The Superhero's Glitch Read online

  “That sounds boring,” said Switch. She glanced over her shoulder. “I wonder if it’s too late for me to log out and go back to the Academy. Washing the boys’ locker room in the gym sounds a lot more appealing than leveling up in a dumb video game.”

  “You could log out if you want,” I said, “but you’d have to be content with sitting inside the Vault all by yourself because without my Teleportation Buckle, your chances of getting back to civilization on your own are pretty slim.”

  Switch just huffed, but she clearly had no real response to that. I did hear her mutter under her breath about how she wouldn’t have sighed up for this if she had known ahead of time what the game was going to be like, but I ignored her and hefted my sword on my shoulder.

  “So,” I said, “my world map says the Tower of the Cursed is north of here. We just need to keep walking north until we get there.”

  “How long will that take?” said Switch.

  “As long as it takes, sis,” said Bait. “Just sit back and enjoy the walk. This forest is really beautiful and quiet. I mean, we could have ended up in an industrial wasteland or something like that.”

  Switch sighed again, but she didn’t complain as the four of us, including Olga, made our way north, heading in the direction opposite of the pond. Unfortunately, this forest did not seem to have any trails, so we were forced to cut our way through the thick trees and bushes. Because I was a Swordsman, I took the lead, using my sword to chop away at outcropping tree branches or cut paths through unruly bush. Olga floated by my side, while Switch was behind me and Bait took up the rear, holding his shield securely before him in case we were attacked from behind. We had yet to run into any enemies, but that didn’t mean it was safe to let our guard down.

  I was amazed at how realistic this game was. My sword cut through the tree branches as if they were real, and I could already begin to feel myself getting tired from all of the effort I put into each swing. Leaves and twigs got caught in my hair and more than once I almost tripped on a patch of wet mud hidden underneath a pile of leaves. It even smelled like a real forest, with the smell of bark, leaves, mud, and dampness filling my nostrils as we walked.

  Switch, apparently, wasn’t happy about this level of realism, because not long after we entered the forest, she said, “Why am I already sweating and dirty? I thought this was a video game, not real life.”

  “Genius took pride in designing as realistic a simulation of life as possible,” said Olga without looking over her shoulder at Switch. “He believed it would lead to more immersive gameplay, as well as help him to take this game more seriously.”

  “Why would Genius need help taking something he built seriously?” said Bait behind us. “Didn’t he make it?”

  “Because Genius wasn’t much of a gamer and didn’t hold a particularly high view of video games,” said Olga. “So he went for realism to remind himself that the Vaultwork was real and that he needed to make sure he treated it with the same level of seriousness with which he treated real life.”

  “Personally, I think Genius just wanted to torture us,” said Switch, picking a leaf out of her hair and flicking it away. “And anyone else who played this stupid game, for that matter.”

  “Wouldn’t put it past him, to be honest,” I said as I slashed another branch out of the way. “Dad could be a bit of a troll sometimes, so I could definitely see him pull something like that.”

  “Ugh,” said Switch. “Personally, I can’t wait until we get out of here. How much further do we have to walk?”

  “Quite a ways,” said Olga, who was fluttering near my face. “The Tower of the Cursed is on the other side of the Tall Mountains, which we should be arriving at shortly.”

  “The Tall Mountains?” said Switch with a frown. “That’s a rather uncreative name.”

  “Genius couldn’t think of anything better,” said Olga with a shrug. “In any case, I suspect it will take you three a few in-game days of walking before you arrive there.”

  “Days?” Switch repeated in horror. “What about our bodies in the real world? Won’t something bad happen to them if we’re going to be in here for days?”

  “Time moves a lot faster in here than it does in the real world,” I said as I chopped through a particularly thick brush. “A few days here is like a few hours in real life, right, Olga?”

  “Correct, Bolt,” said Olga. “You need not worry about the status of your real bodies while you are in here. And if you are concerned for their safety, again you do not need to worry, because Vault F’s security systems have been activated and they will ensure that no one can enter the Vault while you are in here.”

  “I suppose that’s some comfort,” said Switch. “But what if we end up spending more time in here than we thought?”

  “Don’t you worry about that, Switch,” I said, again without looking at her. “I want to get to the Tower as soon as possible. We’ll be out so fast it will be like we weren’t even gone at—”

  “Bolt, watch out!” Bait shouted.

  Startled, I stepped back just as a tree limb slammed down into the path in front of me. I took several more steps backward, staring with wide eyes as the tree limb rose again.

  Only it wasn’t a tree limb at all. It was actually the arm of a giant, tree-like creature. The creature so closely resembled the actual trees around us that it wasn’t surprising I had missed it.

  Vaguely humanoid in shape, the creature did not seem to have any sort of recognizable face or even a head. Its arms and legs ended in three long, whip-like vines, which were covered with bright red, poisonous-looking spikes that made me feel sick just looking at them. A disgusting stink came from the vines, which burned my nostrils when I inhaled it.

  “What in the world is that thing?” said Switch in horror, staring up at the massive creature towering over us.

  Activating my Scan Ability, a character page for the creature showed up in my view:

  Name: Tree Golem

  Level: 5

  Class: Tree Golem

  Affinity: N/A

  Health: 50

  Weakness: Fire

  Tree Golems are one of the many creatures that inhabit the Black Forest. Though slow and not particularly clever, Tree Golems are not to be underestimated. Due to their uncanny resemblance to trees, Tree Golems prefer to hide among trees in a forest, waiting for unsuspecting victims to pass by, who they then smash into a pulp when they least expect it. It is recommended that you have a mage on hand to cast fire spells because Tree Golems’ thick wood hides make most physical attacks ineffective against them.

  “It’s a Tree Golem,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at Switch. “Says it’s weak to fire. Do you know any fire spells?”

  “How am I supposed to know that?” Switch demanded.

  “Check your Abilities on your character page,” said Bait, whose eyes were darting up and down as he no doubt looked at his own character page. “It’s probably somewhere in there.”

  “How do I—” said Switch, but then the Tree Golem raised its arm again, but instead of bringing it down on me, it brought it down on Switch, who yelped and jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding getting crushed by its weight. “Hey! That wasn’t fair.”

  “Stop whining and start casting!” I yelled at Switch. “I’ll distract it while you get a spell ready.”

  I rushed up to the Tree Golem’s thick legs and began hacking at its knees. Unfortunately, though I was hitting the Tree Golem as hard as I could, my blows did little more than bounce off its thick skin. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that I was inflicting practically insignificant damage to its hide, but I didn’t care. I just needed to distract it long enough for Switch to figure out how to cast a fire spell.

  My plan seemed to be working because the Tree Golem swiped at me with one of its vine-like fingers. I rolled between its legs at the last minute, however, and got to my feet behind it and resumed slashing at it. The Tree Golem awkwardly and slowly turned around and tried to slash me again
, but I leaped out of reach of its vines, which merely smashed into the ground where I had been standing moments before.

  “Gotta be faster than that, pal!” I shouted. “Switch! How is your spell coming along?”

  “Not at all,” Switch snapped from somewhere behind the Tree Golem. “Still trying to figure out how this dumb game works.”

  “Olga!” I shouted. “Help Switch figure out how to cast a spell!”

  I heard the flutter of Olga’s wings as she flew toward Switch, but I didn’t get to watch her help Switch because a huge shadow fell over me and I looked up to see one of the Tree Golem’s limbs falling toward me. There was no time to dodge, so I covered my head with both arms to defend myself, even though my Defense was pretty low.

  Right before the Tree Golem’s limb crashed into me, Bait appeared out of nowhere and held his shield up between me and the Tree Golem. The Tree Golem’s arm crashed into the shield with a loud gong-like crash, but Bait remained standing nonetheless.

  “Whoa,” I said, looking at Bait’s back. “Thanks for the save!”

  “No problem,” said Bait with a grunt. I could see his muscles straining under the weight of the Tree Golem. “That’s what Defenders are for!”

  Though the Tree Golem did not have a face, I could tell it was taken aback by Bait’s sudden move. Despite that, however, it continued to put the pressure on him. Bait held up remarkably well, but I could tell he was already starting to weaken and that it wouldn’t be long before either his shield or his legs broke.

  Then, without warning, the top of the Tree Golem burst into flames. The Tree Golem made some kind of weird screeching sound, which sounded like leaves being caught in the wind, and immediately began hitting its head to put out the flames. Unfortunately for the Tree Golem, however, it succeeded only in setting its own hands on fire, and as I watched, its formidable health went down by 5% every second.

  “Guys! I finally figured it out,” said Switch, who I could see in between the gap in the Tree Golem’s legs. “And now look, it’s on fire! Take THAT, you stupid tree! I’m not much of an environmentalist anyway!”

  I couldn’t argue with Switch’s results. Bait and I retreated further into the safety of the trees as the Tree Golem’s health hit zero and the Tree Golem—its whole body now covered from head to foot in flames—collapsed onto the ground into a heap of wood, twigs, and leaves. Its body didn’t even twitch as the flames ate away at it, until soon there was nothing left but a massive pile of ash and burnt wood, smoke rising from the remains of its body.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Although Scan told me that the Tree Golem was dead, I didn’t think it was safe to approach its remains just yet.

  Switch, on the other hand, bounded toward the Tree Golem’s body and stuck her tongue out at it.

  “That’s what you get for trying to kill us,” said Switch. She kicked a chunk of charred wood near her feet. She raised her hands and tiny balls of fire appeared in her palms. “Fear me, creatures of the forest, for I, Switch, the most beautiful sorceress in all of the world, have slain the Tree Golem!”

  I looked at Bait. “Is she always like that?”

  Bait shrugged sheepishly. “She’s not a very graceful winner. It’s why the other students don’t like competing with her. Just be grateful she’s not asking us to get down on our knees and kiss her feet.”

  “Hey, you two!” Switch shouted, causing Bait and me to look at her. “Are you okay? You’re not dead, are you?”

  “Of course not!” Bait shouted back. “And stop gloating. Real heroes don’t gloat about their accomplishments.”

  Switch put her hands on her waist. “Is that the thanks I get for single-handedly saving both of you from a Tree Golem? Seriously, you could show a little gratitude.”

  “You did a good job, Switch,” said Olga as she flew up next to Switch. “That Fire spell you cast got a critical hit, which is probably why it killed the Tree Golem so quickly.”

  “What can I say?” said Switch with a shrug. “The odds are always in my favor.”

  I rolled my eyes, but before I could say anything else, a translucent blue notification screen appeared in front of me:

  Party member Switch has slain a Tree Golem! 500 experience for all party members!

  Level +2! You are now Level 3. You have gained +6 Stat Points to be distributed among your stats as you see fit.

  Ability Level Up! Scan is now Level 2. You can now get more detailed information on enemy characters, such as the number of times you have fought them and further information on their weaknesses.

  “Wow,” I said as I dismissed the screen. “We leveled up twice because of that.”

  “Yeah,” said Bait, whose eyes were clearly scanning his own level up notification. “And I got a new Ability: Call of War. Looks like it lets me draw the attention of all enemies within a particular distance. Logical Ability for a tank to have.”

  “No fair,” said Switch, who, with a swipe of her finger, dismissed her own notification. “I didn’t get any new Abilities. Just a bunch of Stat Points. What are Stat Points?”

  “Stat Points are how you increase your attributes,” Olga explained. “For example, you could put those six new Stat Points you got into your own Health, thus increasing that stat by six points, or you could spread it evenly around your other stats. You can even save your Stat Points to use later on if you don’t want to use them right away. You get three Stat Points for every level you earn.”

  “Ugh,” said Switch, making a face. “Math. I hate math.”

  “Not a big fan of it, either, but it’s useful to know what these Stat Points are,” I said. “Think I’ll distribute my own later when I have more time to think.”

  “I’m going to invest all of mine into Defense and Evasion,” said Bait. “As a tank, those are the best stats for me to specialize in.”

  I nodded, but then I remembered something and looked over at Olga. “Olga, when I Scan an enemy character, it shows me what their ‘Affinity’ is. My character also has an Affinity, but I don’t know what an Affinity even is.”

  “The Affinity system is quite simple,” said Olga. “It determines your particular standing in the Vaultwork, which will, in turn, affect your play style and even your character’s growth.”

  “My standing?” I repeated as Bait and I walked out of the bushes toward Switch and Olga. “What do you mean by that?”

  “It influences how NPCs and enemy characters treat you,” Olga said. She flew up higher into the air until she was at eye level. “There are three Affinities you can have: Good, Evil, or Neutral. Each Affinity can be achieved by completing actions and quests.”

  “Does killing a Tree Golem make us good or evil?” asked Bait, tilting his head to the side.

  “Depends on who you ask,” said Switch. “Environmentalists would probably call us evil, but frankly I think they’d do the same thing if they were being attacked by a giant tree monster.”

  “It’s not that simple,” said Olga. “Your Affinity is decided not merely by your actions, but the context of your actions. For example, if you had saved an innocent person from the Tree Golem, that would have increased your Good Affinity. If, however, you had simply killed the Tree Golem out of malice and spite and drew out its death as painfully as possible, that would have increased your Evil Affinity.”

  “You mean we can’t get delicious vengeance against our enemies?” said Switch. She glanced at the pile of ash and wood that had once been the Tree Golem. “That’s no fun.”

  “Real heroes don’t draw out the deaths of their enemies unnecessarily,” Bait insisted. “So I agree with the logic of this game. Makes sense to me.”

  I folded my arms in front of my chest, thinking about Olga’s explanation. “So if we have a high Good Affinity, what does that mean for us?”

  “It means NPCs, for example, will be far more likely to trust you and ask you for quests and give you random items and equipment to help you,” said Olga. “By contrast, random encounters align
ed with the Evil Affinity will be more likely to attack you unprovoked. They will sense your Goodness and seek to destroy it, per their programming.”

  “And what if, say, we aligned ourselves with Evil?” asked Switch. “What kind of benefits would we get from that? Hypothetically-speaking, of course.”

  “NPCs are less likely to trust you,” said Olga. “Some may even try to kill you or at least flee from your presence. Random encounters, such as the Tree Golem, will be more likely to trust you and some may even become your servants if you are sufficiently Evil.”

  Switch looked at the pile of ash and wood again, this time with an evil gleam in her eyes. “So if I was Evil enough, I could have my own Tree Golem servant?”

  “Switch,” Bait said in a warning tone. “Remember what we’re here for.”

  “I know, I know,” said Switch, holding up her hands. “But it’s just a game. If I became Evil, it wouldn’t translate over to the real world. I still very much want to be a superhero. Don’t take it so seriously.”

  I wasn’t exactly convinced by her excuse, mostly because I was aware that her and Bait’s parents were the supervillains Tsunami and Electrica. While the two of them were indeed training to become superheroes, I couldn’t help but make a mental note to keep an eye on Switch just to be safe.

  “Right,” I said. I slid my sword back into its sheath. “Well, I’m not sure why Dad programmed the Affinity system into the game, but it’s good to know how it works.”

  “Yep,” said Bait. “So what do we do now?”