Eight-Bit Bastards: Level Two by Joshua Mason

Author:Joshua Mason [Mason, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B07V8SW864
Publisher: Bebuka Books
Published: 2019-07-09T23:00:00+00:00

Level 2-10: Serpent’s Sanctum

Key in hand, they trekked toward the locked door. Pliny was sure whatever Tevera was, a sprout and a cleric didn’t stand a chance against it. He was okay with that—respawning outside this forsaken castle was beginning to sound pretty good.

The maze was huge, and at their pace Pliny judged it would take them at least ten minutes to get back there. The dwarf-spider-wall-crawlers hadn’t appeared for at least an hour, so he struck up some small talk to pass the time.

“Hey... if you have this amazing memory of everything here, why are you recording every detail in that notebook?”

Mark was engrossed in his book, and if he’d heard Pliny, he showed no sign of it.

Pliny cleared his throat and repeated the question.

Mark looked up from the yellow book just long enough to judge the distance to the next intersection before poking his nose back into it. “What? Oh, sorry. A couple reasons, really. I’ve always written things down, even when I was alive. I was a professor. Anthropology. Taking notes is second nature.” He shrugged. “Heck, maybe it’s my first nature.” He looked up from the book for a second time. “Anyway, we want to take a right here.”

“What’s the second reason?”

Mark didn’t answer immediately, instead staring at a brick that looked like every other brick in the damned maze. Seeming satisfied as to the conformity of the masonry, he continued down the corridor.

Pliny’s curiosity was piqued, and he was never one to respect boundaries.

“Really, what’s the second reason?”

Mark scowled. “I didn’t mention a second reason.”

Pliny chuckled, his eyes widening. “You just did! I distinctly heard you say there were two reasons.”

Mark stopped, then hung his head and side. “The memory thing doesn’t appear to work here.”

“In the castle?”

“In Bitrealm. I began to suspect it while leveling up in the fields. I remembered things—the names of creatures, people—but not with the clarity I usually do. For seven centuries, I’ve remembered every thing my brain absorbed. We all did. Now... it’s like losing an arm.” He stopped and touched the pencil to his lips. “Or perhaps a more accurate analogy would be having an arm replaced with a spatula. I mean, it’s still a functioning appendage.”

“What’s a spatuler?”

Mark gave Pliny an ‘are-you-serious’ look. “A spatula. Used for flipping eggs, burgers. You know.”

“Oh, for cooking. Yeah, nobody really cooks anymore. Maybe a few of the artsy types.” Pliny shook his head. “Anyway, they say the memory is the first thing to go.”

Mark scoffed. “I made it to 110 before I transferred over. I never had a problem with it.” They approached the next intersection. “Straight here, left at the next one. Anyway, I don’t have a problem with it now, per se. I mean, it functions. Just not at the levels I’m used to. It’s okay. I have my notebook.” Mark glanced at Pliny. “What about you, what’s your story? Hacker, game nut, girlfriend named Cherri. What else?”

“Everybody’s a hacker to some extent these days. I do my mandatory ten hours a week for the Alenian government.

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