by Tom Gallier
"I'm not enjoying the game right now," she muttered, and hurriedly called up her HUD. Where is the exit? I have to exit the game before he kills me.
She couldn't find any way to pause or stop the game. No exit. No nothing.
"I'm going to rip someone a new arsehole tomorrow!"
Out of sheer desperation, Asha lashed out to the right with her foot. She connected with the side of goblin's knee, and heard a sickening snap. The goblin wailed in agony, releasing her arm. She punched the other goblin in the throat, breaking free of his weakened grip just seconds before Dukk charged in to kill her.
Ducking under Dukk, she snatched up a spear and dropped into a fighting stance. "I warned you little monsters that – "
Asha's breath whooshed out of her lungs as an arrow pierced her back, with the bloody arrowhead bursting from her chest, right between her boobs. She gawked at it as darkness started closing in all around.
"Oh, that hurts so much."
Blackness consumed her.
Stygian blackness everywhere, lit faintly by flashes of blood red. Nightmarish faces bared their teeth and shouted at her. Asha screamed and writhed, as brutal hands clutched at her body. Someone, or some thing, yanked her hair, while vicious talons ripped her flesh. Pain unimaginable registered when a demonic face sank six-inch fangs into her thigh…
"Aaaaggh!" Asha screamed, sitting up on a flat slab of rock. She was back in her Spawn Site, shaking uncontrollably. "What the hell just happened?"
Chapter 8
Killum slapped his neck, killing the little bloodsucker. He paused to scowl at his surroundings. Those were the biggest, oldest oaks he'd ever seen. The forest canopy was so high and thick barely any sunlight reached the forest floor. It was pleasantly cool down there in the shadows, but the closer to the river he got the more mosquitoes filled the air.
"I wonder who the comedian is who thought adding mosquitoes to the Game was a good idea?" He slapped another one on his left forearm, leaving a bloody smear. "I'd like to meet him in a dark alley."
The river was close. The sound of frogs and crickets increased with every step. Killum marveled at how loud they could be. The city was never that loud.
"I need a beer," he muttered. Thirst hit hard about an hour back. Despite the land being thick with trees, he hadn't crossed any kind of water. Thoughts of the river just made him thirstier. "I can't wait to reach Oxenbluff."
How he was going to pay for that beer or ale was another issue. Killum knew the Game, though, and it would throw something at him to kill. If the mob was sentient, he'd at least win a few coins. Weapons would be better.
"I can't believe they're making me start over from scratch." He shook a fist at the heavens. "I dedicated over two months of my life to Realm of Battle!" He grinned. "I feel much better now."
Moments later he reached the river. The bank was steep, and the water looked deep and slow moving. Killum squatted and surveyed the situation. It wouldn't be easy getting a drink without falling in and getting all wet. He had a feeling being soaked there would be just as miserable as in real life. It was bad enough in the previous realm.
Movement to his left caught his eye. Something was flying low and fast. It took him a moment, and then his jaw dropped as he stared incredulously. Three men on a flying carpet zipped past him, following the river, without seeing him. They were gone before he could call out to them.
"I want a flying carpet."
He followed the river northward, looking for a place to get a drink. It didn't take long to cross a gurgling brook winding down to empty into the river. The water was cold and delicious, and he drank until he was a little uncomfortable.
He spotted a familiar plant. Using a stick, he half-dug, half-pulled the plant up. The thick roots were paler than he expected, but he was pretty sure it was a wild carrot. It was also a lot bigger than he expected. So he returned to the brook and washed the roots off.
And took a bite.
"Mmm, it is a carrot," he said. "Not as good as store-bought, but it's food."
Congratulations! You've learned the survival skill of Foraging! Go forth and find food.
Killum continued on his way, eating the carrot as he went. He studied everything with an eye toward making a weapon. His first thought was to make a bow and arrows, but realized that was much too labor intensive, and he didn't have any of the skills required. Next he looked for a long, straight piece of wood to make a staff, since he didn't have a spearhead. In the end, all he found was a sturdy two-foot length of wood he could use as a club.
"Better than nothing."
Even next to the river the terrain remained hilly, only there were small creeks between some hills. Eventually he found his way blocked by a creek too wide to jump over. Still not willing to get his clothes wet, Killum headed upstream. He got maybe a hundred yards before he heard someone else stomping through the woods.
Ducking behind a tree, he held his club at the ready. As the footsteps grew closer, his heart hammered and it got harder to breathe. If it was a mob, he could waylay it and maybe claim a real weapon and some coins.
I can't level up by merrily trekking through the woods.
Killum peeked at the newcomer. He was small, with a wild mane of red hair and big, bushy beard. He marked the newcomer as a dwarf. Killum noted he wore furs and heavy boots, but didn't see any weapons. He couldn't make out the face yet, so concentrated on the fellow.
Rand. Dwarf warrior (Lvl 11). Neutral.
"Rand!"
"Killum!"
"It's good to see you, my friend," Killum said. "By the way, how have you already leveled up one?"
"I got into a fight with a pair of mobs," he said. "Wolves."
"You survived the attack?"
"Yes, but it was a close one. I had to get creative, and apparently that was enough to level up," Rand said. The dwarf paused, frowning. "I killed one, and chased the other off. Only, the dead wolf didn't vanish like you'd expect a mob to do. I left the body to rot like in the real world. How realistic is this realm?"
Killum stared at him a moment. That was a good question. Which begged the question, what would happen to them if injured or killed? Since he had a spawn site, the battle-mage was almost certain he'd respawn if killed. But what if he got an arm chopped off in a battle?
"Have you seen any of the others?" Rand asked.
"No. Who all came over?"
The dwarf shrugged. "Tiana went after you, and then me. I'm not sure about Fergus. The stupid elf argued against following yours and Asha's examples. He wanted to return to Uhrs and wait for you to join us and tell us what happened to you."
Killum shrugged. "That was prudent."
"Sure, but we don't play the game to be prudent or safe," he said. "Tiana agreed with me, so here I am."
"Well, if he didn't cross over, then he'll have to fight his way through Deadman's Swamp and the dungeon again to keep playing with us." Killum looked around. "If we decide to continue playing in this realm, though I can't think of why we wouldn't. These graphics are insane."
"I know. I have to keep reminding myself that this is virtual reality, not real life." He paused to study Killum's club, before looking around. "Are you heading for the town of Oxenburg?"
"Oxenbluff," Killum said. "Yes. The Admin I spoke to strongly hinted that it would be a good place to go."
"Mine, too. But he refused to confirm anyone else passed through, not even you guys who went first." He picked up a fist-sized rock, pulled some vines off a tree trunk, and bound the rock inside a fork at the end of a foot long length of wood. "A stone axe!"
Killum gave it a doubtful look. Rand seemed awful proud of it, so he refrained from commenting, but there was no way that thing would stay together past the first blow. It might've worked if the realm wasn't so realistic.
"How did you kill a wolf without any weapons?"
"I'm a warrior and strong as a bull, so lured the wolf in close," Rand said, eyes bright with glee. "I grabbed him, held him in a headlock for
a second… And then I snapped his neck! It was awesome." He puffed out his chest, brandishing his new stone-age axe. "I am a warrior!"
The battle-mage couldn't argue with success. So they headed up the creek until it was narrow enough for Rand to cross. After checking his map, and using the zoom in and out function to determine the river bent dramatically ahead, they struck out due north instead of following the creek back down.
"I saw humans following the river and heading northward," Killum said. He grinned at Rand. "On a flying carpet."
"Oh man, we could cover a lot of ground with a flying carpet," the dwarf said. "And make Asha power it with her magic."
Killum quickly learned why the river twisted so dramatically. Unfortunately, there was a big hill on his side of the river, too, and his chosen path took them right over the top of it. The stupid map didn't show elevation. The map made the entire Goblin Run River Valley look flat as a table, when it was incredibly hilly. He and Rand worked up a sweat climbing that hill.
"Maybe they could make this realm a little less realistic," Rand gasped out as they neared the peak. "Or put the towns closer together."
Killum threw out an arm to stop Rand. "What the hell is that? A nest?"
The top of the hill was clear, but the crest appeared to be fortified with a massive weave of branches. Killum's first thought was there was a village within, but then he recognized the shape.
"Impossible. What would make a giant nest like that?" Rand said. "It has to be at least twenty feet in diameter."
"I'd say more than thirty," Killum replied. "Dragon's nest?"
Rand's eyes grew as big as saucers. "No. No, can't be. Dragons live in caves. Maybe a giant eagle or a roc."
"Since there's no such thing as dragons in the real world, the game designers could make them nest like birds," he said. "Game designers make their own rules. Whether dragon or giant eagle, it would have to be humongous to build such a big nest."
The battle-mage started towards it. "Come on, it'll be fun to check it out."
"Listen." Rand stopped him. They froze, cocking their heads to hear better. There was a rustling sound coming from the nest. Rand continued with a whisper, "There could be baby dragons in it big enough to eat us. Let's get out of here before Momma Monster returns."
"You're afraid of dying?"
"No, but I find the prospect of being eaten alive freaky."
Killum paused to consider that. Now that he thought about it… "You're right."
So they began circling around the nest, while watching it warily. The nest fascinated Killum, but Rand was correct. He'd come too far to get killed and sent back to his Spawn Site, despite how awesome seeing baby dragons would be.
Once out of sight of the nest, Rand took the lead and picked up the pace. Killum grinned. If the dwarf had an axe and shield, he would've been the first one in that nest. Unarmed, he avoided a fight like the plague.
As they neared the river, the air grew more and more humid. Killum listened for the songs of frogs and insects, but they were strangely silent. And then he heard it.
"Stop," the battle-mage said. "Don't you hear it?"
There were angry shouts just at the edge of hearing. It sounded like a man and woman. Were a husband and wife fighting? That would really make this realm realistic. And then they heard a bellow.
"Troll!" Rand whispered, dropping to one knee. "We can turn more to the right and avoid him."
"Yes, but what if the troll is attacking one of our friends?" he said. "We should at least check it out."
Rand chewed on his mustache a second, before nodding and standing up. "I can test my new stone axe on his worthless hide."
"That's the spirit."
They moved quickly and quietly down to the river. Killum's worst concerns proved correct. A ten-foot tall troll with a roughly crafted, stone-tipped spear had Fergus and Tiana backed up again a twenty foot cliff. The troll wore an uncured pelt wrapped around his hips, with a rope belt. What looked like a two-handed claymore sword was at the monster's side.
He probably uses the sword as a knife, Killum thought as he concentrated on the troll.
Troll (Lvl 12).
The situation looked bad. The troll was rather skinny and ill-fed, so was probably driven by extreme hunger more than anything. He wouldn't abandon his prey easily, if at all. The riverbanks were very rocky at that location, but anything large enough to hurt a troll was too heavy for any of them to throw. Unless…
"Rand, go over and distract the troll, but don't pull him away from Tiana and Fergus," Killum said. He pointed to the top of the cliff. "I'm going up there and throwing the biggest rock I can find down on his head. That ought to kill him."
"Hey, why do I get the more dangerous job?"
"You have an axe."
"True. Okay."
After giving the dwarf a friendly clap on the back, Killum headed for the cliff looming over his friends. "Don't get yourself killed. It's a long walk back from our Spawn Sites."
The river's past flood waters had eaten away about half of a hill. Trees and rocks were all that held the remaining hill together. Killum found a basketball sized rock about halfway up, so struggled with its awkward weight the last half of the way.
This rock is almost as big as the troll's head. He looked over the edge of the cliff at the raging troll below. After a wave to Rand, the dwarf ran out of the woods yelling at the top of his lungs. He made enough racket to sound like a full cavalry charge. That made the troll stop and look. If this doesn't kill him, I don't know what will.
Killum threw the rock like an oversized shot put. For a second he worried he missed the troll. Then the troll turned back toward the elf and thief, and the rock smashed into the top of his head. The battle-mage's breath caught when the troll looked up at him, but then the monster's eyes crossed and he toppled over backwards.
Congratulations! You've earned enough experience points to move up one level. You are now a Level 11 Battle-mage!
"Wahoo!" Rand cried. "We did it!" He ran up to the troll and whacked it in the forehead with his stone axe, which disintegrated upon impact. "Damn. He broke my axe."
"Where did you get the axe?" Fergus asked.
"Um, I took it off a goblin."
Killum arched a brow and shook his head. That's probably why Rand didn't say anything about earning a skill when he made it.
Rand was still hugging Tiana when Killum reached them. Tiana looked a little annoyed, but still grateful for being saved. But he understood why Rand was so fixated on her. This realm's version of Tiana was stunning.
Tiana. Human thief (Lvl 10). Neutral.
Tiana's wild mane of flame red hair drew his attention first. And then he noticed the shapely body under her plain brown tunic and trousers. And her eyes were an incredible shade of blue.
"Damn, Tiana, you're going to find it hard to blend into the crowd looking like that," Killum said.
The hot redhead looked down at her body. She smoothed her tunic down, stretching the rough fabric tighter across large, high breasts and a flat, toned belly. Killum's breath caught.
Tiana frowned. "You think?"
Fergus barked a laugh. Killum shook his head and turned to check him out.
Fergus. Elven ranger (Lvl 10). Neutral.
The ranger wore a green linen shirt and brown trousers. He still had that blonde, blue-eyed, long-hair and goatee Earl Flynn look, only with tilted elven eyes and pointed ears. Fergus still carried himself with the same calm self-assurance, despite just being saved from a hungry troll.
Turning to the dead troll. "I claim that big claymore sword since I killed him."
The battle-mage walked over to the troll and pulled the sword out from under the mob's rope belt. He noticed the long, wide blade had lots of deep nicks in its edge, and was quite rusty. Still, it was better than nothing.
And then the troll sat up. Killum froze, and slowly turned to face the stunned looking mob. The monster's face twisted with rage. Killum stepped forward to thrust h
is new blade through the troll's throat as Tiana screamed and the other two shouted warnings.
Killum realized his mistake too late. The troll was faster than he realized, so was able to pick up his spear and thrust. The flint spearhead pierced Killum's chest, and came out his back. The point of his sword thrust through the troll's neck at the same time.
Darkness moved in from all directions as Killum silently cursed his stupidity, and watched the troll die. At least I killed him, too.
Blackness slammed in all around.
Stygian blackness everywhere, lit faintly by flashes of blood red. Nightmarish faces bared their teeth and shouted at him. Killum screamed and thrashed about as brutal hands clutched at his body. Monsters that could only be demons clawed at him, tearing his flesh in a dozen places. The pain was beyond comprehension. And then a huge red, winged demon grabbed him, and sank its fangs deep into Killum's throat…
"Nooo!" Killum screamed, sitting up. He fell off the stone bed, looking all around with wild eyes for an attack. It took a long moment to calm down and realize he was back at his Spawn Site. "Getting killed in this realm sucks!"
Chapter 9
Killum slowly crumbled to the ground. Fergus looked at the troll, now with a sword thrust through his throat. The fact the mob survived the rock to the head was worrisome.
"Are the monsters harder to kill in this realm?" Fergus asked.
Rand shrugged. "I killed a wolf with my bare hands, but then I am a powerful dwarf warrior after all."
The ranger looked over Rand's head at Tiana, who returned his gaze with amused eyes. She shrugged, and he shook his head woefully. Rand was a character. Maybe it wasn't an act. Maybe the dwarf really believed it. Fergus looked around, and found everything very believable.
