Dreaming Orora Read online

  Eric threw his back on the sofa and covered his face with his hands, “It’s Karin…” Jack had to lean forward to hear him, “she’s… in a coma.”

  The words didn't register with Jack for a beat. He spaced out for a second. A coma? His wife was in a coma and he’s here asking for help?

  “Oh God, I’m really sorry man,” Jack moved next to his friend and curled a hand around his shoulder. Eric shook his head left and right, absentmindedly. “You know I’d help in any way possible. What happened? Where is she?” Jack said.

  “Northwestern Memorial, about three weeks now. Doctors said she is perfectly fine and aren’t sure why she is not waking up… but I… think I do,” Eric paused. Jack felt uncomfortable so he moved back to his recliner. “I think it’s because of how it happened. We were in Orora at the time. In fact, I believe she still is.”

  Jack started to say something but the words escaped him, his eyes shifted left and right. “What do you mean still is? I thought she was in a coma?”

  “Yes. She still has the VRR on.”

  “You are telling me she is in a hospital bed with the Rig still on?”

  Eric bobbed his head, “I don’t know what’ll happen if I remove it. Even ODI doesn’t know.”

  “I don’t understand. Why is the Rig still on?” Jack said.

  “Like I said we were playing when this happened. Her brain still thinks it’s in Orora. She did not log out or had an emergency shutdown. Or at least that’s what ODI told me.”

  “That does not make sense.” Jack grabbed the rig and turned it around inspecting it from each direction. “This thing was designed to log you off no matter what. It’s equipped with an internal battery sufficient enough to log you off in case of power failure.”

  “I know, and I told them that. But she never experienced power failure. And her brain did not log off the game. She still thinks she’s there.”

  “So? Take the power off the Rig. Let it shut down.”

  “I could, but because of what happened in Orora, the guys from ODI are not sure whether or not she’ll wake up. The doctors see no harm in the Rig remaining on, in fact they do use it on coma patients at times. So we decided not to take it off.”

  “Are you serious?” Jack felt sorry as soon as those words left his mouth. Here sat a man pouring his heart about his problems and he asked if he was serious.

  “They said they had other cases like this around the world. People took the Rig off and still no go. The patient remained in a coma.”

  Jack recalled reading some news feeds about few incidents of people not waking up from Orora. In most cases shutting down the Rig did the trick, but for some small percentage it didn't. He always read those articles with a grain of salt, nothing more than media outlets trying to smear the biggest game’s reputation.

  “So, where do I fit in?”

  “Like I said, it’s what happened to her in Orora that probably got her into this. We… had an encounter with Sleeping Beauty.”

  Jacks eyes widened, “Oh God, don’t tell me.”

  Eric shook his head, “I tried man, I tried to stop him.” His voice trailed off and his head kept going left and right.

  “Shit, what could’ve possibly possessed you to go there? I thought no sane person tried that anymore?”

  Sleeping Beauty, a battle arena where the players fought a powerful NPC, or None Player Character. Based on its namesake, the lore saw the players rescuing a female NPC sleeping in a crystal suspended above the arena by defeating the bad guy who put her there.

  In Orora, few fights were separated in a different instance from the whole world. It’s an artificial enclosed arena where only a designated party that initiated the encounter could enter and fight within it. The arena used to avoid unwanted interference by other players or NPCs. Other times the enclosure made sure the boss or monster within it stayed locked away from the general game world. In the Sleeping Beauty case, it was the latter.

  What the players didn’t know, however, this boss could trap players as well as NPC females. He put the players to sleep. The problem with sleep in Orora as a game was that it’ll block the player’s senses and send his character to sleep for a short period of time. Befittingly known as the nastiest of all status ailments. This particular sleep however didn’t have a timer, in other words, a coma. And so it became a well-known fact that everyone avoided the Sleeping Beauty battle. No one would risk an encounter with that boss. And so, no one ever managed to defeat him.

  “We didn’t go to him,” Eric said, “He… came to us.”

  HP: this is your source of life, your Health Points. This is what keeps you conscious (not alive, there is no death in Orora.)

  MP: this is your Magic Points, not everyone needs magic, but everyone has it.

  SP: this is your Skill Points. For when your normal attacks are not enough.

  3 – Meet the party

  Fitch sized his opponent and shifted his weight on his left leg. He swung his right arm around driving sword into bark. The Trent trembled and fell on its back with ruffle and a crack. Few seconds later and the thing disappeared. A Trent branch popped in the party’s loot box. By now the three of them had more of those branches than they know what to do with. They’ve been fighting the big trees for few hours now.

  “You want this Oz?” asked Fitch.

  Oz frowned at him, his nostrils flared, “Seriously? Seriously?”

  Fitch laughed, “Just kidding man.” He discarded the item, which made it the twentieth or so in the last hour. “What do you think Paragon, another twenty minutes?”

  “Yeah,” said Paragon, “need to sleep, I have to wake up early tomorrow.” Could be the beard, or just him being tired, but Paragon looked more out of it than his usual self.

  “Damn it P,” Oz said, “I told you I should come as a healer. Without you, Fitch and I can’t continue the fight.”

  “Your healer is too low,” said Paragon and stroke his beard. He loved giving his avatar a beard since he could not for the life of him grow one in the real world.

  “Alright guys, let’s not waste time. Oz,” said Fitch.

  Oz run towards few huddled Trents. He pulled out his bow, placed an arrow and let loose. It hit a huge Trent on the side. The thing turned around with a grunt and started towards them. It took its sweet time with every step. Fitch stole a glance left and right, nothing but open green space with Trents peppering the area. No immediate threat.

  “I think if we fought any other thing, we would’ve gotten much more XP,” Paragon said holding on to his staff.

  “I know, but I’m tired man. These things are slow and harmless,” said Fitch. “Besides, you are not the one getting wacked to death here.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Did I let you die?” they both laughed.

  Paragon raised his staff and started casting a protection spell on Fitch. As a healer, he stood few feet away from the battle to cast a healing or a support spell every now and then. Oz came back and stood next to Paragon, as an Archer his damage style saw him attacking from a long range. So only Fitch, as a Paladin, faced the mob head on to take all the hate off his comrades. And amongst the three, he was the only one with a heavy set of armor. How he envied Paragon’s light wraps or even Oz’s leather strapped set.

  After few swings from his sword, Fitch heard a faint “Devil’s Horn incoming,” and got momentarily blinded by the explosion. The Trent staggered few inches back. The explosion did not deal any damage to Fitch, but it startled him.

  “Damn you Oz,” said Fitch, “what the hell?” The Trent chased after Oz, but Oz drew circles around it and laughed while doing it. “You could’ve at least warned me,” said Fitch.

  “He kind of did man,” Paragon said between laughing breaths. Oz did not need to call it, but he loved doing so every time he pulled an ability or a skill.

  “I hope you enjoy him killing you now,” Fitch said, “I will not pull him off you.”

  Paragon leaned on his staff laughing while Oz continued runnin
g and shooting arrows at the Trent. “I’ll take him out alone you’ll see,” said Oz loosing another arrow. It took him few more before the Trent keeled over and popped out of existence. Fitch kept to his words and didn't help.

  “Come on man, you take this way too seriously,” Oz put a hand on Fitch’s shoulder. “It’s a game. and this is why you always complain about your luck and bitch about leaving the game.”

  Fitch frowned, but in all fairness he knew Oz’s words rang truth. He’s been complaining lately and threatening to leave the game for good. In his defense though, his luck was the envy of no man when it came to Orora. It felt like a waste of time at times.

  Fitch pushed Oz’s hand away, “you are the one who said we were wasting time here.”

  “I know, just lighten up man.”

  “Alright, alright,” Fitch pushed Oz, “go do your thing.”

  Oz laughed and went on his way. They kept at it for twenty minutes before Paragon excused himself. Unfortunately with Fitch and Oz only, they couldn't do anything here.

  “So, what now?” Fitch asked.

  “Well, not like we can continue fighting without him,” Oz said, “let’s just head to town and see from there.”

  Fitch selected the teleport home option when he heard a commotion from a distance. Oz nodded while a sharp grin crept on his face. Fitch shrugged and they both ran towards the source of the noise.

  Getting closer the sounds intensified. Screams and curses thrown every now and then. Growls intertwined with bursts of loud sounds followed. They’ve been fighting Trents for more than an hour now; those sounds would not have come out of a Trent.

  They exchanged one more look before racing towards them. One small hill stood between them and all the commotion.

  A huge top of a Trent peeked its head from beyond the hill. This thing stood taller than any of the normal ones they fought earlier. It towered at least twelve or thirteen feet above the people around it. Fitch did a quick check on it. “Trent King, power cannot be gauged” message displayed on his HUD.

  “Holy hell, they are fighting the Trent King,” said Oz.

  All around Orora dwelled monsters known as Monster Champions or MCs. They appeared in specific places when certain conditions were met. For the most part they resembled certain monster species with minute differences, but they were way higher in level and abilities. In this Trent King case, it towered over normal Trents and had few leaves on its head that resembled a crown.

  Players hunt MCs for the items they drop. Some have the chance of dropping very rare and valuable items that guilds arrange dates and times to fight those. Rare MCs saw guilds and players competing to claim the monster first. The loot law in Orora dictated that whoever engaged the monster first gets the loot, plus the most XP. Other players were free to join the fight and get XP based on their contribution, but they won’t get any loot. At the same time, because players could attack each other anywhere, some players would attempt to kill the party that first claimed the monster. If all the members of the original claiming party died while still engaged to the monster, the claim would be transferred to whomever attacked the monster next. The Trent King was not a popular MC, so the threat of competition almost didn't exist.

  Oz grinned, “come on man, let’s go.”

  “What? Why?” Fitch said.

  “Well, we’ll get some XP. Besides, when will we ever get a chance to fight that?” Oz pointed at the big tree then started towards it. Fitch sighed and followed suit.

  Fitch viewed the battlefield trying to assess the situation. As an archer, Oz had no issues engaging the monster. He would stand away from the fight and fire arrows every now and then. He stood little to no chance in drawing hate from the other heavy hitters and tanks. A different story for Fitch though. He would have to be close to the monster to attack with his sword. Getting hate from the high level tanks around was not an issue for him as well, but this monster might possess some devastating Area of Effect abilities that could drop Fitch in an instant.

  So, he buffed up. Applied defensive spells onto himself and charged. There were two other much higher level Paladins in bulky white armor on the front line, plus some other damage dealer jobs buzzing around the tree that Fitch felt a tad safe. Two healers flocked the far end as well, but Fitch would not anticipate much healing from them if anything went wrong. No one would want to waste precious MP on intruders to their fights.

  His fears subsided soon after he joined the battle. The fight went smooth for the most part. The Trent King had a huge Health Points pool, so hacking away at it was just time consuming. In fact some players talked to Fitch and Oz while fighting. “Watch it noobs, don’t get sucked in the AOE,” one Paladin said.

  Fitch did not, however, account for the rage phase. Every monster possessed a rage phase, which would trigger once their HP reached the last ten percent. For some monsters, certain abilities would unlock during that time. For others however, their defense and attack powers would increase from double to ten folds at times. Because this Trent was an MC, he got both. His defense increased and he got a new AoE attack. Fitch only realized when it hit him.

  The thing spun around and hit everything within three to four feet radius knocking them back, but that was not the end of it. The air around it stripped and Fitch felt himself being pulled towards the creature. He tried to resist, but the air tugged on his body. He fell towards the Trent. It spun again and Fitch flew several feet away. He hanged to dear life by a thread.

  He panicked, opened his items bag and skimmed through for something to heal himself. He found a small potion and immediately gulped it down. That brought his health back to around fifty percent. The other Paladins were tossed away as well, but the Trent charged elsewhere. It charged towards the healers who were casting heavy healing spells to keep their friends alive. Other damage dealers caught in the AoE were on the ground, dead.

  This particular move did not only deal heavy damage, but also reset hate within the party. And with his rage on, the Trent moved much faster than normal. He reached one healer and downed him with two lashes from his branches. Then spun around and pulled a giant boulder from the ground. Fitch stood agape. He never saw a Trent pull such move. It tossed the boulder on the other healer who had both hands in the air, casting. It hit him straight up knocking him few feet back to the ground. He did not stand again.

  One Paladin pulled the monster towards him. His mouth moved in bursts, but Fitch could not tell what he was saying. A party can set up a speaking channel where only party members were able to listen. Right now Fitch knew they were panicking. Their only two healers, dead. Few of their damage dealers ate dirt. And the two Paladins were taking damage faster than they could heal themselves. Fitch started to worry of what to become of them once this party went down for the count.

  It didn’t take long for him to find out. One of the Paladins didn't move after being tossed few feet into the air and the other had his HP deep in the red. The healers ported back to their home point, Fitch guessed they were trying to make it back in time to help with the fight, but that was practically unachievable. The closest home point should be miles and miles away. The second Paladin bit the dust before Fitch remembered the closest home point.

  Their members panicked, flailed left and right trying to dodge the big tree. Some got stoned to the ground. Others died valiantly facing the beast. Before he knew it, one last body stood between Fitch and the Trent. He knew he was next.

  “Damn it, Oz. Run” Fitch said.

  “What for? He’ll toss a boulder and I’m dead,” Oz said, “Fitch. I’ll two hour him.”

  “He’ll kill you before you do anything.”

  “What options do we have? Look at his HP, we might have a chance, if you use yours as well.”

  The thing’s HP barely registered, a sliver of red hope held on. Perhaps few more hits. “Alright” Fitch said, “Go all out.”

  “Roger” Oz said.

  Every job had an ability used as a last resort. Players co
uld activate anytime, but it has two hours cool time period. Depending on the job, it could cause devastating damage, heal everyone or do things otherwise unachievable by said job. This should qualify as one of the times these abilities could come in handy.

  Oz charged his bow and stood ready. The moment the Trent downed the last player from the other party it turned its head towards Oz and was met with an explosion in the face. It paused for a mere moment then charged towards Oz.

  “Fitch” Oz shouted.

  “On it” Fitch said running towards the Trent and activating his ability Absolute Shield.

  The Trent turned to Fitch and pulled a new boulder from the ground. Fitch pressed on. The boulder hit him in the face and crumbled to dust. Fitch reached the Trent and hacked on it with his sword. The Trent landed few blows of its own followed by its AoE. Fitch stood tall taking it with full HP.

  Absolute Shield not only attracted the undivided attention of the monsters engaged, but it also healed the user fully and granted him invincibility for thirty seconds.

  “Alright, here it comes, Arrow Rain baby.” Oz said and pulled his bow. It glowed red and got roughly double in size. For the next ten seconds Oz let lose arrows that exploded on collision with the Trent. Fitch hoped that it’d be enough to take the tree down.

  While his two hours ability was absolute, as in any Paladin using Absolute Shield would get all the benefits regardless of level, the Rangers ability Arrow Rain was based on the level of the user and arrows used. The higher the player’s level, the more damage he’ll deal with each arrow. Which was not good news for them.

  Few seconds in and a message warned Fitch that Absolute Shield wore off. The Trent did not wait long to hit its AoE one more time. It tossed Fitch few feet away and left him with less than five percent of his HP. Knowing that potions have half an hour cool down timer to be used, he did not even think about searching for one in his bag. Their stupidly brave attempt neared its end.