Server Shutdown

I've tried to explain Amoria Online to María and Ma, but they never seem to understand the concept of a Virtual Reality Massive Multi Online Role Playing Game, or VRMMORPG. These types of games have been around for a while, and Ma was probably around my age when the first ones became commercially popular back in the 20s. But she has never gotten along with technology, anyway.

Amoria Online was created by an artificial intelligence server, also known as Amo. The programmers set some parameters and fed Amo information based on the real planet Earth, its history and legends, and other role-playing games. The result was Amoria Online.

I had been playing it on and off before the flood, but once I realized how much money there was to be made by selling virtual things for real money, it became my job. After today's last update, Amoria will be left on its own to function like a real, self-sustaining virtual world. It will also be optimized for the VR headsets known as the Neural X.

The battle between Ma and María rages on in The Room. Someone sniffles, so I assume tears are now being shed. On my screen, Lobison is still there. The grass beneath his paws turns yellow and withers as he moves, oblivious to my presence. Before I settle on what strategy to use against him, a countdown appears in the middle of the screen in bold white letters.

FIVE MINUTES TO SERVER SHUTDOWN

I panic, knowing that the odds are against me. Lobison should be fought with a party of at least three players. A tank to take the hits, a damage dealer to bring him down quickly and a healer to take care of the other two players. But I play alone. I've got only two names on my friends list and one of them hasn't logged into the game in two years. My main class isn't ideal either.

I play as an Elemental Mystic, a class that is soft and squishy against physical attacks, and the strategy guides say Lobison has a mean bite. Right now I have another major disadvantage: my headphones don't work and if I raise the speakers' volume, my hideout will be compromised. Sound helps when the only strategy you've got is to run for your life. And if María hears that I'm awake, I'm doomed.

There's no time to analyze the terrain or plan a strategy, so I decide to just go with it. Other players may also show up at any moment, especially those with organized clans. I've seen them around the Antmound Grasslands from time to time, but they gave up on Lobison once they realized it was easier to monopolize the hunting grounds for the other creatures with predictable spawn times.

As I'm about to throw a slowing curse at Lobison, something made of glass crashes against the wall in The Room and shatters on the floor. I fear for Ma's physical integrity now that they've begun fighting with projectiles.

Whatever was thrown is likely one of the last crystal cups or ornaments we managed to recover from our home's wreckage, and I doubt it's Ma who threw it. Now Ma is yelling and crying, but I can't make out what she's saying between her sobs and the sound of a truck driving by.

I take a deep breath and set my attention on the screen. Lobison sits down and looks up at the sky. The moon is half full, like a white empanada casting a dim light over the land.

This is where I make my stand. In Amoria Online I'm not the human in shades of beige and brown, shack dweller and useless sister who plays videogames all day. Here I'm Stormborn, Elemental Mystic of the Sorgin race in shades of blue and grey, dressed to kill with a robe I crafted from some of the rarest materials in Amoria.

FOUR MINUTES TO SERVER SHUTDOWN

The notification acts as my cue, and I cast a slowing Lightning Shock that makes Lobison twist his head in my direction. His legs are tangled in a messy lightning storm, but he still manages to stride toward me pretty quickly. As I twist and flee, I cast two DOTS at him, hoping the damage over time spells do their work while I run as my life depends on it.

This is the only way I can kill him: by attrition. Unable to hear him, I run with only his health bar as my guide. It now shows that his life is going down steadily. The DOTS aren't fast, but they act like slow, potent poisons.

For a while, I have things under control. His health bar keeps going down as he chases me around the anthills.

THREE MINUTES TO SERVER SHUTDOWN.

It seems like three minutes won't be enough to bring him down. I need to buy time to throw some direct damage spells at him. Being the hoarder that I am, I have a large assortment of potions at my disposal. I reach for by bag and take out a speed potion, gulping it down as I dash away.

Then I turn to face him, intending to cast a lightning bolt, but I start lagging. The screen is frozen in place, and I almost curse out. Somehow, I manage to hold it in.

When the connection stabilizes some seconds later, Lobison has caught up, and he's right in front of me. I dodge a bite just in time and cast another DOT. With the realization that I've overestimated my capacity to kill Lobison on my own, I do the only thing a mystic should never do.

I decide to tank him.

I cast Water shield. Frost shield. Fire shield, and I am protected by multicolor bubbles, I know won't last. Lobison's rotten teeth snap at me and he lands a hit, destroying my Water Shield. I dodge his second bite, but I can't escape his decay aura that damages me just by being near him.

I cast Thunderous Rampage, which brings down his life from 35% to 25%, but now I must wait for the skill's cool down to reset. I jump to one side and another, back, up, dodging his attempts to stick his rotten teeth in me. Then another Thunderous Rampage brings his life to 18%.

Server warning: TWO MINUTES TO SERVER SHUTDOWN.

The Frost Shield goes down. I summon a fireball that surrounds Lobison, attracting his attention for a few seconds. I remember I have one last trick: my racial skills. I hadn't thought about using them because all the Sorgin's skills lower the user's life when used. But there's no time to be safe now. I cast Amortencia, lowering my life and his by 8%. My fireball fades and he turns to me again. He's down to 5%.

I've inadvertently done another thing a mystic should never do: I forgot to check my mana bar. All the skills I've thrown at him all use a lot of mana, and the blue bar on my interface is almost down to zero. I can only cast a basic shield with what's left.

Then I just start whacking him in the head with my staff like my mother does with the broom when she sees a cockroach, in a desperate and uncoordinated attempt to finish him off. The hits do little damage, but it's all I've got. My shield disappears in an instant and Lobison seizes me with his jaws. He chews on me, swinging me back and forth, and my screen begins to flash red, warning me that I'm dying.

THIRTY SECONDS TO SERVER SHUTDOWN.

"La puta!" I shout, and before I realize what I've done, someone pushes my door open.

My nose catches a whiff of María's strong perfume. I've been discovered. My hands tremble on the keyboard.

The gear I crafted for myself provides me with excellent mana regeneration, bringing it to 5% while Lobison chewed on me. I cast Amortencia again and Lobison drops me. He stumbles back and collapses on the floor. He's dead, with my own life down to 3%. The golden loot chest appears next to his corpse and I move to grab it but before I reach it, server shuts down.

A blue screen with the words SERVER MAINTENANCE UNDER WAY shows up on my screen.