The Player Plague

by Lucas Flint

  Then, without warning, the flames around the creature died, revealing the creature itself still standing there. Only now, the creature was not covered in ice anymore. Smoke rose from the spikes along its back, but other than that, the creature looked entirely unharmed by its own flames.

  It grinned wolfishly when it saw the expressions of fear and shock on Cy and I’s faces. “Surprised? You should be, because tonight, you will both die.”

  The creature rushed toward me again. I fired an Ice Beam at it, but the creature displayed amazing Agility by jumping into the air, neatly avoiding my Ice Beam. As the creature flew over me, it grabbed my shoulders with its claws and threw me head over heels into the air. I spun crazily through the air for a second before slamming into a crate and falling onto the floor.

  Shaking my head, I glanced at my Health bar and was shocked to see that that single attack had shaved a quarter of my Health off. I now found myself wondering exactly what would happen if I died in my own Base. Would I respawn in my room or would I die for real?

  I didn’t have any time to think about that, however, because the creature jumped into the air toward me, its wolfish grin never leaving its lips. Before I could Dodge, however, a blast of powerful wind came out of nowhere and slammed into the creature, sending it spiraling out of control into a pile of boxes. The creature crashed hard into the boxes, immediately getting buried underneath tons of cardboard boxes full of lots of different things.

  “Boss!” said Cy as he landed next to me. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said as I rose to my feet, using the crate I crashed into for support. “But that thing knocked off a full quarter of my Health with that attack. Do you know what it is?”

  “Nope,” said Cy, shaking his head. “Never seen anything like it in my eighteen years of life. Looks like it crawled out of the Sewers, though.”

  I glanced at the five tunnel entrances and wondered if they connected my Base to the Sewers. It was a logical conclusion to make, but it didn’t explain what this creature was, though, or where it came from.

  Not that I had much time to think about that, however. In the next moment, the piles of boxes that had buried the creature exploded upward, sending junk flying everywhere as the creature—now visibly ticked off—rose to its full, rather considerable height.

  “I will eat you first, green one,” the creature snarled, its words barely coherent. “And then feast on your spitty blue friend there.”

  “Uh, you don’t want to eat me,” Cy informed the creature. He raised his arms. “Look at me. I’m all skin and bone. Definitely wouldn’t taste very good.”

  The creature, however, was apparently not dissuaded from Cy’s statement. It roared and rushed toward us, claws flashing. There was no time to Dodge, so Cy and I fought the creature head-on.

  As the creature slashed at us, Cy and I did our best to avoid getting hit. I would get in whatever punches I could, while Cy landed quick blows before retreating out of the creature’s claws, but it was slow going. The creature must have either had high Defense or strong scales because it seemed like none of our blows were dealing much damage to its body. The best we seemed to accomplish was annoying it, and you didn’t defeat enemies in this game by annoying them.

  One slash came at us particularly fast. Cy managed to Dodge it, but I accidentally tripped over a box, leaving myself wide open to an attack. I held up my arms to protect myself but still grimaced as the creature’s claws ripped through my arms and made me stagger backward. I stopped against a crate but then ducked to avoid another slash that would have taken off my head, the creature’s claw tearing through the crate like paper.

  With a grunt, I lashed out and kicked the creature in the stomach hard enough to make it stumble backward. I followed it up with another kick to the chest and then I shouted at Cy, “Get ‘em!”

  Luckily, Cy knew what I was talking about. He ran toward the creature and, at the last possible moment, slid underneath the creature. As he slid between its legs, he cupped his hands together and thrust his hands upward. A powerful Gust of wind—now Level 3 thanks to so many days of grinding—blasted into the creature hard enough to send it flying. The creature shot up into the air like a dart and slammed so hard into the ceiling of the Basement that he ended up almost getting stuck in it, but then his body fell and he crashed down onto the floor and did not move again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  I thrust out my hands and summoned Ice Shackles. Shackles made of pure ice appeared out of the ground and wrapped around the creature’s wrists and ankles. The intense cold from the Ice Shackles must have woken the creature up because it began tugging at them and I could tell it was already planning to do that fire thing again to melt the chains.

  I rushed over to the creature and, summoning twin Ice Daggers, held them both against the creature’s neck. The creature went very still as soon as it felt the blades against its neck as if it could sense just how close to death it was. Kind of wished I didn’t have to get so close to it, however, because the creature smelled like swamp water and excrement. Even so, I didn’t let go or look away. Knowing just how dangerous this monster could be, I was not about to give it a chance to escape or fight back just because it smelled awful.

  “All right, monster,” I said. “We’ve got you. What do you have to say about that?”

  “Forget you,” the creature snarled, although I noticed he lay on the floor very still. “I’m not telling you anything, you monkeyfighting dastard. Eat crud.”

  “Are you so sure about that?” I said. I pressed the freezing cold Ice Daggers deeper against his skin. “These knives are very sharp and I am very strong. I don’t think I would need to apply very much pressure in order to take your head off your shoulders. Cy, what do you think?”

  “Agreed, boss,” said Cy, who had walked up to us after I pinned the creature down. “Those are pretty sharp knives. I bet you could cut an entire loaf of bread in half with a single stroke.”

  I sighed. “Cy, could you have come up with something a bit more impressive than cutting a loaf of bread in half?”

  “How’s about a really stale loaf of bread that’s been sitting out on the kitchen counter for the past two weeks?” asked Cy. He rubbed the side of his mouth. “That stuff is harder than diamond, let me tell you.”

  I just shook my head and said to the creature, “Look, monster, whatever you are, I have you right where I want you. And I will kill you if you don’t tell me who you are and why you are here. I’m not sure if you have a family or whatever, but given how most living things hate dying, I think it’s safe to assume you probably don’t want to die today.”

  “I would rather live than die,” said the creature, “but I would rather die than reveal all the secrets of my people to Heroes like you.”

  “Wrong answer,” I said. I leaned in closer. “Let’s put this in a different way. You don’t have to tell me everything about your people. All you need to tell me is your name, what your people are, and why you are here. Sound reasonable? I’ll even let you go if you tell me all that.”

  The creature hesitated. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

  “Because I am honest,” I said. “Cy can vouch for me. Right, Cy?”

  “Of course I can,” said Cy, nodding. “Boss never fails to tell me exactly when I am being an idiot. I like to think my IQ points have gone up just a little since we’ve met.”

  I was shocked at how quickly and happily Cy admitted to me telling him he was an idiot. I guess he picked up all those times I rolled my eyes or sighed more than I thought. Or he was being sarcastic. That seemed unlikely, though, because Cy was rarely sarcastic.

  The creature was silent for a moment, perhaps thinking over my offer, before it finally said, “Very well. My name is Zazoom.”

  “Zazoom?” Cy repeated. “I like that name. Zazoom. Zazoom. Zazoom. I wish it was my name and …”

  While Cy rambled on about how fun Zazoom was to say, I noticed the nametag abov
e the creature’s name start to change. It went from [???] to [??? ZAZOOM], which was interesting, because I’d never seen a nametag change like that. There was definitely a lot more to this game than I thought and it seemed like I was learning something new about it every day.

  “Okay, Zazoom,” I said without taking my daggers off his neck. “What are your people called?”

  “We are called the Dwellers,” said Zazoom calmly. “We live deep beneath what you call the Sewers of your city.”

  “You do?” I said. I frowned. “I don’t remember hearing about your kind.”

  “I think I might have,” said Cy, stroking his chin. “Legend says that there is a race of crocodile people who live deep beneath Adventure City, even deeper than the Sewers. Rumor has it that these people roam the Sewers in search of food and regularly kidnap sanitation workers and anyone else unlucky enough to be down there for sustenance.”

  I looked at Cy in surprise again. “I didn’t know that.”

  “That’s why I don’t like going into the Sewers,” said Cy with a shudder. “Aside from the giant crocodiles, that is.”

  Nodding, I looked at Zazoom again. His nametag was complete now. It read [DWELLER ZAZOOM], which made me risk Scanning it again to see if I would get any new information this time:

  Dweller Zazoom

  LEVEL: 25

  ALIGNMENT: Villain

  CLASS: Dweller Warrior

  WEAK POINT: Eyes

  WEAKNESS: Light

  A member of a rumored race of crocodile people said to dwell within and underneath the Sewers of Adventure City. The City of Adventure City Government staunchly denies their existence, helped by the fact that few have ever laid eyes on one, but no one can explain the occasional human mutterings that sewage workers report hearing or the mangled corpses occasionally stumbled upon by Heroes that show no evidence of having been killed by Sewer Rats.

  As I finished Scanning Zazoom, a new notification appeared in my view:

  Congratulations! You have Scanned your first Rare Enemy! Rare Enemies are enemies seen or encountered by very few players. By successfully Scanning a Rare Enemy, you have added to the existing knowledge database available to all players, Heroes and Villains alike! +1 Level to Scan.

  Skill Level up! Scan is now Level 4. Now you can see the rarity of a particular enemy NPC. Level up Scan further in order to get even more information!

  Whoa. I didn’t know you could get Skill Levels for rewards for completing certain secret requirements. Not that I was complaining, however. Scan was now my highest level Skill. A smirk crossed my features as I thought about how this meant my Scan was likely higher than Funky’s Scan. I couldn’t wait to brag about that to his face the next time I saw him.

  Dismissing that notification, I said to Zazoom, “All right, Zazoom. So you belong to the Dwellers. What made you come up this far?”

  I could tell Zazoom was growing increasingly uncomfortable under my blades, but he nonetheless said, “This is part of our territory. Although we largely leave the Sewers to your kind, we have marked out certain sections of it for our own use. This includes this Basement, which is where we keep the treasures we steal from humans who venture too far down into the Sewers.”

  I immediately raised my head and looked around at all of the boxes and crates around us. “Are you telling me that all of these boxes and crates are filled with items and Equipment once owned by Heroes and Villains?”

  “Yes,” said Zazoom with a grunt. “Treasure, as I said. Treasure that rightfully belongs to us.”

  I bit my lower lip. “I’m not so sure about that. This Basement is part of my Base. Therefore, I think that means this stuff belongs to me.”

  “It was given to us by the last Hero who owned the building above,” said Zazoom. “He promised us this place and everything within it so long as we did not go to the surface. Seeing as we dislike the surface world, we considered it a good deal.”

  The last Hero—? Zazoom must have been referring to Faded Flag. “You mean the last owner of my Base allowed you to use this place? Why?”

  “He was an honorable human,” said Zazoom with another grunt. “Unlike you, he understood and respected our people. We didn’t know that ownership of his home had changed hands. Where is he now?”

  I didn’t answer. I didn’t know the answer to that question. Heck, until Cy found the Basement, I had no idea Faded Flag even existed. I didn’t know if he even still played the game anymore.

  “I don’t know,” I said, “but I am in control of his Base now. I’m not obligated to respect his treaty with you, whatever that was.”

  “Then I am not obligated to tell you anything more,” said Zazoom. “And if you kill me, my people will know. They will notice my absence and send someone to look for me. And trust me, you do not want to feel the wrath of the Dwellers. It is … painful.”

  A new mission prompt appeared before me suddenly:

  MISSION: Wrath of the Dwellers I

  Although you may have managed to defeat and capture the Dweller known as Zazoom, he claims that killing him would invoke the wrath of his people upon you. Depending on whether you believe him or not, this is either a credible threat or an outright lie designed to make you lower your guard.

  If he’s telling the truth, then perhaps letting him go might be better for your health in the long run. If you determine he is lying, however, then you know what must be done.

  ALIGNMENT: Hero

  DIFFICULTY: Easy

  RARITY: Unusual

  SUCCESS: Let [Dweller Zazoom] return to his people OR kill him if you determine he is lying

  FAILURE: Kill [Dweller] Zazoom if he is telling the truth OR let him go if you determine he is lying

  REWARDS: Increased reputation with the Dwellers of the Sewers OR a Dweller Skin Pelt

  ACCEPT? Y/N

  What the heck? I had never seen a mission like this before, which offered you multiple options and the success and failure were dependent on whether you picked the ‘correct’ answer. Usually, missions had clear goals and clear requirements for success and failure. This, however, seemed a lot more like a real-life situation, where you weren’t sure what the right answer was and had to rely mostly on your own intuition and gut instinct to figure out what the best way forward was. Nonetheless, I accepted the mission and now had to figure out which was the best course of action.

  A part of me didn’t trust Zazoom. He did, after all, try to kill me and Cy. If I took off his head, then I would ensure that my Base is safe. I would also apparently get a ‘Dweller Skin Pelt.’ Give how Zazoom was a Rare Enemy, I suspected this would be a Rare or even Unique item, which I might be able to sell for some cash, assuming it didn’t come with some interesting bonuses or even Powers that I could use to make myself even stronger.

  On the other hand, it was clear to me that Zazoom definitely wasn’t alone. Other Dwellers existed and they might not take too well to having one of their own killed. The fact that this mission was labeled ‘The Wrath of the Dwellers’ and appeared to be a multi-part mission told me that Zazoom might very well be telling the truth here.

  With a sense that I was going to regret this, I removed my Ice Daggers from Zazoom’s neck and took several steps away from him. In a flash, Zazoom was back on his feet, but rather than attack Cy and me, he merely eyed us warily, but I also thought I caught a hint of gratitude in his eyes.

  “All right,” I said. “You can go back to your people now, but tell them that this Basement is mine now, as well as everything within it. And if they try to take this place back, I will fight them.”

  To my surprise, Zazoom merely nodded in understanding and said, “In the Dweller Underworld, power and strength are respected above all else. I will inform our Queen of your response and tell Her also of Faded Flag’s disappearance. I cannot guarantee that the Queen, in Her Infinite Wisdom, will not send more of us to take back this Basement, but I can confirm she will at least know of your claim to it.”

  With that, Zazoom
turned around and rushed down the middle tunnel. We heard his claws clicking and clacking against the concrete floor until soon we couldn’t hear anything at all anymore, leaving Cy and I standing alone in the Basement, with me wondering if I made the right choice or if I was going to live long enough to regret this.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  “Well,” said Cy, putting his hands on his waist. “That guy was a lot nicer than we thought. I thought for a moment there that he was just going to kill us, but then he didn’t. In addition to having a funny name, he’s also a nice guy. That guy’s got it all.”

  I was about to explain to Cy why Zazoom actually wasn’t very nice when a new mission prompt appeared before me:

  MISSION: The Wrath of the Dwellers I

  STATUS: Successfully completed

  After some determination, you decided to allow Zazoom to live and return to the Dweller Underworld, where his people live. Although Zazoom appeared grateful for your act of mercy and might prove to be very helpful at some point in the future, you still have a sense you might regret this going into the future.

  REWARDS: Increased reputation with the Dwellers of the Sewers

  As soon as I read that prompt, another one popped up in my view:

  Congratulations! Your reputation with the Dwellers of the Sewers has increased by 100%! Your relationship with the Dwellers of the Sewers has risen from ‘Hostile’ to ‘Neutral.’ Increase your relationship with the Dwellers of the Sewers further in order to unlock unique benefits, such as Secret Missions, items, special Equipment, and more.

  I frowned. I guess ‘Neutral’ was better than ‘Hostile,’ but it still didn’t seem like much of a reward to me. I mean, it was better than being hated, but I figured I should have gotten a better reward than that for allowing a potential enemy to live.

  Shaking my head, I dismissed the prompt when yet another mission prompt appeared in my view:

  SECRET MISSION: Find Faded Flag

  After learning about the previous owner of your Base and his relationship with the Dwellers of the Sewers, your curiosity has been piqued and now you wish to find him. You don’t want to find him just to satisfy your curiosity, however. News about the disappearance of Faded Flag will no doubt spread among the Dwellers and reach the ears of their mysterious and all-powerful Queen, with results that could be potentially devastating for the future of Adventure City.