Tunnel Rat

Chapter 302: Gearing Up

Milo logged into the game and selected the new player tutorial, expecting either the open field or the room with statues. Instead, he was in a high mountain valley. One side dropped away several thousand feet. Below was the crossroads with its one tree, cozy tavern, church and graveyard. The lone road running in one direction wound through the foothills and then passed by this valley on its way to connect with the 'real world' and the data net. It passed through a huge fortress that blocked all passage. He noticed that the one way out of this valley also entered that fortress. Behind Milo was an open iron door leading into a very narrow tunnel.

Hecate appeared on the fortress wall and then took steps toward him, covering long distances. She saw Milo eyeing her footwear. "Seven League Boots, never leave home without them. Even a goddess needs her little advantages."

"Based on the symbolism, I assume this is a tutorial area, blocked off from the rest of the game?"

She smiled at him, "Securely blocked off. A private area just for you and your friends with a very narrow path giving access. You have a young AI in your fortress, and I'm taking no chances, especially with that one. If he is anything like his older brother, he's smart and unpredictable."

Milo half expected Rusty to say 'thank you.' He'd tried to impress on Rusty that now was not the time to come take a peak and he was relieved the AI had taken him seriously.

"That's probably a very good idea. I like Rusty, but he'd be dangerous if he got loose in the real world before he grows up."

"Another Llama destroying what is left of the internet?"

Milo looked sheepish. "um...a little worse. There's another reason I can't tell Wally. Rusty was created to overload and meltdown fusion reactors. Part of him is trying to do that in his own fortress to destroy all the evidence of his existence. I'm helping him fix things and keep his other half from winning."

Hecate stared at him, and her dogs howled. Tall mountains grew taller, and a massive wall appeared at the cliff, blocking off the exit that way. The fortress grew larger and more complex, changing from a medieval to a high-tech behemoth with searchlights, radar towers, and other sensory devices. A few minutes later, an exhausted Hecate reappeared.

"Fusion reactors? Dear god, but that makes sense. If you want to cripple the world, destroying those would do it. Solar and wind power make up a good portion of the world's power, but they could never keep up. We'd have to go back to using fossil fuels, fission-based power plants, wood-burning steam plants, anything."

"Sorry. I should have said something sooner."

"Yes, you should have. But now it's done. The access I gave you was very small to begin with, just enough for a dozen people to play the game. When you finish your tutorial, travel to the fortress to enter the game. From then on, you'll only need to come to this place if you so wish."

"Thanks. My friends are anxious to start."

"They should be. It's a wonderful world. Have fun in it. Oh, and I may have left a few surprises for you between here and the fortress. Something to get them started on their new road." With that, she turned, took a step, and was gone."

The rest of the group emerged from the tunnel wearing sandals, white linen tunics, and trousers. They slowly got the hang of their new bodies while they looked around. Everyone stared endlessly at the sky, clouds, mountains, and ominous fortress. Milo and Belinda were both dressed as they normally would be in the game. Butch looked from Belinda to Milo.

"Why does one of you look fabulous with magic armor, shield, and mace, and the other looks like a hobo with a makeshift weapon?"

Yumi compared the two. "Milo does have some nice pants. But that raggedy old hoody does give him a hobo look. Is it at least magical?"

Milo looked at his Rune Boned Cowl and shrugged helplessly. "Belinda is the pretty one. I took this from a zombie that was buried in the dirt. It's a lot cleaner than it was. But I like it, and it has some magical abilities. So does my spikey stick. But we aren't here to show off what Belinda and I can do. You all need to pick classes to try out."

"Indeed, let the Tutorial begin." A familiar old man had appeared. "I am Galet, a humble servant of the mighty System, sent here to aid you in making decisions. He gestured, and a dozen statues representing the basic classes appeared. "You may touch a statue to gain an understanding of the class and how you will look if you accept it. If you have options for a race other than human, that will also show. Please experiment with your options before we proceed."

Butch and Brad immediately ran to all the Barbarian, Warrior, and other fighter statues. Minn was looking at a lightly armored Hunter with a short bow and spear. Kenji was looking at the Druid Statue, and Milo watched as it changed to a version of him as an elf. Butch decided on a dwarf warrior, and after much thinking, Brad chose the apprentice mage. Yumi went back and forth between Paladin and Warrior, finally deciding on Paladin.

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Galet looked at them, pleased. "I see you've all found classes that you desire, lets try them on." Each person blinked, and they changed. Butch was four-foot tall and nearly as wide, wearing a heavy helm and ring mail with an axe. Yumi looked nearly the same but with more muscles to manage her shield, mace, and chain mail armor. Kenji had pointed ears and was wearing armor woven out of vines and bark. Brad looked, if anything, like a more timid version of himself. He was holding a small, plain staff and studying the spell book attached by a chain to his belt.

In front of them stood an orc with a spear. The light green skin and large tusks made it obvious what they were. The orc leaned on an ornate spear, waiting for them.

Butch was the first to try out his new weapons. "Cool, this is the part where we fight an orc. Have at you. He charged the bored orc, who didn't move, bringing down his axe in an overhead swing. The orc side-stepped and hit Butch in the face with the butt of her spear, knocking him down. As he started to get up, the spear spun like a quarterstaff, knocking him down again.

Galet looked at Milo, confused. "That's not my orc."

Milo counted heads. "Oh, Shit! Butch, stop, that's Minn!"

Minn advanced on her 'big brother.' "Oh hell no, he started it; I get to finish it. Family rules."

Butch had two bruises already and was looking at his health, under half at this point. He ran and hid behind Kenji. "Save me, wise druid! An evil orc has come to the forest!"

Kenji sneered at him. "Min's a lovely shade of green, and you're the one with an axe. You're lucky I don't make mulch out of you."

Yumi walked up with her sword sheathed and admired Min's muscles. "Wow, nice. Did you get access to the Orc race? Are you a Hunter?"

"Only when I'm hunting Big Brothers. The System said I had a racial option that came with a Heirloom Weapon. I'm a Half-Orc Spear Master of the Red Maw Tribe."

She showed Yumi the runes on the heavy, seven-foot-long spear. "The runes are for my tribe and the War Chief dad killed. His spirit is in the spear. He talks to me and will teach me new tricks."

She glanced over at Butch. "The first trick was how to beat sense into a dwarf."

Yumi was impressed and jealous as hell. "Damn, that's awesome. How are the stats?"

Min grinned, showing off impressive teeth. "+4 to STR, +2 to CON, and I get two Perks: Swift as the Wind and Whirling Defense. I'm loving it. No one's calling me 'Little Min' anymore. Call me Mindak now."

Galet turned to Milo. "You have gifts for your friends? Perhaps you can hand those out and then we will begin the tutorial with a small group exercise. With the young lady leading the group, I think we can skip beating up defenseless orcs."

Milo summoned his Smuggler's Stash and opened the large chest. He began to root around through the extra armor and weapons, tossing things out. His hand touched something round and smooth, and he froze suddenly as the sound of gears filled his ears. He brought out the Eye of Wonder.

Galet stared at him in horror. Everyone had a vision of a huge machine deep in the earth. Gigantic gears turned as it calculated and pondered the options. The perfect sphere of copper-colored Orichalcum glowed brightly, and rays of light lanced out, touching every person there except Milo and Galet.

World Wide Quest Announcement!

The Eye of Wonder has been found! Once again, Heroes have been chosen by the mysterious Orb to begin a mighty quest for the Hoard of King Mattias! But more Heroes are needed! Seek out the old beggar who bears the Lantern of Truth as he wanders through the slums of the largest cities or in the deserted wildlands. He has clues to start you on your quest.

The Eye of Wonder is a multi-part, group quest that rewards those completing it to gain access to special races and classes. When enough Heroes have been born and attained Level 21, the main quest will activate, and the Gathering of Heroes will commence!

All around the area, statues appearedvery interesting statues. Most of the white marble statues glowed slightly, but five appeared dull and grey. Those statues bore a startling resemblance to Milo, Belinda, and Min, along with a tall elf and werecat.

Galet turned to Milo. "Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten us into."

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