Nick believed it. The latest rumors doing the rounds suggested that not all was well at Neutron Syndicate. Inspired by Nick’s defiant stance, a quorum of programmers had made their dissatisfaction known to the media. Whether anything came of it probably depended on Nick beating the game they served.
“Thanks, Joe,” Nick said, slapping the techie on the back. It was no surprise to hear that other runners would be out to get him, but it got under his skin nonetheless. Why couldn’t they all simply band together against a common enemy? But that was a fool’s dream. As long as money existed, folks would be prepared to ditch their morals. The way of the world.
Nick and Lee stripped down one last time while Joe prepared the tanks.
“This is it,” Nick said, his voice tight with nerves.
“Nick, make sure you fucking come back,” Lee said quietly.
For once, she wasn’t being sarcastic. Nick looked into her eyes and saw fear. Rather than compound her fear with his own, he forced out a smile.
“If I’m coming back to you, that’s all I need to know.”
Her smile was natural, joyous. Nick’s heart did a triple somersault - she wanted him! It was real. Feeling more confident than he had in a long time, he saluted Mike and sank beneath the Immersion gel. The big Slovakian had gone quiet, as he always did when he was nervous or pensive. Nick was touched by his concern.
Drifting in the viscous gel was always a good time to focus on the challenges of the coming game. Nick knew a fierce, large-scale battle awaited him. A familiar fear rose in his guts, but he forced himself to focus on his powerful allies, who would be by his side.
The gel darkened and a title passed before his eyes - THE SIEGE OF DURANDOR.
A grand, defining moment has arrived. The battle lines have been drawn, and the pressure point is Castle Durandor. Not only must the human allies defeat the entrenched kobold army, they must also confront the darkest threat to cast its shadow over Tyrennia - Hager, the Devil’s son. Many heroes have stepped forward to heed King Alain’s call, but past deeds will mean nothing on this savage battlefield. Lives will be lost forever, legends will be cast in stone. On which side of the blade will you land?
The world of Oakshield Junction was lovingly drawn before Nick’s eyes. He was standing in a regal command tent with the other nineteen contestants. Lee found him quickly, standing beside him with a challenging glare at their neighbors. King Alain stood at the front, talking urgently with a team of advisers. Nick was immediately on high alert, but there was little chance of an opportunistic attack in the presence of the King.
“Mercenaries,” Alain began nervously. “Our time has come. The kobold host is camped less than a mile outside this tent. A blight on this land. I have been in secret communication with our people at the castle. They will use their siege weapons just before we attack the enemy blockade. Remember, they are extremely well dug in - wait until our horsemen have softened their defenses before advancing. Great Mage Picello will proceed behind you. You have served me well. That is all.”
Lee raised an eyebrow. “He’s no William Wallace, is he?”
Nick had to laugh. The runners broke up and headed outside. Nick felt the heat of several lingering glances. He saw builds of all descriptions and wondered what kind of roll would thrive today. Probably the opposite of whatever he was.
On the way out, something on the map table caught his eye. A smooth, flat stone sitting under a glass of rose wine. Nick pocketed the rock, only barely keeping the wine upright. Lee gave him a quizzical look.
“I’ll tell you later,” he said.
The pair blinked in the sunlight as they headed outside. The command tent was perched on the edge of a ridge to the southwest of Castle Durandor. The noble keep was visible across three miles of brown wasteland. Not so long ago this land was a verdant patchwork of fields and hedges.
The kobold army ringed the castle like a black smudge. The main force was camped to the west of the great moat and seemed dangerously close. Enemy siege engines were arranged in an arc and were currently bombarding the castle with burning pitch balls. Nick couldn’t imagine how terrifying it would be for the human peasants and soldiers trapped under that castle. In the weeks since the kobolds had begun their siege, the keep had suffered significant damage but held firm.
A fanfare of bugles preceded the arrival of a score of horseman dressed in the blue livery of King Alain’s army. The horse knights looked splendid in their shining armor, barely glancing at the motley pixel runners as they trotted past.
“They’re assembling further down the ridge,” Lee said, pointing to the north. “They won’t be ready to charge for an hour at least.”
The pair used the time to practice dual-wielding. Nick found a rusty training sword to use with his katana.
“The first thing you need to know about dual-wielding is the concept of vulnerability,” Lee said, twirling her blades. “The art is more about evasion than attack. You don’t naturally think that way.”
Nick nodded - that made sense. He’d spent the vast majority of his gaming life using a shield. Every movement, conscious or otherwise, was made with the knowledge that his left side had cover.
As Lee showed him, dual-wielding was a new psychology. Defense was movement. Attack was moderation. There was no slug-fest - just slash and go. If Nick couldn’t learn how to methodically dismantle an opponent, as opposed to bludgeoning them into submission, dual-wielding was going to kill him quickly.
Nick and Lee spent the next hour sparring basic moves again and again.
“With any luck you’ll find a better sword on the battlefield,” Lee said, eying Nick’s training sword with distaste.
Nick spent a couple of minutes engaging the army merchant, but didn’t have enough money for the standard-issue longsword. He wasn’t looking for a straight sword anyway - it would ruin his dual-wielding rhythm.
If he must have a straight sword, it would’ve been great to have SnowmanCometh’s poison falchion. But if he remembered correctly, the albino’s corpse hadn’t yielded any loot. Just another reason to despise the Syndicate - they seemed incredibly reluctant to give Nick an even break.
A second bugle blast suggested the Durandorian horsemen were ready to advance. King Alain and his retinue emerged from the command tent to watch. The King looked pale and wan.
“Someone needs to tell him how to look like a ruler,” Lee said. “Sometimes I miss Jannibar.”
Nick threw her a dirty look, but she just shrugged cheekily.
“Before I forget …” he said, engaging his profile screen.
Feeling curiously light, he sent Lee an invitation to Bond.
“I guess …” she teased, accessing her own profile screen. “You’re the only one around.”
“Fuck you, too.”
The royal horsemen moved off in tight, disciplined formation. Nick estimated there were only a hundred or so, which reflected how badly the army had been hit in Bariz. Remnants of the once-proud force had regrouped in Durandor, but it was just a shadow of its former self.
Nick and Lee fell in behind the trotting horsemen, watching the other contestants carefully. He was comforted by the presence of the Great Mage Picello, who strode with purpose. Even better, he was surrounded by a dozen Frost Magi. Picello did not acknowledge any of the runners, intensely focused on his task. The kobolds had a known weakness to cold damage, hence the mage’s critical support.
The thunder of the horses’ hooves stirred the adrenalin of battle. Lee must’ve noticed something in his expression, because she squeezed his hand.
“Remember,” she said, “Dual-wielding is poetry. Let it flow.”
Nick frowned - Lee rarely used such flowery language. But she was exactly right. Dual-wielding was all about the synchronicity of the body. If that failed, it didn’t work. It was one of the more skillful RPG fighting styles. Nick considered the rude weight of the training sword in his left hand and felt doubts creeping in. He wanted to dual-wield, but shouldn’t be b
e doing it with better weapons? What if he -
“Watch out!” Lee shouted.
Nick ducked just as a battle axe came flying out of the moving column. Haloed by golden light, a pixel runner came straight for him. He wore quality leather armor and wielded a scythe. DEX build by the look of it. Amaranch advanced boldly, swinging the scythe in a vicious arc.
“Don’t attack,” Lee warned. “He has an invincibility buff.”
Nick nodded and backed off, worried that the confrontation would entice other pixel runners to attack. He also felt annoyed that this douche would choose to attack now, before anyone had even had a chance to engage the kobold army.
Using his high AGL and STA scores, Nick dodged and rolled free of the Brigand’s attacks, but the trick was to avoid undue attention. Lee seemed content to hang back and wait for an opportunity to strike. At length Amaranch’s buff faded and Lee was right onto him, scimitars flashing in the morning light.
Nick stepped forward and dealt his own attack, landing alternate blows with each hand like Lee had taught him. After two blows with each hand he rolled back and resumed a defensive stance. His flurry had drained a total of 300HP - 100 each with the katana and 50 each with the training sword. Not bad, but could be better.
“Get ready,” Lee called, moving in close to Amaranch for a cheeky feint. The pixel runner took the bait, committing to a full swing. Nick punished him for it, slashing away at his exposed back. Lee rolled in to the Brigand’s feet and delivered a killing blow.
“That’s just the beginning,” she said, panting. “Thankfully this one was working on his own.”
Amaranch’s armor wasn’t as good as Nick’s Snow Hunter set, but his battle axe was decent. Better than decent. It was superbly light and well-balanced. Conscious of the flow of soldiers around him, Nick tried a few lazy swings. It sang through the air.
“I think you just found your left hand,” Lee said.
“But it isn’t a sword,” Nick said, frowning.
“Where’s the rule it needs to be a sword?”
Nick looked down at his weapons in wonder - was it really possible?
“Let’s keep moving,” Lee urged.
Up ahead, the horsemen had reached the outer palisades of the kobold encampment. There was a flurry of movement, followed by a stream of horsemen to either side.
“They’re not getting through,” Nick said, peering through the haze.
“We need to engage,” Lee said, quickening her pace. The other pixel runners were already sprinting ahead. Nick and Lee gravitated toward the Great Mage Picello. At least the battlefield was open, which reduced the chance of ambush.
Picello suddenly crouched low and conjured a massive ball of ice. Nick watched in amazement as the sphere soared over the marauding horsemen and smashed into the jet-black kobold ranks. A breach in the kobold defenses opened up.
The Bonded pair darted through broken palisades and stepped over the corpses of several knights. With their high dex scores they were able to leap over a stinking trench. Other runners weren’t so lucky, falling into the rancid space and forced to engage the kobold spearmen there.
Realizing he and Lee were well within the kobold encampment, Nick assumed a defensive stance. With a chorus of peculiar, staccato barks, a squad of enemy spearmen rushed to engage them.
“Backs to the trench,” Lee advised. “If you need to roll, roll laterally.”
It was solid advice. The spearmen advanced cautiously, as spearmen tended to do. A hail of razor-sharp ice shards crashed down on them, obliterating the entire squad. A second spearman unit stepped forward to replace them.
“The bulk of their infantry is camped here,” Lee said. “We need to cut open a path to the Castle.”
Nick nodded. He was more of a ‘see enemy, kill enemy’ type, but Lee had always been able to see the wider battlefield.
The pair drew the enemy spearmen forward, looking to entice two or three from the line. Lee managed to incite a committed attack, which was Nick’s cue to move in for a counter-strike. He slashed twice with each weapon, enjoying the smooth ease of his new battle-axe. He’d never thought an axe could be such a devastating DEX weapon. He rolled away after dealing over 350HP in damage, happy to wait for his next opportunity.
The injured kobold, who looked menacing in his onyx-colored leather, was too smart to commit to another swing, but one of his comrades lost his cool and launched a power attack on Lee. Rookie mistake. The Corsair simply back-stepped and removed the kobold’s head with her famous cross-swipe.
The spearmen charged, abandoning all pretense at discipline. Nick kept the trench at his back even though it was tempting to roll through the charging enemy ranks. In turning the enemy around, he too would be exposing himself to attack from the rear. Instead he neatly side-stepped the foremost spearman, landing a few choice blows before dodging the next charger. Now he had two kobolds trapped against the edge of the trench.
Nick advanced without hesitation, spooking one of them over the edge of the trench to be dispatched by the pixel runners below. He circled the other one warily, aware that spears could cover several yards, especially with a well-timed thrust. That was the primary advantage of such a weapon, but the downside was the precision they required.
The kobold attempted to skewer Nick, but the Duelist was far too nimble to be pinned down. A small side-step was all it took to evade the spear and land a counter-attack. He slashed hungrily at the kobold, breaking his defense and killing him outright. To his left, Lee was busy dispatching another spearman. The humans were pushing the kobolds back, but not rapidly. A dull, low horn sounded in the distance.
“That isn’t a kobold horn,” Lee said.
Nick’s blood ran cold - Hager’s army was on the move.
“Push!” Lee yelled, entering the fray. Nick followed her, glancing over his shoulder nervously. There were too many bounty hunters around for his liking. The besieged kobold army, many wearing heavier armor and wielding cutlasses, swarmed the human forces. Their builds looked similar to Lee’s Corsair build, suggesting they would enjoy a nice balance of strength and dexterity.
“Follow me,” Lee barked at Nick. He wasn’t about to argue.
The Bonded pair danced into the throng, trading lightning blows with their kobold enemies. Nick just concentrated on moving - if he stopped and thought about what he was doing, he’d revert to old sword/shield movements and that was dangerous.
Lee was flowing through traffic, swinging her scimitars like a windmill. Nick followed suit, landing blows and taking a few as well. None were particularly damaging, though he kept a careful eye on his HP. Over the next few minutes he could see why such a fluid fighting style worked well against large numbers - he and Lee were wearing the kobolds down. It wasn’t long before he saw a kill shot present itself - he didn’t miss. Before he could even wipe the blood off his katana, he found himself behind another kobold. He back-stabbed without hesitation, whooping with joy. Lee met him at the trench, her eyes sparkling.
“Knew you could fucking do it,” she said triumphantly.
“Thanks,” Nick said sheepishly. “Got any healing herbs?”
“None,” Lee said. “Let’s see what we can scrounge at the command tent.”
There was no dishonor in heading back to replenish HP. The royal infantry were moving in, score upon score of pikemen crossing the trench and scything through enemy lines. It wouldn’t be long before the kobold army was breached. Nick and Lee trotted back up the hill to the King’s well-protected vantage point. Alain was buried in intense conversation with his generals.
It was time to level up. Both Nick and Lee added a point to DEX. Lee purchased some healing herbs from the merchant, using looted kobold spears as barter.
“I didn’t see you take those,” Nick said with a grin.
“That’s because I’m a smooth fucking operator,” she said cockily, handing him two herb packages. He healed himself to max HP. Being a dexer was a double-edged sword - it didn’t take much t
o max heal, but HP bars were frighteningly small. There were just too many other attributes to boost.
Ready to enter battle again, Nick and Lee brushed past a archivist by the name of Siena89. She wore a simple green tunic and handed Nick a wry grin he didn’t like at all.
“She’s trouble,” Lee whispered. “Earth mage. She accumulates skills and spells rather than furthering the main quest line. Fucking weirdo.”
It might have been a strange way to play, but it was effective - Siena89 was three levels above Nick.
“Let’s go before she follows us,” he said.
The pair headed northeast, following in the vacuum of the rampant human infantry. The royal army had smashed the kobold encampment, forcing the enemy into the castle’s western moat. Nick found it curious that the kobolds would head into an obvious trap. Then he remembered the infernal army approaching from the north.
By the moat’s edge, Great Mage Picello was happily butchering kobold forces with ice fire. Hundreds of injured or dead kobolds fell into the deep trench, where survivors were picked off at will by archers on the castle battlements.
“Let’s go,” Lee said. “I want to be in that castle by the time Hager’s army arrives.”
The pair followed a broken fence line than ran northeast. There were corpses everywhere. If only there was enough time to go looting. Nick supposed it didn’t really matter - for the moment he had a reasonable roll-out. The white katana and battle axe made for an effective combo, whilst his snow hunter armor was tough and flexible. All up, a formidable dexer’s kit. As for Lee, wielding those scimitars had become second nature. Now that they were buffed with lightning and poison damage, she was an extremely tough opponent.
The pair reached the western moat without incident. Royal pikemen were mopping up the kobold infantry now that Picello’s ice magic had decimated its ranks. In fact, the humans in the castle felt secure enough to lower the western drawbridge. It splattered blood-filled mud as it came crashing down. The wrought-iron gate also creaked open, eliciting a hearty cheer from the Durandorian soldiers. They began streaming across the bridge in disciplined formation.
Dexterity Build: A LitRPG Saga (The Complete Dexterity Build Cycle) Page 16
