Player 1

Chapter 11 Level 1(9)
But I also have a few advantages.First of all, I have nothing to fear—even if Parsifal dies unfortunately, all I lose is a sword, a shield, a piece of leather armor, and this third-level character itself.I can recreate the character and he'll show up where I last logged in, which is the school locker, and then I can go back to the grave and try again and again until I finally give up or find the key. (There is no such thing as a trumpet in the oasis, and an oasis user can only have one character. So I can't let the newly created character first explore the reality of the tomb. Hackers can modify the mask to pass the retina verification, thus creating multiple oases account. But if they are discovered by the system, they will be deprived of the right to enter the oasis for life, and the Easter egg competition will be even more useless. As far as I know, no hunter will take this risk.)
Another advantage (hopefully) is that I knew exactly what to do once I entered the tomb, and the mod book explained the exact details of the maze, including where the traps are and how to disarm or avoid them.I also know which rooms have monsters and which rooms hide treasure and weapons.Of course, if Halliday modifies this, I'm going to die.But even so, I couldn't be more excited: because I've just discovered the most valuable and important secret of my life, and I'm within walking distance of the Brass Key!
At last I ran into the forest, where a thousand maples, oaks, spruces, and larches grew to delight the eye.The trees look like they were generated in unity with the Oasis landscape modeling system, but the level of detail in them is stunning.Pausing to examine one of the spruce trees, I could even see ants crawling across the undulating bark.

There are no roads in the woods, so I keep the map in the center of the screen and follow the directions to the skull mountain at the entrance of the tomb.It was exactly where the map showed it, in a huge clearing in the middle of the woods.As I stepped into the clearing, it felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest.

I climbed to the top of the low hill, as if standing in an illustration in a modding book.Halliday replicated everything perfectly. The 12-yuan huge black stones are arranged on the top of the mountain in the shape of human skulls.

I walked to the broken sandstone field on the north side of the hill, and after consulting a map, I found the location of the entrance to the tomb.Using the shield as a shovel, I started digging.It didn't take long before I dug a tunnel entrance to a dark subterranean corridor.The floor of the corridor is made of bright mosaics, among which red tiles pave a winding path.This is also the same as described in the mod book.

I shrunk the Tomb of Terror map to the upper right corner of the screen and made the window translucent, then retracted the shield and lit the torch.After looking around for the last time to make sure no one was following me, I drew my iron sword and set foot on the road to the tomb.

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Strange patterns were painted on the walls on both sides of the corridors of the tomb, and humans, orcs, elves, and other creatures fought on it.This is also exactly as described in the mod.I knew there was a secret door hidden in the floor, and if triggered, it would snap open and drop me into a pit full of poison-coated iron spikes.The location of all the traps is marked on the map though, so I won't step on them.

So far, everything is exactly like the mod, and if everything else in the tomb is like this, I'll probably live to see the brass key.Because the map tells me the types of monsters, the enemies in this dungeon—gargoyles, skeleton soldiers, zombies, poisonous insects, and mummies—I can try to bypass without fighting.The only one to face is the evil demilich Arthur Ralak, and I'll bet he's got the brass key.

I still acted cautiously, as if I knew nothing about this place.

I didn't go to Aserilak's room at the end of the corridor, but entered the secret door next to the first trap.The path behind the door was narrow and winding, and the torches dispelled the darkness nearby, and the light could be seen flickering on the damp walls.My surroundings made me feel like I was in some low-budget fantasy film, like Falcon and Raiders or Raiders and Raiders.

Walking through the dungeon, I searched one room after another according to the map.Even knowing where the trap is, I'm still very cautious.I found thousands of gold coins in the abandoned house dubbed the "Altar of Evil" by the template book.With so much money, even with storage bags to expand my backpack, I couldn't keep them all for myself-the money is far more than I can carry.

I tried my best to pick up the gold coins I could carry, and they were instantly converted into more than 2 oasis points. What is this called?This is called getting rich overnight.And my character also got the same experience value as the number of gold coins.

In the process of continuing to go deep into the tomb, I picked up several magical equipment: a +1 flame sword, a gem of truth, a +1 ring of protection, and even a set of +3 full body armor.I've never owned magic gear before, and now that I've got so much all of a sudden, the feeling of happiness almost makes me dizzy.

I put on my new armor, which shimmers with a golden yellow.Even if the man with the sword in the stone[57] stood beside me, I would not hesitate to dismiss his armor as tattered.It's so cool, I almost don't want to switch back to No.1 view to continue the adventure.

The farther I go, the more confident I become.All the settings in the tomb are the same as in the mod, even the details.Then, I finally came to the main hall.

The hall is tall and majestic, with huge stone pillars standing heavily.At the other end of the hall was a huge stone platform, on which was placed a throne, surrounded by piles of silver-gray dead bones.

All settings fit perfectly with the mod, with only one huge difference: the throne is not empty.The demilich Aserilak is sitting on it, staring at me coldly.A crown of dusty gold shone on his withered skull.This picture is also the same as the cover art of "Tomb of Terror".But according to the text setting, Aserilak should appear in a deeper room.

I wanted to run away, but I stayed.If Halliday put the lich here, the brass key must be in the monster's hands, and I can't miss this opportunity.

I walked towards the high platform, and the details of the lich gradually became clear in front of my eyes.His lips had long since decayed, and his diamond-carved teeth grinned down his cheeks in a half-smile.In his eye sockets are two large, blood-red gemstones.

This is the first time since I entered the grave that I have been at a loss.

One-on-one with a demilich, my chances of surviving are close to zero. +1 Flame Sword might not be able to hit it, and he only needs to glare with those bright red eyes, and I will be mourned because my soul has been drawn[58].Even if six or seven high-level characters besieged him, they would have to risk their lives, not to mention that I am so weak...

I wish (not for the first time) that Oasis was an old fashioned game so that I could keep saving and reloading to avoid those fatal mistakes.But things turned out to be contrary to expectations. If Parsifal died here, there would be no possibility of resurrection.But I can't hesitate now, if I die at the hands of the Lich, then I can just come back tomorrow and fight again.The entire tomb resets when the oasis reaches midnight, as do all the traps I've disarmed, and previously acquired treasure and gear reappears.

I tap the video icon on the edge of the screen to study what happens next on video.But there was a prompt on the screen: Video recording is prohibited here. It seems that Halliday has disabled the video recording function of the entire tomb.

So I took a deep breath, raised the flame sword, and stepped on the high platform with my right foot.Accompanied by the clicking sound of bones and joints touching each other, Aserilak slowly raised his head.The rubies in his eye sockets began to glow bright red.I took a few steps back, trying to lure him to attack first, but he did not leave the throne, but lowered his head and stared at me with cold eyes. "Oh, welcome, Parsifal." His voice was harsh, "Are you looking for something?"

I was slightly relieved, the lich set in the mod is not in the mood to talk to you.Once he appears on the stage, the player must face the situation that either you die or I die.

"I'm here to find the brass key." I replied, and then suddenly remembered that according to the setting, this lich was a king in his lifetime, so I quickly bowed and knelt on one knee, "Your Majesty."

"Sure enough," Aserilak motioned for me to stand up, "You came at the right time." He stood up with his hands on the throne, and the mummified skin looked like cracked old leather.I clenched the sword in my hand, guarding against his attack.

"But why should I give you the key?" he asked.

Fuck me!How the hell am I supposed to answer this?What should I do if I get the wrong answer?Will he suck my soul and burn my body to ashes?

My brain was racing, but the best answer I could come up with was, "Let me prove it, my lord Arthur Ralak."

The lich giggled, an unsettling sound echoing from the stone walls. "Very good!" he said, "then come and compete with me! Compete on the mount!"

I've never heard of an undead lich having a joust with someone else, and it's still in a dungeon. "Okay," I wasn't quite sure how to answer, "but where's the horse?"

"It's not a horse," he stepped down from the throne, "it's a bird."

He waved his withered arm at the throne, and in a flash of light, to the music (I'm sure it's the opening theme from The Power Rangers), the throne turned into an old-fashioned arcade machine.It has yellow and blue rockers on the control panel.When I saw the name of the game above, I couldn't help but grin.

The Battle for the Eggs, Williams Electronic Entertainment, 1982.

"Two out of three sets," Arthur Ryak said, "you win, and I'll give you what you want."

"Did you win?" Even though the outcome was decided, I still asked.

"If I am the victor," the Lich replied, the rubies in his eyes becoming brighter, "you will die!" He raised his right hand threateningly, and an orange ball of fire appeared in his palm.

"Of course, of course," I said hastily, "I thought so too, just to make sure."

The fireball in Aserilak's hand disappeared, and he stretched out his withered palm, on which were two 25-cent coins. "My treat." He walked to the game machine and put in two coins.After two jingles, the number on the coin acceptor also jumped from zero to two.

Arthur Ryak held the yellow joystick on the left, "Are you ready?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"Hmm." I stared at his skinny palm, took a deep breath, cracked my knuckles, then held the second player rocker with my left hand, and put my right hand on top of the buttons.

Aserilak shook his head left and right, his neck bone made a sound like a tree trunk snapping, and then he chose the two-person mode.Games start.

Even in the 80s game world where all kinds of whimsical ideas emerge in an endless stream, "Battle of Bird Eggs" can be regarded as refreshing.Each player controls a knight with a lance, the main player rides an ostrich, and the secondary player rides a stork.You'll have to flap your wings and fly against another player, while also dealing with computer-generated enemies (their mounts are vultures).Every vulture rider killed will turn into a green egg, and if you don't blow it up, the enemy will emerge from the egg again.Every time the player dies, the number of lives will be reduced by one.Sometimes, a pterosaur that can attack in full screen will suddenly appear in the game.

The last time I played "Bird Eggs" was more than a year ago.It's one of Edge's favorite games, and for a while he kept an arcade machine in his basement.Every time he argues with me to the point of exhaustion or both sides are dry, he invites me to type this.We even practiced with each other every day for a few months.In the beginning, Edge was a little better than me, and he laughed at me a few times for it.Hey, this really pissed me off, so I started working on Clash of the Eggs myself, sparring dozens of games a night against the computer.As a result of the research, Edge gradually fell behind in the competition, and finally became almost purely abused.Feng Shui took turns, and finally it was my turn to laugh at him.The last time he played, he swore he would never play with me again because he was abused so badly.Since then, our tool for dispute resolution has been Street Fighter.

My technique was more rusty than expected, and in the first 5 minutes I could only try to relax myself, trying to get back the touch and rhythm.During this period, Aserilak killed me twice-his sprint trajectory was indeed perfect, almost like a machine.Oh yes, he was a machine—and a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence designed by Halliday himself.

By the end of the first game, I was already starting to get the feeling I had when I played Edge.But Aserilac didn't need to warm up, he was always perfect, and I died too many times before, so when I lost my last life, I didn't even hit [-] points, which was a shame.

"We lost one game, Parsifal," the Lich showed a distorted smile, "There is one more game."

Instead of continuing to fight those vulture riders, he reached out and restarted the arcade.After the opening cutscene, he tossed two more coins.

"Ready?" He leaned over the control panel.

I hesitated and didn't answer, but asked, "Well, would you mind switching positions? I'm more used to the left side."

This is the truth.I always use Ostrich when Edge and I play in the basement.The first play on the right really affected my rhythm.

Arthur Ryak considered for a while, then nodded, "I don't mind." He took a small step back and exchanged places with me.I suddenly realized how absurd this scene must be: a warrior in armor and a demilich sharing a room, and the two are playing arcade games together. The covers of "Heavy Metal"[60] and "Dragon Chronicle" may not have used such surreal images.

Aserilak chose the two-player mode, and I focused my eyes on the screen.

The second set also started off badly, with my opponent's precise moves and overwhelming attacks that I could barely fend off in the first few rounds, and the sound of his skull-like palms slapping buttons was annoying.

I let go of my clenched teeth, trying not to think about where I am, who my opponent is, or what the bet is.I pictured myself beating Edge in the basement.

I succeeded, I entered the state, and the situation began to reverse to the ostrich rider.I searched for the demilich's weaknesses, calculated the mistakes he would make.It's a skill I've honed for years, and I've mastered hundreds of games for it—yes, there's no invincible computer.In such a game, a talented player can always beat the AI, because the program will not improve, it can neither adapt to the situation, nor can it predict the unexpected actions of others, its every move has been preset.This is the truth of video games, at least until humans create a real artificial intelligence, absolutely true.

The second set was very intense, and in the second half, I discovered the Lich's attack pattern.Under certain conditions, he will charge towards the ostrich, and after I dodge it, I can lure the vultures behind to knock him off.After repeating this for several rounds, he finally lost the battle. Of course, I also jumped a few times during this period, and only one life remained when I finally won.

I took a few steps back and breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the sweat drip off the edges of the mask and forehead.I wiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt.Parsifal also made this move.

"Nice job," Arthur Rack said.He held out his hand to me, and I gave him a firm shake, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Ah," I said, "you're not bad, man." It dawned on me that in a way I was actually playing Halliday.But I immediately dismissed this idea, so as not to be distracted in the next duel.

Arthur Ryak put in two coins again. "This is the decisive battle," he said. "Ready?"

I nodded, this time, I pressed the button to select the two-player mode with my own hands.

(End of this chapter)