EFate: An MMO Story

Taking off the FateGear, Eric massaged his temples. The last few hours in game had given him a lot to think about, and he wasn't exactly sure how to deal with this information. With a sigh, Eric swung his legs off the bed, narrowly avoiding the cat which had taken up residence next to his feet as he did so.

"Hello, you," Eric said with a smile.

"Mrow."

"I love you too. Did Leif not feed you yet?"

"Mrow."

"He is a d.i.c.k, I agree. Do you want some food?"

"Mrow."

"No?"

"Mrow!"

Eric laughed. "Alright, alright. Let's head downstairs. I'm fairly sure I need to make dinner for the two brats as well."

"Mrow."

Scooping up the cat in his arms, Eric headed downstairs. He was fairly sure that his mother had informed him this morning that she and his father would be out at a work dinner, meaning that he was responsible for ensuring that Leif and Angus were both fed. Ostensibly, Leif was responsible for ensuring that the vicious cat was fed, but it was no surprise to Eric that he'd forgotten, especially if the cat had been in his room for a while. Reaching the kitchen, Eric leaned towards the door leading down to the bas.e.m.e.nt where a light could be seen shining from below.

"Leif! Angus! What do you two want for dinner?" he yelled.

"Macaroni!"

"Hotdogs!"

Two voices floated up causing Eric to sigh. "I'm only making one thing. Macaroni or hotdogs, which one do you guys want?" he shouted back. Downstairs, a brief quarrel could be heard as his brothers debated the topic of what they wanted for supper.

"Macaroni's good!" a voice shouted back at last.

Putting the cat down on the table, Eric busied himself with getting the food ready. Setting down a plate of chicken in front of the cat's water bowl, he set a pot on the stove, flipping it to maximum heat as he hunted for a few boxes of macaroni. Discovering where they'd been hidden deep within the cupboard, Eric set them beside the pot, waiting for the water to start boiling as his mind flashed back to the events that had transpired over the last two hours in Fate.

"Rankings, eh?" Eric spoke aloud, not speaking to anyone in particular, though the cat still glanced up from her chicken with a reproachful gaze. Motioning her back to her chicken, Eric looked at his watch. Fiddling with the dial, he brought up the official fate forums, navigating to the Novanalban regional forum where a massive thread was now stickied to the top of the page.

TOP 100 PLAYER RANKINGS IN NOVANALBA - UPDATED DAILY

Opening the thread, he saw that the rankings were ordered from one to a hundred, with little blurbs below each player's name explaining why they'd been placed where they had. At the very top of the thread was a disclaimer in bold that grabbed Eric's attention. Reading raptly, he began to frown.

Disclaimer: These rankings are subjective and based upon a very limited number of tournaments and other events that have transpired in Novanalba since the game's release. Many strong players have not yet shown what they're capable of yet, and as such they have been excluded from this list for now. As a result, anyone outside the top fifteen is currently in a very volatile position and should be considered as weaker than they most likely are. Once more players have revealed their skills, these players are likely to fall in ranking.

With an annoyed scowl, Eric scrolled downwards. Just because there are other strong players in Novanalba doesn't mean that those of us who are already ranked are weak, he thought as he perused the list.

As Mark had said, Twizzler took the number one position on the list. As expected from the man closest to breaking into the pro leagues, his performance so far had been remarkable, quickly earning a spot as a knight in Seacove and showing his prowess by winning a newcomer's tournament where he'd defeated several strong NPC Knight candidates. Following Twizzler, several other amateurs and semi-pro players of popular games took up the other spots in the top ten, each having accomplished some fairly impressive feats to earn their place on the list.

Below the top ten were a few more names that Eric recognized, and several that he didn't, most likely players who hadn't competed in the local leagues, or who were new to gaming and had talent in the area. According to the blurbs, several of them were actually professional athletes, including a fencer who'd represented Canada internationally, and a boxer who'd competed in the Olympics. Another was a combat veteran who'd done tours in the middle east a decade before. It appeared that just as Eric had surmised, players with combat experience and those who showed talent in athletics in real life, had an advantage in Fate due to the realism of the combat. Despite being newbies to the gaming scene, Eric still made sure to memorize the names of these players. After all, it never hurt to be cautious.

Scrolling down, Eric finally found the first names he recognized. Just as Mark had said, Hydrus' name shone brightly at twenty-first, mocking Eric with how ordinary it seemed. The blurb only mentioned his tournament win and the dominating fashion of his victories as the reasoning for his placement, with only a quick mention of the fact that Hydrus was an unknown name in Nova Scotia and no other information.

Jun Shinzir (Likely known as Shinvincible in other games) is an archer who came second in the militia tournament won by Hydrus Mortang. As Shinvincible, he is a well known amateur player from the Northeast that participates in tournaments along with team Riptide. As team Riptide's primary carry, his skill level is fairly high, and it's likely that he can maintain his current ranking or even climb to greater heights. His current ranking is due to his success in the tournament, and his contributions in a largescale militia expedition the day after. Jun is fairly young and thus his potential is still unknown. He's one to keep an eye on!

Looks like Jun's someone they like, Eric thought with a low whistle as he scrolled downwards. The next four rankers were all from Seacove, having earned their positions on the ranking thanks to strong performances in local tournaments and military exercises, as well as one who was an adventurer. Skimming past them, Eric's eyes alighted on the name that shone at 32nd place.

Erick Kystfyr (Likely known as Kyp in other games) is a spellsword who came third in the militia tournament won by Hydrus Mortang and was the first known player from Novanalba outside of Seacove to be made a knight. As with the 27th place Shinvincible, Kyp is a part of an amateur team known as Riptide located in the Northeast. The secondary carry of team Riptide, Kyp is a damage dealer who focuses on a mix of magic and swordplay to overwhelm his opponents. His current ranking can likely be attributed to a powerful spell that he alone seems to know. It's likely that his ranking might drop as other players manage to discover similarly powerful skills.

Frowning, Eric continued to skim through the rankings as he stirred the macaroni, but his heart wasn't in it. Likely to fall? Only strong because of Multi-linked Wind Dart? Not as skilled as Jun? While that last thought may have involved some projection from Eric, the rest of his grievances were fairly legitimate. He certainly hadn't only came third in the militia tournament due to the power of Multi-linked Wind Dart, he hadn't even used it until the round of sixteen! And his accomplishments during the Battle of Lichfrost had been due to his skill in commanding the other militia, as well as his achievement of taking down Grimarok which had only been possible because of…

Eric's face fell at this. Multi-linked Wind Dart, he finished the thought silently. Looking back on his accomplishments over the past few weeks, it certainly did seem like he had relied on the spell a lot. While he didn't use it much, when he did use it, it was often the only way for him to resolve the situations he found himself in. Against the Swordclaw Lynx, against Rob and later Hydrus, against Grimarok, each time the only way for him to win had been to use Multi-linked Wind Dart. While it could certainly be argued that using the spell was fair as he'd had to develop it himself, it couldn't be denied that the spell had become a bit of a crutch for Eric, and also the reason he hadn't bothered learning any new skills recently. Although he told himself that it was due to Lucy's continued refusal to teach him combat magic, the truth was that Eric was content with his current skills. While Rob had learned how to dual cast, Jun had learned various powerful archery skills, Ryan had learned an entirely new method of swordsmanship, and even Aria had learned some support magicks, Eric had continued to rely on the same skills he'd known for weeks now. Despite calling himself a swordsman, he didn't even know any sword skills outside of Dashing Cut for pete's sake! And that was a skill that he'd been taught by Owin in his first day in game!

But how do I fix this? Eric wondered, absentmindedly turning off the stove and draining the macaroni as he did so. Looking back, today had exposed quite a few of his weaknesses. Both Zwei and Alistair had expressed doubt in his combat abilities when magic wasn't involved, and Lucy still refused to teach him new combat magic. Their doubts had been proven correct by Lark, who'd defeated Eric effortlessly in their bouts, her spear finding the flaws in his swordplay and exploiting them to crush him time and time again.

"Dinner's ready!" Eric shouted. With excited shouts his brothers stampeded upstairs, their footfalls causing the floor to tremble slightly underfoot as Eric busied himself with setting out the bowls. Scooping macaroni into the bowls, Eric set them in front of his brothers, contemplating solutions to his newfound problem as the three of them dug into their pasta.

What am I good at? What's the best way to use what I've already learned in Fate to my advantage? Eric asked himself, idly stirring the macaroni with his spoon as he brainstormed. Focusing on swordplay was out. Although he was a fairly strong swordsman, able to go toe to toe with many of the other players and win, it was not his forte. That had been proven in the tutorial. While he would continue to practice under Zwei, and also ask Alistair and Tom if they had any sword skills they could teach him, focusing purely on swordplay would not allow Eric to compete with the strong players in the top one hundred.

Magic then? Eric wondered. No, Lucy won't teach me any combat magic, and I can't go behind her back to learn from the Rimestone Circle like Rob does, she'd eviscerate me, Eric thought with a shudder, mentally picturing a vaguely Eric-shaped burnmark against the walls of Lucy's manor.

Now that I think about it though, isn't that my forte? My understanding of magic? Eric wondered. While it was true that Lucy steadfastly refused to teach him any of the many destructive combat magics she knew, under her tutelage, Eric's understanding of the magical systems in Fate had soared. In fact, it could truly be said that Eric was perhaps the most accomplished magical scholar among all the players in Fate right now.

Well, maybe if we exclude the beta testers, Eric thought ruefully. Still, it was definitely true that his knowledge of how magic worked exceeded that of anyone he knew in game. While others might have similar levels of Arcane Magic as he himself did, Basic Arcane Magic only really covered the ability to manipulate mana, and although Eric could certainly be considered an expert in mana manipulation among current players, it was hardly the focus of his studies under Lucy.

No, Eric thought. If I want to become strong, I need to leverage my understanding of magic to give myself an advantage that no other players possess. Just like the ranking list says, Multi-linked Wind Dart has allowed me to dominate and succeed in encounters that would cause other players to falter. But rather than allow others to catch up, what I need to do is widen the gap. Create more powerful spells, more varied spells, and use my knowledge of magic to create a permanent gap between myself and other players, Eric thought decisively, throwing his spoon down with a clatter.

Ignoring his brothers strange looks, Eric stood up with a glint in his eye. "Leif, Angus, load the dishwasher and get ready for bed."

"What are you going to do?" Leif asked curiously.

Eric grinned. "I've got some serious work to do."