Rush to Level 0: The Game (Chapter 15)

My phone was ringing when I logged out. No notifications had managed to penetrate the game, simply stacking up and awaiting my response. Strangely enough, I didn’t feel the usual desire to respond. All my life, I’d had a near obsession to respond to any and all unmarked notifications that made their way past my spam and block filters. Now, it felt like a distant echo. In the hour I was gone, the game had felt more real than reality ever could.

“Who’s calling, Twinkle?” I asked.

The AI didn’t answer. Reaching out of the rig, I grabbed the phone. Jeff was calling, and it wasn’t from his work phone.

“Hey,” I said, answering it. “Missed you at work today.”

“Yeah. Something happened.” His voice was jumpy even through the phone.

“Anything I can help with?”

“No. I’m not sure… Sis got in trouble again.”

“Serious?” A while back, we had to rush her to hospital. Since then, she had been causing more and more problems, although thankfully nothing serious enough to get her hurt. From what Jeff had shared, she’d been developing an unhealthy interest in dark web matters, to the point where it was getting difficult for him to keep her safe.

“Could have been. She’s gotten involved with someone she shouldn’t be. The guy owes me a favour, so he told her to back off, but…”

But if she’s tried once, she’ll try again.

“Anyway, that’s for me to take care of. How are things with you?”

“Fine.” I took a deep breath. “Worried about you, but fine.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but he could use a pick-me-up about now, especially with things to come. “I went back to the game today.”

“Oh?” Disapproval streaked from his voice.

“We need to talk.”

“I’ll be right there.” Jeff ended the call.

I stayed in the rig a bit longer, then got out. The proper thing to do was call Claire and tell him what I’d discovered. The info crumbs I’d found in the game were enough to get him going for days. I had every reason to call, if for no other reason to find out what happened to Goth… and I was going to, once I wrapped my mind around the second part of the prize I had received.

Goth was correct when he said that the artefact was overpowered. It had given me map functionality in a game that was supposed to have none. That was the lesser part of it. What was astounding was the single notification I had received moments later, just before the game had logged me off: RL Rule 1 Exemption: You’re allowed to discuss the game with 3 non-game people. Explicit restrictions apply.

Getting an exemption was undoubtedly a big thing. The implications surrounding them were far bigger. It had frequently implied that the game had rules both inside and outside the game. Up to now, I’d always thought the rules to be implied or made up by the players. Now, in truth, I wasn’t sure what to think.

The blackouts that resulted from the game, the hallucinations; they had all been part of the game’s rules, and from what I had seen, the rules were always enforced. No wonder there were so few rumors.

Deep-mind hacking. I shivered.

Supposedly, it had been forbidden out of existence, once the corporate sector had found it did more harm to their quarterly reports than good. Light elements still existed—suggestive practices, subliminal presentations, everything needed to fuel the consumer economy and allow a proper VR experience.

My stomach growled. Although I’d only been gone an hour, I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days. Not tired, though. If the game hadn’t disconnected me, I could have gone on for days.

“Twinkle, order some protein bars.” I grabbed what was left in the fridge. “Three full packs. Check for discounts.”

Thousands saved up with a boyfriend who had millions, and I still went for discounts. I suppose there always was the fear that it all could vanish. In today’s day and age, I’d seen it happen more than once.

“And don’t go too experimental. Only flavors I’ve tried.”

A feeling of unease swept through me as I made my way to the shower. Something felt off. Usually, enough water was plenty to make me feel well again. Lately, it had started to lose its effect. Halfway through, I walked out and went to get dressed. Jeff hadn’t said exactly when he’d arrive. Knowing him, a ten-minute window was a good estimate.

While waiting, I did a search for local gyms in my area. Similar to the techno-cults and the food industry, they had been on a steady increase over the last few years. As VR became mainstream-dominant, more and more people were choosing to take a break from it by going to a gym. Normally, I would consider that way beyond my pay grade. Even crappy coupon classes went up to a thousand for a monthly regimen. Given that I was doing it out of necessity and not fashion, I’d likely have to pay more.

“Martial Art Basics,” I read out loud.

It had a solid four-point-seven review. Considering the price per session, that was the very minimum they should have. The training halls were spacious, with groups of ten students. Most of the classes offered were for “experienced” participants with at least three years recent training experience. Reading the requirements made me feel like prepping for an interview.

“Nope.” I skipped to the next one in my area.

This one had a four-point-five rating. Amenities were practically the same as the previous gym, as was the price, although this one offered a total newbie program. According to the description, the course boasted a “twenty-session experience ensured to boost the strength and stamina of every participant to achieve a healthy and fulfilled life and better game results.”

I joined without a second thought, paying the full amount in advance. A confirmation QR code arrived on my phone, letting me know I could start at eight o-clock on Monday, no refunds for skipped sessions.

I have to start somewhere.

If it went well, I would later move on to actual combat, not just shaping up. With a bit of luck, it I’d have reached an adequate amount of training for the game before I delevelled.

The door screeched open. Jeff had just arrived and was looking at the floor. Silent, he moved the door back and forth several times. The screech persisted.

“Something’s stuck there,” he said, bending down.

“Leave it.”

“It’ll only take a moment, I’ll—”

“leave it!” I snapped. Jeff looked up at me, still and silent. “Sorry.” Shit! I didn’t mean that. “Just leave it, please. I… I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.” He sat on the floor beside me.

“Don’t tell anyone about this, okay?”

Theoretically, the rules of the game were only meant for players. Jeff had never entered it, so he wasn’t supposed to be affected. Even so, I didn’t want to risk it.

“I’m serious!” I preemptively cut him off. “The game goes way beyond the game.” That sounded terrible. “It continues in real life as well.”

“Like GPS caches?”

“No.” I smiled. As smart as he was, he remained a hacker. “It’s… remember back when I was doing the level hundred quest? You warned me that people that got too involved dropped off the grid?”

Jeff nodded.

“That’s part of the game. There are all these rules that no one can talk about. If someone goes into specifics about the game things get messed up.” I paused. “Even more messed up.”

“Are you okay?” He put his arm around my shoulders. “Is there—”

“The game is a mind-hack addiction.” There, I said it. “If I don’t log on for too long I get hallucinations and die. If I tell a non-player about the game, I get ejected from the game and die. If I die in the game… you get the idea.”

The solemn expression on Jeff’s face spoke volumes. It was as if he’d just heard his worst fears confirmed.

“Yeah.” I tried to smile, but my lips wouldn’t let me.

“There’s nothing you can do?”

“I can keep playing and hope not to die.” Not the worst option. “Some manage to do that quite well.”

Of course, even they had to deal with the random. Each time someone reached level fifty, there was a chance for someone to get ejected.

“Hey.” I finally managed to force a smile. “Don’t be all gloom.” I held his free hand. “I haven’t given up, okay? I won’t let this defeat me.” I wish I could be as confident as I tried to sound. “There’s another way. The first person to reach level zero gets a chance to escape.”

“Level zero?”

“Sorry, I’m not used to someone knowing less than me.” I stood up, moving his arm off me. “The game’s opposite to other games. You start at level one hundred, then delevel your way down to level zero.”

“The hundred level quest. It’s not linked to Vesperia. It’s a free ticket trial.”

Logical, come to think of it. The trial for me was to get to the last level of the game, only with things being inverted, level one was actually level one hundred.

“The more I delevel, the weaker I get,” I continued.

“You sure? That sounds wrong.”

“I’m sure.”

I wish I weren’t.

The cornerstone I’d received had given me one more thing: enough experience to delevel to level ninety-nine. By all standards, I still had superior stats and the ability to use any weapon and learn any skill; however, I was no longer godlike. That meant no more immortality, night vision, spell knowledge, or any other perks that came with it. From this moment on, I was just another player.

“Anyway, the point is, I was helping out on a quest. Not exactly a quest. The game doesn’t have those. The players self-organize giving each other tasks. Do something for someone and they give you a reward. I was helping someone with a task before you called.”

Jeff leaned forward. The initial shock and alarm had given way to genuine gamer interest.

“The guy I was with messed up.”

“Guy?” Jeff put a hand on his chin.

“Player.” I wasn’t in the mood for this type of talk. “Some oldbie. He needed an assist from a high-stat player. We cleared a dungeon and found some high-level artifact. The thing turned out to be boobytrapped. The guy touched it and got ejected from the game.” I paused. “And I think his memory got wiped.”

“That’s—”

“Impossible?” I finished for him.

“I was going to say extremely expensive. And I mean extremely. Lots of old orgs worked on mind-hacking in the twenties. Rumors are that some of the initial research can still be found. It’s all useless, though.”

“Useless? If you could mind-hack a person, you could—”

“Do exactly what can already be achieved in far cheaper ways?” Jeff smiled.

I felt stupid.

“And if the tech existed, why would the people who have it let us have this conversation? Why let us have any conversations?

“If it’s not the real deal, it’s close enough. I’ve seen the results.” Keep it calm. This isn’t the time for an argument.

Jeff’s silence suggested he was of a similar opinion.

“This artifact I found, it allows me to tell three people about the game without getting punished.” Shit! I should have said one. “That’s why I asked you here. I could use some help.”

“Sure.” Jeff’s voice was barely a whisper. “What do you need?”

“Nothing related to the game, not for now at least.” I paused. “I need more time to start figuring things out. While I do that, I want you to help me outside the game.”

“You want me to find Legion,” Jeff said.

“I want you to find other players. The game doesn’t let people log on forever. When it logs you off, you can’t immediately go back in. That means players must lead normal lives while waiting to log in.”

“You’re not giving me much to go on.”

“That’s all I know.” That was a lie. There also was Kyle. He had specifically targeted me the moment I had received the hundred level quest. I had no idea what group he belonged to, but where there was one, there would be others. “I’ll try to remember some of the faces and sketch them up. You can roam some databases from there.”

Jeff’s smirk told me that I didn’t understand as much about his work as I thought I did. Even so, he didn’t say a word to correct me.

“I’ll also need you to look in a hospital for me. I know I’m asking a lot, but that might help me find out more about the people who built this. If we learn that, maybe we’ll find some backdoor out of the game.”

“You sure know how to pick your targets.”

“Can you do it?”

We both knew he’d say yes, yet chose to pretend in our own way that it wasn’t a foregone conclusion. After that, the topic of conversation shifted to small talk—the acceptable nonsense we went through when avoiding other topics. We kept that up throughout the evening until the takeout Jeff ordered had arrived. After that, the floodgates opened.

It wasn’t so much advice I was looking for; I just needed someone to hear what I’d seen in the game as a person. I told him about the graphics and realistic sensations, mentioned the time difference between the game and real-life events, and I even went so far as to describe every player I’d seen so far.

Jeff would try to keep up. Every now and again, his gaze would wander off towards my chin—an indication he had lost the thread. Not once did he interrupt me with questions or theories. When I explained in detail the function of the cornerstone, his attitude changed. To be honest, so did mine.

“This is the Village.” I placed an empty takeout carton on the floor. “The cornerstone says it’s pretty near to the edge. Here’s my first connect point.” I put a plastic fork near Jeff. “And that’s pretty much all I know.”

“Not much.” He crossed his arms, looking at the makeshift map. “You walked a whole day to reach the village from here?”

“Felt like it. There also were some mountains, but they’re not added to the map. I guess I must reach a point on one for it to be marked.”

“And the gate opens anywhere?”

“The scammer was expecting me when I first connected, so I think there’s an initial spawn point. After that, I’ve appeared back where I last disconnected.”

That could change the next time I logged on, considering that the cornerstone was acquired. At least, I hoped so. I didn’t want to rely on the Elf again.

“I should also be getting currency from the Depository.” Both my tasks were complete, although strictly speaking I couldn’t call the second one a complete success as far as Goth was concerned. “I can buy some info to fill in the map.”

“Why a cornerstone?” Jeff mused. “If it fills out the map as you go along, why does it have to be a cornerstone?”

“Maybe it works for a quarter of the map?”

“Then why not call it a quarterstone?”

I gave him the look.

“I know, but hear me out. What if this is part of the endgame?”

“There’s no endgame. All I must do is grind down to zero, and—”

“But what if that’s part of it? If you start with full stats and skills at level hundred, at zero you shouldn’t have any. And I mean that, technically, you won’t have the strength to move or the perception to see a thing.”

There was a scary thought.

“You said a cornerstone was rare.”

“I was told it’s rare.” Given that I’d gotten it on my first go, it was possible that Goth had exaggerated a bit. Either that, or I had been beyond lucky.

“Then maybe all four will show you all locations in the world without even seeing them? Or even act as a key to somewhere else.”

“I hope not.” I agreed with him about the map functionality, though. Having four pieces give me a new game functionality sounded like something the game would do. “Also, the cornerstone is bound to me. No one can take it or even see it.”

“Not while you’re alive.”

“Thanks.” I took a sip of my energy drink.

“I’m serious. You told me there was a system announcement when you got it.”

“When Goth got it.”

“That would only happen if the goal is for everyone else to hunt the owner down. After that, it’s a matter of tracking who was nearby. How many people know you were on that quest?”

“At least two.” I knew “the Lady” would keep her mouth shut, but wasn’t as certain about Elvira. She had given me the task and was just as likely to sell the information to anyone willing to pay the price. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to claim the reward for the second task, after all.

“Try to keep it that way. Meanwhile, I’ll try to track down whoever else has a cornerstone.”

“You can’t enter the game.” For one thing, I wasn’t going to let him.

“I know. I’ll search out here while you’re in there.”

“Jeff, it’s not like people will have the artifact in real life. There’s no trace, not even a virtual item.”

“The cornerstone lets you tell people about the game, right? I’ll just focus on people talking about it.”

He got me again. Of course people would talk. I had been in the game less than a week, and I couldn’t wait to spill my guts the first chance I got.

“That’s provided that there are others out there. For all I know, I might have found the first one.”

“You haven’t.” Jeff laughed. “There’s already info leaked about the game. It isn’t much, but it’s out there. And if there is, it must have come from somewhere.”