“What the hell was that!” Coop cried out.
Pete turned to face Sam, rubbing his head and frowning over at her. She was squinting and staring straight ahead. “Nero. What the hell is that?”
Pete followed her gaze, turning to look at what appeared to be a giant wall of shimmering, translucent green shielding, of the same kind that surrounded all of the houses in the area.
[Nero] Ah…well, this is most unusual. It appears that the System has decided to block your attempt to reach your friend. Most unusual.
Pete opened the door and half fell out onto the road. He walked up to the barrier, looking left and right to get some idea of how far it stretched. Sam and the others exited the RV and joined him as he examined the barrier.
“Is this thing gonna zap me if I touch it?” Pete asked. “Or fine me?”
[Nero] No, the barrier will simply prevent you from passing through; it will not harm you in any way. Though, I am puzzled as to why you would need to do so?
“I’m human,” Pete replied. “You stick a red button in front of me, and I’m gonna want to press it. You put up a giant green barrier, and I’m gonna touch the damned thing.”
He pressed his hands against the barrier. It felt cool to the touch and completely solid but, true to Nero’s words, it didn’t harm him in any way. Not only that, the shield didn’t emit any kind of sound or sensation. His fingers didn’t tingle, and there was no vibration.
“Can the System just do that?” Coop asked. “Just change the rules at the last minute?”
Sam chuckled. “Where the hell have you been for the last few hours? Of course, it can.”
As if to demonstrate the truth of her words, a new message displayed on each of their HUDs.
>> NPC TRANSITION: Three More Mouths to Feed!
Great news! Given your magnetic personality, and the willingness of your goblin companions to follow you into the jaws of death, your three goblin companions have now been recognized as fully fledged players within the Dominion Ultrimax Contest.
>> NEW PLAYER REGISTERED: Cragmire “Craig” Gaul
>> NEW PLAYER REGISTERED: Grizzle McTongle
>> NEW PLAYER REGISTERED: Torgo Catterblats
>> PARTY LIMIT REACHED
Congratulations, you have reached the maximum number of party members permitted for a novice player. No additional players can be added until you advance to the Novice Arena. You will also not be permitted to add new party members if any existing members die until you have reached the Novice Arena.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
>> LEADERSHIP PROFICIENCY +1
>> PERSONAL MAGNETISM PROFICIENCY +1
“Well,” Pete said with a sigh. “That’s a kick in the balls.”
“Damn it!” Sam said. “We’re screwed then. We’re gonna need to take out that elite boss with just who we have.”
Pete nodded, turning around to look at Craig and the other goblins.
“Maybe,” he said, noting that Craig was grinning broadly. “But if we can help these guys level up in the next few hours, maybe we’ll have a shot.”
“Nope,” Coop said, pressing a paw against the green barrier. “We’re screwed. The System clearly has it out for us. Well, you, Pete.”
[Nero] I would have to concur. This kind of change this early on in the contest is somewhat unprecedented. To alter circumstances in this way and force you to fight an elite boss while significantly underprepared seems almost…vindictive.
“But it’s exciting, right?” Pete said, turning back from the green barrier and walking towards the RV. “That’s the whole point, isn’t it, to make this as exciting for the viewers as possible?”
[Nero] Yes, of course, but there are other considerations. The System cannot tip the scales too far, remember; otherwise, viewers will see the unfairness, and betting will suffer. There must be a balance between challenging players, generating excitement, allowing a chance for unforeseen events to happen, but always providing a path to victory. The odds cannot be pushed too far in one direction; otherwise, everything suffers.
“Well,” Sam offered, walking over to join Pete. “In our case, the odds are well and truly against us. First, we’ve got Luckless Larry here; now we’re being forced to go back and face an elite boss with three new party members that,” she turned to Craig, “no offense, but look like they would get knocked out by a strong breeze.”
Craig was staring down at his right arm, and Pete could just see the faint outline of what appeared to be a game gauntlet around the goblin’s hand.
“We’ve got time though, right?” Pete countered. “If we can find some low-level enemies and give these guys a chance to level up a little, then they can help.”
[Nero] A sound strategy; however, they will each need to pick a class first, and these will need to be purchased. Given your current funds, it may take some time to acquire the necessary funds. As they were previously NPCs, the available class options will likely be different as well. Transitioning in this fashion is very rare, and I have limited experience in the matter, so I cannot say for certain. I suggest we reach a Vend-o-matic machine as soon as possible and determine what viable classes may be available.
“Okay then,” Sam said, putting a hand on the side of the RV and focusing on the map display floating in front of her face. “I see one kiosk about ten miles from here. It’s basically our only option because of these damned barriers.”
Pete looked at the map, noting that there were green barriers forming a corridor that led directly from where they were to the elite boss and the Tongsly-Belch robot they intended to use to lure the Coinflayer storm away. He could see the storm on the map too, a huge, brooding mass of angry clouds that looked like a hurricane as it slowly circled the Novice Arena.
He could see Ollie too, on the other side of the barrier. Pete pulled his comms unit out of his inventory and checked for what felt like the dozenth time whether his friend had made contact, but there was still nothing.
“Alright then,” he said. “Let’s get to that kiosk and see what options we’ve got. We should also look for chances to score some quick cash on the way.”
“Agreed,” Sam said. “I’ll keep an eye out for mobs nearby.”
“Just don’t let Pete anywhere near the machine once we reach it,” Coop insisted. “Otherwise, it will pack out on us like the other one did.”
Pete held up his hands in surrender. “I promise I’ll keep my distance.”
He turned to face Craig and the other goblins. They were all huddled together, with Grizzle and Torgo both staring at the barely visible gauntlet on Craig’s hand. Pete could see that they both had similar gauntlets but seemed transfixed on Craig’s.
“What does it mean ‘player’?” Grizzle said, eyes wide. “Craig, what does it mean?!”
The other goblin was grinning. “It means we have a chance.”