Origin ARS 3 (Origin A.R.S.) (24 page)

He experimented with his skill and how he might synchronize it with his spells. He could use freeze and burn quite easily. Howling gale caused hard blasts of air to slam outward that pummeled whatever was directly in front of him. His water spells caused his punches to deviate unnaturally. After a few tries he realized that he had to use it like an uppercut. A short spiraling pillar of water erupted outward but it did not travel far.

“I think I see now...” Scott suspected that the true power of a sorcerer was not in the spells themselves. He would bet almost anything that a sorcerer was supposed to devote their training to synchronicity. What other classes had such ease of use with spells and abilities? Few to none had that sort of utility right out of the box.

“Not bad...” said a familiar and welcome voice. Scott turned and smiled at his lady love.

Rhea smiled softly at Scott as well. It was nice to see him train so hard. He smile faded a little, however. It was time that they had another talk about the future, and it was not a fun topic.

Scott noticed her fading smile and he walked over to her. “What’s wrong?”

She tried to smile once more but she could not manage it. “Scott... We need to talk.”

He blinked. Why was she so serious right now? They talked all the time. “What about?”

Rhea took a deep breath. “It’s about your role in the upcoming battle and the truth.”

“OK... There’s more than what you told me?” he asked suspiciously. Was she
still
hiding things from him? There are many things about his current existence that he might not fully understand or even accept, but she could at least tell him everything important about his purpose for being in this world.

“One more thing... Something that I wish did not have to happen, but must if you truly wish to protect ARS.” said Rhea.

“Alright...” said Scott in a non-committal manner.

Rhea closed her eyes and then opened them once more. “The Lords of Destruction do not actively exist... on this ARS server.”

Scott blinked. “ARS server...? You... Are you saying that there is more than one ARS?”

She nodded. “Specifically, there are four servers. There is an admin only server where we actively make updates to the world and see what happens. It is a chaotic and ever changing reality, but the people seem to like it.”

“That makes sense. That sort of server is like a place where you test new game concepts before they go live?” asked Scott.

“Exactly. Good, you understand... Well, the other three servers are for players.” said Rhea. She released a soft relieved sigh. It was good that he actually understood the concept.

Scott waited patiently for her to explain further. She liked to drag things out when she had bad news to report, he already knew that much about her.

“One of those servers is a kid friendly sort of place where the monsters are even cuter and foul language is censored.” she said.

“Really? So, a G-rated ARS exists?” asked Scott.

Rhea smiled softly. “Yes, and it is quite adorable. On that server everyone, even the humanoid monsters, wear underwear that can’t be removed. Children are born when two people who love each other hug tightly and pray to the gods for a child to love. After the prayer they kiss as a sign of commitment. The next day a messenger stork will bring their new baby by if the gods decree the union successful.”

“That sounds like a fun world, but not quite something I would pick...” said Scott. It sounded absolutely adorable and innocent, but he would lose his mind in such a place. It would be fun to visit, though.

She chuckled softly then nodded. “Yes, it is. However, it is the other server that we need to discuss.”

“OK, hit me with it.” said Scott. He was up for anything.

“Well... It is known as ARS Classic, or by another name it would be called the
hardcore
server. It is a much more dynamic version of this world, and its true origin. It features a much higher level of realism.” replied Rhea.

“Really?” asked Scott.

“Yes, really. It is a much more challenging version of ARS. The monsters are still adorable, and the people are still mostly cheerful. However, everything is much more difficult due to several factors.”

“How so?” he asked.

“There are many differences. You can’t use lore rings to gain outside skills unless they are techniques based on your class, for instance. Another thing is that you won’t gain visible stats when you gain a level. You have to train them directly. Any outside skill must be learned manually, and over time, in a more natural manner.”

“Train stats directly...? What about things like ability points?” asked Scott. 

“There are none. Also, you would have to train strength by doing normal things like push-ups or carrying heavy loads.”

“That actually sounds fun.” said Scott. He would love something like that!

“Death is also permanent.” said Rhea.

Scott’s eyes widened. “Wait, so just get killed once at its... game over?”

“Yes and no. Most of the time it is more like game
restart
. You would be forced to start all the way over at level one unless you are resurrected within three days.”

“So, that’s not so bad! You just need to be resurrected.” said Scott.

Rhea shook her head. “You could be level four hundred and if you were killed and your corpse hidden for three days or completely destroyed you would be completely reset and forced to start over again.”

“Now that would suck, but at least you are not permanently deceased.” he replied.

She nodded. “True, but hardcore players are more likely to do that to you. It is an open
PVP
environment unlike this server.”

“Open PVP? What about what Corpse Rat did?” asked Scott.

She shrugged. “You killed one of their people. That made it alright to seek out your party and attack.”

“He was a known murderer, though.” said Scott.

“That’s why you were not given a big red name over your head. However, despite the fact that he was a murderer, when you killed one of their guild members it granted consent. As a member of your party they had the right of consent versus me as well.”

“What about when Sharde attacked them?” asked Scott. This was quite interesting. He loved to find out as much as he could about the systems of this game-like world.

“She has an official guild and guilds always have consent when interacting with each other. It is the equivalent of being
PVP open
.” said Rhea.

Scott nodded. “I had no idea.”

“Yes, but in the hardcore server it is open season on everyone. Guilds routinely conquer areas then demand money to be allowed to enter. Player killing happens with extreme frequency. ARS Classic is sometimes called the
rage-quit
server.” she said.

“This... actually sounds like my kind of place.” said Scott. Hell, he was excited now!

Rhea rolled her eyes then smiled. “I figured that you would say that.”

“A few things do confuse me, however.” he said.

“Hmm, what?” asked the beautiful elf.

“If there are no ability points and your level does not increase your stats, what is the point of having a level? Also, if there are no ability points how can I become much stronger there than by training here?” asked Scott.

“Ah, it’s because you can directly train your stats, and your spells and abilities have no level limit. Though, you will have access to fewer of them they are fully customizable. You would be able to create all manner of personalized special abilities over time.”

“How so? That certainly seems interesting, but if I have fewer abilities won’t it limit me more?” Scott failed to see how this would actually make him stronger, though he was certainly interesting in finding out.

Rhea smiled prettily him for a moment then chewed her lower lip. Finally, she nodded then said, “Well, let’s use your burn spell as an example. Alright?”

“Sure.” said Scott. He was certainly familiar with that spell by now.

“In this server you have to gain ability points in order to acquire higher level versions of what amounts to the same spell. It does explosive fire damage, and that is it.” she said.

“I will only have bigger fireballs here?” asked Scott. That did seem like a bit of a letdown.

“Higher tier spells branch out more and you may have a flamethrower spell or a fire wall, but it is mostly just the same spell with a little variety. You burn things and sometimes you explode things.” she said.

Scott nodded. That was generally how an old school RPG worked. The character gained a few levels then had access to a slightly stronger version of the same spell they started out with. “Well, that does seem about right from what I have noticed. How is it different in the other server?”

“The classic server is different. Instead of three or four slightly stronger fireball spells you would have one fireball spell that continues to grow over time.”

She took a breath then continued, “At certain intervals it would rise in spell-class and become much stronger for a far greater mana cost. You would still be able to use the older version instinctually, however.”

“That does sound great! You said something about customization, though?” he asked.

Rhea nodded. “Yes, instead of just generating an exploding ball of fire, you could add other spell patterns to it. If you take the time to train in other forms of magic you might be able to add weird effects.”

“Such as?” asked Scott.

She tilted her head to the left then acquired a thoughtful expression. After a moment she made a fist then slapped it down atop the palm of her other hand. “Like, say, a fireball that heals people while it also burns them.”

“How would that be useful?” asked Scott with wide and intrigued eyes.

She laughed. “I’m sure you could find a use for setting someone on fire while not allowing them to die quickly.”

Scott blinked. “I could... Oh yes, I already have an idea.”

“I bet you do!” replied Rhea.

“That’s beyond cruel, but it would be the perfect thing to use after drawing opponents close together. They would spread the fire damage rapidly.” said Scott.

Rhea laughed again then started to speak, but Scott interrupted. “Oooh! Add in a mini-tornado and watch them spin!”

She started to speak once more, but he continued on his murderous thought pattern. “No, no! It should be a water spout. You know, a tornado made of water! Electrify it so that they involuntarily scream out in the middle of the attack sequence. They would be electrocuted, asphyxiated, and torn apart at the same time!”

She shook her head. He was starting to become a little too excited. She discussed the situation with him further, though it took a little time to calm him down. Afterward he understood more about how that world would provide new opportunities. The customization options for abilities alone would guarantee that there were more opportunities to defeat their mutual opponents.

“The game mechanics work much differently there is what you are saying? Also, why have a player level?” asked Scott. He had just gotten used to this place! The other server sounded awesome, but this change-up was out of nowhere.

Rhea nodded at him. “The mechanics are much more streamlined but allow for easier customization. You can basically create your own custom skills over time. That capacity was removed here for the most part.”

She continued, “Levels still influence your hidden variables and unseen stats, so they are important for that. They also determine what equipment you can use because items have level locks to prevent low-level people from using epic swords and things like that.

She took a breath then said, “They also influence how fast you can increase skills and other things. Your level is actually quite important for various reasons, even more than I have mentioned. You just won’t get easy stat increases.”

Scott grinned at Rhea. “You mean like you and your super epic sword of badassery? You would not be able to use it there?”

“Exactly, this sword would require me to be level one hundred thirty to wield it on the hardcore server. I would also need a high level of skill in swordsmanship. Ah, now that I think about it, having a higher class level allows you to train your visible stats easier. That is one of the most important reasons for raising your level.”

“That sounds interesting... Are there any other changes?” asked Scott.

“Well, other than leveling differences and how that actually works, the biggest visible change is thematic. The world is more grand and epic than it is on this server, and the devotion to realism changes the way the world works by quite a degree.”

“So, it’s more like an epic fantasy world with game-like qualities, instead of a roleplaying game with a real world backdrop?” He was not certain if he was asking the question right, but he was still curious to hear her answer.

“Oh yes, on this server the landscape and many things are focused on being more like a medieval world with a game interface. On the hardcore server everything is just well, more
epic
. The monsters are still adorable, and the musical score is quite lovely, but the world itself is... well, breathtaking and well outside the medieval standard.”