Read TheirWorld :: Chapter 13

As soon as she got home, Dassah shoved a sandwich in her mouth and hooked herself up to TheirWorld.

Guin woke up in her bed in her house and sat up quickly. She stood and stretched, getting a feel for the movement in the game.

Raring to go, she ran back into the village. The Gatekeeper greeted her with a wave as she entered the school grounds. The place looked exactly the same as before, though the students on the grounds seemed different.

Several teachers were working inside the schoolhouse today, including one who looked like he was teaching drawing — possibly calligraphy or cartography — and one that looked to be teaching magic theory. A third, a young golden-haired earar with dark brown wings folded at his wrists, approached her.

“Hello there!” he said with a friendly, charming smile, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “My name is Grimhai Kidalmar, the General Education teacher. Have you come to join our studies?”

“Yes!” Guin answered, perhaps too enthusiastically.

Grimhai, however, did not seem to mind in the least. “Excellent!” he said, clapping his four-fingered hands together and fluttering his wings. “Then, shall we begin our first lesson?

<<>>

You have been offered a quest!

It is time to start your lessons!

Accept this quest to begin a series of game tutorials.

You must fulfill the basic five lessons of the teacher Grimhai Kidalmar.

The First Requirement: Listen to Teacher Grimhai’s introduction to basic concepts of the world and its gameplay.

This quest is REQUIRED.

<<Difficulty: E><XP Reward: N/A>>

<<>>

“Where do I start?” she asked, the window fading.

“First, you must understand how skills and menus function in TheirWorld,” he told her. “TheirWorld is a game driven by your thoughts and feelings. If you think of something, as long it’s within your character’s power and the game’s capabilities, it should theoretically be possible to achieve. This system can take time to get used to, but rest assured that it opens you up to a world of possibilities. It is a world where even one’s wildest dreams can come true.

“This is one reason the tutorial for TheirWorld is focused on gameplay experience rather than leveling.” He directed her to walk with him as he continued to explain.

“Here at the School of Good Books, we aim to teach you all you need to live in Uldarin. There are ten teachers here who can teach you about survival, combat, lore, and even magic. If you wish to find an alternative, many other masters in town might be willing to take you on as a student or apprentice if you meet their standards.”

They walked over to the area where the art teacher had been drawing what turned out to be a map. Young NPC students and players were carefully copying the example that he had given them, dipping their quills into the ink every few strokes. As the students worked, Grimhai shook hands with the teacher, who looked none too happy with the distraction and introduced him as Scribe Marlon.

Guin was introduced to all the other teachers, one at a time. Knowing that she would never be able to remember their names, she didn’t bother trying. Rather, she just smiled and nodded, focusing more on what the students were doing as they worked on their respective assignments.

Once they circled back to the door, Grimhai sat her in a chair across from a fancy desk, where he took a seat. He looked at her over the tops of his rimless glasses. Pressing his fingertips lightly against each other in front of his chest, he said: “Of course, all that TheirWorld has to offer a player comes with great responsibility on your part. I would beg you to pay attention to the warnings that the game presents as you go — and heed them. There are plenty of things in this world that could hurt you in more ways than one.

“That said,” he continued warmly, leaning back in his chair. “So long as you are willing to learn, your life on Uldarin shall be full of fun and adventure! Are you willing to listen to what I have to teach you?”

Guin nodded. “Yes, Teacher!”

“Very well then,” he said. “Let us begin! First, let’s review the basics of your menu. There are two standard defaults for the basic menus. The first is the one that would have been explained to you before you started the game. The tattoo on your right wrist opens the main menu. However, there is another method — the voice command. Let’s practice! Raise your hand and say: ‘Menu.’”

Doing as she was told, Guin raised her hand. “Menu!” she said. The menu popped up with a tinkling noise.

“Excellent,” said Grimhai with a nod. “Your menu is a very important feature that you must learn to use well. As an instructor, I can see your screens, but other players cannot. As you will have realized, any screen that you call up will automatically respond to your in-game hand. Go ahead and hit the ‘Character’ button to access your avatar information and stats.” When she did so, her character screen popped up, along with a 3D image of her avatar.

“Now, instead of using the ‘X’ button, simply use your thoughts and wish for the screen to return.” After a few attempts, she managed to will the screen away. “Very good! This is the basic Cast and Dismiss system you will need to use for every skill in the game. Until you master it, speaking aloud or using hand signals can make it easier to use your abilities. Once you develop more experience with the system, you can use whatever words or motions you wish to activate your abilities — except in the case of certain abilities which have specific requirements.”

“So,” Guin asked, thinking it through. “If I have an ability, I just need to say its name to use it?”

“Well,” he replied. “By default, all characters are capable of casting via words, as well as via the skill menu stored in the tattoo on your left wrist. Note that you can also change its appearance at any time via your settings.” Guin looked down at her left wrist.

She hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a small black tattooed dot on the inside of her left wrist as well, identical to the one which Biku Biku had pointed out to her during her registration.

“Though these default methods are reliable ways to cast spells, your abilities will not be as strong, fast, or effective as they would be if you learn to apply your will to cast them. Of course, this doesn’t matter in some cases, and it may be less taxing on you to use the simple command words for those.”

“Can I cast without words or motions?”

Grimhai hesitated before saying, “It’s not impossible, but unless you have a strong will, it can lead to... undesirable outcomes. Therefore, it is not recommended that anyone try to use abilities without some kind of tangible direction to guide the powers you call up.”

“Undesirable outcomes?”

“If distracted, you may, for instance, cast the wrong spell. Or accidentally cast a stronger or weaker version of the spell you meant to cast. You could even cast something on the wrong target or accidentally include allies in your attacks and enemies in your buffs.”

“Hmm,” Guin thought about it, then nodded. “All right then. What’s next?”

Grimhai gave her a few other pointers about various other windows, but for the most part, everything was driven by the same concepts. He gave her various warnings that she had already heard from other sources, and then he told her this:

“A very important note: While all of the NPCs in TheirWorld have a high level of AI, some NPCs are actually player characters employed by Varier Co., and the associated governmental authorities. These may be players who rely on TheirWorld technologies to live normal lives, and you are expected to treat them as people, not programs. There is no way to tell the difference between the two, so it is recommended that you treat all people you encounter with respect. NPCs are an integral part of the TheirWorld environment, and any interactions with them can affect the world and its stories.”

Guin didn’t want to know how they made that work. She had read that NPCs were so independent that they could spontaneously generate, change, and even delete quests if they wanted to. Some important quest-giving NPCs had even taken to wandering around the world, so you had to track them down to trigger the event. Others seemed to have been able to go so far as to spontaneously develop classes that hadn’t been recorded before. Whatever programming nightmare they were a part of, they were given free rein to run the continuously evolving world that was Uldarin.

After acknowledging Grimhai’s teachings, the quest screen notified her of the completion with a ding.

<<>>

A quest has been updated!

It is time to start your lessons!

Accept this quest to begin a series of game tutorials.

You must fulfill the basic five lessons of the teacher Grimhai Kidalmar.

You have finished the first lesson:

<Reward:>

UPDATE: The Second Requirement: Listen to Teacher Grimhai’s introduction to skills. Follow his instructions to gain a randomized selection of free skills.

This quest is REQUIRED.

<<Difficulty: E><XP Reward: N/A>>

<<>>

One down.