Rush to Level 0: The Game (Chapter 11)

Appearing in a new place felt strange. Not the usual game teleportation I was used to; my surroundings twisted like tangled pieces of thread, only to untangle again seconds later, weaving something entirely new. The new location was indoors, though far less spacious or impressive than the Depository hall. The first description that came to mind was a stoic stone cellar with one wall missing. There were no statues or furniture of any kind. The only light came from outside, through the missing wall.

No one was there to greet me. I waited for a while, then went in the only direction available to me. The outside was definitely different from what I expected. As I stood on the edge of the room, a vast tropical jungle extended below me. I was on some mountain, though without Twinkle’s mapping ability, it was impossible to tell exactly where. On that note, my AI companion was nowhere to be seen. In normal games, he would be considered part of my avatar, teleporting to my location unless specifically restricted.

“Nice view, isn’t it?” a female voice asked.

I glanced over my shoulder. The familiar elf was leaning against the side of the room, at the point where part of the stone wall showed through the mountain rock. She looked different from before, dressed in a greyish-brown adventurer’s outfit despite the heat. Unlike last time, her hair was a dark shade of green and falling down her back. Thinking back, each time we’d met, she had looked slightly different. Even so I knew it to be her. I hadn’t planned seeing her again so soon, but I couldn’t say it was unexpected either.

“Do you see that crack in the forest?” She pointed in the distance. For some reason, it stood out from the rest of the jungle canopy. “We call it the Crescent River. That’s where you’ll be going to explore.”

“Fun.” I waited for her to come next to me. “I take it you made the request?”

The woman laughed. “You’ve a lot to learn, Sarah. It’s time you started.” She handed me a black square medal, this one with three concentric circles on it.

“Are we going somewhere?” I expected to be transported somewhere. Instead, nothing happened.

“You’ll need a lot of help when you delevel. With this, you can visit and talk to me.”

Or when you want to. I still owed her three favors for when she helped me complete the game.

“A free hint before we get to business. Square medals are for travel.”

“I think I figured that on my own,” I lied.

“Black ones are permanent.”

Shit! I hadn’t even noticed that the one Elvira gave me was gone.

“You’ve started to make connections, I see. Determining who to trust, what to trust, what character build to follow.” She gave me a patronizing pat on the back. “Commendable, but wrong.”

Of course you’d say that.

“I guess you’ll tell me the proper way to play the game?”

“No. Advice is like a crutch. Of all people, I’d have thought you’d have picked that up.” She reached into her vest and took out a small pouch.

As she untied the pouch, I mentally opened my game menu. The window appeared as before. Judging by the elf’s reaction, I was the only one who could see it.

Level: 100

Powers: Godlike

XP to level 99: 9464

It was good to know I had a ways to go before my first delevel. The fact that I had still somehow gained experiences was concerning. First rule of novice gaming—always keep a log. Having spent so much time relying on automated scripts and Twinkle, I had forgotten that. From now on, I’d have to be mindful of any action. Better yet, I’d better get used to playing with a window open.

“You don’t have to be like this,” the elf said.

Instantly, the window disappeared. It was too good to think that things would be easy.

“You chose to enter the game,” she went on. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s yours.”

“I’m not mad about that,” I lied.

“What then?” She looked at me.

I had no answer. She was right, and that infuriated me the most.

“Here, take a look.” She held the pouch in front of me.

Peeking in, I saw a number of small stone tiles, along with several silver rings. Taking a good look, I reached to pick up one of the tiles. No sooner had I done so than the elf pulled the pouch away from me.

“Don’t touch them!” she snapped. “Not yet.”

I gave her an uncertain look.

“Some artifacts are known to delevel on contact.” Her tone was much calmer, although I could still feel some tension there. “Describe what you see.” She opened the pouch closer again.

“Stone tiles, possibly marble.” I leaned over them. “Most of them are bluish-gray, though there are a few reds and greens. All have them a letter on top.” Or something that looked like a letter. “The rings are silver, with gems of some sort. Nothing else special that I can see.”

“That’s it?” The elf stirred them around.

“Yep.” I looked again for a few seconds to double check.

The tiles seemed like cheap trinkets that could be found in any tourist vending machine. The material might be considered somewhat unusual in the real world, but not here. Then again, artifacts did seem to take the appearance of everyday items in the game.

“Good.” The woman closed the pouch and put it away. “You’ll get your reward at the Depository. I’d suggest you keep the details to yourself, but you’re free to sell them if you want. One thing, though.” She pointed at the medal she’d given me. “Keep that to yourself.”

“Is that a request?”

“Friendly advice. Teleport artifacts are common, but locations aren’t.” She smiled at me. “Good luck with your mission. You know where to go. I suggest not taking any shortcuts. They might earn you experience points.”

Without further explanation, the woman blinked out of existence. I stood there for several seconds, unsure whether something would follow. When nothing happened, I opened my level window. The experience needed for level 99 had decreased by two hundred points.

So, you were telling the truth. Some things provide experience just by being touched… or seen. Interesting which of the items had done so. If Claire’s new recording method happened to work, I’d have a chance to find out which.

The distance to the Crescent River felt much shorter than I had expected. Going downhill proved easy, despite the dense vegetation. A few times, I’d slip and trip, but thanks to my invulnerability, I didn’t feel any pain. In a weird way, that made me slightly concerned—I was starting to get accustomed to invulnerability, just as Spaff had warned me.

By the time I heard the river, a few hours had passed. Thankfully, I had received no new experience points, keeping me safely at level one hundred.

“Twinkle?” I said to see if the command would have any reaction. It didn’t. Instead, I felt a sudden gust of wind nearby. When I looked in the direction it had come from, someone was already there. Apparently in this game, walking was for newbies.

My “task-giver” was far younger than I’d expected—fifteen, give or take—and very goth. Sadly, I knew the type: black hair, sunglasses, mascara, skinny jeans, torn black shirt, arrogance that could move a moon out of orbit. If he had any artifacts on him, they were well hidden.

“So you’re with the Lady,” he said in a dry voice.

“Something like that.” They call you the Lady? Good to know. “Where’s the cave?”

“Down there.” He approached with a smirk, not bothering to point. “Green-eyed wildcard…” He scoped me out as he walked round. “You better be worth your price.”

Normally, I’d snap back, just to test what sort of person he was. Trash talk was pretty much considered etiquette in the pro-game world. On the other hand, no one liked mouthy newbies.

“Lead the way.”

The river water formed fractals as we walked by: a strange and calming experience. Initially, I thought that the cave would be underwater, thus him requiring someone with invulnerability to reach it. As we continued along the bank, I saw it was going to be far more mundane.

“You’ll be my torch-shield,” the boy said. “Walk in front, describe what you see and leave the fighting to me. Are you any good with puzzles?”

“So-so.”

“Leave those to me as well. If you know the answer, tell me. Don’t touch anything.”

“Is every exploration this much fun?” I couldn’t help myself.

Given the obvious difference in level, I expected to be drowned in sarcasm, or at the very least yelled at. Neither happened. The goth slowed his pace for a few moments, glanced at me, then smiled and went on.

“Enjoy it while you can. Once you hit double digits, things get crazy.”

“Crazy how?” I waited for a few seconds. “I’ll take anything you’ll give. I just want to get a feel of things, not actual info.”

“There’s no such thing as a feel of things.” His tone became bitter.

“Do I at least get to know what to call you?” I asked, changing my approach.

“Goth…” For a moment, I saw him blush. “It’s the clothes. Wildcards enter the game blank. Invites get to choose their avatars. I wanted to be edgy, so the name stuck. I was in my cringe phase.”

“Ok.” By the sound of it, he must have entered the game at a very young age, probably the same as the kinds I’d seen running around. If he was anything like them, he must have been playing consistently for half a decade at least. “Any other advice? Concerning the mission.”

“Don’t try anything on your own.”

The cave entrance was a hole in a small mound by the river, almost impossible to find by accident. Moving closer, a series of stone steps became visible, continuing into the darkness. Instinctively, I looked for my Find Traps shortcut.

First task, first quest.

I took a deep breath and went down the stairs. The “cave” definitely wasn’t natural; in fact, it wasn’t a cave at all. The stairs ended in what was clearly a temple antechamber, at least twenty meters long with a large circular slab opposite the entrance. Four massive columns held the ceiling, each with the carving of an animal head on the base. On closer inspection, I could see that the shafts were chipped.

“Are we the first ones here?” I turned to Goth.

He shook his head. In the darkness of the room, his eyes glowed a soft brown even under the sunglasses.

“Right.” I moved away and went to the slab. “Four sections, four options,” I said out loud. “Did anyone get beyond this point?”

“Don’t think so. The clans would have wrecked the place and the oldies wouldn’t have gained xp.”

“It’s very unprotected for a dungeon entrance.” I reached towards the slab, stopping inches short. “Were there any mods when you first found it?”

Silence.

“I need to know some things if I’m to be useful.” How I hated teenage arrogance.

“Not inside. The forest was full of them. High-level stuff. This used to be an XP-field before the Forders culled most of it. I’d come now and again to see if anything new appeared. That’s how I found it. There was a mound snake outside. When I killed it, the entrance appeared.”

Interesting. If there was no fighting here, what had chipped the columns? There were no weapons or creature remains, not even cobwebs, which a lot of game companies liked to add as a cheap decoration. To a degree, this reminded me of the trial I had faced in Vesperia: a closed arena chamber which had spawned enemies. Each of the creatures had far overpowered me, to the point that even buffs, ultimates, and cheats proved useless.

“It’s an arena lock.” I stepped away from the slab. “Each column is an opponent. Defeating all four will move the slide.” I hesitated. “Or maybe you just have to turn the animal heads and that’s it.”

“Animal heads?”

“The columns.” In a petty sort of way, it felt good pointing out the obvious to a veteran player. “Each base has a carved animal head.”

“They’re all the same.”

In other circumstances, I’d have considered that an attempt at joking. The surprise in Goth’s voice, though, told me that he wasn’t joking.

“What’s this look like to you?” I went to the nearest column.

“A column, like all the rest.”

Whoever had made the game had made it in such fashion that it changed based on level. It wasn’t only a matter of decreasing skills; the entire environment changed. I could no longer rely on any descriptions, or even on my own memories. Everything I had seen up till now would very likely look different a few levels from now. The concept was ingenious, guaranteed to boost player retention. A pity it was used on the equivalent of mental crack.

“It’s an eagle,” I said. “That one’s a tiger.” I walked to the columns nearer to the entrance. “Tortoise… and dragon.”

“The same as on the slab,” the boy said.

Of course there would be things I couldn’t see either.

Seems some dungeons needed level combos to be cleared. That guaranteed that no single player could reach the end of the game solo. Not without help, in any event.

“This one was a dragon?” Goth went to the column across the room from me.

I nodded.

“Okay, stay back.”

I watched him grab hold of the column’s base. Nothing happened. As much effort as I could see on his face, the stone wouldn’t budge.

“Need a hand?” I asked half-jokingly.

Goth ignored me, holding the column with both hands. Even so, there was no difference. I gave him a few more seconds, then went to the column myself.

“I need to do this.” If it doesn’t work, I’ll look like an idiot. “It’s what you hired me for.”

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed hold of the dragon’s ears and turned the base of the column clockwise. The action was effortless, as if I were turning a loose screw. A click resounded throughout the room, followed by the entire pillar vanishing into the ground.

My instincts told me to jump back. Before I could, Goth had dashed towards the center of the chamber, mace in hand. Leaping in the air, he swung his weapon, thrashing it into the air. It was only then that the beast gained form.

You had to pick the dragon…

The creature was at least five meters long, its head nearly pressing against the ceiling. There was no health bar, no level indicator, nothing to separate it from an actual living creature. Given the detail of graphics, I could almost forget that it was a bundle of virtual data. Its entire body was covered in red scales that glistened like rubies. From what I could see, the only unprotected areas were near its eyes and the base of its wings.

Pushing himself away from the beast, Goth followed with a second attack, this time striking the dragon in the side of the jaw. The slam sounded like steel hitting concrete, ripping off several dragon scales. The dragon, however, was quick to retaliate. Its giant tail ripped through the air like a whip, chipping off fragments of the columns as it flew towards its target.

Game reaction clashed with biological instinct. Every game instinct I had screamed for me to move against the dragon, avoiding the tail’s attack area. Every real-life instinct I had yelled for me to move as far away as possible.

“Stay there!” Goth shouted. The dragon’s tail struck him, thrusting him towards the opposing wall. I heard a chilling crunch. I could almost feel his bones breaking.

Shit!

With the veteran gone, I had become the target. The dragon had come to the same conclusion because it redirected its attention towards me, mouth opening wide, fangs darting towards me.

In every gamer’s life, there were moments when the threat of losing an avatar felt the same as losing one’s life. I had been through a few of those before and none of them could compare to the terror I felt now. Seeing the dragon charge at me, I froze. Its movements slowed down to a near crawl and still I didn’t have the will to move.

The jaws crunched on my shoulder. There was a gnashing sound… and no pain, none at all. Fear gave way to confusion as I turned my head to see what I could of my shoulder. Before I could make any sense of it, I felt something pull me free.

“Stand still!” Goth’s arm grabbed me by the waist as he struck the dragon’s eye with his mace.

The creature’s head tilted for a moment. Goth took advantage of the moment to launch us towards a column.

“Don’t freak out, you’re god-tier!” The boy swung around the column, pulling me along like a ragdoll. “Just don’t punch it!”

Don’t punch it…

The absurdity made me snap out of my shock. This was part of the game—being invulnerable, but not able to land one strike. Instead, I got to be Goth’s shield and eyes… his torch-shield.

The scaly tail hit me across the face. I barely felt it. However, even with this advantage, the battle wasn’t going well. For every hit that Goth managed to land, the dragon returned three. Teeth, claws, and tail pummeled me like a hurricane of pompons. Each hit dealt no damage but pushed me back, and Goth along with me. It also reminded me how useless I was. Had this been an actual battle I would have been long dead and ejected out of the game. My reflexes were slow as if I were encased in jelly. I wasn’t suited for this. I had been relying on shaming shortcuts far too much and now that they were gone I felt inadequate.

“Grab onto it,” Goth shouted. “I’ll do the rest!”

Without warning he shoved me forward. I had a split second to react. Fighting the inertia I reached out to grab hold of the dragon’s front leg… and missed. The beast extended its wings, flipping me back like a matchstick.

Left without a shield, Goth leapt forward in what I believed to be a desperate attack. That’s when the impossible happened. The mace changed form, turning into a gauntlet that covered his arm up to the elbow. One single strike and the dragon’s wing flew off, ripped from the root. Another, and a leg was torn off. As he prepared for a third strike, the dragon counterattacked. Unable to move or fly away, the creature did the only thing it could—flip its tail, aiming to strike Goth from the unprotected side. At that point, I didn’t think.

“Scorchlight!” I shouted, extending an arm in the dragon’s direction.

There was a faint zap. A heavy smell of ozone hit my nostrils as a ball of light formed in the middle of my palm, propelling forward through scale, flesh, and bone. A quarter of the room sizzled, covered by a blast of incandescent light. Then everything went quiet.

What the heck?!

I remained on the ground, motionless, hand still pointing forward, unable to comprehend what I had done as the stench of burned flesh filled the air. As I lay there, a dragon symbol appeared on the slab across the room.

“You shouldn’t have used that,” Goth grumbled, making his way to me. His voice was dripping with disappointment. “Come on.” He offered a hand to help me up. “We’ve got three more.”

How did I do that? I haven’t learned any magic yet.

I opened my status window.

Level: 100

Rule 3: Godlike have all skills with a 10:00 minute cooldown

Powers: Godlike

XP to level 99: 4364