“Umm…” He frowns as he scans the items. “Definitely rope and treats. I can probably make my own spear with the axe you gave me.”
“Pick out what you want and I’ll pay for it.” Most of this stuff is incredibly cheap compared to items in other game worlds.
Dean doesn’t hesitate, picking up three strands of rope and several bags of Dino Treats. “Thanks! This will be fun, I promise.”
While he gathers the goods, I can’t help but wonder where the other players are. “Are we the only ones here? I haven’t seen anybody else.”
Dean tosses the rope over his shoulder and joins me and Fenrir outside the shop. “This isn’t an MMO world. Each player gets a separate instance each time they come here.”
“Interesting. Kind of like in the first stage of the Developer’s Tournament. We all had our own version of the apocalyptic world where we had to rescue the girl.” I much prefer worlds with other people in them.
Dean fits the rest of his items in his small satchel. “Exactly. There are no lasting effects in this world when players leave, but there are unlimited possibilities while you’re here.”
“What do you say we ride Fenrir to our next location so that we get there faster?”
Fenrir lays down so I can climb on his back. I extend a hand and help Dean climb on behind me. I sink my hands into Fenrir’s fur and hold tight, and Dean wraps his arms around my midsection as Fenrir stands.
As we travel through the dense jungle. I catch glimpses of creatures soaring across the sky. They’re like feathered pterodactyls, with long beaks and enormous wingspans, bigger than the pod that brought me to the orphanage.
Fenrir’s paws dig into the dark soil as we climb a hilltop. The marker Dean placed is just on the other side of the hill. There’s a roar coming from ahead of us, but it’s not the roar of an animal.
We crest the hill, and a gust of wind hits me in the face. Fenrir’s fur whips in the breeze. A wide river plummets over a mighty waterfall that must be several hundred feet tall. The noise from this natural wonder is so loud that I can barely hear Dean when he speaks.
“Pretty cool, huh?” he shouts.
I nod and step closer to the river. The water is calm right up until it drops off the edge. Down below, mist sprays into the air for several dozen feet and choppy waters create a whirlpool in the clear blue water. Several dark splotches move in the river’s depths.
Dean ties a rope to a nearby tree and tosses it over the cliff next to the waterfall.
“Are you afraid of heights?” He grins mischievously.
“No, why?” Though I already have an idea of what he has planned.
“Follow me.” He doesn’t wait for my response before running toward the river and leaping over the edge of the waterfall.
I rush behind him, reaching the edge just in time to see him plummet into the choppy waters. The kid is a bit of a daredevil. That will serve him well if he finds a mentor for the tournament.
I look at Fenrir and take a deep breath. “Wish me luck.”
Stepping back, I gather speed and launch myself over the edge. My haptic suit clenches around me and releases, mimicking the effect of weightlessness as I soar toward the water below. As I fall, a notification flashes in the top corner of my vision.
Congratulations! You have unlocked the trophy “Swan Dive.” Difficulty: Easy.
I plunge into the water, and a chill runs through my haptic suit. Underwater, several large fish swim away from me. Some reptile lays in wait on the bottom of the riverbed, undisturbed by our intrusion.
I kick toward the surface, and as I break above the water, Dean punches the air in celebration. He says something, but I can’t hear him over the roaring water.
He waits by the dangling rope at the base of the waterfall. “Want to go again?” He takes the rope in his hand and starts scaling the cliff. “This is much quicker than walking around.”
“Wait, I’ve got a better idea.” I use my mental connection with Fenrir to urge him to grab the rope with his mouth.
Dean looks at me confused when I pick up the leftover rope behind him. He nearly falls when Fenrir jerks on the rope and we start moving upward.
“Work smarter, not harder,” I yell above the water.
Slow and steady, Fenrir pulls us up the cliff. We toss the rope back down and go again. This is probably the most excitement Dean has had in a while. I watch him go several more times before he takes a seat next to me on the river’s edge.
Across the river, a massive creature that looks like a cross between hog, a cow, and a turtle stands belly deep in the water.
Dean picks up a tree limb and starts whittling it into a spear with the axe I gave him.
I grab a pebble and skip it across the river. “So, how did you end up in the orphanage?”
He stops whittling for a moment and stares into the water. “My dad died a few years ago. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“What about your mom?”
“She passed during childbirth.” He sits the spear across his lap. “I watched a lot of videos in my free time. About how things used to be before we screwed up the planet. Child mortality, cancer, disease, they were all on the decline. Nowadays, I doubt anyone knows someone who hasn’t suffered. At least in The Boxes.”
I reach out and pat him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry. I know it’s rough.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s funny how we lived in the same box for a couple of years, but never knew one another. I guess by the time I arrived at the orphanage, you were keeping mostly to yourself.”
I shrug. “I guess I found more joy watching others play games than interacting with those around me. It was my escape.”
He smiles at me. “Thanks to you, we all have that escape now.”
I’m glad to know that I’ve been able to help them in some small way. “What now?”
“Want to try for some more trophies?” His eyes radiate excitement.
“Yeah, what do you do with the trophies once you have them?”
“Well, most people just put them on display in their home portals. But there are certain ones you can get that allow you to buy special costumes or items. And then there are collections to complete that offer actual prizes.” He glances at Fenrir. “One is a special mount that you can use in the other worlds.”
“Nice, what do you need to get them?” I still remember the teamwork that it took for me to get Fenrir.
Buzz, Aleesia, Grayson, Ordin, Klink, Glordin, and Tinker all helped me that day. I haven’t seen any of the dwarves since the tournament ended. I don’t think Aleesia has either. Since she started her internship, she doesn’t stream much anymore, and most of her friendships have faded away.
Dean rubs his fingers against his chin. “There are two I would really like. One is to find a hidden egg. It’s hidden in the burrows of one of the smaller dinosaurs. The trophy is awarded if you’re able to dig it out. The other is to mount a Liliensternus.”
“What’s that?” Once again, my lack of knowledge is showing.
“It’s only one of the biggest predators around.” Dean grimaces. “Bigger than the Gojirasaurus we saw earlier, which is why I got so much rope.”
I laugh. “Go big or go home. Lead the way.”
“I think we have a better shot at finding the egg, so we’ll start there first. The burrow isn’t that far from here.”
We climb on Fenrir, and Dean marks our next location on the map. The rushing water fades as we travel through dense jungle. Eventually, the jungle clears to an area filled with large ferns. The ground around the ferns is full of holes the size of a basketball.
A low hiss fills the air as soon as we enter the area. Small red eyes stare out at us from the depths of the tunnels.
“They’re Daemonosauri.” Dean scans the area. “They’re a lot like wolves, following an alpha and working as a team to take down larger prey. We need to find a way to lure them out and distract them while we dig through the tunnels.”
“What are you thinking?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Uhm, I thought we might use the dino treats to get them out, then we could take the dinosaurs out one at a time.”
“Not a bad idea. That’s a lot of fighting, though. And there’s no guarantee they all won’t rush in at once as soon as you pull out the treats. We don’t need to kill them; we just need to buy us some time.” I have an idea brewing, but it would benefit Dean more if he can figure it out himself.
Dean nods. “Right. Work smarter, not harder.”
The dinosaurs continue to watch us as we sit atop Fenrir. Dean’s brow furrows as he puts his mind to work.
“What if we made a trail of treats for them to follow?” He looks at me expectantly.
“If these are like any of the other dinosaurs, they’re pretty fast, right?”
He nods. “Yeah, they’d snatch up the treats quicker than we could search. What we need is something that is constantly moving for them to chase.” His eyes light up with recognition. “What if we tied the treats to Fenrir so that they could chase him?”
I pat him on the shoulder. “Now that is a plan I can get behind.”
We dismount from Fenrir, and the hissing intensifies. One of the small dinosaurs pokes its head out from the burrow. A round skull covered in black feathers with a short, blunt snout and round red eyes snarls in our direction. Black feathers cover its entire body, except for patches of tan around its hands and feet. Each appendage is tipped with three sharp claws. Despite its long tail, the creature is no bigger than a small dog.
Dean uses the axe to cut off several pieces of rope to tie around Fenrir’s midsection. Then he takes the bag of treats and secures it beneath the rope.
He looks at me. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
“As soon as I cut the bag, Fenrir needs to run.”
Dean slices the bag, spilling treats onto the ground. The jungle descends into madness as I send Fenrir bolting away. The hissing stops immediately and dozens of feet patter against the ground as the pack of tiny wolf-dinosaurs sets off in pursuit. They run like chickens of darkness, hell-bent on a mission, darting in the direction of Fenrir.
“Not bad. Let’s get to digging.”
Dean lifts his axe in one hand and his handcrafted spear in the other. “Uh, which one should I use?”
“I don’t think either one of those will help you too much. I’ve got just the tool, though.”
I pull up my inventory and find my oldest item hidden at the bottom.
Item: Basic Pickaxe. +2 attack. A pickaxe is a miner’s best friend.
The wooden pickaxe is the first item I ever received in Pangea. Along with my miner’s clothing and hat, this was all I had for most of my first year in the game. It still feels familiar in my hand, like I could swing it and watch a stream of data sprout from the earth.
“Whoa!” Dean’s eyes are wide. “I’m surprised you still have that.”
I take my first swing and the tip of the axe breaks through the top of the tunnel. “Let’s talk while we work. I’m going to break the soil. Shovel it out behind me with your hands.” I swing again, breaking up another chunk of earth. “Why are you surprised?”
Dean follows me, shoveling dirt through his legs like a dog at the beach. “I don’t know. It seems like a pretty useless item. And one that would remind you of your time in the mines.”
“Maybe that’s why I’ve kept it. I don’t hate my time in the mines. It was boring work, yes, but I made some of my closest friends in those mines. I wouldn’t be who I am without them. And so far as it being a useless item, I think it’s coming in pretty handy right about now.”
We continue digging, occasionally having to reroute as the burrow underneath takes a sharp turn. We have a bit of time. Fenrir can run for hours without needing to rest, especially without someone riding him.
On my next swing, I hit something hard and hear a slight crunch. “I think I found something.”
Dean crawls in front of me and starts rummaging through the soil. He pulls up a shard of black shell covered in dirt and slime.
“Dang it! It’s cracked.” He digs in deeper until both arms are buried past the elbow and his face is nearly pressed to the ground. “Maybe…I just…ugh…just a little…there!”
He struggles against the earth, trying to free himself. His body wiggles like a snake as he heaves and fights to pull something out. After a struggle, the soil breaks around him, freeing his arms, and he falls on his back holding a dark black egg speckled with gold.
“Got it!” He cradles the egg against his chest.
I reach out a hand to help him to his feet. As our hands embrace, a loud howl sounds from behind us.
Fenrir.
I turn just in time to see him pouncing through the jungle, no signs of the rope or dino treats hanging from his side.
I jerk Dean up swiftly. “The treats must have fallen off. We need to get out of here quick!”
The patter of feet announces the arrival of the dino pack returning home. We quickly climb onto Fenrir. Dean rummages through his pack and pulls out another pack of treats. He rips the bag open and tosses it behind us.
“Run!” he shouts.
The Daemonosauri burst into the clearing, and their eyes are on us. They hiss loudly before noticing the treats on the ground and swarming to them.
We’re already blazing through the jungle before they’re done.
Chapter Seven
Fenrir’s powerful legs propel us through the jungle, far away from the Daemonosauri. Dean clutches the egg to his chest with one hand and clings to my side for dear life with the other. Once we are safely away, I bring Fenrir to a halt.
“This is awesome!” Dean beams, admiring his new egg.
I check the clock in the top of my vision. We’ve already been in this world for several hours, and I don’t want to keep Dean out too late. “It’s getting late, but we can make a go for one more trophy if you want. You said there was a challenge for a special mount?”
He nods. “It’s not special like Fenrir. It doesn’t have any perks or special abilities, but it does look incredibly cool.”
I stroke Fenrir behind the ear, and he leans into me. “A mount is a mount. The important thing is that it gets you from point A to point B. Lead the way.”
Dean points into the distance. “They usually appear in the northern coast more than anywhere else, so that’s where we should head.”
A destination marker appears on my map. “Before we get going, you might want to put that egg away. Your inventory will keep it safer than you can.”
Dean stuffs the egg in the small satchel around his waist. The basic bag only has eight slots for items, unlike my own which is almost limitless.
As we travel through the jungle, Dean taps me on the shoulder in quick succession, telling me to stop.
“What is it?” I grip Fenrir’s fur as he slides to a halt.
“Over there” He points in the distance where a large dinosaur hunches over a massive boulder. “It’s a Liliensternus, and it’s feeding.”
I squint and notice that the giant boulder is actually the corpse of an even bigger dinosaur. The Liliensternus rips off chunks of red flesh with its powerful jaws. The predator has bright green skin with stripes of faded blue running down its side. A brilliant red crest runs down the center of its head like a mohawk.
Liliensternus. Length: 5.2 meters. Weight: 200kg. One of the largest predators of the Triassic Period, the Liliensternus is a fast and active hunter.
“You want to mount one of those?” I don’t want to ruin his excitement but it seems a bit dangerous for a low-level character.
“The version you unlock is a lot smaller. It’s more like riding a horse. We just need to find a way to subdue it.”
“I guess it’s a good thing we have all this rope, because we’re gonna—”
A familiar roar cuts me off as a second dinosaur emerges from the jungle. It lowers its head, and a deafening scream pours out as i
t challenges the Liliensternus for its meal.
I’ve seen this dinosaur before. The Gojirasaurus, the Godzilla lizard, rivals the Liliensternus in size. If not for the crest running down the Liliensternus’s head, it would be hard to tell them apart.
The Liliensternus turns from its meal and answers with a roar of its own.
“This is gonna be awesome!” Dean’s eyes light up with excitement. “I’ve heard about these battles, but I’ve never seen one live.”
I urge Fenrir forward so that we can get a better view.
The two dinosaurs square off, their tails whipping back and forth in agitation. The Gojirasaurus lunges at the Liliensternus, but the latter is much quicker and moves out of the way, leaving the Gojirasaurus snapping at air.
The Liliensternus uses the opening to launch an attack of its own. With a rapid strike, it sinks its teeth into the Gojirasaurus’s neck. The Gojirasaurus pulls away, but not before losing a huge chunk of flesh.
The two dinosaurs descend on one another in a display of primal dominance. No battle plan, no tactics, just pure instinct. They bite and claw, painting one another with streaks of red.
“Can we get closer?” asks Dean.
I move Fenrir even closer. With the chaos unfolding before us, we are the least of their concerns. “Depending on how this all shakes out, we may have a much easier time getting you that mount.”
“As long as the goji doesn’t kill it.”
The battle is a fairly even match so far. Though the Liliensternus is quicker and slightly bigger, it’s not enough to give it a major advantage. Both dinosaurs are covered in blood. I wish this was an MMO so that we could see their health bars, because right now, it’s impossible to tell who has the upper hand.
The Liliensternus lets out a roar of pain as the goji wraps its mouth around its neck. It falls to the ground, legs kicking as it tries to break free.
“We need to help it!” Dean yells as he jumps off Fenrir and sprints toward the battling dinosaurs. “If it dies, I don’t get my mount.”
This kid is going to get himself killed. I climb down from Fenrir and follow Dean. With this being a non-magical world, I don’t have access to Fenrir’s ability to fight for me, so it’s best to leave him out of it.
Pangea Online: The Complete Trilogy Page 52
