His blade sunk into the Spinehound’s neck, driven further in as Null slammed the hilt with the palm of the hand. He followed the blow with a kick to the beast’s leg, tripping it and bringing it to the ground. He flicked his finger up, bringing forth a spike of earth from the ground behind him, intercepting the other hound that was striking at his back. The spike caught it in the neck, piercing through its throat and out the back of it’s neck, turning it to dust. His primary target still on the ground, he switched to his dagger and struck his foe, a cloud of dust rising up as blade met beast. His short sword fell to the ground with a clatter, and he followed suit, letting out a loud groan as he hit the ground.

He didn’t need the two nearly depleted bars on his HUD to tell him that was a close fight. There was no stamina bar, but if there was one he imagined that one would be just a sliver as well. His body felt like lead, his limbs a separate brick each. Red lines streaked across his gear in all places, and the yellow helmet symbol on his HUD told him that some piece of gear was damaged. He checked his stats page once again.

+++

Name: Null

Class: Freeform

Title: N/A

Health: 10/100

Mana: 2/13

Hunger: Hungry

-

Strength: 11 - 1

Dexterity: 11 - 1

Intelligence: 11 - 1

Constitution: 11 - 1

Speed: 11 - 1

Wisdom: 10 - 1

-

Total Attack: 10

Total Defense: 10

-

Combat Fame: 0

Merchant Fame: 0

Craftsman Fame: 0

+++

+++

You are hungry!

While in the Hungry state, health and mana regen has been reduced, and your stats have been decreased by 10%. Eat soon, it will only get worse with time!

+++

Again, nothing new. He was tired, he was hurt, and he was hungry. More than any of that, he was alive. His fingers trembled, the surge of pseudo adrenaline running through virtual veins as his breaths came out sharp and ragged. The sparsity of mobs outside the gates of Retissia allowed him a moment’s respite, which he used to flop flat against the ground and let out a satisfied sigh.

He wasn’t quite used to his new “body” yet, but he could feel himself slowly getting there. It had been so long since he could properly move that he was mainly getting used to that rather than any techniques that he knew from before. Some of it was still there in some “muscle” memory that he possessed, but even then it was so out of practice that it left him open more often than not, which is how two Spinehounds managed to bring him to so low. Then again, he’d been outside the gates for hours, so it could have just been the fatigue.

He was highly tempted to meditate to restore his mana and continue on, but he made the mistake of not bringing any rations with him in his rush to get outside. Sighing, he stood back up and made his way to the city. The lines that streaked across his gear started to fade and thin as his health started to regen. It was restoring at a much slower rate, true to what that window informed him of. Still, he’d followed the Black River far enough that it brought him to the edge of the Starwood, so he was still at full health and mana by the time he made it back to the city gates. Were it not for the fatigue than dragged his muscles, he would have been as good as new.

He wasn’t picky when it came to food, buying the first thing that he saw as soon as he walked through the gate. It was a steamed bun, stuffed with meat that tasted similar to beef, but was a bit more gamey. It was coated in a savory sweet sauce, muted by the plain bun that enveloped the mixture.

“Not bad,” he said, taking another bite.

He was both impressed any annoyed that he actually had to eat in game. It made sense, from an immersion perspective, he was all in, and considering the fact that the food actually had taste and felt filling, it wasn’t that unpleasant of a experience. His issue with it was that it took him away from what he wanted to do, and that was fight. His stats only barely increased after about 5 hours of wandering and fighting, though he only found about 15 Spinehounds in that amount of time. Enemy to stat wise, that wasn’t a bad spread, but the fact that it took him so long to find that many enemies told him that perhaps he wasn’t being the most efficient with his time. There was an Arena in Restissia, which probably would be a better way for him to find fights, but he was no idiot. That place wouldn’t be filled with new players, it would be occupied with the more experienced, battle hardened warriors, and while that certainly did excite him, he knew that his current stats wouldn’t match up. He didn’t have much faith in his technique either, as excited as he was to practice them again.

He finished his bun, saving a particularly meaty part as the final bite. He checked his status again, nodding as he saw that his hunger status was Sated once more. He felt satisfied as well, like he’d just hit the spot with his recent meal. He wasn’t too sure how he felt about that. The game was treading a very fine line between immersive and uncanny, but so far it didn’t bother him.

Before he headed out again, he decided to pick up a few more buns to take out into the field. The woman manning the food stall smiled at him as he approached.

“Back for more?” she asked, an aged british accent to her voice.

He nodded, “What’s in this by the way?”

“Spinehound meat,” she said.

The thought of that should have taken him aback, but he wasn’t too surprised. It was close to the gates, and he imagined that newbies would bring in stuff by the loads, so it was just smart to be close to the source. He already had a few stacks of Spinehound meat in his inventory, which gave him an idea.

“You wouldn’t happen to be buying Spinehound meat, would you?”

She finished handing a bun to another customer, then looked at him, “Depends, how fresh is it?”

“Just killed, well preserved,” he waved his Smart Box to emphasize his point.

Her eyes widened at the Smart Box, then she smiled, “I’m just about running low, actually. I’ll give you 10 credits per unit, that sound good?”

He had 15 units of Spinehound meat, which would net him 150 credits. Considering that his starting allowance was 100 credits, that actually wasn’t too bad a deal in his eyes.

“Deal,” He said, opening his inventory and retrieving the meat. He pointed the symbol on his Smart Box to the counter. A cone of purple light flowed from the symbol, materializing the meat onto the counter. The clerk pulled a device from her waist. It wasn’t a Smart Box, as it did not share the same symbol as his, and it was overall flatter, more like a modern day phone, but there appeared to be some sort of interactivity to it. She tapped on it a few times, and held it up to him.

“Your Smart Box, please,” she said.

He held up the Box, and the clerk tapped her device on his, prompting the notification icon on his Box to light up. He touched it, bringing up a text box.

+++

Elena has deposited 150 credits into your account.

+++

He opened his inventory, checking the box at the bottom right hand corner. Sure enough, he now had 162 credits as opposed to his previous 12.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” the clerk said.

“Likewise,” He said.

He bought two more buns, storing them in his Box, and proceeded again to the gate, but stopped as he started to hear crying. It was a child’s cry, a loud wailing designed to pierce the ears of anyone within a mile radius. At least, it sounded that way to him. He turned to it, seeing a lone girl at the center of the street. She was wearing a small dress, something with frills and pattern fitting for a girl her age, which he assumed to be about 5, given her height. Her hair was brown, cut short into a bob cut that hung just below her ears. She had blue eyes, the rims around them rubbed red as she wiped at the continuous tears that streamed down her face.

The streets of Retissia, while not packed to the brim, held enough bustle that it was always in the background no matter where you went. The girls cries cut straight through that, so it was a surprise to Null that no one else was paying attention to her. They were polite enough to step around her, but otherwise they treated her as if she didn’t exist. Players too, did this, though they at least glanced in her direction. He couldn’t judge them too much though, as he did the same. It was just a game, and a girl crying didn’t seem that important in the grand scheme of things. He was uncomfortable with ignoring it, but he did not see any reason to intervene. It wasn’t his problem.

The girl’s cries continued, “Mommy… help me…”

He stopped, the words echoing into his mind, morphing in tone, in age.

Mommy… help me…

He shook his head and moved to step forward, but he couldn’t. The girls cries had become shackles, rooting him in place. He grit his teeth, sighed, and turned to her. Still, no one approached her. The street might as well have been empty for all the good the people did.

He pushed through them, almost stumbling as he stepped on a man’s toes. That earned him a glare, but Null ignored it. He slowed down as he approached the girl. Someone she didn’t know rushing at her in the middle of the street would probably frighten her.

“Hey,” he said, not harshly, but loud enough to catch her attention.

The girl looked at him, the crying replaced by sniffles. There was now a hint of confusion to her sadness, but she didn’t appear frightened of him.

He kept a hand out as he approached her slowly, “It’s going to be ok,” he told her in a soft voice. The girl let him approach, and he knelt down in front of her, “What’s your name?”

She wiped her eyes, “Alice,”

“That’s a pretty name,” he said, “Now then Alice, what’s wrong?”

“I lost my mommy,” she said, voice trembling.

“How?”

“Bad men took her…” she wiped some more tears, “she told me to run away and… and,”

she started to cry again.

“Shhh, hey, hey, everything’s going to be ok, alright?”

+++

Quest: Searching

-

Alice needs help searching for her mother, will you help?

Yes/No

-

Rew-

+++

He hit yes if only to get the window out of his face. Not really caring what the reward was. The girl’s mother was taken, and while Restissia had a city guard, something told him that it would be faster for him to take care of things.

“Do you have any idea where we can find your mother?”

She shook her head, “Mommy might have something at the house.”

“Right, let me just get you to a guard house and I can-”

Before he could stand up, the little girl tugged at his hoodie, her head shaking frantically, hands trembling. One of the guard passed by, and she did everything in her power to avoid looking at him. It was clear what the issue was.

“The guards took you mother?”

She nodded.

“What did she do?”

“Mommy didn’t do anything wrong!” she declared, eyes welling up with another set of tears.

“I know, I know,” Null said, patting her on the shoulder. He silently cursed to himself. Doing things with a 5 year old girl in tow was going to complicate things. He had only one other option that he could think of, but that was a bit of a longshot and would have to be done later. For now, he’d have to bring her along with her.

“How about you take me to your house?” He asked, “Like you said, your mommy might have left something to help us find her.”

“You’ll help me?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Null said. He flexed his arm, though he wasn’t quite sure why he did, but he went with it, “Just leave it to your big brother here.”

She looked up at him, eyes wide, but her tears were gone, “Promise?”

He smiled at her, and for the first time in a while, it felt real.

“Promise.”

She didn’t smile, but her crying stopped.

“Come on,” Null said, holding a hand out, “Lets go find her.”

She took his hand, eyes to the ground as she followed Null off the street. She didn’t speak much, but did give directions to her house, Which was towards the center of the Star Quarter, which happened to be where a lot of player housing was. It was generally where a lot of the “common folk” lived, who, while having all the same rights granted to all citizens of Retissia, generally could only afford more modest quarters compared to some of the more affluent families, or players of the cities. That is not to say that they lived impoverished; many of the residencies in the Star Quarter were of the same quality -even bigger- than his own, and it was not unusual for someone of the Star Quarter to earn a reputation on par with those that lived in the Moon Quarter, though that was in part because a lot of players lived in the Star Quarter.

Alice’s house lay on Orion Street, a small street lined with small apartment complexes that were made from white stone. In the starlight, all the buildings held a bluish tint to them, with windows clear enough to see right through them, though most of the residents on the street kept them covered. The ones that didn’t were at such an angle that at most all Null could see was a wall or ceiling, the soft yellow glow of the everlamps inside radiating outward.

“My house is there,” Alice pointed at an apartment that was at ground level.

The blinds were down, but there was a clear glow from the light inside. He assumed that was normal, as he never saw an everlamp turn off, but he decided to exercise caution anyways.

Alice tried to go for the door first, but Null pulled her back, gently. He put his finger to his mouth, and she nodded in response. Pushing Alice behind him, he approached the door. There was no evidence of an arcane lock on the door, so he cautiously tried the handle. It showed no resistance when he twisted it, and when he pushed the door slightly, it began to open. He closed it soon after, bringing confusion to Alice’s face.

“Hey Alice, do big brother a favor, ok?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“What is it?” she asked back.

“Find someplace to hide for right now. I’ll come get you after I make sure its safe, ok?”

She shook her head, tugging on his shirt and attaching herself to his arm. It was cute, but there was no way he was gonna risk sweeping a house with a 5 year old in tow.

“I’m not gonna leave you,” he told her, “I’m just going to take a look around, then come get you, ok? I’m not going anywhere.”

She didn’t let go.

He sighed, then took her hand and hooked his pinky around hers, “I promise, ok?”

She stared into his eyes, searching them in a way that made her feel much more mature than a five year old. She eventually nodded, and shook her finger.

He did the same, and as Alice scurried off to hide in a corner, he pulled his hood over his head, hoping to hide his face. When Alice disappeared from his sight, he opened the door, cracking it first to get a good look inside. Sure enough, it was a lot like his own apartment complex in design, but was a little bigger. He had a clear view into the room, which showed two men. They were dressed in dark clothes of a similar design, short swords at their hips. Their faces were covered, but the Smart Boxes in their hands were clear to see.

They were players.

One sat on a couch, his posture relaxed as he looked at the other that paced the room. The one that was walking around was talking into his Smart Box, holding it like a phone.

“...stood, we’ll wait here for the girl.”

He tapped his Smart Box and placed it back on his hip, looking to the one that sat on the couch.

“So, what, we wait here and nab a girl? And then we’re in?” the man on the couch asked, his tone disbelieving.

“Yeah.”

“The hell do we need a 5 year old girl for?”

“Boss says that the woman’s not talking, she’s gonna need some incentive.”

“So, you’re telling me that you made me get this game, which is no small investment, mind you, just so we can sit our asses down and kidnap little children to interrogate their mothers?”

“When you put it like that it makes it sound bad.”

“It’s kinda fucked up dude.”

“I don’t see you leaving.”

“Well, I mean they are NPCs, right? So, technically, it's not an actual person we’re kidnapping. We’re just moving one mass of data from one point to another.”

“And you said I’m fucked up?”

“Two peas in a pod asshole.”

Null grimaced. Obviously, the two were hostile. Not to him, but to Alice, and, mass of data she may be, he made her a promise. He appraised the two once more, taking in their posture. The one on the couch was an easy target, the perfect victim for a surprise attack. The one that was standing up would prove to be the bigger issue. He was alert, and while his weapon wasn’t drawn, his hand was never far from it. Overall, if he was to get the drop on them, it’d be a somewhat equal fight.

The only issue was that he had no idea to tell how strong they were. Unlike mobs, their health bars were not on display, and he could hardly just walk up to them and tell them to show him their stats. He could easily charge in and get curb stomped from the difference in that and gear alone, and that wasn’t going to help anyone. Still, they dressed like stereotypical henchmen - which was an odd choice for a player to take - and their weapons didn’t seem all that extravagant. Plus, one talked like he just got the game, and since their gear was similar, it was highly possible they were both just as new to the game as he was.

It was a chance he would have to take. Sitting in front of a door wasn’t going to do anything.

He took in a deep breath and ran through what he needed to do. He had to hit them fast and hit them hard, that was the only option he had if he wanted to survive this. He only needed one of them for information, and it would be best to even the playing field as fast as possible.

The final pieces of his plan clicked into place, and he stood up.

He kicked in the door, performing the gesture for Firebolt in one hand and Spark in the other. As soon as flames licked his palms he threw them, hitting the man on the couch square in the chest. Null followed it with a burst of electricity from his other hand, this one hitting the man in the head and knocking it back against the wall. Null heard that players turn to motes of light when they died, and seeing as how the man on the couch didn’t do that, he was still in the fight, dazed as he was by Null’s surprise attack. The man who was standing ignored the state of his friend and drew his sword, charging at Null with a thrusting attack. Null dodged to the side, catching the man’s sword hand by the wrist as it passed him. He twisted it, forcing the man to let out a gasp of pain and to drop his weapon. Null kept twisting, using the man’s arm as a means to bend him down, letting Null kick him in the face. Null let go of the man’s hand as the kick landed, following up his blow with a roundhouse to the back of the man’s head. The man’s head knocked against the ground, again not drained of his health, but certainly disoriented.

The man on the couch started to recover, his eyes going wide as they fell on Null. His mana in sufficient to cast another spell, Null drew his dagger and threw it. The man on the couch dodged, rolling forward off the couch as the dagger struck the wall with it’s hilt, clattering to the ground after. The man, not quite recovered from his roll, was more than open. Null took advantage of the opening, drawing his own short sword and striking the man in the ribs as he stood up. That seemed to do enough damage, as the man faded into specks of light as soon as the blow landed.

Null turned as the remaining man got to his feet, obviously discombobulated from his attacks. Before the man could get his hands up, Null punched him in the jaw. He caught the man as he went limp, and brought him face to face by his color. There were the obvious red marker indicators where Null struck him, but he saw that the man was also bleeding from his nose and mouth. That did strike him as a bit unsettling, but he pushed that thought back. He needed information now, not pity.

“What, who, wher-” the man started.

“Shut it,” Null said, tightening his grip on the man’s collar.

The man obeyed, more from confusion than actual fear.

“The woman who lived here, where did you take her?”

The man came to some semblance of consciousness, glaring at him as his first act of coherence.

“Cute,” Null punched him again.

“Ah, God! What the hell man?”

“Answer,” Null said, “I’ve got no time for games.”

“You’re playing a game douchebag,” the man said.

Null sighed, “Well, you’re not wrong,” he punched the man again.

“Ack! Do you think this is going to convince me to do anything?”

“Probably not, but I’ve got little options. Why so secretive anyways? Its like you said, it’s just a game.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but just sighed, “Right, fuck it, this shit ain’t worth it. I’ll tell you what you want, just… let me go alright?”

Null did, keeping an eye on the man as he stepped back. He bent down to pick up his sword, but Null kicked it away before the man could. He got a glare for his troubles.

“You’re a real pleasant guy, you know that?” the man said.

“Listen, just tell me where you took the woman and I’ll be on my way.”

“Right, right, whatever. She’s kept in a guard house, an abandoned one right on-”

Before the man could finish, and arrow burst through the window and struck him in the head, dispersing him in motes of light. Null twisted as the first arrow landed, but not fast enough, as a second arrow broke through the window and struck him in the shoulder. His health gauge dropped down by 3/4ths, which was enough to tell him that whoever was firing at him was much stronger than he was, and that he needed to get out of the apartment, now. He rolled towards the door, hearing two thwips pass by him. He kept low to the ground, making it out the door and into the streets.

He wasted no time running to the alleyway Alice went down, pulling the arrow out of him with a grunt before getting there. There was a little bit of blood to the arrow, but the lingering red spot on is body was the biggest indicator of the damage he took.

“Alice?” There was a slight buzz to his shoulder, which made him wince, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.

The girl peaked out from behind some boxes, bluish light cast over her pale skin.

“I heard loud noises,” she said.

“It’s nothing,” Null said, “I got some information about your mother.”

Her eyes brightened at that information, “Really? Where is she?”

“I haven’t gotten that much yet,” he admitted, “but we can’t stay here, we need to get you away from here.”

Her face told him that she obviously wasn’t satisfied with that, “...ok, where are we going?”

He scratched his head. It was a long shot, but there really was only one option available to him.

He took her hand, and gave her a reassuring smile. “Someplace safe."