Endless Online: Oblivion's Blade

by M. H. Johnson

  Endless Online

  Oblivion’s Blade

  M H Johnson

  Copyright © 2018 by M H Johnson

  Cover art by Andrey Vasilchenko

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and events are the work of the author’s imagination and all locations are either fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons or events is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Thank You

  Additional Links

  1

  "Val, watch your six, he's spawning behind you!”

  Val nodded, tapping his keyboard at a mad pace, quickly refreshing his rapid buffs, his Hammer Guardian raising its shield just as the lich spawning behind him released its Doomclaw attack.

  The screen flashed a rainbow of colors as he took massive damage to stamina and health, Val tapping his primal potion and resisting the impulse to launch forth with a Hammer Strike. It was team play, not solo, and he had two healers buffing his stats and wards as fast as they could tap their boards. Their dps specialist was blasting the massive boss trapped with them in the depths of the crypt with fire magics for all she was worth.

  Val frowned even as the dark corridors flashed with crimson magics. The Lich Guardian's health bar was full. Julia wasn't making a dent.

  "Oh shit, Val, it's powering up! I'm casting my primal now."

  "Don't waste it, wait for an opening," Val said, having finally gotten the measure of their foe, this, the fourth time they had made it so far into the newest expansion of Elerium, rumored to hold utterly unique gold star artifacts only available for this, the first week before being locked out of general circulation for at least a season. And they would be saleable, allowing for an incredible in-game windfall. But only if they could get past this, what they hoped but couldn't be certain was the final boss before the inner sanctum.

  Eerie chanting resonated through Val's bedroom as his itchy finger waited for the perfect moment, his legs' constant throb more like a muted burn than a raging inferno of pain, so focused he was on the battle.

  There! As the lich whispered the final two syllables of his incantation, Val charged, having powered up his Greater Disruption, knowing they had only one chance to break past the lich's defenses before it completely obliterated them. Val's teeth flashed in a rictus of a grin as the creature howled, stumbling back, hearing his friend's roars of approval.

  "Now, Julia! Defenses are halved, Primal that bitch! Salvin, wait for the door! If it goes green."

  "Got it." A quiet voice, Salvin, their secret weapon, was tied to their TS chatgroup but not officially part of their four-man squad at all. He was their secret fifth, rogue class, and would be the one to go through the door, even if the lich they faced wiped them all off the grid. Which it had numerous times already. According to the chat groups Val had networked in, every adventuring group had met the same fate since the expansion was released, just days ago.

  Hence the need to think outside the box, recruiting a solo rogue just to get past that door, scout ahead and report back, and if they were truly at the final boss, grab all the spoils he could and port out.

  It was a risk. Salvin wasn't part of their group, so as far as the game was concerned, any spoils he found would be his. If he wanted to, he could pocket it all, and there wouldn't be a thing Val or his group could do.

  Ultimately, it all came down to trust. Val knew of a couple games that seemed to foster ruthless exploitation, celebrating a free-for-all and all but void of cooperation, but Val knew enough of game theory to know how powerful true alliances could be against a sea of opponents too mistrustful to work together. It was, Val thought, worth the risk. Because without Salvin, Val feared they wouldn't make it into the chamber at all.

  Not that they wouldn't do their damnedest, of course.

  "Yes, finally got that bastard in the yellow!" Julia, perhaps their youngest player, chirped cheerfully.

  Val grinned. "Nice one," he said, as the lich twisted back in a very good imitation of agonized fury, before lurching forward abruptly.

  Val hissed, heart suddenly hammering. He had never seen any boss move like that, circling Val and gazing at the Hammer Guardian as if he would cut out Val's heart the second he had a chance.

  Val forced his racing heart to ease, glaring at the computer, wondering how the hell those programmers had managed to get an NPC moving like an enemy combatant actually closing in for the kill. "John, Finn, Primal buff and heal, 3...2...1... now!"

  Not even a grunt, his friend's buffing and healing magics pouring in perfect harmony, actually managing to buff each other's spells as they poured upon Val's tank, spell symmetry skills activating for added buffs, and just at the lull in the casting, giving them a much needed boost in warding their foe.

  "Bloody fuck!" Finn's voice, suddenly panicked, as Val's hit points melted faster than butter in a skillet. "There's no way!"

  "Damn it!" Val mashed his backup primal power, a racial trait he had specifically channeled to compliment his tank, earning himself a Greater Ram that interrupted the Lich's spell, just barely in time.

  "Okay, okay, fuck. I'm putting my artifact in play," John whispered, and suddenly Val was at full hit points once more, the lich screeching something that almost sounded like dark chanting through Val's speakers before lurching back, its own attack disrupted. Val quickly readied his guard once more, relieved beyond words to see his hit points at full, though his gut twisted at his friend's words. To put an artifact in play temporarily doubled its effectiveness, but it was a desperate move, because if one wiped while using it, the artifact was gone for good.

  "Fuck, John." It was all Val could say as John gave a nervous laugh.

  "Worthy sacrifice if this works, glory to our guild."

  But Val knew his focus dare not waver, or his friend's gesture was meaningless. "Now, Julia!"

  A soft, feminine grunt through his headset, even as Julia unleashed her Disciple Primal, John and Finn both hooting in approval. Releasing two Primals was not an easy skill to master, requiring a specific quest chain, adept manual dexterity, and Elite rank. Add to that that logging off within twenty minutes of casting it put a two-hour ban on using that character.

  Val grimaced. It looked like they were all playing for keeps today.

  "Hell with it," he said, calling out a Thunderstrike, his second linked primal, launching forth with his axe and temporarily converting himself to pure DPS in the two-second window he had.

  The maneuver was risky as hell. If the lich popped him, he was toast, but Val had sacrificed his first class to allow for the daily combination maneuver, and his ability to time his attacks, to strike between the beats, when and where his foes were least prepared, was no less profound in game than it was in real life.

  "Woohoo! Nice one, Samurai!" Julia cheered as their hideous nemesis was sent stumbling back, his silver health bar flashing yellow, then red as it burst into flames and crackling black lightning simult
aneously.

  "Nice one!" John cheered, voice suddenly relieved, and Val could sense how much his impulsive sacrifice was weighing on his friend.

  His friends could cheer. Val was focused only on twisting and dodging the Lich's lightning counterattack, crackling energies flying down the corridor, missing him completely as old build acrobatics allowed him to dodge, but tearing through both healers and Julia.

  "What the hell!" Finn cursed as Val, heart in throat, flipped back to Guardian mode just in time to meet the lich's onslaught, health already melting like butter. "It shouldn't be able to counter after two primals!"

  "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" John cried, panicked again as he desperately tried to cast his greater healing spell, even as Julia frantically warded up, most of her health gone with that simple boss counter-spell.

  "Tag team it!" Val cried, knowing they were in serious trouble. All their big guns fired, and their foe was still at half health, and had only just begun. "3...2...1... now, Julia!" He shield slammed his foe, praying for any kind of a stagger, knowing their only chance was a synergized dps bonus.

  The lich didn't jostle an inch. Thank goodness that Julia at least got the dps multiple. The lich's health had slid further, at 40 percent.

  "You're buffed, Val!" John whispered, and Val had never seen his wards so strong, happy to see that John was still benefiting from putting his artifact in play.

  The screen flashed in a rainbow of black lightning, Val reflexively popping two expensive customized potions even as he shield-bashed in the split second between boss spell pulses. He cursed the brilliant pyrotechnics flashing across the screen that made it so damned hard to judge even that pause and scratch the smallest bonuses, no doubt as the programmer had intended.

  "Oh fuck, we lost Julia!" Finn, their other healer said.

  It was like the gong of doom. Finn's voice echoed long after he was silent, John not saying a word.

  "Julia?" Val kept his voice calm, even as he mashed his keyboard madly, under heavy enemy fire, as he thought of it, slipping into old roles he knew all too well.

  "I'm sorry, Val."

  "Don't be. You gave it your all. Thank you."

  Val flinched, almost certain Julia was holding back tears. "I fucked up. I... I should have waited the way you showed me, not released until he paused. I lowered my arcane block to cast, and I insta-fried."

  "Shut up, Julia, no time!" John cried. Panicked voice making it clear he knew exactly what was at stake, he and Finn doing all they could to keep Val alive as he dodged, weaved between attacks, strove to stagger and bash the boss lich and make its life as much a misery as possible.

  Endless seconds of flashing lights, and Finn whistled.

  "Damn, Val, you're on fire tonight."

  And he was. Val grimaced, hands twitching as fast as thought as he dodged and spun about on the screen, truly slipping into the zone, feeling almost as if he was dancing with their foe, its every move already accounted for as Val dodged, spun and countered, desperate to bring their foe down.

  But it was no use.

  It did not matter that Val was on fire. Their damage dealer was dead. They could barely scratch their foe.

  Worse, its health meter began to crawl back up.

  "Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" John cursed.

  "God damn it, I'm calling it." Finn said, his despair carrying through loud and clear.

  "Keep icy, Finn," Val said, voice cold and calm under terrible pressure. "Salvin? Are you ready?"

  "I am."

  Two words. Two words again to give them hope, meaning, a point to sore fingers and hours of frustration.

  And like a miracle, the guarded gate behind the lich that Val had been slowly drawing close to him, leading halfway down the corridor as they had planned, finally went green.

  "Now!"

  "I know."

  And Salvin was through.

  The lich went into a frenzy then, yet another thing that never made it to the boards, probably because no one had used split groups to pass the main boss before, and for all Val's desperate weaving and button grinding, he was wiped from the game in a flash of white before digital blood and a skull and crossbones flowed over the screen.

  "You have died. With great risk comes great triumph, and peril. For dying while using elite ranked abilities, your account is locked for two hours."

  "Bloody hell." Val grimaced, rubbing his temple, the awful burning pain that comprised so much of his life suddenly tearing through him harder than the lich's spell.

  "John? Finn?"

  "Bloody fuck, man, I lost my artifact. I lost my god damned artifact! Do you know how many hours I put into farming that robe of splendor? My whole build is fucked! Thanks a lot, Val, thanks a whole hell of a bloody lot!"

  Val frowned, taking a deep breath, but John had already cut his connection.

  "Finn? Julia, are you still there?"

  "Yeah, man. Don't sweat John. we just got caught up in the moment," Finn said. "Gambling his artifact on a power double was pretty stupid, but damn if I wouldn't have done the same thing. Julia might still be with us and we would have made game history!"

  Val smiled at that. Sometimes idiocy or brilliance had less to do with the action itself than it did the results that followed, and how history chose to remember it. He looked down at his legs, eyes suddenly watering, realizing it had been over six hours since he had taken anything for pain.

  "Val? Don't sweat it. You were on fire there, man. Honestly, had this been any other boss? We'd be rolling in the gold right about now."

  "It was a good fight." Val smiled to hear Julia's voice. Still trembling, but at least she was with them.

  "Thanks for sticking around, Julia, it was good. And hey, we all learned something."

  "Yeah, I learned that this Delve is rigged, and never to PvP against you," Julia quipped. "I haven't even seen GameTube videos of players that fast, and we still wiped."

  Val shrugged. "All hopes is not lost. Salvin? We could use some good news if you have any for us."

  A pregnant pause. Val frowned, glaring at his legs, ignoring his racing pulse, a quick glance showing that Salvin was still logged in their chat group. He felt a sudden weight lift from his chest. Had Salvin logged out already, their worst fears would have been realized.

  What happened was almost worse.

  "I'm in," he said, to their breathless pause. Then, finally, "You were right, Val, that was the final boss. And the hoard? Let's just say, a Jack's ransom."

  "Sweet!" Finn hooted. "Sorry I doubted you for even a second!"

  Julia cheered as well, but Val frowned. "A Jack's ransom." A flash of recollection, then, Val racing off on hyper fast fighters in a desperate bid to take out a massive dreadnought class battleship in a game that had never made it past beta. Back when he was fresh, innocent, and actually looked at the future with something besides weary bitterness and grim resolve. A time when he had been unabashedly happy.

  One thing about that game was, just as alliances were valued, held all the more precious for their rarity, nothing was admired quite so much as a brilliant heist. Solar Crowns, the game had been called, so brilliant in scope and content that had the owners not been indicted for money laundering, it might just be the biggest game out there today.

  Val had enjoyed making epic scores of his own on more than one occasion while playing. In fact, if he were to be completely honest, he had enjoyed being a backstabbing ass. Until he himself was forged in the crucible of battle and learned what loyalty and teamwork really meant.

  "What color is the hilt?" Val asked, forcing himself to grin and bear it, thinking back upon how conveniently Salvin had been floating about, joining their guild just two weeks back, a highly skilled rogue, perhaps the most difficult class to train up, and some would argue the least rewarding, save for their assistance in high level runs, so always valued when they hit Elite ranks. So of course when he was running green level dungeons with never a complaint against him, it caught Val's eye. And when Val made i
t clear he was looking for a thief for an unorthodox play... Salvin was just where he needed to be.

  Salvin chuckled softly. "So you get it, do you? Then you know how this goes. My hilt is as black as the blade I've just stuck in your back. Thanks for the hall, Val. For someone who played Solar Crowns once upon a time, you should have seen this coming from miles away."

  "What? What the hell just happened?" Finn cursed. "Salvin? You better not double cross us, we bled for that loot! God damn it all to hell, what just happened?" But Salvin had already logged off.

  Val had no words, just clenching his fists tightly, shaking his head, doing his best to see it all as a game. Just a game as his legs burned like fire, stealing a glance at his second computer using Tails and TOR and a ghost network account, stealing bandwidth they'd never miss from a prestigious group home just a block away with a burn cord.

  He flashed a bleak smile as Salvin, aka Ramos Aldieren's California address popped up, his ping having been traced five minutes into the game. Salvin had been right. Val should have seen this coming. And he had. And he had taken a risk, hoping for the best, using skills he wouldn't let get rusty, no matter how much pain he was in.

  "Val? I don't understand. What does this mean?" Julia's soft, plaintive voice.

  Val sighed. "It means, Julia, that Salvin double-crossed us."

  "Oh shit no! That's so messed up! We worked hard for that, to get that far, and Salvin didn't do anything! Why would he do that? Why would he pretend to be our friend, just to stab us in the back? Doesn't he feel the least shred of shame?"

  Val shrugged. "Probably not."

  "Yeah, I'll bet he's laughing his ass off, right now!" Finn snarled. "What I'd like to do to that bastard..."

  "Finn."

  "Break every bone is his goddamned body!"