10. Best Start, part 3

  I sent Kevin off to the training hall to meet up with his football buddy and waited for my next customer, who was the third and final of the players unrelated to my sister’s group. It turned out she was more interested in the crafting quarter than she was in the combat options, and after a few quick questions I learned that she was interested in becoming a tailor. I sent her off with some [High-Quality] tools to get her started. Because I was on [Greeter Duty], such an interaction was allowed despite the rules I had to abide by. She would be using those tools for months, if she was lucky and they didn’t wear down too fast.

  At last, my sister arrived with the last of her friends, Syncing up with me at the same time.

  “Hey there, Cuz,” I teased.

  “[Luke]?” the one on the left asked. She’d chosen to be an elf with long red hair, while her friend had chosen to be the only other non-human in the group; a naiad with beautiful blue hair that matched her eyes. The others could change their races later, but generally players started out as humans until they adjusted to the game and understood [Racial Aspects]. Paula had chosen an elf because she knew which direction she wanted to progress in, which made me curious about her friend’s choice.

  “Yup, that’s me,” I said, knowing that, aside from Sam, everyone else would be hearing her say ‘Simon.’ “Surprise!”

  “I thought we had to listen to some old foggy NPC, and then you’d meet us after the tutorial,” she exclaimed, running over to give me a hug. Unlike the ones she’d given me while I’d been riding the hard-light body, I felt this one.

  “Once you have about a thousand hours of game time, you can sign up to replace that NPC. You just have to cover the same points on the checklist that they use, but being an actual player you can go way beyond that in how much help you can give to a noobie. I’ve been trying to guide your friends to get the most out of their first session, with mixed results. Not everyone wants to listen to the voice of experience,” I explained.

  “That’s awesome, I didn’t know you could do that,” she said. “I can totally see you, like, just sitting here for days giving new players awesome gear and stuff.”

  “Ah, well, there’s a limit to how much stuff I can actually give away. Advice is free, but I’m limited in the amount of money or items I can give away,” I complained. “It’s still way more than the NPC’s give new starters, but it’s less than what I’d like.”

  “Well it’s still awesome. Luke, this is Sophie. After Sam, she’s like my next biggest BFF, but we only met in middle school.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sophie. Have you thought about what role you’d like to play in the game? Paula’s already decided to role a healer, and there’s also a tank. That doesn’t mean you couldn’t do either of those things, however; the game can be really flexible for group composition, so you can choose whatever role you want.”

  “I don’t actually know. Paula told me to talk with you about it. I’m not really that good at anything,” she complained. “I’m not in sports like everyone else. Except for ‘Raistlin143,’ I mean, he’s not either. I was thinking about signing up for the cheerleaders in high school, but, I mean, I don’t know, is that lame?”

  “Believe it or not, there’s actually cheerleaders in this game too,” I informed her. “Except they’re kind of like the marching band too, mixed with choir. They’re called Bards, and they’re extremely valuable! Having a bard in a six man party would make you guys able to take on fights that usually require eight to ten people! Can you actually sing, dance, or play an instrument?”

  “Wait, really?” she asked, sounding amazed. “Yes, to all three.”

  “Dancing is a sport,” I pointed out. “Or at least it can be. What kind of dancing do you do, and what instrument?”

  “I can play both the guitar and the flute,” she informed me. “As for dancing … um, well, it’s kind of embarrassing, but I like to square dance.”

  “I’ll take you to Mikael the Marvelous. He’s the local bard trainer. If you show him what you can do, he’ll help you craft some abilities that will be able to seriously buff the rest of the group. I mean, depending on how good we are, we’re talking thirty percent boosts to stats and/or forty percent extra damage. And I bet it will be good for your confidence, too,” I told her, grinning. “Oh man, I love bards. Even if you have a frog voice, which I can tell you don’t, just having you in the party will make a huge difference.”

  “See, Sophie, I told you there would be something for you to do to contribute,” Paula told her.

  “You’re not just saying this stuff to be nice, are you?” Sophie asked, suspicious.

  “No, really,” I said, leading the way away from the entry portal that marked one of the entrances to this Realm. “You’ll understand once you’ve played for a while. Every raid team has at least one support member whose sole job is to buff everybody else. A lot of smaller groups don’t use them, but that’s because they’re hard to find, not because they’re not useful. If anything, having you in the group means that we’re going to have to be careful that nobody swoops in and tries to snatch you away from us.”

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  “That’s not – I mean – I want to play with my friends. I’m not looking to turn pro or anything,” Sophie complained. “And anyway, I’m probably not going to be any good at this whole ‘bard’ thing.”

  “Most bards are terrible at their jobs,” I said, remembering some who had fit only the loosest definition of the role. “Finding a good one is like finding a hundred dollars stuck to the bottom of your shoe after walking out of the bathroom and then using the money to buy a winning lottery ticket. Even if all you do is follow us around practicing your flute or your guitar, you’ll be a big help. Believe me, Sophie, aside from Paula, I think you’re the player I’m looking forward to getting to know the most. We’ll have you spend an hour with Mikael, and then come join the rest of us at the training hall to do the obstacle course a few times before everyone goes to the tavern to talk about what happens next.”

  And so I led them off to the merchant quarter, where Mikael was in the middle of his magic act. We watched as he did a few sparkling illusions, but when he saw a veteran player like myself in his audience he quickly made an end to his display.

  “[Luke]! [Luke Benton]! It has been too long since I’ve seen you, but I have heard of nothing but the tales of your great exploits! Just the other day I heard of --”

  “Mikael, I’m sure I don’t need to hear you stretch the truth like you stretch your undergarments,” I said, interrupting the chubby bard, who chortled at the barb.

  “There is more than one way to interpret that jest, [Luke],” he pointed out.

  I chose to ignore his comeback. “I am here because two new explorers have come to this realm from the one I was born in. One is my Cousin, Paula, and this Naiad here is her close friend, who shows great promise in the schools of wonder, amazement, and entertainment. What she lacks in confidence, I am certain you will help her overcome sooner than later. I will give you a gold piece today to see what she can do in private and offer her any suggestions to how she may put her talents to the greatest use.”

  “An entire gold piece? That is more than I charge for a month’s tutelage,” he pointed out.

  “And I am paying for a month. But only an hour today. Have her display her skill from our realm and give her a lesson or two on some of the songs she might use in ours, then send her to he training hall to meet up with her friends, so that she may spend some time adjusting to her body in this realm upon the obstacle course. As time allows, you may expand her training to fully exploit her abilities and your knowledge of the bardic arts.”

  “Of course, of course, lord captain,” Mikael agreed, bowing gracefully. “Come this way, my lady! Do you sing? Dance? Play an instrument?”

  I left Sophie in Mikael’s capable hands as Paula followed me to the training halls.

  “Is being a bard really such a big deal?” she asked as we passed through the quiet country town. With only about ten thousand locals, it was technically a city, but Wildedeer was out in the wilderness in a sparsely populated province. While dense with nature and resources, most of them were intended for starting players who would explore the area for a few weeks before moving on to more difficult challenges.

  “On a twenty-five man team, having a good bard can be like having an extra two healers and an extra six DPS players,” I explained. “Even if you guys are just a six man team, she’ll make a lot of the encounters I have planned for you much easier. Even if the boys on your team don’t work out long term, you, Sam, and Sophie would be welcomed in any guild in the game as ‘assets to be developed.’”

  “Does that include your guild?” she asked.

  “It’s not really mine,” I reminded her. “I mean, not anymore. Because of the rules I can’t really contribute very much, I just stick around for sentimental reasons. But yeah, if you guys were looking for a place to hang out, NinjaGuardians would totally take you. Although I’m not sure it’s the best fit for you guys. The others are all players trying to use the guild’s reputation to turn pro. You guys, you’re casual. And that’s a good thing and you should find a casual guild. Once you find one, I can get linked into chat as a supporting guest for like a hundred gold or something. Or not, and you can have your own in-game friends without me being party to every conversation you have. It’s cool with me either way. I’m just happy to get to spend some time with you again, you know?”

  “When did you, like, start to sound so grown up?” she asked.

  I shrugged, blushing a little bit under my captain’s beard. “I dunno. You know that I’m usually running around under a bunch of Time Dilation, right? Well, it gives you time to think. They say that my brain – the digital emulation that’s been running all this time – still looks like a fourteen or fifteen year old’s brain would look, but at the same time it’s completely different. Like, way denser in some parts and lighter in others. I don’t really understand it, I just cooperate with the brain guys when they ask me questions and stuff.”

  “How many brain guys do you have?” she asked as we crossed out of the merchant’s quarter.

  “I don’t know, like, hundreds? There’s only like four who actually talk with me, but I’m one of the most interesting subjects in modern neurology, so the wait list for people trying to study me is like pages long. And that’s just of the scientists who know I exist . Not everybody does, remember? And a lot of the people who’ve heard of me think I’m a rumor, or some promotional story for an anime that never took off, or something.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she said, sighing. “Aside from Sam, I don’t know if any of the rest of my friends would even believe me if I told them you were the digital ghost of my dead brother.”

  “Hey, so, I think we’ve been talking about this stuff enough,” I announced suddenly. “It’s time for you to run an obstacle course and fail horribly while I sit in mocking judgment!”

  “Ha ha.” She rolled her eyes as we entered the training hall.

  Except I wasn’t kidding.

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