Queen of Ragnarok

by Dylan Keefer

  The Water Mage’s last resort, water will protect the user in any situation as long as there is energy to drain from. But this was magma, Mother cannot last too long.

  I cast, “Black Twinkle!” that should restore her energy a bit.

  I draw the five sign seal, “Dubulace!” shadows shoot from the uprising steam and gather all around my hand. My legs give way as the weight draws me down. “Xavier help me!”

  He grabs me and pulls, the magma collapses as I pull my hand drawing my mother’s body upward with her literal shadow wrapped around her back like a sling.

  Once we got her up there, I took out the teleport scroll and hit the seal circle, the scroll starts to vibrate.

  “Here go back, you, Opa and Medpack end this,”

  Mom takes it with worried eyes but nods firmly. She disappears in a blast of light. I look around, between me, Alvain and Xavier. The faces said it all.

  The face you make when you can do nothing more. Blast, of all the things I did not expect this. I had to put my trust in Opa, Medpack and Mom.

  I watched the party screen with eager eyes hoping surely they would stay alive and pull through. The thing is, just watching was so blasted annoying. In a way I should be used to this, I was a Black Mage, I support. My class build was never meant for me to effect battles actively, only through subliminal effort.

  I was only a helper, nothing more. That was a narrowing thought. A gnawing creak, I felt the tug as my body lifted off the ground. The platform we were on was falling.

  “Celina!”

  I could not reach Xavier’s hand. Weightless, Xavier slipped further away until he was almost close to the depths of hell. I cast “Castomon!” He rose.

  He grabbed me and twisted in midair, the platform hits the either and shoots up a vicious wave of sparks and fire.

  He was trying to move but was struggling to, the spell would wear off soon. I saw Alvain in the glint of my eye.

  “Xavier,”

  “Yeah I got you, just hold on,”

  “Protect Alvain.”

  “Huh,”

  I hold onto his head armor, “Takomundo,”

  He flies off, hits the roof and drops just nearly on the edge of a platform. That is the last thing I saw before I hit the magma and a blast of white light envelops me.

  When I get up, a spirit passed me with a smiling face. Damn, I died again.

  Chapter 36

  The lemonade had this strong aftertaste that resembled the bitter sorts of societal love. Under the simple light of the obscure lamp Joshua found in a ruin yesterday, the recreation room was lively with men fighting over a Demon Sword.

  “This is good, I did not know you knew how to mix drinks?” I asked.

  Bourne chuckled from behind the counter. An assortment of drink bottles from different brands behind him, “Nah, this is a game skill, I could never pull off none of that stuff in real life. You have to use specific spoons, time the pouring of ingredients, to specific measurements. No way in hell do I have the eye and patience for such a skill as bartending.”

  I snicker, “True, people forget how hard it is in real life when you can do it so easy in this game.”

  Drinking alcohol is the same thing, a character can get drunk in game which would be the same as a Confused status. But you would never feel the actual repercussions of it in reality.

  Because of this a child can play this game as an adult character and drink liquor to their heart’s content. It was all in the mind anyway.

  My body shakes as a Ogre passes behind me. He lays down two boxes stacked on top of each other. Inside was pure Nonpath, ever since this disorder in the Kingdom of Pain, it has been easier to get ingredients from the places they rule which is good for everyone.

  The Ogre nods at me, I nod back and he slowly slips away.

  “Oy stop your god damn noise…! The hell is wrong with these men?” Valush gestured towards me with her thumb as she passes the Ogre and comes up to me.

  I look at the boys as they bicker around the exotic and vicious looking dark bastard sword that Mom and Xavier won from the Demon God Beliar. It had this black growth in the center, it almost covered on end, but the edge just peeked out on either end. With a moving eyeball in the center of the guard, the handle was black and rugged with a tall feather from the end of the sword.

  Axel Sword-‘A sword that once belonged to the Demon God Beliar’ Any player character critically struck with this sword is killed instantly disregarding any passive or active magical effects.

  Cannot be stolen, only won by single ordained combat.

  The attack was almost as high as the Paradise Bow with good resistance and magic affinity.

  “I should use it, I am the strongest one here.” Joshua said.

  “Man, get out of here! You have a rare Onyx Crystal great sword you do not need this sword. It is wasted on you.” Neil cried out.

  “That coming from you is rich,” Xavier sneered.

  “You don’t even bother factoring into this argument. You already have one God item, chill you just started working here.” Neil retorted.

  “At least I do more, what do you do?”

  “Hold on, you help Denise a little bit against one God and all of a sudden you turn into a superstar. If I remember the story correctly you struggled against it because you were too slow. If Valush had not gave you that boost to your armor you would have been dead. None of you idiots can wield this, this sword needs skill to pull off the critical attacks which you lack.”

  “Exactly you are a Weaponmaster, not a Swordmaster, your class does not give benefits to critical with a bastard sword. My class does!” Joshua lamented.

  Killon props up himself beside me, “Hey Bourne, give me the Orange Marinade.” To me, “Looks like you going to have decide for them, if you leave them like that they are more likely to start a World War over it.”

  I smile, “Honestly I am wondering who would win if that happened.”

  Valush scoffed, “Not Xavier, his armor is at zero right now, if I have to pick… I’d say Neil, Joshua can fight idiots and Monsters. Neil ain’t a idiot, he is too fast and too smart to fall into Joshua’s wild pace.”

  “Damn, here I would have thought you would have picked your partner in crime.” I playfully scorn.

  She gives me a frown and a glare to which I laugh.

  “Man, I would just as easily give the sword to you, Killon, or Medpack, than those boneheads.”

  Killon whips his head back in shock, actually Bourne and Valush did too.

  I begin, “Ninja’s are good at critically damaging opponents no?”

  Killon’s eyes roll in thought, “True, but I usually use knives but that was a long time ago. I stopped for a while now, mostly because I am not fighting Monsters as much mostly players. It is hard to attack a player character critically with a small weapon due to their armor.”

  Bourne chimed in, “Killon would need a strength gauntlet to help him lift that sword and even then he would still miss out on some attack power due to his low weight. Medpack would be better she would only have to learn.”

  I continued, “It would not be that farfetched too, after all Gwendolyn is a Black Mage and running around double wielding.”

  We all nod to that as the boys bellowed more over each other. Now that I think of it I decide to call Alice mentally, she connected and spoke, “Celina?”

  “Yeah, how is the sale at the auction house?”

  Auction houses were in every marketplace, it allowed players to place an item up for sale for every player to see.

  “Yeah the items you guys got from the last battle are selling like hotcakes. We made a good amount of Gold.”

  That is good, I was worried after leaving the task to them. But I can look around at all of them, my friends and see that I have a reliable team now, loud and a bit weird, but reliable. In a way they would only want me, but they never needed me.

  That was good.

  “Ooo, ok, only the Taocan Brastplate is le
ft, right now, the price is at seventy million Gold, the auction is not finished yet…still has fifteen minutes.”

  “Alright what you have now?” I ask.

  “Two hundred and fifty millon Gold,”

  “Great, when everything is over, you can take your salary out of it and transfer the rest. Make sure to reach Teloho safe, Deabush and Ron are there with you yes?”

  “Yeah, they are beside me.”

  “You see Mom?”

  “She contacts me now and then, don’t see her though.”

  “Good, make it back safely,”

  “Don’t worry I will.”

  “Ok,”

  The call ended. Valush was shaking her head with her palm gripping her face. I look behind me to see Xavier drawing up his sleeves as Joshua flexed with his great sword out.

  I sigh, “Men,”

  Bourne laughs.

  Chapter 37

  I move slyly from the edge of the outgrowing bush, a series of birds flung out themselves in fluttering droves. As my eyes adjust to the bright glare just over head, Victor moved within distance of me and glowered ahead of him just to make sure.

  Victor sniffed and looked back at me, “Hey I scent two Humans some distance away.”

  Looking at my map, I did not see any enemy noted on it.

  I ask, “They far?”

  “The scent is faint…” He said almost to himself staring out into the deep. I mental call, ”Medpack, you there?”

  We were deep within Ogre territory. What we were looking for another Ogre to tame but not just any Ogre. A Emerald one. They stick more to the mountains and prefer huge pieces of rocks for club. Their body was marginally infused with crystals growing off their body.

  Making their defense pretty high, I wanted one for the entrance. The other Ogres can be guards inside. But finding one was hard, the last thing we wanted was to run into that blasted Ogre boss that runs the Darth Wastelands with an iron fist.

  He was twice as big and had two clubs each were metal not rock. He had two male Ogres who were suppose to be his sons they had chaos armor and swords.

  Chaos level equipment were considered the best equipment you could get stats wise in the game. They were extremely difficult to make even for Godly level equipment makers. Bourne said he would have to try and waste a hundred times the amount of materials just to make one good one. It was usually better to find one, you could only get it in Norurt.

  So to have Chaos level gear made you a top player in many people’s eyes. The only stronger equipment would be the God gear that we had. Because I knew no Chaos Bow or sword that could deal that much damage like the ones we had.

  Anyways, the Ogre boss was a mobile boss meaning it would move randomly, so we could run into it. We already had a plan of escape but even I knew that plan was fifty-fifty at best for all of us to escape it.

  Medpack answered, “What you want me to check out those two players?”

  I reply, “Yeah…Victor give proximity.”

  Victor brought up his map blurb with a single finger he touched on the screen where he thought the smell was coming from.

  I could see the checkpoint on my map. Part of me still wished I had the other guys with me but the Underdark called. Joshua called me and told me they were nearing the eight hundredth floor which is good.

  As Medpack went to do her reconnaissance, Me and Victor waited. A few sounds of Ogres bellowing in the distance. I kept myself still and tried to not rustle the leaves around me. High above the ground level I was not used to, we were not yet in the arid wastelands that held Golems and Death Warriors.

  But Victor would be hard pressed to recruit those. A Lord could recruit with average ability. A Sub Lord like Beast Lord has more proficiency with Beasts but sucks at recruiting anything else. In the case of Golems a Mage Lord would be preferred, while a Death Lord would be better to recruit the latter.

  I noted some while back that I gained a Joke of Prestige for a Lord myself, it must be from ordering the Monsters around. Since Victor was not their direct caretaker, I would be their supervisor of sorts in his steed. But it was at measly level right now, I should raise it if I want to use it to recruit.

  I still wanted to find an attack-based class to learn I just was not sure which one to choose.

  They were so many, from Lords, Rangers, Paladins and Blood Knights. Well I had a big ass bastard sword maybe I can become a Swordmaster.

  A blurb appears in front of me.

  ‘Your base is under attack’

  I blinked my eyes before I could respond, Victor’s voice chimes in, “You seeing this?”

  I open my mouth, another voice comes into my head.

  “Hey Celina, what is this?” It was Valush, then Alice, “Oh hey guys, should we be worried.”

  Valush was in the Underdark, Alice should be back home in Teloho. The only person back at the base was Bourne, J Ron and Mom. I try to mentally call them and get no response.

  “Party screen,” I call.

  Medpack frantic, “Celina, we are surrounded!”

  “Hm?”

  “Celi,”

  I look at the map, where did so many bleeping dots come from? Shocked, I shoot up but Victor already got the memo, he grabbed me and threw me up on his shoulder.

  “The hell?!” I cry.

  Riding on Victor’s shoulder was bumpy but I could easily see players chasing us. Explosions and the rush of wind, I had to prevent my head hitting his back often.

  My face, hit by the trail of dust kicked up. My hands free, I wave them, a five sign seal on one hand, and a three sign seal on the other.

  “Casnova Weave, Almander’s Shield!”

  Victor jumped, he roared and went on all fours. My body twists, and my hand grips the fur tightly. My foot hits something, can’t let go, can’t go. I throw my other hand onto his shoulder. He must have noticed, he swerved to the side, I feel myself slid across his back. I let go and grip again.

  Yes, I was flatly over the center now, I lift my head up. So many of them, enemies, Identify showed me the truth.

  “The Kingdom of Pain,” I say under my breath.

  “Alert! Everyone the Kingdom of Pain is attacking our base, a lot of them! Anyone not with the Underdark team and not doing a quest buy a teleportation scroll and get your behind here now!”

  Alice’s voice, “Alright I can’t do much but I am coming.”

  Alvain, “yeah…Killon how long? Alright Celina, it will take us fifteen minutes for us to reach an island and dock, we are coming.”

  Victor crashing through the thin strands of branches, had specks of dust drenched in my flowing hair. He dodged and bobbed and weaved, he pushed over players in their attempts to attack us.

  Holding on was hard, my fingers were losing grip.

  Victor was strong, but where is Medpack? She was probably dead by now. Yet the party status showed otherwise, “Medpack you there?”

  “Above you,”

  I look up, but my eyes could pick nothing out at this speed.

  A ping, “Celina, how far are you?”

  “Mom, finally, what is going on in the base right now?”

  “Hmmm, hold on. Wait where are you? I…oh the map?”

  “Mom, talk to me.”

  Victor jumped over a slim precipice, just twisting wide of an Ogre who was fighting the players.

  Mom again, “Ok guys I see you, hold on!”

  “Mom!” I call.

  “Mom!”

  I open the map blurb.

  She was moving to the front of the base at a quick pace. This crackling sound emanated low and brewing, I felt a tension as the air got heavy.

  I draw myself up Victor’s back against the grizzled fur. It got darker I could barely see.

  I call, “Wait…Mom do not leave the base, we are coming, do no--, the hell!?”

  It was soundless, Victor looked up as players were running but not towards us. They were running wide and erratically. When I look up I definitely can see the cause of this
.

  A big wave of water that rose high above the trees, a skyscraper that enclosed us in a mass of shadows, I sit up.

  Victor slowed instinctively.

  A ping, “Guys just plow through, I will separate the water for you guys, stay in the same line…don’t worry Bourne, I can manage it, I just need to concentrate, ok here it goes.”

  “Celina move over!” That was Medpack, I look and shiver in fright I pull myself up on Victor, Medpack drops neatly on her butt and starts shifting, I grab her hand and pull her level.

  “Easy on my back girls!” Victor growls.

  “Sorry,” I utter playfully as Medpack slumps over me, we straighten our bodies forward as the massive overwhelming noise clouds out the thrashing and breaking of earth and trees.

  But here we were, riding a Wolf in between two rampaging rushes of water. I almost want to say I was Moses, but I keep quiet as drops sprinkle us greatly in our run.

  We could see the gate, Victor surges in and the gate shuts instantly releasing a riveting boom as Victor slides to a screeching stop. J Ron came from the shadow of the door, he was suited up from head to toe.

  His armor was black steel, a tall square shield thick and imprinted with the design of a swirling bird. With his soft white axe, he looked menacing without a helmet alone.

  I get off and Bourne came to my side, a huge mace that had a bigger width with plateau like spikes at the end.

  Pointing at Ron, “Nice gear,” To Bourne, “Where is Mom?”

  Bourne looks up, “She is in the attic, she should be coming down now.”

  “The Ogres…” The map showed them deeper in the base, actually as my eyes waver over on party status.

  “Black Wonderful…let me guess, some of those bastards penetrated through.”

  Bourne nods quite sadly, “Yes sorry but the front gate was open at the time. They almost killed me and Ron until your Mom came with the Ogres. But they got scattered. Mom sent the Ogres to find them.”

  I call, “Oy muscleheads get back here now! Leave the small fry and retreat.”