A New Path

I hadn't expected the NPCS to be so sentient. Will this affect the way the cities function on a daily basis? NPCs handle everything from taxes to land distribution. I hope the black market sellers don't start asking for bribes now that they have a mind of their own.

A black portal appears in the middle of the cave and I walk through it. There's nowhere else for me to go. I'm transported into a bigger circular cavern, dimly lit by floating ember-like spheres. Five pedestals line the cavern's wall, each one holding a closed book. Large symbols decorate the covers, and I recognize them as soon as I move closer.

Five books, one for each mastery: Pyromania, Aquifera, Electrostatic and Terranium. Aerokinesis is missing, and the last book is one I don't recognize. I move towards it and open it. Darkness, it says, in bold letters reminiscent of a medieval scripture.

"You can select that mastery because you're Sorgin," says a voice next to my ear, and I jerk my head towards the direction it came from. I don't appreciate being surprised by voices of unknown origin.

A Sorgin hooded in a red robe stands before me. She has Stormborn's same greyish eyes and skin. My eyes and skin. I suppose I should get used to being my avatar in the game now, as opposed to just controlling it with a mouse and keyboard.

She's taller though, and she looks gaunt and so emaciated, that a strong wind would blow her away. The Sorgin are night creatures, looking like a mix between elves and human zombies. As a punishment for worshipping Iluntasuna, the goddess of darkness, they were alienated from the other races who coexist in Amoria.

"You may call me Thalla," says the woman. "I am going to guide you on the path to achieving your full potential. You were offered the mastery of air because it suits the skills you already have. Complements it, if you will. But if I may speak frankly, I rejoiced at watching you reject that creature's offer. The Sorgin have no place in the natural world, even if you can wield their powers. It's time for you to embrace your essence and leave aside your elemental training. Leave those powers to the Tapireans or puny humans."

"But I am an elemental mystic. It's the class I've chosen," I say.

"You've chosen wrong. But you can correct that now."

There must be something about this in the lore, which I've never bothered to learn in its entirety. It is true that most Sorgin are Necromancers or Bloodfallen. I chose to play as an elemental mystic because it sounded like a more versatile class, way back then when I created Stormborn.

"As a hero player, your power will grow exponentially once you choose to honor the spirit of the Sorgin."

"A hero?"

"You have the golden pass in your possession and you will represent the Sorgin in the battles to come," Thalla says.

"What golden pass?"

"One you retrieved from the monster called Lobison, if I'm not mistaken."

Could it have transferred into my account despite the server shutdown? I touch my hip instinctively, like I've always seen Stormborn do when opening my inventory. Nothing happens.

"Are you sure about this? I got the pass? How do I open my bags?" I say, resisting the urge to break her impassiveness.

She has no idea what she has just revealed to me.

"We are in a temporal vortex, so you can't access any of your corporeal belongings. When you choose your mastery, your spirit will rejoin the natural world," she says.

"You said the darkness mastery is only available to me because I'm Sorgin. That means only Sorgins can have this build, right? Elemental mystic with darkness mastery?"

"Yes…" she says, as if struggling to comprehend my strange wording.

If this is a unique class build that most players don't have access to, I could eventually sell this avatar for thousands of dollars more than a regular one. That is, if I sell it before people catch up to this and start leveling more Sorgins. But I'm not planning to sell Stormborn anytime soon, and it's not technically legal to sell avatars, anyway. But you can cede an O-light account to someone else.

"Wait. What's in it for you?" I say. "Why do you want me to choose darkness?"

Thalla scowls.

"There is nothing in this world for me. I am but a reflection of the past," she says. "Of a time long gone."

I'm surprised. NPCs have personal memories? How does the AI integrate their storylines into the game's lore? The gloomy ambience, Thalla's leathery voice, the cave, everything about this scenario was created by a machine.

Even the chinchilla remembered who I am and what I had done to them.

Now I understand how the Neural X changed the concept of entertainment forever. Being able to experience the game's world as if you're physically there is in itself an amazing feat. But the real immersion is about how it makes you feel.

Seen from a computer screen, this would've felt just as distant as any other game asking you to choose a class to keep playing. Now there's a new weight to my decisions, and I feel that what I'm doing somehow matters much more than it should.

I'm sorely tempted to choose darkness. Considering my odds of winning the tournament, my safest choice is to invest in monetizing my avatar, as I've always done. But playing safe won't help me win, either. I'm surely not the only Sorgin playing as an elemental mystic, and if the others have access to the darkness mastery too, I'll have no edge against them in battle.

"Light power counters darkness, doesn't it?" I say, and Thalla nods.

"Then I'd be vulnerable to all the classes that use light power. And I assume light mastery is also available to other heroes, isn't it?"

"Of course, but all elements in this world have their opposites. Whichever you choose will always have a natural enemy. But weakness and strength aren't exact measures of ability. Everything depends on how you use your power."

"Darkness is strong against all except light. And the elements counter each other most of the time. Which one is the most defensive mastery?" I ask, trying to remember the class descriptions in the character creation screen.

"Defensive? Hmm, that would be water. It's the least offensive one if that's a way to measure it," says Thalla. "However, used correctly, its power can also be devastating. As a Sorgin, though, I insist that the path of darkness is the way."

"Yes, it's the way to sure death by Lightbringers and any other class that chooses light," I say.

My conflicting interests pull me in two directions. I could choose darkness, and gain a lot of power using my Sorgin racial abilities, and apparently, earn the approval of my race. Not that that has ever helped me. The Sorgin hub is far away from everything useful, and almost no Npcs around the major cities are Sorgin.

Thalla frowns and shifts on her feet, scrutinizing me. I've stayed afloat in this game by being inconspicuous and utterly unremarkable. But if Thalla is right and I get to participate in the tournament, I can't play to survive. I have to play to win.

Most players will choose masteries that empower their racial skills. I can't imagine how hard a Sorgin Knifespawn with the darkness mastery will stab me if he ever gets a hold of me. And I'll always be weaker than a Tapirean elemental mystic whose mastery works hand in hand with their racial affinity for the natural elements.

I scan the other books, to Thalla's dismay. She looks like she's chewing on lemons as I make my way through the cave.

"Don't fight your essence, young hero. We were forged by the darkness. Let go of the magic that doesn't belong to us and embrace who you really are," she says all of a sudden, sounding impatient.

"How do I make the decision final?" I ask.

Thalla seems pleased with herself as I walk back towards the book of Darkness.

"You place your hand on the page and say 'I choose darkness'."

Then I move my hand and place it on top of the book right beside it.

"I choose Aquifera," I say.