Trapped in a Game Pt. 01

"Ugh. Well alright then, let's go see."

We headed outside and sure enough a large crowd was gathered around the message board in the town square.

"We'll never get through that crowd," I muttered.

"Wait. That's Galvan, come on!" Kelly suddenly pulled me towards a little group near the northernmost fountain, and I followed.

"Galvan, that's you isn't it?"

"Kelly?" the man replied.

I guess she must have used the same character appearance in the beta test of the game for him to recognize her, but she must have left a pretty good impression for him to remember her by name like that.

As he gave her a little hug, I suddenly noticed that I kind of disliked this dude a bit.

"Kelly, I've never been sad to see you until now. I'm so sorry you got caught up in this mess too."

"What's been going on? Did you sign up to be a player this time?"

"No, I'm still an admin. Or at least I was. Yesterday when all the weirdness started going down I immediately lost all of my admin privileges, and so have most of the other admins who were in here at the time. None of the others have since been able to get into the game, even with their administrative credentials."

"Did you all know something was up?"

He shook his head.

"No one had a clue. All the tests and protocols were fine right up until launch time, but the protocols were all changed dramatically at the launch."

"Do you know who did it?"

"All signs point to Gary; he built this game from the bottom up. The design teams just did their best to bring his visions to life. But he wouldn't have done it. I won't believe it until he tells me he did this himself."

Gary Wright, the rock star of massively multiplayer online games.

His name alone was enough to sell a game out on release day, but he always delivered on what he promised, and though he wasn't prolific; every game he designed redefined gaming altogether.

"Have you read the board?" Galvan asked.

"No- what's it say?"

He sighed:

"The game was launched at 9:00 Pacific Standard Time. At 9:15, when the launch was completed successfully, a previously unknown gameplay mode called survival mode was initialized, overwriting certain core features and making dramatic changes to the function of the game. It was at this time that my admin status was altered and certain features took effect; the pain inhibitors were removed, death became a permanent effect, and certain mechanics like starvation, fatigue, and environmental effects were added."

"Oh my god- the freeze test, the marathon- we tested some of those features, didn't we?"

"Sadly, yes. It was part of the stress tests for the psychological evaluation. We never imagined it would be used to do this, though. It was supposed to test how players would react to being completely immersed in a foreign environment."

Kelly shot me a little panicked glance.

If I knew my sister she was probably blaming herself again for playing any part in making this nightmare happen.

"So any word on what this guy wants?" Kelly asked.

"Sort of- the message on the town board ended with this: The game will end when peace has come to the Seven Kingdoms."

"What?"

"It's a catch twenty two if I've ever seen one, because as far as anyone knows the Seven Kingdoms are designed to be at peace to begin with."

"Does that mean there'll be a war?"

"At this point, no one knows- but we're getting some of the more experienced players together to make some preparations. The admins who were at the other starting towns are also doing the same."

Someone spoke to Galvan from behind, and he nodded in response.

"I've gotta get going- you know, Kelly, we could really use you right now. Your input as a beta tester might be just what we need here."

"Uh- I don't mind, but my brother-"

"It's okay. Go ahead," I whispered behind her.

Although this was a good opportunity for her to learn some pretty exclusive info, there was also something that I needed to do as well. And it was something that I knew Kelly might be less than enthusiastic about.

"Wha-?" she started in protest, but Galvan was quickly being dragged away himself.

"Just message me when you're done, and we'll meet up."

She nodded, but as she was dragged off she shot me a worried look, and I did my best to reassure her.

"It'll be fine," I mouthed, and she gulped, before nodding and heading off.

* * *

It was just before noon when Kelly messaged and we met up just outside of town where we had camped the night before.

When I found her, she looked pretty cross, and I swallowed nervously before heading over.

"So- what did you find out?"

She eyed me sharply, but thankfully my question distracted her from being angry.

"The admins are forming parties to start playing the game- most people think the matter will be solved by the end of the week but if it isn't they can't risk sitting still while other groups who may develop into threats get ahead."

"I see."

"Galvan asked me to join their squad."

"What did you s-," I stopped midsentence as Kelly shot me an icy glare, her anger resurfacing temporarily.

"They're looking for players B-rank and up mostly, but they were willing to take me in since I played the beta."

"There are ranks?"

"Yep. From F to S."

"What rank am I?"

"C."

"And you?"

"D. Also- most of the S-rank players are already dead."

I pondered the info.

It did make sense.

You weren't supposed to feel pain at all from taking damage, and S-rank players sometimes press on early after a game's launch to get ahead.

A lot of them probably went into risky places to get an early lead on the competition without realizing just what was at stake.

The thing is, pros are usually quite good at quickly gauging how much damage they can take without dying. But I'm guessing that throwing pain into the equation changed the game completely.

I was still ruminating over the news when I noticed that Kelly was staring daggers at me.

"What were you doing?" she asked warily.

"Nothing much- I just, wanted to get a feel for things."

"Bullshit!"

I sighed.

She wasn't going to let this go, and this wasn't the kind of thing I could keep hidden for long.

Besides, she couldn't do much more than get angry anyway.

"I switched classes."

She stared at me in shock.

"To what?"

"Tempest."

She blinked at me disbelievingly.

"Why?"

"It's better this way."

"Fuck you, we chose these classes after talking about it all week!" she was seething almost, but I knew she was acting out of hurt, not hatred.

"This wasn't a death game when we made those choices."

"Fine then, I'll change too. What do you want me to-?"

"No. Ranger is fine."

"What?"

"It's perfect, and you already know how to-"

"How the fuck does ranger work with tempest, Josh?!"

People were starting to stare, and I guess I should have figured she'd be this upset.

Her assessment was after all spot on.

The ranger/rogue combo was one we settled on because of how well the two classes complimented each other; she could strike from range, and me from stealth; she could maneuver through difficult terrain and wilderness, and I could keep pace with her while remaining hidden.

It was a hit and run combo, but one that we'd played together in the past and were comfortable with.

The tempest on the other hand was a spellcaster class that focused on controlling combat in large scale battles, and providing support to multiple allies while keeping enemies at bay.

"Come-" I took her hand, but she pulled away from me.

I looked into her eyes, unable to stop myself from tearing up a little, and she immediately relented.

"Please- come with me," I tried again.

She sighed exasperatedly, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

It was what she always did when she was holding back tears, but she gave a little nod and I led her down a pathway that wound from the city to a little clearing before the woods.

There was nothing of interest here, and as a result it was more or less deserted.

"Ranger is safe, Kelly. I just want you to be safe."

"And what the fuck is safer than rogue, Josh? Or does your safety not matter?"

"It does- but Rogue skills aren't made for protecting others."

Tears were in her eyes now, and she was running her hands through her hair as they fell.

"If you die and leave me here Josh, I swear! I'll-"

*!

I hugged her, and held her tight.

"I'm not trying to leave you, Kel. But I need to make sure you're safe. Tempest makes me feel more comfortable about being able to do that."

She fell to her knees, sobbing, and I held her until she calmed down a bit.

The last day had been hell on her.

I know she still felt guilty for getting us into this, but that didn't matter now.

The only thing that still mattered was getting out of here alive.

And worst case scenario:

This was just the beginning of the game.

* * *

"Okay- lemme hear it," Kelly muttered flatly, calming down from her emotional outburst.

"What?"

"Your bullshit reasoning for switching to tempest."

She did have a tendency to see through me, but I was prepared to defend my case.

"Okay... Tempest is a more versatile class- it makes me much more valuable in a larger party."

"And that affects us, how?"

"I know we were gonna play together, but it might be dangerous for us to do that now. We'll need to join a party."

She grumbled, which left me feeling pretty confused.

What was wrong with joining up with a larger group?

"Is that it? Because rogues are pretty useful to large groups too."

"No- the main reason still stands. It's easier for me to look out for you- uh, I mean both of us. Look at this."

I thought about the spell that I learned from the class, and as a blue aura appeared around my hand I placed it to the floor, sending a radar like pulse out around us.

"There are three rabbits, a bunch of lizards, one deer, and two birds in that grove," I indicated the wilderness to the south of where we stood, and Kelly frowned at me, unfazed.

"Yeah- but you literally have not one single combat skill."

"I don't need it."

She rolled her eyes at me in annoyance, but I was intent on convincing her that this was the better choice. After all, anything was better than letting her know my true motives.

"Watch this. Let's track that deer."

She stared at me intently, but I didn't let up so she eventually acquiesced, gesturing for me to lead the way.

After casting the earlier spell, I could intuitively sense the location of all of the creatures I had detected.

I was, however, very low on magic power, which was the primary drawback of the tempest as a spellcaster class, but I had just enough left to cast one more spell, which would hopefully be enough to convince Kelly.

I got as close to the deer as I dared, which Kelly was surprisingly generous enough to indicate, before I concentrated on one more spell: Mark prey.

A red glow appeared around the deer, which upon touching Kelly's shoulder, she was also able to see.

She rolled her eyes at me, before drawing an arrow from her quiver and taking aim, then releasing it in the direction of the deer.

It was a hit, and the computer generated creature fell as the arrow sunk into its hide.

As we stood over the fallen animal, Kelly got her hunting tools ready to harvest its meat and whatever else was of use from it, so I gave her a little prod.

"Tell me that's not useful," I muttered, but Kelly still looked pretty unhappy.

"I know you, Josh. There's more to this. You're not telling me what, but I know."

I was about to protest further when she continued, softly:

"I'll let it go Josh, but please... promise me," she paused her work to look me in the eyes, "promise me that you won't leave me alone again?"

I wasn't sure exactly what she meant by again, but I nodded as sincerely as I could manage.

Sometime later that evening, our mom called to let us know that our bodies were being moved by the game company to a secure medical facility somewhere.

It was a pretty emotional experience for her, and she managed to get Kelly pretty worked up as well, so by the time that was done I decided we should probably call it a day.

Over the next few days, I tried my best to keep Kelly's spirits up, but much of the news we'd received was bleak.

A Chinese hacker tried to get his friend out of the game, but it only resulted in getting him killed.

Then there was an anonymous group who took down a server somewhere in Austria that resulted in about thirty deaths.

As a result, the game company had to redouble efforts to protect players from misguided attempts at rectifying this situation externally, which I could imagine would merely lengthen our own sentences as the company expended resources and time taking additional steps to safeguard our lives.

However as time passed and the realization that we might be stuck in here for longer than anyone imagined, it became increasingly apparent that things that we'd taken for granted might soon become causes for concern; like food, and shelter.

The rations we started with would last about a week, and with the wealth that you got starting out you'd probably be able to buy basic rations for a week or two more.

And that was if the cardboard taste of those things didn't start driving people crazy first.

Our characters needed to eat, so when food stalls started going up around the edge of town I wasn't surprised.

From what I could estimate, Kelly and I could hunt a week's supply of food for the two of us in one day, and we were pretty well set from doing some hunting for the first three or four days.

Thanks to my sensory ability and Kelly's class traits, we'd also managed to gather a pretty neat collection of herbs, seasonings and rare meats.

The latter wouldn't ordinarily be of any use in a video game, but due to the game's direct connection to the brain, delicacies were sure to become valuable in the future, so we decided to hold on to as much as we could.

After those first four days, Kelly and I began scouting.

I was confident that my radar ability could help us steer clear of major threats, and I was quickly learning how to move stealthily without my rogue assisted abilities.

So we visited some of the nearby monster camps and learned what we could.

This info would prove vital if our plan to join up with a party was to work.

We needed info to trade for a place in a good enough party, and much that we'd learned through Kelly's connection to Galvan would be the kind of info that could get us in trouble quick.

In the first week, there was a group that was trying to gather beta testers to start teaching other players some basic knowledge, and Kelly being her usual helpful self was gravitating towards it.

But I stopped her.

//

"We'll help people if you want to, but don't reveal to anyone who doesn't know that you were a beta tester."

"Why?" she'd asked, somewhat confused.

"Remember that mob that went after Galvan on the first day? It's still early, but people are going to start cracking under the stress sooner or later, and anyone they can blame for this will become targets."

//

It went against her naturally caring nature to ignore the group, but she understood anyway.

When we got back into town on the evening of the fifth day, I suggested that maybe we look up David and his group and ask if they wanted to join up to form a party.

"Why do we need to join a group?"

"Because- It's dangerous to go alone!" I exclaimed with a wry smile.

"Haha, funny," she replied sarcastically, despite the broad smile she wore.

"We probably won't make much progress alone."

Kelly was still apprehensive about it, but I could tell that much of her resistance had been exhausted as she didn't protest the idea any further.

Unfortunately though, when we finally did contact David's group they revealed that they had decided to join Galvan's squad.

They offered to put in a word for us as well if we wanted to join, but I knew Kelly had already turned them down and I was also fearful that joining an elite squad might expose us to threats that were outside our realm of expertise and pose us unnecessary risk.

What we needed was something a little safer, but which would still be effective.

But we needed to tread carefully, after all this was only the first week.

The only groups who were making plans to play right now, given the circumstances, were elite groups like Galvan's, the truly insane, and those with- let's say, less than wholesome intentions.

It took some asking around but eventually we got word of a small group led by a bounty hunter named Karn, that had been recruiting players for a team of their own, and we met up with them just as the sun was setting over our virtual town space.

"You're a what?"

"Tempest."

"What the fuck is that?"

The exclamation came from a red haired player, a young looking guy, sitting across from me at the table, and I was about to answer when the man next to me, who appeared to be the leader of the group, spoke up:

"Are you a pro?"

"Uh-"

"We've seen at least two hundred rangers so far, but you're the second tempest we've even heard about. So level with me right now. Are you some kind of professional gamer, or are you just some dumb idiot that picked that shit randomly without having a single clue about what it fucking does."

I rubbed the back of my head, and glanced at Kelly for some backup but she had her arms folded and was quite purposefully ignoring my silent plea for assistance.

"Well...I'm no pro- but I didn't pick it without reason either," I sighed, before continuing: "Look, We aren't asking to join your group without bringing anything to the table. We've scouted around the Necromancer's ruins, and we've got some pretty good info to give on it."

"Oh, is that so?"

The man studied me a bit more, then discussed some things with his group in whispers, before turning his attention to Kelly.

"Is that chick a chick?"

Kelly rolled her eyes, and shot me a 'are you serious right now' look before resuming her silent protest.

"Uh, yeah. She's my sister."

"And is she any good?"

"How about you test my patience and find out?" she spat in annoyance, and he cracked her a wry smile.

"Sorry- it's just we'd heard how the game was recruiting chicks to keep the male/female ratio balance about even. So no offence, we just need to make sure you don't outright suck."

"She's fine- but we can go on a practice run if it'll make you feel better."

"Okay then, we'll do that. I'm Karn, by the way. The red head is Pete-"

"Warrior, nice to meet ya,"

"-and the quiet one is Ren," he motioned a little robed figure to Pete's left, before finishing: "We'll hit a goblin camp at first light."

* * *

I was a bit nervous, as this was going to be our first real combat experience, but to my surprise on the practice run, Kelly outright impressed.

It's not that I doubted her ability, but what I didn't expect was the sheer tenacity with which she played.

I scanned the area and quickly pointed out all of the existing threats.

I didn't even use my mark, instead just pointing the targets, but Kelly was on fire; she'd cleared half the camp before Pete even swung his sword for the first blow.

Ren appeared to be a rogue, as she sneaked around striking with her dagger before disappearing into the shadows, and Karn using his various tools and implements as a bounty hunter.

It felt somewhat disappointing to see the entire fight end knowing that I hadn't so much as struck a single blow, but my allies were pretty impressed with things.