Chapter 24
Slayer. It was what people in Dawnbreak City were already starting to call the leader of the Progenitors in the south. Slayer. Nobody was sure if it was a system-given title, as some reports claimed, or if it was just what the people were attributing to her. But they knew the player¡¯s true name. Azalea, of the Progenitors. Azalea, of Flower¡¯s Rest.
¡°What a load of rubbish,¡± Hassan said, slamming down the tankard in his hand. ¡°I can¡¯t believe people are swallowing these lies.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure that they¡¯re entirely lies,¡± his drinking companion said. ¡°I think she really did earn that title. I have contact with one of the members of Market Street, you know. He told me that Azalea came into the market with an entire large wagon full of loot. He even claims that there¡¯s more to come from the one raid.¡±
¡°So you think she soloed the entire raid, Patsy?¡± Hassan asked, leaning forward to glare incredulously across the table.
¡°I didn¡¯t say that,¡± Patsy was quick to clarify. He inspected his clean white shirt for a moment, flicking off a crumb leftover from his day¡¯s work. ¡°I just think that it¡¯s conceivable. More and more people are getting stronger in this game. Didn¡¯t you hear about those attacks in the lower city the other day?¡±
Hassan leaned back slowly, his brow furrowing. Of course, he¡¯d heard. Everyone had. Two players, without the support of any guild or party, had laid siege to the base of one of the bandit guilds that operated within the city. They¡¯d initiated a Land Defense Event and wiped out over a dozen members of the Nightfall Marauders. They¡¯d been a vicious guild, and nobody was sad to see them scattered to the winds. But the knowledge that two players had done that, had taken over their base and destroyed their property, was chilling.
He wondered idly why he was ready to believe this rumor, but not the one of Azalea single-handedly killing a raid boss. Maybe it was because he¡¯d started in Dawnbreak, and had seen how quickly the city had fallen to the ¡°bad¡± guilds. Sure, there were plenty of players that still trod the path of morality, as far as they could in a video game. But they were outnumbered by the players who got a kick out of PKing and raiding other players. Stories of players losing materials, Yemen, and even entire plots of land were common here.
¡°Well, if two people can do that,¡± Patsy continued, ¡°Then I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too strange for one person to kill a single boss. I think she had a lot of help from her guild, mind you. But I think that last killing blow, the one we hear about, was her.¡±
¡°So you think it was a perfectly normal raid?¡± Hassan asked, taking another sip of his drink. ¡°You think people are just making a big deal out of it for nothing?¡±
¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say that,¡± Patsy admitted with a shrug. ¡°There have been a few other raids, and nobody¡¯s stirring up chatter about them. There''s definitely something odd about this one. I just don''t think it''s nearly as fantastical as they''re making it out to be.¡±
To his surprise, Hassan find himself nodding slowly, agreeing with this particular line of reasoning. ¡°I guess we''ll never really know, will we?¡±
¡°I didn''t know about that,¡± Patsy said, a slow smile showing over the lip of his tankard. ¡°Dawnbreak and Silver Village aren''t that far apart, and it might not be that long before someone figures out a way of making travel to and from faster.¡±
¡°Ah. I keep forgetting you spawned here. You don''t know how hard it is to get here from the village.¡±
¡°I''ve heard the stories. Doesn''t it take about a month for just people?¡±
¡°Closer to three weeks,¡± Hassan corrected. ¡°If you level your agility stat, you can run faster and longer before getting exhausted.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true. Of course, my agility is almost zero, so I¡¯d have to take an entire month.¡±
¡°You could always hire a caravan to get you to the city safely,¡± Hassan suggested. ¡°Then again, you¡¯re already here. So what does that matter to you, right?¡±
¡°Well, I was actually thinking of going to the village.¡±
¡°Two wolves on the left!¡±
The leader of the traveling party called out the warning just in time. Oscar turned, drawing back the string of his bow and releasing an arrow with one casual motion. One of the two wolves dropped with a weak whimper, its body rolling several feet in the short grass before coming to a halt. The other wolf jumped over its body without care, slamming into the shield of the player who was acting as the vanguard.
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¡°Push him away, Alasta!¡± A voice thundered. The elven woman took a half step back, then, just as the wolf lunged again, smashed the shield into the beast¡¯s head with a grunt, sending it crashing back to the ground a few feet away. At once, a streak of fire flew out of the air just over Alasta¡¯s shoulder - making her glad she¡¯d remembered to braid her hair that day - and slammed into the animal. It let out a piteous screech of pain, staggering blindly on the spot as its light grey fur ignited.
Alasta turned away from the gut-wrenching sight as quickly as she could, moving up to re-fill her position at the front left side of the party. Just ahead, she saw a figure break from the shield wall, charging forward with two powerful swipes of his sword. Each of those attacks found a different target, carving through two different goblins and dropping them to the ground.
¡°Excellent!¡± Kyraa called, from atop the small hill several yards away, where she had a good view of the entire field. She pointed one arm to the right flank, where nearly a dozen wolves lay slain on the dirt. ¡°Those of you with high Gathering, skin those animals! We¡¯ll add them to the war profits! Everyone else, spread out and form a perimeter!¡±
At once, four figures wearing large backpacks hurried over to the lifeless bodies of the wolves, drawing skinning knives as they approached. Everyone else moved in different directions, either forming a loose circle of defense or moving inward to where a quick tent was already being erected. Caius was one of them, pausing only long enough to wipe the blood of the two goblins from his blade before sheathing it.
¡°Not bad so far,¡± Riley commented, appearing out of the crowd on Caius¡¯ left. ¡°You¡¯d almost think those rumors were wrong.¡±
Caius offered no reply, verbal or otherwise. He knew what Riley meant, though. This raid, a new discovery, was probably one of the biggest they¡¯d taken on so far. It was also the strangest, with varying levels of difficulty. That last wave, a mix of goblins and forest animals, had been easily handled. The wave before it had consisted of nearly four dozen bandits. Four waves before that, they¡¯d had to tangle with a giant eagle that kept swooping down, picking up their members, then flying back into the air to drop them to their deaths.
The command group, consisting mainly of the leaders of Sisters of the Night and of The Progenitors, was gathering in the center of the wide protective screen of fighters. Kyraa shook her head as they came together, a dark expression in her eyes. ¡°How the hell did a raid spawn right as we were making our way through this area?¡±
Again, Caius had nothing to offer on this particular subject. In any event, it didn¡¯t seem as though Kyraa expected a reply. ¡°Dozens of players have made the trek along this road between Dawnbreak and Silver Village. Why is it that when we go to do it, there¡¯s a fucking raid? We don¡¯t have the supplies for this!¡±
¡°Maybe it¡¯s something to do with the number of players that are taking the trek,¡± Riley suggested. He cast a glance to the side, meeting eyes with Caius. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time a game triggered events based on player count.¡±
¡°Okay, but how do you explain that damn eagle?¡± Kyraa shot back, her temper too high to discuss the matter rationally. ¡°That bastard was a B-Rank monster! It killed a dozen of us!¡±
This was true, though those dead members had managed to return to the group easily enough without encountering any more monsters, and had reclaimed their lost gear and Yemon. Still, it had been a frustrating incident for them. Despite the experience of the two guilds leading the effort, most of this large group hadn¡¯t encountered a raid yet and were having trouble coping with the experience. It was the first real glimpse that this game had harsh consequences.
¡°I¡¯m frankly surprised Azalea¡¯s handling it so well,¡± Riley said. ¡°I never thought she¡¯d want to leave her farm, let alone not complain at a raid like this.¡±
Azalea had agreed to their idea of traveling to the city without much complaint. Though she seemed regretful to leave their property and her farm behind, the Sisters had formed an alliance and agreed to defend against any raids that might harm them. Her reason for agreeing, as she¡¯d explained it to them, was to see if she could learn any new recipes in the city, or even perhaps open up a trade route. Azalea was quickly growing as a trader in this game and had a real business knack.
Just now, she was in the defensive screen, professing a dislike of command group meetings. Caius suspected she was just avoiding Kyraa¡¯s temper. Lately, she and the guild leader of Sisters of the Night seemed to be at odds, and couldn¡¯t get through more than ten minutes of conversation without either growing annoyed. As he glanced over in her direction, he saw her chatting amicably with the comrades to her left and right. She¡¯d gained a lot of popularity ever since gaining that Slayer title, he thought with a slight grin.
¡°So,¡± he said, speaking for the first time that meeting. ¡°What¡¯s the plan now? If we keep facing threats like that, we might not make it to Dawnbreak. We could very well be wiped out on the plains here.¡±
¡°Well, obviously, we don¡¯t want that,¡± Kyraa retorted, starting to get control of her emotions. ¡°We have so much loot and money between us that we can¡¯t afford to lose. With Silver Village unable to buy it all, we have to get to the city. It¡¯s the only way we have of selling our stuff. We¡¯ve run out of storage space.¡±
So a silent agreement to continue was formed among the group. Quite apart from their loot, they¡¯d also signed Contracts with the extra players that were acting as security and had paid half up front. So if they abandoned the goal now, they¡¯d lose even more. It was better, they decided, to keep pressing on. When they reached Dawnbreak City, they would more than earn back their expenses and lost costs.
¡°Let¡¯s try to speed it up a bit, though,¡± Kyraa said. ¡°We¡¯re moving too slow as it is. We¡¯ll increase our pace, and have our scouts keep an eye out for threats. There¡¯s no sense in marching in formation if nothing¡¯s attacking us.¡±
Chapter 25
Word of the raid group¡¯s arrival, surprisingly, seemed to move faster than the actual members of the group did. Whether it was one of the marching players using the Contact spell or exceptional scouts that reported the information to the residents of the city, they couldn¡¯t be sure. All they knew was that, when they¡¯d gotten within a day¡¯s travel of Dawnbreak City, they began spotting other players. It was the first sign in nearly a month of players that existed outside the starting village.
¡°Looks like we¡¯ve got a welcome party,¡± Oscar said quietly, walking over to where Caius was marching in the line. He pointed one arm toward a squad of four players on a nearby hilltop, and Caius nodded, indicating that he could see them. ¡°They¡¯ve been there for hours. Saw them when I went ahead on a scouting trip.¡±
¡°They didn¡¯t try to attack you, did they?¡±
Oscar shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯d be that stupid. If I went down, that might spook the rest of you, and might make you decide to avoid going to the city after all.¡±
Of course, that was operating on the information that the other players had, he reflected. They only knew that a large group of about thirty players was marching on the city. They assumed that they were just making a trek, and had no way of knowing that their visit had another motive. Nearly all of Dawnbreak City was a PvP-enabled zone, so it was generally accepted that nobody would seriously consider coming here just for the fun of it. Naturally, the raid group knew this going in. One of the Sisters had a contact within the city, who had warned them ahead of time of the dangers.
¡°In a normal MMO, the devs wouldn¡¯t allow players to take over a city,¡± Caius said. ¡°Just another key difference between this game and its predecessors.¡±
¡°Well, we¡¯ve got a raid group,¡± Oscar said. ¡°And over half of us know the secret to combat in this game. It might get messy, but I think we can take them.¡±
¡°That¡¯s assuming none of them have also figured out the secret.¡±
Oscar let out a snort of derision, gesturing toward the players on the hill. ¡°As if. Look at that one with the bow. He¡¯s posing like a video game character. And his quiver is so horribly positioned. I bet I could shoot him down before he even manages to nock an arrow.¡±
Even Caius smiled at that. ¡°Well, best not to attack them just yet. We don¡¯t want to make enemies of the guild that runs the city before we even get there. But if they attack us, feel free to make good on that promise.¡±
Oscar gave a mock salute, then grinned, and jogged away to continue his scouting. Caius moved back through the column to notify the other members of the command group, very few of whom seemed surprised. A few, like Oscar, had already noticed them. They all agreed that attacking just now would be a stupid idea.
¡°We might be here to sort out some of the problems we¡¯ve been hearing about,¡± Caius explained to Centrogen, ¡°but the last thing we want is to start an entire war. We¡¯ve gotta be careful about this.¡±
Of course, not every member of the raid group was in on the plan. It wasn¡¯t that the extras weren¡¯t trusted, but Caius and the Sisters had agreed that, if they decided that they wanted to do something about the nasty rumors coming out of the city, they had to let everyone believe that they didn¡¯t care one way or another how Dawnbreak was run. They knew that the city was currently owned and harassed by guilds of thieves and murderers, who terrorized the residents - both Terrian and Adventurers - and attacked people regularly, stealing items, Yemen, and generally griefing them.
As they passed the figures on the hilltop, the players watching them held their positions, which surprised Caius. He would have expected them to fall back as soon as they got a good look at the visitors, to return to the city and report on what they¡¯d seen. That¡¯s what he would have done, and he knew Oscar, the best scout in and around Silver Village, operated the same way. Maybe that just fell under the umbrella of knowledge and tactics that not everyone would think about.
He was broken out of his deep thoughts by Azalea, who approached from the rear of the group and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. When he looked at her with a questioning expression, curious about what was on her mind, he saw she had a thoughtful expression of her own.
¡°So what¡¯s the plan when we get into the city?¡±
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He shrugged slightly, not because he didn¡¯t have an idea, but because this wasn¡¯t a discussion he thought should be shared with outsiders within earshot. ¡°Same as always. We¡¯ll find merchants who are interested in buying our extra materials and loot. Then we¡¯ll go sightseeing.¡±
A nearby player, one of those who¡¯d been hired just to act as a guard on their trip to and from the city, looked around in confusion. But Azalea knew what he meant by the last sentence, and nodded solemnly. She cast a quick glance back in the direction of the hilltop where the watching players had been, a small frown creasing her forehead. Caius, noticing this, put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, dear,¡± he said. ¡°There are enough of us here that nobody would dare challenge us. And once we¡¯re done selling, we¡¯ll stick to safe zones.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not the fighting I¡¯m worried about,¡± she confided, meeting his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m used to that now. I just don¡¯t like that the city has turned so nasty.¡±
She spoke as if she¡¯d been born there, and was saddened to see the place fall so low. Caius resisted the urge to laugh, but only with effort. ¡°Look at it this way. I¡¯m sure the criminals are shaking in their boots, knowing that the Slayer is coming for them. Maybe they¡¯ll all run away before we get in.¡±
At the mention of her newest title, she flushed a bright pink and pointedly looked away. She still hadn¡¯t gotten used to the reactions of other players when they saw her title. She¡¯d tried everything she could think of to get rid of it, but it remained where it was, a line of golden text just under her character¡¯s name. There was no hiding it, and while she may have acquiesced to that fact, she still hated the attention she was getting for it.
¡°I just hope that doesn¡¯t cause us trouble while we¡¯re here,¡± she said quietly, her cheeks still flaming. ¡°I don¡¯t want to risk losing any items or people just because people want to challenge me to a fight.¡±
Sadly, it wasn¡¯t a baseless assumption. Already, four different people had challenged her upon seeing her title, and she¡¯d beaten two of them. The others, Caius and Riley had stepped in to resolve, because she¡¯d been busy. She was getting rather famous around Silver Village, Caius thought with an inward laugh. Not just for her food, either, though it was still near the top.
¡°We¡¯ll get through this as quickly as we can,¡± he promised her. ¡°Then we¡¯ll rush back home and reassure your adoring customers that they can still get their sweets.¡±
That finally made her smile, and some of the tension seemed to fade from her face. ¡°Thanks, Caius. I¡¯m glad I decided to try this game with you.¡±
¡°Same here, kiddo,¡± he said, using one of his fonder nicknames for him in real life. ¡°See you in the big city.¡±
¡°They¡¯re only an hour away,¡± a quiet voice whispered in Killer¡¯s ear. The lone bandit, for he was truly alone after his guild had disbanded out of fear, was leaning against one of the many battlements that lined the outer wall of Dawnbreak City. The fortification wasn¡¯t high as such things were concerned. The true defense was around the inner city, several meters high and several feet thick. This only served as a checkpoint for incoming strangers.
¡°How many are there?¡± he asked. ¡°Is it true that the Slayer is among them?¡±
¡°That¡¯s what they¡¯re saying,¡± the informant reported. ¡°I had a few of my men waiting for their arrival. They couldn¡¯t confirm the Slayer¡¯s presence, but he recognized that swordsman from her guild, and if our information is to be believed, he never travels without her.¡±
¡°If your information is to be believed,¡± Killer hissed back, laying emphasis on the first word. ¡°So? How many of them are there?¡±
¡°Nearly fifty members in their entire raid group,¡± the informant replied. If he was offended by Killer¡¯s remark, there was no sign of it in his voice. His face, of course, was hidden by both the deep hood he wore, and the dim lighting of the night sky above them. ¡°Most are confirmed mercenaries, however. I do not believe they will pose a threat should you wish to attack.¡±
Killer made no attempt to dissuade the informant from making this assumption. The less predictable his goal was, the better. ¡°Very well. Your information is good.¡±
A contract screen appeared in front of his eyes, listing a 500 Yemon price. Killer accepted the transaction, and the informant moved away. So uncanny, he thought, how the man moved with virtually no sound. Apart from the squeaking of the door¡¯s hinges, there was no evidence to suggest that someone was departing from the wall. Letting out a long sigh, Killer stood straight, peering out on the plains that stretched to the far south. An hour away. He¡¯d be able to see signs of them soon.
Rumors were that the two guilds making the trip were all accomplished fighters. Some believed there was even a B-Rank among them. Killer wasn¡¯t sure what he believed. Oftentimes, rumors weren¡¯t worth the air they were carried on. But if there were enough rumors to say that these visitors were a threat to the city and the way it operated, he was inclined to listen. As much as he loathed relying on others, he¡¯d have to gather more information. This wouldn¡¯t be the first informant he met with, he thought. He had to learn as much as he could if he was going to pull off this score.
A bell rang in the distance, marking the midnight hour. Killer let out a long sigh, then turned toward the door himself. He couldn¡¯t get much accomplished standing here on the wall. He¡¯d have a quick meeting with his new allies, then they could witness the arrival of these southerners, and see what kind of a plan they could come up with.
Chapter 26
Dawnbreak City, while the first city of any kind that they¡¯d seen inside this game, came as a bit of a surprise, not for any unique features, but because of how ordinary it seemed. Those who were stepping through the gate for the first time glanced to the left and the right, then up at the roofs of the tall buildings that stood on either side of the wide street, their eyes narrowed into confused frowns.
¡°I don¡¯t know why,¡± Riley said, echoing the thoughts of the others, ¡°but I expected there to be¡ more.¡±
Azalea nodded her agreement. The Progenitors had reformed their group as soon as the city was within sight, both for protection and convenience. The fact that the streets of Dawnbreak City were a PvP zone wasn¡¯t forgotten. In fact, the four of them, Oscar included, were in the front position, their eyes scanning for threats. ¡°It looks like every other medieval city.¡±
¡°It¡¯s like they used a generator,¡± Riley added. ¡°This city has no personality to it.¡±
Caius offered no thoughts on this particular matter, his attention grabbed by two figures. He could just barely make them out, half-hidden as they were by the window of a tall, two-story building made of stone. He might not have noticed them at all if it weren¡¯t for the surveillance tips that Oscar had shared with him, teaching him to be a better scout.
The two figures in the window weren¡¯t the only ones watching them, either. Eyes peeked out from behind doors, around corners of buildings, and even quite a few were staring at them openly, standing off to the side of the road, watching the large force of players marching through their city. It made Caius feel as if he were part of some invading army, which, he reasoned, was partially true. But the residents had no reason to suspect them of anything save for the fact that they¡¯d arrived with such a large group.
¡°Talk about a cold reception,¡± Riley said, grinning in spite of the tense air around him. ¡°I thought we booked a tour guide? Where are they?¡±
A small smile curled the corner of Oscar¡¯s mouth but faded quickly as he shook his head. Slinging his longbow over his shoulder, he pulled the hood more snugly over his head. ¡°I¡¯m going to scout ahead, just to make sure there¡¯s no trouble.¡±
None of them offered any protest to this idea, and Oscar stepped off the road and vanished into the line of spectators. They didn¡¯t seem to notice his movement, simply stepping back into the place where he¡¯d exited. Only when he was out of sight of the group and spectators did he quicken his pace. He broke into a light jog, turning toward the wall of a nearby stone building. There was an advantage to his craft that a city provided, and it was one he hadn¡¯t been able to take advantage of yet.
Quick as an alley-cat, he ran at the wall, hitting it at an angle and using the momentum to propel him upward. He scaled to the top of the building without a noise, then cast a quick glance around to see if anyone was looking his way. The rooftops were bare, however, and he stole across the roof of the building, his padded shoes making no disturbance on the wooden roof. He¡¯d spotted two people that looked like trouble as soon as they¡¯d arrived in the city, and he was determined to figure out more about them.
He wasn¡¯t worried about an attack on the convoy just now. Sure, they were a valuable target, what with the four wagons packed with materials and items, but their guard was also up, and they were ready for any attempt to steal their treasure. And as they were nearly fifty strong, no sane guild of thieves would even consider attacking. No, Oscar wasn¡¯t really scouting for threats. What he was after was much more important.
He knew which way to go thanks to information he¡¯d acquired before hand, and found himself at the small section of false stone wall several hundred yards away from the gate in a very short time. He hesitated, remembering what he¡¯d learned, then knocked on the false wall twice in quick succession. Then, after a pause of exactly three seconds, he knocked again, three times. At once, a large stone at eye level was pulled back, and two eyes appeared, glancing all around.
¡°Who knocks on the door of the desert spring?¡± It was a simple enough password, for those who managed to find their way here. Oscar offered the counter-phrase, which he¡¯d been taught by another player using Contact.
¡°One who seeks the fountain and the bounties it offers.¡±
¡°Then welcome to the Oasis, traveler. Come and rest in the shade.¡±
The small section of stone slid back into place, hiding the eyes of the hidden player. Then, a second later, there was the faint sound of wood sliding against wood, and the entire section of false wall slid to the side, revealing a low-ceilinged room, built like a taproom, that occupied more space than the exterior dimensions seemed to allow. The beams that supported the ceiling were bare, and the room had plenty of nooks and crannies. Figures in a variety of nondescript clothing were spread about the space, and nearly all heads turned to face Oscar as he stepped inside.
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He gave no sign of awareness at this increased scrutiny. Whether they were simply studying him or planning to attack, it didn¡¯t matter. The system had just notified him that this room was a non-PvP zone, so he wasn¡¯t worried about their stares. He was here on business, and that was all that mattered. He found who he was looking for quickly enough, even though none of the players¡¯ names were visible above their head. He wondered if his too was hidden - if this was a trait of the zone he could learn - or if it was an ability they all had, but hadn¡¯t shared with the outside world.
At the bar, its shelves bare of any bottles or decorations save for a few books, sat a Half-Elf figure with round glasses and a baggy, ill-fitting robe. It hung on his frame as if to portray that he was skin and bone, but Oscar could see the well-formed muscles underneath. He was a scholar but had also clearly leveled his vitality and strength scores.
¡°Welcome to the Oasis,¡± the figure said, not looking up from the book he was perusing. His feet were propped up on the bar, Oscar noticed. Very casual. ¡°What brings you to our hidden tavern?¡±
¡°Not much of a tavern,¡± Oscar pointed out, finally giving a quick glance around the room. None of the other people in the room met his eyes, glancing away as his eyes swept over them. One seemed mildly surprised, as if he wasnt expecting to be spotted. ¡°I don¡¯t see a drop of alcohol here.¡±
¡°Well, we haven¡¯t figured out how to make it just yet,¡± the half-elf said with a smirk. ¡°And you¡¯d be hard-pressed to find a Terrian merchant brave enough to sell it.¡±
¡°So even Terrian merchants are being robbed, then?¡±
¡°Surely you know I cannot answer that question for free, my new friend. We survive on the trade of information, after all. You must pay for answers here, either by coin or by rumor.¡±
In spite of himself, Oscar felt a grin spread across his face. ¡°Hey, that was a cool line.¡±
His grin was matched on the informant¡¯s face, and they shared a rare moment of glee that broke character. But in an instant, the expression was gone. ¡°So. Which do you offer?¡±
¡°A bit of both,¡± Oscar replied, falling back into the grave manner of his character. ¡°I¡¯ll be asking quite a lot of you today, and it would help if you knew I was serious from the start.¡±
He opened a Contract window with the other avatar. His name came up as Jun. Of course, Oscar knew the character¡¯s name long before he¡¯d arrived in Dawnbreak. He put up four thousand Yemon, then submitted it. In spite of his cool air, Jun¡¯s eyebrows rose a few inches to indicate his surprise. He accepted the payment at once, but Oscar was convinced nobody else in the room noticed the reaction. ¡°Very well. What is it you would like to know?¡±
¡°Who are the three biggest guilds in this city?¡± Oscar asked straight away. ¡°I only want to know about those that are engaged in thievery and assault. Bandit guilds, I believe they¡¯re being called?¡±
¡°Indeed they are. Well, the top three will probably be Attraxia, Dominus, and The Legion. The Shadow Bandits used to be on that list, but they¡¯ve had a recent downfall.¡±
¡°Interesting,¡± Oscar said quietly. ¡°What happened to the Shadow Bandits? Last I heard, they controlled about a third of the city.¡±
¡°Oh, the rumors are everywhere on that bunch,¡± Jun said. ¡°Some say they fell to infighting.¡±
¡°But they didn¡¯t, did they?¡±
¡°No, they did not. A small guild, only two players, wiped them out about a week or two ago.¡±
Now it was Oscar¡¯s turn to raise an eyebrow. ¡°Just two people? They must be good if they were able to take out an entire guild on their own.¡±
¡°Yes, it¡¯s stirred up quite a bit of interest, that case. Nobody knows who they are, of course. Even my folk haven¡¯t been able to find them. Apart from occasional glimpses, we hardly ever see them. No clue where their base is, if they have one.¡±
¡°Well, they¡¯d have to at least have a hiding spot if they¡¯re seen so little,¡± Oscar thought aloud. ¡°So you know what they look like, then?¡±
Jun nodded. ¡°One of them is a tall, skinny cat-man. The other is a fox-girl. Full nine tails and all.¡±
¡°Sounds like a typical gaming duo,¡± Oscar reminisced. If these two were able to take on an entire guild and win, then they definitely knew the secret to the game. ¡°And here I thought Azalea taking on the raid boss by herself was an impressive feat.¡±
¡°So it¡¯s true, then? Your guildmate earned the Slayer title by defeating a raid boss by herself?¡±
Oscar let out a laugh. ¡°You know it¡¯s true. I told as much to one of your informants who visited Silver Village.¡±
¡°Yes, I did hear something about that. I take it that he was the one who gave you our location?¡±
Oscar nodded. ¡°He told me how to find you after I gave him some good information on monster hunting spots. Free of charge, of course.¡±
¡°Nothing is free, my new friend,¡± Jun said with a coy smile. ¡°We all pay a price, be it now or later, be it in coin or in blood.¡±
Damn, this guy had a lot of good lines, Oscar thought, filing that one away for future use. He must be something like a scholar in real life. Maybe he was a philosopher or a novelist. ¡°Right. Well, back to what I¡¯ve already paid for.¡±
¡°Of course. What else would you like to know?¡±
Oscar glanced around the room again, but this time he made sure to make the action as subtle as he could. Only when he was sure that there were no other players in easy earshot did he speak, leaning across the bar and lowering his voice. ¡°Where can I find the base of these three guilds?¡±
Chapter 27
It wasn¡¯t hard to find a way to sell their excess goods, once they¡¯d reached Dawnbreak City. Like all cities, it had a market, though there weren¡¯t that many people walking around in the open, so it was easier than they could have expected to find trade. Kyraa and the Sisters actually purchased a stall for a few days, in order to sell their equipment more easily. The Progenitors left their items with them to sell and devoted their time to quietly investigating the city.
Oscar, of course, was nowhere to be seen. He¡¯d vanished shortly after they¡¯d entered the city. Riley too had wandered off, saying he was going to look around the shops and see if anything caught his eye. This left Caius and Azalea alone together, in an open PvP zone, surrounded on all sides by people they didn¡¯t know. Naturally, Azalea was a giant ball of nerves. She kept her spear sheathed, but fingered her silver bracelet every few seconds, casting a quick glance around.
¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± she muttered, just loud enough for Caius to hear. ¡°I feel like we¡¯re going to be attacked at any second.¡±
Caius glanced around as well, but he hid the motion well. He could see several people around, but none of them were paying him any attention. Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t see any sign of that hidden watcher that he¡¯d noticed at the gates. Were they no longer following the strangers, or had they picked a better hiding spot? He put the thought away for now, focusing on soothing Azalea¡¯s worries.
¡°They won¡¯t attack us,¡± he said gruffly. ¡°It¡¯s not worth their trouble.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked. ¡°We walked into town with thousands and thousands of Yemon and all that loot.¡±
¡°Which we are no longer carrying on us,¡± he reminded her calmly. ¡°As for our Yemon, they¡¯ll only get ten percent. That¡¯s hardly worth it.¡±
¡°Ten percent of our Yemon is a lot.¡±
¡°Yes, but they also carry the risk of being killed and losing Yemon themselves.¡±
¡°But what if they all attack at once?¡± Clearly, his attempt to calm her was failing. He tried a different approach.
¡°They won¡¯t. Remember, no single guild owns this city, so it¡¯s highly unlikely that they¡¯re all allies. If one attacks, they risk getting ganked by the others while fighting. Not even a crazy person would take that risk.¡±
That seemed to mollify her slightly. Still, she cast a nervous glance over her shoulder once again. ¡°So you don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have to fight?¡±
¡°Not yet,¡± he said confidently. ¡°Right now, I¡¯d wager they¡¯re still trying to figure out exactly what we¡¯re doing here.¡±
¡°Well, we¡¯re here to sell our extra loot.¡±
¡°That¡¯s what it looks like, yes. But they¡¯re trying to see if we have an ulterior motive. So they won¡¯t attack. They¡¯ll watch us closely, and see if we reveal something or if they can deduce our goal by spying. Then, if they find a weakness, they¡¯ll try something.¡±
¡°So they¡¯re just watching.¡±
¡°Yes. At this point, I¡¯d say our biggest concern is schemers or cons. As long as we keep our heads on and stay on the main road, we should be safe.¡±
Azalea supposed she could accept that, for the time being at least. Besides, she knew that the safest place for her was at Caius¡¯ side. On top of being a great fighter, he had a sharp mind for tactics in games like this. She forced herself to take a deep calming breath, and let it out in a long sigh. ¡°Okay. Well, we still have to work on that goal, you know.¡±
He nodded slowly. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to gather some information. I¡¯m sure Oscar is doing the same thing. But we don¡¯t have his connections, so we¡¯ll have to try the classic route.¡±
By that, she was surprised to learn, he meant visiting a tavern. There was one closer to the gate where they¡¯d entered the city, and it was a busy location. Azalea wasn¡¯t sure that going into a tavern in a city crawling with bandits was a good idea, but her concerns were wiped away as soon as she realized the entire building was a safe zone. It also seemed full of much friendlier figures than she¡¯d expected. The man behind the bar - Terrian by the looks of his clothing - smiled cheerfully at them as they approached.
¡°Welcome to the Tumbling Leaf,¡± he said brightly. ¡°What can I get for you today?¡±
¡°Two of your house ale,¡± Caius replied. ¡°Also, any local gossip, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±
It was a popular trope in games, one that Azalea was sure had come from popular fiction. The bartender was always painted as the one who caught the gossip of customers, whether they told him themselves, or if he overheard them talking. It made sense, and the bartender¡¯s smile proved that the trope was well alive here.¡±
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¡°It¡¯ll be fourteen Yemon for the ales,¡± he said. ¡°For the rest, it depends on what you want to know.¡±
Caius let out a snort of laughter, and opened a Contract screen, giving the Terrian two hundred Yemon. ¡°Let¡¯s see what that gets me for now.¡±
The bartender touched a finger to his forehead in a grateful salute, then vanished around a corner and returned minutes later with two full tankards of a frothy liquid. He set them down, but before he could speak of any gossip he¡¯d learned, a voice interrupted them.
¡°So you¡¯re the Slayer.¡±
Azalea froze, recognizing her title. Her damn title. How could she have forgotten the effect it had on other people? She¡¯d been so wrapped up in the fear of the other players attacking them for their loot and money that her title had - for the first time in weeks - faded from her mind. Steeling herself for another confrontation, she turned to view the stranger.
¡°I am,¡± she said, trying her best to sound stern and intimidating. If she couldn¡¯t scare the person off, she¡¯d have to rely on Caius again, and she didn¡¯t want him to do too much. ¡°But if it¡¯s all the same to you, I¡¯d rather not get into a fight here. I just want a drink and to relax.¡±
A male avatar stood smiling, a few feet away. That was strange, she thought. He wasn¡¯t trying to get in her face or boast about how he was a better fighter than her anyway, so she didn¡¯t deserve the title. He was smiling. Not leering, but actually smiling. She scanned his frame for any sign of weapons, but he was unarmed. He wore dark pants and a thick white shirt with long sleeves, rolled up to reveal his large forearms. That outfit looked vaguely familiar¡
¡°I¡¯m Patsy,¡± the man said, stretching out a hand. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t mean to bother you. I¡¯ve just been looking forward to meeting the guild that¡¯s caused such a stir around here.¡±
Befuddled, not to mention a little thrown off by such an earnest, polite greeting in a city known to be full of thieves and thugs, Azalea shook his hand. ¡°Azalea. This is my friend, Caius.¡±
¡°Ah, the legendary warrior,¡± Patsy replied, his grin broadening to show he didn¡¯t take the title seriously. ¡°They say you were one of the first to figure out the secret to combat.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know if I was the first,¡± Caius replied gruffly. He¡¯d turned just long enough to nod in greeting and now returned to his tankard. ¡°But we are the first guild to complete a raid.¡±
¡°So I¡¯ve heard,¡± Patsy said with a laugh, moving to sit on a stool to Azalea¡¯s right. Again, he didn¡¯t claim the one directly beside her but left a gap to give her space. He was awfully polite, she thought. Was this some kind of ploy to earn their trust, or perhaps get them to let their guard down so he could attack?
¡°So you¡¯re a baker?¡± She asked, finally remembering where she¡¯d seen that thick white coat before. ¡°Or do you just like putting flour on your clothes?¡±
He glanced down at his uniform, almost as if seeing the patches of white dust on his clothes for the first time. He let out another laugh. ¡°Yes, well, I heard that your army had come to the city, so I rushed right over. Didn¡¯t really have time to clean up.¡±
Well, that was strange, Azalea thought. If his purpose here was to get their guard down, why would he admit that he was here to see them? That kind of thing could only make them more suspicious. Indeed, Caius was shooting Patsy a subtle glare over the lip of his tankard. But the baker didn¡¯t appear to notice their suspicion, and was paying for a drink of his own.
¡°You should try the meat pie here,¡± Patsy told Azalea and Caius. ¡°Brian there really knows how to cook.¡±
¡°You know the Terrian¡¯s name?¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯m here every day. It only makes sense that I¡¯d learn the name of the building¡¯s owner.¡±
That got Caius¡¯ attention. Rather, he was surprised enough that he forgot to act as if he were ignoring Patsy. ¡°Just how rich are the NPCs in this world?¡±
¡°You know, I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s fair to call them NPCs,¡± Patsy replied quickly, glancing in the bartender¡¯s direction. ¡°With how advanced the AI in this game is, they look, talk, and act like real people. Hell, they have more personality than most players I¡¯ve met.¡±
He finished with another laugh, then thanked Brian as the man brought him his drink. Then, before Azalea and Caius could continue the subject, he added, ¡°So, what brings you all the way here from Silver Village? I¡¯m surprised you¡¯d want to leave your farms behind.¡±
¡°How do you know about my farms?¡± Azalea asked, shocked out of her thoughts. ¡°I haven¡¯t had them up that long.¡±
¡°You know people are talking between the city with Contact, right?¡± Patsy asked, a sly smile spreading across her face. It was very much the look you gave someone who¡¯d just asked a dumb question. ¡°Plus, you had three or four of them when I left for this city.¡±
¡°You¡¯re from Silver Village?¡± She asked, settling back in her seat. For some reason, she felt flustered from being caught in such a ridiculous trick. Of course, she knew about the Contact spell being used between the village and the city. It was how they knew so much about it beforehand. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize you.¡±
¡°Well, you were busy,¡± Patsy replied, taking a long pull from his tankard. ¡°You set up your land while everyone else was still busy learning the basics of the game. Besides, there were almost two hundred people that spawned there. I doubt you could remember all of them.¡±
That was certainly true. ¡°Sorry,¡± Azalea said quietly, but Patsy waved her apology aside. ¡°You¡¯re quite alright. Unlike you guys, I haven¡¯t made much of a name for myself in this game. That¡¯s why I wanted to meet you guys as soon as you arrived here.¡±
¡°What?¡± Caius asked, glancing around again from his presumed ignorance. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±
¡°Oh, sorry,¡± Patsy said, his smile fading as he set his tankard down. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m never good at this.¡±
¡°Good at what?¡± Azalea asked.
Patsy took a deep breath, almost as if he were working up the courage for something. ¡°I wanted to meet you guys and ask if I could join your guild. I can¡¯t fight that well, but I¡¯m willing to learn. I¡¯m also a really good cook and baker, so I can help you with your food stall, Azalea. I¡¯m also a pretty damn good carpenter, so I think Riley and Oscar will like me. So¡ yeah. Can I join the Progenitors?¡±
Chapter 28
Before Azalea could think of a response to this unexpected question, the doors to the tavern burst open with such force that nearly every person in the taproom - Azalea included - jumped, and turned to see who had just arrived. A solitary figure stood in the now bright light of the outside street. His face was cast in shadow so they couldn¡¯t make out the details of his expression, but it was clear from his body language and how he was turned that he was looking directly at the people at the bar. More accurately, he was glaring directly at Azalea.
¡°Killer!¡± Patsy gasped. ¡°Give it up, you can¡¯t attack her in here. This is a no PvP zone!¡±
The stranger stepped across the threshold, his stiff leather boots stomping on the worn wooden boards of the floor, and strode directly for the target of his attention. Azalea stood on instinct, even though she knew there couldn¡¯t be any fighting here. Caius and Patsy both rose with her, and the grizzled old warrior stepped forward so he was half-covering her, one hand on the hilt of his sword.
¡°Back off,¡± Caius warned the stranger. ¡°We might not be able to fight you in here, but if you annoy us too much, I¡¯ll drag you outside and kill you myself.¡±
Killer offered him no more than a quick sneer before returning his attention to Azalea. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. You so much as touch me, and this entire city will fall on your head. You¡¯re the outsiders here.¡±
The rest of the tavern had fallen into a nasty silence at Killer¡¯s arrival, and at this last comment, several people grumbled uncomfortably. It was clear that they weren¡¯t sure of his words, yet nobody spoke up to contradict him. Noticing this, the sneer on his face stretched into a fierce grin. It was the way a wolf showed its fangs before striking, Azalea thought. Then she mentally shook herself. This was just another player in the game. Someone who had to gang up on innocent players to try and steal their belongings.
Killer turned slowly to face Caius, his grin widening. He showed no fear, which was - in Azalea¡¯s opinion - a clear indicator that he knew nothing of their guild. ¡°Please. All that armor you¡¯re wearing? I¡¯d cut you to pieces before you could draw that sword.¡±
¡°Well, if speed is everything,¡± a voice came from behind Killer, ¡°then you¡¯re really stupid, as each one of us is faster than you.¡±
Killer¡¯s eyes widened, and he spun on the spot, one hand pulling out the sword at his waist. He¡¯d swung before he knew what he was doing, but Oscar showed no sign of reacting as the blade passed harmlessly through the air in front of him. He shook his head slowly, his brown eyes never leaving Killer¡¯s. ¡°You can¡¯t even swing a sword properly, and you think you could touch Caius? He¡¯d beat you without the sword. Now get lost.¡±
Killer made no move to leave, but he did take a full step back, putting distance between himself and Oscar. He seemed unnerved by how quickly the rogue had appeared behind him, and without any sign of entrance. Several pairs of eyes flickered to the door, which was still closed. How the hell had he gotten in without that door opening?
¡°This is a free city,¡± Killer snarled, quite a bit less certain than he¡¯d been a moment ago. ¡°I can be wherever the hell I want to be.¡±
¡°Not tonight, you can¡¯t,¡± Oscar quipped back. There was no sign of anger or hatred in his voice, and his face was quite even. All the same, a cold aura of silent intimidation rolled off of him like a physical wave. He had quite the scary demeanor when he wanted to, Azalea thought with a shiver. Clearly, Killer - being right in front of it - was feeling its effects as well. Finally, the bandit player took a step back and to the side, almost unconsciously moving himself closer to the exit.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he spat, for all his bravado moving very quickly to the exit. ¡°You¡¯re too late anyway. There¡¯s nothing you can do. And if you even think about following me out and attacking me, I should let you know my guild is nearby, and we outnumber you two-to-one.¡±
Azalea, in her own estimation, was far from what you would call a student of body language. But she would have been willing, in that moment, to bet everything she owned - both in-game and out - that Killer was lying through his teeth. But it didn¡¯t matter. He practically bolted from the room, still keeping an eye on Oscar as he retreated. He very nearly made a Killer-shaped hole in the door as he scurried away. As soon as the door swung shut, the sound of quiet chuckling could be heard from the other people in the room.
¡°What the hell was he talking about?¡± Caius asked, turning to regard Oscar. ¡°What are we too late to stop, now?¡±
At that, Oscar¡¯s face set in angry lines. Before he answered the question, he stalked over to the bar. For a man that was clearly stomping in temper, he made very little noise across the old floorboards. ¡°Our loot. They raided the marketplace almost as soon as you left.¡±
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¡°Wait,¡± Azalea said, leaning forward. ¡°How much did they get away with? Who did they kill?¡±
¡°Nearly everyone, by the sounds of it,¡± Oscar said sourly, accepting a tankard from Brian, and paying for it. ¡°I know Tankbabe got away based on the description I got, and they say a small chibi avatar made an escape as well.¡±
¡°Fluffypie,¡± Azalea guessed. Oscar¡¯s shrug was all but a confirmation of it. ¡°Damn. Kyraa¡¯s not going to take that well.¡±
Oscar let out a snort at that, nearly spitting up some of his ale. ¡°Understatement of the century, Azalea.¡±
¡°Why did you come here first?¡± Caius asked. Azalea glanced at him to see that his eyes were narrowed. ¡°You could have at least tried to save some of the loot.¡±
Oscar shook his head firmly. ¡°Not a chance. Even if I was able to get to where the stall was, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to get out in one piece.¡±
¡°What makes you say that? You¡¯re sneaky enough.¡±
¡°Not for this. The whole market turned into a battlefield. As soon as that one guild started killing the Sisters, word is that every player in a half-mile radius ganked them. Now it¡¯s a roiling battlefield. Players have been running from it since the fight broke out.¡±
Caius jumped to his feet at once, leaving his half-empty tankard sloshing on the bar. ¡°Right. Azalea, let¡¯s get out there. You too, Oscar. And if we find Riley on the way, we¡¯ll have the full squad.¡±
Azalea was already on her feet by the time Oscar was able to come up with his indignant reply. ¡°What? Callus, there are dozens of players in that market right now. Probably almost a hundred already. We can¡¯t take on that many.¡±
¡°We don¡¯t have to fight them all,¡± Caius said. ¡°It¡¯ll be very profitable even if we can only survive a few minutes. But we¡¯re going to try to reclaim as much of our loot as possible. We¡¯re really only accelerating our timeline, if you think about it.¡±
Even as he answered, he was already walking across the taproom to the door, Azalea hot on his heels. Reluctantly, Oscar followed suit, offering one longing glance at his tankard before unslinging his bow. Azalea heard him muttering something under his breath, but she couldn¡¯t quite make out the words. She followed Caius out of the tavern, only sparing half a glance back at the bar for the baker Patsy, who looked completely thrown off by this rapid turn of events.
There were quite a few players on the street when they exited the tavern, all of them running in the opposite direction of the market. They veered violently to the side as they saw Caius, Oscar, and Azalea step outside, all armed. Just how bad was the fight if they looked that scared? Surely public fighting was a common sight in this city, she thought. How else would all the robberies happen?
They found fighting sooner than expected, and long before they reached the market. Barely a hundred yards away from the tavern, a shadowy figure leaped out from behind a nearby building with a sword and swung down at Caius with a vicious attack. But Caius, already on edge and with his gear ready, was able to bring his shield up to block the attack just in time. With a resounding clang that set Azalea¡¯s teeth on edge, the sword bit into the shield by an inch or two, then held firm.
Caius grunted under the impact of the attack. ¡°Your strength must be high. At least C-Rank, if you¡¯re able to hit me that hard.¡±
He twisted his shield to the left, wrenching the player¡¯s arm. With a cry of surprise and pain, he was forced to let go of the weapon, and Caius¡¯ retaliatory attack slashed him across the chest before he could do anything else. He fell with a grunt onto the cobbled street, and a moment later transformed into a small pile of items and coins. Caius instinctively stooped to collect the loot, but the sound of more yelling distracted him.
Three other people were now running into sight, from where the first player had appeared. Two of them had swords drawn and charged in, while the third held up a crossbow and pointed it directly at Caius. Idiots, Azalea thought, once again surprising herself with the sudden change in attitude. Maybe Caius was finally rubbing off on her. She lifted her left hand, and, using the silver bracelet on that arm, sent a fan of flames rippling through the air. One of the swordsmen saw it coming and dived down to avoid it, but the bandit with the bow caught the full force of it. He was thrown back onto the ground, and a second later a grey-shafted arrow sprouted out of his chest, courtesy of Oscar.
The first of the three bandits reached Caius. Like his friend, he brought his sword down in one massive stroke. Even Azalea, who sucked at fighting, knew that was a horrible idea. Thanks to the training that Caius had been giving her these past few weeks, she could tell that he was overextending himself. She knew enough to see the difference between the two fighters, at least. One was clearly influenced heavily by video games, and so didn¡¯t seem to have any knowledge of how to actually fight. Caius didn¡¯t even have to use his shield. He smacked the sword out of the way with his own, then thrust it into the player¡¯s chest, killing him instantly.
The last player never got the chance to get into a fight with Caius. By the time he¡¯d regained his feet, he saw his three compatriots dead on the ground, reduced to the items they¡¯d carried. He let out a loud curse and began running away in the direction of the market. Before he¡¯d made it more than a few feet, Oscar put an arrow in his back.
¡°I¡¯ll be damned,¡± the rogue said. ¡°He actually had some friends waiting outside for us. Funny, that didn¡¯t feel like a two-to-one fight. Where do you think that coward is now?¡±
¡°He¡¯s either hiding like the coward he is, or he¡¯s making his way to the market,¡± Callus replied, sheathing his sword. ¡°Let¡¯s pick up this stuff, and follow through.¡±
All three of them hurried to collect the fallen items, passing it over to Azalea who shoved it into her bag of holding without thinking. She really hoped that Caius was right and that they could profit from this encounter. If she died for nothing, she¡¯d lose her bag, and that would probably be the worst part of it all.
Chapter 29
The battle was still in full tilt when the Progenitors arrived, and none of them could make teams or guilds. It was as if the market had turned into one giant free-for-all, and the entire path through was occupied with players slashing at each other. There was no uniformity or cohesion to it at all, with people being cut down from behind, only to have their killers suffer the same fate a second later.
¡°Fucking hell,¡¯ Oscar said, coming to a halt with the rest of them. His initial reaction described their feelings on the matter perfectly. Even Caius seemed taken aback now that he could see the fight with his own two eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you still want to go into that!¡±
By way of answer, Caius changed the grip on his shield and slammed down the visor of his new helmet. Oscar rolled his eyes, yet still reached over his shoulder to retrieve an arrow. ¡°Well, at least we¡¯re doing something interesting.¡±
¡°Azalea, keep an eye out for Riley,¡± Caius ordered. ¡°And watch my back, but stay here. I don¡¯t want you getting within melee range.¡±
Azalea nodded her understanding, stowing her spear away behind her back. Before Caius could rush forward, she was already charging a spell, buffing his vitality, strength, and agility. He gave her a quick nod of gratitude, then hurried forward. Oscar fired an arrow into the mass of struggling bodies, though they couldn¡¯t make out who he¡¯d hit.
She debuffed the nearest players as soon as Caius reached them, lowering their agility and strength. He crashed into the first player with his shield, bowling him over back into the crowd, then swung to the left and right with his sword, claiming two distracted players. He was able to cut down one more before his presence was truly noticed, and he was forced to give up the attack, blocking nearly five different attacks with his sword and shield. Oscar shot down one of the figures attacking him, but Caius was still outnumbered, and in an instant, he was overwhelmed.
The best thing that could be said about their situation was that they could operate as a team, while every other player was fighting on their own. They had tried and tested many tactics since starting the game, and they hade quite a few options that could suit them here. Of course, many of them relied on Riley. Azalea glanced around in all directions, but she saw no sign of the monk anywhere.
¡°Riley!¡± She shouted, casting a quick Contact spell. ¡°We¡¯re in the market, on the southern side! Come help us!¡±
¡°I¡¯m almost there already,¡± came his reply. He sounded as if he were climbing something. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be more than a minute or two.¡±
One player, noticing Oscar and Azalea nearby, broke away from the general melee and ran at them, his voice raised in a loud battlecry. He didn¡¯t make it far before Oscar shot him, though. Unfortunately, this too was noticed by the mob, and two other players turned their focus on the duo, rushing forward. The man in the lead had a heavy shield on one arm and blocked Oscar¡¯s next arrow. So there were still some guilds standing, she thought, seeing the other player ducking low under the one with the shield.
Azalea drew her spear out once again, hoping that Caius could survive a few seconds. With her left hand, she cast a quick agility buff on herself, then jumped to the side as the shield user jumped at her, his hammer smashing the cobbles where her feet had been a moment before. To her eyes, he was moving even more slowly now, though she knew that was just a side effect of her increased speed. With a C-Rank magic skill, she had a powerful buff.
The shield user stepped to the left to follow her, while his companion turned to face Oscar, who¡¯d slung his bow over one shoulder and now approached with his daggers drawn. The man made a feinting attack, then swept his sword up in a high diagonal slash. Oscar ducked the blow easily and drove one of his knives into the man¡¯s shoulder. The other slashed across his throat.
Azalea, holding the long spear with two hands, parried the shield user¡¯s hammer, knocking it away from his body before thrusting. He managed to turn and block the attack with his shield, but she hadn¡¯t put much effort into that attack in any event. Instead, she danced to the side, and jumped into the air, thrusting down at an angle. It was a move from ancient Greek times, Caius had told her, and it hit him square in the neck just over the protective bulk of his shield.
She stowed the spear away once more, and quickly searched out Caius in the crowd. He was easy to spot thanks to his blue armor. She replenished his buff, then shot a fireball a few meters to his left, knocking players there back a few feet. She didn¡¯t kill them all, but she was sure they wouldn¡¯t survive long in that mob.
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Caius was starting to back off now, keeping the attention of nearly half a dozen players. They followed him grimly, even after one of them was cut down from behind. Ganking and surprise attacks from behind still seemed to be the prevalent tactic of this battle, or else overwhelming a player with numbers. But Caius was uninjured, and even the players chasing him seemed uncertain. It wasn¡¯t until they saw him backing away, apparently tired, that they grew bolder, and advanced.
Something dropped from a nearby rooftop, crashing into one of the back figures, right as he moved to backstab one of the people following Caius. Azalea noticed the dark blue robe at once and smiled. Riley rolled off the unfortunate player with superb grace, then spun around to smack him in the head. Two players immediately turned to attack him, and he parried one sword with his staff, then lashed out with a punch. An actual punch, Azalea thought in amazement. It smashed into the player¡¯s unprotected face, knocking him back a few paces and stunning him.
Caius stopped retreating as soon as he saw Riley, stepping forward and flanking the other players. Despite his tough armor, he moved quickly, swinging his sword in a flat arc that cut one of the players down. Oscar shot down another, and Azalea hit the last one with a bolt of lightning, and he fell with a choked cry. They¡¯d successfully stopped that advance. Then, disaster struck.
Caius, who was distracted by searching for opponents behind Riley, suddenly let out a cry of pain and lurched forward. Another player, escaping their notice until after they¡¯d let their guard down, had stepped forward and swung a massive warhammer at Caius¡¯ back. His armor - and Azalea¡¯s buffs - had saved his life, but he was still thrown to the ground by the force of that attack.
Riley jumped forward at once, leaping over Caius¡¯ body before the player with the warhammer could recover from his stroke. He peppered the man¡¯s defense with blow after blow, but the enemy player parried the attacks well. He clearly knew how to fight, Azalea thought. He retaliated with a heavy kick to Riley¡¯s gut, but the monk stepped aside, avoiding it. When the hammer came down again, he was too close to make it an effective attack, and punched the fighter inside one shoulder. It staggered and stunned him, and Caius, back on his feet, charged forward to thrust his sword into the man¡¯s stomach. Except that it didn¡¯t connect. Instead, it glanced off the armor, and he stumbled in the followthrough.
The heavily armored enemy player punched Caius with his gauntlet, sending the warrior rocking back a pace or two. He slammed the butt of his hammer into Riley¡¯s gut next, stunning him. Azalea tried to take him down or at least slow him with a spell, but the magic just bounced off his armor with no visible sign of damage. Caius and Riley were both too weak to get out of the way of his next attack. They were dead, she knew.
Then, to her amazement, Oscar appeared from behind. The player seemed to sense him, and turned, but too late. Oscar jammed one knife into his shoulder, making quite a deep wound. The warrior tried to backhand Oscar to get him away, but the rogue was too fast. Pivoting neatly on one foot, he whipped around and buried the second knife into the man¡¯s neck, striking in the gap between his helmet and breastplate.
¡°I told you agility was meta,¡± Oscar panted, reaching down to pick up his daggers from the pile of loot that had appeared. ¡°And you told me it would be strength.¡±
¡°We don¡¯t know just yet,¡± Caius replied, climbing back to his feet. He really did look weak. Azalea hit all four of them with another buff. It wasn¡¯t as strong as if it had been focused only on Caius, but her friend still looked a little better. ¡°Thanks, Azalea.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll,¡± Oscar said, reaching down to pick up something that last player had dropped, ¡°We¡¯re still alive. And the fight¡¯s still going on. Are we going to keep fighting, or have you come to your senses?¡±
¡°What do you think?¡± Riley said with a laugh. ¡°If you think old Caius is going to pass up on a chance battle like this, you haven¡¯t learned anything about him in the past two months.¡±
Even Azalea had to laugh at that. Caius shook his head slowly, a slight grin on his face. ¡°No, we¡¯re still going in. But now that we¡¯re a full team, we¡¯re all going in. Diamond formation, watch each other¡¯s backs.¡±
Diamond formation. Caius at the lead, Azalea on his left side - his shield side. Riley would be at his right, where he could cover any gaps in the fighter¡¯s defense, and Oscar would take the rear, dealing with external threats while also being able to support either Azalea or Riley if need be. In turn, they would support him when it was needed. It was one of Caius¡¯ best tactics, where one of them could watch out for two friends. The only real weakness was ranged attacks, but that was hardly a problem in a massive melee fight like this.
¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Riley said, taking up his position and grinning over his shoulder at Azalea. ¡°Time to make the biscuits.¡±
And so, without another word between them, they charged at the mob of fighting players, striking the loose, unorganized crowd like a hot knife through butter. In an instant, they were surrounded, but none of the attacks could take them down, alert and united as they were. Caius led the charge, shouting instructions, and they plunged into the chaos, fighting as hard as they could.
Chapter 30
Very quickly, Azalea was losing track of her surroundings. Surrounded on all sides by yelling, screaming, and fighting players, her world was reduced to a small space of about five feet in each direction. Sometimes, she wasn¡¯t even granted that, and players mashed against her in the thick crowd, and both parties whirled around to see who had just touched them. Invariably, the players would try to attack her once they noticed she was standing there. But, thanks to the formation - not to mention the fact that there was so little room - she had yet to fall. Either Riley would stretch across the space to whack the offending player, or she¡¯d managed to stick them with her spear. Sometimes, they were simply stabbed in the back by another attack before they could make a move toward her.
She made sure to keep the buffs up at all times, worried that if she didn¡¯t, Caius would buckle. Despite the density of the crowd around him, he was still facing the worst of the fighting. She thought it might be intentional, for he was constantly yelling at the top of his voice as he slashed and blocked and moved forward. More and more players were taking notice of him above the fury. She was also quite certain that those who turned to target them did so because they were outsiders.
She had no way of knowing how long they were in the thick of it before the new players arrived. She was lost in her own world, after all. Contritely, she found herself wondering why she wasn¡¯t panicking in this situation. After all, she¡¯d never been the one to enjoy fighting. Why would the real thing - or as close as it got - be the exception? She was actually in the middle of a pitched battle, the sights and sounds were realistic enough to convince her brain that it was really happening. And yet, she wasn¡¯t panicking. And even more strangely, this dramatic change in her character didn¡¯t worry her.
The first sign of the new arrivals came when Azalea bumped into yet another enemy player. He spun around, and she drew back her spear, ready to attack. But then, her eye caught something floating through the air. It looked like a fishing line. The other player saw it too, and distractedly raised his free hand to swipe at it. Then it flashed tight around his throat, and yanked him back out of Azalea¡¯s melee range. She tried to stab him before he was gone, but to no avail.
¡°Someone¡¯s here!¡± She shouted to her allies. Some instinct, probably from hours spent training with Caius in strategy, told her she should make that announcement right away. ¡°I can¡¯t see them, but they¡¯re using threads!¡±
The gap the player left filled quickly, and she was back to the fighting. For a moment, it seemed that everything was back to normal - or as normal as this battle could be considered - and she returned to watching over Caius and Oscar. The rogue was looking tired, she thought, and realized that her buff was fading. She replenished it, and his back straightened a little. But he still seemed exhausted, and his fighting was beginning to slow.
¡°Oscar¡¯s starting to slow down!¡± She called to Caius, hoping he could hear her over his own shouting and the sounds of the battle. He reacted at once, his yelling dying away, and he took a quick step back, disengaging with the terrified player that he¡¯d been about to strike down. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder at Oscar, but the rogue waved a hand dismissively.
¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he panted. ¡°Just haven¡¯t gotten this much exercise in a while. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±
Caius nodded, seeming to accept his words. Azalea wasn¡¯t so sure Oscar should continue fighting, but there was no way at the moment for him to withdraw from the melee. She had no clue where the edge of the crowd was now, in fact. It was sure to have grown in the minute since Caius had led the charge forward. She resigned herself to the duty of watching over him. If she could, she¡¯d make sure he had enough endurance to keep up with the fight. They could make it through.
Yet another player was thrown back a few feet away from her. This time, her senses sharp and ready for it, she saw the direction in which he¡¯d flown. Logic dictated that, if that was the thread user, then they would be in a direct line across from her prey. And they wouldn¡¯t be that far, or they wouldn¡¯t have been in reach. She called out the attack to her party again, but she saw that Caius had already taken note of it.
¡°Push right!¡± Caius bellowed, immediately taking a forty-five-degree turn in that direction. He used the momentum of that shift to beat back an enemy player who was trying to make a run for it, cutting him on one shoulder but not killing him. Riley jumped to keep his position, as did Oscar behind him. Azalea, already at Caius¡¯ shoulder, didn¡¯t have to make any extraneous movements to keep up as the entire formation turned right.
That thread descended again. She was just barely able to make it out in the dim light as its silvery color reflected in the light of a nearby street lantern. With a pang of shock, she saw it was heading directly over her. Knowing what had become of the last two players that it looped, she hurriedly ducked low and to the left, avoiding what she could now see was a tight loop. The string floated harmlessly for a moment, then vanished out of sight once again. She wouldn¡¯t be caught so easily by something she could see, she thought with a smirk.
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The crowd to the right parted, and Azalea turned to see a new figure. A tall man with cat ears and a tail. The name [Tsubasa] floated over his head, and his white-spotted black ears and tail were twitching this way and that as he slashed two wickedly sharp knives. For a moment, she could only watch him move, awed by the grace and balance of his body. With no armor, he looked incredibly vulnerable, but none of the players nearby could touch him. And with each strike of his knife, the gap in bodies around him widened a little more.
¡°Right!¡± She yelled, coming back to her senses and holding up her spear. Then, to the left, yet another player was yanked up and back, as if by a rope. How the hell had the thread user gotten over to that side already? Caius turned on a dime, also able to see the new threat, and charged forward, Riley on his heels. Azalea wasn¡¯t expecting that. She¡¯d thought that Caius would try to move them away from dangerous players. Why did he have such a determined, triumphant look on his face? And why did Oscar have almost the same exact look?
Caius charged Tsubasa without hesitation, barreling toward him in a straight line, his sword flashing out in a powerful thrust before he¡¯d made contact. Tsubasa was like the wind, Azalea thought, swaying ever so slightly to the right, and bringing a knife up. Caius brought his sword back, catching the dagger on the hilt, and knocked it aside. He thrust one foot out in an attempt to kick the catman back, but the hit never landed. Tsubasa danced the side again, his eyes flashing with energy. If Azalea didn¡¯t know any better, he¡¯d say that this player and Caius were kindred spirits.
Before Tsubasa or Caius could move to strike each other again, Oscar flashed past Azalea¡¯s eyes, breaking the formation and running right at Tsubasa, his own twin daggers drawn. All the exhaustion he¡¯d shown before was gone as if the sight of this stranger had been a stimulant. He leaped forward in the last few feet, actually pouncing as if he were part cat himself. But Tsubasa avoided the gleaming tip of his knife by taking a quick step back, then countered. Oscar too blocked this, parrying one knife with the other.
¡°You¡¯re the one who attacked the Shadow Guild, aren¡¯t you?¡± Oscar asked, almost as if he¡¯d forgotten he was in the middle of a loud battle. Azalea could barely make out his words. ¡°I saw you watching us when we entered the city, you know.¡±
Tsubasa made no reply, instead stepping forward and launching into a bewildering series of lightning-fast thrusts and slashes with his smaller blades. Oscar responded in kind, and the two became a blur. Azalea watched in alarm, not sure if she could have an impact on that duel, not sure if she even wanted to. She could almost believe that if she tried to get in range, she¡¯d be shredded by one of those streaks of silver as the two rogues battled it out in a ferocious combination of knife and hand work.
Behind Oscar, Caius and Riley both shifted their positions to stand on either side of Azalea, as the crowd reformed, claiming the empty space that had once been there before. She couldn¡¯t be sure, but she thought the crowd might be a bit smaller now. That thread appeared for a fifth time and yanked away yet another player. It came for her again a few seconds later, but she avoided it. And then, as the bodies to her front left shifted slightly, she got a small glimpse of the market outside the - now definitely smaller - crowd to see a short, curvy figure. A fox-girl. And in one hand, a gleaming silvery thread.
Like Caius, she charged forward at once without a concern for the other players. She heard Caius call out in alarm from behind, but she couldn¡¯t stop now if she wanted to. She wasn¡¯t sure what had overtaken her in that moment, but something deep in her mind told her that she had to challenge this new player. She was too far away to see the girl¡¯s name, but she knew one thing. This was a rival. The half-dozen players around her almost didn¡¯t seem to matter now. One of them tried to strike her down as she dashed forward, but her spear was much longer than his sword, and she hit him long before he could reach her, spearing him through and killing him instantly.
Once she was free of the crowd, Riley a few steps behind her and held up fighting them off to protect her, Azalea drew her arm back and threw the spear at the fox girl. The weapon sailed through the air with a vicious hiss, and the fox girl just barely avoided its tip by swaying to the side. She gave the thread in one hand a tug, and a player appeared, flying through the air as he was pulled on it. The player collided with Azalea, knocking them both flat to the ground. With a grunt, Azalea pushed the stranger off of her, then fired a close-range firebolt into his chest, putting him down. She clambered back to her feet.
She really should learn how to fight with another weapon, she thought, looking to where her spear was now embedded in the wooden wall of a building. Judging by the nametag she could now see, the fox girl¡¯s name was [Asami] A guild name was listed below her own. [Nobody]. It was the same guild listed under Tsubasa¡¯s name, she realized. For members of the same guild, they were quite far away from each other. Well then, she¡¯d just have to take advantage of that mistake. But first, she had to reclaim her spear, while avoiding that dangerous silvery thread.
Chapter 31
Azalea closed the gap between herself and Asami pretty quickly, but she soon realized that may not have been the right course of action. Luckily, for her, her first action was to retrieve her spear. So when Asami danced to the side with a graceful movement, her nine black tails swiping to aid the movement, her counter-attack, which was meant to hit Azalea as she pressed her advantage, never landed. Azalea wrenched the spear out of the wooden wall it had impaled itself in, and turned to face her opponent.
She still had the advantage, she thought, watching the fox girl closely. She could tell that her opponent knew it as well. If those threads came out again, all Azalea had to do was jab with her spear. Even if she swung that sharp knife again, Azalea had the range to hit her first. It wasn¡¯t a very good position for Asami to be in. Azalea smiled, showing her teeth.
Asami¡¯s arm moved in a flash, startling Azalea. She hadn¡¯t tried to summon threads or swing with that dagger. Instead, she jumped back, once again aided by her bushy tails, and threw the knife in a straight line right for the center of Azalea¡¯s chest. Azalea wrenched her body to the side but only succeeded in avoiding the lethal blow. The dagger slammed into her left shoulder, actually spinning her slightly. She lost her balance on the dew-wet cobblestones, and Asami pounced.
Azalea rolled low, remembering Caius¡¯ lesson: never block if you¡¯re off-balance. Always try to evade. It worked for her, as another of Asami¡¯s knives streaked through the space where her head had been a heartbeat before. Azalea tried to kick the fox girl¡¯s legs out from under her, but she was already dancing away again, and now, she had the range she wanted to summon those threads again. Sure enough, by the time Azalea had regained her feet, spear raised to fight on, she could see a faint silvery thread floating in the air around Asami¡¯s curvy frame.
¡°You¡¯re not like those other brigands,¡± Asami commented. She had a soft, pretty voice, but it was marred by the note of sadistic pleasure that coated her words. ¡°They all ran once they saw what I could do. Or at least they tried.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a coward,¡± Azalea growled. Her tough airs were slightly ruined by the whimper of pain as she yanked the thrown dagger out of her left shoulder and threw it to the ground. The game might have reduced the pain of that move to one-hundredth of what it would feel like, but it still hurt. Why would the devs allow them to feel any pain at all? She hated the idea.
Asami¡¯s smile widened. Like Azalea, she showed her teeth when she smiled, but it was a far more sinister expression. Azalea had the sudden impression of facing a wolf baring its fangs, leering at its prey before its life was snuffed out. She shook her head roughly, pushing the mental image away, and lifted her spear again.
¡°No,¡± Asami replied, her smile fading slightly. ¡°You¡¯re no coward. Let¡¯s see if you can keep that bravery for long.¡±
Looking back at that moment, Azalea couldn¡¯t be quite sure what had taken her over. Maybe it was some kind of misplaced mortal fear, or maybe it was the competitive side of her that had just begun being nourished. When Asami drew back one hand to cast the thread in her direction, she felt as though her brain was shut off, and¡ something else took the controls. She jumped forward and to the side, avoiding the loop of thread. Asami was quick to re-direct it to follow her, always making sure the thread was between them.
For such a small and weightless thing, it sure moved fast, Azalea thought, dancing left and right, trying to get past the thread. But Asami was clearly determined to capture her in it, and wouldn¡¯t let her close the distance as she had before. Frustrated, Azalea lifted her left hand and cast a powerful gust of wind. It not only blew the thread back like the loose string it was, it also knocked Asami back a pace or two. But before she could get back in her spear¡¯s effective range, the damn threads had been summoned again.
If only her agility were higher, Azalea thought. Why had she spent so much of her time farming and selling food? If only she¡¯d trained harder, she could have been fast enough to close that gap and strike the fox girl down. Oscar could have done it, no doubt. But Azalea didn¡¯t like the idea of trading places with the rogue. Tsubasa was nastily fast with his knives.
She jumped back as Asami flicked the thread towards her, leaning back as if she were doing the limbo. She made sure to keep the thread within sight no matter how she was forced to twist and contort her body to avoid it - and she did pull some truly ridiculous poses - and get closer at any cost. But the longer she danced, the more quickly she realized that she really couldn¡¯t close the gap. That thread was too great a threat, and she couldn¡¯t sit still long enough to cast a spell. She needed something new. She needed¡
Without warning, she jumped forward as if to charge in, then darted back right away. The trick worked, and Asami thought she was going for a mad rush. The thread jerked over to get in her way, but she was already retreating. She needed a distraction, she thought. Dashing back to the crowd of fighting players, which was now alarmingly small, she got the attention of a nearby player by yelling at the top of her lungs, just as Caius had done. He whipped around, his eyes wide at the crazed red-haired woman, and swung his weapon to attack.
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Azalea didn¡¯t try to kill the player. Instead, she swiped her spear in a low-angled arc, knocking his weapon out of the way. Then she reached out with her free hand to grab his collar, spinning him around. Just in time, the thread appeared. Ducking low and using the surprised player as a shield, she watched the silver thread descend. It cinched tightly around the player¡¯s throat, then he was yanked forward. Or rather he would have been, but Azalea held tight to his belt. She grunted at the force, but Asami wasn¡¯t strong enough to pull both her and the player.
She reached her left hand around the player¡¯s struggling, choking body, pointing it at Asami and releasing a firebolt. With her improvised cover, she had more than enough time to charge a spell. In fact, she charged several. For some reason, Asami didn¡¯t bother to dismiss her thread again - or perhaps she couldn¡¯t while she was under a barrage of magic from her opponent. It was the same problem that had faced Azalea seconds before, and now the tables had turned in her favor once again.
Asami dove out of the way with a significantly less graceful movement, her face scowling. No player in Project Terra had figured out a way to cast more than one spell simultaneously, and she was no exception. She had only one choice. Dismiss the threads and cast other magic, or keep them and try to dodge and recover the advantage. She chose the latter, which was a mistake.
Azalea knew she wasn¡¯t fighting fair, but she didn¡¯t really care. She could feel her buffs long gone and knew that if this last barrage of firebolts, fireballs, lightning bolts, and blasts of wind didn¡¯t work, nothing would. The fox girl was too nimble and quick-witted. One slip up and she¡¯d have her first death in the game. The longer she prolonged that eventuality, the better, she thought.
I¡¯ll make her understand why I have the Slayer title, Azalea thought fiercely, and remind the others not to mess with me. She continued the litany of spells without hesitation, churning out a new one as soon as she¡¯d cast the last. She actually did significant damage to the wooden buildings around and behind Asami as the fox girl continued to duck and weave, and she was surprised she wasn¡¯t triggering a raid event with her attacks. Maybe the system knew she wasn¡¯t trying to harm the buildings, but the fox girl that was using them as an impromptu parkour course.
Finally, the silvery thread vanished from around the player¡¯s neck. Azalea wasn¡¯t able to hold up his weight, so she was forced to let him drop. She continued firing her spells even as her cover went away, but for some reason, Asami didn¡¯t retaliate. She heard the fox girl let out a loud and angry curse, then duck around the corner of a building out of sight. Finally, Azalea let up. The player in front of her was in no mood to fight now, with severe debuffs caused by the damage of that thread. She put him out of his misery with a quick thrust of her spear.
¡°Tsubasa! Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Asami¡¯s voice reverberated across the market grounds. She sounded like she was in a real temper, Azalea thought with a smirk. She¡¯d won this fight. She wondered when the next would come. Turning to where Caius, Riley, and Oscar were facing off against Tsubasa, she was surprised to see that the duel between rogues was still going, and as fast and ferocious as before.
But Oscar was slowing down. Now without the agility buff himself, he wasn¡¯t attacking nearly as often and spent most of his energy on avoiding the flashing daggers in Tsubasa¡¯s hand. It was clear the cat man knew victory was near at hand, and he redoubled his efforts. Thrust, slash, punch, kick, then a spin to the side. Oscar got a new cut on his right shoulder. Another slash, another stab. That opened a hole in Oscar¡¯s chest, and he staggered back, gasping in surprise and pain. There was just a second of empty air, in which Tsubasa watched his dying opponent. He bobbed his head ever so slightly, then darted forward, one knife raised. Oscar exploded in a shower of items and coins.
Caius stepped forward to close the gap at once, but Tsubasa, after reaching one hand out to snatch Oscar¡¯s bow from the air, jumped back out of the range of his sword, clearly disinterested. It was as if he¡¯d completed what he¡¯d come for, and now he had no desire to fight more. He nimbly sidestepped Riley when he came back for a second attack as well, his tail twitching in some emotion they couldn¡¯t comprehend. He turned and jumped onto the verandah of a nearby building, then from it to that building¡¯s roof. He gave a short, almost peremptory wave with one hand, then fell out of sight on the other side.
All of a sudden, before they could really come to terms with the swift end, the battle was over. Glancing around, they were no longer surrounded. Barely half a dozen players from outside their guild remained. And it was clear that they were tired and afraid. By sheer chance, one of them had been there at the start and had seen these four fighters enter the melee. The fact that they were still standing after diving into the crowd like that terrified them.
¡°So it¡¯s down to you five,¡± Caius said, switching his glare from the place where Tsubasa had vanished and leveling it on them. ¡°You want to finish this?¡±
Something about the demented, battle-crazed look in his eyes unnerved them further, and the nearest player shook his head, sheathing his weapon. ¡°I¡¯ll pass. You win this one.¡±
Caius turned to the others, and they gave muted murmurs of agreement, also stowing away their weapons. Only one duo seemed vaguely interested, but even they weren¡¯t willing to risk it. Not long after, the other players were vanishing from sight. One, however, paused once he was a decent distance away, and called to them. ¡°I hope you know you¡¯ve just made an enemy of Dawnbreak City! You¡¯ll never have another peaceful moment here!¡±
¡°That was kind of the plan,¡± Caius muttered. He knew the player wouldn¡¯t be able to hear it, and he didn¡¯t care. ¡°Right, let¡¯s get all this junk gathered up. Azalea, we¡¯ll fill your bag first.¡±
Chapter 32
They were barely an hour away from Flower¡¯s Rest when Azalea started to get a bad feeling. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what had triggered her senses, but she knew something was off. In fact, the feeling was so strong that she stopped in her tracks, looking around as if to find the source of it. Caius, noticing her hesitation, also came to a halt. Riley and Oscar were a little slower in reacting.
¡°What is it?¡± Riley asked, looking around at her. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±
¡°I¡¯m¡ not sure,¡± she said slowly. She lifted her face slightly and sniffed at the air. Nothing seemed out of place there. She couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. ¡°I can¡¯t explain it, but something¡¯s wrong.¡±
Now they all cast a quick glance around, searching the nearby trees for potential danger. In spite of the tension that was starting to grip her heart, she felt a quick surge of pleasure at how quickly they accepted her word. They didn¡¯t doubt her feelings but immediately acted to verify the trouble she was sensing. However, they, like her, couldn¡¯t seem to sense anything that was particularly off about the scene around them. The trees were barren of hidden attackers, and there was no sign of¡
¡°Smoke,¡± Oscar reported, pointing. They all turned to follow his arm and made out the plume of dark grey against the bright sky, just barely visible above the treetops. ¡°That¡¯s over where Silver Village is.¡±
He was right, of course. They¡¯d spent so much time exploring this area that there was no doubt in their mind. Azalea wondered for a moment if the smoke they saw could just be a normal fire, but quickly discarded it. She knew that smoke that dark could only come from things - other than wood - burning up. That invisible hand clutched more tightly at her hand.
¡°Don¡¯t know if it¡¯s still going on,¡± Caius said, shifting his belt so that his sword was in a better position, ¡°but if we can help them out, we should. Let¡¯s go check it out before we stop by our home.¡±
The others nodded their agreement. Azalea turned back to Patsy, who so far hadn¡¯t bothered to speak. ¡°You should go to the land. You¡¯re not really equipped for a fight. Wait for us there.¡±
Patsy nodded his agreement, his face pale. He looked as troubled as she felt, though she couldn¡¯t understand why. He didn¡¯t have a strong connection to this area like they did. Maybe he was just worried about a potential raid, she thought. He wasn¡¯t used to fighting, after all. Behind him, the Sisters were all preparing themselves for a fight, and looked hell-bent on following them.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
At Caius¡¯ command, they hurried forward, all breaking into a full run. Azalea, Centrogen, Bubbles, and Fluffypie cast agility and endurance buffs over the group, to ensure that they could keep up that pace for the entire trip. At a dead sprint, they were able to reach Silver Village in just under half an hour. None of them talked during the run, for there was nothing to say, no new information would make itself apparent until they reached their destination.
As the village came into view, they could see that they were already too late. Whatever fight had happened was long over, and the main street that split the village in two was full of morose-looking figures going about repairs and surveying the damage. Four buildings were completely burned down, and few were untouched by the flames. To top it off, piles of loot were visible in certain places, evidence of where players - and even Terrians - had died.
¡°What¡¯s happened here?¡± Caius asked, grabbing the attention of the nearest person, a player. ¡°Who raided Silver Village?¡±
¡°Oh, it¡¯s you,¡± the player said. The name above her head read [UmbrellaBird]. She shook her head a bit sadly. ¡°Nobody knows where they came from. Just appeared out of nowhere and attacked.¡±
¡°Which guild?¡±
UmbrellaBird blinked slowly, confused. Then dawning realization replaced the confusion. ¡°Ah, right. You haven¡¯t been here in nearly a month, so you don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t know what?¡± Azalea asked, her heart sinking as she stepped forward to Caius¡¯ side. ¡°What¡¯s been going on? We haven¡¯t heard anything!¡±
¡°Well, you wouldn¡¯t have heard,¡± UmbrellaBird said, ¡°because the one player in charge of Contacting your group was one of the first killed, and ran away. Ever since then, there¡¯s been a barrier of some kind. Nobody can cast magic except the raiders.¡±
¡°Anti-magic,¡± Caius cursed. He and Azalea shared a quick glance. ¡°It was only a matter of time before a player came up with a spell like that. So, which guild was it?¡±
¡°It wasn¡¯t a guild,¡± UmbrellaBird replied with a shrug of her shoulder. ¡°The Player Handbook warned us it might happen, but I don¡¯t think any of us took it seriously.¡±
Caius¡¯ impatience was threatening to boil over into frustrated action. ¡°I¡¯m only going to ask you one more time. Who. Raided. The. Village?¡±
UmbrellaBird took a long look at him, noticing the angry expression, and offered another shrug. ¡°We don¡¯t know who they are or where they came from.¡±
Caius started to speak again, but she interrupted him. ¡°They¡¯re Terrians. Well, mostly. There were a few players mixed in with them, but I think they were just there because they liked PKing. They weren¡¯t nearly as nasty as the raid leader, though. Some evil motherfucker named Matlin.¡±
¡°Matlin?¡± For some reason, the name sent an odd shiver down Azalea¡¯s spine. Even Caius seemed more troubled upon hearing it, but neither of them could seem to place where they¡¯d heard it. Then Oscar answered, reminding them.
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¡°He was the boss of that raid. Remember, the one where Azalea killed that greatworm? We won that raid, but Matlin escaped.¡±
¡°So he¡¯s back,¡± Caius muttered. ¡°Of course, this game would have an infamy system.¡±
¡°What does that mean?¡± Azalea asked. That was an unfamiliar concept to him. Again, it was Oscar who answered. He knew as much about game mechanics and systems as Caius did. Probably more.
¡°Infamy systems track player actions, and either reward or punish them with special events,¡± he explained in a low voice. ¡°We beat Matlin and probably humiliated him, but we didn¡¯t kill him. So he¡¯s returned to take revenge on us.¡±
¡°Well, that much was obvious,¡± UmbrellaBird said with a snort. ¡°I wasn¡¯t here for the first raid, but after what they did to your land, surely you¡¯re not surprised he had a grudge against you.¡±
¡°Our¡¡± Azalea tried to reply to that statement, but couldn¡¯t find enough strength in her voice to do so. Shock, so powerful that it made her stumble back a step, replaced the unease in her chest. Of all the things she had feared would happen in their absence, this one was the worst. By far.
¡°Ah. You don¡¯t know,¡± UmbrellaBird said, looking a little guilty. ¡°Sorry, I thought your informant would have at least managed to tell you about that. Your property was the first one hit. There¡¯s¡ nothing left of it.¡±
Azalea reached into the neck of her shirt to pull out the pendant she¡¯d gotten on her first day in the game. Strange, but she¡¯d had very little reason to check it over the past few weeks. She hurriedly looked down at the list of properties on her character sheet as it appeared, as if hoping that it would still be there despite what this player was saying as if her belief could reverse the events. But there was nothing listed.
She raised her eyes to meet Caius¡¯, and his face darkened in anger. He knew from the hopeless look in her eyes that they¡¯d been soundly defeated, and all their stored items were gone. He let out another curse. ¡°Where is Matlin now?¡±
UmbrellaBird shrugged again. ¡°No clue. After each raid, they leave no sign and vanish. Then, a few days later, they attack again. There¡¯s already talk among the players of leaving for the city. Even if it¡¯s full of thieves and bandits, it¡¯s probably safer than here.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll start scouting right away,¡± Oscar said quickly. He could already see where this was going. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can track down the source of that barrier. Lifting that should be our first option.¡±
Caius nodded. The rage that had filled him had already dissipated alarmingly fast. Now his face showed nothing but cold anger. ¡°Do that. In the meantime, we¡¯re moving into the village. The next time that bastard raids Silver Village, we¡¯ll be here. And then we can finish the job we started.¡±
Aster removed her visor, setting it down on the bedside table, and let out a long sigh. Still, she didn¡¯t get off her bed right away. She couldn¡¯t believe it. All their property, the result of nearly three months of work in her free time, had been destroyed. Somehow, it was even worse to know that it wasn¡¯t the result of player action, either. It had been an NPC raid. If only she and Caius had been there. Instead, they¡¯d been off in the city, meddling in the business of other players. She put her hands over her face, letting out a groan of frustration. When had she become so wrapped up in that game?
A loose hair covered her eye as she removed her hand, and for a moment, she remembered the magical threads that one fox girl had used. What had her name been again? Asami, that was right. That was the greatest challenge Aster had faced in that game so far. Far more challenging than Matlin. Yet it was the latter who had done the most damage to her. Another groan. She wanted to hit something. But she refrained, knowing it would accomplish nothing.
She forced herself out of bed and across the room, pausing only slightly to make sure she was presentable. She always tried to stay clean and collected when interacting with Dale. Unlike when they were in a game together, she maintained a certain degree of professionalism. Dale, she thought. He was probably fuming in his bed, the frustration compounded by his inability to move his limbs. He¡¯d definitely punch something if he could. She put her own anger away, determined to try to cheer him up, even if only a little. And she knew just what would do that. Steak.
¡°Dale, I¡¯m going to make dinner,¡± she said, putting on the V-Lens she used for work. ¡°As a special treat, I¡¯m going to make your favorite. I just have to nip down to the street market for the asparagus. I won¡¯t be gone long.¡±
It was strange, she thought, walking down the stairs from their apartment to the street below, how washed out and bland the real world seemed now. Project Terra had become their unofficial reality, with events there becoming far more important than what occurred in their actual lives. Well, with some exceptions, she thought. She still had her job, which she still very much enjoyed. She didn¡¯t want to think what she¡¯d have to do if she didn¡¯t work for Dale. Medical work was very hard to come by these days, with all the automatic technology that was in place. Medical technicians were far more valuable than nurses. It had been by sheer luck that she¡¯d met Dale, who tried to keep the technology in his life no more advanced than full-dive virtual gaming.
She had a pleasant conversation with the produce saleswoman from which she bought the asparagus, then made her way back up to the apartment. Even the outside world smelled horrible compared to the world of Project Terra. Then again, it had always smelled bad, what with the pollution that now existed everywhere. It was a relief to get inside the condo building and breathe in the cool, filtered air that the building owners supplied as part of their rental appeal.
Dinner was quick, as both she and Dale liked their steaks lightly cooked. The asparagus and broccoli - for she didn¡¯t like the thin stalks as much as Dale did - took the longest. Once they were steamed, she lathered on a healthy amount of butter to both and picked up the steaming plate to head down to Dale¡¯s room.
It was dark in his room, which surprised her. He had vocal control over all the appliances in his room, and he usually turned on the lights after he finished gaming. She guessed he was sulking. ¡°You can¡¯t let it bother you too much, Dale. We¡¯ll get our stuff back and beat Matlin, don¡¯t worry.¡±
He still gave no reply. Damn, he really was in a bad mood, she thought. ¡°Lights. Sit up.¡±
At the two verbal commands, the lights flashed on, and his chair rose him into a sitting position. She set the two loaded plates down on the table beside his bed and tied her hair back into a ponytail. ¡°Now stop sulking, and eat your steak. I cooked it just how you like, including the asparagus, even though it¡¯ll make you stink all day tomorrow.¡±
Still, no reply. Frowning, she shook her head and cut off the first bite. ¡°Fine, don¡¯t talk to me. But at least eat. Here you go.¡±
She brought the fork holding the first bite over to his face, then froze. That uneasy feeling was back as she regarded him. His eyes were open, but he was looking up and not at her. No, she thought, that cold hand growing more tight than ever, he wasn¡¯t ignoring her. His eyes were dull. Lifeless. The truth hit her, even before she dropped the fork to the floor, and began hurriedly checking his vitals. He was dead.
Chapter 33
Their dinner plates lay forgotten, surrounded by the veritable crowd of emergency medical professionals that swarmed into the apartment at her call. She hung back, knowing instinctively that she couldn¡¯t do anything. At first, the EMTs attempted to revitalize him, but she informed them he was under a DNR. It wasn¡¯t by choice but stipulated in her employment contract. As much as she wanted to see Dale brought back, she remembered their long talks on the subject, and that this was what he would have wanted.
The rest of the day passed strangely as if time were playing a cruel prank on her senses. At some points, it dragged on so slowly that she checked the clocks to make sure they hadn¡¯t malfunctioned. Then they suddenly rushed forward, so that the clocks said it was four in the morning. Then the sun was peeking up through the wide windows of the apartment¡¯s spacious living room. The silence was louder than it had ever been.
Sometime around seven, she realized that her stomach was grumbling at her, and remembered the steaks that she had cooked. There was no way she could bring herself to eat them now. She collected the plates, doing her best to avoid looking at the empty bed, where the visor lay after the EMTs had carelessly tossed it aside. She knew she¡¯d have to clean and pack up the room eventually, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to¡
Resolutely, she walked out of Dale¡¯s room and to the kitchen, dumping the now rock-hard remnants of the steak dinners into the trash. She ate a granola bar, then returned to her room, picking up the V-Lens. She hesitated to put them on, afraid of what she might see. It had only been a few hours since she¡¯d discovered Dale¡¯s body, but she knew there would be all kinds of official emails pertaining to his death in there. They would concern her employment, his estate - for she had also been his power of attorney -, and most likely contact from the agency that represented her contract as his caregiver. She didn¡¯t want to deal with any of that.
So instead, she set the V-Lens down and laid flat on her bed, slipping on the visor, and loading up Project Terra. It was oddly fitting that she chose this particular game to escape into. She could have tried to believe that it was simply to notify Riley and Oscar that Dale - or Caius to them - had passed away. But she wasn¡¯t the sort to lie to herself. She just didn¡¯t want to be in the real world right now. She¡¯d tell the others about his death, sure, but then she was going hunting or to find a dungeon. Anything to distract her from the dread sort of numbness that had hung over her all night and through most of the morning.
It was a welcome sensation, her body going limp, and to see herself being dragged through time and space. The darkness faded to reveal a third-person view of her character lying on a bed in the inn. Suddenly, she realized that Caius¡¯ avatar would also be lying in his bed. She¡¯d have to contact the studio that produced the game, letting them know he¡¯d passed away. Somehow, the idea of his avatar remaining where it was, permanently vulnerable, was too heavy to consider.
As soon as she switched to first-person, it was as if her head was pulled by some invisible gravity, turning to the left to look at the grizzled, grey-haired warrior that lay on the bed across from her. He looked just as peaceful as he had in real life, she thought. Just asleep. Or sulking. No sign to indicate that his life had gone. But eventually, the truth would always show itself.
She resolutely pushed herself out of bed, tearing her eyes away from his avatar and strolling to the door of their inn room. In no time at all, she was outside in the bright sunlight of late morning. There had been a lot of repairs in the village, she saw. What was more, flowers were popping out everywhere there was grass. Some had been collected and placed in vases. It was a beautiful site in spite of the lingering signs of destruction from the last raid. If she¡¯d been in a better mood, she might have appreciated them.
¡°Good morning Azalea,¡± a voice said to her right. Turning, she saw Tankbabe leaning against a nearby wall. The lax pose, combined with the fact that she wasn¡¯t wearing her typical full plate armor, was a strange sight for the elven girl. Not to say that she wasn¡¯t lazy, but it was normal to see her occupied by some task. Then Azalea remembered that the Sisters¡¯ base had also been destroyed by Matlin¡¯s raids.
¡°Still haven¡¯t managed to rebuild your house?¡± Azalea asked. Tankbabe had been frowning slightly, and she realized that she must have seemed troubled. The last thing she wanted was to discuss anything heavy, so she wanted to make her friend focus on the game.
¡°Not yet,¡± Tankbabe said. ¡°I managed to replace my smithy pretty fast, but without raw materials, there¡¯s not much for me to do just now. The lifeskillers are putting the buildings back up.¡±
¡°Not much for you to do, eh?¡±
Tankbabe shook her head. ¡°Nope. I¡¯d love to go raiding myself, but with the guild busy, I¡¯m on standby.¡±
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¡°Have you seen Oscar or Riley?¡±
¡°Oscar went out hunting already,¡± the blonde replied. ¡°No clue about the monk though. Haven¡¯t seen him online yet. Caius sleeping in?¡±
¡°I think I¡¯ll try to go find Oscar,¡± Azalea said quickly, steamrolling over the question about Caius. ¡°Maybe we can gather some wood together.¡±
Tankbabe nodded her understanding. If she thought her reaction to Caius¡¯ name was odd, she didn¡¯t show it on her face. ¡°Alright. Good luck with that. I look forward to you getting your market stall back up.¡±
¡°Might take a while,¡± Azalea called over her shoulder, already moving away from the elven woman. ¡°But you¡¯ll be one of the first to know.¡±
That was if she even had the desire to continue playing this game without him, she thought, let alone create her farms and sell food again. She resolutely pushed this thought away as well. It was getting increasingly difficult to avoid thinking of Caius, but she wasn¡¯t ready to give up the fight just yet.
Judging by what she knew of Oscar thus far, she guessed he¡¯d be heading toward the nearby river. A lot of game gathered there, and he had shown her a few hunting spots that he liked to rotate through. According to him, you couldn¡¯t hunt in the exact same area for too long, because the animals would become wary and move on to other places. It was a trick he¡¯d learned hunting in real life, and apparently, the game devs had thought to add it to Project Terra.
She found him in the second hunting spot, but he wasn¡¯t stalking any prey. He was sitting on a fallen tree log, staring at the river as it gushed just a few feet away. It almost seemed as if he was contemplating a swim, she thought. He heard her approach before she was even within spear-throwing distance, of course, and half-turned to see who was walking his way. When he recognized her, he gave a brief nod.
¡°You¡¯re on early,¡± he commented. ¡°And you seem exhausted.¡±
She wondered how he could tell she was so tired. Her avatar didn¡¯t mirror her real-life expressions, after all. But she chose not to comment on that. Or at least she tried, but he wouldn¡¯t be as easily distracted as Tankbabe. ¡°Just a long night is all. Didn¡¯t sleep well after finding out we lost our property.¡±
¡°There¡¯s more to it than that,¡± he said. Now he actually turned his body to face hers, a slight frown on his face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°Nothing,¡± she said quickly. Too quickly. Making a supreme effort to control her emotions, she gestured at the river. ¡°Thinking of taking up fishing, or just enjoying the scenery?¡±
He continued to stare silently at her for several seconds before answering as if he wanted to press the original line of questioning. To her relief, he appeared to decide against it. ¡°Neither. This is the border of that anti-magic field. I came here to see if I could spot anything out of the ordinary.¡±
¡°Caius is dead.¡± The words slipped out of her without her intent. She¡¯d been holding it in so well, but the second one person had seen through her mask, she¡¯d completely slipped.
¡°What?¡± He asked, bewildered. ¡°But the inn is a safe zone, and they had a raid just last night. Nobody should have been able to-¡±
She shook her head. Well, she thought, she couldn¡¯t avoid the subject anymore. She might as well fulfill her responsibility of letting him and Riley know. ¡°I mean Dale. That was his name in real life.¡±
A nasty silence filled the air between them. It threatened to surround and crush Azalea, just as the grief attacked her from inside. She sank onto the log beside him before her legs could betray her and give out. ¡°I was his caregiver. We lived together, and he passed away last night sometime after we logged off.¡±
¡°Oh,¡± was all he could think to say for a moment. ¡°Riley thought you two were a couple, but I thought the age difference was too big for that. I just assumed you were his daughter or¡ I¡¯m so sorry, Azalea.¡±
She shook her head, unable to speak. In real life, she knew tears would be streaming out of her eyes. But no tears leaked from the eyes of her avatar. Or at least she thought so until Oscar rummaged in a pouch at his belt and produced a clean cloth. ¡°Here.¡±
She accepted the handkerchief without a word, wiping away the digital tears. ¡°I logged in to tell you and Riley about it. I¡ might not be online for a few days. I have to settle his estate.¡±
¡°Do you need any help?¡± He asked at once. ¡°I¡¯m quite comfortable, thanks to my career as a game critic. I could send-¡±
She shook her head again. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I have a lot of money saved up. But I¡¯ll have to move out soon. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll give the house to one of his cousins in his will. Besides, I¡¯ll be moving on to my next client soon, I expect. I¡¯m only twenty-eight.¡±
She said the last sentence with a short laugh. Where had all that time gone? One minute she¡¯d been graduating from nursing school, and now she was nearly a middle-aged woman, wondering what to do with the rest of her life. Once the first laugh came out of her, she couldn¡¯t stop, and half-laughed, half-cried, her entire body, both virtual and real shaking with the outpouring of emotions. It was as if ten years of repressed emotions were bursting out of her, not a few hours¡¯ worth.
¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me,¡± she gasped, managing to calm down after a minute or two. ¡°Dale would find it funny, but I don¡¯t want to laugh at his death. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do without him.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure out the answer,¡± Oscar replied. ¡°But seriously. You need support to get through this. At the very least, I¡¯ll give you my contact info for out-of-game. You can talk to me or Riley anytime you need.¡±
Chapter 34
It was strange, Azalea thought, how quickly life could move when the only thing you wanted it to do was slow down so you could process what it was throwing at you. She wanted nothing more than to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life now that her entire purpose - living with, caring for, and playing with Dale - had been taken away from her. Sure, she¡¯d always known that losing him was an inevitable reality. But did it have to have come at such a bad time?
She supposed that no time would have been a good one. His absence could turn even the best of days into abject depression. Now she faced a massive hole in the path before her. A hole that could not be crossed just yet. It stretched as far as the eye could see in front of her, with a narrow, rickety edge. So she had only one option before her. She could have refused to move, of course, but that wasn¡¯t her style, nor was it what he would have wanted for her. So she moved around the pit, moving carefully.
It was easier with Oscar and Riley around. In the next few hours, she was allowed to vent her feelings as much as she wanted, at their insistence. Oscar¡¯s quite caring attitude and lack of emotional reaction helped siphon off her grief, and Riley¡¯s easy-going, fun-loving attitude poured some of the missing joy back in her. Patsy was of some help as well, but he hadn¡¯t known Caius, so his contributions were limited.
¡°I wish there was more I could do,¡± the baker admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I can offer to help you.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll be plenty help,¡± she assured him. In his own way, he was helping. Setting aside her issues to help him get settled with a plan was aiding in her recovery, nearly as effectively as the efforts of the other two. ¡°Once we get the land going, we¡¯ll still be busy dealing with Matlin, so I¡¯ll need someone who can tend to the farms and make food. You should also start leveling up your Processing skill for other stuff as well.¡±
She¡¯d already decided that, in this fight against Matlin and whoever he¡¯d rallied to his cause, The Progenitors would do everything they could to help the other players resupply. She wouldn¡¯t help out just anyone, of course, but for those who had lost property and items in this arc of the story, she¡¯d assist them in rebuilding. If it was within her power to support the movement to purge these bandits, she¡¯d give it everything she got.
They started small. Rather than return to Silver Village where she¡¯d be reminded yet again of Dale¡¯s avatar, where it lay snoozing in its bed, she returned to the site of Flower¡¯s Rest. Nothing remained of the old settlement. Even the trees had regrown, and tall grass had already grown over where she remembered the old guild hall being.
¡°Well, only one thing to do,¡± Riley said, setting his pack more comfortably and pulling out his axe with a flourish. ¡°Right, Azalea?¡±
She nodded confirmation, also pulling out her axe. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work.¡±
The four of them went to work on the trees, hacking away and knocking them down. Azalea was a bit faster than Riley or Oscar thanks to her C-Rank Gathering skill, but Patsy was by far the slowest. For each tree that he managed to bring down with the axe he¡¯d been given, Azalea felled another three. So she set him to a different task, digging up the stumps that remained.
In about three hours of hard work, they''d created enough space for two plots of land. Azalea purchased them and added the others to the lot. It was strange not to add Caius or the list of names, she thought. She spent another hour and a half setting up the basic outline of a field, then decided she better log off for a while to eat some lunch and check her email. Patsy promised to till and plant while she was away. Oscar and Riley continued their goal of scouting the area to try and find the source of that massive anti-magic field.
¡°Don¡¯t try to do anything too crazy,¡± she warned them, as if they needed her to say it. She knew how careful Oscar was, and Riley wasn¡¯t the type to fight a suicide mission. ¡°Also if you get the time, do you think you could hunt some meat? I¡¯ll have the market stall up fast tomorrow, and it¡¯ll be good to have enough meat to make some actual food.¡±
Oscar nodded, and Patsy chimed in, ¡°I¡¯ll help out with that. I¡¯m no good at hunting, but I can cook pretty damn well.¡±
After Azalea had set out for the village, Oscar strode into the thick forest, following a faint game trail. He paused at the boundary, casting a quick glance back at their newest member. Riley, who was walking behind him, noticed the glance and copied the action. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°Just trying to figure out if he¡¯s up to anything,¡± Oscar said quietly. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly suspicious of him, but he came an awfully long way just to join our little band.¡±
¡°You think there¡¯s a chance he might be a spy.¡±
Oscar nodded. ¡°If he is, he¡¯s probably the worst-planned spy I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±
¡°But of course, that could just be a brilliant ploy.¡±
Oscar said nothing to that, and Riley laughed, knowing it was as good a confirmation as he¡¯d ever get. ¡°You¡¯re too into your character, man. Just because he comes from Dawnbreak doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s like the rest of ¡®em.¡±
¡°He didn¡¯t spawn there originally,¡± Oscar said. ¡°I figured you didn¡¯t recognize him.¡±
¡°He¡¯s from Silver Village?¡±
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Oscar nodded again. ¡°I saw him on the first day. He was even in the tavern with us. Then when the first group ventured away from the city, he went with them.¡±
¡°Damn,¡± Riley said, impressed. ¡°I always forget how good your memory is.¡±
¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t be much of a game critic if I couldn¡¯t remember details,¡± Oscar replied with a snort. I remember everything from the games I played. Well, at least until I write up a review.¡±
¡°I bet you¡¯re itching to do that.¡±
¡°I¡¯m more impatient than your agent is, that¡¯s for sure.¡±
Riley laughed at that. ¡°True. He sent me another email just last night. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to reply. Too angry at losing our land.¡±
¡°You think you were angry?¡± Oscar asked, leading the way away from the camp. If Patsy was a spy, there was nothing he could learn from the beginnings of their new camp. ¡°I thought Caius was gonna stomp into those trees and try to take Matlin on single-handed.¡±
The quip about their lost comrade slipped out without him thinking about it, but it had an immediate effect on their mood. Oscar was always surly, but now he took a sharp turn toward dour, and even Riley¡¯s grin faded from his face. The monk shook his head sadly. ¡°I knew he was old, but not that old. Shame we lost him so early.¡±
Oscar agreed, but silently. Then he added, ¡°Azalea was his caregiver. Did she ever mention what had happened to him that he needed her?¡±
Riley shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m guessing he couldn¡¯t move on his own. People like that usually hire a caregiver.¡±
¡°But a full-time caregiver?¡± Oscar asked. ¡°That¡¯s expensive these days. Anybody with medical training is usually hired to be a nanite technician.¡±
Riley shrugged, but a thought struck him then, and he blurted it out before he could properly consider it. ¡°Azalea said his name was Dale. You don¡¯t think he was Dale Lawson, do you?¡±
That thought stopped Oscar in his tracks so suddenly that Riley nearly ran into him. ¡°Wait. The one who won that Dynasty Domination tournament last year?¡±
Riley nodded. ¡°The one with the half-million dollar prize pool. I think that was him. It would explain a lot.¡±
¡°Like how he¡¯s so good at fighting,¡± Oscar suggested. Now that Riley had said it out loud, he instinctively believed it to be true. ¡°I thought he was just that good at video games. And much younger. Now we know why he seemed so experienced. He must have been gaming long before full-dive became a thing.¡±
Oscar opened his mouth to reply, his own guess already formed in his mind. But before he could speak, he heard the sound of rustling bushes to the left and whipped around, his new bow already rising, an arrow drawing back on the string. Someone was close enough to have heard their conversation, he was sure of it. With a single smooth movement, he released the arrow just as the figure came into proper view. And it was a lucky thing he did. For the stranger had his own bow drawn, and had been a second away from shooting in a surprise attack. Instead, Oscar¡¯s arrow slammed into the center of his chest, knocking him back. His own arrow, an instant too late, flew high and harmless into the air.
The bushes all around them rustled now, and over a dozen figures leaped into sight out of the greenery. Then to the side, three people stepped out from behind a tree. Riley, nearly as quick as Oscar, lunged forward toward the nearest group of bushes, his quarterstaff moving in a blur. Outnumbered heavily as they were, their own instincts after months of playing this game were sharp as a knife. By the time Riley had struck down his first opponent, Oscar had already drawn his bow and shot another of their ambushers.
Oscar dove to the side to avoid one arrow, then came up, bow drawing back one more time. He was a second too late. A crossbow bolt slammed into his shoulder, knocking him back. His bow fell from his hand, but he was by no means finished. As one of the Terrians stepped forward to finish him off, he drew one of his knives, ducked the weapon, and rammed his blade into the bandit¡¯s chest. The man went down with a cry of shock and pain. Another fighter stepped forward, forcing Oscar to jump back hastily.
He found himself back to back with Riley, and the two of them switched, catching their nearest opponents off-guard. Two swings of their weapon, and two enemies dead. Five kills in total. As Riley moved forward, Oscar managed to scoop his bow off the ground, and nocked a new arrow, ignoring the pain of the bolt in his shoulder. He shot down the crossbow user that had given him that particular gift, then a fireball launched by one of their attackers knocked both him and Riley flat to the ground, their vision blurred and their eyes ringing.
Someone loomed over Oscar, their weapon swinging down. He rolled out of the way just in time, and came up in a powerful lunge, his knife slashing at the man¡¯s arm. The Terrian staggered back clutching the wound, then fell as Oscar slashed his knife across his throat. Then something - he assumed it was an arrow - hit him square in the back, knocking him down once again. Gritting his teeth, his field of vision red, he whipped around, throwing the knife. It took the archer in one shoulder. He drew another knife, charging forward.
Riley fell to a surprise attack as yet another swordsman jumped out of the bushes, and exploded into a large pile of items and coins. Some of them were caught by Oscar, and they were immediately added to his Yemon total. Not that it would do him any good, he thought. It would just give his killer a few more coins than it would have before.
Another figure swam into view through his blurred vision, and he struck at the center of the blurry mass. But his knife merely glanced off the stranger¡¯s armor. He blinked up at his new foe, thinking he looked oddly familiar. It was Matlin, he realized, with a new surge of anger. It was actually the Captain himself. Matlin leered down at him, his heavy broadsword in one hand.
¡°The rats have returned to their nest,¡± he said, to the laughter of his men around him. ¡°Well, you fought well, little rat. But now it is time for you to go away.¡±
Oscar couldn¡¯t even feel the impact of the sword cutting him down, so dim and dark were his senses. All he was aware of was opening his eyes ten minutes later, and staring at Riley. The monk looked both furious and panicked. ¡°What the hell was that?¡±
¡°Matlin,¡± Oscar replied, glancing down at his body, which was now clad in the default grey tunic and loose pants. Two complete wipes in a month? This was getting ridiculous, he thought angrily. ¡°He had enough men for a full raid with him.¡±
¡°But Silver Village is still on cooldown,¡± Riley said. ¡°He can¡¯t possibly raid the village. There¡¯s still nearly three days.¡±
They realized what was happening a few minutes later when they went to return to the campsite to warn Patsy of the approaching small army. The second they took a step outside of Silver Village, a warning flashed across their field of vision. But it wasn¡¯t the usual warning, stating that they were leaving a safe zone. No, it was a new kind of warning, one they had seen before, but one with an entirely different meaning.
[You are now entering a raid zone.]
Chapter 35
¡°What are we going to do? We can¡¯t compete in a raid with this little gear!¡±
¡°How are we supposed to gather materials to rebuild our properties?¡±
¡°I¡¯d be tempted to leave if there wasn¡¯t a damn raid in the way!¡±
Azalea had heard every version of the reaction to the bit of news that Oscar and others had brought back into the village. Every piece of land that they could see outside of Silver Village had now been designated a raid zone. It had been the first message Oscar had sent her outside the game. Enough of a shock to get her back online quickly, in spite of the concerns of the real world that were still hounding her.
Now she, Riley, Oscar, and Patsy were sitting in the taproom of the Ragged Flagon, listening to the loud complaints of other players. Strange, she thought, but she couldn¡¯t hear any of the Terrians taking up a similar note. They just seemed worried and afraid, a perfectly logical reaction considering what had happened. But unlike the players, none of them were talking about leaving. It was such a strange split of opinion, not because either side felt unnatural, but because she was more like the Terrians than the Players.
¡°So what does this mean for us?¡± She asked. ¡°Do you guys want to fight this? Or should we consider leaving like the others?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t blame them,¡± Riley admitted, sweeping his eyes over the packed and noisy room. ¡°Their losses might not be that bad, but a few have been wiped more than once. That¡¯d make anyone wanna pack up and go home.¡±
¡°Which in that case would mean running away?¡± Oscar asked, shaking his head. ¡°When you¡¯re backed into a corner, you don¡¯t run. You attack.¡±
Riley snorted in laughter, and even Azalea cracked a smile. Patsy, who was one of those players who¡¯d been wiped, had nothing to offer at the moment. Azalea felt sorry for him. He¡¯d decided to pack up everything he owned and trek all the way here from Dawnbreak City, only to lose everything to a Terrian raid on their newly re-purchased property. At least they¡¯d thought to visit the village first, she thought, so that he respawned here when he¡¯d died, and not back in the city.
¡°Has anyone heard anything from the Sisters?¡± Azalea asked. The last she¡¯d heard, they¡¯d lost their compound a second time the previous day, just like what had happened to them. ¡°I know Tankbabe is around, but I haven¡¯t seen any of the other Sisters yet.¡±
¡°Someone told me they¡¯re hiding their location to rebuild,¡± Patsy volunteered. ¡°Apparently, they think that a player betrayed their location the last time, so they¡¯re being careful.¡±
¡°How could it have been a player¡¯s fault?¡± Riley asked. ¡°It¡¯s pretty clear that Terrians are responsible for what¡¯s happening here.¡±
¡°Yeah, but Kyraa has always been a little suspicious of other people,¡± Oscar put in. ¡°I think she would have ended up playing a villain if she could have gotten away with it.¡±
They couldn¡¯t refute that statement. Kyraa was a clever, quick-witted player, with more than a little malicious intent, and she was clearly a mastery manipulator. All these traits would be common in a video game villain. But somehow, she¡¯d ended up being a force for good, if only because it aligned with her personal interests. She¡¯d made a great ally so far in this game, and Azalea hoped that quota would remain.
¡°I¡¯ve been ferrying materials to Tankbabe,¡± she volunteered. ¡°They can¡¯t get out and gather themselves, so we have to help each other out.¡±
¡°Just so long as you¡¯re not hurting our gear chances,¡± Oscar reminded her. ¡°If we¡¯re not equipped the best we can be, we¡¯ll be shit out of luck.¡±
She nodded her agreement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m still giving us priority. Mack will be finished with your bow soon.¡±
She¡¯d given the Terrian carpenter - who doubled as an expert craftsman of wooden weapons - four pieces of rare-quality wood she¡¯d cut down and stored in her pack. With his skill, Oscar would have a new weapon that was just as good as the one he¡¯d lost after being killed by Tsubasa during that brawl in the Dawnbreak markets. Oscar had fumed for weeks over the loss of his weapon, and now he gave her a silent nod of gratitude for replacing it.
¡°It seems pretty clear that we plan on fighting,¡± He pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t know about all of you, but we¡¯re hardly worthy of our guild name if we can¡¯t keep the place where we made all those first achievements.¡±
¡°Of course we¡¯re going to fight,¡± Azalea assured him. ¡°I want to protect the village, and I¡¯ve gotten used to the area over here. Even if we did move away, we couldn¡¯t guarantee that we¡¯d be happy in a new location.¡±
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¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Riley put in. ¡°But more importantly, Matlin will probably just follow us. He¡¯s got an axe to grind.¡±
It still came as something of a surprise to realize that an NPC was so hell-bent on revenge. It wasn¡¯t the first time that a game employed a system that rewarded or punished players for their actions. She¡¯d heard of quite a few from Dale. But as far as she knew, no game had ever sent a boss on a personal vendetta just because a player had defeated them. Matlin was a new threat - one they couldn¡¯t quite figure out how to beat yet - and they had to face it. There really was no way to avoid him without outright quitting the game. And none of them were ready to do that yet.
¡°So,¡± Oscar brought them back to the subject at hand. ¡°What are we going to do about it?¡±
Both he and Riley looked at her, which surprised Azalea. ¡°What?¡±
¡°Well, you¡¯ve spent the most time with the greatest tactician gamer we¡¯ve ever met,¡± Oscar said. ¡°What do you think he would do in a moment like this?¡±
His eyes showed a slight hint of apology, and it was clear he didn¡¯t really want to bring up Caius again so soon. She shrugged slightly, quietly noting and ignoring the flare of pain in her heart. His name hadn¡¯t even been mentioned, but it still hurt. ¡°So? Just because he was my friend doesn¡¯t mean I learned tactics from him. Before we found this game, I hated fighting in video games. I was always the casual farmer type.¡±
They exchanged a quick glance, frowning thoughtfully. Riley leaned across the table, his elbows resting on the table¡¯s surface. ¡°But you¡¯re a great tactician, Azalea. Even if you learned from him, you¡¯re still smart as a whip. If anyone could think of a plan to get us out of this, it¡¯s you.¡±
She felt herself blushing at the comment and hoped it didn¡¯t show on her avatar¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m not that smart. I could show you a hundred ways to plant and harvest crops, and I even know a thing or two about commerce, though I¡¯m not as good as Jordine. But I¡¯m not a strategist.¡±
¡°Caius said you had one of the best strategy minds he¡¯d seen,¡± Oscar replied with a faint shrug. ¡°There¡¯s a reason you were the guild leader.¡±
¡°I¡¯m only the guild leader because he didn¡¯t want the responsibility.¡±
Riley shook his head. ¡°No. You¡¯re the guild leader because you¡¯re the smartest among us. Look at what you did with our camp! And you beat that raid boss by yourself!¡±
¡°That was just luck.¡±
¡°Three on one is not good luck,¡± Oscar refuted. ¡°It¡¯s cunning, agility, and genius.¡±
He gestured at himself, Riley, and Patsy, then at the rest of the room. ¡°Nobody else here has your title. You were able to beat three people by yourself, with no backup. Even we haven¡¯t done that. Even Caius never managed that.¡±
She appreciated the point that they were making, but she couldn¡¯t accept their words. They simply didn¡¯t know her that well yet. Whenever life presented her with a chance to advance her career or life, she always chose the most simple, comfortable route. Instead of pursuing her PHD, she¡¯d stayed on as Dale¡¯s caregiver. Instead of registering with the company that oversaw her contract and potentially earning more, she¡¯d settled for a lower pay in return for lower responsibilities. Dale had been the ambitious one, even after the accident that had paralyzed him. Always reaching for new heights. She was just his support.
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said, her voice barely above a whisper. ¡°I don¡¯t know what we should do.¡±
They shared another look, and Patsy looked supremely awkward. He knew even less about Azalea than the other two did, and he looked as if he wanted to add something to the conversation but wasn¡¯t sure if his input was welcome. Azalea pointedly looked away from Riley and Oscar, making it clear that she was done with this topic of discussion. They¡¯d have to accept that, or ignore her too.
Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a flash of blue metal. What in the world? Before she knew what she was doing, she¡¯d gotten to her feet, her entire body trembling. The visceral reaction must have transferred to her avatar, for Riley sounded truly concerned now. ¡°Azalea? What¡¯s wrong? There¡¯s not another raid, is there?¡±
Oscar leaned sideways through the space she¡¯d just occupied, and he froze. ¡°No way. But you said-¡±
He couldn¡¯t finish the thought aloud. Riley spun around, wondering what they were looking at. Azalea ignored the pair of them. Her eyes raked the crowd around the bar. She couldn¡¯t have seen what she thought she had. There was no way. It was impossible. Then, the crowd of new customers stepped aside, and the figure waiting patiently behind them stepped into view once again.
¡°Caius!¡± Oscar shouted, jumping to his feet - nearly knocking their table over - and grinning broadly.
¡°But you said he passed away!¡± Riley yelped, finishing what Oscar had failed to say before. He glanced in Azalea¡¯s direction, then at Oscar, as if looking for a guide on how to react.
There was no mistaking it. They¡¯d spent nearly three months in the company of the avatar Dale had created. The grey-haired, grizzled warrior in blue metal armor, with his sword, shield, and sarcastic, dark humor. Their leader in battle, their friend. His eyes lifted to meet Azalea¡¯s, and she felt a powerful shiver run through her body. His eyes were exactly the same. Calm and reassuring, even as they were cold and calculating.
¡°How?¡± It was the only word she could come up with. She knew he was dead. She¡¯d felt no pulse, and she¡¯d heard the EMT¡¯s pronouncement. Even if he weren¡¯t, he wasn¡¯t at home anymore. How could he be here? For a moment, she wondered if someone had hacked his computer, and was controlling his avatar remotely. Then she realized that was impossible because they couldn¡¯t replicate his retinas.
¡°Hello,¡± he said, once he was within easy speaking range. ¡°I imagine you all have a lot of questions. I¡¯ll try to answer as many as I can, but then we have to tackle this raid.¡±
¡°How are you here?¡± At least she¡¯d managed a full sentence that time. Then, as if she were terrified of the answer, she added, ¡°Are you really¡¡±
¡°I¡¯m not Dale,¡± the avatar said, a look of sadness crossing his face. He held her gaze but made no move to approach closer, as if he knew how scared she was. ¡°But I am Caius. Well, in a way. Long story short, I¡¯m in the game forever now.¡±
Chapter 36
With a mixture of relief and disappointment, Azalea didn¡¯t have much of a chance to question Caius and figure out the mystery of his sudden revival. He seemed uncertain about everything himself. But what he did know, he shared freely with them, lowering his voice and explaining all that had passed since Azalea had logged out the previous night.
¡°I somehow knew I was going to die,¡± he said, his voice untroubled. He¡¯d clearly come to terms with his death, they thought. Pity the same couldn¡¯t be said for Azalea. ¡°I was laying there in my bed, and I could feel it coming on. So instead of sitting there staring at my ceiling, I logged back into the game.¡±
He glanced at Azalea then, his eyes heavy with remorse. ¡°I did think of telling you, but I didn¡¯t want you to face the end after what we¡¯d gone through. Plus, I wasn¡¯t sure I could stay composed. I didn¡¯t want to put you through my own anger right before I died.¡±
¡°That still begs the question, Caius,¡± Riley interrupted. For once, his trademark cheeky grin was nowhere to be seen. ¡°How are you here? Even if you die while logged into a game, you can¡¯t control your avatar. At best, you¡¯d wander aimlessly in the last direction you were walking.¡±
¡°That¡¯s what I thought would happen,¡± Caius agreed. ¡°So what I had planned to do was aim my character south. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s down there, right? Well, I¡¯d hoped that at least my avatar could make some achievements on the way.¡±
He fell silent for a moment, but Azalea knew there was more coming, and didn¡¯t try to interrupt. ¡°That was when he found me.¡±
¡°He?¡± She asked, forgetting her resolution not to interrupt at once. ¡°Who are you talking about?¡±
Caius didn¡¯t answer at first. He looked each of them in the eyes, Patsy included, to make sure they were paying full attention and couldn¡¯t hear or misunderstand what he said next. ¡°Marcine.¡±
A shocked silence fell over their table. Even amidst the loud noise of the crowded taproom, the silence was pervasive. It lingered over and around them like a heavy blanket, appearing to dampen the ruckus around them. Oscar was the first to recover his tongue. ¡°Marcine? Do you mean the god that the Terrians worship? That Marcine?¡±
Caius nodded simply, offering nothing else. He must have known how insane that sounded to the others, but he didn¡¯t attempt to elaborate, embellish the tale, or even to convince them. He let them sit with the answer for a moment, almost as if he¡¯d practiced this conversation several times while waiting upstairs for them to return.
¡°But¡¡± Azalea couldn¡¯t wrap her mind around this strange new concept. She was still reeling from his sudden reappearance, an event she couldn¡¯t accept so easily as she was still trying to process his death. Combined with everything else they¡¯d witnessed and discovered these past few days, it was all too much. She felt as if one more surprise, even a tiny one, would break her mind and make her go crazy.
¡°But that¡¯s an NPC,¡± Oscar said, finishing the thought she couldn¡¯t. ¡°He doesn¡¯t exist outside the game.¡±
Under the shock and numbness, Azalea felt a flare of annoyance at Oscar¡¯s comment. Was he really trying to imply that Caius would lie about something this serious? But before she could reproach her ally, Caius answered him. ¡°Well, it turns out he does.¡±
¡°So he¡¯s a player character after all,¡± Riley guessed. ¡°He¡¯s the head admin of the game or something? Is that why the Terrians treat him like a god?¡±
¡°That¡¯s what I thought at first,¡± Caius said. But his face hinted at more. ¡°But I was wrong. He¡¯s¡ not human.¡±
¡°Are you saying that a Terrian somehow created this game?¡± Oscar asked. His tone was deadpan now, and his eyes were narrowed slightly, suspicious. ¡°Come on, Caius. You can¡¯t really expect us to believe that.¡±
In Oscar¡¯s mind, such a thing was impossible. Operating only on the facts he knew, Caius had died, and now - for some reason he wasn¡¯t being told - his avatar was here, moving and talking as if its owner hadn¡¯t really died. If he hadn¡¯t witnessed Azalea¡¯s grief for himself, he might have thought this was some bizarre, elaborate prank that his guildmates were pulling on him. But he also couldn¡¯t contradict that idea, because he had seen Azalea crying. She hadn¡¯t faked that. So how could this be? Caius¡¯ next words put in the final piece of the puzzle he was missing.
¡°I think we all suspected who was really behind this game,¡± he said, sharing a meaningful look with Riley and Oscar. ¡°Or rather what was behind it? It¡¯s too good to be anything else.¡±
Azalea had no clue what he was talking about, nor had he shared any suspicions about who he thought had made this extraordinary game. Because she did know enough about gaming after living with him for so many years, that she could recognize this game was a rare stroke of genius. But the only time they¡¯d discussed the identity of the game¡¯s developer had been the day before they¡¯d started playing it when those first emails had reached them.
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¡°Of course,¡± Oscar said, so quietly that they almost missed it. ¡°It makes perfect sense. It¡¯s the only answer. And of course, they wouldn¡¯t publish the fact that they were doing it.¡±
Riley nodded slowly. ¡°It¡¯s not like anyone would believe it. Even if they did, they¡¯d hate it.¡±
¡°Everything about it has been so contentious,¡± Caius added. ¡°How many movies and games have all foretold of it?¡±
¡°And most of those weren¡¯t exactly positive,¡± Riley agreed.
Azalea was thoroughly lost, and she didn¡¯t like it one bit. ¡°What in the world are you three talking about?¡±
¡°Caius is saying that he thinks an AI created this game,¡± Oscar told her. ¡°It¡¯s something that we suspected because there aren¡¯t any bugs. There are no imperfections to this game. That¡¯s not just hard to pull off, it¡¯s impossible. There¡¯s no way a human could make a perfect game.¡±
Caius nodded in reply to everything Oscar stated. ¡°I¡¯m convinced that¡¯s who Marcine really is. He says that¡¯s not even his true name, just what he made for this world..¡±
¡°Still,¡± Oscar said, in an attempt to be reasonable, ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee that what you met actually was a genuinely true AI. We could just be looking at the most gifted programmer ever to exist.¡±
But at that, Caius shook his head firmly. ¡°He offered to let me live again, in the game, forever. As a Terrian, but with the respawning powers of a player. He didn¡¯t tell me how he did it, but the fact that he did proves it can¡¯t be a human. That technology doesn¡¯t exist.¡±
¡°Well, the framework for it does,¡± Riley was quick to put in. ¡°One of my friends in the real world is a nanite technician. She says that the treatments for healing and maintaining peoples¡¯ mental health could also be used to back up someone¡¯s brain.¡±
¡°The amount of storage space you¡¯re taking up must be astronomical,¡± Oscar said, leaning back. He appeared to have absorbed this strange information rather well, Azalea thought. Certainly better than she had. ¡°So you met the game¡¯s creator, and he offered you a weird sense of immortality.¡±
¡°It¡¯s more than my mind,¡± Caius added. ¡°You know what the weakness of full dive is, right? You¡¯re always aware of your real body, even if the visor paralyzes you. But I don¡¯t have that now. I know that I used to have one, but now, I¡¯m only aware of one body. This one.¡±
He tapped a hand to the metal plates that covered and protected him, and they all fell silent. All of a sudden, they couldn¡¯t think of anything to say, not in the least because this was a conversation that none of them thought they¡¯d ever had in their wildest dreams. It was all so¡ anomalous. This was uncharted territory for all of them.
So now they had a new secret. One even heavier than the true knowledge of how to combat - and by extension - everything in this world operated. Strangely, learning the identity of the game¡¯s creator just cemented the rule that this world operated by. If you wanted to do something, you had to put in the effort. Sure, they had skills and magic, but it didn¡¯t change the core fact of this game. It wasn¡¯t really a game, but more a new life, one where each of their actions had a marked impact.
Which, Azalea decided, really boiled down to one thing. If this was going to be a second life for them all, and the only life that Caius could now live, they¡¯d have to make it as good a life as possible. That meant that they had to get back to the original plan, the one that Caius was clearly eager to return to.
¡°So,¡± she said, proud of how steady and controlled her voice sounded now. ¡°The raid.¡±
Caius turned to her and nodded. She could see the pride in his eyes as he looked at her. He approved of how quickly she was able to grasp what he was getting at. This game truly was his life now, so he had a different list of priorities than the others would. Her grief, her shock, her surprise, these things would all have to wait. She could handle them in her own time, she was sure. But for now, Caius needed her. She felt a great deal of comfort in that.
Judging by their next actions, Riley and Oscar were both on board as well. Even Patsy stood up as they did, a resolute sort of determination coming over the baker¡¯s face. Oscar spoke for the trio, as Azalea had expected. ¡°Right then. Let¡¯s get to work on expelling this trumped-up wanna-be dictator.¡±
Caius and Azalea both stood, determination showing plainly on their faces as well. ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s.¡±
Around them, several of the other players turned to see the figures standing and noticed their expression. The people in the taproom, those players who¡¯d either first spawned in Silver Village or else moved here because they appreciated the quieter life, they all knew the Progenitors. Despite being the smallest guild in the area, they¡¯d been a huge contributing factor, rivaling, and even surpassing the impact that the others had in the region. To top it off, they¡¯d marched to Dawnbreak City and back, returning with more power and items than when they¡¯d set out. They¡¯d tamed that unruly, lawless city.
Almost without thinking, several of the players rose as well. Gone was the panic, the uncertainty, and the complaining. Something had changed in the air, and in their wavering resolve. Those emotions had only run rampant because there was no hand to control them. They¡¯d had no leader. It was the first and biggest weakness that Matlin and the evil players had taken advantage of. But now Caius and his guild were back, their hands firmly on the reigns.
¡°We¡¯ll join you in that,¡± one of the players said. Azalea didn¡¯t recognize the person¡¯s name, but she¡¯d seen them around the village and even at her market stall a few times. He was as much a member of this village as she was. His words were echoed in a general rumbling murmur of agreement from about ninety percent of the taproom. Virtually every player, and even a few Terrians, had stood up in support of them.
¡°If you¡¯ll have us,¡± another player said, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Something tells me you¡¯ll need some help.¡±
Chapter 37
The plan, as dangerous as it would be, was rather simple. Thanks to the combined efforts of the Sisters and other players skilled enough to help create gear, and Azalea contributing a rather large amount of raw materials, they were able to equip nearly fifty players, either members of the guild who had a staked interest in making sure Silver Village survived, the core of players who remembered Matlin and wanted to put him down for good, and those who wanted to help because they felt it was right.
And they hadn¡¯t just created average items, either, Azalea thought with a fierce sense of pride. Everyone was using Uncommon gear at the least. There had even been two cases of Rare gear, and Oscar¡¯s bow came back with an unexpected upgrade to Mythic. She¡¯d watched him test the weapon on an archery target, and his arrow had actually punched through the stiff straw barrier to bury itself in the wall of a building behind it.
For her part, Azalea had taken over a small kitchen built by Tankbabe and a few other construction workers, and worked on making food items for buffs until she was exhausted. Over the course of a single day, she¡¯d produced enough food and potions to keep their force buffed for up to four hours. What was more, she¡¯d whipped up a special magical buff potion for her and the other mages, so that they could keep heals and buffs going for any fights they encountered. There was no other way they could prepare. They were ready.
Logging in the next morning, she saw that a large group of players was gathering at the center of the Village. The Terrians that called it home were looking upon the force with approval. At their head, Caius stood with Kyraa, delegating raiding zones for the parties that had formed. He gave Azalea a quick nod as he saw her, then returned to work.
¡°Looks like we¡¯re getting started early today,¡± A voice said to her right. Turning, she saw Patsy standing beside the entrance to the inn. He was dressed in a new set of plate mail. Like the other members of the Progenitors, it was mostly blue. But to make him stand out from Caius, she¡¯d instructed the smith to add more red. Together with the different styles, she was confident that there wouldn¡¯t be any mistakes when they were both fighting.
Azalea nodded in reply to his words. ¡°Hope you¡¯ve gotten enough practice with that hammer. I¡¯d hate for it to go to waste too fast.¡±
She added a smile to take any unintentional insult out of her words, and he smiled thinly. She could see the nerves, the anxious energy he was trying to hide. She felt the same but thought she was doing a pretty good job of masking it. He glanced over his shoulder to where the handle of the large hammer stuck out over his armor. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m grateful for the weapon. I¡¯m still not sure hammers are best for me, thought.¡±
¡°If Caius thinks that¡¯s your weapon, it probably is,¡± she assured him. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s better to learn one weapon thoroughly rather than trying your hand at several without learning the basics of any of them.¡±
He nodded. ¡°So Caius told me. Many times. Not that I got more than the basics, mind you.¡±
At that, she could only shrug, but offered no reply. The simple fact of the matter was that they just didn¡¯t have enough time to do anything too carefully. He¡¯d have to learn what it was like to be in a real fight eventually, and the sooner they accomplished that, the better. As Caius often said, the only real way to gain experience in fighting was to actually get to it. She was living proof, she thought with a small smile. Barely two months in, and she was leagues above the ¡®skill¡¯ she¡¯d possessed when they first joined the game.
¡°You¡¯ll be with Caius and Riley,¡± she said quietly. ¡°So most of the fighting will be on them. Just obey orders, and we¡¯ll make sure you survive the encounter. Well, we¡¯ll try.¡±
She let out a short snort of laughter, then immediately regretted it when she saw the petrified look on his face. When had she become so dry and sarcastic? Too much time around Caius and Oscar, she reminded herself. She¡¯d have to focus on spending time with Riley¡ if only to balance herself out.
¡°Hang tight in the meantime,¡± she added in a more gentle tone. ¡°And please, try your best to react. Eat something, and drink something cold. If you keep standing there like a bomb ready to go off, you¡¯ll just tire yourself out.¡±
He nodded his acceptance, smiling gratefully. ¡°See you later, then.¡±
As he returned to the cool interior of the inn, Azalea made her way over to where Caius was directing the last of the fighters. She caught up with him just as the last party walked away, looking both excited and apprehensive. ¡°Got everyone an assignment?¡±
Caius nodded. ¡°We can¡¯t cover the entire area in a single day, of course. That anti-magic field is too wide. But we can hit key points. Each party is aware of their instructions.¡±
She knew the plan all too well, after repeating it to herself like a mantr all throughout the previous day. If a party found the source of that field, they were to rush back to Silver Village at all costs. The last thing they wanted was to find what was causing the massive dome and lose that party. Ten minutes was enough time for the enemy to reinforce the position, and make disabling the field even more difficult.
¡°I have a few real-life things to take care of before I can join the raid,¡± she said, though she didn¡¯t specify. He didn¡¯t need her to, either. With his memories of his life before dying in the real world, he knew what she was getting at.
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¡°My final will and the funeral,¡± he said, nodding gravely. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you have to deal with that. I know it was inevitable, but it is still unpleasant.¡±
¡°Well, it¡¯s not as if you¡¯re really gone,¡± she said, dodging the serious nature of the statement. ¡°I just have to contact whoever you¡¯ve left your stuff to, and make sure the coroner¡¯s office knows what you want to be done with..¡±
She couldn¡¯t say ¡®your remains¡¯. Even if Caius was still here in the game, the loss of his real-life presence was a little too heavy at the moment. He shook his head, recognizing her reticence. ¡°Still. You shouldn¡¯t have to deal with it alone. If I had hired another worker to cover the gaps-¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think anyone could have put up with your surly days,¡± she shot back, momentarily forgetting her sadness to offer up the joke. It even brought a semblance of a grin to her face. ¡°Face it, Dale. I¡¯m the only one who could put up with you after Anne introduced us. I mean, she practically threw me at you and ran away.¡±
He let out a low chuckle at that, and the good humor seemed to further lift the depressive weight of her thoughts. Maybe she would be alright after all, she thought. It might just take a while, but she hadn¡¯t lost Dale. Not really. ¡°Care to tell me what your will says in advance? Prep me to meet your family?¡±
Save for his niece Anne and a distant cousin she¡¯d already forgotten the name of, she¡¯d never met nor heard of Dale¡¯s other family members. She knew they existed, but they also kept their distance, by mutual desire. Caius¡¯ grin widened.
¡°Why should I deprive you of the surprise?¡± He asked cheekily. He looked like he wanted to throw another jab in, but was distracted as Oscar appeared to their left. He almost seemed to rise up out of the open ground. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you to that. Don¡¯t take too long, and don¡¯t let it burden you too much. You¡¯re a strong girl. You¡¯ll do fine.¡±
Oscar heard the last two lines as he came within easy speaking distance. He was also able to glean what they were discussing based on that little information. ¡°So, which did you choose?¡±
They looked at him in confusion for a moment before he elaborated. ¡°Burned or buried?¡±
¡°Burned,¡± Caius said, a wry smirk replacing his grin. ¡°Graves are too expensive nowadays.¡±
Oscar nodded his agreement with that sentiment. ¡°True that. Any special plans for the ashes?¡±
¡°Not really. It¡¯s illegal to feed anyone my ashes, fortunately for my enemies.¡±
¡°Got many of those, do you?¡± the rogue asked, raising one eyebrow. ¡°Here I thought you were a placid old man.¡±
Caius let out a bark of laughter. ¡°Hardly.¡±
Azalea bid them both a quick farewell, already turning back to the inn. She was already running low on time, and she didn¡¯t want to delay it any further. The sooner she got this unpleasantness out of the way, the better, she thought. Then she could be done with it. All that remained was to find a new apartment, and that could be done another day.
Sorting out the house turned out to not only be easy, but extremely quick. The lawyer overseeing his estate had already emailed the details to her late the previous night, while she¡¯d been logged in making all that food. Rubbing tiredness out of her eyes, Aster sat herself down at the desk, where she¡¯d once done her schoolwork but now barely used. She fired up the old laptop that sat there. She could have used her V-Lens of course, but she felt she owed at least this much effort to Caius, the man who¡¯d shunned recent technology.
Ms. Franklin,
I am sorry to hear of Dale¡¯s passing. I know you two have become very close in the recent years, and though you only signed up as a temporary caregiver, I know your presence improved his mood drastically and made his life better. The times that we have spoken, Dale told me how he approved of you. He called you the only sensible person of your age.
Azalea couldn¡¯t help but smile at that. Dale¡¯s dislike of her generation had been well-documented. As a member of the old millennial generation, he saw people her age - called Generation Alpha - as irresponsible, annoying children. It was a sentiment she agreed with herself, though she never admitted that to him. She read on.
Unfortunately, all good things do eventually come to an end. It pains me to be the executor of his estate, knowing that such a fine man has passed from this world. If you¡¯ll forgive my sentimentality, I¡¯m honored to have met Dale and to have been his personal attorney.
As you may expect, there are a great many things to do in regard to his estate, and other final affairs that he wished for me to handle. Please, rest assured that I am more than capable of handling these matters. Dale made it quite clear that you were to be as untroubled as possible when it came to handling his affairs. He stated, and I agree, that you worked quite hard enough for him. So now, please allow yourself some time off, to recover and relax.
The true purpose of this e-mail, however, is to inform you that, as far as his last will and testament is concerned, you are listed as his primary benefactor. His home - the address at which you currently live -, holdings, and considerable savings are to be transferred to you at once. As he had no heirs, there were no other claimants to his estate.
He was aware of how you would react to his decision, however, and has also instructed me to inform you that it is quite impossible to change or override his decision on this matter. Once the property and money are in your name, you will, of course, be free to do with them what you wish. But it is our sincere hope that you accept this gift. You were an invaluable addition to his later life, and we wish for you to live the rest of your life in comfort.
Please do not hesitate to contact me further if there is anything else you may need. As the attorney of his estate, I am also obliged and eager to be your personal counsel. Again, please take this time to be with yourself. I¡¯m sure the loss is greatest to you in particular, as his oldest and closest friend. I will handle all matters that must be handled. Take this time to grieve, and be comforted in the knowledge that your life may continue as it was.
Wishing you the best,
Randy Tuck, Esquire
Chapter 38
The forest was silent around them. Eerily silent. Even as Azalea strained her ears, she couldn¡¯t pick up the sound of any wildlife around her, neither predator nor prey. It was as if someone had placed some kind of dampening spell on the area, cutting out all sound except the small rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs under the feet of their party. Each tiny sound was amplified by their nerves until it could have been mistaken for gunshots and small explosions. And with each inadvertent noise, their nerves were strained tighter. It was as if they were an approaching storm, rather than a team trying to move about unseen and unheard, to strike without notice. Azalea knew that at least part of her paranoia was unwarranted, but the tension of the past hour wouldn¡¯t allow her to sweep the concerns away.
Oscar, of course, moved so quietly that he seemed to be part of the wind. Azalea knew exactly where he was, but it often seemed that he dissolved into the darkness of the forest around them from time to time, as if he were some rogue spirit that had merely chosen to travel along with them. She had to keep an eye on his position because, without him, they were truly lost He was their eyes and ears. She wondered if the noise they made was making his job any harder. He hadn¡¯t complained so far, but she supposed he wouldn¡¯t mention if he were annoyed. He was laser-focused on his task, dashing lightly between the smallest patches of cover and scanning one hundred and eighty degrees around their party. Every once in a while, she¡¯d see him turn to face the rear, checking to make sure that nobody was following them. But he never did it on a predictable schedule. There was a reason for that, she was sure, but so far, he hadn¡¯t decided to share.
They had been under the thick canopy of trees for nearly two hours now, with no sign of the source of that anti-magic field. Again and again, Azalea found herself trying to cast a spell, but nothing worked. So instead, she kept her spear close at hand, ready to retaliate at the slightest hint of danger. She was stationed toward the front of the party, just a meter or two to Caius¡¯ left. She¡¯d been confused by this decision at first, but Caius had cleared the matter up.
¡°With that spear, and without your magic, it would be a waste for you to be in the middle or rear,¡± he¡¯d explained. ¡°You have more reach than any of us, and that will come in handy when we find the enemy. If we¡¯re attacked from behind, then you can shift to take up a new position there.¡±
Predictably, their party had very few magic users. They¡¯d brought some along just in case they were able to disable the field before attacking. They would come in handy for buffs and long-range attacks. Including the ring of warriors and Oscar and another archer scouting toward the rear, their party numbered twenty-eight strong. A sizable attacking force, and the largest one they could muster. So, of course, they were heading right for the most likely source of the field. The direct center.
She knew they were on the right track and close to finding the enemy when Oscar suddenly threw up a hand, his fist clenched tightly. It was their field signal to stop moving. She froze at once, and the others copied her action, only delayed a second or two as they all became aware of Oscar¡¯s hesitation. Quiet as a shadow, Oscar inched a few feet forward, disappearing from view. She couldn¡¯t quite explain the anxiety that spiked up as he vanished, but she couldn¡¯t suppress the sigh of relief that came minutes later when he returned. She could see him moving directly for Caius, so she crept over to listen in.
¡°There¡¯s about twenty of them,¡± Oscar was saying. He nodded approvingly at her as she took care to watch her feet, making sure she didn¡¯t produce any extra noise. ¡°So we outnumber them. Unfortunately, there¡¯s no cover once you cross that hill. Our only option will be speed and surprise.¡±
Caius nodded his understanding. ¡°Could you see the source of their field?¡±
Oscar shook his head. ¡°Nothing stood out. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s there. Probably in one of the buildings.¡±
¡°There are buildings?¡± Caius asked sharply.
¡°Of course there are. It¡¯s a long-term camp. Does that make a difference?¡±
¡°Of course it does. They could be hiding extra men in there. And those buildings will obscure parts of our vision.¡±
Caius scowled, thinking through the problem. ¡°But I agree that a rush will be our best option. Assuming there are a few men in those buildings, that means our numbers will be more or less equal. That¡¯ll be a challenge, with this group.¡±
Azalea knew what he meant. By a generous estimate, maybe ten of their number had any actual knowledge of the combat system in this game. ¡°We really should organize some kind of teaching system, so we have more fighters when we need them.¡±
Caius looked mildly surprised at the suggestion, but only for a moment, then his face became thoughtful. He nodded slowly a few times. ¡°There¡¯s something to that. Don¡¯t forget that idea, dear. You may be on to something.¡±
She beamed with pride as they returned to the discussion of their upcoming attack. She didn¡¯t have anything to volunteer anyway, and she was confident they could come up with a good plan between them. Sure enough, only five minutes later, they seemed to have come to an agreement. Caius gave the signal to the group to retreat several dozen yards away. The other members of the party were clearly excited, sensing that they were getting close to their goal.
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¡°So there¡¯s twenty,¡± Caius repeated Oscar¡¯s earlier report. ¡°We¡¯re going to bum rush them, because we can¡¯t sneak up. That means that our ranged fighters need to stay back. Mages, keep a weapon on you but be ready to cast the instant we knock that field down. The rest of you, we¡¯ll be forming a wedge. Stay close enough together to make an impact, but for the love of god, not so close together that we all trip each other.¡±
They all nodded their understanding, a bit of worry now replacing their excitement. This was, after all, the first large battle for many of them. ¡°Good. Now, shields to the front. Everyone else, behind them. I¡¯ll take the lead. Patsy, on my left. Azalea, on my right.¡±
She nodded, understanding the reason behind that last decision. As Patsy was the least experienced in their guild, Caius wanted him on his shield side, so he could protect him as much as possible. ¡°Right. We¡¯ll go as quietly as we can while sticking in formation. The moment I run out, you follow.¡±
They crept forward. Azalea was certain they were making more noise than before, or perhaps it just seemed louder now that everyone was closer together. She switched grips on her spear, wiping her clammy hands on the outside of her leggings, then for good measure swiped a hand across her brow. Caius saw the movement and smiled reassuringly at her. She returned the smile, though it did feel a bit strange.
The quiet was shattered by Caius¡¯ admittedly terrifying battle roar. That old guy could really yell when he wanted to. The sound of it rippled across the short incline to where the bandits were camped out and bounced off the walls of the three buildings so that it reverberated back to the attackers, who were now charging down the slope toward their enemy. It inspired them just as it intimidated their foes, and soon more yells were joining his own, creating a full-throated war chorus, announcing their arrival.
The following battle was a fierce one, but it was over quickly. Staying close to Caius¡¯ right side, she gave him just enough space to wield his sword freely, and thrust and slashed her spear at any enemy that tried to flank him. More than a few times, Riley had to step in to protect her flank, beating away or killing an enemy. The threat provided by the buildings proved to be less than Caius had predicted. They were able to swarm the buildings in no time, more or less surrounding the surprised bandits. The bandits fought hard, taking out many of their attackers, but they were wiped out to a single man within ten minutes.
Caius knocked the weapon out of the last bandit¡¯s hand, then kicked one leg out, sending the man crashing prone to the ground. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s get some information out of you, lad. Tell us everything we want to know, and we¡¯ll let you live.¡±
Azalea didn¡¯t pay attention to the interrogation. Instead, she directed the surviving players with Oscar, setting them to search the area thoroughly for the source of the anti-magic field. There hadn¡¯t been any sign of it during their pitched fight, but she was certain with enough time they¡¯d locate it. Of course, then they¡¯d face the challenge of figuring out how to disable it, she thought with a scowl. She had no way of knowing what was required until they could actually see the thing.
She took the furthest building on the left, while the rest split up to cover the other two. It was a dingy place, with very little natural lighting making its way into the building. Several cots were shoved roughly against one wall, leaving just enough space for a table and four chairs. The signs of dice and drink were still evident. She wagered that, when night fell, those cots would be strewn across the room, filling it so that there was barely room to walk.
¡°They might as well just sleep in one big pile,¡± she muttered quietly, shaking her head in disgust. They¡¯d had days, even a week to make more comfortable accomodations. She¡¯d done better than this in just two days. Then, having completed two laps of the room with her nose wrinkled against the stench of unwashed bodies, she was forced to accept that the source of the field wasn¡¯t in this building. She left it gratefully, just in time to hear some raucous laughter. It was coming from the area where Caius was interrogating the bandit, she thought. Curious, she made her way over.
¡°Where is the source of the anti-magic field?¡± Caius thundered. His face was only a few centimeters away from the bandits¡¯, and he had the point of his sword pressed against the man¡¯s chest. Even as he asked the question again, he pressed insistently. Not hard enough to break the skin, but definitely enough to be painful.
¡°Ah!¡± The bandit exclaimed, trying, unsuccessfully, to back away from the point of the sword. Still, it didn¡¯t quiet his laughter. ¡°I already told you, ya fool! There ain¡¯t no source here! You wasted all your troops for nothing!¡±
He cackled again. Caius, calm and collected in spite of his anger, stood upright and slammed a boot against the bandit¡¯s shoulder, slamming him painfully against the outside of the building. ¡°Lie all you want, bandit. We¡¯ll find the source and disable it. And you¡¯ll lose your chance to survive this encounter.¡±
But as the search parties left the buildings shaking their head and looking confused, Azalea realized that it truly wasn¡¯t here. Caius was only half a second behind her train of thought. ¡°How can it not be here? This is as close to the dead center of the field as you can get!¡±
¡°You fools. You don¡¯t understand how the magic of this world works,¡± the bandit sneered. ¡°The Old Man knows his art too well. There¡¯s no way you¡¯d be able to find the source of that magic when he¡¯s casting it.¡±
¡°The Old Man?¡± Azalea asked. For some reason, that triggered a nearly-forgotten memory in her mind. It took her a few seconds of furious thought to recall it. ¡°Old Man Sumba?¡±
At once, the bandit¡¯s laughter died away, and he hurriedly re-arranged his face to one of stubborn refusal. To Azalea and Caius, that was as good as a confession. ¡°I didn¡¯t say nothin'' like that. You- You be putting words in my mouth!¡±
Azalea and Caius shared a quick look. She could tell that he was thinking the same thing as her. If Old Man Sumba was behind this in some way, it was a huge betrayal. It was also going to be next to impossible to prove it. But if he was the one who had put up this anti-magic field, then he was the one who knew where it was and how to disable it. Caius cursed quietly. The bandit looked elated for a moment, but that expression quickly changed to shock as Caius pivoted neatly on one foot, lopping his head off with a single swing. His eyes were still wide when his entire form exploded, dumping a small pile of items and coin on the ground.
Chapter 39
¡°You really sure we shouldn¡¯t be joining them?¡±
Tsubasa glanced up from his meal, scowling at the interruption. For a moment, he wasn¡¯t sure what his sister was on about. But, following her gaze, he saw the crowd of figures gathering down in the street below. From their vantage point on the balcony, they had a good viewpoint of most of the city, particularly of the high street that ran directly down the center of Dawnbreak City. This house could have been a palace if they were inclined to entertain such fantasies.
The tip of his tail twitched in a noncommittal gesture that his sister couldn¡¯t see, and therefore wouldn¡¯t be able to understand. He didn¡¯t offer a verbal reply. He never did. That had been, after all, his style. He didn¡¯t speak in this game, just as he couldn¡¯t in real life. He¡¯d gotten rather good at expressing his intentions without the spoken word. And she, after being his sister for so long in real life and now in this game, could pretty much understand exactly what he was thinking.
For a moment, the dark memories of their earlier life surfaced, but she pushed them away with a willful effort. It wasn¡¯t necessarily suppression, because she and her brother had grown accustomed to the horrors that had been their childhood. That life had left its marks upon them, yes. But it had also given them the strength, skills, and mindset that had made them so successful in later years. And those skills had proven useful in this game, hadn¡¯t they? Yes, in a way, she was grateful for those early years.
With a scowl to match her brother¡¯s, she realized she¡¯d allowed her thoughts to drift away from the subject at hand. A smile curled across her lips as she thought of the red-haired girl. She¡¯d come to the city at the head of an army. Asami wasn¡¯t fooled. She knew the girl wasn¡¯t the commander of that force. But she had an authority nonetheless, one born of trust and experience. The others clearly respected her. She was, if anything, a secondary leader. But more importantly, she interested Asami.
Not many of her toys got away. Even fewer of them managed to claim some kind of victory over her in a fight. Not that the girl had won, of course. It had simply been¡ less important to fight that battle to its completion. The girl and her companions had clearly won the larger battle that had taken place there, and she deserved the chance to celebrate it. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time they would clash if Asami had her way. And she was quite used to getting her way.
So this situation presented an interesting choice for Asami. For down below, gathering in the street and growing by the minute, was a rather large crowd of armed players. Their reason for gathering was no mystery. They were angry at the invasion that had happened just over a month ago, and now they were getting ready to take their revenge. The only delay had been in an attempt to recover the gear they¡¯d lost in the last encounter, especially that free-for-all in the market. Even from several yards away, she could hear several people mentioning ¡®the slayer¡¯.
She could warn The Progenitors, she thought. She had a point of contact in Silver Village that she could talk to, to warn them that this army was approaching. Technically, she had no real reason to help them, just as she had no real reason to join this army and lay siege to the village. But she had a reason to be there. She could tell that history was going to be made there. It would be an even bigger fight than what had taken place in the market. It would probably be the biggest battle the game would ever see. Nothing would be the same after this, no matter who won. Of course, she had to be there.
¡°So,¡± she said, breaking the silence after nearly half an hour of thinking it through. The crowd below was nearly four hundred strong now and still growing. ¡°Should we give them a heads up?¡±
Tsubasa, not at all pleased that his soup had been interrupted yet again, gave a short grunt. He could manage that at least. Asami looked away from the window for the first time, looking at him in some surprise. It wasn¡¯t like him at all. Curious, she pressed him. ¡°Well? What do you think?¡±
One ear twitched, but he looked mildly curious. His tail swished silently through the air, then flicked in the direction of a worn-looking bow that leaned against a shelf in their living space. The gesture was clear. We already beat them, it said. Why does it matter what happens to them now? Asami could appreciate that sentiment, even if she didn¡¯t necessarily agree. ¡°Oh, come on. You¡¯re not the least bit curious? If they win that fight, that will mean a lot.¡±
This time, she actually got a shrug. She let out a snort of laughter. ¡°Fine, then. You won¡¯t say yes or no, so I¡¯ll just make up my mind for myself. As usual.¡±
She added the last two in a quiet grumble but knew he still heard them. He pretended he didn¡¯t, picking up his bowl and slurping down the last of the soup so he didn¡¯t have to look at her. Rolling her eyes, Asami cast the Contact spell. As usual, Anasuya answered at once. ¡°Hey, I need a favor.¡±
¡°A favor, or a job?¡± Anasuya¡¯s smooth, emotionless voice said. ¡°If it¡¯s a favor, it had better be small. I can¡¯t work with an empty purse, you know.¡±
Asami snickered. It had been worth a shot. ¡°A job. I want you to get a message to that Slayer girl. Tell them an army of over five hundred is getting ready to march on Silver Village.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not like you to show concern,¡± Anasuya said. Asami could never tell if her occasional work companion was male or female. They¡¯d perfectly embodied a neutral appearance, even wearing a mask. As far as she knew, nobody knew what details lay under that mask. The only time she showed defining features was when she worked. But her skills were excellent, and, as far as Asami knew, unique in this game.
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¡°It¡¯s hardly concern,¡± she said dryly. ¡°I just want to see how it all plays out.¡±
¡°Very well,¡± the voice came back. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you will show your face here at some point. I¡¯ll expect my payment then.¡±
The Contact spell dropped them. No mention of the amount had been stated. Asami knew the operative would charge her a hefty fee, but it was usually worth it. Besides, if it cost too much, she could always recoup the coin by doing some more work. Even in the Silver Village, there were those with coin looking to make sure others met their end - even if only temporarily - at her hands.
¡°Go get your stuff,¡± Asami told her brother. She already knew he¡¯d come with her. They had always stuck together, and always would. That smile curled across her face once again. ¡°We¡¯re going hunting.¡±
¡°What,¡± the enraged officer snarled, his temper mere inches from snapping out of control and unleashing a tirade of fury upon the soldiers before him, ¡°is the point of setting a screen of sentries if they don¡¯t give us warning of an incoming attack!¡±
Three members of his guard were cowering near the entrance of the command tent, unnerved by the officer¡¯s boiling anger. The fourth showed no sign of misgiving or fear, but that was to be expected. He was the longest-standing member of the group, and thus was familiar with the man¡¯s wild swings in temperament. And, of course, he was the first to come up with an answer.
¡°It seems those adventurers from the village staged a sneak attack first,¡± he reported. ¡°I received a Contact from one of the sentries before he was killed. He saw another of the sentries get taken down by a figure with a knife.¡±
¡°So we did have advanced warning!¡± The bandit officer shouted. ¡°Why the fuck didn¡¯t you tell me about it straight away?¡±
¡°I was about to, sir,¡± the man replied, his expression still cool and collected. He knew he wasn¡¯t in any danger, because his officer¡¯s anger wasn¡¯t directed at him. Yet. ¡°But the second attack, the one on our camp, happened seconds after the sentry fell. There wasn¡¯t time to warn you, because I was obligated to raise the primary alarm.¡±
He held his officer¡¯s gaze for a moment, then reminded him, ¡°That is the procedure, sir.¡±
With a supreme effort, the officer reigned in his temper. Such emotions wouldn¡¯t help them in the current situation. Those damned adventurers had already torn through over half of his force. ¡°How many have we lost so far?¡±
His guard nodded, recognizing the effort his officer had put into controlling his emotions. He may have been known for his temper, but he also had a keen military mind. That was the reason Matlin had promoted him to his second-in-command. He had enough sense to remain calm here and calculate their chances.
¡°So far, they¡¯ve wiped out half of our auxiliary forces, those men we¡¯ve taken from the nearby villages and settlements. They got about a quarter of our supplies, but we managed to get the supports away in time. The vanguard is almost untouched, and the mage platoon kept the adventurers at bay. We¡¯re now grouped along the river. It¡¯s too wide and deep to allow flanking, so for now we¡¯re at a standstill.¡±
The officer grumbled thoughtfully to himself as he surveyed the scene. The two groups - his own men and the adventurers - were clearly visible. Even now, there was some skirmishing, but the two forces seemed to be kept apart by some feat. The true heat of the battle had died away, and now they seemed to be dueling each other in single and small groups. Occasionally, a mage or archer would take a chance shot across the gap, but nearly every such attempt was blocked. As it stood, the forces were relatively equal. With his mages¡¯ position reinforced and protected, they were keeping the adventurers at bay.
¡°Why aren¡¯t they moving to attack in earnest again?¡±
¡°We think they are waiting for reinforcements to arrive,¡± his man stated. ¡°As you know, they can respawn. In a few hours, those who died in the first attack will be back to fight again.¡±
The officer cursed. The very idea that his enemies could come back to life after being slain was already a problem. And to make matters worse, their plan to intimidate and suppress Silver Village before that battalion-sized force could return had failed. Now their odds were nearly equal, and Captain Matlin had been able to do nothing more grand than destroy a few bases built by the adventurers. Now, they were confronted with a new problem.
¡°We cannot be held up here for long,¡± he said. ¡°We have to break free, or else the Captain will be raiding the village alone.¡±
¡°At least,¡± the soldier said, ¡°the numbers there will also be equal. With so many adventurers here, they can¡¯t muster that many fighters to defend the village. Captain Matlin should be able to sweep their defenses this time, and raze the village to the ground. The adventurers have no magic, and our mages are immune to the field.¡±
That was certainly true. The adventurers hadn¡¯t known until this day that the bandit mages could still cast spells. Being the only ones with the ability to use magic had proven very effective, and stopped them from being wiped out completely.
¡°Where is the enemy¡¯s commander?¡± The officer asked. He knew of the man in blue armor, even if he¡¯d yet to see him. He scanned the enemy force now, but could see no sign of anyone that met the description.
¡°He has yet to show himself,¡± the soldier answered. ¡°We think he may still be in the village, overseeing its defense. The raid is tomorrow, after all.¡±
The officer nodded. Good. All things were going according to Matlin¡¯s plans. One more raid on the village to wipe it out. Then they would march on Dawnbreak, with much greater forces. The time in which the Felarians ruled this continent would come again. Once they were in control of the southern capital, they would have control over all of Centralia. Then their forces in Easterly could come to reinforce their position, and they could begin conquering the rest of the world. Eventually, they would find the false god Marcine and put an end to that metal specter that the Terrians worshipped.
¡°Send a messenger to Matlin,¡± he said. ¡°If the adventurers¡¯ plan is to hold us here to weaken the raid, then they¡¯ve made a grave mistake. Ask him to approach from behind. We¡¯ll crush this force, then overrun the village before they can recover their equipment.¡±
Chapter 40
Azalea watched the flow of rushing figures leaving and entering the town square, covered by the corner of a building. If anyone did look her way, the light was uncertain enough in this alley that there was a low chance of her being spotted. Oscar had told her about this spot, as well as sharing the trick he used to avoid being noticed even if someone was staring directly at his position.
¡°The trick is not to move,¡± he¡¯d explained. ¡°It¡¯s ironclad logic, even if it doesn¡¯t make sense. But it really does work. If you¡¯re not moving, the chances of you being spotted are super low. Even if you think you¡¯ve been seen, don¡¯t move. More often than not, the person is just trying to make you give up the game, and has no real idea if you¡¯re there or not.¡±
¡°How did you learn this in real life?¡± She¡¯d remembered asking. ¡°Are you a hunter or something?¡±
At that, he¡¯d just grinned, shaking his head. ¡°Hardly. I grew up in a city. But I read a really old but popular book series where the main characters did things like this. I think the creator of the game must have been a fan because so far, all their stealth tactics work a treat.¡±
Azalea still had her doubts, but she hadn¡¯t been discovered yet. She was inclined to believe that it was more Oscar¡¯s natural talent at stealth and not the ideas shared by an old book series she¡¯d never heard of. Either way, she¡¯d needed the guidance, because it was of the utmost importance that she not be discovered. She had to remain out of sight, or else she wouldn¡¯t get useful information. This was a different kind of fight, she thought. Not one that required strength, speed, or a cunning tactical mind.
Yes, she was watching the village square. But in reality, she was keeping an eye out for one particular person. Old Man Sumba. After what the bandit had let slip the other day, their guild had been taking it in turns to spy on the village chief¡¯s home, watching for any strange activity. So far, they¡¯d been watching for nearly two straight days, and nothing seemed amiss. He left his home shortly after first light and didn¡¯t return until well after the sun had set, casting darkness over Silver Village. So either the bandit had lied to them, or this was a foe whose actions were impossible to dissect.
¡°It¡¯s gotta be him,¡± Caius had said at their table the previous night when Oscar had reported that there was no behavior out of the ordinary to report. ¡°The more I think about it, the more I¡¯m certain. Nobody else could pull it off without being suspicious. But nobody would think that he had anything to do with the raiders who were trying to destroy his village.¡±
Not that he had any motivation to collude with the bandits, Azalea thought now, watching the elder¡¯s front door. Any minute now, if he kept to the same schedule as yesterday, he¡¯d walk out clutching his cane, and begin his day¡¯s work of overseeing the village. He¡¯d been very involved in the new defenses that the players and Terrians had worked together to build. Of course, the thought that he might sabotage them in some way had occurred to them, but Caius had inspected the defenses and found no damage or missing pieces there.
So, if it was Old Man Sumba, then what reason did he have to turn against the village that he¡¯d called home for so many years? He had a wife and son here, not to mention half a dozen grandchildren. He was linked to this village as closely as Azalea had been linked to Caius. And she couldn¡¯t think of a single thing that the bandits could do or offer her to turn against him. No, the more she thought about it, the less convinced she was that Old Man Sumba was the one casting the anti-magic field.
She gave a small start of fright as someone poked her in the small of her back. Fearing that she¡¯d been caught spying on the village chief, she whirled around, her bracelet lifted to attack whoever had discovered her. Of course, no magic came out, and she was relieved. It was Riley behind her, looking a little startled himself, his hands held out in surrender.
¡°Sorry!¡± He yelped, taking a hasty step back. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to scare you, you just didn¡¯t reply when I said your name.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she said shakily, her heart racing about a million miles an hour. ¡°I just wasn¡¯t expecting to be relieved for a few hours.¡±
¡°Oh, I¡¯m not here to let you go that easily,¡± he said, throwing her a roguish wink. That wasn¡¯t much like him, she thought, but she accepted it. Riley was charming, in an energetic sort of way. What was the problem with a little byplay? What on earth was she thinking about? She was supposed to be focusing on her task!
¡°I think that¡¯s the one you¡¯re supposed to be staring at,¡± the monk said with a slight smirk. She turned again and saw the village chief leaving his home. He paused to call a farewell to someone in the house, then began hobbling away. Azalea watched him closely if only to hide her flushed face from Riley.
¡°He looks grumpy this morning,¡± She noted. The deep scowl on the man¡¯s face was obvious even from this distance, and it was enough of a shock for her to forget her embarrassment. ¡°He wasn¡¯t in that foul a mood when you saw him yesterday morning, was he?¡±
¡°Not that I could see,¡± Riley replied easily. ¡°Maybe he just got into an argument with his wife.¡±
That was a logical enough explanation, but Azalea wasn¡¯t sure. This abrupt change from his usual demeanor was too severe. There was no way that a morning spat with his wife could have caused it. No, this was something else. She made up her mind in an instant and stepped out of her hiding spot. ¡°I¡¯m going to follow him and see what he¡¯s up to.¡±
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She couldn¡¯t be sure what had prompted the thought, but she had a feeling that, perhaps today, he wasn¡¯t going to get started on his task of supervising the village straight away. Riley called out softly from behind her. ¡°Should I come with you?¡±
That definitely wasn¡¯t like him, she thought, sparing half a glance back at the monk. He looked hesitant as if he wasn¡¯t entirely certain what he should be doing at that moment. Not like him to be indecisive, Azalea thought. Maybe he was still anxious after scaring her half to death. With a smile, she beckoned him to follow. Looking highly relieved, he darted forward to catch up with her.
¡°So, where do you think he¡¯s going?¡± Riley asked his usual grin in back in place. That was more like him, she thought, smiling up at him.
She could only shrug. Already, the village chief was sticking to his usual route. He looked, for all intents and purposes, as if he were going about business as usual. Still, she couldn¡¯t shake the suspicion that he was going to make a change, and very soon. No more than two minutes after she had the thought, Old Man Sumba reached the only crossroad in the village. Going left would take him out of the village on the side closest to the forest. Going right would take him to the inn, where his first stop of the day always was. Today, he went left.
¡°Good morning, chief!¡± One of the villagers who¡¯d volunteered to take on guard duty saw his chief approaching and called out a friendly, respectful greeting. ¡°What brings you out here so early?¡±
Even the guard could tell that he wouldn¡¯t normally come this way so early in the morning, Azalea thought. Either Sumba was incredibly obtuse, or he really had nothing to hide. She shared a quick glance with Riley, who could only shrug in confusion. She heard the old man reply to the guard. ¡°Good morning, Brendan. I¡¯m just going out on a stroll. Fancy stretching my legs, and taking in the scenery.¡±
¡°Oh,¡± the young villager said, seeming to accept his words at face value. ¡°Very well, sir. But please, at least let me send a guard or two to protect you.¡±
¡°No need, son. I walked these paths even before your parents were born. I know their ways, and I can avoid trouble.¡±
He walked away before the guard could reply, effectively putting an end to the conversation. The guard fell back, looking a little troubled, gripping his torch nervously. Well now, Azalea thought to herself. That was definitely strange behavior from the old man. She had to figure out what that was about. She turned to Riley. ¡°Go tell Caius about this. I¡¯ll follow him, and use Contact if I find anything out.
¡°Are you sure,¡± he asked, looking nervous all over again. ¡°I think I should stay with you, just to be safe. You never know when the bandits might appear. Or some other threat. Anything could be coming over the horizon.¡±
Now that really wasn¡¯t like him, Azalea thought with a frown. ¡°Oh, come on. You should know by now that I can take care of myself.¡±
Was he just getting a little too protective over her? Maybe he thought she might get distracted, with Dale¡¯s death so recent in her life. If that was the reason, he really hadn¡¯t learned much about her in these past few months. Hoping that wasn¡¯t the case, she added, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Riley. Besides, Caius should know about this straight away. He¡¯ll have some new change to the plan based on what I find out, I¡¯m sure.¡±
¡°But what if you get attacked?¡±
She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll run away and use Contact for that anyway. Seriously, Riley, I don¡¯t need to be babysat.¡±
That reply, combined with her suddenly stern tone, finally seemed to convince Riley. He raised his hands again, this time in a gesture of acquiescence. ¡°Alright, sorry for pushing. I¡¯m just trying to help.¡±
¡°I appreciate that,¡± she said in a softer tone. ¡°But I really can look after myself, you know.¡±
He grinned at that. ¡°Oh, I know. You didn¡¯t get that Slayer title for nothing, did you?¡±
She scowled at the mention of her title. He knew she didn¡¯t like talking or hearing about that, especially when she was trying to focus on something. ¡°Just go tell Caius what Old Man Sumba is doing.¡±
She turned and made her way quietly out of the village without waiting to hear his response. Honestly, what was wrong with him today? He was normally so sharp when it came to her mood, even predicting her needs before she knew they existed. Today, he was so obtuse, constantly saying and doing things to annoy her. He¡¯d gone from charming to getting constantly under her foot. Or was the change in herself? Had Dale¡¯s death affected her subconsciously so that she was now growing irritated with her friends?
Interesting. That girl had somehow sensed that something was off. Anasuya watched the upright, angry back of the red-haired girl striding away toward one of the secret ways through the village defenses. They had no idea what the behavior of the village head meant. They had their own job to perform. It was a shame Azalea couldn¡¯t focus long enough to allow them to deliver the news.
Anasuya could see what Asami found so interesting in that woman. She had a fiery spirit and knew what she was about. Quick-witted and sharp, too. Ever since they¡¯d found Project Terra, Anasuya hadn¡¯t met anyone who could see through their disguise. True, the girl hadn¡¯t actually figured out that it wasn¡¯t the friendly monk she¡¯d been talking to, but she had clearly noticed tiny changes between the original and Anasuya¡¯s portrayal.
It was a shame they hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to fight, Anasuya thought, dropping the spell that had changed her appearance to match that of ¡®Riley¡¯, the one figure they could count on not being anywhere near Azalea at that time. The real Riley was across the village, talking with the blacksmith about a new sword for their leader Caius.
Anasuya replaced the mask over their face, hiding their features away. They loved the anonymity that the mask offered. That, combined with their androgynous features and nondescript frame, left others guessing constantly as to whether they were male or female. Just the way they liked it. Mysterious.
Well, they would have to find another way to warn the Progenitors of the incoming army. There was plenty of time, so they weren¡¯t concerned. But if they failed to perform their next mask perfectly, they might not be able to manage to deliver the warning without revealing themselves. And they wanted to keep their skills - and the services they could offer with them - a secret for as long as possible. If people knew there was a player who could copy the appearance and skills of other players, their work would become nearly impossible.
On to the next attempt, Anasuya thought, making their way down the quiet side street toward the center of the village. Who to copy next?
Chapter 41
Following the village chief proved far easier than Azalea had expected. For one, he made no attempt to move without being spotted. She supposed that in itself would have been suspicious. Best to move as if you weren¡¯t up to anything suspicious, and people wouldn¡¯t assume you were.
He walked quite a ways away from the village in a straight line before he turned off the track. As he did so, he paused, glancing around for the first time, making sure he was alone. Azalea ducked low at once, using the tall grass around her to get out of the chief¡¯s line of sight. Some seconds later, when she thought he might have had enough time to check his surroundings, she peeked her head back up once again.
At first, there was no sign of Old Man Sumba. She looked to the spot where he¡¯d been before but saw nothing. She rushed forward to that same spot, and that¡¯s when she noticed a faint silver thread. She would have thought of that fox girl who used magical threads of a similar color, if this particular thread weren¡¯t wrapped around the trunk of a tree, and stretching across the narrow pathway to the tree opposite. It was very clearly a tripwire. She skidded to a halt, just barely avoiding breaking the fine thread with her foot. She jumped back, just to be safe.
What on earth was going on here, she asked herself. Once again, she cast her eyes around, trying to find the person she¡¯d been tracking. Still no sign. Then there was a faint sound behind her, and she turned, wondering if maybe he¡¯d realized he¡¯d been followed. How would he confront her, the person who had caught onto his treachery? But it wasn¡¯t Old Man Sumba standing behind her. No, it was a taller figure, broader in the chest and with powerful arms. A familiar figure, from a fight more than a month old.
Captain Matlin, The Last of the Felarians, stood less than four feet behind her, easily within reach of the longsword that he held bare in one hand. His cold grey eyes were locked onto her, and his head was tilted ever so slightly, almost as if he couldn¡¯t remember who she was. There was a dangerous, cold light in those eyes, she saw, the look of a man on the verge of attack. Then, slowly, a thin smile spread across his face, and his chin lifted.
¡°You¡¯re the girl that killed Arcifex.¡± There was no hatred in the sound of his voice. If anything, he sounded amused. ¡°And now, somehow, you¡¯ve caught on to the plot of my allies. You are a very clever one.¡±
¡°Thanks,¡± she said, unable to think of any other reply at the moment. She resisted the temptation to glance to the sides and see how many allies he¡¯d brought with him. If it was just him, she might have a chance to escape. But she didn¡¯t look away, out of fear that he would strike in that small window.
¡°You should join us,¡± he added, which surprised her. ¡°I could use such a crafty woman among my lieutenants.¡±
It was all Azalea could do to avoid laughing in his face. No sense in provoking him. If she could pretend to consider it long enough, she¡¯d be able to get away. She might even be able to sabotage his goals long enough to put an end to him permanently.
¡°Let the girl go.¡± that was Sumbariki¡¯s voice. She didn¡¯t have to turn to see him, for he appeared out of thin air right beside Matlin, his eyes locked on the taller figure. ¡°She poses no threat to you.¡±
In an instant, the air of good humor was gone, revealing the fury beneath it, fury that was barely under control. Matlin raised one free hand and smashed his heavy gauntlet into the side of Sumbariki¡¯s head. The old village chief fell to the ground with a grunt of pain, but he did not cry out. Nor did he seem in the least bit cowed as Matlin¡¯s rage broke over him.
¡°You do not issue me commands!¡± Matlin screamed down at Sumbariki. ¡°I am the General! I do as I please!¡±
Sumbariki rose from the ground with some effort and swiped a hand over the cut on his forehead where the gauntlet had struck him. He shook his head, seeming more sad than anything. ¡°I will not allow you to torment the Visitors. It is bad enough that you employ many of them, but that is their choice, so I will not interfere. But you will not impede the freedom of the Visitors.¡±
The Visitors. It was the first time Azalea had heard the term within the context of this game, but she knew at once it referred to the players who had logged into Project Terra. She filed the word away for future reference but kept her wits about her, watching the exchange between the two men.
¡°You¡¯ll do as I say,¡± Matlin shouted, his volume only rising higher, ¡°And you can¡¯t do anything to stop me as long as I¡¯m holding your son, Sumbariki!¡±
And then Azalea understood. The reason that Old Man Sumba didn¡¯t seem the type to betray his village is because he wasn¡¯t the type to betray them. Not unless he was forced to. Not for the first time, she marveled silently at how complex, deep, and real the NPCs of this game felt. Not all that surprising, considering the theory they¡¯d formed a few days ago.
¡°I know for a fact that you cannot break your vow,¡± Sumbariki replied, a cold tone overlaying his words now. Despite the clear difference in strength between the two men, Sumbariki stood without fear, as if he truly believed he couldn¡¯t be harmed. ¡°You are sworn to defend the Felarians until your dying breath, and never to harm them.¡±
They sounded like empty words to Azalea, but they had a marked effect on Matlin. He staggered back away from Old Man Sumba by a pace or two, as if suddenly terrified of him. Shaking his head as if to clear away some dark specter, he screamed in rage again. ¡°I am the General! I am the Last Felarian! There is none who command me!¡±
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¡°You are commanded by the very being that created you!¡± Sumbariki snapped, his voice momentarily rising in volume to match Matlin¡¯s. ¡°You cannot disobey Marcine¡¯s command, any more than the Guardians or the Malevolent Clan can!¡±
Even as she absorbed the two new titles, Azalea noticed Matlin¡¯s distraction. Old Man Sumba made a subtle shooing gesture at her, and she took a step back, then another. Now she was out of the reach of that longsword. As long as Matlin didn¡¯t lunge, she added mentally. Caius¡¯ constant lectures on positioning and movements rang in her head, and she took another step, this one to the side. Matlin noticed the movement.
¡°Stay where you are, Visitor girl!¡± He screeched. At these words, two figures dropped out of nearby trees, landing lightly on their feet, and holding longbows with arrows knocked and drawn, aiming directly at her. ¡°Take one more step, and you die!¡±
¡°You will not impede her freedom!¡± Sumbariki shouted. Then he turned his eyes to the two archers and spoke again. But this time, his words had an odd ringing effect, as if there were some magical effect to them. ¡°Lower your weapons!¡±
Immediately, the bows dropped, and the bowstrings were released so that the arrows posed no threat to her. A second later, at Matlin¡¯s scream of a command, they were raised again, and the arrows drawn back. Both men seemed to have equal authority over the archers. She recognized them all as Terrians. Something was clearly going on here, something important. If only she had the time and ability to investigate further.
¡°Go now, child,¡± Sumbariki told her. ¡°I will delay their pursuit long enough for you to return to the village. You must be present for the raid. Tell them what you have witnessed here if you wish, but it is imperative that you defend the village from this coming raid.¡±
She nodded her understanding. She still wasn¡¯t quite sure how to feel about this event but knew that she had to get back. She could warn the village from anywhere that she found herself, of course, but she really didn¡¯t want to die and have to reclaim or re-make all her equipment. She was trying to avoid her first death in the game as long as she could, especially with a raid coming up within the next day.
So there was really only one option, she thought. She was sure Sumbariki would do his best to hold them back. But they reacted to Matlin¡¯s orders quickly enough that they might still be able to get a shot off against her. So, before they could recover from the confusion of the overlapping orders, she had to act.
¡°Okay,¡± she said. ¡°But when you come back, you¡¯re explaining all of this to us. We can¡¯t stop him if you don¡¯t cooperate with us.¡±
Sumbariki nodded slowly, considering her words. ¡°Perhaps. Though you are still outsiders, it may be that you are trustworthy enough to learn more about the way our world works.¡±
Matlin moved first. ¡°Kill her!¡±
¡°Do not raise your weapon!¡±
Azalea lunged to the left, moving backward and sideways at the same time, pulling the spear from its harness on her back and running it through the chest of the archer to her left in one smooth movement. Never before had she been so grateful to have spent hours practicing her weapon and learning fighting tactics under Caius¡¯ instruction. By now, they were finely engrained instincts, powerful enough to wipe her mind clear. That was the difference, she thought, finally achieving the answer she¡¯d sought for some weeks. She was comfortable with fighting now because she¡¯d experienced it. That blissful moment of quiet before she struck. It was almost predatory, but it was more calming. Here, at last, was a part of her life she had control over.
The bandit she¡¯d targeted went down with a choked scream, dying very quickly. By the time his body had exploded into a tiny pile of coins and items, she was already turning to face the other archer. She smacked the bow out of his hands with the butt of her spear, then jumped back as he pulled a knife free, her spear¡¯s longer reach giving her the victory over this second fight. He fell with a wound to his neck.
She sensed, rather than saw, the other figures rising out of their hiding place in the tall grass. Nine fighters, four mages, and two figures that didn¡¯t seem to have a clear purpose. One of those last two held a man by the collar of his shirt, a knife at his throat. She recognized the hostage as a member of Sumbariki¡¯s family. That had to be his son. She ran in that direction, both because she wanted to free the man and because it was her best chance at escaping. An arrow whipped past her ear, but she paid it no mind.
¡°Don¡¯t come closer!¡± The bandit holding Old Man Sumba¡¯s son screamed. Now that she was closer, she could see that there was a name and a guild name over his head. Another player. That explained why he didn¡¯t fit one particular build. Only the Terrians seemed to limit themselves to one role or fighting style. Sumbariki was already moving as well, now that he had visual confirmation of his sun. Azalea heard him shout something, but in the fury of the battle, she couldn¡¯t make out his words.
By pure instinct, Azalea knew she wouldn¡¯t reach the bandit player with her weapon in time to stop him from striking down Sumbariki¡¯s son. Instead, she did the only thing that felt natural at the moment and threw out her free hand. A blast of air fired from her palm, knocking both men back. Then another gust, this one not of her creation, snatched the chief¡¯s son into the air. He gave a shout of surprise but seemed unharmed. A second later, the air that had picked him up formed a visible sphere. The other player tried to strike at him, but his blade was reflected by the sphere, and it seemed the son was safe.
¡°Kill them all!¡± Matlin screamed, now driven past reason. Then, an arrow appeared out of nowhere, burrowing itself in his shoulder, staggering him a few paces, and turning his sound of fury into agony. Then another spell fired down upon the bandits.
¡°What?¡± Matlin screamed, looking around. ¡°How? You were fighting my forces!¡±
¡°Think again, motherfucker,¡± Azalea heard Oscar¡¯s voice say from above in the trees. ¡°We knew you were up to something nearby, we just couldn¡¯t find you. Now we have, and now you¡¯re done.¡±
Then, more figures were appearing. Not just more bandits, but more players. At first, it was only a few. Then a couple dozen. Before her reason could catch up with her senses, Azalea found herself right in between two attacking forces; nearly two hundred figures on the side of the bandits, and seventy-odd players who had risen to the defense of Silver Village. In a matter of seconds, this small confrontation had turned into the largest raid she¡¯d witnessed before.
A blur of movement, of blue metal, rushed past her. Caius! Before Matlin even knew he was there, he¡¯d rammed into the enemy leader, smashing his shield into the black-armored warrior¡¯s face. As Matlin stumbled back a second time, he let out a challenging roar. ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s put an end to this, you worm-loving asshole!¡±
Chapter 42
The battle ignited so quickly that Azalea couldn¡¯t keep up with the process of events. Players and bandits traded so many spells that the air around her was superheated, and all she could do was drop into a crouch to avoid getting disintegrated. Even then, she was sure she could smell the ends of her hair singing. Then the two forces were charging forward to fill the gap, and she had to be on her feet, running towards the side that wasn¡¯t trying to poke her full of holes.
One of the players, a spear-user like her, flashed in front of her eyes. He actually moved with inhuman speed, clearly aided by magic, and ran the point of his heavy war spear through a bandit that nearly managed to separate her head from its shoulders. ¡°Thanks!¡± She shouted over the fury of the battle. She slid to a halt on his left side, and the two of them thrust and slashed at the horde of approaching bandits, holding them off for a few seconds. Eventually, they were forced to back off, rejoining the safety of their lines.
¡°My name¡¯s Shiora, by the way,¡± he offered, able to speak a little quieter, as the heaviest part of the fit. ¡°I¡¯ve been in Silver Village for a while, but never got the chance to introduce myself.¡±
She glanced up at the name that showed over his head. Shiora Tokugawa, of the Issho-Ni guild. ¡°I remember you. You came over to Flower¡¯s Rest a lot.¡±
Shiora nodded, grinning. ¡°I love your banana bread.¡±
She ducked out of the way of an arrow flying from the bandit force, then popped back up, laughing. ¡°I didn¡¯t use bananas. Never found a way to grow those, sadly. But the Westerland Sweet Potatoes kinda taste just like them.¡±
Shiora spun around to avoid the point of an enemy lance, then swirled violently and gracefully in place, using the butt of his warspear to knock out the lancer¡¯s legs. Before the man could do much more than let out a surprised grunt, Shiora pounced, ramming his spear down. The bandit exploded, and the flood of items and coins was lost in the fury of the ongoing battle.
Remembering suddenly that she had guildmates, and couldn¡¯t focus on herself for too long, she cast a quick glance around the area, trying to find her teammates. Caius was clearly visible thanks to his blue armor, but it took her some time to locate Oscar, still perched in a tree, letting loose a volley of arrows. He¡¯d brought a larger quiver than usual with him today, and still had nearly half his ammunition left. At the moment, there was no sign of Riley or Patsy, if they¡¯d come to this fight.
¡°You¡¯re pretty good at this,¡± she remarked, watching Shiora back off to give room for a charging enemy with a large shield. Once the charge had finished, the warrior used that spell to speed up his movement again, ending just behind the shield user, his spear stabbing backward. The bandit never even saw what had hit him. ¡°You must have been a martial artist in real life.¡±
¡°Once upon a time,¡± Shiora commented, moving back to her right side. ¡°But I¡¯m actually an author these days. You¡¯ve gotta do a lot of research on fighting techniques to do fight scenes.¡±
She nodded, though she wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d seen the reaction. Well, however he¡¯d arrived at the information, it was clear that he¡¯d learned the secret of combat in this game. By that standard, he¡¯d also learned the true secret of the world; there were no real limitations. If you wanted to accomplish something, you just had to figure out how. That was probably how he¡¯d come up with that spell that made him so fast. She mentioned it, in that small window of time when they could next hear each other without having to bellow.
He let out a laugh. ¡°It¡¯s called Flash Step. I came up with it for my books, but I was surprised to find out that I could do it here. A pretty complex system, isn¡¯t it?¡±
She had to frown at that, not entirely sure she agreed. To her, the system seemed rather simple. The true complexity of the system would only come in time when more spells and fighting styles were invented. He flourished his spear, then hurled it away from his body, piercing it through two different warriors at once. She couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d throw his weapon away in the middle of a melee! Then, suddenly, the weapon was gone, returning to his hand as if it had never left.
¡°Another thing from one of my stories,¡± he said, noticing her amazement. ¡°I¡¯ve only really mastered a few of the basic tricks I could think of, but there hasn¡¯t been enough time to try everything I could think of. Like this one.¡±
He lifted his free hand, forming a fist, as if holding something in the air. A faint blue light appeared there. It started as a ball clenched in his hand, but quickly grew out and flattened, forming a medium-sized shield of blue-white energy. He used it to block a spell that came his way from among the bandits, and then it vanished.
¡°How are so many of your spells in this game?¡± She asked. ¡°Do you think the game developer was a fan of your writing?¡±
He offered her a shrug. ¡°Can¡¯t say. I think he had to at least be aware of it.¡±
¡°He?¡± She asked, a faint chill running down her spine. Was it just her imagination, or did it seem that Shiora had also glimpsed the true secret as to who was running this game?
A look of mild consternation crossed Shiora¡¯s olive-skinned face, and he appeared to be doing some quick thinking. Suddenly struck by the suspicion that he was about to try to deflect the question, she hurried on. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I think we both have the same idea. I had it after my friend died in real life. He¡¯s still in the game, and says¡ well, I¡¯m pretty sure we have the same idea.¡±
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He nodded, seeming pleased that he didn¡¯t have to explain further. It was hard for her to read the man¡¯s emotions, she thought. Either he had excellent control over them, or he was too focused on the battle to let them show. Not a bad idea, she thought quickly, focusing her own attention. As if in reward for her self-reminder, she caught sight of Riley just a few feet to the left, with Patsy on his left side. The two of them were moving closer to her as they fought, clearly trying to get into some semblance of formation.
She cast a quick agility and endurance buff over the two of them. Riley noticed and looked up with a smile and nod of appreciation. From overhead, she heard Oscar shouting. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right! We can use magic now!¡±
Glancing over one shoulder for a second, she saw Oscar drawing back the string of his bow, his very last arrow nocked and ready to fire. But when he released, there was a bright flash of red light, and it almost seemed as if the arrow had split into just under a dozen, and the new projectiles rained down into the front of the bandit force. It didn¡¯t seem that any of them were killing shots, but those enemies that were struck stumbled back and soon fell to the weapons of others.
¡°Damn!¡± Oscar cursed, then slung the bow over his shoulder, and jumped down, landing only a few inches from Azalea. ¡°Looks like I finally have a reason to level up my Intelligence stat. Still, dex is king.¡±
And as if to prove the point, he darted forward, drawing his knives. He didn¡¯t close the distance as fast as Shiora had, but when he reached his first opponent, he struck in a whirlwind of black and silver, dancing around the bandit and ripping him to shreds until he exploded. Another enemy slashed forward, and it seemed as though the attack hand landed. Oscar¡¯s frame even vanished, but it didn¡¯t explode like what normally happened in death. Instead, the bandit gave out a pained scream, and fell forward, revealing Oscar standing behind him.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the rogue said, a wicked grin on his face. ¡°I got a shadow clone now.¡±
He leaped lightly away, landing on Shiora¡¯s right side. The monk - for that was clearly what Shiora was trying to build - gave him a quick nod of recognition. ¡°Nice moves.¡±
¡°Not so bad yourself,¡± Oscar shot back. ¡°Issho-Ni, huh? You read the Ahya books.¡±
¡°Several times over,¡± Shiora admitted. ¡°I¡¯m quite familiar with them.¡±
Azalea was amused at the interchange but didn¡¯t have a chance to offer her two cents. The battle seemed to be slowing down around them - not because the bandits were losing, but because the two forces seemed to come to a silent agreement to back off and take stock of their losses. In the calm, she could clearly make out Caius, still locked in a vicious duel with Matlin. Neither warrior seemed to be gaining a true advantage, but she could tell that Caius was getting tired and slowing down. She threw a quick buff his way, then refreshed the buffs on herself, Patsy, Riley, and Oscar, also including Shiora now.
¡°Thanks for that,¡± he said, taking in a deep breath as their section of the impromptu army backed off.¡±
¡°You. Cannot. Win!¡± Matlin could be heard shouting. He thrust his shield forward, trying to bash Caius away. But he¡¯d clearly learned from their last fight and sidestepped the attempt smoothly. He thrust up at Matlin then, but that attack was parried away by the longsword. Now Caius bashed his shield, slamming it right into the enemy leader¡¯s chest and knocking him back several paces.
¡°Really?¡± Caius asked, his teeth bared in what only a fool could call a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can see the numbers here, but we¡¯re just about even now. You¡¯re losing men faster than we are.¡±
¡°And women!¡± one of the players called out, which caused an eruption of laughter from those around her. It was clear that the players weren¡¯t just winning this fight. They were enjoying it. That fact seemed to anger Matlin further.
¡°Let¡¯s see how long you can keep that attitude!¡± He screamed, not at Caius, but at the woman who had called out. At all the players. At everything, person, and place that conspired to resist him. He lifted his sword high into the air, and Azalea felt a strange moment of deja vu. ¡°Come to me, Great Serpent Malivex!¡±
¡°Oh no,¡± Azalea muttered. A few feet to the right, she heard Riley curse. Even Oscar, so unfazed by most things, took an involuntary step back. They all looked to the ground, waiting for it to start rumbling, the only warning they had to the worm''s approach. But there was no rumbling. Still, a roaring sound could be heard from nearby. Heads started turning, trying to find this new threat, but it was Shiora who noticed first. Where the others had looked down or around, he¡¯d looked up.
¡°Oh, fuck!¡± He shouted, pointing. ¡°He¡¯s got a damn Coatl?¡±
Azalea glanced up, following his arm, and saw it. A giant lizard of bright, sparkling blue, with brilliant white feathers along its spine, behind its head, and even more formed giant wings about a quarter of the way down its body. The roar was coming from its open mouth, and it was descending on them alarmingly fast. Before anyone could think to react, it had landed, circling Matlin protectively, then came to a halt, its massive skull facing the crowd of players.
A second of stunned, terrified silence, then the beast opened its mouth, and a stream of bright green liquid - or was it gas? - spewed out in a jet, sweeping over the crowd as it swung its head to the side, coating them all before they could react. Quite a few players dropped dead at once, but those who didn¡¯t suddenly had the strength sapped from their bodies. Azalea felt her knees buckling, barely able to keep her weight off the ground. In spite of the buffs she¡¯d had running, she was now critically debuffed in Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Vitality.
The serpent lunged then, snapping up three of the surviving players in its jaw and clamping down. No blood rained down, but a shower of items did fall like rain, and a bright flash of white light cascaded throughout the coatl¡¯s body, from its head to the tip of its tail. Whatever it had swallowed had clearly had a strengthening effect on the monster.
¡°It¡¯s eating items to get stronger!¡± One of the players shouted. Not like anyone needed the information to be said aloud. The beast, having finished its mouthful, lowered its head once again, and roared a new challenge at the players. Matlin could be seen climbing back into view on the coatl¡¯s scaly hide, a broad grin stretching across his face. The fury was still there, but now he was calmed significantly. He was confident. He was in control.
He lifted his massive sword, pointing it down at Caius, though he screamed his own challenge down at the rest of them. ¡°Come! Come and meet your end!¡±
Chapter 43
Two spells shot past Azalea as she jumped back to the safety of the line, Shiora stepping forward to give her cover. Together, they forced back the two players who were trying to cut her down. A second later, the bright blue scaly hide of the coatl Malivex filled her vision as the beast dove into the army, missing her by a few feet but taking out two players who couldn¡¯t get out of the way in time.
Off to the side, Matlin was contending with Caius and two players she didn¡¯t recognize. The three of them had the enemy leader surrounded, but he was fending them off, his large shield blocking each attack that was sent his way, and his heavy sword made sure they didn¡¯t stay within reach for too long. Normally, Azalea would have kept a buff up on Caius and the others to ensure the fight was stacked in their favor, but the debuff from Malivex¡¯s spray attack was still active. All she¡¯d managed to do was lessen it from critical to moderate. Which meant that, alone, Caius would fall to Matlin quickly.
They¡¯d gotten a rather nasty shock shortly after Malivex¡¯s appearance when it burrowed into the ground like the other ¡®great worm¡¯ that Matlin had summoned in the raid where he¡¯d first appeared. Combined with its poisonous spray and the ability to eat two or three of them in a single swallow, he was a real threat.
But the fight had been going on for a while now, and it was clear that the players had gotten used to the beast¡¯s attack patterns. Malivex was claiming fewer victims each time he appeared, and the disparity in numbers between adventurers and Terrians was shrinking by the minute. It had seemed really bad at the start when Malivex had first come down from the sky. But if she looked at the bigger picture, their odds were back to about even.
¡°Not that we want to be even,¡± she muttered quietly, grunting as another player shouldered past her, rushing at the cluster of bandits in front of them. The poor fool didn¡¯t last long before a spell hit him in the side, and he keeled over, erupting into a pile of coins.
¡°What was that?¡± Shiora asked, having to shout to be heard over the chaotic fight around them.
¡°I said our numbers are about even!¡± She called back. One of the bandits that had been giving her some trouble finally gave her an opening. With a leap of exaltation in her chest, she slammed a fireball right into his chest that exploded him and two bandits beside him.
¡°Maybe in numbers,¡± he commented dryly, as yet another player from their side charged into their death. ¡°They might be getting better at the fighting part, but they don¡¯t understand tactics.¡±
A sharp sound of laughter came from the side, either Oscar or Riley, she couldn¡¯t be sure. She couldn¡¯t suppress a grin at Shiora¡¯s comment. ¡°True. But we¡¯ve nearly got the bandits wiped out now. Then we can focus on him.¡±
She didn¡¯t have to specify who she meant. The entire battle had begun to shift around Matlin and Caius, though none of them could get closer with the host of bandits that stood in the way, doing their best to kill all the players. At least, she reflected, there weren¡¯t any more players on the enemy¡¯s side now. The last adventurer, a competent fighter, had lost a rather short and vicious duel against Shiora nearly twenty minutes ago.
Just then, Malivex appeared again, but before he could take a player down, a spell shot from the back of the player¡¯s ranks, hitting it in the eye and forcing it to retreat behind its allies. Had that been good aim, or a lucky hit? Another spell appeared, a whirling stormcloud. A familiar spell to her. It produced four forked lightning bolts, each striking a different bandit in the front line and stunning them. One was killed immediately, and the others were unable to recover before a player struck them down.
¡°That¡¯s my spell!¡± She shouted, wondering how the unseen player could have learned that spell. She¡¯d made sure to practice it in private only, where no other players could have seen her using it. She was sure that even her guild didn¡¯t know it existed. It was a unique enough spell that nobody should have been able to come up with it at the same time, surely.
¡°Azalea? How did you get over there so fast?¡± That was Riley¡¯s voice. But he was looking to the right and behind, from where that spell had appeared. Azalea opened her mouth to call back, but then¡ she heard her own voice answering.
¡°Just hang on a second!¡± Another spell, this one consisting of a whip made of fire, lashed out and grabbed Malivex as it appeared again. The beast was much heavier than the caster was, however, and the next thing Azalea knew, she was flying through the air directly toward the huge coatl. Except that it wasn¡¯t her. This mysterious player might have looked like her, but the real Azalea was standing in the front lines.
The fake Azalea rode the movement of the beast, clutching the fire whip tightly until they¡¯d managed to land on the coatl¡¯s back, anchoring her place with a spear thrust through the bright blue scales. Both forces seemed to pause to watch this stranger, who rode on Malivex¡¯s back as easy as if they¡¯d been born to. Malivex, feeling the impact of her body and the piercing pain of her attack, let out a roar of fury, and thrashed around on the ground, trying and failing to dislodge its unexpected rider.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The real Azalea lost track of the stranger for a few seconds as the fight ramped up around her again, and a bandit very nearly caught her off guard. She danced back a pace or two, putting some distance between his sword and her body, then thrust her spear forward, pushing him back. He charged in again, undaunted, following her into the gap she¡¯d previously held. She would have expected him to slash to either side, widening the opening he found himself in. But he didn¡¯t, continuing to follow her.
She waited for him to swing again, ducking low and spinning. She was sure it wasn¡¯t as graceful as when Shiora had done it, but she managed to smash the blunt end of her spear into the man¡¯s knees, swiping out his legs. Completing the move was easier than she would have expected. Jumping over his prone frame, she thrust her spear down, still in that same spin, and turned to face the bandit army again seconds later, filling the gap.
Malivex had finally had enough of his tormenter and let out a roar of frustration before slamming itself down into the earth and burrowing out of sight. The fake Azalea released the fire whip and jumped free, wrenching their spear out of the blue scales. Whether intentionally or by sheer coincidence, they landed mere feet away from where the real Azalea stood, rolling to absorb the shock of the landing, then popped up on their feet, looking a little winded but otherwise normal, as if they hadn¡¯t just finished an impromptu rodeo with a giant mythical beast.
¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Azalea shouted, staring at the stranger. Now that they were closer, there was no doubt about it. This person had copied her exactly. Every aspect of her outfit, weaponry, and, it seemed, her spells. ¡°How did you copy me?¡±
¡°That¡¯s just my ability,¡± the stranger said. She even used Azalea¡¯s own voice. ¡°I won¡¯t explain it later, but I have a message for you.¡±
And suddenly, she knew. She wasn¡¯t sure how the dots were connected so quickly in her mind, but she knew straight away. ¡°You were pretending to be Riley earlier, weren¡¯t you?¡±
She didn¡¯t really need confirmation, but the stranger still nodded. It was strange to see such a coy smile on her face, she thought. ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s my ability. Now can I pass a message on to you or not?¡±
Dozens of feet away, there was a massive eruption of earth as Malivex appeared once again. Dust was thrown everywhere for several seconds, and by the time it had cleared, the other player that had copied her appearance lowered the disguise. What stood in her place was¡ another woman. Or a man. Azalea couldn¡¯t be sure. The body was the epitome of genderless, with no defining curves that could give her an answer either way. And the face was covered by a simple mask. Even when they spoke, their voice gave nothing away.
¡°There is an army of players coming this way,¡± they offered. Azalea could see the name above their head had changed now as well. Anasuya. There was no clan tag offered. Their title was Faceless. Were they a player, or a Terrian? ¡°From Dawnbreak City. They¡¯re pissed that you raided their territory, and they formed an alliance to come wipe you out.¡±
In spite of the furious battle going on around them, Azalea let out a low laugh. ¡°They clearly haven¡¯t heard about what¡¯s going on here, then. We don¡¯t have anything for them to wipe out. And if we don¡¯t win this battle, we¡¯ll never rebuild. They¡¯re marching for nothing.¡±
Anasuya offered her an indifferent shrug. ¡°That is not of my concern. I was hired to bring you a message. I¡¯ve brought the message. My obligations in this matter have been fulfilled.¡±
¡°You came all the way out here into a battle just to pass along a message?¡± Azalea asked, flabbergasted. ¡°That¡¯s such a pointless risk. Who hired you?¡±
¡°I cannot tell you that.¡±
¡°You mean you won¡¯t.¡±
Even though the face was hidden by a mask, Azalea was sure Anasuya was smiling at her. ¡°You¡¯re right, I won¡¯t. But you¡¯re wrong if I just came here to deliver a message.¡±
Azalea opened her mouth to speak again, but Anasuya had transformed before she could utter another word. This time, they turned into a player she didn¡¯t recognize and now spoke with a man¡¯s voice. ¡°I couldn¡¯t resist taking part in this fight either, you know.¡±
Anasuya launched themselves into the fight with gusto then, surprising the remaining bandits that formed what was now a very thin front line. Whatever player they were copying had a few nice spells at their disposal, all with short ranges and powerful output. All around them, the players saw the hole the copycat carved in the enemy forces, and let out a roar of triumph. Somehow, in the time she¡¯d spoken to this strange character, the battle had shifted even further in favor of the players, and they were close to victory.
¡°You may not like it,¡± Shiora said at her side, ¡°but they¡¯ve got the right idea. I think it¡¯s high time we put an end to this.¡±
Azalea shook her head, grinning in spite of herself. She couldn¡¯t agree more, she thought. She tightened the grip on her spear and lifted her free hand. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s put an end to it.¡±
Moving together, with Riley and Oscar moving closer to complete a hasty formation, they charged forward at the remaining bandits, for a final, mighty push. As it had before, throwing herself head-first into a fight wiped away all other concerns in her mind. She couldn¡¯t care about the problems of the outside world or even the thoughts that clouded her mind when she was fighting. Maybe this was why Caius loved it so much, she thought. Or maybe it was just the fighting that spoke so clearly to her.
Chapter 44
Azalea watched from the top of a nearby hill as the remaining players trode off back in the direction of Dawnbreak City, their shoulders hunched in dejection. Even now, she couldn¡¯t believe they¡¯d fended off two armies in the span of a month. She¡¯d definitely thought that Matin would have been the easy fight by comparison. She¡¯d been mostly right, but with the Felarian Captain taken down at last, they¡¯d managed to prepare for the player attack well enough, and despite being outnumbered, had won the fight within a day.
Even now, several points of the defensive wall around Silver Village were still crumbled, showing the few points where the invading players had nearly broken through their defenses. But they had been in the minority, and those that managed to get past the wall were swiftly dealt with by the defenders. A numbers advantage of two to one hadn¡¯t helped them.
She knew what had caused them to win. As much as she wanted to tell herself that it was Caius¡¯ ingenious defense, she knew the real reason. She just didn¡¯t want to admit it. Even thinking about it now, she hated that their salvation had come from a rival, almost an enemy.
Malivex¡¯s fatal scream still seemed to linger in the air, even weeks after the great beast had died. It had been a supremely satisfying moment, second only to the triumph that Caius must have felt at being the one that had dealt Matlin the killing blow. After his second companion had been slain, the enemy commander had attempted to flee once again. After stunning Caius and the other warriors nearby, it had certainly seemed as if he¡¯d manage to escape. But Azalea had ruined that plan for him, knocking him back with a blast of air and preventing him from running. Then Caius had grabbed him from behind, and rammed his longsword through the armor, piercing his heart.
Even now, she could see the large blade that Caius wore slung over one shoulder in a black sheath. The blade had been tinted blue after the warrior acquired it, and it had been thoroughly inspected by several craftsmen in the village. It was of Legendary quality, by far the finest weapon they¡¯d acquired so far. There had been some talk about dismantling the blade and using its materials for other weapons, but the rest of the guild had refused point blank. He¡¯d won the sword, and he could put it to good use.
All four of them, save for Patsy, were standing at the top of the walls that had been constructed around Silver Village. Today was likely to be the day that the players from Dawnbreak City arrived. Scouts had been running back and forth constantly, keeping them up to date on the force¡¯s movements. Just over one hundred and fifty players, coming to take on just under sixty.
¡°We¡¯ve prepared the best we can,¡± Caius told them, surveying the defenses. As today was the day, all the important points were actually manned, with one or two players on each small, squat tower that spread along the wall¡¯s length. He frowned down at the plains that surrounded the village. ¡°We¡¯ll have to get someone up on that hill when they get close. If we can pick off a few of them before they get here, that¡¯ll be best.¡±
Azalea offered no contradicting opinions. Caius had a much better grasp of tactics and fighting than she did, and she was more than happy to follow his lead on these things. Even the Sisters of the Night, Market Street, and the half-dozen lesser guilds in the area had unanimously agreed to appoint him as the overall commander of the defense. They all knew that if the invaders from Dawnbreak City wiped out Silver Village, there was no coming back for any of them.
¡°Crazy to think we¡¯ve already been here several months,¡± Riley offered. Like Azalea, he seemed content with Caius¡¯ comments on the matter. ¡°Can you believe it¡¯s been that long?¡±
¡°I¡¯m having trouble believing that it¡¯s only been a few months,¡± Oscar said. ¡°I¡¯ve almost forgotten what other games were like. This feels too much like real life.¡±
He and Riley shared a smirk, and then the monk added, ¡°If real life was a constant battle with swords, magic, and arrows, you mean.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure it could be,¡± Oscar shot back. ¡°Not that I¡¯d want it to.¡±
¡°I bet Azalea wouldn¡¯t mind,¡± Riley continued, grinning at her. ¡°She spends so much time on her farm nowadays that I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised to find out she started doing it in real life too.¡±
¡°No thanks,¡± she retorted. ¡°I know how hard it is to actually do farmwork. I¡¯ll stick to the game, where it¡¯s easier.¡±
The others had snickered at that, even Caius, to her dismay. Despite the news of an approaching army that had the single goal of killing him, he seemed to be rather enjoying himself. ¡°Who knows what she would be doing if she hadn¡¯t come to work for me?¡±
¡°I still vote farmer,¡± Riley said. ¡°Or at least some kind of cook. I bet she was just as good a chef in the real world.¡±
¡°Better,¡± Caius assured them, turning to regard her with an amused light in his eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t stand that bland paste they sell in the stores. She knows how to cook from scratch.¡±
Both Riley and Oscar turned wide eyes toward her. With a grin to show that he was joking, Riley said, ¡°Any chance I could get you to marry me?¡±
¡°You wish,¡± Azalea snorted, her cheeks heating up slightly. That only made the others laugh harder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but are we here to prepare for a fight, or to see who can make me incinerate them the fastest?¡±
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Riley said, offering her a roguish wink. Man, he¡¯d really turned up his charm lately, she thought. She could almost believe he was trying to woo her. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about incineration later.¡±
¡°Have the latest scout reports come back?¡± Oscar asked. He¡¯d been miffed about not having the chance to scout himself that day. Whenever there was information to be gathered, he preferred to be the one getting it, not hearing it shared by another person.
Caius nodded. ¡°Only a few hours away now. There¡¯s a smaller force that¡¯s going ahead at double place. We think they¡¯re going to scout themselves.¡±
¡°Idiots,¡± the rogue growled. ¡°If they were competent, they would have sent out scouts when they were only a week away. I would have done it with two weeks to spare.¡±
¡°I think we¡¯ve already covered the fact that they¡¯re not competent,¡± Azalea said, and Oscar nodded in agreement. ¡°But you¡¯re right. They probably have no idea that we¡¯ve put defenses up.¡±
¡°They¡¯re bound to have a spy in the area still,¡± Oscar said. ¡°Nobody¡¯s left the village since we beat Matlin, and our force is still at the same number as before our fight there.¡±
It was known that, before they¡¯d fought Matlin, there was a player - or possibly multiple players - in the area that was feeding information to the city via the Contact spell. There was no other explanation for the fact that Dawnbreak City knew of their arrival long enough in advance to have scouts prepared to watch them.
Azalea was certain that at least one of the spies was Anasuya, that player who had copied her appearance and abilities so well. But there was no sign of the copycat anymore, no matter how hard she looked. It was almost guaranteed that they were hiding amongst the population of Silver Village, disguised as another player. But Azalea, despite searching for several hours and trying to find them, had found nothing.
¡°Oh, here we go,¡± Oscar said, breaking her out of her thoughts. The rogue was staring out away from the walls. Following his eyes, Azalea saw tiny speck-like figures in the distance, just coming into view around one of the final bends of the road between this village and Dawnbreak City.
¡°The scouting expedition?¡± She asked, ¡°Or do you think the main force got here that quickly?¡±
¡°It¡¯s probably just the scouts,¡± Oscar replied. Then his eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward slightly. ¡°Hello. What¡¯s this?¡±
It took several seconds for Azalea to realize what he was talking about, because his eyes were so much better at picking out small details than hers were. But soon enough, she noticed that the group had come to a halt, and there was some frantic movement as if they were fighting. But how could they be fighting each other? Then two figures, still no bigger than ants due to the distance, broke off from the group and raced toward the city. The others gave chase, but it was clear that they had no hope of keeping up.
The two strangers raced toward the walls around Silver Village at remarkable speed. Azalea wasn¡¯t even sure Oscar or Riley could move that fast. She certainly couldn¡¯t. Other figures on the wall were noticing the approaching players now and were muttering in confusion, then concern as the speed at which they ran became more and more apparent. Azalea wasn¡¯t sure they should be worrying, but she did make sure to keep an eye on the situation. But then, when they were a few thousand feet away from the wall, she couldn¡¯t help the shiver of unease that rippled down her spine. Because finally, she recognized them.
¡°God damnit,¡± Oscar said. His face, unlike his tone, seemed eager. ¡°Finally, I get my revenge.¡±
For the approaching figures were none other than the assassin siblings, Asami and Tsubasa. Azalea had first recognized them by the fluffy tails that grew out of Asami. She seemed even more at home with using them in her movement than before, judging by their speed.
¡°They¡¯ve got to be at least C-Rank in Agility now,¡± Oscar said. ¡°Possibly B-Rank.¡±
¡°I¡¯m inclined to agree,¡± Caius said. ¡°And it doesn¡¯t bode well that they¡¯re attacking alone.¡±
She knew what Caius meant. If it were literally any two other players, Azalea would think very little of their chances against these defenses. But those two? She was almost concerned for their chances, not the two currently rushing toward them.
¡°What do you think the odds are that they have very specific targets in mind?¡± She asked the others.
Oscar let out a snort. ¡°It¡¯s not even worth thinking about. We know they¡¯re here to settle the debt.¡±
He drew an arrow out of the quiver at his waist and drew it back on the string in one slow, smooth motion. He almost seemed as if he were trying to avoid letting the movement get noticed. If that were the case, he seemed doomed to disappointment. As soon as he began drawing the arrow back, the two switched directions, heading directly for the section of the wall where they all stood.
Unfazed, Oscar released the arrow, and it zipped away with a deep-throated hum. At about two hundred feet, the arrow and its target met. Tsubasa darted suddenly to the side, avoiding the speeding projectile with ease. Oscar fired three more times but to no avail. Finally, when there wasn¡¯t enough space, he slung the bow over one shoulder and drew his knives.
The two siblings reached the bottom of the wall with virtually no check to their speed. Rather than trying to fire a spell or somehow break through the defense, they simply gave one mighty jump, clearing six or seven feet in a single leap. It was enough to let their momentum carry them the rest of the way. Both Caius and Riley swiped with their weapons, forcing Tsubasa to jump back, foiling his climb to the top. Azalea blasted a gust of wind down, knowing that Asami could dodge her weapon easily. But the fox girl jerked suddenly to the side, her fluffy tails allowing her to move in such an unnatural way. Then, with another blast of air, she pushed herself the last few inches over the lip of the wall, landing lightly on her feet in a slight crouch, those blue eyes fixed intently on Azalea¡¯s face.
¡°Well well well,¡± she said, that self-satisfied grin spreading across her face again. ¡°Here we are, ready for round two.¡±
The sounds of clashing metal behind Azalea told her that Tsubasa had successfully scaled the wall on his second attempt, and had clearly parried Oscar¡¯s attempt to strike at him. Then a nasty, expectant silence fell over the two teams as they watched each other closely, watching to see what the other would do.
¡°What do you want from us?¡± Azalea asked, clutching her spear tightly. ¡°Has someone paid you to kill us? That¡¯s what you are, aren¡¯t you? Assassins for hire?¡±
Asami¡¯s smile widened. ¡°You could say we¡¯re enjoying some downtime right now. We¡¯re not here to kill you. Well, not exactly. I¡¯m just curious to see how far you¡¯ve come and to see who¡¯s better, once and for all. So until I get that answer, I¡¯m going to play with you and your friends a little.¡±
Chapter 45
Asami jumped back, magick literally dripping from her fingers in the form of long, silvery threads. Azalea was already on the attack, not wanting to give her any room to swing those threads and slice her to pieces. She had an inkling that, if she¡¯d done as much hard training and fighting as the Progenitors had, then those threads wouldn¡¯t just strangle anymore. They even seemed a little brighter than usual, as if made of steel and not mana.
Asami weaved to the side, avoiding the point of her spear. The thread trailing from her left hand wrapped around the shaft of the weapon, and she started to give a tug, clearly intent on yanking it out of Azalea¡¯s hand. But she was already casting a wind spell, which knocked the foxgirl back. She was forced to dismiss the threads. Now only armed with those from her right hand, she gave them a powerful flick. Azalea was forced to jump back herself, if only to avoid getting trapped. She let out a low curse, knowing that her immediate advantage had gone.
Behind her, Oscar and Tsubasa were moving once again in the blur of strikes, parries, grabs, and punches that came with their unique and dangerous fighting style. They danced from side to side between flurries, neither able to land a telling blow. Caius and Riley both hovered, weapons drawn and bodies tensed, waiting for an opening that so far hadn¡¯t come. Each time they attempted to swing their weapon to aid Oscar, they encountered nothing but open air. Any attempt to attack further would likely result in accidentally harming their friend.
Azalea got off a lucky blast of fire that destroyed the newly resummoned threads from Asami¡¯s left hand, but then felt a sharp pain on her left arm as the threads scored a relatively deep cut right below her shoulder. Grunting in pain, she backed off yet again, running into Riley¡¯s back. She shot off several lightning bolts, giving her time to think. A quick healing spell, and the wound was gone, only a faint lingering sense of pain to remind her.
Slowly but surely, she managed to suppress the panic and uncertainty that always greeted her at the start of a fight, and gave into the calm, calculated instinct that Caius and multiple battles had hammered into her. Lately, the time it took to switch mindsets had dropped significantly, but it still wasn¡¯t nearly as fast as she would have liked. But she knew now that her best advantage would lie in speed. Dexterity. She cast a buff over their entire party, benefitting both her and Oscar. Asami matched her, casting an Agility buff over herself and Tsubasa as well.
Azalea darted forward, then slid to a stop, jumping back. Asami fell for the bluff, whipping her nasty little threads through the air, but finding nothing. Then Azalea moved forward again. But this time, she used the self-targeted spell called Flash Step, which Shiora had agreed to teach her after the battle against Matlin. She still wasn¡¯t completely used to the speed at which she could dash forward, and overshot it a bit, ending up face-to-face with the fox girl, much too close to use her spear effectively. So instead, she drew her fist back and punched Asami in the face.
The fox-girl reeled back with the blow, clearly surprised by both the speed and the unexpected action. Azalea wasn¡¯t prepared for the rapid pace either, and thus couldn¡¯t follow up effectively. By the time she¡¯d recovered her balance and went to thrust her spear, Asami managed to grab the shaft of the weapon, holding it in place and rendering it useless. But now she was too close to use her threads. With a wide grin, she too thrust her first forward, punching Azalea in the face in the exact same manner.
Both women staggered back a few steps, blinking rapidly to clear their eyes, gasping for breath. Asami was shaking her head slowly, that grin still firmly in place. ¡°Well, well. You do have a rather unexpected style, don¡¯t you?¡±
Azalea wasn¡¯t much in the mood to answer that question and hefted her spear, ready to attack once more. But then Asami held up a hand, and she hesitated. The magical threads were gone, and it didn¡¯t look like Asami was making much of an effort to summon them again. ¡°Just hold on a minute. We¡¯re not here to fight to the death. That¡¯d be a waste of effort.¡±
Still holding her hands up slightly to show she had no intention of attacking, she called over Azalea¡¯s shoulder to her brother. ¡°Tsubasa, you almost done over there?¡±
As before, he gave no reply, but continued to fight, a look of concentration on his face. Azalea turned to watch the dueling rogues, noting the buffs that were over both of them. They were still equally matched in both speed and strength. She tried to track whose knife was whose, but still all she could register was a blur of silver and black as the two tried to strike each other.
Without warning, Tsubasa disengaged from the flurry of blows they were trading, leaving Oscar off-balance, staggering forward for a moment. He danced back a few steps, bringing one knife up, held by the tip, and threw it. It flashed through the air too fast to see, but Oscar managed to narrowly avoid it. Then it flashed a bright blue and suddenly shot back, slicing a fine line across Oscar¡¯s shoulder before landing back in Tsubasa¡¯s hand.
Azalea began to move to support her friend, but before she could, Oscar retaliated, hurling his two knives through the air. They both glanced past Tsubasa¡¯s face, then, before the cat-figure could retaliate, Oscar had unslung his bow, drawn and fired an arrow, all in less time than Azalea could consider the action. Still off balance from dodging the two knives, Tsubasa couldn¡¯t completely avoid that swift shot, and now sported a brand-new red line across one cheek.
¡°Yeah,¡± Oscar said, letting out a heavy breath. He reslung the bow, and drew two new daggers. ¡°I can do cool rogue shit too.¡±
A slight smirk formed on Tsubasa¡¯s face at the comment, but predictably he said nothing. Instead, he drew another knife from his belt and chucked it away from him. It clattered noisily on top of the wall. Asami let out a low whistle behind Azalea. ¡°Holy shit. You were actually serious about that?¡±
¡°What are you talking about?¡± Azalea asked, completely confused by the random action. But then she saw Oscar pushing his knives back into his belt and stooping to pick up the discarded knife. He regarded it curiously in one hand for a moment, then spun neatly on one foot, throwing it at a nearby building. It gave a satisfyingly deep thock as it hit. Then, with a flash of that same blue light, it yanked itself out of the wood and back into his hand. He didn¡¯t catch it nearly as gracefully as Tsubasa had, but he seemed highly delighted by the new weapon.
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¡°It¡¯s a gift,¡± Asami explained. ¡°We had enough rare material left over to make a second throwing knife, but he insisted that it be higher quality. He was always planning on giving that to your friend if he felt him worthy.¡±
¡°He told you all of that?¡± Azalea asked. She wasn¡¯t sure what was going on. Were they fighting each other or not?
¡°Maybe not in as many words,¡± Asami said with a low chuckle.
¡°I¡¯m guessing he didn¡¯t use any words at all,¡± Riley put in. He was the first to abandon his hostile stance, though his body was still tensed, alert for any danger from the siblings. ¡°So you just wanted to test us?¡±
¡°That¡¯s part of it,¡± Asami replied. She could tell that she faced no real danger. As tempted as Azalea was to try and score a definite win, her battle focus had gone completely now, and she knew she couldn¡¯t manage to do anything effective before the fox girl could react. So she slid her spear back into its sheathe on her back.
¡°Well, if you¡¯re not interested in fighting us anymore, what are you doing here?¡± Azalea asked. ¡°We don¡¯t have nearly enough Yemon to hire you to kill all those people coming for us.¡±
¡°There are more methods of payment than money,¡± the foxgirl quipped. ¡°We have our own reasons for leaving Dawnbreak, and for helping you out here.¡±
¡°So you¡¯re not doing it for free.¡±
¡°Of course not. Nobody works for nothing. Whether it¡¯s money, items, or good feelings, we¡¯re all paid somehow.¡±
Azalea took a deep breath, not sure how to feel. As she had plenty of times in the past, she looked for the one person whose wisdom and experience in life she knew she could count on. He looked just as thrown as she had, so she turned to Oscar. He gave a quick nod. Then to Riley, who gave a slight shrug. ¡°I mean, there is a literal army headed our way. We could use their skills.¡±
Another deep breath. Somehow, she could feel, deep inside, that this would turn out to be the most important decision she¡¯d make in this game. Somehow. ¡°Fine. What exactly did you have in mind?¡±
¡°So that was crazy.¡±
Azalea turned, seeing Riley walking up the gentle slope of the hill to where Azalea was watching the last of the attacking force from Dawnbreak leaving their settlement. She let out a quiet laugh.
¡°You can say that again.¡±
¡°So that was crazy,¡± he said again, a broad grin stretching across his face. She couldn¡¯t resist the urge to roll her eyes at him, just as she couldn¡¯t resist the laugh that erupted from her. ¡°You¡¯re so dumb it¡¯s actually funny.¡±
He spread his arms to the side, and dipped into an elaborate bow. ¡°I try my best.¡±
They stood side by side for a moment, watching the fleeing players. Then, by some silent agreement, they turned to see the progress of the village¡¯s defenses being taken down. Azalea¡¯s idea of uniting the entire village under one property had come in handy. Nobody could raid them again for a week, so they had time not only to rebuild, but also to expand. She still wasn¡¯t sure why the village chief had trusted her to be the one that owned the land. She¡¯d agreed to let him continue to rule over the Terrians that called the village home, and her guild would work together to oversee the players.
¡°Think we might change the name?¡± She asked Riley. She¡¯d gotten so used to the village existing as a permanent place in her mind, that she didn¡¯t think she could ever call it by another name.
¡°Probably not,¡± Riley said. ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us would want that.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true,¡± she agreed. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not our land anyway.¡±
¡°We¡¯re certainly making it so. Caius has been working hard, training the new recruits.¡±
She nodded. She¡¯d seen the grizzled warrior training other players, and even a few Terrians, in the fighting styles he knew. Caius knew how to use almost every weapon in the game, and with how quickly their land was growing, they¡¯d need some players to be able to defend it against future attacks. It only made sense that they had guards on hand. Those players that volunteered would be paid fairly, so it was a job like any other.
¡°The Sisters really leaving?¡± Riley asked.
¡°Not all of them. I know Alasta and Tankbabe are staying in the city. Fluffypie is with them. But Kyraa, Centrogen, and Bubbles are definitely going. They said this place had gotten too nice. They didn¡¯t like losing command in the end.¡±
¡°Kyraa feels like she could be a problem in the future. I hope she doesn¡¯t come back as an enemy.¡±
¡°Even if she does, we¡¯ll be able to handle it,¡± Azalea said with certainty.
Again by silent agreement, they found themselves leaving the hill, arm in arm, feeling ridiculously happy about how things had turned out. Sure, they didn¡¯t know what the future was going to hold. This game was still so new, and change was still happening everywhere they looked. What was more, the second wave had been announced. In less than a week, new players would be logging into the game for the first time, without any idea of what they were up to.
¡°Man, we¡¯re going to have our work cut out for us,¡± she said with a long sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s more important right now.¡±
¡°Sure you do,¡± Riley said, that easy grin still on his face. ¡°You know exactly what you want to do first. Just because you¡¯re in charge of a growing brand-new city doesn¡¯t mean you shouldn¡¯t be able to do exactly what you want.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true,¡± she agreed, now grinning herself. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go get something to drink. I¡¯m starving.¡±
- END OF BOOK ONE -
Author¡¯s Note: Thanks for reading my book! And if this isn¡¯t the first one you¡¯ve read, thanks for reading another!
Special shoutout not only to my Patrons (who let¡¯s be honest give me a huge motivation to keep going), but also to everyone who interacted with this story. It was a new challenge for me, writing something so¡ free-form. I¡¯ve definitely picked up a few tricks and tips, which I plan to use in future additions to this story. We got to explore a bit of the system with Azalea and her party, and even met a bit of how the world works. But there¡¯s so much to discover, and so many more characters to unleash! So I¡¯ll see you in the next installment!
In the meantime, if you¡¯re a fan of fantasy books, and you like intricate magic systems and deeeep worldbuilding, check out my other stories! You can find them quite easily by clicking on my profile. Just like this one, they¡¯re all available completely free!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon! I keep my monthly prices low, and you get early access to my stories (except for Project Terra, because that¡¯s reader-interactive).
That¡¯s all for now! I¡¯m about to go into a month-ish hiatus, so you won¡¯t see me post for a bit. But the next story is already planned. You can expect more information about that in the weeks to come.
Thanks again. Writing stories happens to not only be my job, but also my therapy, my addiction, and my greatest calling. So thanks for being part of the journey.
End of Book One
As the title of this chapter suggests, we''ve reached the end of Book One! But don''t worry, I plan to revisit this in the future, and add even more content!
I''ve got a ton of story ideas floating around in my head, so many that it actually outnumbers the amount of stories I''ve managed to successfully finish. Needless to say, I''ve still got years of writing ahead of me :D
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So don''t forget about Project Terra! Keep this story saved, and I hope to see you here when it picks back up!
In the meantime if you like my writing style, check out the many other stories I have to offer you! It''s all in the same universe, though there is a recommended reading order, if you''re interested! For info on that, and to join a cool community of my readers, join the Discord!
Until we meet next, I hope you enjoy your life. I''ll be here, making more stories.
Chapter 46
The trees flashed past Orion¡¯s eyes as he ran, hoping his agility was high enough to let him get through the area without getting caught. Fighting was out of the question, he thought, knowing just how many players there were chasing after him. He should have known better than to venture that far out from Silver Village alone. For one, he¡¯d heard the rumors of squads of players who ambushed and killed less experienced people. For another, he was so poorly armed that anything less than a short gathering mission would be suicide.
His foot, already injured from the first interaction with the enemy players, was quickly growing numb from the cold. As such, he couldn¡¯t feel the slick ground hidden under the thick snow, only realizing that the ice was there when he fell face-first into the thick white powder. His world exploded into a white cloud of snow, noise, and - though it was severely deadened by the game - pain.
Quick as a flash, an arrow appeared out of the thickly growing forest behind him. It missed him by about an inch, and flashed into the snow a few feet away, lost from sight. Orion was quick to get back on his feet at that, and, spurred on by the sounds of shouting voices from behind, he redoubled his efforts to get back to Silver Village. But as he ran, he could hear those shouts getting louder and louder, and knew one thing: they were faster than him. It had only been a lucky stroke that he¡¯d managed to slip away from them in the first place.
Project Terra, he reflected, was quickly turning out to be a little too hardcore for his liking. The game had promised lifelike, realistic simulation, but it was the sort of thing that all game companies said. But they still let you live out your wildest fantasies, either in some RPG or looter-shooter game. Games where, among other handicaps offered, your avatar already knew how to use the attacks, spells, and combos to which you had access. But in this game? There were no such guidelines. You could only swing a sword, and fighting was a matter of personal skill, not character level.
Another arrow ripped through the air. He couldn¡¯t help letting out a yelp of terror that time, as the projectile actually scratched his cheek. It burned like a paper cut submerged in rubbing alcohol. Clutching his cheek, Orion rounded a bend in the trail and let out a shout of relief. He could make out the first outpost building of Silver Village! He was going to make it across the invisible line that formed the safe zone of the village, and escape these bandit players once and for all!
Then, something slammed into the heel of his injured foot, and he was sent sprawling into the thick snow between the trees once more. He could just barely see what had happened. The fastest of the bandits, a skinny figure with red hair and a crazy, bloodthirsty smile, had caught up with him, and taken his leg out with one swing of a staff. Orion slid for several feet before slamming up against a thick tree trunk, grunting in pain. A new warning flashed in his field of vision.
[You have been afflicted with a moderate Agility Debuff]
Great, he thought. He¡¯d barely been in the game for two hours, and he was going to die right outside the starting village. Well, he might as well get it over with, he thought. He¡¯d give up on this hardcore game, and go back to Trials of Tribute, where at least he had a fighting chance, with the game¡¯s guidance systems and complete lack of PvP. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back, and waited for the bandits to finish it.
Then, there was a cry of pain. From the bandits. Orion¡¯s eyes snapped open, though he couldn¡¯t see what had caused it, at least at first. Then another arrow came down from the sky, burrowing itself into the chest of one of the bandits - right beside the first one that had struck. The bandit fell face-first into the snow with a choked cry and didn¡¯t move anymore. The rest of the troupe slid to a clumsy stop, looking all around for the source of the surprise attack.
For a second, nothing happened, and the bandits started to regain their confidence a little. Seeing nobody nearby to attack besides Orion, they began to move forward once again. He stayed where he was, paralyzed both by fear and by indifference to the game. Even he could tell how clumsy the movements of the bandits were, and he knew nothing about fighting. But they had much better equipment than him. So he stood no chance.
Something new dropped down from the sky now. Not an arrow, but a person. A tall, olive-skinned man with curly black hair. His chest and arms were bare, revealing a lean but powerful body with plenty of muscles. In his hands, he carried a thick wooden staff. Orion put his hands up, realizing a second too late that the man¡¯s sliding landing was going to make him crash into the tree as well. But instead, the monk - Orion couldn¡¯t think of him as anything else - raised one foot backward, halting himself inches away from Orion¡¯s body. Then, as if the tree trunk his foot rested against were a springboard, he rushed forward again.
¡°Come on!¡± the monk shouted, his voice somehow a perfect mix of annoyance and joy. Was he¡ looking forward to this? He was outnumbered five to one, but he didn¡¯t seem to care too much. In fact, he seemed pleased. He ran forward on light, perfectly balanced feet. The first opponent, the lead bandit, had the same type of weapon as him, but they couldn¡¯t be any more different.
As the bandit threw his first strike, a high swing, the monk dropped into a smooth baseball-style slide. Whether he¡¯d known there was a patch of ice there or it had been luck, the effect was still mesmerizing. He shot back up to his feet now completely surrounded, and began striking out in all directions. Orion couldn¡¯t really discern what happened - everything was a blur of movement and whacking sounds of wood on flesh - but in what felt like seconds, the bandits had fallen, groaning and whimpering. One of them tried to crawl feebly away from the half-naked figure that had so easily dispatched them.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Oh, no you don¡¯t!¡± the monk said, laughing in good humor as he stepped forward. He grabbed the heel of the man trying to escape and dragged him back several feet before tossing him into a deep snow berm just a few feet to Orion¡¯s left. ¡°I know you bandits like to attack the feet and knees to slow your prey down. It¡¯s a good tactic, so you shouldn¡¯t be surprised when it¡¯s done to you.¡±
Orion¡¯s mind flashed back to that first ambush. He¡¯d wondered why the bandits hadn¡¯t simply killed him right then and there. Now he knew why. They¡¯d targeted his ankle to slow him down and prevent him from escaping.
¡°Hey there.¡± Orion jumped, realizing that the monk had gotten closer without him realizing. He now dropped to a crouch, holding a hand out to help him up. ¡°I¡¯m Riley. You¡¯re part of the second wave, right?¡±
¡°Uhh, yeah,¡± Orion said, accepting the hand up. ¡°Clearly, you¡¯re one of the original players.¡±
¡°Oh yeah,¡± Riley said, grinning easily. ¡°But I¡¯ve only got about two months on you. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll catch up in no time.¡±
If I keep playing this damn game, Orion thought, though he didn¡¯t say it aloud. ¡°Has it always been like this? With rogue players hunting stragglers and newbies?¡±
¡°Well, no,¡± Riley admitted, his grin fading somewhat to be replaced by a troubled expression. ¡°That¡¯s relatively new. But we¡¯re working on doing something about it. We think they came from Dawnbreak.¡±
Orion had no idea what ¡°Dawnbreak¡± was, nor did he care. All he wanted to do now was get into the safe zone of the village and log off. If he tried to do it out here, his avatar would remain in place, vulnerable, until ten minutes had lapsed. It was a common practice in games that featured PvP. Being able to instantly log off outside of a safe zone was a little too much like cheating in fights. Project Terra was no different.
¡°Well, come on then,¡± Riley told him. ¡°The restaurant¡¯s opening in a few hours, you know. You don¡¯t want to miss out on all the freebies they¡¯ll have.¡±
¡°What makes you think they¡¯ll have freebies?¡± Orion asked. ¡°No business would do that. Isn¡¯t the point of it to make as much money as possible?¡±
What was he doing? Why did he care about the business practices of a game he wasn¡¯t going to be playing? Shaking his head, he began to follow Rilely, who was making his way back to the outskirts of Silver Village. He looked over Riley¡¯s head, focusing on the words that were floating there. The first line - Orion assumed it was some kind of title to be earned in-game, said ¡®Swift¡¯. Below that was his name, Riley, and below that, ¡®The Progenitors¡¯. Orion supposed that was this game¡¯s version of a guild or a clan.
¡°Aren¡¯t you cold?¡± Orion asked, frowning at the man¡¯s bare chest and back. ¡°It¡¯s gotta be below freezing.¡±
In fact, Orion was freezing. The numbness in his feet had started spreading to the rest of his legs, and his fingers and face were quickly following suit as well. Riley, however, seemed perfectly comfortable. The monk let out another laugh. ¡°Not at all. My Endurance is almost B Rank now. I can feel the temperature, but it doesn¡¯t really affect me. Especially if I¡¯m getting some exercise.¡±
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to where the bodies of the bandits had lain. They¡¯d vanished from view by now, though there seemed to be a lot of thick pale smoke lingering low in the air, as if a fire had just been extinguished. Orion frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Someone told me that other players drop loot when they¡¯re killed. If that¡¯s true, why aren¡¯t you looting them?¡±
¡°Oh, I don¡¯t bother,¡± Riley said with a casual wave of one hand. ¡°They¡¯re so poorly equipped that it wouldn¡¯t really be worth my time. If they¡¯re lucky, nobody will touch the loot for ten to twenty minutes, and they can reclaim their stuff. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll respawn somewhere nearby.¡±
Orion¡¯s frown deepened. He knew from reading the Handbook that the typical respawn timer in this game was ten minutes. You also dropped anything you were holding - minus some rare items - and lost ten percent of the money you were carrying. For a moment, he was tempted to run back out there and scoop up the loot that had been dropped. Then he reminded himself that he wasn¡¯t going to be playing this game after today.
Someone met them at the gates to the Silver Village. Slightly shorter than Riley, he had a longbow slung over his shoulder and two knives sheathed at his waist. He was also a member of ¡®The Progenitors¡¯, Orion saw. He had the title of ¡®Eagle-Eye¡¯, and his name was Oscar.
¡°Sup Oscar,¡± Riley said.
His friend didn¡¯t speak at first, only giving a short nod. He peered past him then, studying Orion. Was this player the reason that the first bandit had gone down? The fletching of the arrow, a dull red and black, seemed to match what was in his quiver. ¡°Rescue patrol again, eh? You could have saved some of the bandits for me.¡±
¡°You struck first!¡± Riley exclaimed, his voice full of mock outrage. ¡°I had to move fast just to get a single one!¡±
¡°Well, you managed to get four of ¡®em.¡±
¡°I would have gotten five if you weren¡¯t so damn sneaky.¡±
The two of them bumped fists, but Orion frowned. He¡¯d been so sure that Riley was the only one to take the bandits on at close range, and he hadn¡¯t seen any arrows hit the others. When and how had Oscar managed to kill another one? He thought back to the fight, but couldn¡¯t pick out the moment. Seeing his troubled expression, Oscar grinned lazily.
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much,¡± he said. ¡°The combat¡¯s tricky, but you get it eventually. Just remember the golden rule.¡±
¡°The golden rule?¡± Orion hadn¡¯t heard anything of the like.¡±
The two friends shared a quick look, then, grinning, spoke in unison. ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, you can¡¯t do it.¡±
Strange, Orion thought. Maybe he¡¯d stick around and find out a bit more about this game. It wasn¡¯t like he had a reason to give it up just yet, he told himself. If he didn¡¯t like it, he¡¯d drop it. If it stuck around, well, nothing wrong with that.
Chapter 47
¡°Another ambush?¡±
Riley glanced around at the sound of Caius¡¯ voice and easily picked out the figure in heavy blue armor. ¡°Yep. They were chasing one of the newbies. Oscar and I managed to save them this time.¡±
Caius nodded, looking pleased. ¡°That¡¯s good. All this PKing is going to give the wrong impression about this game. I¡¯m not surprised that half of the new players aren¡¯t coming back.¡±
¡°Well, we just have to do what we can,¡± Oscar said, fiddling with the string of his bow. It was starting to wear down, he noticed. He¡¯d have to weave a new one today. ¡°But if we can¡¯t get rid of this plague of PKers, this might turn into a niche game.¡±
It was a good point, one that had been on their minds for some weeks now. With the second wave of players coming in, several of the more experienced players of Silver Village had begun to teach them the ways of the game - at least the things they¡¯d managed to pick up - but found that, unfortunately, some players had the opposite idea. After the battle of Silver Village, they¡¯d found themselves with quite a few new neighbors, all whom had less than honorable intentions.
¡°I¡¯m telling you,¡± Oscar said, his face growing severe, ¡°We should be initiating raids against them. They can¡¯t handle an honest fight. They equip their worst gear, then go out and harass the new players. If we raid them, we could take them easily.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure we could,¡± Riley agreed, but for one problem. He and Caius shared a look, and the older warrior spoke what was on both of their minds.
¡°Azalea wouldn¡¯t go for it.¡±
Oscar scoffed, though he was careful to make sure he kept the noise quiet. Azalea was technically their guildmaster, even though Caius was more experienced in games like this. They¡¯d agreed on nearly everything up until this point, so there hadn¡¯t been any issues. Yet, when the current situation had developed and Oscar had first floated the idea of raiding the bases of the PKers, Azalea had flatly refused. Caius, ever the loyal friend and father figure, had abided by her decision, which meant that all of them would. It hadn¡¯t occurred to any of them to go against her choice.
Oscar was the first one to start to show some resentment, though Riley guessed it wasn¡¯t directed at Azalea, more the sense of boredom with how little he was hunting and raiding, not to mention the trapped feeling of being surrounded by enemies and not being allowed to take them on in the way he¡¯d prefer.
¡°Cheer up Oscar,¡± Riley said with a grin, clapping his friend on the shoulder. ¡°We can still fight if they attack first.¡±
That had been Azalea¡¯s stipulation, given nearly two weeks ago. She wasn¡¯t blind to Oscar¡¯s feelings, and so had told them that they could attack the players if it was in defense of others. So they¡¯d taken to patrolling the area around Silver Village, interrupting ambushes and saving as many new players as they could. They were successful about eighty percent of the time.
¡°They haven¡¯t attacked us or Silver Village yet,¡± Azalea had said firmly. ¡°So we don¡¯t really have a reason to attack them.¡±
Oscar had pointed out that, as these attackers were part of the force that had arrived from Dawnbreak City, they could already be considered enemies. But Azalea hadn¡¯t agreed. She - and Caius for that matter - felt that the bad blood had been settled. They¡¯d fought in Dawnbreak City, acting as the aggressors, and then again later when returning home. They¡¯d won both fights, and the enemies had been forced to respawn all the way back in Dawnbreak City. So far, most of them hadn¡¯t been heard from since.
¡°If they were going to attack in force like they did before, they would have done it by now,¡± Caius said. ¡°It¡¯s been two months since that day. Clearly, they know they don¡¯t stand a chance as they are.¡±
¡°That¡¯s certainly a comforting thought,¡± Riley said. ¡°I reckon they¡¯ll take their time to learn how to fight before coming back.¡±
On that, they all agreed, even Azalea. The defenders of Silver Village had won the fight mainly due to the efforts of The Progenitors and Sisters of the Night. The two guilds had been the most successful so far in gathering experience, gear, and skills. To top it off, The Progenitors knew to the secret to true success in the game. It had actually spawned a common phrase now, used to identify other skilled players.
If you can¡¯t do it, you can¡¯t do it. This game functioned nearly identically to the real world. When they¡¯d first logged in, they realized that the weapons had actual weight to them, and took time to swing. There were no pre-programmed combos, no skills that could be activated with a press of a button or a thought. If you wanted to fight, you had to actually swing your weapon. Even the magic, as Azalea had discovered, required quite a bit of concentration and knowledge. The fighters of Dawnbreak City hadn¡¯t known how to fight, making up for it with group attacks and surprise ambushes, much like the PKers around Silver Village did now.
¡°So they don¡¯t know how to fight properly,¡± Oscar said, lifting a hand as if to stop them from interrupting him again. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make a difference. The new players don¡¯t know how to fight either. They¡¯re either joining the PKers, increasing their numbers or being killed over and over again. Most of those are quitting. Do we really want this game to be a niche?¡±
Silence fell between them. Riley was actually doing his best to keep an ear out for conversation all along the high street of the village. That was how he¡¯d hear about potential attacks. But in the back of his mind, he found himself agreeing with Oscar, and he could tell that Caius did too. And yet¡
¡°We don¡¯t do anything more until Azalea says so,¡± the old warrior said firmly. ¡°I¡¯ll keep training the new players, and you two can keep patrolling. In the meantime, we keep doing raids and dungeons. The new players get experience, we get materials to expand and protect the village, and we keep repelling the attackers when we can.¡±
Oscar opened his mouth, looking annoyed. But before he could speak, Riley clapped a hand on his shoulder again. ¡°Sounds good to us. Just tell Azalea what we¡¯ve been talking about, okay? I know she¡¯s busy with her real-life stuff, but we¡¯d like to have her back in here more often if she can manage it.¡±
Caius nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can. It¡¯s much trickier to speak with her nowadays, of course. Hard to communicate with someone in the real world without a body of my own.¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do what you can,¡± Riley replied, grinning broadly again. ¡°And that¡¯ll be enough. Come on Oscar, let¡¯s go see what Patsy¡¯s cooking up today.¡±
Oscar didn¡¯t seem pleased with the unexpected end to the conversation, but he allowed himself to be led away after quickly saluting Caius. The two, monk and rogue, friends in both game and real life, made their way a short distance down the high street toward Patsy¡¯s new restaurant in the village.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
¡°She really should be getting back in soon,¡± Riley said. Azalea¡¯s attendance in the game had been less common these past few weeks, as she had to deal with all sorts of unpleasant, tedious things in the real world. They didn¡¯t know much, but they¡¯d told her they were here for whatever she needed, be it physical or emotional support. She¡¯d accepted the offer gladly, though lately she¡¯d seemed more and more depressed when she returned to the game, only truly finding solace when she was around Caius.
¡°She¡¯ll be back to normal soon,¡± he said, speaking so quietly that not even Oscar could hear him. It was a kind of prayer, for the new friend that still felt as if they¡¯d known each other for years. He felt a twinge of something like regret, or even of pain, but resolutely pushed the feelings down. Silver Village was counting on them, he thought. He just had to keep doing his work, and hope that Azalea came back to them soon.
Aster felt alone.
There was no escaping that fact, she thought. Without Dale in her life, it had become a very dull, tedious existence. No surly, sarcastic old man to brighten her day, to give her much of a purpose. The only remnants of his time in the world were of his family, who sat at the table around her, their eyes holding nothing but contempt, suspicion, and self-interest when they peered at her. She might not have known much about them, but she had a pretty good idea of what they were thinking just then.
¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± the old woman said. Dale¡¯s mother. ¡°You¡¯re just the helper. What makes you think he¡¯d leave you everything? I¡¯m sure you cheated somehow.¡±
Aster stared back at the old, spiteful woman, thinking of how she¡¯d tossed her oldest son aside when he¡¯d gotten into the accident that had paralyzed him. He¡¯d nearly wilted away in the hole she¡¯d given him, obviously with the expectation that he¡¯d be someone else¡¯s problem. He¡¯d been saved from her whims only by his niece Rebecca, who sat on Aster¡¯s left, her oldest friend and the one who¡¯d given her the job that changed her life. She felt a rush of loathing in her chest, but suppressed it, more than a little surprised at the sudden feeling. She¡¯d been numb mostly these past few weeks.
Aster took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts - and her patience - before replying to what Dale¡¯s mother had said. ¡°I did not cheat, Dolores. Dale wrote his own will. I didn¡¯t even know the contents of it until a few days after he¡¯d passed.¡±
¡°Bullshit!¡± The angry man to Dolores¡¯ right spoke up now, leaning across the table, his voice loud. Richard, Dale¡¯s younger, and only sibling. ¡°You¡¯d already tricked him into making you his power of attorney. Of course, you knew about his will! You had him write us out of it completely and give you everything!¡±
Aster winced at the man¡¯s volume, but refused to back away, or down. ¡°I did not tell him to write you out. I didn¡¯t tell him to do anything with his will. And, if you¡¯ll notice, he did not leave me everything. Juli here got just as much as I did.¡±
¡°Julianna!¡± the man said, glaring at his daughter. Aster thought for a moment about how different father and daughter had ended up being. Perhaps it was because of his religious views that he couldn¡¯t see eye to eye with his gay daughter. Perhaps it was because the liberally inclined, open-minded young woman had grown tired of her hate-filled father and grandmother, and had sought out a new life. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking? Would you really throw away your family like this?¡±
¡°After all we did for you?¡± Her grandmother Dolores added. ¡°You¡¯re an ungrateful little-¡±
¡°That¡¯s quite enough, Ms. Lawson,¡± the attorney interrupted, throwing her a warning look. ¡°The terms of the will are quite clear. You are not to insult each other, or you forfeit-¡±
¡°What is there to forfeit?¡± The woman snapped, now talking over the attorney. She pointed a wrinkled, claw-tipped finger at Aster, yet again making her flinch. ¡°This bitch wormed her way into our son¡¯s life and turned him against us! Now my poor boy has given away everything he had to her and this freak of a-¡±
The lawyer snapped his ledger closed, glancing up at the ceiling with an exasperated sigh. Neither he, nor Aster, nor Julianna, had wanted to attend this meeting. But Dale¡¯s will had been clear. One last chance for his family to get something from him, who had ended up so much more successful than anyone else in the Lawson family. Aster looked up too, glancing at the camera. ¡°That should suffice, I think.¡±
The attorney began to rise from his chair, and Aster and Juli quickly followed suit. Dolores and Richard seemed taken aback by the sudden change in proceedings, and also scrambled to their feet, the two other children of Richard¡¯s looking on quietly, their expressions pale. They were both still too young to really understand what was going on, Aster thought. ¡°Hold on! You haven¡¯t given us a chance, yet!¡±
There was a note of desperation to their voices now, but the attorney was not swayed. ¡°You¡¯ve had plenty chance,¡± he said crisply, pointing to the camera. ¡°Dale said we were to give you a chance to prove that you¡¯d changed your view of him and your manners, but it¡¯s been just over an hour. You¡¯re out of time. Good day, Mrs. Lawson, Mr. Lawson.¡±
At that, he turned and strode from the room. Aster and Juli, not wanting to be left in a room alone with those horrible people - they couldn¡¯t rule out the thought that Dolores might turn violent - followed. As the door to the conference room closed behind them, shutting off Dolores¡¯ indignant screeching, the attorney turned to face Aster. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry you had to go through that, Ms. Franklin.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t apologize, Robert,¡± she said, feeling a certain weight lifting from her shoulders now that that particular meeting was behind her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to put up with this for two months now.¡±
¡°It¡¯s my job,¡± he said with a weary sort of smile. ¡°Dale helped me with my law school tuition, after all. It¡¯s the least I could do to help settle his estate.¡±
Dale and Robert had met several years ago, around the time that Aster met the old man and began working for him. They¡¯d met in a game, and become quick friends. Upon hearing that he wanted to be a lawyer, and was nearly finished with his schooling but unable to keep up with the costs, Dale had paid for the rest - on the condition that when he graduated, he¡¯d become Dale¡¯s personal attorney. For the past five or six years now, Robert had done a great job of fending off Dale¡¯s toxic family and managing much of his financial assets. Assets that were now split almost evenly between Aster and Juli. She still couldn¡¯t wrap her head around the idea that she was now a millionaire.
¡°What are you going to do now?¡± Juli asked.
¡°Well, I have to log in,¡± Aster said, leading the way back to the car. ¡°I¡¯ll probably be online all night tonight. I don¡¯t have the mental energy to deal with anymore today.¡±
Juli snickered. ¡°No, I mean now that you¡¯ve got the house. Obviously you¡¯re going to play that game again. I can¡¯t wait to get into it and talk to Uncle Dale again. I envy you.¡±
Aster pursed her lips, not quite sure how to reply. She hadn¡¯t realized that her ability to still communicate with Dale - who now only existed in the game as Caius - would be something that others could envy. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to get in soon enough. They just let in the second wave, after all. You could be part of the third.¡±
¡°Maybe,¡± Juli replied. ¡°I like games, but I was never that into it like Uncle Dale was. But everything you¡¯ve told me about Project Terra sounds awesome.¡±
Aster nodded. They reached the car, and Juli began to turn away, heading to her own vehicle. But she stopped as Aster spoke up again. ¡°Hey, Juli!¡±
¡°Yeah?¡± The blonde woman turned, looking expectantly at her. Aster hesitated again, not quite sure what had made her want to ask the question. She wasn¡¯t even sure if she really wanted to. ¡°Uhh, do you have any plans for tonight?¡±
Juli shrugged. ¡°Not really, no. Sarah wanted to go get drinks, but I don¡¯t have the energy.¡±
¡°Do you¡ want to come over for dinner?¡± Aster didn¡¯t want to face the empty house alone again, not with Dale so fresh in her memory. Juli had already refused to move in, even after her offer of no rent for life. But she smiled in understanding now, and nodded her head.
¡°Of course. I¡¯m always down for your cooking.¡±
Aster tried to hide her sigh of relief, and thought she managed it pretty well. ¡°Cool. See you in an hour or two, then.¡±
¡°Of course. I¡¯ll just go home and change.¡±
Aster drove away from the law office feeling a tad bit better. Rather, she let the car drive itself, leaning back in her seat and peering out the window, watching the scenery of the winter-laden city pass by her. Already she was starting to grow impatient with the outside world. She couldn¡¯t wait to get back into the game and to see Riley, Oscar, and Patsy. And most of all, to simply be near Caius again.
Chapter 48
¡°I¡¯m telling you, man, there might be more to this game than the typical fantasy setup.¡±
James sat at the table with his roommates, fork suspended halfway to his mouth with a sausage speared between the tongs. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but he¡¯d spent the better part of an hour explaining his first day in the game to them, and also enumerating the benefits he thought the game could hold.
¡°I thought you said you were PKed right out the gate near the starting village,¡± Rupert replied, frowning at him over his cup of coffee. ¡°We¡¯re competitive gamers, but sometimes PVP is just set up wrong.¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t actually killed,¡± James said, not for the first time. ¡°I managed to escape. But the fighting is so different. It¡¯s¡ it¡¯s like you have to move the sword yourself.¡±
That piqued Rachel¡¯s interest. From where she stood at the stove, she spoke up, joining the conversation for the first time. ¡°What does that mean?¡±
¡°There¡¯s no skills or fighting styles that you get,¡± James said, turning to look behind him at her. ¡°You¡¯re given a weapon, and you have to use it like you would in real life. If you want combos or maneuvers, you have to do them yourself.¡±
¡°Damn,¡± she said, looking impressed in spite of the small frown on her face. ¡°Pure swordfighting. There can¡¯t be that many people who are good at that.¡±
¡°Well, one of the people I met was. He used a staff, but he took down five people in seconds. He didn¡¯t even break a sweat.¡±
Silence fell over the table then, as the others thought about what James had told them. They¡¯d all been invited to join the game known as ¡®Project Terra¡¯ several days ago, as part of the so-called second wave. Only James had logged in so far, doing two different trial sessions. It was their way. As competitive gamers who made a living in the sport, they were very selective about what games they played. Each new game presented to them would be tried out, after one of them - whoever lost in a dueling game of choice - was to be the guinea pig. So far, James¡¯ reports on the game had been¡ unappealing.
His first session, he¡¯d been set upon by enemy players and killed just half an hour away from the starting village. This had happened twice, each time resulting in his death and loss of all the items he¡¯d carried, not to mention ten percent of the meager money he¡¯d managed to earn. He was furious, and tempted to give up on it then and there. But he¡¯d given it one more go the previous day, and his tune had changed up completely. Now he was trying to make a case as to why they should dedicate some actual time to it.
¡°No matter which option you choose, combat is all about being creative. If you hold a sword, you can swing it, but you¡¯re far from an expert. Unlike in MMOs, you¡¯re going to have to put in some effort to get good at swinging that sword. Now swap out sword with literally any weapon, even your own fists! And there you have it. Nice and simple, right? Just like real life, and you love it, right? Well, I hope your answer was yes, otherwise, you¡¯ll find the combat system in Project Terra quite troubling.¡±
Richard read the passage directly out of the Project Terra Handbook, the only documentation that seemed available for the game. There wasn¡¯t even a website to explain more about the game. It seemed that, if they wanted to know more, they had to actually play. That being said, one of the more famous content creators in the gaming world had already released some introductory videos on the subject, as well as an audio-only conversation between him and his friend, discussing nearly everything they¡¯d learned in the game so far.
¡°If you can¡¯t do it, you can¡¯t do it,¡± James said, nodding slightly.
The others looked at him incredulously, but it was Rachel that actually asked what he was talking about. ¡°It¡¯s something one of the friendly players in the game said to me. It didn¡¯t make sense at first, but after I talked to some more people, one of them explained it to me. Project Terra is a realistic game. You have to know how to do something for it to have any real effect. The better you are at fighting in real life, the better in the game. But if you can¡¯t fight, you can¡¯t fight.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
¡°I get it,¡± Jordan replied. He¡¯d been the last to speak up. ¡°It¡¯s like real life. You have to learn.¡±
¡°Right,¡± James said. ¡°Well, Richard and Rachel are both martial artists.¡±
¡°Used to be,¡± Rachel said. ¡°We haven¡¯t done that in years.¡±
¡°But you remember what you learned, and you could use that knowledge. Richard, you actually learned how to fight with a sword, didn¡¯t you?¡±
Richard nodded. ¡°Technically a katana, but it¡¯s more or less the same thing.¡±
¡°Right. And we¡¯ve all spent so much time playing as a squad that we know each other¡¯s tactics perfectly. Hell, we know tactics better than damn near anyone else.¡±
He could tell that he¡¯d gotten their interest, even that they were starting to feel tempted. But they didn¡¯t look completely convinced just yet. Of course, he¡¯d expected this. Games like Project Terra took dozens, hundreds, even thousands of hours of time to fully commit to. Career gamers like them wouldn¡¯t sink in that time unless they felt sure it was worth their time. So, he offered them another, more powerful temptation.
¡°I heard something else from the village players,¡± he said, glancing between Jordan and Richard. ¡°They say that the best guild in the game is starting an army to deal with the PKers. They offer training, sponsor dungeon runs and raids, and help you learn whatever you need to succeed in the game.¡±
¡°Why wouldn¡¯t the game just have a tutorial for that?¡± Jordan asked. He set his coffee cup down with a sigh. ¡°We don¡¯t want to waste time training.¡±
¡°But we do!¡± James said. He knew he was just guessing, but he was certain that they¡¯d be more interested if they knew what he was getting at. ¡°Think about it. This is the most hardcore, hyper-realistic fantasy game to exist. And as far as I can tell, there¡¯s only one group of people that really know what they¡¯re doing. And they¡¯re offering to teach us. For free.¡±
Richard snorted in derision at that. ¡°Big whoop. That just means we¡¯d be among the first-¡±
¡°We¡¯d be actual Pathfinders,¡± Jordan put in. James could tell by the light in his eyes that he¡¯d finally gotten it. ¡°If we picked it up fast, we¡¯d be in a position to dominate the game.¡±
James leaned back in his chair then, setting his fork down, the sausage - and the rest of his breakfast - forgotten. He was smiling widely now, studying the quick glances that his roommates and friends were throwing at each other. They understood it now. They were career gamers. They literally made their living by trying to be the best there was. And one critical factor of the job was being a leader in games. If they weren¡¯t the best, they had to be one of the first to do new things. And this was a chance to do both.
¡°So here¡¯s the deal,¡± he said, sitting forward again. ¡°You guys have to try the game with me. Just long enough for us to take on our first raid. One week.¡±
¡°I¡¯d think it¡¯d take us longer than a week to get that sort of thing done,¡± Jordan said. ¡°Especially in a hardcore game like this one.¡±
James didn¡¯t reply to that. Instead, he continued on with his original train of thought. Pointing a thumb over his shoulder at Rachel, he said, ¡°Rach here is one of the best fighters in games we¡¯ve played. She even knows some martial arts herself. Same with you, Richard. But also, we¡¯ve got Jordan. The tactical genius who has actually created entire new plays and tactics for games? I¡¯m good with strategy, but my real interest is in the economy.¡±
That was certainly true. Outside of the games they played to earn money, James was constantly logged into games that featured life skills, trading, and making money. He even played older games that weren¡¯t available in the virtual format, using an actual keyboard and mouse. He was the only one of them who could type on a physical keyboard with any level of accuracy or speed. And there wasn¡¯t a single game in which he hadn¡¯t quickly mastered the economic system and risen to the top of the leaderboards.
Jordan hummed thoughtfully, staring down at his empty coffee mug. James didn¡¯t say anything to break the silence. Any more, and it would just sound like pestering or begging. He knew he had them. He just had to wait for them to realize and admit it as well. Not surprisingly, it was Rachel who finally spoke the words. She was, after all, the most senior member of their group, and the official leader.
¡°Alright James,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll give it a shot.¡±