The Excisionists: Book 1 Page 4

  I had to think quickly and shifted into a heat reflecting drone. I felt the blast of heat hit the mirror and aimed it back at the dripping Scoria. The beam hit it straight on the nose causing it to shake its head, but this hit didn’t decrease its health. I had only seconds to make my next decision. This time I flew close and used the side of my mirror to slash the back of the neck where the sparks were flowing. The Scoria reared up as it screeched and then slid into the river of lava with its last breath. The music immediately calmed, and a portal opened up at the center of the island. I shifted back to an Eva just before entering the swirling dark hole. The portal lead directly back to the start of the Training Course. Cygnet was standing in front of me as the portal behind me vanished.

  “Well done. You may now select your avatar.”

  I took a few moments to consider what I’d accomplished. “Eva.”

  “Good choice. You may now customize your avatar.”

  A screen flashed before my eyes displaying my beginning form and the options I could select. I chose to reconfigure the forehead lines in the shape of a snowflake, and switched the exterior color of the mechanical arms, legs, and torso from gunmetal to silver.

  Cygnet’s voice reverberated in the chamber. “Please select a name.”

  I thought for a moment. “Can I just use my own name?”

  “Yes. Do you wish to select Iolite as your character name?”

  I shrugged. “Do most people use their own name?”

  “The majority of players do not select their own name. Do you wish to select Iolite as your character name?”

  I thought about it again for a while. “Um, no. I’ll go by Lilly.”

  “Please choose a character class.”

  The screen switched to three classes, animal, humanoid, and alien. The animal resembled a large black gorilla with shiny silver eyes and sharpened metallic teeth. Weapons for the animal class were the claws and teeth. The humanoid was similar to something I would see in the mirror, but the hair was a solid piece and it was wearing a black jumpsuit. Weapons for this class were a gun and a battle axe. The alien class was tall, thin, had blue-gray skin, with shimmering silvery eyes and a white jumpsuit. Weapons included water and light bombs along with a tesla glove.

  “What’s the point of the character class if Evas can become anything?”

  Cygnet stood still and spoke with her silky voice. “Character classes allow the Evas to conceal what they truly are. It allows for entry into additional areas based on class. All character classes can be earned on your home planet Yargkee to allow for additional abilities and weapons. Any additional questions before you become fully immersed in your new world?”

  I thought about her question. “No. I think I’ll start as an alien class on Yargkee.”

  A bright green portal swirled into existence before me as the screen faded.

  I stepped through the portal.

  “Welcome to Yargkee, home of the Evas. Your first task will be to locate the crystalline tower warp point. Additional instructions will be given when you reach it. You may turn off the voice instructions at any point by tapping the temple of your headset and requesting voice off.”

  I looked around to orient myself to my home planet. The sky was a pale shade of azure and the world before me was filled with rounded crystal clear icy protrusions that refracted the light, casting rainbows of color across the glacier covered land. White crystals of snow littered the ground and swirled when the biting wind blew. Gigantic icy monuments had been wind carved and cast intriguing shifting spectral displays across the blinding snow when the sunlight refracted through them like prisms. I passed a frozen waterfall and dozens of ice caves on my way toward a massive glassy structure in the distance. Large spires pointed upwards and archways covered in ice reminded me of a citadel carved from crystal. Spiraling staircases reached upward to the large double radius topped doors made from gritty red stone.

  I reached the structure and climbed the stairs with care and a blast of heat rush toward me when the doors opened. The interior was much different than I had expected, and it was now apparent that it was actually a stone structure that had been encased in ice rather than an ice structure decorated with stone. The inside was warmed by glowing cherry red tubes protruding from the walls and ceiling. Teardrops of light hung from the ceiling and were clustered in a spiral reaching almost to the surface of the placid pool of water in the center of the first room. Throughout the edifice, the walls and floors were the same coarse red stone. The stairs in the back were neatly arranged slabs of stone stacked on top of other pieces of the gritty ruddy stone tightly cobbled together.

  I could see another Eva standing in the center of the room near the pool, so I approached. “I’m trying to find the first crystalline tower warp point do you know where it is?”

  The Eva stared at me. “Welcome to Yargkee. This is the Stone Terrace. You must search the caves to find what you seek.”

  I clarified my question to hopefully narrow down the response. “Do you know where any Bismuth Crystals are?”

  The Eva continued to stare at me. “Welcome to Yargkee. This is the Stone Terrace. You must search the caves to find what you seek.”

  I sighed. “NPC’s are so bland.”

  I decided to take her advice and explore the planet. When I descended the stairs, I realized that the forcefield around my organic portions kept me from being both excessively cold or warm. The rest of my mechanical parts were unaffected by temperature since they had been built for extreme temperatures either way. I peered around at the icy planet and picked a direction at random. I could see a large cavern not too far from the Stone Terrace, so I headed for it. When I reached it, I could see a glimmering within. As I entered, I could see tiny glowing ferns that melted the ice around them. They had sticky white floral structures at the center that exuded a vanilla like aroma. I picked one to examine it more closely.

  Cygnet’s voice floated across my headset. “This is an ice bloom. It may be used for making potions, trading, and may have other undiscovered uses. Many indigenous plants are of value and should be collected.”

  “Where do I store the stuff I collect?”

  “Evas have many storage areas on their suits and within the hollow portions of their skeletons. This is one of the benefits of being only partially organic. Larger items may be stored in your dwelling, on ships, or in caches.”

  I looked down at my shiny silver body to see where I could keep this flower. There were several areas that I could tell were for storage, so I tapped one on my left arm. It slid out and I placed the delicate flower inside, tapping it to make it retract. “Cool.”

  I could see an opening in the back of the cave but knew I couldn’t fit inside so I shifted to my alien form. I became tall and thin with blue-gray skin and shimmering silvery eyes. I crouched down and slid through the small opening. The cave opened up to reveal a large area with a shiny multicolored cubic Bismuth Crystal at the center. It was nearly the size of my fist and had dozens of cubic crystalline structures like boxes inside each other.

  Cygnet’s sweet voice told me what I already knew. “Congratulations, you have found a Bismuth Crystal. These are very rare and only a few can be found by each player on every planet.”

  I scooped up the crystal that was surprisingly light and crawled back through the narrow opening before shifting to an Eva again. I placed the crystal in my suit and exited the cave. As I walked across the icy land, the softly wafting music drummed louder, and I saw dark shadows through a massive ice statue. I tried to shift to a Wa’ada but couldn’t, so I shifted back to my alien form to face whatever came from behind. I watched as two massive gorilla-like creatures knuckle walked toward me. My heart pounded as they approached and reared up to pound their chests. The only weapons I possessed were the light bombs and the tesla glove. I made a fist to force the glove to discharge a silvery streak of lightning. The beasts were hit, but not much damage was done. I switched to the light bomb to see if it would have a
bigger effect.

  The sparkling sphere that shot from the glove was nearly massless but hurtled through the air at a high speed. It struck the ground near both creatures immediately knocking them to the ground. They were dazed but stood up again.

  I was frustrated and a little fearful. “Cygnet, how do I kill these things?”

  “Continue to attack the anthropoids with your weapons to decrease their health. Once it is depleted you may shift to this class.”

  I continued to throw bombs and shock them repeatedly. My level of frustration increased. “It’s not working.”

  “Weapons not equipped with modifications are less effective and take multiple discharges to eradicate enemies.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Ugh. You’re telling me. These things are almost useless.”

  I repeatedly jogged from left to right to avoid any strikes from the anthropoids as I continued to detonate my weapons. Several bombs and shocks later, the anthropoids dropped to the ground and dissolved each leaving behind one white crystal. I walked over and picked them up as the music returned to its previous placid state.

  “Congratulations, your health has increased. You may now shift to the anthropoid class.”

  I tried shifting to the anthropoid class and was successful. I then shifted back to my Eva form. “Cygnet, what classes or races can I shift to at this point?”

  “Evas may only shift to classes or races they defeat, with the exception of background organisms that have no abilities. Currently you may shift among Eva, anthropoid, and alien.”

  I started walking again. “That sucks. I’m sure I can’t defeat a Wa’ada right now.”

  “That is correct. You must upgrade your weapons and pass off levels before you will be ready for that specific challenge.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Is there a map of my planet so I can see where I’m going and where I’ve been?”

  “Yes. The map function is located here.”

  My left wrist blinked green. I pressed the light and a map of the small area I’d explored on Yargkee opened up. I could scroll in and out by running my hand through the hologram in one direction or another to make it smaller or larger. When I scrolled out I could see the main surface of the planet shrouded in gray. I knew I had much more to explore so I continued walking in the same direction. After some time, I reached the shore of a large lake. In the center was a small island with something shiny reflecting the light. I couldn’t see anything to transport me across the lake, so I jumped in and began to swim. Underneath the water were teams of tiny white fish, long fronds of mud colored plants, and brightly colored corals. I dove down lower in the lake to collect some of each organism in case they could be used later. I could feel my oxygen getting low, which required a trip back to the surface of the water.

  I was puzzled by this sudden need to surface. “Cygnet, I thought my suit would keep me from needing oxygen so why am I having to return to the surface?”

  Her soft voice answered immediately. “Your suit provides oxygen, sulfur, and energy to your organic portion however, it requires periodic recharging at this point.”

  “Can I make it stop needing to recharge?”

  “Modifications may be purchased that increase the ability of your suit to provide the necessary items. The highest level of modifications allows your suit to synthesize and store all necessary components without any interruption to supply.”

  “Sweet. Guess I better get more crystals to get that upgrade.”

  By the time this conversation had ended, I was at the edge of the island. I walked onto the glacial shore. I neared the shining object that was a spinning cylinder with a hologram of a hexagonal crystal on top. When I approached, the cylinder stopped spinning, the exterior liquified, and a doorway opened. I entered the cylinder to see what was inside. It was a small shop with a single person at the glass counter.

  The shopkeeper was humanoid that had large gray eyes along with dark hair and skin. He waved when I entered. “Welcome, what can I get for you?”

  I peered through the glass at pentagonal coins the size of a quarter. Next to them were two weapons, one was a handheld blaster and the other was a black glove. Below each was a price tag displaying the number of crystals needed. I pointed to the coins. “What are these?”

  The shopkeeper smiled widely. “Glad you asked. These are modifications for weapons, health, and armor known as cabochons. They increase the strength of your armor, the attack force of your weapons, or the effectiveness of health upgrades. What can I get for you?”

  I didn’t have enough crystals to purchase anything, so I left.

  As I exited the shop, the shopkeeper waved again. “Come again soon!”

  I jumped back into the water and swam across the in other direction to continue the exploration of my home planet. Large drops of water dripped from my suit onto the shiny glacier covered terrain, freezing almost instantaneously. I was looking for other caves or areas of interest with the music I’d been ignoring switched to attack style. I spun around to find the source of the action but couldn’t see it. Finally, I looked up just in time to duck and miss a planned hit by a spherical drone. It was the color of gunmetal and had dozens of blinking lights. It had signaled to others that were dropping from a higher altitude as a backup. Circular blades hurtled toward me and stuck in the ice in zigzag patterns. I morphed into an anthropoid and jumped into the air. My muscular arms and gigantic hands ripped apart the drones as easily as breaking a twig in half. I flipped and hopped in all directions to avoid the blades and destroy all the drones that came my way. I knew I’d finally destroyed the last one when the background music relaxed its intensity. Although it wasn’t my favorite part of the game, I did find it useful at times.

  I picked up a blade and threw it at the nearest ice wall. It sliced the wall as it grazed by and imbedded itself halfway into the icy outcropping leaving a large gash in its wake. I picked up several more and found a spot to stow them by attaching them to the back of my suit in yet another compartment. I tapped the map function and found that I had covered nearly one fourth of the planet. I changed direction again and eventually came upon another large cavern. Inside I found a mechanical device with spraying sparks and missing gears.

  I searched the cave for the missing gears but found none. Since it was about the same size as the blades in my back, I pulled two of them out and tried them in their place. They whirred and performed just like the missing gears would have however, the sparks remained. I examined the track where the sparks were being generated to find a blown fuse. I followed the electrical current and shut it off at the source. Off to the side was a box of fuses by the plug and I grabbed one that looked the same as the one that was broken.

  I pulled the plug and the sparks stopped, allowing me to be able to replace the missing fuse. Once I plugged the machine back in, it moved smoothly and opened a series of doors to reveal a shattered crystal that towered high above my head. The dark gray crystal was missing several pieces causing it to be useless at this point. Since there was nothing else to be found in this cave, I exited and moved in another direction to see what else I could find.

  I circled back around to the opposite side of the frozen waterfall and found an opening in the ice. It was large enough for me to drop down into and stand upright as I walked deeper into the underground cave. Bioluminescent organisms wiggled and crept across the frozen walls gave light to the otherwise dark cavern. The light grew brighter as I descended down wandering pathways that eventually led to a rushing river. Long crystals were frozen inside stalactites and pillars of ice inside the cave. I smashed the ice structures and collected the crystals to get closer to the amount needed for the upgrades and weapons. Something was probably under the river, but I couldn’t breathe underwater for long enough to explore it. I knew I’d have to come back later and find out what it was. I turned around and retraced my steps to get out of the cave and look for fuses elsewhere. When I emerged, I could see something generating a pillar of smoke off to my left. I
approached cautiously to discover a ship that had crashed.

  The ship was large enough to transport a dozen people or more and was shiny silver except where it had impacted an upward reaching collection of ice. Its exterior was shaped like a lemon with narrow wings attached on the sides. It was supposed to sit on three legs, but one of them had been badly damaged in the wreck causing the ship to lean on its side. As I got closer, a pale furry creature emerged from behind the ship. It was tall and lumbering, shifting its weight back and forth and dragging a sled with tools behind it.