Warden (Nova Online #1) — A LitRPG Series

by Alex Knight

  Kaiden felt himself smile as he finished reading the specifics of Hammer Toss. The ability to hit a target without getting close enough to be hit back would be very useful.

  “These new abilities we’ve been unlocking are a huge step forward,” Zelda said. “Hammer Toss, particularly. After fighting that raged, I’d quite like to put a bit of distance between myself and enemies.”

  Titus groaned. “Another thing? I’m just getting used to swinging my hammer, never mind tossing it. Might ignore it. I prefer things up and personal, anyway.”

  “Ignore it?” Zelda said, clearly appalled. “Why would you not want to use a perfectly good—”

  Kaiden placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her, gently shaking his head. She got the message.

  “I mean,” she recovered, “whatever playstyle suits you, Titus. Go for it.”

  Titus hefted his hammer onto his shoulder with a grunt of satisfaction. “That’s mighty kind of you.”

  Sola finished pacing and rounded on her wardens and the noob players with purpose.

  “Alright. Here’s the deal. I can’t reach any other warden vessels. I suspect most craft have been re-routed to deal with the Leviathan. In which case, I say we head for the hangar and see if—”

  “Hello in there!” A voice boomed through the room, ringing up and down the hallways of the Mochinki.

  Lieutenant Ellenton?

  “Can you hear me? The Borrelly’s comm array is currently floating away in about a dozen pieces, so I had to hack into the Mochinki’s systems. I can see you through a security cam. Nod if you can hear me.” Wardens and noobs alike nodded toward the ship’s speakers embedded in the ceiling.

  “Cool. Alright, so here’s the skinny. I’ve got good news, bad news, more good news, and then some really bad news. The good news is all the pirates out here have been scrapped. And boy, you should have seen it. Heck of a battle. But they had it coming to ‘em. No one shoots at the Borrelly. No one shoots at my baby!” She paused, as if remembering they were on a mission. “Ahem, uh, anyway, the bad news is I’m the last warden ship out here. The others took an involuntary week-long vacation.”

  “Just glad you’re alright,” Sola said.

  “Sola, I see your mouth moving, but I don’t have any sound. The system wasn’t really meant for this, so it’s kind of a one-way deal.”

  Sola gestured as if to say, "Out with it, already."

  “Right, right. So, the other good news is I’m en route to the Mochinki’s hangar now. Might be a bit cramped in my little shuttle, but we’ll make it work. That just leaves the really bad news.” Lieutenant Ellenton paused, then sucked in a breath. “From what I’m seeing on the Mochinki’s cams, the raged took the bridge. They’ll have control of the ship any minute now.”

  Yeah, Kaiden had to agree, that’s some really bad news.

  A rumble growled through the floor, then traveled up the walls, shaking its way into the ceiling and to the decks above.

  “That was the engines,” Sola said, frowning. “They’re trying to commandeer the station.”

  “Then we'd better move quick,” Sola said. “Ready up, everyone.”

  “Huh, that’s not good,” Lieutenant Ellenton said. The room waited in agonizing silence for her to speak again. “Um, the berserkers are moving toward your location now. Why would they be...how did they know...oh. Oh, crap.”

  A scream ripped through the corridor outside. Then another. A moment later, a third.

  When Lieutenant Ellenton spoke again, her words came quick, urgent.

  “They hear me. They hear me talking to you through the speakers. I can see them on the cams. They’re heading your way. All of them.”

  Even as she spoke, the room erupted. Sola shouted commands, her wardens shouted back acknowledgements, and the noobs just shouted.

  In the midst of the chaos, Kaiden watched as red blips appeared on his minimap. They were filling the nearby corridors, heading for the galley.

  “Meet me in the hangar,” Ellenton urged. “We gotta blow this joint. Oh, and Sola? Looks like you’re flying with me again after all, eh?”

  Kaiden stepped toward the noobs. “We’ll need to keep them alive.”

  “I’m not carrying the mouthy one,” Titus said, nodding toward MadKilla.

  “No one’s carrying anyone,” Sola said. She tapped her hammer and the chains binding MadKilla blinked out of existence. “Don’t complain, and do as I say if you want to get out of this. You players stay close to the ensigns. My wardens and I will cover you all. Hopefully you don’t have to engage in too much direct combat. Sound good?”

  **Update**

  Quest: Rescue trapped players on Mochinki Station

  Part 2: You found them. Good for you. Now get them out of there.

  Expected difficulty: Veteran

  Rewards: +1,500 EXP, +4 faction prestige

  “This game sure likes to poke fun,” Titus said. He flicked his wrist and his shield blinked on. “Still, sounds good to me.”

  Zelda bit her lower lip, but her eyes were determined.

  “Sounds like a chance to impress Command.”

  Kaiden nodded at them, then turned back to Sola.

  “Sounds like the best plan we’ve got.”

  “Sounds like we’re all going to die,” MadKilla said.

  Sola rolled her eyes.

  Kaiden ignored him, turning to the rest of the noobs.

  “Alright, guys. You’ve all had a pretty rough day, I know. But stick with us and we’ll get you out of here.” He slapped the nearest one on the back, hoping his false confidence might instill some of the real thing in them. “Now, who’s up for a run?”

  Chaos. Kaiden had once thought he’d known the definition of the word. He’d been wrong.

  After pelting through the melee of raged and Sola’s wardens, draining their stamina bars, the sounds of battle were beginning to fade. Kaiden, Zelda, and Titus directed the players toward the hangar.

  “Ah, there’s my squad,” Ellenton’s voice blared above their heads. “You’re close now, but be careful. The bulk of the raged are dealing with Sola but there are a couple just outside the hangar.”

  Kaiden checked his minimap again and, sure enough, red dots sprang to life.

  The bulkhead door at the end of the corridor had the words ‘hangar bay’ emblazoned above it. In front of the door were two raged berserkers, both level six and at full health. The raged caught sight of them and began running straight for them.

  Their own small group stopped dead.

  “Now what?” MadKilla sneered.

  “We fight them, that’s what,” Kaiden said.

  “Not many other options,” Titus said, raising his shield.

  They had all blocked some damage during the rush here, so they had some charge. The single raged they'd fought before had been hellish, but they’d levelled up twice since and gained new abilities. They could handle two raged.

  Kaiden turned to Zelda. “Hit them from ranged?”

  She nodded, raising her hammer, preparing to throw it.

  “You too, big guy,” Kaiden said. “Help us out here. Hit that one on the right.”

  He used Hammer Toss, launching his hammer toward the raged, and managed to hit it squarely in the chest.

  Hammer Toss hit!

  +100% damage

  Zelda’s hammer thudded into it next, bringing the raged to half health. Titus’, however, veered to the side, missing the creature completely.

  “So not my style,” Titus bellowed. “I’m on this one.” He pointed to the raged on the left then charged off without his hammer.

  “Okay, we’ll finish this one off,” Kaiden said. Not wanting the raged to get too close to the noobs, he surged forward as well, Zelda at his side. Their hammers flew back to their hands, ready to meet the enemy.

  It took a swipe at Zelda first. She skidded, nearly lost her balance, then backed away.

  “I really don’t like being so close to them,” she said. “Maybe I’ll ba
ck away and use Hammer Toss again.

  The raged let her run, turning on Kaiden instead.

  “It’s got a thirty-second cooldown,” he shouted at her back. “Help me here.”

  An axe swing forced him to drop into a squat as it sliced the air overhead. Down low, he took the chance to aim for its knees.

  Critical Hit!

  +20% damage (Kneecapped)

  Combined with the extra crit damage from his new hammer, his attack had more of an impact than before. The raged’s health flashed and fell by a nice chunk into the red. It screamed in annoyance, raining putrid spittle upon Kaiden. A heavy hammer strike to its face silenced it.

  Raged Berserker assisted kill - 150 EXP gained!

  Zelda stood behind the collapsing raged. “Headshots are always crits, right?”

  “Mind hitting this one a bit?” Titus called.

  Kaiden scrambled to his feet, concerned to see Titus’ health in the yellow, though his shield was still up.

  “Try Shield Bash,” Kaiden said, already running over to help

  Titus’ shield crackled and sparked, energy surging within it. He rammed his shield into the raged and it stood still, looking dazed.

  Kaiden scored an easy headshot on the stunned mob.

  Critical Hit!

  +50% damage (Headshot)

  He was beginning to see a nice strategy forming around getting crits, and stunned mobs were far easier to hit in the right places.

  The raged was emerging from Titus’ stun, so Kaiden tried his own. He used Shield Bash, lashing out at the raged’s back.

  Warning! Using consecutive stunning abilities on a single target reduces their effect.

  Raged Berserker stunned for 1.5 seconds

  Kaiden took what time he had to fit in another critical hit, but only just. As the reduced stun wore off, the raged turned on him. He supposed it was only fair. Chain-stunning enemies would have been overpowered, and most games did have a system of diminishing returns.

  He tried to dodge the raged’s next attack but failed horribly, losing a third of his health in the process. Titus cracked the mob in the back, but it wasn’t enough to kill it.

  A hammer slamming into it did.

  Raged Berserker assisted kill – 150 EXP gained!

  “Yes!” Zelda cheered.

  “Nice shot,” Titus called, proffering a hand to Kaiden to help him up.

  “Good work, guys,” Kaiden said. He looked to MadKilla and gave a mock bow. “Does that satisfy you, sir?”

  MadKilla scowled. “Let’s just get out of here.”

  They all ran up to the bulkhead door to the hangar bay.

  “It’s not opening,” MadKilla said. “Make it open, or we won’t escape in time.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” Titus said, pulling on one of the manual handles with all his might. “You know, we have a special way to deal with guys like you out on the streets. First, you find a nice big dumpster—”

  The speaker overhead blared into life. “It’s sealed, big fella,” Ellenton said. “Don’t waste your time. The raged on the bridge locked me out but I should be able to take back control of the door. Give me two minutes.”

  “Not sure we have two minutes,” Zelda said. She was pointing back to the far end of the corridor where four more raged had appeared. Each one was level seven and in various states of lowered health from some recent battle.

  “Sola and her crew aren’t all dead, are they?” Titus asked.

  The raged howled and broke into a run. One spun two axes as it ran, kicking up sparks as their blades screeched against the metal floor.

  Kaiden reopened his general comms. Sounds of battle echoed over the channel.

  “Sola? Sola, are you still there?”

  “Just about,” Sola said. “You?”

  “Four raged are on us. We’re stuck outside the hangar.”

  “On my way.”

  The raged were nearly on them.

  “Is she coming?” MadKilla demanded. “They’re getting close. Do something!”

  Kaiden faced him. “You really are the worst. You know that, right?” Then he raised his hammer and shield and stepped forward. His Hammer Toss was off cooldown so he could use that in a pinch, but Shield Bash would be on cooldown for over a minute still. Hammer Smash wasn’t a game changer here.

  He felt stuck.

  Zelda and Titus came to stand by his side. They’d put up a good fight, at least.

  And then Sola was there.

  She was running incredibly fast, some sort of ability obviously enhancing her speed. She flashed behind the raged, striking mercilessly fast at their backs and heads, polishing off the three weaker ones before facing the fourth. As it turned on her, her form began to flicker, blurring almost, and she dodged its attacks with ease.

  Kaiden and the others ran forward to help, using Hammer Toss and adding their blows to Sola’s own.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant,” Kaiden said once it was over.

  Sola waved a hand as if it were nothing. “I remember my early days in the program. Pay it forward by helping others out sometime.”

  A whoop of joy echoed up the entire corridor. “The hangar door is open, guys,” Ellenton said. “Can my training wheel squad and the players they are rescuing hop aboard? Time to leave this hell hole.”

  Everyone turned and bolted for the hangar.

  All except Kaiden. He hung back.

  “Aren’t you coming?” he asked Sola.

  She shook her head. “There’s no way we’re all fitting on that one shuttle.”

  “But the quest to rescue the players—”

  “Is your quest,” Sola said. “Mine was to bring a company of wardens and clear out the raged from this corner of the system. Like I said, Command screwed this one up for you guys.”

  “So you’re staying to fight them?”

  “Sort of. There are too many on this station, though, I think. Too many for a fair fight and I’m losing wardens with each battle. But just a few decks below us is the Mochinki’s reactor room. Destabilize the core on a station this big and there won’t even be a debris field by the time it’s done imploding on itself. I’ll do it myself.”

  Kaiden opened his mouth to respond, then paused. He looked toward the distant Borrelly sitting inside the hangar for him. Even if Lieutenant Ellenton was flying, it suddenly seemed far safer.

  “Hurry up, Kaiden Moore,” Sola said. “We’re not really going to die, remember? My company has worked hard today. The way I see it, we’re owed some time off. Nothing wrong with a little vacation.”

  “Thanks for saving us,” Kaiden said. Then he made for the Borrelly.

  Sola called after him. “And make sure you tell Ellenton I chose death by implosion rather than fly with her again.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  To Kaiden, the word ‘implosion’ had seemed to imply that when the Mochinki’s core was destabilized the station would disappear into itself. Maybe in a flash of blinding light. Or maybe with a great, void-shaking roar. Or maybe even with a terrible silence. What he hadn’t expected was that it would be all of those things, one after the other.

  Oh, and then there was rapidly approaching shockwave.

  Alarms beeped and sirens blared throughout the cockpit as seemingly every one of the shuttle’s systems warned them about the incoming blast.

  “This might be a bit bumpier than usual,” Lieutenant Ellenton said, pushing the Borrelly to max thrust.

  “Considering how bumpy her usual is, that’s a thoroughly worrying prospect,” Zelda said, bracing herself against one wall.

  “Hold on back there!” Titus shouted to the noobs. “Strap in if you can.”

  “She really chose implosion?” Lieutenant Ellenton seemed completely calm despite the chaos around them. “I mean, we barely crashed last time.” She paused. “Oh, but there was that time when–”

  The shockwave hit them and the Borrelly near shook itself apart. Somehow, it made it through in one piece. Or in enough of one piec
e to make it back to the Anakoni. When the hulking carrier class ship appeared in front of them, silhouetted by a thousand, thousand stars, an audible sigh of relief swept through their shuttle.

  “The medbay’s not that far,” Kaiden said, leading the noobs they’d rescued down the Borrelly’s ramp and into the hangar. “We’ll show you the way, then you can get that debuff removed and be on your way.”

  All four had miraculously survived.

  “I’ll take them from here, ensigns,” Lieutenant Ellenton said, striding down the ramp.

  “Really?” Kaiden asked, pausing a moment. He hadn’t known her long, but volunteering for a job she didn’t have to do seemed pretty contrary to her usual priorities.

  Ellenton smiled.

  “Before the Mochinki went...whatever the opposite of ‘boom’ is, Sola forwarded the details of what happened on your mission.” She shook her head. “It made me tired just thinking about it, but for ensigns tossed into an impossible situation, well, you did alright.” She shrugged. “So I forwarded a report along to Command. Way I see it, maybe your hard work can earn us all a little time off, eh? Ava – er, Captain Thorne wants to see you.” She pointed to an officer striding across the hangar toward them. “Personally.”

  Kaiden’s breath caught in his throat. He looked to Zelda and found the same expression on her face that he imagined was on his own.

  “Captain Thorne,” she said, excitement building in her eyes.

  “Looks like we impressed Command, alright.” Titus said.

  “We’re still dealing with the Leviathan,” Captain Thorne said, head turned slightly to one side as she spoke into her comms. “Yes. I know it has to be killed soon.” She paused. “Understood, sir.” With that, she turned to face them.