Crystal's Edge

Game On!

Jaxson was immediately transported into an empty grass field. Blue sky sparkled overhead as a few white sparrows flew above. No mountains towered over him and no towns were in sight. Jaxson looked down and saw that he was in nothing but a simple linen loin cloth. This was the beginning of the game.

Jaxson had hoped that his saved game progress would be stored in cyberspace but starting a new game gave him a chance to take risks now that he knew how to beat the game.

“WELCOME TO CRYSTAL’S EDGE!” A voice boomed through the sky. “HERE YOU WILL WITNESS STATE OF THE ART GAMEPLAY. YOUR HUD SCREEN WILL DETAIL THE RULES OF THE GAME. HAVE FUN AND MAY THE BEST PLAYER WIN!

Jaxson stared blankly as his HUD screen lit up as he went through the rules of the game again. He zoned out as the screen explained about dying in the game doesn’t mean dying in real life and saving the game is easy, you can do it wherever you are.

When the rules were done being explained, Jaxson was able to choose a class. His options were: knight, elf, mage, dark knight, orc, summoner, archer, and cleric. Jaxson decided to choose a different option than he previously had and go with archer.

“Okay so far this recalled version of the game is exactly like the original,” Jaxson spoke aloud as his appearance changed. Now over the loin cloth, a breezy blue cotton shirt covered his torso, brown cotton pants and soft leather shoes completed his ensemble.

“Lets get this show on the road,” Jaxson started into a light jog as he made his way North across the grass field. He would enter the nearby village and look for quests on the Quest Board. The quiver of iron arrows and the short bow that he wore across his back was light and didn’t encumber him the way he thought it would.

Time was also different in Crystal’s Edge as one hour of game time was equal to five minutes of real time. Within two hours of game time at a consistent jog, Jaxson arrived at the nearby village. Trugon Village was etched into a stone archway as he entered.

NPCs were casually walking around the village as thatched roof mud huts were lined evenly on the perimeter of the courtyard. Villagers were selling wares as players stocked up. Jaxson headed straight into the nearby inn and found the Quest Board.

The Quest Board was a wooden board that had quests from all nearby towns and cities. Completing a quest would open more areas to explore and other towns to investigate. There were two quests to choose from on the board as he scanned both options. Help a farmer eradicate his pest problem or Kill the monster that has been terrorizing villagers in Trugon Village.

Jaxson chose to stay within the village and kill the monster. He withdrew the Quest Offering from the board and immediately his HUD screen updated with the latest quest. Jaxson exited the inn and made his way to the village elder to get some information.

He knocked on the hard mud door and waited for a reply. The door opened and a tiny old balding cleric stood in the doorway. “I am here to kill the monster now where do I go,” Jaxson said with authority.

“Ah very well,” the elder said meekly. “The monster is just west of here near the old mining camp. We try to mine so we can reinforce this village and start to expand but alas the monster won’t let any of the villagers near. Please hurry and take care of it.”

“I will be on my way,” Jaxson trotted through the open gate. Players were running and flying every which way around him but he had no time to stop and talk to any of them.

Quarter of an hour later and Jaxson was on the edge of the old mining camp. Rotted mining carts and rusted tracks flooded the camp as cloth tents were ripped. The sky was still bright but he saw no sign of the monster. He didn’t even know what kind of monster to look out for.

Jaxson didn’t need to know as the monster found him. A massive ghoulish fire slime appeared in front of him. He withdrew his short bow and notched an arrow.

His HUD screen blinked. Would you like a combat tutorial? Jaxson dismissed the message. He was ready to fight the monster.

Level 5 ghoulish fire slime engaged. Jaxson rolled out of the way of a fireball and let his arrow fly. It penetrated deep into the slime’s soft exterior as the monster let out a muffled scream. Jaxson notched another arrow and prepared to dodge another attack.

The fire slime let out a fire wall that singed Jaxson’s right arm. He felt no pain but he saw his life points take a hit.

He let another arrow go as it wedged itself inside the monster’s left eye. Another muffled scream was released as the slime became angry.

Jaxson dodged the spiral fire attack that was launched at him but he didn’t have time to notch an arrow as the slime rammed into him. More life points were drained.

Jaxson ran to distance himself from the monster while he notched an arrow. He jumped out of the way as the ghoulish fire slime attempted to headbutt him. While Jaxson was still in the air, he let his arrow fly. It flew true into the slime’s head. Without a scream, the monster fell into a puddle on the rusted tracks.

Ghoulish Fire Slime eliminated! 55 Experience Points earned. 123 Gems earned. Jaxson watched as his experience bar grew until he was Level 3.

Quest Completed: Go talk to village elder to receive reward

“With a level up comes some increased stats,” the archer talked to himself as he made his way back to the village. He noticed that his health points increased as well as his defense and strength.

Jaxson arrived at the elder’s hut and knocked on the door before the balding cleric opened the door. “Ah I see that you have completed the quest. Thank you so much. Here is your reward.”

Iron Helm added to inventory. Would you like to equip it now?

Jaxson equipped the headpiece as his defense rose by 3 points. He remembered what a sensation it was to level up. His body felt rejuvenated while his health points were back to full.

“Excuse me,” a squeaky voice came from behind Jaxson.

Jaxson turned to see a level 1 orc walking up to him. “What is it?”

“How did you defeat that level 5 monster so easily?” The orc was equipped with a brown leather loin cloth and a wooden club. This was the clothing that was given when a player chose an orc. They also got to choose between 4 skin colors: red, blue, green and purple. This player chose red.

“Just luck I guess,” Jaxson shrugged.

“No there was no luck,” the orc argued. “You had some skill. Are you one of them born-again players?”

“What is a born-again player?” Jaxson had never heard of or encountered these players in his first experience with the game.

“They are players who die and have to restart from the beginning?”

“What?”

“Come let us go talk in the inn,” the orc suggested. “Not too many people know about this.”

Jaxson followed the orc into the inn where they escaped to a back room. The archer listened intently as the orc told his story.