by Charles Dean
“Thanks,” Lucas said. He took one of the tiny bags of popcorn from Bonnie with nothing more than a strange look. There was no way he was going to ask why she had these at the ready. This was the first time a situation like this had occurred, so he didn’t dare ask how long the popcorn had been in her backpack.
“Don’t mention it, boss. Always have to be prepared for every eventuality.”
“You don’t have to do this, Stuart,” an older gentleman in the center of the circle said, unbuckling one of the cuffs on his shirt before rolling up his sleeves. He didn’t have any weapons visible on him, and he was dressed in a grey-and-black suit with a white shirt that seemed to be a little too tight, as if it were a hand-me-down meant for someone smaller. “You won’t last if you try to fight me here.”
“It’s too late to try to stop this from happening,” the other participant said. He was a younger man, either in his late teens or early twenties, and he seemed rather eager to get the fight started. He raised his arm into the air, and two soldiers appeared out of the crowd. Each was armed with two swords a piece and wore full chainmail. “I told you that you would regret reporting me.”
“Getting expelled wasn’t meant to be the end of your life, boy: it was meant to be the beginning. You needed to learn that your father’s influence won’t save you from every situation,” the old man said. “I was trying to teach you to behave with honor and to understand the weight of every decision you make.”
“You? Trying to teach me? Fat chance. You just wanted me to score badly and disappoint my parents again. So what if I cheated? So what if I paid someone off? That’s my right. I’m the third son of a Duke, and you’re nothing but a has-been, worthless old man who teaches since he can’t actually do anything himself. The only lesson I could ever possibly learn from you is how to waste my life behind this town’s walls like a coward. How you claim to be a fighter is beyond me,” the kid spat back in a rage.
“Attacking me here won’t change anything,” the old man said. “Turn around and go back home. If your father’s influence really is so extensive, then have him get you back in the academy. There is no reason to be here picking a fight with me over this.”
“Get back into the academy? That expulsion didn’t even last more than a single coin purse. I’m already back in. It’s you who won’t be returning there ever again,” the kid said with a sneer. “Guards, kill him.” The two bodyguards on either side of the boy quickly separated and began circling around the older man while the young man pulled a crossbow off his back and began loading a bolt into it.
“Liu, what level zone is this? Lucas asked. “I mean, that Mage we fought earlier was pretty high-leveled. How high do the Imperium soldiers go?”
“It’s Level 40 to 60,” Bonnie answered for her.
“That’s good because I’m about to do something stupid,” Lucas said as he readied his staff and dashed forward. He didn’t know the full extent of the backstory: he just saw a whiny brat who thought his parents' money could buy him whatever he wanted trying to kill a random old man. Lucas had suffered enough entitled nobles and their expected privileges for one day, and this was enough to make him want to drag the kid twenty miles behind a rampaging Grobendiss before finishing him off with a spiked two-by-four to the face.
Lucas didn’t know if the old man could handle one opponent, but he felt positive he couldn’t handle all three. Based on the brief exchange, Lucas expected the older man to be an instructor of some sort, which suggested that he was also an accomplished fighter, but without a weapon and up against two armed soldiers and a kid with a crossbow, it was over for him the second the engagement started. That said, Lucas couldn’t just randomly arbitrate who lived or died without losing Reputation with the Imperium faction. He had only just started earning Rep himself, and killing a fellow member of the Imperium might very likely tip him into the negative. Lucas didn’t know much about the faction system, but he was certain a negative Reputation score with the Imperium would spell doom for his chances at getting what he wanted.
One of the guards made his move, striking toward the old man’s right side. Before the two ever made contact, however, Lucas intercepted the man's blow by taking it onto his arm instead. 258 of his Hit Points were cut away.
Movement out of the corner of his eye pulled his attention back toward the young man as his crossbow came up, and Lucas jutted his opposite arm out just in time. The bolt whizzed through the air with a loud twang as the spring triggered, and a second later the arrowhead pierced into his forearm, dealing 221 damage. Lucas gritted his teeth at the momentary wave of pain, but before he had time to even really process either, a warm wave of healing washed over him.
Now that he had countered the first two attacks and with full knowledge that Viola was supporting him, Lucas went on the offense. He began channeling Scorching Skull, and thanks to his massive Arcane Energy pool, he was able to chain cast the spell twice before the young man could load another one of the bolts into his crossbow.
Just after the second spell finished casting, Lucas felt a sharp burst of pain from his lower back as the guard jammed his sword home into the area just above his kidneys. Lucas automatically arched his back at the piercing pain, but it was thankfully short-lived when another heal rolled over him. The guard suddenly yelled out, and Lucas twisted around to discover that there were frosty blue arrows jutting out of his upper chest and a thin layer of frost creeping out of the wounds. Lucas had become incredibly familiar with those wounds over the past few days as he fought with the group in the dungeon instance. They were caused by a type of magical ice arrow that appeared when Katie used her bow, Isabel’s Tears.
A loud clang and another shout let him know that Nick had engaged the second guard and was keeping him occupied, so Lucas figured he could spare the time to finish off the already-wounded youth. Whether or not he was going to incur a negative Reputation penalty didn’t matter at this point since he was fairly certain that he wasn’t going to get out of this fight if he didn’t press his advantage. He danced back several steps just in case the guard somehow managed to attack him despite Katie’s suppressing fire and began chain-casting Scorching Skull while aiming them all at the young man. The spells soared through the air and faithfully collided with their target, and each successive hit caused the flames to turn brighter and larger--and the young man’s screams to grow with them. After what seemed like an eternity, the wailing stopped, and Lucas turned to see how his allies were doing.
The guard Katie had engaged looked like a pincushion, and the guard that Nick and Bonnie had double-teamed was in a pile on the ground.
You have killed Stuart Bolingbroke. You have been awarded 531 EXP. A crossbow, 20 crossbow bolts, a diamond-encrusted medallion, a ruby nose ring, and 78 gold have dropped upon death.
You have killed Lok. You have been awarded 1341 EXP. A fine steel sword and a bawdy drawing have dropped upon death.
You have killed Stok. You have been awarded 1341 EXP. A fine steel sword and a naughty limerick have dropped upon death.
Current bounty: 50 gold.
It was a clean triple kill, and after having received a few heals, Lucas was none the worse for wear. “Good job, team. And thanks for those heals.” He added that last part specifically for Viola, a Sage and the only dedicated healing specialist in the entire group.
“Those weren’t mine,” Viola responded quickly, denying her assistance.
If they weren’t hers, then whose were they? Lucas wondered, looking around the crowd for who might have helped him.
Chapter 3
Character Name: Lucas
Level: 30
Hit Points: 4995
Arcane Energy: 2600
Stamina: 100
Holy Energy: Class Locked
Current Class: Enchanter
Stats:
Arcanum [increases Arcane Energy by 10 per point]: 250
Holy [No Effect/Class Locked]: 0
Athletics [increases Stamina by 10 per poi
nt]: 0
Fortitude [increases Hit Points by 1% per point]: 350
Charisma: 350
Luck: 60
Unspent: 0
Current Elemental Attunement:
Lightning Affinity: 1.5%
Effects: +3% Lightning Element Damage
+6% Lightning Element Channeling Speed
-3% Non-Lightning Element Channeling Speed
+0.75% Lightning Element Damage Resistance
Arcane Resistance: 2%
Combat Proficiencies:
None
Racial Quest Chain Progress:
Vampire: 2 out of 5 requirements met to start chain.
Lucas was looking around, trying to figure out who had cast the heals, when he was interrupted by the old man.
“How could you do this?” the aged instructor roared. His body went stiff with rage, and he clenched his two fists in front of him as if trying to restrain himself.
“What? Save your life?” Lucas shot back, instantly annoyed by the old man’s ungrateful response.
“Saved my life? Did you think those three could have beaten me? You didn’t save anyone. You just took three promising souls in the midst of their youths, murderer.” The man spat out the last word as if it were an abhorrent curse, slowly unclenching a fist and then deliberately pointing to each of the bodies. “You’ve done nothing but rob three men of a full life so that you could save the tail end of mine. I’d have rather died than make such a bad trade with a devil like you.” Tears welled up in the man’s eyes, and then the vitriol and venom in his words were replaced with regret. “I was his instructor. It was my duty to teach him the difference between right and wrong, but because of you, I’ll never have the chance to correct his failings. Because of you, my failures will be etched on his tombstone: ‘Here lies an innocent boy whose only sin was to have a bad father and an incompetent master.’”
Lucas was pulled in two different directions, stuck between wanting to sympathize with him and curse him at the same time. After a long moment, he put on his villain hat and finally said, “Do you think his abuse would have stopped with you? I didn’t kill the boy to save a wretched old man like you, someone who willfully set a rabid dog amok in the streets without so much as a collar or leash. No, you myopic dullard, I put that animal down that so he wouldn’t bite anyone else. Or would you rather have tallied more bodies to your number of failures? How many more victims after you would he have racked up before someone else stepped up to do your job for you?” Lucas watched as each verbal lash carved itself into the instructor’s face.
Lucas didn’t tell the man why he really did it though: it felt good. It felt absolutely wonderful to watch the would-be spoiled murderer burn alive. He had enjoyed it. He had done it because he wanted to do it. Instead of admitting to such, however, he just kept throwing out reasons that hadn’t crossed his mind until after the fact. “And what if I hadn’t been here? What if he hadn’t found you in the marketplace today? Would you have groveled at the door of the first woman he used his position to take advantage of? Would you have apologized to the first man he killed for a passing fancy or shiny trinket since his daddy would quickly buy him away from justice? Would you have cried at the tombstone of the next family that tried to bring him to justice--but unlike you--couldn’t defend themselves and got cut down in the streets? Go on. Tell me, would you shed tears for them? Or just this boy? And only because you know him?” Lucas scoffed and then barked a laugh. He didn’t understand why, but the villain glove really fit him well.
Suffix Title Gained: The People’s Executioner.
Effect: Bonus Reputation with the Imperium faction gained when killing corrupt individuals.
Effect: Axes deal 25% more damage.
Effect: Gain a 30 Charisma bonus when conversing with Imperium NPCs who haven’t abused their power.
Effect: Suffer a 30 Charisma penalty when dealing with Imperium NPCs who have abused their power.
Well, Lucas thought, looking at that title. That is a nice set of bonuses. 30 Charisma wasn’t as big a deal for him as it might be for others since his Charisma stat was already incredibly high, but the extra Reputation gain and the axe damage were both noteworthy.
He looked around and tried to gauge the crowd’s reaction to his having berated the old man, but he was surprised to see that they were just watching with the same type of vacant expression that often accompanied people watching a film in a movie theater, waiting for the next interesting thing to happen. The fact that Viola was munching on the popcorn Bonnie had given her and was sharing it with a random old lady next to her only added to the effect.
“Right,” Lucas said, nodding slowly as he processed what was going on. “I get it. You all couldn’t do anything. You couldn’t even say anything because it was a Duke’s son. You’re wondering if I know that, if I know what type of puddle I stepped in when I chose to walk this path. Well”--Lucas grinned--“I do. I know exactly what I did, and I have no regrets. Fear has gripped your heart and frozen you in place so that you can only watch while I take action. I know that you feel righteous anger, but can never let it move you. But don’t worry. I’m not afraid of them. I won’t let fear or cowardice stay my blade. I’ll do your dirty work for you when it’s time.” He turned back to Nick and the others. “Come on. We have an academy to go to and some more fools to teach.”
“You got it, boss,” Bonnie said, falling behind Lucas with the rest of the group.
“Umm . . . Lucas,” Liu said, stopping him after a few minutes.
“Yeah?”
“You don’t know which way the academy is, do you?” she asked, causing Lucas to almost facepalm.
“No, I don’t,” he chuckled as he admitted he was lost. “I just figured that there’d eventually be some sort of sign or something if I kept walking. I guess I could ask for directions.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll show you the way,” Liu said. “I’ve been here before using this character. I was actually pretty close to becoming a teacher at the academy until I put my foot down hard and made them scrap the idea of stationing me here.”
“You? An instructor?” Lucas shook his head. “I think showing up to class on time is kind of a requirement for someone in charge, and I don’t remember you ever managing to do that.”
“Hey!” Liu cried defensively. “I showed up to class on time . . . a few times.”
“When it was test day? During the exams? Or when you knew you’d fail the class completely if you didn’t?” Lucas asked, listing the few scenarios in which she had made it early.
“That’s not fair,” Liu protested.
“I think the words you’re looking for are ‘That’s not false.’” Lucas reached over and flicked Liu on the forehead like he used to do during college when she was trying to get away with something or just evade blame in general.
“Ack!” Liu rubbed her head. “My pain sensors are over the max. Be gentle,” she protested, putting on a face that suited Bonnie more than Liu.
What the heck? Why? Lucas wondered.
“I think being a teacher would definitely suit you,” Nick said.
“Stop being perverted,” Bonnie said, smacking his arm.
“What? I’m being serious!” Nick protested. “Liu, if . . . umm . . . if you don’t mind us calling you that too . . . is always explaining everything for Lucas. She’s like that one smart character in a show who explains everything to the main character so that the viewer or whatever knows what’s going on in the fantasy world they’re not part of. She’s already the built-in guide, isn’t she? Why wouldn’t she make a great teacher?”
“Right. Like you’re not just saying that because everyone knows that every guy wants the ‘hot for teacher’ fantasy. You’re just perving on the boss’s friend,” Bonnie scoffed, doubting Nick’s explanation.
“I think Nick’s right,” Katie agreed. “She would make a good teacher.”
“See!” Nick, feeling vindicated, taunted Bonnie. “Even Katie thinks my idea is
worth sparing words for! Ha! Your taunts are garbage in the face of my reasoning!” Nick started laughing at his perceived triumph, but when Bonnie reached behind her back as if about to pull out the spiked mace of healing, Nick instantly fell silent and flinched away from her.
She’s really training him well. Lucas enjoyed their interactions, but deep down, he was thinking like Bonnie. When Nick talked about Liu as a teacher, he was imagining something a lot dirtier than he should have. What is wrong with me? That’s Liu. Your family. Lucas shook his head, chastising himself. Yet, even if he was able to banish the thought, the subconscious desire was still there.
“Alright, here we are,” Liu said, pointing ahead.
Lucas looked up to find the most boring-looking academy that he had ever seen. It was even drabber than the one he had gone to back in the real world and consisted of little more than a series of large block-shaped buildings with gold-tiled roofs, which were the only saving grace to the otherwise mundane design. Each of the buildings was roughly three stories high, likely wide enough to contain two lecture halls, and was oddly spaced from the others. There was a two-story wall made of white stone that matched the buildings running around them, and a golden gate large enough for three carriages to pass through side by side. There were two guards stationed at the gate who were both ignoring their duty by chatting--or, more aptly, flirting--with each other.
Lucas cleared his throat very loudly to get their attention as he approached.
The guards, who had obviously been trying to ignore Lucas, both sighed as they reluctantly turned, and their expressions showed just how exasperated they were with Lucas’s interruption.
