Eden's Gate: The Reborn: A LitRPG Adventure Read online

  As if his 100 square-foot box was worth anything.

  “Hey babe!” A pair of shiny blue eyes and a bright smile beamed at me when I opened the door.

  “Rachel?” I limped forward and pulled her into a hug with my one free arm. While we stood there, locked together in the doorway, I looked up and saw a tiny spider building a web right above the entryway which caused me to jerk back erratically and almost lose balance on my crutch.

  “What is it?” Rachel asked with wide, worried eyes.

  “A fucking spider behind you.”

  Rachel turned and looked up at the tiny creature. “It’s just a fucking baby.”

  “Bleh,” I spat and shook my body in disgust. I wasn’t afraid of much of anything in the world, but spiders were my bane. I didn’t want to see or have a spider of any size or shape anywhere near me. “Why didn’t you call?”

  “I wanted to surprise you,” she said.

  Did I say I liked keeping to myself? That was true, except when I was spending time with my girlfriend. I had met Rachel about 6 months earlier via an online gaming forum, and as we got to talking, I found out that she lived less than a 10-minute drive from me. I’m not sure what she saw in me—I wasn’t exactly a lady’s man, and if anything she was out of my league—but within a month we had met up and started dating.

  So at least I had one good thing going for me.

  I limped aside and eyed a large, heavy-looking brown bag she was carrying as she made her way inside my room. “What’s in the bag?”

  “I told you, it’s a surprise.” She pushed a piece of her long, sandy blonde hair back behind her ear and sat down on my bed. She had a nice frame—not too skinny, and not too thick—and her 5’4” stature was a perfect ‘fit’ for me—if you know what I mean… “How’s your foot?”

  “It still pretty achy,” I said. I limped closer to her and used my crutch to point towards her bag. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

  She rolled her eyes and lifted the bag. “Okay, well I thought this might cheer you up while you’re recovering.” As soon as she slid the first brown box out of the bag, I noticed the Nexicon logo immediately.

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “One for me,” she cooed and pulled out a second matching box. “And one for you.”

  I dropped my crutch and hopped as fast as I could to sit on the bed beside her. I picked up one of the Nexicon boxes and stared in awe at the pear/worm etching on the front. “You got two on launch day? These are over a grand a piece. How did you—?”

  “I had a little bit of savings, and I knew your money was tight.” She poked her index finger in my shoulder. “Plus you’re always going on and on about how Eden’s Gate is the next big step in gaming.”

  “You have no fucking idea…”

  I had been following Eden’s Gate since the hype broke online about 3 years earlier. The Nexicon CEO had written in a blog post that he was working on a Virtual MMO that would change our perception of gaming forever; a game in which the user’s consciousness would somehow communicate with the game world and provide a lifelike experience. No screenshots or videos of the game were ever released, but no one had any right to doubt him. Hardware that Nexicon released was always cutting edge, and their software always blew away the competition. People would buy a shitmobile if it had the Nexicon logo on it.

  Then there was a leaker who broke the Eden’s Gate NDA (non-disclosure agreement), a beta tester who went by the name darkknight35. He wrote in a Reddit post about his experience during testing and claimed that he felt like he was really in the game, that NPCs (non-player characters) looked and acted like real people, that it was the best gaming experience he had ever had even though they wouldn’t allow him past the tutorial section.

  His post was deleted within hours, and the guy was never heard from again, but that was enough to fuel whole online communities of people speculating what the Nexicon VR could really do. The only official facts released by Nexicon VR were that it was preloaded with a fantasy MMO with a world much larger than Earth. And the name of course—Eden’s Gate.

  She shoved me hard in the shoulder and smirked. “I know just as much about it as you.”

  I smiled, sat the box down, and pulled her into a huge hug. “You’re the best. This is too much.”

  She pulled away from the hug and pointed a finger at my nose. “We’re doing this on one condition, okay?”

  “Yeah?” I lifted an eyebrow.

  “As soon as your foot is better, I want you to get out of your room. Go out and make some real friends. We can go together even.”

  I huffed and rolled my eyes. “This again? I told you that you’re all I need. What do you want me to do? Be one of those guys who sits in a bar all day watching sports, scratching his nuts and talking about car parts with other nut scratchers? I’m not into all of that—”

  “Gunnar, it’s just not normal to stay in your room all day playing games. You’re missing out on a lot of—”

  “‘Normal’ is a subjective word. I have no interest in being like everyone else,” I interrupted. “You knew who I was when you met me.”

  Rachel sighed. “Just try… All I’m asking is for you to give it a chance. People aren’t so bad if you give them a chance.”

  I pursed my lips together and frowned, thinking of all the times when people let me down. I was perfectly happy doing things on my own and being a lone wolf.

  “I just bought you a Nexicon VR, and you’re brooding over me asking you a little favor?” She made a cute, kissy face and started talking to me in a baby voice. “Just one little favor?”

  She had a point; it was one hell of a gift. I would’ve never been able to afford a Nexicon VR on my BestFoods salary. I owed her, big time. “Fine, fine,” I said with a slight nod.

  She threw an arm around my neck and kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks, babe. Now let’s see what this Eden-thing is all about.”

  I could hardly contain my excitement as we started unboxing the Nexicon headsets. “You know, I read everyone spawns in a random place, right? Even if we both log in together, we could be thousands of miles apart.”

  Rachel threw a piece of Styrofoam from the box aside and shrugged. “I know, but we’ll figure it out. When we log out, we’ll compare notes and start working our way towards each other next time we log in.”

  I lifted the thick, white visor from its box and turned it on each side, admiring the gold etching and high quality craftsmanship. On the edge were two buttons: Battery and Power. I clicked the Battery button and the visor lit up, showing a full bar of green. “This is awesome. I can’t believe we get to play on launch day.” Just holding such an incredible piece of technology in my hands made my heart race.

  There was a small piece of paper inside of the box:

  Warning: Place the visor over your head and power it on only when you are in a secure and safe area. Your body will be in an unresponsive state until you are completely logged out of the system. Use at your own risk.

  Rachel dropped her box and placed her headset over her head, working hard to make sure her strap was adjusted properly. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get in! Let’s get in!” She scooted to the far side of my bed and lay down as I placed my visor on my head and slid in beside her.

  With the power off, there was nothing but dark inside the Nexicon VR. “I’ve got my visor on. You ready?”

  Her hand reached over and grabbed on to mine. “I’m ready. 1…”

  I placed my hand on the power button and waited for her to finish counting down.

  “2…”

  “Wait!” I shouted.

  “Yeah?”

  “How long should we play ‘til we log out? I don’t want you doing anything weird to me while I’m in game.”

  Rachel giggled. “Let’s say about half an hour for our first run?”

  “Alright.” I squeezed her hand tighter.

  “3!”

  I pressed the power button and white light flashed in fron
t of my eyes, then black. Within a second, I could no longer feel Rachel’s hand.

  Chapter Three

  01/01/0001

  Welcome to your new life.

  Welcome to Eden’s Gate.

  I felt weightless as I watched the introduction screen flash before my eyes, and I sensed a prickly sensation as each part of my body slowly became tangible. The darkness slowly began to dissolve, and I blinked, and then again until I could see everything around me.

  I was standing on a ground made of broken cobblestone and grass. Directly in front of me was a stone fence with an open, arched gate that appeared to lead off to a long dirt path and a forest far into the distance.

  I looked down to my hands and squeezed them tightly then relaxed them. They looked exactly like my real hands—in fact, I couldn’t tell the difference no matter how hard I tried. I was wearing a pair of plain black cotton pants that stopped at the knee, brown woven shoes, and a white cotton vest that was cut off at the shoulders. My crutch was missing, and my foot was no longer broken, but otherwise my body felt exactly the same. I looked like the fashion police was about to arrest me at any moment, but I felt healthier than I had my entire life.

  I took a deep breath, and the air was light and pure. Birds were chirping in the distance. I really was in another world.

  “Look lively!” a husky voice shouted from behind me.

  I whipped myself around and watched as a tall man with thick gray hair and beard marched quickly down a tall set of cobblestone steps. He was wearing a chainmail vest and plate leggings, a long sword draped at his side. At the top of the steps was a temple of some sort with open walls and pillars on each of its four corners. Off to the side was a small, cobblestone building with a single brown door.

  I took a couple steps back as he approached.

  “Welcome to Eden’s Gate, stranger. Have you a name?” the man asked when I reached the base of the steps.

  A small semi-transparent window appeared in front of me.

  Please select your name by speaking it.

  I spent a moment to think about whether to use a pseudonym or not, but with the old man staring daggers at me, I figured I’d go with what I knew best. “Gunnar…” I said. “My name is Gunnar Long.”

  The window disappeared.

  “A pleasure to meet you Gunnar Long.”

  “And you are?”

  “Trainer.” The man smiled. “The name’s Trainer.”

  “Just Trainer?”

  “I’m afraid that’s the only name I was given.”

  “Okay, nice to meet you,” I said, shrugging. I turned my head from side to side. “Where exactly am I?”

  “You’re in the instanced tutorial of Eden’s Gate.”

  “Instanced? I thought there were no instances in this game?”

  “Only the tutorial is instanced. Gotta make sure everyone knows basic functions before they begin their journey into the unknown. But don’t worry, this shouldn’t take long. Once you step through that gate,” he said, indicating the front gate behind me, “you’ll never step foot into this tutorial again.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “Got it.”

  “How old are you, Gunnar?”

  Please select your age by speaking it.

  “I’m 21,” I replied.

  “Very well. You’re old enough to continue. Go ahead and check your status screen to confirm your details.”

  I lifted my hands and looked at my palms, not sure what I was looking for. “How do I do that?”

  “Hmph,” Trainer grunted. “Just think about your status screen appearing in front of you or you can say ‘show status screen,’ if that’s easier for you.”

  I pressed my lips tight and imagined a status screen appearing before me. To my surprise, it materialized with very little effort.

  “I guess it all seems right,” I said as the screen disappeared from my sight.

  “Very well. For your first lesson…” The old man kicked out a plated boot and connected with me directly in my chest.

  The blow was hard, unexpected, and I jolted backwards, tumbling roughly on the uneven cobblestones. Fire ripped through my chest as I struggled for air, and the uneven stones below me jutted against my skin. It was supposed to be a game, but the pain damn-well felt a little too much like real life. What the hell? I looked down at my palms and noticed that they were scraped and blistered from the fall.

  I coughed hard, trying to catch my breath. “Why’d you do that?” I sputtered.

  The man paced forward and offered his hand to which I accepted. “The first lesson is to know that while Eden’s Gate may often seem beautiful and friendly, pain and death can come from unexpected places. Always be on your guard, Gunnar.”

  “Well, fuck,” I spat. “You could’ve just said it.”

  I noticed that in the top left corner of my vision, three bars had appeared. The first was red, the center was blue, and the last one was green. The red bar was missing around 40% of its length, and I had played enough games to know that the bars signified my health, mana, and stamina. Another two kicks from the old man, and I’d be dead before I even started.

  “Shall we try again?” Trainer asked. “Lesson number one is…” He kicked out his foot, but this time I was more aware of what was coming. As he reared back and his iron toe came lashing towards me, I sidestepped and shifted towards the right, not allowing any contact.

  A system alert appeared at the bottom of my screen, and the sound of drums echoed around me.

  Advancement! You have learned the skill: Dodge. Why mitigate damage when you can avoid it altogether? Dodge is linked to the base stat Dexterity. Increase your Dexterity to increase your chances to Dodge.

  “Excellent, Gunnar. You’re catching on quickly.” The man turned away from me and started walking up the stairs. “Follow along now.”

  I followed him up the flight of stairs and noticed that my health bar wasn’t replenishing right away. “How do I heal myself from the damage I took from you?”

  “There are several ways you can heal yourself, Gunnar. Magic based healing from a spell or a magical item, physical healing from potions, salves and bandages, or you can simply let your wounds heal over time. Sleeping, eating and meditating accelerate the natural healing process.”

  “Do you have anything I can use? My hands are killing me.”

  “Such is life,” Trainer said. “One of the purposes of this tutorial is to teach you that Eden’s Gate is not just game. It’s a world filled with both pain and pleasure. But do not fret—you will be healed of your training wounds automatically when you’re transferred to the main world.”

  “Not just a game? Yeah, okay,” I replied. I had to admit that the world didn’t feel at all like a game—aside from the prompts and screens. My hands were really throbbing, and Trainer’s AI (artificial intelligence) seemed especially sophisticated. If I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t be able to tell him from a real person. But I wasn’t stupid. No matter how real everything felt, I was still logged into a game, and I’d eventually have to log back out to go on with my real life.

  At the top of the stairs and inside the temple area was a large table with a small dagger resting on top and a large pile of crinkled up, white papers were sitting off to the side.

  “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that you’re a level 1 with only the most basic stats. As you earn experience, you’ll gain levels which will increase your health, mana, and stamina pools. You’ll also receive 3 attribute points per level that you can allocate to any stats you choose. Skills can only be increased by exercising them throughout the world or through special circumstances, but you’ll also receive one free increase of your choice each time you level. Any questions?”

  I scratched my head and visualized my stats screen again, causing it to instantly appear in front of me. I had been gaming long enough that I had a good idea of how most of them worked… Strength, Intelligence, and Stamina were pretty standard. But the others always had different meani
ngs depending on the game I played.

  “What’s vitality for?”

  “Vitality increases your natural health and stamina regeneration and ability to recover from effects such as poisons and sickness among other things.”

  “Wisdom?”

  “Increases your mana regeneration rate among other things.”

  “Willpower?”

  “A high willpower is just that. How willing are you to fight through the pain? How stable will you be when you’re on your last drop of health, mana or stamina? How willing are you—”

  “I’ve got it...” I interrupted.

  Trainer cleared his throat. “In most cases, you can focus on a particular statistic or skill to get more detailed information.”

  “What’s the difference between traits and skills?”

  “Traits are important characteristics you may acquire, whether they be positive or negative. Skills are your abilities. It’s difficult to explain, but I’m sure you’ll understand as you continue on your journey.”

  “Okay.” I shrugged and let the status screen disappear.

  “Go ahead and grab the dagger when you’re ready to continue,” Trainer said.

  I did as he instructed, and another alert appeared in the bottom left of my screen.

  You’ve received: Copper Training Dagger. 1-4 Attack Damage. Durability: 10/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Common. Weight: 0.2 kg

  I rubbed my finger against the blade. The edges were a bit dull, and altogether it looked pretty unremarkable, but it was sharp enough to hurt something and definitely felt real.

  “Now let’s give it a whirl,” Trainer said. He closed his eyes and started mumbling something.

  “Give it a whirl against what?”

  Trainer opened his eyes and lifted his hand towards the pile of crumpled paper on the ground. “Against that.”