Dream, dream away

— John Lennon, #9 dream

“One of the first things you’ll learn here,” Uberyn said in his highly optimistic tone, “is that you need to level up fast. It’s your only chance of staying alive in this place. Otherwise, any kind of creature...”

Sarah tuned him out. She was looking at him, but her attention was not focused on his words. She was examining the stats the system had for him.

Skill acquired: Scrutinize

The notification came up as soon as she invoked the command with her mind. Scrutinize was the basic skill that let you find out the stats for other players and for NPCs as well.

“Wow, your metrics are impressive,” she said, appreciatively. She hadn’t intended to say that out loud (Uberyn was evidently full of himself already and didn’t need any help to boost his ego), but she couldn’t help it. The numbers for Uberyn were through the roof. A member of the Paladin class, he had Max stamina (2000), Max health (10,000/10,000), 140,000 mana, and over 50,000 experience points. Unsurprisingly, he was a Level 20 player. Or perhaps that was a bit surprising, since the game was still far from finished, and he couldn’t possibly have played for too long.

“I guess you could say so,” the blond beast replied with the fakest modesty on record. “As I said, you need to be fast. I climbed up some levels in the first day and here I am. What about you?”

“Well... it’s my first day,” Sarah replied. “My stats are still near baseline. Let me see.”

She uttered the words, “My stats,” and her field of vision filled with info about herself, or rather, about the character she was playing.

SAJYA

Class: Warrior

Available points: 0000

STRENGTH : 010

AGILITY : 020

ENDURANCE : 020

INTELLIGENCE : 010

PERCEPTION : 030

CHARISMA : 010

0000 Mana 0010 XP

Health : 100/100

Stamina : 100/100

Skills:

- Exploration

- Melee Attack

- Melee Defense

- Scrutinize

“So where will you go now?” Uberyn asked. “Are you still waiting for your first task?”

“Yes,” Sarah replied. She had been trying to think of a way to part ways with Oberyn without revealing that she actually had to return to the lake and search for the Sorceress. She hadn’t found any good excuses so she had decided to stay beside him for a while and learn whatever she could.

“You can stay with me, then,” the blond player said. “I can protect you.”

Sarah was not afraid of being killed in the game, although she was afraid of suffering and the pain levels were near normal. She found no way to turn them down, another unfinished part of the game. But she wanted to find and rescue Mike as soon as possible, and she wouldn’t be able to do it if she kept dying and losing her skills. So, having someone to protect her while she was not very powerful was a really good idea.

But there was the task, with the vital information the Sorceress could give her, and the possibility of getting that Numinous object. What could it be? She was intrigued.

“That’s very kind of you,” she replied. “Do you happen to have any food on you? I’m a bit hungry.”

“Oh,” he said with a wide grin, “then this is your chance to acquire some new skills. Let’s go hunting.” He produced a bow and an arrow that Sarah was sure hadn’t been hanging from his back a minute ago. In turn, his sword had disappeared. Oh, he’s switching items in his inventory. I wonder how he can do it so fast. I would have to invoke a command for that.

“Take this,” Uberyn said, offering the bow and arrow to her. She grabbed both things with a pinch of apprehension. She hadn’t thought about the whole animal-killing thing, especially in the Enchanted Forest where half the animals were surely self-aware and could even talk. But hey, how will I improve if I don’t learn this basic stuff?

Uberyn led her quietly through the thick forest, in search for a suitable prey. After a few minutes, they focused on a deer that meandered around contentedly, completely oblivious to his fate.

Sarah took the lead and followed the deer for a while. She wanted to shorten the distance so that she wouldn’t miss her shot. A notification informed her that she had acquired a new skill: Stalk. Then she readied the bow, put the arrow in position, tensed the string, closed her left eye, and pointed.

The arrow left her hand hurriedly, as if it was afraid to be late.

As soon as she released it, a new notification appeared: she had acquired the Hunt skill.

It only took a fraction of a second for Sarah to realize that she had made a perfect shot. The arrow was traveling in a straight line ending in the deer’s neck: a quick, clean, certain death.

It wasn’t surprising that she had acquired the skill so fast. It was truly an astounding shot, one that you’d expect from an experienced hunter. 10/10 would hunt again.

There was only one problem.

The arrow never reached its target.

It stopped dead in midair, just like the rest of the forest. Trees, birds, rabbits, snakes, frogs, Uberyn, the arrow, all of it had frozen in place suddenly. All of it except Sarah. And the deer, which wasn’t there anymore. In its place, Sarah saw something way more fearful.

A woman.

“Don’t worry. He can’t see me.”

The woman spoke with such a sweet and alluring voice that Sarah felt all her fear melting away instantly. A second later, when the woman grinned, the fear came back in full force. It was a devilish grin, full of power and mystery.

Sarah realized she was referring to Uberyn, who had frozen in place with the rest of the forest, and whose piercing blue eyes were open in shock. He was staring directly at the woman, but he showed no sign of realizing she was there. He seemed to have frozen in the act of watching the deer disappear.

“I think... I think I was looking for you,” Sarah said.

“But you strayed away from me,” the woman replied. “So I had to come looking for you.”

The blue of her eyes was so light that it was almost white. Had a sparkle of anger just crossed them?

“I’m sorry,” Sarah said. “I was not sure if I—”

“I understand. You can’t be sure of anything here.”

Sarah waited for her to keep talking, but the Sorceress fell silent, studying her from head to toe. Sarah studied her as well. She was tall, with very pale skin and dark hair, and wore a pitch-black dress with a pointy hat. But it wasn’t one of those oversized hats witches wear in cartoons; it was pretty small in comparison, and the whole attire was stylish as they come. Her lips were a deep red which saved her from throwing a goth vibe. And of course, there was something that couldn’t be seen, something beyond her physical appearance that made her imposing.

“I think,” Sarah began when she realized the Sorceress had no intention of speaking again, “I think you have some information about this realm. I spawned here with no guide to speak of, so anything you could tell me...”

“There is no guide here, that much is true. All the guides are lies,” the Sorceress interrupted. “Yes, I do have some information. Not only about this realm, but about the game as a whole. I wonder if you’re ready to hear it.”

“I think I’m ready, yes,” Sarah said.

“Oh dear, that’s not for you to decide. Close your eyes.”

Sarah obeyed. When she opened her eyes again, they were in a completely different place.

* * *

“So where were we?” the Sorceress wondered aloud as she reclined in her chair which seemed not to be supported by any legs but merely float in the air. She was holding a small bowl and the concoction inside emanated a thick steam.

Sarah found herself lying on a similar floating chair, and in her right hand there was an identical bowl. She gave a look at its contents. The concoction seemed to be just some kind of tea, with crushed leaves and petals swimming near the bottom. It looked hot, but the bowl felt just a bit warm in her hand.

She thought she had caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the surface: the reflection was her own face, not the ingame character’s face. But it disappeared so quickly that she was left wondering if it had only been her imagination.

The room was round and crammed full of more or less esoteric stuff. Dozens of parchments covered a table and some more were scattered on the floor. Herbs and spices grew beside the round windows. Pots and pans were everywhere. The walls were covered with animal skins. Strings of garlic hung from the ceiling at both sides of the curved door.

“Ah, yes. I am supposed to talk to you,” the Sorceress remarked, and took a sip from her tea. “I guess you have some questions.”

Sarah took a sip from her bowl as well. It was tea, the best tea, in fact, she had ever tasted. There was a spicy note to it and the scent of flowers lingered on her nostrils way after she swallowed the drink. In fact the steam entering her nose anticipated the flavor of the beverage and let her taste it before it touched her lips.

“I admit I’m a bit lost,” Sarah said, but at the very moment she uttered the words, she realized she was feeling now a strong sense of purpose and optimism. It must be the tea. “I don’t think this game is anywhere near complete and I wonder how I can get ahead and make some progress in this world... or the others. Also, I don’t know how to go from one world to the next. And finally, I was warned about the Game Master. I would like to know about the Game Master.”

She didn’t mention Mike or the reason why she was playing the game. Somehow the Sorceress would know, she thought, recalling the reflection of her true self in the tea.

“You are lost, all right,” the Sorceress answered after pondering for nearly a full minute. “But you’re also on the right track. The game is far from finished. In fact it will never be.” She sipped again, and Sarah did the same. The tea was invigorating to say the least. “All your questions are tied together by the nature of the game, and the nature of the game is derived from the nature of the Game Master.”

“So what is the nature of the Game Master?”

“Nobody knows. But I know this: he is not working to improve the game. All the changes he makes, all the subtle variations in mechanics, the nerfing, the jumping between worlds, all the waves of change you’ll experience as you play, all of it is for the benefit of the Game Master. In a way, he’s a player, and he’s playing to keep winning forever.”

“But I thought the Game Master was an AI. A machine.”

“Of course he is. A pretty evil machine, if I say so myself.”

“So how can I win? Is it possible to defeat the Game Master when he changes the rules all the time?”

The Sorceress took yet another sip from her drink.

“I don’t now, but you can try. I don’t think you can make it alone. You’ll need to pick up some allies on your way. Oh, and when you are powerful enough, you might find a use for this.”

It was a good thing that Sarah blinked right at that moment because the next thing she knew what that the Sorceress was standing in front of her, holding something in her hand. She flinched in surprise and spilled her tea on the floor.

“What the f—!”

“Easy,” the Sorceress said. “Take this.”

It was a ring. It didn’t look like much, frankly, in comparison with all the colorful and flamboyant items one could acquire while playing the game. It was made of silver or something like it and there was a pretty small stone embedded in it, of a pale violet or purple color. Sarah put it in her finger. It was perfect in size, at least.

The Numinous object! Deceivingly plain, but surely very powerful. Sarah felt a rush of adrenaline just from having it around her finger.

“That,” the Sorceress explained, “is the Ring of Realms. But people call it the Worldjumper. I guess you know what it does.”

“I can imagine it,” Sarah replied, “but will you tell me how to use it?”

“There is no point in that,” the pale woman replied. “It will become evident in time, if you survive long enough to acquire the skills and power you need to wield it. For now, just keep quiet about what it is.”

“So,” Sarah asked, “how many of these are there?”

The Sorceress laughed out loud.

“How many? Just one. That one,” she said. “And now, you must go. There are signals you need to catch out there, and people who need your help.”

Mike, Sarah though, and felt a heavy weight crushing her heart.

“But I still have no map, no guide at all,” she objected.

“Weren’t you paying attention? All the guides are lies. You’ll find your path, that much is certain.”

Sarah nodded pensively. As she did so, she got a notification:

Task complete: Talk to the Sorceress

+60 Mana

+100 XP

+20 Charisma

- Numinous object acquired: Ring of Realms

“I have one more question,” she said.

The Sorceress gave her an amused look.

“Only one?”

“Oh, no. I have so many more questions. But there’s one that’s been biting at me all this time.”

“Then I suppose you will ask me that question.”

“Why are you helping me?”

The Sorceress drew an invisible figure in the air with both hands. As soon as the motion was complete, she started to fade away from view, along with the room and everything in it.

“That,” she said before disappearing completely, “is the one thing I cannot tell you.”