Controlling the Goddess Read online

  Hand of the Gods: Lv 1

  Herb Identification: Lv 2

  Saddler: Lv 5

  Sneak: Lv 4

  Swimming: Lv 3

  Reckless: Lv 5

  Available Points: 0

  So close to the next level…

  Chloe next pulled up her map, her smile widening as she saw a sigil of the gods right next to the marker that told Chloe where she was on the map. They were so torturously close, yet she had no idea what she would find inside the volcano. The idea of potentially having to battle a fire monster or a demon caused butterflies to pulse in her stomach.

  Chloe rubbed her belly, feeling the ache in her legs from the walk. She noticed another small notification on her display in the shape of a blinking letter and raised an eyebrow.

  “Gid, you know you don’t have to send me messages right now, right? We can talk. We’re practically next to each other.”

  Gideon turned his head, a confused expression on his face. “I haven’t sent you anything. At least, I don’t think so.”

  Chloe straightened and opened the message. Her face softened and her jaw dropped as she read the words hovering in front of her eyes.

  Chapter Two

  Hey Chloe!

  This is a test message to see if this works. Boy, I hope it does.

  Mia and I have been trying hard—well, mostly Mia—to find a way to communicate with you in-game. The better you get at your new digital life, the fewer chances we have of catching you in the white room when you die, and things are changing fast out here.

  Wow, that was a weird sentence to type.

  Please reply to this message and let us know you’ve received it. We’ll have no way of knowing otherwise.

  Unless…

  How about, once you read this, you use a codeword or perform an action that people won’t understand. “Pumpernickel” or “sandbag.” Or maybe just a wave and a peace sign to the sky?

  I’m so excited about this. I hope it works!

  Doc

  Chloe let out a small exhale, not quite believing what she was reading. The doc and Mia had done it. Had hacked into the game and provided her with a means of communication that didn’t involve Chloe having to kill herself and wait in the white room for two hours to resurrect.

  “What do you mean, you can send messages to each other?” Tag said, suddenly catching on to Gideon and Chloe’s exchange. “Have you been messaging about us behind our backs?”

  Gideon looked awkwardly at his hands and played with his fingers. “No, not at all. I’d never do that. The chat function has been there all along, anyway. You probably haven’t noticed it before because you’ve had no need to use it. All of your friends are here, within ten feet of each other.”

  Ben raised an eyebrow. “Nice save. But that doesn’t change the fact we haven’t yet added Chloe to our menus. Wait a second…”

  Ben’s eyes unfocused as he fiddled and manipulated his HUD. A second later, a notification popped up on Chloe’s screen.

  Benjamin Summers would like you to be his friend.

  You’ve made quite the impression. Add this character to your list of people who’ll cry at your funeral.

  Accept: Y/N

  Chloe hit Y instantly, not wanting to offend Ben further. “Thanks.”

  Tag grumbled. “Wait, what about me?” Another notification appeared, and Chloe accepted it without question.

  “There, that’s better. A merry band of friends.” Chloe paused, a thought popping into her head. She looked away shiftily, adding, “You can all be my pumpernickels…or my…sandbags…in life. We’ve got each other’s backs…right?” She finished by raising a peace sign into the air.

  “Why does she keep doing that?” Tag asked. “Who’s up there?”

  Ben looped a finger in the air near his ear. “This game can make you cuckoo.”

  Chloe laughed awkwardly, then looked away and distracted herself with her messages. She re-read the message from the doc, then noticed a new option available on her menu. The text read Party and was slightly shaded, with an info icon beside it.

  Chloe selected the info icon.

  Wahoo! Celebrate in style by customizing the world around you with confetti, balloons, and streamers!

  We’re just kidding.

  Parties are one of the lifeblood of the successful adventurer. By shunning the solitary life and joining a band of brothers and sisters, there are no limits to what you can do.

  Obsidian’s party menu will be available once a player has bonded with 4 other players and invited them to join. Parties require a name and often benefit from a balance of unique skillsets within the group.

  Once a party has been established, a reputation meter will become available, indicating your fame or infamy among the inhabitants of the land. Work together as a unit (for good or evil) and understand that the choices you make directly affect everyone within the party.

  Friends required to unlock: 1 remaining

  “Damn, one friend short,” Chloe said.

  “What do you mean?” Ben asked.

  “Look at your menus. Does anyone else see the party option?”

  Gideon’s eyes went glassy. “Oh, that? That’s been there for ages. I just never bothered to activate it.”

  “Then read it,” Chloe said. “We’re one friend away from being able to make a party. Surely that’s a good thing, right?”

  Ben nodded, deep in thought. “Usually. In some of the other games I’ve played, it’s the only way to unlock certain areas of the map, as well as receiving benefits and favor from other player groups.”

  Chloe flapped her hands, unsure why the others weren’t picking up on what she was trying to communicate. “Then why aren’t we more excited about this? Let’s find another person and get them involved.”

  “Aren’t we forgetting someone?” Tag said, wrapping his arm around Jesepiah. “There’s five of us here, isn’t there?”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Jesepiah asked.

  “There’s actually six,” Ben corrected. “If the wisp counts, of course.”

  “Of course, the wisp counts,” Chloe snapped.

  Jesepiah looked at Tag for help. “I don’t understand.”

  “Look, honey…”

  “Honey?” Ben exclaimed.

  “Look, it’s nothing to worry about. We’ve got a chance to create an official in-game party, and there’s a space for you to be our fifth member. All you need to do is open your HUD and accept the friend request I’m about to send over to you…” Tag’s voice trailed away. “Huh? I can’t find you on the system.”

  Gideon, a little sharper than the love-smitten dwarf, caught Chloe’s eyes, silently trying to communicate his thoughts.

  It took Chloe a second, but it eventually sank in.

  Tag continued, “I can’t seem to… What’s your screen name?”

  “Er, Tag?” Chloe said, edging closer to the dwarf and tapping his shoulder. “Maybe a bit awkward, but I don’t think Jesepiah counts.”

  “What do you mean, I don’t count?”

  “Nothing personal. It’s just that I think only the blessed can band together to join the party. I’m not sure NPCs are able to get involved in—”

  “Ah! Found you,” Tag said. A second later they all received a request from Jesepiah.

  Jesepiah Creedle would like you to be her friend.

  You’ve made quite the impression. Add this character to your list of people who’ll cry at your funeral.

  Accept: Y/N

  Well, more fool me…

  They all muttered, selecting the Y option. Once they had all confirmed, a strange blue mist began to swirl up from the cracks in the ground, wrapping around them all and becoming thicker, twinkling stars sparkling among the fog.

  Gideon raised his arms as if he were wading through a swimming pool and didn’t want to get them wet. “What is happening?”

  Chloe looked away from the gas, studying a new notification which had appeared.

  Party unlocked

  Congratulations, you’ve found four others in Obsidian who put up with you long enough to want to become your friends.

  With Party now unlocked, you can invite your group to band together, gaining a selection of advantageous benefits and proving to the others in Obsidian that you are all bigger than the sum of your parts.

  Parties you have encountered in-game will now also show in the Community tab of the Parties menu, meaning that you will be able to track your reputation and status against the other groups in Obsidian.

  Monthly prizes and rewards will be available to those who top the ranks and prove to Obsidian that their party is the mightiest of all.

  Chloe moved her attention to the Party option, which was now pulsing and glowing brighter than the others. She saw floating avatar heads of Tag, Gideon, Ben, and Jesepiah and selected them all, clicking a button at the bottom to confirm.

  “Done!” Chloe said excitedly. One by one, the adventurers accepted Chloe’s invitation, their avatars exploding into bright color in her vision.

  “Okay, we’re going to need a name,” Chloe said, selecting the Party Name option at the top. “It has to be super kickass and sweet, something that’ll strike fear into the hearts of our enemies and inspire those who we come to help. Anyone got any ideas?”

  “The Kiera Slayers,” Ben suggested right off the bat.

  Chloe nodded, impressed. “Nice…like KieraFreya, but Kiera Slayers. You think of that all by yourself?”

  “Ya-huh.”

  “Been holding it in for some time?”

  “Ever since you told us about the armor.”

  “Nice.” Chloe chuckled. “But a crap name for the party. It sounds like we want to kill anyone named Kiera.”

  “I see your point,” Ben agreed.

  “How about ‘The Destructicons?’” Tag suggested.

  “We’re not out here destroying robots,” Gideon said, rolling his eyes. “Nor are we robots.”

  “All right then, Gid, why don’t you come up with an idea?”

  Gideon did. He came up with a few, all of them ranging from terrible to worse. They included elements of girl band names, cheesy clichés from other games, and, the worst among them involved such profane alliteration that it left Jesepiah, Tag, and Ben in stitches.

  Gideon flushed and folded his arms. Somewhere above them, those strange prehistoric birds cawed as though joining in with the mirth.

  “Okay, okay,” Chloe said, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. “We’re not getting anywhere with this. How about we think about it—let it ruminate—and let’s say that by the time we have collected this piece of armor, we’ll put our names back into the ring and vote on our favorite?”

  They each agreed, Gideon mumbling something about not wanting to bother even trying again before Chloe got them all back on their feet.

  “Are we all ready to hop inside an active volcano and meet our doom?”

  Jesepiah toasted with an imaginary cup. “Great pep talk, boss.”

  “She’s always like this,” Ben said, rolling his eyes.

  “Hey, if you’re not careful, I’ll find a way to push you all in. Now shut up, and let’s get our gears going.”

  Chapter Three

  The inside of the volcano was even hotter than the outside, but with a different kind of heat. Rather than the strange, wet humidity of the magma and lava mixed with the dark clouds that hung over Bahrum, the heat inside was dryer than a sauna, causing all of their throats to dry instantly.

  The walls were warm to the touch. Occasionally small holes would release plumes of steam that hissed and made them jump. Once they had to band together to save one of their crew, who had walked too close to the wall and encountered a creature so strange that at first, Chloe had a hard time believing it was real.

  The creature had a long, eely body, as dark as the rock around them, and its eyes were amber pools of silent fury as the thick trunk of its body slithered out of the craterous holes, winding its way around the neck of its victim.

  Gideon had been the first, flailing and yelling out. His voice carrying down the winding tunnel. At first, they didn’t know what to do, each person afraid of accidentally hurting Gideon, considering how tightly wound the creature was.

  “Do…something…” Gideon wheezed, fighting for breath as the creature leered at them, a look that said, “once he’s gone, I’m coming for you.”

  Chloe had taken the initiative, leaping forward and slashing with her sword, keeping it as close to the dungeon wall as possible and cutting the creature off from the source.

  After the thing released Gideon’s neck and dropped to the floor, it wriggled and writhed, its muscles spasming in one final desperate flurry of life. Chloe scanned the creature in the final moments before it stopped moving, seeing a small message bar appear above its body.

  Volcaworm (Level 6)

  7HP

  Chloe frowned, unable to understand if this creature had terribly low HP, or if the low HP was the result of her attack on its body.

  Her query was answered when the number shrank to 0 and the worm lay still.

  Annoyingly, the volcaworms were everywhere. Anytime the adventurers paused, no matter how briefly, they saw them dotted around the tunnel, drifting out of their holes to examine the prey that had wandered into their lairs.

  Chloe wondered if this was a sign of things to come. If her experience with the digestive amorphis—oily blobs which multiplied and grew into a giant blob when attacked—inside the sandworm’s digestive system was anything to go by, the next part of their challenge might be to navigate the volcano and fight past a giant volcaworm and its babies.

  Luckily, after the fifth encounter in which the volcaworms tried to attack them, Tag decided to make something of a game of destroying them. Wielding his hammer, he jumped ahead in the cave, bashing the holes like a game of whack-a-mole.

  “Finally, a chance to rack up some experience,” he said, bashing his hammer against the walls as a volcaworm popped out of the floor and started trailing toward his leg. He spun in time, hammer driving down on the poor creature, taking it out in one.

  The others continued walking behind, happy to let Tag take care of the nuisances. Sweat now poured in buckets from their heads, the tunnel snaking ever inward toward the center of the volcano.

  “Enough is enough,” Ben said, grabbing the collar of his tunic and pulling it over his head. Chloe couldn’t help but stare at the lean, muscular frame of the elf. The sweat provided a sheen over his abs that made the muscles on his body shimmer.

  Jesepiah stared too, unable to help herself. Perhaps there was a reason that Ben had managed to get so much digital tail in this game after all.

  Gideon, oblivious to the women’s stares as he panted, said, “That’s actually not a bad idea.” He took off his cloak, fanning his now-naked neck with his hands. “I don’t know how much more of this I can stand.”

  Chloe ripped her eyes away from Ben. “Maybe that’s the challenge. It would be a great way to protect the armor, wouldn’t it? To have it in the middle of a place that was so hot nobody wanted to go anywhere near it?”

  Up in front, Tag smashed his hammer at the ceiling, narrowly missing a volcaworm and causing a small shower of rocks to rain upon him, some of it falling into his eyes. “Ah, you—” beep.

  “So how are we going to get closer?” Gideon asked. “If it’s much farther I’m going to have to turn back and leave you. It’s not like we have popsicles we can cool ourselves down with? The body can only withstand so much, y’know.”

  Chloe’s eyes came alive with an idea. She turned her attention to her palms, focusing her etheric potential into creating an Ice Shard. The small dagger-shaped piece of ice hovered in her hands, then dropped onto her skin as she ended her spell. “Here.”

  Gideon flailed to catch the shard, the cold ice a stark contrast to the heat. “What do you want me to do with this?”

  Chloe shrugged, already concentrating on creating another. “Lick it? Eat it? Rub it all over your naked body until you cool down? Whatever you want. Just do something with it quick.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s already dripping through your fingers, idiot.”

  Gideon’s eyes widened in alarm when he realized that Chloe was right. The object he held had already shrunk at least a third in size from the heat and now sprinkled the floor in droplets.

  Chloe conjured enough ice shards for all four of her comrades, much to the disappointment of Tag, who had to stop his bashing in order to accept his gift. His only saving grace was that he got to enjoy Jesepiah and her ice shard, the cold droplets dribbling down her chin as she sucked on the end and began to reduce the shard to nothing.

  “You’re really good at that,” Tag said, blushing when he internalized the words that had come out of his mouth.

  Jesepiah said nothing, only winked.

  Chloe chuckled, scanning her group as she took a seat, back against the jagged walls. Everyone looked exhausted, their eyes half-closed as they panted and made the most of their ice shards. When Tag eagerly asked for another one, Chloe had to refuse, seeing how much MP she had used summoning the first few.

  Even Ben, who was normally the most composed of all of them, looked as close as an elf could to a ‘mess.’ His naked chest rose and fell in sharp pants, eyes closed as he conserved his energy.

  She turned to Gideon. “I think you’re right, y’know.”

  “What’s that?”

  Chloe sighed. “The body can only withstand so much heat. If it gets much worse, we’re going to have to turn back, at least for a little while. Come up with a new plan of action.” She thought about retracing their steps and found that the idea sickened her. It would be like admitting defeat, and that was something that Chloe had proudly refused to do in this game so far.

  “Well, maybe there’s something in here,” Gideon said, reaching into his shallow pockets and, thanks to the magic of the game, withdrawing a book so impossibly thick it seemed ridiculous that he could just pull it out of his pocket.

  “Gotcha!” Tag suddenly cried, spying a small volcaworm that had been sneaking across the floor toward them. The creature exploded beneath his hammer.