by Charles Dean
System Notification: You are currently inside a cloud of poisonous spores. The poison cloud’s density is causing 40 damage per second.
Since Wind Wall had been effective last time, he braced his feet and channeled it once more, sending the cloud of poison toward the girl.
“Wait!” one of the students called out from the stands as the 40-damage-per-second cloud engulfed the woman who had summoned it.
“You don’t have to kill Rennie! She’s just going along with the others! She didn’t have much choice!” one of the guys not involved in the fight shouted.
“Please, don’t finish her off!” the beautiful girl argued. “You’ve already killed enough.”
“I know I have,” Lucas said somewhat sympathetically. “But what’s one more?” He suddenly smiled devilishly as he channeled a Scorching Skull and sent it on its way toward his final target. Well before it reached her, the flaming ball ignited the gas. Flames erupted along its length as the inferno spread, and Rennie was quickly engulfed.
He knew it was wrong, that it shouldn’t feel this good, but he couldn’t help but feel satisfied as he watched the girl cook in her own gas. She had threatened him; she had tried to take advantage of a four-versus-one fight. It felt good to burn her alive. This is . . . easier . . . better than I expected. He instantly felt guilty, but the smile stayed planted on his face as the smell of burnt flesh graced his nostrils.
Chapter 7
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 point]: 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: 4 out of 5 requirements met to start chain.
Lucas’s clothes were shredded, his Hit Points had reached a meager 451, less than 10% of his total, and he was covered in burns and blood from Venter and Mejia’s attacks, but he was in a good mood. Adrenaline was still coursing through every inch of his body and his heart was beating a hundred miles an hour. A few punches from Venter, another hit from Gabriel, or a little longer in Rennie’s poison cloud, and he might actually have bitten the dust. Even Gabriel’s uncast spell or a different attack from Rennie could have turned deadly if he hadn’t finished her off fast enough. There were so many factors that could have led to his death that just being alive actually felt good.
Clinging to life was a stark contrast from what he used to feel while being butchered over and over again. Back then, he had reached negative levels from the numerous deaths he suffered since he didn’t have anything to lose. Not even the after-death tunnel or respawn process had much effect on him, whereas some people became disoriented. Now, however, taking a death would have destroyed everything that he had worked for. His life was important now, it actually had meaning, and victory tasted all the sweeter because of it.
Lucas probably would have continued basking in the afterglow of his win, enjoying the smell of his last victim’s charred corpse and the looks of horror on the transfixed students’ faces, except his reverie was interrupted by the sound of clapping from the stands.
“That was beautiful,” Lilith called down. She had moved back far enough to get a full view, and she actually had a bag of popcorn in her lap and a tall bottle of mead next to her that seemed to be half drunk. “I love how you played with them, taking all those hits and leading them on, making them believe that they were winning only to surprise them with a quick and horrible death from their own attacks. That was a real masterwork.”
Does she think that I intentionally took those hits? There was nothing intentional about those attacks. Those bastards almost killed me, he thought, but he didn’t say it. If he did, he’d ruin the effect that her fangirling had on the crowd. Consciously or not, they had all taken a collective step back at her words.
Lilith casually popped a handful of popcorn into her mouth and talked around it. She asked, “So, do you plan on killing the two who pleaded for that girl’s life too? Do you want me to do it?”
“I think that’ll be okay,” Lucas answered. He had no idea what surprises might be waiting for him amongst the other combat class participants, and he couldn’t afford to fight again if one of them turned out to be as strong as Mejia. He had initially assumed that he was going to score an easy win, as long as he used magic and kept his distance, because none of them had staves; instead, he had ended up receiving a lesson in a style of gameplay that the NPCs used, and the players didn’t: disposable spell jewelry and implants. Their effectiveness actually made Lucas wonder if he should carve spells onto his own flesh in the future. The downside, and the chief reason the tools had never caught on amongst players, was that they were just as vulnerable as Lucas’s necklace. All it took was one lucky shot to destroy the enchanted item. That said, the freedom of movement implants and accessories offered was tremendous. Mejia had been easily able to swap between elemental casting and launching Chi attacks without a second’s pause thanks to the fact that his hands were free, even while he was casting a spell.
Lucas was about to say something more to the subject of what he planned to do when a loud crunch reminded him that he wasn’t the only one responsible for the day’s victory. He looked down and discovered that the Ant-Dragon had returned to his side and was happily gnawing on the remainder of Venter’s skull much like a dog would a bone that was too large to fit into its mouth. Lucas wasn’t sure if he found his new pet ridiculously cute or terribly horrifying. Cute, we’ll just go with cute for my sanity’s sake.
“I think that, for the moment, I need to feed this little girl and just go back to our yard. I’ve got to get her situated,” Lucas said. If what Jesse said was true, the little monster would want to establish its territory now that it had already started eating people. The faster Lucas got it into a dungeon of its own, the faster it would start growing.
Lilith nodded as if she completely understood, but it looked like she was pouting. “Well, I suppose good shows don’t last forever. That’s understandable . . . but now I’m not sure what to do. Dinner usually comes after a show, but I had my meal without you.”
“I might not be eating”--Lucas nodded over to the Ant-Dragon--“but someone is.”
“Ah, I see! You brought me to the movie and her to dinner. Go figure: playing with two women at the same time,” she giggled. “Alright then, since we’re short a teacher, should we go somewhere else? Maybe for a walk?”
Lucas enjoyed the fact she was talking casually, as if nothing had happened, while every student around them was gawking in shock, unable to take their eyes from the scene. Their fellow peers had been butchered, blown up, beaten, eaten, and electrocuted to death right in front of them, and the two people responsible were simply flirting with each other like two immature high school kids. One was even quite literally covered in injuries, burn marks, and blood. Player. Lucas instantly jumped to that conclusion when he realized exactly how detached she really was.
No, she can’t be a player. She is in the Imperium, and not as an enemy. That wouldn't make sense. She was actually here to attend class . . . He let the thought linger in his mind. It was confusing. Lucas was supposed to be one of the few real people in the Imperium--if not the only one
aside from a dev--so what were the odds that another player would show up here at the same time as he did? After all, she was in this class before he showed up, right?
“I think a walk would be nice,” Lucas finally answered. He pushed his doubt surrounding her identity out of his head as he walked over and picked up his bag, taking a moment to pull the healing wand out of it and restore his hit points. Too bad it doesn’t restore my clothes though, he grumbled to himself.
“Umm . . . Lucas . . .” Lilith ran her tongue across her lips and bit her lower lip while letting her eyes travel from his face down his chest.
“Yeah?” Lucas asked as he slung the bag over his back.
“Maybe you should put on new pants,” she said.
“Why?” Lucas looked down and made sure that his crotch area was intact and that he wasn’t flashing everyone around him. Good. Was worried for nothing.
“Your butt,” she said.
“Crud.” He twisted around to look behind him, only to see that while his front half was perfectly fine, his back half was gone. He might as well have been wearing nothing at all from a backward angle. “Yup. That’s a problem.”
“If you insist on it being one,” Lilith shot back coyly. “I don’t mind personally, but I’ll expect you to walk ten steps in front of me if you don’t.”
Lucas sighed at the mention of needing to be ten steps apart. “Right. I get it. Wouldn’t want to be caught dead with the poorly dressed, homeless-looking hobo.”
“Oh, no. It’s strictly a perspective issue. I think ten steps should put it perfectly far enough ahead that I won’t have to look down to see it comfortably,” she giggled.
Lucas laughed as he pulled the clothes out of the backpack that Bonnie had made for him. “Okay, for real. You’re just as bad as Bonnie.”
“I’ll never understand why men assume that a sybarite woman can’t be sexually debaucherous too. Given how vocal we women can be with our hedonistic impulses, it’s simply baffling. Desserts, alcohols, and barely dressed men . . .” She looked fondly at the sky. “It’s the easiest key to happiness some days.”
“And here I thought you were just a run-of-the-mill bookworm,” Lucas said as he walked away.
“What do you think is in those books? Lots and lots of barely dressed men.”
Lucas didn’t argue. He knew that half the sales of books over the Internet were romance novels--or, at least, it seemed that anyway. Housewives lusting after rich, powerful, dominant men seemed to fuel more literary purchases than anything else.
“Well, to ensure that my chastity is safe, could you turn around?” Lucas asked after they got a few paces from the class. “I need to change.”
“No problem,” Lilith said, promptly turning back to face what was left of the interrupted lecture.
Lucas realized that not a single person had spoken up or dared to stop them from leaving--not that he had expected anyone to. After all, he had been right before, when he said that they were unwilling to act on their own. Just as he pulled his pants on, a system pop-up flashed through his vision.
You have killed Jones. You have been awarded 2732 EXP. A tattoo kit, the Dark Summoner’s staff, and 20 gold have dropped upon death.
What in the hell? This doesn’t . . . make sense. Everyone should be busy. I could understand if they killed an NPC like I did, but . . . that amount of experience is . . . That guy had to be a ridiculously high-level player. This isn’t right. At all. Lucas turned around and said, “Lilith, I just got a notification that I need to take care of something immediately,” he said while quickly fastening his pants.
“Wow,” Lilith said. “We just met, and you are being way too forthright with those urges. I know I was joking around earlier but . . . could you keep it in your pants long enough to at least finish our walk? Kinda rude to just dart off and--”
“No, uhh . . .” Lucas paused as he considered how to explain a death notification to a possible NPC. “My team, my people, they’re in trouble. We need to go.” He didn’t actually know if they were or not, but even a single death notification was ominous. There was no way a player would venture into Imperium territory alone, so if a fight had broken out, it very likely meant that there was an entire group of people farming Reputation--and that meant that he needed to help his team.
“Ah. That type of pop-up,” she said, turning around to face him. “Well, get that shirt on, and let’s go. Do you know the direction?”
“Not exactly, “Lucas answered, thinking back to the earlier conversations in the day. I know Viola went with Bonnie, and Nick went with Katie, and Liu logged off . . . but where were they all headed? He searched his memory, trying to pick the information out of it, suddenly perturbed by his lack of direction and inability to take action.
Where the hell am I supposed to go? Lucas finished getting dressed and then spent the next few minutes hurrying along and searching for some type of clue that might tell him where the others were. Finally, he caught sight of something odd. There, sitting in the sky above one of the buildings, was a chain of Force Shields spelling out S.O.S. That has to be Bonnie or Viola. No one else would be using skills like that around here. Nick had gotten rid of his healing scepter altogether so that Lucas would stop shafting him with healbot duty, and Katie had never used anything but a bow so long as she had been part of his group. So, one of those two killed someone. Even as he reasoned out who it must be, his feet were already carrying him in that direction.
“Where are we going?” Lilith asked. “What’s happening?”
“Well, those are clear signals for help,” Lucas said, pointing to the Force Shields in the sky that originated across the campus, “and we’re on our way to find out what exactly is going on over there.”
“What do you think happened?” she asked.
“Tough to say, but given those are Force Shields clearly being used to indicate their location, I’d say Bonnie or Viola got into some kind of trouble. They killed someone, and it looks like they weren’t able to take care of the others. It may be someone trying to rescue the princess I kidnapped.”
“So, who is this Viola . . . and Bonnie? Which one is the princess? Are they close friends of yours?”
While Lucas was having a little trouble breathing, already tired and winded from the run, Lilith was easily able to keep up with him. He didn’t need the extra Stamina like fighters did for Chi-based moves, but he almost regretted not dumping some points into Athletics just for the improved physique.
“Close friends?” Lucas repeated. He didn’t actually know. “I don’t know. I guess?” They had done a lot together, and Lucas felt it was only natural that they were close, but the word “yes” couldn’t leave his mouth. One question, simple and innocent, had left him unsure of his entire relationship with them.
“You guess?” Lilith pressed. “I mean, it doesn’t seem like friendship is a thing you should have to guess about. You should know one way or the other. Maybe just . . . How do you know them? What about this Bonnie character? How’d you meet, and why are you rushing to save her?”
“Bonnie is a mercenary. She’s . . . someone I pay to fight for me. She does a good job, and I enjoy her company.”
“So, she’s for hire,” Lilith concluded. “I mean, not just by you, but by others too, right?”
Lucas fumbled his words, unable to immediately refute the question. No, I pay her enough. She wouldn’t turn on me. Then he realized the error in that thought. But would she? If someone offered to pay her more? Would she leave me for a higher bidder? “I don’t think she would,” he concluded out loud. “I don’t think she’d work for anyone else.”
“Ah. I see. You think. It’s a word we use when there isn’t a certainty, so you believe there is a chance she might. You think to yourself, ‘Maybe, just maybe, she will leave me for some other team, or crew, or party if they pay her enough.’ That’s really no way to think about true friends.”
“No, it’s . . . not like that,” Lucas argued. “I’m certain she wo
uldn’t leave for a higher bidder.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you’ve got that type of friend, even if . . . well . . . Never mind.”
Lilith stopped from going further, but Lucas could guess what she was going to say: Even if you have to pay her just to help you. Lucas didn’t know how else to respond, so he just said, “Yeah.”
“Well, what about this other girl, Viola? She’s your friend, right?”
Lucas sighed. Viola was an even less certain topic than Bonnie.
“I hate asking, but how did you two meet?” She moved ahead of him just a bit only to slow down again so that she was now on his left instead of right. “I’m sure that--with how panicked you are--it isn’t because of the mercenary whose friendship you are uncertain of. It must be because of this girl. I bet you’re caught up in some magical, whirlwind romance or a kinship of sorts that formed after you battled together through a thousand fields of blood! I can’t wait to hear the story! I mean, you’re such a charming guy, and I can only imagine the creative fun you two have been up to.”
Lucas just sighed again--or as much as he could while short on breath from running. “I kidnapped her.”
“Oh,” she answered back flatly. “That’s really no good. But if she’s out here on her own, you clearly aren’t still holding her hostage. She has to have her own reasons for staying with you. You didn’t . . . You didn’t hold her hostage long enough to develop Stockholm syndrome, did you? You’re not the charming prince from all those cartoons I watched as a kid, right? The guy who steals the princess and holds her hostage, all alone in your castle and cut off from everyone else until she falls in love with you, right?”
“No!” Lucas insisted. “I only took her for one scene. I let her go immediately after, but she stayed with me.”
