《Super Un-Natural RPG》 Chapter 1: A boy and the games he plays The alarm clock buzzed in the tiny one bedroom apartment, I smashed the snooze button, laying with my face in the pillow, trying to muster up the courage to face the day. There was an inner struggle going on inside me between drowsiness and my sense of responsibility, and I was rooting for the underdog. After the alarm went off for the third time I decided to get out of bed, sitting up I glanced at the time 6:33 A.M. No wonder I was so tired I had gotten only an hour of sleep, the lack of sleep was due to the three consecutive raids I led last night in my favorite PC game. I made my way to the bathroom to begin grooming for the day, as I stepped into the shower I wished I was stepping into my guild room in Lyran, on Earth I was just Cole Richardson the unintentional bachelor who lived by myself and had a minimum wage job at the corner store, but on Lyran I was Artorias Gray the Knight Magister and leader of the Howl-pack of Olympus. Here I put on a uniform and tie, there I put on a suit of armor and a sword strap. I grabbed an apple then hurried out the door and down the steps, I had to get to the store before Joe showed up. Joe was a nice enough old man, well as long as He had my coffee before eight in the morning, if not the man would start spouting off what he thought was wrong with the world today, always beginning with the youths of America and how they have zero work ethic claiming that it was due to them being too preoccupied with their ¡°smarty phones¡± and ¡°minespaces.¡± I hopped down the last couple of steps and unlocked my bike then rode off to start what was bound to be another uneventful day in the long string of uneventful days that was beginning to be my adult life. As I sped down the streets of Summerset Pennsylvania I hummed to myself and watched the scenery go by, there wasn''t a lot to do in this particular town and that is exactly why I moved here, well that and because the university I was attending was one town over. I chose this school two years ago because freshmen weren''t made to live on campus so I decided on the unassuming town of Summerset and settled down with a goal to find a good job and pay off my classes, although so far my plans had yet to bear any fruit, I knew I needed to find a better paying job before the next enrollment period came around but I couldn''t bring myself to quit. The owner of the shop Mr. Shirihama was an incredibly nice old man who hired me despite me not having any work history or any credible references and that''s not even considering the fact that I would feel like an emotionless monster if I left him alone right now. Shirihama''s wife passed away months before I started and his only son wanted nothing to do with him, so the old man was all alone and I was the only friendly face that I saw on a regular basis. I rode up to the store unsurprised to see Joe standing at the door looking more upset than usual, I parked my bike and decided to start the thrilling conversation. ¡°Hey Joe, what are you doing here so early? You couldn''t have missed me that much?¡± I said squatting low to lock my bike to the rack. Joe sneered and replied ¡°what do you mean early? Are you trying to be funny boy?¡± I grabbed my keys and made my way to the door ¡°it''s only five past seven Joe.¡± I could feel holes being burned into the back of my skull. ¡°It''s five past eight you dolt¡± said Joe with a sneer on my face, ¡°See this is what''s wrong with our great country. Young men like you not taking your work or your life seriously, did you forget to set your clock ahead last night?¡± I pulled my phone out and looked at the time then cursed ¡°oh man, I¡¯m sorry Joe I''ll go get your coffee started, don''t worry it''s on me.¡± Joe smiled, he seemed to like the idea of something free, he grabbed a doughnut and a thick newspaper then sat down at a booth. ¡°Well at least you''re taking responsibility for your mistake, add these too and we''ll be squared.¡± ¡°Cheap bastard¡± I said to myself. ¡°yeah sure thing Joe, as long as this stays between us, I don''t need Mr. Shirihama getting upset with me.¡± I went to start making the geezer his coffee only to find no coffee bags. ¡°Hey Joe, I forgot to stock the coffee yesterday so I''m gonna get some from the back, don''t rob the place.¡± if the geezer heard me he didn''t acknowledge it. The coffee was on the top shelf three feet above my head, ¡°great I left the ladder up front and I really don''t want to have to deal with Joe complaining.¡± I put my foot on the bottom shelf and lifted myself up. ¡°Health insurance would be great right about now¡± I grumbled to no one in particular. I succeeded in scooting the box forward halfway before the box and the one beside it landed directly on my face and I fell to floor hitting my head hard on the tile making my vision go black with the promise of unconsciousness, but after a moment a brightness broke through the black and enveloped my vision. I waited for the brightness to recede but it never did, as I strained to look around all I saw was pure white, I tried to get up to get my bearings but there was nothing to get up from, the floor had gone and I was just floating in this space. But before I had the chance to start worrying about my current predicament a faceless, human form melted from the air in front of me and a loud voice boomed from from every direction. ¡°your power will be shown to you soon, but your purpose will be made a mystery. The answer to which lies at the end of an adventure. The form melted back into nothing and my senses took a nose dive as the black came rushing back. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The moment I came to I was face to face with a very angry looking Joe holding a very empty looking coffee mug. ¡°What are you doing down there boy? First you''re late then I catch you trying to take a nap in the back. Where the hell is my coffee?¡± said Joe angrily. I tried and failed to sit up ¡°I''m not taking a nap Joe, I got knocked out.¡± Joe¡¯s eyes went wide and I grabbed the closest thing to him that looked like a weapon, which unfortunately was polka dotted umbrella. ¡°What? By who? I bet it was one of those Jugglewhos.¡± After a couple of tries I managed to get up without too much pain. ¡°No Joe the box fell on me and I hit my head on the floor.¡± I said through gritted teeth as a headache started to form. The old man looked at I like I had a spreadable disease. ¡°Damn boy, can you do anything without messing it up? I''m just going to take my newspaper and leave, see you tomorrow I, hopefully on time this time.¡± With that Joe did something that I thought was impossible, he left without any coffee. The rest of the day passed by without incident, I had an hour left before my ten hour shift was through and I was hoping that it would pass by without incident, my headache had only gotten worse. I was debating whether to go to the hospital or not while stocking the milk when a gentleman in a business suit and briefcase came walking in talking on the phone. ¡°What do you mean the test subject is dead?¡± the man walked to the back and grabbed a bottle of water and some tylennol. ¡°he walked in front of a bus? You''re kidding right? That is the most tired excuse I''ve ever heard.¡± I put the milk down and made my way to the front. ¡°I don''t care how you do it, we need another test subject by tomorrow night or else it''s your head.¡± and with that the businessman ended the call. I tried to make it seem like I hadn''t heard the conversation ¡°Hello sir, having a good day?¡± the man put his items on the counter then handed me a 20 dollar bill and spoke in a harsh, flat voice. ¡°Obviously not, you''re not deaf so I know you heard my call.¡± I didn''t say anything back, and when I went to give the man his change the register wouldn''t open ¡°I''m sorry this thing is older than me¡±, I pulled my keys out and began to wiggle the key in the hole while trying to keep a smile on my face. This guy was a total douche nozzle. The man was already irritated, and the speed at which this simple transaction was heading was making him even more upset. He was about to say something to the young man when he noticed a key chain on the boy''s key ring. The man put on my professional face then spoke to the boy as friendly as He could in that moment. ¡°Do you play Raze of the Titans young man?¡± I was surprised by the sudden change in the man''s demeanor ¡°I play most games by Origin entertainment sir, but Raze of the Titans is my favorite.¡± I said, the man seemed to think this over. ¡°Do you play with friends or family?¡± asked the stranger. I looked at the man a little confused as to where the questions were coming from, this man didn''t look like the type to play any video games. ¡°No sir, I live by myself and my family lives a couple hours away, and as for friends I''ve never been one to put myself out there long enough to get any.¡± The gentleman''s luck could not have been any better, he stuck his hand out for the boy to shake it. ¡°It''s always nice to meet a fan of our work, my name is Ted, Ted Adams. What is your name young man?¡± I tentatively grasped for the mans hand and shook it awkwardly. ¡°My name is Cole Richardson sir, what did you mean by ''our work'' if I may ask?¡± I asked questioningly. ¡°Well Mr. Richardson I''m glad you asked, I am the head of the council in charge of the advanced R&D department at our main building in Harrisburg. And I have a golden opportunity for a man as yourself, it is related to a new software and game engine, the platform and server are very closely related to the world of Lyran.¡± I was sure that my eyes were the size of dinner plates before the man''s last words left my mouth. ¡°Do you mean a pre-alpha test sir? Or something else?¡± I said wishfully. Ted smiled a genuine smile to himself hook, line, and sinker. ¡°Well Cole it''s not even that far along. May I see your phone?¡± I handed it over without hesitation. ¡°Do you have mobile data Cole?¡± I nodded my head. ¡°Well I have just synced a developers app to your phone, after midnight when the server is up and running I want you to open that app and find out more, but I must stress not to open the app before midnight or else the app might crash, understood?¡± I was too shocked to reply. Ted snapped his fingers to get the boy''s attention ¡°Cole, did you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes sir! Sorry I was just lost in thought.¡± I pulled my keys out and handed the man my change. ¡°Well I hope you enjoy the new product, have a good day young man.¡± I didn''t hear what the man had said I was too fixated on the new app taking up space on my phones wallpaper. Chapter 2: A boy and the challenges he fights. Cole was leaving for the door as soon as Mr. Shirihama arrived ¡°hello Cole, how was work today?¡± ¡°Hey Mr. S, it was okay I''ve got to leave though be safe closing up.¡± and with that Cole got on his bike and sped home. He opened his door threw his stuff down and immediately went to his PC, for the next two hours Cole frantically searched for any and all information as to what Origin entertainment was working on, but his search yielded zero results. Whatever it was that they where working on it was sealed up tight, which was incredibly strange seeing as how most game companies spread parts of their products on purpose as part of a marketing strategy. Cole unlocked his phone and looked at the new app like he''d done a dozen times before in the last couple of hours, the temptation of opening it was unreal. What could be the harm in opening it? If the app crashed he could just ask that Adams guy for another one. Cole sat in his chair for the better part of half an hour before he couldn''t take it any longer and opened the app. It chimed a high pitched noise and the Origins entertainment logo appeared over a white background. Next it went to the front facing camera the phone asked him to line his phone up to his face as closely as he could, then the app took about a million photos, Cole had never thought that he was photogenic but there must have been at least one good looking photo in the bunch. After he had his little photo session the app switched to a character sheet that asked for his name , build, height and weight. Cole filled out the information correctly, and when it was all said and done there was a mini Cole on his phone. It was strange how real it looked, Cole waited for the next page to show up but it never did, he tapped mini Cole''s face and the screen went black. He pressed the home button in panic then looked for the app to open it, but he couldn''t find it anywhere. Great not only did it crash but it magically disappeared, Cole tossed the phone on his desk then laid down on his bed. He had forgotten how tired he was, there''s no way that he would have been able to stay up until midnight anyway. Cole pulled the blanket over him then breathed deeply, dreaming of Lyran. I woke up at the sound of a loud crash. I rubbed the drowsiness from my eyes and sat up out of bed to make my way to the bathroom. I visibly flinched when I opened my bedroom door, I should have seen my apartment but instead there was a flat, blank white room with what looked like a livestock pen at the far end, the loud banging noises continued and as I made my way to the alien structure I found the source of the fracas, a boar the size of a saint Bernard with tusks bigger than machetes, I was relieved to find that the pen holding the creature looked relatively sound. I started to look around the room to see if in search of clues as to where I was, I spun in a slow circle examining my surroundings when I turned around towards the way I came the door that led to my room had disappeared, the creature crashed again and this time I could hear the sound of wood snapping, turning around in panic I promptly fell on my behind as a pop up window not unlike what you would find in any RPG game appeared,
¡°Good day and thank you again for trying our new virtual reality product, please agree to the terms and conditions below, if not the pen will open and you will most likely meet immediate death.¡±
I read the text out loud, ¡°well then, they sure are quick to the point aren''t they?¡± I thought to myself. There was no way that any of this was real, I was still in my freaking underwear. I pinched myself and watched my skin welp up, ¡°this is a really vivid dream, must have been more tired than I thought.¡± I returned my attention to the pop up and for the first time in my life I actually read the terms and conditions of a video game before agreeing, which basically just listed a lot of different ways that I could, and probably would, be murdered. Including ¡°laceration¡±, ¡°decapitation¡±, ¡°bisection¡±, and my personal favorite ¡°incineration¡±. I used my finger to scroll down the list then hesitated for a moment before clicking the box next to ¡°I agree to these terms and conditions as provided by Origin entertainment.¡± The moment I checked the box it evaporated only to be replaced by another box which had slanted italicized letters at the top and various icons along the bottom,
¡°The gods of this world are not without mercy, choose a boon, you have little favor with them at present but favor can be stretched further than you realize.¡±
The icons at the bottom turned out to be tabs, each had a label which represented what types of items where held within. There were a great number of them. Ranging from weapons and armor to abilities, spells and skills. I decided to start with the simplest option, a weapon, I clicked on the tab and a page filled with different weapons, as I scrolled through the page there were hundreds of them, there were swords, knives, mallets, axes crossbows and even a couple of guns. It was honestly a little overwhelming I mean I had never even held a weapon before, unless you counted a pocket knife. I kept scanning and my eyes fell on a sword that looked like it came straight out of Camelot, I brushed my fingers over it and a small window popped up asking if I wanted to test the sword before selecting it for a boon, I clicked yes and a column of light flashed in front of me. I stuck my hand in and closed my fist, when I pulled my hand out of the light I was holding the sword. The thing was trimmed in gold and the pommel had a ruby the size of a child''s fist in it, the length of the blade was as long as long as my chest was tall and the edge looked wickedly sharp. It was beautiful, it was deadly, it was everything I dreamed of, it was really really heavy. I wrapped my other hand around the hilt and grunted to keep the point aloft without my hands trembling. I could barely hold this thing, let alone swing it. I dropped it and it clanged loudly on the ground I went back to the window and as I reached to dismiss the sword I noticed a bar at the top of the window, it had the look of glass and was segmented into five equal parts. 4 of the five were filled with an orange glow. I tapped the bar and the text appeared above it, ¡°Favor:4/5¡±. The earlier window said something about favor, I dismissed the sword and the orange glow in the bar vanished, I clicked the bar read the text again, ¡°Favor:0/5¡±. So that is what the window meant when it spoke about favor, it was a mechanic that kept track of how many boons I could collect. I clicked on a small knife next to the sword and grabbed it, the bar filled two fifths full, I dismissed the knife and the bar went back to zero. ¡°Huh, each item must have a set value for the amount of favor it takes. I''ll just take my time and find the coolest stuff I can get.¡± As I stood there scanning the labels another window popped up.
¡°NOTICE: PEN WILL UNLOCK AFTER TIMER REACHES ZERO¡±
Then a countdown appeared at the top of the window containing the boons, giving me 5 minutes to make a potentially life or death decision. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Or not.¡± I said as the panic started to take over. How could they only give me a couple of minutes in a moment such as this? My brain went into overdrive as my fingers flipped between the tabs. But I didn''t know what to choose now, what if this wasn''t just a one time thing? What if I got sucked into this weird white room on more than one occasion, and what if when you died in this world you died in the real world? The numbers fell away from the countdown clock, I willed myself to calm down. ¡°Okay what do I absolutely need?¡± I thought for a couple of seconds, I definitely needed a weapon but something that still gave me maneuverability. A pistol would be awesome but I have no idea how to work one. Okay so a melee weapon, a knife would weigh the least and let me move unhindered but if I wanted to hurt something I would have to get real close and I didn¡¯t want that. I looked at the clock and saw that I had already spent a minute on this. ¡°Okay well you cant go wrong with a sword I guess, lets just look for one that looks lightweight.¡± I said while still scrolling. About halfway down the page was a one handed double edged sword that took up two favor, the only reason I chose it was because it had a red feather tied to the end and feathers had to be light right? I looked at the clock, two minutes left. Next I needed some armor, this should be easy. Leather armor is always the choice for lightweight characters. A whole set of dark leather armor only took up two favor. I 45 seconds left and one favor to cash in. I went to the spells tab, come on I mean what self respecting nerd wouldn''t jump at the opportunity to fling some spells? The countdown reached 5 seconds, I finalized my decision and the now familiar white light surrounded my body. The clothes I wore began to get uncomfortably hot, the heat kept climbing and my clothes burned away. ¡°Oh great¡± I thought ¡°my clothes just spontaneously combusted¡±. I looked down as the light began to fade away, leaving me a new outfit in its wake. Replacing my old clothes were a leather doublet accompanied by a single leather shoulder pauldren and thickly padded leather trousers. ¡°I would get all the ladies if I took this to the Renaissance fair¡± the palms of my hands started to grow to molten heat levels and another flash appeared, and I found myself gripping my new sword I was glad it was light in my hands, I gave it a few practice swings and tossed it between my hands a few times,whistling in appreciation. ¡°Now that I think about it, that light show really is a nice touch¡±. I was too focused on my new outfit and toys to notice that the pen door had been unlocked and I was unpleasantly surprised as the giant boar headbutted me across the room. I was in a tremendous amount of pain, but not as much as I reasoned I should have been. ¡°Okay definitely not a dream.¡± I pushed myself up to my feet and looked around the room for the creature, I found it 20 feet away standing in a small pool of blood and staring at him with bloodshot eyes, the thing obviously wanted me dead and I couldn''t understand why. ¡°I don''t even like pork!¡± I screamed at the ugly sack of bacon. Wait why was it standing in blood? I couldn''t see any wounds on it, then it dawned on him if the blood wasn''t from the boar then it must have been from him. I inspected my body and sure enough there was a fairly deep cut on my side, judging by how big the animal was and the size of the tusks on it I should have been skewered and dead, the defense of my sporadically picked armor seemed decent enough, and in that moment decent was OK with me. Although I was alive I was hurting all over, I couldn''t take many more hits like that and hope to survive. My brain started working double-time thinking of battle plans and looking for a way out of this crappy situation, if this was supposed to be a game then shouldn''t I see the monsters health bar? And for that matter where was mine? There were too many questions and not enough time, right now I had to focus on the task at hand and this task just so happened to be really hairy, really big and really angry. After a couple minutes the boar decided to end the staring contest and charged again, but this time at least I knew what was coming, I backed up to the wall and waited for the boar to get close. Right before the boar hit me I jumped to the side hoping to use the beasts weight against it, but I acted too early and the creature was able to slow its momentum enough to not hurt it''s self, it squealed and scraped it''s hooves in anger. I rolled to my feet. How was I moving this way? My body has never reacted this well. It felt kind of good, the pig squealed again. ¡°Hey, I''m not happy about this situation either pork-chop!¡± I screamed at the animal which just seemed to make it more upset, ¡°okay now''s not the time to mess around, what can I do? The boar charged once more and I didn''t get enough time to think. I waited again and rolled to the side, only this time I used the opportunity to get some distance between us. I ran for the pen hoping to close the gate before the beast got to me, as I swung the gate shut the boar slammed into it and I watched the wood bow and splinter, Pork-chop backed up and bashed the gate again and again, I was running out of time. I reached the back of the pen, squared my feet and prepared the spell I obtained, my mind forced my mouth to speak the strange words and as they rolled of my tongue like molasses the gate gave way. A magic cricle appeared before me and electricity left my fingertips as the beast charged toward me squealing, I used my first spell to the sound of my ribs breaking. Things dimmed black as I sailed across the ground and I was sure I would have kept flying through the air if it wasn''t for the wall of the animal pen. The jolt of crashing into the wall forced my consciousness back into me and I swiveled my head frantically searching for the monster, I finally saw it seizing in place at the opening of the enclosure, I couldn''t help but smile, the spell I chose had only cost a single point of favor so of course it wouldn''t be anything overly powerful. It was an extremely weak shock spell, named spark. It would not work on any large beings and on the things it did work on the effects were short lived. After another second the boar turned its head towards me and I could see so much hatred in its eyes that I froze. It charged again and I snapped out of my fear with enough time to roll out of the way, bringing my sword along the boars side as I did. I turned and fired another spark, singeing the hair on its back as I did, I ran towards it and using its body as a spring board I jumped in the air, I flipped my sword upside down and using the full force of my weight I shoved it straight between the things shoulder blades. The boar squealed, threw me off its back and collapsed on the ground. I slowly walked to the side of the boar, it was struggling to stand. It looked like I must have damaged it''s spine, it kept screaming, at the injustice that was being brought to it. I gripped my sword in both hands and plunged it deep within the beasts side, the monster went completely silent, I withdrew the blade and watched as the blood dripped off its tip adding to the puddle that was forming on the floor. This was the first time I had personally taken another things life, I didn''t like it. It''s not that some overwhelming feeling of regret washed over me, no it was the opposite, I felt good, better than I had ever felt before. An enemy tried to stand in my way and I struck it down. I stared into the puddle as my body shook with excitement. Chapter 3: A boy and the people he meets. I made it three feet from the gate when I realized I forgot to check the body, if this was a game then the beast was sure to have some monster drops right? As I neared the body the monster erupted to its feet and spun wildly, its shoulder knocking me to the ground. The boar lowered its head and started to stab its tusks into me, I screamed in agony as it tore my insides up. My mind was numb, filled with nothing but pain, but slowly the pain was starting to be replaced by a new emotion, anger. I wasn''t going to die on my back. As the boar brought its head up to tear into me again I swung hard and knocked It''s head to the side then started stabbing wildly at any part of the creature that looked like it might hurt. I didn''t know how long the fight had lasted but by the time it was all said and done I was covered in blood, and trapped under a 700 pound pig. I somehow managed to push the boar off me and then slowly and painfully get to my feet. I stumbled to the nearest wall and collapsed, moments passed then a window popped up like before,
Through hard work and the resourcefulness of a true adventurer you have completed test trial 001. Difficulty:F Reward: 1 Favor, 500 XP.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Sorcery. All of life is world energy, it flows through everyone and everything, you have channeled the ambient power of world energy through your body and used it as mana to defeat your foes! Use this power to blaze the path ahead into the unknown. Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Swordsmanship. The sword has been the tool of many great warriors, and for good reason, it has great versatility and is destructive. If one can master the way of the sword no enemy will stand in your way. Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Dodge. The brave man endures the blow, the smart man moves out of the way. Level up! Level up! You have leveled up, please open your character sheet to spend your stat points. Since you have no class you will be awarded 5 stat points to use and 1 ability point. Great, well at least I got something for the nightmare I just went through. How did I use what I just earned though? Something buzzed in my pocket and it took me a good five minutes before I figured out how to get to it, it was my phone, I was sure I left it on my night stand before leaving my room. I had a notification from the app that had vanished from my phone earlier, I opened it up and the same magic circle as before appeared and standing there in the middle was mini Cole wearing the same leather doublet that I was wearing and holding the sword I had. Next to mini Cole were tabs including, an inventory, a character sheet, an abilities list, and a map complete with a quest menu. At the top left of the screen were two arrows facing opposite directions which I reasoned was the full screen button. I tapped it and a window like what had popped up before appeared in front of him showing the same information that was on my phone. ¡°Huh, that''s cool, now lets see about these stat points¡±. In full screen mode there were a couple additions to the menu, one was an icon with a door that read ¡°quit game¡±, before leaving I wanted to look at all of my menu. I opened up the character tab and looked it over, it showed a list of attributes along with a brief explanation of the functions they served. Name: Cole Richardson Class: N/A Level:3(3%) Health: 2/15 (RR:5/Hr) Stamina:5/15 (RR:3/Min) Mana:11/15(RR:3/Hr) Endurance:3 (Determines regeneration rate "RR" of stamina, also raises defense when dealing with physical attacks) Spirit:3(Determines regeneration rate "RR" of Mana, also raises defense when dealing with magical attacks)If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Strength:3(Determines base attack damage of physical attacks, as well as how physically fit your body is as a whole) Dexterity:3(Determines attack speed as well as fine motor controls) Intelligence:3(Determines base attack damage of magical attacks, as well as problem solving) Agility:3(Determines your movement speed, as well as dodge chance) Charisma:3(Determines your social skills, affects leadership) Luck:5(good luck figuring it out) Skills: Sorcery Lvl:1(12%) /Swordsmanship Lvl:1(27%) /Dodge Lvl 1(43%) Earlier the window said that I leveled up, which had earned me 10 stat points, I mulled the possibilities over for awhile but I was just way too exhausted to think straight. I closed the window and was putting my phone in my pocket when I heard a noise, I slowly stood up and searched the area, nothing stood out though, I limped over to the wall and started to examine it more closely, it wasn''t made of any material I had seen before. It looked like a white board but didn''t shine and it wasn''t slick, it was almost as if they didn''t have any texture at all. The noise sounded and I made my way around the room and noticed a small wooden vending stall that I didn''t remember seeing there earlier, when I reached it I read the words on the front, ¡°used weapons and junk.¡± ¡°Was this here the whole time?¡± I asked aloud speaking to myself. ¡°No i decided to set up shop after you got rid of that nasty pig¡± came a high pitched voice from nowhere. I wheeled around half expecting another pop up screen to appear but there was nothing there I turned back around and peered behind the stand, there was nothing there. I was sure I heard a voice but for the life of me I couldn''t find the source anywhere and just when I was sure that I was crazy and that the knock from the box of coffee had been the one straw to break the crazy camels back, a tiny light drifted down from the open ceiling and settled on top of the stand. ¡°Hello, my name is Pixamantles but you can just call me Pix, I''m a merchant.¡± said the light. I couldn''t believe the craziness that was happening tonight. ¡°you''re a fair...¡± Pix cut him off. ¡°Somehow I made my way to this weird space. I can sell you some stuff if you want but first can you tell me how the hell to get out of here?¡± Okay the voice and appearance are definable not matching the attitude. ¡°You mean you don''t know where we are?¡± I asked not believing the small creature. ¡°You think I would stay here of my own choosing? this place might not have trash littered everywhere but it''s still a dump, also you''re pretty rude. Asking questions without introducing yourself first.¡± I blushed although I wasn''t exactly sure why, ¡°I''m sorry my name is Cole and I got teleported to this room like half an hour ago, I thought it was just a weird virtual world but if you''re here than you''re either a rogue program or fairies are real, I''m not sure which is more ridiculous.¡± this comment seemed to upset her, the light around her turned crimson and it started to expand, then a black haired teen in a band T-shirt, cut up jeans and a face full of jewelry took its place. ¡°What?! You think that we''re just so whimsical, cute and silly that we couldn''t possibly be real? Well a stupid looking weirdo dressed in my lord of the rings pajamas looks just as ridiculous!¡± Under normal circumstances I would have yelled back and what would undoubtedly be a strange looking yelling match would ensue, but I was too taken back to say anything so I didn''t, I just stood there with a stupid looking grin on my face. But she didn''t see this as the end of the conversation apparently. ¡°What are you looking at? Or is that just how stupid your face usually looks, and if it wasn''t already apparent my offer to sell you goods is off the table you racist.¡± That last word was the comment that knocked me to the present. ¡°Whoa, I''m sorry that I didn''t believe you but this is my first experience with something like this. Magic and fairies and giant pigs are something I''ve only seen in video games and movies, I really am sorry but did I deserve that? I fell like I''m getting the brunt of something that I didn''t start.¡± Her face softened a bit, ¡°well I''ll except your apology but it was still rude.¡± She sighed ¡°you''re right though, I finally got my traders license yesterday and as I went to the spot in the market place that was reserved for me things turned upside down and the next thing I know I was lying on my stomach completely out of mana looking face to face at that huge boar, luckily the pen was between us but it was still a huge shock.¡± I couldn''t help but feel bad for the girl, ¡°I flew up to the ceiling and floated there regaining my strength and was about to fly down and get rid of that thing when you showed up, so I decided to sit back and watch the show, anyway do you know a way out?¡± ¡°Well, I''m not sure exactly how it works but I have an app that opens into a huge game screen and on that menu there¡¯s an exit button¡±, I took my phone out then opened the menu to show her. ¡°Oh, I thought that you must have been an apprentice sorcerer or something with the magic you used on the boar.¡± ¡°apprentice sorcerer..¡± I said, not really speaking to her ¡°Well of course, there''s no way you could be a full fledged one your magic was pretty wimpy, my 6 year old niece can make a shock spell stronger than that. Good thing that was so weak, otherwise you would have been a shishkabob.¡± the color drained from my face and she must have noticed. ¡°Don''t be sad about it! You beat the porker which means you''re not a total wimp.¡± I chuckled at her bad attempt at making me feel better, she punched my shoulder. ¡°There you go. Now lets get out of here, use your nerdy magic to get us out.¡± I tapped the exit button and an alert popped up ¡°are you sure you want to leave?¡± I pressed yes and a door appeared, I made my way to it and when I reached it I turned the knob and opened it, turning to looking at the room one last time before making my way through the doorway and hopefully back to somewhere that made sense. Chapter 4:A boy and the bonds he forges The doorway was so bright and as I stepped through that I had to cover my eyes, as I crossed whatever threshold was holding the two places together I was momentarily disoriented, as I opened my eyes I was surprised to see my poster filled ceiling above me. I felt my covers begin to shift and when I glanced at them a strange lump was moving beneath them, needless to say I flew off my bed. After a couple more seconds Pix''s head popped out from under the covers. ¡°Okay dude, why am I in your bed? And by the way you need to wash these things, they smell worse than some homeless people I know.¡± She said matter of factly while looking around the room. ¡°You really are a nerd, you know most guys your age have posters of half naked ladies but you have buff guys in armor. I thought it was weird that you didn''t even try to pick me up, now I know why.¡± this girls attitude was finally getting on my nerves, ¡°are you always this rude to people or is just me?¡± She looked at him, her expression remaining neutral. ¡°I thought it was part of my charm, are you always this easily upset or is it just me?¡± She said casually while getting out of my bed. I sighed, ¡°Do you need to use my phone to call a cab or something?¡± I said turning over to look at her. ¡°Well that all depends on where we are.¡± Said Pix, exploring the room. ¡°Summerset Pennsylvania, it''s about 3 hours west of Harrisburg.¡± I said. Pix turned around so fast that she almost fell down, ¡°Pennsylvania!? Freaking Pennsylvania! I was in New York an hour ago!¡± I sat up, ¡°That is pretty far, you would have to have ridden a fighter jet to get here that fast, but I guess that''s magic for you.¡± I said shrugging , getting up and opening the door to the rest of the apartment. I went to the kitchen and grabbed two cans of pop, ¡°I''m still confused though, you''re a fairy right? Are there fairies everywhere or just in New York? And are there other races? Like orcs and vampires and stuff?¡± I said while offering her one of the cans. ¡°Wow you are new to the Labyrinth huh?¡± Pix said as she popped the tab and took a drink. ¡°Whats the Labyrinth? Is that where all you guys live or something? Like the Greek myth? Whoa are there minotaurs!? I freaking love minotaurs.¡± I said excitedly. ¡°So many questions, I''ll try to answer them in order.¡± Pix said as she set her drink down, ¡°No fairies aren''t just in New York, although the art and music has drawn a huge following there which has amassed a pretty big colony¡± she said. Pix continued answering the questions, ¡°Yes there are other races, the main ones are fairies, vampires, therianthropes, sorcerers and witches. Orcs and Minotaurs do exist along with a slew of others that exist in pop culture today, oh and spirits if you count them but that debate has been going on forever. Anyway, yes they do exist but their number is exceedingly low and they are a sort of endangered species, we''re normally referred to as ¡°Supernaturals¡± but everyone just says ¡°Supes¡± for short.¡± as she talked she counted her fingers as if to keep track of the questions. ¡°The answer to your final question is both yes and no, the Labyrinth is not a place but it is where we live. It''s the new age term used for the magical underworld. Now is the history lesson over? Because no offense to this lovely little town of yours but I would really like to get back home as soon as possible.¡± she said taking another drink. ¡°You can fly when you turn into that little ball thing right? Why don¡¯t you just fly back?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes I can fly but that''s like asking me to run back, yes I would get there in a day or two but I would probably die from exhaustion first, and I would really like not to die.¡± Pix answered. ¡°Well I don''t have the money to get you a plane ticket or anything.¡± I said apologetically. As we sat there somberly I got an idea, ¡°but I think I might know someone who can help, and I''m sure he can afford a plane ticket.¡± Five hours later Pix and I were standing outside the Origin entertainment building in Harrisburg, we walked into the lobby and up to the lone receptionist, she was sitting behind a towering desk that came up to my chest. ¡°Hello, and welcome to Origin entertainment! How can I help you today?¡± said the perky lady. ¡°Hello, my name is Cole Richardson. I called earlier about seeing Mr. Adams¡± I replied to the receptionist. ¡°Oh yes Mr. Richardson! The R&D department has been phoning up here every hour asking if you were here yet, you must be pretty important.¡± She said smiling with a face full of glowing white teeth. ¡°There''s a map over there¡± she pointed with her finger, ¡°Find R&D and just follow the arrows on the ground, you and your girlfriend have a good day!¡± ¡°Wait a minute shes not my--¡± I started to say but was interrupted. ¡°Yes we will try to have a good one, you too.¡± Pix replied, pushing me to the sign, ¡°Let''s just go with it, I usually get thrown out of places like this.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m sure as soon as I tell them whats going on they''ll let you stay so there''s no need to lie.¡± I said as I pried her hand away from my arm. ¡°What am I not pretty enough to be your girlfriend? Jeez just as I was starting to think you were an okay guy.¡± she talked as if she was upset but she couldn''t hide the smile on her face. ¡°That''s not it, you''re really pretty it''s just that¡ª¡± she interrupted me again, I was really getting tired of that. ¡°Awe you think I''m pretty? I take everything back.¡± she said and then punched me on the arm. They reached the big map, it looked like the ones that you see in malls complete with a ¡°you are here¡± sticker. The place was huge, I had never been in an office building before but I didn''t think they were all this big. Pix and I followed the yellow arrow on the ground to some elevators, stepped in and pressed the button for the bottom level. ¡°So this Ted guy is the one that gave you the app?¡± Pix asked as she watched the floor numbers go down. ¡°Yeah, he came in my work yesterday upset and talking on the phone to someone.¡± Was it really only yesterday? I asked myself, the events of last night seemed so long ago, ¡°Then he hung up and bought a water, he started asking me a bunch of questions out of the blue and when he found out I play one of the games that Origin makes he gave me the app. At the time I should have been a lot more suspicious, but the holy grail of video games had just fallen into my lap.¡± I explained. ¡°Did you hear anything of what he was talking about?¡± she asked. I had to think for a second when she asked that, ¡°Yeah a little bit, he definitely said something about losing a test subject and then he started threatening whoever was on the other end of the phone, telling them that if they didn''t find another one that it was their head.¡± ¡°Well he sounds like a peach.¡± Pix said sarcastically, the elevator continued falling for what seemed like ages before it eventually stopped. This place was definitely a lot bigger than regular office buildings. ¡°Looks like this is us.¡± The doors opened to a long poorly lit hallway, at the end were two large metal doors with some type of artwork on them and standing next to them I could only assume was a lost gorilla that happened to find a security uniform. Although I was reluctant I followed Pix down the hallway. As we approached the gorilla he put his hand on his side arm and held his hand out. ¡°this is a restricted area, you don''t have access badges so I''m going to ask you to leave.¡± he spoke like he had gurgled gravel that morning. ¡°What''s with the attitude dude? We''re supposed to be here, and who do you think you''re threatening me with that little toy of yours¡± Pix''s hands started to glow and I had to keep her from walking up to the big guy. ¡°Oh, we must have gotten off on the wrong floor. We''re looking for the R&D department I''m sorry we''ll leave, come on Pix¡± I said as I tried in vain to turn her around. ¡°This is the R&D department, what is your business here?¡± the guard asked with his hand still on the pistol. I turned back towards the guard, ¡°My name is Cole Richardson, I was supposed to meet someone here.¡± and with that the gorilla finally relaxed, he lowered his hand and spoke more casually. ¡°I''m sorry Mr. Richardson, I was expecting someone more..I don''t know just more, and I was unaware that you would be bringing company.¡± he gestured towards Pix. ¡°It''s not every day that you see a fairy and human together, and when they are things usually get pretty weird.¡± the guard turned and swiped my key card in the door and it opened without a sound. ¡°Just walk straight and there will be someone to help you, have a good day Mr. Richardson.¡± The area past the huge doorway was vastly different than what I was expecting, I imagined that the R&D department would just be a bunch of young people fresh out of college playing ping pong and brainstorming ideas about future video games. Instead it looked like something crossed between where NASA made satellites and Dr. Frankenstein''s laboratory. Pix and I walked the expanse of technology without a hitch, when we reached the top of a set of stairs the sound of a large explosion could be heard and the ground shook violently. Pix grabbed onto me to keep balanced, ¡°What in Grismodal''s ballsack was that?!¡± Pix said with extreme femininity. As if he timed it a red skinned young man dressed in a lab coat and sporting a Mohawk stumbled out of a side door rapidly filling with smoke, coughing and staring at the ceiling he spoke aloud, ¡°Huh that''s funny, the sprinklers usually turn on by now.¡± After the man finished coughing the rest of his lung out of his chest he noticed the two of us standing there and approached smiling ear to ear, the gleaming white of his teeth was a perfect contrast to the black ash covering his face. I walked up to Pix and me and stuck his fist out to me for a bump, to which I reluctantly obliged to, ¡°What''s up my dude''s? My name''s Randal McGrouder, but my friends call me Roundout, I''m the lead fantasy interaction developer here. You''re Cole right? I''m supposed to take you to Mr. big dog Adams, oh cool you brought a friend.¡± he looked Pix up and down then stuck his fist out to her, ¡°definitely some kind of Fae, woodland tribe?¡± Pix bumped the fist. ¡°Close, I''m actually plains tribe.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Roundout nodded my head in agreement, ¡°awesome that means were like long lost fourth cousins or something, I''m half Wendigo on my mother''s side.¡± The dude''s office is at the other end of the sub-level, on our way there I''ll give you the grand tour.¡± he gestured to the back of the huge room. Roundout walked backwards as he started his speech, ¡°everything you see past this point is strictly need to know, if you try using any recording devices our security systems will notice and automatically launch a targeted E.M.P and fry said recording devices so if you want to keep your phone working then I would keep it in your pants.¡± ¡°Our first stop on today''s tour will be here at the Tech lab, this is were we develop the beautiful technology that keeps us at the forefront of the modern world''s development. Origin is just one company managed by a group of incredibly powerful people and here in this lab we make more than just video games, here we make everything ranging from government satellites to cpu''s in smart phones.¡± said Roundout as he led them through a brightly lit room full of odd pieces of metal. I stopped to pick up and look at an expensive piece of circuitry, ¡°why am I being told all this? I''m just a tester for one of your apps.¡± Roundout took the piece out of I''s hand and set it back on the table, ¡°Oh my dude, you are way more than that. Do you know how hard it is to find someone who can pass the first test and who doesn''t have anyone to miss him if he doesn''t? Plus you kind of screwed the pooch last night opening that app early which means the more you know the better you can do to make up for that, anyway we''ll get to that.¡± I must have looked upset about that comment because Roundout put his hand on my shoulder as if to comfort me, ¡°sorry man, that must have sounded rude. My bad I''m not that great with socialization, besides you should be glad. Normally someone in your shoes would either be dead or locked up in one of our containment cells. After what you did yesterday I''m seriously surprised why they''re letting me take you to Mr. Adams instead of a being escorted by guards with your hands cuffed.¡± I was confused by that comment, ¡°what exactly did I do?¡± Roundout started walking again, ¡°you started the app before midnight man, that messed with a whole mess of stuff here. They''re still cleaning up the blood from some of the sorcerer''s that were performing the ritual, but this is the boring stuff our next stop is where the magic happens.¡± he used his fingers to make quotation marks when he said ¡°magic¡±. The strange man kept the informative tour moving along as the three of them walked for another 10 minutes, until they reached yet another set of doors, although this one had more security than the original doors with Mr. Gorilla. ¡°Why is there more security here than there is at the entrance? If you''re trying to keep people from getting in you''ve put the guards in the wrong spot¡± I said. Their guide turned around before approaching the door. ¡°Well you just answered your own question bruh, we''re not trying to keep people out here, we''re trying to keep things in.¡± Roundout smiled brightly at my own comment. ¡°also I think that my dude Drinkle is more than enough to keep out the occasional fan-boy that tries to break into a video game company, were-dudes are tough like that yanno?¡± My jaw almost hit the floor, ¡°no way, I knew no regular person could have that much hair.¡± Pix and I had to stand and wait in front of the door while the 4 armed guards inspected every inch of us with strange looking devices, even Roundout got searched momentarily, after what seemed like an eternity we made their way through the reinforced double doors and into another mundane looking space, as we walked a couple feet within a shiver ran up my spine and I started to sweat even though the air was chilly. ¡°Gross, what''s this feeling I''m getting right now, It''s like I''m watching a horror movie.¡± Round spoke over my shoulder as I kept walking, ¡°that would be your natural fight or flight response dude, it''s the same thing a gazelle feels when a lion is hiding in the grass. Although once we reach our destination you might wish it was just a lion.¡± I imagined I could suffocate on the amount of silence that followed us as we continued their walk. Their destination happened to be a three floored rotunda with several darkly lit, giant cages with an even larger empty cell in the center. Numerous guards were patrolling the floors and lab coat wearing scientist milled about with various projects. ¡°Okay I will bite, what is all this?¡± said I gesturing to the cages with my hands. ¡°I already told you this is where the magic happens, well technically the magic happens on the third floor so that we can access the sky if need be.¡± The ash-faced man said easily as he picked his ear using my little finger. Pix spoke before I had the chance, ¡°don''t try and be cute you surfer wannabe! Why do you have hundreds of Monstrum locked up in here and why is there blood coating the entire floor?!¡± she spoke with so much anger and force that a few guards stopped their patrol and aimed their weapons at her. Roundout raised his hands and spoke calmly, ¡°easy dudes, our friend here is a just a nature lover. She means no harm.¡± He turned to her and spoke. ¡°The blood is from Jerry, he was a cool guy but he got a little too comfortable with one of the harpy''s. And to answer your first question you can think of this as like a super duper big dog pound, the Monstrum we keep here are only the one''s that have caused dangerous situations out in the world, we keep them here to study. We have to have a complete understanding of them so our AI can spawn them in the astral program, which by the way we''re calling Limbo, awesome name right? I wish I came up with it¡± ¡°Wait, what is a Monstrum?¡± I asked. ¡°That is the Latin term for monster, its what most of the people in the labyrinth call the creatures that can''t be explained by science, the bristle boar you fought last night was Monstrum.¡± said Roundout. ¡°If that''s what monster''s are like then I''m going to be disappointed, that thing wasn''t a monster it was just a big pig.¡± I said incredulously. ¡°Don''t get full of yourself man, that thing you fought last night was a juvenile it was like 6 months old. If you had went up against a fully grown one you would be like a blood sprinkler right now dude.¡± As I finished my sentence a long green tongue came from the cage and lashed out around Roundout''s arm and a giant horned frog hopped into view. I flinched back as Pix''s hands started to glow, Roundout held his hand up. ¡°It''s okay guy''s, this Beelzebufo demon has been acting up a lot recently.¡± He turned to cage and his voice dropped an octave, ¡°LeT gO Of mY aRM BuG BreATH!¡± the tongue immediately retreated and when Roundout turned back around his eyes were glowing a pale green and there was a stench like rotting flesh in the air. ¡°Sorry guy''s I usually try to keep my mom''s blood out of the public view.¡± Roundout said as he pulled a comb and straightened his Mohawk, I noticed that his fingers were elongated and the nails looked more like claws. ¡°That was a little scary man, but pretty awesome too.¡± said Pix with a slight bit of awe. Roundout laughed, ¡°if you thought that was scary you should see my mom when she''s mad at me, anyway now that you''ve seen where we keep the creepy crawlies I think it''s finally time to take you to the main attraction.¡± We passed more cages holding Monstrum on our way to an elevator which would take them to the third floor and to whatever it was that had made Roundout continuously repeat things like, ¡°oh man dude you''re going to love this¡± and ¡°I just want to tell you but it will ruin the surprise.¡± Whatever the surprise was I just wished it lived up to all the hype my new friend was building. The third floor did not have any cages, instead the space was mostly taken up by computer servers. Roundout led us near the back wall furthest from the elevator and towards what vaguely resembled a floating planetarium. As we approached it he held his arm out to stop us, ¡°I''m not a serious guy my dude''s, but I cannot be more serious when I say that you can''t touch anything once we make it to where we''re going, cool?¡± Pix and I spoke at the same time, ¡°cool.¡± What I originally thought was a planetarium turned out to be a bunch of metal spheres just floating around in the air, ¡°I have to tell you Roundout, no matter how cool floating balls are I''m really disappointed. I was expecting a dragon guarding a magic sword or something.¡± I said unenthusiastically. A deep voice responded to my statement, ¡°well I''m sorry to disappoint Sir Knight Magister.¡± Before I could find where the voice came from another one spoke. ¡°If I had a list of creatures I could change myself into I assure you that a dragon would be near the top.¡± I slowly turned around in a circle, ¡°okay who''s there? And why did you call me that, my name is Cole.¡± A third voice spoke and I turned back towards the spheres and saw that one of them was glowing a bright yellow, ¡°in this world you are Cole Richardson, but in Lyran you are Artorias Gray the leader of the prestigious guild ''Howlpack of Olympus'' correct?¡± I spoke low, ¡°how did you know that...?¡± Roundout spoke then, ¡°Cole my dude let me introduce you to Solomon, he is the first of his kind. An artificial intelligence created through a perfect union of magic and technology, He is the one who will run Limbo when it''s up and running. There will be no updates to the program, no patches, no shutting down for maintenance because Solomon evolves to suit the needs of Limbo. There is no set story or future in Limbo each characters personal choices and actions will define the world and once you''ve made a choice there is no going back. It is in every sense of the word a virtual reality. And in that reality Solomon here is the omniscient god presiding over it all.¡± ¡°Well, to be fair I should probably say god''s,¡± Roundout continued. ¡°He is the A.I. That governs it all, but he splits his personality into several different fragments so that there is a specific figure to pair an action to. For example his fragment Marbas is in charge of architecture and civil management and his fragment Agares is in charge of the monsters and animals of the world, all in all there are 8 of these fragments.¡± Pix spoke before I could, ¡°well that''s all cool and nerdy but why would you need magic for something like a video game?¡± She did have a point. ¡°Well in terms of pure technology we''re still a couple decades out before we can make a virtual reality as real as the one we make with a combination of the two.¡± Roundout said plainly. ¡°I''m still confused as to how any of this works at all.¡± I said while rubbing my temples. Roundout smiled, ¡°that''s cool my man, you''re actually acclimating a lot faster than most people, must be all the games...you nerd.¡± he punched me lightly in the arm to make his point. ¡°But since we''re hopefully going to be working together for awhile I guess I could spill the beans.¡± he leaned back against one of the server houses and crossed his legs. ¡°Okay so what we''re eventually going to do is have a headset that you strap to yourself, which with the help of a hidden magic imprint will send your consciousness to a fabricated astral plane, that would be limbo, which by the time we''re finished will largely resemble the world of Lyran, just with an entirely new level of detail and realness. Once there you will have free reign to do as you wish, all the while the headset will use a strong cpu to monitor and store all that happens there while also keeping track of your vital signs, although nothing dangerous should happen. Its mainly just there in case you naturally have a seizure or something, which if that happens it will immediately notify the nearest healthcare location.¡± He exhaled deeply and stood straight again, ¡°that''s the bare bones of it at least, anyway we should go see the big dog now.¡± I was blown away with all of what he said, ¡°okay I think I followed most of that, but I do have one question.¡± Roundout turned around and lifted an eyebrow, ¡°yeah go ahead and shoot my dude.¡± I turned back and pointed at Solomon''s body, ¡°if there are 8 fragments, then why are there only 7 orbs?¡± Roundout walked towards Solomon and counted the orbs with his fingers, he did this 3 times before he said anything. ¡°Okay there should definitely be one more, yo S-man wheres the rest of you?¡± One of Solomon''s orbs lit up a pale blue, ¡°I do not know what you mean Randal I have always been made up of 7 fragments, I did not want to interrupt your explanation earlier but you were quite wrong.¡± Roundout seemed to mull this over for a minute, ¡°okay well would you be so kind as to name the seven fragments for me please.¡± Solomon glowed again, ¡°of course Randal, alphabetically I am comprised of Agares, Amon, Bael, Marbas, Samigina, Valefor and lastly Vassago.¡± while Solomon spoke Roundout counted the names on his fingers, ¡°...Valefor, Vassago,....¡± after thinking for a minute he snapped his fingers, ¡°you forgot Barbatos S-man, I don''t see how that guy is a huge doucher.¡± All of Solomon''s orbs blinked various colors before replying in more of a whisper than a voice, ¡°Barbatos.....Barbatos....Barbatos....BARBATOS ISSSSSS DEEEAAADDDDDD¡± following that all of the lights went shut off, including the ones on Solomon. ¡°Well that''s not ominous at all,¡± Pix said succinctly. Roundout spoke loudly, ¡°okay dudes no one panic, the backup generators should come up in 3...2....1...¡± For a short while nothing happened, then the air was permeated with monstrous howls and human screams. ¡°I guess we can panic now.¡±