Janica dazed and stunned the ghosts for two seconds.
I started to pull my Spell Book out as an instinct, then stopped. I didn’t need it anymore. I lifted my hands, then zipped one down in a zee. “Magna Fulmen,” I announced, with a little drama. Energy filled my body, and for the three seconds before the spell released, I felt like I had shot back three Espressos. Lightning shot down from above the ghosts, stunning and zapping every scientist as they released from their stun.
Every mob focused on me. I had taken all of the aggro. But this was my intent. I wanted to see if Janica had a better way of getting their attention back.
Janica slipped between the stunned mobs and sliced her new sword sideways across the backs of their legs. A new debuff appeared over their portraits.
Slowed by 50% for 8 seconds.
Bleeding for 22 damage over 8 seconds.
“That was all kinds of risky,” she scolded.
The mobs released from their stun and started chasing me, but at half speed.
I stepped backwards all the way to the wall behind me and up a few stairs. I couldn’t go back any further.
Janica pulled out her two-handed mace and cleaved at them, taking off a big chunk of their health bars and trying to stay between me and the mobs. Their health was about half.
The scientists stopped. In unison, all three of them lobbed green potions at me. For a moment, it felt like they floated through the air in slow motion. Three, emerald flasks. Spinning in chaotic-rotation, the way that odd projectiles do.
I wanted to dodge sideways, to dive out of the way. But I was trapped in the stairwell.
The potions landed, splashing liquid all over my legs.
You were poisoned. You were poisoned. You were poisoned. Taking 147 damage over 8 seconds.
“Holy crap!” I yelled. My maximum health was 137.
The scientists lobbed up potions again, each of them aimed at my feet. I nearly panicked when I saw the color of them. Green again.
“ Magna Juvenis,” I called out, my hands brushing my chest in a gesture that I had learned meant “young” in ASL.
My health bar popped up from 82% to 100%. Then a new buff appeared. I was getting 46 health back over eight seconds.
Janica swept her mace again, taking the mobs down to 20%. I saw her spin in the air, her mace turning around and down in an overhead strike. “Execute!” she hollered in triumph. “Execute!” She laughed like a maniac.
The vials landed at my feet, taking me back down to 80% health. Worse, the poison had doubled in strength and reset the duration.
You were poisoned. You were poisoned. You were poisoned. Taking 294 damage over 8 seconds.
That was over twice my health pool. And taking off thirty-six damage every second.
I casted Rejuvenate 2 again on myself, doubling the healing over time effect to twelve health per second. My health began to rise and dip, rise and dip. Except that it was dropping. Fast. 90%... 65%... 74%... 49%.
I casted Rejuvenate for the third time. This time it crit. With my gearset, I got an increased chance to crit every time I casted a spell that didn’t get a critical strike. Over the fight, this had added up. Thank. God.
Rejuvenate’s initial heal took me from 49% to full. The healing over time effect stacked to three, giving me back seventeen health per second. But because it crit, I got the Restore buff as well, which upped my health regeneration to twenty-six health per second.
Janica executed again and again, dropping both mobs. “Heal yourself!” she shouted.
But I was short of mana. Rejuvenate 2 cost a whopping thirty mana per cast, and I had cast three of them and a Lightning Strike. I watched my health tick up and down as I waited for my mana to regenerate.
My mana regeneration increased as I hadn’t casted a spell for five seconds. As I watched my mana bar, my health dipped below 25%.
The moment that my mana hit 30, I casted Rejuvenate 2 on myself.
My health dropped to 13%.
My heal landed, sending me back to 45%.
The poison wore off. I sat down in relief. I put my head between my knees. If the poison had ticked one more time, I would have died. I glanced up at Janica.
She folded her arms over her chest. “That was so stupid,” she said. “Why would you cast a lightning bolt like that so early? You ripped aggro right off of me. You know that spell has crazy threat.”
“Sorry,” I said, taking heavy breaths.
You defeated Mad Scientist x3.
You received 504 Experience.
You received 504 Reputation with Edreru University.
You earned 140 Job Points for the Restorative Mystic Job.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
“Next time, let me get ahead. Don’t attack until they’re around 70%. I have a lot more health than you do and pretty good poison resistance.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yep,” she said. “Lizard Skin armor, remember?”
“Did I know that?”
“There’s a lot you should know but you don’t,” Janica said. “Do better.”
The remainder of the floor went smoothly, though I never had a chance to test out ice, fire, or earth spells. The fights were too intense to test out theoretical ideas. We got into a rhythm, and I acted much more like a healer than a damage dealer. Janica had almost 30% poison resistance, and took far less damage than me from the scientists. She also managed to knock a few vials back at the groups by deflecting the bottles with her shield. This not only prevented her from taking triple stacks of poison at a time, it also caused the mobs to injure themselves. Just like the time that Henry had accidentally shocked Cassandra, it was possible for gamers and mobs alike to inflict self harm.
We cleared the right side of the room, allowing for passage to the next floor, while ignoring the left side. We were discussing whether or not to clear the entire room when Integration Online broadcasted a zone-wide announcement.
This zone will be shut down in 36 hours. Any characters remaining in the zone when the shutdown occurs will be removed from the game permanently.
Holy hell. So the developers had identified this zone as the problem. It wasn’t in some far recesses of IO. It was happening in the dungeon that I had helped create. That also meant that the theft was happening in this dungeon. Some massive amount of data existed here that didn’t exist elsewhere.
I looked at Janica, curious if she got the same announcement.
“The Gods are not happy with this dungeon,” she said. “We need to keep moving.”
I nodded. As we descended the staircase, I checked my progress. I had already managed two level-ups, switching my Job as I always did, but I wanted to see the overall changes.
You defeated Mad Scientist x 15.
You received 3780 Experience Points.
Congratulations, you leveled up twice as an Instructor. You gained +8 Constitution, + 4 Dexterity, +8 Intelligence, +8 Wisdom, +0 Strength, +8 Perception.
You received 3780 Reputation with Edreru University.
Congratulations, you now have a Graduate Reputation with Edreru University.
We nearly went back so I could upgrade my ring, but we didn’t want to accidentally reset the floor and have to kill all of the Mad Scientists again. That would have to wait until we reached level ten in the dungeon. We descended the staircase, ready for whatever new challenge awaited.
The seventh floor had a creepy vibe to it. Two chairs faced each other in the center of the room with what looked like a mirror separating the chairs. Other Scientists stood waiting, each with their own clipboards and white coats. There were seven of them in all. On the right side of the room, a pane of glass lined wall. It looked like a two-way mirror. Someone or someones must be watching us.
A ghost greeted us with a clipboard. Her nameplate was neutral, meaning we could attack her or not.
“Hello and welcome to the Center for Psychological Evaluation,” she read directly from a script on her clipboard. “We are so pleased that you’ve volunteered to help us with this experiment. You will be assigned either as part of the control group or the test group, but we cannot tell you which. Any psychological harm that comes to you as a result of the experience is your fault. Do you agree to these terms?” She looked back and forth between Janica and I.
I typed to Janica. If we say no, we may have to fight all seven of them. But this place creeps the hell out of me.
She typed back. That’s what I was thinking. I don’t know if we can take all seven. I’m strong but not stupid. I don’t think we have a choice.
“Okay,” I told Moni. “I agree to the terms.”
She looked at Janica.
“Oh, yeah. Me too,” she said.
“Great, great.” She looked at me. “You have been assigned subject number 197.” She looked at Janica. “You have been assigned number 24. From now on, we’ll refer to you only as these numbers.”
My cheeks get hot. My number in the factory was 197. It’s not like my manager called me by a number or anything so dystopian as that, but the company still used that number for anything official. Time cards, scheduling, disciplinary action. The practice made me squirm. Made all of the workers squirm. It was a demonstration of power, in a way. Like saying “you’re a human with a name, but you’re also just a number.” I was disturbed by more than the memory. Somehow, these scientists knew that number held significance for me. It was more than a coincidence. The game had used my own memories against me here.
I looked at Janica, who seemed to be as disturbed as I was.
“Please sit here, Twenty-four,” she said, pointing at one of the chairs. “And 197, please sit here.”
We sat on opposite sides of the mirror.
I looked at a reflection of myself.
One of the scientists wheeled an apparatus over to Janica. The thing reminded me of a hospital monitoring machine from the mid twentieth century. The red and green buttons were comically huge. He unwound a set of wires from the machine, pulling them over to where I was. He then connected the wires to the bottom of my chair.
I began to regret our choice to participate in this. Maybe we should have taken our chances with combat.
The ghost handed me a paper, then handed Janica a paper. “Please read your instructions, silently,” she said. “If you reveal any of the instructions to the other person, you will fail the experiment.”
I began.
You are being tested on your willingness to tell the truth. Your partner can see you through a pane of truth-glass. If you lie, they will shock you. If you tell the truth, they can give you a pleasing sensation.
I heard Janica from the other side of the mirror. “What is your name?”
“Warren,” I said.
I felt a warm sensation run up my legs. A tingling that felt like safety, joy, euphoria. It faded in seconds. Two Scientists on the other side of the room mumbled something to one another, then adjusted a panel.
“Next,” the Scientist said, writing something on her clipboard.
“What do you care most about in life?” Janica asked.
“My sister, Sofia,” I said.
Again, pure bliss. I could get used to this. Whispering commenced as the NPCs compared notes with each other. Moni looked at them, silencing them with a glance. “Continue,” she said.
“How do you feel about the other participant in this experiment?” Janica asked.
“I like Janica,” I said. “She’s a friend, I think.”
“Please expand on that,” Moni said. “Do you trust her?”
“Yes, of course,” I said. “I trust Janica.”
A pause. A scientist walked over to Janica. I heard whispering. My legs convulsed in electricity. My skin started to burn.