Ben took Red’s offered hand, letting the big warrior pull him to his feet. By the ease with which the mercenary handled him, the newly-made scout guessed that his friend had at least double his own strength score. Maybe more. He nodded his thanks and looked around him. The first thing he saw was the beautiful smile of Shiraz.

“Happened to me once, you know,” said the lithe redhead. “I was so engrossed in leveling my character that I lost track of time and was thrown back into the game without any warning. You’re in luck,” she added. Her eyes sparkled in amusement. “When it happened to me I found myself submerged in water and pulled down by an evil sentient whirlpool. True story. Barely survived. You okay?”

Ben blinked a few times. “Y-yeah... but what about you?” There was no trace of the nasty cut to the throat that nearly depleted the redhead’s blood reserves. Shiraz looked healthy, radiant - in fact, even more so than what she’d looked like before she got sliced. It took Ben another fraction of a second to process what he was seeing, and then it clicked. “Your health is restored,” he said the obvious. “You leveled up.”

Shiraz only nodded with a small smile, but his other two companions weren’t so benevolent. Milenna and Red spoke at the same time:

“Oh for the love of - “ said Milenna.

“Fucking noob - “ muttered Red.

The two looked at each other and grinned. Ben felt his cheeks flush. These guys probably had years of experience playing VD, and he couldn’t expect to know everything they did. But he vowed to himself right then and there that he would do his best to hide his lack of knowledge, at least from the sarcastic warrior and sorceress.

Shiraz cleared her throat. “We all leveled up,” she explained. “1,000 XP is enough to get anyone to the second level.” She touched his shoulder, distracting him from his sniggering companions.

Ben gave her a long look. Standing so close to her, he was once again amazed by how impossibly attractive she was. She was almost… unreal.

The thought made him lose focus for a moment. Unreal. Of course. He had to remind himself where he was. It was hard to accept that his real body was in his RL bed in his RL room right now, that all he was seeing and experiencing was nothing more than a sophisticated computer program. He briefly wondered if Shiraz and the others looked the same in real life as they did in the game. His logic told him that there was no way it was possible; his heart shooed that logic away.

Shiraz’s lip curled into a coy smile, although there was nothing shy about the words she said next - or about the bluntness with which she said them. “Oh my, Ben. You look at me as if you’ve never seen a woman before.”

Ben was horrified. “I - what? A woman? No. I mean - yes! I’ve seen. I mean - “

His babbling stopped when Red bellowed in laughter. Milenna was also chuckling, and Shiraz bit her lower lip - either embarrassed or trying hard not to join the laughter at his expense. Ben suspected the latter.

“Oh give the poor lad a break,” said Red after his mirth subsided. He wiped his eyes and gave Ben a hearty slap on his shoulder that nearly sent him flying, as per usual with the mercenary’s hearty slaps. “Don’t worry, skin. Ain’t easy dealing with such beautiful lasses. Stuttering is a known side-effect of their charm.”

Ben swallowed. He didn’t want to look at any of them - it would take time to shake that “new kid in the class” disposition - so he opted for the right to remain silent, and instead decided it was time he examined his surroundings.

The relatively small room they were standing in was circular, with three fork-like exits that led away into dark corridors, as well as a fourth exit - the one with the ladder that led back to the prison compound. The room was empty, but what immediately caught his eye was a large marble pillar that stood in the center. A soft white aura emanated from the pillar in a three-foot radius, giving enough light to illuminate the entire room, and when Ben concentrated he thought he could hear a faint humming that originated from the pillar. Ben wasn’t sure if he actively chose to do so, but as he concentrated, his identify skill came into play. The text in the following message looked somehow… ancient.

~ Waystone ~ Dungeon of Dwarven Despair ~

“A waystone…” he mumbled.

His whisper didn’t go unnoticed. The others came to stand next to him, and Milenna raised a delicate eyebrow. “Yes. I was just telling Red here that we’d probably have to tell you what it is but it’s always nice to be surprised. You know what it does?”

Ben didn’t know, but he didn’t like the condescending tone of the sorceress. He decided to take an educated guess. “If you die in this dungeon, you respawn here.”

She nodded. “Indeed. That’s what we hope, at least.”

Ben looked at her. He couldn’t help himself. “What is that supposed to mean?”

The beautiful sorceress shrugged. “It’s Raxlon’s Quest. Who knows what punishments await those who die in one of his dungeons? Losing levels? Skills? Transformation into a lesser creature?” She looked up, as if daring the DM to say something in his godly voice. When no response came, she sighed and looked at Ben again. “I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to find out.”

“Same here,” said Shiraz. Red grunted in acquiescence.

Ben looked at them and was about to respond, but stopped. His identify skill was still active, and while the only thing that changed about Red and Milenna’s descriptions was their level, Shiraz’s class was now also revealed:

Shiraz: level 2 Race: Human Class: Vagabond 1

“A vagabond? What class is that?” He blurted before he could stop himself.

The others grew dead quiet, and Shiraz’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You have the identify skill,” she said quietly.

Ben cursed his stupidity. He couldn’t lie, not in front of that piercing gaze. “Yes,” he admitted.

Red whistled. “Not bad, skin. Not bad at all. High perception?”

Ben thought fast. “I’m a scout,” he said, hoping that the answer would satisfy their curiosity. No need to reveal any more about his abilities than what he already did.

Red nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer, and even Milenna looked impressed. “Rare class,” she said. “I never traveled with a scout before. I hear they can come… quite handy.”

Ben glanced at Shiraz. The redhead seemed a bit annoyed, and he suddenly felt ashamed that he revealed to the others something she perhaps wanted to save to herself. “I’m sorry, Shiraz. I didn’t mean to…” he trailed off.

To his immense relief, the redhead didn’t seem the type to hold a grudge - that, or she was an excellent actress. Whichever it was, her frown gradually turned into a small smile. “Don’t worry about it. But remember, you owe me one.”

“Sure,” he answered immediately. Anything to keep this gorgeous woman in his favor. “So… what’s a vagabond class?”

Shiraz tsked. “You are a wonderful mixture of ignorance and wisdom,” she said dryly. But she looked amused, not angry. “Vagabond is what we call a transition class. You get it when nothing else is offered in your Class Choice. It happens when you didn’t do enough before your level up, or if you somehow pissed off your DM…” She glanced up, but once again their mighty overlord remained quiet.

“Anyway,” continued the vagabond, “since what I managed to accomplish in the last hour was mostly to get injured and then follow you until we completed the hidden quest… I guess I deserved it.”

It made sense, Ben thought. “So you get no bonuses at all? No special powers?”

This time, Shiraz’s smile was gone and she looked at him sternly. “A word of advice, my scout friend. Never pry into another’s powers, unless you’re invited to do so. It is considered… impolite.”

Ben felt his cheeks flush for what was probably the umpteenth time since he logged in. Stupid, stupid, stupid!. “Got it. Sorry.”

She just nodded and turned to look at the radiating pillar. “So. Now that we all know what we all are... what do y’all say we move forward? I think it would work now that Ben’s with us.”

Ben was perplexed. “What would work?”

It was Red who answered. “The waystone. We couldn’t get closer, and we figured it was waiting for a certain number of players so it would activate. Here, look.” The mercenary took a step toward the pillar, but couldn’t advance - the light seemed to encompass him and hold him in place. He did manage to move his head and hands, so he looked back at the others and gestured. His movements seemed slow and exaggerated. “Come,” he said and his voice sounded as if he was speaking underwater.

Milenna didn’t hesitate before striding forward and joining the warrior, and after a moment she seemed to be stuck as well. Her raven black hair flowed around her in slow motion.

Shiraz glanced at Ben and winked. Then she too moved forward into the light. The three of them looked at him.

What’s the worst that can happen? Ben took a deep breath and stepped forward until his hand touched the vibrating aura.

As soon as he came in contact with the white light, the humming intensified. The light grew brighter, almost blinding in its intensity, causing all of them to shield their eyes. The intense pulse of light was short-lived though, and when Ben could see again, he saw that the pillar had changed.

Where before there was only white stone, now four small alcoves appeared in the middle of the pillar. Each of the depressions held a stone: a green gem, a white gem, a chunk of iron, and an unidentified shape of grey stone. Above the alcoves, a golden inscription could now be seen on the pillar:

Leader, pick the quartz and receive your reward.

Protector, pick the iron and receive your reward.

Mystic, pick the jade and receive your reward.

Unknown, pick the fossil and receive your reward.

There was a brief silence, and then -

“Dungeon’s starting rewards!”, exclaimed Red. “Awww-some!”

Shiraz eyes shone with delight, and Milenna was actually rubbing her hands together. Ben, who felt the thrill of the upcoming loot himself, couldn’t blame any of them. The inscription did look promising.

“You know what it means, right?” This time Milenna directed her question to all of them, not only to Ben.

Shiraz nodded. “If we get rewards before we enter the dungeon, it’s probably going to be one hell of a dungeon.”

The sorceress nodded. “Exactly. And I love it.”

“I love it more,” said Red. The mercenary turned to face them, looking eager. “Listen, I’m taking the iron. Protector must mean there’s some kind of a killer weapon inside.” He swept his intense gaze upon them all - when it passed him, Ben once again felt the man’s powerful aura, almost physically this time. “Fine by me,” he said quickly.

Shiraz eyed Ben for a moment as if considering something. Eventually, she turned to look at Red and nodded. “Agreed.”

Milenna gave a small nod as well, and that was all that Red needed - although Ben had the feeling he would have done as he wished even without their confirmation.

The mercenary grabbed the chunk of iron and they all looked expectantly at the pulsating pillar. They weren’t disappointed. Before their eyes, the small depression that held the iron opened into a much larger alcove - one that went all the way down to the floor. And inside…

“Ssssweet!” cried Red, and Ben had to agree. Inside the elongated alcove were a beautiful longsword and a small shield. The sword was a perfect silver, and its blade shone with an inner light that was visible to all. The hilt was a masterpiece - shaped like a panther’s head, with claws that served as its crossguard. It also came with a decorated, expensive-looking scabbard.

The shield also glowed, and seemed to be made by the same material - Ben guessed it was quicksilver - and the same panther’s head was indented in its center. The shield, while round, also had jagged claw-like edges, and Ben realized that with the proper usage it could become quite the badass weapon in itself.

Red took the warrior’s set and examined both pieces for a few moments. When he looked at his companions, he looked truly awestruck. “I never had such weapons in level two,” he said. “The sword adds damage and partially ignores defense, and the shield…” he smiled. “You’ll see. Also, I got a quest to complete this set. Awesome.”

When Ben tried to identify the weapon and shield, all he got was their names: “Rare Masterwork Longsword of Xoric Hearts”, and “Rare Masterwork Small Shield of Xoric Hearts”. That was the extent of it, and Ben had to assume that the items’ levels were too high for his current skill.

Red moved aside, brandishing his new sword and taking a few practice swings - and Milenna stepped forward toward the pillar. The sorceress stood tall, looking majestic. “I can see where this is going,” she said, pressing her lips together. She gave both Shiraz and Ben a long look and finally shrugged. “Normally I wouldn’t let anyone lead me anywhere, but seeing what our big friend here just received… well, I can’t pass the opportunity to get my hands on a magical gear of the same magnitude. I am taking the jade.”

She didn’t even wait for confirmation - it was a statement, not a question - and quickly grabbed the green gem. What followed was the same process, only this time what awaited in the elongated alcove was a shiny white staff and a book.

Milenna was more composed than Red as she grabbed the items, but it was clear she was happy with her reward. The book was obviously a spellbook of some sort, and the staff - which was 5 feet long and ended in the shape of a closed fist - was probably a formidable weapon. It was named “Rare Masterwork Staff Of The Enforcer”, but just like the sword and shield, it didn’t yield any more information.

Unlike Red, Milenna chose not to share any of the secrets of her treasure. She took a couple of steps to the side, bowing slightly - somewhat mockingly, thought Ben - before leaving Shiraz and Ben to stand alone by the pillar.

There were a few moments of silence as they pondered the remaining options, but for Ben, it was an easy decision this time. He looked at the vagabond by his side. “It’s okay, don’t sweat it. You know the game and I don’t. I am obviously the unknown factor in this party.” It was only half true - he was immensely curious about what would happen if he took the leader stone - but he couldn’t ignore what Raxlon was trying to do here. Shiraz would be a much better leader than him.

Ben started reaching for the fossil, but to his surprise, Shiraz laid her hand on his arm, stopping him before he could touch the stone. He turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow (actually raising two eyebrows; Ben never mastered the trick of raising only one, and his VD character wasn’t any different).

“I’m not a leader,” said the redhead quietly. “I’m only a vagabond who didn’t receive any class.”

Ben didn’t say anything, letting the moment stretch. Shiraz didn’t take her hand from his arm, and he could drown in those hazel eyes forever. The redhead continued with a half-smile. “You’re the scout, and you led us here. I think it’s clear what is the right choice for you.”

Ben licked lips that suddenly went dry. Was she serious? “Look,” he said, “I’m flattered, but I’m not - “

But Shiraz didn’t give him a chance to finish. Before he could stop her, she reached forward and grabbed the strange fossil.

Once again the depression turned into a deeper alcove, but this time only one item appeared inside. Shiraz grabbed it, and Ben’s heart went out to her when he saw what she holding - a simple, crude dagger. The redhead bit her lip, unable to hide her frustration. “This is cruel,” she mumbled. “Even for him.” There was no question as to whom she meant.

Ben wanted to hug her. In fact, he almost did, but then a small prompt hovered in his vision - his identify skill was once again triggering, this time at the sight of the dagger. When he saw the item’s description, his eyes widened.

Crude Dagger Of Fossil Breaking

Ben started to laugh.

Shiraz looked at him, aghast. “Really? You asshole! I should have let you take this fucking garbage. I should have - “

Ben raised his hand to stop her. He had to take a couple of breaths to calm himself and then gestured toward the seemingly useless weapon in the vagabond’s hand. “Use the dagger to break the fossil,” he instructed.

Shiraz eyed him suspiciously. “What? Why - “ she shut her mouth. “Your identify skill.”

Ben simply nodded. Shiraz, excited once again, lay the stone on the floor. Then she positioned the dagger in her hand - and brought its blade hard against the fossil.

There was a loud crack, and the fossil broke into two pieces. Inside was what looked like a small shining black crystal.

There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room, excluding Ben. “A Class Crystal!” whispered Shiraz.

Red whistled. “A Crystal so soon in the game. And a black one at that. Way to go sister.”

Milenna was looking at the crystal in what Ben thought was a mixture of envy, hunger, and amazement. “I didn’t think it’s allowed to find these before level ten,” she said. “I guess the rules are changing.” She looked at Shiraz. “Well? Are you going to use it?”

In response, Shiraz bent to pick the black object. She closed her eyes, and then closed her fist around the crystal, smashing it between her fingers.

Black tendrils shot out of the smashed object, enveloping Shiraz in a matter of seconds. Her whole body seemed to vibrate, turning half luminescent, but it lasted not more than a second. Then, as quickly as it came, the blackness dissipated and vanished. When Shiraz opened her eyes, her character description changed:

Shiraz, level 2 Race: human Classes: Vagabond, Shadow Mage

A shadow mage! Ben never heard of such a class, but this time he knew better than to ask her what it meant. Shiraz was looking at him, and he was startled to see a flicker of blackness passing quickly across the white of her eyes. She winked and it was gone, but he knew he hadn’t imagined it. Then she turned to look at the others. “I’m a shadow mage,” she announced, and even gave a small bow. “Expert in shadow manipulations… among other things.”

She flipped the dagger in her hand, and Ben saw that the weapon had also changed; it was now coated in black. His identify skill named it “Crude Shadow Dagger: level 1”, but gave no more information other than its basic damage of 1-3.

“So. A mighty warrior. A powerful sorceress. A vagabond shadow mage. And a noob scout… who is soon to become our fearless leader.” Milenna looked at Ben. She wasn’t smiling but didn’t seem hostile either. Only curious. Holding her Enforcer Staff, she looked every bit the majestic queen.

Red wasn’t lacking in appearance either. With his new sword hanging at his waist and his new shield strapped to his back, he looked ready to storm the entire dungeon on his own. The blood on his chest armor only contributed to his threatening visage.

Shiraz was as beautiful as ever, but Ben thought she looked somewhat more dangerous now. She came to stand between Red and Milenna, the black dagger now sheathed at her belt.

The three looked at him, and Ben felt apprehension together with his growing excitement. He was supposed to lead these heroes? He wondered what Mike would say if he saw him now. Ben never took an active leading role in their old D&D games, preferring to adapt to the situation as it happened. It seemed that this time things would be different.

The fledgling scout reached for the white stone, and gingerly closed his fist around it. Immediately, he was submerged in white light, and was greeted with several prompts:

You have chosen to become a leader. You receive the following boons:

Active Status: Leader 1

Leadership +4

Charisma +3

Constitution +1

Politics +1

Tactics +1

Mind resistance +5%

2 magic items. Choose wisely.

Good Job! You have discovered a new skill: Leadership. You are no longer responsible only for yourself, but for those in your party who have decided to put their trust in you. Your actions now have greater consequences than ever before. Raise this skill by making the right decisions - and standing behind the wrong ones. Associated abilities: charisma, wisdom, intelligence. Leadership: level 6 You are making your first steps in the path of the leader, but what leader would you be? Wise, brave, reckless or benevolent? Time will tell. Bonus to resistances, damage and defense of any friendly being in a radius of 20 feet: 6%. Bonus XP for all actions: 6%.

As soon as Ben finished reading the prompts he could hear Red whistling again. He immediately saw why: another alcove opened in the pillar, larger than the previous ones, and three items waited for him inside: a beautiful and deadly looking crossbow and quiver, a nondescript rolled parchment, and a silver necklace that had three circles intertwined in each other. When he focused on each of the items, he got their full info, probably because they were tailor-made rewards:

Rare Masterwork Crossbow Of Skewering: level 6. Soul-bound. Scalable

This deadly crossbow was designed with one thought only: to stop any advancing adversary, no matter what armor they wear. Its magical properties allow the bolts to ignore 50% of any armor, and it increases the chance for a critical hit by 25%.

This weapon is scalable and will gain levels with its owner (exception: if the owner level is lower than the weapon’s starting level (6). Once the owner’s level matches the weapon’s starting level and elevates above it, so will the weapon). With each new level, the maximum damage will increase by 4, the range by 10 feet and the critical chance by 2%.

Damage: 1-28 (iron bolts)

Range: 180 feet

Loading time: 3 seconds

Critical Chance: 41%

Iron bolts remaining: 16

Scout’s Friendly Map. Soul-bound.

The ultimate tool for any scout, this map will show you all the places and paths you’ve been to, and tell you exactly where you are. You can also add existing maps to broaden your knowledge of your surroundings.

Rare Necklace Of Second Chances. Soul-bound.

This seemingly simple trinket is a game-changer: from now on, any killing blow would not kill you. We repeat because this is so amazing: any damage that will get you to 0 HP or below will trigger the magic of the necklace, and you will remain with 1 HP.

Warning: remaining with 1 HP isn’t very healthy, and a second blow will definitely be the end of you.

Cooldown: 1 day.

Ben stared at the three items. He had to choose two of those? Why only two! All three were a must-have, as far as he was concerned. He felt the others watching him, and knew that whatever he decided, he had to so quickly - already he was building a reputation of a slow player, one who was taking his time making decisions.

He decided to start with the no-brainer: the map had the word “scout” written all over it, literally so. He would be a real dumbass to leave such a treasure behind. Ben took the rolled parchment and unrolled it. It immediately vanished, and instead, a new map icon appeared in Ben’s field of vision. He clicked on it and felt a grin split his face in two: a small map appeared on the left side of his peripheral vision. He focused and discovered he could zoom in and out where he chose on the map, google-maps style. The map was small; most of it was comprised of the Sonadin prison compound, showing the route Ben and his companions took to escape. The only other section of the map was the room they now stood in. Ben recognized its circular shape with the four exits, and even the waystone was marked. Also, there was a blinking icon with his name on top of it. When Ben tried to move the map to other unexplored sections, he found only blackness. Most games, he remembered, had a name for that blackness: the fog of war.

It was indeed a valuable tool, one that would make sure he would never be lost. Ben minimized the map and looked at the other two items. The crossbow was truly a magnificent weapon, one to rival even Red’s new sword. It was bigger than the common crossbow he looted from the guard, and it was made from a combination of wood, leather and bronze, the last making up the weapon’s trigger mechanism. An eye that looked like that of a bird of prey was engraved on the head of the crossbow. And it was scalable! Meaning that once he reached level 6 and crossed it, the weapon will level with him. Doing a quick calculation, he discovered that at level 10 he will have a weapon that can deliver maximum damage of 44, with a range of 220 feet and a 49% critical chance. It was incredible.

And then there was the necklace. A truly magical item, one that would save him from certain death. Its very description screamed how valuable it was, and if Ben was a seasoned player he wouldn’t have even thought twice before adding it to his inventory.

He wasn’t, however. He was a noob, a first time player to the world of VD, and for him, dying in this game - unfortunate as it may be - wasn’t enough of a reason to choose something that would protect him from such an event. Especially when he could use it only once a day. And even more so, if it meant leaving that awesome crossbow behind.

Ben chose the crossbow. As he greedily grabbed the weapon along with the quiver of bolts, the necklace vanished from sight. Thunder rolled, and all four of them looked up in alarm. Were they transported to the surface?

But no, it was simply a sound effect - that was then followed by Raxlon’s booming crescendo voice.

WELCOME, ADVENTURERS, TO THE DUNGEON OF DWARVEN DESPAIR…

Another cultural idiom immediately sprang into Ben’s mind, this time from “The Princess Bride”. He half expected Raxlon to start coughing and spitting as the albino did at the movie, but no such luck. Raxlon continued:

THIS DUNGEON IS BOUND TO THE EVIL SPIRITS OF ITS FORMER GUARDIANS, THE DUERGAR OF THE DEEP. IT WAS ABANDONED LONG AGO, LEFT TO THE SCAVENGING OF BANDITS, FOOLS, MONSTERS AND ADVENTURERS…

KNOW THIS: THIS DUNGEON HAS AN ACTIVE QUEST, TITLED ‘THE EYE OF PARAGMIR’. FIND AND LEARN ABOUT IT, AND YOU MAY REAP YOUR REWARDS.

A WORD OF CAUTION, THOUGH, BEFORE YOU MOVE FORWARD: YOUR LEADER HAS JUST DECIDED TO GIVE UP ON AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE ITEM, ONE THAT MAY MAKE THIS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT DUNGEON A BIT MORE DOABLE. QUITE A BUMMER, ISN’T IT? WE ALL LIVE WITH OUR DECISIONS, THOUGH, SO I GUESS YOU WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH YOURS… OR MORE LIKELY, DIE.

There was a second thunder, one that sounded suspiciously like evil laughter, and Raxlon’s presence was gone, leaving Ben to face three pairs of hard, bitter and unbelieving eyes.