Knights Crossing

The virtual dungeon Jay entered was different than he would've thought. Styled after an old Rogue like game, he started at the beginning of a labyrinth on floor zero with his stats reset to zero. He then had to talk to a merchant, who would give him a free starter weapon, a class of sorts, and a map for that floor's labyrinth that disappeared after thirty seconds.

Then after that, it's just a game of trying to remember the right corridor to take to get to the boss at the end of the floor. After which you could go up another floor and repeat the process. This time with the merchant offering higher quality goods.

There were twenty floors. And hundreds of corridors to choose from on each one. Some had monsters. Others had mini bosses. A few had traps or timed puzzles and fewer had rewards or healing stations.

If one played the game normally, they would probably memorize a route for the first few rooms before the map disappeared and get lost halfway into the actual game. Forcing them to choose corridors off of luck till they either stumbled upon a reward room or a mini boss, who would as a rule always drop another map fragment as part of his loot.

That was the nice thing that could happen.

But realistically.

They'd probably just wander around till they got bored and quit or died and had to restart. Since that would give them another chance to look at the map.

Or they could just be Ryu.

In which case, all they had to do was start wandering through monster rooms, aimlessly, until eventually getting to the end based on pure skill alone. And without a single lick of damage taken.

That was Ryu's method.

Jay's was a little more sophisticated.

"Hey system." Jay asked as soon as he got in. "You were able to remember the layout of campus just based on the other guy's memories. Right?"

[That is correct.] The system said, [Although I wouldn't be able to take you to parts of campus Jay hadn't explored. Since I would have never seen it.]

"But if you see it you'll be fine."

[Yes.]

"And you won't forget it."

[Not unless you order me to.]

"So if I showed you a map, would you be able to remember it?"

[Yes.] the system answered instantly. [I might need a couple seconds to process it but afterwards I should be able to recall it perfectly. Why do you... Oh.]

"This is gonna be the easiest game of my life."

And it was. It was the easiest game of his life. He opened the map the merchant gave him, let the system scan it, and watched the map go poof thirty seconds later. After which he just let the system guide him through reward rooms, healing rooms, even a few puzzles to pass the time.

Basically, anything where Jay didn't have to fight, they went through.

And by the end of it, Jay was loaded with so much virtual loot and equipment his back hurt from carrying all of it.

"Don't you just love gaming." He grinned as he sat atop a chest of gold coins. Glancing at the lavish vault like room they'd wandered into. The room right before the boss room, guarded by a giant red gate and torches that flickered and flashed.

It was menacing...

But also pretty hard to take seriously when Jay was swimming in gold coins.

"I'm rich. Rich I say!" Jay laughed as his system seemed to sigh. Giving the dreaded '...' message, before saying. [I wouldn't relax if I were you. We still have the floor's boss to deal with.]

"Oh, yeah. That." Jay sighed, leaning his head back as he grumbled, "Thanks for ruining the mood."

[You're welcome.] the system said, apparently not getting the point of sarcasm. Before it started doing an analysis on their possible options.

[After collecting all the points available on this floor without entering any monster rooms, we still only have 4,000 coins which translates to 3,400 points. Assuming there is a reward for completing a floor, we would need to get to at least floor ten to meet the 50,000 goal.] the system frowned. [So you have to defeat the boss. With very little chance of success.]

"Really?" Jay glanced down at his light armor as he rested his iron spear on his shoulders. "I feel like the gear I got is pretty good."

[Your gear is fine but your stats are abysmal.] the system said. [Everything reset to zero, remember. If you want to increase them enough to handle the boss you'll need to fight monster rooms. Maybe even a mini boss or two. They'll increase your stats.]

"How long will that take?" Jay frowned.

[Probably another hour.]

"That'll take too long." Jay sighed, glancing at the boss door as he asked. "Hey. If I die here will I keep the loot I have? Or will it disappear."

[I... do not know. I would assume it disappears.]

"Or it could be halved." Jay said, tapping his foot. "Some games did that in my old world."

[This isn't your old world.]

"It's not." Jay shrugged, lifting his hands on the gate as he shrugged. "But it's worth a shot."

[I wouldn't-] the system stopped as the gates opened, and Jay walked inside. A dark room with skulls on the walls. There was a circular arena where he could walk to, and in the middle was a giant amalgamation of rats. Tied by the tails and feasting on what looked like another human. Cool design.

[I hope you aren't actually planning on dying here.]

"Yeah, that was the plan." Jay shrugged. If he died and lost all his stuff that would suck. But if he kept half of it, even a quarter, he could restart and just speed run the other chest rooms. It might take a couple days instead of the hours he was planning, but it was better than trying to grind mobs.

Especially since the next floors would just keep getting harder and harder. Even if he did things the proper way he might not be skilled enough to win. So the best way to tackle this would be to have a reliable way to earn coins, even if it was tedious.

And milking the first floor's treasure rooms, dying, and repeating the process was as reliable as it gets.

"I'll just die to see how much coins we get to keep, and afterwards we can go through the reward rooms once they reset. Loses time now but saves it in the long run." Jay shrugged as he glanced at the system. "Why? Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

[There are many.] the system said, the two still conversing as the roar of the messed up rat monster echoed through the room and the back gates shut.

[The first being that it's lazy. And will only cheat you or combat experience in the future.]

"I'm not trying to have any combat experience in the future. Remember?"

[I am choosing to believe that is just a rebellious phase you are going through.] The system continued as Jay scowled. Clicking his tongue as he turned to the rat monster. His arm was still broken in the virtual world, so he had to hold his spear in one hand. Waving it around like a red flag to a bull.

"Come here stupid." Jay called as the rat monster turned its bloody head, many heads. And eight beady eyes landed on Jay's chest. Jay felt a shiver in his chest, and ignored it. Continuing his taunt as his system began explaining its various worries.

[The other reason you shouldn't do it is because you selected hardcore mode when you started. Since it offered the most coins in exchange for difficulty.]

"Yeah, I remember. Why does that matter?" Jay asked as the rat creature lifted screeched, dropping the half eaten corpse as it rushed tears. Jay forced himself to stand in the line of fire as the system kindly informed him of his major fuckup.

[From what I recall during the training simulations, hardcore in a Virtual dungeon is synonymous with the student's pain receptors set to standard levels.] the system said as Jay blinked. Dropping his spear as he turned to the system with wide eyes. If Jay had more time he would've tried to run.

[So when that thing rips you apart it's going to hurt just as much as it would in the real world.]

But by the time the system finished explaining, giant rat fangs dig into his chest, and Jay's body was ripped apart in bloody, meaty chunks.

.....

Ten minutes later, at a merchants camp, the spawn point of the game, Jay sat quietly and glared daggers at his system. Phantom pains racking his body as the system seemed to type something. Stop. Erase the message. Then type something else.

[I can now see that telling you about hardcore mode earlier might have been useful.]

"You think?" Jay growled, irritation creeping into his voice as the system glanced away sheepishly. Jay clicked his tongue, glancing around at the merchant camp with a slight sigh. This was bad. He'd already checked and as suspected, over 1/3 of his coins were

lost. Which was annoying, but manageable.

The next little surprise wasn't.

"Two lives left." Jay murmured as he looked at his statues window. Specifically altered to show that these were his stats for this game and not his real world stats. Courtesy of the virtual dungeons information and how it was displayed.

Name: Jay Haze

Age: 16

Current Virtual Dungeon: Knights Crossing (Hardcore)

Rank: G- (Modified)

Strength: G- (Modified)

Agility: G- (Modified)

Stamina: G-

Intelligence: G-

Mana Capacity: G-

Lives: 2/3

Coins: 1,200

Tutorial message: In virtual dungeons, ranks and stats can be lowered from real world levels but not raised. Therefore, should you reach your real world equivalent in game, any further experience from monsters will be translated to coins. All coins will be transferred to arcade points at end of your last life. Happy hunting, and good luck in Knights Crossing!

Jay read the message for the Knight's Crossing. Basically this dungeons version of an information tab in the player's settings. He read it, and cursed.

"Well we're fucked." Jay said. He really should've read that before he went into the maze but he hadn't thought to check. He was in a hurry back then.

And now he was kind of in a bind.

Only four hours left and this was looking like a dead end.

"Yeah I think we're screwed." He said, glancing at his system as he sighed. "Even if we do this two more times the best we'll get is around 3,000 coins. Which is less than 3,000 points. It'll probably take an hour each death, so 3 hours for less than 3,000 points. Total. I'll go broke before I get 50,000 at this rate."

[it might not be all bad.] the system said. [If you get your stats to match your real world equivalent, you could start earning coins on the monster rooms.]

Jay blinked, reading the last tutorial message again. He grinned. "Shit you're right. And since I'm such a low rank it'll probably take me, what? One life max to get it right. A couple monster rooms."

[I'd say five if we're lucky.] the system supplied. [Assuming we're generous.]

"Be as generous as possible. I just got diced by a rat."

[Then assuming we tack on income from monster rooms, that would most likely give you double income per floor. So after calculations that's 2,400 coins should you die at the boss room after clearing everything. Translating to 1,800 points per death.]

"So around 5,000 points every time I play this game till the end." Jay said, hand over his lips as he muttered. "That… that might be the best play. Even if I get to my real world stats, I can't see myself beating the boss monster. And even if I somehow did, the next floors would be harder."

[The other floors would be a step higher in difficulty, yes. So your death would be almost assured.] the system said. And Jay huffed. "Morbid much."

[I feel I am unbiased as I have been designed to be.].

"Sure. Whatever." Jay rolled his eyes. "Let's just go with your plan. I'll clear the treasure rooms first to get my coins and gear back, then get my stats to what they're supposed to be. After that we'll kill monster rooms till I die or get all the coins I can."

[You understand doing this successfully means you'll have to die to the boss monster again. The rat king.]

"That's what it's called?"

[Yes. It said so over its head. Most all monsters in these virtual dungeons do. Did you not notice it?]

"Yeah, pretty sure my eyes were too busy looking down its small intestines to notice." Jay clicked his tongue as the system's little face let out an 'oh' in realization and nodded. The two falling silent for a moment as the system seemed to get serious.

[My earlier question still stands. Will you be okay. You can quit this game whenever. Dying multiple times in such a gruesome way isn't healthy.]

"Yeah, but it pays well." Jay shrugged. Standing up as he held his spear in one hand. His arm was still broken, so he'd have to hope the enemies on the first floor were garbage. But if they were, and if he could kill them reliably, he'd make a decent chunk off this game. Enough to get that skill in a couple days.

Assuming he was willing to spend a little extra cash.

"Damn. Should I even go for it anymore." Jay sighed, looking at the cast on his arm. He'd wanted the skill because it could hide his injuries, and he still wanted it so he didn't have to walk around like a mummy, but that was back when medicine would've cost money. When it would've cut into his budget.

But now, he'd already been treated for free. So instead of looking like a bruised tomato, he just looked like he got into a car accident.

One was way easier to explain than the other.

"Might even get sympathy points." Jay snorted. He already had four hours booked so he'd use them, but afterwards, if he didn't think the skill was worth it, he'd ditch it.

He already spent 300U.

If he wasn't careful he'd spend all his money without having enough for rent. In which case he'd be playing a risky game of: 'can Jay find a job and a new place to stay before the 31st.'

And he really didn't want to play that game.

"Guess I'll figure it out after." Jay yawned as he stood up and looked towards the Maze. Taking his first step towards it before a hand grabbed his shoulder and held him in place.

"There you are." Someone said, and Jay turned back with a raised eyebrow. He saw a man, late fifties or early sixties probably. He had back hair, a grey beard, yellowish eyes, and a black Yukata.

"I've been looking for you." He said simply, and Jay tilted his head curiously. About to ask why before the system popped in front of his face with a silent but urgent warning. Written in bold letters and in all caps.

[BE CAREFUL! Jay saw this man at orientation! He's Dagon Brago! An S- class hero. Do not anger him!]

Jay blinked, a shiver running down his spine as the man, Dagon Brago, waved a hand through the blue holographic screen Jay was reading, as if dismissing it. Jay watched, throat dry, as the system left a last hurried message before vanishing. As if hiding from Dagon's eyes that glowed a golden hue.

[He's the headmaster at Voxx-] the system spat out before it was silent. Gone. Hidden with a wave of Dagon's hand as the man returned it to his sleeve and hummed. "I must say. It's rude looking at your status screen while someone is greeting you."

Jay blinked, rooted in place as the man picked his nails and murmured. "Regardless. I only came here to talk. So I'll make this quick." He said, and Jay tilted his head. Jay was… oddly awed. Scared shitless, yes. His body wouldn't stop shaking. But he also thought it was cool. This was the other guy's hero. And it wasn't hard to see why.

Every word he spoke was powerful.

And every syllable he uttered, felt like an order.

"Is there a reason you're looking to leave the academy?" Dagon said, and Jay felt obligated to comply. Plus, it seemed like he was genuinely curious. Maybe even eager. Looking through Jay with slit, reptilian-like yellow eyes. As if waiting for a flaw in his answer to latch onto and gnaw at and play with. Jay felt like he was under a microscope.

"Hm… that's a tough one… I guess…"

So when Jay answered, he answered truthfully.

"I'd just rather not fight monsters if I don't have to."

And so started the most confusing virtual dungeon game in the history of Voxx Academy's Arcade.