Auntie toasts the VRMMORPG

2.81 Tutorial Tower

Flora decided to conquer the Tutorial Tower in time dilation. Starting scenarios from her simulation grounds prevented her from collecting loot. Although Aidan had told her that the opponents sometimes dropped goodies, the time constraints of this last day of level 1 bonus hunting were too tight to be greedy.

After starting the scenario, Flora and her crew found themselves in a basement. Musty air permeated the room. The light of the torches reflected from moist stone walls. The space was empty, and a corkscrew staircase provided the only exit.

Quest: The Tower Climb I

Description: Conquer the first level and advance to the top.

Rewards: + 1 OV Bonus to an attribute of your choice.

Penalty: None. Except when you die, then the scenario ends.

Difficulty: A

Flora looked at the winding stairs, then at the three-meter-long Mover, then back at the stairs. With a width of 1.5 meters, they offered plenty of space for a human, not for an oversized flying robot. "We might have a problem."

The Mover consisted of two passenger cabins. They were 1.5 meters long and 1.2 meters thick. Each had two propeller pairs and two guns on the sides. Gaccu, shaped like an accordion below, connected them.

The problem was the mounting of its appendices. It raised the Mover's width close to the staircase's. Therefore the two Tollys took the front and Flora the rear end. They turned the Mover 90 degrees, so that the slimmer area faced the walls and hauled it upwards. While it was a good strategy to let the shorter person take the top, it wasn't in this (stair-)case because the Mover's length demanded that they vertically extended to take the curve.

"I thought I had to climb a tower and not climb a Mover in a tower!" Flora mumbled while she crawled over the staircase-blocking robot to change positions.

The team pushed, pulled, and groaned but conquered the flight of stairs.

A door with "Level I" carved into it awaited them while a semi-transparent barrier blocked the way up. They pushed the Mover through it.

Flora entered with her back to the room, which was in hindsight not the smartest way to approach hostile territories.

Three monsters dashed to Flora, growling.

"One moment, dears. Let me get the Mover through the door first." Flora said to the violet ball of fur and horns that bit her calve.

When they were finally through the door, and clear of the stairway, Aito and Gaccu had already killed the monsters.

Flora looked at the brightly colored remains with regret. "You are too cute to face!" She put on her sensory-depravation mask. Admittingly, she would have done the same if the monsters were ugly. She needed to train her Magical Perception. To her astonishment, she still saw the pool bars of herself and her companions as well as all the other HUD displays like her status bar.

"Aidan, you should be able to steer the Mover through the door into the next room. Try to imitate a caterpillar on a tightrope. We will follow you. Aito, mark the targets. Golems, attack Aito's mark but mind your aggro. Gaccu, you'll heal yourself. Divine Radiance will spread it. Nocks-Tolly, you will go last, and I'll use you as a guide. I can't feel the Octopussy's location, so please stay away from Nocks-Tolly to avoid accidents. Any questions or suggestions?"

"No, Milady."

*beep beep*

Flora heard her AI's without any problems despite the earplugs because they spoke through her nocks to her. She received a vague feeling of No from Gaccu and the Nocks-Tolly. The potato-sacky mind of the Dive Golly transmitted nothing.