Page 7 of Lucky Shot
One thing I love most about this game is the graphics. They’ve hit that sweet spot where it’s animated but almost realistic. If you zoom in enough, you can see individual blades of grass. An individual’s pores. A hickey looks like a fucking hickey. Not just a smudge on the screen depicting a bruise.
The second thing I love about it is that you can do absolutely anything. If you see a hole in the side of a tree and you want to stick your character’s dick in—you can. You want to marry eight different players—you can. Even if you want to go around on a killing spree—you can. Literally anything.
That’s not to say there aren’t consequences. If you get a splinter in your dick from fucking the hole in the tree, you could die from infection. When you die inside the game, you can buy your life back, but there’s a 50/50 chance that you’re going to lose all your shit. Everything. I’ve done that once. Not fucked a tree, but died and lost everything.
Since then, I’ve strived to put safeguards in place so I won’t lose everything if I die. Like making magical stores throughout the worlds. And I don’t do stupid and useless things like fucking the flora. I mean, I get it. It’s a challenge to see if you can get your character to doanything. And I suppose dying in a game from your flora-sexcapades is better than telling a doctor why you have a splinter in your dick and dealing with that infection.
Once I’ve oriented myself to my location, I click the chat to see if any of my old friends are on. I scroll down the list of who’s nearby and then click over to my friends list. There are a few names, but nobody I’m overly eager to speak to. So instead of chatting, I close out and push my character into the wilderness in search of the skunk pelt.
I’d be happy enough to find a skunk. Even if it sprayed me. I’d skin a bitch. I’m not scared.
The forest is bustling with animals and different players with their names floating above their heads. Some stop when I walk by and I don’t have to ask why. There aren’t many who play long enough to get their characters past level ten. It seems like the majority of players hover between six and eight. The average ‘highest’ level player one typically stumbles across is a ten.
And here I am, sauntering through the forest, looking for a skunk at level thirteen.
A little bubble pops up from someone calling himself DancingOrk.
DancingOrk:Hey, man. Look at you. Hot and powerful! Wanna breed?
I click out of the chat and move on without answering. It’s pretty normal to get random shit like that. And yes, two male characters can breed. This isn’t science; it’s magic. You can choose to control the offspring as a secondary, tertiary, or a whole hoard of ancillary characters if you choose or let them loose into the world as bot-operated filler.
One of the strongest bots is a bred throwaway. I always wonder whether the breeders kicked themselves for not keeping their offspring.
There’s a village in the distance. One that’s hidden within the trees. I can see the smoke drifting lazily through the trunks, so I make my way toward it.
I was generous when I thought of it as a village. There are a handful of huts, one of which is a trader whose location changes frequently. It’s known for its stock of rare items. Skunk pelts are rare; or at least have proven to be so for me. Maybe I can just buy that bitch.
Stepping in, I look around for a minute. There are so many details, right down to the peeling label on a potion bottle. Incense is burning in the corner with its fingers of smoke reaching through the room. There are intricately beaded cushions on the floor, arranged in a circle. Two of which are occupied. One person is reading a book. The other is snacking on something that looks suspiciously like a lizard.
I step up to the counter and hit the button to bring up their inventory. Using the search feature, I look for skunk. There’s whiskers, eyeballs, urine, and claws. Not a goddamned pelt!
Huffing in irritation, I meander through the store for a while, picking up things here and there and depositing them in my bag, watching as my line of money drops marginally when I do. I did say I’ve spent real money on this game, right? Yeah… I have enough in the game that I could probably buy the shop.
When I’ve gathered all the items I’m remotely interested in, I step outside and run into another character. Our characters freeze, at an impasse. I shift out of the way, taking a step back to move around him, when I pause.
He’s a petite player in a robe with his hood up. He has a staff in hand, topped with a glowing red orb. I’m not sure what makes me look at him. He’s a level seven mage at most.
Clicking on him, I read down his stats and feel a brief smugness when I guessed his level correctly. Then I roll my eyes because I’ve clearly spent far too long playing this game if I can guess another character’s level on sight having never seen them before.
A chat bubble pops up.
PrettyInLace:You’re a legend. You can run me over any time.
I laugh, even as I type out a response.
DemiDefenseKip:Sorry, man. I totally didn’t mean to stare.
PrettyInLace:You can stare all you want. It’s the necklace, right?
It’s then that my gaze focuses on his necklace. Zooming in, I smile at how cute it is. It’s a little puppy that bounds around along the chain as if it were on a leash.
DemiDefenseKip:That’s the cutest damn thing. Where’d you get it?
PrettyInLace:Thanks!! I’m going to screenshot that compliment since it came from a god.
I snort.
PrettyInLace:I actually charmed it myself. *mage dance*
