Maelstrom looked up, seemed surprised, and prepared her sword. Alastair prepared his new staff and prepared for combat. “One way to find out.”

  The man closed on them quickly but stopped before they were in range. He regarded them for a moment before saying, “Peace, players. I’m not here to fight.”

  “Forgive us if we don’t put away our weapons just yet,” said Mal.

  “Fair enough. I’m here on behalf of Solar Cell. I think it is prudent that you listen to me.”

  “As in, Solar Cell, the company that had us trapped in this game.”

  Fausta nodded. “Yes. It has come to their attention that you are trapped, and they are actively working to assist in your release. I am one such means of assistance.”

  Alastair said, “What do you mean?”

  “Your release conditions are to solve this Keep. However, if you do so, you will not release everyone. All the players on the server who have not yet completed the Keep will not be released.”

  “That’s great and all, but the other players can solve their own problems,” said Mal.

  “While that is the ideal solution, there are players on this server that are not in a place to do so,” Fausta replied, “as some players have not yet started to solve any of the problems as you have done. The development team is working to do so, but one specific case requires greater attention.

  “As you may realize, some areas of the game grow increasingly challenging. I think you are both aware of Inflection Point, yes?”

  Alastair shook his head no while Mal said, “Yeah, of course.”

  “I see Alastair Nova does not know of it by that name. You may call it the tower on the east side of the Sheljour Isles.”

  “Oh, yeah. Inflection Point does ring a bell.”

  “But what does it have to do with us?” Mal asked.

  “Not you specifically, but a player starts in that location yet does not escape it.”

  Alastair looked confused, but Mal got animated. “What?! I’ve been following the news on this stupid game for months and that’s not supposed to happen.”

  Fausta looked sad. “Yes. It is not ideal. The player will remain in that location until someone can release him.”

  “You mean, get into the tower, join a party with the player, and then meet the other exit criteria?”

  Fausta nodded. “You catch on quick.”

  Maelstrom asked, “Why can’t you do it?”

  “As I’ve said before, Solar Cell is working to fix the problem. I am the first AI added to your server to start the process. Additional AI will be added tomorrow or overmorrow, but those will be at a lower level than I am and will need additional time to become strong enough to assault the tower. Solar Cell acknowledges that you are in place for longer than the recommended duration. Adding two additional days, plus days to become strong enough to get to the tower risks endangering the life of the player at that location. As two of the strongest players on the server, the development team implores you to care for the welfare of someone in a similar circumstance as you.”

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  Mal jumped in at the lull, “That’s all well and good, but won’t we be booted from the server once we solve the puzzle here?”

  Fausta nodded. “Yes. Except…there is a unique option for you once you complete the Keep puzzle. The developers had intended this game as a closed system, meaning that it is more akin to a video game with discrete challenges that can be measured, rather than a perpetual open world. Perhaps you have heard of older games that had something called ‘new game plus.’ Does this make sense to you?”

  Mal said, “Like, we beat the game and then get to start again with all of our current equipment and settings in place.”

  “Correct.”

  “So, it’s technically possible to collect everything in the game?”

  “You would be hard-pressed to do so without a strong team, but you should have an interface option that shows your total game completion.”

  The curiosity of looking almost overtook Alastair, but this conversation was moving too fast for him to feel comfortable missing any of it.

  “What do we get out of sticking around? I’m going crazy, even before voluntarily choosing to stay around longer. And how can we know we won’t be locked in the game again if we go onto a new game plus?”

  Fausta blinked, then held up a hand for a moment. “I’m uncertain about your points, but I sent messages to the development team to inquire. Due to the time compression in the game, I will not expect an immediate response, but I will let you know as soon as I get one. It appears you are maxed out for party members at your current level, so unfortunately I cannot add you to a party. However, I will send the responses to you directly.”

  “What are our party limits? It isn’t explained anywhere,” asked Alistair.

  Mal looked affronted, “Who cares?” She turned toward Fausta, “So what can you help us with, anyway?”

  “I will confirm that you are on the right path to beat this location, and hence receive escape from the game. You are not yet strong enough to take on the carnage you would experience if you went up one level to the Main Hall. Therefore, I encourage you to take two actions, and I will accompany you in the process. First, you must increase your interface, and therefore I will encourage you to find and pet more cats. Second, you must use what time you have today to grind and get stronger so that you will be able to survive the tower.”

  “So, more cats. And what do we do to get stronger? Fight guards?”

  Fausta said, “I recommend the dungeon.”

  “For cats?”

  “No, to get stronger.”

  “Look, Fausta. The player Galoots has a theory about the number of cats unlocking interfaces. Let’s assume we can’t get the ones from the Inflection Point yet,” said Alastair. “How many more cats do we need to unlock the next interface, and why is it so important?”

  “If you’ve unlocked your tenth interface, meaning you have access to global chat, you have at least fifty-five cats. The next unlock is at eighty-nine cats.”

  “Eighty-nine! At the rate we’re going, that’ll take another week.”

  “You forget that as your party grows, the cats petted are cumulative, but not backward compatible.”

  Mal said, “That means that if you ever accept my party invitation, I won’t get access to the cats you’ve pet and you won’t get access to mine.”

  “I don’t remember getting a party invitation from you.”

  “If you have already reached party capacity, it will not show until you boot another individual or level to a larger party capacity.”

  “Ah. Sorry Mal, it looks like you’ll have to wait. But seriously, another forty-something cats? What did you say it does, Fausta?”

  “I didn’t. It will allow you to access the interface back door, which allows you to see increased features on your displays, such as where unpetted cats are located, and other items that will assist you, if you so choose, to aim for completeness in the game. And increase your max party size to eight.”

  Alastair said, “And what does that get us? Bragging rights on an incomplete game?”

  Fausta looked as if he was about to say something, but reconsidered. “Yes, bragging rights. I’m uncertain if there are other benefits but I asked that question to the developers.”

  “Okay, well, now that that’s not settled, let’s head to the dungeon, I guess?”

  Mal shrugged.