AlterWorld

After twenty more minutes, the kid realized that his eyes were bigger than his belly.

"Overload," he said wistfully. "Two more items, and I won't be able to move. Stealth speed is half the standard as it is. I might go to town and flog it all. Thanks, dude. Good luck and good hunting!"

I waved him away without looking up from a freshly-made map. This was another problem with my unpla

It still took me and Hummungus another half-hour to get to the central altar. By then, I was level 14 going on 15. When I'd reached level 14 a few rooms back, a few new system messages had popped up.

Congratulations! You've received Achievement: Impervious.

You've stayed alive for five subsequent levels!

Reward: +100 to Fame

A few seconds later, another message blinked on,

Server alert! Server update 2144:

We have introduced a new measure aiming to restrict a summoned creature's level regardless of the player's class. A summoned creature's level is now limited to that of a summoner +30%. In case of summoning a higher creature, its level will be automatically lowered to comply with the above formula.

This measure does not apply to item and buff bonuses.

E.g.: Necromancer, level 10, has a Soul Stone level 20. Item bonuses +2 to level. You can raise a level 15 pet.

Oh. AI was quick on the uptake. Apparently, they kept a firm eye on this achievement to make sure no one could abuse bugs for leveling.

After a few more seconds, Admin PM'd me with a message that made me chuckle.

Dear Player,

You have recently helped us to detect certain gaming scenarios which could potentially disrupt the game's balance.

As a thank-you gesture on our part, please accept this Sky Stone. It can be attached to any cloth or armor item as any other gem. It also has 10 characteristic points for you to add to the parameters of your choice.

Thank you for your cooperation.

We remind you that per Section 14.7 of EULA, Administration has the right to review all game logs, including the combat and social chats.

Oh well. Big brother is watching you. At least they gave me a carrot, not a stick. I studied the stone. It resembled a large multifaceted ruby the size of a dollar. I got an eyeful, then shoved it deep into my bag. Later. Now I needed to do some leveling while I was still fresh, had plenty of food and was out of mobs' way. Time to move it.

Chapter Nine

The altar melee was a piece of cake. With the regularity of a grinder, my pet kept working on whatever gnolls happened to be around. At a certain point, his health dropped to 90% only to restore gradually back to his signature 100%. The Head Shaman, the local mini boss, cast a bit of rather useless magic, clouding my bear in blue smoke and piercing him with bolts of purple lightning. The fire show came to an abrupt end when Teddy finished with the last defender and turned his attention to the shaman himself. After a dozen hits, another level 17 corpse lay sprawled on the floor.

Ding! 15! Six levels in an hour and a half. Awesome. I frisked the corpses piled about and bent over the shaman, curious. A heavy bronze key and a little silver ring. I thought first that it was the quest key which opened one of the cages. It wasn't. Apparently, it opened the squeaky door that led to the dungeon's second level. The ring was a different story.

Lore Ring

Item Class: Uncommon

Durability: 20/20

Effect: +3 to Intellect

Nice. I tried it on, and the mana bar jumped up thirty percent. I glanced at the clock. Only three minutes left until the mobs respawned. I gave it some thought and decided to stay for a new mop-up. I had to admit I liked the ring so much I could use another dozen.

I jumped up onto the altar and froze in the lotus pose, watching the show. Teddy won again, 9:0.

The loot surprised me. No key this time. Either it didn't drop twice or it was rare loot to begin with. In the latter case, the key could be of some value so I could try to get some money back for it.

The ring I did get, albeit different.

Gold sapphire ring

Item class: Common

Durability: 20/20

Effect: none. Just a pretty trinket.

I raised the ring up to my eyes. Nice one. I threw it into my bag adding it to a handful of other jewelry. I could sell it or give it to the girls I'd met—their numbers steadily growing, luckily for me as I was already itching for it. Especially because most females here looked like Barbies on steroids, covered with token amounts of lace, transparent silk and some jewelry. The sight of slim Elven maidens doing their corpse runs like some bikini beach joggers, was too much for any red-blooded male. Damn those art designers. A plague on both their houses.

The sex question was more than resolvable here. You could give in to temptation in your own house or in somebody else's with the hostess' consent. Brothels were another answer to it. All in all, sexual activities in virtual reality were more than popular. Before the arrival of the FIVR, a quarter of all Internet traffic had been porn. Now imagine, instead of two-dimensional pics and dubious-quality videos, the ability to experience a more than real gratification with the most beautiful of all Internet girls. This was one of the cornerstones of the FIVR success. Sex, entertainment and adrenaline, multiplied by one's superiority complex, all in one unique product. Mind boggling.

I shouldn't have thought about girls. I shook my head dispersing the unwanted images and had another swig of herbal tea sending my thanks to the Three Little Pigs' i

"Hummungus, come, pup. Be quiet."

History repeated itself. Here, mobs were juicier, level 18 and above, growing stronger as we approached the third underground floor. After half an hour, I received a new message.

Congratulations! You've received Achievement: Immortal.

You've stayed alive for ten subsequent levels!

Reward: +500 to Fame

Fame Alert!

Your Fame has exceeded 1000 points!

You've reached Fame level 1: "People are talking about you".

Friendly faction vendors might surprise you with lower prices. You will also gain access to some secret quests.

Not bad at all. My joy was slightly spoiled by the fact that all these achievements were cheats, to a point. Had it not been for my free Teddy ticket, I'd still be a nonentity. I made myself a solemn promise not to think too much of myself and to generally keep a low profile.

After a few more minutes, the already level-19 me fought my way to a wide corridor leading to the floor's main hall. There I could fully appreciate the developers' sick sense of humor. The staircase down to the third floor was right opposite the gnolls' barracks. Whether it was AI trying to be fu