Primer for the Apocalypse: Book One, page 4
“Jenny, I’m not interested in doing the mermaid quest anymore. I have other things going on that take priority. It’s probably better for you to find someone else to join you and your brother.”
Jenny’s chin dropped as she stared at me in shock. Her new friend didn’t seem to notice.
“Oh, I’ll join you! I’ve always wanted to be a mermaid,” Amberlee gushed as she bounced in her seat excitedly. “Besides, Fire and Ice are great together!”
Before MerJen could deny her, I said, “Perfect! That’s great, Amberlee. Now, you guys won’t have to be slowed down by my schedule. Besides, I still have work, and Mom says I have to finish paying for my half of the DIVE gear.”
I had no idea how I remembered that, but I was grateful for the sudden memory. I’d still had a job for the first few months that I played Atlas Online, which had caused problems with questing in the game during the first timeline since the others in the party could focus on playing instead of being bothered by silly things like earning money. That meant I still had a job now.
With a frown, MerJen said, “Fine. That’ll probably work out better anyway.” She abruptly stood and motioned for her newest minion to join her. The other aspiring Ice Mage had already wandered away.
Lucky her.
“Let’s go,” My childhood friend said with a huff. “I’m sure Emie is much too busy figuring out her problems to socialize. I’m sure Zach will be super excited to hear all about how busy you are.”
Zach…yep, I was drawing a blank. Instead of letting her know that her comment had failed to find purchase, I simply waved and watched the blue-haired girl stomp away.
Chapter 4
With a sense of relief that I didn’t want to dig too deeply into, I wandered over to the Mage’s training section. This time, no beginner training quest popped up as I joined the other potential mages.
I started with the Healers since I’d spent a lot of time working as a Healer immediately following the reintegration. While my Time affinity was not nearly as good as a Life affinity for the job, it did aid in healing, especially for issues that could be solved if given enough time. Knowing how the body was supposed to heal made a huge difference, as I had quickly learned in the previous timeline.
Things like broken bones and illnesses were best for those with Time-based healing. However, Time Healers could do much more than I initially believed possible. My Heal spell might not remove signs of an injury like the Life-based spell could, but it could still save a life. Restore was arguably better for serious injuries, but the mana costs associated with reversing damage were much higher since the spell had to actively fight the target’s spirit to work.
Following a long, drawn-out training session that served as a refresher on some of the basic medical knowledge I’d gained in my first life, as well as a quick lesson on Meditation, I met with the ‘rare affinities’ Mage instructor who directed me to a nearby Space Mage for guidance.
“What spells do you have already?” the dark purple-robed female asked after I introduced myself. Though the woman had been reading when I approached her, she didn’t seem bothered by the intrusion.
“None, yet. I planned to purchase Compressed Space Bolt as my first Space spell, with Gravity Bomb after that. I’ll probably get Heal and Restore for my Time affinity, too.”
I’d chosen to start with those because I was almost certain I’d be able to manually cast all four, regardless of how long it took to access mana again. These four were my most important elemental spells, and I felt confident I’d have no issues obtaining them. At worst, I’d just buy them.
I didn’t think that would be necessary, though.
“Anything else?” she asked.
“Identify.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Those are interesting choices. I assume you already spoke with the Healers?” she asked with a raised brow. I nodded. “So…Compressed Space Bolt, or just Bolt, for short. All the elements have a bolt-type spell, even more esoteric elements like Fate and Soul. It’s mostly assumed that you’re referencing your element if you’re talking about Bolt unless you specify something else.”
“Okay,” I said hesitantly. Nobody had ever mentioned that to me before. Then again, I didn’t talk much about my spells with anyone outside my party.
“What is your goal for this meeting? What are you hoping to learn?”
“I’d like to learn how to cast new spells using spellforms without having to purchase spells through the system, though I don’t expect you to actually teach me. Just pointing me in the right direction would be fine,” I said, knowing it was unlikely she would provide any real assistance. “Also, I wanted to know more about spell crystals. They were mentioned in one of the briefings. Are we able to learn spells from other affinities with them?”
“Okay. Starting with your first request, I can’t really help you. The Mages’ Academy would be the best place for you to learn. There is a campus in most major cities, so it shouldn’t be hard for you to gain access,” the Mage said. “Regarding spell crystals…they are sometimes given as a rift reward, but it is not very common. It is possible to learn spells for other affinities, though. Scholars theorize that’s where many of our general spells came from since they take affinitied spells and transition them into spells that mostly use neutral mana. Any elemental spell you learned that didn’t match your affinities would likely turn into something like that.”
I mulled over her answer. I didn’t like being pushed off and told to go to the Academy. That was the same answer I’d gotten from most of the Mages I’d asked about the topic. It was annoying how little they shared, even in a simulation.
“Can you show me how to modify a spell?” I pleaded.
The other Space Mage sighed. “I’m really not supposed to since it’s something the Academy teaches. How about this,” the robed woman offered. “I will show you two spellforms for similar spells that use different elements and point out the variations. That’s the extent of what I can do, but it should get you started if you are really serious about learning.”
She closed the book in front of her and slid it to the side, replacing it with a large parchment. “Do you know what a spellform is?” the purple-robed woman asked.
Though my interface was already recording everything I saw and heard, I took a moment to mentally tag the conversation. The information would likely be valuable for other aspiring Mages with rare or epic affinities, and I hoped to set up some kind of guide to help others understand some of the less obvious nuances of the ‘game.’
I knew several game-related forums and sites would appear in the coming years. But, as far as I knew, none had survived the transition when mana started interfering with technology. Anything hosted on an Atlas server was safe, but everything else was lost. It was unsurprising, knowing they were using manatech all along.
I just needed to ensure anything I published was saved on the Atlas server. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be censored.
“That’s the circle with all the symbols that appears when we cast a spell, right?”
In the game, it simply appeared and filled. In real life, a Mage actively controlled the creation of the spellform. The system partially automated anything it recognized as a system spell. However, there was still a lot of user involvement with the spell’s construction.
My fellow Space mage nodded before launching into a monologue about the intricacies of spellforms. When she was finished, she pointed to the same section of both spellforms, drawing my attention to the difference in symbols. The rest of the spellforms looked nearly identical.
“This is a Mana Bolt, while this one—” she tapped on the circle beside it “—is Fireball. They are essentially the same spell but with different mana inputs. If you want to study more about spellforms outside of a Mages’ Academy, you can always go to the Tower Library on the seventh floor and see what resources they have available.”
Thanking her for the assistance, I made a mental note to head to the library soon to record copies of everything I could find. I had no doubt I’d spend a lot of time at the library in the coming weeks combing the shelves in search of further knowledge. If it held a repository of spellforms, I might even be able to learn spells on my own. If so, it was definitely worth documenting everything for future me.
∆∆∆
Ranged training was much like the initial melee assessment in that we were asked what weapon we preferred and were separated by type. Though I considered focusing on crossbows since acquiring one or more before the apocalypse wouldn't be difficult, I opted to go with wand and gun-style manatech casters instead since by the time crossbows would be functional to use, mana-infused materials would be abundant enough that I would have little trouble creating my own manatech weapons.
After completing the ranged training and gaining two new combat skills, I checked the time and ran some quick mental calculations. Seeing how much time I’d already spent in the game, I decided to call it a day, or session, rather. I shifted to my VPS and paused when I noticed the empty space. I’d forgotten that I hadn’t purchased anything yet. It was still essentially an empty, white box.
With a groan, I pulled up my status to see how much experience I’d gained through training.
͠ ͠ ͠
Name: Duality
Level: 0 (50/100)
Profession: N/A
Affinities: Time, Space
͠ ͠ ͠
Health: 100 (2/min)
Stamina: 180 (7.2/min)
Mana: 150 (6.5/min)
͠ ͠ ͠
Attributes
Strength – 8
Agility – 11
Vitality – 10
Intelligence – 15
Wisdom – 13
Perception – 12
Unallocated: 0
͠ ͠ ͠
Spells
[General]
Universal Translation (passive)
[Time]
[Space]
͠ ͠ ͠
Skills
[General]
Medical Knowledge
Meditation
[Combat]
Managuns (Novice)
Quarterstaff (Novice)
Wands (Novice)
[Specialized]
͠ ͠ ͠
I’d probably be able to push Medical Knowledge to the next stage if I considered all the training and research I’d done on the topic in the first timeline. I’d have to test that later. It might make a good article for people with existing skills who don’t know how to get the system to recognize them.
Looking at my total, I had fifty experience points to spend on making my virtual space more comfortable. While it might seem like a waste of effort, I planned to spend a lot of time in the space, so it made sense to create a comfortable environment. Especially if I was going to functionally sleep there.
I tapped on the mounted kiosk and looked through the options. It took a minute to remember how the process was set up, but I soon was flicking through options and picking out basic furnishings that would work to get me started. Fifty points was not a lot to work with, but the points stretched a lot farther at level zero.
About a half-hour later, I stepped away from the tablet and examined the space.
I’d need a lot more points to expand the space, so the room felt a bit cramped after adding a bed and a desk with a chair. I didn’t need more than that right away, nor could I afford it. I did manage to change the wall color to a light gray, though the floor and ceiling were still the original white. It looked odd, but it would have to do until I earned more experience.
Now that I had a bed, I stretched out and signaled for the interface to put me into forced sleep. It was a hack that practically everyone knew, even in the beginning. After setting my timer and ensuring time dilation was still set to the maximum, I closed my eyes and embraced the empty but restful sleep I’d missed for years.
∆∆∆
Waking from forced sleep in the real world was smoother than one might expect. There was no drowsiness or lethargy, nor was it shocking or unpleasant. One moment, I was experiencing deep, dreamless sleep, and the next, I was wide awake and refreshed, lying on top of the blankets of my childhood bed, still wrapped in my robe.
It was too bad sleep hadn’t miraculously restored my higher attributes.
I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, noting the upcoming events showed I was scheduled to work that evening and the following afternoon. I’d have to get online and look up the menu so I didn’t completely embarrass myself later.
The antiquated technology was hard to get used to after becoming accustomed to manatech. Still, it didn’t take long to regain familiarity. The device might not be as good as I was used to, but it was pretty much the best currently available. It also had a lot of features that manatech within the Alliance generally didn’t have – like access to the internet.
They had something similar, but it was not the same open access that allowed anyone to post and share whatever they wanted.
The phone automatically scanned my retinas and unlocked, displaying the time – 08:28 a.m. My parents were probably sleeping in since it was the weekend and neither had to work. Still, it wasn’t too early to bring them breakfast in bed.
After removing my haptic suit and placing the DIVE gear into the charging station sitting neatly on my desk, I tossed on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top before heading to the kitchen. My little walk around the house the night before had helped to reacquaint me with the kitchen and its implements, so it didn’t take long for me to get things going.
Deciding to go with something simple, I whipped up several stacks of French toast with scrambled eggs. I still went through the motions of mentally creating a mana barrier around each item to hold in the flavor, even if my efforts were in vain and had no effect since…no mana. At this point, the process was so ingrained that it seemed wrong not to at least picture what should be happening.
I plated the meal with a few practiced movements and loaded everything on the serving tray my parents kept in one of the lower cabinets.
“Morning!” I called out after tapping the door with my knuckles. “I made breakfast!”
Since the door wasn’t locked, I let myself in and set the tray between the two adults. Having included a plate for myself, I sat at the foot of the bed and began eating, throwing my sleepy-eyed parents an expectant look.
“It’s delicious, Emie. Thank you!” Mom said after swallowing her first mouthful. I couldn’t help but wonder how she would respond to food enhanced with mana. The flavor of mundane food simply could not compare to mana-infused food.
A fact that I was reminded of as I dug into my meal.
“Given how chipper you seem, I’m guessing you had a good night in the game?” she said a few bites later.
“It’s good. There is a lot more training than you’d probably expect, though none of it is required. Jenny already ditched the tower and took off,” I said as I brushed a few crumbs off the bed. “I’m still in the initial training portion where we learn skills to help us in the game. I have affinities for Time and Space, so no throwing fireballs for me. Justin will have to be the family Pyromancer.”
“I wonder if he got the same affinity after they reset his character when the game went live,” Dad mused. Both of my parents had played various MMORPGs, so they were not unfamiliar with most of the game mechanics.
“Jenny ditched you?” Mom asked, ignoring Dad’s comment. Jenny and I had been really close during the first timeline. At least, I’d thought we were. After how she’d acted, I was less certain of that now. Maybe I’d just been one of her followers instead of an actual friend.
That was…disheartening.
“No, not really. It’s probably more the other way around. We wanted to do different things in the game, so it made sense. Besides, I still have a job—”
“Yes, you do,” Dad chimed in with a nod.
I rolled my eyes playfully and grinned. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your money!” I groused jokingly. “In fact, I suspect real money will become involved with Atlas Online sooner rather than later. We should probably consider investing…”
“You think?” Dad asked. “I tried talking to Justin about it, but he just shuts down anytime I bring the topic up. He seems to take his non-disclosure agreement seriously, which is good – just annoying.”
I nodded. Though my older brother had joined the military right after high school since his girlfriend – now wife, to my immense annoyance – found out she was pregnant, he’d been selected out of basic training to join some special testing group that was attached to Atlas Inc, the parent company of Atlas Online. He wouldn’t, or perhaps couldn’t, talk about what he did, aside from admitting that he was technically part of a beta testing group and had early access to the game.
I hadn’t understood why military members were involved in beta testing an immersive VR game the first time, but now that I knew what was coming…I could see the value.
We chatted about the game and investments for a little longer while we finished eating, and then I cleaned up the dishes before heading out to squeeze in a quick workout. It wasn’t something I often did as a teenager before, but I felt compelled to improve my physical stats now that I knew what was coming.
Not that it wasn’t important without quantification, but the numbers also helped. At least, they would once I regained access to my status.
I slid on a pair of sneakers that were by the door. I was almost sure they were mine, but I did wear the same size as my mom. Oh well, she wouldn’t mind anyway, I was sure.
The late morning weather in Missouri was nearly perfect in mid-June. I took a deep breath at the edge of the woods, savoring the scents of the forest. After a few slow stretches to prepare my muscles for activity, I started a slow jog down the path leading from our backyard into the wooded hills.
As expected, the run sucked. Even taking my time and pacing myself, I struggled to breathe through the stitch in my side. I was much too out of shape for an otherwise active teenager. When I finally reached the end of the loop and exited the woods, I slowed to a walk until I reached the small patio beneath the upper deck.
