Grant replied with a whiplash, almost as immediately as he recieved the email from Theina. "Yes!" he replied enthusiastically, and then, "What time and all that rot?"
Theina got back to her desktop the next day and opened her mail program. Her response was, "I'll talk to you about it at school Monday."
*--**--**--**--**--*
Clicky clicky. A woman's mouse ran across the pad with no semblance of hesitance in its movements. On the woman's head was her headset again, and near her opposite hand lay her controller. She clicked to log in to The World, and as soon as she was in, the same Wavemaster-flooded Root Town of Carmina Gadelica opened up to her. She could have sworn their numbers had tripled in a couple short days. There were also several non-Wavemaster classes milling about, but they'd probably gotten caught up by a Wavemaster friend and roped into watching for sheer amusement. The Magic and Items shops were crowded again. But something had changed. There were now three more Magic and Items shops nearby, each with its own long line of Wavemasters-in-waiting. 'I wonder who hasn't shown up,' Theina mused. 'And this is an off-peak hour. God, it'll be worse when peak hours arrive.' She could visit the other two open servers, but knew it would be futile. The same mess would be seen there as well.
She sighed. "Nothing to it but to do it," she wimpered. She fell in line.
*--**--**--**--**--*
Two and a half hours later, she had most of her weapons and armors sold, all of her valuable Gott Statue treasures, every Fairy Orb she owned, and most everything, really, she owned. She kept the bare minimum: three different magical types of staff, each with three types of magic on it, four different armors with different attributes to them, and a generous supply of Bane and Blood scrolls. Several Health Elixers were in her inventory, though not as many as she'd have liked. Only two more days until the planned day. She was going to storm the dungeon and be out before the last second. Three minutes per level, ten levels. Piece of cake she hoped.
Still, the knot in her stomach wouldn't go away.
*--**--**--**--**--*
One hour to go. Grant still hadn't shown up, and she was waiting in line to be admitted into the dungeon. She hated waiting. She knew that patience was a virtue, and that sometimes, impatience a vice. She couldn't help but sighed boredly.
Half an hour to go. Flash Mail after Flash Mail had she sent to Grant, each with the response, "I'll be there in a little bit." She reminded herself how patience was a virtue.
Ten minutes remained until her time. Grant finally warped in. "God!" she yelled. "You're really annoying!"
"Yeah, but I'm also here." He had a smug look. She sighed. He came closer to her. "Time yet?"
"Almost. Gimme your weapons, quick," she whispered. "Make it look like we're trading."
"I know the plan." He activated the trade system and commenced to trade for her near-worthless items with his high-value Twin Blade items. They finished as Theina's turn came.
"Next," called the administrative voice. Theina walked up to the character.
"My name is Theina. This is Grant, the single non-Wavemaster who will accompany me." She waved her hand in Grant's direction.
"What class?" he asked Grant gruffly.
"Twin Blade, sir," Grant replied stiffly.
"Aye. Now we need to perform an inventory check." He passed his hands over Grant. "I'm taking your weapons and armors for the time being, Mister Grant, as well as any items you may have." Grant nodded. He didn't like the idea of being robbed blind, especially before going into a dangerous dungeon, but as it was an Administrator doing it - and allowing his character to stay intact - he felt a sort of relief. "Mister Grant, you are carrying an unauthorized item in your inventory."
"Is it the 'Devil's Armor?'" he asked. "I thought the girl who gave it to me looked a little odd. I mean, she was, well, a cat or something," he faked. He knew what it was.
"No. It's not. That, high-level as it is, is not the hacked item."
"Hacked item?" Grant let into the air. "Hacked item? Are you telling me I have some nasty virus-ridden item in my inventory, that my character date could be infected with this coma thing!?"
"Rumors, Mister Grant, mere rumors. And, no, your character data is intact. No, you appear to be carrying a hacked piece of ring armor, specifically designed to raise every stat a character can have."
"Hey, hey. Now, you must not have been here when I won this. It's called the 'Clown's Charade.' Of course it raises every stat I have. It's a legal item. I won it in an event just like this. I sold my ass off to get that item."
"The 'Clown's Charade' was won by a player named Deimos."
"Yeah, and I won it at an auction. Like I said, I sold my ass off. Every piece of armor, every cent I had in this game, I gave to Deimos. Now I own it."
"It's still a hacked item."
"Fine. Keep it then. Jeeze. And another thing..."
'These two are holding up the line,' the Administrator thought. "Get a move on. We'll see about your hacked item later. And meanwhile, we'll talk to this Deimos character to see if this is true." He waved the pair in.
He didn't like that Twin Blade, Grant. Just a gut feeling he had, but he didn't like him.
*--**--**--**--**--*
Inside the dungeon, the timer started. Thirty minutes counted down. Theina quickly unloaded Grant's Twin Blade equipment onto him. "Let's get a move on," she said. Grant barely had put on his armor and weapons before Theina had dosed herself with an "Ap Do" spell and made it through the first door. Grant had been pulled into the room to her.
"This may be a problem," he said as he materialized next to her. She didn't say anything, merely pointed toward the portal that was opening. Grant nodded and ran to it. Theina cast an "Ap Do" for her fellow. Grant made short work of the first two enemies. They dropped a pair of identical blue chests. "No time," Grant said as he rushed to the next door. He passed through it. Theina was pulled along with him.
"I see what you mean," she said as she materialized with him. "This isn't normal."
"I can't scout, then," he said. "Oh well." He lunged at the next portal. Each monster had a physical tolerance to it.
Theina cast her first attack, "Juk Kruz". Quick and effective for the single occupant of the portal. "I expect that the dungeon levels will get progressively harder."
"Sho' dat," came Grant.
"Eh?"
"Nothing. Let's go!" And Grant was off again, robes flapping behind him. Theina ran behind.
*--**--**--**--**--*
They came to the stairs. Two minutes had passed on the clock and she had not encountered to room of the Gott Statue. She headed down regardless. Grant followed.
The bottom of the stairs yielded a new sight to the dungeon. Instead of the stones that had paved the floor on the higher floor, this one was the inside of a monster's belly. She took no time to notice. She dashed ahead, Grant on her heels.
The first room was of no consequence. A single yellow treasure box appeared in the middle of the floor. She went to it and looked around. There were doors to all four directions. She'd emerged from the East. "No better way to find out than to go, eh?" she asked. Grant nodded. She ran North.
The room looked normal. Two portals stared at her. One was opening. Grant leapt forward. A solitary small creature burst forth. She cursed. "Damn mimicing creations," she said. She threw a "Rue Rom" spell at it, and then a second, before it confused her. Grant got in the box's way and took shots at it. The mimicry was destroyed and a Restorative was thrown on her. "Thanks," she yelled.
"You're welcome." Grant saluted smiling and headed to the second portal. Theina moved closer, close enough to activate it.She and Grant put up a good fight and headed West to the next door.
*--**--**--**--**--*
Floor two yielded no Gott Statue either. Still, Theina was not intimidated. In fact, she was glad she was progressing so quickly. Only another minute and a half had gone by. She stopped Grant and cast "Ap Do" once more on each of them, and then gave Grant a few physical stat-raising Bloods, and herself a few magical stat-raising Bloods. They progressed.
*--**--**--**--**--*
The first room after the stairs they entered had a single portal with three creatures inside. Each had a specific elemental weakness, none of which were on the same staff she carried. She quickly switched her weapon to a staff the would be able to dispatch two of three of them by their elemental weaknesses. She put on an armor that would cover the third. She cast her spells. "Vak Rom" and "Rai Don" were cast, followed by "MeAni Kruz". Grant finished the three with a single "Tiger Claws" attack that struck the remainders of their lives. They moved West.
Neither said anything as they progressed. They knew what they were there for. They knew how to get it.
They came to the Gott Statue. "A moment's respite," Theina declared. She healed her magically-inflicted wounds with a "Pha Repth" and took an extra second to give herself a "Mage's Soul". Then, she pressed the Gott Statue treasure box and reveled its contents: A Mage's Soul, another, and a Health Elixer. They exited the room.
*--**--**--**--**--*
Another Wavemaster was loosed into the dungeon. This one was a few levels higher than Theina, but Theina had a head-start. She knew that more players had been allowed entrance. She had to move on. Grant was continuing. This was no problem so far. They reached the stairs the the floor after passing through four more portals.
"Ready?" Grant asked.
Theina replied a hurried "Yes!" They descended.
Theina got back to her desktop the next day and opened her mail program. Her response was, "I'll talk to you about it at school Monday."
*--**--**--**--**--*
Clicky clicky. A woman's mouse ran across the pad with no semblance of hesitance in its movements. On the woman's head was her headset again, and near her opposite hand lay her controller. She clicked to log in to The World, and as soon as she was in, the same Wavemaster-flooded Root Town of Carmina Gadelica opened up to her. She could have sworn their numbers had tripled in a couple short days. There were also several non-Wavemaster classes milling about, but they'd probably gotten caught up by a Wavemaster friend and roped into watching for sheer amusement. The Magic and Items shops were crowded again. But something had changed. There were now three more Magic and Items shops nearby, each with its own long line of Wavemasters-in-waiting. 'I wonder who hasn't shown up,' Theina mused. 'And this is an off-peak hour. God, it'll be worse when peak hours arrive.' She could visit the other two open servers, but knew it would be futile. The same mess would be seen there as well.
She sighed. "Nothing to it but to do it," she wimpered. She fell in line.
*--**--**--**--**--*
Two and a half hours later, she had most of her weapons and armors sold, all of her valuable Gott Statue treasures, every Fairy Orb she owned, and most everything, really, she owned. She kept the bare minimum: three different magical types of staff, each with three types of magic on it, four different armors with different attributes to them, and a generous supply of Bane and Blood scrolls. Several Health Elixers were in her inventory, though not as many as she'd have liked. Only two more days until the planned day. She was going to storm the dungeon and be out before the last second. Three minutes per level, ten levels. Piece of cake she hoped.
Still, the knot in her stomach wouldn't go away.
*--**--**--**--**--*
One hour to go. Grant still hadn't shown up, and she was waiting in line to be admitted into the dungeon. She hated waiting. She knew that patience was a virtue, and that sometimes, impatience a vice. She couldn't help but sighed boredly.
Half an hour to go. Flash Mail after Flash Mail had she sent to Grant, each with the response, "I'll be there in a little bit." She reminded herself how patience was a virtue.
Ten minutes remained until her time. Grant finally warped in. "God!" she yelled. "You're really annoying!"
"Yeah, but I'm also here." He had a smug look. She sighed. He came closer to her. "Time yet?"
"Almost. Gimme your weapons, quick," she whispered. "Make it look like we're trading."
"I know the plan." He activated the trade system and commenced to trade for her near-worthless items with his high-value Twin Blade items. They finished as Theina's turn came.
"Next," called the administrative voice. Theina walked up to the character.
"My name is Theina. This is Grant, the single non-Wavemaster who will accompany me." She waved her hand in Grant's direction.
"What class?" he asked Grant gruffly.
"Twin Blade, sir," Grant replied stiffly.
"Aye. Now we need to perform an inventory check." He passed his hands over Grant. "I'm taking your weapons and armors for the time being, Mister Grant, as well as any items you may have." Grant nodded. He didn't like the idea of being robbed blind, especially before going into a dangerous dungeon, but as it was an Administrator doing it - and allowing his character to stay intact - he felt a sort of relief. "Mister Grant, you are carrying an unauthorized item in your inventory."
"Is it the 'Devil's Armor?'" he asked. "I thought the girl who gave it to me looked a little odd. I mean, she was, well, a cat or something," he faked. He knew what it was.
"No. It's not. That, high-level as it is, is not the hacked item."
"Hacked item?" Grant let into the air. "Hacked item? Are you telling me I have some nasty virus-ridden item in my inventory, that my character date could be infected with this coma thing!?"
"Rumors, Mister Grant, mere rumors. And, no, your character data is intact. No, you appear to be carrying a hacked piece of ring armor, specifically designed to raise every stat a character can have."
"Hey, hey. Now, you must not have been here when I won this. It's called the 'Clown's Charade.' Of course it raises every stat I have. It's a legal item. I won it in an event just like this. I sold my ass off to get that item."
"The 'Clown's Charade' was won by a player named Deimos."
"Yeah, and I won it at an auction. Like I said, I sold my ass off. Every piece of armor, every cent I had in this game, I gave to Deimos. Now I own it."
"It's still a hacked item."
"Fine. Keep it then. Jeeze. And another thing..."
'These two are holding up the line,' the Administrator thought. "Get a move on. We'll see about your hacked item later. And meanwhile, we'll talk to this Deimos character to see if this is true." He waved the pair in.
He didn't like that Twin Blade, Grant. Just a gut feeling he had, but he didn't like him.
*--**--**--**--**--*
Inside the dungeon, the timer started. Thirty minutes counted down. Theina quickly unloaded Grant's Twin Blade equipment onto him. "Let's get a move on," she said. Grant barely had put on his armor and weapons before Theina had dosed herself with an "Ap Do" spell and made it through the first door. Grant had been pulled into the room to her.
"This may be a problem," he said as he materialized next to her. She didn't say anything, merely pointed toward the portal that was opening. Grant nodded and ran to it. Theina cast an "Ap Do" for her fellow. Grant made short work of the first two enemies. They dropped a pair of identical blue chests. "No time," Grant said as he rushed to the next door. He passed through it. Theina was pulled along with him.
"I see what you mean," she said as she materialized with him. "This isn't normal."
"I can't scout, then," he said. "Oh well." He lunged at the next portal. Each monster had a physical tolerance to it.
Theina cast her first attack, "Juk Kruz". Quick and effective for the single occupant of the portal. "I expect that the dungeon levels will get progressively harder."
"Sho' dat," came Grant.
"Eh?"
"Nothing. Let's go!" And Grant was off again, robes flapping behind him. Theina ran behind.
*--**--**--**--**--*
They came to the stairs. Two minutes had passed on the clock and she had not encountered to room of the Gott Statue. She headed down regardless. Grant followed.
The bottom of the stairs yielded a new sight to the dungeon. Instead of the stones that had paved the floor on the higher floor, this one was the inside of a monster's belly. She took no time to notice. She dashed ahead, Grant on her heels.
The first room was of no consequence. A single yellow treasure box appeared in the middle of the floor. She went to it and looked around. There were doors to all four directions. She'd emerged from the East. "No better way to find out than to go, eh?" she asked. Grant nodded. She ran North.
The room looked normal. Two portals stared at her. One was opening. Grant leapt forward. A solitary small creature burst forth. She cursed. "Damn mimicing creations," she said. She threw a "Rue Rom" spell at it, and then a second, before it confused her. Grant got in the box's way and took shots at it. The mimicry was destroyed and a Restorative was thrown on her. "Thanks," she yelled.
"You're welcome." Grant saluted smiling and headed to the second portal. Theina moved closer, close enough to activate it.She and Grant put up a good fight and headed West to the next door.
*--**--**--**--**--*
Floor two yielded no Gott Statue either. Still, Theina was not intimidated. In fact, she was glad she was progressing so quickly. Only another minute and a half had gone by. She stopped Grant and cast "Ap Do" once more on each of them, and then gave Grant a few physical stat-raising Bloods, and herself a few magical stat-raising Bloods. They progressed.
*--**--**--**--**--*
The first room after the stairs they entered had a single portal with three creatures inside. Each had a specific elemental weakness, none of which were on the same staff she carried. She quickly switched her weapon to a staff the would be able to dispatch two of three of them by their elemental weaknesses. She put on an armor that would cover the third. She cast her spells. "Vak Rom" and "Rai Don" were cast, followed by "MeAni Kruz". Grant finished the three with a single "Tiger Claws" attack that struck the remainders of their lives. They moved West.
Neither said anything as they progressed. They knew what they were there for. They knew how to get it.
They came to the Gott Statue. "A moment's respite," Theina declared. She healed her magically-inflicted wounds with a "Pha Repth" and took an extra second to give herself a "Mage's Soul". Then, she pressed the Gott Statue treasure box and reveled its contents: A Mage's Soul, another, and a Health Elixer. They exited the room.
*--**--**--**--**--*
Another Wavemaster was loosed into the dungeon. This one was a few levels higher than Theina, but Theina had a head-start. She knew that more players had been allowed entrance. She had to move on. Grant was continuing. This was no problem so far. They reached the stairs the the floor after passing through four more portals.
"Ready?" Grant asked.
Theina replied a hurried "Yes!" They descended.