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| Basic Combat Test concluded. You have been awarded a Combat Ranking of B318271931, and Potential Combat Ranking of S+. |
| +30 Levels (+5 Levels for each Combat Ranking increase) +30 ability points for gaining 30 levels with one action |
| Congratulations! You have reached level 100, and have been awarded 100 ability points. Bounty quests, raids and general warfare have been unlocked. For further information, consult your nearest Administrator. Please note that from now on you only gain 1 ability point per level. |
Shortly thereafter, Alan felt and saw a new message appear.
| Congratulations, you have passed the combat assessment doing well beyond expectations! You have been awarded 5000 guild points, and qualified for a squire position under Knight Phantom. Report to him after the guild assessment is complete.
All recruits will now have free time to get lunch and prepare for the final assessment, a round-robin objective-based combat tournament. Teams will be decided based upon previous assessments. The tournament will begin at 1400 Khersath Private Quadrant Rose Standard Time in the Simulation Dome. |
Groaning to himself, Alan proceeded to lunch.
***
As Alan emerged from the Black Rose Cafeteria, which simply consisted of a metal vending-machine like dispenser that provided the strange grey blocks of food that seemed standard both in and out of the Game, he received a message from Phantom.
Phantom: Come to my location, simply enter an elevator in the keep and it will take you to me.
Alan hurried over to the closest elevator to the keep’s entrance, wondering what Phantom wanted. Alan waited for an empty elevator to arrive, as strangely the common etiquette was to wait for an empty elevator cabin to arrive rather than simply getting in together and getting off at different floors. It seemed there were secrets aplenty in the Black Rose Guild, not least of which was where people worked.
A few minutes later, Alan finally found his way into an empty elevator without other, higher ranking members of the guild commandeering it on “important business.” He silently entered the cabin, waiting for it to descend. And descend it did. Alan stopped paying attention after Eve guessed they had gone 100 floors downward.
Whatever the outer appearance might show, it was clear that the Black Rose compound was much larger than most people believed, going deeper than Alan even thought possible. Alan wondered what they might be hiding down here, what could possibly require so much space. Then, suddenly, Alan passed through an electric field of some sort. He felt a strange tingling as his feet slowly passed through it, followed by his legs, body and finally—
Alan something—
A soft beep sounded in Alan’s mind, and then Eve was silenced, gone from Alan’s consciousness. He suddenly stopped feeling the familiar presence, carefully analyzing everything. A part of him felt free, clearer, yet another part felt oddly empty. There was suddenly no background noise, no constant calculation or outlining of his surroundings. Just the basic in-game interface. And silence.
Shortly thereafter, the elevator doors began to open. Alan tried to hide against the wall and prepare himself for whatever emerged. He pulled out his laser pistols, ready for whatever horror awaited him. Instead, he was greeted by a nervous-looking Phantom, wearing the same old lab coat.