The Slayer

by Darren Hultberg Jr

  Rather than join in, I sat in silence, stroking Razyr’s scaly back and listening to the others. It felt good, and yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about Max. For a while, finding him had almost become an afterthought to adventure, but seeing that he was so near… well, it made my heart ache for answers.

  “What the hell’s the matter with you?” Helena asked as she snatched my untouched mug of ale and downed nearly half of it.

  Hilda frowned. “Max… the guy he logged with is supposedly nearby…. but he won’t answer any of Zan’s messages.”

  Helena rubbed her hand on her chin. “Maybe he’s avoiding you. How good of friends were you?”

  “Best friends.” I replied sharply. “For quite a long time.” She shrugged, then downed the rest of my ale.

  “Wait a second.” Brenton said, rising from his seat. “You say the game alerted you of his presence just recently?”

  “Yes?” I replied.

  “Well, you may be interested to know that in the game exists a very powerful polymorph spell… one that can last even days if not disenchanted.”

  “Ok?” I said, not entirely sure of what he was getting at.

  With the slightest of grins, he adjusted his spectacles then pointed to Hilda’s lap, where that ugly striped frog continued to sit.

  I turned to the thing, slightly appalled but also curious, and peered into its black beady eyes. “Max…. Is that you?”

  The frog stared back at me in silence, then without warning unleashed a prolonged, bellowing croak.

  The others burst into laughter as I waved the stench of frog breath out of my face. Even Ivan, the ever-serious familiar let out a jubilant squawk. A huge smile spread across my face… a smile that stayed there for the remainder of the evening.

  ><><

  I woke the next morning more refreshed then I’d felt in days. The comradery, the drinks and the laughter... well, perhaps it was just what I needed. I mean sure, I still didn’t know of Max’s whereabouts… and I was about to enter a tournament with a thousand other players out for blood including two of my greatest rivals thus far… and there was the whole mission to slay the lord of Aetheria looming over my head… needless to say I had a lot going on. Regardless, I felt like I was as ready as I would ever be. I’d faced a number of trials thus far, earned the trust of a great group of friends, aligned myself with a powerful guild, trained with Keldon, and bonded with Razyr. I had to believe I could do this.

  By early morning the streets had once again filled with combatants making their way towards the arena’s many entrance tunnels. Brenton, Helena and Taryn traveled with Hilda and I towards the main gate, though none of the three had any intention of competing. Instead, they planned to watch from the stands and cheer us on as we battled the masses.

  As we neared the gate, a group of arena guards began to filter through the crowd, sending players down separate corridors where we would be split up for the coming rounds of battle royale. One of them yanked Hilda away, shuttling her down a far corridor before I had the chance to wish her luck. The others began to split off as well, heading towards the tunnels that led to spectator seating.

  Helena lingered for a moment and laid a few playful smacks on my cheek. “Light em up.” She said with a wink of her crimson eyes before parting to find seats with the others. I smiled, though in the back of my mind I pondered what Rhylor had said…. No. No time for that. I needed all the support I could get, especially with battle just moments away.

  I entered into the tunnel the guard directed me down, walking the length of the stone corridor before ending up in a large waiting area packed with other players. Casters, melee fighters, and an assortment of other competitors of varied class and level stood packed inside the holding chamber, all nervously awaiting battle. Some players stood with familiars perched on their shoulders, though it was impossible to tell if any of the others had the power of bonded sprites secretly churning through their veins. The completion appeared vast with players as low as level 10 and as high as 21. Some of them were armored like walking fortresses, while others wielded exotic weapons and items. It was quite obvious that this battle would not be easily one.

  The doors to the chamber slammed shut, enclosing us in the large room. There was no going back now.

  On the opposite side of the chamber, a large metal gate was latched to the floor, locked by some sort of mechanism. The gate led out into the arena itself where a guard stood idly by, ready to open it when signaled. Suddenly, the jubilant voice of a young woman echoed across the arena, magically amplified so that all attendees could hear. “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Airrigar’s tournament of champions, hosted by the one and only Lord Vazryn!” Thousands roared in excitement. I peered out one of the holes in the iron gate and saw that the stands were filled to capacity. It looked as though the entire city had come to bear witness to the event.

  “We know your all excited to see some action, so we won’t keep you waiting!” The announcer went on. “Remember competitors, if your health falls to a critical level then you’ll be given one chance to leave the battlefield… otherwise, that risk is on you!” The way that she spoke was so cheery and uplifting, despite the fact that she was speaking about our potential deaths. “Alright competitors, the first round of battle royale is about to begin! Ready your weapons!” She paused, allowing anticipation to build to an all-time high. She was working the crowd magnificently. “Ok! Guards, open the first gate!”

  Suddenly, the gate to my chamber began to creak open and the other players began to filter out onto the arena’s floor. Looks like my group was up first.

  I turned to the drake that sat perched on my shoulder. “You ready, buddy?”

  Razyr shot back a toothy grin that told me everything that I needed to know. Together, we stepped out of the stone chamber and into the deafening arena.

  ><><

  We made our way into the battle area of the arena, a massive sandy pit surrounded by ten-foot-tall stone walls. Behind those walls were ascending rows of seating that held thousands. Several more gates lined the stone walls… that was likely where other players were stationed. I could even see a few of them peeking through the holes in their respective gates, watching intently until it was there turn to fight.

  High above, a young woman floated on large steel disc held by some sort of invisible current. Her black hair was shaved short, her body wrapped in a tight leather garb that she seemed to flaunt about on the platform. Around her, a sprite reminiscent of some sort of jellyfish floated about, amplifying her voice as she spoke… she must’ve been the announcer.

  An eerie silence settled on the arena floor as myself and the other 99 players spread out across the circular battlefield, eyeing each other warily with weapons clenched in impossibly tight grips. This was it.

  “Alright competitors… on my mark, let’s spill some blood! 3… 2…1… battle!”

  The arena floor immediately erupted into chaos. Players began to charge each other from all sides, unleashing mighty skills, swinging weapons with deadly force. I felt heat at my back as a mage unleashed a bevy of firebolts at a charging berserker. Damnit all this was madness.

  “Zander, to your left!” Razyr shouted. I turned, raising nevermore as a warrior approached in full plate and wielding a heavy Morningstar. His level was lower than mine, but this was no time to take chances. He heaved the Morningstar into the air then slammed it down in my direction. The false image of me faded to mist as I reappeared behind the man and struck, executing my illusionary strike. Nevermore bounced off his helm, sending sparks and causing the warrior to stumble forward off balance.

  A second challenger dashed in, a spear-wielding dragoon wearing a suit of battle-tested scale armor. He spoke a quick chant and his spear illuminated a bright blue as he plunged it towards my chest. I swung wide with nevermore, attempting to intercept the blow, but the force of the strike was too much, and the spearhead plunged into the joint of my shoulder plate. -32 HP

  I stumbled back, my
shoulder flaring with pain as the dragoon readied a second strike. Behind me, the warrior re-oriented himself and began to approach once more, Morningstar poised to strike. Damnit, I had to think! No… no time to think, just act!

  I let my thoughts fade just as Keldon had taught me and let my instincts take over. I completely shut out Adam’s nervous thoughts out of my head and became the slayer.

  I activated shadow snare as the dragoon charged in. Suddenly, his shadow leapt from the ground and entangled him, momentarily halting his approach. With haste I spun around and lifted nevermore with both hands, using the sword the block the impending blow from the warrior’s Morningstar. The man came at me relentlessly, swinging his Morningstar like a cudgel as he tried to bat the obsidian blade out of my grasp. As he raised his weapon skyward for a heavy blow, I activated another one of my new skills.

  Kinetic Strike

  Unleash all of the stored kinetic energy in your weapon with one blow. This attack has the potential to unleash massive damage.

  Nevermore burned a bright red as I swung it into the warrior’s chest plate. Upon contact, an explosion of energy erupted onto the warrior, blowing off his cuirass entirely and leaving his level 10 body a smoldering heap. I turned about once more to face the higher leveled dragoon one on one.

  He was no longer alone.

  The spearman exchanged nods with four other players as they began to encircle me, weapons pointed in my direction. Five players would be left to move on in this battle royale… it would make sense to form a quick alliance on the battlefield.

  Unfortunately, I had been left out.

  “It’s time.” I whispered to Razyr, and the drake immediately formed into a ball of light that absorbed into my chest. I could feel an immediate boost in my strength and speed, thought that wouldn’t be enough.

  Not against 5.

  Still, I shut that thought out of my mind, let the thrill of battle course through me. One of the attackers blindsided me with a shield smash, forcing my knees to buckle and drawing a line of blood that ran down my face. Cowards, they were going to pick me apart. No! I would not go down like that!

  My vision became a wash of red as anger boiled in my stomach. With a surge of strength, I popped to my feet and swung nevermore defiantly in a wide arc, staving off the men’s approach for a few seconds. “Come on!” I growled, barely recognizing my own voice. It was primal and raw, like a wild animal that had been forced into a corner.

  The assailants began moving in once more, caging me in with their weapons. Perhaps they didn’t know what happens when you try to cage a wild animal.

  It lashes out.

  35

  The announcers voice boomed over the roar of the crowd. “Will you look at that folks! It appears one of our competitors has been surrounded… and he’s a slayer, no less! Oh no, it looks like they’re going to chop him to pieces. What will he do folks?”

  My knuckles went white as my grip on nevermore tightened. What was I going to do, she asked? Damnit, I was going to make them bleed.

  I lunged forward, forcing my opponents to take action, eliminating any time these bastards had to strategize. They spread out as I swung nevermore in a series of wide arcs, easily dodging my wild attacks but giving me some much-needed space.

  Momentarily isolated, I dove at my first target… the groups rogue. I burst forward with lunging strike, slamming my blade through the rogue’s feeble defenses and into his shoulder. He cried out as a chunk of his health bar disappeared, then steadied himself and slashed out with a pair of steel daggers.

  I absorbed the blow, allowing it to strike me in an effort to keep the rogue close. There was no time to waste chasing him down, even if it meant a slash across the chest.

  Ignoring the pain, I grabbed the rogue by the collar with my free hand and slammed nevermore directly into the man’s skullcap. The obsidian blade illuminated a bright blue as it connected, drawing on Razyr’s Aether as I activated mage blade. A pulse of energy erupted from the point of contact as the rogue went skidding through the sand, then moaned softly clutching at his head.

  Zander, look out! Razyr’s voice echoed in my mind as I began to turn. Suddenly, something smashed into my back, sending me to the sand. Damnit all, I had to move quicker if I was going to survive!

  I used the momentum of the blow and tucked into a quick roll, then sprung back to my feet, wielding nevermore in a defensive posture. Beside me, a guardian approached sporting a large tower shield and a warhammer already caked in blood. He prodded me back a step with a feigned strike, then grinned. What the hell was he trying to d-

  Suddenly, a bright flash illuminated in the corner of my eye. Something was coming for me. I shifted to meet the ball of scorch that was now heading right in my direction. Oh god, this was going to hurt!

  Without warning, blue light began to flow from my body, materializing into the form of a large, triangular aegis shield made complete of Aether. This must’ve been Razyr’s doing… one of my bond skills. The shield of Valor.

  The ball of scorch smashed into the translucent shield, exploding and sending wild flame shooting in every direction. The guardian beside me covered his eyes from the blast but I forced mine to remain open, tears of pain streaking down my cheeks as the light burned at my retinas. This was my chance.

  I looked beyond the blast and spotted the person responsible. One of my five attackers, a female pyromancer. First, I threw up my slayers mark then shadowshifted behind her. She turned, eyes wide as I heaved my blade back, then swung it at her with all the force I could muster.

  The blade never connected.

  Something sharp stabbed into my armpit, knocking me off balance and sending a powerful jolt of pain through my shoulder. I stumbled back, eyeing that damned dragoon who’d entered the fray once more, my blood now dripping off the tip of his spear.

  Be careful, Zander. Razyr warned. That one is bonded. No wonder he seemed so damn strong… He had the power of a familiar coursing through his veins!

  I steadied myself as the four remaining attackers began to surround me. The dragoon, the guardian, the pyromancer, and a barbarian toting a sword larger than myself. As far as odds went, things were still looking pretty bad.

  “Taunt him.” The dragoon shouted before I could make my next move. The guardian obliged, slamming his hammer against his shield and activating shieldmaster’s challenge. Instantly, I acquired tunnel vision, unable to target anyone but that damned guardian. If I remembered correctly, then this taunt would last 30 seconds… a lifetime on the battlefield.

  With no other options, I charged forward, throwing everything I had at the guardian. I used double-strike, slamming nevermore against his shield in series of quick blows that sent him backpedaling. Translucent blades swirled around me as I called upon blade fury next, launching the freshly made Aether blades at him in a furious assault. His health bar began to plummet as the weapons snuck past his defenses, piercing him with magical energy and-

  Something sharp stabbed into the back of my leg, dropping me to one knee as a chunk of my health bar faded. The dragoon yanked his spear out of my leg then stabbed forward again, this time piercing my shoulder. I swung at him with my blade, but he easily stepped out of the way. His eyes locked with mine, then quite suddenly his gaze shifted to the right. “Finish it. He said, then quickly withdrew his spear.

  Once again, I felt heat building from behind, as if something extremely hot was quickly making its approach. Instincts told me to turn and face whatever it was that approached, but the effects of the taunt would not allow it… so I did the only thing I could.

  I ran towards the guardian.

  The dragoon seemed genuinely surprised as I fought through the pain and burst back to my feet. He’d thought he had done enough to keep me down… Damnit, I could not wait to shove my sword through that fool!

  Unfortunately, that meant surviving this battle. With the source of heat burning at my back, I locked on to the guardian and activated lunging strike. Muscles twitch
ed, propelling me towards the armored foe as he worked to reorient himself after my barrage.

  The heat at my back began to grow as I closed in. The guardian’s eyes went wide. With inches to spare, I relented my attack and dove face first into the sand! A second ball of scorch soared over my head, burning the back of my neck as it passed before slamming into the helpless guardian and engulfing him in flame.

  The taunt vanished as the guardian fell to the ground in a charred heap. I spun to my feet and heaved nevermore into the air just as the dragoon’s spear came crashing in. Sparks flew in my face as the spear-tip slammed into my blade and deflected high, the point narrowly missing my neck. I moved to reset my stance, but the dragoon was quicker. His weapon began to glow a violent red as he unleashed a flurry of thrusts. I danced backwards, partying blows left and right, but it wasn’t enough. Pain rippled through my body as the spear pierced my thigh, my shoulder, my stomach. They weren’t deep wounds, just small punctures of flesh, but damnit all did they ever hurt.!

  I tried to flee to my left, but the barbarian leapt in to cut me off. With a big boot to the chest, he flung me back into the path of the dragoon’s spear. The dragoon grinned, then plunged the weapon towards my chest. My body tensed. No way to block. Too fast to dodge. I let instinct takeover, releasing my grip on nevermore as it vanished into black smoke. Then, in an act of sheer absurdity, I reached up and caught the spear with my bare hands.

  The dragoon relented, a look of bewilderment quickly forming on his face as he watched the spearhead hover inches from my chest cavity.

  The sound of footsteps caught my ear as the barbarian charged in from left. I immediately dropped low using everything I had to give the spear a mighty yank. Unprepared for the maneuver, the dragoon stumbled forward directly into the barbarian’s path as the brute’s massive sword came crashing in.