Author’s note: Another early chapter! Yay!

EPISODE 9: Magic and Mystery

Arthur’s POV

I felt the Magicka as soon as I take a breath. It felt like… blue electricity. Those were the first words that came to my mind. The only words, actually. I wonder how the VR did this Magicka representation. Perhaps triggering a response in the superior colliculus? Or perhaps in the occipital lobe. Maybe..

The slew of messages interrupted me.

You have discovered the flow of Magicka! For doing so without the Goddess’ help, you gain +5 Intelligence!

You have discovered Fire Affinity. Your Fire affinity is average.

You have discovered Earth Affinity. You Earth affinity is average.

You have discovered Wind Affinity. Your Wind affinity is average.

You have discovered Water Affinity. Your Water affinity is average.

Great. A total average. That meant all the different paths were open to me. Or perhaps this was only a quirk of the beta; so that players could test out the different elements.

Zaubern was clearly shocked. “How did you do that so fast?”

“I have done this before. How did you know that I realized my Magicka?”

“Your eyes glowed blue.”

That was a nice effect. Too bad I could see it only in a mirror.

“Very well. Now that we have gotten over the hard part, tell me…What do you think is magic?”

This is one of the questions that I was prepared for since childhood, along with other important questions, such as: “If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you wish for?” and “What is your plan in case of a zombie apocalypse?” I even had a plan in case I died and reincarnated with my memories intact. Yeah, I was an over planner. I unhesitatingly gave my theory.

“Magic is imagination made reality through the power of Will and Magicka.”

Zaubern’s eyes went wide at my declaration. He exclaims, “That was… incredibly well thought out!... It should be on every book. Eloquently said. What a sentence… I think I should write it down somewhere…” He produces a pen and a parchment from the inside of his robe and does so.

He then looks at me. “Well? Do some magic.”

“Uh, how?”

“Just do what you said.”

Hmm, I imagine a small ball of fire floating above my hand. I feel the electricity and direct it towards the hand, willing it to change into the fireball. And it does.

Incredible. The game was incredible. It accurately deduced a complex range of brain functions and reproduced what I wanted. And this was only the Beta. How good could the complete game be?

You have learnt the spell Fireball by yourself. For this achievement, you get +5 to Intelligence.

“So, it looks like you taught yourself Magic, lad. Want a few pointers?”

“I will be grateful.”

Zaubern went on to explain the difference between the class magic and elemental magic. Basically, Alteration, Destruction, Illusion, Conjuration and Restoration were newer varieties of magic, called Class Magic. Elemental magic was easy and could be cast wordlessly. Most of the elemental spells involved manipulation of elements to do your bidding. Some people were more attuned with one element than others, which made it easy for them to cast the spells of the specific branch.

Class Magic was a more recent discovery. Basically, it was imagining pseudo-science into reality. For example, “Levitate” would allow you to fly in air, by reducing your weight and canceling gravity. You could also levitate if you had a sufficient Wind mastery but that was totally by manipulating the Air.

Class Magic had more rules and restrictions than Elemental Magic. Improper visualization in this case could be deadly. A cast focus was also required. Cast focus related the Idea to the Magicka. For example, every time I needed to cast Mage Armor I could cast the spell just by saying Mage Armor as that reminded me of the spell. Or if I truly believed that clicking my heels would cast the spell, then I could use that too. Anything that I mentally associated with the spell can be used. Could a Class Spell be cast without a cast focus? Yes, but that was dangerous, as you had imagine each of the complex steps each time, and you could easily screw up.

Intent is required to cast a spell. Accidentally casting a spell is impossible. The intent is always present; either consciously or subconsciously.

Elemental Magic doesn’t generally have cast focus, as people find it intuitive and thus impossible to screw up.

The few required chants to set the variables in place. If I needed mage armor with a purple border and gold threading, I needed to have a chant where I could specify the different colors each time I cast it.

Basically, anything you imagined was possible. Only sometimes you needed help with imagining, so you used a cast focus. That’s it.

More details meant more Magicka spent. So class magic was about the most efficient way to do something.

Well, after a lot of discussion with Zaubern, I finally learned a few Class spells.

Candlelight – Would provide a small light, about the intensity of a candle. It consumed one Magicka/sec.

Woodflesh – Would absorb 60 points of damage. It consumed 100 Magicka.

Stoneflesh – Would absorb 120 points of damage. A stronger variant of armor. Consumed 150 Magicka.

Conjure dagger – Would conjure a small dagger that I could use for 60 seconds. The damage done depended by the dagger seemed to depend on my intelligence stat. This consumed 45 Magicka.

Conjure shortsword – Same as the dagger, only a shortsword. It consumed 100 Magicka.

Conjure Bow – Again, a spectral bow and unlimited arrows. This needed 180 Magicka, which was out of my range at the moment.

We spent a lot of time discussing magic. Underneath his gruff exterior, Zaubern was definitely a good guy.

Before leaving, Zaubern warned me not to practice in the jail cell, as it was against the rules and they had set up countermeasures. I had figured that one out by my own, but it was nice to get it confirmed.

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After all the fights were over for the day, we were escorted back to the mess, which is where I hoped to make my acquaintance with Iorveth. No such luck. I found Erasmus sitting in a lonely corner. I decided to join him, and explain the new situation.

“I heard you survived your fight today.” He nodded to me.

“If you used your eyes, you could see it too.” I nod back at him.

“Already joking around here? You are going to get beat up.”

“I don’t plan on staying here much longer.” I lean in conspiratorially, indicating its serious business that I wanted to talk about.

“I will be getting out after four days. I need to speak to Iorveth before that happens. Do you have anything that can help?”

Erasmus eyes me carefully. “How do you get out?”

“I will be declared innocent by the legionnaire.”

“Hahahah ahaHaHahaha..” He laughs loudly, yet nobody seems to notice. “That’s a good one. Wait, you are actually serious, aren’t you?”

I nod.

“Okay, assuming that you can actually get out here aaaaaaannnd assuming that I somehow get him to meet you…. How the hell are you going to learn anything in three days?”

“I am a quick learner. I can pick it up if even if he shows me only the basics.”

He looks at me, clearly disbelieving. After a while he shakes his spoon at me and breaks into a smile.

“Alright, I believe you. And I do need a little bit of excitement in these cells. Kid, you have won me over in a day. That’s a rare feat. And I do happen to have a plan. Therefore I am going to send you to where Iorveth is. After that, you’re on your own. That fine with you?”

“Yeah. That’s great.”

“Look sharp, the Warden is coming. And remember, you agreed to this.” Before I can ask him what he means, he grabs my plate and sends it flying. The plate traces a perfect parabola as it lands straight on the Warden’s head. The sloppy mess runs down his face. After a moment of stunned silence, everyone start searching for the plate’s origin.

They traced their eyes straight back to me. I turn to point towards Erasmus, but like a good criminal, he had already disappeared. And now the blame was on me.

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After another thorough beating, I am assigned to a solitary cell for ‘misbehavior’. It seemed that they couldn’t find a rule by which they could hang me. So, the warden assured me that as long as I was here, he would do everything he possibly could to make my life hell. On the plus side, my Physical Resistance stat had increased, and my level had gone up to 2.

They threw me inside the solitary cell, 9 floors below the ground. The jail was a lot deeper than I imagined. This was Erasmus’ plan, and Iorveth was here somewhere.

“Have a nice time here, boy.”

The whole floor was totally dark. When the guards left with their torches, it became pitch black again. The cell was also much smaller, and I could barely sit in there without scraping my head. How could someone stay here?

“Hello! Anybody here?” I shouted. No response. “Helloooooooo…..”

After the third time, I slumped down. At that moment a voice sounded in my ear.

Stop shouting…human. It disturbs my sheep.

“Sheep? You meant sleep right?”

A string of gibberish resounded in my head. It sounded vaguely Elvish. I decided to try my luck.

“Could I be speaking to Iorveth, by any chance?”

Silence. “Do you know where I can get some water? My throat is parched.”

A soft chuckle sounded, again without source. How did he do it?

Feel behind you.

I turned and touched the wall. It was damp. A small trickle of water was running down the walls, from God knows where.

“You mean I have to drink this?”

Another soft chuckle could be heard, unnervingly close. Was he using magic? But how? It seemed that I had to use my special techniques to get some answers. But for the moment, I decided to log out.

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After a few moments of rest, impatience began to take hold of me. What was I doing?

My original plan was to investigate Alexei, through the game’s connection to the servers. I had made a lot of modifications to my pod and the system. When the beta ended, I would have access to Luthor’s files, and send the incriminating data to the police. I also planned to confront Luthor about the truth, on the day of my father’s death and record him. Taken together, that should be enough for any jury to convict him.

Then why was I uneasy? Because deep down in my gut, I knew the truth. There wasn’t going to be any incriminating data. Luthor’s testimony within the game wouldn’t mean anything in the real world. And the words of a dead boy and a sorry scientist carried no weight. Luthor was safe now, and he was going to walk away unpunished.

No. I wasn’t going to let that happen. There had to be a way.

I wash my face, to focus on the task. I glance upon my reflection. It was thin, angular face, with a scar under the lips. Slight stubble could be seen on my chins. My face had changed drastically from before. Even the Doctor, with whom I had worked for a long time, didn’t recognize me when we met again. Perhaps even my own father wouldn’t recognize me now.

A haunting music further deepens my musings. Instead of focusing on Alexei, I had instead chosen to play the game. And for what reason? A foolish hope. That I could meet her again.

Wait a second. Real life doesn’t have a soundtrack. That was my phone.

“What is it, Doctor?” Only he had my number.

“It’s important, something that you should know. Meet me in Sigil, now. It’s urgent.”

No time to waste. I jumped back into my VR pod. But instead of choosing Fable of Fantasy, I chose Sigil.

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Sigil was the VR world. When virtual reality was introduced, the possibilities were limitless. One entrepreneur had the bright idea of creating virtual cities, similar to real cities, and making it accessible to anyone who had VR pods or headsets. It soon replaced Internet.

Every city now had its own Sigil. All the Sigils were connected through portals, which meant one could travel the world without leaving his home.

The beauty of Sigil was that it was completely private. Your account was completely anonymous. Nobody could access the space you owned without knowing the password. It made Sigil a popular place for shady businessmen, underground casinos, and all sort of unsavory people.

Of course, there were legitimate businesses too. Most of the new generation spent their time here in Sigil. Enjoy spending time with your friends without ever leaving your own home? Customizable avatars beyond your wildest fantasies? Win-win situation for everyone.

I made my way to “Wildest Dream Bar”, a place secretly owned by me. Everyone had a private place inside Sigil. For most people, it was the size of an apartment, but you could buy larger spaces. And I had a lot of money.

It was locked, which represented a private server. I walked up to the locked door, and making sure no was looking, whistled “Twinkle Twinkle little Star”.

The door opened to a futuristic looking workshop, my home here on Sigil. Doctor was waiting for me.

“I have bad news. They are shutting down the beta early.”

“What? Why?”

“Here. A NPC committed suicide. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

A holographic report appears in front of my face. I check the details.

Kiroh, age 15, resident of the Lower District. He jumped from the top of a building publicly today, at 9.00 a.m. (game time). A few players witnessed the event.

“Why did he kill himself?”

“It was due to a curse. Kiroh got his hands on a cursed item and it drove him insane. In the real game, you would get a quest to remove it. However, in the beta, without checks of Overlord A.I. the cursed progressed rapidly, resulting in his death.”

“That is written here. It's Alexei’s summary to the press.” I wave the hologram away. “But that isn’t the real reason, is it?”

“No. We don’t know the real reason.”

“What?”

“There wasn’t anything special about Kiroh. No curse quest was associated with him. His behavior settings were completely normal, as a small time pickpocket in the District. As far as we know, he simply decided to…kill himself.”

“No one simply kills himself, Doctor. There must be some reason. And we need to find it out.”

“Whatever it was, it had definitely rattled Luthor. He came to my office, threatening to fire me if I didn’t support his version of the story.”

Looks like Luthor has even more secrets than I thought. But now I had a small thread of his vast web of lies. And I was going to keep pulling the thread until his whole world unraveled.

Alexei Luthor was definitely going to pay.

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