The Stubborn Light of a Dying Flame

Rayna awoke to find Emma already sitting up and reading a book titled The Basics of Healing: Volume I.

Rayna yawned. “What time is it?”

Emma shrugged. “Apparently, a clock isn’t something they provide during the tutorial. Most of the System’s interface is locked or missing. The sun rose about an hour ago, I think. Breakfast appeared around that time, too.”

Emma passed Rayna a lukewarm plate of food that looked like it was trying to mimic North American cuisine, except that the scrambled eggs were purple, the sausage was dark green, and the toast was cut so thickly that it was basically just bread.

“It tastes better than it looks,” Emma said. “Though a little hot sauce wouldn’t go amiss.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers.” Rayna hesitated a moment before taking a bite of the eggs. They had the texture of scrambled eggs, but the taste of overcooked yams. The sausage tasted a lot like honey-smoked bacon, but the effect was ruined by the gravelly feeling as it rolled around in Rayna’s mouth.

“Are those seeds?” she asked, forcing herself to swallow the unpleasant food.

“I hope so,” Emma replied.

Rayna didn’t manage to work up the courage to try the bread.

After finishing half of her breakfast, Rayna pushed it aside and browsed the list of books in her Inventory. There were quite a few that had been included in the Welcome Package. Rayna pulled out A Complete History of Ember: Volume I, hoping that it might shed some light on their current situation and the motivations of the System Administrator.

She gave up on the book after a few pages. It read less like a history book and more like a stack of propaganda pamphlets. Every page emphasized the grace of the System and how it was created to protect the world from the ever growing threat of monsters. There were interesting snippets about how the System worked—such as how half of the energy that is gained when a monster is killed goes to the System to keep it running and the other half is turned into Experience for the player—but such tidbits were drowned out by the overwhelming torrent of obviously self-aggrandizing prose.

“These people need to learn how to write,” Rayna said, irritated by the lack of real information.

“This book isn’t much better,” Emma said, closing the book on healing. “It’s not telling me how healing actually works, only how the System streamlined the process so anyone could become a Healer. Supposedly, understanding the injury that I’m trying to heal helps to increase the effectiveness of my spells, but there’s no actual information on healing the natural way. I thought there would be some anatomy diagrams or at least how to cauterize a wound, but it’s complete fluff.”

“Maybe it’s because it’s only the first volume,” Rayna suggested hopefully. “Or we can find better authors when we get out of the tutorial.”

“There was a store in Ember Online,” Emma said. “But I don’t remember there being any books in it.”

A notification popped up in front of Rayna, making her jump.

“This thing should have a warning bell or something!” she grumbled, reading the message.

Welcome players to the tutorial! Due to unforeseen complications, your group has not been assigned a Tutorial Leader, but this shouldn’t hinder your ability to complete the tutorial. All instructions will be provided through System prompts and all rewards will be distributed through the notifications area in the System Menu.

Please make your way downstairs and prepare for the first trial.

Rayna frowned. “I don’t think I like the fact that the super-computer that now controls our lives had ‘unforeseen complications’ before we even started the tutorial.”

Emma pursed her lips. “Agreed. But I don’t think there’s much we can do about it. I don’t think it’ll make a difference, in any case.”

“What did the Tutorial Leader do in Ember Online?” Rayna asked.

Emma shook her head. “The tutorial here is different. In the game, the tutorial was held outside in a regular town and it only lasted about thirty minutes. I don’t think we can rely on the information from Ember Online, even if the Administrator claims it’s identical.”

With that unsettling realization, they left their room to follow the System’s instructions.

When they emerged, the hallway was already filled with people, all moving toward a set of stairs at the end. A quick glimpse inside one of the other rooms told Rayna that the two-person room she shared with Emma was the standard offering, although the System seemed to vary the color of the bedding.

Many of the players walked through the hall like zombies, rubbing tired eyes and yawning every couple of steps. It was obvious that most had not been able to get a good night’s sleep and a few of them probably didn’t sleep at all.

Emma looked like she was in the latter group, but Rayna decided not to comment on the bags under her eyes or the lack of her usual enthusiasm. Emma always tried to play it tough when anything went wrong in her life. Rayna would be there to talk when Emma was ready.

The stairs led outside to a large courtyard that was almost half the size of a football field. Ten iridescent silver portals were spaced out around two edges of the courtyard, leaving about ten yards of space between each of them. Next to each portal was a rack of weapons, ranging in size from small daggers all the way up to a seven foot trident and maces that looked better suited for giants than the scrawny gamers that filled the space.

They received another prompt from the System.

The first trial is simple: Choose a weapon and enter one of the portals. The enemies inside are randomized from a group consisting of three species between level 1 and level 5.

Kill the monster that appears and return through the portal. Failure to do so within 1 hour will result in forced expulsion from the trial space and a penalty title until the end of next trial. Injuries judged to be life-threatening will also result in failure and expulsion from the trial space.

Rewards will be calculated based on the strength of the monster and the performance of the trial taker. The trial will not be considered complete until all players have made an attempt.

Players who do not successfully complete the trial can reattempt it up to three times, but each subsequent failure will result in a separate penalty title.

All penalty titles will be removed upon successful completion of the first trial.

If the first trial is not completed within one week, the portals will automatically close and anyone who has not attempted the trial by this point will be issued a penalty title until the end of the tutorial period.

The group of players stared silently at their screens, anxiety holding them still. Level 5 didn’t seem too high to Rayna, but from the looks on everyone’s faces, it was basically impossible.

“Emma,” Rayna whispered, her voice uncomfortably loud in the silent courtyard. “What’s a penalty title?”

It was like Rayna’s question broke the spell that had descended on the crowd. Hundreds of conversations started at once, individual words lost in the buzz of anxious indecision.

“You have a title, don’t you?” Emma asked. “Volunteer, or something. I remember it had a really good stat boost. Penalty titles are like that, but instead of giving you stats, they take some away. They’re usually temporary and can be removed either with a quest or after the timer runs out.”

“Great,” Rayna said. “So, if I fail the trial, my already terrible Endurance might get even worse.”

Emma nodded. “Or if you’re lucky, it might just take some of your Vitality for a few days.”

Rayna shot Emma a doubtful look. Judging by the last twenty-four hours, Rayna wasn’t feeling too good about her luck, as of late.

“Well,” a man said loud enough to be heard over the sea of nervous whispers. “Waiting isn’t going to make the monsters any weaker.”

He walked up to one of the racks and grabbed a mid-sized sword, swinging it around to test the balance. A second sword appeared to replace the first one, confirming that the weapons weren’t first come, first served.

“Devon, are you nuts? What if you get the Level 5?”

The woman who spoke was blocked from Rayna’s view, but her voice bordered on terrified, and she obviously knew the man well enough to be on a first name basis with him.

Devon shrugged. “Or I could get a Level 1. The way I see it, that curly-haired bastard is putting all of this effort into getting us ready, I might as well participate.” He saluted the crowd with his sword. “If I die in there, make sure that Ember remembers my name.”

Rayna gaped at the over-dramatic display. Was he not taking this seriously?

The crowd watched in varying degrees of horror and disbelief as he made a show of picking a portal and swaggered through like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Arrogant prick,” a man said from the front of the crowd. “He thinks he’s invincible just because he became a ranker a few weeks ago.”

“Is he wrong, though?” a woman with long blonde hair asked. “The System set all of this up to help us grow.”

“It probably just hopes we get ourselves killed in there to weed out the weaklings,” the first man said.

The blonde-haired woman shook her head. “The System Administrator already has complete control over us. If it was trying to get us killed, it would have dropped us in a pit with a bunch of monsters and waited to see who comes out alive. He obviously put some effort into this.”

“You want to know what I think?” a man said, standing only a few feet away from Rayna. He had a well-groomed beard and the look of a sleazy businessman. “The best way to give this System the middle finger is to not play its sick game. Willing participation will only increase its hold over us.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “There’s no increasing complete control, moron. You really want to stick it to the System?” She grabbed Rayna’s hand and dragged her over to the weapons.

Emma grabbed a polearm that was as long as she was tall. Fixed to the tip was a curved single-sided blade that came to a sharp point, and it had a funky looking spike on the back of the metal that almost looked like a hangnail.

Emma pointed the blade at the crowd, causing them all to back up a step with a collective gasp.

“Grow stronger,” she declared. “Survive. Rise to every challenge the System sends our way and leave it in the dust.”

“Big words coming from a glorified gaming addict,” the man said. “I bet you don’t even have anything to go back to. Was getting trapped in your favorite video game a dream come true? I have a wife and two kids waiting for me back on Earth and I don’t plan on getting myself killed in this circus of lunatics.”

Rayna balled her hands into fists and took a step forward, but Emma blocked her advance with a shaft of her polearm.

“I am DawnRising of the RemEmber guild.”

Whispers spread through the crowd, making Rayna wonder just how famous Emma’s guild actually was.

“My little sister Lillith and my mother are waiting for me back on Earth and you can be damn sure that I will do everything in my power to get back to them in one piece.” Emma narrowed her eyes. “That does not involve hiding in my bedroom and whimpering like an injured puppy.”

Emma turned around and lowered her voice so only Rayna would hear.

“Choose a polearm; something with length; Anything to keep the monster at a distance. Your Endurance is painfully low so use that healing spell whenever you see your Health bar move. Don’t be stingy. Your life depends on it. The System said it will teleport you out if you sustain life-threatening injuries, but you can’t count on that. Fight like there is no escape, understood?”

Rayna’s eyes widened at the seriousness in Emma’s tone, but she recovered a moment later, nodding. “Choose a polearm. Heal as needed. Fight to the death. Got it. Any other tips?”

“Don’t die in there,” Emma said. “I’ll never forgive you if you do.”

“Same goes for you,” Rayna said with a nervous laugh. “I better see you when I get back out.”

Emma relaxed a fraction, her lips forming a small smile. “Oh, you will. I can take on a Level 5 in my sleep.”

Emma moved to one of the portals—two portals to the left of the one that Devon had entered.

She turned back to Rayna and grinned. “See you on the flip side.”

She walked through the portal, leaving Rayna behind.

“Choose a polearm. Heal as needed. Fight to the death. Don’t die,” Rayna muttered to herself as she considered her choice of weapons. The buzz of conversation returned, a few people moving to examine the weapon racks, but Rayna blocked them out, fully focused on the task at hand.

The biggest problem to consider was Rayna’s new body. She was only four-foot-eight and her lack of Strength was concerning. Whatever she chose needed to be shorter and lighter than she would normally use.

As If I would actually use a spear to fight bloodthirsty monsters on a random Tuesday…

Rayna dismissed the thought and considered the polearm section. She didn’t have a name for most of them; they all just looked like spears with slightly different tips. Some of them didn’t even look like real weapons, but rather some fantasy game equivalent that prioritized the rule of cool over basic usability.

There was one weapon that looked like a trident, but its handle was only three feet long. The center prong stretched out like an armor-piercing spike and the two side prongs were fashioned similar to the curved blade on Emma’s chosen weapon. It looked like someone had tried to combine a trident, a spear and an axe and just ended up with a frankenstein weapon featuring the worst elements of each.

Rayna went with a shorter spear that had a longer tip. The three foot needle-like blade had a circular guard at the bottom and it looked like it was designed for punching through things, rather than slashing. She hoped that she could stab the monster from a distance before it had a chance to react. Her Dexterity was much higher than her Endurance, so short and sweet seemed like the way to go.

You have chosen an awl pike created by the Blacksmith Gers’n. Please proceed to the trial.

Rayna nearly dropped the weapon, not expecting it to weigh as much as it did. It wasn’t heavy exactly, but it felt like Rayna was dragging around a sack of potatoes. She went to put it back and find another one, but another awl pike had already appeared in its place.

You have already chosen an awl pike. Weapon choices are final. Please proceed to the trial. Failure to do so within 5 minutes will lead to disqualification and a penalty title.

“You should have told me that before I picked it,” Rayna muttered. Turning to the crowd, she called out, “Heads up, weapon choices are final.” She shook her head. “I hope you all pick better than I did.”

She moved toward the closest portal, balancing the pike on her shoulder so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. She figured if the monsters were random, it didn’t matter which one she went into, and if the portals didn’t close between players, then she didn’t have to wait for the others to come out before going through. Most of those who had already gone in had picked one of the center portals and Rayna followed their lead, heading to the portal that Devon had entered.

She stopped about five feet away from it, as an oppressive weight settled on her shoulders that had nothing to do with her pike. She frowned at the portal, trying to put the feeling into words. The closest equivalent she could come up with was ‘bad vibes’. The portal felt dangerous, and she didn’t think now was the time to be ignoring her instincts.

Moving to the next portal over, she found that the feeling was lighter. It was still there, but it wasn’t as oppressive as Devon’s portal had been.

She kept moving down the line, each portal giving off the same bad feeling in varying levels. At the last portal—the furthest to the left—Rayna finally stopped.

She felt nothing from the portal. It wasn’t a good feeling, but rather no feeling at all. She decided to trust her gut, since it had decided to start communicating explicitly after twenty-seven years of mixed signals.

She was about to walk through when a scream cut through the air. Rayna spun around to see the crowd had moved away from a bloodied bundle of cloth that had appeared at the center of the courtyard. It wasn’t until the bundle took in a raspy breath that Rayna realized it was Devon.

He looked like he had been put through a garbage disposal. Every inch of him was covered in gashes and you couldn’t tell what color his skin was under the thick layer of blood. His previously arrogant demeanor was replaced with agonized groans as he bled out on the stones of the courtyard.

Rayna looked from Devon to the portal that she had almost walked into. Bad vibes had probably just saved her life.

You have 1 minute to enter the portal before disqualification.

Rayna looked back at Devon, waiting for someone to move. The crowd seemed to be too shocked to do anything and Rayna was running out of time.

She ran out of patience first.

“Don’t just stand there, someone heal him!” Rayna snapped, trying to move toward Devon.

She forgot she was holding the pike and tripped over the shaft, falling backwards into the shimmering portal behind her.

The last thing she saw was several people rushing to Devon’s side before she was teleported out of the courtyard.