by Alex Knight
“What makes it so dangerous?” Kaiden asked. He’d been sitting in the pilot’s seat, monitoring the shuttle’s flight path. He didn’t understand too much of the information the consoles showed him, but from what he did, it looked like the Borrelly was scanning the ground for anything of interest. Lifeforms, artificial structures, and areas large enough to land in.
“The animals, for one,” Zelda answered his question with raised eyebrows. "There isn’t too much information about this place – probably another reason Oneshot decided to set up camp here – but some players have left notes about their time here. They all mention the wildlife being high level – compared to us – aggressive, and particularly difficult to kill.”
“That’s encouraging.” Kaiden frowned down at the seemingly impenetrable canopy of the jungle. “Here’s hoping we can avoid anything that wants to eat us.”
Ding.
Kaiden’s eyes were pulled back to the console in front of him.
Ding.
Two messages filled its screen. He read the first of them.
Lifeform search complete
View results?
Kaiden selected ‘yes’ and the results of the scan were projected onto the Borrelly’s windshield. What must’ve been tens of thousands of glowing white dots – each signifying a detected life form – appeared, overlaid onto the landscape below.
“So… what were you saying about avoiding things that want to eat us?” Titus said, mouth agape as he took in the results.
“Hold up a minute.” Zelda squeezed past to the front of the shuttle, the cockpit now too full with all three of them in it, and accessed the console.
“Filter out life forms under forty pounds in weight.” The console ran a few calculations. Zelda whispered as it did. “Right now, it’s showing results for every living thing it found down there. Insects, birds, rodents – harmless things like that.”
The console finished its calculations and a good seventy or eighty percent of the dots faded away.
Well, that’s better. Still not preferable.
“Filter out life forms under level three.”
Half of the remaining dots disappeared.
“And filter out life forms with a known non-hostile nature.”
Once again, half of the remaining dots faded.
“That’s a bit better, eh?” Zelda stood up, and rested her hands on her hips with a smirk.
“Much better, actually,” Kaiden had to admit.
“Okay,” Titus said, nodding. “So we can worry a bit less about being eaten by some jungle monster. Now what about actually finding the assassin guild base?”
“Actually…” Kaiden said, looking back down to the console. “Hold on.”
The Borrelly had conducted two scans as they’d arrived. He’d yet to view the results for the second one.
“Ah, here we go.” Kaiden brought up the results of the second scan for all to see. “The shuttle found four artificial structures within range, which, considering how small a moon this is, is about forty percent of the surface.”
“Structures one, three, and four don’t show any signs of power,” Zelda said, reading the results. “The shuttle says they’re likely ancient ruins. Points of interest with some cool loot, no doubt, but unrelated to our mission.”
Kaiden nodded at that.
“Right, but structure two is showing some low-level power usage.” He squinted at the screen, reading the specific wording. “Likely ‘seepage from a shielded power core.’”
“Sounds like someone’s trying to hide the fact that they’re here.” Titus leaned back in his seat. “I think we just found our assassin guild.”
“I think we did.” Kaiden smiled as he looked down at the console. “Take us to structure two.”
The Borrelly’s engines switched from the idle speed they’d been coasting at to half thrust and the shuttle launched forward.
“And land us somewhere far enough away from the structure to avoid detection,” Zelda added. “Let’s not tip off Jax that we’re here, yeah?”
The rear loading ramp touched down to the ground with a wet squelch. Wisps of thick, slow-moving mist swirled away from it as it did. The rain still fell, constant and seemingly unending. It cut down visibility to virtually nothing, the shape of the jungle beyond nothing more than hazy shadows.
Still underneath the tail of the shuttle, instinctively staying out of the rain even though it made no difference in a video game, Kaiden came to the end of the ramp. His boots sunk into the ground a half inch as he stepped onto the rain-soaked surface of Kal Reya.
Achievement Unlocked!
Far Out - 50 EXP gained!
You’ve journeyed to an uninhabited system. Looking to become an explorer, eh? Maybe you’ll discover a new species! Or, maybe you’ll just get eaten by one.
Level 7 achieved!
Max health and stamina increased
+3 stat points
Ability unlocked: Enhanced Senses
“Hold up…” Kaiden said, reading the text. Behind him, the others froze, still on the loading ramp.
“What’s wrong?” Titus asked, hefting his shield.
“I just reached level seven from an achievement. That’s crazy. All the experience it takes to advance in level now and setting foot on this moon is what puts me over the edge.”
“I hit seven back on Jonduu,” Titus said, following him off the ramp.
“Only on Jonduu? I made seven when we handed those noobs back,” Zelda smirked.
Nothing seemed to be set on eating them just yet, so Kaiden took a moment to read his new ability.
Enhanced Senses: Amplifies visual sensory data for a duration of 8 seconds. Nearby players and NPCs will be detectable through walls via heat signatures and sound. Cost: 10 charge. Cooldown: 1 minute.
Nice! Kaiden envisioned more than a few ways the ability could be useful.
Next, he pulled up his character sheet.
Character
Name: Kaiden
Race: Human
Level: 7
Class: Enhanced Warden
Attributes:
Strength: 16 Intelligence: 16
Endurance: 16 Perception: 16
Dexterity: 31 Unassigned: 3
Abilities:
Hammer Smash, Shield Bash, Hammer Toss, Shackle, Burst of Speed, Enhanced Senses
Perks:
Turen Tinkering
Kaiden dumped his unassigned points into dexterity. He was committed now; he might as well stick to the plan and continue his dexterity build. He closed out his character sheet and returned to the world around them.
They’d landed in a clearing some distance from the suspected base. The Borrelly’s calculations predicted it’d be a thirty-five-minute hike through the jungle to reach the overlook they’d marked as a good observation point.
“Everyone ready to get moving?” Kaiden asked, turning to the others. “The sooner we start walking, the sooner we get there.”
“Never much cared for hiking,” Titus said, stepping off the ramp. “Or nature, for that matter.”
“A bit of fresh air will do you good,” Zelda said, following him. “Or the virtual version of fresh air, at least.”
“At this rate, we’re going to need gills,” Kaiden said, following his minimap toward the suspected base they’d marked. He stepped out from beneath the tail of the Borrelly and rain splattered against his helmet, then ran down his face mask in winding rivulets. Ahead, the jungle waited at the edge of the clearing, all shifting mists and looming shadows. Somewhere in there, Kaiden hoped, they’d find Jax, and the truth about Bernstein’s murder.
“Hold up,” Kaiden said as he came to a stop in the mud. Something had moved just ahead. It wasn’t a shape so much as a disturbance in the mist. As if something had darted past. And, based on the amount of displaced mist, it’d been something large.
“Shields at the ready, guys,” he said.
“Again?” Titus grumbled from behind.
&nbs
p; They’d been hiking for near thirty-five minutes now, which meant, with any luck, they were moments from arriving at the overlook they’d marked.
As soon as they’d left the clearing, the jungle had closed in tight around them. Combined with the ever-present rain and the steam-like mist rising from the very soil, it was safe to say visibility was essentially zero. But Kaiden had seen something ahead of them. He was certain.
They stood in silence for several moments, shields and hammers ready, the patter of rain the only sound.
Nothing.
If I had any sort of charge, now would be the perfect time to use my new Enhanced Sense ability. Keyword there being “if.”
“Another false alarm,” Titus said, then stepped forward. “I swear, this place is playing tricks on our minds–”
The beast hit him from the side, striking his shield in a flash of light. Titus was there one moment, then flung backward the next, tearing a path through the mist as he tumbled down the slope of the forest and disappeared from sight.
“Titus!” Kaiden lunged after him, then stopped as the beast growled and turned toward him. As long as Kaiden was tall, it looked like someone had mixed the DNA of a gorilla with that of a jaguar. The beast stood on its knuckles, with thick, muscular front legs rising to an even more muscular chest. The fur was colored a muted gray and white, a combination that blended all too well into the mists around them.
Even staring at it from mere strides away, Kaiden had to focus to differentiate it from the dense brush around them. The eyes gave it away, however. Small and beady, they glimmered in the light trickling down from the stormy skies above.
Zelda moved to flank the creature, but its head – vaguely gorilla-esque but for a jutting snout filled with teeth – snapped to follow her.
Kaiden focused for a second and his visor began to display detailed information about the animal.
Baboulian Manhunter **Elite**
Level: 11
Baboulian Manhunters are the supreme predators of Kay Reya, able to sneak up on prey using Camouflage. Their incredibly thick hides repel most attacks.
The manhunter spun with a growl. Kaiden ducked behind his shield as a muscular arm swiped in his direction. The beast’s fist reared back to reveal a set of four blade-like claws, then the blow reverberated through Kaiden’s shield, driving him backward several steps. His charge bar filled to sixteen percent.
Even as the beast advanced on him again, a spear of light cut through the mist, leaving a steaming patch of burned fur. Zelda had fired a Burst Arrow.
The beast growled as it spun to face her.
“Watch out for its claws!” Kaiden shouted.
Zelda fired again, a basic shot, catching the manhunter in the shoulder. The wound barely registered as it thundered toward her. Zelda dove to the side at the last moment, but a reaching arm caught her and pinned her to the ground.
Kaiden was already moving, his hammer raised.
Sixteen units of charge was hardly enough to use any special abilities, so his only option was to strike a critical spot on the manhunter.
He slid into range and brought the hammer down on the beast’s back. No crit. It hardly seemed to notice his measly damage, grunting as it began to slash at the prone Zelda. She got her shield between its claws and her chest just in time. Kaiden struck again and again, but there were no critical hits; just a slow, fractional chipping away at the green health bar above it.
The beast roared in frustration as its claws slipped on the shield, then unleashed a great bellow that shook the ground. It spun, lowered its head, and bit down on Zelda’s calf.
She cried out in panic as Kaiden watched her health bar flash, then drop to sixty-five percent. Shaking its head side to side, the beast tossed Zelda back and forth like a rag doll.
Sixty-one percent. Fifty-five percent.
Kaiden hardly had time to think, and no miraculous solutions came to him. All he could do was strike the manhunter’s back again and again. Each blow seemed about as effective as the others, which was to say, not at all.
The beast widened its stance as it continued to savage Zelda, lowering itself closer to the ground to compensate for the weight of slinging her around. Somehow, during the chaos, she managed to aim her hammer-gun and fired a Blast Arrow into the creature’s face. It howled at that, then turned and slung her to the side. She fell and rolled several feet away, health bar dropping down to red.
“Use a stimpack!” Kaiden shouted at her, then backpedaled as the manhunter unleashed a fury of slashes at him.
Each blow drove him backward, slamming into his shield, but also filling his charge bar.
Keep it coming, big guy, he thought, losing ground quickly, but now able to use his abilities. But which ones? Zelda’s attacks had done little but agitate the beast, and his hammer strikes had done even less. The thing was four levels above him, which meant there was no way he was winning this fight head-on. He needed to get some critical hits.
Then, as if by magic, the beast disappeared. No…a shimmer in the air, barely perceptible to the naked eye. Camouflage.
Instinctively, he ducked beneath his shield, but a slash knocked his feet from under him, sending his health plummeting to just over half.
Kaiden dropped to his knees, the blurred air in front of him like a desert heat haze. The next attack slammed into his shield a moment later, pushing him back as his feet struggled for purchase on the slippery leaves and fungi.
His charge bar was nearing full now, at eighty percent. He needed to use an ability. Needed to do something.
Burst of Speed activated. Current movement speed increased by 100% for 10 seconds.
Kaiden immediately turned and leapt away from the invisible beast so quickly it didn’t have time to react. He heard it scrambling through the undergrowth after him. Kaiden was moving so fast he cut a swath through the mist, buying himself a moment to think. In the corner of his screen, a timer counted down until Burst of Speed’s effect would wear off.
08…
I need more critical hits, but there’s nothing to aim at! There was a growl from behind as the creature gained on him, but Kaiden slipped out of range again, too fast to catch. The jungle foliage shifted for a moment, outlining the invisible monster as he lured it further from Zelda, noticing her health bar has risen from the stimpack.
05…
You can’t hit what you can’t see. But maybe that new ability can help me?
04…
Kaiden activated Enhanced Senses.
His charge bar dropped by ten units, but his visor kicked into high gear. The dense brush around him faded from solid and choking to a faint gray haze and every living thing around him lit up in a dull red: Zelda, waiting on the sidelines to take a shot. A flock of birds, wheeling above the canopy. The now-clear manhunter, rearing to pounce about twelve feet behind. While still camouflaged, only Kaiden could see it.
01…
With his last second of Burst of Speed, Kaiden used Hammer Toss. His hammer hurtled through the air, crashing into the manhunter’s muscled chest. Even with the ability's double damage for a successful hit, the damage done was minimal. However, hitting the creature had brought it out of stealth.
00…
Burst of Speed ends.
No longer fast, the beast was upon Kaiden quickly. He raised his shield, praying it would hold.
A scream from the side caused the manhunter to turn. It was Titus, charging at a speed he shouldn’t have, shield held out before him like a battering ram.
Kaiden checked on the ability.
Ability: Shield Charge
Charge at double your speed for 3 seconds. Direct impacts deal 50% of base damage. Cost: 40 charge. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Titus slammed into the manhunter, bowling it onto its side, then slid to a stop.
“Miss me?” Titus said, flashing Kaiden a smile.
“Missed my tank,” Kaiden jibed.
“Any plan for taking this thing out?” Zelda called from furt
her back.
A timer was still flashing in Kaiden’s vision, this one for Enhanced Senses. It had a few seconds left. And as Kaiden watched the beast on its side, he noticed something.
Most of the beast was glowing a dull red – its heat signature, no doubt – but its stomach was bright orange.
Because the hide is thinner there, Kaiden realized. Could that be a weak spot? It has to be, right?
“The stomach!” Kaiden shouted, pointing at the prone beast. “That’s its weak point!”
The manhunter scrambled back up, then rose up on its hind legs, beating its chest and roaring. Its glowing belly was almost like a target.
“Hit it right in the middle,” Kaiden said. Hammer Toss would have been perfect if it hadn’t been on cooldown. Zelda sent a precise Burst Arrow and even Titus was up to something, stepping backward.
“Been wanting to try this ‘Shield of Fury’ thing out anyway,” he said, then whipped his arm forward in the beast’s direction. Titus' shield flew from his arm and slammed into the manhunter’s belly before glancing away. The manhunter made to charge at them, but its attack was interrupted as Titus’ shield knocked off a nearby tree and flew back, slamming into its head.
What? Kaiden stared in disbelief as, in a way only possible in a video game, Titus caught his shield. Kaiden locked onto Titus with his reticle.
Ability: Shield of Fury
Launch your shield against an enemy to ricochet to up to 3 times. Deals +50% base damage, reducing by half with each successive hit. This replaces Hammer Toss. Minimum range 10 feet. Maximum range: 30 feet. Cost: 20 charge. Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Both the attacks on the manhunter’s stomach had been enough to put its health in the yellow.
“Hitting that spot gave a massive critical damage multiplier,” Zelda said.
