If I walked on, would every opening fire at me? Only some? Each strike would cost me. I’d last longer if I brought my shield up only when necessary, but while there’d been ample warning of that first shot, I couldn’t be guaranteed of more.
Juggling caution and risk, I decided to make a small skid. It would require a good share of my attention to maintain my balance, but the Pocket training had at least given me plenty of practice maintaining two lan shields at the same time, and I thought I could manage it. The sick feeling in my stomach came from anticipation of the next strike, and because I didn’t know how well I’d manage maintaining the skid while being blasted. Time to focus on speed, and….Go!
Not every opening fired at me as I whizzed along, but more than enough did. Two hit. The first strike taught me that my strategy had not factored in that backward step after impact, or what low gravity would mean to skidding. I catapulted into the wall, bounced off, and ricocheted toward the opposite side. Desperately shifting balance, I skidded into the curve of the tunnel, saw that it went on for at least another bend, and was hit again. My second ping pong performance was a little more controlled, and I came around the next curve to see an end point that arrived even as I recognised it.
Zipping out into a small cavern with a single exit, I managed to drop my skid while maintaining the doughnut shield, and paused, gasping, to see if anything else was going to happen.
Gauntlet Successful.
Gauntlet Success Rate: 2/2 100%
Challenge Success Rate: 2/3 66.6%
Lux Points Earned: 5
Total Lux Points: 17
Challenge Reward:
[Tier 1 Consumable Pattern]
I let my shield drop, and wiped my face, then leaned against the nearest wall because my heart was still in overdrive.
Some focused breathing later, I had enough spare to say: "Did I surprise you?"
[[That’s one word for it.]] Dio’s voice brimmed with mirth. [[Most Bios just put up a shield and sprint.]]
"When they can’t see how long the tunnel is? What’s the success rate of the Challenge?"
[[Stage One? That rather depends on who is attempting it. Fresh-out-of-the-Enclave Bios like you run to around 50%. Most of you lack either the strength, or sufficient practice in shield maintenance, and usually only succeed by attempting it in groups. It’s not particularly difficult for higher ranked Bios.]] Te paused, then added. [[You did surprise me: I expected you to fail this because you don’t have the strength as yet. You made up for it with fine control and adaptability.]]
"Is fine control valued in the same way as strength?"
[[No, but it is useful—particularly for more advanced lan constructs. The ideal is a combination of both, of course.]]
I had recovered enough to start down the exit, discovering a return to the narrower type of tunnel.
"Would you like to motivate me to keep on surprising you?" I asked.
[[I am always open to surprises. What do you propose?]]
"If I survive the next gauntlet as well, you answer three questions. With whatever level of honesty you’re actually capable of mustering."
[[I can’t give you main game spoilers, sadly. And anything I say about secret plans or real purposes will be a lie.]]
"Three questions about you, then. The you who is playing the role of Dio the fledgling, whenever Dio isn’t a construct."
[[Hm. For that…if you complete the entire Challenge series without dying, then yes, three questions about me.]]
The little spark of hope kindling in my chest fizzled to ash. That was an extremely high bar to get over.
"Can I die doing other things?"
[[Almost certainly. But, yes, that won’t invalidate the bet—and I won’t stack the odds against you. Though you’re only allowed to group with other players—no power-levelling with a high ranking NPC.]]
"We can do that?"
[[Depends on your powers of persuasion. What do I get out of our bet, should you fulfil my expectation of ignominious death?]]
"What did you get out of throwing a storm at me?"
[[But the storm was my idea. Matching stakes will do. You can answer three questions about you.]]
"Being a not-an-AI, I’m astonished you don’t know everything about me already."
[[Most things. So is it a bet?]]
Most things? I tried not to let my reaction to that show on my face, and then wondered at the futility of hiding anything in this game where we weren’t even sure our minds were our own. Then I shrugged.
"Sure."
28
pick up group
My tunnel opened up again into what I guessed was a staging ground: an airy cavern, well-lit, with various facilities dotted around: eating areas, lavatories, and a wall of sleeping pods. To my left I caught a glimpse of the big tram-thing leaving from a platform, having deposited a little crowd of arrivals.
"So this is really a group quest?"
[[At your Rank.]]
"Planning on telling me that after I died, huh?"
[[Planning on telling you that if you asked.]]
"Hmph. How big can the groups be?"
[[Up to five Bios.]]
"What about this Prestige Challenge? Is it group as well?"
[[Yes, it can’t be done solo. Minimum of three, maximum of five.]]
"And does it have, like, a recommended Rank or something?"
[[Eight would be a good Rank to aim for before heading there, and it has a maximum of twelve. It’s the System Challenge.]]
"That means?"
[[Most inhabited star systems have one Prestige Challenge that is considered the pinnacle of that system: the most difficult, complex or rewarding. And with intake systems like this, there will be Rank caps to prevent higher-ranked Bios assisting. System Challenges usually have multiple Challenge lines that can be used to qualify, so you can qualify for it anywhere in the system. They’re rarely, if ever, completed by the first to attempt them. Some take thousands of attempts. Most Challengers will hang back to view the attempts of others, rather than rush in blind, but they risk missing the chance to attempt the Challenge at all, for a new Challenge will be devised if the current is defeated.]]
"Wait, what do you mean view?"
[[Many lan Challenges are broadcast—you can find links in the social menus.]] Dio chuckled. [[If you truly want to discover our secrets, players who win the System Challenge will be given a 'boon'—a very open-ended reward that could oblige much more truth than I’d normally give.]]
Dio’s tone made clear that te thought there was little chance, and I was too aware of the growing player count to make a boastful response.
"Is the System Challenge on Mars or Earth?"
[[Neither. I would recommend brushing up on zero-G manoeuvres.]]
Zero-G manoeuvres sounded far more fun than tunnels that shot at you, but I couldn’t regret Mars, and briskly got down to the business of working out what next. A little food and rest were first point of order. After sitting down with a tray, I turned all my social options back on, and read through my guild’s in-game forums.
Five guildies had beaten me to space. A handful were already ranked in the sevens and eights. The forums had a thread on the System Challenge, which was called The Wreck. I was the only Corpse Light member on Mars.
After chatting for a while with Vasharda and Amelia, I searched out DS' party finder, then paused. "How would me gaining five or six Ranks before trying the rest of the Challenge series affect our bet?"
[[It would greatly increase the percentage of lie in my response.]]