Ten minutes later Arthur calmly walked around a stack of pallets and waved her down. A window appeared in her HUD at the wave of one of his hands.

  Kamehameha would like to trade with you.

  Do you Accept or Deny?

  X2 Gold Wedding Band

  X1 Sapphire Ring

  X6 Rags

  X1 C Battery

  X1 Bottle Water (pure)

  X1 Silver Card

  X12 White Card

  She looked at Arthur in surprise, one eyebrow arching.

  “I don’t need it,” he said, “and it’s better to start you off with some good shit. Oh, and we can talk now, I’ve blocked the entrances and any holes I found… except this one. Hang on.” He walked around the stack of boxes she’d been sitting on and started to push. At first, nothing. Then, with a grating scrape, the entire stack slid across the floor and thudded into place against the door.

  Stepping back, Arthur wiped his hands and turned toward an astonished Mav. ‘Damn. He is freaking strong. I mean, of course he is, look at those arms and shoulders. He’s a mountain of a man… maybe one I’d like to cli…’ She cut the thought off, shifting her gaze past him to the barricaded door.

  “What can I say? In here, I’m a bit of a beast,” he said with a grin.

  “I’d say. How much Brawn do you have?” she asked in an innocent tone, though her inner voice was far less restrained.

  “Hey now, we just met,” he teased with a chuckle, catching the faint blush that bloomed on her cheeks. “Just kidding. About 709 in Brawn, without my gear mods.” Her eyes widened.

  “It’s just me,” he explained with a shrug. “Started with a natural 645 and have been training in Antumbra pretty hard. Always been a strong guy, military background gave me a bit of an advantage.”

  “I’d say!” Mav whispered, still impressed. “That was cool.”

  “Yeah,” Arthur replied, waving her deeper into the dusky warehouse, “once your stats push above human range, you can do some really cool shit. You’ve got damn high stats yourself, being such an athlete and you’ll only get stronger and faster as you play. We’ll get your Brawn up in time.”

  They passed the small cot where Mav had respawned. Arthur tilted his head toward it.

  “Might as well start with your bed and respawn,” he said, gesturing her forward. “Your initial spawn point is where you’ll always return to unless you change it in a player settlement or a town. I suggest you change it as soon as you find either. Forgetting to set your respawn sucks, I had to walk hundreds of miles because I forgot that little point.” He grimaced. “Got it?”

  “Yeah. Anytime you progress further in the world and have the chance, reset your respawn point. Got it,” Mav replied.

  “Perfect.” They stepped into a cleared space about the size of a basketball court. Arthur pulled two boxes from the top of a low stack and set them down for seats, then turned a third box upright like a table and set his guns on top, nodding for Mav to do the same.

  “We’ll do some target practice after we chat for a minute, then get you on the path to that ‘Tomsville’ we saw earlier.”

  “Second thing I want to go over is the game modes. You may have noticed our AVAs aren’t present.” He gestured around.

  ‘Well shit, he’s right. Why didn’t I notice? Or maybe it was the zombie eating me that distracted me?’ She snapped her focus back, realizing she’d missed the start of what he was saying.

  “...three game modes for all three games. Here,” Arthur said, swiping up and pushing a glowing screen into the air between them. “This’ll be easier.”

  Eclipse Nexus Game Modes

  White Belt – Full HUD, pop-up assist enabled, AVA active. Basic starting gear. Food, hydration, and stamina deteriorate at -75% rate and recover +50% more with food/drink/rest.

  Green Belt – Limited HUD, limited pop-up assist, AVA on request. Poor starting gear. Food, hydration, and stamina deteriorate at -50% rate and recover +25% more with food/drink/rest.

  Black Belt – Minimal HUD, no pop-up assist, no AVA. Poor/trash starting gear. Food, hydration, and stamina deteriorate at normal rates with no recovery bonus.

  “So, when you enter Antumbra at White Belt, you enter Penumbra at Green, and Umbra at Black,” Arthur explained. “You can change your level on the fly, but it also changes your loot table and rewards.”

  Seeing her expression, he added, “Loot table’s like a sliding scale for how much loot you get and how good it’ll be. The less you rely on the tech, the more you’re rewarded.”

  Mav nodded. “Can I change it? I’m so used to Goo, it’s weird without him.”

  “Of course, and I recommend it,” Arthur said. “You’re here for your rehab, not to become an ultra leet player like me.” His grin was pure self-deprecation. “Just will your settings to open, go to the Interface tab, and change it there.”

  She followed his instructions, her HUD filling with a massive settings menu. In the Interface tab, she found a long list of options, including the game mode slider bar. She reached out with her virtual hand and dragged it to Green Belt. A small chime sounded, and a prompt appeared:

  Do you wish to reset your Game Mode to Green Belt?

  This will reset your loot table and rewards.

  [ Yes ][ No ]

  She selected Yes. The slider flashed once and faded from view. “Okay, I changed the setting,” she said. “Now what?”

  “Go into your inventory and look at your paper doll, the image of your toon with all your gear slots, like your headgear and armor.” She opened her inventory and nodded. “Now look below your character. You’ll see a box beside your weapon slot with a small drone in it. Touch that, and Goo will come out.”

  She did as instructed, tapping the box. An oblong disk materialized on her vest, then pushed off into the air, hovering in front of her face with the gentle whirl of tiny blades encased in its protective cover.

  It was a little bigger than her open hand, thicker than her fist, and gleaming with a matte finish. It circled her head once, then shot upward, zipping around the warehouse in a tight loop before returning to hover at eye level.

  “Goo?” she asked as it steadied in front of her. “Is that you?”

  “Hi, Mav! Wow, this is fun too,” came the cheerful voice of her AVA in her ear. “Though I did like feeling alive in the other scenario. Do you want an update to your map?”

  “Yes,” she said with a smile. “Your dragonette form in Antumbra was fun, but I can see this is more functional for you here. So… what’s that, Goo? An update to my map?”

  “Yes, one of my functions is to push back the fog of war and take aerial reconnaissance of the area,” Goo said quickly, voice almost eager. “Once I get a good picture, up to one hundred meters from your location, we can update your map with accurate data.”

  “Map? Fog of war?” Mavis asked, her brow furrowing as she glanced at Arthur.

  He was watching her with a small, knowing smile, one eyebrow lifting just slightly at her confusion. “Yeah,” he said, shifting his weight onto one leg. “The map starts grayed out until you’ve either gone to an area yourself and seen it with your own eyes, or had your AVA recon it. That graying effect’s called ‘fog of war’ in gaming. Just think map, and it’ll pop up as an overlay on your HUD.”

  Her lips pressed into a thin line of concentration as she followed his instructions. A detailed map bloomed in her vision, most of it shrouded in swirling gray fog. In the center, a top-down view of the warehouse and scattered cargo containers. ‘That must have been where I went and died,’ she thought, a quick flicker of discomfort crossing her face.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The roof of the warehouse faded from her view, and the perspective dropped inside, revealing a detailed maze of stacked boxes, pallets, and catwalks. Three small icons pulsed faintly her, Arthur, and Goo, rendered as tiny, accurate avatars. A corner of her mouth tugged upward as she took a few steps back and watched her own icon move in real time. ‘That’s cool.’

  Her gaze sharpened; she focused on the small “X” in the upper left corner and the map dissolved from her HUD. Turning toward Arthur, she found him watching her closely, his arms loosely crossed but his eyes scanning her face like he was reading the micro-reactions she didn’t even realize she was making.

  “Come on back, Goo,” she said. The AVA zipped down from the roof and hovered above her right shoulder, tiny rotors humming softly. She tipped her head, a playful glint lighting her eyes. “Alright, “…what’s next on this magical mystery tour? Snacks?”

  Arthur’s mouth twitched, his shoulders giving the barest shake as he stifled a laugh. “Not unless you’ve got some really good smoke and a van. Otherwise, just some pistol and survival training. How’s that sound?” He held up a small box labeled Cleaning Kit, grinning in a way that dared her to make another quip.

  Her lips curved into a half-smile as she took the kit from him, fingertips brushing his knuckles. “Well, I don’t see a van,” she said, flicking her gaze up at him through her lashes. “And I don’t smoke, so… training it is.” She began opening the kit, laying the tools out beside her guns with neat precision. “I take it we’re starting with how to clean them?”

  “Hell yes, baby, we are,” Arthur replied. His grin softened into something more matter-of-fact as he picked up her pistol and began to unscrew the silencer he’d just installed. “This and other gear management techniques will keep you alive longer than players who neglect their stuff. Your survival starts with your gear, and your gear upkeep starts with you.” His voice carried a faint stiffness, the words almost too rehearsed.

  She caught it instantly, the slight tightening at the corners of his mouth, the way his gaze flicked away for a beat too long. Reaching over, she rested her hand on his forearm, her touch light but deliberate. “Is that from your military days?” she asked, her voice quiet, searching.

  “Yeah,” he said, the corners of his mouth lifting, though his eyes darkened in a way that didn’t match the smile. “One of my first instructors drilled that into us during training. He was right, though it didn’t help him in the end.”

  The shadow passed quickly; he shifted the pistol in his hand and extended it toward her. “Thankfully, this is a game. Here, you can respawn. So… let’s get this gun broken down and learn how to clean it, shall we?”

  Mav nodded once, the crease between her brows easing. ‘I’ll leave that one where it lay,’ she thought, her attention settling back on the moment. ‘Now, let’s pay attention, maybe I can keep from getting eaten alive again.’

  Arthur’s voice warmed again as he picked up his own pistol. “So, you start like this…” he began, pulling the slide back from the housing with practiced ease, his eyes flicking up briefly to make sure she was watching.

  ~ ~ ~

  A few in-game hours later, Mav slumped down against a stack of boxes and let herself slide to the floor. Her arms wrapped loosely around her knees, head dropping forward until her cheek brushed the fabric of her shorts. Every muscle ached.

  ‘This hurts worse than a Beast,’ she thought, releasing a small oof of pain as her tailbone touched down.

  Goo circled lazily in front of her face, making small “oooooh” noises at her misery. She chuckled despite herself, the sound short and tired, then let her gaze drift upward as she replayed the last few hours in her mind.

  Arthur had broken their training into three categories. “Things that will keep you alive” he had started with, “like cleaning her gear, some basic survival tactics and how to actively scan items and other things.”

  He had then moved on to how to kill things, basically how to shoot her gun more effectively and from different positions or while moving. He had also covered knife and blunt weapon skills then as well.

  Finally, ways to get around in the world. This had been the hardest part because he was talking about skills like stealth, tracking, jumping, climbing, falling and all around acrobatics. As she settled down her HUD filled with messages, each flashing in and out of existence in her view.

  !!! Congratulations !!!

  You have acquired the skill(s):

  Weapon Cleaning - T1 Gain the skill

  Repair — Level 1 - T1 Gain the skill

  Survival — T1 Gain the skill

  Active Scan — T1 Gain the skill

  Melee/Knives — T1 Gain the skill

  Blunt Weapons — T1 Gain the skill

  Hiding — T1 Gain the skill

  Jumping — T1 Gain the skill

  Climbing — T1 Gain the skill

  “That bad, huh?” Arthur’s voice came with a chuckle.

  She lifted her head just enough to glare at him over the tops of her knees, a stubborn strand of hair falling over her eye. She blew it upward in irritation.

  “Yup,” he drawled, leaning back slightly on the box he’d claimed, sipping from a bottle of water. His smirk widened at the way she sank deeper into her folded posture.

  “Ugh.” She groaned and let her head fall back against the box. “Yes. And the worst part is all these messages. I forgot to ask you how to shut them off… or at least choose when they pop up. Do people really want to know every single time they get better at something?”

  “What messages? The skill, stat, and perk changes?” He waved one hand lazily, and a hovering Settings screen bloomed into existence above his palm.

  “Yeah, those.” She stretched her legs out with a wince, then arched her back and reached her arms high overhead, bending side to side to loosen the stiffness in her spine. Her expression softened briefly in surprise. ‘I still can’t fully believe this is a game,’ she thought. ‘It feels so damn real, even delayed onset muscle soreness.’

  “Yes, actually,” Arthur said in a mock peevish tone, brow crinkling as he stuck his tongue out at her. “Some players like to track their growth. But if you’re sooooo inconvenienced by such trivial information…”

  She laughed, a small spark of mischief in her eyes, and stuck her tongue back at him. ‘Hard to believe this guy’s a hardened soldier and the head of WannaBe’s tech division. Doesn’t fit the stereotype at all.’

  “I get it,” he said, his tone warming. “For a new gamer, it can be exhilarating… or overwhelming. And you’re not here to grind for leaderboards.” He gestured to the holo. “Call up your settings and follow what I’m doing.”

  She opened her tab, watching his hands as he navigated. In minutes, he’d helped her set skill and stat notifications to appear only on command, except for level-ups.

  “You’ll want those,” he explained, the corners of his eyes creasing with emphasis, “because as soon as you hit level ten, you can get out of here, savé?” She nodded.

  “The only other things you’ll see are hunger, thirst, energy, debuffs, and damage mist,” he continued, demonstrating stabbing motions that made her grin. “You’ll feel the rest. Climbing gets easier, knife work feels more natural, you’ll just know.”

  “Now, come over here. Let’s get your food and drink up before you log.”

  Her mouth opened to protest, but he raised a hand. “Ah-ah. I know you can make it to Tomsville, but it’s about to be night here, and only very experienced players go out after dark. We log, eat, refresh, then come back. Deal?” He ripped open an MRE and held it out with a spoon.

  With a small, tired smile, she pushed herself to her feet and crossed over, taking the spoon from Arthur’s hand. Overhead, Goo fluttered upward toward a broken warehouse window, his wings humming as he peeked outside. He hovered there for a beat, then drifted back down with a theatrical sigh.

  “It’s dark out there,” he announced brightly, far too brightly for the hour. “Visibility low, danger high, and statistically speaking… you two would make excellent midnight snacks. So yeah, Tomsville’s a no-go. I’m with Arthur.”

  She scooped up a bite of chili mac and cheese. ‘Not bad at all,’ she thought, cheeks dimpling faintly as she chewed. “Yephs,” she mumbled through the mouthful, then swallowed. “Yes. You’re both right. And… I could use some real world right now. This gloomy place is getting to me.” Her gaze dropped to the food packet, unwilling to meet Arthur’s eyes. “And I know it’s my fault for being here.”

  A clock flickered onto her HUD with a double blink: PGT-10:33:45 / ERWT-0:66:33, played game time vs elapsed real world time.

  “Enough of that,” Arthur said gently. “Let’s start where you are, not why you got here. Sound good?” He stood, offering his hand. She took it, feeling the firm pull as he helped her up as an icon appeared in her HUD, a tiny Mavis with a food baby.

  Food Buff - Field Ration (MRE) - Approved by logistics and disowned by cuisine Hunger paused for 30 minutes. Energy regeneration x2.

  “Hey, I just got a buff.” She said to Arthur with a giggle at the icon.

  “Oh sorry, yeah, you’ll get both buffs and debuffs, we can go over that later though, cool?” He asked and she nodded.

  “Last lesson for the day,” he added, guiding her to a small alcove formed by stacked boxes and pallets. “Usually, you won’t spawn with zeds right on you… but it can happen.”

  He laid a loose pallet across the alcove’s exit, stacking another in front of it, then topping it with a third. “Not much, but it’ll keep wandering dead off you if they slip in. You can set your friend,” he pointed to Goo, who lazily looped above them, “to scan the perimeter before you come out. Gives you a heads-up if anything’s lurking.”

  “Ahhh,” Mav nodded. “So, protect myself before I log out? That way I don’t end up respawning the second I log back in?”

  “Exactly.” He stepped back, glanced upward, then squatted and launched himself effortlessly to the top of the stack above her. He slowed then landed in a silent crouch, he eased into a cross legged seat and looked down at her, one corner of his mouth lifting.

  ‘There’s that floaty landing again,’ she thought, her lips twitching. ‘I’m definitely working on my jump skill while I’m here, and my legs will thank me for it.’

  “See you on the other side,” he said with a wry grin. She nodded, eyes softening for just a moment before her gaze unfocused. The menu shimmered into view, and she selected [Logout]. Arthur watched her fade from sight, then opened his own menu and followed.

  Eclipse Umbra.