Wave 4—Final Wave
Ice spreads along the tree line and across the grass.
“What the…” says Talia, but Buzz, Grayson, and I just look at each other. We’ve dealt with this before.
Three frost giants step from the woods and the trees go icy as they pass. Blue skin and icy white hair make way between the green pasture. They carry stone clubs and wear leather armor. They look far different from the ones we met in the castle. They are each level forty, so not as bad as the ones we faced last time we were in Asgard, but this time, they have companions.
Frozen Direwolf. Level 35. Forged in an icy hell, the only thing colder than these creatures is the icy rage that dwells inside them.
The two wolves flank the giants. Their black-blue fur is frozen in patches and frigid air blows from their nostrils. They make their approach, slow and deliberate. In a fight, we could probably take them in time. The problem is that we aren’t here to fight them, we are here to defend a base. A base that is already over a third destroyed.
This is going to take everything we have.
“Everyone but Talia, move out. The giants are slow. We need to meet them in the open so we have longer to take them out,” I order. “And don’t forget, they are immune to slows.”
Once again, Grayson leads the charge. He launches himself at the nearest giant and his fist cracks against its bearded jaw. Grayson has nine levels on the giant. It’s doesn’t make much of a difference, though. The attack only takes out a tenth of its health. He follows up with a quick jab, but the giant blows frigid air at Grayson, slowing his movement. The second giant counters with a hard swing of its wooden club, dropping Grayson by a tenth as well. One of the wolves sinks its fangs into Grayson’s leg and drags him to the side as his health continues to drop.
I want to help Grayson, but I know he can hold his own. We need to halt the giants.
Talia and Benji are barraging the giants with ranged attacks. I wish we had Aleesia here for this. She has a far superior set of archery abilities than Talia. What we need is fire. The giants take double damage from fire.
Firestorm crosses my mind. It’s the spell my father created for me before he died. It’s powerful, but it will drain my mana in one use. I can only use it if the perfect opportunity presents itself.
Buzz moves into position and braces himself for the giants. Knowing that they will attack him, I use the opportunity to cast Haunted Earth right in front of Buzz’s shield. It roots two of the giants in place and I cast Resilience on myself and stab as much as possible with my spear. Buzz slashes with his sword, while arrows rain down around us. Grayson is still fighting the wolf, but he’s got it down to a quarter-health while he still has sixty percent of his own.
The snare wears off and a giant club smashes into Buzz, knocking him several feet away. Due to his tanky items, he only takes fifteen percent damage. I’m not so lucky.
I try to dodge the giant’s swing, but it catches me in the shoulder and my vision goes red. I lose a third of my health and the frost giants stride past us.
Benji uses his new Cloud Burst/shield combo and pinballs himself against one of the giants. The giant stumbles back, losing a third of its health from the powerful attack, but the other two and the ice wolf keep moving.
I hear a loud yelp from behind me and I turn to find Grayson, covered in blood, scratches, and teeth marks, but standing over the dead direwolf. He looks terrible, but for once, he is smiling. I don’t know if anyone loves the thrill of battle as much as him.
“We have to stop them!” I say.
Buzz and I crawl to our feet and Grayson joins up behind us. Benji launches himself again, this time, knocking the frost giant to the ground. I run up and use Lunging Strike on a frost giant, but it knocks me to the side with its club before I land the attack, bringing me down to just above half-health.
They are fifty yards away from the farmhouse when the direwolf takes off at a sprint, leaving the giants behind. It pounces on Talia, knocking her to the ground. It doesn’t attack, though. Instead, it goes for the farm and begins pawing and biting at the structure. The HP of the farm depletes rapidly.
1143/2000
1047/2000
997/2000
Dammit! There has to be something we can do.
Fenrir! I can use his special ability. I spot him in the same place I left him, in the field to the left of the farm. His ability flashes through my mind.
Ability: Fight for my master. Fenrir is able to attack and fight alongside his owner for one minute. Cooldown: 24 hours.
Most mounts aren’t allowed to fight, but his special ability limits it to once per twenty-four hours. I’m hoping it gives us the edge we need.
I focus on the ability and Fenrir jumps to his feet. He sinks his massive paws into the earth, tossing it into the air as he bolts toward the direwolf.
The direwolf continues to attack the farm. It’s down to five hundred and fifty-six HP when Fenrir smashes into the direwolf’s side. The icy wolf emits a loud yelp and the sound of growls and gnashing teeth surround us. Fur and dirt fly until Fenrir sinks his teeth into the beast’s neck and slings it to the ground. He positions himself on top of the direwolf and doesn’t release. The poor creature’s health drains second by second.
Buzz, Grayson, and I are already moving in on the giants. Benji has been battling them ever since he landed and is down to a quarter-health.
“Benji, back out and heal. Let us take them on for a bit,” I say.
Fenrir has killed the direwolf, so these three are all that remain. With the farmhouse being so low on health, a few hits from this group will be enough to destroy it. We can’t let that happen.
“Try and split them up,” says Talia.
Buzz and Grayson flank both sides and I approach from the rear. At the same time, we each attack, hoping to draw each of the giants in a different direction. I’m the only one to land a blow. Buzz and Grayson are both parried, but the giant I hit doesn’t turn. Instead, it continues marching towards the farm.
“Dammit, it’s not going to work. We have to stop them then. Get ready for Arrow of Truth,” she says.
A moment later, the arrow pierces the chest of the center giant. The other two are pulled toward him and for two seconds, they don’t move. We stab and punch and slash as much as we can, but when the time is up, the giants flail out with their clubs, knocking us all aside.
They continue their march, only twenty or so yards from the farm.
“I’m going to sacrifice myself,” says Buzz. “It’s the only way we stop them. My shield has an ability to stun whoever attacks it, but the cost is that I take full damage from the attack. If it’s a killing blow, I will survive with one HP. If we’re lucky and they attack me at the same time, it will stun them all. Then you can finish them.”
He doesn’t wait for us to argue, not that I would. I don’t see any other way.
Buzz runs past the giants, careful to stay out of their reach, and plants himself ten yards from the farm. If this doesn’t work, there won’t be time to stop the frost giants before they destroy it.
The giants raise their stone clubs and swing with great power. The three clubs smash into Buzz’s shield and his health drops so low I can’t even see the one health point he has left. His shield does its job and freezes them all in place. It’s time to go all-in. I cast Firestorm and a tiny flame ignites at the feet of the giants. It begins to grow and swirl until it becomes a raging tornado of flame. The stun releases and the giants scream in agony. One of them lifts its club and swings for Buzz.
Benji uses Cloud Burst and shoots himself into the fray, the Pearl of Monteluna glowing in his hands. He collides with Buzz seconds before the club hits and Buzz’s HP bar fills completely. The club smashes into Buzz, dropping his health by half. When the fire clears, one giant remains. It’s fitting that Buzz delivers the final blow.
Wave 4 complete
Congratulations! You have completed the quest “Protect the Farm!” Reward: Incre
ased structure building and healthy crops for one season.
My experience bar goes up and a gold twenty-five flashes across my vision.
We all take a moment to catch our breath and I sort my new stat point into Intellect. My mana pool could use a boost anyways.
Level 25:
Strength - 14
Agility - 4
Vitality - 5
Intellect - 7
Dexterity - 5
Stamina - 0
“We did it! So begins the tale of the mighty chicken king!” Buzz boasts loudly. “First round is on me.”
“As much as I would love to do that, I need to get going. There’s something I need to do.”
“Way to be a party pooper, Esil. The rest of you are in though, right?” They all nod in agreement.
I grip each of them around the forearm in turn and thank them for the adventure. It was nice to have a moment to just get away from everything, but now, it’s time I talk to Benjamin.
Chapter Sixteen
It’s a gorgeous day out. This far away from the cities, the birds actually sound louder than the drones that fly by delivering packages. That is one thing I never get tired of. To actually experience weather, even on the days when it rains and nobody wants to go outside. For me, it’s a blessing. There were so many days, either at the orphanage or in my box, when all I longed for was fresh air or sun on my skin. Anything to break up the monotony of life.
A strong breeze comes through and a pile of leaves crinkle past me. There is a path that flows through Pangea Headquarters. It winds around the perimeter and through several buildings. There are enough offshoots that I could find my way anywhere just by following it. I don’t have a destination in mind, so I walk aimlessly, trying to clear my head before I talk to Benjamin.
There is so much of the headquarters I haven’t explored. So many buildings that I don’t know what is inside.
I pass a few people along my walk. They nod or say hello and carry on with their day. Have they ever experienced life where they had to wear a mask just to go outside? Do they know how good they have it here?
A creaking sound catches my attention and I look up to see a young girl in a swing. Her father pushes her and her pink dress flaps in the wind. Her hair soars behind her when she goes up and then clings tight to her body on the downswing. Tiny, childish giggles stop me in my tracks. One of the few memories I have as a child is of my father pushing me in a swing.
I think about my father a lot. It’s hard not to when his imprint is on everything here. My mother, I think about her less. I see her face in my dreams sometimes, she has a kind face, but my father is the one they always talk about. I know it doesn’t do to dwell on what might have been, but I think we would have had a great life together.
We can never go back. I know that. There’s no way to tell them not to get in that car, that it’s going to malfunction and crash, not only killing you both, but leaving your child an orphan to grow up without an identity in the poorest slums in the country. But honestly, even if I could, would I want to? I would never have met Buzz or Grayson or experienced The Boxes. I might not have even met Aleesia. Part of me is thankful for my past. It allows me to appreciate what I have more than most.
I’m pulled from my thoughts by loud crying and look up to see the little girl on the ground. Her father bends over her bloody knee, intensely inspecting it. She must have fallen from the swing. He lifts her in his arms and pulls her head against his shoulder, and the crying softens before they disappear down the path.
The situations drives home the fact that people get hurt no matter what you do. That’s just the way life works. The only thing I have control over is my own choices.
As I follow the trail, I come across a small bridge that crosses over a stream. The water gurgles and ripples around the smooth gray rocks underneath. Somewhere in its depths, a frog croaks. A turtle sunbathes on a log. I make a note to come here if I ever need some peace and quiet.
I lean over the bridge and stare down at my distorted reflection in the bubbling brook. I look a bit haggard, almost trollish. The water’s movement gives my face lumps in strange places and it’s been several days since I last shaved, not to mention I haven’t even combed my hair today.
When I make my way down to the laboratory, Benjamin is in the lab working. Just as I expected. Does he spend all of his time focused on full-immersion or does he actually monitor what’s happening in the rest of Pangea as well?
He sits in a chair that hovers above the ground and propels himself around the room with his feet, eyes glued to a tablet and intently focused. The whoosh of the door closing draws his attention to me.
Men wearing hard hats and blue coveralls work on both sides of the immersion capsule. They are quiet except for the occasional zip of a drill screwing something in place. Several large slabs of metal and two large clear canisters are being moved around on dollies. Are they constructing more full-immersion units?
“Esil, good to see you.” He sets the tablet in his lap. “I hope your time away has been good for you. You look good, but just to be safe, we’re keeping you out until tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll be glad to know that the world is moving along just fine without you. Carter is very close to unlocking magic.”
What?! I was supposed to be there for that. He and Kindra need my help! I want to argue for Benjamin to let me log in, but there’s a reason why I’m here. I promised I would talk to him about The Boxes.
“What’s with the construction?” I ask. I’m not sure how to segue into the topic, so I make idle chat first.
He stands and walks towards me.
“We’re preparing to add more players to the game.” He grins.
“How soon?” It seems like a rush when they’ve only sent me in twice. Something doesn’t add up.
“Nothing is set in stone, but when the time is right, I want to have the units already in place. It’ll be interesting to see how the AI reacts to more stimuli, don’t you think?”
I wonder who he has in mind for the next phase of testing.
“So what brings you down here, Esil? I know it isn’t my scintillating conversation and it can’t be to see Aleesia because otherwise you would have already went to the viewing deck.” He pauses and places his thumb and index finger on his chin. “What’s up?”
My eyes wander around the lab. Past the workers and the immersion capsule and up to the viewing deck. Aleesia sits behind a screen, buried in her work. I don’t know why I’m staring off. I need to just come right out and say it.
“I think—I think that what you’re doing to those who live in The Boxes is wrong.” Benjamin’s eyes widen ever-so-slightly and I know that I have his attention. He was probably expecting me to talk about the game. Anything but this. “You treat them like animals, locking them away in units where the only interaction they have with each other is via a digital mineshaft. It’s not right. They can’t even explore the rest of Pangea. I mean, how screwed up is that? Not only do they not have anything in real life, they don’t have anything in the game either. Would it be so hard to give them a Worldpass or do you think that that would just make things harder? But really, though, why in the hell would you build their homes in the center of a radioactive wasteland? Why not just move them somewhere safe?” I don’t wait for his answer. I know that if I stop talking, I won’t be able to finish, so I push through. “It seems to me like you treat them as nothing more than a PR scheme and forget the fact that they are real people. But I don’t. I might have moved out, I might have found out I’m the son of a famous developer, but the truth is that I’m still a miner and I always will be.”
Benjamin just stares at me for a moment. I don’t know if he’s shocked, speechless, or angry.
“It’s a lot more complicated than just putting people in boxes, Esil. You have to know that. The part about the Worldpass, I can get behind that if you think it’s a good idea. I don’t know if the board will approve it, but we can try. The Boxes were built before I be
came president of the company. They were already in place and seemed to be working well, so I let them run their course. If not for you, I probably never would have thought about them again.” He lets out a deep sigh. “I wish we could move everyone out of The Boxes, I do, but it would never pass the board. You’ve got to understand that when the nukes hit and major city after major city was blown apart, the world was in panic. People were dying from radiation left and right. People who couldn’t afford to move or protect their homes. So we went in and built them places to live, safe places, and gave them jobs. Sure, we might have dropped the ball a bit, but if not for us, they would all be dead.”
“Maybe they’d be better off,” I say. I don’t mean it, but I want to see his reaction.
“You can’t possibly mean that. You know those people. They might not explore everything Pangea has to offer, but they live their lives in boxes just like the rest of us. They meet one another through the mines, they fall in love, they move in together and build lives. You can’t possibly tell me that death is better than that. There have always been the haves and the have-nots, and that’s never going to change. But it doesn’t mean they can’t live full lives.”
The door opens from the viewing deck with a whoosh and Aleesia steps through.
“Hey, what’s going on? I didn’t think you were scheduled to log in today,” she says. She looks so cute in her lab coat that’s just a bit too big for her that it calms some of the ire I feel towards Benjamin.
“I’m not. I was talking to Benjamin.”
“We were actually just finishing up,” says Benjamin. “You can take a break if you want to walk Esil out.” There’s no room for objection in his voice. Regardless of whether or not we agree, he’s still the one in charge.
Aleesia nods and joins my side. We’re about to walk out into the hallway when Benjamin calls after me.
“Esil, I’ll see what can be done about giving miners access to the rest of Pangea, but I can’t make any promises.”
“What the hell was that about?” Aleesia asks.
Pangea Online: The Complete Trilogy Page 37
