THE MOMENT
"All of you have Slates too...?" Dennis had spent his first few days learning how to use his system Slate, and survive the new world he found himself in. He kept himself hidden away in the forest as he got used to things, but finally he felt comfortable enough to venture out.
It wasn't long before he met a friendly trio and joined them for an adventure. Emily was a silver-haired Elf, Kirk was a brown-haired Elf, and Xap was a green-haired goblin. He was wary of the goblin, but they all seemed to be good friends, and Dennis eventually felt at ease enough to reveal more about what he could do. He'd chosen the Knight Class and learned that Xap was a Knight too, while Emily was a Card Mage and Kirk was a Wizard. They didn't have any difficulty facing the dangers of the forest, even without Dennis' expertise. They were such a well-practiced team that he barely had opportunity to contribute much damage. After some brief encounters, the four of them arrived at a lakeside with an immense waterfall, and Dennis knew it was his time to shine. There was a boss monster living in the lake, and Dennis had been able to solo it several times as he learned.
"You guys are here for the boss?" He asked louder than usual as he flicked his wrist upward to summon his Slate. "I guess I better change my loadout!" He watched them intently as the transparent 2' x 2' glass pane materialized in the air before him. It showed him his character profile, and he had the chance to change any of his slotted Abilities for different ones. It took some time to get the hang of things, but by now the color-coded system was second nature to him. "It's basically a Kraken, so I'm putting in my aquatic skills to fight underwater better," he explained to them.
His character sheet had 10 Ability slots, six of which were in specific colors. Green, Gold, Black, Blue, Red, and Purple were divided into two columns on either side of his paper doll. He eventually realized they were elemental and Stat affinities, and he could freely move his Abilities around between any slots they fit. Abilities also had an array of tags including colors, stats, and elements. His best Ability at the moment was one he'd gotten from the Kraken itself. It was a 'Tentacle Grip' that was represented as a 'Red' Ability, but it was also tagged for the Water element and the Dexterity stat. It could fit in his Red, Blue, or Black slot for flexible build options. Not that he had too many Abilities to choose from yet, but he could see the possibilities.
"Oh," Emily said suddenly. "Are you new to the AlterNet?" she asked. Dennis looked up, and all three party members were staring at him expectantly.
"Or are you just role-playing?" Xap asked.
"New to the what?" Dennis shook his head. He was new, but he still wasn't sure how much he should tell them. Would they believe he was from a different world? That answer got all three of them laughing.
"The AlterNet," Emily replied. "It's where we are, and where we can do this," she made the same flicking gesture he'd made and summoned her own Slate. Except, unlike his, hers was opaque smoky grey. Kirk and Xap also summoned theirs. That was when the realization struck Dennis.
"Yeah, we all have Slates too," Emily nodded. "It's how the system works here. Where are you from?" she asked.
"You wouldn't believe me...," Dennis shook his head. He didn't even have enough knowledge of this new world to lie. Somehow, that drew more laughter from the group.
"I think it'll help if I explain it in more detail," Emily said. "This is the AlterNet," she gestured at the forest and lake around them. "It's a network of alternate Earths connected by quantum nanos... or something. I don't know the technical stuff, but the point is, it's a virtual layer, kind of," she said. "We're all players, like you. And, we're all from different Earths, not even this one," she said.
"You're from other worlds!?" Dennis asked. "Wait... does that mean it's easy to travel? Can I get home?" he asked. He hadn't really felt the desire to return home when he assumed it was impossible. But if it was something trivial, maybe he could make the trip from time to time.
"Probably," Emily nodded. "But, we're still on a Mission," she said. "If you can wait till we're done with the kraken, we can take you to a multiversal hub." Dennis was suddenly excited to be helping.
“Definitely! It's a cakewalk; I've solo’d him a bunch of times already.” He moved closer to the edge of the water, ready to jump in.
“Maybe.” Kirk moved up and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “But you're probably better off sitting this one out. We're on a Mission, not a Quest.”
“Same difference?” Dennis shrugged, but they all shook their heads.
“The AlterNet has newer systems that you’re likely not licensed for yet,” Emily explained.
“You don’t have a Frame yet, right?” Xap asked.
“Like … a picture frame? For my character sheet?” Dennis asked.
“A mecha frame,” Kirk replied. “Like a giant robot.”
“Huh?” Of all the answers he could’ve received in this new world, that was the most surprising.
“Quests are completed using your AlterNet Character, like you’re a Knight,” Emily explained. As she answered, Dennis became aware of massive shadows towering over them. He looked up to see three enormous mechanical beasts coalescing from the same white dust he’d seen defeated monsters dissolve into. It was a giant toad, an octopus, and a condor. Kirk waved and vanished into a golden streak of light that shot upward into the condor.
“Missions require Frames to complete,” Emily added as Xap streaked off in the direction of the toad. “We’ll be facing a larger Frame version of the kraken,” she said. “You wouldn’t be much help anyway, just sit tight and out of the way,” she said. “Be back in a bit,” she finished and dissolved to beam up into the octopus. He watched as the toad and octopus moved toward the water, and suddenly giant mechanical tentacles shot out toward the toad. He recognized the purple and pink coloring of the kraken, but its limbs were all coated with metal, and it was much larger than the one he’d defeated.
“Whoa…,” he was suitably awed. “... all of you guys have mechs too?”