Realm of Mystics

By Raelyn Drake

When a girl wakes up in a virtual reality fantasy video game, she's sure this must be a mistake. She's not a gamer and she doesn't want to be here. Whether she likes it or not, she's now Em3ra1d_with_3nvy, one player in a four-player team whose mission is to defeat a dragon and rescue the realm's princess. In a game where she has no idea how to play, Em3ra1d_with_3nvy will have to learn to use magic in order to help her team win the game—or risk being trapped within it forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing
• Release date: Aug 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512482386

Raelyn Drake

Raelyn Drake enjoys chai tea, tai chi, and coming up with more than two items for lists. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and rescue corgi mix, Sheriff.

Book preview

Forever.

Chapter 1

"Welcome to Level Up."

Eyes still closed, the player tried to slap the snooze button on her alarm, but her hand met only rough wood.

"Congratulations! You have been randomly selected to beta test the Realm of Mystics scenario of our new game, Level Up. L33T C0RP thanks you for your participation."

The player’s eyes snapped open.

A middle-aged man in a white suit and sunglasses stared down at her. He smiled, and his teeth glinted a brighter white than his suit. The player had a feeling that the smile didn’t reach the eyes behind those dark lenses.

She lay on the floor of some sort of wooden shack. She tried to remember how she had gotten there, but everything was blank. What’s going on? She sat up, pressing a hand to her aching forehead.

Do you need me to repeat the welcome message again? I thought it explained the situation rather nicely.

No, I just—

The man flickered, pixelated, then snapped back.

She blinked a few times. Did you just—are you a hologram or something?

I’m the Game Runner, he said, as though he was stating something obvious. The player would have found the man’s smug tone annoying under normal circumstances. "This is my avatar in Level Up. As you can see, there are still a few glitches to work out. He smacked the side of his head as if he was trying to get water out of his ear. That’s why we need beta testers before we release Level Up to the general public."

The player suddenly realized why this all sounded so familiar. She remembered seeing a headline in her news feed that L33T C0RP would soon be releasing a fully immersive virtual reality gaming experience. She hadn’t bothered to read the article. She had never been great at video games.

What if I don’t want to be a beta tester?

You already signed a contract, the Game Runner said.

She frowned. I don’t remember doing that.

The Game Runner smiled again—it seemed to be his default expression—and shrugged. Memories are often misplaced during the login process—

A door at the back of the shack burst open. A girl the same age as the player appeared, her long black hair arranged in dozens of tiny braids.

Hey, let’s get going already. She pulled her braids back into a ponytail. The player noticed text floating above the girl’s head: Rox_Ur_Sox. That must be her name in the game, she thought. The text disappeared after she had a moment to read it.

Rox_Ur_Sox wore cherry-red armor that gleamed in the last rays of sun shining through the shack’s windows. The player looked down at her own clothes. She was dressed in midnight blue robes, belted at the waist and sprinkled with silver sequins like stars. What the—?

Two boys followed Rox_Ur_Sox into the room. The boy with tousled black hair wore a knee-length brown leather coat. Floating above his head was the name E1_Kapitan. The skinny redheaded boy in a black hooded cloak—D4rkHunter—knelt to finish lacing up his boots.

"What kind of video game is this?" the player asked.

Rox_Ur_Sox raised an eyebrow. Oh no, don’t tell me you’re a n00b . . .

A what?

D4rkHunter whispered behind his hand like he was sharing a secret with her. Gamer slang for ‘newbie.’ She means you’ve never really played video games before.

She shrugged. Do phone games count?

Rox_Ur_Sox rolled her eyes and sighed. Can we just get started?

This player just needs to select her gamertag, the Game Runner said, gesturing to the player. Everyone turned to look at her.

My what?

This is the name you will go by in the game. Everyone else has already chosen theirs.

Umm—

Time’s up, the Game Runner said. "A gamertag has been generated for you. Welcome to Realm of Mystics, Em3ra1d_with_3nvy."

Em3ra1d_with_3nvy noticed E1_Kapitan staring at a spot above her head. She looked up and saw her new name floating above her. It too disappeared after a moment.

Em3ra1d_with_3nvy, he repeated. That’s not a bad gamertag for a n00b.

"Envy is right, when she sees how real gamers play." Rox_Ur_Sox smirked.

Can we call her Em3ra1d for short? E1_Kapitan asked the others. That name is kind of a mouthful.

Do you all know each other? Em3ra1d asked, still trying to wrap her head around the situation.

D4rkHunter shook his head. "Not in real life. Kap and I hang out on the L33T C0RP gaming forums, but I’ve never met him offline.