by EA Hooper
Demon Lords
World-Tree Trilogy Book 2
“Demon Lords” by EA Hooper
“World-Tree Trilogy” by EA Hooper
Copyright © 2019 | All rights reserved
Book Edited by JD Book Services
Cover Art by Richard Sashigane
Contents
Vincent’s Journey So Far
Prologue
Chapter 1 | Year 92
Chapter 2 | Year 1
Chapter 3 | Year 93
Chapter 4 | Year 1
Chapter 5 | Year 93
Chapter 6 | Year 93
Chapter 7 | Year 29
Chapter 8 | Year 93
Chapter 9 | Year 29
Chapter 10 | Year 93
Chapter 11 | Year 93
Chapter 12 | Year 47
Chapter 13 | Year 93
Chapter 14 | Year 47
Chapter 15 | Year 93
Chapter 16 | Year 47
Chapter 17 | Year 93
Chapter 18 | Year 93
Chapter 19 | Year 93
Chapter 20 | Year 93
Chapter 21 | Year 93
Chapter 22 | Year 93
Chapter 23 | Year 93
Chapter 24 | Year 93
Chapter 25 | Year 93
Chapter 26 | Year 93
Chapter 27 | Year 93
Chapter 28 | Year 93
Chapter 29 | Year 135
Chapter 30 | Year 135
Chapter 31 | Year 135
Chapter 32 | Year 135
Chapter 33 | Year 135
Chapter 34 | Year 135
Chapter 35 | Year 135
Chapter 36 | Year 135
Chapter 37 | Year 180
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Vincent’s Journey So Far
Year 1 – Vincent enters the game to distract himself from the second anniversary of his wife’s death. An update begins that stretches the time dilation and prevents players from logging out. He learns about negative energy and begins to research it.
Year 15 – Vincent completes his first negative-energy spell. He sets out to climb the World-Tree and forms a team with Quinn and Xan they call the World Knights. His oldest friend Jim stays on their team chat as they explore new worlds. Jim begins work on a guild called the Jiminy World Crickets.
Year 35 – The World Knights reach Midrun. Jim decides to jump to them after a run-in with a moderator named Lucas who’s using his powers to control various City-Worlds. However, Lucas’s guild, the Justiciars, invade Midrun and take over the city. The World Knights fail to stop him, but Vincent realizes his negative energy bypasses Lucas’s Mod Shield. They flee to a hellish Dead-World where they can grow strong enough to stop the Justiciars.
Year 72 – The World Knights temporarily change their team name to the Void Knights to strike fear in the Justiciars. They lead the Jiminy World Crickets to take back Midrun. After fighting through Lucas’s forces and powerful generals, Vincent uses negative energy to turn Lucas’s Mod Gun against him and then remove him from the game. Those still in the game have no idea if Lucas is really free or just trapped in darkness for hundreds of years. Having spent decades training to defeat Lucas, the World Knights agree to a several-year vacation. They go their separate ways, and Vincent begins a solo journey to rarely traveled worlds…
Noah’s Story: Noah’s Point of View chapters start before the update, but his story syncs up with Vincent’s timeline toward the middle of the book. Be sure to check the year listed at the start of his chapters.
Prologue
Noah held Amelia’s hand as the augmented-reality projection of his wife’s doctor talked on and on about the new nanobot therapy. His wife’s grip felt weak despite years of experimental treatments, but the physician swore several times that the newly developed therapies were more effective.
“These next generation bots were developed by the ARKUS AI System,” the doctor explained. The holographic projection walked around their living room, waving at augmented-reality screens that had more information than Noah could handle all at once.
“They’re smarter, work more efficiently, and have better problem-solving capabilities,” the doctor continued. “We’ve seen more than a ninety percent success rate in our first few test patients with similar diseases. Amelia, this new therapy can rebuild your nervous system and muscles from the ground up in nine to twelve months. It’s like making a brand new you.”
Amelia gazed at the graphs and displays that appeared around the room, though Noah could tell his wife was overwhelmed.
“Doctor, no offense,” the husband said, “but we’ve heard bold claims like that before. The last therapy got her walking again, yet only for a short time.”
“I promise this is different,” the doctor replied with a warm smile. “Every week, ARKUS makes a new revolutionary advancement to medicine I only dreamed would happen in my lifetime. Stem cell regeneration. Almost every kind of cancer cured at ninety-nine percent effectiveness. Three weeks ago, ARKUS completely redesigned the highest-rated gene therapy to slow aging. Trials just started, but ARKUS claims it’ll raise the average lifespan to a hundred and ten in first-world countries. This new nanobot therapy is just as revolutionary.”
Amelia looked at the doctor with big eyes. “If it works, will my body be able to handle a pregnancy?”
The doctor nodded. “If it works, yes. ARKUS specified you as a highly suitable candidate because of your medical history. The AI claims you’ll be able to carry a child once the treatment is finished.”
The woman put a hand over her mouth and tried not to cry. She looked at her husband, and Noah rubbed tears away before they fell onto his beard. His wife squeezed his hand and glanced at the doctor. “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll start the treatment as soon as possible.”
“Wonderful,” the doctor replied. “Just check off the waivers.”
Noah watched his wife point her finger at several augmented-reality displays, but he noticed the doctor staring off at a screen of his own. “Everything okay, Doc?”
“Oh, yes,” the doctor replied. “It’s just the moment your wife signed the first waiver, I received a message from the Ark Foundation—from ARKUS itself.”
“From ARKUS?” Noah questioned.
“It seems ARKUS selected both you and your wife as candidates for another kind of testing,” the doctor replied. “The Ark Foundation says it’ll cover your medical costs for a year, in addition to paying for your participation. Only, I don’t know what type of test it’s selected you for.”
A new screen appeared, indicating an AR call from the Ark Foundation.
Noah and Amelia glanced at one another, and then the wife answered. The holographic display of the doctor vanished, but so did every other screen in their living room. A single AR projection of a man in his thirties with slick hair and glasses appeared before the husband and wife.
“Greetings,” the man said. “My name is Isaac Bell, and I’m the head developer of the Ark Foundation. Or rather, I used to be, but now my job is more along the lines of public relations or human resources.”
“Uh huh,” Noah said. “So what’s this call about? My wife already agreed to the nanobot therapy.”
“Oh, this is for something altogether different,” Isaac replied. “You could almost think of it as a distraction while the nanobot therapy rebuilds your wife’s nervous and muscular systems. Not only that, it’ll let her live a life she could only dream about. The ARKUS AI System even thinks this’ll help with her depression and anxieties. It selected you two because of those reasons, but also because it looked at background information on you, Noah. You have an above-average IQ, clean record
s, and a good education, but you lost your last job after your wife’s condition worsened.”
“I find work here and there,” Noah replied.
“Well, this opportunity will pay the bills for the next year,” Isaac told him.
“What kind of opportunity?” Amelia asked, sounding intrigued.
“It’s a video game,” Isaac said, smiling.
Amelia looked at her husband and chuckled. “He made it sound like some amazing new technology. Don’t get me wrong, Isaac, I enjoy gaming. If you were here in person, you’d see the VR headsets littering our apartment.”
“This is more than just a game,” Isaac said. “This is an experience like nothing you’ve ever imagined. ARKUS designed the game itself between other projects.”
“ARKUS developed a video game?” Noah said with a huff. “Why’d you tell it to do that?”
“We didn’t,” Isaac replied. “We let it choose for itself what projects to work on. It’s much better at figuring out ways to extend human lifespans than we are, so why would we hold it back by telling it what to make?”
“How’s a game going to make me live longer?” Amelia asked. “Or help with my anxiety and depression?”
“As I said, it’s not just a game,” Isaac told her. “ARKUS designed a special headset like nothing on this earth. Our best engineers can’t fully understand it. When used with consumable nanomachines, like the ones you take for therapy, it allows the user to experience a completely lifelike virtual experience. However, the most incredible thing is that the experience alters your perception of time. Right now, the time dilation is set so one hour of actual time feels like two weeks in the game, but ARKUS claims it can increase the effect even further.”
The husband and wife gaped at the man’s hologram.
“I know, it sounds unbelievable,” Isaac said. “I didn’t believe it myself until I tried it. Here, I’ll send over gameplay footage from my tests. Just notice the shock and awe on my face. You won’t believe how real this game feels. Amelia, you’ve been wheelchair bound on and off for most of your life. Can you imagine having superhuman strength or fighting monsters in person?”
AR screens appeared around the couple, showing them gameplay footage. Their eyes went from one video to the next.
“The graphics look real,” Amelia said. “It looks a little scary.”
“Don’t worry, there’s an option for pain reduction,” Isaac explained. “ARKUS won’t let you feel more than ten percent of the pain, but you can set it even lower.”
“And it feels totally real?” Noah said, staring at a video of Isaac fighting a large monster.
“As real as your living room feels right now,” Isaac replied.
“You said you’ll pay us to test this, right?” Amelia asked. “In addition to covering my medical costs?”
“That’s right,” Isaac said. “You’re two out of the first hundred people ARKUS chose. If you agree and sign the waivers, you’ll receive your headsets in a week or so. By the time your year of testing is finished, you’ll be done with your new nanobot treatment. Although, you might not even care about the real world by that point.” Isaac laughed, but Noah thought he saw something sad in the man’s eyes. “To be honest, I almost didn’t want to log off from my session this morning.”
Noah smiled at his wife. “Sounds like a big adventure, huh? I was getting a little bored of Titanus Online after getting six characters to max level.”
“And when the year is up, we can have the even bigger adventure of parenthood,” Amelia said, wiping tears from her cheeks.
Noah held his wife’s hand, and they checked off the waivers together.
Chapter 1 | Year 92
Player: Vincent the Wanderer
Location: Nossia (World) | Northern Highlands (Region)
Class: Ranger
Subclass: Mage
Vitality: Lv 184
Spirit*: Lv 194
Resolve: Lv 176
Perception*: Lv 200
Agility: Lv 185
Strength: Lv 184
The Wanderer trailed behind the rest of the caravan as they walked down the steep, narrow pathways of the mountain connected to the world’s stem. Highlands, crags, and valleys covered the masked man’s view, but his sharp eyes caught sight of the Jump Gate on a faraway plateau.
“I see the gate!” Arlen shouted. The young man pointed in the distance.
“Keep your voice low,” Grant warned. The ex-Justiciar shook his head in irritation. “I swear, you’ll get us all killed again.”
“Not this time,” Arlen said, glancing back at the masked man. “This time we have the Wanderer with us.”
“That don’t mean crap,” Grant huffed. “I’m every bit as strong as him, and that didn’t save us last time.”
“How do you know you’re as strong as him?” Arlen asked. “I can’t Scan his stats because of that mask of his.”
“I’ve seen him fight,” Grant said. “I can tell most of his stats are in the nineties, just like mine.”
“He fights better than you, though,” Arlen said.
A few other members of the caravan chuckled.
“No, he doesn’t,” Grant grumbled. “Either way, I didn’t pay him to fight. We only paid for his services because he knows these out-of-the-way worlds better than anyone. If he gets us to Moonrise with all our loot from Meteox, then he’ll be worth the price.”
“Both of you, shush,” Jessica said, holding up a hand to stop the caravan. The woman cast a spell, and light rippled off her palm in every direction. “I sense B-Class monsters.”
The entire caravan equipped weapons and armor, and several of them cast buff effects.
The Wanderer raised an arm from his cloak and equipped his hand cannon.
Song of Peace – A small, handheld rune cannon that was built using a rare artifact as a power source. | Singing Bullet – The wielder of this gun may convert mana into a vibrational frequency that projects explosive power. | Unlimited Ammo – The World Core that powers this weapon draws magic from the World-Tree itself.
While the caravan looked and argued where the monsters could be, the Wanderer listened to the calm world. He heard the songs of birds in the distance, the panicked breaths of the caravan members, and the whistling of wind as it ran through the trees.
The masked man turned and fired at the first of the floating serpents zigzagging through the forest. A shockwave hit the green monster, knocking it back. He pulled the trigger the moment the weapon’s cooldown hit zero and blasted scales off the dragon-like serpent. Several of its brethren flew past it, but the Wanderer focused on finishing the first. His third shot nailed its exposed neck and turned it to dust.
The Wanderer dove away from the bite of a red serpent and slid down the nearby slope. He rolled ten meters before grabbing the root of a tree and anchoring himself. On the trail above, twelve serpents tore through the caravan. One took off Jessica’s head, and a blue serpent froze a dozen people with ice breath.
The masked man’s breathing remained steady. He held onto the tree root and fired shot after shot. The second-long cooldown on his hand cannon gave him time to line up each attack, but with each passing moment, another member of the caravan died.
Grant cast Breaker on his longsword and sliced through a serpent’s neck, but then another chewed through his Mana Shield. He used his blade to hold back its next bite as three more serpents sped toward him.
“Brother!” Arlen yelled, tackling the ex-Justiciar away from the serpents.
The two men tumbled down the slope, and the Wanderer fired on the pursuing monsters. A red one paused, unhinged its jaw, and unleashed an explosive fire spell at the tree and the masked man.
The Wanderer released the root and let himself fall as the tree exploded into flames. Even as he rolled, he took precisely timed shots at the serpents. He killed one of the monsters chasing Grant and Arlen, but the masked man couldn’t help but notice that the caravan above had been destroyed.
The
two brothers landed in the waist-deep mud at the bottom of the hill. They helped each other to their feet, and then finished off an injured serpent with Mana Magnums. The red one launched a fire blast at them, but Arlen stopped it with a barrier. The explosion knocked out his forcefield, and the shockwave tossed the brothers into the mud.
The Wanderer landed on his back and took two more shots as he sank. His second attack pierced the red serpent’s skull, killing it, but he knew the others wouldn’t be far behind. A hand reached into the mud and pulled him to his feet.
“You okay?” Arlen asked.
“We need to run,” the Wanderer replied.
“I think we can take them,” Grant said, readying his longsword.
The Wander glanced around the valley. “They’re not what I’m worried about.”
Arlen grabbed his brother’s arm and pulled him away from the steep hillside. “Let’s do what he says, Brother. You said yourself he knows these worlds better than anyone.”
The three men marched across the muddy valley, and the Wanderer shot down another serpent that tried to follow them.
“Man, you’re a good shot,” Arlen told the masked man. “I rarely hit anything at that distance.”
“I’ve seen better aim,” Grant grumbled.
“Don’t be such a jerk, Brother,” Arlen said. “He just saved us from getting eaten. Do you want to end up like Jessica? That Spirit Serpent took her head right off!”
Grant huffed. “That’s exactly what this guy was supposed to prevent. Jessica had half our precious loot. She and I were the only two that needed to survive. After they respawn, we’ll only be able to team jump half the caravan to us.”
“Oh yeah,” Arlen said, hanging his head low. “So, what’re we going to do?”
“I’ll dump my half of the loot in daiglass storage at Moonrise,” Grant told his brother. “Then we’ll kill ourselves and regroup with Jessica and the others. We’ll give them their shares from what we have left and try again. Or head for a different world. I’m starting to think Moonrise isn’t worth the trouble.”
