Unbeatable game a litrpg.., p.2
Unbeatable Game: A LitRPG System, page 2
Years later my daughter still loves to embarrass me by retelling this story as the reason why I always carry a magnet in my pocket. You see after I decided that throwing things would be the winning strategy, the first thing I grabbed out of my pack and threw was not a can of food but my compass. When my compass hit metal Steve it broke and Steve collapsed to the ground.
What the hell? How did my compass kill that thing? I hit it with my machete and nothing, but being struck by a little compass causes it to break apart. While I am trying to understand what just happened I cautiously approach the remains of the golem formerly known as Steve. I cautiously reach out with my foot and nudge the Steve pile. As soon as I touch it another green box appears in front of me.
“Congratulations on finishing your first challenge. Results will be tallied at the end of the beta test and applied to surviving characters at that time.”
Chapter 3: Goodbye Steve.
Well at least I know Steve died for a good cause, my survival and future stats. Now what exactly happened here? As I start to go through the rubble that once was Steve the Metal Golem I noticed that besides my broken compass and my machete there is a small white box with a red medical cross on it. Where did that come from. I know, it must be loot! My very first drop in the game is in front of me. I am so excited what could it be? As I open the box I see three red pills and a note. The note was just a description telling me that these are light healing pills. Well no time like the present to try these out, my arm still hurts.
I pop a pill and wash it down with some water. A warm feeling rushes through my body. My arm doesn’t hurt anymore. That’s great! These pills are quick and efficient. I need to keep these easily accessible. After placing them in my front pocket I reach down to retrieve my machete. As I pick it up I try and wipe it clean. Huh, pieces of Steve are sticking to my machete almost as if they were magnetic. That’s it, I know what happened.
I remember the box at the beginning of the challenge. It read, “Like calls to like and anything else is useless.” Steve wasn’t a metal golem; he was a magnetic golem. When my compass broke the magnetic needle must have impacted him. This wasn’t a battle challenge, it was a riddle and preparedness challenge. Are all the challenges like this? I only beat Steve through sheer dumb luck. However, armed with my new knowledge I might actually have a chance.
Fully healed and feeling good about myself I looked around the now empty underground chamber. Some obvious changes had occurred. There are now four new passages leading out, each with an inscription above it. Passage #1 says trial 2 in red letters, passage #2 also says trial 2 in blue letters, passage #3 says trial 2 in white letters, and the final passage #4 has a glowing exit sign above it.
Alright calm down, this seems a little too easy. I just happen to beat a deadly golem through sheer luck and now I can go home. I need to think about this first. I quickly set up a little camp/rest area as best I can. I have 72 hours to finish the beta test and I have only used less than 5 hours. Why would they give me three days unless they felt it was necessary? Maybe in the past some participants just refused to move and the time limit is so the person or being in charge does not have to wait for them to starve to death or die of thirst. Somehow a feeling comes to me that this is the correct reason.
Since I have used very little of my time here and already passed the first challenge I decide to take a nap. I want to make sure I am fully rested and that the healing pill has worked completely before I make a decision on which path to take next.
I blink my eyes awake and check my watch. It has been just over an hour since I laid down for my impromptu nap. Other than a slight pain in my back from sleeping on the ground I feel pretty good. I open my non-magical med kit and wash down a couple of generic pain pills for my back. How cool is it that I can say this? I have a magical and non-magical medical kit. Focus, a decision needs to be made. I am pretty sure that since I have calmed down and rested I can make a good one. In the beginning the blue box said I had to clear the dungeon or reach an exit.
I am fairly confident that an exit will appear after each challenge is complete. Steve the golem told me that if I defeated him I would receive the blessing of the earth. From all of the fantasy novels I have read this most likely means I will have access to earth magic or its equivalent in the new world. I wonder if that means I can earn access to other types of magic if I continue the challenges. That seems logical.
Each of the new passages have the same message but are different colors, red, blue, and white. That may be a hint to which type of magic element that they correspond too. Since I have already earned the blessing of the earth the simplest explanation would be red=fire, blue=water, and white=air. I need to remember though that the earth challenge was part riddle and used an obscure part of earth, namely magnets and magnetic force for the challenge. Is it even worth risking my life for more magic or should I just get out of here while I can?
If this beta test is just a minor example of the new world, then I need to be as strong as possible in order to help out my friends and family. Alright my decision is made, I am going to try for another element, but which one? Air is always portrayed as the opposite of Earth and Fire and Water are often linked as being opponents. I think I will skip Air for now. It seems best that I try for one of the other elements.
Which one would be the most beneficial to me. Earth is often listed as a great protector, usually strong in defense. I need something for offense. As much as I would like to just hide in a bunker and hope this all goes away there are two major problems with that strategy. First and foremost is that I do not own a bunker to hide in and secondly no matter how good at hiding I am eventually I would have to come out for food or water. Better to be prepared form the beginning than be completely clueless after a year or two of hiding.
Fire destroys. Fire is always portrayed as an element of destruction. If I can get fire magic to complement my earth magic I should have my basics covered. The red tunnel it is. I need to pack everything up and prepare as best I can for my nest challenge. The longer I wait the more I may question my decision. Let’s do this.
Chapter 4: Fire Burns
Alright what can I do to make sure I am ready for this challenge. It will obviously have something to do with fire, but it may be only a certain aspect of it. Let’s see what I have. Keep the health pills in my front pocket for emergencies. I also have matches and candles. These both have potential to be needed in the fire test so into the other pocket they go. Hold the machete in my hand so I don’t have to touch anything hot with my bare hand. Finally, I check my water bottle. It is about half full. That should put out or bring down a small fire. OK I am as ready as I can be.
I walk towards the passage with the glowing red letters that read trial 2. No turning back now. As I enter the passage the walls start to glow red and the temperature starts to rise. It seems that I am at least right about which element this is going to represent. Up ahead I see an entrance to what looks like another chamber. It looks almost identical to the entrance to the chamber I took the Earth challenge in.
Now is the time to be cautious. Just like before I slowly approach the entrance as sneakily as I can. I can understand dying in a challenge, especially against magic monsters, but if I get killed for something stupid like not examining an area carefully for obvious traps or hazards I will never forgive myself. I cautiously peer into the next chamber. It looks just like the previous test taking chamber. In fact it might be identical. The only difference that I see is that the walls are glowing red and are not metallic. The temperature is also much higher here. Seeing nothing suspicious I start to walk into the chamber. Just as before as soon as I cross into the room a blue box pops up,
“Welcome to your second challenge. There is no escape until it is complete. Remember sometimes confronting a being with its own mortality is more advantageous than actually killing it yourself.”
Fantastic another riddle, at least this time I know that killing whatever shows up is either A) not a good idea, B) Impossible, or C) All of the above. What is going to show up this time? Across the chamber the wall starts to flicker like firelight. A golem of fire starts to step out of the wall. Seriously, is this just a copy paste of the last challenge with a new riddle and element? If so this might be easier than I first thought. Aww crap I just jinxed myself didn’t I?
Quickly, I need to solve this riddle before this new golem, let’s call him Bob, turns me into a crispy critter. Why does my mind always start to wander when I am in a dangerous situation? Is it a coping mechanism? Focus! What could scare or show a golem of fire its own mortality. Mortality reminds me of death. What is left after a fire dies? Ashes!
I need to show this golem some ashes. I fumble in my pocket for my matches. I don’t want to take my eyes off this golem for even a second. How come it is just standing there? Wait a second it kind of looks like it is moving its arms back. Is it stretching? Suddenly Bob’s arms snap forward and 2 glowing balls of fire are heading straight for my head. I flop to the ground in my best imitation of dodging. The two fireballs impact the wall beside me. Man that was close. I need to finish this before Bob starts too, ITS RAISING ITS ARMS AGAIN ALREADY? Cut a fat man a break.
I get to my feet as quick as I can. Bob’s arms snap forward once again. Four! There are four fireballs this time. Were two flaming balls of death not good enough? Two fireballs are aimed at my head and two are aimed at where I flopped, I mean dodged, to the floor last time. Dang, I think this mean it will keep increasing the number of fireballs each time and each new set will go towards the direction I dodge. This means I need to finish this quick or I am going to run out of places I can dodge those burning orbs of doom.
I somehow manage to pull out my book of matches while dodging to the left this time. Close but no cigar Bob. As the fiery orbs of destruction strike the cave wall to my right I confidently strike a match and blow it out. I strike a heroic pose, or at least what I imagine a heroic pose looks like. I shout, “Look upon your doom Bob of the fire clan!” Umm… shouldn’t he be disappearing at this point? I know I got this riddle right. What am I missing? The magnet golem Steve broke apart as soon as the magnet touched him. That’s it, I need the ash to touch Bob. I throw the match with all my might right as Bob launches six burning spheres of ultimate crispiness.
As I scramble to the right to avoid certain death I watch my match travel all of about three feet before falling down to the ground. What an EPIC FAIL. Why did I think that would work? What do I do now? If I have to get that close to Bob, I am going to fry. I need something that will travel far enough that I won’t get burned. My candles, candles will definitely travel that far if I throw them.
I reach for one of my candles while starting to move diagonally to my left. A diagonal direction is just about my only option at this point. If I am lucky I might make it out of the fireball throwing pattern. Man am I out of shape. Bob looks like he is about ready to throw again. I hope I get the timing of this right. As eight different flaming orbs of destruction start to spread out, I try and do a forward combat roll. Man those guys on T.V. make this seem so easy, they never talk about how much it hurts your shoulder to do one of these on hard ground.
One of Bob’s fireballs just grazes my foot, blistering my heel. It burn’s! Ignore it, I have to finish this. I light a match and hold it to the candle wick. Come on, come on light you stupid thing. Finally, it catches fire. I quickly blow it out and throw it at Bob the fire elemental. Direct hit, and poor Bob is now just a pile of ashes on the floor of the cave.
I open up the healing pill box I received from beating Steve the Magnificent Magnet Man, popped my 2nd pill, and relished in the warm glow of its curative power. Now that I have healed up my injuries it is time for every gamer’s favorite action, checking out the loot. I walk up to the ash pile Bob left behind. Let’s see if this is the same as last time. I cautiously touch the ashes, and as soon as I do another blue box appears.
“Congratulations on finishing your second challenge. Results will be tallied at the end of the beta test and applied at that time. As a bonus for being the first human on Earth to pass two challenges in the beta test of the GREAT GAME all previous results and memories of the beta test will be applied regardless of the outcome of the final two challenges.”
Well that message was different. It seems that aside from pain and suffering there is no downside to me continuing now. I get to keep my upgrades no matter what. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking forward to the next two challenges, but at least I know now I am getting a reward for my efforts no matter the outcome. I can think about this later, lets comb the ashes for the loot.
Oh shiny! What is that? As I sift through the ashes of Bob I find what looks like a glowing ruby. What could this be? How can I find out? I know, Identify.
“Identify is not available during beta testing.”
Dang I forgot that commands are turned off. I need to make a mental note to check this thing as soon as Identify works. Worst case scenario is that I now have a ruby worth a lot of money, best case scenario is that I am now a proud owner of a magic gem.
Chapter 5: The End of Beta
Since I knew that I would get rewards no matter what happened not, the next two challenges almost seemed anti-climactic, just kidding. The next challenge I decided to tackle was the water element. Long story short, the water golem was poisoned. I defeated it with my water purifying tablets, but not before I almost drowned while simultaneously being poisoned. Not a fun experience. Luckily, or maybe by design, the loot drop for this golem was a small case with a green cross on it. The note inside said they were recovery pills that would remove abnormal statuses. Translation, it would cure the poison.
After the water golem I decided to take a break before trying the last challenge. I was down to a single health pill, two recovery pills, and was completely wiped out physically and mentally. After a nap, a meal, and making use of the little boy’s room on the far side of the cave I feel much better. Mental note to self, add toilet paper to bug out bag. Using a sock is not fun and now I only have one clean sock. Alright it is time to start the final challenge.
The last challenge element is Air. I have no idea what to expect on this one. If the golem is made out of air how would I even, see it? Would it glow? Will I need to breathe on it to kill it? Oh well let’s see what it actually is. As I entered the last challenge cavern the now familiar blue screen popped up.
“Welcome to your final challenge. There is no escape until it is complete. Remember like calls to like and anything else is useless.”
Great it is a repeat of challenge one. I am going to have to get close enough to breathe on this thing which means it is going to be able to hurt me bad. I stare that the wall waiting for the air golem to step out. All of the sudden the wall starts to crackle and spark. That is no air golem! God damn you screwed up game logic. That’s a lightning golem. OK don’t panic, do I even have anything that can beat that thing?
I am running out of time, it’s already started the standard if you beat me blah blah get the blessing speech. Think Mark think. What is lightning? Lightning is a collection or movement of electrons, its energy, and its fast, do I have anything that matches that description? My train of thought is interrupted by the sight of a miniature lightning bolt heading my direction. I don’t have time to dodge and my machete being metal takes a direct hit. I start twitching in pain from the residual electrical effects that arced into my body.
That could have ended much worse if the metal in the machete had not attracted the lightning bolt and the rubber grip helped to partially insulate me. Wait, electricity is the answer. I do not know if this screwed up GREAT GAME will acknowledge my brilliance. Only one way to find out. I take out my flashlight as quick as I can and start to open it up. Please let this work. As soon as the batteries hit my hand I toss them at the lightning golem. Too late it launched another bolt at me before they could reach it. The last thing I remember before blacking out is severe pain, and falling towards the floor.
Uhh, why do I hurt so bad? Did I sleep wrong? What is that smell? I slowly blink my eyes awake. Hanging in front of me is one of those stupid blue boxes. I guess it wasn’t just a bad dream.
“Congratulations on finishing the elemental trials beta test. All bonuses and reward will be tallied and applied when the user exits the beta testing area. Thank You for playing the GREAT GAME.”
As soon as I finish reading the notice the box disappears. Wow, I survived. From the way I feel it must have been a close thing, and what is that awful smell. It smells like a combination of bacon, sewage, and burnt hair. Oh wait that’s me. I must have lost control of my bowels after that last big shock. Thank god I keep a change of clothes in my bug out bag.
After cleaning myself up as best I can and swallowing my last healing pill I feel like a new man, or at least one that can function long enough to get home. I stumble over to where I last saw that stupid lightning golem. I mean seriously, I know that lightning happens in the sky which is full of “air” but that sucked. What is that? Bonus, there is both a red cross box and a glowing white gem. I collect everything and repack in preparation for going home.
There it is, the final passage with the glowing EXIT sign above it. I can finally leave this place, rest up, think and plan what I’m going to do next. I walk through cautiously, afraid that I will be sent somewhere other than back home. There is the screen I want to see,
“Transport back to Earth will commence in 3..2..1..”
My couch, never have I been so happy as to see my couch. As I collapse onto the couch I see another blue screen,
“Final results of the beta test have been calculated. Surviving participants will be able to check their status after all body modifications have been made.”
