Moving around from behind the desk Miller moved towards her. Whilst there was nothing else in the room six men in armour stood at attention, one either side of each of the other doors. Like the corridor outside, roughly hewn wood had been layered together to make the walls. Cut planks also formed the basis of the door and the chair and table. "My name is Miller. Well done for all of your hard work and qualifying to get here, but I hope you know that up until now has just been practice - the real work is still to come." He smiled disarmingly at her. "As you may know, the landing party has done little beyond establishing a base-camp here. We're still in dire need of land, resources, and information." He turned back to the table and picked up a bag, "And obviously we can never have enough strong fighters so it's important that you're kept safe." He paused for a moment and looked a little confused. "But it appears to me that you're already experienced in these matters? Are you wanting to enjoy the benefits of a personalised tour of our fine home?"
Oh, nice. Is this a tutorial skip? Is this new too? Or is it my having experience already? She'd gladly skip the time-loss that was being shown around the buildings and town. It was time to get moving and make her mark on the world. "That's right I'm good to go as is." Lyndsay curled her hands into fists and bounced on her feet a little, eager to start the game proper.
"You're certain that you have no interest in learning the basics?"
"Yes Miller". Her voice came out curt. There was the faint sound of a bell chiming and words appeared in front of her, suspended on a translucent turquoise screen.
EXPERT ARRIVAL - Due to meeting Sergeant Miller already leveled and choosing to skip all induction protocols, beginner dialogue and benefits have been waived. You will start without the protection and equipment normally afforded to new players. In exchange your esteem rating with each townsperson of Beachhead will be raised by 20 and you will be given the basic equipment of your chosen class directly on conversion.
EXP: 0 | STERLING: 0 | OTHER REWARDS: NONE
"Excellent, then in that case please proceed." He carried on as if nothing had happened as Lindsay absorbed the information. Returning to behind his desk, Miller sat down and put the bag back on to the table atop of the paperwork which covered it.
"Uhh." Lindsay looked around at the guards before her gaze returned to the notification screen, then moved back to the man at the desk. "Miller may I still take those Escape Stones?"
"Apologies Lindsay", he rose again swiftly, picking up the bag. "I was under the impression you were happy to be left to your own devices. Of course, each new member of our happy little town has an assignation of our supplies. As it seems you know, this bag contains skill stones for Escape. If you are indeed new, yet are confident enough to not need a guide, these will likely be of little use to you, but it is of course better to be safe than sorry. Do you also now wish to have a tour? It will only take an hour to fully induct you into the -"
"No, no that's fine thank you Miller, I just felt it better to be safe as you said."
You have gained 2x Escape Stones.
Lyndsay moved hurriedly towards the door on the left wall, bag in hand. She had no interest in spending an hour to go over old ground. She reached the door and turned back as she opened it and stepped through. "Thank you for all your help." She hurried down the corridor beyond and out into the interior of the town
It was darker, and louder, outside than she remembered. The cacophony of animal noises and shouting people made her suspect the inner areas had been artificially shielded. She brought her hands to her ears and pressed hard, glad of the extra muffling provided by the coarse cloth bag she still held. Side-stepping she leaned back against the wall of the building she had just left. The pounding sound she recognised as a smith's hammer in the distance made her body shudder with each faint ringing thud.
After a few deep breaths she stood straight and looked around her, eyes turning round with appreciation. On her first play through, shortly after the turmoil following Lucy's disappearance had quieted and Lyndsay and the other closed testers were provided their loot, the outside had looked real enough, but as her movements were limited she'd suspected it to be more a video simulation than a living game environment. Once able to freely explore however, everything that should be interactive had been, and the details were astounding, far beyond any other game she'd played. Even now it took her breath away, the gasp of air cold as it brushed across the top of her mouth. Dragonflies glittered back and forth in the air above an algae-dotted pond. Cows, pigs, chickens and other livestock surrounded the water, some doing their best to contribute both to the realism of the game and the fertilisation of the soil. Walking over and leaning against the fence to peer down at the fish in the pond Lyndsay felt a dragonfly land on the back of her hand and skitter forward before taking flight once more. Feeling the steps of the insect linger on her skin she turned again towards where she had come from.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The door led out onto a dirt road. The closest buildings were a couple of nearby barns in the yard of what she knew to be an empty farmhouse. Directly on the road a few stalls had been established with which to tempt those coming off of the boats. The sweat and stubble of the traders and customers in front of her could be seen as she passed by. Beyond the counters and spread rugs framing the wares on offer, the road led into the scant buildings of the established town. Ignoring the calls of the sellers Lyndsay began to jog, eager to leave what she saw as the confines of the beginner zone and explore the broad, wide world now available to her. It seemed that a few changes had either been late to finalisation, or more likely were kept back until the more open release. Smirking slightly she raised her hand and pulled the collar of the cotton shirt down slightly; although they'd mapped in the discomfort of sweat and how it could make fabric stick, she wasn't suffering the usual problems that faced her when she ran in the real world, her breath coming easier than before, and her bouncing less distracting. That new level I guess is helping me to keep a steady rhythm this much sooner, but I wonder what stat is behind the anti-jiggle physics? She lowered her gaze and raised her hands to hold herself briefly. Well, the feeling of it anyway.
Whilst heading towards the cluster of buildings which took the place of the central district of Beachhead, Lyndsay began to explore the menu system of the game. Displayed across the top of her vision was her health and mana, and the values of her hunger, thirst and fatigue were in the top right. To the upper left, options for her character, inventory and the game menu were visible. With a slight twitch of her eyes she focused quickly on the Character option. A 3D model of herself standing with arms at her side appeared, a small cloth bag in hand. To one side a readout of her stats and an inventory panel contained the clothes she was wearing and the bag in her main hand. Something of an upgrade from just a flat panel system. She squeezed the bag in her hand. But where's my loot? Or maybe this is just for the equipped items?
A review of her inventory showed her a similar space to the Character inventory, with tabs available to be named. The various pouches and pilfered items showing up on what she had grown used to as the inventory scheme over the last few weeks. Well, this still seems pretty simple. Do we still get an unlimited inventory? Calling up the menu caused her to pause her stride.
Character
Quests
Faction Menu
Messaging
Game Information
Settings
Logout
The first three after Character were greyed out, and the settings she had preset before creating her character. The last choice though ... that had not been there before her log-in today. Selecting Game Information triggered a new menu to appear.
Skills
Classes
Professions
Items
Bestiary
Locations
The first three were again greyed out and Items only offered further information on the items she had stolen, the Escape Stones, and the cotton tunic, trousers and leather boots she was wearing. She glanced at the descriptions for the new items she had gained whilst queuing.
101 Ways To Survive In Unknown Lands: A small bundle of parchment pieces stitched together with twine. UNREAD
Maegister's Key: A thick metal key. It looks to be made of purple metal.
Cryptic Codex: It seems to be bound in scaled hide. The pages glisten in the light. You are unable to open the cover. UNREAD
Quaint Colophon: A black metal circle with a Q forged inside. The left side of the Q is treated to show a red C shape.
Hmm. Largely for later it seems. Moving on to open the bestiary caused her a moment of surprise - there was a picture of the dragonfly from the farm. Focusing on the entry, a short description of the animal came up.
Shimmer Wing Dragonfly
A passive monster found in rare numbers around coastal regions, they are known to grow in size to attack those they see as invading their territory.
Met at: Beachhead
Drops: ???
Clicking her tongue a few times, Lyndsay briefly considered going back to kill the dragonfly, curious as to the possible drops from such a small creature, and intrigued by just how large it could grow if it saw her as a threat. Shrugging she decided against it and began walking the twenty or so remaining metres to the town centre. Reviewing the Locations option as she went, she found a single entry there as well.
Beachhead
A still-developing township established after a landing party came ashore. Designated as the ingress point for new arrivals the town is in a state of growth and eagerly awaits further inhabitants.
Key Residents: Miller
Important Locations: Beachhead Port. Beach Farm.
Creatures Met: Shimmer Wing Dragonfly
It must auto-update with each new discovery. I guess that's cool, but it's a shame I can't plan out what I want using it.
Having reached the handful of buildings which made up the major hub of Beachhead Lyndsay looked towards where she knew the town hall to be. Somewhere in there would likely be the quest needed to get her out of here, eventually setting her free into the world. It had been less than half an hour but she was already beginning to feel stifled by what she saw as the close confines of the starter town, the sudden increase in the soundscape making her anxious. Exhaling deeply, she returned her focus to the buildings around her. Built facing in to form a square, the broad facades of a general store, an inn, a barracks and a building as stately as tied together timber could be made to look each rose two stories into the air. A few domestic dwellings led up to these from each side and immediately in front of her, built abutting the rear of the general store, was the town smithy, now mercifully quiet.
Starting towards the stately house to her right, Lyndsay suddenly felt her mind drifting into pieces. A relaxing fatigue flowed through her as she envisioned her brain duplicating and displacing inside of her own awareness. With a small buzz of static akin to the beat of dragonfly wings Lyndsay's mind collapsed.