Fantalia Online

by Jason Krew

  'Sopherus, where are you?'

  'Here.'

  Roger pointed at Gray's pikshene. 'Why don't you automatically loot?'

  'You never asked.' Sopherus looked indignant, eyes wide and mouth open.

  'Okay,' said Roger. 'Uh, auto loot please.'

  'You got it.'

  Was it really that easy? So far, every order Roger had given, this thing had just jumped to obey without question.

  'Here we are,' came Gray's voice from further ahead. Through the thin tree cover a dark cavern loomed, and small, two-legged rodents about half Roger's size wandered the entrance. 'There were too many for me, but if we work together we should be able to clear out the whole cave.' Roger nodded, eyes narrowing. This was what he signed up for.

  Twang. Gray's first arrow hit with a flash, but it drew the attention of three kobolds at once, who muttered as they lumbered towards them.

  'You no belong here.'

  Roger closed in on one with his sword held high. A satisfying red flash accompanied his blow, drawing the creature's ire. Roger was impressed by the sheer detail of the monster's face. Ugly little things they were, wrinkled and fanged.

  It clawed at him with a dirty mining pick, and Roger's sword flashed red as he parried. Shockwaves ran down his arm. He struck back, scored a red streak on the creature's face. Unperturbed it struck back, and Roger felt another jolt as the creature's weapon caught him in the side.

  His third blow put the creature down, feet kicking feebly as it faded from existence. It left behind some copper coins and a small burnt out candle. Roger watched with mute fascination as Sopherus sucked the contents into his belly.

  'Fist! A hand.'

  Oops. Right.

  Gray was locked in a hand to hand struggle with the final kobold, blocking its mining pick with his wooden bow. Roger ran up from behind, struck hard at the creature's exposed back and was rewarded with a great splash of amber. Critical hit. The kobold fell face first.

  'Nice,' said Gray, flashing a wide grin. Roger realised that he also wore a smile. Sopherus noisily gobbled up the loot.

  Beaming, Gray pointed towards the cave entrance, now swimming with pinpricks of moving light.

  'Let's do it.'

  Exuberant, they rushed into the cave.

  Chapter III - Part 2

  The cave bore the scars of intensive mining, fainty lit by bracketed torches. The creatures were somehow creepier here, in the dark underground. Thankfully they carried thick wax candles on their humped backs, which made them easy to discern in the darkness.

  'You no belong here.'

  A tiny candle bounded towards the pair, and Gray sent an arrow in that direction. A red flash blossomed and dispersed, and then the creature was upon them. Roger's little sword lashed out and red streaks burned into his vision. The candle dropped, and promptly disappeared. Sopherus's looting echoed off the cavern walls.

  More kobold's came now. The roaming patterns were unlike a typical RPG. Usually, enemies were prone to wander down specific routes, unlikely to respond to noise or sight or other stimuli. That was not so, here. The creatures heard the racket, and curiosity drew them to the pair, squawking and barking. Myriad candles streamed towards them, and a thrill raced through Roger's guts.

  'Let's focus on the same target,' said Gray. 'They'll go down quicker.'

  'Okay,' said Roger, and grit his teeth.

  Gray's missiles would draw them, and Roger would leap out at them from the shadows. He aimed for their backs, and his efforts were met with golden flashes.

  He alerted Gray to this revelation. The creature's were slow, and their heavy picks left them wide open for counter blows. But there were many of them, and Roger could not stop the series of blows that rained down on him. Shocks rippled down his body, and his vision was quickly swimming with red. He backed up, narrowly evading yet another strike as Gray put an arrow into his assailant.

  At that moment the cavern lit up with rainbow colored sparks, and he felt a giddy tremor through his body.

  'Level two,' said Soph, and the blood-red mist pervading Roger's sight lifted like the passing of a storm.

  ''Grats,' said Gray, mid draw.

  Roger was too preoccupied to reply. He laid about himself left and right, and his imprecise blows were dealing little damage. He was also tiring. It was not the burning pain of muscles filling with lactic acid, nor the panicked sensation of lungs gasping for oxygen. It was as if his body refused to move correctly. Each swing came as if underwater, the profound sensation akin to thrashing in cement.

  He was starting to freak out, and the last two kobolds were far too much. An arrow struck each of them, then a third killed one outright. Gray streaked past the corner of Roger's eye. Positioned directly behind the last kobold, his arrow lit up its back in golden splendor.

  It crumpled to the floor, and Roger with it. Rainbow glitter showered over him, accompanied by a breathless 'woo hoo'. Gray had reached level three. He was looking down at Roger now, whiskered jaw jutting.

  ''Grats,' said Roger weakly.

  Gray's laughter clattered off the mine walls like a falling skeleton. 'Shouldn't have skipped the tutorial.' He offered Roger his hand, and then lurched him to his feet. Energy and vitality was returning to Roger's limbs, and after a few moments he was back to normal

  'You should have a little more health and stamina now,' said Gray. 'The faster you move, the more stamina you'll use, kinda like real life I guess. Missing will also net you a higher stamina penalty.'

  More and more it dawned on Roger how unprepared he was. It was like being back in school, where he was just an idiot that no one took seriously. Never read the text. Never did the assignment. Things were supposed to be different here. He was supposed to be different. A hand clapped him on the back.

  'Chin up,' said Gray. 'We survived, and now we're even stronger. Should make this cave a little easier.'

  He was right. The further they delved, the swifter their encounters. They began to work in tandem. Gray would lure the kobolds, Roger would strike at their unguarded backs. The loot was piling up. Coins, candles and bits of junk, most of which Sopherus assured them was sellable.

  A barely standing wooden bridge spanned a lengthy gap, and the pair made the crossing with care. Roger could feel the precarious wooden beams tremble and creak under his feet. The crossing opened up into another cavern, and a stench akin to wet fur swept over them.

  The place was filled with bones. They were gnawed and cracked, and so numerous as to form a carpet on the rocky cave floor. There was a hefty snoring, and sitting at the foot of a pile of bones at the end of the cave, slept the biggest kobold of all.

  'The Cave Chieftain,' murmured Gray, face drawn.

  'What is that?' It was three times as big as any of the enemies they had faced so far.

  'Boss encounter. There was a wanted poster in Heathcliff for this guy.' Roger's interest was piqued, and his excitement grappled with the need to make a swift exit. 'Think we can take him?'

  'I dunno.'

  'Yeah. He's level four.'

  'How can you tell?'

  Three voices hissed back at him. 'Ask your pikshene.'

  'True.' He cast a glance at Gray's companion, its little black eyes shining like a beetle's carapace. 'So what's the strategy?'

  'This time, you lure it. I'll find its weak spot.'

  Roger looked down at his sword. Was it him, or did it look a little more... notched than before.

  'Is this thing gonna break?'

  Gray clucked his teeth. 'Its durability is low,' he said. 'Choose your hits wisely. Also you'll need to evade, instead of block. Oh, and, 'he grabbed Roger's arm, 'it's gonna be way tougher than normal. Be careful.'

  Roger felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. It took him a moment to find the word for it. Pressure. Yes. He looked at Gray. This dude who he had met no more than an hour ago, was depending on him.

  'I'll wait for your move,' said Gray, and he skulked off down one side of the chamber. The
beasts' snoring muffled their steps, and its bed of bones softly rattled with every breath. The detail was sickening, from the smell down to the scattered remains. Remains which, to Roger's eyes, closely resembled a humans.

  Could you get eaten in this game?

  He inched closer and closer. He was grateful that he could still see Gray, despite the archer being hidden away in the darkest corner of the cavern. Quiet as a mouse he slipped through the darkness, the way he'd seen it done in a ninja documentary. Toe-heel, toe-heel. He was mere feet away when... crunch. His foot split bone like kindling, and the creature sprang awake like it was late for school.

  A high-pitched roar shook the cavern, and the creature hefted a giant leg bone, pulled from the hip of a horse by the looks.

  Roger lunged backwards, the ground cracking and popping like fireworks, and the creature plunged towards him. It was at least a head taller than he, and twice as wide. It let its arm fly, and there was no avoiding that morbid club. Roger felt a dull shock in his chest, even as his feet left the ground and the sensation of weightlessness accompanied him as he sailed into a pile of bones nearby.

  He sank into the stack of brittle, broken limbs, and his whole world went red. He was still reeling when the cave chieftain was upon him. He only hoped that Gray would run.

  Chapter IV - Part 1

  The finishing blow never came. With an odd grunt, the creature, stopped, turned, and bounded off on stout legs towards the other end of the cave. Right where Gray had hid himself away.

  'No.' Roger struggled to his feet. Something small and crimson darted towards him. It was Gray's pikshene. It burped something onto the floor, and Roger stared dumbly. His vision was pulsing, and it was hard to distinguish the object from the refuse littering the floor. He picked it up, and there was no mistaking it now. Health potion.

  'Thank you.'

  He ripped off the cap, and it fragmented into a fine mist. His vision began to clear, and he looked up to see Gray perform an impressive evasive roll. The creature was slowing down, and Roger surmised that enemies probably had stamina too. It was taking very little damage from Gray's arrows, however. Tiny red splotches burst on the creature's furred hide.

  'Get behind it,' Gray shouted, but Roger was a step ahead. The creature's wide, humped back loomed before him, and he raised his sword to strike. To his dismay it turned, club at the ready. The blow sailed past the tip of his nose.

  Satisfied, the creature lumbered off after Gray once again.

  That's weird.

  How had it sensed him coming? Roger had been directly behind it, in what should have been its blind spot.

  'Quickly, Fist.' Gray was trapped in a corner, hidden by the monsters mound of a back.

  Get there on time.

  Roger gritted his teeth and held his sword aloft in unison with the creature's club. Once again it turned to face him but this time Roger was swat to the ground like a fly. He hit the deck hard, his sword splitting in two. He'd blocked, just in time, but now he was weaponless, and the creature's maul was preparing for round two.

  He rolled, and the impact shook the ground beside him. He scrambled away, and the creature followed.

  This is bullshit.

  If you attack it, it follows you. If you don't attack it, it follows you. On top of that, the damn thing has eyes in the back of its head.

  'Stupid game,' Roger mumbled.

  His first attack, it had taken one swipe at him and then chased after Gray. Now it was as if Gray never existed. He chanced a glance over at his companion and saw his bow flash. The arrow landed, and that was all the creature needed. Like Roger had passed Gray the ball, it thundered off in the other direction.

  Crunch, crunch, crunch. It bounded across the bones of its last hundred meals. Roger's eyed widened.

  'That's it.'

  He looked down, and decided on a different approach. He traced a peculiar route through the room, hopping from one area to the other like he was playing 'the ground is lava'. Gray was running, but the cave chief was faster and its club faster still. A hard whack on the legs sent Gray spinning like a rag doll, and his bow flew from his hands.

  Make it in time!

  The club rose to finish the job. Roger jumped. His balled fist drove into the creature's back, flashed gold.

  'Got you.'

  He would have liked a second to admire his work, but that was not an option. The chieftain was hot on his heels, and Roger skipped, jumped and jived away. The creature began to appear confused. It scratched at the top of its head with a long, clawed finger, swung its pale gaze from left to right.

  Roger watched, and from the ground selected a nice long limb, shaped like a dog's bone. He launched it at the far side of the cave.

  With a roar, it lurched towards the noise. Theory verified, Roger threaded his way around the cave, crunching not a single bone underfoot. He hoped Gray would catch on.

  He did. An arrow sped towards the chieftain and the chase resumed, but Gray was gone like a ghost, and the creature's club found only air. The duo danced around the cave, making as little noise as possible, all the while delivering maximum damage. Attack. Evade. Retreat. Attack. Evade. Retreat.

  It's health whittled away slowly, but the minutes of attrition wore it down. Finally, Roger drew his fist back and gave it one final whack. Its massive bulk slumped to the earth with a satisfying thud, and a small bronze chest appeared. Rainbow lights strobed the cave walls, and Roger's body tingled.

  'We did it,' he said, and a breathless Gray appeared beside him, still faintly glowing from his own level-up.

  'Hell yeah,' he said. 'And we dinged, too.' He was panting for breath. 'How did you know it was blind?'

  'All bosses have unique mechanics.' Roger smiled. 'I noticed its eyes right away. They were white as snow.' He'd known a dog with white eyes. 'We knew that its rear was probably its weak spot, so every time it heard me get close, it had to defend.' His eyes followed the carpet of cracked bones and rotting foodstuffs. 'And it knew I was getting close by the racket I was making stepping on all this gross stuff.'

  Gray was nodding along with a fair degree of enthusiasm.

  'It chased me whenever I got behind it, and it chased you whenever you attacked it. But why didn't it chase you whenever you were directly behind it.'

  Gray laughed. 'Because I wasn't making all that noise.' He clapped Roger on the back. 'You know, Fist, I underestimated you.'

  Roger shrugged, feeling awkward again. Gray gestured at the chest.

  'You do the honors. Don't worry, whoever did damage to the boss should be able to loot it.'

  Roger knelt down and unlocked the clasp, and was greeted with a shower of sparks. Inside was a slew of silver coins, a leather vest, and a pair of shimmering red health potions.

  Both Sopherus and Gray's pikshene appeared, and the cave was filled with slurping noises as they each sucked the chest's contents into their bellies.

  'And so I guess that's that,' said Gray. 'Thanks you Monte.' He scratched his pikshenes chin.

  The deafening beep of a public service announcement shook through the cave.

  'Attention, adventurers. Ten minutes until server shutdown. Please find a safe place to log out.'

  Gray and Roger looked at eachother.

  'Makes sense,' said the archer. 'Can't be in here too long your first time. We better get going.'

  They left the boss's chamber, crossed the rickety bridge and headed up through the spiral of mining tunnels. Roger was amazed by how far they had come.

  'Sopherus, what is the time?'

  The pikshene materialised beside him.

  'It is just past one o'clock in the afternoon, Fantalia time.'

  'Uh oh', said Gray. 'Respawns.' Kobold shadows were visible in the sunlight streaming through the cave's exit. 'Start running.'

  The shadows surged towards them. 'You no belong here.' The pair sprinted past, the early effects of stamina depletion beginning to take hold.

  'Keep going,' said Gray. 'They won't chase
us far from the cave.'

  He was right. By the time they reached the woods, they had only wild boars to deal with.

  'Attention, adventurers. Five minutes until server shutdown. Please find a safe place to log out.'

  Soon they were back on the forest path, and Gray turned to Roger.

  'A pleasure, Fist.' He offered Roger his hand, and Roger was surprised by the archers firm grip. 'I'd add you to my friends list,' he continued, 'but I don't think they have one. Going for the whole realism thing, I think. Despite the tiny dragons that eat loot, the kobolds and whatnot.'