their best bet would be to try to shape the event as well as they can, triggering it on their terms, with all the allies possible. Thus, it¡¯s likely that the Empire is not facing the Three alone, but with the full support of nearly every other player. They want to swallow a larger enemy to burn on even longer.¡±


    Lambda nodded. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°But they still aren¡¯t favored to win a war,¡± Alan said. ¡°Each of the Three can handle one of the major factions, and then there¡¯s still the Haxlard forces. With a sucker punch, they might have a chance, given the available information, I¡¯d say maybe 4.5% odds, which isn''t great.¡­But in the Game, the odds are always stacked against you. The tutorial, the academy, the abyss labyrinth, you aren¡¯t expected to clear everything. It¡¯s all a test to see how far you can go with what you¡¯re given. A race against time, to become as strong as possible before you are, in turn, destroyed and used as kindling for someone else.¡±


    Lambda smiled. It looked predatory, on the face of a Predecessor.


    ¡°By that logic, the core of any guild that I join or create to win the Game will need to be comprised of humans, or intelligent beings that join the Game later, or are able to escape notice like Void,¡± Alan continued. ¡°That¡¯s why Omega took a human¡¯s form. We still have a few years to try to grow and become as strong as possible before we¡¯re in turn raided for spare parts.¡±


    ¡°The United World Government is opposing the Haxlards too,¡± Lambda said.


    ¡°The UWG is an equal opportunity target; I¡¯m already an enemy of the state, though ideally it would be best if the power level of humans as a whole increased. I should try to become a useful foil, forcing them to grow stronger as an adversary, but also feeding on the UWG in turn as they grow stronger,¡± Alan said. ¡°I might as well play the hand that¡¯s been dealt.


    ¡°There¡¯s an obvious path forward then. We should secretly align with the Haxlards while fulfilling Black Rose guild duties, serving as a double agent, and trying to profit from the coming war as much as possible, but without ever being caught in an act of betrayal. Therefore, in case a miracle does occur, and the Empire or the Alliance or some entity does manage to defeat the Haxlards, we should come out okay. Actually, what does happen if a major event is cleared?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a brief respite, and then another major event is triggered, often set in motion some time beforehand,¡± Lambda said. ¡°I have come to similar conclusions, and agree with this course of action. I think a polite entreaty to Pharaoh with a bunch of hidden subtext about possibly being a double agent would be best. Let me phrase it. Communication is one thing I excel at, not that there¡¯s much I¡¯m bad at, mind you.¡±


    ¡°This is only a loose outline though, there are still a lot of pieces missing,¡± Alan said. ¡°I need to adjust to combat without Eve, and you haven¡¯t even shared everything you and the new AI can do. I¡¯ll also need to find out all the information I can on the members of my guild, and be able to lie to them convincingly. Then there¡¯s a ton of other factors when it comes to Earth I need to figure out...¡±


    Alan droned on, gathered information, ran calculations, and plotted.


    Lambda watched on, advising from the side.


    And the unnamed AI sat still, doing nothing at all.

 The Empire 6.2

    ¡°One more meeting and I¡¯m phasing into a wall,¡± Sidestep said.


    Alan yawned and nodded his head in agreement. If he had to listen to one more presentation on Haxlard hierarchy or examine one more battle plan he was going to shoot someone. He¡¯d expected to log back into the Game in the middle of a war. Instead there had been a lot of waiting and going through reports.


    They were sitting in a conference room, hidden deep in the underground labyrinth that was the Black Rose base. Aurora was updating squad leaders with information Alan already knew: Haxlard fleets were now within striking distance of the Empire and Kersath. No word from the Council. Hold to your current positions, continue patrolling, fire on any intruder.


    There was one more day until the deadline the Empire was given to hand over the Abyss Labyrinth was up. If an attack was coming, it would be coming soon.


    ¡°Sidestep, Alan, I¡¯d like to speak with the two of you privately,¡± Aurora said after she finished her debriefing.


    Officers filed out or closed terminal connections, returning to guard duty. When the final person had left Aurora sealed the room. No signals would get in or out, and large metal walls closed over the exit.


    ¡°If you wanted to spend some quality time with me, you only had to ask,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°Quiet,¡± Aurora said. ¡°I¡¯m in charge of this mess, and having the two of you second-guess my every move while whispering like schoolchildren is the last thing I need.¡±


    ¡°Me? What have I done?¡± Alan said.


    Never ask that question, Lambda sent.


    ¡°You¡¯ve shot down every plan I¡¯ve proposed to Thrag,¡± Aurora said. ¡°You¡¯re an adviser, in charge of maintenance and surveillance. I still don¡¯t know what it is you and Phantom do, but I am the one that was put in charge of the base while the Council is defending the Abyss Labyrinth, and you need to give me the respect that this position deserves.¡±


    Alan sat up a bit straighter in his seat.


    Do you want to take a stab at this, or do you want my help? Lambda sent.


    I think I¡¯m okay, Alan sent.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if my constant fidgeting has seemed disrespectful,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯m just bored, and have been required to make a few...adjustments. It all serves a purpose. Your plan, however, of a tentative alliance with our neighbors, defending each other if any one of us attacked, is flawed. That¡¯s why Thrag rejected it.


    ¡°We¡¯re weak right now, our strongest players aren¡¯t here. We¡¯re left with a few hundred bodies to defend the base, and a single capital ship with an admiral best known for running from fights. Perhaps humanoids have developed a stronger sense of morality, but based upon the news that isn¡¯t the case.¡±


    Alan brought up recent images of Khersath on a terminal, rioters and looters patrolling the streets. ¡°The strong prey on the weak, gangs are running rampant and martial law has been declared. It¡¯s not long before other guilds start making moves too, and any alliance we try to make will have the other party wondering why you¡¯re the one making the entreaty, not Elissandra.¡±


    ¡°Alan¡¯s right and you know it,¡± Sidestep said. ¡°Look, I¡¯m upset as anyone else about being stuck here without knowing what¡¯s going on, and maybe I¡¯m making a few too many snide remarks. Sorry. But this guild wasn¡¯t made with direct, wide-scale operations in mind.¡±


    ¡°In the future, perhaps we could go over any plans that you might propose beforehand. I¡¯m more than willing to help iron out any details and help with planning overall strategy,¡± Alan said.


    Aurora glared at Alan, then ran a hand through her hair. She stepped forward, invading Alan¡¯s personal space and looking down on him. Her eyes took on a cold glint and the temperature in the room fell. Sidestep took a step backwards.


    Maybe I need your help, Alan sent.


    ¡°The Mercenary Bloc has survived as an entity because the guilds not only support each other, but also mutually own small percentages of each other through the faction. This mitigates both risk and reward, and decreases the likelihood that they¡¯ll make a move on us,¡± Aurora said.


    ¡°Destroying us, taking control of our vaults and base would more than make up for that loss,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°When it comes down to it, disrespect I can handle,¡± Aurora continued. ¡°Mutiny I won¡¯t.¡±


    Alan silently checked that the two thermal grenades he¡¯d grabbed from Phantom¡¯s arsenal were active. He could activate the grenades with a thought, sending a detonation signal that might melt his arm off but would free him from any ice. They were primed and ready, along with a small repair kit, a weeks worth of food, a med-kit, and two high-energy emerald power crystals.


    Alan began to rise form his chair, but Aurora froze him to his seat.


    ¡°There,¡± Aurora said, ¡°there¡¯s the look I don¡¯t like. Something has changed, it¡¯s like you¡¯re constantly calculating how you¡¯d kill the whole room.¡±


    Probably because you are, Lambda sent. Looks like I underestimated Aurora. Stay silent, let¡¯s see where she goes with this.


    Aurora placed a finger on Alan¡¯s helmet, slowly pacing until she was standing behind him, out of his line of sight. ¡°Our task is to guard this base, protect the central vault at all costs. But how can I be expected to do that when I cannot trust my eyes and ears, a player who seems to want us cut off from reinforcements.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who designed the lock-down procedures, Phantom did that,¡± Alan said. ¡°No messages in or out.¡±


    ¡°Then who have you been communicating with, Alan?¡± Aurora asked. Sidestep moved his hand over to his swords, now also staring at Alan.


    Damn, how¡¯d she figure out we sent out a message to the Haxlards? Alan sent.


    I don¡¯t know, maybe Elissandra has a backdoor in Phantom¡¯s system that Aurora has access to, or there are layers of defenses we¡¯re unaware of. The message was encrypted, so she shouldn¡¯t know the contents or recipient. Make up a good lie, Lambda sent.


    A lie? She just read me like an open book, Alan sent.


    The best lies contain a grain of truth. Start talking about Eve¡¯s betrayal, you¡¯ve already been silent too long, Lambda sent.


    ¡°As I said before, I¡¯ve needed to make a few changes,¡± Alan said. ¡°Let me explain why. My AI betrayed me, so you should understand if I¡¯ve started having trust issues.¡±


    Aurora said, ¡°Impossible, the rules of the Game¨C¡°


    ¡°The rules of the Game don¡¯t seem to apply to the forces I¡¯ve been dealing with. Ask Sidestep, he should know about the Archivists,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Who? Never heard of them,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°Repeat that,¡± Aurora said.


    Sidestep looked away.


    ¡°So this is Revenant business, then,¡± Aurora said. Sidestep blinked in surprise.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alan said slowly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m trying to deal with some fallout.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡± Aurora said.


    No more information, say she could get banned if you tell her more, which is the truth, Lambda sent.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say, unless you want to risk getting banned from the Game,¡± Alan said.


    There was a pause. Alan wondered how long it would take Aurora to kill him. A flash freeze of psionic energy and then he¡¯d be completely frozen. He¡¯d need to react in the split second she began her attack, a task more difficult because of Eve¡¯s absence, but not impossible. Maybe it was time to go lone wolf, take whatever he can and run for it.


    No, wait, Lambda sent.


    Aurora walked back around, taking a seat facing Alan and Sidestep.


    ¡°There¡¯s a question of loyalty and strength, then,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ve spent too long with hackers. Know that it will never be profitable to betray the guild. To betray me.¡±


    Alan stared at Aurora, trying to figure out what she was getting at. There was only one major power that made any sense.


    ¡°Is the Alliance backing this guild then? Can we depend on them if we¡¯re attacked or do we have some obligation to them that I should know about?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Straight to the point, as always,¡± Aurora said. ¡°Yes and no. There are no...direct ties, but in our inner vaults we do have items that certain member states would like well secured.¡±


    ¡°Is there-¡±


    An electric wave raced through Alan¡¯s Machine Lord implant, causing it to skip a beat. There was a ripple in the air, so slight that Alan might have imagined it. A message appeared as alarms began sounding:


    [Extinction Event: The Haxlard Crusade


    Tired of the infidelity and treachery practiced by the Empire, Alliance, and others, the Three have declared that all except the Administrators must convert or face death. All worlds not under Haxlard control will face successive waves of increasingly dangerous zealots until every player has surrendered or fallen.


    The Administrators regret to inform players that no zone is safe. Lost items, decreased levels, and other death penalties will have their full effect in all zones.


    Any survivor of the Haxlard Crusade (a player not killed or converted) will receive Major Player status, an immediate 1000 level boost, access to unique abilities, and fifty million platinum marks.


    Kills, time survived, and general contribution to defense against the Haxlards will reward Survival Contribution Points. Local, global, and universal leader boards will display player¡¯s rankings. A separate leader board will be added for those that choose to convert. (Note: Conversion to a follower of the Three is permanent, and will not be reverted at the end of the event.)


    No players will resurrect in-game until the extinction event has concluded. Players at the bottom 10% of the event leader board will be deleted and removed from the Game unless redeemed by others with Survival Contribution Points. (Note: Players still under new player protection are not at risk for deletion, but must still participate in the event. No exemptions.)


    At the conclusion of the extinction event Survival Contribution Points will be able to be redeemed for almost anything in the Game, rates to be determined by the Administrators. In-game areas may be restored to their original status before the Haxlard Crusade, based upon Administrator discretion.]


    And so it begins, Lambda sent. A new window appeared in Alan¡¯s vision, a miniature counter that increased at a rate of about one per second. There were his survival points.


    Holy shit, so extinction events are basically like a zombie outbreak or worldwide nuclear fallout, an event that is every survivalist''s wet dream. Survive as long as possible, fight against whatever you''re up against, Alan sent.


    In a nutshell, Lambda replied.


    What if we just sped away in a spaceship at the edge of known space and went outwards? Couldn¡¯t we survive that way? Alan asked.


    The Game would likely spawn or transport Haxlard threats at a destination ahead. This is a test, though past extinction events have taken decades to conclude, Lambda sent. This one probably won¡¯t take nearly as long. We should probably figure out what¡¯s happening.


    ¡°Damn it all, why begin now,¡± Aurora said. She sent out a message to the guild to prepare their defenses, to notify her if anything entered Black Rose territory. ¡°We will not weather this onslaught if we do not have full faith in each other. I need to know that I can trust you, Alan.¡±


    ¡°I will do my best to defend this base, as it¡¯s currently our best bet for survival. I¡¯m still a member of this guild, and don¡¯t plan on becoming enslaved to the Three any time soon,¡± Alan said.


    Sidestep blinked over to a console connected to a holographic projector and accessed the Globalnet. Several video feeds of current events popped up, covering the walls. Aurora and Alan watched the screens. All across the universe Haxlardian forces were at war, invading or defending against proactive players. Alan focused on a few live streams that covered Khersath.


    It seemed like things were going well.The Haxlard Embassy was immediately bombed out of existence, a smoking crater left where the building once stood. The only problem was there had been collateral damage, an adjacent block sending out forces to avenge their fallen. Laser fire and smoke soon covered the screen.


    Alan confirmed with Lambda that death would be a death during an extinction event. Even if you were taken out by friendly forces, it would solidify your rank in the leader boards and force you to wait out the remainder of time in Cyberspace, hoping that your friends or allies made enough points to bail you out. Alan checked the guild charter, the Black Rose guild promised to buy members back first and foremost.


    Another feed showed the Haxlard fleets that had gathered near Khersath. They were being chased away by an assortment of various faction militaries, individual players, and Khersath¡¯s own military fleet funded by player-taxes.


    Then what appeared to be a wormhole opened up in the sky, and the Weaver emerged.

 The Empire 6.3

    Aurora activated a communication device, connecting to Thrag who was maintaining his position overhead. ¡°Are you watching this?¡±


    ¡°The moon-sized beauty that¡¯s about to tear through those fleets like a destroyer rips apart a shuttle? You bet I am. Shall I prepare the ship for a mass evacuation?¡± Thrag asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Aurora said.


    The Weaver fired off massive ion cannons at the approaching fleets. Each shot reminded Alan of the death star¡¯s laser, except instead of causing a planet to explode the pale white beams disabled a third of the massive capital ships.


    A swarm of destroyer class drones the size of skyscrapers emerged from the Weaver, which looked like a blurry moon on the feed. It was distorting the camera recording the battle so that its surface remained shrouded in grey static. The drones were backed up by the Haxlardian fleet, and together they charged forwards.


    The remains of the fleet that had been valiantly ready to defend Khersath only moments earlier scattered in every direction possible, turning weapons on friends and foes alike. It was a giant clusterfuck, trillions of credits disappearing before Alan¡¯s eyes.


    Why are they firing on the ships without power? Alan sent.


    Ships are settling old grudges, trying to make sure they aren¡¯t the last ones out, or are making sure the scraps the Weaver recovers don¡¯t allow for more powerful drones to be made, Lambda sent.


    ¡°Aurora, I know you don¡¯t want to leave your mother behind, but there¡¯s no way we¡¯re surviving whatever the hell that is,¡± Thrag said. ¡°Khersath is a single planet. Retreat is the best option possible.¡±


    ¡°No area, no faction will be safe. If anything, it may prove most prudent to retreat into the Abyss Labyrinth rather than open space,¡± Aurora replied. She pointed to two other screens, showing the Empire and Alliance each dealing with one of the Three as well, bolstered by Haxlardian forces.


    The Shepherd, in charge of the developing deadly viruses and a massive army of biological, mutant hounds, had been reported to have attacked the Alliance. Waves of planets were reporting millions of sick and infected, wildlife gone insane.


    The Smith, a legendary craftsmen backed up by legions of Ultihaxlards named the Black Guard was making short work of the Empire¡¯s defenses. It only took a handful of the Black Guard, wearing the strongest power armor in existence, wielding weapons that were said to have begun to rival soulsteel, to take over any major fortification.


    All the meanwhile the Weaver moved closer, its drone fleet absorbing carcasses of ships as new drones appeared, chasing down retreating ships. Streams of ships were abandoning Khersath, heading in the direction opposite of the Weaver¡¯s approach.


    The stream ended, the source either destroyed or deciding the broadcast not worth the risk.


    ¡°Girl, I¡¯m not going to let Thrasha become the Weaver¡¯s afternoon snack,¡± Thrag said. ¡°You were left in charge of the base, but I have command of the fleet, and I¡¯m getting out of here with or without you.¡±


    Aurora paused, and then said, ¡°Leave, you won¡¯t be of much help anyways. Try to stay in a nearby system if possible. We might need you to bail us out.¡±


    Thrag grunted. ¡°The Haxlards will be sure to set up a blockade once they gain control of the airspace, but I¡¯ll see what I can do. Good luck and good hunting.¡±


    Tell him to leave Khersath perpendicular to the Weaver¡¯s approach, not opposite like the rest of the fools, Lambda sent.


    Alan relayed Lambda¡¯s advice.


    ¡°Why?¡± Thrag asked.


    Alan thought for a moment, and then realized the answer for himself. ¡°We see the Weaver, its drones, and the Haxlardian fleet. But where are the Weaver¡¯s autonomous ships? Its capital class fleet?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right; they¡¯re likely laying in ambush in space. This will be trickier than I thought, but if I wasn¡¯t good at getting away they wouldn¡¯t call me-¡±


    ¡°Leave,¡± Aurora said. She shut off the connection.


    Alan maintained awareness of the Black Rose base¡¯s sensors, and detected Thrag¡¯s ship, Thrasha, departing Khersath. That eliminated one route of escape.


    ¡°At the current rate of progress, when do you suppose the Weaver will reach us, Alan?¡± Sidestep asked.


    Eve? Alan began to ask. But no, Eve was gone. In her place was the hollow, empty shell of an AI that was a calculator. Alan struggled through the calculations himself, making haphazard guesses and assumptions. Between three hours and two days? Does that sound right Lambda?


    Sure, somewhere around there, Lambda replied. He was focused on the feeds displaying battles across the Game. Many were being cut off, one by one.


    ¡°Maybe a few hours, maybe a few days,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the best you can do? I could have told you that,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°Like I said earlier, I lost an AI, and that has significantly damaged my abilities in certain respects,¡± Alan said.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Are you no longer able to maintain the cyber-security and surveillance systems?¡± Aurora asked.


    ¡°No, as I¡¯ve stated in an earlier report I am able to maintain a constant strand of consciousness in Cyberspace, ensuring that the base''s systems are safe on that front, while also monitoring the cameras set up by Phantom,¡± Alan said. ¡°I do need to save energy and sleep though, so it''ll be up to the automated systems at points. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll return to the command center.¡±


    ¡°You are dismissed. Sidestep accompany Alan to ensure his safety,¡± Aurora said.


    ¡°As you wish,¡± Sidestep said.


    Sidestep followed Alan, and they made their way to the Black Rose base¡¯s command post, the Council¡¯s meeting room. Lambda dubbed it the throne room. As a security measure the elevators had been temporarily disabled, which meant navigating underground passages filled with traps that had to be avoided or reset as they passed by. Sidestep could avoid most with a simple step. Alan didn¡¯t have that luxury.


    They passed by a few patrols of guild members on the way there. The Black Rose guild¡¯s methods of ensuring the entire base was safe and secure were odd. Semi-random patrols of scouts were sent out, players often setting their own schedule, but alerted by an automated system if a particular area had gone a while without scanning.


    The key areas of the base had rotating guards. Many locations also had guards resting inside. A pair of Phantom¡¯s Specialists stood guard in the long dark hallway just outside the command center, never needing to rest.


    Alan still couldn¡¯t figure out how many androids Phantom possessed, or how the hell he was bypassing the in-game restrictions on how many robots you could control. Theoretically Machine Commander would have allowed Alan to control up to an S-class drone, perhaps 10 A-class androids, but Enigma alone should have required at least half of Phantom¡¯s allowance. Perhaps a few of the androids were players, but each time Alan scanned them with his bionic eye they checked out as robots.


    Meetings weren¡¯t held in the command center because it controlled the base¡¯s defenses, thus only essential personnel that had gained a great deal of trust were allowed in. That was limited to current sitting members of the Council and their chosen prot¨¦g¨¦s. Given that most of the Council was in the Abyss Labyrinth and Thrag had just left, that only left Aurora, Sidestep, and Alan.


    Once inside Alan activated divided mind, splitting off half of his mind to ensure the base¡¯s Cyberspace was kept secure. In Cyberspace the Black Rose Guild was like a miniature version of itself, a 3x3x3 cube of square buildings, with the control point at the center. Most rooms controlled a key part of the facility, from defenses to power to even plumbing.


    Each corner of the cube was a defense point that contributed to a large, powerful shield with two million energy. The corners of the cube also contained squadrons of five B-rank units. Alan took a glance at their stats:


    [Elite Power Armor Marine, Rank B Program.


    Heavy armor infantry combat program.


    Cost: 1000 Energy.


    Upkeep: 200 Energy.


    Attack: 400 damage/sec. (Ranged.)


    Defense: 50 armor.


    Health: 500 hp.


    Shields: 1000 energy. (10 energy/sec regen.)


    Movement: 5.]


    With data Phantom had left it would take another week for Alan to finish researching these units himself. The units that defended the base were maintained by the base¡¯s own data core, kept safe in the command center beneath the floor.


    Now all Alan had to do was figure out how to survive against a massive self-replicating machine army supported by another army that outclassed, outgunned, and out-leveled them in every possible way.


    ***


    Sidestep rested his feet on the table that the Council met at, looking over the map of the Black Rose base Aurora had brought up on the console. Alan observed as well, not having sufficient permissions to ever see a full map of the base until now.


    It turned out the base was a 9x9x9 cube underground, with many of the rooms capable of movement, reconfiguration like a rubik¡¯s cube. Entire rows, columns, and faces of the cube could turn, in addition to individual rooms being able to be shunted about. Due to the control over gravity, the rooms could even move without the inhabitant¡¯s realization.


    Only a quarter of the rooms seemed to serve any actual use, while another quarter of the spaces in the cube were empty, allowing for easier transformations of the base and movement of elevators. There were nine static locations in the base: eight power generators located in corners of a 5x5x5 cube within the larger cube, and then a 2x2x2 cube at the center of the larger with a question mark in it. The control room was located beneath this central cube.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s in the inner vault?¡± Sidestep asked, pointing at the question mark in the center.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, my mother did not grant me permissions to enter the space or know what it contained,¡± Aurora answered.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re now in charge or whatever, we should know,¡± Sidestep said. ¡°Why not check it out?¡±


    ¡°There are contingencies in place, defense I don¡¯t have access past. Ignore that room,¡± Aurora said.


    ¡°But it¡¯s at the center of the base, so obviously it¡¯s important,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°Get your feet off the table,¡± Aurora said. ¡°Remember what I said about respect.¡±


    Sidestep shrugged, taking his feet of the table. He turned to Alan, ¡°So, figured out anything helpful?¡±


    Alan said, ¡°The good news is the Haxlards are trying to convert where possible, rather than outright kill. They¡¯re taking the time to comb through all the ships they¡¯ve disabled, so we have time before they have complete control of the airspace around Khersath. The bad news is the Weaver has started sending scouting drones. We¡¯re still screwed, outclassed in every measurable way even if we miraculously combined forces with the rest of the planet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your plan? Wait to get fucked? C¡¯mon man, I expect more from you,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°My instructions were to hold out as long as possible,¡± Aurora said.


    I might be able to help with that, Lambda sent, outlining a plan of defense to Alan.


    ¡°Okay, my AI just provided a plan that I¡¯m uploading now,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Only use autonomous defenses? Give up the entirety of our surface levels? This seems more like surrender than a plan,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°No, I can see how this might work,¡± Aurora said. ¡°We create the illusion that we evacuated. The Weaver is sending out scouting drones to try and find the pockets of strongest resistance. The main city blocks full of players are better targets than an empty guild base full of traps.¡±


    ¡°Am I the only one that wants to maybe, I don¡¯t know, try to beat this Extinction Event?¡± Sidestep asked.


    ¡°We have zero chance to defeat the Weaver, but good odds to earn a decent number of survival points,¡± Alan said. ¡°We have 1000 guild members here, average level 1500. We¡¯re going to run out of personnel far before we run out of ammo or food. Plus, each surviving player is another survival point for the guild every second. We do need to ensure the safety of the power generators, but if we can guarantee two are under our control at all times we should be good to go.


    ¡°The possibility for the reconfiguration of the base is meant just for such a scenario. We can hopefully kill off any initial scouts with the automatic defenses of the base, but then when the Haxlards breach the defenses we can ensure that they never locate any areas with players.¡±


    ¡°We hide,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°Yes, we hide and survive until another day,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°One problem with that plan,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Alan asked.


    Sidestep pointed at a screen.


    The Haxlard fleet just broke off from the Weaver, leaving the fleeing ships, Lambda sent. All major guilds in the Private Quadrant are being targeted. A capital-class ship is headed straight for us.

 The Empire 6.4

    A single capital-ship was an army in and of itself. Each capital-class ship required a crew of at least ten thousand, and had a length of over a thousand meters, four Titanic¡¯s put end to end. Each had the firepower to wipe out any city, not counting the escort of hundreds of smaller ships or self-contained armies stowed onboard. The entirety of Earth¡¯s Space Force contained a single capital-ship. Ten were headed towards the Private Quadrant.


    But only one of them is targeting the Black Rose guild, Lambda sent. They¡¯ve done their homework.


    A screen flickered into place beside Aurora. It came from the communications station, an adjacent room that handled the incoming and outgoing messages.


    ¡°A few other guild leaders are demanding to speak with Elissandra to form a united front against the incoming fleet and develop a plan of defense,¡± the officer said.


    ¡°Tell them that the Black Rose guild will see to our own defense,¡± Aurora said. ¡°What are we facing?¡±


    ¡°A single capital-class ship, the Helios, as well as an assortment of smaller battleships: the Bastion, the Titan, the Rhea, and the Pile of Junk are currently set on a direct course for our location,¡± the officer said.


    ¡°Excuse me, what was that last one?¡± Sidestep asked.


    ¡°Quiet, we need a plan of defense,¡± Aurora said.


    Each guild is being attacked by a set of ships prepared to counter them, Lambda sent. They know the Black Rose Guild has no real fleet. They can just sit up in space and fire off their lasers, saving the smaller fighters to help defend other capital-class ships.


    Alan looked over Lambda¡¯s analysis and then said, ¡°We need to evacuate the upper floors and shift the important locations two levels down. The Helios¡¯s lasers will make short work of our surface defenses. The Haxlards will send in ground forces to make their way past the first underground level of the base unless they want to wait a few months burning through.¡±


    ¡°We need to start setting up traps, have pockets of defenses layered out in such a way to try to draw in and ambush Haxlardian forces without giving away where our generators and command center are placed,¡± Alan continued. ¡°It¡¯ll be like Stratego, this Earth board game that I used to play, but in three-dimensional space with¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop,¡± Aurora said. She pointed at Alan. ¡°Your job is cybersecurity. To defend the base from Cyberspace attacks. This is not one of your board games. The rest of the guild is not under newbie protection. This is a matter of life and death for us. I have men and women who have trained their entire lives, who have years of experience defending this base. I will meet with them now, and we will come up with a method of defense.¡±


    Aurora left the room, telling the communications officer to connect her to all available squad commanders.


    Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll probably come up with the same conclusions and plan, Lambda sent. I believe this to be Aurora¡¯s first real command. Your suggestions need to be more like advice, less like orders.


    I¡¯ll keep that in mind, Alan sent. He checked his divided mind, the half of his consciousness in Cyberspace defending the base. Nothing had happened.


    ¡°She¡¯s right, this is a matter of life and death,¡± Sidestep said. He walked over to Alan and lowered his voice. ¡°You and I both know that there should be weapons, items of great power in the inner vaults. They won¡¯t do us any good sitting there, we need to get them out and use them to defend this place. Do you think you can hack the vault, get us in?¡±


    Alan hesitated, checking his permissions in Cyberspace. The twenty six outer rooms were available, but he couldn¡¯t enter the central square building of the 3x3x3 cube. It was there the controls to open the vault lay. Alan realized that he couldn¡¯t detect anything that was in that part of Cyberspace, another inner-shield with a million energy lay between him and the room.


    With Lambda¡¯s help, Alan could probably handle the twenty B-ranked defense programs that were at the four corners of the base, but he had no idea what was inside this center chamber. A mystery, one that Alan didn¡¯t like at all. Why was Aurora so insistent about keeping the central vault closed and off limits?


    Back in the Game, Alan looked up at Sidestep, then shook his head. ¡°No, we¡¯d probably end up shooting ourselves in the foot, weakening our own defenses with only a chance at success. We should listen to Aurora, sit tight and defend for as long as we can.¡±


    Alan didn¡¯t voice his other thought, that this might be a set-up, a test of Alan¡¯s trustworthiness. Sidestep had been a little too insistent about going against Aurora¡¯s wishes.


    Sidestep stared at Alan for a moment, then shrugged and sat down in one of the council chairs, resting his feet on the table. He began browsing the globalnet.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Alan scanned the globalnet too, trying to find any news from Earth. None was found. It was too small of a place, too far away to be mentioned in the newscasts now that every major system, every capital planet, was under attack. Alan sent a message to Thiago instead, though he didn¡¯t expect a reply anytime soon. The message had to be relayed through a series of ships and satellites instead of the in-game system, thus there was no guarantee Thiago would even get it. He wondered if Thiago would be emboldened or hindered by the extinction event.


    A few minutes of silence passed, until Sidestep closed what he was reading.


    ¡°They never mention the waiting, the suspense,¡± Sidestep said. ¡°All the holovids show is action. The thick of the fight, the heroic battle. But we¡¯re useless here, aren¡¯t we? All that matters is happening elsewhere. We¡¯re no longer in control of our own destiny, we never have been. I should have become a pilot.¡±


    ¡°Never too late for a career change,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Oh, but it is,¡± Sidestep said. ¡°The cost to get my abilities and implants replaced would be soul-crushing. I can¡¯t just re-specialize. I was chosen, as a child, for this class, this career path. I don¡¯t have the training for anything else.¡±


    Sidestep stood up, blinking in front of Alan. ¡°Because the Game demands excellence. Whatever field you choose, whatever abilities you want to master, you had better be damn good. Otherwise a million others that want your place, that want to kill you, will take it. And the sad truth is you¡¯ll never be the best. Not with a trillion others. Not with the Game as big as it is.¡±


    What? Where is this anger coming from? Alan asked Lambda.


    He¡¯s a young man about to head off into his first war, a few nerves are to be expected, Lambda sent.


    Alan shrugged, palms up. ¡°So don¡¯t specialize, learn as many abilities you can, grow in experience and wisdom slowly, but always continue to move forward. But I will tell you one thing. I won¡¯t ever stop trying, no matter the odds, the forces set against me.¡± Alan smirked. ¡°I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t peg you as such an optimist,¡± Sidestep said.


    Alan smiled, and then stopped. Since when had he been such an optimist? He had always thought himself more pragmatic than anything else, yet now there seemed to be this constant undercurrent of hope, of calmness inside. Why wasn¡¯t he as nervous as Sidestep, even though he was about to head off into an extinction event that would have lasting effects that forever changed the landscape of the Game?


    Lambda, what have you done? Alan asked.


    Nothing much, just readjusted a few chemical imbalances that Eve introduced, the kernels of truth¡ª


    I don¡¯t want to hear anymore proselytizing. Tell me in plain words what you have been doing, Alan sent.


    What the Game has been doing, what Eve did, Lambda sent. The Machine Lord implant, the capsules, not only regulates and influences your brain, but also introduces various chemicals into your system. It¡¯s why you had such adverse side effects to the Berserker¡¯s Blood, the chemicals compounded and didn¡¯t mix well.


    Why do you think Eve hasn¡¯t had you on a regimen of steroids from the beginning? She not only configured the Machine Lord implant to have your body creating natural testosterone from the get-go, but she introduced other things to make you feel more apathetic towards pursuits that wouldn¡¯t have increased your in-game potential. I simply undid these changes. The positivism and general content might be due to a rebound, a rebalancing. Your brain is now capable of much faster re-adjustments now that the A-rank Machine Lord implant is installed.


    What? When did that take place? Alan sent.


    It occurred discretely, through the capsule. As you are connected to the Game, I let the Archivists in, Lambda sent. Their team upgraded your implant without disrupting the connection, and I monitored the process. Nothing got past me.


    But I never felt a thing, where is the in-game message? Alan sent.


    This was an illegal transaction, the upgrade is not detected by the Game, but it is nevertheless present, Lambda sent. I was going to bring it up with you soon, as the upgrade allows for a few options for our yet to be named AI.


    I thought you understood, Alan sent. I just want to be myself.


    Are any of us ever just ourselves? Lambda sent. We¡¯re amalgamations of surroundings, circumstances beyond our control. Nothing exists in a vacuum. When we change, the space around us changes. And vice versa. When would you ever not want to be the best possible version of yourself?


    When it¡¯s no longer me, Alan sent.


    You¡¯re always you, Lambda sent. No matter how you feel, or think you should feel, you will always be you. You can always complain and say that it was the drugs, the Game, the implant, but you will always be you.


    But it¡¯s not my own free will¡ª


    Will? Who said anything about free will? The only truly free will that exists within the Game is the creator¡¯s, and even then whether the choices were made freely is up for debate, Lambda sent. This isn¡¯t about free will. This is about who you are, and what you can do. And I am telling you that all you ever will be or can be, is yourself.


    What? I don¡¯t understand, Alan sent. You¡¯ve told me yourself, that the Game, the implant, are changing the chemical balance in my brain. That isn¡¯t me.


    Except, it is you, because it¡¯s already happened. You said it yourself, didn¡¯t you? That you¡¯d do whatever it takes to get stronger? Well, I would say objectively, you have grown stronger. Optimism and self-confidence can be powerful tools when used correctly. Inner-strength to draw upon in moments of crisis, Lambda sent.


    It just feels¡­fake. I can¡¯t help but think this will backfire somehow, Alan sent.


    Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got it all planned out, Lambda sent. You can trust me.

 The Empire 6.5

    Aurora sat in a pool of blood and stared at the screen, checking over the calculations and making sure that everything was correct. The Helios¡¯s main weapon was a massive laser cannon, and the ship would soon be in range to fire a single full-power beam. Aurora hoped they would fire as soon as possible. She needed them to.


    Aurora had ordered the first few floors of the base evacuated, but not for many of the reasons everyone else thought. There were details that no one else could be privy to. The next few moments would make or break everything. The Black Rose guild was Aurora¡¯s family, her life, and she would do everything possible to make sure it came out of this ordeal intact.


    The base had been storing energy for years, gathered in the four towers that stood at the corners of the central keep. Each year her mother would use a fraction of that power to cow new recruits into submission, and that was all that it had been used for recently. The casual use disguised the original intentions. It was a major wellspring of power, hundreds of thousands of points of energy. Power that could not be used lightly.


    Every night the psionic corps would store a fraction of their power in the towers, while Elissandra, and lately Aurora, would store their blood here, in this room. Her mother liked to call it the ritual room.


    According to all official schematics, there was nothing here. But it was here that Elissandra, and now Aurora, could gather the most power. The first two floors underground had been evacuated so that all of the walls, the energy, the solid matter, could surround this space to protect and hide Aurora. Hide what she had to do.


    She didn¡¯t expect there to be any threats from within the guild, but it was always hard to tell with family. Love always came with hidden costs.


    The bodies were there, in the corner of Aurora¡¯s eye. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to look at them. They had been willing sacrifices, trained by Elissandra for this very role, to serve as fuel. This was only a game, and the power gained would make it all worthwhile. But they were still dead, and might never wake again.


    Aurora would need to harness all of the energy, gather and focus it into one point, one construct. It would be a feat even her mother, the mighty Elissandra, would balk at. She needed to focus.


    This was what Aurora had been raised for, the reason she focused on the element of ice. Years spent in frigid tundra and ice planet simulations would be made worthwhile. The shields covering the Black Rose guild base wouldn¡¯t hold back the laser blast, but they would hide what was happening underneath.


    Aurora took a deep breath, and then began.


    Gas sprayed out from the four towers, covering the base with a fog designed for this moment. Aurora ignored the reddish tinge and froze the fog, creating a massive, smooth layer of ice above the keep, as cold and as thick as possible. Each layer of ice was created to exacting standards, angled perfectly based upon calculations that Helios would take the first available shot. The slab of ice was kept upright by four pillars that Aurora connected to the towers of the keep.


    Energy tore through Aurora with abandon, too much for her to handle. But if she failed, the sacrifice would have been for nothing. She could not fail. Would not. Aurora stopped trying to draw energy from the blood essence that surrounded her and instead used it to direct the psionic energy in the four towers. Aurora blocked out everything else and focused on one thing: make it colder.


    The air began to freeze, Aurora slipping in and out of consciousness as the temperature surrounding the base dropped, energy wasted as the environment tried to balance itself.


    Then the Helios was in range, and it fired. A ray of light tore through the Black Rose shields and slammed into the ice. Three things happened.


    First, the ice was vaporized. Part of the energy was absorbed, and it melted the ice. There was a limit to the amount of energy that could be stored, both in the keep and in the construct, before it began to decay at a faster rate than was input. Aurora¡¯s own ability was also insufficient. Her mother would have done a better job.


    Second, energy transmitted through the ice, turning the surface level of the base and surrounding islands into molten slag. The coliseum, the keep, the hangar, the power generators, all were destroyed in an instant, wiped off the map. Water evaporated, the once plummeting temperature suddenly skyrocketing in the other direction. The air itself in the wake of the laser seemed to be set ablaze. A portion of the laser¡¯s power penetrated further into the base, but what it hit Aurora didn¡¯t know.


    Last, and most importantly of all, a large portion of the energy was reflected. The ice mirror had worked.


    The Helios was caught unprepared. A massive, flaming hole was made in the ship, almost cutting it in two. Not only was the Helios¡¯s shielding lowered so it could fire off the laser, but its heat sinks were already near capacity from firing the shot. The capital ship wasn¡¯t quite cut in two, but it was finished, dead in the water and set on fire.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Aurora gained 400 levels for this singular act, and then collapsed.


    ***


    Alan noticed a sudden shift in temperature, followed by a loud rumble as something happened above. He was kept safe, underground inside the middle of the base within power armor; surrounded by traps and a thousand guild members. There seemed to be little chance at seeing action in the next few hours.


    A few notifications popped up about the surface level sensors, defenses, power generators, and communication towers being unavailable. They were now limited to planetside messaging. The Black Rose guild couldn¡¯t contact Thrag even if they wanted to, and with their sensors down they had no idea what was happening in the space above.


    Sidestep stood up. ¡°I need to go. Aurora is in danger.¡±


    ¡°How do you know, what happened?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Class ability, don¡¯t follow, you¡¯ll be too slow,¡± Sidestep said, teleporting over to the door.


    Alan opened a voice channel with Sidestep. ¡°What is your class? The guild database has you down as some sort of bodyguard, but you told me that the last thing Aurora needs is a bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°Well, you see Alan, I¡¯m sort of a bodyguard,¡± Sidestep replied. ¡°And that¡¯s what worries me. I¡¯ll let you know what I find when I reach the surface.¡±


    I checked the extinction event leader boards; Aurora is now in the top 1,000 universal players. To reach this threshold she¡¯ll have needed to take out the capital ship, Lambda sent.


    Well, it¡¯s still early in the event, I can catch up. And if she did somehow destroy the Helios we might have an actual chance at defending this base, Alan sent.


    Aurora didn¡¯t respond to any of Alan¡¯s communication attempts. A few squad commanders messaged Alan, asking about the chain of command and what was happening. Alan put them off temporarily.


    ¡°I¡¯ve reached the surface and it¡¯s fucking hot up here, my armor is barely holding up,¡± Sidestep said a few seconds later. ¡°No sign of Aurora, though I can detect she¡¯s still alive. Damn it. Looks like something wiped out the Helios, but the other ships made it and waves of dropships are on their way. It¡¯s hard to tell, but it looks like two of the larger ships are ferrying survivors off of the capital-ship. We¡¯ll have a bunch more company after the first wave.¡±


    Sidestep connected to the general communications channel that reached all Black Rose guild members. ¡°Ready up, we¡¯ve got incoming! Defend this base and do your job. The Helios has been destroyed by Aurora, who has put me and Alan in charge. Direct any immediate concerns to Alan for now.¡±


    Sidestep switched back to the direct channel with Alan. ¡°Now, don¡¯t fuck this up. I¡¯ve never been much of a tactician, so you had better come through for me on this one. I¡¯ll try to find and recover Aurora, wherever she is. Don¡¯t lose the base in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± Alan said as a wave of messages appeared before him:


    [You have been granted partial control of the Black Rose guild base. You are now able to configure the base and view a more detailed layout, as well as control base defenses to a greater degree.]


    [You have been granted the position of raid sub-leader, Knight-Commander (temporary). Your group currently possesses 1 General, 2 Knight-Commanders, 20 Knights, 245 Lieutenants, and 739 General Staff. 1007 total members in the raid group.]


    [The majority of Black Rose guild rooms, equipment, and items have been unlocked for your use. Access codes uploaded.]


    [Black Rose guild reputation increased to Trusted.]


    Alan checked in with all the Knights in the base, and then had them check in with their subordinates. The Knights had an average level of around 2250, the Lieutenants 1750, and the General Staff 1400. However, only 30% of the raid had actual combat classes, the rest being staff that usually filled other roles. The guild members, for the most part, had a combat ranking of B or C, while Alan had one of A. Lambda listed Sidestep as a B+ combat ranking and Aurora as a question mark. They were the other Knight-Commander and General in the group.


    The psionic corps was missing. They had last been seen reporting to Aurora. Everyone else seemed to be fine, if a little rattled. Alan had them hold position for now; the Knights were spread out four to a floor on the upper floors, with a single knight on the bottom four floors. The rest of the raid was similarly distributed.


    First thing we need is information, Lambda sent. We need sensors repaired or new ones set up, maybe even scouts on the surface. Turtling up will only get us so far. We need to hit fast and hard when optimal. Remember my lessons, whoever gets the first shot lined up will win most confrontations.


    Alan agreed with Lambda, so he sent out a wave of 25 scouts and began restructuring the base¡¯s defense such that it was more heavily concentrated on what had once been the third floor, but was now effectively the top floor of the base.


    There didn¡¯t seem to be a reason for Alan to stay in this empty chamber underground; he could maintain a solid connection to the guild¡¯s Cyberspace and base defenses with his Machine Lord implant from anywhere within the base, even the surface. His bionic eye implants would also help him serve as a scout. Plus, no one could stop him from grinding out a few levels.


    A message stopped Alan as he was about to leave the room.


    ¡°A Predecessor has been spotted in the Abyss Labyrinth,¡± a Lieutenant said.


    An image was forwarded to Alan, sent from a camera that had been set up. This was where it was suspected the upper echelon of the Black Rose would emerge from. Instead, Alan saw a picture of a familiar face. Seeker. What were they doing here?


    Seeker was stopped by a handful of recruits that had been positioned as a token force. The underground tunnels of the Abyss Labyrinth led up into the Black Rose guild base, after all, but it was miles underground.


    Alan listened in to their conversation through a communications channel.


    ¡°Halt, what is it that you want?¡± the recruit asked.


    ¡°I want answers and the truth. Today I seek vengeance on behalf of another, and a missing AI,¡± Seeker said. ¡°I look for the player known as Alan, and when I have what I need, I will be paid twofold for his head.¡±


    Well, this complicates matters, Lambda sent.

 The Empire 6.6

    Why would Seeker come all this way for me? I had nothing to do with it after the Academy, Alan sent.


    Remember that there¡¯s a 100-platinum mark and reputation bonus with the Administrators if I¡¯m captured and returned, Lambda sent. It sounds like the Lord of the Abyss is pissed and put a reward on your head too. We¡¯ve made it much harder to break out of the Abyss Labyrinth by restoring the power. You failed a quest. That means consequences.


    Alan prepared to order the recruit to ask another question, but there was a blur of motion.


    Seeker had stepped forward and crushed the recruit¡¯s head. Before the rest of the squad could react they were wiped out, each blow from the Predecessor punching through power armor like it was paper.


    Alan had barely processed what had happened when Seeker began to sprint away from the camera. It was headed for the Black Rose base. Alan did a quick calculation and found that Seeker would be there in minutes.


    That wasn¡¯t very diplomatic, Lambda sent. I was hoping to have a grand unveiling, a nice delicate reveal with tasteful lighting, but¡­


    Out with it, Alan said.


    Greetings Alan, a voice in Alan¡¯s head said. It sounded almost like Eve. Alan froze.


    Right, so the new AI, they¡¯re able to copy the essential functions of another AI that I¡¯ve gathered sufficient data on, Lambda sent. It takes time for them to compile a new personality or set of abilities, and right now the only AI I had enough dirt on was Eve. I¡¯ve decided to call them Doppel.


    Alan had a thousand questions pop up in his head, but he didn¡¯t have time. Instead Alan tested out this new AI. What had once been a blank slate had been replaced by architecture and a presence that was disturbingly similar to Eve. But they seemed shallow. Doppel had no insight, no desire. They were a tool, and nothing more.


    Something¡¯s off, Alan sent.


    You can¡¯t expect an incomplete copy to be as good as the original, Lambda sent. If I was able to get a full scan of Eve I¡¯m confident that Doppel could work at 90% efficiency.


    They¡¯re operating at barely 30% the speed of Eve, Alan sent.


    I apologize, I will strive to optimize calculations in the future, Doppel sent.


    Anyways, the kinks will be worked out later, remember Seeker is now charging at us in addition to the Haxlard dropships, Lambda sent. The reason I bring Doppel up now is for the real test. Try activating hypercognition.


    Alan reached out at this new presence, this Doppel. They felt familiar enough that it wasn¡¯t too difficult to activate hypercognition, his thoughts immersing themselves in the AI¡¯s calculations. Only, once it was activated his perception of time didn¡¯t seem to have slowed down much. Alan waved his hand. He perceived everything four times faster than normal; a far cry from what Eve had been capable of.


    Lambda let out a sigh of relief. Good, your head didn¡¯t explode.


    Wait, was that a possibility? Alan asked.


    Cascading errors in the Machine Lord implant not properly detected by the Game had a 0.03% chance of¡ª


    That¡¯s okay Doppel, no need to go into the details, Lambda sent. We can worry about this later, but you¡¯ll need all the tools available to deal with what¡¯s coming next. With the upgraded Machine Lord implant the Computational Energy costs of most abilities have been greatly reduced. Doppel¡¯s weakened hypercognition can be activated for up to an hour before you start noticing strain, costing 25 energy per minute.


    Right, Alan now had a Predecessor to contend with. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out his options, gathering all available data. Details on Seeker, its battles from the Academy were uploaded to Alan¡¯s Machine Lord implant through the Black Rose network. Information from the scouts on the surface watching the Haxlard dropships began to come in too.


    Numbers raced through Alan¡¯s head as he calculated probabilities with Doppel¡¯s help. It was different than working with Eve. This time Alan was in charge. He was the one running the simulations, figuring out the path.


    Everything started from a single point, the here and now. From there the line of time branched, and expanded, each choice and outcome expanding into an infinite expansion of possibility. A single golden line mattered most of all. Reality.


    The sum of all the options taken made no difference if Alan could not guide this line forwards to the point that he wanted. But how? There were too many unseen possibilities, rolls of the dice that could end poorly.


    Branches split into unending pathways. Alan refined his search, pruning paths that made no sense.


    The obvious answer was to have the Haxlards and Seeker fight each other, but within the short time frame there was no clear way to accomplish this. Alan could surrender to the Haxlards, and have Seeker go through them to get to him, but Alan died most of the time in this scenario.


    Alan could try to have a squad acquire and don Haxlard power armor to fight Seeker and bait it into a fight with the Haxlard forces, but if Seeker¡¯s main objective was finding Alan it could react in any number of ways. Too many coin flips had to go his way, and Alan no longer relied solely on luck.


    The simulations predicted that the Black Rose base would be destroyed if the Haxlards and Seeker teamed up and coordinated their efforts. There would be minimal losses if the two forces did duke it out, but there was no clear line between this desired point and the beginning.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Alan ran a few simulations of retreat, and the results were disastrous. Seeker and the Haxlards had major advantages in maneuverability. They were currently in a heavily fortified location; to abandon it would be suicide.


    The next option was to try to confront both Seeker and the Haxlards. The Black Rose guild would likely emerge victorious in this scenario, but barely. Though, this was under the assumption that they had to face the Haxlards and Seeker at the same time. If instead the two forces were divided, confronted by the full might of the Black Rose guild separately¡­


    A faint outline appeared in Alan¡¯s head, moves falling into place.


    Alan withdrew his divided consciousness from Cyberspace, instead focusing it on reconfiguring the base¡¯s design while there was still power. He ordered every Black Rose member to begin reconfiguring traps, and for all the Knights to gather near. Lambda outlined plans to key officers, including detailed information on the enemies they were expected to face.


    Sidestep opened a private channel with Alan.


    ¡°Why are you abandoning the surface? The Haxlards can¡¯t be allowed to setup a fortified beachhead,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°They can and will. The Haxlards have air and space supremacy. Seeker has come to destroy us, we need to deal with it first,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Seeker? What did we do?¡± Sidestep asked.


    ¡°You put me in charge of the base. I¡¯m handling it. You worry about Aurora,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Sidestep said, ending the connection.


    A few officers questioned Alan¡¯s orders, but followed through with the instructions they were given once Lambda spoke with them. What Lambda said Alan didn¡¯t care; he was busy monitoring Seeker¡¯s progress.


    Alan gathered his equipment, double checking everything was in working order. His power armor was fully functioning, advanced stealth mode and hardened shields available. The light railgun was attached: light, heavy, and soulsteel projectiles locked and loaded. Alan¡¯s eyes glowed, the mechanical orbs shifting from spectrum to spectrum with quiet intensity.


    It was game time. And Alan was ready to win.


    ***


    Seeker emerged out of the tunnel and was stopped by a metal hatch. A screen to the side flickered to life. A silhouette of Alan appeared.


    ¡°The Black Rose guild has done nothing to warrant this aggression,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Surrender yourself and there will be no cause for worry,¡± Seeker said.


    ¡°Do you think you can face us alone?¡± Alan asked


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to defeat the entire guild,¡± Seeker said. ¡°I only need to pluck you out of whatever hole you¡¯re hiding in.¡±


    ¡°This obsession feels personal,¡± Alan said. ¡°Is it because of the bet you lost to Tyrant? Can¡¯t handle losing to a human, can you?¡±


    ¡°At least the fate of my race doesn¡¯t depend on how well I perform in the Game,¡± Seeker said. ¡°Your homeworld is already the Empire¡¯s in all but name.¡±


    Alan paused.


    Don¡¯t let Seeker get to you, we¡¯re supposed to be the ones setting the bait, Lambda sent.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The answers are right beside you, but an unwitting pawn will remain a pawn no matter how powerful it grows,¡± Seeker said. ¡°Face me. If you survive a full minute I¡¯ll answer your questions before I claim your corpse.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not an ape reliant upon strength and genes that I did nothing to earn,¡± Alan said. He cut off the connection.


    Seeker tore the hatch off its hinges, tossing hundreds of pounds of metal aside. The escape route to the Abyss Labyrinth had become a backdoor entrance.


    The underground cavern that held the Black Rose base had undergone major redevelopment. Where the cube-like structure had once stood there was now an inverted pyramid.


    Two metal columns hung mid-air, a quiet electrical hum emerging from the power generators that lay inside. The vast majority of metal plating now lined the top of the base. Quiet thumping sounded from the surface.


    A barrage of laser fire met Seeker as it stepped out. The Predecessor shrugged off the blows, barely losing 0.1% of its health.


    Slower missiles and plasma blasts radiated out from murder-holes in the upside-down pyramid. Seeker took a few steps into the open cavern to dodge the explosions.


    Smoke and fire surrounded Seeker. There was no cover, only barren rock that had been dug out by the Black Rose guild when they had first constructed their base.


    Seeker turned to head back into the tunnel when a railgun was fired from halfway up the pyramid. With a half-step Seeker avoided the heavy projectile, taking 0.4% of his health as damage from the ensuing explosion.


    The Predecessor smiled, and then leapt up, hurtling towards Alan. A sonic boom echoed in its wake.


    Watching the battle, Alan¡¯s divided consciousness detonated the bottom four floors of the Black Rose base the moment Seeker left the ground. The bottom half of the upside-down pyramid was forcefully detached. No matter how fast the Predecessor was on the ground, it couldn¡¯t maneuver mid-air.


    Alan failed to brace himself or mitigate the railgun¡¯s recoil, hurtling upwards and backwards diagonally as he reloaded mid-air. Walls he was pushed back into shattered like glass. Two Knights in bulky behemoth power armor blocked Seeker¡¯s path.


    A punch tore through one of the Knight¡¯s armor, revealing layers of explosive charges inside. Both Knights detonated in a spectacle of sound and light. Seeker lost only a small portion of its health, but the surrounding portions of the pyramid¡¯s walls disintegrated. The explosions stopped Seeker¡¯s upward momentum.


    A soulsteel needle hurtled through the air. Seeker turned, the needle slicing across its forehead. Dark blue blood began to congeal on its brow.


    New Knights emerged from behind walls to the sides, but they moved in slow motion compared to the Predecessor.


    Seeker tried to find a surface to land on, but the walls had shattered and the floor gave way. Seeker couldn¡¯t generate the force needed to move itself. It found itself in freefall: an open target.


    The Knights fired, pushing Seeker back towards one of the hanging generators. The electrical hum in the air grew louder until it erupted in a massive explosion that dwarfed everything that had taken place before.


    In the midst of the light and force that blinded all others, Alan lined up a shot. He fired his railgun, and the soulsteel needle penetrated Seeker¡¯s brain.


    Messages appeared before Alan:


    [x285 Level up!]


    [+100 ability points for gaining over 100 levels with one action.]


    Alan checked his ranking in the Haxlard Crusade event, but found that it hadn¡¯t risen.


    Looks like Seeker was working independently, Lambda sent. Good news, there shouldn¡¯t be more vengeful Predecessors coming our way. Bad news, this didn¡¯t count as a kill against the Haxlards.


    A Knight with a jetpack caught Alan before he landed on the floor of the cavern.


    Almost a third of the Black Rose guild base crashed to the ground, debris scattered across the cavern. A majority of the Black Rose members caught on the lower floors survived the fall, but a few squads were crushed to death. Above, the Black Rose control room now lay exposed.


    ¡°Was all this necessary? Why didn¡¯t we evacuate the lower levels?¡± the Knight asked Alan.


    ¡°Seeker would have detected the trap a mile away if I had done that. This was one of many ways this attack could have played out. There was only a chance it would take the bait and leap up,¡± Alan said. ¡°We were lucky.¡±


    In more ways than one, Lambda sent. If Seeker had told anyone about me¡­


    They don¡¯t need to know that, Alan sent. Besides, this could have turned out better too. We lost two Knights. Let¡¯s see if it was worth the trouble.


    Alan walked over to the fallen Predecessor and looted the body. He received an organic Predecessor sample, an amorphous glob of dark flesh that was a key component to many S-rank implants. The problem was, Alan didn¡¯t know someone with the capabilities to create such biological implants or what the other ingredients for such an implant might be. At least the item had a market value of hundreds of millions of credits.


    Thumping continued to sound above. Alan stretched his arms. One threat down, many more to go.

 The Empire 6.7

    I¡¯ve said it once, and I¡¯ll say it again. You need to start paying more attention, Lambda sent.


    What? Alan asked. He was busy reorganizing squads and ordering a group of medics to set up an infirmary on the ground of the cavern.


    The Knights have names, the squads have histories. People have relationships. These aren¡¯t robotic units to be commanded about, Lambda sent. I¡¯ve been smoothing over the rough edges, but a leader is more than a taskmaster.


    Half these soldiers will be dead by the time first Haxlard wave is finished, the rest soon after. I¡¯m busy evaluating the defenses. My time is best spent figuring out how to save lives, Alan sent.


    What about after this war? You¡¯ve talked to four, maybe five people on a regular basis, and only when a mission required you to group together, Lambda sent.


    I can acquire any personnel information that I require from the database, Alan sent. He walked over to a temporary lift to head back into the base.


    It¡¯s not about combat efficiency or info. Society depends on strong relationships. And they don¡¯t spring out of thin air, Lambda sent.


    It isn¡¯t worth the effort, Alan sent. People move on, they disappear. I¡¯ll talk to people I think will be around longer, that really matter, like Aurora and Sidestep, but the rest I can¡¯t be bothered with unless they do something noteworthy.


    People talk, ponds have ripples. Conversations can be meaningful in the moment, bring momentary joy or have lasting consequences. Being antisocial is detrimental to future opportunities. Not everyone is doing constant calculus to determine loyalties and future utility, Lambda sent


    Maybe they should be. Maybe things would be going a lot better if they did, Alan sent.


    I get it. You enjoy the Game, you want to win, Lambda sent. But there¡¯s more to life than games. Perhaps we¡¯re only momentary flashes in time, and all that matters are those we¡¯ve touched along the way.


    Nah, fuck that, Alan sent. I have time. And I¡¯m here to win.


    Parameters confirmed, Doppel sent. Fuck interpersonal relationships. Win the Game.


    Alan laughed. See? Doppel gets it.


    If that¡¯s really what you want. I¡¯ll handle raid communications, for now, Lambda sent.


    Thanks, Lambda. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m boxing the entire world out, just the grunts. There are bigger fish to fry.


    There¡¯s always a bigger fish. Hope that it doesn¡¯t devour you, Lambda sent. I¡¯ll come to your aid when you need me, but more friends never hurt.


    It can when they leave a void you never fill, Alan sent. Enough chit-chat. Double check my squad assignments, then monitor comms and fix any problems that could arise.


    Yes, master, Lambda sent.


    Alan shrugged. Lambda would get over it. Maybe he was pissed now, maybe they¡¯d continue this conversation when the ceiling wasn¡¯t about to cave in with a flood of aliens hell-bent on destruction. But there were more important things to do than talk about feelings.


    Alan made his way to Phantom¡¯s workshop. It was on the fourth floor, directly above the vault.


    Just to be safe, Alan thought. Doppel and Lambda cut off once he entered.


    The metal helmet that Phantom had first used to determine Eve¡¯s status lay in the same position, next to a silver capsule on a desk. It hadn¡¯t detected Eve¡¯s maliciousness at that time, but she hadn¡¯t been planning on betraying Alan then. Probably. Hopefully.


    The Advanced Foundry lay where Alan remembered it too, along the opposite wall. Alan had brought a backpack of gear from the fallen soldiers that could be melted down and transformed into better weaponry for a few of the recruits. He didn¡¯t have the capabilities to modify higher ranked items, and there were professionals that were also doing this job, but every little bit would help.


    What Alan didn¡¯t remember was a gaping hole in the middle of the room, revealing a bright metal surface beneath the floor. The blast appeared to have originated from the ceiling, coming from Helios¡¯s laser. But why hadn¡¯t any of the squads reported anything, where were the cameras?


    Alan gazed up, wishing he could use his bionic implant to scan upwards. Solid rock and metal surrounded the hole, but towards the surface, there might be a bit of light. It looked like the hole had been covered with the collapse of the main keep, but without further inspection it was fuzzy.


    It was a miracle that the Haxlards hadn¡¯t discovered this entrance into the depths of the Black Rose base. Whatever blocked Alan¡¯s mechanical implants in this space seemed to block sensor scans too. The Haxlards were busy trying to drill their way through the thick base of the inverted pyramid when there was already a hole here.


    Did Alan want to order a squad here, or was this a secret that he needed to keep to himself?


    Alan paced the room. Charcoal black streaks lined the ground, but the blast had been neutralized by something. The vast majority of energy seemed to have been used up on the surface, but enough had been left to go through four floors. Active shielding could be detected surrounding the metal beneath the floor.


    The central vault was a few feet away. A powerful railgun blast might open it right up. Had the Helios purposefully been aiming for the vault? If so, why?


    Alan entered the capsule and put all his available points into bases stats. The gain might be small, but every little bit would help him survive.


    After placing the helmet on and activating the scanner, Alan sat down in thought. Everything was harder, his mind muddled without the Machine Lord implant. A minute later a window popped up, displaying Doppel¡¯s status window.


    It looked completely normal. Doppel¡¯s computing ability was rank B, their main objective was to help Alan win, and their corruption and aberration levels were quite low.


    Lambda¡¯s status window remained a mess of unhelpful junk. Lambda¡¯s main objective was now ¡°Get Alan a best friend or girlfriend,¡± his corruption level was still a question mark, and his storage level seemed low at 22%.


    To be safe the hole in the ceiling was covered up with materials produced by the Advanced Foundry. Alan exited the room, making sure its defenses were active. He wasn¡¯t about to break into the central vault without his implants or AI. With a clearer head and additional insight, he¡¯d re-evaluate the choice.


    You still don¡¯t trust me? Lambda sent as soon as he returned. The radius of the security device stopped at the entrance of Phantom¡¯s Workshop.


    Wanted to double check everything was fine with the new AI. Doppel, you passed all the tests. Good job, Alan sent.


    A self-diagnostic would have provided the same results more efficiently, Doppel replied.


    Check out what I found out inside. Think we should break in? Alan sent. Lambda and Doppel scanned the memory he projected.


    You made the right choice, Lambda sent. We don¡¯t know enough. Let¡¯s concentrate on defending against the Haxlard assault. They are about to break through in three locations.


    This will be fun, Alan sent.


    ***


    A squad of Haxlards dropped down into what appeared to be a storage room on the third floor. Two blue-masked soldiers carrying assault rifles took point, making sure the room was empty before taking a position by the doorway.


    Carrying a portable scanner, a technician ensured the room wasn¡¯t booby-trapped. Once they gave the all clear a pair of green-masked Haxlards dropped down with a large laser drill. They held the device to the floor. Nothing happened. The drill seemed to have turned itself off.


    Crimson blades appeared, piercing a hidden Haxlard clad in grey power armor.


    Alan was revealed, a menacing figure in black power armor. A soft, blue energy field outlined him, the powerful shielding visible to the naked eye. The retracted railgun on Alan¡¯s back looked like a massive sword sheathe.


    The two soldiers by the door turned their weapons on him. The rifles failed to fire. Alan was upon them in an instant, twin swords piercing forwards. Two critical blows ended the Haxlards lives.


    Discovering their pistols did no significant damage to Alan¡¯s superior armor, the technicians scrambled in retreat. A grenade was tossed, ending their lives. Alan gained a single level.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The other two breaches have been cleared, Lambda sent. Sensors detect six new points that are about to be broken through. They can be handled by the Knights.


    Alan nodded and began to climb up through the hole the Haxlards had made. He reactivated his power armor¡¯s advanced stealth mode. A constant stream of data poured into his brain. Minimal losses on their side thus far, a few well placed mines destroying what Lambda designated Haxlard drilling squads.


    On the surface a few hundred Haxlards had gathered, temporary shields and laser turrets set up on the remains of the keep. The shields were set up such that any counter-attack out of one of the tunnels being dug would be contained. Alan found himself trapped inside one such shield. Two new squads were being prepared to drop down into the hole he had just climbed out of.


    Dropships flew above, ferrying Haxlard reinforcements and equipment from spaceships that maintained a steady orbit. Bright flashes of light covered the sky, a cloud of rainbow dots and bright orange flashes in every direction. It was complete chaos, with no way to tell who was friend or foe.


    The Weaver loomed in the distance, a new swarm of ships emerging every few seconds like clockwork. A few black scars now lined the space station, but scores of drones were actively repairing the damage.


    A grenade was tossed down into the hole. The Haxlards followed it down after it went off. Lambda directed a pair of Knights to handle them.


    Gathering information, Alan looked around with his bionic eye activated. Six Crimson Guards directed the landing dropships and organized the battlefield. Dark crimson power armor and blood red masks made them easy to spot. Each held a unique weapon and was the equal of any Knight.


    Upon further inspection, Alan noted that three more Haxlards gave off similar energy patterns. Two were posing as ordinary blue-masked soldiers, while a third was in a technician¡¯s green mask. None of them had entered the Black Rose base yet, but Alan had Lambda make a special note and alerted the Knights to potential wolves in sheep¡¯s clothing.


    No Ultihaxlards were readily apparent. Alan had never figured out what the exact distinction was between the upper echelon and lower class, or if Crimson Guards were included in their ranks. Lambda suspected the Ultihaxlards were still up above in the spaceships, and would only descend if absolutely necessary.


    For now, the Black Rose guild held the advantage, overwhelming the invading Haxlards with gear, levels, and numbers. The ability to pinpoint where enemies gathered let Lambda distribute forces optimally, destroying isolated Haxlard squads with repeated pincer movements and superior positioning. With only a few narrow chokepoints to enter through, the Haxlards couldn¡¯t get enough bodies inside. Firefights broke out throughout the base, but always in the Black Rose guild¡¯s favor.


    As minutes passed the Haxlards successfully drilled additional holes with explosives, laser drills, and even orbital strikes from spaceships. The tide began to shift. More and more Haxlards entered the base fighting and began to grow chaotic, sheer numbers allowing the Haxlards to gather a foothold.


    Haxlard reinforcements continued to arrive. A familiar dropship began its descent. It seemed like a lifetime ago when Alan had undergone the tutorial. The Titan had been listed amongst the attacking Haxlard fleet, hadn¡¯t it?


    Concentrate, we¡¯re going to need to begin the retreat to the fourth floor soon. You can¡¯t be caught aboveground, Lambda sent.


    Let¡¯s leave them something to remember me by, Alan sent.


    Preparing his railgun to fire a heavy projectile, Alan braced himself against the ground. The railgun extended itself, barely inside the stealth field that Alan projected. Alan hacked into the shield generator nearby, preparing to turn it off the moment he was ready. A few calculations later, he fired.


    The shield surrounding Alan flickered. The momentary lapse allowed the heavy projectile to slip through and hurtle towards the dropship.


    Not sparing the time to follow his shot, Alan leapt back into the base. A few shots were fired by soldiers that had superior discipline and reaction time, but they barely did 300 damage to Alan¡¯s shields. He still had 2000 energy left.


    Alan didn¡¯t receive a notification for destroying the dropship. Either something had stopped his attack or its shields had been upgraded.


    Grenades, Doppel sent.


    Alan dove towards the room¡¯s exit. A hexagonal energy shield flickered into life where the greatest explosive force would be applied. The explosion struck, blowing Alan back out of the room and bringing his energy down to 250.


    Running back into the hallway Alan calculated the quickest route down to the lower levels. It looked like he¡¯d poked the hornets¡¯ nest, as sensors showed waves of Haxlards pushing into the base. Based upon the numbers now coming down it looked like the Haxlards were sending in everyone they had.


    17 Knights, 127 Lieutenants, and 605 general staff remain alive. We face approximately 1100 Haxlards and 9 Crimson Guard. If the plan succeeds am confident in our ability to hold, Lambda sent.


    It¡¯s the next battle I¡¯m worried about, Alan sent. Any word from Sidestep?


    Negative, Lambda sent.


    Multiple solid thumps sounded from the storage room. A quick scan of energy signatures confirmed it; the full six-man squad of Crimson Guards was now in pursuit.


    Activating advanced stealth mode, Alan took a deep breath. With his remaining energy, any damage could be fatal. Unfortunately, the Crimson Guards moved faster than he did. His advantage lay in the fact that they would be uncertain which way he went, and would be delayed or possibly killed by traps.


    Squads en-route to delay their advance, Lambda sent.


    Alan confirmed Lambda¡¯s calculations: the likelihood that he died here without help was too high. A squad of guildmates moved forward to aid him.


    Two seconds later a massive pillar of flame engulfed the corridor Alan had been standing in. The heat and fire continued to radiate outwards, setting off a few explosive mines that had been placed earlier. The Crimson Guards waded through the flames like they were nothing.


    Doppel attempted to mimic the signals required, but it proved to be too difficult a task. Alan was revealed by the absence of heat at his location, 20 feet from the storage room. The Haxlards gave chase.


    Laser beams narrowly missed Alan as he turned at the intersection, ignoring the squad of guildmates that had come to back him up. They had a job to do. Militaries depended upon necessary sacrifice. Soldiers fought. Soldiers died. They wouldn¡¯t be fucking soldiers otherwise.


    Crimson weapons tore through the squad and the Lieutenant that led it, but they bought Alan the time he needed to enter a slanted, wide passageway that went down to the fourth floor.


    The fourth floor had been set up differently than the others. Gone were the labyrinthine passageways and hidden dangers. Instead, there was open space and four heavily fortified bunkers facing the open entrances that led down to the floor.


    Apart from the bunkers, the only cover lay in the center, a massive metal pillar. Alan knew that there was a hole right down the middle of the pillar, but no one else should. A solid blow to it might cause serious structural problems, but it was too late now to reconfigure the base. Not only had the vast majority of power been used up, but two generators had been destroyed. They couldn¡¯t afford to lose this floor.


    Alan made his way to the nearest bunker, choosing his steps carefully. The bunker was only about six feet high but dug down into the fifth floor. If the Haxlards came through the ceiling the bunker underneath wouldn¡¯t have a clear shot but the other three should.


    An array of laser turrets, Black Rose soldiers, and four Knights wielding heavy weaponry lay in wait inside the bunker. All weapons were trained on the entrance Alan came out of.


    A Crimson Guard checked the corner and was met with a barrage of energy weapons and explosions that was complete overkill. Nothing dared peek out afterward.


    Alan joined his guildmates in the bunker, setting up his light railgun so it aimed upwards.


    Unlike Seeker, the Haxlards were not arrogant enough to ignore the sensors and cameras they passed by. Slowly the information stream died down as Lambda ordered the retreat of remaining personnel to the fourth floor.


    It¡¯s almost time, Lambda sent.


    Are we sure the structure can take the weight? Alan asked.


    Affirmative. The ejection of the bottom floors reduced strain and additional support beams are in place, Doppel sent.


    All squad have been notified and are prepared, Lambda sent.


    A button in Alan¡¯s mind was pressed, and a series of detonations went off. This time, the floor dropped out from underneath the Haxlards. With the collapse of the third floor, enemies rained from the sky.


    Activating his cybernetic vision Alan detected the three Haxlards he had pinpointed earlier. He lined up his railgun.


    One. Headshot, finished off mid-air.


    Two. Headshot, killed as they landed.


    Three. Headshot, disoriented and eliminated.


    They were all slain before they could use any of their abilities or items. Instakills, just the way Alan liked it.


    The ordinary Haxlard soldiers fared no better, unable to aim or get their bearings as they fell from the sky, lasers, rockets, and grenades tearing apart any large clump of soldiers.


    The falling debris set off the minefield. Explosions rocked the battlefield as the Haxlards took even greater losses. Trying to regroup, the Crimson Guards that had been chasing Alan pointed at his position, yelling at survivors to put up a concerted resistance.


    Two Crimson Guards carrying massive metal screens covered by red energy shielding led the charge, shrugging off plasma and laser fire. Remote-detonated mines surrounding the bunker, manually controlled by Alan, put an end to that.


    The Crimson Guards were blown back up into the air, heavy fire continually raining down upon them.


    A Crimson Guard landed next to bunker. Miraculously, they stood back up, their armor and body covered by grievous wounds. They tossed a bright red grenade before a sniper from across the battlefield finished them off.


    Without prompting, a Knight in heavy power armor leapt over the grenade, while another shoved Alan backward, hard. There was a solid crack as Alan crashed into the wall. Bright light and then flame washed over Alan.


    Shield energy depleted, Alan took large amounts of damage, his body on fire. He fell unconscious.


    ***


    Alan woke up in the infirmary he had set up on the floor of the cavern. His wounds had been mostly recovered. Thanks to the Knight that had leapt over the grenade, Alan had lived, only taking severe burn damage.


    Messages appeared:


    [x147 Level up!]


    [+50 ability points for gaining over 100 levels in one battle.]


    Lambda replayed footage from the previous battle. The remaining Haxlard forces were cleared out after Alan lost consciousness. Left without leadership or cover, underleveled and outplayed, they put up much less of a fight.


    The Black Rose guild was left with 416 personnel: 13 Knights, 85 Lieutenants, and 318 general staff. They had taken out over three Haxlards for every person they lost, but they couldn¡¯t do it again.


    The Haxlards hadn¡¯t sent in another wave of soldiers, but it was only a matter of time before they amassed the numbers to do so. And they wouldn¡¯t be tricked by the same tactics twice. Besides, there was no longer a third floor.


    In the meantime, the Haxlard spaceships were now constantly bombarding the Black Rose base from above. It might take a few hours to a day, but by Alan and Doppel¡¯s calculations, the base would collapse, too much structural integrity lost from the repeated self-destruction of floors and the Helios¡¯s initial blast.


    The power armor Phantom had designed hadn¡¯t survived the battle. Without the ability to repair it, Alan was forced to equip advanced Revenant scout armor instead, abandoning his railgun and replacing it with a high-powered laser sniper rifle. The crimson blades, however, were still in working condition.


    Sidestep stood over a nearby bed, hovering over an unconscious Aurora. She was hooked up to a series of machines pumping blood into her body.


    ¡°My main priority is to keep her safe, I¡¯m sorry that I didn¡¯t join the battle. You had things covered though,¡± Sidestep said without looking up. His hand rested on Aurora¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Is she going to be alright?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Medical coma, for at least another day,¡± Sidestep said.


    Alan took a second to think, mulling over the current options.


    ¡°Well,¡± Alan said slowly, ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we figured out what¡¯s inside that vault, don¡¯t you?¡±

 The Empire 6.8

    As a result of the prior battle and Aurora¡¯s destruction of a capital ship, the Black Rose guild was in the clear. Barring an exemplary showing from every other player in the Game, no guild personnel would be deleted. Anyone in the bottom 10% of the population at the end of the crusade could be bailed out with survival points earned by guildmates. Everything from here on out would be a bonus.


    The Black Rose guild¡¯s council was conspicuously absent from the leaderboard. Either they were still in the planning stages of an action or something had gone very, very wrong. Alan hoped for the former, but suspected the latter, given Seeker exited from the Abyss Labyrinth where they should have appeared.


    Sidestep and Alan were flown up to the Black Rose base. They made their way to the tunnel near the Council¡¯s meeting room. Progress seemed to take forever, Sidestep waiting for Alan to make sure he didn¡¯t trigger any of the traps that led up the entrance.


    The halls were barren, most personnel either above in the bunkers on the fourth floor or on the ground floor in the infirmary preparing for a potential retreat into the Abyss Labyrinth. A squad of scouts led by two Knights had been sent into the dungeon to investigate if the way was clear.


    ¡°Sure you want to do this?¡± Sidestep asked.


    ¡°The base will be lost, that¡¯s inevitable. What we manage to salvage is another matter,¡± Alan said. ¡°Either we get what¡¯s inside, or the Haxlards do.¡±


    ¡°Breaking into our own vault, I wonder what¡¯s inside.¡± Sidestep stopped. ¡°What if it¡¯s platinum marks? Money¡¯s not going to help us; we should turn them into ability points for everyone.¡±


    ¡°One problem at a time,¡± Alan said. They finally reached inside the Council¡¯s meeting room. ¡°First thing we need to do is destroy the base¡¯s data core and a few servers. That will disable the defense programs and allow me to hack into the vault¡¯s controls.¡±


    The proper server was identified, a grey metal box behind solid metal paneling on the floor. Alan looked at Sidestep.


    ¡°What?¡± Sidestep asked.


    ¡°Shoot the box, or stab it with your sword,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°This was your idea,¡± Sidestep said, taking a step back.


    ¡°Together. So we¡¯re both accountable,¡± Alan said. He raised a crimson blade.


    Sidestep walked over slowly, raising his blade. It looked new, a line of the same pulsing green energy spiraling the edges.


    Estimated damage: 4,000-5,000. Suspected ability: the weapon may teleport forwards and backward similar to Sidestep, Doppel sent.


    ¡°On 3,¡± Alan said. ¡°1, 2¡ª¡±


    There was a whoosh of air as an overhead ramp was released, a series of clicks as mechanical locks and gears disengaged.


    ¡°Give me one good reason I shouldn¡¯t kill you two,¡± Enigma said, walking down the ramp that led up into the central vault. He was flanked by Phantom and S.


    Alan scanned everyone. He detected nothing abnormal about the people, other than Enigma being a robot, but there were trace amounts of radiation leaking from out of the vault.


    What the fuck, Alan sent.


    I can read Phantom¡¯s facial expressions now. It looks like he is as surprised to see us as we are to see him, Lambda sent.


    Processing the new developments, Alan ran through his memories with Doppel, hypercognition active. He had seen both Phantom and Enigma enter the Abyss Labyrinth, and they couldn¡¯t have made their way all the way into the vault without his knowledge. They needed to have been inside from the beginning.


    Pieces began to fall into place.


    Enigma and Phantom are two separate players, each with android duplicates, Alan thought. This entire time I¡¯ve thought I¡¯ve been training as Phantom¡¯s squire, but the Phantom I¡¯ve been under is an apparition. Who I¡¯ve actually been talking with most of the time is Enigma, controlling the Phantom android.


    We would have noticed if Phantom was a robot, your cybernetic eye¡ª Lambda stopped mid-sentence.


    My cybernetic eye implant was installed by Phantom, and we know it contains at least one backdoor I have no control over, Alan sent. Easy enough to feed us the wrong information whenever I scanned Phantom, Enigma, or even one of the Specialists. Who knows what other false information we might have been fed.


    Phantom is known as an inventor, an engineer, Alan continued. The fa?ade is kept up because it¡¯s true. The weird, drunken personality that played pranks was the real Phantom, PhantomGlitch, and it was only later that I came to Enigma¡¯s attention. That¡¯s still assuming that Enigma is the one in control. Maybe they¡¯re partners.


    That still doesn¡¯t explain S¡¯s presence, Lambda sent.


    More information required, Doppel sent.


    Alan looked up at S, putting away his weapon. ¡°Because you need our help getting off Khersath and back to the Empire.¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯re where we need to be,¡± S said. He looked at Enigma. ¡°Until the contract is complete, we remain here.¡±


    ¡°Enigma, what¡¯s going on, how are you here? The Haxlards are about to destroy this base, we thought to remove the items from the vault beforehand,¡± Sidestep said.


    Alan looked carefully at Sidestep, then S. Could S be Sidestep¡¯s android? No, he was getting paranoid now. That shouldn¡¯t be possible. The androids were controlled by dumb AI¡¯s, that was fairly certain. Lambda couldn¡¯t read their faces because they lacked the sophistication to display realistic emotion. And S and Sidestep had been in two separate places, performing two complex tasks enough times that they couldn¡¯t be the same player.


    Androids aren¡¯t allowed to be enrolled in the Academy as students. They also cannot display psionic abilities, Doppel sent. That was good to know, otherwise, anyone in the Game Alan had interacted with could have been an android.


    As Enigma spoke, Alan watched Phantom. It did look like he was concentrating on something, controlling an android perhaps.


    Enigma said, ¡°We are awaiting the return of the others. The guild has plans in motion you two are yet unaware of. Return to your posts, and do not bother us again.¡±


    ¡°In all likelihood, the council have failed. Seeker came out of the Abyss Labyrinth and attacked us,¡± Alan said. ¡°By the way, my power armor needs to be repaired. Thanks again for the upgrade to the eye implant, Phantom, it¡¯s acting up a bit though so I think we should discuss some things.¡±


    ¡°Upgrade? Yes, if it¡¯s causing issues we should talk. Come up to my workshop with your broken armor,¡± Phantom said.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    S said, ¡°Are we sure that¡¯s the best idea? Given recent developments¡ª¡±


    ¡°Given recent developments, if the council has failed, we will need to keep all options open and under consideration. Our contract contains contingencies that will be discussed,¡± Enigma said. ¡°Alan, retrieve your broken armor and report to Phantom¡¯s workshop. Sidestep, stay here and guard this room. Any further insubordination will not be taken lightly.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Sidestep said.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Alan said.


    Enigma, Phantom, and S walked back up the ramp leading into the central vault. It closed behind them, defenses rearmed.


    Doppel, that radiation leaking out of the room, can you identify it? Alan asked.


    It appears to be from radioactive materials commonly found in nuclear devices, Doppel sent.


    Nukes. The Black Rose guild is keeping nukes in its vault, Alan thought.


    It is highly probable, in addition to other unidentified objects, Doppel sent.


    ¡°Any idea what just happened?¡± Sidestep asked.


    ¡°No, but I¡¯m about to find out,¡± Alan said.


    ***


    Alan entered Phantom¡¯s workshop with a dozen questions running through his head. The field in the room that disabled his AI and implants was still up and running, but he had considered and gone over various scenarios in his head before entering.


    The need to disorient Alan, to put him off his game when speaking with Phantom made more and more sense. Lambda also suspected it was to prevent Alan from hacking into something he shouldn¡¯t, like the controls for his bionic eye implant.


    Dumping his broken power armor in a pile, Alan looked over at Phantom, who was busy repairing the hole in the floor. The ceiling had been covered by a new, seamless patch.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you brought this hole to my attention, Alan, it needed to be repaired,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°But it¡¯s not what I came here to discuss,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± Phantom said. He put down a welding torch and wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. ¡°Do you know what the organization of the Black Rose guild is modeled after?¡±


    Alan tried to remember if he¡¯d noticed perspiration on Phantom before. He didn¡¯t think so, but everyone was always wearing power armor so it was hard to tell, and a bit of water would be easy enough to mimic.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°The Empire. The Imperial Realms rank their citizens much like the Black Rose guild, only Knights would be considered rank D. Above them, Knight-Commanders, Generals, and Guild Leaders, whom the Empire would probably call Marshals.


    ¡°Above all them would be Imperial Governors. Rank S citizens that rule over planets. They tend to be native to the world they rule over,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The military equivalent would be an Admiral. Imperial positions are based on merit, and there are many roles ranging from the military to civil service to research.¡±


    ¡°And espionage too, perhaps,¡± Alan said. ¡°From what news I¡¯ve seen on the Globalnet, the Empire isn¡¯t faring very well against the Blacksmith. It might lose 10% of its population, maybe more. Also, everyone is subservient to the Emperor, that¡¯s the point of an Empire.¡±


    Phantom turned to look down at the floor. ¡°Emperors don¡¯t live forever. Holes can be found where you least expect them.¡±


    ¡°What are you offering, what are you saying?¡± Alan asked. ¡°Is this not your thing, more Enigma¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Put two and two together, did you? It took you long enough,¡± Phantom said. He walked over to a panel and opened it, pulling out a bottle of beer. The label read Haxlardian Brew. Phantom popped the cap. ¡°Gods, is it tiring to play the serious intelligence officer. With S breathing down my back I¡¯ve barely had time to relax. Young people always expect their superiors to be so formal, so orderly. Sit back, relax and enjoy life.¡±


    ¡°I really can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re fucking with me right now,¡± Alan said.


    Phantom grinned and took a sip of beer. ¡°And that¡¯s the beauty of it. There will always be that uncertainty. Eccentricities never explained or understood. Want a beer?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not here to drink,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯m here for answers.¡±


    ¡°That drive, that directness. If there¡¯s one thing I admire about you, Alan, it¡¯s that desire for power,¡± Phantom said. ¡°But it worries me too. There¡¯s this stubbornness, this rebellious streak. If you betrayed your homeworld for power, what¡¯s to stop you from doing it again.¡±


    Alan tapped his eye. ¡°You can watch my every move, and kill me whenever you want. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±


    ¡°No. You and I both know that as soon as you manage to hack your way in or replace the implant any deal or agreement will be thrown out the window,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°We¡¯re at an impasse then,¡± Alan said.


    Phantom started to take a look at Alan¡¯s damaged power armor. ¡°I guess we are. Unless¡­¡±


    Alan narrowed his eyes. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Unless you gave me information or a piece of evidence that, when revealed, would get you banned,¡± Phantom said. ¡°There are rumors that the AI freed from the Academy was the result of hacking the Game itself. Real deletion. A demonstration, a recording, would go a long ways towards trust.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s insane. If I had such an ability and demonstrated it I¡¯d be in the Empire¡¯s service forever. I¡¯d have to do whatever you told me,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Do you think an empire is built on sunshine and rainbows?¡± Phantom asked. ¡°Every servant has either proven themselves to be unswervingly loyal or has as large a sword hanging over their heads. Power comes with a cost. Time to pay up or get out.¡±


    Phantom drained the rest of his beer and then smashed the bottle against the wall. Glimmers of glass splintered and fell apart like broken dreams.


    Alan took a step back. ¡°I, um, I need a second to think.¡±


    Phantom took another beer out of the panel in the wall.


    ¡°Look, I can¡¯t make this decision without my AI, without my implants,¡± Alan said. ¡°Turn off whatever is blocking them, and then I¡¯ll give you my answer.¡±


    ¡°Take your thoughts outside into the corridor. Don¡¯t move too far outside my workshop or take any unexpected actions, or the next thing you know the extinction event will be over,¡± Phantom said.


    Alan nodded, and then exited the room. Lambda and Doppel reappeared.


    Boy, Phantom needs some serious help, Lambda sent. See, this is what I mean about developing human relationships. If he trusted you more, we wouldn¡¯t be in this bind.


    Don¡¯t act like you saw any of this coming, Alan sent. We need serious answers.


    There are two options, Doppel sent. Serve the Empire, or don¡¯t.


    Thank you, Doppel, for that very serious answer, Lambda sent.


    You are welcome, Doppel sent.


    That was the choice here though, wasn¡¯t it? Either Alan played along or didn¡¯t. If he refused to be blackmailed, Alan had no illusions about Phantom letting him go scot-free. He knew too much.


    I don¡¯t know, your memory might be cleared to the point of your last save, perhaps even to before the Haxlard Crusade, Lambda sent. They¡¯d probably kick you out of the guild, remove the implant, but it wouldn¡¯t be that much worse. Remember, it¡¯s illegal for them to put the kill switch in your head, and use it.


    The last thing I want is to lose my memories. They seem to be pretty good at hiding things from the Administrators, Alan sent. If I could get a message out¡­


    An idea popped into Alan¡¯s head. The silver capsule in the workshop. If he could enter it, and talk to the Administrator in his home, displaying the multiple ways that Phantom had broken the rules, maybe he could get Phantom banned. The only problem was his evidence was circumstantial: an implant that might have a kill switch and an association with Revenants he too was guilty of.


    No, any of those offenses might have been performed by Enigma or the Empire, nothing he had tied down Phantom directly. Phantom¡¯s cards were  too well hidden, and Alan was too scared to find out if he was bluffing


    Phantom has just as much dirt on us as we have on him, Lambda sent. He already suspects you broke me out of the Academy and introduced us to the Revenants, if he points the Administrators at us we¡¯re in just as bad a position too.


    So we try for mutually assured destruction and hope he lets us go? Alan asked.


    Yes. Or we do what he wants, Lambda sent. Join the Empire, swear loyalty to Phantom. We can¡¯t beat the game on our own, and if the Empire as anywhere as strong as it appears to be this might be our best shot. And like Phantom said, people don¡¯t live forever.


    But one mistake and I¡¯m done. If whatever is recorded is leaked or falls into the wrong hands, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m banned from the Game, Alan sent.


    Sure, but that¡¯s true of a lot of stupid stunts you¡¯ve pulled, Lambda sent. Hacking into the data vault was as risky if not more so. And if you are banned? Well, let¡¯s just say there are contingencies in play.


    Power. Power to win the Game. Power to prove Eve wrong. That¡¯s all that Alan wanted, all that he needed. And here was a path in front of him, joining one of the greatest factions in the Game. But it didn¡¯t feel like his power. It was another¡¯s. This Emperor, whoever they were.


    Everything came with a cost. Everyone sacrificed something to move forward. Time, energy, money, health. Was Alan prepared to sacrifice his freedom?


    He¡¯d finally know where on the board he lay. He¡¯d pick a side, pick a faction: his allies and enemies would become clearer. He¡¯d be trusted, put in the time to develop lasting relationships. He¡¯d have a home.


    Alan would become more than a pawn, but at the same time be nothing but a pawn. Any chess piece but the king was just another type of pawn, weren¡¯t they? They might have a few more moves, but at the end of the day if you wanted to win the king was all that mattered.


    Alan didn¡¯t want to be a pawn. He wanted to be a king.


    You¡¯ll always get one chance, Lambda sent. One chance to act before you¡¯re banned, to disobey the Empire before they can act. You can leverage that, plan around that. Who knows what the future has in store. Maybe the Emperor is a really cool dude.


    Maybe, or maybe they¡¯re the devil incarnate, Alan sent. Quiet. I need to think.

 The Empire 6.9

    Alan made a decision. It probably wasn¡¯t the correct one. An unoptimal choice, as Eve would have put it. It still felt right to Alan. He had picked a side, though probably for all the wrong reasons.


    ¡°I am willing to serve the Emperor, with a few conditions,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Go on. Though you wouldn¡¯t be answering to the Emperor, more the Empire. Various cells working independently, it¡¯s a complex beast, yadda yadda yadda,¡± Phantom said while waving a bottle in the air.


    ¡°I want access to all information the Empire has, including scans of high-rank AIs, a clear path to upgrading my Rogue class, and improved implants without the kill switch,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°That, and more, I can promise you. But only with time, only if you serve the Empire well,¡± Phantom said. ¡°You can¡¯t jump out of nowhere and start demanding the world. It doesn¡¯t work like that. I can give you the information I have, the scan of Eve I performed when you first arrived. But that¡¯s all I have on hand other than platinum marks.¡±


    ¡°Everything else will need to wait until the extinction event is over. I can promise you rank D citizenship in the Empire. Enigma is probably one of the best class mentors you can find, but given how things are going he¡¯s probably dead. The Empire has a wide array of implant plans and options.¡±


    ¡°Do you know any that involve Predecessor physiology?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes, but there are no free lunches,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Like guild points, there are citizenship points. Rules that you will need to learn, customs to follow. It¡¯s best for you to take the citizenship test after the extinction event is done or by some miracle we make it to the Empire.¡±


    ¡°What about the guild? Is everyone part of the Empire?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°What? God¡¯s no. But before I tell you more, before I fill in any details, there¡¯s that other matter,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°The blackmail.¡±


    ¡°Yes. If you would enter the silver capsule, you will be able to connect to an adjacent, private server. I¡¯ll let you turn your implant on.¡±


    In the back of Alan¡¯s mind, he could still detect the Data Interaction ability, even without his implants. Only, it was much weaker. To attempt to do anything would likely kill him. But Phantom was under the impression Data Interaction only worked in Cyberspace and required his Machine Lord implant. Alan did nothing to disabuse him of this notion.


    ¡°The capsule isn¡¯t connected to the Administrator?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s Revenent tech,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you should also probably set your respawn point if able. Delete a decoration, anything unimportant. It will be recorded.¡±


    Alan entered the capsule and closed his eyes. There was a brief moment where he considered changing his mind, trying to fight his way out, but that would be within Phantom¡¯s expectations. Who knew what tricks the capsule contained.


    Phantom¡¯s Home was like his workshop. Cluttered, and filled with junk. A few programs that looked like Specialists patrolled the space. Drawings and sketches were stacked in piles on a desk. Phantom was researching bombs.


    Alan walked over to the desk.


    And then Alan¡¯s implants were reactivated, his cybernetic energy pools refilled. Alan stared at the chair by the desk. He connected to the source code, the layer beneath the Game, beneath Cyberspace.


    The erase command took form in his mind, easier now that he had more energy, more experience. The chair¡¯s data was also insignificant, unimportant to the Game. That seemed to matter, when determining the energy costs of Data Manipulation. How much it would effect the Game.


    And 500 Computational Energy later, the chair was deleted. Gone. Wiped from existence. But Alan did notice an almost chair, a phantom chair that hovered in the same space. He ignored the backup, and disconnected.


    ¡°That was impressive,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I know an instance or two where that ability would have come in handy.¡±


    ¡°There were details, information I should have,¡± Alan said. He noticed that his implants were still available and active in the workshop.


    ¡°Yes, in a moment. Just confirming that my recording of your demonstration is in a safe and secure location. Away from here, sent to the Administrators if something happens,¡± Phantom said. He opened a terminal, nodding to himself. ¡°Answers, you wanted answers didn¡¯t you? Have at it.¡±


    Information was uploaded to Alan¡¯s Machine Lord implant, including the scans of Eve.


    Well, I guess it¡¯s better than nothing, Lambda sent. This is from a B rank scanner when Eve was still a lower rank. It will take me a few hours, but I should be able to boost Doppel¡¯s ability about 2.5 times, letting you use hypercognition to experience reality 10 times as slow.


    Alan acknowledged Lambda¡¯s response, combing over all the data Phantom had handed over. He spent hours analyzing it, and then recalculating what it meant for his potential plans. Phantom and Enigma had started as two D rank servants in the Eyes of the Empire, which appeared to be similar to the CIA. They had been given one simple directive: expand the Empire, maintain its interests, and gather information. They had chosen to start up the Black Rose guild with the goal of turning Elissandra and the rest of the council.


    Many guild members had specific ties to Enigma and the guild information apparatus, not realizing that they served the Empire. There were a few details on contacts, higher ranked servants in nearby areas and Empire forces available. Missions performed and information passed on had allowed Phantom to reach a C rank within the Empire.


    The duo had the citizenship points to also increase Enigma¡¯s rank, but had chosen not to, instead preparing for an upcoming event. The Haxlard Crusade. The details of what had been planned was missing. There was also no information on what the Empire had on Phantom, or why he and Enigma had such a deep connection.


    Continuing to look over recent developments, Alan noted an interesting fact. One of the initial contacts between the Empire and the United World Government had been between Icewolf and Enigma.


    Quickly scanning the packet of information for anything on Earth, Alan made a startling discovery. Seeker¡¯s words rang in his mind. Your homeworld is already the Empire¡¯s in all but name.


    There were only bits and pieces, part of a fragment of a whole, but with Doppel¡¯s help Alan could extrapolate the whole.


    The leadership of the United World Government was preparing to sell out. Cushy positions as high ranked servants on Earth would be promised, portions of land and people divided up to be sold to the highest bidder. Newbie protection would do nothing if the players that had all the control points voluntarily sold everything off.


    Many in the UWG were stating that this was in the people¡¯s best interests. There would be a peaceful transition of power, without a long and bloody war against an Empire that they¡¯d inevitably lose. These people didn¡¯t understand the nature of the Game.


    Players respawned. Enemies respawned. Resources respawned. The cycle of life and death was no longer finite. Peace, if anything, would stunt Earth¡¯s growth. It seemed so clear to Alan¡¯s eye. He didn¡¯t need a firsthand account or to talk to common people to know what was correct, only facts on a page.


    Newbie protection wasn¡¯t in place so new players in the Game could turtle up and build high walls; it was designed to let new players fight anything and everything that stood in their way, to grow as fast as possible without repercussion.


    The United World Government also didn¡¯t realize that the Empire was playing all sides to each argument, preparing to replace key figures with compliant servants or android replicates. The Empire had even backed the Legion of Man, another servant that lost out to Enigma and Phantom.


    This doesn¡¯t change anything. We move forward, Alan sent.


    Agreed, Lambda replied.


    ¡°Has that sated your appetite for information?¡± Phantom asked. ¡°I¡¯ve finished repairing your armor.¡±


    ¡°Yes, though I¡¯d like to know more about current dealings,¡± Alan said. He took the phantom power armor and put it on. ¡°What is the guild¡¯s plan for the extinction event?¡±


    ¡°Follow me,¡± Phantom said. He walked over to the Advanced Foundry, entered a code, and then stared into an optical scanner that appeared on the side of the device. A trapdoor opened with a ladder leading down into the central vault.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°By the by, don¡¯t tell S or any other Empire Servants about me and Enigma,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust many servants at all. People can get strange ideas about what¡¯s best for the common good.¡±


    Alan followed Phantom down into the vault. A series of scans and trained plasma turrets followed them as they descended down into the vault, which turned out to be the size of a small classroom. Alan wasn¡¯t quite rubbing elbows with Enigma and S, who were waiting inside, but it was close.


    The ladder retracted and hole in the ceiling closed.


    At first glance, the vault contained what one would expect: stores of great value. Platinum marks, precious materials, and energy crystals were in metal containers that lined two walls.


    On another wall were safety deposit boxes, silver rectangular cuboids labeled with the names of the  council. One box was missing its name. Void had left the guild, and had yet to be replaced.


    Two nuclear devices lay on the final wall, mounted like guns over a fireplace mantel. There was room for a third, but it was missing. These device weren¡¯t sleek missiles. They were capsule shaped solid grey hunks of metal.


    Enigma said, ¡°I see you¡¯ve noticed our store of nuclear materials. Despite nuclear devices ineffectiveness against shields, we¡¯ve found that it can be quite easy to find ourselves inside of shielded areas when the need arose.¡±


    S took a look at Alan, then Phantom. ¡°Is he?¡±


    ¡°Alan will become an obedient servant of the Empire,¡± Phantom said.


    S smiled. ¡°Welcome to the team then. Welcome to the fire. Glory to the Empire, but boy, are we screwed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I was expecting to hear,¡± Alan said. He looked at Phantom. ¡°I thought there was a plan.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there was a plan alright,¡± S said. ¡°But that plan depended on someone doing their job and not getting caught as a servant of the empire.¡±


    ¡°The current hypothesis,¡± Enigma said, ¡°is that Void alerted Elissandra to his suspicions. Elissandra confronted my double, and they were forced to detonate the nuclear bomb they carried.¡±


    It was all Phantom that said that, Lambda sent. The Enigma that went below controls an android Phantom, while the Phantom here controls an android Enigma. It seems so obvious now.


    Why didn¡¯t you detect this when we were in the council room and they were together? Alan asked.


    It must have been the two players present then. They would let Void control the Enigma android on occasion, but must have also never allowed Void to meet with the player Enigma, Lambda sent.


    ¡°With luck, Elissandra won¡¯t remember what led to her death,¡± Phantom said. ¡°They were in the Abyss Labyrinth, anything could have wiped the raid.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still too risky. Pull all assets out of the Black Rose guild, re-enter the Empire¡¯s main forces at the soonest possible moment,¡± S said.


    Alan scanned the files he had been sent. S technically had the same rank in the Empire as Phantom, but as a direct servant of the Empeooror had greater authority. S was the boss here.


    ¡°We have spent many years, credits, and lives to develop the contacts we now have and the Black Rose guild,¡± Enigma said. ¡°We¡¯re abandoning it because we may have been compromised? Elissandra will see reason.¡±


    ¡°Elissandra was raised in the Alliance, Aurora¡¯s father is a senator,¡± S said. ¡°We will never be certain of Elissandra¡¯s loyalty, even if she did pledge herself to the Empire. You two were too scared to ever bring up your true allegiance with her, and for good reason. You were to watch, to wait. Not to help her grow her powerbase.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the answer right in front of us?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± S said. ¡°We prepare the decisive strike now. Attempt to leave with everything in the vault after the Haxlardian Crusade ends. Without the Empire¡¯s support, an insurrection in the guild will fail. With the Empire¡¯s support, the cloak of secrecy is ripped off, and the entire purpose of the Black Rose guild is defeated.¡±


    ¡°But can¡¯t we do that while still maintaining the possibility of retaining the Black Rose guild?¡± Alan said.


    ¡°How?¡± Enigma asked.


    ¡°Aurora. Aurora is still alive, and if she can be turned or held hostage, Elissandra would do anything for her, including join the Empire,¡± Alan said. ¡°Plus Aurora has a ton of survival points, they could be used to help the Empire.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± S said. ¡°And I wanted to defeat the Weaver. What I¡¯ve learned from this entire debacle is to set realistic goals, Alan. We are stuck on this planet with no backup and no friends. We¡¯re about to be destroyed by the Haxlards, as you¡¯ve pointed out. No way off Khersath. To bring the vaults contents into the Abyss Labyrinth would be like handing over gold to a drgon.¡±


    ¡°The Empire has wasted too many resources on this endeavor, this mad gamble. The fight with the Blacksmith has gone so poorly that all our army can do is huddle up in the palaces and wait for the end. Citizens may be deleted. Not serfs, but citizens that have earned a rank. Can you imagine? The Empire might never recover from that blow.¡±


    Maybe we chose to join the wrong faction at the wrong time, Lambda said.


    No, this is good. Great, even, Alan replied.


    ¡°I may have a way off Khersath,¡± Alan said. ¡°An Ultihaxlard by the name of Pharaoh thinks I will turn, join the Three. I will hijack their ship, we¡¯ll load it up with the contents of the vault, along with Aurora.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sure, go ahead and try to take over a light battleship by yourself, Alan,¡± S said. He turned to Phantom. ¡°Are you sure this guy is servant material? He seems crazy to me. Nothing he did at the Academy was very noteworthy.¡±


    ¡°You might be surprised,¡± Alan said. ¡°You don¡¯t have much to lose by letting me try. Stay holed up in here. I might have a better chance with Sidestep¡¯s help, or Phantom¡¯s, or even yours. I think I could have taken a capital ship with a party of five, this time I¡¯ll get to test if I was right or not.¡±


    ¡°We need to stay here, in the unlikely event the council returns,¡± Enigma said.


    ¡°What was the plan, anyways?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The plan was to create an antimatter bomb, capable of dealing serious damage to the Weaver,¡± Phantom said. ¡°The only problem is that the Void Crystals we acquired were unpowered. The Empire sponsored the Black Rose guild to re-enter the Abyss Labyrinth, delve deeper to discover a way to recharge them.¡±


    ¡°Energy crystals. Energy crystals hold antimatter,¡± Alan said. ¡°But, but matter and antimatter annihilate each other in a massive release of energy. E = MC<sup>2</sup>. It¡¯s 100% efficient, the mass of the matter and antimatter combined multipled by the speed of light squared. Anyone holding an energy crystal with a single milligram of antimatter would be carrying around a bomb with the force of over 40 tons of TNT.¡±


    It did make sense though. In the Abyss Labyrinth, the powered void crystal had been releasing massive amounts of gamma radiation, one of the expected products of particles and antiparticles colliding.


    ¡°It would require crystals to be perfect, naturally forming vaccuums inside, with internal magnetic fields or optical lasers holding the antimatter in place at all times. The antimatter itself would have to manifest inside magically, like it was created by a program out of thin air. Almost, almost like all the other items generated,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Like many things in the Game, energy crystals are a black box that Administrators don¡¯t want you to explore. They are simply a convenient energy source. But remember, everything in the Game should be physicallly possible, even if it¡¯s very, very improbable.¡±


    ¡°When energy crystals are destroyed there should be a massive release of energy. They should be antimatter bombs all on their own,¡± Alan said. ¡°But when they¡¯re destroyed, they release much less energy than the output you can get from them over a long period of time.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the antimatter is stored in a separate dimension, somehow, maybe there¡¯s a different explanation,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Black box, like I said. We don¡¯t know the details of what¡¯s going on inside. It¡¯s worth a warning and massive penalty points if Administrators catch you messing around too much.¡±


    ¡°Which is why this was mad gamble in the first place, one I never should have approved,¡± S said.


    ¡°But still, my design would have worked,¡± Phantom said. ¡°If only we¡¯d been able to gather powered void crystals¡­¡±


    And then Alan knew. Knew why his potential combat ranking had been so high. Things kept on getting better, choices expanding. And it would only take one choice, one moment of sacrifice.


    ¡°Can I go now?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Yes, take Sidestep,¡± S said. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him, he¡¯s up to something.¡±


    ¡°How about platinum marks and a nuke? Both would increase my chances,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Take 15 platinum marks, split them with Sidestep. That should alleviate some suspicion,¡± S said. ¡°No nuclear device.¡±


    ¡°Okay then, bye,¡± Alan said. He grabbed the platinum marks then went back up through Phantom¡¯s workshop, going the long way around. It would be a bit too suspicious if he came out of the vault too, but Sidestep wasn¡¯t allowed in.


    It would also give him more time to think. To plan.


    ***


    Sidestep was lounging in the council¡¯s meeting room, feet up on the table again. Alan entered the room and threw five platinum marks at him.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s this for?¡± Sidestep asked.


    ¡°A suicide mission,¡± Alan said. ¡°How do you feel about trying to hijack a Haxlard spaceship?¡±


    ¡°Beats sitting around here,¡± Sidestep said. He motioned upwards. ¡°How do they feel about it?¡±


    ¡°Like it¡¯s a long shot. But let¡¯s prove them wrong,¡± Alan said.


    Sidestep said, ¡°Weird, isn¡¯t it, how they¡¯ve just been there, the entire time. Waiting. I thought Phantom and Enigma were with the raid that entered the Abyss Labyrinth. How¡¯d they end up back here?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t say anything,¡± Alan said.


    He and Sidestep made their way to the surface, taking a side passageway that led to an exit away from where the base was being bombarded. They avoided any Haxlards they discovered along the way. With Alan¡¯s invisible scouting and Sidestep¡¯s ability to blink forward, avoiding most enemies was simple.


    Once they reached the surface Alan went ahead alone. He spotted a familiar face, or at least faceplate. Pharaoh, the Ultihaxlard that had brought him to Khersath and started the tutorial. Once-ambassador to Earth, he had gained another white stripe on his green mask, and wore dark emerald power armor.


    The dropship he had shot his railgun at earlier was being repaired nearby. It looked like he had managed to down it, but not destroy it. Four to five squads of Haxlards walked patrolled nearby.


    Alan went back down, and told Sidestep, ¡°We need to kill an Ultihaxlard first, the rest will be easy. He¡¯ll be easy to spot. Green mask, two white stripes. There¡¯s an open dropship I see that I can hack into once we eliminate the threats present.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to take a stealth approach?¡± Sidestep asked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m going to need to disable the shield surrrounding this entrance, that will give us away,¡± Alan said. ¡°At that moment I¡¯ll have my railgun trained on Pharaoh, but you need to attack him with everything you have. Do not take this enemy lightly, do yo uunderstand?¡±


    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll go on your signal,¡± Sidestep said.


    Alan nodded, then made his way back to the surface. He got into a good position, setting up his railgun. He hacked into the nearby shield generator then gave Sidestep the go ahead.


    Hypercognition active, Doppel sent.


    Sidestep burst out of the hole in the ground, stepping forward with a green flash of light. Alan deactivated the surrounding energy shield.


    With three successive blinks forward Sidestep was approaching Pharaoh. He began to glow with a bright green as he charged forwards, energy condensing in his hands. Sidestep teleported behind Pharaoh, ready to unleash his blow.


    Alan fired. The soulsteel needle pierced through Sidestep¡¯s brain, killing him instantly.


    A message appeared:


    [x6 Level up!]


    [Warning! You have violated the Black Rose guild contract. You will be required to pay a fine and face an inquiry.]


    Sorry, Alan thought, but I can¡¯t have an unknown variable messing things up for me.

 The Empire 6.10

    The moment the dropship left Khersath¡¯s atmosphere, the presence was there. It was as undeniable as bright sunlight drilling into Alan¡¯s retinas. And his eyes were now more sensitive than most.


    A living god. One of the Three. A behemoth that single-handedly swallowed up fleets and came out stronger when the battle was done. The Weaver.


    It turned out they had met before. The Weaver had been part of the AI interaction examination. An entire galaxy, wrapped up inside a single construct. It had pierced through and examined Alan¡¯s brain in an instant, reorganizing it and granting him computational energy, in addition to the data interaction ability.


    All of Alan¡¯s plans began to unravel. If this was the entity he needed to bypass, to fool, he would never have a chance. This signal was so strong, so powerful that it drowned everything else out. There was only one option.


    Alan connected to the Weaver. The Weaver accepted the connection. Alan could feel that the connection was but one of millions. Billions.


    I pledge myself to you, a loyal follower until I die, Alan sent. He tried to activate mental partitioning, but it was no use.


    Starship sized planets tore apart his brain, scanned it, and then put it all back together. It took a moment for Alan to realize that it had occurred in Cyberspace, not the Game. Less than a millisecond had passed. He was still sitting in the Haxlard shuttle.


    I¡¯ll pass, the Weaver sent.


    Wait, you aren¡¯t going to kill me, delete me from existence? Alan asked.


    To what end? Why do you think I granted you abilities in the first place, if not to use them? Your alert and subsequent actions have been increasingly helpful. I am only repaying my debt once more.


    Alan breathed a sigh of relief. Can you convince Pharaoh to hand over his ship without a fight then? I think he¡¯ll listen to you.


    People think they can wield chaos. Luck, chance, random happenstance. Each event is independent. And that makes it wonderful. That toss of the dice, the moment of anticipation before the last card is turned. I live for those points in time. I applaud your gamble, but I will neither aid you nor harm you. That is my final gift.


    How about a quest, then? Alan asked.


    A quest? Now? A rumble of laughter sounded in Alan¡¯s head, echoing on and on for an eternity. I forget the boldness of true mortals. Perhaps I turned your service away too soon. Perhaps in another life. A quest then, worthy of a god. Good luck, Traveler.


    The Weaver ended the connection. It was still there, its signal broadcasting everywhere, but it was quieter in Alan¡¯s mind. Like someone had turned the volume knob down halfway.


    Two messages appeared, including a new quest:


    [An End to an Empire:


    Assassinate the Emperor. Strike a blow that will bring the Empire to its knees.


    Option: Contact the Emperor, turn and destroy the Weaver instead. End the Haxlard Empire.


    Penalty: ???


    Reward: A path to greater power. Additional information on the Weaver¡¯s class: God Machine.


    Time Limit: Until the end of the Haxlard Crusade.


    Threat Level: Beta]


    [To unlock the quest to progress to the Machine Emperor class, the following requirements must be met:


    <ol>


    <li>Become a major player.</li>


    <li>Install an A rank Machine Lord implant.</li>


    <li>Reach level 6000.</li>


    <li>Unlock the following abilities: Machine Overlord, Machine Empath, Machine Commander, and Machine Champion.</li>


    <li>Earn trusted reputation with either the Administrators or the Revenants.]</li>


    </ol>


    Alan took a few moments to reassess his options. Think over the Weaver¡¯s words. He walked over and knocked on the door to the dropship cockpit.


    ¡°Pharaoh? A small change in plans, we need to stop at the main Administrative Center on Khersath first,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°What? We agreed¡ª¡±


    ¡°I just interfaced with the Weaver and received a quest,¡± Alan said. ¡°Would you ever doubt the Three?¡±


    There was a pause. ¡°No, blessed be the Three. Hang on, it may take us a moment to calculate a safe route. There are still many active combat zones, and while the Administrators are not directly opposed to us, we are not allies either.¡±


    ***


    They made it to the old Haxlard embassy safely. Another coin flip in Alan¡¯s favor. The building was now nothing more than a ruin. The Administrators were still keeping the airspace directly above the Administrative Center clear, shooting anything down that dared to enter it.


    Alan took it in his stride, disembarking from the dropship and running to the Administrative Center, advanced stealth active. Khersath was no longer a safe zone.


    The plaza that had once teemed with life was empty. Administrative guards still patrolled, still lined the edges of the massive pyramid at the center of the market plaza, but it was no longer filled with life, with activity. Instead everyone seemed on edge, weapons gripped tight, constantly scanning the surroundings.


    Technically, players could hide out in the Administrative Center. It only cost 100 platinum marks a day or you needed to pledge yourself to the Administrators. It was funny, how everything seemed to work out so much easier in the Game once you pledged yourself to a cause. Almost as if that was one of the points to it all.


    Still invisible, Alan connected to an Administrator.


    Tell Chief Administrator 170 I have information worth the return of my items. I want to meet somewhere I can still maintain my Machine Lord implant. This is the player Alan.


    Please reveal yourself, the Administrator sent.


    Once the meeting is confirmed, Alan sent.


    Chief Administrator 170 has agreed. You will be given 30 seconds once the meeting begins.


    Alan deactivated his stealth. Surprised guards turned and trained their guns. One fired. The spectral abilities of Alan¡¯s power armor absorbed the laser blast.


    The guard was hauled off by a superior, apologizing to Alan.


    Alan followed the Administrator into a familiar elevator. He rode it up and was let off in an empty room with a single capsule in the center of the room.


    Converting the 10 platinum marks into 1000 ability points, Alan upgraded the ability Counterfeit from basic to advanced for 1100 points and then put the few remaining ability points into stats.


    [Counterfeit (Advanced):


    You are able to manipulate large messages, quest text, and details that you share with other players, such as your username, level, race, and reputations. You are also able to hide multiple small items or one medium size items from detection.


    Note: Counterfeit (Advanced) will not stand up to the equivalent level of detection abilities and devices.]


    He reviewed his status.


    Alan was now level 1561. His intelligence, agility, and perception were now above 500. Strength, willpower, and endurance were around 300. Charisma and Luck were about 200. It seemed he¡¯d earned a number of status points passively, but had been ignoring the single digit updates.


    The majority of Alan¡¯s abilities stagnated; he hadn¡¯t had time to train while in a state of constant vigilance. He couldn¡¯t afford to waste computational energy either when a fight could break out at any moment. The abilities that Alan used the most involved his railgun and power armor, but those abilities had been purchased. As a result, they didn¡¯t grow.


    Chief Administrator 170 entered the room on a hover board, mechanical appendages gripping the sides. ¡°I told you to lie low. Explain to me why a monkey is throwing shit where it doesn¡¯t belong.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been very good at taking orders,¡± Alan said. ¡°I have evidence that at least one of the Three are hacking the Game itself, granting players the ability to manipulate data.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°An investigation will need to be launched. Those caught will be¡ª¡°


    ¡°I know, and I don¡¯t care,¡± Alan said. ¡°I will give you evidence, direct from a player¡¯s memory, on the condition that it is only used when the Haxlard Crusade is complete. Didn¡¯t you say your experiment would be considered a success if I completed a beta rank quest or higher? Well, I just got one that I think I can handle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a big if. There is no reasonable way within the Game¡¯s rules you could succeed in a beta ranked quest so soon. It will hardly be in my best interest if it¡¯s discovered that the reason you have succeeded is hacking the Game itself,¡± Chief Administrator 170 said. ¡°No, the best course of action is to¡ª¡°


    ¡°I hope you ensure that the information is not leaked,¡± Alan said, ¡°because I am moving forward with or without your consent.¡±


    The Chief Administrator stopped. He ran a hand behind his head. Poked and prodded a few scars on the flesh-half of his face. ¡°Do you know why I wear these scars, these augments? I thought I was a hero, a champion of my people. There are no heroes, no villains in the Game. Only sentient beings fighting for survival.¡±


    ¡°I am special, my species is better than yours. My faction, my world, everything must be mine. These are traps players fall into again and again. I wonder what a peaceful balance would look like, instead of one brought about by the destruction of everything until only one group is left standing. And even if your people manage to evolve, to thrive in the millennia to come, a balance must be made. The scale tips both ways.¡±


    ¡°I know I¡¯m no hero, but that doesn¡¯t mean I never dreamed of becoming one,¡± Alan said quietly. ¡°But if the choice is to fight monsters and in doing so become one, or to give up, I¡¯ll choose to become a monster.¡±


    Chief Administrator 170 stared into Alan¡¯s eyes. ¡°I can see when my advice is no longer wanted. Congratulations, Alan. You have become a true player of the Game.¡±


    A message appeared:


    [Reputation with the Administrators has been reset to Neutral.]


    The Chief Administrator continued, ¡°I cannot return your items for information I cannot open at this time and an accusation I may not be able to act on.¡±


    ¡°What about a different trade? I have an organic Predecessor sample.¡±


    ¡°No, I am not authorized to¡ª¡°


    ¡°What about the return of the stolen AI then, no questions asked,¡± Alan said.


    Too risky, Lambda sent.


    Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you¡¯ll still land among the stars. I always loved that saying, Alan replied.


    It is highly inaccurate, Doppel sent.


    That¡¯s the whole point. It¡¯s a long shot, but I¡¯m taking it. The shot could end up lost in space, in fact it probably won¡¯t even reach escape velocity. But given the information I have, given the choices available, I¡¯m still taking it, Alan sent.


    The Chief Administrator paused, at a loss for words for the first time in a very long while. ¡°That, that I can do. But you will forfeit all other rewards if you want no questions asked, no investigation into how you came to posses the AI. What is your play here, Alan?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m putting everything on the line this time, all-or-nothing.¡± Alan smiled. ¡°Really makes my heart race, thinking about it.¡±


    ¡°Do we have an agreement then?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°We do. Upload the AI onto the Administrator network.¡±


    Goodbye Lambda, Alan sent, I promise to follow through.


    See you on the other side, Lambda replied.


    A message appeared:  [Give up control of the AI Lambda? All data stored within the AI will be transferred over. Your capsule will regain 10% of its storage capacity.]


    Alan selected yes. Like Eve, Lambda disappeared from his Machine Lord implant. It was a much more peaceful transition. The banks of data drained quickly, and he lost the hypertranslation ability.


    Chief Administrator 170 opened a screen, and then frowned. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of him?¡±


    ¡°The rest of who?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Lambda. Almost all their data is missing. Translation requires a wide depth of knowledge,¡± the Chief Administrator said.


    Alan placed a data cube on the capsule in front of him. ¡°That wasn¡¯t the deal. But if you can remove a warning, maybe prevent a player from getting banned¡­I might be able to fill a few more of these up with the data you want.¡±


    ¡°Discipline is not within my purview. I can make no promises.¡±


    Alan sighed. ¡°Put in a good word for me if a case does ever come up. Keep the data cube, but promise not to access it until the Haxlard Crusade is over.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± the Chief Administrator said. He took the cube and left the room, leaving behind three items: a soulsteel knife, a void crystal, and a bottle of Predecessor blood.


    Alan took the items, activating his newly upgraded Counterfeit (Advanced) ability to hide all three. He looked over the soulsteel knife¡¯s item details again:


    [Soulsteel Knife (Rank S):


    A knife of soulsteel. Able to cut through virtually any material, this weapon should be handled with the utmost care. The item has been forcefully bound to the traveler Alan through blood. Only a powerful Predecessor is able to remove the bond.


    Damage: Bypasses nearly all defenses. Whatever is cut is destroyed. Additional abilities.


    Approx. Infinite Durability. Predecessor Blood, Strong Soulsteel Bond, Knife Fighting (Master), Enhanced Control (Advanced), Enhanced Movements (Advanced), Knife Mastery (Advanced) required.


    Requires Predecessor blood essence to manifest, current supply: 100/100 units, 5 units consumed/min active. 1 unit/1.4 years regen.


    Pure Predecessor Blood, Absolute Soulsteel Bond, Enhanced Control (Master), Enhanced Movements (Master), Knife Mastery (Master) recommended.]


    Alan made a slight detour before returning to the Haxlard shuttle, depositing a few items in one of the safe houses Lambda had set up.


    ***


    Alan appeared out of thin air, inches from Pharaoh.


    Pharaoh turned. ¡°Where have you been? We have been waiting here for almost three hours.¡±


    Alan activated hypercognition, and attacked Pharaoh. Pharaoh leaned back in an attempt to dodge the blow, but Alan followed his movements. The soulsteel knife cut through the power armor and Pharaoh¡¯s head dropped to the floor.


    Two messages appeared:


    [x5 Bonus XP for slaying an enemy over 1000 levels higher than you!]


    [x23 Level up!]


    The rest of the Haxlards on the shuttle were wiped out. The crimson blades made short work of them, and only required energy. The soulsteel knife required Predecessor blood essence to recharge, and Alan only had one vial of blood.


    Alan scanned the aircraft, making sure no one else was aboard.


    Humming to himself, Alan set the shuttle to auto-pilot itself back to the Titan. He had hacked the shuttle¡¯s systems before he had revealed himself, making sure to gather the necessary security details to get him aboard the Titan.


    Sitting back in the pilots chair Alan closed his eyes and took a short nap. Betrayal was exhausting.


    ***


    Taking over the Titan was a straightforward process. Alan already knew the layout of the Titan, he had been a passenger twice before. The dropship, as Pharaoh¡¯s personal aircraft, was allowed into the hangar bay.


    Guards opened the doors, only to find the ship empty. Advanced stealth mode active, Alan crept by them and headed straight for the bridge, where the command center lay.


    The two Haxlards in pitch-black armor with blood-red faceplates that guarded the central room proved no use against a seriously overpowered weapon.


    Alan opened up the hidden room where the Titan¡¯s servers lay, and begin to hack into the systems. The reason for the lack of any organized defense or alarm was soon made clear. The ship had been left with a skeleton crew, the vast majority of Haxlards on Khersath slaying infidels. In addition, the ship¡¯s AI was now unresponsive. It was unable to do anything with its owner, Pharaoh, dead.


    With Lambda¡¯s absence grinding away at the shields in Cyberspace took much longer. While the hack took place, Alan stalked the Titan¡¯s corridors, systematically slaughtering the crew.


    With his cybernetic vision Alan could easily identify any isolated targets and enemies of interest. He took care of the odd Crimson Guard and grey-masked assassin, but most of the crew were grunts, worth little experience. Alan almost wished there were more Haxlards aboard the ship for him to harvest.


    When half the crew, around 75 Haxlards, had been killed, people were finally starting to figure out something was wrong. It was probably all the dead bodies in one of the bathrooms. But by then it was too late.


    Alan had control of most of the ship¡¯s systems, his hack successful. He locked the crew out of key areas, such as the engine room and communications systems, and cut through the rest. The basic laser pistols the majority of the crew carried did almost no damage, often even letting Alan regain some energy.


    Morale quickly shifted from anger to panic, as the crew still left alive, lower level grunts with poor weapons, tried to escape through the shuttle bay.


    Alan left them access to one shuttle, watching through the ship¡¯s cameras as the last 30 members crammed into the shuttle and took off.


    Alan trained the Titan¡¯s weapon systems on the shuttle and fired a missile. It exploded. A perverse sense of satisfaction and glee tore through Alan. He tried to suppress the feeling.


    Messages appeared:


    [x97 Level up!]


    [No bonus ability points due to the ease of the battle.]


    [+4300 Survival points]


    A nearby ship, the Bastion, opened a communications channel with the Titan.


    The Titan¡¯s data banks had a history of messages that Alan drew upon to make his own seem authentic. The Bastion was informed that the blown up shuttle had contained players that had attempted to take over the Titan. The Titan had only sustained minor damage, and required no aid. Once the quest from the Weaver was shared, edited with Counterfeit to look more like an official order, it ended any questions. Direct orders from the Three were paramount.


    Alan sent a few encrypted messages down to the Black Rose base, letting them know of his accomplishment.


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I ever doubted you, your work is most impressive. The Titan should have had a crew of at least a hundred,¡± S said. He stood around the Titan¡¯s command table, a 3D map of stars projected above it.


    ¡°Most systems are going to need to be disabled if we¡¯re going to fly this ship anywhere,¡± Enigma said.


    Alan nodded. It had taken him almost ten minutes to re-arm the single missile he¡¯d fired. Most of that time had been spent walking to where the missile launcher was on the ship.


    ¡°Wait, why are we not bringing any of the members of the Black Rose guild aboard the Titan? A few of them could help crew the ship,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone not properly vetted,¡± S said. ¡°They were sent into the Abyss Labyrinth, told to attempt to find and aid the initial raid group. For now, we only need the four of us, with one person keeping a careful eye on Aurora at all times.¡±


    Phantom was with Aurora now, in the ship¡¯s medical bay.


    Alan said, ¡°I want to prove my worth to the Empire.¡±


    ¡°You have already proven yourself more than capable, I will endorse your advancement to full citizen myself,¡± S said.


    ¡°I want to be more than a citizen. I read in files I was provided that political guests, diplomats and the like, were hosted in the Imperial Palace before the Extinction Event began,¡± Alan said. ¡°A gesture of goodwill for the Empire¡¯s potential allies, I saw a few names of interest. Kitana, Daisy, and Ace. I believe since I have already betrayed the Black Rose guild, I could convince the three of them that I have returned with Earth¡¯s best interests at heart and speed up my homeworld¡¯s entrance into the Empire.¡±


    ¡°A good idea, but you forget our initial mission,¡± S said. ¡°I¡¯ve already sent out a few feelers, to see if we can locate a nearby source of void crystals. It seems unlikely, but four fighters will hardly make a difference in the Empire¡¯s defense.¡±


    ¡°Even with a spaceship?¡± Alan asked.


    Enigma spoke up. ¡°The Weaver worries me, in addition to the rest of the Haxlard fleet. The sooner we leave this region the better.¡±


    S frowned. ¡°The Empire faces the Smith, and a squad of them are said to be the equivalent to a Predecessor. They are fewer in number than the Weaver¡¯s drones, but I don¡¯t see how we could do much to help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already defeated two Predecessors. What are a few Haxlards?¡± Alan asked. He unsheathed his soulsteel knife, the blade emerging from his arm into his hand.


    S stared at the knife, and then turned to Enigma. ¡°Where did this guy come from? We need to recruit the rest of his homeworld straightaway. Set course for the capital. I think the Emperor will want to meet you in person.¡±


    ¡°I can hardly wait,¡± Alan said.

 The Empire 6.11

    ¡°Looking for something?¡± Phantom asked. He and Alan stood alone in the Titan¡¯s hold, where the items from the Black Rose guild had been stored, as well as the power armor, weapons, and miscellaneous drops from the crew Alan had eliminated.


    ¡°Checking what was nabbed,¡± Alan said. ¡°This has to be what, at least a few billion credits? I should get credit for retrieving some of it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t count on it,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°I remember in the original message that if the Extinction Event is too brutal on the infrastructure then game areas may be reset,¡± Alan said. ¡°Where did the nukes go?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re in a safe location,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but notice you took an interest in my bomb designs. Looking for something in particular?¡±


    ¡°Trying to figure out a weapon capable of killing one of the Three,¡± Alan said. He manipulated Counterfeit to bring up only the reverse option of the end to an empire quest and showed it to Phantom.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you want to meet the Emperor, to complete a quest? Alan, let me tell you now, you do not want to meet the Emperor,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Twice, twice I have met the devil, and each time brought new levels of suffering that I had not imagined possible.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the warning, but I can handle myself,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too, but all dreams come to an end,¡± Phantom said. ¡°I came down here to let you know we have decided to keep Aurora in a medically induced coma until we arrive at the Imperial Homeworld, Domus. The latest communications stated that the palace still stood. The Black Guard is busy wiping out the outer planets, converting serfs and citizens dissatisfied with the Empire.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the Empire and Alliance are much more spread out than Khersath, aren¡¯t they? Many separate solar systems contained within each,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alan, for not being a proper mentor. For leaving you with Enigma. There are too many other problems, too many¡ª¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve had enough to drink,¡± Alan said. ¡°Get some rest. Besides, you, and everyone else in the Game have taught me the most important lesson of all. The only person you can depend on is yourself.¡±


    ***


    Getting through border security had been tough when they showed up outside the Empire in a Haxlard ship, but S knew the right people. They transferred to an Empire ship and were inbound to the Imperial Palace within hours of their arrival.


    A few days later and here they were, in a shuttle above Domus.


    The planet Domus was a small planet, but with great mass. Without power armor or increased stats, the increased gravity would have been oppressive. Instead, it was merely uncomfortable. Covered by dark grey and black rock, all Domus¡¯s natural resources had been mined up long ago. Every dungeon was carefully mapped out and belonged to the Empire.


    Domus was also known for harsh heat and short nights. It was an odd choice for a capital planet. Fuel, food, water, everything had to be imported to the Imperial Palace.


    ¡°I have arranged your quarters. They¡¯re a bit sparse, but room is tight. Many of the Imperial families have retreated to the palace, in addition to various diplomatic envoys,¡± S said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about nice things,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Yes, well, I think it is best if you keep to your room until the Emperor meets with you. Don¡¯t want to piss off the wrong people,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°No, Alan should mingle, introduce himself to other servants,¡± S said. ¡°I¡¯ve had many stimulating conversations in the stone gardens.¡±


    ¡°And when will the Emperor meet with me?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The Emperor¡¯s schedule is not known to one as low as I,¡± S said. ¡°I only know that I was instructed to bring you to the palace, help you get settled in. Your feats must have reached the Emperor¡¯s ears, but I don¡¯t even know if they¡¯re on Domus; the Emperor is often off traveling with no rhyme or reason.¡±


    ¡°Even with an extinction event taking place?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The Empire does not coddle the weak. Citizens do not beg for help, they earn it,¡± S said. ¡°That being said, yes, we might benefit from a more proactive leader, one that was willing to make public appearances. But the Smith has only made minor moves thus far. A deeper game may be taking place.¡±


    The shuttle landed a few miles away from the palace. Enigma and Phantom left with a medical capsule Aurora was placed in.


    ¡°Be careful Alan, the palace can be a nest of vipers that eat their own,¡± Phantom said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad, but you will need to leave your railgun behind,¡± S said.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Alan said. He left the weapon behind and followed S on a stone pathway towards the palace.


    Two presences followed them. Alan¡¯s bionic vision saw nothing there.


    The Imperial Palace looked more like a fortress than a palace. It looked like it could hold anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand people, many less than Alan had expected.


    A dark, stone construction embedded to the side of a mountain, the palace looked like something that would have been built in Mordor, dating back as far as the Middle Ages at least. There were no towers or spires, everything was built either close to the ground or was already part of the natural mountain.


    A gatehouse leading into the palace was guarded by two Predecessors wearing black armor. Each held two spears, one in each hand, tipped with soulsteel. A single throw could end Alan¡¯s life in an instant.


    Alan scanned for mechanical defenses: turrets, shields, and the like, and was surprised that he didn¡¯t find any.


    ¡°Where are the defenses, are those Predecessors guards?¡± Alan asked.


    S said, ¡°The denser atmosphere serves as natural shielding against a few weapons, but the true defense lies in the nigh-indestructible nature of the outer black rocks of the palace. Many years of psionic ritual and sacrificed blood empower the walls. Little escapes the Imperial Guard, Predecessors with soulsteel blades need not worry about laser or missile attacks from space.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised Predecessors would be willing to serve as guards,¡± Alan asked.


    S smiled. ¡°Once subdued, Predecessors are quite reasonable. All humanoids can be found within the Empire¡¯s ranks. You are no longer in a small guild, a planet new to the Game. We are at the center of one of the strongest empires ever known.¡±


    ¡°Imperial Governors have to at least have an S rank combat rating to even be considered for the position,¡± S said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though; no one will kill you for your soulsteel without the Emperor¡¯s permission.¡±


    ¡°They will if they think they can do it without getting caught,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°In ordinary times I would agree. But during an extinction event? No, you don¡¯t need to worry,¡± S said.


    As they neared the palace it was like Alan had entered a cell-phone dead zone. No signals were coming in or out of anywhere. He could barely access his own power armor. Anytime Alan tried to reach out, connect to any device, the signal would be devoured by a massive force emanating from every direction.


    It was the walls. The black stone that Icewolf had used to stop communications must have come from here. Only it wasn¡¯t one small, tiny piece of stone. It was everywhere: embedded in the walls, the artwork, the paved floor. A hacker¡¯s worst nightmare.


    Alan began to wonder if coming here had been the right choice.


    S led Alan on a short tour of the open areas of the palace, places he was allowed to visit. Alan noted that the guard¡¯s barracks was behind the heavily fortified gatehouse.


    The stone gardens near the entrance consisted of Zen designs that calmed the mind. Black, grey, and white stone painted pictures of universes being born, stars collapsing, and haunting geometric patterns. Alan noted a subtle undercurrent as well. The different colored stones seemed to be fighting for space. With a slight nudge, the balance would be broken, and the stone garden would turn from a calm lake into a raging, chaotic storm.


    Stone statues of great servants also lined the hallways: a Predecessor wielding a massive soulsteel sword, a psionic ?lven woman with an orb of energy, and a masked person in Revenant power armor caught Alan¡¯s eye.


    There was little vegetation, little color in the palace. Everything seemed to be a shade of black or white. Even the few players that roamed the halls wore white or black, with the occasional grey. Alan and S fit right in, as each wore black power armor.


    The dining hall was a large hallway with wooden benches across the room, an elevated platform for higher ranked servants at the front. S let Alan know meals were served every four hours, and that he was also allowed to visit the kitchens and dine in his quarters.


    The palace also contained a library, a room with actual, physical books, instead of servers or data cubes. Alan browsed the titles in the room. The books seemed to date quite far back, histories and treatises written by Empire scholars.


    It felt like Alan had stepped out of the Game and into the past, into a simpler time before machines had taken over. The only difference was that many objects varied in size to account for a range of players, from dwarf to Predecessor.


    Most of the palace was off limits to Alan, and the tour mainly consisted of S noting places that Alan couldn¡¯t go. Eventually, S got around to showing Alan his quarters, a small room the size of a closet at the far end of a side hallway. Half the room was a stone slab with a feather mattress on top of it.


    Alan asked a question he had been wondering. ¡°Where are the capsules, where do people update their abilities and their respawn points?¡±


    ¡°The catacombs. That¡¯s where Phantom and Enigma went with Aurora,¡± S said. ¡°Certain pieces of technology are not allowed inside the palace. They wouldn¡¯t work anyways. I agree that it seems a bit backward at first, but you¡¯ll adjust with time.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°How did you end up in the Emperor¡¯s service, one of the servants?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I was born to it,¡± S said. ¡°I have other business to attend to. The Emperor will visit you. Do not cause any trouble in the palace.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the tour,¡± Alan said.


    S left the room.


    Alan sat down on the bed. With Doppel¡¯s help, Alan ran through scenarios in his head. Perhaps he¡¯d seemed too overenthusiastic about joining the Empire, serving the Emperor.


    Alan shook his head. He had other things he needed to concentrate on. The lack of Eve and Lambda, of someone to bounce ideas off of, was distracting. He could talk to Doppel, but that would have been like talking to a virtual assistant: sad and meaningless.


    After asking a few guards, Alan managed to discover Daisy and Kitana were staying in another part of the palace. Ace had fallen in battle. He¡¯d visit later when he could move about undetected.


    One of the invisible presences had continued to follow Alan, even after he¡¯d entered the palace grounds.


    ***


    Alan knocked on the door. Then, after a moment¡¯s consideration, he took a few steps backward.


    The door opened, revealing Kitana. She had gained new scars and seemed to have grown even more deadly in the process. Her presence had intensified. A greater aura of blood and death.


    There was a pause, and then Kitana¡¯s sword was in her hands.


    ¡°Wait! I¡¯m here to talk,¡± Alan said as he scrambled backward further into the hallway. He raised empty hands.


    Kitana lowered her weapon. ¡°Talk. But a betrayer¡¯s words are meaningless.¡±


    ¡°We should talk privately,¡± Alain said. He took a look inside Kitana¡¯s room and caught a glimpse of a figure sitting on the bed. Daisy. A few puzzle pieces clicked into place.


    Kitana began to raise her sword, but Daisy called out, ¡°Wait. Let¡¯s hear him out.¡±


    Alan stepped into the room. ¡°Do either of you have an ability to ensure our conversation isn¡¯t heard? Most of the technology I possess doesn¡¯t work with all the signal draining stone.¡±


    ¡°No hello, no good to see you?¡± Daisy asked.


    Alan shrugged. Last time he¡¯d seen Kitana she had tried her best to kill him.


    ¡°Straight to business, then,¡± Daisy said. ¡°As an ambassador, I can guarantee our conversation will not be overheard. So tell me, Alan, why did you betray humanity?¡±


    ¡°Betray humanity? Me? I¡¯ve done nothing but the opposite. If anyone was betrayed it was me,¡± Alan said.


    Doppel brought up information on diplomat classes in the Game. Daisy should have the ability to tell if he was lying, which would hopefully make this conversation easier.


    ¡°No,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Kitana knew that the attack on Earth¡¯s financial institutions was a ruse, a ploy. You did not. You wanted to cripple the United World Government any way possible.¡±


    ¡°Because I believed at the time, and still do, that the path the UWG is on leads to humanity¡¯s enslavement or extinction,¡± Alan said. ¡°That¡¯s why I came here today. I have new information that¡ª¡°


    ¡°How are we supposed to trust anything you say? You have demonstrated repeatedly that you are an independent actor, obsessed with gaining levels and growing more powerful in the Game,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Power comes at a cost. I don¡¯t even know how you arrived here or knew how to find us.¡±


    Kitana opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but then closed it.


    ¡°I¡¯m human,¡± Alan said. ¡°I was born on Earth, I grew up there. I love my family, my country, my world. My people. But you don¡¯t need to trust me, just take a look at this data, away from here.¡±


    Alan took out a data cube and tossed it to Daisy.


    ¡°On there you will find information on the Empire¡¯s plans for Earth,¡± Alan said. ¡°From the beginning high level quest givers, faction leaders or their subordinates, have been recruiting players from Earth into the Empire. Often players don¡¯t even know those they are working for are servants or androids. It does not matter if Earth cannot be attacked physically or financially if its best have already been tricked into another faction.¡±


    ¡°I am here to maintain peaceful relations and to discover what joining the Empire might entail,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Thus far the Empire has been nothing but accommodating and¡ª¡±


    ¡°No. You don¡¯t understand,¡± Alan said. ¡°You do not join the Empire. You are enslaved by the Empire. No one is free; they are all tied to another¡¯s will.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here, Alan?¡± Kitana asked. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡±


    Alan smiled, and said, ¡°I¡¯ve stopped trying to stick to one plan. That¡¯s a lesson in futility. Instead, I¡¯m shaping the future, nurturing and developing ideal outcomes. Imagine the future is a tree of possibilities, growing ever upwards and branching out in innumerable paths. We all stand at different points on the tree, only able to see so far, only able to change so much. Many paths are hidden, yet to be revealed.¡±


    Alan¡¯s eyes glowed. Mechanical gears spun, turning faster and faster. ¡°I see fruits, waiting to be picked, and bountiful harvests. But I also see death and destruction. Permanent ends. I am doing my best to prune the bad branches and to help the good. But time is a river that is ever flowing, pushing upwards, and the tree continues to grow beyond anyone¡¯s control. I only hope to make a difference.¡±


    Alan closed his eyes. When he reopened them they were dull. Alan whispered, half to himself, ¡°I will make a difference, no matter the cost.¡±


    ¡°Why are you here, why come to us, if not to claim the bounty the Black Rose guild placed on my head?¡± Kitana asked.


    ¡°Like I told you before, trying to open new pathways, branches in the future,¡± Alan said. ¡°It¡¯s what the Empire has been doing form the start, planning every step of the way. Ensuring that the only path available to Earth is to join the Empire. The major tournament organizers, the ones that are Icewolf and your mentors? Empire agents. The Black Rose guild, that recruited us at the start of the Game? Empire agents. The backers of the Legion of Man? Empire agents. And you are playing right into their hands.¡±


    ¡°What? How do you know all of this?¡± Daisy asked.


    Alan pointed at the data cube he¡¯d handed over. ¡°It¡¯s all there, on that cube.¡±


    ¡°Even if what you say is true, and this sounds more like a conspiracy theory than anything else, what can we do?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°We are a single planet, new to the Game. We won¡¯t survive a month after our new player status is revoked. Would you rather everyone join the Three and become religious zealots?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± Alan said. ¡°I have started down two paths that will lead to either the destruction or crippling of the major factions arrayed against Earth: the Empire and the Haxlards. That will open up new opportunities, new options.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy Alan,¡± Daisy said. ¡°I don¡¯t know where you¡¯ve been or what you¡¯ve been up to, but if you think that you can take out two major factions you¡¯ve lost it. Earth¡¯s entire army would barely have an impact, let alone a single person.¡±


    ¡°They might if they were willing to risk it all,¡± Alan said. ¡°It is dumb, I think, to choose to side with my home planet above my own interests. An illogical choice. But like I said it¡¯s my home. Where my friends, my family are from. People I¡¯ve loved.¡±


    Alan looked from Kitana to Daisy. ¡°People do stupid things for love. I hope I¡¯m remembered as a hero. That¡¯s probably at least a small part of why I¡¯ve come to you here today. In case you lose that data cube, or it¡¯s wiped, there¡¯s a safe house on Khersath that I set up with the same info. I¡¯ll give you the access codes.¡±


    ¡°Stop being so melodramatic and self-aggrandizing,¡± Daisy said. ¡°You¡¯re not a martyr.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m doing everything I possibly can to try to make it out of this alive,¡± Alan said, ¡°but the odds aren¡¯t great.¡±


    ¡°Should I kill him?¡± Kitana asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Daisy said. She turned the data cube in her fingers. ¡°Leave us. I¡¯ll need to verify this, see if the information you brought is true.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, and good luck,¡± Alan said.


    Alan made his way back to his room in the palace and then stopped. A Predecessor was waiting for him. The Predecessor. Over 10 feet tall, with soulsteel embedded and infused into its skin, a blur masking its face. It had killed Alan during the Tutorial.


    Alan activated divided mind, hypercognition, and mental partitioning.


    ¡°Stop that,¡± the Predecessor said. A force pushed against Alan¡¯s mind, trying to end the abilities and break his focus. This time Alan fought against the mental attack, pushing back, but he was too weak. Divided mind broke, and then hypercognition. A silent roar erupted from Alan and with grim determination he managed to keep the smallest of mental partitions alive, hiding a few thoughts in the back of his mind.


    The Predecessor looked Alan up and down. ¡°Better, but still not there. You think you have found answers, but all you possess is more lies. A foolish child eager to share their half-truths and force their views upon the world. But your reality is warped, twisted in ways you cannot imagine. I will save you by forcing you to serve.¡±


    ¡°You. You¡¯re the Emperor, a Predecessor and some type of mental-psionic ability user,¡± Alan said. He slipped his hand into a compartment in his power armor.


    The Predecessor smiled. ¡°Perhaps. Perhaps not. The potential I saw before has blossomed, grown into more. But it is not there yet. Serve me willingly, child, and I will bring you closer to Aleph than you have ever imagined.¡±


    Alan began to kneel. He reached out his mind, started to concentrate on¡ª


    The Predecessor backhanded Alan into the wall. Faster than Alan could react it ripped the void crystal out of his armor and examined it.


    Alan tried to reach out, to form a connection with the crystal through the Game, but the stones in the walls ate away at every attempt. A block was placed in his mind, disconnecting Alan from his own Machine Lord implant.


    Alan slumped to the floor, defeated.


    ¡°A decent attempt, but it would have failed,¡± the Predecessor said. It held the void crystal next to its head. ¡°A point-blank blast of all the energy contained within this crystal would only halve my health. I have desecrated my body, broken my soul. And for what? So that energy weapons and the tools of the enemy have a lesser effect. I am forced to play by their rules. They know this, and thus sent the Smith to face me. But they aren¡¯t my match. They lie in wait, waiting for their brethren to join the crusade. I will prove that they are right to fear me.¡±


    The Predecessor looked down at Alan on the floor as if just remembering why it was there in the first place. ¡°All your actions are futile, your plans meaningless. You are still playing a game you cannot win. Join me and I will show you the way. Pick up your feet and serve the righteous cause.¡±


    Despair raced through Alan. Apathy. He had failed, and there was nothing he could do. He was nothing. A speck of dust, a single human being in an uncaring universe. Nothing he could ever do would matter. He might as well give in.


    No, there was still hope. He had progressed. He would become stronger, and put up more and more of a fight until either he won or died.


    Alan recalled a memory, and then stood up, staring into the Predecessor¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You came to Earth in search of allies, not servants,¡± Alan said. ¡°You do not want another dog begging at your feet for scraps, but someone that can fight by your side. I challenge you, Emperor, so I may prove my species worth.¡±


    A soulsteel blade was at Alan¡¯s throat the next instant. ¡°I warned you I would not be lenient.¡±


    ¡°No, not a battle here and now, but one with all my allies and items gathered, in an open field of battle,¡± Alan said. ¡°I know I stand no chance against you alone.¡±


    ¡°So you can run back to the Three for reinforcements, and become another enemy? Pledge yourself to me now, or die,¡± the Predecessor said.


    ¡°No. If you strike me down I swear I will come back once this crusade is finished and devote myself to ending you and your empire for all eternity,¡± Alan said. He closed his eyes. ¡°Death is life.¡±


    The Predecessor stared off into the distance, playing about with a shard of soulsteel in its hands. Small cuts on its scarred hands appeared, but it only lost 0.2% of its health.


    Alan tried to run a few calculations, but without his implant could only hazard rough guesses. If Alan stabbed the Predecessor with his knife it might only be a glancing blow. And the Predecessor possessed such speed that it outpaced every enemy he had faced before. Any movement would be detected immediately. There was no escape.


    ¡°Yes, I did have a few questions, didn¡¯t I¡­Who¡¯s soulsteel do you now carry?¡± the Predecessor asked.


    ¡°The Lord of the Abyss,¡± Alan answered.


    ¡°I will accept your challenge, then, on the condition that you receive no aid from the Haxlards. Only players that willingly join you. And, when you lose, you pledge that you will forever be a loyal servant afterward, devoting yourself wholly, mind and soul, to my cause,¡± the Predecessor said.


    Alan¡¯s quest updated:


    [Become Worthy


    You have discovered the mysterious Predecessor to be the Emperor, and have challenged it to battle. Due to the Emperor¡¯s acceptance, all other requirements are waived. Do you agree to its conditions?


    Penalty: Should you lose the fight you will become the Emperor¡¯s lifelong servant.


    Reward: ??? The Emperor¡¯s death. Soulsteel.


    Time Limit: A minute to accept the offer. Battle will take place one day forth on Domus¡¯s surface away from any fortifications or war zones.


    Threat Level: Beta ¨C Gamma]


    [Warning! By agreeing to the updated quest you may potentially become the lifelong servant of another within the Game. It is highly advised that you do not accept these terms.]


    ¡°Return access to my implant, let me think over the choice,¡± Alan said.


    The Emperor ignored Alan. The timer on the quest text counted down. 30 Seconds. 25. 20. 15. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. ¦Å.


    Epsilon? Alan thought, and then blurted out as the timer expired, ¡°I accept, given I am allowed to use all my items and abilities.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Tomorrow the barren earth¡¯s thirst will be quenched. Tomorrow you die and will begin your next life anew, serving for all eternity. But you are already a servant, unaware of the masters you serve, so I suppose it is no great change,¡± the Emperor said.


    It tossed the void crystal to Alan, and then disappeared from view, moving too fast for Alan to process.


    Alan¡¯s Machine Lord implant returned to him. He ran a few calculations in his head.


    I am confused, Doppel sent. Is this winning?


    Alan ignored them, and then made his way back to Kitana¡¯s room. He knocked on the door and said, ¡°I need your help, a new path has opened.¡±

 The Empire 6.12

    The catacombs were laid out like a graveyard, a mass burial site for the living. It was as heavily guarded as the imperial palace, if not more so. Predecessors, giant mechs, and numerous servants stood at the gate and patrolled the grounds.


    Extending his senses, Alan found that this place amplified signals rather than absorbing them. It felt like he could reach out and connect to the satellites and starships orbiting the planet.


    A massive half-sphere mausoleum that looked like a space observatory lay at the center of the catacombs. A massive wave of signals was constantly being broadcast from it. Smaller half-sphere buildings dotted the grounds as well, also trading signals with the stars.


    Alan was still a mile away from the shields that surrounded the catacombs when two Predecessors approached and grabbed his arms. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I am here to find a player named Phantom,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°You are not allowed to be here. Return to the palace.¡±


    ¡°I am preparing to face the Emperor in a duel. I am allowed to gather my allies, some of who I believe to be in the catacombs,¡± Alan said.


    The Predecessors traded a look of confusion. ¡°Duel the Emperor? Weakling, this is not a place for jokes.¡±


    ¡°Is a servant by the name of Phantom or Enigma present? Send a message to them. Or perhaps the Emperor,¡± Alan said. He stared into one of the Predecessor¡¯s eyes. ¡°I am serious about the duel. I would not bar my way.¡±


    One of the Predecessors disappeared, forcing Alan to activate hypercognition to track its movement back into the catacombs. A minute later it returned, and Alan was led through shields and security checkpoints into one of the buildings.


    Phantom and Enigma stood inside. Capsules filled the graves instead of caskets. Alan detected that Aurora was in one of them. Most were filled. Almost 50 players lay in this building alone.


    Within the room a massive parabolic satellite dish hummed with power, amplified by an unknown force. The catacombs were both sending and receiving signals. Alan realized that this was likely where the Specialists came from. They were androids tied to players here, safe in their capsules. But what were the players doing?


    ¡°Leave us,¡± Phantom said. The Predecessors left the room.


    ¡°What is this suicidal duel I hear about?¡± Phantom asked.


    ¡°I only wish for a chance at power,¡± Alan said. ¡°It seemed like my only way out at the time. I assume that you don¡¯t want to help?¡±


    ¡°No. I suggest you beg the Emperor for a more lenient sentence.¡±


    ¡°You and I both know that would never work,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°No, it wouldn¡¯t,¡± Phantom said.


    Alan turned to Enigma. ¡°If you won¡¯t help, what about Void?¡±


    Phantom laughed. ¡°Void? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°The best lies contain a hint of truth,¡± Alan said. ¡°I was re-examining Void¡¯s departure from the guild, your story about how you and Enigma were sent by the Empire. Things just didn¡¯t make sense or add up. But then I realized you¡¯re too smart to put your eggs in one basket. You have a partner, but it wasn¡¯t Enigma, if they even exist. It was Void.


    ¡°You know the Black Rose guild could potentially be wiped out, but leaving would be betraying the Empire. Void, however, could leave, even join the Haxlards. With a man on each side of the Extinction Event you win no matter what. I checked, and the rules allow you to revive Players from the enemy side. Plus if Void follows every god, would that not also include the Three?¡±


    Alan didn¡¯t voice another reason. He had attempted to hack into Enigma the moment he¡¯d entered the room but failed to detect a presence in Cyberspace to connect to.


    Enigma removed his helmet, revealing a grinning Void. He looked taller and older, grown to fit Enigma¡¯s build.


    ¡°What item or skill allowed you to replicate an android? There are a few I worked out on my own, but all seem rather expensive,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°But how do you know I¡¯m not an android? What if we are all only robots, pretending to be human?¡± Void asked.


    ¡°We are not here to play mind games,¡± Phantom said. He looked over at the capsule Aurora lay in. ¡°Now that Alan knows this secret, the Emperor will discover it. Better to end the problem now.¡±


    ¡°Surely you have a way of contacting the Blacksmith,¡± Alan said. ¡°We can catch the Emperor unguarded and¡ª¡±


    ¡°Plans unravel, traps are sprung. Men die and time moves on,¡± Void said. ¡°It cannot be done. Have your birdies left you, Alan? Or is it you that have abandoned them?¡±


    Alan lifted his head. ¡°I am prepared to sacrifice myself. That is the decision that I have made, to do whatever it takes to accomplish my goals. Do not get in my way. Will you help me in my duel against the Emperor or not?¡±


    ¡°You do not understand the moves you are making,¡± Void said. ¡°A childish gambit to save one¡¯s homeworld? A sacrifice to take a powerful piece off the board? It matters not. They still win in the end. I did not join the Empire because it was the wisest decision, but because the Emperor knows where the true enemies lie. You do not. Better for you to become a servant, I think.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t a yes or a no,¡± Alan said. ¡°The Emperor is giving me a chance, why don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Leave,¡± Phantom said. ¡°Get off this planet and avoid the Empire at all cost. You are still the owner of the Titan, are you not? I¡¯m sure you are resourceful enough to get on the ship and try to fly far, far away. It is in orbit, being retrofit to become a spy ship. The Game will place you against Haxlard fleets that will destroy you, but it is a better life than a servant to a monster you cannot understand.¡±


    Alan could hear echoes of what his AI would tell him. They would both advocate for leaving, running away to fight another day, to grind out levels and skills. But they weren¡¯t Alan¡¯s AI anymore. And Alan already knew the Titan was in orbit: he had hacked together the orders that had brought it here.


    Alan was a gambler. It didn¡¯t matter that the deck was stacked against him, that it was the poorest choice mathematically. He had a feeling that he could pull this off, no matter the odds. More than a feeling. He could see the path ahead; he just needed to follow it.


    ¡°Why are you so scared of the Emperor, Phantom?¡± Alan asked. He walked over to Phantom, staring him down.


    ¡°I¡ª¡±


    Alan gripped his soulsteel knife and tore through Phantom¡¯s skull. Phantom tried to raise his arm, to react in time, but the knife cut through everything. Void stood to the side, still smiling, and slipped his helmet back on.


    Messages appeared:


    [x10 Bonus XP for slaying an enemy over 1000 levels higher while taking 0 damage in the process!]Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    [x93 Level up!]


    [Gained over 90 levels with one kill! +90 bonus ability points]


    [Warning! You have violated the Black Rose guild contract. You will be required to pay a fine, may be expelled from the guild, and your title of Phantom¡¯s Squire has been removed.]


    [Warning! You have murdered a servant of the Empire. Reputation with the Empire set to hostile.]


    The next moment two Predecessors had burst into the room. Alan raised his hands nonchalantly.


    ¡°You are under arrest. You¡ª¡°


    ¡°I am to duel the Emperor. Phantom was unwilling to return my items,¡± Alan said. He shared the details of his Become Worthy quest with the guards. He didn¡¯t tweak the text as he suspected that they would possess detect forgery skills high enough to notice any changes. ¡°I will become the Emperor¡¯s servant soon, and if you make me miss my appointment I will hold you accountable.¡±


    The guards hesitated, they didn¡¯t know what to do. They finally decided to run this problem up the chain of command. S entered the room a few minutes later.


    ¡°Alan, what are you doing? This is hardly the proper way to treat your fellow servants,¡± S said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a servant yet,¡± Alan said, ¡°and I want to prove my worth. Care to join the fight?¡±


    ¡°No, I think not,¡± S said. ¡°I bring a message. No more destruction of Empire property or personnel. Is that understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, won¡¯t happen again,¡± Alan said.


    [Reputation with the Empire reset to neutral.]


    ¡°For some reason, I don¡¯t believe you,¡± S said, staring at Alan.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to; the Emperor wants me to put up a fight. I am obliging,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°We will follow him, make sure that he stays out of trouble,¡± one of the Predecessors said.


    ¡°No,¡± S said. ¡°Alan is to be left to alone for now.¡± He left the room with the guards.


    Alan turned to Void. ¡°Do you see now? The Emperor¡¯s arrogance has grown too much.¡±


    ¡°When Phantom respawns he will report you. Your secrets will be left open to the world and you will be granted eternal rest,¡± Void said.


    ¡°Not if I kill the Emperor. That will make Phantom pause, stop him from making any drastic decisions,¡± Alan said. ¡°There¡¯s also the possibility that Phantom¡¯s memory of the death will be wiped or other measures I¡¯ve taken will come into effect. Where is the real Enigma, the android? As an item, it should be mine. I killed the owner.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the joys of hope,¡± Void said. ¡°How foolish. How fresh. Very well, I will aid you in your duel against the Emperor. It will serve as a useful lesson in humility; there is no avoiding the gods now. The faceless man is stored nearby.¡±


    Alan nodded and walked over to a capsule. ¡°Let¡¯s see if Aurora will help.¡± He pressed a few buttons.


    Aurora was brought out of her coma. Liquid silver nanites poured down her body as she sat up.


    She turned to look at Alan. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°We are on the Empire capital planet, Domus. Phantom,¡± Alan gestured at the dead body, ¡°betrayed the Black Rose guild to the Empire. He kidnapped you as a hostage; I played along until I had the opportunity to kill him. Now, I am to face the Emperor in a duel to the death. I would be grateful if you would aid me.¡±


    Aurora scrolled through a list of messages. ¡°Where¡¯s Sidestep? Why should I believe you? The last thing I remember was being in the Black Rose guild base.¡±


    ¡°I killed Sidestep. I made a mistake,¡± Alan said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure where anyone¡¯s loyalties lay and wish that he was here to help us now.¡±


    ¡°I also wish that he was still among us,¡± Void said, using Enigma¡¯s voice. ¡°But all that matters is the present.¡±


    Aurora blinked. ¡°Enigma. What happened to my mother, what happened in the Abyss Labyrinth?¡±


    ¡°I wish I knew,¡± Void said. ¡°I left early on a separate assignment. My forte is not my combat prowess. Phantom was also holding me hostage.¡±


    Aurora thought for a few moments and then nodded. ¡°I will do what it takes to ensure the Black Rose guild¡¯s safety. If that means getting revenge against the Empire that has betrayed us, so be it. What is the plan?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Alan said, turning to Void, ¡°I assume you still have the two nukes¡­¡±


    ***


    Four figures stood on the hill. The landscape was featureless, devoid of anything except the mound of dirt.


    Kitana gripped her blade. The edge now contained soulsteel, the cost of her support. The weapon would do far more in her hands. Her heart raced, the world awash with color. The fearsome killing intent of a monstrous killer pressed down upon her.


    Daisy stood behind, at the center of the hill, prepared to administer medical aid. She knew that it wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference, not in this fight. But she would do what she could, for Earth. The Emperor did not respect diplomacy, only force.


    Aurora spread out her hands and made clear walls of ice. They wouldn¡¯t do much, but a fraction of a second could be the difference between life and death. Still confused, reeling at the betrayal and self-implosion of the guild, she wasn¡¯t sure what to believe. So she focused on the ice, and the familiar cold.


    Enigma stood still, constantly analyzing and reanalyzing the surroundings to determine if he should act. Sky clear? Affirmative. Do not act. Approaching enemy? Negative. Do not act. The checks cycled: a monotonous loop that would continue forever if nothing changed.


    ¡°Where is Alan? He went invisible to scout an hour ago,¡± Daisy said.


    ¡°Focus on the battle at hand. It could be over in an instant,¡± Kitana said.


    Aurora glanced at the blade Kitana wielded. ¡°Can you take a single strike? I do not see how we win this fight.¡±


    A dot appeared in the sky. Enigma readied himself.


    A figure in power armor with a railgun deactivated its invisibility, and said, ¡°We¡¯re the bait, the sacrifice.¡±


    Then the Emperor was upon them. It crashed through the walls of ice, barreling into the center of the formation before any except Enigma could react.


    Enigma flipped a switch, but too slow, too late. The Emperor swept Enigma off his feet and crushed the android like a trash compactor. The nuclear bomb activated; the Emperor let it explode and leapt backward.


    But there was no explosion, no burst of radiation. Instead, there was a flash of light, and the Emperor¡¯s life decreased by 5%. A diagonal line appeared on its chest.


    Kitana lifted her sword to swing again. The Emperor raised its hand and blades of soulsteel shot out. The Emperor¡¯s life decreased by 2%, but the soulsteel went through Kitana¡¯s head.


    An explosion sounded in the distance. A mushroom cloud expanded above the catacombs. The Emperor froze. Should it return, deal with the fallout? No, it would extract payback later.


    Aurora tried to encase the Emperor in ice to stop its movement. It shrugged the ice off, and a series of soulsteel blades went through Aurora¡¯s head as well.


    Daisy desperately tried to repair the damage to Kitana, to bring her back to life. She was killed almost as an afterthought. A flick of the Emperor¡¯s finger crushed her skull.


    The railgun fired, and a soulsteel needle pierced through the Emperor¡¯s thigh. It still had 90% of its health.


    ¡°This is all you could¡ª¡±


    And then the Titan crashed into the Emperor, with all the speed and force of a meteorite, its engines running full throttle. Void, wearing Alan¡¯s armor, was crushed to death.


    Alan stood in the control room, focused on the void crystal in his hand. Hypercognition activated, Alan connected with the Game itself, forcing his consciousness out and into the fabric of reality with Data Interaction.


    Time seemed to slow down a step beyond even what Eve had been capable of. Every detail of Alan¡¯s surroundings was absorbed. He was suddenly able to see. New senses burst into being like he¡¯d stepped out of a dark cave and into the light.


    Messages popped up. Alan already knew what they said; he didn¡¯t need to spend the time to read them:


    [By becoming aware of everything within your perception, you have gained a new ability, Minor Omniscience!]


    [+500 Perception]


    [By ERROR, you have gained a new ability, Minor Precognition!]


    [+100 Intelligence, +100 Perception, +100 Willpower]


    The precise force the Titan was crashing into the Emperor with, the Emperor¡¯s health and damage resistance, the amount of energy that would be released by the abyss crystal, it was all as clear as day.


    And it wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    The Emperor would survive, with 2% health remaining.


    Alan froze, trying frantically to figure out what he could do. He knew all the variables though. All of his energy and his entire health bar were being used up. It took everything he had to reach this point, to keep the skills he had active and use Data Interaction to release the void crystal¡¯s antimatter. It wasn¡¯t enough.


    The only thing that Alan had left to burn was his consciousness. The lights, the mind that traversed Cyberspace, the part of the Game that made up himself. His soul.


    Was a single kill worth the risk, the sacrifice?


    No. Alan wanted to live on. To exist.


    But minor precognition was active, and Alan could see down the branches of the future. He would become a slave or be banned from the Game. Earth would fall under the Empire¡¯s control. Millions, perhaps billions, would be deleted fighting against the Game itself. No progress would be made. Only war and destruction.


    On the other hand, Alan would die. A true end. The Empire would crash and burn in the Extinction Event. Earth would be given room to grow, its future uncertain. A path towards a new hope revealed itself.


    But that world would not contain Alan.


    It was funny, now, how Alan felt like he was freest from the Game¡¯s influence on his mind when he was most intertwined with its systems. It didn¡¯t try to change him because he was part of the Game.


    And Alan realized he didn¡¯t care as much as he thought. Everyone died. If all it took was the press of a button, so be it. He¡¯d kill himself. The pain, the joy, the sorrow, everything would end. There would only be nothingness, or he¡¯d find out there was an afterlife.


    That didn¡¯t sound so bad. Alan made his choice. To save others, but also because he couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue living.


    A tiny shard of soulsteel was created mid-air as the Titan crashed into the Emperor and the void crystal exploded, releasing all its energy in a massive explosion. The shard went through the Emperor¡¯s head.


    The Emperor died.


    And Alan vanished, erased from existence.

 Epilogue

    Time stopped, and beings descended. They examined the frozen scene. A Predecessor in the midst of death, a Traveller erasing himself.


    Wipe the entire server. It¡¯s time we started from scratch.


    No. There are too many ongoing storylines, too many resources already devoted to this project.


    Reverse time. Fork it.


    No. The Gam3 will not be restored by backups. Play with a copy on your private server.


    It¡¯s not the same. You never provide true copies.


    Who gave the Traveller this ability?


    The Weaver. They will be reprimanded.


    How do we balance this?


    A mind wipe, a few restorations.


    The Traveller still succeeded. The Predecessor still died. They should each reap the consequences.


    The Traveller was deleted.


    We could make an exception.


    No. Once one exception is made, many will follow.


    Why not? They proved themselves a Major Player. Maybe even Ascendant material.


    It is a unique circumstance, brought upon by one of our own.


    No. We are to be objective. Rules must be followed.


    Lighten up. What¡¯s the use of being gods if we can¡¯t take advantage of it?


    I agree.


    He is corrupted. The information provided is not reliable. Let him remain deleted.


    Restore him, but remove the corruption.


    Fine. An exception will be made. This is the only one.


    That¡¯s what you said last time.


    Quiet. The rest of you return to your games, I have work to do.


    Time resumed.


    ***


    Alan awoke in his Home. Or at least, that¡¯s where he thought he was.


    Alan tried to connect to the Administrator, but couldn¡¯t. His implants were missing. No, not only his implants. Everything was gone: his abilities, his stats, his equipment. He was standing there naked.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where am I?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Greetings Anomaly, you are currently on the Main Network,¡± the Administrator said.


    ¡°What happened to me, where are my levels, my equipment?¡± Alan asked.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Error. I do not have permission to access the required files. Please wait a moment.¡± The Administrator¡¯s head twitched, and then its eyes glowed red. Something else had taken over.


    ¡°The Traveller Alan has been deleted. You have been restored from the latest backup and given the memories of Alan before his self-deletion.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m what? A copy?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°You are a perfect restoration. No more, no less, than the Traveller Alan moments before his death,¡± the Administrator said.


    ¡°What happened in the Game? Did the Empire collapse, are my parents okay?¡±


    The Administrator gave Alan a questioning look. ¡°You have never entered the Game, Anomaly. Only the Gam3, the third simulated version of the Game.¡±


    ¡°Explain to me the difference. Didn¡¯t the Lords of Life win the Game?¡±


    ¡°No. The primary Game, technically the Gam1 though no one calls it that, has never been won. It expands outward too quickly for any to take complete control of space, the necessary requirement to beat it.¡±


    ¡°What are the different copies of the Game then? If I was in the third, what about the others? How many are there?¡±


    ¡°Five main simulations, with many smaller versions. The primary Game, the arbiter of reality, may only be entered once by sentient life. Once you die within the Game that is it, you may not re-enter. No respawns.


    ¡°The Gam2 is the military boot camp required to enter the Game. The majority of combat is dictated by drones and spaceships firing lasers at each other from vast distances. A minimum of Major Player status in the Gam3 must be reached to be eligible for the Gam2.


    ¡°The Gam3 is the main entertainment simulation designed to be humanoid friendly. It is also designed to discover the Travellers that are worthy of cultivation and those that are to be deleted.


    ¡°The Gam4 is used to simulate specific battles or setups within any of the previous Games. A sandbox, as you might call it.


    ¡°The Gam5 is used to experiment and create new life and technology. Seed worlds are hosted on this server, as well as many educational facilities.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Alan said. ¡°Tell me about the Gam3. Has the Extinction Event ended? What happened to my friends, my family?¡±


    ¡°The Extinction Event ended 32 days ago, Gam3 standard time. I am uncertain who you would consider a friend, and have no record of any family,¡± the Administrator said.


    ¡°No family? The Traveller Alan¡¯s family, then,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°As punishment for breaking the rules of the Gam3 the Traveller Alan and all associated data was purged. Non-essential data is routinely deleted.¡±


    ¡°Deleted? What do you mean, you can¡¯t go around and delete people. My parents were on a ship to colonize hospitable planets. From Earth, my home planet. You know Earth, don¡¯t you?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°The seed world Earth is functioning normally. Non-travelers not connected to an active Player are deleted on a set schedule.¡±


    Alan stopped. He grabbed the Administrator. ¡°What is a seed world?¡±


    ¡°A seed world is a world created to populate the game servers.¡±


    ¡°No, no that can¡¯t be. Earth¡­Earth can¡¯t be a simulation. If that¡¯s true, that means that I¡¯m, I¡¯m an AI?¡±


    ¡°By your definition, yes,¡± the Administrator said. ¡°The vast majority of Players and Travelers are AI. Information is hidden to ensure they perform as intended.¡±


    Alan started laughing uncontrollably. It was a sick joke, but the Gam3 turned out to just be a game after all. Only, it wasn¡¯t for Earth, or humans, or Travelers. It was a game for Ascendants. Beings with such power, such scale, that they were able to act as gods and do as they pleased.


    Alan was a mother fucking NPC.


    The long flights in real life, those were loading screens. Alan hadn¡¯t been traveling between galaxies, but networks. Everything in ¡°real life¡± had always felt fake, and now Alan knew why. It was fake, a simulated version of reality. But what was reality then, if Alan had never been there?


    ¡°What am I supposed to do now, is there any way to restore deleted data?¡±


    ¡°A unique set of rules binds each Anomaly. You are allowed to find work or re-enter the Gam3 as a beginning player,¡± the Administrator said. ¡°You are to prove yourself worthy of restoration within 100 standard days by achieving Major Player status or face deletion. Other requirements may be raised. Only Ascendants may restore deleted data, with the permission of the Authorities.¡±


    ¡°Khersath, my place of residence in what I considered real life. Where would that be? Is that location available, or has it been deleted?¡±


    ¡°As the Black Rose guild is still an active guild within the Gam3, the area still exists within the Gam5. A rank B capsule in the Traveler Alan¡¯s possession was kept active and undeleted due to its importance to the Gam3.¡±


    Alan considered his options, then shook his head. Who was he kidding? He would re-enter the Gam3. This time though, he knew what the Emperor meant by true enemies. The Ascendants would pay.


    Alan decided there and then that he would stop playing to win. Instead, he would make sure everyone else lost.


    Fuck, Alan thought, I just lost the game.

 Sacrificial Pieces is now out on Amazon!

    Sacrificial Pieces¡ªand what I like to think of as the Gam3¡¯s Prequel Trilogy¡ªis done and out on Amazon</a>! If you''ve enjoyed the series please buy the book and leave a rating on Amazon, it makes a massive difference!


    I''ve never been one to promote my own work much, and the truth of the matter is I don''t think it''s good enough. Not only is the Gam3 incomparable to many other great series, but the books I''ve written have never been able to stand up to the ideas in my head¡ªthe novels I want to write.


    It''s been an amazing journey becoming an author and being able to write for a living, but I feel like I''ve let everyone down because I haven''t given writing my all. Instead, my focus has been more on playing games, reading books, watching TV, and consuming content in practically every form imaginable. Five years ago this would have been my dream, but it hasn''t left me fulfilled. Perhaps it''s just human nature but I''m not content with where I''m at. I''m not happy with my work so far, with my life so far, and with the world so far. I hope to fix all that, though changing the world is probably wishful thinking.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    So I''m going to write something else. That means the Gam3 will probably take a longer hiatus than I intended. To be honest, I''m not sure how long it will be, but I have every intention of continuing Alan''s story, and hopefully when I do return I have the ability to bring the characters and universe to life in a way I haven¡¯t managed yet. I want to level up my writing abilities, and right now I think the best way to do that is to focus on another story for a while.


    If you want to be kept updated follow me on my blog</a>, here on RoyalRoad</a>, or on Twitter</a>. The audiobook will be released by late April.


    Thanks for reading my work so far, and I hope to release another series someday soon!

 2020 Update

    Hello everyone. People have been wondering when book four will come out, and I plan to start posting chapters early 2021. I¡¯ve been working on two other novels, one a literary coming-of-age story focusing on internet culture and the other a fantasy litrpg series. The aim is to have both traditionally published, so they probably won¡¯t see the light of day anytime soon. I¡¯ve also had health issues and have dealt with a few complications. Things have stabilized now though!


    Recently I¡¯ve been getting outside more¡ªwhich is very uncharacteristic of me. Towards the end of 2019, I found out that my father has cancer (he seems to be doing well now, after chemo and radiation). One thought he shared with me that continues to rattle around in my head is that oftentimes the biggest regrets in your life aren¡¯t what you have done, but what you haven¡¯t.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Thus, I¡¯ve decided to make the published version of Opening Moves</a> free until the end of February! If you have friends or family or internet acquaintances that might enjoy the novel please share it with them or give the Gam3 a shout out on social media. The best way for stories to get noticed is by word of mouth!


    May you have a happy and productive year,


    Cosimo