《GameFrame Online: The Completionist Chronicles Book One: Never Look Back》 Chapter One: The Devil Wears a Black Dress ¡°Sacrifice your best friend,¡± I told the hooded figure standing next to me, cloaked in artificial shadow. ¡°Excuse me?¡± The figure said, in a similar genderless synthetic voice we¡¯d all been assigned during the conversion process. ¡°This is an Alchemy Studios game. They are notorious for giving you a companion for the tutorial, put in a lot of effort to make you like them, and only after you finish do you find out that there is a locked achievement for completing the tutorial solo. The last game they did, they even had a lockout code that prevented you from starting over to get it. Sacrifice your best friend, first thing, if you want full completion. Anyways, it¡¯s just an NPC, and Tutorials are built to be super easy anyway.¡± ¡°Christ, you sound like a psychopath,¡± was all they said, sliding away from me. It had been the first conversation I¡¯d willingly had with someone in six hours. I don¡¯t get along with people well; people are complicated, but games are not. I lifted the mitten-like ivory hand and swiped the air in front of me to bring up the progress menu. Sixty-five percent completed. I and the dozen or so others, all identical hooded mannequin forms, floated through the infinite white space that was the pre-loading server. We had been selected for various reasons to join what Alchemy Studio¡¯s parent company AGI was calling the next evolution in entertainment: a synthetic world. We didn¡¯t have to sign NDAs since we¡¯d be put into medically-induced comas for the duration, our minds uploaded into the machine itself. What we did have to sign away were our legal rights and protections. While we were plugged in, our bodies would be the property of AGI, and we all knew that. They made a point of it during our orientation two days prior. Even the uploading process was experimental, and there was no guarantee it¡¯d actually work, let alone be something stable enough to house not one, but many human minds. Frankly, I couldn¡¯t care less. I¡¯ve not exactly had the best life, and I¡¯m not known for being very personable, let alone nice. But I¡¯m getting ahead of myself. Hi. I¡¯m Rafael Fuller, and I¡¯m a Completionist. For those of you not in the know, a Completionist in gaming is someone who literally makes a point of doing it all. This is tracked in many games through achievements, awards you get for doing various tasks like defeating a hard boss, finishing out some challenge, even defeating a set number of enemies, the list goes on and on. You got that? I do things and collect shinies, in layman¡¯s terms. Now, as I sat in the loading server, not knowing how much time had passed in the real world, a few of the others floated into a group, talking among themselves. ¡°Great,¡± I thought, ¡°already people are forming clans.¡± Remember how I said I wasn¡¯t that personable? The only reason I ever got invited to clans anymore was that I¡¯m a Completionist. When you¡¯re the guy who¡¯s done it all, that¡¯s when the people who need a little bit of help come out of the woodwork, not caring if you¡¯ve got the bedside manner of a honey badger on a bad day. It¡¯s always good to get into a clan, but I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m a little picky with people I associate with. Usually, I run solo. Running solo seemed to be par for the course for this group, as well. I had no idea who the rest of them were, and they didn¡¯t know who I was. I like that the best; even if one of them had managed to learn my real name, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered. Gamers tend to be a little protective of their real identities in any case, but online handles can make or break you in the community. None of these people knew who Rafael Fuller was, but I¡¯m damn sure at least half of them knew who ¡°Never¡± was. I had been a rising star in MMOs since I started playing at a very young age. Between neglectful parents who were more than happy to have the computer babysit me, and a need to be the best, I made quick work of the more juvenile MMOs and moved up to the mainstream ones, even if my age was a violation of the Terms of Services. All in all, I wanted to see what this new system was about. Let these other beta players make their guilds and clans, their little social networks that run their lives. I was only interested in beating the game and moving on. What seemed like hours passed, and I kept to myself, even when others had tried to get me to join them. I heard a sound like a bell in the distance, and I quickly swiped my hand in the air to bring up the progress menu. One hundred percent uploaded. The world went out of focus for a moment, and I realized not everyone had uploaded at the same rate; this blurriness was a bit of catch-up since my completion freed up some bandwidth. Once my vision cleared, and everyone seemed to be on the level, the menu changed. Patching. One Percent. There may be discomfort. The world turned upside down, and I felt like I was being liquefied and pulled inside out. It didn¡¯t hurt, but I never wanted to experience anything like it again. Time stood still while racing at millennia a nanosecond. All of us, in our proto-avatars, clawed at the infinite white void, a chorus of similar voices screaming in confusion. Our minds were being patched like code. It felt like someone opened my head, increased its capacity and fed it raw data. It was like a memory, but not the sort you actively remember, like how your body knows to make your heart beat or the how of remembering. I blacked out. I¡¯m sure others did too, but I was the last one up. When I awoke, there was a woman, maybe in her early to mid-thirties in the room with us. Considering I could see it was a woman, and not one of the mannequin bodies the rest of us had been given, my guess was an admin. She was about 6¡¯ tall, wearing a black business suit with creases so severe, I thought they were simply lo-res polygons. Her hair was styled in an asymmetrical bob, platinum blonde hair covering her right eye. When she spoke, there was a faint Russian accent. ¡°Hello, candidates,¡± she started, ¡°my name is Ms. Levicia, and I am here not representing Alchemy Games, but rather its parent company, Ahkriman-Gemini Inc. With the magnitude of such a project, you must understand the gravity of what you¡¯re about to experience. She walked around the room, looking each of us up and down in turn. I assume she could see more than we could, most likely our identities floating above our heads, like we were characters in an MMO. ¡°So, here¡¯s the deal. As of right now, there is no going back. You have opted for total immersion. Whatever your reason, I do not care. The contracts have been signed, so until the end of this project, your bodies are the property of AGI. The discomfort you all felt, some of you more than others,¡± she said looking in my direction, a smirk appearing on her face, ¡°is what happens currently when we update the system. Your brains have already been uploaded into the system and, as such, are data. Data we can patch and manipulate. As the head of security for AGI, I have been instructed to give you a brief overview of what is in store for you.¡± I sat up, listening intently; this woman was all business, and the fact she let us know we were already past the point of no return was disconcerting. I mean, I was in this for the long run regardless, even with the discomfort of patching, but to be told we were just code, property? Looking around at the others, I guessed from their basic body language that many were having second thoughts. However, if they were distracted and I paid attention, that could give me an edge in the game. ¡°You are about to enter a project currently referred to in-house as GameFrame Online. I believe the developers at Alchemy are leaning towards a commercial name of Global Technoplex Fantasia Online.¡± At that, I burst out into synthetic laughter. She whipped her head around and glared at me. ¡°Something funny?¡± she asked. ¡°You really want to name a game you upload your consciousness into GTFO? That¡¯s a marketing nightmare to have to begin with.¡± She smiled and then raised a hand. ¡°Remind me we need to talk one-on-one after the¡­overview.¡± I gulped, even though I didn¡¯t need to. She continued, ¡°GameFrame Online is a central hub for a batch of new total immersion MMOs Alchemy Studios is currently developing. There are five currently available, and a sixth is in progress. You will be given a star rating upon defeating the current final boss for each game. There are three stars available to dictate your mastery. When you three-star all five live worlds, you will gain access to the sixth when it is ready to be published.¡± With that, a door appeared at her side. It was more of an arch of light with a liquid curtain-like surface to it. It peeled back and showed a star field extending into infinity, with a single golden path. ¡°The project will terminate when the first player completes the sixth game with a three-star rating. At that point, you will be given the option to remain inside or return to your bodies. However, as motivation to be the first one to finish, AGI will award that player one hundred million dollars. One of the others raised their hand, and Ms. Levicia gestured to them to speak. ¡°So, you¡¯re keeping our bodies hostage? I thought this was just a game for fun! I mean, yeah, I quit my job because of this opportunity, but I thought I¡¯d be in for maybe, you know, a couple weeks or a month or something. I had no idea I¡¯d be signing up for this. Also, how can a game company afford to give a $100 million prize for beating a beta test?¡± Ms. Levicia smiled. ¡°It¡¯s more compensation for what we¡¯ll be doing with your bodies in the interim. After all, they are AGI property now. The technology needed to transplant a human mind into a computer has enough scientific and medical uses that we¡¯re certain the prize will be a drop in the bucket compared to what it will earn us.¡± I had to admit, I felt like I made a deal with a devil and she wore a black suit. Ms. Levicia jerked a thumb at the portal. ¡°This concludes your overview. Everyone in.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She watched as everyone lined up but kept an eye on me and signaled for me to stay at the back of the line. I did as I was instructed; goodness knows I didn¡¯t want to make things any harder on myself. I watched as each player vanished through the portal, soon leaving me alone with the head of AGI security. ¡°I¡¯m letting you know,¡± she said, ¡°that while I find your decision to do this foolish, I can¡¯t help but respect you, considering your condition.¡± That¡¯s one of the last things you need to know about me; I¡¯m dying. It was the selling point for me choosing to go on this little adventure. I got uploaded into a system, and doctors could have their way with trying to figure out how to fix me without me having to actually go through the torturous ordeal of months in a hospital. The hundred million would come in handy for my future if I actually had one. The downside to all of this was: if my body died, I was stuck in the system forever. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I know no game lasts forever, but I¡¯ve never been one to believe in an afterlife. If my body was going to go within a couple of months, as far as the doctors thought, having some additional time killing goblins seemed like the thing to do, rather than suffer through surgeries. She looked at me as if she were reading me like a book. I had no idea what sort of information she could see, considering the body I was currently in couldn¡¯t actually emote very well. ¡°You have the most risk in the situation, so I¡¯m going to do you a favor,¡± she said, a smile forming on her face. May I call you Never? I know the importance of a code-name.¡± ¡°Please, and what sort of favor?¡± ¡°You see, Never, there¡¯s a mechanic I¡¯ll let you know about. You will be allowed to Prestige when you hit the final level.¡± ¡°Prestige? What, like, one of those idle online clicker games? You sort of start over but you get some inherent bonus your second play through? She nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said, ¡°all the achievements are locked. Once you¡¯ve completed one, it¡¯s yours forever. However, they are locked to whatever level you achieve them at. Let¡¯s say there¡¯s an achievement for killing 1,000 goblins and you get this at Level 30.¡± I nodded. ¡°The bonuses lock once you hit Level 30 on your second playthrough. However, if you should happen to kill 1,000 goblins by Level 10 on your second playthrough, that resets where it is, so every subsequent playthrough, you get to get that bonus much earlier.¡± I blinked. Was she saying what I think she was saying? ¡°Are you telling me that achievements unlock stat bonuses for your character?¡± She nodded. ¡°Frankly, Never, I couldn¡¯t give a damn about this or any other video game, but your profile got me interested in you, and as such, I did a little research into what you¡¯re known for and thought you might find that interesting.¡± This was a game changer that would affect my long-term gameplay. If I was going to do my kill hunting, I had to do it as low-level as possible, making it much more challenging, but I had to get those bonuses as early as I possibly could. ¡°So Ms. Levicia, anything else I should know?¡± ¡°Only that the five games have the same level and prestige system. The inherent bonuses from completing achievements are copied to your core background, not just the character in your game. When you finish one game and start another, you may notice certain boosts when you level up.¡± This was a secret I would keep close to my chest for as long as possible. ¡°Oh, and Mr. Fuller,¡± she mused, reverting to my actual name as I walked toward the portal, ¡°I¡¯ve been informed that every game has a few unique stats and traits, and only through the prestige system will you even get bonuses in those stats when you cross over games.¡± ¡°So, if I go to a high fantasy game and get a ton of strength boosts, I can hulk out in your sci-fi game?¡± She nodded and, with a snap of her fingers, disappeared from view instantly. Developer logout, I guessed. The corners of the room started to go dark and move in I could tell that the room was beginning to derezz. ¡°Fine, fine, fine,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m heading out.¡± As I did, a massive tower rose in the distance. The floor I stood on disappeared beneath me as I was levitated far above the ground. In the center was the spire, and around it, were five segments of land that fit poorly together, like some mixed-up jigsaw puzzle pieces trying to form a pentacle. The first one that took my eye was a place of trees, small wooden and stone hovels. I could see moats of magic floating in the air. This was the high fantasy game, to be sure. Going clockwise, I saw the bridge of a starship with alien races running about, so I could add sci-fi spacefaring to the mix. The standards of the industry present and accounted for. To the right of that, I saw a modern-day metropolis full of flying heroes, all in unique Spandex costumes. ¡°A superhero MMO?¡± Color me surprised. They don¡¯t really make those anymore, and the few that do never live up to the legends the founding games in the genre had laid the foundation for. The fourth game grabbed my attention. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was set in the Victorian era, or modern day with a Gothic twist, but it was certainly Lovecraftian. I saw a back alley with creepy-crawly tendrils and things seeping into the world that should not be there. Finally, I saw what appeared to be some sort of pastiche of steampunk and dieselpunk. A neo-noir, I thought, but upon closer inspection, the figures and trench coats and fedoras all had pointed ears. So steampunk detectives with elves? It was something I was interested to play, but I¡¯d have to go through the bad games first. Well, I¡¯m certain they weren¡¯t bad games; Alchemy knows what they¡¯re doing, but I want to get those bonuses to become a God. After looking over all five games, I turned my attention back to the center, to the spire. It arose from the meeting point of the five worlds, and it looked as if it were ripping itself free from Hell itself. I¡¯ve heard of games that have a Nightmare, Inferno, or Hell mode as its final challenge, but it looked like their ultimate game involved fighting demons and goodness knows what else. At the top was a bright light that shined into the heavens, piercing the clouds above it As I floated there, looking at the five different worlds, I tried to land, thinking of the eventual goal of unlocking each of their secrets, but I heard a booming voice from deep inside my head. ¡°Welcome to GameFrame Online. We here at Alchemy Studios are thrilled to have such well-known players involved in our final alpha transition into early beta access. Please note that by participating in this, the following features will be permanently unlocked on your accounts.¡± Okay, I was listening. The voice continued, ¡°The first player to complete all six games with a three-star rating upon logging out will be the recipient of $100 million.¡± Old news, and I wasn¡¯t sure if I would even have a body to go back to. Next. ¡°As specified in your contract documents, you each have a reserved a name for your account, which will transition into every game in our system. You do not need to worry about someone poaching your well-known identities in the gaming community.¡± Great, I still got to be Never and hated by a whole new group of people. The best part was they were all well-known gamers too, so they probably really hated me. ¡°As we are unsure how some of the classes/professions will work throughout beta and launch, for all involved at this stage, all such character options will be unlockable, regardless of any race restrictions we may apply at a later date. You, as Founders of GameFrame Online, will eventually be able to have mastery over all. Also note: restrictions may not even happen later; we are considering whether to include them.¡± This was the best news I¡¯d heard all day. One thing I hate is creating multiple characters to unlock everything in a game. This meant I got to be me, only me, and I still got everything for my hard work. ¡°All DLC will be unlocked for you, free of charge, forever, the moment it¡¯s made available. Please note: this may be before it is commercially available to other players. Anyone within your parties will be able to freely access any missions or quests which you are currently active in. As Founders, you are to be ambassadors to new content, should you choose to continue with GameFrame Online.¡± If I was stuck here, at least I¡¯d have something new to do until maintenance mode, and eventual server decay. ¡°Finally, once a week, for 24 hours, you can use a Founder¡¯s Elixir. This will grant you double XP for all kills, mission completion bonuses¡­pretty much anything that could give you experience points for leveling. As a side note, if you have XP turned off to boost crafting or any skill and weapon proficiencies, this will act as a secondary multiplier, resulting in quadruple XP for those.¡± This¡­was epic. It was a mechanic I hadn¡¯t seen in years. Most people are so obsessed with getting to the final level, they rush through everything. What this allowed me to do was stay at a much lower level and level up my proficiencies. I was definitely thinking of taking the high fantasy game, the first one I¡¯d seen. I wasn¡¯t a huge fan of high fantasy games, but they were generally easy and straightforward, unbelievably popular, and due to that, would have a hell of a lot of easily attainable achievements and skill sets I could use in the later games. The voice continued, ¡°Now then, Founder, choose your first world. Please understand you will be locked in until you complete the quests therein and have achieved at least a one-star rating in that game. Only then will you be able to log out and select a new one which you will then be locked into under the same conditions. This is a final reminder: any games without at least a one-star rating are unable to be logged out from to select another game. Where you choose next will likely be your home for the coming weeks, possibly months.¡± I moved my hand in front of me, gesturing over the circle of worlds below. As my fingers hovered over them, they lit up, giving me information about each one. The high fantasy game was called Aerlhiz Eternia. The sci-fi game, which I wasn¡¯t particularly looking forward to but would likely hit next, was called Infinite Exploration. Most computer users tend to avoid things with the initials of IE, I had noticed in the past. I fully expected a new title by phase 2 of the beta. The superhero game was called Savior Legends. I won¡¯t lie, this one tempted me. While I¡¯ve known a few people with tricks they can do, the powers of flight and super-strength were among the more enviable to have. The gritty Lovecraftian game was called Forgotten Source, and it took every ounce of my being not to jump headfirst into it. I¡¯ve been a fan of that my entire life. Heck, kids were afraid of the monsters under their bed; I had made friends with mine. I was making a point of saving this one for last since I¡¯d want to have as many passive bonuses starting off. I thought, ¡°Damn, this will be terrible for anyone who chose that as their first game.¡± If you¡¯re going to be trapped in nightmares for months on end with absolutely nothing to help you out, I couldn¡¯t think of anything worse. The other one that caught my interest was known as Clockwork and Shadow. It seemed to be more action RPG-based. When I hovered my hand over the information window, it turned out that they were definitely going for something a bit more grindy than I cared for. My guess is Clockwork and Shadow was being aesthetically designed for Western audiences, but the core mechanics and gameplay were for the Asian markets. When I saw that the game had effectively been released or at least put up to some level of completion within the last week, I knew to stay the hell away from it. I was no bug hunter, and anyone jumping into that game was certainly looking forward to a crap ton of system rollbacks, as all the problems would come to the surface. It would probably be my last stop before going into Forgotten Source, and I hope that after three-starring three other MMO¡¯s that Clockwork and Shadow would be an enjoyable experience to be trapped in, at least in the early levels. I hovered there for a few minutes, mulling over the decision in my head. I was about to jump into the MMO that I dislike the most, but I also knew that, in so doing, I would be setting myself up with the best set of potential bonuses when I decided to speed-run the second game, Infinite Exploration. Then, I¡¯d power through Savior Legends before entering the potential bugginess of Clockwork and Shadow, which looked to be unbelievably beautiful. Then, I¡¯d confront some amazing nightmare material in Forgotten Source. My game plan was set. I hovered my hand over the menu selecting Aerlhiz Eternia, which hurtled me toward the point of the spire. I circled around a few times, spinning faster and faster. I actually felt the G-forces on my body! I knew I would¡¯ve passed out, had I still been made of flesh and bone instead of data. I took a moment to try and peek through the windows of the tower. Inside, I saw nothing but flames and brimstone, demons and dark magic. Oh, boy. That sixth game literally looked like the stuff of nightmares. I¡¯m not talking about the kind that you enjoy reading about, but actual nightmares. I know this because, as I looked through the window, in a broad yet brief flash, I saw the faces of my parents. Holy crap! Was this some sort of personalized hell MMO? Something that read your thoughts, knew your fears, and used them against you? What the hell had I signed up for? As I spun around, the world became a blur, only stopping when I found myself at a monument set before the portal into Aerlhiz Eternia. There were three gemstones atop it, and I knew what they stood for. Getting a star rating would cause one of them to light up. My guess is you would need to have all 15 of these crystals, 3 at each game, to open the gates to the spire. I stopped for a moment, pondering taking Infinite Exploration instead. It might be more of a challenge, but it would also be a much smaller playfield, mainly just my starship. I could be alone if I wanted to¡­well, besides the NPCs, but who cared about those? I waved my hand in front of me to try to bring forth the menu screen, but no luck. I had made my decision, and I was locked into it; all that was left to do was step through the portal. So that¡¯s what I did. Chapter Two: You Are Who You Are, and Im No Rat A feminine voice like a soft summer breeze whispered in my ear, ¡°Welcome, weary traveler, to Aerlhiz Eternia. Loading your profile.¡± At least they were straight to the point. ¡°You have one preregistered Founder¡¯s character and three unregistered Founder¡¯s characters available to you. Which would you like to use?¡± I took a step forward and, as I did so, the darkness was blasted away with a bright light that nearly blinded me. Soon, I found myself in the middle of a field atop a hill. I was on a cobblestone path and off in the distance stood four intimidating stone circles, with a path leading to each. The far left path¡¯s stones gleamed like polished silver while the other three appeared to be just basic gray rock. I shrugged and headed down the path with the brighter stones. The moment I stepped on it, a strong breeze lifted me and carried me all the way up the path to the middle of the stone circle, where I floated, unsure of what was to come. Small wisps of light surrounded me, and that¡¯s when I realized I was in my old body, or at least the closest proximity to it. The game had pulled the framework away from me and spun it around allowing me to see myself. The voice asked, ¡°Would you like to use your normal body as the basis for your new character, Never?¡± ¡°Oh, hell no!¡± I screamed. ¡°No, no, no, this is a new chance for me. A new lease on life! I want nothing to do with who I was!¡± I watched in slight horror as the features that made my face faded, giving it almost a mannequin-like appearance. ¡°What age would you like your character to be?¡± I checked the slider. It went down to 10 and up to 65, where it simply said ¡°Elder.¡± I toyed with it a bit, watching the figure before me have basic changes to its stance and build, but with no effect on its stats. You could be a 65-year-old man, unbelievably sprightly, and able to chop down trees with a single swoosh of an ax. Knowing what I¡¯ve seen in games past, I chose the age of 15. So what if people see me as a kid sidekick? Let them underestimate me, or pity me. I could get dragged around for some raids. It also helped that I knew most people would be choosing something in the 20- to 30-year-old range, with a few people probably going in the 40s and 50s. Being significantly younger, I could blend in with the NPCs so much better. ¡°Age chosen. Please choose gender.¡± ¡°Male,¡± I stated. Just because this new start for me was going to bring a lot of changes in my life, it didn¡¯t mean I felt like changing everything. ¡°Please choose your race.¡± I flipped through the different options. There was your standard human or Domsana as it was called here. There didn¡¯t appear to be a standard elf class, though; in its place was a race that looked like a strange hybrid of elves and orcs called the Rivirdi. I wasn¡¯t sure if I would choose this race, but I wanted some more information, so I kept a small window that popped up in the soothing voice read to me the information is it also appeared on my screen. ¡°The Rivirdi are the union of two lost species of Aerlhiz: the Cirkenar, a noble forest race known for their longevity and beauty, and the Arkoos, a nomadic green-skinned warrior race that had for years been at war with Cirkenar. The two species had nearly fought each other to extinction and brought the world into a flaming hell age. However, it was the crucible needed for the remnants of both races to become allies. Over the course of two ages, their offspring became the Rivirdi. The remaining Cirkenar and Arkoos had submitted themselves for execution for the crimes they had committed over the course of millennia, knowing that their progeny would live in peace and harmony. ¡°The Rivirdi come with the following bonuses¡­ ¡°Night vision: This allows you to see in almost utter darkness for a range of 20m as if it were merely dusk. This racial ability will allow you to alter your vision to see during twilight hours as if they were normal. There is no penalty for being in bright light. ¡°Rugged: While the Cirkenar were a more fragile race, they lived among the trees in the wilderness and were their masters. The Arkoos were tough and hardy species, and while the meeting point is not as hardy as the Arkoos, you are still considered rugged, taking 5% less damage in combat.¡± The Rivirdi seemed appealing, although I wasn¡¯t sure if I was ready to be in a body of a swimmer¡¯s build with olive skin, long, pointed ears, but if I decided not to be human, a Rivirdi seemed like a good choice. To the next race. Oh, boy¡­what stood before me looked only partially human; the rest of it looked like a 5-foot tall rat. Might as well hear it out. ¡°Verminus: While, at first glance, the Verminus race appears to be something that Domsana would try to quell, it quickly became obvious that their high intellect and proficiency with invention made them a valuable ally. With a keen sense of smell and an insatiable urge to build, the Verminus do not stay within your typical villages in the traditional sense. They have made their havens the outskirts and abandoned places, turning the discarded into treasure. ¡°Verminus have the following attributes¡­ ¡°Iron Stomach: the Verminus are resilient against most poisons. It is rumored that it is impossible to actually kill a Verminus with poison. Any poison attacks or damage is reduced by 50%. ¡°Tinkerer: all Verminus have an instinct to craft and can do so much easier than any other race. All Verminus require -1 item for any crafting recipe. If you have +1 of all items required, you are guaranteed an exceptional crafting bonus and need only use one recipe.¡± Well, that looked like the best option for stats, but there was no way I was gonna walk around as a giant rat. So, we¡¯ve got three races down; looks like two to go. Next was a figure that could have been crafted out of clay, a golem of some sort, perhaps. It had thin, pointy features and a strange blue light emanating from between the cracks of its surface and where its eyes should be. It had curved horns and pointed teeth. For all intents and purposes, this should be a bad guy but there was something about it that made it seem nonthreatening ¡°The Solomon: the Solomon are a race descended from fallen angels and djinn who have no crimes or evil associated with their being, and have decided to earn their place among the gods of Aerlhiz. To do this, they have fashioned golem bodies of mystic clay to inhabit. Wise and eternal, the Solomon are masters of magic, but also, due to their earthen body, unbelievably well-suited for being tanks. ¡°The Solomon have the following bonuses¡­ ¡°The Kiln: a Solomon only possesses the body that they have crafted, it is not their true flesh. Due to this, when they fall in battle, they have the option to respawn in their old body at 10% health instead of going to the respawn location. Please note that utilizing The Kiln has a cooldown of two hours, as well as requiring a triple respawn timer once triggered.¡± ¡°Topsy-Turvy: the Solomon are equally proficient in magic as well as fortitude. However they cannot be both at once. Once per day, they can choose physical or arcane alignment. Choosing arcane doubles their magic proficiency and strength at the cost of half of their HP; choosing fortitude grants them double HP and defense at the cost of halving their magic abilities.¡± That was an interesting mechanic. In many games, races sort of got locked into whatever role you wanted to play. Elves being healers but also having speed lent them well to Ranger, Thief, and Healing classes, but on the whole, they weren¡¯t going to be very good at being a tank. The Rivirdi seemed like they were not as fast as your normal Thief would be, but they would certainly be hardier than an elf; could be a good backup tank. I had to give Alchemy Studios credit: these races were pretty well thought out. I mean, even the Verminus, which looks like they should be an Assassin and Thief class, were also a crafting class. You¡¯d want to have one on your party because you¡¯d be gathering enough component parts and having someone who could throw together health packets and potions was always a good thing On to the final race. What appeared before me was a sort of demi-human with deer-like features. Being male, a small pair of antlers started on the brow line, not prominent enough to hide the long ears. The strange thing about this creature, though, was that it appeared to be in flux. Parts of its body were made out of water, others sand, some lava, and yet others, hard stone. Muscles appeared to be a mix of soil, brambles, and thorny vines. These parts were in motion though the body was not. ¡°The Xiddei: a race of elemental halflings that were once the dominant species on all land and sea in the world of Aerlhiz. Unfortunately, due to this arcane nature their life forces were used as batteries in the war between the Cirkenar and the Arkoos. While many races will have slight changes to appearance based on the lens that they originate from, the Xiddei actually change their form to fit the environment they are in. Xiddei traversing the desert will be made out of sand and bone, but the moment that crosses into swamp land, its flesh will become mud and sticks. ¡°The Xiddei have the following racial bonuses¡­ ¡°Perpetual Attunement: Xiddei will never suffer from negative effects based on terrain difficulty. Their bodies will simply adapt and become the most efficient they can be. The Xiddei will never suffer any movement penalties. ¡°Day and Night: Xiddei have a dual nature. Being so close to nature, during the day, their attack abilities are at -25% effectiveness, however, all healing and support abilities increase by 25%. This reverses at night, when predators come out to prey on small animals. ¡°One with the Land: Xiddei need little rest, as they can actually melt into the earth to regenerate health and remove status effects. Please note, in so doing, that all attacks to the land that they are bound to create aggravated damage to the Xiddei when they awaken. The resting time is reduced by half, but unlike normal resting, once this hibernation starts, you cannot exit it.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. So, support class that had some tanking abilities, probably had a minor ability in magic as well. I realized I¡¯d completely ignored the racial bonuses for the Domsana, so I quickly switched back to it and read up. ¡°The Domsana: Placed as arbiters by the gods following the Cirkenar and Arkoos extinction event, looked down upon by the other races, and seen as the frail little brother that must be looked after, the Domsana have shown themselves to be the ultimate Jack-of-all-trades. ¡°The following bonuses are available to all Domsana characters¡­ ¡°Little Brother is Watching: all Domsana characters have a bonus involving investigation and research benefits. Any time a member of your party raises a skill level in a weapon you use, you have a 25% chance to also raise that skill level.¡± Okay, I had to laugh. Alchemy Studios had always put in small in-jokes in their games and the phrase ¡°Little Brother is Watching¡± had been a long-used term on the social network known as HiveMind. Even though it was already going to be what I chose, to find out that just partying with someone could raise my weapon skills or abilities, not to mention getting bonuses in research, I¡¯d be able to blast through gearing up. ¡°Coinbiter: all Domsana gain +10% currency in battle. At level 15 all Domsana learn the ability Roulette, a passive ability which, when chosen, raises this to 25%. The bonus is randomly given to a member of the party; all bonuses involving Coinbiter can be increased an additional 5% for each Domsana in the party.¡± So, I¡¯m not going to be particularly good at any skill sets, but I could definitely play this to my advantage. It seemed all racial bonuses were about learning and giving; I was more for the first, not so much for the second. If I could get a party with a bunch of other Domsana, eventually, it will balance itself out. ¡°Oathbreaker: being the arbiters for the world of Aerlhiz, the Domsana have a +50% diplomacy bonus; this includes all such attempts with any factions tied to The Void, even persuading them to switch alliances to the Aerlhiz Protectorate. Three diplomatic failuresin a row, if Oathbreaker is used,will result in your character being bound to The Void and labeled an enemy of the Protectorate for a full month. You can choose to utilize Oathbreaker at any time during a diplomatic action.¡± The voice was suddenly replaced by a nasally male who piped in my ear, breaking my immersion: ¡°This is one of the developers. The Oathbreaker ability is something we¡¯re still testing and unsure will go live in the final version. At first, we were thinking of having this be people choosing between The Void or The Protectorate and realized having The Void as a playable faction wasn¡¯t in the best scope of things for the initial launch. It might be eventual DLC, so if this goes away please understand. That is it. Thank you, Founder.¡± Well, there is no time like the present. Being able to absorb the knowledge bases of those around me, as well as having a bit of extra coin, was certainly better than being able to see in the dark a bit better or, Heaven help me, being a 5-foot rat or elemental halflings. As awesome as the Solomon sounded, I wasn¡¯t sure that was the sort of body I wanted to be stuck in, especially for being Never. I¡¯d never played an MMO under that moniker where I didn¡¯t play just a basic human. I selected Domsana and begin to tweak my appearance. I gave myself short black hair with a white streak starting above my right eye, going back over my scalp. What can I say? On my Let¡¯s Play channel, my icon was a skunk. My real body had hazel eyes, so I changed it up. I decided to go with an almost iridescent baby blue. I shook my head and tweaked the color palette to red. Oh, yeah; I want to look like someone you don¡¯t want to mess with. For clothing, I had a simple tunic, which I colored black with gray highlights. I went with a slightly tanned skin tone a few shades darker than what I was normally. My blunt nose became more elven. I give myself pronounced cheekbones and a wiry frame. I still packed on some muscle, not that it mattered, and then looked for options and customization only for Founders, finding little more than a different skin for the tunic, allowing me to add spikes on the shoulders. I added a few braids that only Founders could get on the side of my head, and allowed them to drape over my left pectoral. Satisfied with how I looked, I moved to the accept button; there was a bright flash and soon I was where the character model had been. I¡¯d switched bodies. I looked down at the body that I had become accustomed to all my life. It began to slowly lose its features, turning back into that mannequin like form I¡¯d been in the loading server. A font of water appeared to my right, spraying up a fine mist which congealed into a mirror. The voice rang out again as I looked over myself. ¡°Would you like to make any changes? Please note: this is final until you receive a Transfiguration spell, allowing you one set of alterations to your body, but not race or gender.¡± I nodded and flexed my biceps. I felt alive, powerful. I swiped my hand over the word ¡°yes¡±; the mirror turned back into water and settled in the font, which then vanished. ¡°Very well, Never. Please select your starting class. Note that you can freely swap classes in Aerlhiz Eternia, after you complete the tutorial. You will only be allowed access to a few starter classes but, at level 15, you can expand these to a secondary system. At level 35, the mastery classes will become available. The final level in the game is 50, at which point, you can select the exalted classes.¡± That was interesting; making us learn basics before moving on to more specialized means of doing things was certainly a step in the right direction. ¡°I have a question for you,¡± I said. The voice paused as if processing this before saying, ¡°Please state your question.¡± ¡°How do classes work with the prestige system?¡± There was another pause. My guess is they had only put in so many answers to only so many questions and it was trying to figure out the best possible answer it could. The more players that came in and the more questions asked of it, the quicker this thing was going to be working. Anyway, I was in the final stages of an alpha test; I can¡¯t expect everything to work perfectly. ¡°All classes unlocked before the prestige at level 50 will remain unlocked for your character at level 1. This does not mean that the abilities you have unlocked will be readily available, but you will have access to their most basic levels. All abilities will naturally unlock at the levels where you unlocked them last. Your goal should be on your first prestige to re-unlock these as fast as possible, so, after further prestiges, they are earlier natural unlocks.¡± I paused before asking, ¡°How many prestiges are needed to get a one-star rating to get out of here?¡± ¡°It is the intention of Alchemy Studios not to require a single prestige to earn the one-star rating. Attaining the final level and defeating the King of The Void will earn you the first of three stars.¡± ¡°But as soon as I hit 50, I can prestige, come back to level 1 and become more of a monster to fight the King, right?¡± There was a pause, but no answer came. ¡°Fine, fine, fine. Okay, so I don¡¯t have to prestige to get checkmate, but I¡¯m probably going to have to be here for a couple prestiges.¡± It was then that the nasally voice pumped back in my ear. ¡°Hey, Never, this is Matthew Sinclair, one of the head developers here at Alchemy. I need to know how you know about the prestige system. That isn¡¯t even supposed to be told to the players until they hit level 50. We aren¡¯t expecting any of you to get that far for weeks, maybe months.¡± ¡°The lady who was in charge of our getting in¡ªI think her name was Ms. Levicia¡ªshe told me about it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me. Did she tell everyone that the curveball we set for the endgame? You hit 50 and the Blood Hunt starts?¡± ¡°Blood Hunt?¡± ¡°Oh, great, so she told you about the prestige, but not the Blood Hunt. Great. Now I¡¯ve given you even more information you shouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°Listen, if it makes it easier for you, I won¡¯t tell anyone about the prestige system. I already told her I won¡¯t tell anyone; I just need to know how it works.¡± ¡°Fine. Stuff might get changed by the time you get there anyway. So when you hit level 50, you gain the attention of the King of The Void. He places a Blood Hunt on your head, at which point, you will be given the option by the gods of Aerlhiz to avoid the Blood Hunt, returning to level 1 with everything you¡¯ve unlocked in order to regather your forces, gain skills and proficiencies you may have lost at the benefit of faster leveling and proficiency gain. Currently we predict most players will only need to do this three times or so, that doesn¡¯t get you the other stars. You don¡¯t get to know that information yet. You can prestige as many times as you want, but the XP bonuses cap after the third go around.¡± ¡°Okay, well, I don¡¯t mind waiting around and power-leveling a bunch of stuff to become the sheer beast in this game. So, my guess is that once I select a class, I¡¯ll be put into the tutorial?¡± ¡°You got it, Never.¡± ¡°Am I also to assume you¡¯re going to give me a friend to help me through it?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bet against it.¡± ¡°Well, I better sharpen my dagger if I want that achievement, shouldn¡¯t I? I think I¡¯ll start off as a Thief because I will be stealing the World First for a lot of these things.¡± ¡°In that case, I shouldn¡¯t be the one to stop you from claiming that ever-important singular achievement for doing the tutorial,¡± he said with a sarcastic chuckle. I paused. There was a second hidden achievement. Damn. I might have missed it, had I not had this info. ¡°Okay, level with me. I¡¯m already AGI property, and I already know about the prestige system, so tell me at least this or I swear to God I will tell everyone that I run into what I know. Is there an achievement for killing the helper and one for letting him live?¡± ¡°No. As with all Alchemy games, it is possible to gain 100% completion and no, you never revisit the tutorial once you¡¯ve completed it. Might I add: if I find out you¡¯re spilling the secrets of the prestige system prematurely, I¡¯ll turn you into a giant dung beetle that gets killed over and over by every new player.¡± I gulped. They were able to rewrite my head and thoughts with patch updates. It wouldn¡¯t really be that difficult for them to simply choose my brainwave patterns as the AI governing some small random level 1 creature. There was an odd sensation of movement in my head, and I knew that whatever communication systems the developer had been using had been terminated. I look forward at the mannequin that had been my body and behind it, six pillars rose, each with different armor and weaponry. The first one seemed simple enough. ¡°Warrior class,¡± the feminine voice continued. ¡°Warriors are good with single- and double- handed swords, and can also use daggers. Warriors can also equip full shields as well as half shields.¡± I looked to the right and saw a slightly baggier version of the outfit I was wearing, except it was wrapped with gray cords around the wrists and lower legs. Its tunic also had a hood. ¡°Thief class: Masters of stealth, Thieves can use short swords and daggers. They can also use half shields.¡± I noticed the system wasn¡¯t actually telling me about any class bonuses. This might actually be something to get patched later, I thought. Then again, at level 1, it was probably all about your starter abilities and the bonuses would come with them. Next was a gold and white flowing robe with an ornate wooden staff capped by an orb. ¡°Life Mage,¡± the voice stated. ¡°Life Mages are primarily healers. At higher levels, they can call upon the will of various good-aligned deities for seriously damaging and damning combat spells.¡± To the right of that was a red and black hooded robe. I expected to see a similar staff but instead I found a war scythe that looked cool. ¡°Dark Mage,¡± the voice continued. ¡°Dark Mages have been blessed by the good-aligned deities of Aerlhiz. Despite their name and appearance, everything in Aerlhiz is based on duality. They are the opposing side of nature; brutal, vicious. Their battle scythes cut the strings of fate where their counterpoints, the Life Mages weave them.¡± To the right of that was a multicolored, almost jester-like costume. ¡°Troubador: they live for their party and are the basis of all support classes. Early on, Troubadors have access to swords and sickles as well as enchanted musical instruments.¡± Oh, God¡­not the Bard class. Finally there was a simple white gi, iron braces, but no weapon beside it. ¡°Disciple: skilled in unarmed combat, a Disciple is his own weapon. The Disciple cannot start with an equippable weapon and must gain proficiency 1 through exposure from teammates. As they are always learning, they can eventually gain mastery over any weapon class. Please note: the Disciple¡¯s ability to learn from any weapon class does work with the Domsana¡¯s inherent ability.¡± Okay, I was gonna start off as Thief. Once I got that down, I would totally switch over to Disciple until I¡¯ve got my basic masteries down. This was going to be awesome. I quickly selected Thief and felt the clothes shifting on my body, becoming a nice meeting point between what I had chosen for myself and the basic uniform of my class. With that, a dagger appeared in my hand and the voice returned¡­ ¡°Sacrifice your past to enter the world of Aerlhiz Eternia.¡± I looked at the mannequin and didn¡¯t think twice. I brought the dagger up and as I pierced its chest, a light flashed, flooding my sight. When I blinked and could see again, I was in the alleyway behind what sounded like a tavern, due to the raucous crowd within.