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Ch 22, SMRPG: Space Multiplayer Roleplaying Game

Sleep in Ozar's Realm was an odd sensation, and not just because of the strange 'splash screen' dream Logan had welcoming him to the 'Rec Hab Gaming Experience', but because, other than that odd, strangely visor-game style introduction, it felt as though time forgot him and that the difference in time between when he closed his eyes and opened them was scarcely a millisecond. When Logan was in his late teens he'd undergone anesthesia for a surgical procedure and he couldn't help but compare the similarities.

Brushing that thought aside, he selected his clothing for the day; the room came equipped with very few options since he hadn't spent any of his credits on his wardrobe. In the end, Logan selected the exact same outfit as he'd worn the prior day: [Commoner] Set 1, which was the generic clothing he'd had when he first awoke in his Ozar's Realm Corpus. With the morning dressing routine completed, the young man made his way back downstairs, but was astounded when he saw that the empty room of the previous night was packed full with guests.

If he had to guess, the ground floor of 'The Eight Shannons' was set up to accept well over 100 patrons and there were precious few empty seats. His naturally introverted senses caught sight of a single two-person table on the far side of the room as the only place setting where at least one person wasn't seated and his initial reaction was to cross the distance as quickly as possible and lay claim to it, but that action was not to be as a short, 3-foot-something individual caught his attention.

She was what Logan would have traditionally considered Human in appearance, save for her short stature; her dimensions were well defined anatomically (with perhaps a little extra padding in all the feminine places) and when she spoke she didn't sound like a child, despite being the right height. "Hello and welcome to 'The Eight Shannons'. My name is Maab, one of the hostesses! Tis a pleasure to have thee here with us, Master Nagol!"

Logan did see her name appear in his vision thanks to his implant, and it further identified her as a Halfling Hostess; she was an official employee of Ozar's Realm. On one hand, that brought him some comfort to know that they had defined roles in their interaction but, on the other hand, he realzied that she was going to be judging him endlessly since it was his first time there and he still wasn't completely sure about all of the rules regarding interaction and being 'in character'.

He swallowed his hesitation and tried his best. "Oh! Um... I am-- I... I BEITH um... merry with exci--"

Logan was mercifully interrupted as Daliah appeared to his right and quickly grabbed him by the arm. "I shall handle this one, methinks. Ozar himself asked that I intercede on his behalf, Maab. Please see to the others. Come... right this way, Master Nagol..."

Logan did not resist in the least, not so much being pulled by Daliah as ushering her along toward whatever destination she had planned. She spoke in a low tone as they skirted the edge of the room and moved toward a heavy wooden door. "You really don't have the slightest idea when it comes to how to talk, do you?"

Rather than open his mouth to prove that fact, he just shrugged apologetically. The unspoken statement did manage to get a smirk out of the Elf, and she rolled her eyes before pushing the door open. Logan followed her inside and his implant posted a notification that he had changed locations from 'The Eight Shannons' to 'The Eight Shannons - Elite Den'. Once inside, the young man glanced around, noticing that the room was only about a quarter the size of the main area, and was far more empty of guests-- only a half dozen scattered about.

Daliah led him to the closest table, turned a chair around, and sat down on it backward, wrapping her arms across the back rest and lowering her chin down onto them. "So... congratulations on stuttering just long enough that you didn't make a fool of yourself before I could get involved."

He noticed right away that she'd dropped her 'old-timey' tone so he did the same. "Well... it's not really something I've ever had to deal with, and nobody bothered telling me that I needed to learn an entirely new dialect or whatever."

Daliah snickered, sitting up a little straighter as she gestured to her temple. "If you don't want to pick it up yourself you can just turn on the auto-dialect feature and your implant will take all the hard work out of things. Sure, it's training wheels, but it's a good way for a lazy virgin to avoid getting any bumps or bruises."

Logan scowled at her verbal jabs. "I'll get it eventually... I just need some time to figure it all out. Training wheels doesn't sound bad though, no matter how much you're gonna make fun of me for it."

Her smile softened. "I'm just playing... go ahead and turn it on. We don't get a lot of virgins here anymore so maybe I'm just a little overeager to see one take his first bumbling steps into the game." She reinforced her words with a mirthful wink.

Rather than address the issue with her further, Logan focused inward and, a moment later, he had his implant turn on the dialect filter. "Okay... testing, testing. One two. One two. Is this thing on? Am I doing it right?"

He didn't notice a difference, other than Daliah's smile. "There. You got it."

The young man didn't notice anything different. "Are you sure? I still sound like me. Nothing's changed."

Daliah tittered behind a screening hand. "It goes both ways, Logan... you're going to hear everyone speaking modern, including yourself. For those not using the auto-dialect you'll sound like a natural and, to you, everyone speaking in world-proper dialect will hear you doing the same."

Logan contemplated that for a moment before frowning. "Well that's just great. How am I supposed to learn to speak right if I can't hear others? Isn't immersion supposed to play a big part in picking up social interaction and stuff?"

The Elf gestured to one of the staff members with a tray, holding up two fingers then pointing to the table. The staff member, a tall, thin looking elven man nodded in response and headed off to the back room. The order apparently placed, Daliah looked back to Logan. "Aren't you on vacation, Logan? You're so up in your head it's going to be impossible for you to relax. Everything is fine; everything will be fine; you will be fine."

Logan gauged her statement and shot back. "I'll relax if you stop making fun of me."

He almost expected some kind of barbed quip but, surprisingly, she simply held out a gloved hand to him. "Deal."

They shook on it and, surprisingly, Logan did start to feel better. After a slight pause, the young man shrugged. "Well... I guess this way at least I won't break any of those in-character rule things."

She winked as the server came back with two large mugs with frothy amber liquid in them. Dalian nodded to the Elf, thanking him by name before raising her mug for a toast. "Thanks Olly... and hey-- good way of looking on the bright side, Logan. Cheers."

The two of them had just started sipping their drinks when a loud voice boomed up around them; Logan recognized it immediately as Ozar's. A moment later the wall with the door through which they'd walked slowly shrank, disappearing into the floor in order to combine the main room with the 'Elite Den'. Across the way, Logan saw that Ozar was standing on the bar and he had everyone's attention. With a huge tusky grin, the Orc shouted out "Welcome, visitors, to Ozar's Realm!"

The fanfare throughout the bar was ecstatic. Daliah smirked, mumbling "Show-boater."

Despite the noise of numerous people talking quietly between him and the Orc, Ozar's voice still seemed to somehow reach Logan without interference. The hab's proprietor spoke as if he were born for the stage, gesturing with his arms, face incredibly expressive, and words practically sung with pride, excitement, and verve. "Honored guests, you are in for quite a treat during this visit. Not only is this season just getting started but, in a special twist of fate, I am introducing a limited time mission for each and every one of you experienced players!"

A rumble of excitement went through the crowd. If Logan had thought there had been a lot of people in the main room earlier he was overwhelmed as more and more guests flocked in; the place was packed and it was standing room only. Even as people gazed down from the stairwell or lingered in the door frame, the Orc continued. "For those of you high level participants looking for a challenge, you can accept a quest to seek The Staff of the Arch-Wizard. Anyone managing to complete the final phase of the quest before the end of this season will get an account-wide buff!"

The dull roar of the crowed turned into a full on verbal frenzy with people shouting out claims of future victory. Others cried out, asking for specifics of the reward. Still others were calling their character type and specializations and that they were looking for a group. All of that fell silent the moment Ozar stamped his sandaled foot down onto the counter three times. Once he had everybody's attention he waited several more second before adding the final words to his speech. "Welcome to Ozar's Realm... now get out there and ADVENTURE!"

The noise immediately came crashing back in the moment the large Orc hopped down but, thankfully, the wall separating the common area from the 'Elite Den' drowned out almost all of it, leaving Logan in a room with Daliah and a half dozen others; unlike the rest of the players, however, Daliah was not rushing to leave. Once she caught his eye she offered a fresh smile. "Never a dull moment... unless you know where to hide from it all."

As if to contradict her statement, two of the individuals who'd been at tables made their way over to stand next to Daliah and Logan's. One of the individuals was identified by his implant as Xavier; he was a Human Swordsman. The other was an Elven Wizard who appeared androgynous, and the player's chosen name didn't help: Moonlight Ravenwing. It was Xavier who addressed them or, more specifically, Daliah. "Champion Windlboom, we're going after that staff. Care to join us?"

Logan ran through his head just how smarmy and courtly that statement must have come across without the implant simplifying it for him, but he was pretty sure Daliah's response probably sounded the same whether he'd had it on or not. "Nah."

The Elf standing beside the Human took a turn; the masculine nature of the voice provided Logan clearer perspective. "Come, sister. You deserve to complete the quest alongside another elf. let us join forces and--"

Daliah dismissed him just as directly, offering a wave of her hand as she stated "We are not of the same clan-- do not call me sister. Now, leave us."

The invitation was not a lone occurrence. Even as Logan and Daliah sat at the table, nursing their drinks and talking about various topics related to him being new in Ozar's Realm, Daliah was approached by at least seven or eight more groups, but she declined them all, picking right up from where they'd left off on their own discussions. When Daliah turned down the party of two dwarves and some kind of hyena man who were 'just one member short', Logan waited for them to leave before addressing her. "You know... I really don't HAVE to have you babysitting me. If you want to go on an adventure there's nothing stopping you."

She smirked over the rim of her drink as she regarded him, offering up a snappy response. "Wow... so vain that you think I'm not going because of YOU? Did you think maybe I'm just waiting for a worthwhile group?"

Logan frowned, looking down into his own drink. "Those all seemed like pretty powerful groups to me."

He felt Daliah kick him under the table lightly. Looking up at her, he saw her wink even as she chided him. "Sure.... everyone looks powerful to a new account holder."

The young man DID notice that she didn't call him a virgin, and the tongue-in-cheek way she was poking fun at him helped him to realize that it was all in good fun. He shot right back. "Well, I'm sorry I'm bringing down the average character level at the table then."

She smirked. "Forgiven."

The two ended up hanging out at the table having a surprisingly pleasant time for just relaxing in a medieval tavern surrounded by people frothing at the mouth to undertake a quest that they were both apparently ignoring. The two chatted for quite some time with Daliah answering numerous questions from Logan. He learned that the prospect of an account-wide reward was one of the better prizes for completing a quest, which certainly explained the excitement, and that Daliah had been a part of Ozar's Realm for quite some time and had so many bonuses that another one would just get lost in the mix.

It was his turn to throw some shade. "Oh? NOW who's being vain?"

The comment got a faint smirk out of her and she leaned back in her chair, sticking her feet up on the table. Not only was she reclining, but it gave Logan the perfect chance to see her 'epic footwear'-- he had a feeling she did it on purpose. Rather than address his statement, she changed the topic completely. "Anyway... the key to actually getting somewhere in Ozar's Realm isn't always about the adventures. Knowing how to lean into your character's skills helps immensely."

Both she and Ozar had mentioned skills before, but, even after a brief review of what information was available about the "gamification" of Ozar's Realm, Logan didn't know a whole lot about that. He decided to at least get some useful information if they were going to be hanging around together. "How do I know what my skills are?"

His question got an even bigger smile from her. "Hopefully you'd know them because you're the one who selected them, just like you selected your name... Nagol."

The follow-up jab from her made him frown. "Well... I haven't chosen any."

Despite her obvious attitude, Daliah was surprisingly helpful. She assisted him with going into the game menus available within his implant and walked him through the steps required to select character skills. She slowly slid her boots back off the table and leaned forward, saying "Since this is your new account you should keep it simple... maybe just go for some athletic skills. If you don't like your choices you can just come here with a new character in the future, or reset your skills at a later time."

He switched over to the athletic skills section and began looking through them. Although his quick glances at combat skills included weapon specifics and conditional use skills, everything he saw under Athletics looked to be fairly generic. "Um... these are all pretty straight forward: swimming... climbing... dancing?"

Daliah let out a single, loud "HA!" before following it up. "Sure. I know lots of you Class Ones probably had all sorts of opportunities to learn how to go up a cliff face without a ladder or how to swim in something deeper than a bath tub, but most Transhumans know how to walk, and the more experienced ones are familiar with floating in zero-g without puking our guts out. Either way, if you don't have the character skill, your Corpus here has those neural pathways blocked... so if you want to do them beyond a basic level of aptitude you should consider getting the skill."

That thought confused Logan. "Basic level of aptitude?"

Daliah shrugged. "Like I said: you can climb a ladder without climbing, or hike up an incline, but if you're thinking of doing rock climbing up a sheer cliff or going straight up a tree without handholds you'll want the Climb skill... just like if you plan on doing anything other than doggy paddling in smooth water, Swimming would come in handy. Strength and Agility account a lot for things like Jumping, but there's a cap on the distance unless you take the skill Jumping, or at least Tumbling, which does give a minor bonus to--"

Logan interrupted her. "Tumbling? That's what exactly?"

Daliah stood up and did a quick little pirouette before gracefully falling to the ground, only to fling her legs up as she pushed off of the floor with her shoulders and arms, fluidly rising back to her feet in that single motion. "It's showing off... with a little extra panache mixed in. Somersaults, cartwheels, flips, handsprings-- generally the things you can pull off with Tumbling are a little more niche then general Athletic skills, but a lot more flashy. That, and it also protects you from falling long distances."

When he was younger, Logan had really been into ninja vids and had a few martial arts games on his headset game system; the prospect did have a certain appeal, and used to think about how cool it would do to be able to do flips and other eye-catching maneuvers. Before he took the time to second-guess or think it over, Logan had his first skill selected. "Okay... well... I don't feel any different."

The Elf raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You took Tumbling, did you?"

Trying to hide a developing blush, Logan answered simply by saying "I guess it just looked kinda fun."

Returning to smirking again, Daliah gestured dismissively with her hand. "Okay then, Logan... give it a try. Stand up, then climb onto your stool." Her grin widened. "Don't worry... you can climb a stook without the skill."

He rolled his eyes and did as she suggested, saying as he did so "Harr harr. Very funny. Okay... I'm up. Now what?"

Indeed, even as he stood on the stool, Daliah stood and took a step back. "Okay... now back-flip off of it and onto the ground."

Logan glared at her. "Just like that, huh? Just... back-flip?"

She shrugged in a bored manner. "Pretty much."

He redoubled his glare. "If I fall and break my neck, I--"

"You won't, and, even if you did, you'd just CV into another Corpus. Ozar's Realm is VERY specific about no fatal accidents."

It took him a second to realize that 'CV' was just shorthand for Corpus Verto but, the time he spent considering that, he'd already made up his mind to at least give it a shot and, no sooner had he thought it, that the world spun around him and the soles of his shoes slapped down onto the wooden floor of the room, and he stood with perfect posture after having completed a textbook back-flip. He really didn't know what to say. "....damn."

Daliah sat back down, entirely nonplussed at the display. "Transhumanity uses all sorts of neural pathways to create learned motions... most of the applicable technology for this kind of thing was developed here, just for Ozar's Realm, and then later modified to fit into daily life out there. I guess it must be pretty amazing to experience for the first time."

He stared at her. "It does WHAT?"

She casually rolled her wrist, letting her hand make a lazy circle in the air. "Connects neural pathways the same as repetitive learning does, thereby instructing your Corpus in how to complete a variety of techniques based on your desires-- a given Corpus is limited to the amount of programmed training it can accept but that's even better for a place like Ozar's Realm where character skills are also limited. You probably get a total of three skills you can learn being on a new account and all... so... two more."

Logan checked and then corrected her. "Four total, actually... I get THREE more."

Daliah huffed, rolling her eyes. "Of COURSE you have an advanced account... I can't get over how much OZar simps for your niece sometimes."

The young man was willing to let that comment slide so long as he could get a little more help. "Okay... so... I have to choose three more skills?"

She shook her head. "This Hab is all about customization so nobody can tell you what you HAVE to do." You GET to choose three more. You can select all of them now, or just choose another one or two. As long as you're in a safe area like 'The Eight Shannons' you can get new skills as long as you have an open skill slot."

With that guidance, Logan managed to select two more skills (climbing and Swimming), and decided to leave his fourth for later selection. "Okay... looks like I'm all set."

Daliah raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What'd you choose?"

He felt no reason to keep that info secret. "I got Tumbling, Climbing, and Swimming... and...I guess I'm saving the last one?"

She winked. "Pretty basic, but all good choices. I have those too."

Logan rolled his eyes. "You do, do ya? You probably have more than that if you've been playing for as long as you say."

The Elf shrugged with mock humbleness. "Of course... like I said: my account is one of the oldest, and I've been playing this character longer than plenty of Transhumans have been alive. In this Corpus I have twenty nine skills... some even with two Master Stars."

The young man was about to ask about 'Master Stars' when a deep, growling, feral-sounding voice spoke up from behind him; it has a decidedly familiar-but-not-easy-to-place accent. "Well well well... as I live and breathe. What do I find here other than the famed Daliah Windbloom courting a first timer in the 'Elite Den'? Going for another one of your exquisite conquests, are you, my Lady?"

Logan turned, and almost fell out of his seat when he came face-to-muzzle with an enormous Wolfman. "H-HOLY--!"

The lupine humanoid grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Kinda jumpy too."

Daliah let out an exasperated sigh. "Give him a break, Bellever. You know your custom Corpus freaks out experienced players too."

The newcomer, Bellever by name, apparently, let out a hearty, growling laugh, and gave Logan a hearty slap on the back. "Yeah. I know. Sorry, Logan... couldn't resist."

Remembering that visitors to Ozar's Realm only got to see character names, Logan was just about to ask how the creature knew his real name when the smiling Wolfman chided him "Not very original choosing your name spelled backward as a character name, by the way."

The young man was ready to object, but Daliah quickly interceded. "Also, if you're visiting Ozar's Realm, anyone on your Friends List on your native Hab social media system can tell who you are. Considering you're from Luna Hab, I presume you know Noah Doge?"

Suddenly remembering that he HAD discussed Ozar's Realm with the Dog, and Noah HAD told him about a custom Wolfman Corpus that he'd had made, everything clicked into place. "Oh. Noah... you're here too?"

The Wolfman's large ears and sagging jowels made an audible waggle sounded as he nodded vigorously. "I AM! After hearing you were going to Ozar's Realm I knew that I could not pass up on the opportunity to experience it alongside you for your first time. Imagine my joy when I see that you are still in a safe zone and have yet to choose an adventure to undertake!"

Logan quickly objected. "I'm.... thinking maybe I'll just hang out for a bit."

Daliah reinforced the thought. "He needs some time to get used to the Realm. He'll be fine here at the inn for awhile."

The Wolfman slid a little closer to her. When he winked, one of his ears flicked back too and his tail wagged. "You know, Daliah, this nurturing, motherly side of you is a good look. I approve."

The Elf stared flatly at him. "Bite me."

Bellever showed his full maw of teeth in the largest grin yet. "Oh, I've been hoping you'd ask that for some time... I KNEW you'd like this new character!"

Daliah rolled her eyes. "You know I don't go for wolves. Your dark elf Corpus was much more my speed."

The Wolfman let out a soft, lurid growl and winked. "Rrrrr.... I'll bet you do. If you want, I can always slip over to the temple and change into--"

Logan was definitely not into the conversation and quickly interjected "If I say I'll go on an adventure would you just focus on helping me figure things out rather than... whatever THAT talk is?"

Bellever looked over to Daliah, ears up. "Is he having trouble understanding? Does he have the youth-age-setting enabled?

With blessedl mercy, Daliah didn't address the Wolfman and, instead, looked to Logan. "I suppose I could be troubled to take you on a quest... considering Bellever is still a fairly new character having someone along to escort you will allow you to take on more of a challenge if you want, Nagol."

The young man shook his head "Nah... to be honest, if it's my first quest I'd prefer something short and easy."

Bellever wagged, quickly piping in "I have a dwarf character who is both short and easy."

Daliah rolled her eyes. "Come on... let's go get you equipped then we'll head out. Bellever, please keep the entendres singular."

The Wolfman let out a soft whine, gazing up at her out of the top of her eyes, hunkering down like a whipped puppy. It took Logan a moment to realize what she meant: no double entendres. He was starting to like her more.