Neo 01 biomancer 1, p.1
NEO-01. Biomancer 1, page 1
part #1 of New Era Online Series
Biomancer
BOOK 1
– A New Era Online series –
SHEMER KUZNITS
Biomancer
A self-published book by Shemer Kuznits
Copyright © 2021
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Prologue
1 - At All Costs
2 - New Character
3 - Metamorphosis
4 - Interlude: FIVR Lab
5 - Socializing
6 - Getting Acquainted
7 - Tinkering
8 - Wargicide
9 - Big Game Hunting
10 - Late Night Meetings
11 - Shrining
12 - Interlude: Elders
13 - Un-deathless
14 - Fleeting Moments
15 - Boarlike
16 - Utah Danger
17 - Villaging
18 - Interlude: FIVR Lab
19 - Nature's Wrath
20 - Colonizing
21 - Leeching
22 - Reflection
23 – Pushing On
24 - Preparations
25 - Poaching
26 - Loyalties
27 - Uber Clash
28 – True Nature
AUTHOR’S NOTE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Welcome to Biomancer, a new series in the New Era Online universe.
Chronologically, the events depicted in this book occurs after Life Reset ends, but can be read separately. That said, those who read my other series, will find small hints and easter eggs that connects the two plots.
I’d like to thank all the readers who helped make this book better: JD Williams, Jason, Ezben, Florian, Jovani.
I also want to thank Nadav, Chris, and Colin whose many helpful suggestions touched every part of this book.
A special thanks to all my patrons over at Patreon. Your continued support and encouragement have helped me push on through the hurdles.
Prologue
The young man panted as he continued to run, to flee from the menace that chased him.
This virtual world he had been trapped in was a warped version of its former self. Players were now at the wrong end of the food chain, easy prey to monsters and NPC alike.
Fleeing was the only thing that made sense to him anymore.
He had been running for so long, he had forgotten what it felt like to be in control. Amgosh, his original character—a reasonably capable, level 60 thunder mage—was lost to memory. The catastrophic event that had upturned the game world and sentenced him, along with many others, to this waking nightmare, left him as a pitiful level 1 character who had to constantly flee to escape the pain. Pain, not death. Life was cheap in NEO these days. Dying was nothing but a short reprieve from the constant torture.
He had to keep running.
“Come out come out wherever you are,” the sadistic voice spoke behind him. A figure no taller than a child jogged lightly behind, his voice teasing. “Now be a good little traveler and come to receive your punishment. I’ll even show kindness and let you keep the first star ... if you manage not to scream before you die.”
The young man’s eyes filled with horror. He had been down this road before. No matter how far he ran and how well he hid, he was always found… and punished. All rational thoughts evaporated, replaced with a feral need to escape. The woods around the isolated homestead were filled with monsters, but the young man didn’t care. Gnashing teeth and rending claws was a much preferable alternative to what the voice behind had in store for him.
He just had to keep running.
This time would be different. This time he would make it.
And this time… he did.
Far, far in the distance, lightning flashed, seemingly tearing the skies apart.
“YOU SHALL NOT REACH THE CONDUIT!” A booming voice filled the air as an instant later a huge, angelic figure with gold armor and white wings appeared out of the newly formed rift and dove straight down to the far horizon.
A second huge figure then emerged, that of a radiantly powerful old man, his huge face visible even through the distance, his expression calm. “You are too late, Shiva. Your reign is over.”
The angelic being, Shiva, lifted his radiant sword, hundreds of meters long, and with a cry of fury, he charged the other gigantic figure. His feet caused the ground to rumble, and his beating wings left hurricanes in his wake.
The older man raised one arm, his expression still calm. “Be at peace, my son.”
The huge sword rushed down with tremendous power, its magical aura lighting up the sky. It stopped dead as it reached the older man’s open palm. The powerful blow caused a shockwave that erupted out from the two figures, extending outward in a growing ring of devastation—a tsunami of earth and rock that claimed everything in its path.
The young man stopped, his breathing ragged. He managed to whisper only two words, his eyes filling with hope at the incoming wave of destruction: “Thank you.”
Then the whole world exploded, leaving nothing behind.
After what felt like an eternity, the young man opened his eyes.
1 - At All Costs
I walked into a white, sterile room that looked identical to the other ones I’d passed in this high-end recovery facility. Moving closer to the single hospital bed, I gazed down at my brother’s immobile form. Gideon looked frail and thin, skin pale. His eyes, sunken and larger than they should have been, stared vacantly at the ceiling.
“Giddy?” I asked softly, putting my hand on the top of his head, ruffling his hair slightly.
His empty eyes didn’t seem to register the touch.
I moved my gaze to the nurse who led me inside, feelings of turmoil and cold anger bubbling up to the surface.
“How long has he been like this?”
The woman gulped nervously as her eyes met mine.
I berated myself internally. I’d inadvertently used my ‘commanding officer’ voice, which was only slightly better than my ‘questioning a prisoner’ one. That wasn’t good. The nervous woman had done nothing wrong. She was the kind of person my line of work was supposed to protect. “... Ma’am,” I added, trying to rectify the situation.
“Ahem.” The nurse’s eyes darted around as if searching for someone else to answer the question, but it was just the two of us next to my brother’s bed. “He was mostly fine … at first. There were obvious signs of lingering trauma, but he was responsive and reactive. He had constant nightmares, though, and as time passed by, he became more reclusive … retreating more and more into himself. The experience he underwent started to get to him despite our best efforts. He was prescribed strong antidepressants and received some of the best psychological therapy money could buy, but he refused to open up about the ordeal he went through. Whatever happened to him during that … incident was more profound than we’d first estimated. And his condition kept getting worse.”
The incident. I snorted. Calling a catastrophic failure that caused the imprisonment of thousands of players inside a virtual reality world ‘an incident’ was a monumental understatement. It had been two years since the trapped players were finally freed, after having been trapped for sixteen days—14 months from their perspective—in NEO.
New Era Online was the biggest virtual game up to that point in time, hosting tens of millions of players at any given moment. I was on a long-term mission behind enemy lines at the time the incident occurred, fighting and eliminating high-profile targets, so I was somewhat out of the loop. When I finally got word that Gideon, my young brother, was one of the imprisoned players, it was too late for me to return to help rescue him. Someone else had already done the deed.
I had failed him. Again. My eyes narrowed as the memories of the last time it happened came rushing back at me.
***
“John!”
I could hear my brother’s steps outside in the corridor of our parents’ house, the hurried pace indicating he was heading toward my room. And, sure enough, he barged in without knocking.
“I’m kinda busy training, you little rascal,” I said. I had my new karate outfit on, and I was just inspecting the fit—and my muscles—in front of the mirror. Luckily, Gideon’s noisy approach gave me plenty of time to step back and appear serious.
“But I was playing Magic the Gathering with my friends at the park, and a couple of bigger kids came over and just took them. The cards, not my friends.”
I groaned. “Again with that nerd crap. Man, I told you already, if you play that out in the open, you’re looking for trouble.”
“But we were just playing by ourselves; we didn’t bother anyone.” His eyes were starting to tear up.
I sighed. Giddy might have been a nerd, but he was my nerd, the person I cared the most for in this world.
“Fine.” I sighed and ruffled his hair, causing him to perk up. “Who were these guys?”
“I’m not sure.” He wiped his tears and started to smile as he looked up at me. He knew I had his back. “Bigger boys, from your school, I think. I don’t know their names.”
Our schools were adjacent. Giddy was a 4th grader while I was in the 8th, meaning whoever bullied him was probably smaller than me. Seeing as I already had my karate gi on, I figured scaring a couple of kids
off my brother would be easy enough. It had been a while since I had to do it. Most students knew better. “Fine, let’s go.”
The park was close to our home, so we arrived after a few minutes’ walk.
“There they are.” Giddy pointed at a laughing trio, then looked at me, his young face filled with anticipation for his ‘heroic’ brother to save the day.
“Crap,” I muttered as I realized who he had pointed out. Donny, Mark, and Imray were all ex-football players in the same grade as me. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but those three were trouble, staying another year instead of moving on to highschool, which meant they were older and bigger than me.
Giddy stared at me, his eyes wide. “You’ll tell them to give us our cards back, right?”
The trio had seen my brother pointing at them. They exchanged predatory grins and started walking toward us. I was stuck. I couldn’t back down now, my little brother had put me on the spot and was counting on me, but the simple stern intimidation act I had planned on was out of the question.
“Hey, John.” Mark smirked at me then glanced at Giddy. “You know this pipsqueak?”
I nodded stiffly. “He’s my brother.”
“What’s with the fancy suit?” Imray asked, tugging at my karate gi. “You know kung fu or something?”
“Karate, actually, third rank.”
“Whatever, man. A bunch of these kids got some sweet stuff. Wanna come help us expand our collection?”
I glanced down at Giddy who hid behind me. “Actually, I’d like you to return the cards you’ve taken from him.”
Donny laughed. “Come on, man, you know the drill. That’s not how it works. Why don’t you take a walk?” The atmosphere was starting to turn hostile.
“Just give him back his cards, man, and we’ll call it even.” I hated how placatingly my tone came out. I wasn’t afraid of a fair fight, but this was just asking for a beating.
“Or what?” Mark closed in on me, shoving my shoulder.
I glanced down at Giddy. He was only six years old; he didn't understand the stakes. He just knew I was his bigger brother, the one he counted on to put things right. To save him.
I took in a deep breath. “Or you and I will have trouble.”
The three burst out laughing. “Think yourself all mighty with those fancy karate pajamas, eh?” Imray said. He stepped closer, reaching to shove me while the other two closed in menacingly on my sides.
There was no backing out now. My best chance was to try and even up the odds. I grabbed his wrist and twisted it like I was taught. He fell to his knees with a cry of pain, and I kneed him in the chest, strong enough to cause him to fall onto his back.
Mark and Donny were already jumping at me. They tackled me to the ground like the pair of seasoned football players they were. I fell hard, and they started kicking and punching me.
I could have taken any one of them standing up, but karate wasn’t made for fighting on the ground. I tried to kick them back at first, but it was no good. They had all the advantage over me, and they kept me down with continued blows. All I could do was just curl up and protect my head.
They left me alone after a while, and I was forced to drag my beaten body back to the house, my split lip bleeding all the way.
Gideon walked behind me, silent, his dumbfounded expression saying it all.
I’d failed him in the worst way possible. I vowed to not ever do that again.
***
It had been nearly twenty years since that incident. I’d eventually gotten the three assholes back, catching each one of them alone—once I recovered from my injuries—and put the fear of God into them. Imray needed his jaw reset once I finished with him. I got a two-week suspension for that, but I had no regrets. The assholes earned it.
I learned from the experience, taking up jiu-jitsu and judo to make sure I’d know how to handle myself in similar situations in the future. Whatever I needed to do to make sure Giddy would never have to see his brother down like that again. Whatever I needed to do to make sure I would always be the one dishing out the beating.
And though the situation was now different, looking down at my motionless brother, I found the same old feeling of inadequacy bubbling up to the surface. Helplessness, failure, all the things I vowed not to ever experience again.
My nails dug into the palms of my clenched fists. I was his big brother. It was my job to protect him, and I had failed. I’d always been the bigger, more aggressive one. My brother was the quiet, nerdy type who always needed my protection. I had watched over him from birth through high school, even caught his after-school work boss for a ‘chat’ when I found out he was being a bully. But I couldn’t protect him forever. While Gideon loved computers, books, and everything nerd-related, I drifted the other way, turning into a more physical, brutal lifestyle.
Gideon’s dull eyes widened suddenly, and his voice came out loud and clear, almost feverish. “The seven stars! They all die at the seven stars!”
He thrashed and shouted other nonsense. I took his hand with one of mine and squeezed it tightly while the nurse hurried to his side, upping the dose on his IV. Gideon’s thrashing eased as he sunk back into the bed, his eyes returning to their lusterless gaze.
With an effort, I forced my other palm to open. The nails had dug into the flesh, leaving red marks. I should have been there for him, I berated myself, though I knew it wasn’t that simple. Gideon was going places; he’d gotten accepted into an Ivy League college and was doing well. He no longer needed me to watch over him. That was good since I’d also gone on a new path in life. Finding no better outlet for my constant itch to physically unleash, I’d eventually drifted into joining the army. The experience was a positive one. Finally, I found an outlet to express myself. The army’s rigid rules gave shape and meaning to my life, and I took to them easily. After I finished my four years of obligatory service, I signed on to a special forces unit whose sole purpose was to stop terrorist-funding activities abroad. It usually involved being dropped into enemy territory for months at a time, with limited external communication and resources.
Despite the harsh conditions and the danger, I excelled at my new role, putting one threat down after the other. The army had taught me to think. To act. And to kill. And I was good at it. Some of my teammates didn’t return home after some of our missions, but I craved danger, always seeking to test my abilities, leading my squad from one engagement to the next like a vengeful angel, which had earned me my callsign. As much satisfaction and structure I received from my service, there was also a price to pay. Once word reached me about my brother’s deteriorating mental state, it had still taken me several months before I was able to get a transfer back home to visit. Now, staring at the person lying in front of me, I’d barely recognized my gaunt sibling.
I should have been here for him. I could have helped him recover from the ordeal he went through. Gideon was never mentally robust. It was no surprise that being imprisoned like that, treated god knows how by these wretched AI’s, had been more than he could handle.
I gritted my teeth and organized my thoughts. Losing control was never the answer. When things needed fixing, you made a plan and you went on fixing them—no matter the cost. If years of military service had taught me anything, it was that fighting was just the last step. You had to pick your battles, plan out the strategy in advance, and you had to have clear knowledge of what your goals were.
“Ah, Mr. Slater, glad you could finally join us,” a haughty voice came from the doorway.
I turned to see a short man in a doctor’s coat enter the room. I was taught to show respect to my fellow brothers in service and the civilians we fought to protect, so I tempered my response despite my feelings. “I got here as soon as I could.”
“I see,” the doctor said flippantly. “Well, your brother has been in our care for six months now, but … oh well.”
I scowled at him. The snooty doctor was quickly losing the respect I was supposed to hold for him.
The nurse, probably sensing my temper, budged in, “Doctor Romanov, Mr. Slater has just asked me for an update about his brother’s condition.”
