Mom’s impressively uncomfortable looking heels came into sight and I stopped. She pulled my headphones down around my neck. I could still hear the electronic music pretty well but now I couldn’t make use of the sound canceling feature.
“Hi, Sweetie. Did you get all your homework done?”
I nodded and muttered an unenthusiastic “Yeah.”
“Of course you did. You’re always so diligent. I got a present for you. It’s up in your room, why don't you run inside so I can have a word with Henry?”
She kissed me on the forehead and ushered me inside. I put my headphones back on. The sooner I could get clear of the crossfire the better.
I stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a sugar-free zero-calorie vitamin water out of the fridge. It wasn’t good, but it was carbonated. The pack of brown-rice cakes was about as flavorful as styrofoam packing peanuts dusted in cardboard but it was the only snack Mom approved of besides raw veggies. She was way into the healthy vegetarian lifestyle, that meant I was too.
When I got to my room, I dropped my backpack by the door and dumped the snacks on my desk. I glanced over to my bed. A gift-wrapped box with a golden bow sank into the fluffy comforter. I ignored it and flopped into my leather desk-chair.
It always felt wrong sitting at this heavy wooden desk in a leather armchair with brass studs all around the edges. It felt more like the desk belonged to someone else. Like a powerful executive in a trim suit would walk in one day and ask what I was doing there.
I waved my hand over the desk and it booted up. It took about three seconds before the bay-window in front of my desk minimized, revealing my real desktop. I checked on a few gaming news streams to see what I missed over the weekend.
The World-Enders, the leading clan in the popular MMORPG Ragnarok succeeded in their bid to defeat Nidhogg. A dumb sounding name for a terrifying 3-mile long dragon/serpent that eats castles for breakfast but that’s what happens when you try to translate from old-Norse to modern-English. I started downloading the five-hour-long raid video and by the time I popped a rice-cake into my mouth and kicked back, it had started playing.
I jumped as my headphones automatically synched to the video and nearly blew my eardrums out. Jesus, they know how to start a video. I was staring directly down a toothy maw. My first thought was I’ve seen meaner looking snakes. Then the roaring serpent lunged. It covered hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. I made out a skull wedged between its teeth just before the screen went black. That skull was roughly the size of a city bus and it looked like it used to belong to something like a T-Rex. A moment later, my screen switched to a new POV, this time from much further away and higher up. It was a glorious view, probably from someone with a flying mount. The dragon, whose hobbies include gnawing on the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil, rampaged through an army of eighty-thousand max-level players like a bear in a chicken coop. Toppling siege engines and freezing large swaths of the battlefield in an instant with its icy breath attack. I popped open my fizzy water and settled in for a good show.
A few minutes later my headphone chirped and a call-waiting icon bounced up and down in the corner of the screen. I accepted the call and the wall to my right faded to reveal Tyler sitting on his bean-bag chair with a bag of chips in his lap.
“Yo Jack! Welcome back to the land of the living!”
“Hey Tye, You see this raid yet? It’s crazy!” I pointed at my screen. Tyler craned his neck to the side.
“Dude, I was there. Nidhogg is no joke.”
“Yeah right. Pics or it didn’t happen.”
Tyler smirked and flicked his hand. A scattering of images with his elf-assassin in various touristy poses with the rampaging dragon in the background superimposed themselves over my screen-wall. One GIF in particular made me spray crumbs across my desk in a burst of laughter. Tyler’s character thrust his hips just as the dragon unleashed his breath attack behind him. The spray of frost blowing away the army was more than a little suggestive.
“Nice,” I said, noting the view counter. That little clip got a surprising amount of traction. A shit-eating grin stretched across Tyler’s face.
“Yeah, the World-Enders aren’t super pleased. They put a ten-thousand gold bounty on my character.”
“Awesome!”
We exchanged an air-five through the screen. Anything that could boost our online presence was a good thing. Too bad we wouldn’t be playing Ragnarok anymore. Getting the drop on World-Ender hit squads was always a crowd-pleaser. They had a well deserved reputation as bullies.
It was our dream to be pro-gamers, earning enough through subscribers and in-game item sales to support ourselves. Most people who try this end up like the cliched starving artist. We weren’t going to settle for eeking by. We had our hearts set on becoming rock-stars, elite players who attain both riches and fame for their in-game exploits.
“Speaking of awesome, is that what I think it is?” Tyler asked nodding towards my bed.
“Probably.”
“Well open it already and let's see!”
I fidgeted.
“I don’t want to tempt fate. I’ve made it this far but I don’t think I’ll have the willpower to resist if that’s what we expect.”
“Come on! How can you just leave it there! You’ve gotta look even if it’s just to confirm our plans.”
“I don't know…”
“Come on, unbox-it! Unbox-it! Unbox-it!”
“Fine!” I threw my hands in the air.
He wasn’t going to leave it now that he had seen the bribe, I mean gift, my mother left on the bed. I walked over to the matte-black box. My feet felt heavy and my heart thumped against my chest. My hands actually trembled a bit as I reached out and pulled the loose end of the golden ribbon. The box fell open and a creamy egg-shaped helmet stood proudly on my bed.
“Duuuuuuude! It’s real!” Tyler could be a total fanboy sometimes. He practically squealed.
“Looks that way,” I said as I closed the box back up.
“What are you doing? Don’t you want to set it up?”
“I just told you I don’t want to tempt it. I know I won’t be able to resist if I start playing around with this thing.”
“At least let me see it from a little closer,” Tyler whined.
“Just zoom in on your recording later,” I said unsympathetically.
“You’re no fun.”
“We’ve only got hours left until launch. If we could hold on for three years, we can hold on until midnight.”
“I guess you’re right.” Tyler moped “But I want a full run-down tomorrow at school. You have to tell me everything!”
Tyler dropped the subject and we distracted ourselves by analyzing the fight with Nidhogg. It was totally one-sided until the world-enders managed to crack a couple of its scales. From then on, teams of players tried to infiltrate the dragon and kill it from the inside. While that sounds easy enough, the wurm was chock-full of parasites just as oversized as itself. We were completely caught up in the action, shouting at the screen like idiots when a contingent of infiltrators took on a miniboss.
The heartworm wasn’t mini at all. Its sheer size let it swallow players whole and shrug off devastating attacks. While it was snacking on players or simply smashing them against the fleshy walls, it shed smaller monsters like a dog shaking off water. Swarms of acid-spitting maggots beset the dwindling group of players from all sides as they tried desperately to create a foothold while their armor and weapons melted under the assault.
That was when the video froze.
“Sammy dear, It’s almost time for dinner. Your mother will expect you in five minutes.” Gretta’s polite voice intruded.
“Okay, Gretta. I’ll be right down.” I assured the maid before turning back to my friend. “I’ve gotta go Tye. See you later.”
“Alright, See ya. Don’t forget, I’m going to want a full report tomorrow.”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll make sure to take plenty of screenshots,” I assured him before the wall faded back into existence between us ending the call.
I popped into my bathroom to wash my hands and face before heading downstairs. Grace was on the landing when I left my room.
“What’s up noob-face.” She taunted. Her favorite pastime was trying to get a rise out of me. She had plenty of practice over the last few years and was getting pretty good at it too. The same could be said about me though.
“Just trying not to barf. You know you’re not supposed to keep the bag of kittens after you drown them right?” I said, holding my nose as I pushed past her.
“That’s called sweat! Maybe if you ever exercised you’d know about it.”
“No thanks, I don’t see the point in getting all worked up trying to get a ball through a hoop.”
“That’s right, you only care about your fake worlds where everything matters sooooo much.” No one could slather sarcasm onto a sentence like a teenage girl.
“It matters just as much as those shiny bits of plastic you collect.” I shot back
“You mean the trophies I earned? Real people acknowledged my skill and hard work and gave them to me.” I laughed in her face.
“You think because you have some plastic that your achievements are somehow more real? It’s still fake. Part of a made up game with made up rules. How is that any different than my games?”
“Because it’s real you idiot! You’re just going to be a stupid pimply virgin forever!” She stormed off before I could get another word in. I thought about shouting after her, telling her to take a bath. I decided against it. There was no point in getting her too angry right before dinner.
I took a few deep breaths and unclenched my fists. No matter what she says, her words can only have power over me if I let them. So long as I didn’t let her get to me, I win.
I continued the breathing exercise Dr Rothchild taught me. I could practically hear her voice telling me how hate can be toxic. Holding onto hate is like getting stabbed in the back and then holding onto the knife, keeping it in the wound, doing your attackers work for them. Healing can only begin after you let go. When I was calmed back down I descended the stairs and made my way to the dining room.
CH 2
Gretta served up a steaming plate of brussel sprouts, tofurkey, and wild rice. I sat on one side of the table with Grace. Mom sat on the opposite side facing us. She was bent over a display as always. Her fork poked halfheartedly around her plate until she managed to spear something by chance and bring it to her mouth. Sometimes it looked like she wasn’t even aware she was eating.
I understood of course. She was busy. Lots of people depended on her and it would be selfish to demand her attention. Grace was likewise absorbed in her social media, chatting with friends that weren’t here. If I didn’t have my face in a screen as well it just felt awkward. That’s why I was browsing the web. I navigated to the countdown out of habit.
The thumping drum beats marking each second that brought the coundtown closer to zero blared through the dining room speakers. Mom was startled out of her usual concentration even as I jumped to mute my display. Grace kept her eyes on her own screen but a self-satisfied smile grew on her face. She must have messed with my settings before I got down here. With a few taps on the table shutting down her display, Mom turned her attention to us for the first time in the meal. She smiled.
“I take it you’re excited for launch?”
“Who isn’t?” I said noncommittally while pushing a sprout around my plate.
“I’m not.” Grace pulled a face “I have an actual life” Mom gave her a stern look and Grace pretended to be contrite but her punishments never really went further than that.
“That puts you squarely in the minority Grace. Trillions of people have been looking forward to this game. You won’t make many friends by making fun of all those people.”
“MmHmm” Grace agreed while paying more attention to her display.
“In fact, I have decided to include you in the closed beta!” Mom announced with the air of a gameshow host trying to hype up a burnt-vomit colored set of patio furniture.
“What?” Grace and I shouted in unison.
“Our R&D team wants to test how people with no gaming experience react to the headset and I thought you might enjoy the opportunity to broaden your horizons. If you’d
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rather not have experience with the most talked about and highly anticipated gaming innovation in the last decade, I suppose I could give the headset to someone else...”
Mom always knew just what incentives to dangle. She had a natural talent for cajoling people. That’s probably why she had risen so high through the ranks of the Genesys Enterprises entertainment wing. There was no way Grace could resist the bump in social status that would come with her involvement in the closed beta.
“I guess I could give it a try. If it’s stupid I’m going to throw it in the garbage though.” Grace grumbled. That was typical. She was just given an invitation to the closed beta, something I had to beg for, something most gamers would kill for, and she was complaining. Then she turned to me.
“I bet I can beat you in this stupid game.”
“I thought online games didn’t matter?”
“Oh, I don’t care about the game. I just think it would be fun to embarass you in front of all your precious followers.”
“Grace! That is enough. I expect the two of you to play nicely. You should be more mature than that. I want to make it clear. These headsets are a privilege. I will take them away if they become a problem.”
I groaned. Grace would have no issue with losing her headset if it meant I lost mine too. Mom just gave her a huge shield to use against me. Now I’d have to be pleasant to my sister of all people if I wanted to stay in the beta.
“Don’t moan Samuel.” mom admonished “If you don’t give me a reason to take it away, I won’t. It’s as simple as that.” She grinned, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
“You might be happy about this next bit of news. The techs say it will take some time to calibrate the headsets so your little old mom convinced them to allow participants in the beta to log on six hours early. You won’t be able to start playing but you can roll your character and get a feel for the interface. Close your mouth when it’s full honey.”
I snapped my jaw shut and swallowed the half-chewed veggies and rice.
“You’re serious?” I asked while glancing at the clock in the corner of my display. It was 6:43. I didn’t wait for a response and dashed off. Mom called me back to the table and I scarfed down the rest of my meal. I took the stairs three at a time while still chewing. I felt almost weightless as I flew up the stairs and down the hall. I burst into my room and made for the bed. In seconds I had the smooth egg out of its box and I was carefully lowering it over my head.
The comfortable padding expanded slightly, holding the helmet snug. I felt around for my bed and laid down as little fans and servos whirred at the edge of my hearing.
“Initializing Genesys Enterprises Eggistensial Experience Helmet No.155628” A soft reassuring female voice informed me.
“Facial scan complete. Thank you for participating in the New World closed beta Samuel Jackson Forrester. Social-Media scans show that you have complied with the information black-out and are eligeble for hardcore mode. Warning: Hardcore mode is meant for experienced players and is not recommended for anyone who is new to role playing games. Would you like to proceed in hardcore mode?”
“Yes!” I shouted.
“Acknowledged. Do you understand that seeking gameplay-related information from sources outside of the game itself will result in character deletion?”
“Yes” I said, less enthusiastically.
“Acknowledged. Initializing Full Dive synchronization.”
Over the next five seconds the background whirring rose in pitch and volume. I thought I smelled maple syrup for a second and then I was standing in an empty white room. It was a perfect cube with no doors but one entire side was occupied by a floor to ceiling mirror. A snow-white humanoid shaped.. Thing looked back at me from the other side of the glass. I raised a hand and waved. It raised a fingerless blob at the end of its arm and did the same. Looking down was surreal. My body was replaced by this virtual manakin. I tested my range of motion. I squatted, jumped, pinwheeled my arms, and went through a basic yoga routine. The feedback was unreal. It really felt like I was there. I expected some lag or an uncanny-valley effect because they were still developing the tech but I couldn’t tell it apart from reality, besides the weird almost-body that I was in. Time to do something about that.
“Menu.” My voice sounded flat and mechanical but a list of options hung in the air in front of me a moment later.
“Begin Character Creation”
“Acknowledged. As you are playing in Hardcore mode, you will be assigned a race at random. We will scan your social media profiles and preclude any races you have experience with from this list.”
A giant colorful wheel appeared in the air in front of me and began to spin. As it slowed to a stop it looked like it was going to land on a vicious looking saurian creature but it just barely tipped into the next box where a puny but slightly overweight person smiled out at me.
It felt like I was falling, or maybe sinking into the floor and I saw the wheel rise into the air. I stopped shrinking at maybe four and a half feet tall. It felt like hundreds of small hands were pulling or pushing at my face. I watched in the mirror, a little queasy as my features were molded like clay. When the process ended I stepped closer to the mirror and took stock of what I had to work with.
Small, mousy brown hair, glittering green eyes, a hint of a gut, a button nose, and ears that tapered ever so slightly at their tops. I pulled up the menu again and enabled notifications.
Congratulations!
You are an Elfling! It is rare for an Elf and Halfling to fall in love. It is even more rare for that love to bear fruit. As a result, these diminutive, stealthy, magically gifted creatures are often underestimated. Jolly by nature but tenacious when roused, Elflings make for stalwart companions and fearsome enemies.
Racial Traits:
- Small: 30% bonus to DEX, 20% penalty to STR and CON
- Low light vision (you can see up to 50 meters in semi-darkness)
- Nurturing Soul (Innate magic of the Elfling race)
- Lucky (+5 starting luck, +1 luck per level)
Racial specialties:
- Climb, Heal, Hide, Search, Listen, and Spot
“An Elfling huh?” Now my voice sounded high and buzzy, like I had just inhaled a bunch of helium.
“Great, how am I supposed to get followers when it sounds like I’m applying to the lollipop guild?” I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the funny voice. Maybe I could work with this. It’s not like I had a choice, that’s what made the hardcore mode hardcore. The combination of hardcore-mode, access to a helmet and a unique character should attract tons of viewers but I was worried about the racial specialties.
It looked like Elflings were natural scouts but no one wanted to watch a player do a sneak and peek before fading away without any conflict. I’d have to push my build a little outside of this race’s comfort zone if I was going to attract a following. That said, the STR and CON penalties pretty much ruled out any kind of close combat. I could probably do something with the increased nature affinity and healing specialty but supporters weren’t the most exciting to watch either. It looked like I would have to go down some sort of thief route. Shimmying across rafters while guards patrolled below should be tense enough to keep excitement high and everyone likes epic loot.
I was getting ahead of myself. I still didn’t know anything about the game. That wasn’t because I was lazy, it was by design. Hardcore players were supposed to figure out everything in-game. There was no point in coming up with a detailed strategy based on assumptions.
One possible issue worried me though. If I just shrank by over a foot, wouldn’t my balance be thrown off when I log in and out? I took an experimental step forward. The foot whipped out faster than expected but I had no trouble transferring my weight and taking another step. I pattered across the floor, each quick step compensating for my shorter legs and I moved at about the same walking speed I was used to. I spent a while testing my new character and discovered that it felt a little easier to move around if anything. Could that be the DEX bonus in action? I opened up my new character sheet to check on the numbers.
Not a bad start. Assuming that ten across the board was standard I had a 4 point head start right out of the gate. On the other hand, I’d never put much stock in luck based builds, preferring to rely on skill. After all, if you keep gambling with your character’s life, the numbers will eventually catch up to you.
I could usually spend hours agonizing about my character names but thanks to the halfling side of my character’s heritage, one jumped into my head almost instantly. “Samwise” was accepted and I gave a little cheer. It was rare for the first name I picked to be available. I would have to thank mom for getting me a little head start on the other players.
I spent a while exploring the menu and playing around with the effortless interface the helmet provided. It wasn’t until a pop-up notified me how late it was getting that I reluctantly logged out. There was no way mom would let me stay up for the midnight release, not with school in the morning. That didn’t mean I couldn’t wake up early and get a look at my starting location though.
CH 3
At 4:30, my alarm started beeping. One second later, my feet were on the floor. I was absolutely wired despite the early hour. Knowing the adrenaline would be short lived, I dropped to the floor and cranked out a set of pushups, followed by situps and squats. After a couple more sets I was truly awake. I finished the morning routine and snuck out of my sound-proofed room to guzzle a breakfast smoothie.
As excited as I was to get into the game, it would be a waste if I wasn’t at my best. It was worth taking the four minutes to make sure my reaction-speed and problem-solving skills were in prime condition. No race car driver would ever start a race without tuning up their engine, and no self respecting gamer would start a game without doing the same for their brain.
By 4:34 I was back in bed, lowering the helmet into place. One minute later, I was back in that featureless room. One thing had changed, there was a door in one wall. It was just as bland as everything else, but it was covered by a flamboyant poster.
“Welcome Beta Testers!”
“Opening cinematics are not available at this time.”
“Enter this door to start the game.”
“Well, the game Isn’t complete, can’t expect all the bells and whistles.” I reasoned, but still felt a little put out. I couldn’t imagine how epic your standard cinematic cut-scene would be with this VR tech. That being said, an entire virtual world waited just on the other side of that door! I stepped forward without hesitation.
When I opened the door, blindingly bright light poured through. I staggered back with an arm flung over my eyes even as a wave of oppressive heat washed over me. It was like opening a humid oven. Hundreds of insects and birds called to each other in a raucous cacophony as the wind rustled the leaves.
It took a little while for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, my jaw dropped. I stared in awe, slowly stepping through the door and into a tidy little garden. The garden was ringed by a thicket of sharpened sticks pointing outward except for where one rickety looking gate spanned the dirt path that looked more like a game trail. Turning around, I saw the thatched hut, dug into the hillside, but its door opened into that white-walled room. The outside of the door appeared to be constructed differently, with a rope loop for a handle. I closed the door and opened it again. Now the door led to a cozy little dirt-walled hut.
“Game on.” I said to myself, then I let out a giddy laugh.
“This is so awesome” I let myself gush for the sake of everyone who would watch my recordings.
“I can’t tell you how cool this is! I can smell the dirt! Okay, that doesn’t sound all that cool, but it’s blowing my mind! There are no words, you have to try this for yourself!”
I could have just spent my morning soaking in the tropical atmosphere and wiggling my toes in the dirt, but the other players wouldn’t be so lax, and the real competitors wouldn’t even have school getting in their way all the time. Getting a solid foothold before the game is opened to the general public is the sort of thing that can make or break a gaming career. That being said, I didn’t really know what to do. The usual strategy was to get acquainted with the locals, help them with odd jobs, and hit monsters with sharp and or heavy things.
The problem with that was I appeared to be some sort of hermit, so there were no other locals around. I was wearing a simple off-white tunic and tan pants. I had no shoes, and no weapon either, so hitting monsters was out. The game wouldn’t just drop me in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do though. It was designed to be fun and interesting, but with hardcore mode, I shouldn’t expect it to hold my hand either.
Casting my gaze around the garden, there didn’t seem to be anything other than a few scraggly plants. I stepped into the little hut, ducking instinctually even though I was short enough for the low ceiling. A padded chair sat by the one window, open except for a lattice of branches. A small iron bound wooden chest sitting next to it caught my interest but it was locked tight.
Tutorial Quest: A locked chest. You can’t remember where you hid your key, but it should be somewhere in your compound.
The prompt flared up in a message box, white letters on a blue background. I’d bet anything that whatever I found in that chest would prepare me for the beasties I was sure lived on the other side of that spiky fence.
I searched the whole hut in under a minute, but then I got distracted by the small shelf of books. Sitting down in the chair, I opened one after another, hoping for some free skills. No such luck but I took screenshots of each page and reshelved the books. I did give the leatherbound “personal journal” a brief skim though, narrating for the benefit of anyone watching.
“Setting out from the Gardener’s guild on a big adventure… Got seasick several times… Finally established camp on the island… Excited to find all sorts of unique plants in the jungle until the ship returns in a month...”
Congratulations! You have unlocked your Main Questline
This island is home to many unique species of plants. You have been tasked with bringing viable seeds from these plants to the Gardeners Guild.
Rewards: 1 gold and 500 reputation per new species discovered
Time Limit: The ship will return in 30 days
“A whole freaking month?” I blurted out “That's kind of a long time to spend picking daisies.”
I might be stuck at this location for a while, but I didn’t have much time this morning. Hopping out of the chair, I left the hut and began searching in earnest.
The key was well hidden, but the space I had to search was limited so It only took me a few minutes to find the crude iron key tied to a leather thong. It was hidden under a rock and I only noticed it because a faint glimmer caught my eye. Looking at the dirty key, there was no way it would reflect any light. That must have been the elfling racial specialty of improved searching coming into play.
When I used the key to open the chest I got a surprising prompt.
Tutorial Quest Completed: A locked chest
Rewards: +1 Scout level
Congratulations!
You are now a Novice Scout Lv-1
-You can enter stealth
-+1% to search and hide
Yup, just like I guessed, this character was intended to be a scout. It was surprising that the quest reward was a skill level though, that meant there should be plenty of interesting ways to improve my character. There were old games where the only way to increase levels in a skill like stealth was to lurk in the shadows for hours. It really didn’t make for good TV.
Hopefully the old way would still work too, I didn’t expect to get too many quests until I found a real town. The real reward of the quest was inside the chest though. It wasn’t a sword, or a bow, but it might have been something better. I lifted the heavy golden book out of the box with reverence.
You have found a skill book!
Warning: Magical Gardening is race specific and can only be learned by Elflings.
Do you wish to learn Magical Gardening?
“Yes?” I wasn’t all that sure. Why couldn’t I have gotten a race with fire-breathing instead?
The book slowly creaked open, then it blasted me in the face with a spot-light intense glow. My vision was filled with spots and I shook my head.
“Uhh, devs? You might want to tone down the particle effects.” I said, sure that the game developers would get the message. When my vision cleared, I could read my newest prompt.
Congratulations!
You are now a Novice Magical Gardner Lv-1
-You can identify novice level plants
-You can use your mana to accelerate plant growth
-+1% to natural growth rate and final yield of plants in your garden
-+1 hour of growth per MP spent
Practice with your new skill to unlock greater abilities
It was pretty basic, but came with twice as many abilities as the Scout skill. I wouldn’t know how useful it would be until I tried it out though. Stepping outside I went over to the planter-box. I didn’t even have to bend at the waist to lower myself to the plant’s level. I just reached out and the moment I touched it a new prompt filled my vision.
You have found a Pato plant.
This plant takes one week to grow and then produces a hearty edible root each day.
Not exactly how things work on earth, but in-game resource generation was always a bit weird. If a chunk of iron ore can be mined without limit, why not do the same with plants? Now, how to use mana without a button…
The seamless game-interface saved the day. All I had to do was think about using my new magic ability and a thready green tether shot out from my hand and attached to the Pato plant. The tether pulsed each second and I felt some reservoir deep inside me start to pour into the plant. Nineteen pulses later, the tether broke. At first I thought the spell had failed but then the dirt under the plant gave off a green glow.
I dug out the freshly grown root and felt an unwarranted amount of accomplishment. Checking my mana showed that I only used 19, not the 24 I had expected. It looked like partially grown plants wouldn’t need as much help. I poured more mana into the Pato plant, getting another tuber, but this time it cost 24 mana, confirming my guess. Watching my mana-bar, it ticked up another point every 6 seconds. Not too bad, at 10 a minute I could churn out another pato every two and a half minutes, though I wouldn’t get too many subscribers by feeding the masses. Searching the other planters only revealed more Pato plants. There wasn’t much point in speed-growing them. I’d already have more than I can eat with just the three plants growing naturally.
Before stepping into the unknown, I tested out my only defense. I bent my knees, adopted a half-crouch and willed Stealth to activate. I immediately started moving slower, and there was a pressure on my chest, like I was holding my breath. Movement caught my eye and I saw my stamina bar steadily decreasing. I stopped moving and the stamina drain stopped. It looked like this was going to be more useful for hiding than sneaking.
I still didn’t have any weapon and my magic would be useless in a fight. All I could do was get out and do some scouting. The wooden gate creaked as I slipped past it and into the jungle beyond.
For the first time, I felt like the small creature I was. The hut and garden were scaled to match my new stature, but the forest loomed unapologetically. Ferns with broad leaves reached over my head and blocked my vision in every direction. If it wasn’t for the game-trail I would have worried about getting lost.
I strained my ears as I went, touching every new plant I saw but failing to identify any of them. The raucous birds and insects made it impossible to hear anything but if there was a predator around they would quiet down right? Maybe I was putting too much faith in the developers. That reminded me that this was just a game. The VR had tricked me into feeling like I was actually there, but I wasn’t! With that reminder, I was much more enthusiastic about exploring the jungle and began jogging down the path, eager to see as much as possible before I had to log out.
Roughly one minute later, I was running back down the trail as fast as I could yelling “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!”. A red-eyed yellow-tusked, bony-faced boar charged down the trail after me, snorting and squealing just as loudly. With my reduced size, the thing’s shoulders came up to my chest! That put his tusks right around heart-height! The thing might as well have been an ill-tempered adolescent rhino! Even if I had a weapon, I had no desire to tangle with something like that!
The boar was even faster than I was! It gained on me until I could feel its hot breath on my neck, then I reached to the side and pulled myself around a tree. The boar looped around, losing a second in the turn because of his greater mass. It wasn’t much, but it gave me enough time to scramble up the creeping vines tangled around the tree. The boar smashed into the tree and screamed at me all the same. It bit at the vines and tried to tear them down but they held strong. My quick little hands had no trouble finding solid grips and for once, my decreased size worked in my favor. My strength might have been decreased, but there was a whole lot less of me to lift too. It wasn’t until I was safely in the crown of the tree that I noticed a new notification.
You have found Medusa’s Snare
This vine grows in 50 hours, wrapping around anything it comes in contact with.
When it matures, it produces 2 seeds and then rapidly petrifies.
The dry vine felt more like stone under my hands and on closer inspection it had cracked the tree-bark beneath it. A little more searching revealed a seed pod containing 2 seeds. The boar was still squealing far below and showed no signs of calming down. I took one of the seeds and began feeding it mana. The seed split and a vine reached out with surprising speed. It began wrapping around my arms but as soon as I registered alarm, the plant slunk away. Instead, it dangled down towards the boar. With a full 50 seconds required to grow the plant, not to mention half of my total mana, I had plenty of time to experiment. The fact that the vines left me alone meant I could control them to some extent, that control was limited though. I could tell the vines to grow in certain directions, but I couldn’t move them around once they were grown. Nearly a full minute later, I finished the spell, ending up with something that vaguely resembled a net. Dropping it made the net flare out like a parachute, dropping over the boar.
The irate animal bit and thrashed but only managed to tangle itself up. Over the next half a minute, the vine died, hardening in place. It even looked like it constricted a little bit. The boar was still squealing but the thrashing had come to a stop as the net turned to stone. I climbed down from the tree and scurried back to my fenced-in garden. It hurt to just leave the boar there, but I still didn’t have any weapons.